Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accurate calculation of equilibrium reduced density matrix for the system-bath model: A multilayer multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree approach and its comparison to a multi-electronic-state path integral molecular dynamics approach

An efficient and accurate method for computing the equilibrium reduced density matrix is presented for treating open quantum systems characterized by the system-bath model. The method employs the multilayer multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree theory for imaginary time propagation and an importance sampling procedure for calculating the quantum mechanical trace. The method is applied to the spin-boson Hamiltonian, which leads to accurate results in agreement with those produced by the multi-electronic-state path integral molecular dynamics method.
User-generated content, free labour and the cultural industries

A dominant theme of recent critical analysis of digital media, user-generated content and cultural industries is that they involve unpaid work (‘free labour’) on the part of participants. This theme has been developed alongside other critical studies of labour in the cultural and IT industries, which focuses more on professional and semi-professional work. Critiques of free labour have provided some stimulating and necessary interventions against complacent celebrations of cultural-industry work, and of the relations between production and consumption in the digital era, but some significant conceptual issues concerning capitalism, exploitation, power and freedom remain underexplored. In addition, these critiques potentially serve (unintentionally) to marginalise the political importance of the conditions of professional cultural labour. After locating the critiques of free labour in the context of autonomist Marxist thought, the article a) argues that the frequent pairing of the term ‘free labour’ with the concept of exploitation is unconvincing and rather incoherent, at least as so far developed by the most-cited analysts; b) explores what political demands might and might not coherently be derived from critical accounts of free labour (and argues that the internship system is by far the most significant example of free labour in the contemporary cultural industries; c) assesses a previous critical attempt to address questions of unpaid labour, involving the concept of the ‘audience commodity’, and judges that it takes a much more pessimistic view of populations than that of free labour, but shares a lack of engagement with lived experience and political pragmatics; d) argues for the continuing political importance of the conditions of professional cultural production, against the implicit marginalisation of that importance in some versions of the free labour debates, and summarises conclusions from some recent research on the subject.
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES HOUSEHOLD LEVERAGE AND THE DEDUCTIBILITY OF HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST: EVIDENCE FROM UK HOUSE PURCHASERS

During the last quarter century, mortgage interest deductibility has been gradually phased out. In 1974 a ceiling was set on the size of the mortgage eligible for interest deductibility (£30,000 since 1983), and, beginning in 1993, the maximum rate at which interest under that ceiling could be deducted was reduced in four steps to zero in 1999. The combination of these changes gives a rich array of different debt tax penalties for different households in different years. We analyze over 117,000 loans originated in the UK during the 1988-91 and 1995-98 periods to finance home purchases. We first estimate a logit to predict whether a household’s loan exceeds the £30,000 ceiling. These predicted probabilities are then employed to construct debt tax penalty variables that are used to explain household LTVs on loans to finance home purchases. The penalty variables depend on the predicted probability of having a loan that exceeds the ceiling, the market mortgage rate, and exogenous household specific tax rates. From these results we compute estimates of the impact of removing deductibility on initial LTVs in the UK and on the weighted average cost of capital for owner-occupied housing. Removal of deductibility is estimated to reduce initial LTVs, which mitigates the rise in the weighted average cost of capital, by about 30 percent, with the reduction varying with household age, loan size (above or below the £30,000 limit) and tax bracket. Patric H. Hendershott Dr Gwilym Pryce Dr Michael White Aberdeen Business School Department of Urban Studies Department of Land Economy University of Aberdeen University of Glasgow University of Aberdeen Aberdeen AB24 3UF Glasgow G12 8RS Aberdeen AB24 3UF phh3939@uslink.net g.pryce@socsci.gla. ac.uk m.white@abdn.ac.uk
Designing for nature and sustainability

Humankind is now using natural resources more rapidly than natural systems can replace them and has been doing so for approximately two and a half decades. Moreover, both natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides are being diminished at an unprecedented rate. Finally, the human population is expected to increase by three billion by 2050. This situation is clearly unsustainable, but it can be made less so by redesigning societal wastes so that they benefit the biospheric life-support system. Nature initiates and maintains a system of energy and nutrient cycling and, if the system integrity is maintained, provides alternative and redundant means that help stabilize functional capacity. The system is composed of opportunistic individuals that compete with other individuals to acquire the resources essential to their survival. The interrelationships within this aggregation of individuals (i.e. system components) are based on energy flow. This self-organizing and self-maintaining system is increasingly stressed by human activities. Humans are a part of, not apart from, this system and are governed by the same laws of nature. In short, an ecologically-based economic system is essential to sustainable use of the planet. The planet's life-support system has been a superb model of sustainability, which humans should emulate and become a part of more than they now are. When the biospheric life-support system is stressed to the point of disequilibrium, the results are disastrous for societies, individuals and ecosystems. Evolutionary processes have produced replacement systems following the five great biological extinctions. However, the probability is high that the next replacement system will not be as suitable for humankind as the present system. Sustainable practices are intended to prevent biospheric disequilibrium and maintain the present environmental conditions so favorable to humankind, including posterity.
THREE METHODS TO DETERMINE MASS CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN BODY SEGMENTS

