Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eye movement during skill acquisition: More evidence for the information-reduction hypothesis

Two experiments tested H. Haider and P. A. Frensch's (1996) information-reduction hypothesis that people learn, with practice, to distinguish between task-relevant and task-redundant information and to limit their processing to task-relevant information. Participants verified alphabetic strings (e.g., "E [4] J K L") containing task-relevant and task-redundant information. In Experiment 1, the positioning of task-relevant information within the strings and the consistency of positioning were manipulated. Degree of information reduction as reflected in reduced reaction times was not affected by the positioning of the relevant information and was only slightly affected by consistency of the positioning. In Experiment 2, eye movements were recorded. Results suggest that task-redundant information is ignored at a perceptual rather than a conceptual level of processing. Thus, existing theories of skill acquisition should include mechanisms that capture the practice-related increase in the selective use of information.
On-chip continuous-variable quantum entanglement

Abstract Entanglement is an essential feature of quantum theory and the core of the majority of quantum information science and technologies. Quantum computing is one of the most important fruits of quantum entanglement and requires not only a bipartite entangled state but also more complicated multipartite entanglement. In previous experimental works to demonstrate various entanglement-based quantum information processing, light has been extensively used. Experiments utilizing such a complicated state need highly complex optical circuits to propagate optical beams and a high level of spatial interference between different light beams to generate quantum entanglement or to efficiently perform balanced homodyne measurement. Current experiments have been performed in conventional free-space optics with large numbers of optical components and a relatively large-sized optical setup. Therefore, they are limited in stability and scalability. Integrated photonics offer new tools and additional capabilities for manipulating light in quantum information technology. Owing to integrated waveguide circuits, it is possible to stabilize and miniaturize complex optical circuits and achieve high interference of light beams. The integrated circuits have been firstly developed for discrete-variable systems and then applied to continuous-variable systems. In this article, we review the currently developed scheme for generation and verification of continuous-variable quantum entanglement such as Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen beams using a photonic chip where waveguide circuits are integrated. This includes balanced homodyne measurement of a squeezed state of light. As a simple example, we also review an experiment for generating discrete-variable quantum entanglement using integrated waveguide circuits.
Characterizing operations preserving separability measures via linear preserver problems

We use classical results from the theory of linear preserver problems to characterize operators that send the set of pure states with Schmidt rank no greater than k back into itself, extending known results characterizing operators that send separable pure states to separable pure states. We also provide a new proof of an analogous statement in the multipartite setting. We use these results to develop a bipartite version of a classical result about the structure of maps that preserve rank-1 operators and then characterize the isometries for two families of norms that have recently been studied in quantum information theory. We see, in particular, that for k ≥ 2 the operator norms induced by states with Schmidt rank k are invariant only under local unitaries, the swap operator and the transpose map. However, in the k = 1 case there is an additional isometry: the partial transpose map.
A toolbox for phonologizing French infant-directed speech corpora

We developed an automatic French text phonologizer that transforms orthographic transcriptions of speech into approximate phonological transcriptions taking into account four phonological rules, i.e. liaison, liquid deletion, enchâınement, and “je”-devoicing. Using this tool, we compiled a phonologized corpus of speech input to infants under two years old, based on CHILDES transcriptions. We provide a description of the phonologizer as well as of the corpus.
Evolution of a lidar network for tropospheric aerosol detection in East Asia

Abstract. A regional elastic-scattering lidar network called Asian dust and aerosol lidar observation network (AD-Net) has operated for 15 years (since 2001) in East Asia. In this network, the extinction coefficient of aerosols below an altitude of 9 km is continuously obtained when conditions are clear; the coefficient is divided into two parts: dust extinction and spherical extinction coefficients. The dust extinction coefficient has been compared with several parameters measured by other instruments and utilized by various studies, including studies on the epidemiology of Asian dust. Recent expansion of the lidar system at some observatories allows more optical parameters to be retrieved at those observatories. All AD-Net products are used for monitoring global environmental change as an activity of global atmospheric watch lidar observation network.
Functional Genomics and Proteomics in Allergy

