Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Index instabilities in proton‐exchanged LiNbO3 waveguides

Measured effective mode indices on a day to day basis reveal an oscillatory behavior which indicates that the index profile of proton‐exchanged LiNbO3 waveguides evolves as a function of time. It is suggested that the profile instability might be brought about by a continuous migration of protons within the thickness of the guiding layer. Some index profile modificaiton may also be introduced during fabrication due to structural changes in the crystal as a function of exchange time.
Protective Estimation of Longitudinal Categorical Data With Nonrandom Dropout

Partially observed longitudinal categorical data, where the partial classification arises due to monotone dropout, are analyzed using a protective estimator, which was first suggested by Brown (Biometrics, 1990) for normally distributed data. It is appropriate when dropout depends on the unobserved outcomes only, a particular type of nonignorable nonresponse. Estimation of measurement parameters is possible, without explicitly modelling the dropout process. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived in order to have a unique solution in the interior of the parameter space. It is shown that precision estimates can be based on the delta method, the EM algorithm, and on multiple imputation. The relative merits of these techniques are discussed and they are contrasted with direct likelihood estimation and with pseudo-likelihood estimation. The method is illustrated using data taken from a psychiatric study.
The Nature of the Loss Ratio in Property-Casualty Insurance

The aggregate loss ratio in the United States stock property-casualty insurance industry is represented with an autoregressive AR(3) model. It is demonstrated with a Monte Carlo simulation that the loss ratio is quite unstable. Annual growth has been strong for both premium volume and losses, but the loss ratio is found to fluctuate unsteadily as an AR(3) process. Also, there is a continuing upward drift to the loss ratio that cannot continue without bringing failed loss coverage to the industry.
Irradiation of Escherichia coli by extremely-low frequency (ELF) pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF): evaluation of bacterial survival

The effects of extremely low-frequency (ELF) pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) emitted by the custom-build exposure chamber on the growth and survival of the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli ATCC 25922) have been studied. The viability of E. coli was measured as colony-forming units (CFUs) before and after the exposures at frequencies, f, 2–500 Hz and magnetic flux densities, B, 2.5–5 mT to quantify the effects of applied ELF PEMF on these bacteria. The maximum reduction in bacterial growth was observed with the exposures at 3 Hz and 0.5 mT. The maximum decrease in CFU was recorded for the exposure at 500 Hz and 2.5 mT, which corresponds to a relative decrease of 77.26% in the bacterial growth. Findings from this study have direct implication for determining the optimal characteristics of the applied ELF PEMF for possible treatment of infected tissue and thus, wound healing promotion.
Geoengineering and Geologic Politics

Early engagement with geoengineering by social scientists indicates a certain suspicion over the motives and modes of operation of scientific research in the field. In part, this reflects the prominence of the critique of the politics of emergency in recent social and political thought: a thematisation that links securitisation measures with foreclosures of the political. This paper turns the attention back on the social sciences, arguing that recent styles of ontological and political thought do not prepare us well for engaging with geologic issues in general, and geoengineering in particular. It is suggested that, rather than viewing geoengineering discourses and imaginaries as a retreat from politics, we might view them as playing an important role in opening up new kinds of politics oriented towards earth systems and their dynamics. This new ‘geologic politics’ involves a turn from issues hinging on territorial divisions of the earth’s surface toward the strata that compose the deep temporal earth. As a political challenge, the question of how to live with dynamic and stratified earth systems not only promises to extend the scope of politics, but also points to the ‘inhuman’ limits of the political per se. Keywords: geoengineering, climate change, geologic politics, earth systems, politics of emergency
Numerical implementation of two noniterative methods for locating inclusions by impedance tomography

Electrical impedance tomography is applied to recover inclusions within a body from electrostatic measurements on the surface of the body. Here, an inclusion is defined to be a region where the electrical conductivity differs significantly from the background. Recently, theoretical foundations have been developed for new techniques to localize inclusions from impedance tomography data. In this paper it is shown that these theoretical results lead quite naturally to noniterative numerical reconstruction algorithms. The algorithms are applied to a number of test cases to compare their performance.
Design and Simulator Evaluation of an Ecological Synthetic Vision Display

