Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
X-RAY SCATTERING STUDIES OF STRONGLY CORRELATED MATERIALS: ORBITAL ORDERING IN KCuF3 AND STRIPE-LIKE DOMAIN STRUCTURES IN BiFeO3 EPITAXIAL THIN FILMS BY JAMES LEE DISSERTATION

The results of x-ray scattering experiments on orbitally ordered KCuF3 and periodic arrays of stripe-like ferroelectric domains in epitaxial thin films of multiferroic BiFeO3 are presented in this dissertation. Both resonant soft x-ray elastic scattering and non-resonant hard x-ray elastic scattering probes were used. Our experiments on KCuF3 have revealed a previously unidentified structural phase transition at T = 50K, involving GdFeO3 like rotations of the CuF6 octahedra. These rotations are quasi-ordered and exhibit glassy hysteresis, but serve to stabilize the Néel state at T = 39K. Based on these observations, we have formulated an orbital ordering model based on the archetypical Kugel-Khomskii model. Our modified Kugel-Khomskii model takes into account direct orbital exchange interactions due to a combination of electron-electron interactions and charge transfer effects. The effect of this term is to create a near degeneracy that dynamically frustrates the spin order that is lifted at low temperature by subdominant orbital-lattice interactions. A strong optical effect seen in the Cu L3 resonant scattering is also discussed. We also describe on-going studies of BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films. Based on non-resonant diffraction data, we have created simple charge density models that describe the structure of stripe-like ferroelectric domains with majority 109◦ and majority 71◦ domain walls. Resonant soft x-ray scattering near the Fe L3 transition edge has revealed a spatial modulation of predominantly Fe 3d valence states with a period equal to that of the ferroelectric domain structure. The possibility of a magnetic origin to the Fe L3 edge resonant scattering is discussed. No O K edge resonant scattering was observed, indicating that O 2p states are not significantly influenced by the domain structure. The absence of O K edge resonant scattering is also discussed in terms of proposed mechanisms for the anomalously high electrical conductivity of 109◦ domain walls. We also briefly describe the observation of scattering near the substrate peak due to the thin film domain structure, which is causing a modulation of the substrate strain.
Scalings for Droplet Sizes in Shear-Driven Breakup: Non-Microfluidic Ways to Monodisperse Emulsions

We review studies of a drop of viscous liquid, suspended in another liquid, and undergoing breakup in an impulsively started shear flow. Stokes flow conditions as well as the effects of inertia are reported. They reveal a universal scaling for the fragments, which allows one to use sheared emulsions to produce monodispersity as an alternative to microfluidic devices. keyword: Drop deformation, drop size distribution, numerical methods.
Appropriate Technology for the Bioconversion of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) to Liquid Ethanol

This article appraises the need for introducing appropriate technology to improve the production of renewable energy, particularly on the community basis and social aspect of sustainability. Using two-sequential steps of acid hydrolysis (10% sulfuric acid) and yeast (Candida shehatae; xylose-fermenting yeast) fermentation, bioconversion of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes; a noxious weed and fast growing aquatic plant widely distributed in many tropical regions of the world) to liquid ethanol has successfully been performed. The maximum ethanol yield coefficient of 0.19 g gWH with the productivity of 0.008 g l h was achieved. This is as well comparable to those obtained from the enzymatic saccharification and/or the fermentation of acid-pretreated water hyacinth hydrolysate using fully-equipped fermenter reported elsewhere. More importantly, determinations of xylose and ethanol contents can potentially be performed using two reliable colorimetric approaches (Phloroglucinol and Dichromate assays, respectively) in conjunction with home-made portable photometer. The technology presented herein can be transferred and implemented to gain opportunity of becoming self-reliance of community in the third world countries.
OTOİMMÜN TİROİD HASTALIĞININ TANI VE TAKİBİNDE OKSİDATİF DNA HASAR BELİRLEYİCİSİ 8-OHdG’NİN ÖNEMİ

