Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity of Taphonomic Signatures to Sample Size, Sieve Size, Damage Scoring System, and Target Taxa

Abstract The sensitivity of taphonomic signatures to a battery of common sampling and analytic procedures is tested here using modern bivalve death assemblages from the San Blas Archipelago, Caribbean Panama, to determine (a) the magnitude of methodological artifacts and, thus, the comparability of taphofacies patterns among studies; and (b) the most efficient and robust means for acquiring damage profiles (taphonomic signatures) of death assemblages both ancient and modern. Damage frequency distributions do not stabilize below sample sizes of 120–150 individuals. Using damage to the >8 mm portion of the assemblage as a baseline (interior damage only, fragments included), it is found that qualitative trends among environments (higher damage levels in reefal skeletal gravel versus mud) and the rank-order importance of taphonomic variables per environment (intensity of damage from encrustation, boring, fine-scale alteration, edge-rounding, fragmentation) are robust to most methodological decisions. The exception is the use of target taxa: of three genera tested, only one was sensitive to the same suite of environmental differences as the total-assemblage, and taxa had disparate rank-ordering of variables. In contrast to the general robustness of qualitative trends, quantitative damage levels are affected significantly by methodology. Specifically, the measured frequency of damage is generally lower for finer size fractions and finer sieve sizes, for whole shells versus fragments, for taxonomically well-resolved specimens, for infaunal versus epifaunal species regardless of mineralogy, and for interior surfaces versus exterior or total surface area of shells. Full frequency-distribution data on states of taphonomic damage are most powerful for differentiating samples, but if single-value metrics are desired, the frequency of high-intensity damage is more powerful—and shows less between-operator variance—than presence-absence data or average damage state. To maximize the detection of damage and of between-environment differences in taphonomic signature, and to foster between-study comparisons, the following are recommended: (1) analysis of discrete size-fractions rather than broad spectra and, in particular, the separate treatment of coarse size fractions (>4 mm); (2) examination of complete assemblages (fragments as well as whole specimens; all species or broad subsets of species rather than select taxa); (3) variables scored independently (e.g., encrustation v. boring) rather than grouped into summary grades; and (4) evaluation of rank-ordering of variables in plots of threshold damage profiles as a complement to ternary taphograms.
Capacity enhancement based on dynamically adapted PF scheduling algorithm for LTE downlink system

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with dynamic scheduling and resource allocation is a key component of most emerging broadband wireless access networks such as WiMAX and Long Term Evolution (LTE). Resource allocation mechanisms in LTE are very critical issues, because scheduling algorithms have the main responsibility for determining how to allocate radio resources for different users. In this paper a dynamically adopted Proportional Fair (PF) scheduling algorithm for capacity enhancement of LTE system is proposed. Performance comparison with the conventional PF downlink scheduler, which is characterized by high fairness but with low throughput, and the Best-CQI scheduling algorithm which is characterized by high throughput but with poor fairness performance is presented. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm enhances the overall system capacity and also provides fairness in the distribution of the resources. The proposed algorithm improves the average cell throughput by more than 31 %, with a slight degradation in the fairness level as compared with the conventional PF scheduling algorithm.
On internet of things education

In this paper, we discuss educational courses for Internet of Things and related areas such as Machine to Machine communications and Smart Cities. The Internet of Things models introduce many new business prospects and, of course, they should be presented in the university curriculum. The purpose of the discussed educational program is to examine issues related to information and communication technologies used in Internet of Things projects and related areas based on them, such as Smart Cities. The educational course proposed in this paper aims to introduce students to modern information technology, standing for such areas as Machine to Machine communications, Internet of Things, and Smart Cities.
Tibial Shaft Fractures : Interlocking Nail Versus Plating

