Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shape-Constrained Univariate Density Estimation

While the problem of estimating a probability density function (pdf) from its observations is classical, the estimation under additional shape constraints is both important and challenging. We introduce an efficient, geometric approach for estimating pdfs given the number of its modes. This approach explores the space of constrained pdf's using an action of the diffeomorphism group that preserves their shapes. It starts with an initial template, with the desired number of modes and arbitrarily chosen heights at the critical points, and transforms it via: (1) composition by diffeomorphisms and (2) normalization to obtain the final density estimate. The search for optimal diffeomorphism is performed under the maximum-likelihood criterion and is accomplished by mapping diffeomorphisms to the tangent space of a Hilbert sphere, a vector space whose elements can be expressed using an orthogonal basis. This framework is first applied to shape-constrained univariate, unconditional pdf estimation and then extended to conditional pdf estimation. We derive asymptotic convergence rates of the estimator and demonstrate this approach using a synthetic dataset involving speed distribution for different traffic flow on Californian driveways.
Biomass pyrolysis for liquid fuels and chemicals: A review

volatile matter, 80.0, 74.7; fixed carbon, 19.4, 24.0; and ash, 0.65%, 1.3%. Woody biomass consists of cellulose (C 6 H 10 O 5 ) x , hemicelluloses such as xylan (C 5 H 8 O 4 ) m , and lignin [C 9 H 10 O 3 (OCH 3 ) 0.9-1.7 ] n in trunk, foliage, and bark. Cellulose + hemicellulose contents 15,16 are more in hardwoods (78.8%) than softwoods (70.3%), but lignin is more in softwoods (29.2%) than hardwoods (21.7%). Biomass can be converted to ener gy by physical, biological and thermochemical processes. Physical processes are grinding, drying, filtration, pressing, extraction, and briquetting 17 . Biological processes
TRANSPORTATION RENTING SCHEME TO PICK UP EXACT VEHICLES

A scheduling process will be performed within the cloud to pick taxis that satisfies the request with minimum rise in travel distance. A ride request generator is developed with regards to the stochastic process modeling real ride demands learned in the data set. The financial constraints provide incentives for passengers and taxi motorists: passengers won't pay more in contrast to no ridesharing and obtain compensated if their travel time is lengthened because of ridesharing taxi motorists can make money for the detour distance because of ridesharing. For this finish, we devise a mobile-cloud architecture based taxi-discussing system. Tested about this platform with extensive experiments, our suggested system shown its efficiency, effectiveness and scalability. We suggested and created a taxi-discussing system that accepts taxi passengers’ real-time ride demands sent from smart phones and schedules proper taxis to get them via ridesharing, susceptible to time, capacity, and financial constraints. While this type of product is of great social and ecological benefit. Taxi riders and taxi motorists make use of the taxi-discussing service supplied by the machine using a Smartphone Application. The Cloud first finds candidate taxis rapidly for any taxi ride request utilizing a taxi searching formula based on a patio-temporal index.
Biodiversity of the Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Calotropis gigantea (L.) R.Br.

Calotropis gigantea (L)R.Br. , a widely used medicinal plant in India, were exploited for endophytes as a possible source of bioactive secondary metabolites. About Â 700 segments from 10 plants of Calotropis gigantea, collected from different locations of Guindy Campus, University of Madras during the year 2009â€“2010, were processed for the presence of endophytic fungi. A total of 13 fungal species viz., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavipes, Alternaria porri, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium oxysporum, Nigrospora sphaerica, Colletotrichum falacatum, Pestalotiopsis sydowiana, Phoma exigua, Phomopsis archeri, Leptosphaerulina chartarum, Â and Mycelia sterilia, were isolated and identified based on the morphology of the fungal culture and characteristics of the spores.
A Modified Design of Unmanned Aerial & Ground Vehicle (UAGV)

In this paper, a modified model for the body frame of a quadcopter has been suggested. In the proposed model, an additional feature has been incorporated in the quadcopter, using body frame modifications, that gives it the capability to travel on the ground in all types of terrain even in case of an upside down landing. The design has been made in such a way that none of the predefined flight parameters are compromised due to this new addition. This makes the modified quadcopter much more useful in a variety of applications pertaining to military operations, search and spy operations etc. The model is designed using Solidworks software. It has an upper edge over the normal quadcopters that is it has a set of belt frames mounted on it, enabling it to move on ground. The belt frame is hexagonal in shape having caterpillar tracks, can easily move on rough terrains allowing it to move even when it is upside down.
Forecasting Food Price Inflation in Developing Countries with Inflation Targeting Regimes: the Colombian Case

