Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interacting Turing-Hopf Instabilities Drive Symmetry-Breaking Transitions in a Mean-Field Model of the Cortex: A Mechanism for the Slow Oscillation

Electrical recordings of brain activity during the transition from wake to anesthetic coma show temporal and spectral alterations that are correlated with gross changes in the underlying brain state. Entry into anesthetic unconsciousness is signposted by the emergence of large, slow oscillations of electrical activity ( & 1 Hz) similar to the slow waves observed in natural sleep. Here we present a twodimensional mean-field model of the cortex in which slow spatiotemporal oscillations arise spontaneously through a Turing (spatial) symmetry-breaking bifurcation that is modulated by a Hopf (temporal) instability. In our model, populations of neurons are densely interlinked by chemical synapses, and by interneuronal gap junctions represented as an inhibitory diffusive coupling. To demonstrate cortical behavior over a wide range of distinct brain states, we explore model dynamics in the vicinity of a general-anesthetic-induced transition from ‘‘wake’’ to ‘‘coma. ’’ In this region, the system is poised at a codimension-2 point where competing Turing and Hopf instabilities coexist. We model anesthesia as a moderate reduction in inhibitory diffusion, paired with an increase in inhibitory postsynaptic response, producing a coma state that is characterized by emergent low-frequency oscillations whose dynamics is chaotic in time and space. The effect of long-range axonal white-matter connectivity is probed with the inclusion of a single idealized point-to-point connection. We find that the additional excitation from the long-range connection can provoke seizurelike bursts of cortical activity when inhibitory diffusion is weak, but has little impact on an active cortex. Our proposed dynamic mechanism for the origin of anesthetic slow waves complements—and contrasts with—conventional explanations that require cyclic modulation of ion-channel conductances. We postulate that a similar bifurcation mechanism might underpin the slow waves of natural sleep and comment on the possible consequences of chaotic dynamics for memory processing and learning.
Personal and social functioning and satisfaction with life in schizophrenia outpatients with and without sleep disturbances

Background: Patients with schizophrenia often present sleep complaints which have been related to poor patient quality of life. Physiologic sleep, compatible with work routines is necessary, and may translate into better social functioning, engagement in rehabilitation strategies, and satisfaction with life. Methods: In this cross-sectional, non-interventional study, 811 adult outpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were divided into two groups according to the presence (or absence) of sleep disturbances, and assessed using measures of symptom severity, quality and patterns of sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index - PSQI), personal and social functioning, and satisfaction with life. Results: Patients with sleep disturbances were significantly more symptomatic, and revealed worse quality of sleep on all components of the PSQI (p < 0.0001), as compared to patients without sleep disturbances. Patients with sleep disturbances presented significantly worse personal and social functioning and satisfaction with life in all domains. Satisfaction with life of patients with sleep disturbances’ caregivers was also significantly worse in all domains. Personal and social functioning was significantly correlated with sleep quality (r = -0.23328, p < 0.0001), indicating that patients with worse quality of sleep have lower levels of functioning in every domain of functioning (p < 0.01). Quality of sleep was also significantly correlated with patients’ and caregivers’ satisfaction in all domains (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Our findings show that schizophrenia patients reporting sleep disturbances present greater symptom severity and worse personal and social functioning. Moreover, both patients with sleep disturbances and their caregivers, report worse satisfaction with life.
Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures

Surface machining processes are responsible for creating microstructures that reside near the surfaces of a substrate and are characterized by the fabrication of micromechanical structures from deposited thin films. These films can be selectively removed to build three-dimensional structures whose functionality typically requires that they should be freed from the planar substrate. Silicon nitride thin film is one of these important materials. In this paper, by adjusting the SiH2Cl2/NH3 gaseous ratio, low stress silicon nitride (LS SiN) is deposited by the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process. The internal stress generally in 135 MPa has been detected using an FLX-2320 film stress tester. Based on the wide application in surface micromachining devices, the mechanical properties of LS SiN are measured by nanoindentation, giving the value of Young’s modulus of 224 GPa and the hardness of 22.5 GPa, respectively. Dry etching and wet etching are utilized to fabricate the LS SiN thin film for structural layers. The etching rate compared with normal Si3N4 film by LPCVD is demonstrated for silicon chip manufacture.
MAKING WISHFUL THINKING A REALITY – FROM SDGS TO COP21