Three approaches to estimate body segment parameters (BSP) are compared, a volumescanning photographic method, a force plate technique and a geometric method. First approach: a 3D body scanner was used to obtain a closed surface mesh of a subject. Closed loops were employed to divide the mesh into head, thorax, pelvis and limbs. Volume and center of mass (CM) of each segment were computed. Second approach: a triangular reaction board with two force sensors was used to measure the position of the CM. Third approach: The multi-body simulation software dynamicus/alaska models the segments by geometric shapes like elliptic solids, ellipsoids, and semi-ellipsoids. The results indicate that the body scanner method is highly accurate and an integration into dynamicus/alaska would increase simulation accuracy.
Simultaneous Prevention of Rotational and Translational Slip for a Humanoid Robot

Slip often occurs in humanoid robot walking, especially when the robot walks on a low friction floor or walks fast. Unexpected slip may cause the robot to fall and then sustain damage. In real environments, rotational and translational slip phenomena can happen during biped walking. Previous studies have mainly focused on solving these problems independently. In this paper, we propose strategies for simultaneous rotational and translational slip prevention based on a three mass model, which takes into account the effect of the swing leg. The rotational slip is prevented through a bionic walking pattern generator which mimics the yaw moment compensation mechanism of a human. The translational slip is eliminated through a novel reaction force ratio reduction control with the compensation of CoM (center of mass) acceleration. The effectiveness of the presented strategies is validated by simulations and experiments with an actual humanoid robot.
The role of edge dislocations on the red luminescence of ZnO films deposited by RF-sputtering

The existence of extended defects (i.e., dislocations) in inorganic semiconductors, such as GaN or ZnO, responsible for broad emission peaks in photoluminescence analysis remains unresolved. The possible assignments of these luminescence bands are still matter of discussion. In this study, two different zinc oxide samples, grown under different oxygen partial pressures and substrate temperatures, are presented. Epitaxial and structural properties were analysed by means of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques. They confirm that the layers are single-phase with a good crystalline quality. Nevertheless, a different density of threading dislocations, with a higher contribution of edge dislocations, was found. Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been used to investigate the optical properties. The steady state luminescence spectra performed at 14K evidenced the donor bound exciton recombination and deep green and red emission bands. The red band with a maximum at 1.78 eV was found to be stronger in the sample grown at lower oxygen pressure which also shows higher density of threading dislocations. From the temperature and excitation density dependence of the red band, a donor acceptor pair recombination model was proposed, where hydrogen and zinc vacancies are strong candidates for the donor and acceptor species, respectively.
Histopathological patterns of head and neck lesions - a two year retrospective hospital based study

Background: Head and neck lesions include a spectrum of pathological lesions ranging from simple benign to highly malignant entities. These lesions contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the histological patterns of head and neck lesions, both non- neoplastic and neoplastic and to analyse the data in relation to age, gender, topography. Methods: A two year retrospective study was conducted in the Post Graduate Department of Pathology, ASCOMS and Hospital and histopathological data pertaining to all head and neck lesions was reviewed. Each case was analysed with respect to age, gender, site and histological type. Results: One hundred and forty-five cases from the head and neck region were analysed during this two-year period. Age range was from 3 months to 85 years with maximum cases in the age group of 21-50 years (51.03%). The Male: Female ratio was 1.37:1. In our study, 53.79% benign, 24.13% inflammatory and 22.06% malignant cases were recorded. Maximum number of benign lesions was in the age group of 21-50 years. Malignancies were noted to be higher in ages 51 years and above. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common malignancy observed. Conclusions: We conclude that site specific data like this is helpful in evaluating patterns of head and neck lesions and augment the base line data of institute and the region.
ISOPEROXIDASES PATTER OF ROBI IA PSEUDOACACIA VAR. OLTE ICA I VITRO CULTURE O DIFFERE T MEDIA