Asthma is a complex genetic disorder with a heterogeneous phenotype. With its rising incidence over the past three decades, asthma has emerged as an epidemic that currently affects nearly 155 million individuals worldwide [1– 6] . The increase in asthma incidence encompasses all age and ethnic groups and, for reasons that remain unknown, the morbidity and mortality associated with asthma are disproportionately high among children, identifying asthma as the most common chronic disease in children in all developed countries. In the U.S., approximately 20 million people are diagnosed with asthma and, each year, the disease accounts for approximately 500,000 hospitalizations and nearly 5,000 deaths. Despite recent advances in medications used to treat the disease, the management of asthma is often complicated, and adequate control of symptoms is difficult to maintain [7, 8] . Moreover, many of the drugs currently used to treat asthma (e.g., steroids, b -adrenergic agents, etc.) can have deleterious side effects and, in a number of individuals, medication overuse can actually lead to worsening of the disease. Thus, asthma represents a major health problem, particularly in children, and in order to ultimately develop more effective new strategies to treat the disease, a critical need exists to identify its underlying cause. Although the cause of asthma is unknown, it is known to be attributed to the interactions between many genes and the environment and it has been suggested that genetics may contribute to as much as 60–80% of the inter-individual variability in therapeutic response to asthma medications. Numerous genetic studies have reported linkage or association with asthma and the asthma-associated phenotypes, atopy, elevated immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, and bronchial hyper-responsiveness. In addition, specific alleles tagging cytokine/chemokine, remodeling or IgE regulating
Effect of Ethinylestradiol on hsp 70 Expression in Transgenic Drosophila melanogaster ( hsp 70-lacZ ) Bg

In the present study the effect of 0.25, 0.50, 1.0 and 2.0 μl/ml of ethinylestradiol was studied on 3 rd instar larvae of transgenic Drosophila melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ) Bg 9 for 6, 24 and 48 hrs of duration. The treatment of 0.25 μl/ml of ethinylestradiol did not induce significantly the activity of hsp70 as compared to control. The treatments of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 μl/ml of ethinylestradiol induced significant increase in the activity of hsp70 for the different durations of exposure. The results of the present study suggest that the doses of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 μl/ml of ethinylestradiol are cytotoxic in the 3 rd instar larvae of transgenic Drosophila melanogaster (hsp70-lacZ) Bg 9 .
Megaherbivores may impact expansion of invasive seagrass in the Caribbean

Our knowledge of the functional role of large herbivores is rapidly expanding, and the impact of grazing on species coexistence and nonnative species expansion has been studied across ecosystems. However, experimental data on large grazer impacts on plant invasion in aquatic ecosystems are lacking. Since its introduction in 2002, the seagrass species Halophila stipulacea has rapidly expanded across the Eastern Caribbean, forming dense meadows in green turtle (Chelonia mydas)—foraging areas. We investigate the changes in seagrass species coexistence and the impacts of leaf grazing by green turtles on nonnative seagrass expansion in Lac Bay (Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands). Green turtle grazing behaviour changed after the introduction of nonnative seagrass to Lac Bay in 2010. Field observations, together with time‐lapse satellite images over the last four decades, showed initiation of new grazing patches (65 ha, an increase of 72%). The sharp border between grazed and ungrazed seagrass patches moved in the direction of shallower areas with native seagrass species that had previously (1970–2010) been ungrazed. Green turtles deployed with Fastloc‐GPS transmitters confirmed high site fidelity to these newly cropped patches. In addition, cafeteria experiments indicated selective grazing by green turtles on native species. These native seagrass species had significantly higher nutritional values compared to the nonnative species. In parallel, exclosure experiments showed that nonnative seagrass expanded more rapidly in grazed canopies compared to ungrazed canopies. Finally, in 6 years from 2011 to 2017, H. stipulacea underwent a significant expansion, invading 20–49 fixed monitoring locations in Lac Bay, increasing from 6% to 20% in total occurrence. During the same period, native seagrass Thalassia testudinum occurrence decreased by 33%. Synthesis. Our results provide first‐time evidence of large‐scale replacement of native seagrasses by rapidly colonizing Halophila stipulacea in the Caribbean and add a mechanistic explanation for this invasiveness. We conclude that green turtle leaf grazing may modify the rate and spatial extent of this invasive species' expansion, due to grazing preferences, and increased space for settlement. This work shows how large herbivores play an important but unrecognized role in species coexistence and plant invasions of aquatic ecosystems.
Biodiversité ore about the geographical pattern of distribution of the nus Pseudouroplectes Lourenço , 1995 ( Scorpiones : Buthidae ) m Madagascar ilson