The drive to economic growth has persisted in contemporary societies, despite its effects on the very foundations of the global economy, whereas the discourse of sustainability has not surpassed the level of “wishful thinking”. The evolution of the global ecological footprint, which underlines climate change impact, points to a narrow path in the reconciliation of social and environmental imperatives for present and future generations and to a redoubled need for social and environmental equity. Within an approach that postulates a stronger connection between discourse and practice, both Sustainable Development Goals and COP21 Paris Agreement strengthen the strategy of universal involvement and commitment, recognizing the meagre nature of results obtained so far, and demanding alternative action for effective change regarding a new and strategic global agenda. This article reflects on this universal desideratum which requires redoubled attention to the decline – and also recovery of environmental and social conditions.
An Empirical Study and Impact of Software Quality in Software Development

In this paper, we empirically investigate the impact of responsive methods on different aspects of quality as well as the different factors that affect these aspects. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used for this research, including semi-structured interviews and surveys. Quality was studied in one of the project that used responsive software development. The empirical study showed that the project was successful with multiple releases. The data analysis produced a list of 13 refined grounded hypotheses out of which 5 were supported throughout the research. The project was studied in- depth by collecting quantitative data about the process A variety of statistical analysis techniques were applied and these suggested that when responsive methods have a good impact on quality.
Political Economy of Accounting in Intellectual Capital Reporting

Several factors shaping intellectual capital reporting (ICR) in the context of the political economy of accounting (PEA) theory were discussed in relation to traditional accounting reporting system, intellectual capital and intellectual reporting definitions, techniques employed to report intellectual capital (IC), and theoretical classification of IC. Reporting intellectual capital enables firms to report them in a fashion that best suits the relationship between the firm and their political, economic, and social arrangement. The unregulated reporting can increase manipulation of ICR in a borderless reporting environment to reduce the tension between the firm and its political, social, and economic arrangement.
A superconducting nanowire single-photon detector system for single-photon source characterization

Single-photon sources and detectors are key enabling technologies for photonics in quantum information science and technology (QIST). QIST applications place high-level demands on the performance of sources and detectors; it is therefore essential that their properties can be characterized accurately. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have spectral sensitivity from visible to beyond 2 μm in wavelength, picosecond timing resolution (Jitter <100 ps FWHM) and the capacity to operate ungated with low dark counts (<1 kHz). This facilitates data acquisition at high rates with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio. We report on the construction and characterization of a two-channel SNSPD system. The detectors are mounted in a closed-cycle refrigerator, which eliminates reliance on liquid cryogens. Our specification was to deliver a system with 1% efficiency in both channels at a wavelength of 1310 nm with 1 kHz dark count rate. A full width at half maximum timing jitter of less than 90 ps is achieved in both channels. The system will be used to detect individual photons generated by quantum-optical sources at telecom wavelengths. Examples include single-photon sources based on quantum dots (emitting at 1310 nm). The SNSPD system's spectral sensitivity and timing resolution make it suited to characterization of such sources, and to wider QIST applications.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES IN KENYA

This study examined the relationship between KM practice and the performance in public service sector with a special focus on government ministries in Kenya. The study focused was on two practice dimension namely sharing and re-use of knowledge. A conceptual framework had been formulated to guide the study along the two variable dimensions. The study adopted descriptive research design to provide a detailed, highly accurate picture, could locate new data that confirmed or contradicted new data, among other advantages. The target population of the study was the national government ministries, which were 20 in number and the population of the study were the ministries headquarters. Similarly, the unit of analysis were the ministries while the unit of observation was the 224,600 employees of the 20 ministries in Kenya. The sample size for the study was 384 that was proportionally redistributed to every ministry. The sample was drawn from the population using simple random sampling technique to promote generalizability and representativeness. Computer generated random numbers were used. The study collected data using questionnaires which were semi structured to allow both qualitative and quantitative data. A pre-test of the instrument was conducted to determine the reliability and validity of the instrument and necessary adjustment was done based on the Cronbach’s alpha value cut off of 0.66. The data was cleaned, coded and entered into SPSS for both descriptive and inferential tests to determine the level of practice of knowledge management within the national government ministries in Kenya. Based on the study findings, the study concluded that knowledge management practices had highly been adopted in government ministries in Kenya. It was also recommended that the ministries should adopt integrated knowledge sharing systems to facilitate the KM process. It was recommended that knowledge producers be keen in articulating when to withhold or disseminate knowledge for reuse. Keywords: Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Re-use, National Government Ministries in Kenya, Performance
Accessibility to Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT LITE) Bus Stops: An Empirical Study

The introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on March 17, 2008 in Lagos, Nigeria has attracted several comments and studies from the media and academic world. Most of the studies focused on the impact of BRT on users’ mobility and traffic congestion in the city of Lagos. The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of accessibility of users to BRT bus stops in terms of distances, travel time and waiting time at the BRT bus stops. The study is based on a randomly selected set of 200 users of BRT in Agboyi-Ketu area of Kosofe LGA of Lagos state. The findings showed that, with respect to user’s proximity to BRT bus stops, the average distance walked to BRT bus stops is 0.36km. The analysis of modal choice to the BRT bus stops showed that 36.5% of the sampled commuters commute by motorcycles, 24.5% trekked to the bus stops, while 39% of the samples commute to BRT bus stops by other modes of transportation. Further analysis shows that significant variations exist between the travel time to and waiting time at the BRT bus stops and frequency of patronage of BRT. The study concludes that the introduction of BRT is the first step towards integrated transport and development in the city of Lagos. Further steps are necessary to: increase the number of BRT bus stops; to regulate and improve the service deliveries of other modes of transport for effective interdependence between the BRT and other modes.
Changes in the timing of snowmelt and streamflow in Colorado: a response to recent warming

Abstract Trends in the timing of snowmelt and associated runoff in Colorado were evaluated for the 1978–2007 water years using the regional Kendall test (RKT) on daily snow-water equivalent (SWE) data from snowpack telemetry (SNOTEL) sites and daily streamflow data from headwater streams. The RKT is a robust, nonparametric test that provides an increased power of trend detection by grouping data from multiple sites within a given geographic region. The RKT analyses indicated strong, pervasive trends in snowmelt and streamflow timing, which have shifted toward earlier in the year by a median of 2–3 weeks over the 29-yr study period. In contrast, relatively few statistically significant trends were detected using simple linear regression. RKT analyses also indicated that November–May air temperatures increased by a median of 0.9°C decade−1, while 1 April SWE and maximum SWE declined by a median of 4.1 and 3.6 cm decade−1, respectively. Multiple linear regression models were created, using monthly air temper.
Effects of the Pursuit herbicide on relationships of morphological and physiological traits of two species of Trifolium pretense L. and Trifolium alexandrinum L.

To study the physiological and morphological relationships of two clover species affected by herbicides, Pursuit experiment in a factorial based on randomized completely design with 3 replications at the Damavand in 2012. The first factor consisted of two species of Trifolium pretense L. and Trifolium alexandrinum L. and the second factor consisted of three levels of herbicide Pursuit (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 litr per hectares). The traits in the study included chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanin, flavonoids, ratio chlorophyll a to b, ratio carotenoids to total chlorophyll, dry matter, protein content and weeds destruction. Results showed that maximum response to herbicide on the percentage of protein in the leaves was recorded under 0.5 li/ha herbicide Pursuit treatment. The results showed that the correlation between the Chlorophyll a with chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and chlorophyll b whit total chlorophyll, carotenoids and total chlorophyll with carotenoids and carotenoids with the ratio of carotenoids to total chlorophyll, and dry matter with flavonoids are significantly related. The results of step-wise regression analysis showed that chlorophyll b and flavonoids had positive and the effect of protein content was reduced by dry matter, anthocyanin and ratio chlorophyll b to chlorophyll a.
Bootstrapping unit root tests

In this paper we consider two bootstrap algorithms for testing unit roots under the condition that the differenced data are stationary. The first method consists of generating the resampled data after fitting an autoregressive model to the first differences of the observations. The second method consists of applying the stationary bootstrap to the first differences. Both procedures are shown to give methods that approach the correct asymptotic distribution under the null hypothesis of a unit root. We also present a Monte Carlo study comparing the two methods for some ARIMA models.
Atmospheric Ionization Module Osnabruck (AIMOS): A 3-D model to determine atmospheric ionization by energetic charged particles from different populations

[1] We present a 3-D numerical model of atmospheric ionization due to precipitating particles with high spatial resolution. The Atmospheric Ionization Model Osnabruck (AIMOS) consists of two parts: a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo simulation and a sorting algorithm to assign observations from two polar-orbiting satellites to horizontal precipitation cells, depending on geomagnetic activity. The main results are as follows: (1) the sorting algorithm and thus the 3-D mapping of particle fluxes works reasonably well; (2) ionization rates are in good agreement with the ones from earlier models; (3) during quiet times, the major contribution to ionospheric ionization is from electrons both in the polar cap (solar electrons) as well as in the auroral oval (magnetospheric electrons) with the ionization in the auroral oval exceeding that in the polar cap; (4) during solar particle events the dominant effect in the polar cap in the stratosphere and mesosphere is from solar protons although solar electrons can contribute up to 30% to the ionization; (5) during strong shocks following a solar particle event, in the auroral oval magnetospheric electrons and protons lead to ionization rates of up to some 10% of the ones of solar particles; and (6) independent of particle source and precipitation site, in general, ionization by electrons is more important in the thermosphere.
Liquid feeding of pigs : potential for reducing environmental impact and for improving productivity and food safety.

