Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating the potential reductions in energy demand through efficiency, control and lifestyle change in a real home

In order for the UK to generate pathways to help deliver the near and long term CO2 reduction targets set by the Committee on Climate Change, a number of future scenarios were generated to simulate consumer responses to energy price changes based on economic background, developments in technology, fuel price and other assumptions. The overall carbon reductions anticipated by these scenarios lie between 40% and 90% by 2050, the domestic sector is expected to reduce emissions by 31% by 2020 and 60% by 2050. The question is how the residential sector will respond to the anticipated changes to the supply and demand for energy. There will be potential future CO2 reductions through the introduction of more efficient appliances and the implementation of more advanced heating controls, enabled through ICT 1. What is less clear is how far the benefits of efficiency and control will get us to these goals and to what degree people will have to make changes to their chosen way of living in the home. In this paper we ask, whether the answer to significant reduction in energy consumption lies with the acquisition of equipment, or the adaptation of family life. The approach has been to take whole house energy data from a real family home in 2013 and place it in three possible landscapes that look towards 2050. This model simulates energy consumption in 2050 by applying potential interventions to determine the effects of efficiency, control and more sustainable lifestyles.
Genetic parameters and morphometric characteristics of two generations from the GIFT strain of the Nile Tilapia Parâmetros genéticos e características morfométricas de duas gerações de Tilápia do Nilo linhagem GIFT

The objective of this work was to estimate the (co)variance and the genetic parameters for weight and average daily gain from two national generations of the GIFT strain of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). We evaluated 3918 fish from two generations of the breeding program from the Universidade Estadual de Maringa, Northwestern Parana. Univariate and bivariate analysis were carried out using Bayesian inference. The estimates of heritability using one-trait models for weight was 0.15, average daily gain was 0.19, fish length was 0.23, fish width was 0.19, standard length was 0.17, fish height was 0.15, and the head length was 0.17. The genetic and phenotypic correlations were above 0.68 and 0.95, respectively. The values of Spearman and Pearson correlations for breeding values of the morphometric traits in relation to average daily gain ranged from 0.58 to 0.98 and from 0.63 to 0.99, respectively. In the second generation (G2), the genetic gain was 2.6%, the effective size of the population was 94, and the inbreeding coefficient was 0.005. In the next generation (G3), these values were 8.1%, 124 and 0.004, respectively. The genetic gains over the generations gradually increased from one generation to another, indicating that the criterion, average daily gain, chosen for feature selection was efficient.
EFFECTS OF CONSERVATION TILLAGE INORGANIC BRKSHAVRZY Auobamiri,

Conservation tillage covers a range of tillage practices, mostly non-inversion, which aim to conserve soil moisture and reduce soil erosion by leaving more than one-third of the soil surface covered by crop residues. Organic farmers are encouraged to adopt conservation tillage to preserve soil quality and fertility and to prevent soil degradation – mainly erosion and compaction. Tillage affects the soil physical and chemical environment in which soil microorganisms live, thereby affecting their number, diversity and activity. Conservation tillage (CT) is practiced on 45 million ha world-wide, predominantly in North and South America but its uptake is also increasing in South Africa, Australia and other semi-arid areas of the world. The potential advantages of conservation tillage in organic farming are reduced erosion, greater macroporosity in the soil surface due to larger number of earthworms, more microbial activity and carbon storage, less run-off and leaching of nutrients, reduced fuel use and faster tillage. The disadvantages of conservation tillage in organic farming are greater pressure from grass weeds, less suitable than ploughing for poorly drained, unstable soils or high rainfall areas, restricted N availability and restricted crop choice. A high standard of management is required, tailored to local soil and site conditions. Innovative approaches for the application of conservation tillage, such as perennial mulches, mechanical control of cover crops, rotational tillage and controlled traffic, require further practical assessment.
KERATIN-BASED HYDROGEL FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS AND METHOD OF PRODUCTION