Molekuler oksijenin toksik etki gostermesi, olusturdugu superoksit radikali, hidrojen peroksit, hidroksil radikali ve single oksijen gibi reaktif ara urunler nedeniyledir. Biyolojik sistemlerde molekuler oksijenin indirgenmesi sirasinda olusan bu urunlere 'reaktif oksijen turevleri' (ROS) denir. ROS'lar iyonize radyasyon, mutagenler, karsinogenler ve ayni zamanda hucrede oksijen metabolizmasi sirasinda uretilir. Oksidatif streste, in vivo uretilen ROS'lar, nukleik asitlerin proteinlerin ve lipitlerin oksidatif hasarina neden olur. Oksidasyonda bir hidroksil radikali, guanin molekulunun 8. pozisyonuna eklenir ve oksidasyonla degisiklige ugratilmis DNA'nin serbest radikal lezyonlarindan biri olan 8-OHdG (8-oxo-dG) olusur. 8-OHdG formunda oksidatif degisiklige ugramis DNA, DNA hasarinin miktarinin belirlenmesinde kullanilir. Reaktif oksijenler, endokrin bezlerinin otoimmun hastaliklarinin gelisiminde de rol oynar.Bu calismada, ELISA yontemi kullanilarak, Hashimoto tiroiditi ve Graves hastalarindaki 8-OHdG miktari normal saglikli kisilerden olusan kontrol gurubunun degerleri ile karsilastirilmis, Hashimoto tiroiditi (grup 1), Graves hastaligi (grup 2) ve kontrollerdeki (grup 3) 8-OHdG degerleri arasinda, ANOVA testi ile anlamli bir fark gosterilememistir (p= 0,361). Butun bu gruplardan elde edilen serumlardaki serbest T3, T4 ve TSH degerleri ile 8-OHdG arasinda anlamli bir korelasyon bulunamamistir ( r= - 0,14751, r= -0,01938, r= 0,025623, p>0.05). Toplam 10 hastanin tedavi oncesi ve sonrasi 8-OHdG duzeyleri arasindaki fark incelenmis ve anlamli bir fark oldugu saptanmistir (p= 0,016).
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE PATHOGENICITY OF AVIAN INFLUENZA A/CH/IT/5093/99(H7N1) VIRUS IN CHICKEN

In this study, the pathogenicity of A/Ch/It/5093/1999 H7N1 which had been isolated from chicken during the outbreak in Italy was assessed in chicken by experimental infection virus. Ten SPF chickens of four week-old were inoculated with this virus, and five chickens were inoculated with uninfected allantoic fluid. For determination of virus shedding, oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs were taken from experiment and control groups, on days 1-5 post infection (p.i.) and used in a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) assay for detection of avian influenza virus (AIV). On day (2-5 d.p.i.) certain organs such as lung, brain, liver and kidneys collected from dead birds for virus titration, and histopathological investigations. In this study we obtained high titers in oropharyngeal swabs in 48 hours p.i. (h.p.i.). The first clinical signs observed were anorexia and depression in chickens. The results obtained with the virus isolation were confirmed by RT-PCR. All of the chickens inoculated with A/Ch/It/5093/99 died between 2d.p.i and 5 d.p.i. (2-5 d.p.i). On day 1 to 3 d.p.i. relatively high titer of infectious virus could also be isolated from oropharyngeal swab 102.3 to105.9 50% egg infectious doses (EID50/ml), whereas virus shedding from the cloaca (101.5 to 103.2 EID50/ml) was considerably less. The present study was conducted to determine the pathogenicity of A/Ch/It/5093 H7N1 in chickens. In our data show that infection of chicken with H7N1 virus leads to viral replication on the respiratory tract resulting in severe lung damage. The most consistent and severely affected organ by this virus were lung, kidney and brain, severity of the lesions in each organ was probably related to tissue tropism.
Water services with independent providers in peri-urban Maputo: Challenges and opportunities for long-term development

