Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of sodium alginate composites and their removal performances toward Pb

Four adsorbents for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions in aqueous solutions are prepared by modifying graphene oxide/sodium alginate with disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate using different methods. Specific relative surface area, pore size analysis and the scanning electron microscopy pictures show the three-dimensional structures of these adsorbents, which possess pores of different sizes and distributions. Static adsorption experiments for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions are carried out with the four newly synthesized adsorbents. Among them the composite of graphene oxide, sodium alginate and disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (SEG2), which is prepared by blending and vacuum freeze drying, has outstanding adsorption performance in removing heavy metal ions. The maximum removing rates of SEG2 toward Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions are 97.44% and 97.16%, respectively, at 298 K. This effect demonstrates that SEG2 is highly promising in the practical applications such as removing heavy metal pollutants from the water.
Framing of Decisions and Selections of Alternatives " in Hea l th Care

This paper examines the importance of the context in which medical alternatives are present e d to individuals. I n a series of exp e rim e nts, subjects were given information and aske d to make c hoices in hypot h e tical medical situations. In each experiment , probability information was presented in eith e r a posi t ive or a negative frame. One study demonstrated that the probability that a sub j ect would el e ct surgery for a terminal liv e r disease was a f u n c t i on of both t h e probabili t y of survival and the framing of th e probabili t y information. Tha t is , at each probability level the chances of accepting surger y were greater if the informa t ion was presented in a positive frame. In a second study the recommendation that a haemo ph i l ia ca r rier would abo rt a child was more likely if th e re was a 50 per cen t chance of having an ' affect e d' son than if there was a 50 per cent chance of having a 'normal " son. The third study considered competition for a bed in an intensive care unit. Subjects were more willing to endorse the return of a patient described as their 'father' to the regular floor if his ' chances of surviving were presented as 90 per cent in comparison to a group that was told his chances of dying were 10 per cent. These findings suggest that individuals are more willing to select risky medical options when probabilistic information is worded positively rather than negatively. Furthermore, when the choice of a medical option involved another individual's health outcome, subjects_were still more likely to endorse riskier treatments when outcomes were presented in a positive rather than negative context
Série des Documents de Travail du CREST ( Centre de Recherche en Economie et Statistique ) n ° 2002-57 Spatial Mismatch : From the Hypothesis of the Theories L . GOBILLLON

Since the 1950s, there has been a steady decentralization of entrylevel jobs towards the suburbs of American cities, while racial minorities –and particularly blacks– have remained in city centers. In this context, the spatial mismatch hypothesis argues that because the residential locations of minorities are disconnected from suburban job opportunities, low-skilled minorities residing in inner cities face adverse labor market outcomes. However, the reason why distance to jobs may be harmful to minorities has long remained unclear while the abundant but essentially empirical literature on spatial mismatch has lead to much controversy. The present work presents the main stylized facts associated with spatial mismatch and reviews the main theoretical models that started to emerge in the late 1990s.
Characteristics of the Resistance of Pinus armandii var . amamiana , an Endangered Pine Species in Japan , to Pine Wilt Disease

Pine wilt disease (PWD) was suggested as a mortality factor of Pinus armandii var. amamiana (PAA), an endangered pine species in Japan, from field surveys of the pathogenic nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in dying and dead PAA trees and from a field inoculation test with the nematode. Disease development in nematode-inoculated PAA trees was slow and progressed gradually from the inoculated branch to the trunk, thereby demonstrating partial resistance of PAA to PWD.
Metabolite Analysis and their Quantitative Variation in Healthy and Pest Infested Solanum melongena L . Using NMR Spectroscopy

Solanum melongena L. commonly known as eggplant, aubergine, guinea squash or brinjal is an economically important vegetable crop of tropical and temperate parts of the world. Its fruits are quite high in nutritive value and comparable with tomato as a good source of vitamins, dietary fiber and minerals (particularly iron) (Salunkhe and Kadam 1998). It is the most widely consumed fruits with annual production over 150 million metric tons (Laura Perez-Fons et al., 2014). It has been medicinal values also, such as, tissue extracts have been used for treatment of asthma, bronchitis, cholera, and dysuria; fruits and leaves are beneficial in lowering blood cholesterol (Kashyap et al., 2002). Its production is severely affected by biotic and a biotic stresses.
1 License to Cheat : Voluntary Regulation and Unethical Behavior

While monitoring and regulation can be used to combat socially costly unethical conduct, their intended targets are often able to avoid regulation or hide their behavior. This surrenders at least part of the effectiveness of regulatory policies to firms’ and individuals’ decisions to voluntarily submit to regulation. We study individuals’ decisions to avoid monitoring or regulation and thus enhance their ability to engage in unethical conduct. We conduct a laboratory experiment in which participants engage in a competitive task and can decide between having the opportunity to misreport their performance or having their performance verified by an external monitor. To study the effect of social factors on the willingness to be subject to monitoring, we vary whether participants make this decision simultaneously with others or sequentially, as well as whether the decision is private or public. Our results show that the opportunity to avoid being submitted to regulation produces more unethical conduct than situations in which regulation is either exogenously imposed or entirely absent.
COKER: DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING OF STUDENT-TEACHER AGENCY: IMPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT Citation