Many developing countries are adopting inflation targeting regimes to guide monetary policy decisions. In such countries the share of food in the consumption basket is high and policy makers often employ total inflation (as opposed to core inflation) to set inflationary targets. Therefore, central banks need to develop reliable models to forecast food inflation. Our literature review suggests that little has been done in the construction of models to forecast short-run food inflation in developing countries. We develop a model to improve short-run food inflation forecasts in Colombia. The model disaggregates food items according to economic theory and employs Flexible Least Squares given the presence of structural changes in the inflation series. We compare the performance of this new model to current models employed by the central bank. Next, we apply econometric methods to combine forecasts from alternative models and test whether such combination outperforms individual models. Our results indicate that forecasts can be improved by classifying food basket items according to unprocessed, processed and food away from home and by employing forecast combination techniques.
Women and the Canadian Legal System: Examining Situations of Hyper-Responsability

CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIES/LES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME Les sociétés Elizabeth Fry du Canada et l’Association des femmes autochtones du Canada ont identifié un certain nombre de scénarios qui démontrent qu’une discrimination systémique est faite aux femmes dans la législation canadienne. Ces scénarios sont problématiques dans le cas des femmes marginalisées de par leur éthnie, de leur classe, de leur pauvreté, de leur langue, leurs habilités et leur orientation sexuelle. La loi canadienne s’attend à ce que la personne soit responsable de ses actes. Rien n’est plus vrai qu’au criminel. Cet article démontre que pour les femmes, (surtout celles d’éthnies différentes, celles qui souffrent de maladie mentale ou sont handicapées, pauvres ou d’une minorité sexuelle), la législation s’attend à ce qu’elles soient plus responsables que les autres, une situation que l’auteure appelle “hyper-responsabilité. ”
Fluid Resuscitation, Which Fluid is the Best for Each Patient? A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

Context: Fluid therapy is the basis of resuscitation; however, there has been a heated debate on the choice of appropriate fluid. This study mainly aimed to determine which fluid is correlated with a decline in mortality rate and can be the most suitable choice for each group of patients. Evidence Acquisition: We conducted a systematic search on Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, BMJ Journals, Thieme, Path Consult, BIDS Index, Embase, Medline, and Cochrane Controlled Trials up to April 2016. The relevant studies were those that provided a comparison between the effects of different fluids on the mortality rate of patients. Two independent authors participated in the evaluating methodological quality, selecting eligible studies, and extracting the relevant data from the studies. Results: We selected 26 out of 2724 potential randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the databases for both quantitative and qualitative analyses resulting in a total of 22882 patients receiving either colloid or crystalloid fluids. The approximated pooled Relative risk (RR) for the death of patients who had been resuscitated with crystalloid fluid therapy rather than colloid fluid therapy was 1.008. This meta-analysis illustrated that there was a decline in the mortality rate with borderline significance in both traumatic and hypovolemic patients through utilizing colloid fluids. The mortality reduced more by using dextran and albumin than using crystalloid fluids. Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis show that colloid fluids can increase the successful resuscitation rate compared to crystalloid fluids especially in traumatic and hypovolemic patients.Some of the colloids like albumin and dextran have a positive effect on reducing the mortality rate but others like Hetastarch (HES) increase the mortality rate compared to normal saline (NS).
Role of Universities in Enhancing the Competitiveness of Palestinian Agribusiness: Applying Porter’s Diamond Model

The purpose of this research paper is to study the determinants affecting the competitiveness of agribusiness firms in Palestine and to discuss the role of Palestinian universities in enhancing the competitiveness of these firms. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of research are used. Questionnaires are administered on a sample of firms working in agribusiness sector in Palestine to assess the determinants affecting their competitiveness, applying Porters Model. Semi-structured interviews are also conducted, with four local universities and other three players in this sector to assess the quality and skills of agribusiness graduates and how can these universities enhance the competitiveness of agribusiness sector. A workshop is also conducted to validate the methodology used and to draw vital implications by the attendances from the private sector and academia. The main findings are the following: identifying the factors influencing the competitiveness of the agribusiness firms such as: skilled labor; availability and cost of infrastructure; cost of input, size of the local market; and firms’ strategies in addition, to the related and supporting industries such as banks, and universities. As well, the quality of the related programs’ graduates is assessed in order to recommend suggestions for developing agribusiness education, training and research initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of agribusiness sector.
Digitizing the Ibanez Weeping Demon Wah Pedal

Being able to transform an analog audio circuit into a digital model is a big deal for musicians, producers, and circuit benders alike. In this paper, we address some of the issues that arise when attempting to make such a digital model. Using the canonical state variable ﬁlter as the main point of interest in our schematic, we will walk through the process of making a signal ﬂow graph, obtaining a transfer function, and making a usable digital ﬁlter. Additionally, we will address an issue that is common throughout virtual analog literature; reducing the very large expressions for each of the ﬁlter coefﬁcients. Using a novel factoring algorithm, we show that these expressions can be reduced from thousands of operations down to tens of operations.
Alternate forms parallel to the Czech versions of Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Complex Figure Test and Verbal Fluency