3,867,728 A 2/1975 Stubstad et al. . 3/1 3,875,595 A 4/1975 Froning . 3/1 3.987,497 A 10/1976 Stoy et al. . 3/1 4,021,382 A 5/1977 Stoy et al. . 260/2.5 M 4,026.296 A 5/1977 Stoy et al. . 128/349 B 4,060,081 A 11/1977 Yannas et al. . 128/156 4,107,121 A 8/1978 Stoy. 260/29.6 AB 4,123,406 A 10/1978 Stoy et al. . 260/29.6 AN 4,172,823 A 10/1979 Stoy et al. . 260/29.6 AN 4,183.884 A 1/1980 Wichterle et al. . 264/41 4.228,056. A 10/1980 Stoy. 260/29.6 AN 4,309.777 A 1/1982 Patil . 3/1.91 4,349.921 A 9/1982 Kuntz . 3/1 4,357.274 A 11/1982 Werner . 260/123.7 4,485,097 A 11/1984 Bell . 424/95 4,570,629 A 2/1986 Widra . 128/156 4,685,447 A 8/1987 Iversen et al. . 128/1 R 4,714.469 A 12/1987 Kenna . 623/17 4,772.287 A 9/1988 Ray et al. . 623/17 4,904.260 A 2/1990 Ray et al. . 623/17 4,904.261 A 2/1990 Dove et al. . 623/17 4,911,718 A 3/1990 Lee et al. . 623/17 4,932,969 A 6/1990 Frey et al. . 623/17 4,936.848 A 6/1990 Bagby . 623/17 4.946,378 A 8/1990 Hirayama et al. . 623/17 4.959,213 A 9/1990 Brod et al. . 514/21 4,969.888 A 11/1990 Scholten et al. . 606/94 5,035,716 A 7/1991 Downey . 623/17 5,047,055. A 9/1991 Bao et al. . 623/17 5,047,249 A 9/1991 Rothman et al. . 424/543 5,059,193 A 10/1991 Kuslich . 606/61 5,123,926 A 6/1992 Pisharodi . 623/17 5,192,326 A 3/1993 Bao et al. . 623/17 5,276,138 A 1/1994 Yamada et al. . 530/357 5,306,309 A 4/1994 Wagner et al. . 623/17 5,358,935 A * 10/1994 Smith et al. . 514/21 5,390,683 A 2/1995 Pisharodi . 128/898
ELECTROSTATIC NANO-SUPERCAPACITORS FOR ENERGY STORAGE

The fabrication of 3-d nanostructures can serve as building blocks for a vast range of on-chip energy storage devices. The ability to precisely control material deposition inside these structures is attractive due to its potential for integration with conventional fabrication technology commonly used in MEMS and NEMS devices. This talk discusses how two key-processing technologies, namely anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are implemented to create metal-insulator-metal (MIM) nanocapacitors. These highly scalable processes produce structure arrays exhibiting high power and energy densities, which makes such structures ideal for integration systems-on-a-chip technology where autonomous energy generation and storage is required.
Tomographic search for missing link between the ancient Farallon subduction and the present Cocos subduction

SUMMARY A striking feature of the tomographic images of the Earth’s mid-mantle is the long, high-velocity belt extending in a north‐south direction under the North and South American continents, which is believed to be the remnant subduction of the Farallon Plate. In the Oligocene epoch the North Farallon Plate subduction terminated off Baja California and the South Farallon Plate broke into the Cocos and Nazca plates. This important period of the Farallon subduction history is not clearly understood, due in part to the lack of high-resolution tomographic images. Our P-wave tomographic image of the mantle below Mexico indicates that the currently subducting slab of the Cocos Plate is torn apart from the already subducted slab of the ancient Farallon Plate in a region behind the slab window or slab gap off Baja California. We suggest that the southeastward advance of this slab tearing was synchronous with the counter-clockwise rotation of the Cocos Plate against the eastward to northeastward subduction of the ancient Farallon Plate. The Cocos slab torn apart from the deeper Farallon slab dips to the north to northeast with its strike oblique to the trench axis. This slab configuration delineates well with the intermediate-depth earthquake activity and the volcanic activity known as the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt. Further to the south of the slab tearing of the subducted slab continues from the deeper Farallon part to the shallower Cocos part but with considerable distortion in the shallower part.
Assessing medical interns' attitude to general practitioner thesis & its performance challenges in Mazandran University of Medical Sciences

Background and Purpose: The thesis provides an opportunity for the students to conduct a study and thus to get ready for future research cases. Medical students have faced numerous challenges for their thesis including the selection of the subject, the study approval, equipment and supplies shortage and etc. We have conducted the present study to determine the attitude of medical interns towards the challenges they encounter when performing their thesis study in Mazandran Medial Sciences University in 2010. Methods: This is a descriptive study on 96 medical interns of Medical School. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire about demographic characteristics, the students' status, thesis and their attitude towards challenges they encountered
Chemical and Isotopic Variations in Volcanic Rocks from the Rungwe Province: Constraints on the Development and Scales of Source Heterogeneity Beneath the African Western Rift

The chemical and isotopic compositions of volcanic rocks erupted in continental rifts reflect contributions from the asthenosphere, the continental lithospheric mantle, and the continental crust. In particular, enriched or metasomatized subcontinental lithosphere may be an important source for alkaline marie volcanism (Lloyd and Bailey, 1975; Hawkesworth et al., 1990; Rogers et al., 1992); however, the chemical composition of this reservoir is not well characterized and is likely to be spatially heterogeneous. Both experimental and petrological evidence suggests that small volume CO2and/or H20-rich magmas can affect the chemistry and mineralogy of the
Current challenges for biometric security, with focus on fingerprints