The genus Pseudouroplectes Lourenço, 1995 (Buthidae) remains among the less speciose Malagasy genera and all the known species are extremely rare. A new species is described from the dry forests in the Tsingy formations of the National Park Bemaraha, extending the distribution of the genus further north. Once again, the single holotype specimen was obtained by extraction with the use of Berlese system. With the description of the new species, the distributional pattern of this genus is confirmed for dry forest formations from the south to the middle of the island; however, for the first time the group’s distribution overlaps that of another micro-scorpion genus, Microcharmus Lourenço, 1995. The distribution patterns of the humicolous micro-scorpions endemic to Madagascar are considered to further explore the ‘‘Neogrosphus rule’’ as a possible explanation of global species distribution patterns in changing environments. 2015 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/).
Title : Sol-gel preparation and characterisation of SnO 2 powders employed as catalyst for phenol photodegradation

Crystallized pure SnO2 powders were prepared by the sol-gel process and were used as photocatalyst for the degradation of phenol under UV light at pH 6.5 and a temperature of 20°C. The physical properties of photocatalyst were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption and Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The influences of different operating variables such as the pH, the photocatalyst loading, the initial concentration of phenol, were studied to improve the efficiency of phenol degradation.
REACTIVE POWER LOSS OPTIMIZATION FOR AN IEEE 14-BUS POWER SYSTEM USING VARIOUS ALGORITHMS

Abstract: Optimization techniques play vital role in many problems. Many optimization algorithms have been proposed in past decades. In this paper various optimization techniques like Particle Swarm Optimization, Modified Particle Swarm Optimization, Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm, Fish School Search Algorithm and Gravitational Search Algorithm are compared and tested in an IEEE-14 Bus power system. By using these five optimization techniques, the power losses like active power and reactive power are reduced drastically. By reducing the losses, the voltage profile improvement and voltage stability enhancement can be maintained. Also this paper shows the better optimization technique which suits the power system to maintain stability by reducing power losses. The results are tabulated to show how much losses have been reduced from the determined actual losses in the power system.
DTA Evaluation of Spruce Wood Degradation Process

Abstract The decomposition stages of spruce wood sawdust were analyzed by means of sequential differential calorimetry. Two stages of decomposition were identified and activation energy of one stage was calculated using the Kissinger method. The DTA was conducted by means of SEDEX safety calorimeter. Sample was analyzed under three heating rates of 10, 20 and 45 °C/h in temperature range from room temperature to 400 °C. The calculated activation energy for the last and most clear decomposition peak was 122.63 KJ/mol. The results are comparable with the data calculated by J.V. Rissanen et al., who calculated activation energy for Spruce hemicellulose as 120 KJ/mol.
GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS IN GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY A Dissertation by CHRISTINE M. SPINKA