Developing student teachers to become confident and effective professionals is a central aim of teacher education programmes. Developing understanding of student-teacher agency the ways in which student teachers actively participate in their learning has the potential to inform programme development. Working in the context of a blended learning Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme, the research presented here aimed to develop understanding of student-teacher agency, with the purpose of informing programme development. Deepening our understanding of the student teacher experience enabled critical reflection on the design and delivery of the programme, informing our developments. Taking a narrative stance, data were generated from fifty-three student teachers, during a discussion activity in which they reflected on their experiences during the PGDE year. Analysis utilised Priestley, Biesta and Robinson’ (2015) framework for Teacher Agency. Findings suggested that student teachers’ peripheral positioning, to the community of professional teachers, influences their approach to their own learning during the PGDE year. Findings directly informed the development of programme structures. Deeper understanding of student-teacher agency has informed our practice in a blended learning environment: Understanding these aspects of the student-teacher experience has the potential to inform the development of programmes utilising different methods of delivery.
Microbiological Water Evaluation from Biofilm Adhered to Dental Unit Waterlines

The contamination of the dental units’ waterlines is a reality, which can develop individual and collective disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and resistance profile of bacteria on the internal surfaces of waterlines in a dental clinic from a Dentistry school of a Brazilian university. The design was an exploratory, descriptive study with quantitative and qualitative approach. Samples (n=4) were collected for analysis at different points: the portion closest to the water reservoir of the chair, and the portion closest to the triple syringe. After collection the samples were cultured in BHI medium in an oven for 24-48 h at 37 °C. For the quantitative analysis 1 ml of each sample was used for serial dilution up to the dilution value seven. The colonies were counted after pour plate and the results expressed in UFC/cm. The qualitative analysis was initiated with the cultivation of Agar Blood, EMB-Levine and Cetrimide Agar for 24 h, and the identification of bacteria was performed by microscopic analyses. The resistance profile was verified by classical antibiogram. The internal surfaces of unit waterlines units exhibited a mean of 2.44 x 109 CFU / cm. Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were identified. The resistance profile of Pseudomonas aeruginosa indicated sensitivity to all tested antibiotics. A large number of microorganisms was quantified from biofilm accumulated in the dental units’ waterlines. However, they were not resistant to classic antibiogram. Better management and application of decontamination protocols for waterlines need to be applied since opportunistic infections may be associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Properties of the affine‐invariant ensemble sampler's ‘stretch move’ in high dimensions

We present theoretical and practical properties of the affine‐invariant ensemble sampler Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. In high dimensions, the sampler's ‘stretch move’ has unusual and undesirable properties. We demonstrate this with an n‐dimensional correlated Gaussian toy problem with a known mean and covariance structure, and a multivariate version of the Rosenbrock problem. Visual inspection of a trace plots suggests the burn‐in period is short. Upon closer inspection, we discover the mean and the variance of the target distribution do not match the known values, and the chain takes a very long time to converge. This problem becomes severe as n increases beyond 50. We also applied different diagnostics adapted to be applicable to ensemble methods to determine any lack of convergence. The diagnostics include the Gelman–Rubin method, the Heidelberger–Welch test, the integrated autocorrelation and the acceptance rate. The trace plot of individual walkers appears to be useful as well. We therefore conclude that the stretch move should be used with caution in moderate to high dimensions. We also present some heuristic results explaining this behaviour.
Cephalopods as a key of the transfer of cadmium to top marine predators

Cephalopods of 11 species differing in th eir geographic distribution (French , Irish and faroese waters) and feeding habitats, wer e analysed for their cadmium contents. When comparing the cadmium levels of these cephalop ods, it show that the squid Todarodes sagittatus and the octopus Eledone cirrhosa coming from the Faroe Islands contain respectively 17 and 18 times more than the animals from the French Atlantic coast. High cadmium levels in cephalopods from sub-polar areas were related with high cadmium concentrations in the tissues of top predators in t hese areas. Weekly doses of cadmium were estimated for the Faroese pilot whales and the Adél ie Penguins and were compared to the “Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake” defined by th e World Health Organisation for humans. Our results show that cephalopods constitut e an important source of cadmium for cephalopods predators.
Efficient projection pursuit density estimation for background subtraction