Water service delivery to most residents of peri-urban areas of greater Maputo depends largely on alternative service providers, mostly in the form of small-scale independent providers (SSIPs). This paper discusses the present and long-term challenges facing SSIPs in supplying quality water of sufficient quantity in peri-urban Maputo and possible human health risks associated with the consumption of water provided by SSIPs. Extensive water sampling and analyses were conducted to evaluate the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of water provided by independent providers and the associated human health risks. Borehole pumping tests, the results of which were interpreted using the graphical method of Jacob, were used to evaluate the regional aquifer potential, the long-term impacts of its exploitation and the aquifer vulnerability to external contamination. From the results of borehole pumping tests it was concluded that the present yields are in average 33% lower than estimated safe yields and that larger than present yields therefore can be exploited. The aquifer vulnerability to external contamination (e.g. by E. coli and nitrates) is low, mainly because of low hydraulic loads and the existence of a rather thick (10 to 30 m) sandy unsaturated stratum where bacteria die-off and biological denitrification probably occurs. However, the aquifer vulnerability to sea sea-water intrusion is high. Currently, the health risks posed to consumers relying on services provided by SSIPs are small; even so, 13 out of 35 controlled boreholes had either total coliform or faecal coliform levels higher than the WHO standard. In the long run SSIPs may face more serious water quality problems due either to over-exploitation of the aquifer system or increased hydraulic loads resulting from increased population density.
Comparison of neurosis, loneliness and resilience betweenindividuals with diabetes and normal people

Present research was performed with the aim of comparing neurosis, loneliness and resilience between individuals with diabetes and normal people. With causal-comparative approach to this end, diabetes community of Karaj city, at Alborz province, was selectedas statistical population of study. The statisticalsample size was 100 people for each group of diabetic and normal individuals. Totally 200 persons were selected by available sampling method. Tools applied in this study included loneliness questionnaire (UCLA), Conner-Davidson’s resilience questionnaire (CD-RISC) and five big personality factors questionnaire (NEO) – long form. Hypothesis analysis was performed using SPSS21 software. Findings from hypothesis analysis showed that there is a difference between diabetic and normal people neurosis, of course the neurosis level in normal individuals was performed more than diabetic group. Also findings indicated that there is a difference between diabetic individuals’ loneliness leveland normal individuals, and concerning resilience in these two groups it was revealed that there is a difference between diabetic individuals’ resilience leveland normal individuals.
STUDY OF A NOVEL WIDEBAND CIRCULAR SLOT ANTENNA HAVING FREQUENCY BAND-NOTCHED FUNCTION

In this paper, the design, simulation, and fabrication of a novel printed circular slot antenna with a band-notched function suitable for UWB application is presented and investigated. The band{notched characteristic is achieved and adjusted by inserting L-shaped branches into the ground plane. Experimental results show that the proposed antenna meets the requirement of wide working bandwidth of 3.1{10.6GHz with return loss < i10dB, while avoiding the interference with the 5-GHz WLAN band. The study of transfer function (amplitude of S21/group delay) and time domain characteristic (fldelity/power spectrum density (PSD)) indicate a band-notched function of the antenna. The proposed antenna has a compact size, good radiation characteristics, ultra wide band-width, and good time-domain behaviors to satisfy the requirement of the current wireless communication systems.
HRM and Organizational Performance: Evidence from the Public Service Organization

The relationship between human resources management (HRM) practices and organizational performance has been invigorated by the notion that these practices results in enhanced individual and organizational performance. None the less, the literature on HRM-performance relationship has focused on private sector organizations and there has been very limited research on public service organizations. This article focuses on the relatively understudied public organization. On the basis of a large public-organization-wide survey, the impacts of HRM practices on organisational performance are assessed. This mixed-methods study examines the effects of HRM practices on individual worker attitudes in public organization by reporting the results of a staff survey and follow-up interviews conducted on a cross-section of one of the largest UN agencies. The agency has a quasi-governmental role, delivering essential public services including education, healthcare, social services, and emergency aid. The empirical evidence has shown that the effects of specific HRM practices, such as training and development, outperform other practices, such as staffing and recruitment. The results also indicated that HRM practices have synergistic and complementary effects on each of the employee attitudes that exceed their individual effects. The paper concludes that although there are significant positive effects of some bundles of HRM practice and worker attitudinal outcomes, there are other factors that may positively or negatively moderates the effectiveness of these practices, raising thus the question of reverse causality. Keywords: HRM practices, HRM outcomes, organizational performance, employee attitudes
Changes in Stratospheric Transport and Mixing During Sudden Stratospheric Warmings