Objective: This study evaluates the equivalence of alternate forms to three frequently used neuropsychological test methods in their Czech versions, i.e. the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), the Complex Figure Test (CFT) and letter and categorical verbal fluency (VF). Method: In a within-subject design, fifty-nine healthy volunteers were assessed using the original test forms and their proposed alternate forms, first at the baseline and then after three months. The performance of the original and alternate forms of the tests were subjected to the T-test and U-test for paired samples based on the normality of distribution. Results: There was no significant mean difference between the original and alternate forms of the RAVLT test. In the CFT, the Taylor figure scores were higher than the original Rey figure scores, suggesting that the figures are not equal in difficulty. In the letter VF, the newly proposed “BTL” set was found to be more difficult than the original “NKP”. For the categorical VF, the category of “given names” can be considered as an alternative form to the “animals” category. Conclusions: The RAVLT alternative forms 1 and 2 introduced in Neuropsychologicka baterie PCP are equivalent to the original RAVLT. The “BTL” VF set and Taylor Figure were found to be not equivalent to their original test forms “NKP” and Rey-Osterrieth Figure. “Given names” may be a good alternate form to the “animals” category in VF. The study contributes with normative data for the original test forms for a specific demographic sample.
Prevalence of Eating Disorders among Female University Medical Students in Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Background: The social media pressure on women to be thin and the advertisement for strict diet plans have been linked to the expression of serious eating disorders. The prevalence of eating disorder risk in university students is high and is associated with unhealthy weight-control practices . Eating disorders is known to have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Objectives:The study aimed to estimate the risk of eating disorders and its association with body weight among female medical students in Imam Abdul Rahman Bin Faisal University (IAU) in Saudi Arabia.Method: This cross-sectional study surveyed 557 female students at IAU. Data was collected by self-administered questionnaire filled by all Saudi female medical students . Analysis was done using SPSS version16. Results: 14.1% of female medical students were at high risk for eating disorders. There was a significant correlation between Eating Disorder ExaminationQuestionnaire score (EDE-Q), BMI and self-perception of weight (P<0.001). By logistic regression analysis, the factor that was found to be significantly associated with high risk of eating disorders was abnormal self-perception of weight with a p value = 0.002. Conclusion: The prevalence of eating disorders risk in female university students is high and is associated with unhealthy weight-control practices which correlates with similar results in previous studies these results may be taken to improve early detection and management of eating disorders among female students in the university campuses.
Deep Learning for Attenuating Random and Coherence Noise Simultaneously

Summary “We introduce deep learning (DL) to three kinds of seismic noise attenuation: random noise, linear noise and multiple. Compared to the traditional seismic noise attenuation algorithms that depend on signal models and corresponding prior assumptions, a deep neural network is trained based on a huge training set, where the inputs are the raw datasets and the corresponding outputs are the desired clean data. Moreover, DL handles three kinds of noise simultaneously instead of sequentially. The DL method achieves satisfying denoising quality with no requirements of (i) accurate modeling of the signal and noise; (ii) optimal parameters tuning. We call it intelligent denoising. We use a convolutional neural network (CNN) as the basic tool for DL and the training set is generated with wave equation for the multiple, and then manually adding random and linear noise. Stochastic gradient descent is used to solve the optimal parameters for the CNN. Numerical results show DL achieves promising performance in synthetic seismic noise attenuation. ”
Diagnóstico e tratamento da hiperplasia benigna da próstata