A synthetic vision display is generally believed to support pilot terrain awareness. Many studies have shown, however, that the bias in perspective views can cause pilots to make judgment errors regarding the relative location, height, and ultimately the avoidance of terrain obstacles. Therefore, alerting systems are required to keep pilots at safe distances from the terrain. These systems provide explicit guidance commands to circumvent terrain conflicts, which is far from optimal regarding pilot terrain awareness as it fails to present the rationale of the terrain separation problem. Consequently, this can affect the trust in and the reliance on these systems and pose a potential safety risk, especially in events or situations unfamiliar to the alerting system. This paper presents the design and evaluation of an extension to a synthetic vision display that aims to make the constraints of the alerting automation more transparent in order to help pilots better understand why, how, and when they should act. A pilot-in-the-loop experiment, using 16 glass-cockpit pilots in a fixed-based flight simulator, showed that the constraint-based overlays indeed improved the overall pilot terrain awareness compared to a command-based display. The decision-making only improved in the unanticipated events introduced in the experiment. The utility of the energy angle was found to be important for recognizing the offnormal events and to prevent terrain crashes. However, the pilot response time, flight safety in terms of low-altitude flying, and pilot workload are better when using the command display. This indicates that a last-resort alerting and advisory system would still be required in operations at the periphery of safe system performance.
Functional Neurogenomics: A New Approach to Study Cognitive Disability in Down Syndrome Brain

use, Abstract Functional neurogenomics is the interface between neurosciences knowledge and Omics sciences data. It characterizes, identifies, and analyzes expression of genes involved in the function of several structures of brain and cognition. Its major goal is to under - stand the main pathways of brain function, plasticity, and the etiopathogenesis of brain diseases. We have done an integrate analysis of global brain gene expression linked to cognitive disability in Down syndrome. It is a new approach to better understand the control of complex brain networks of gene expression involved in this syndrome. The objective of the chapter is to present computationally simulate data of global expres sion of 108 genes associated with cognitive disability and neuroplasticity from DNA microarray experiments of postmortem brain from normal controls and patients with Down syndrome. Some genes that were studied are involved in metabolic process and also promote hippocampal plasticity; interventions reawaken the neural plasticity may permit improved cognition. One of the striking findings was that some of the causes of dysregulation appear to result in the brain being trapped in an immature state of synaptic development. Understanding the functional neurogenomics of Down syndrome brain, emerge a new scenario to partially overcome cognitive disability through new prospec tive genomic therapies.
On the Distributional Effects of Trade Policy: A Macroeconomic Perspective

This paper develops a theoretical model to explore the relationship between openness to trade and long-term income inequality. Empirical evidence on the issue is mixed, though greater inequality is often cited as a possible cost of trade liberalization. To quantify the effect of liberalization on inequality I calibrate a two-sector (agriculture and non-agriculture) open-economy macroeconomic model to the Mexican economy. Agents in the model are subject to idiosyncratic, uninsurable labor income risk, and precautionary saving generates endogenous distributions of wealth and income. When preferences are characterized by subsistence floor for food consumption, trade liberalization implies large welfare gains for low wealth agents. At the same time, liberalization increases long-run wealth and income inequality. After liberalization land-owners are worse off since the price of land falls along with the relative price of the agricultural commodity. When tariff revenue must be replaced by an alternative instrument, higher labor taxes are preferred to higher taxes on consumption or capital
Massive stars embedded in molecular clouds - Their population and distribution in the galaxy

Les regions HII ultracompactes produites par des etoiles massives plongees dans des nuages moleculaires possedent une distribution caracteristique de la densite de flux IR-lointain qui est tres differente de l'entree typique dans le catalogue des sources ponctuelles IRAS (PSC). Un critere de selection a 2 couleurs base sur les regions HII connues est developpe et son application au catalogue PSC complet fournit un total de 1717 candidats aux etoiles massives. Ces candidats sont localises au voisinage du Plan Galactique et la plupart d'entre eux se repartissent dans le premier et quatrieme quadrants. Une comparaison avec les etoiles O visibles dans le voisinage solaire montre que 10 a 20% de toutes les etoiles O sont plongees dans les nuages moleculaires impliquant que 10% a 20% de la duree de vie d'une etoile O sur la sequence principale se passe dans un nuage moleculaire
Ekman Layer Dissipation in an Eastward-Traveling Modon