The extreme disruptions of the wintertime stratospheric circulation during sudden stratospheric warmings (SSW) have large effects on tracer concentrations through alterations in transport. This study analyzes the changes in residual circulation and isentropic mixing associated with SSWs, by performing composites using reanalysis (European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Re‐Analysis Interim) and simulations of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model. The advective Brewer‐Dobson circulation accelerates around 15 days prior to the wind reversal at 60°N, 10 hPa during the onset of SSWs. Soon afterward, it decelerates, leading to reduced advective transport into the vortex and descent over the pole, which persist for more than 2 months below 30 hPa. The isentropic mixing has a distinct signature in altitude: It is enhanced at the central date of the SSW in the midstratosphere (about 10 hPa or 800 K), and this signal is delayed and more persistent at lower altitudes. It is shown that sufficiently deep SSWs (particularly those related to Polar‐night Jet Oscillation events) have a stronger response in the Brewer‐Dobson circulation and mixing. In particular, both the polar downwelling and the tropical upwelling are anomalously weak in the lower stratosphere for 90 days after the onset of Polar‐night Jet Oscillation events. The redistribution of potential vorticity during the life cycle of SSWs is discussed due to its relevance for the stratospheric circulation. It is shown that the diffusive flux of potential vorticity, calculated in equivalent latitude coordinates, remains anomalously high in the lower stratosphere, a feature that is not seen in more conventional advective eddy fluxes across latitude circles.
Kinetic pathways for the collapse of semiflexible polymers

Semiflexible polymers differ from their fully flexible counterparts in that the chain has a significant stiffness. As a result in poor solvent conditions the morphology of the condensed structure is a toroidal (rather than spherical) globule. In this paper we discuss the kinetic pathways to this toroidal globule from an extended state. The two possible pathways are (i) direct wind up and (ii) a series of metastable heads. The former collapse is rapid while the later is very slow.
Profit maximization through budget allocation in display advertising

Online display advertising provides advertisers a unique opportunity to calculate real-time return on investment for advertising campaigns. Based on the target audiences, each advertising campaign is divided into sub campaigns, called ad sets, which all have their individual returns. Consequently, the advertiser faces an optimization problem of how to allocate the advertising budget across ad sets so that the total return on investment is maximized. Performance of each ad set is unknown to the advertiser beforehand. Thus the advertiser risks choosing a suboptimal ad set if allocating budget to the one assumed to be the optimal. On the other hand, the advertiser wastes money when exploring the returns and not allocating budget to the optimal ad set. This exploration vs. exploitation dilemma is known from so called multi-armed bandit problem. Standard multi-armed bandit problem consists of a gambler and multiple gambling-slot machines i.e. bandits. The gambler needs to balance between exploring which of the bandits has the highest rewards and simultaneously maximising the reward by playing the bandit having the highest return. I formalize the budget allocation problem faced by the online advertiser as a batched bandit problem where the bandits have to be played in batches instead of one by one. Based on the previous literature, I propose several allocation policies to solve the budget allocation problem. In addition, I use an extensive real world dataset from over 200 Facebook advertising campaigns to test the performance impact of different allocation policies. My empirical results give evidence that the return on investment of online advertising campaigns can be improved by dynamically allocating budget. So called greedy algorithms, allocating more of the budget to the ad set having the best historical average, seem to perform notable well. I show that the performance can further be improved by dynamically decreasing the exploration budget by time. Another well performing policy is Thompson sampling which allocates budget by sampling return estimates from a prior distribution formed based on historical returns. Upper confidence and probability policies, often proposed in the machine learning literature, don’t seem to apply that well to the real world resource allocation problem. I also contribute to the previous literature by providing evidence that the advertiser should base the budget allocation on observations of the real revenue generating event (e.g. product purchase) instead of using observations of more general events (e.g. clicks of ads). In addition, my research gives evidence that the performance of the allocation policies is dependent on the number of observations the policy has to make the decision based on. This may be an issue in real world applications if the number of available observations is scarce. I believe this issue is not unique to display advertising and consequently propose a future research topic of developing more robust batched bandit algorithms for resource allocation decisions where the rate of return is small.
Spatio-Temporal Point Pattern Analysis Using Genetic Algorithms