A hiperplasia benigna da prostata (HBP) e uma condicao muito prevalente em homens a partir dos 40 anos, atingindo mais da metade da populacao masculina na setima decada e a quase totalidade na oitava decada. Os sintomas a ela relacionados podem causar grande prejuizo a qualidade de vida desses pacientes. O objetivo da presente revisao e resumir a literatura atual sobre a patologia, focando na sua epidemiologia, diagnostico e manejo. A avaliacao inicial do paciente com HBP deve compreender a anamnese com aplicacao do escore de sintomas prostaticos (IPSS), exame fisico com toque retal, avaliacao laboratorial (PSA serico, exame de urina e funcao renal), alem de metodos de imagem e urodinâmica para casos selecionados. O tratamento inicial para casos leves e moderados e medicamentoso, com o uso de alfa-bloqueadores ou inibidores da 5-alfaredutase, ou ainda a combinacao desses. Pacientes que nao respondem ao tratamento medicamentoso, com sintomas graves, ou que desenvolvem complicacoes da HBP devem ser considerados para tratamento cirurgico. Este consiste em cirurgia aberta para prostatas de grande volume, resseccao transuretral para prostatas menores, alem de outros tratamentos invasivos pouco disponiveis ou indisponiveis no nosso meio. O tratamento expectante para casos leves deve ser lembrado. Em conclusao, a HBP e doenca com alta prevalencia, cujo tratamento deve ser individualizado e instituido antes do surgimento de complicacoes maiores(AU) Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a very prevalent condition in men after 40 years of age, affecting more than half the male population in the seventh decade, and almost all in the eighth decade of life. The related symptoms can cause great damage to the quality of life of these patients. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current literature on the disease, focusing on epidemiology, diagnosis, and management. The initial evaluation of patients with BPH must include anamnesis with scoring of prostatic symptoms (IPSS), physical examination with digital rectal examination, laboratory evaluation (serum PSA, urinalysis and renal function), and imaging and urodynamics for selected cases. The initial treatment for mild to moderate cases is drug-based, using alpha blockers or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, or a combination of these. Patients who do respond to drug treatment, with severe symptoms, or who develop complications of BPH should be considered for surgical treatment. This consists in open surgery for large-volume prostates, transurethral resection for smaller prostates, and other invasive treatments little or unavailable in our community. The expectant treatment for mild cases should be considered. In conclusion, BPH is a highly prevalent disease whose treatment should be individualized and started before the onset of major complications(AU)
Green grabbing and the dynamics of local-level engagement with neoliberalization in Tanzania's wildlife management areas

This paper analyzes the politics and struggles ongoing within wildlife management areas (WMAs) in Tanzania to discuss the dynamics of neoliberalization of the wildlife sector. We discuss neoliberalization as a new political-economic context within which the ongoing politics of natural resource management are played out, and focus on green grabbing as an expression of these politics. We discuss how local-level actors are engaged in these processes, often in strategic ways, to negotiate their roles within WMAs and address green grabbing by the state. Secondly, we discuss an example of the politics of land control and local-level actors’ enactment of accumulation by dispossession within a WMA.
A review of the use of terrestrial laser scanning application for change detection and deformation monitoring of structures

Change detection and deformation monitoring is an active area of research within the field of engineering surveying and other overlapping areas such as structural and civil engineering. This paper reviews the application of terrestrial laser scanning in the monitoring of structures and discusses registration and georeferencing of scan data. Past terrestrial laser scanning research work has shown trends in addressing issues such as accurate registration and georeferencing of scans, error modelling, point cloud processing techniques for deformation analysis, scanner calibration and detection of millimetre deformations. However, several issues are still open to investigation such as robust methods of point cloud processing for detecting change and deformation, incorporation of measurement geometry in deformation measurements, design of data acquisition and quality assessment for precise measurements and modelling the environmental effects on the performance of laser scanning. A three-stage process model for deformation analysis is proposed as conceptualised from the material reviewed.
Link of Satisfaction Commitment and Performance on Faculty Members’ Performance at Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan

The contribution of faculty members in producing scholars and economy building can’t be rule out in any country. The faculty member’s satisfaction, commitment and performance are the points to investigate in higher education sector of Pakistan, especially in private sector universities. This study is conducted in Pakistan to investigate the relationship of satisfaction with commitment and performance, and commitment association with performance. The tools were adopted from the studies of Rice & Schneider (1994) and Smeenk et al. (2008). The top five, private sector universities of Karachi, as per HEC criteria, were taken as target sample to conduct the survey. This research affirmed that satisfaction is positively correlated with commitment and performance, and commitment also correlated with performance of faculty members of private sector universities in Pakistan.
Task-Specific Artifacts of Parametric Properties in English as a Second Language Acquired by Persian-Speaking Learners

This experimental study investigated the learners’ integrative acquisition of obligatory overt subjects and subject-verb clause agreement in English as an L2. In L1 acquisition research, correlations between superficially unrelated linguistic phenomena are analyzed in terms of integrative effects. For instance, in English L1 acquisition, there is evidence for an integrative appearance of subject-verb clause agreement and the decrease of incorrect null subjects. The developmental connection between these two specifications in L1 acquisition has been interpreted as setting the syntactic properties of the same cluster. Vainikka and Young-Scholten (1994, 2013) have claimed that the acquisition of subject-verb agreement and non-pro-drop in adult L2 learners developmentally coincide in the same way as it does in child L1 learners. This is taken to indicate that UG parameters are fully accessible to adult L2 learners. Thus, the present research reported on Reaction-Time (RT) experiments investigating subject-verb clause agreement and obligatory subjects in 30 Persian learners of English in three proficiency levels, each level consisting of five early starters and five late starters. Our main finding was that the two phenomena do not covary in the Persian learners of English as L2 indicating that specifications of subject-verb clause agreement and obligatory subjects are acquired separately from one another, rather than through integrative resetting. Finally, it is suggested that L2 learners should be explicitly exposed to all parametric features and individual evidence of a syntactic cluster in the second language context.