Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance and haematology of broiler strains (cobbs and arbor-acre) fed ginger (Zingiber officinale) based diet at the early phase

The research was conducted to evaluate the performance and haematology of broiler strains (Cobbs and Arbor-acre) fed ginger (Zingiber officinale) at the early phase. A total of one hundred and forty-four (144) day old chicks of mixed sexes comprising of two different strains were used for the experiment. They were randomly assigned to the three different experimental treatment groups. Treatment 1 (T1 = basal diet only); Treatment 2 (T2 = basal diet + 0.5% ginger); Treatment 3 (T3 = basal diet + 1.0% ginger). Each treatment group was replicated three (3) times in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Results showed that ginger inclusion caused significant (p< 0.05) increase on final weight, weight gain, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio, as better performance was recorded with the increase in the inclusion level of ginger. Final weight, weight gain, daily weight gains and feed conversion ratio was significantly affected by strain treatment interaction at 0.5% ginger inclusion as theCobbs strain had a higher performance than the Arbor acre strain. The effect of dietary levels of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on the haematology of different strains of broiler showed that ginger inclusion significantly increased (p
Idempotence-Based Preemptive GPU Kernel Scheduling for Embedded Systems

Mission-critical embedded systems simultaneously run multiple graphics-processing-unit (GPU) computing tasks with different criticality and timeliness requirements. Considerable research effort has been dedicated to supporting the preemptive priority scheduling of GPU kernels. However, hardware-supported preemption leads to lengthy scheduling delays and complicated designs, and most software approaches depend on the voluntary yielding of GPU resources from restructured kernels. We propose a preemptive GPU kernel scheduling scheme that harnesses the idempotence property of kernels. The proposed scheme distinguishes idempotent kernels through static source code analysis. If a kernel is not idempotent, then GPU kernels are transactionized at the operating system (OS) level. Both idempotent and transactionized kernels can be aborted at any point during their execution and rolled back to their initial state for reexecution. Therefore, low-priority kernel instances can be preempted for high-priority kernel instances and reexecuted after the GPU becomes available again. Our evaluation using the Rodinia benchmark suite showed that the proposed approach limits the preemption delay to 18 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>μ</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="seo-ieq1-2988251.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>s in the 99.9th percentile, with an average delay in execution time of less than 10 percent for high-priority tasks under a heavy load in most cases.
Effective low-energy description of the two-impurity Anderson model: RKKY interaction and quantum criticality

We show that the RKKY interaction in the two-impurity Anderson model comprise two contributions: a ferromagnetic part stemming from the symmetrized hybridization functions and an anti-ferromagnetic part. We demonstrate that this anti-ferromagnetic contribution can also be generated by an effective local tunneling term between the two impurities. This tunneling can be analytically calculated for particle-hole symmetric impurities. Replacing the full hybridization functions by the symmetric part and this tunneling term leads to the identical low-temperature fixed point spectrum in the numerical renormalization group. Compensating this tunneling term is used to restore the Varma-Jones quantum critical point between a strong coupling phase and a local singlet phase even in the absence of particle-hole symmetry in the hybridization functions. We analytically investigate the spatial frequencies of the effective tunneling term based on the combination of the band dispersion and the shape of the Fermi surface. Numerical renormalization group calculations provide a comparison of the distance dependent tunneling term and the local spin-spin correlation function. Derivations between the spatial dependency of the full spin-spin correlation function and the textbook RKKY interaction are reported.
Sequencing and Nesting in Contingent Valuation Surveys

Abstract The term "embedding" is ill-defined and has been applied to distinct phenomena, some predicted by economic theory and others not. This paper lays out a theoretical framework for looking at these phenomena and provides a set of well-defined terms. Included is a discussion of survey design problems which may induce spurious evidence in favor of the hypothesis that respondents are insensitive to the scope of the good being valued. An empirical example of the component sensitivity is provided. This test rejects the hypothesis that respondents are insensitive to the scope of the good being valued.
Predictive State Models for Prediction and Control in Partially Observable Environments

State estimation is an integral part of inference in partially observable environments. In this paper we propose predictive state controlled models (PSCMs); a method to estimate the state of a partially observable environment. PSCMs extend two-stage regression for predictive state representations to controlled environments. They enjoy several favorable qualities: They can represent controlled environments which can be affected by actions, they have a scalable and theoretically justified learning algorithm, and they use a non-parametric representation that is suitable for non-linear dynamics. We show promising results for the proposed method in two settings: learning to predict observations in an environment controlled by an external agent, and learning to control the environment using reinforcement learning. An extended version of this work can be found at https://arxiv.org/abs/ 1702.03537
High Quality Assessment and Measurement of Competency in Engineering Education