Summary Liquid feeding creates an opportunity to recycle liquid residues from the human food industry as animal feed. Such residues are often low in dry matter and variable in composition. However, if diets are reformulated frequently to take account of such changes there is no loss of productivity and profitability can be increased. Modern liquid feeding equipment facilitates frequent changes in diet composition, delivery of different diets to different pens of pigs and enables pigs to be fed ad libitum or accurately rationed. These features provide an opportunity to use ‘step’ and ‘phase’ feeding regimes that can reduce the nutrient content of effluent and reduce environmental loading. Current research is investigating ways of increasing the efficiency of utilization specific raw materials by the targeted use of exogenous enzymes. Surveillance studies have shown that liquid feeding reduces Salmonella incidence. This has been particularly associated with the use of acidic residues derived from the food industry. More recently, and particularly because producers wish to feed liquid diets ad libitum, there has been much interest in the concept of feeding fermented liquid feed (FLF) to pigs. Natural, uncontrolled fermentation has produced very mixed results on commercial units. However, when selected lactic acid bacteria inoculants are used and fermentation conditions are carefully controlled, an acidic diet is produced that rapidly and effectively excludes enteropathogens. Such feed is readily accepted by pigs and it has been shown to enhance post–weaning growth and reduce coliform levels in the lower gut. Because of this FLF may be a useful alternative to antibiotic growth promoters. Although results in experimental units are impressive, more research is needed before we can provide Standard Operating Procedures relevant to different conditions. These are needed to enable the transfer of this exciting technologyto commercial pig units.
Digital Business Strategy: Technology-enabled simultaneous formulation and execution 1

This paper discusses the processes for innovation adopted by companies in the face of electronicall y based competition. It is argued that because of the gains in IT performance, information processing and communications are now free resources, forcing companies to adopt processes for strategic reexamination on a continuous basis. These processes will be of two kinds: “Strategy out” processes, which reexamine the role of existing assets and try to increase their utilization through redeploying them in new economic contexts; and “strategy in” processes which deal with changes to the existing business environment, primarily in the form of new technology, and how these new elements can be identified, fitted into the current organizational set of activities, and exploited.
Hard X-ray quiescent emission in magnetars via resonant Compton upscattering

Non-thermal quiescent X-ray emission extending between 10 keV and around 150 keV has been seen in about 10 magnetars by RXTE, INTEGRAL, Suzaku, NuSTAR and Fermi-GBM. For inner magnetospheric models of such hard X-ray signals, inverse Compton scattering is anticipated to be the most efficient process for generating the continuum radiation, because the scattering cross section is resonant at the cyclotron frequency. We present hard X-ray upscattering spectra for uncooled monoenergetic relativistic electrons injected in inner regions of pulsar magnetospheres. These model spectra are integrated over bundles of closed field lines and obtained for different observing perspectives. The spectral turnover energies are critically dependent on the observer viewing angles and electron Lorentz factor. We find that electrons with energies less than around 15 MeV will emit most of their radiation below 250 keV, consistent with the turnovers inferred in magnetar hard X-ray tails. Electrons of higher energy still emit most of the radiation below around 1 MeV, except for quasi-equatorial emission locales for select pulse phases. Our spectral computations use a new state-of-the-art, spin-dependent formalism for the QED Compton scattering cross section in strong magnetic fields.
Photo-Induced Creep of Network Polymers

We investigate the photo-induced creep behavior of a network polymer that can relax stress upon irradiation at particular wavelengths (Scott et al., 2006; Scott et al., 2005). The underlying mechanism is a photochemical-mediated structural rearrangement of the polymer network through polymer chain cleavage and reformation which results in macroscopic stress relaxation. Previous work on this material focused on photo-induced stress relaxation experiments where the overall deformation of the material is fixed. In that case, evolution of the network structure occurs in a single configuration of the body. In this paper, we investigate simultaneous light-stimulated material evolution and deformation under a creep setup. In contrast to stress relaxation, under photo-induced creep, evolution of the network occurs in different configurations as network relaxation is necessarily accompanied by further deformation of the body. Hence, photo-induced creep involves additional complexity because the newly reformed networks have different stress-free configurations and states of deformation. To model the light-stimulated activity, we decompose the cross-linked network into three parallel networks: an initial, a reformed, and a newly formed network. These three networks are distinguished by their volume fractions, stress-free configurations, and states of deformation. Together, the combined mechanical behavior of all three networks describes the mechanical response of the material. The model is used to predict photo-induced creep behavior under different applied nominal stresses and light intensities. Generally, the model performs well in predicting the overall creep behaviors as well as capturing the trends produced by changing the light intensity and applied nominal stress.