In this paper we discuss some imminent vulnerabilities of biometric systems, which have been potentially known for a longer time, yet they have not been sufficiently taken into account. In particular, we explain why comparing lower bounds of security of biometric systems with the state of the art lower bounds known from cryptography is a logical necessity and not a far reached goal: insufficient security in complex hybrid systems easily may compromise the stronger components in the complex.
On the class numbers of certain number fields obtained from points on elliptic curves

We study the ramifications in the extensions of number fields a rising from an isogeny of elliptic curves. In particular, we start with an e lliptic curve with a rational torsion point, and show that the extension is unramifi ed if and “only if ” the point which generates the extension is reduced into a nonsingular point (we need to assume certain conditions in order to prove the “only if ” part). We also study a characterization of quadratic number fields with class numb ers divisible by 5.
An ERP study of inattentional blindness condition

Sometimes we do not notice a salient object while being occupied with some attention-demand- ing task, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness (IB). Nowadays the question of the ori- gin of IB is posed in terms of the differentiation between the processes of attention and con- sciousness. The goal of the present study was to examine the correlates of object-based attention (SN), early visual awareness (VAN), and late-visual awareness (300 ms after the presentation) in the IB condition. Our experiment used a modified version of the method of Koivisto and col- leagues (Koivisto, Kainulainen & Revonsuo, 2009). Subjects were presented with two different letter stimuli that could be masked; subjects responded either that they saw or didn't see the tar- get letter (in the attended or unattended field) whenever it appeared. IB was considered as a con- dition when subjects responded "I do not see" when the unmasked target letter was presented in an unattended field. Our study showed that in a condition of IB the correlate of object-based attention (SN) was detected in the absence of the conscious processing component (P300). This, together with the absence of the lack of verbal reporting in later stages of processing, implies that the process of early stimuli discrimination might take place. Thus the response "I do not see" in the IB condition in our study could be associated with underachieving in the last stage of stim- ulus processing, which is "access consciousness".
Active Contour Modes Crisp : new technique for segmentation the lungs in CT images

This paper proposes a new Active Contour Model (ACM), called ACM Crisp, and evaluates the segmentation of lungs in computed tomography (CT) images. An ACM draws a curve around or within the object of interest. This curve changes its shape, when some energy acts on it and moves towards the edges of the object. This process is performed by successive iterations of minimization of a given energy, associated with the curve. The ACMs described in the literature have limitations when used for segmentations of CT lung images. The ACM Crisp model overcomes these limitations, since it proposes automatic initiation and new external energy based on rules and radiological pulmonary densities. The paper compares other ACMs with the proposed method, which is shown to be superior. In order to validate the algorithm a medical expert in the field of Pulmonology of the Walter Cantídio University Hospital from the Federal University of Ceará carried out a qualitative analysis. In these analyses 100 CT lung images were used. The segmentation efficiency was evaluated into 5 categories with the following results for the ACM Crisp: 73% excellent, without errors, 20% acceptable, with small errors, and 7% reasonable, with large errors, 0% poor, covering only a small part of the lung, and 0% very bad, making a totally incorrect segmentation. In conclusion the ACM Crisp is considered a useful algorithm to segment CT lung images, and with potential to integrate medical diagnosis systems.
In vitro evaluation of virulence factors of Candida species isolated from oral cavity

The yeast Candida is a normal flora of the skin and the mucous membrane and it then becomes pathogen in immunocompromised people. Various virulence factors are contributing to establishment of the infection in the host. Adherence of the pathogen to host tissues, yeast-hyphal transition and extracellular hydrolytic enzymes secretion are important virulence factors of Candida species. These hydrolytic enzymes play important roles in pathogenicity of Candida infection. The present study was conducted with an aim to determine in vitro phospholipase, proteinase, haemolysin, esterase activities and biofilm formation in oral Candida isolates. A total of 38 Candida species were isolated from oral cavity of patients with symptoms of oral candidiasis. The specimens were identified by standard mycological techniques up to species level and were investigated for production of hydrolytic enzymes and biofilm formation. Phospholipase activity was in 52.6% of isolates, 86.8% produced proteinase and haemolysin activity was seen in 63.1%, esterase activity was demonstrated in 50% of isolates, 78.9% of Candida isolates showed biofilm formation. Candida albicans showed more extracellular hydrolytic enzyme activity, whereas, Candida tropicalis showed more biofilm formation. Both the C. albicans and Non-albicans Candida (NAC) species are capable of producing extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and biofilm formation. Key words: Candida species, virulence factors, extracellular hydrolytic enzymes, biofilm formation.
Symbolic derivation of control models for nonholonomic mechanical systems