In this work is studied the isoperoxidase pattern of the in vitro subculture of Robinia pseudoacacia var. oltenica, on various culture media, with various content of myo-inositol, humic acids and magnetic fluids. The electrophoretic separation of the isoperoxidases was performed from extracts obtained from 30 days’old vegetal material. The isoperoxidase fractions were characterized in terms of quantity and quality and a study of their thermal stability was performed. The obtained data show that the isoperoxidase activity is modulated in various ways by the presence of the studied factors into the culture medium.
Non-radially pulsating Be stars

Based on more than 3000 high-resolution echelle spectra of 27 early-type Be stars, taken over six years, it is shown that the short-term periodic line profile variability of these objects is due to non-radial pulsation. The appearance of the line profile variability depends mostly on the projected rotational velocity v sini and thus, since all Be stars rotate rapidly, on the inclination i. The observed variability of the investigated stars is described, and for some of them line profile variability periods are given for the first time. For two of the investigated stars the line profile variability was successfully modeled as non-radial pulsation with � = m =+ 2 already in previous works. Since Be stars with similarly low v sini share the same variability properties, these are in general explainable under the same model assumptions. The line profile variability of stars with higher v sini is different from the one observed in low v sini stars, but can be reproduced by the same model, if only the model inclination is modified to more equatorial values. Only for a few stars with periodic line profile variability the � = m = 2 non-radial pulsation mode is not able to provide a satisfying explanation. These objects might pulsate in different modes (e.g. tesseral ones, � |m|). Almost all stars in the sample show traces of outburst-like variability, pointing to an ephemeral nature of the mass-loss phenomenon responsible for the formation of the circumstellar disk of early-type Be stars, rather than a steady star-to-disk mass transfer. In addition to the variability due to non-radial pulsation present in most stars, several objects were found to show other periods residing in the immediate circumstellar environment. The presence of these secondary periods is enhanced in the outburst phases. Short-lived aperiodic phenomena were clearly seen in two stars. But, given the unfavourable sampling of our database to follow rapid variability of transient nature, they might be more common. Only in two out of 27 stars short-term spectroscopic variability was not detected at all.
Isolation and Partial Characterization of Cadmium Binding Proteins from the Oceanic Squid, Ommastrephes bartrami

Cadmium binding proteins were isolated from the liver of the squid, Ommastrephes bartrami, collected from the North Pacific Ocean. Based on the elution position on Sephadex G-75, its apparent molecular weight is about 16,000. By ion exchange chromatography, the cadmium-protein complexes were separated further into a cadmium binding protein and two cadmium, copper binding proteins. Each metal binding protein contains about 21-29% dicarboxylic acids (Aspartic and Glutamic acids), traces of histidine and phenylalanine, and a proportionally higher glycine content than horse metallothionein. Based on the amino acid composition, it seems that the cadmium binding proteins from the squid are different from the mammalian metallothionein.
Factors Influencing the Adoption of Electronic Banking in Kenya: A Case of Commercial Banks in Nairobi County

The revolution of information technology has transformed the financial services industry. Despite the undeniable importance of financial innovation in improving service delivery, there is inadequate understanding about the drivers of adoption of e-banking systems. The study established the influence of organizational capability, perceived technological risk, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use on the adoption of e-banking in Kenya. The study is grounded on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. The findings show that the presence of electronic systems, databases, and applications; effective management and oversight, and financial capacity are prerequisite to adoption and use of e-banking services. The main risks perceived by respondents were the effect of incorrect entries, time taken to learn how to use the system, and system outages that may affect access to accounts. E-banking was also perceived to be faster, easier, and better than traditional systems, with many users’ comments on perceived ease of use confirming that the graphic user interfaces are clear, easy to use and do not demand much mental effort. Multiple regression coefficients indicated a statistically significant relationship between organizational capability and perceived usefulness and the adoption and use of e-banking services. There was no statistically significant relationship with perceived risk and perceived ease of use.
The skill content of technological change. Some conjectures on the role of education and job-training in reducing the timing of new technology adoption