INTRODUCTION: Tibial shaft fractures constitute approximately 26 per 100,000 population per year, usually due to high energy trauma such as motor vehicle accidents, with males more commonly affected than females. Managing these fractures is a challenge because the soft tissues around tibial shaft and its blood supply is inadequate and therefore chances of infection and nonunion in these fractures are higher.
Analysis of Dark Count Mechanisms of 4H-SiC Ultraviolet Avalanche Photodiodes Working in Geiger Mode

In this paper, the dark count mechanisms of 4H-SiC ultraviolet avalanche photodiodes (APDs) working in Geiger mode are studied by temperature-dependent characterizations. At temperatures above 260 K, the activation energy derived from the dark count characteristics is much less than half of the bandgap of 4H-SiC. Trap-assisted tunneling is determined as the dominant carrier transport mechanism in this temperature regime, which is supported by the observed capacitance frequency dispersion and low-temperature persistent photoconductivity effect. As temperature further decreases, the temperature dependence of dark count rate (DCR) becomes weaker, suggesting that band-to-band tunneling starts to play a role in the dark count generation process, which turns into the major mechanism below 120 K. As a consequence, one way to suppress dark counts for SiC APDs is to inhibit tunneling process, which can be realized by increasing the intrinsic layer thickness. In addition, it is found that when the single photon detection efficiency is in the range of 0%–30%, the DCR of the SiC APD can be reduced by an order of magnitude as temperature decreases from room temperature to 77 K, which is the first report of low-temperature performance of SiC APDs.
Arginine and Vitamin E Improve the Cellular and Humoral Immune Response of Broiler Chickens

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of vitamin E (VE) and Arginine (ARG) on humoral and cellular immunity of broiler chickens, with 2 levels of ARG: normal (NARG, 1.2% in the feed) and high ARG (HARG, additional 0.3% ARG in the drinking water); and 3 levels of VE (40, 80, and 400 IU / kg feed). A cornsoybean meal diet and water were provided ad libitum throughout the study. Humoral immunity was measured as antibody responses to an i.p. injection of sheep red blood cells (SRBC, 10% solution) at d 25 followed by agglutination assay 4, 8, and 16 d after injection (Experiment 1). Cell-mediated immune response was assessed by the cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity test to phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-P at d 17 (Experiment 1) and PHA-M at d 41 (Experiment 1 and 2). Four d after SRBC injection the antibody titers (log ) were higher in HARG than in 2 NARG birds (P < 0.01), and in VE-80 compared with VE-40 and VE-400 birds (P < 0.001). At 8 and 16 d the antibody titers were not different between ARG levels, but the VE-80 birds maintained higher antibody titers (P < 0.001) than VE-40 and VE-80 birds. Naive birds fed HARG showed a higher response than NARG birds (P < 0.05) to PHA-P at d 17 and to PHA-M at d 41, but after a second exposure ARG levels did not have a significant effect. Birds fed VE-400 had a lower response to PHA than birds fed VE-40 and VE-80 birds (P < 0.001) at d 41. These results show that high levels of ARG accelerate antibody production whereas VE at 80 IU kg / feed maintains a proper immune function over time, suggesting that ARG and VE may have complimentary effects on the immune function and health of broiler chickens.
Phase Delaying the Human Circadian Clock with Blue-Enriched Polychromatic Light

The human circadian system is maximally sensitive to short-wavelength (blue) light. In a previous study we found no difference between the magnitude of phase advances produced by bright white versus bright blue-enriched light using light boxes in a practical protocol that could be used in the real world. Since the spectral sensitivity of the circadian system may vary with a circadian rhythm, we tested whether the results of our recent phase-advancing study hold true for phase delays. In a within-subjects counterbalanced design, this study tested whether bright blue-enriched polychromatic light (17000 K, 4000 lux) could produce larger phase delays than bright white light (4100 K, 5000 lux) of equal photon density (4.2×1015 photons/cm2/sec). Healthy young subjects (n = 13) received a 2 h phase delaying light pulse before bedtime combined with a gradually delaying sleep/dark schedule on each of 4 consecutive treatment days. On the first treatment day the light pulse began 3 h after the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO). An 8 h sleep episode began at the end of the light pulse. Light treatment and the sleep schedule were delayed 2 h on each subsequent treatment day. A circadian phase assessment was conducted before and after the series of light treatment days to determine the time of the DLMO and DLMOff. Phase delays in the blue-enriched and white conditions were not significantly different (DLMO: −4.45±2.02 versus −4.48±1.97 h; DLMOff: −3.90±1.97 versus −4.35±2.39 h, respectively). These results indicate that at light levels commonly used for circadian phase shifting, blue-enriched polychromatic light is no more effective than the white polychromatic lamps of a lower correlated color temperature (CCT) for phase delaying the circadian clock. (Author correspondence: ceastman@rush.edu)
Effects of melting ice sheets and orbital forcing on the early Holocene warming in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere

Abstract. The early Holocene is marked by the final transition from the last deglaciation to the relatively warm Holocene. Proxy-based temperature reconstructions suggest a Northern Hemisphere warming, but also indicate important regional differences. Model studies have analyzed the influence of diminishing ice sheets and other forcings on the climate system during the Holocene. The climate response to forcings before 9 kyr BP (referred to hereafter as kyr), however, remains not fully comprehended. We therefore studied, by employing the LOVECLIM climate model, how orbital and ice-sheet forcings contributed to climate change and to these regional differences during the earliest part of the Holocene (11.5–7 kyr). Our equilibrium experiment for 11.5 kyr suggests lower annual mean temperatures at the onset of the Holocene than in the preindustrial era with the exception of Alaska. The magnitude of this cool anomaly varied regionally, and these spatial patterns are broadly consistent with proxy-based reconstructions. Temperatures throughout the whole year in northern Canada and northwestern Europe for 11.5 kyr were 2–5 °C lower than those of the preindustrial era as the climate was strongly influenced by the cooling effect of the ice sheets, which was caused by enhanced surface albedo and ice-sheet orography. In contrast, temperatures in Alaska for all seasons for the same period were 0.5–3 °C higher than the control run, which were caused by a combination of orbital forcing and stronger southerly winds that advected warm air from the south in response to prevailing high air pressure over the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). The transient experiments indicate a highly inhomogeneous early Holocene temperature warming over different regions. The climate in Alaska was constantly cooling over the whole Holocene, whereas there was an overall fast early Holocene warming in northern Canada by more than 1 °C kyr−1 as a consequence of progressive LIS decay. Comparisons of simulated temperatures with proxy records illustrate uncertainties related to the reconstruction of ice-sheet melting, and such a kind of comparison has the potential to constrain the uncertainties in ice-sheet reconstruction. Overall, our results demonstrate the variability of the climate during the early Holocene, both in terms of spatial patterns and temporal evolution.
Technology-Based New Service Idea Generation for Smart Spaces: Application of 5G Mobile Communication Technology

Innovative technology has made it possible to dramatically change the social and economic environment. In particular, 5G mobile communication technology that radically improves the performance of current technology can renew urban infrastructure, public services, and citizens’ lives for the implementation of smart spaces. Although new services need to be generated by such innovative technology, existing technology-based approaches have mostly relied on the intuition of experts rather than a systematic approach. Thus, this paper aims to present a method and process by which technology-based new ideas using 5G mobile communication technology are generated to realize a connected environment by focusing on technological functions as well as customer value. First, the relationships among technology, value, and service are defined through morphology analysis. Second, service opportunities are identified by developing a transformed buyer-utility map in the smart space environment. After mapping the established services, candidate cells for a new service were identified as vacant cells in the map with the removal of technically unnecessary candidates based upon the pre-defined relationship. Third, a new service idea is generated by modifying/extending candidates concretely through an ERRC (Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create) framework. Value factors are determined in advance and shown in the As-Is value curve representing the current status. The current level in the curve is then compared at an industrial level and value factors are chosen to newly modify or create. As a result, the To-Be curve is established and leads to a new service idea. It can be regarded as a useful tool for mobile carriers to plan new business models for smart spaces with adequate technology and market feasibility.
Erosions, erosions, and erosions! Device closure of atrial septal defects: How safe is safe?

Secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) accounts for approximately 6 to 10% of all CHD in children and 30% in adult patients [1,2]. Although surgical closure of ASDs is associated with very low mortality (0–3%), the use of transcatheter device techniques has become widely accepted as an alternative therapy to surgery. Device closure is considered safe and offers many intuitive advantages over surgical closure. Such advantages may include avoidance of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and its potential adverse neurologic sequelae, avoidance of sternotomy scar, a potentially lower incidence of post-procedure complications, and a shorter hospital stay [3,4]. Currently, there are two devices approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ASD closure: the Amplatzer Septal Occluder (ASO) (AGA/St. Jude Medical Corporation, St. Paul, Minnesota), approved in December 2001 [5]; and the Gore Helex Septal Occluder (HSO) (W.L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Arizona), approved in August 2006 [6]. Lately, there has been an increasing concern regarding device erosion with the ASO. Although this is a very rare complication, it presents particular concerns. First, it is potentially fatal if not promptly recognized; second, it can unpredictably occur early or late (days to years) after the procedure making close follow-up difficult; third, there are no definite identifiable risk factors and the etiology is multifactorial (patients factors, device size, rim deficiency, septal malalignment). Recently at the PICS AICS 2012 meeting, there was a special session on this topic with a panel of experts including interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and FDA representative. In addition, the FDA held a panel meeting on May 24, 2012 to discuss this issue and came up with some recommendations that may help identify the true incidence of erosions and may shed some light as to the mechanism of erosions. Below is an overview on this life-threatening complication as well as a review of the available data and an update on the latest recommendations provided by the advisory panel to the FDA in order to assist in further understanding the causes and incidence of erosion and subsequently how to avoid/minimize its occurrence.
Role of dalak (massage) and riyazat (exercise) in the rehabilitation of patients with post stroke hemiplegia

Hemiplegia is complete or nearly complete paralysis on one side of the body. Hemiplegia constitutes the main somatoneurological disorder in about 90% of patients with stroke. Its incidence increases markedly with advancing age. The objective of the study was to enable individual patients to achieve their full potential and to maximize the benefits from dalak (massage), riyazat (exercise) and Unani medicines, in order to attain the highest possible degree of physical and psychological performance. Randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in National institute of unani medicine hospital. Sixty patients 20 in each group were completed the study. Moderate massage was performed on patients in group A with Roghane Qust (A Unani pharmacopoeal preparation), group B patients were rehabilitated with exercise and Group-C patients were treated with conventional unani medicine using munzij (concoction) and mushil (purgation) therapy followed by muqawwi aasab (nerve tonic). Group-A showed 10.55, group B 9.11, group C 3.25 mean functional gain in FuglMeyer upper limb score. Group A showed 16.25, Group-B 20.45, group C 10.60 means functional gain in FIM score. Massage has major effect in improvement of upper limb score. Exercise has significant effect in ambulatory profile and rehabilitation of gait. As unani drugs also showed improvement, the combination of Massage Exercise and conventional Unani drug treatment promises to play an important role in rehabilitation of Hemiplegia patients.
38/76 GHz GaAs PHEMT Frequency Doublers in CPW Technology

This paper presents the design and performance of a single-ended and a balanced MMIC frequency doublers from 38 to 76 GHz, realized in CPW technology using 0.15-¿m PM-HEMTs on GaAs. These circuits have demonstrated an output power of nearly 10 dBm for a 16-dBm 38-GHz input signal. Their compact size and good power performance makes them attractive candidates for application in FMCW collision-avoidance radar systems, eliminating the need for W-band amplifier stages. A table-based large-signal HEMT model has been used successfully for the design of both circuits, resulting in very good agreement between predicted and measured power performance.
Model-independent dark energy reconstruction scheme using the geometrical form of the luminosity-distance relation