This paper presents a method for background subtraction in surveillance videos captured from static cameras. In contrast to previous methods using pixel-based features, we propose to use local image descriptor to better eliminate unwanted imaging conditions. To facilitate the shift from lowdimensional feature spaces to a higher dimensional space, we employ the projection pursuit density estimation technique. Like kernel density estimation, this technique does not assume any parametric model of the unknown distribution. The advantage in comparison to kernel density estimation is that it is much faster in the run-time. We also derive a fixed point method to improve the traditional implementation of this technique computationally. Our experiment shows the improvement gained by the combination of complex features and projection pursuit density estimation.
GEOMORPHIC RESPONSE TO EXTREME FLOOD EVENTS IN ALLUVIAL RIVERS

Extreme floods are one of the major natural hazards that affect Italian territory and their frequency has increased over the last years. Thus geomorphological hazards due to channel dynamics should be taken into account, specifically in alluvial rivers, as a possible cause of severe damage to human property and infrastructure. This research aims to assess quantitatively geomorphic effects due to extreme events in alluvial and semi-alluvial rivers in different physiographic and climatic settings. The research is based on integration of field surveys and remote sensing, GIS and statistical analyses to obtain a quantitative analysis of morphological changes and to correlate such changes with possible controlling factors (e.g. confinement, channel gradient, stream power, and unit stream power). Further objective of the research is to develop and test conceptual and empirical models to improve our capability of predicting channel dynamics and related geomorphological hazard during extreme events.
Supporting ICT Diffusion in Australian Construction Organisations Through Self-Help Groups

Background Construction organisations comprise geographically dispersed virtually-linked suborganisations that work together to realise projects. They increasingly do so using information and communication technology (ICT) to communicate, coordinate their activities and to solve complex problems. One salient problem they face is how to effectively use requisite ICT tools. One important tool at their disposal is the self-help group, a body of people that organically spring up to solve shared problems. The more recognised term for this organisational form is a community of practice (COP). COPs generate knowledge networks that enhance and sustain competitive advantage and they are also used to help COP members actually use ICT tools. Etienne Wenger defines communities of practice as “groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise” (Wenger and Snyder 2000, p139). This ‘chicken-or-egg’ issue about needing a COP to use the tools that are needed to effective broaden COPs (beyond co-located these groups) led us to explore how best to improve the process of ICT diffusion through construction organisations— primarily using people supported by technology that improves knowledge sharing.
L 2 ACQUISITION OF CASE PARTICLES IN KOREAN : A DISCREPANCY IN SYNTACTIC FEATURES AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES

This study seeks to address the question of whether L2ers are able to acquire morphological features not found in the L1 by testing the acquisition of Korean case particles by English speakers. Two research questions are: 1) Are uninterpretable syntactic features residing in the L1 and L2 fully transferred, and 2) Are different morphological features acquired? Both English and Korean are languages with nominative/accusative case. Therefore, if we assume that the case features in L1 English are transferred, learners of Korean would be able to fully acquire the Korean case. However, unlike English, Korean has overt morphological suffixes for case particles, which suggests that the acquisition of the case particles in Korean requires not only the acquisition of the syntactic processes but also the morphological framework. Therefore, looking at the acquisition and performance of case particles by L2 learners would give us a clear understanding of the roles of syntax and morphology in L2 acquisition.
DETERMINATION OF TOLERANCE TO HIGH TEMPERATURE STRESS OF PLANTS WITH CELL VIABILITY AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTATION TESTS

The concept of stress is intimately associated with that of stress tolerance, which is the plant’s fitness to cope with an unfavorable environmental factor. High temperature stress leads to a series of physiological and biochemical changes that adversely affect plant growth and productivity. Under high temperature conditions, the survival and recovery capability of most organisms are detected by “inherent thermal tolerance” and “acquired thermal tolerance”. Plant cultivars can acquire different degree of tolerance to high temperatures. The response mechanisms of plant genotypes to high temperature and determination of roles of these mechanisms in high temperature tolerance are important. The spectrophotometric-based tests such as photosynthetic pigment (chlorophyll a+b and carotenoids) accumulation test, and cell viability test which is related to reduction of tetrazolium salts by viable cells were used in determination of genetic variability in point of high temperature tolerance among species or cultivars.
List of Major Changes