Abstract A perturbation solution for an eastward-traveling modon in the presence of a bottom Ekman boundary layer is presented. The modon radius, translation speed and wavenumber are allowed to be functions of a slow time and the geostrophic pressure is expanded in the small damping coefficient E½(2r0), where E and r0 are the vertical Ekman and Rossby numbers, respectively. The modon amplitude and translation speed decay exponentially and the modon wavenumber increases exponentially as the slow time increases. The resulting dissipation in the streamfunction and vorticity is qualitatively similar to the McWilliams and others numerical solution, although it is unable to describe the eventual transition to Rossby waves. For oceanic and atmospheric scales the decay takes place over a 100- and 10-day time scale respectively, with the modon traveling about 5 modon radii before complete dissipation.
COMPARISON OF ISOMETRIC AND DYNAMIC METHODS OF STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in the quality of muscle strength employing two methods of strength training (isometric, dynamic). Nineteen male university students volunteered to participate in the experiment, encompassing a five week strength training sessions. The dynamic method was applied to the elbow flexion and extension of the right side (load totalling 60 % of maximal performance) and the isometric method applied on the same muscle groups of the left side (maximal voluntary isometric contraction). Pre- and post-test measurements included maximal isometric strength, the angle a expressed the speed of increasing muscle strength and the number of repetitions performed for each exercise (at a of load 60 % max), as a measure of muscle endurance. No differences were found between the results of strength training when using both methods (isometric, dynamic). A five week training program improved the isometric force by about 8-14 % of pre-test values, and by about 34-54 % in repetition exercises with the load. No differences were exhibited in the rate of the speed of increasing muscle strength.
Clinical studies of pigmented lesions in human skin by using a multiphoton tomograph

In vivo imaging of pigmented lesions in human skin was performed with a clinical multiphoton microscopy (MPM)-based tomograph (MPTflex, JenLab, Germany). Two-photon excited fluorescence was used for visualizing endogenous fluorophores such as NADH/FAD, keratin, melanin in the epidermal cells and elastin fibers in the dermis. Collagen fibers were imaged by second harmonic generation. Our study involved in vivo imaging of benign melanocytic nevi, atypical nevi and melanoma. The goal of this preliminary study was to identify in vivo the characteristic features and their frequency in pigmented lesions at different stages (benign, atypical and malignant) and to evaluate the ability of in vivo MPM to distinguish atypical nevi from melanoma. Comparison with histopathology was performed for the biopsied lesions. Benign melanocytic nevi were characterized by the presence of nevus cell nests at the epidermal-dermal junction. In atypical nevi, features such as lentiginous hyperplasia, acanthosis and architectural disorder were imaged. Cytological atypia was present in all the melanoma lesions imaged, showing the strongest correlation with malignancy. The MPM images demonstrated very good correlation with corresponding histological images, suggesting that MPM could be a promising tool for in vivo non-invasive pigmented lesion diagnosis, particularly distinguishing atypical nevi from melanoma.
Research on Big Data Security

With the continuous development of data science, big data has become one of the strategic heights. competition increasing throughout time. The explosive growth of big data applications has created a rare opportunity for development, but there are still some difficulties and problems that exists, data security and privacy issues can’t be avoided. Data security issues not only related to the characteristics of the data itself, but also involves data collection, transmission, storage, processing, destruction and other technical and data production, and the user's awareness. Need to start from the technical and legality level at the same time, providing an effective way to resolve the security issues of big data.
Constraint-based modeling of host-microbe and microbe-microbe metabolic interactions in the human gut

Humans harbor a complex microbial ecosystem in their intestines. This human gut microbiota performs essential functions for host health and wellbeing. Disruption, or dysbiosis, in gut microbiota composition has been directly linked to the pathogenesis of complex diseases. Understanding the mechanisms behind these links between microbiota and host health and disease states requires predictive, mechanistic computational models. Constraint-based metabolic modeling uses manually curated and validated metabolic reconstructions that constitue a genomically, genetically and biochemically structured knowledge base of a target organism. These reconstructions can be converted into mathematical models that allow the in silico prediction of an organism’s phenotype under given environmental constraints Constraint-based modeling has been successfully applied to predict multispecies interactions but rarely in the context of host-microbe interactions. In this thesis, a framework for predicting metabolic interactions between a host and its gut symbionts was developed. As reconstructions of representative gut symbionts were lacking prior to this thesis, metabolic reconstructions targeting representatives of the two main phyla in the gut microbiota were manually constructed and validated. These reconstructions were first applied to predict the metabolic interactions between a model gut symbiont and its murine host, and, using a combined in silico/ in vitro approach, the metabolic potential of an abundant but poorly studied beneficial microbe. Subsequently, using nine additional published manually curated reconstructions, a model gut community was constructed in silico. Linking the model community with a global reconstruction of a human cell enabled the systematic prediction of the microbes’ potential to affect human metabolism. The in silico approach demonstrated the gut microbiota’s potential to act as an additional organ from the host perspective. Moreover, the 11 microbes were joint pairwise in all combinations and mutualistic, commensal, parasitic, and competitive interactions were investigated on varying nutrient environments. The potential to engage in mutualistic cross-feeding was species-specific and predicted to be highly dependent on anoxic conditions. In summary, using constraint-based modeling, host-microbe and microbe-microbe metabolic interactions were predicted in a bottom-up, mechanistic manner. The multispecies modeling framework developed in the course of this thesis can readily incorporate any host and number of microbes and will have valuable applications for elucidating the gut ecosystem and its effects on the human host.
Effect of physical activity on prevention of postpartum depression: A dose-response meta-analysis of 186,412 women