Gene-Environment Interactions in Genetic Epidemiology. (December 2004) Christine M. Spinka, B.S. Vanderbilt University; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Raymond J. Carroll Gene-environment interactions are an area of increasing interest in complex human diseases. The first step in any study of the interactions between genes and the environment involves identifying genes which influence the trait of interest. In this dissertation, a new method for using the information in complex pedigrees to perform a joint linkage disequilibrium and linkage mapping of quantitative trait loci is developed. Subsequently, methods are needed to determine the interaction, if any, between these genes and environmental risk factors. Many of these factors, such as weight or age, are continuous and little is known about their distributions. Thus, we introduce a new method for estimating the gene-environment interaction parameters in a logistic regression for the case-control study design. In doing so, we make the assumption that in the underlying population, the distributions of the genetic factors and the environmental covariates are independent. Additionally, we treat the environmental parameters nonparametricly, utilizing the profile likelihood. Furthermore, the methodology we develop is also general enough to be used on many different types of genetic information, including haplotypes, and can accommodate missing genotype data. The method is also extended to allow analysis in the presence of population stratification or genotype misclassification. We show that the standard errors of parameter estimates using our method are smaller than those found using complete data
Preparation of Water-Soluble Polyion Complex (PIC) Micelles Covered with Amphoteric Random Copolymer Shells with Pendant Sulfonate and Quaternary Amino Groups

An amphoteric random copolymer (P(SA)91) composed of anionic sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate (AMPS, S) and cationic 3-acrylamidopropyl trimethylammonium chloride (APTAC, A) was prepared via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization. The subscripts in the abbreviations indicate the degree of polymerization (DP). Furthermore, AMPS and APTAC were polymerized using a P(SA)91 macro-chain transfer agent to prepare an anionic diblock copolymer (P(SA)91S67) and a cationic diblock copolymer (P(SA)91A88), respectively. The DP was estimated from quantitative 13C NMR measurements. A stoichiometrically charge neutralized mixture of the aqueous P(SA)91S67 and P(SA)91A88 formed water-soluble polyion complex (PIC) micelles comprising PIC cores and amphoteric random copolymer shells. The PIC micelles were in a dynamic equilibrium state between PIC micelles and charge neutralized small aggregates composed of a P(SA)91S67/P(SA)91A88 pair. Interactions between PIC micelles and fetal bovine serum (FBS) in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) were evaluated by changing the hydrodynamic radius (Rh) and light scattering intensity (LSI). Increases in Rh and LSI were not observed for the mixture of PIC micelles and FBS in PBS for one day. This observation suggests that there is no interaction between PIC micelles and proteins, because the PIC micelle surfaces were covered with amphoteric random copolymer shells. However, with increasing time, the diblock copolymer chains that were dissociated from PIC micelles interacted with proteins.
Time trends in prevalence of sensitization to milk, egg and peanut in the Netherlands

Tussen 1995 en 2007 is in Nederland het aantal mensen dat allergisch is voor pinda's toegenomen. Voedselallergie voor koemelk en ei is niet toegenomen. Dit blijkt uit onderzoek van het RIVM uitgevoerd in opdracht van de Voedsel en Warenautoriteit (VWA) om trends vast te stellen in de mate waarin voedselallergie in Nederland voorkomt. In het onderzoek is de mate waarin voedselallergie voorkomt gebaseerd op de aanwezigheid van IgE-antistoffen tegen pinda, melk of ei in bloed, een maat voor allergische sensibilisatie. Ongeveer 30 tot 60% van de personen met deze antistoffen heeft daadwerkelijk allergische klachten. In westerse landen zijn in de jaren tachtig en negentig van de vorige eeuw allergische aandoeningen zoals astma en eczeem sterk toegenomen. Enkele studies tonen aan dat voedselallergie voor pinda ook aan het toenemen is. Het is echter nog niet bekend welke genetische en omgevingsfactoren deze toename kunnen verklaren. Pinda-allergie heeft een grote invloed op de kwaliteit van leven. Allergische mensen die per ongeluk pinda's eten kunnen daar levensbedreigende symptomen van ondervinden. Dit kan alleen voorkomen worden door geen pinda's te eten. Dat is niet altijd gemakkelijk omdat pinda's in veel voedingsproducten worden verwerkt. Voor deze studie is de aanwezigheid van IgE-antistoffen tegen de onderzochte voedingsstoffen in bloed bepaald. De bloedmonsters zijn in twee perioden afgenomen, waartussen ongeveer tien jaar tijd zit (1995/1996 en 2006/2007). De mate waarin sensibilisatie voorkomt is voor vier leeftijdscategorieen bepaald: 0 tot 4 jaar, 5 tot 18 jaar, 19 tot 40 jaar en 41 tot 79 jaar.
The Transparency-Revenue Conundrum in Social Trading : Implications for Platforms and Investors