Widespread flooding events are among the major natural hazards in Central :::::: central Europe. Such events are usually related to intensive, long-lasting precipitation :::: over ::::: larger ::::: areas. Despite some prominent floods during the last three decades (e. g. 1997, 1999, 2002, and 2013), extreme floods are rare and associated with estimated long return periods of more than 100 years. To assess the associated risks of such extreme events, reliable statistics of precipitation and discharge are required. Comprehensive observations, however, are mainly available for the last 50–60 years or less. This shortcoming can be reduced 5 using stochastic data sets. One possibility towards this aim is to consider climate model data or extended reanalyses. This study presents and discusses a validation of different century-long data sets, a large ensemble of decadal hindcasts, and also projections ::::::::: predictions : for the upcoming decade . Global reanalysis :::::::: combined :: to :: a :::: new ::::: large :::::::: ensemble. ::::::: Global :::::::: reanalyses : for the 20th century with a horizontal resolution of more than 100 km have been dynamically downscaled with a regional climate model (COSMO–CLM) towards a higher resolution of 25 km. The new data sets are first filtered using a 10 dry–day adjustment. The simulations show a good agreement with :::::::: Evaluation ::::::: focuses ::: on ::::::: intensive :::::::::: widespread ::::::::::: precipitation ::::: events :::: and :::::: related :::::::: temporal :::::::::: variabilities :::: and :::::: trends. :::: The :::::::: presented ::::::::: ensemble :::: data :: is :::::: within ::: the ::::: range ::: of : observations for both statistical distributions and time series. Differences mainly appear in areas with sparse observation data. The temporal evolution during the past 60 years is well captured. The results reveal some long-term variability with phases of increased and decreased heavy precipitation :::::::::: precipitation ::::: rates. The overall trend varies between the investigation areas but is :::::: mostly 15 significant. The projections ::::::::: predictions : for the upcoming decade show ongoing tendencies with increased precipitation for upper percentiles :::: areal ::::::::::: precipitation. The presented RCM ensemble not only allows for more robust statistics in general, in particular it is : it :: is ::: also : suitable for a better estimation of extreme values.
The First Moment of $L(\frac{1}{2},\chi)$ for Real Quadratic Function Fields

In this paper we use techniques first introduced by Florea to improve the asymptotic formula for the first moment of the quadratic Dirichlet L-functions over the rational function field, running over all monic, square-free polynomials of even degree at the central point. With some extra technical difficulties that doesn't appear in Florea's paper, we prove that there are extra main terms of size $(2g+2)q^{\frac{2g+2}{3}}, q^{\frac{g}{6}+\left[\frac{g}{2}\right]}$ and $q^{\frac{g}{6}+\left[\frac{g-1}{2}\right]}$, whilst bounding the error term by $q^{\frac{g}{2}(1+\epsilon)}$.
Anti-inflammatory effect of austroinulin and 6O-acetyl-austroinulin from Stevia rebaudiana in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264 . 7 macrophages

Austroinulin (AI) and 6-O-acetyl-austroinulin (6-OAAI) are natural diterpenoids isolated from Stevia rebaudiana with anti-inflammatory activity. However, the mechanisms underlying their anti-inflammatory effects are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of AI and 6-OAAI on nitric oxide (NO) production and their molecular mechanism in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. We found that AI and 6-OAAI inhibit the production of NO, iNOS, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-a, IL-6, IL-1b, and MCP-1) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. In these same cells, AI and 6-OAAI also suppressed the phosphorylation of STAT1 and the production of interferon-beta (IFNb). Moreover, treatment with AI and 6-OAAI inhibited the activation of interferon regulatory factor-3 (IRF3) and NF-jB. Taken together, our results suggest that AI and 6-OAAI inhibit NO production and iNOS expression by blocking the activation of STAT1, IRF3, and NF-jB in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Common polygenic variation contributes to risk of schizophrenia that overlaps with bipolar disorder : Supplementary information

Section S1: Study samples, genotyping, quality control and population stratification. (Page 3) Table S1: Number of individuals and SNPs stratified by sample and array type. Figure S1: Multidimensional scaling plot of identity-by-state distances . Section S2: Association analysis. (Page 6) Table S2: Regions with associated SNPs P < 10. Figure S2: Manhattan plot of association results (genotyped SNPs). Figure S3: Q-Q plot for association results (genotyped SNPs).
ANALYSIS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF OFDM SYSTEM AND CHANNEL ESTIMATION BASED IEEE 802 . 11 A

Channel estimation plays a very important role in any wireless communication system. Currently many related algorithms are a research hotpot. Basically channel estimation are classified into two types namely, pilot-based channel estimation and blind channel estimation. Pilot-based channel estimation estimates the channel information by obtaining the impulse response from all sub-carriers of pilot. The blind channel estimation uses statistical information of the received signals whereas pilot-based channel estimation is a practical and an effective method. This paper presents a pilot-based channel estimation of OFDM system and analyzes the degradation effect of pilot subcarriers in OFDM systems on the time-domain based on the estimation performance. The effects of Inter Symbol Interference (ISI) are reduced by the splitting process. This splitting process also decreases the rate of stream of data connected with distinct subcarriers. The paper starts with basic realization principle of OFDM system and analyzes OFDM in the frequency domain using spectral analysis method. The simulation results are shown using Matlab which compares the bit error rate (BER) performance of different modulation schemes and types of pilot and finally concluded the importance of estimation based on the achieved results based on IEEE802.11a. Keyword: OFDM, channel estimation, ISI, LS, MMSE.