Background Physical activity (PA) is considered a favorable preventive intervention for postpartum depression (PPD), but evidence defining a corresponding dose-response relationship is lacking. This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the protective effects of PA on PPD and define a potential dose-response relationship between them. Methods PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from 1968 to May 2022. Only randomized control trials (RCTs) and prospective studies were considered, and the PICOS tool was used to identify eligible articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Effect-size estimates were unified as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). We calculated the ORs and their 95% CI for studies that did not report them using the Practical Meta-Analysis Effect Size Calculator. Results A total of 23 studies were eligible, including 14 RCTs and 9 prospective cohort studies. The overall analysis showed a statistically significant positive association between PA and PPD prevention (adjusted OR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.61–0.87; P < 0.001). Subgroup analyses indicated that studies conducted in Europe demonstrated a significant correlation between PA and reduced PPD risk (adjusted OR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.76–0.95, P = 0.004). Concerning PA type, sports activity was associated with relieving PPD symptoms (adjusted OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.78 to 1.00, P < 0.001), while work (adjusted OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.37–2.97, P = 0.065) and household activities (adjusted OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.89–1.52, P = 0.986) contributed to a greater risk of PPD. Our dose-response analysis revealed a reverse J-shaped trend between ascending PA duration and PPD incidence. Conclusion This meta-analysis identified PA as a potential intervention to reduce the risk of PPD. The dose-response analysis revealed that at least 90 min of PA per week could efficiently decrease the risk of PPD. Systematic review registration https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42022335731.
EXTRACTION OF IMAGE TOPOLOGICAL GRAPH FOR RECOVERING THE SCENE GEOMETRY FROM UAV COLLECTIONS

Abstract. This study was performed aiming to construct the scene geometry with a large set of unmanned aerial vertical (UAV) collections. By improving the popular structure from motion (SfM) algorithm, we focus on the efficiency improvement on procedures of both feature detection and image matching. Distinctive features are firstly detected with a CUDA based GPU accelerate technology under the basic of SIFT algorithm (CUDA-SIFT). And then, the image topological graph is computed by finding the conjunction relationship between UAV collections with the help of flight control data acquired by the UAV platform. Image matching will be guided by the computed image topological graph to solve the traversal matching problem. Experimental results show that CUDASIFT performs much better than the original SIFT algorithm on both efficiency and feature amount. Also, the topological graph of computed image limits the searching range for feature similarity computation, resulting in dramatic speed up. A final bundler adjustment is implemented in the procedure of scene geometry reconstruction, and the structural geometry as well as the coverage completeness is far more comparable to the SfM method.
Synaptic vesicle release during ribbon synapse formation of cone photoreceptors

Mammalian cone photoreceptors enable through their sophisticated synapse the high-fidelity transfer of visual information to second-order neurons in the retina. The synapse contains a proteinaceous organelle, called the synaptic ribbon, which tethers synaptic vesicles (SVs) at the active zone (AZ) close to voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. However, the exact contribution of the synaptic ribbon to neurotransmission is not fully understood, yet. In mice, precursors to synaptic ribbons appear within photoreceptor terminals shortly after birth as free-floating spherical structures, which progressively elongate and then attach to the AZ during the following days. Here, we took advantage of the process of synaptic ribbon maturation to study their contribution to SV release. We performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from cone photoreceptors at three postnatal (P) development stages (P8–9, P12–13, >P30) and measured evoked SV release, SV replenishment rate, recovery from synaptic depression, domain organization of voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels, and Ca2+-sensitivity of exocytosis. Additionally, we performed electron microscopy to determine the density of SVs at ribbon-free and ribbon-occupied AZs. Our results suggest that ribbon attachment does not organize the voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels into nanodomains or control SV release probability. However, ribbon attachment increases SV density at the AZ, increases the pool size of readily releasable SVs available for evoked SV release, facilitates SV replenishment without changing the SV pool refilling time, and increases the Ca2+- sensitivity of glutamate release.