This positional contribution has a twofold aim: the first is to explore the recent empirical literature developed around the issue of how the adoption of new technologies within the firm has changed the skill requirements of occupations; the second is to conjecture on the relationship, and on the relative sign, between technology adoption and firm sponsored onthe- job training. The basic idea is that the time-consuming dimension of the adoption process plays a direct role both in determining the profitability of the investment in new technology and in assessing the size of the productivity slowdown the firm eventually occurs after its introduction. On the extent that the timing of adoption depends on the workers’ skill composition and on the distance between the skills acquired for the job and the skills required by the job, the deep understanding of the interplay between the mechanisms of human capital accumulation can be helpful in order for the firm to set suitable and efficient job-training strategies. During the last two decades the discussion around the impact of technological change on workers’ human capital has been intense: the rapid diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) and computer-based machines (CNC, CAD), together with the large increase in the supply of highly-educated workers and rising returns to education, favoured the argument that technological change is characterized by a skill-biased nature (SBTC), leading to substantial changes in the division of labour and shifting labor demand towards employees with higher levels of education. On this purpose, different approaches have developed in the last decades that provide different evidence to a common research question. While a lot of national and international evidence still continues to support the SBTC hypothesis by employing ‘traditional’ aggregate measures of technological change and indirect measures of skill upgrading, a smaller literature is emerging that considers the heterogeneity of both technologies and skills at the workplace and aims at determining the demand of skills by the tasks occupations require. Even if new and interesting results emerge, many ‘black holes’ still remain, the most important of which seem to be the lack of theoretical and empirical models analyzing the role that school education and on-the-job training, and their interplay, can play in reducing the timing of new technology adoption.
A Pro-cyclical Stock Market under a Counter-cyclical Monetary Policy in a Model of Endogenous Business Cycles

During the last 25 years, the stock market in the US has been strongly pro-cyclical in the presence of a counter-cyclical monetary policy. In this paper, we use an endogenous business cycle model to explore the factors contributing to a pro-cyclical stock market. A dynamic expectation structure in the real sector gives rise to a strong non-linearity and is responsible for the emergence of endogenous business cycles in the model. In the context of this model, we find that a timid or ineffective monetary policy allows the stock market to be dominated by the fluctuations of profits in the real sector. We model the potential ineffectiveness of monetary policy in terms of an endogenous risk premium. The model is calibrated to fit key properties of the data. In particular, it can generate a pro-cyclical stock market in the presence of a counter-cyclical monetary policy.
MODELLING THE IMPACT OF FISHERY BYCATCH ON WANDERING AND BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSSES OF SOUTH GEORGIA: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

The subject invention provides a method of forming high resilience slabstock polyurethane foam having random cell structures and displaying latex-like feel and characteristics with superior physical performance to latex foam, including complying with California Technical Bulletin 117 and British Standard 5852:Crib 5 flame tests. The method includes the first step of providing an isocyanate-reactive component and an isocyanate component substantially free of toluene diisocyanate comprising diphenylmethane-2,4'-diisocyanate present in an amount of from 15 parts by weight to 55 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the isocyanate component and diphenylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate present in an amount from 45 parts by weight to 85 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the isocyanate component to react with the isocyanate-reactive component. A first nucleation gas is provided under low pressure and is added into at least one of the isocyanate-reactive component and the isocyanate component to produce a first cell structure in the polyurethane foam. A second nucleation gas different than the first nucleation gas is provided under low pressure and is added into at least one of the isocyanate-reactive component and the isocyanate component to produce a second cell structure in the polyurethane foam different than the first cell structure.
Predicting the Political Spectrum with Support Vector Machine

Support Vector Machines (SVMs) have gained considerable popularity over the last two decades for binary classification. This paper concentrates on a recent optimization approach to SVMs, the SVM majorization approach, or SVM-Maj for short. This method is aimed at small and medium sized Support Vector Machine (SVM) problems, in which SVM-Maj performs well relative to other solvers. To obtain an SVM solution, most other solvers need to solve the dual problem. In contrast, SVM-Maj solves the primal SVM optimization iteratively thereby converging to the SVM solution. Furthermore, the simplicity of SVM-Maj makes it intuitively more accessible to the researcher than the state-of-art decomposition methods. Moreover, SVM-Maj can easily handle any well-behaved error function, while the traditional SVM solvers focus particularly on the absolute-hinge error. In this paper, the SVM-Maj approach is enhanced to include the use of different kernels, the standard way in the SVM literature for handling nonlinearities in the predictor space. In addition, the R package SVMMaj is introduced that implements this methodology. Amongst its features are the weighting of the error for individual objects in the training dataset, handling nonlinear prediction through monotone spline transformations and through kernels, and functions to do cross validation. As an application of SVM, this paper also investigates the practicability of using Support Vector Machine as an automatic Machine Learning Technique on predicting the political spectrum of a person based on their choice of words in political issues. For this research, the statements of the parliamentarians in the plenary meetings of the House of Representatives have been used. Using the term frequency of the selected features in the model, it was possible to obtain a hit rate of up to nearly 70%, which was higher than the hit rate obtained by purely majority voting.