Over the past years, more and more efforts have been made for the improvement of quality assessment in higher education. The introduction of constructive alignment in engineering education certainly brought significant changes to many institutions on the practical level. However, a quality measurement of the assessment outcomes continues to be a crucial aspect. Research based diagnostic modelling for the measurement of competencies has been introduced to university learning, applying their quality standards for psychological tests to student assessment. But it remains unclear, how such sophisticated models can be applied to situations where teachers are not primarily concerned with pedagogical research or social sciences. In addition, the role of online assessment and e-learning tools for testing and assessment is also constantly on the rise. This adds another dimension of possibilities but also challenges. This round table intends to explore some of the present practices, research results, and concerns with assessment in engineering education. What can be learned from this? Does it provide any helpful knowledge or tools for the everyday teaching and assessment? Or, maybe, are we already doing it anyway? The primary goal is to inspire new perspectives on assessment and to facilitate a discussion of best practices. This round table is hosted by visiting higher education developers from German universities with focus on engineering and technology.
Autonomic Modulation During Incremental Exercise with Upper Limbs in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) show alterations in the autonomic regulation at rest which can affect the heart rate variability (HRV) during exercise. The aim of this study was to compare the HRV threshold of a group with SCI with two control groups. Twenty-four men, seven with SCI (24.8 ± 2.0 years, 76.5 ± 6.9kg, 176.3 ± 1.9cm), eight sedentary subjects without SCI (CONSED) (24.1 ± 1.8 years, 75.1 ± 3.6kg, 176.3 ± 3.0cm) and nine athletes without SCI (CONATH) (22.6 ± 1.4 years, 73.8 ± 5.3kg, 175.6 ± 2.5cm) volunteered in this study. The participants performed an upper limb incremental test on a cycle ergometer (17.2W/two minutes) until exhaustion. The SD1 index of HRV was measured every stage, and the HRV threshold was identified at: 1) the first workload that elicited SD1 values lesser than 3ms; 2) the first stage that elicited a difference between SD1 values from two consecutive stages lesser than 1ms. SD1 values at rest or at 30% of Wmax were higher (p < 0.05) in CONSED (45.8 ± 6.8ms) than CONATH group (19.5 ± 4.4ms) but none of them were different (p > 0.05) from group SCI (25.8 ± 4.5ms). The 3ms HRV threshold expressed in absolute values or in relative to maximal workload and heart rate was not different between groups. However, the workload of 1ms HRV threshold in control group (68.8 ± 8.3W) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than SCI group (21.5 ± 4.3W), but these groups were not different from CONSED group (41.3 ± 8.7W). These results suggest changes in autonomic control during exercise in subjects with SCI, which might lead to an early parasympathetic withdrawal during incremental exercise.
Regions and Innovation Policies in Europe

Offering a novel contribution within the growing field of regional innovation policies, this book combines recent theoretical developments and empirical contributions, with a particular focus on non-core regions. Leading academics in the field discuss the topics of regional path transformation, place-based strategies and policy learning. Also included are sections on the role of EU institutions on the promotion of regional innovation and the analysis and comparison of the innovation policies experiences of four non-core European regions.
Effect of preoperative administration of systemic alpha-2 agonists on postoperative pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Alpha-2 agonists have sedative, analgesic, and opioid-sparing effects. Moreover, intraoperative or postoperative systemic administration of alpha-2 adrenergic agonists is known to reduce postoperative pain and opioid consumption. This meta-analysis investigated whether preoperative administration of alpha-2 agonists can affect postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Methods We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), KoreaMed, and KMbase databases through March 2019 to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of preoperative systemic administration of alpha-2 agonists on postoperative pain and opioid consumption. We conducted a meta-analysis according to the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) of postoperative pain intensity or dose of opioid consumption in the alpha-2 agonist group were extracted and combined using a random-effect model and were compared to those of the control group. Results Eleven RCTs involving 748 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Preoperative administration of systemic alpha-2 agonists significantly reduced cumulative opioid consumption up to 6 h (SMD, –0.52; 95% confidence interval [–0.90 to –0.14]) and 24 h (SMD, –0.68 [–1.27 to –0.09]) after surgery. Moreover, preoperative administration of alpha-2 agonists significantly reduced postoperative pain intensity at 6 h (SMD, –0.50 [–0.78 to –0.21]) and 24 h (SMD, –0.44 [–0.86 to –0.03]). Conclusions In this meta-analysis, high degree of heterogeneity limits the preoperative administration of alpha-2 agonists in reducing postoperative opioid consumption and pain intensity. Future powered large RCTs are required to increase the certainty of evidence on the effect in reducing postoperative opioid consumption and pain intensity.
Human mitochondrial DNA is packaged with TFAM Tan ® s

Mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), a member of the high mobility group proteins, is essential for maintenance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Most TFAM and mtDNA (both of which are normally soluble) was recovered from the particulate fraction of human placental mitochondria when extracted with the non-ionic detergent Nonidet P-40. mtDNA and TFAM were co-immunoprecipitated by antiTFAM antibodies. TFAM was released into the supernatant by DNase I digestion of mtDNA in the particulate fraction. Thus, TFAM and mtDNA are tightly associated with each other, and it is likely that few TFAM or mtDNA molecules exist in an unbound form in mitochondria. Based on the fact that TFAM is abundant enough to wrap mtDNA entirely, these results suggest that human mtDNA is
Fairness-Aware Intragroup Cooperative Transmission in Wireless Powered Communication Networks

This article investigates fairness-aware transmission in a wireless powered communication network (WPCN), in which a group of adjacent users receive radio frequency energy and then cooperatively transmit information to a remote access point (AP) by using the harvested energy with time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme. Considering the constraints of practical energy harvesting electric circuits, a non-linear energy harvesting model is adopted in this paper. To guarantee both throughput fairness and signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) fairness among users in the group, we propose a cooperative transmission protocol which contains three phases: wireless energy transmission (WET) phase, single information transmission phase and cooperative information transmission phase. Each user harvests wireless energy in WET phase, and then divides the harvested energy into two parts to be used in the rest two phases. In single information transmission phase, each user broadcasts its information to the AP and all the other users. In cooperative information transmission phase, all the users transmit information jointly to the AP. At the AP, the same signals in cooperative information transmission phase are combined with these in single information transmission phase by using maximum ratio combining (MRC) method. The common SNR of the received signals at the AP from all the users is achieved in both single information transmission phase and cooperative information transmission phase. Furthermore, the throughput fairness is achieved by common SNR and equal time allocation for information transmission at each user. Besides, we optimize the max-min throughput by joint WET time and harvested energy allocation. The optimal time allocation ratio and harvested energy allocation ratio are derived in closed forms. The cooperative diversity gain is achieved and numerical results demonstrate that the proposed protocol has low complexity and high reliability. Moreover, it also achieves a higher minimum throughput and is more energy-efficient in harsh transmission condition than other transmission protocols in the literature.
Fostering indigenous entrepreneurship amongst San people: an exploratory case of Tsumkwe

This paper seeks to explore new ways to foster indigenous entrepreneurship amongst the San people. Policies such as the Harambee Prosperity Plan and Vision 2030 were designed to support the developmental agenda of Namibia. This study will follow an ethnographic approach, by making use of in-depth interviews, storytelling and participant observation. Combining the Western and African approaches to development is critical when we wish in improving the livelihoods of marginalised communities. Indigenous entrepreneurship is one way through which the San people can be empowered, as it has both economic and non-economic objectives. Improving the entrepreneurial propensity of the San people is important as it can aid in the development of the local communities and the overall growth of the national economy. This paper is one of the important studies in the context of indigenous entrepreneurship in Namibia. Studies with reference to indigenous entrepreneurship in terms of the San people of Tsumkwe are very few or nonexistent in Namibia.
Geostationary satellite observations of ozone air quality

____________________________________________________________________ iii Table of contents _______________________________________________________________v List of Figures _______________________________________________________________ vii Acknowledgements ____________________________________________________________ ix Chapter 1: Overview 1.1 Ozone pollution over the United States _________________________________1 1.2 Satellite observations of tropospheric composition ________________________2 1.3 Research objectives and approach _____________________________________3 1.4 Summary of results _________________________________________________4 References ______________________________________________________________6 Chapter 2: Ozone air quality measurement requirements for a geostationary satellite mission Abstract ________________________________________________________________9 2.
Multiwavelength features of Fermi bubbles as signatures of a Galactic wind