Social trading – an emerging paradigm in the spirit of the sharing economy – enables a trader to share her trading wisdom with other investors. A special type of social trading is copy trading, where less experienced investors (followers) are allowed to copy the trades of experts (traders) in real-time after paying a fee. Such a copy trading mechanism often runs into a transparency-revenue conundrum. On the one hand, social trading platforms need to release traders’ trades as transparently as possible to allow followers to evaluate traders. On the other hand, complete transparency may undercut the platform’s revenue since followers could free ride. That is, followers could manually copy the delayed trades of a trader to circumvent paying following fees. This study addresses this simple, but fundamental problem by determining the optimal policy for releasing trade information. Of key interest here is the real time value of trade information. We measure this real time value using the concept of profit-gap, i.e., the would-be profit difference between the real time and a delayed execution of a trade. Our data shows that profit-gap increases with delay in a concave manner. To provide empirical evidence of the conundrum, we explore how the amount following is affected by delay and users’ evaluation activity on the trader (measured by the number of views received by the trader’s profile page). Surprisingly, when the number of views is high, a larger delay is associated with a lower amount following. A large delay handicaps the ability of potential followers to evaluate the trader, thus reducing the amount that would potentially have followed
1 3 M ay 2 01 6 Counting derangements and Nash equilibria

The maximal number of totally mixed Nash equilibria in games of several players equals the number of block derangements, as proved by McKelvey and McLennan. On the other hand, counting the derangements is a well studied problem. The numbers are identified as linearization coefficients for Laguerre polynomials. MacMahon derived a generating function for them as an application of his master theorem. This article relates the algebraic, combinatorial and game-theoretic problems that were not connected before. New recurrence relations, hypergeometric formulas and asymptotics for the derangement counts are derived. An upper bound for the total number of all Nash equilibria is given. 1 Game-theoretic introduction Game theory offers mathematical modeling of strategic decision making. A central concept is that of Nash equilibrium: it is a combination of strategies of participating players such that no player can improve his payoff by unilaterally changing his strategy. The strategies can be pure (when a player chooses a single available option) or mixed (when a player makes a choice randomly, by assigning probabilities to his options). Totally mixed strategies play any available strategy with a non-zero probability. A totally mixed Nash equilibrium (or TMNE for shorthand) is a Nash equilibrium where everyone plays a totally mixed strategy. As we recall in §2, finding TMNE leads to a system of polynomial equations for the probabilities. The polynomial system has finitely many solutions (in C) generalically, hence games with generic payoffs have finitely many TMNE. An interesting question is: Consider a game of S players, each with m1,m2, . ,mS options respectively. Assuming generic payoffs, what is the maximal possible number of TMNE for fixed S and m1,m2, . ,mS? Lab of Geometric & Algebraic Algorithms, Department of Informatics & Telecommunications, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis 15784, Greece. E-mail: rvidunas@di.uoa. gr. Supported by the EU (European Social Fund) and Greek National Fund through the operational program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework, research funding program “ARISTEIA”, project “ESPRESSO: Exploiting Structure in Polynomial Equation and System Solving in Physical Modeling”.
Modeling and Control of Quantum Measurement-Induced Backaction in Double Quantum Dots

Quantum measurements disturb the quantum system being measured, and this is known as measurement-induced backaction. In this paper, we consider a double quantum dot monitored by a nearby quantum point contact, where the measurement-induced backaction plays an important role. Taking advantage of the quantum master equation approach, we calculate the tunneling current and propose a simple feedback-control law to realize and stabilize the tunneling current. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that the feedback control law can make the current quickly convergent to the desired value.