The effectiveness of emergency service systems is measured in terms of their ability to deploy units and personnel in a timely, and efficient manner upon an eventâ€™s occurrence. A typical methodology to deal with such a task is through the application of an appropriate location - allocation model. In such a case, however, the spatial distribution of demand although stochastic in nature and layout, when aggregated to a specific spatial reference unit, appears to be spatially structured or semi â€“ structured. Aiming to exploit the above incentive, the spatial tracing and analysis of emergency incidents is achieved through the utilisation of Artificial Intelligence. More specifically, in the proposed approach, each location problem is dealt with at two interacting levels. Firstly, spatio-temporal point pattern of demand is analysed over time by a new genetic algorithm. The proposed genetic algorithm interrelates sequential events formulating moving objects and as a result, every demand point pattern is correlated both to previous and following events. Secondly, the approach provides the ability to predict, by means of an artificial neural network, how the pattern of demand will evolve and thus the location of supplying centres and/or vehicles can be optimally defined. The proposed neural network is also optimised through genetic algorithms. The approach is applied to Athens Metropolitan Area and the data come from Fire Departmentâ€™s records for the years 2003-2004.
Effect of Six Months of Aerobic Exercise on Serum Levels of Insulin, Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Hormone 1 in Sedentary Obese Women

Background and Objectives: Inactivity, obesity and hormone disorders can lead to various diseases in obese and non-athletic individuals. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of six months of aerobic exercise on serum levels of insulin, growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth hormone 1 (IGF-1) in sedentary obese women. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 15 inactive, obese (body mass index >30) women aged 37-47 years were selected from employees of the Ferdowsi University in Mashhad (Iran), via purposive and available sampling. The participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=10) and a control (n=5) group. The experimental group performed 60 minutes of aerobic exercise at 55-65% of heart rate reserve, three sessions a week, for six months. Serum GH, IGF-1 and insulin levels were measured in both groups before the first training session and after the last training session. The Shapiro–Wilk test and the Levene's test were used to assess normal distribution of data and homogeneity of variance, respectively. Independent and dependent t-tests were used to compare betweengroup and within-group differences at significance of 0.05. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software (version 18). Results: Serum concentrations of IGF-1 and insulin reduced significantly following the six-month aerobic exercise program. In addition, the exercise training caused an insignificant increase in GH levels. Conclusion: Our proposed aerobic exercise protocol significantly reduces IGF-1 level, which is closely related to the incidence of atherosclerosis, breast cancer, and colon cancer. The significant decline in insulin secretion following the six-month aerobic exercise program may provide more amounts of nutrients for muscle glucose metabolism.
Hamiltonian dynamics: four dimensional BF-like theories with a compact dimension

A detailed Dirac’s canonical analysis for a topological four dimensional BF -like theory with a compact dimension is developed. By performing the compactification process we find out the relevant symmetries of the theory, namely, the full structure of the constraints and the extended action. We show that the extended Hamiltonian is a linear combination of first class constraints, which means that the general covariance of the theory is not affected by the compactification process. Furthermore, in order to carry out the correct counting of physical degrees of freedom, we show that must be taken into account reducibility conditions among the first class constraints associated with the excited KK modes. Moreover, we perform the Hamiltonian analysis of Maxwell theory written as aBF -like theory with a compact dimension, we analyze the constraints of the theory and we calculate the fundamental Dirac’s brackets, finally the results obtained are compared with those found in the literature.