Using hydrodynamical simulations, we show that an episode of star formation in the center of the Milky Way, with a star-formation-rate (SFR) � 0.5 M⊙ yr −1 for � 30 Myr, can produce bubbles that resemble the Fermi Bubbles (FBs), when viewed from the solar position. The morphology, extent and multi-wavelength observations of FBs, especially X-rays, constrain various physical parameters such as SFR, age, and the circum-galactic medium (CGM) density. We show that the interaction of the CGM with the Galactic wind driven by a star formation in the central region can explain the observed surface brightness and morphological features of X-rays associated with the Fermi Bubbles. Furthermore, assuming that cosmic ray electrons are accelerated in situ by shocks and/or turbulence, the brightness and morphology of gamma-ray emission and the microwave haze can be explained. The kinematics of the cold and warm clumps in our model also matches with recent observations of absorption lines through the bubbles.
Instruction Based on Self-Explanation

INTRODUCTION Over twenty years of research has documented the fact that explaining a concept aloud to oneself enhances learning and aids in comprehension monitoring. How powerful is this technique and to what extent is it superior to many other, more commonly employed learning strategies? The goal of this chapter is to review the literature on the self-explanation effect in the context of a theoretical framework based on the overt activities of the learner. We begin with a discussion of the self-explanation effect, followed by a brief description of the passive-active-constructive-interactive theoretical framework. Then we compare self-explaining with other learning strategies in the context of this framework.
THE ECLIPSE EXPEDITIONS OF THE LICK OBSERVATORY AND THE DAWN OF ASTROPHYSICS

Between the years 1898 to 1932, Lick Observatory organized a series of 17 solar eclipse expeditions, many to remote regions of the world. The science of these expeditions involved three issues of major significance in the development of astrophysics during the first three decades of the 20th century: (1) testing of General Relativity; (2) the physics of non-equilibrium stellar atmospheres; and (3) the role of magnetic fields in solar physics. The responses to these issues provide intriguing insights about the dynamics of paradigm change within astronomical culture, as well as culture in general.
Challenges in Determining the Size Distribution of Nanoparticles in Consumer Products by Asymmetric Flow Field-Flow Fractionation Coupled to Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry: The Example of Al2O3, TiO2, and SiO2 Nanoparticles in Toothpaste

According to the current European regulation on cosmetics, any ingredient present as a nanomaterial should be indicated in the ingredient list. There is a need for analytical methods capable of determining the size of the relevant ingredients and thus assessing if these are nanomaterials or not. An analytical method based on asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed to determine the size of particles present in a commercial toothpaste. Multi-angle light scattering (MALS) was used for on-line size determination. The number-based particle size distributions (PSDs) of the particles were retrieved upon mathematical conversion of the mass-based PSDs recovered from the AF4-ICP-MS fractograms. AF4-ICP-MS allowed to separate and detect Al2O3 and TiO2 particles in the toothpaste and to retrieve a correct TiO2 number-based PSD. The potential presence of particles in the lower size range of the Al2O3 mass-based PSD had a strong impact on sizing and nanomaterial classification upon conversion. AF4 coupled with ICP-MS and MALS was found to be a powerful approach for characterization of different particles in a multiple-particle system such as toothpaste. Confirmation of particle size by a secondary method such as single particle ICP-MS or hydrodynamic chromatography was crucial.
A Robust Moving Total Least-Squares Fitting Method for Measurement Data

The moving least-squares (MLS) and moving total least-squares (MTLS) methods have been widely used for fitting measurement data. They can be used to achieve good approximation properties. However, these two methods are susceptible to outliers due to the way of determining local approximate coefficients, which leads to distorted estimation. To reduce the influence of outliers and random errors of all variables without adding small weights or setting the threshold subjectively, we present a robust MTLS (RMTLS) method, in which an improved least trimmed squares (ILTS) method is used for obtaining the local approximants of the influence domain. The ILTS method divides the nodes in the influence domain into a certain number of subsamples, achieves the local approximants by the total least-squares (TLS) method with compact support weight function, and trims the node with the largest orthogonal residual from each subsample, respectively. The remaining nodes from the subsamples are used to determine the local coefficients. The measurement experiment and numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the presented method in comparison with the MLS and MTLS methods.