We put forward a new model-independent reconstruction scheme for dark energy which utilizes the expected geometrical features of the luminosity-distance relation. The important advantage of this scheme is that it does not assume explicit ansatzes for cosmological parameters but only some very general cosmological properties via the geometrical features of the reconstructed luminosity-distance relation. Using the recently released supernovae data by the Supernova Legacy Survey together with a phase space representation, we show that the reconstructed luminosity-distance curves best fitting the data correspond to a slightly varying dark energy density with the Universe expanding slightly slower than the {lambda}CDM model. However, the {lambda}CDM model fits the data at 1{sigma} significance level and the fact that our best fitting luminosity-distance curve is lower than that of the corresponding {lambda}CDM model could be due to systematics. The transition from an accelerating to a decelerating expansion occurs at a redshift larger than z=0.35. Interpreting the dark energy as a minimally coupled scalar field we also reconstruct the scalar field and its potential. We constrain {omega}{sub m{sub 0}} using the baryon acoustic oscillation peak in the SDSS luminous red galaxy sample and find that the best fit is obtained with {omega}{sub m{sub 0}}=0.27, inmore » agreement with the CMB data. « less
Online handwriting data acquisition using a video camera

A novel method for online data acquisition of cursive handwriting is described. A video camera is used to record the handwriting of a user. From the acquired sequence of images, the movement of the tip of the pen is reconstructed. A prototype of the system has been implemented and tested. In one series of tests, the performance of the system was visually assessed. In another series of experiments, the system was combined with an existing online handwriting recognizor. Good results have been obtained in both sets of experiments.
Relay Methods and Process Reaction Curves: Practical Applications

Proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controllers are the most adopted controllers in industrial settings because of the advantageous cost/benefit ratio they are able to provide (Astrom & Hanglund, 2006). Its function is very to explain and in most cases it is the easiest controller to adjust. Tuning controllers can significantly improve control performance. PID controller is to be applied in practical cases. It is seen that many PID variants have been developed in order to improve transient performance, such as biotechnological processes and chemical processes. Automation and process control can significantly influence the yield and final quality of products. However, there are few studies on the application of automatic controllers in the experimental plants. Most works focus on results obtained from computational simulations, that indeed do not represent these processes in all their complexity. The transient behavior and nonlinearities of these processes make the design of classical control dependent on trialand-error methodology. In this context, this topic concerns in show some practical applications of use PID Controller. The development of a design and tuning method for use with PID controllers in experimental processes for temperature control.
Diel Variation in Abundance and Size of the South American Red Shrimp Pleoticus Muelleri (Spence Bate, 1888) (Decapoda, Solenoceridae) in the Ubatuba Region, Southeastern Brazil

A variacao diuturna na abundância e no tamanho de Pleoticus muelleri foi investigada na regiao de Ubatuba durante o ano de 2000. Em cada estacao do ano, as coletas foram realizadas no periodo diurno e noturno em 8 profundidades, de 5 a 40 m. O numero estimado de camaroes foi de 955 individuos, 272 coletados durante o dia e 683 a noite. Houve diferenca na abundância de P. muelleri entre o dia e a noite (χ², p=2.33E-40). A abundância durante o dia e a noite diferiu por estacao com excecao da primavera (χ², p=0.06). A abundância em ambos os periodos tambem diferiu por profundidade, exceto nos 15 e 30 metros (χ², p=0.84 e 0.06, respectivamente). Os camaroes capturados a noite foram geralmente menores do que os capturados durante o dia (Kolmogorov-Smirnov, p<0.01). Os juvenis de Pleoticus muelleri foram encontrados principalmente a noite e tal tendencia pode ter influenciado no menor tamanho medio obtido nesse periodo. O tipo de sedimento e a temperatura de fundo parecem influenciar o comportamento da especie em questao e, consequentemente, a taxa de captura durante os periodos analisados.