A systematic approach for a definition and derivation of control models for mechanical systems with nonholonomic constraints is presented. A mechanical structure of a system is translated to the geometric definition of local coordinate transformations. Further, mathematical equations of a control model can be matched to the geometric definition. Finally, numerical algorithms for numerical simulations are built as translations of an underlying structure to code procedures.
Current Trend in Enzyme Immobilization: A Review

The term "immobilized enzymes" refers to "enzymes physically confined or localized in a certain defined region of space with retention of their catalytic activities, and which can be used repeatedly and continuously". Besides the application in industrial processes, the immobilization techniques are the basis for making a number of biotechnological products with applications in diagnostics, antibiotic production, bioremediation and biosensors. The major components of an immobilized enzyme system are the enzyme, the matrix, and the mode of attachment. The enzymes can be attached to the support by interactions ranging from reversible physical adsorption and ionic linkages to stable covalent bonds. As a consequence of enzyme immobilization, some properties such as catalytic activity or thermal stability become altered. However, immobilized enzymes possess the capability of reuse, low cost of production and have many industrial and medical applications. The concept of stabilization has been an important driving force for immobilizing enzymes. True stabilization at the molecular level has been demonstrated (e.g., proteins immobilized through multipoint covalent binding).
LOW-LATITUDE CORONAL HOLES AT THE MINIMUM OF THE 23rd SOLAR CYCLE

Low- and mid-latitude coronal holes (CHs) observed on the Sun during the current solar activity minimum (from 2006 September 21, Carrington rotation (CR) 2048, to 2009 June 26, CR 2084) were analyzed using Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope and STEREO-A SECCHI EUVI data. From both the observations and Potential Field Source Surface modeling, we find that the area occupied by CHs inside a belt of ±40° around the solar equator is larger in the current 2007 solar minimum relative to the similar phase of the previous 1996 solar minimum. The enhanced CH area is related to a recurrent appearance of five persistent CHs, which survived during 7–27 solar rotations. Three of the CHs are of positive magnetic polarity and two are negative. The most long-lived CH was being formed during 2 days and existed for 27 rotations. This CH was associated with fast solar wind at 1 AU of approximately 620 ± 40 km s−1. The three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic modeling for this time period shows an open field structure above this CH. We conclude that the global magnetic field of the Sun possessed a multi-pole structure during this time period. Calculation of the harmonic power spectrum of the solar magnetic field demonstrates a greater prevalence of multi-pole components over the dipole component in the 2007 solar minimum compared to the 1996 solar minimum. The unusual large separation between the dipole and multi-pole components is due to the very low magnitude of the dipole component, which is three times lower than that in the previous 1996 solar minimum.
Towards exploiting the preservation strategy of sporadic servers

Worst-case response time analysis of hard real-time tasks under hierarchical fixed priority pre-emptive scheduling has been addressed in a number of papers. By means of an example, we show that the existing analysis can be improved when a sporadic server is applied at highest priority and that server is exclusively used for hard real-time tasks. Improving the analysis is not straightforward, however, because the worst-case response time of a task is not necessarily assumed for the first job when released at a critical instant. Moreover, our example illustrates that the provision of the capacity of the server may be fragmented. The paper includes a brief investigation of best-case response times and response jitter for the example.
FDI and Economic Development in China 1970-2006: A Cointegration Study

The relationship between high levels of FDI and of economic growth has been of enduring interest in the development literature, particularly in the context of economies like China which have enjoyed exception inflows of foreign capital as well as experiencing unprecedented economic growth. The specific literature on China has failed to come to a definite conclusion as to whether FDI does increase growth mainly because they focus on one or several different channels through which FDI might affect the macro-economy. A more comprehensive framework is necessary to investigate the overarching relationships between economic development and FDI, as identified by endogenous growth theory, by including the potential influences on them, and vice-versa, of domestic capital stock, human capital, the state of technology, the openness of the economy and its gradual liberalisation. Although we investigate those influences in a VAR framework, our main focus is the presence of long-run cointegration, between the relevant variables and aggregate output in long-run equilibrium. We find, and then identify, such long run structural relationships; one of which identifies a long-run "production function". In the long-run FDI reduces economic growth; but the latter increases the former. There are important impacts on variables such as employment, from FDI and other factors such as openness and technology transfer, which have both indirect or direct spill-over effects from FDI.
Spatial quality evaluation for reproduced sound: terminology, meaning and a scene-based paradigm

Spatial quality in reproduced sound is a subset of the broad topic of sound quality. In the past it has been studied less rigorously than other aspects of reproduced sound quality, leading to a lack of clarity in standard definitions of subjective attributes. Rigor in the physical measurement of sound signals should be matched by equal rigor in semantics relating to subjective evaluation. A scene-based paradigm for the description and assessment of spatial quality is described, which enables clear distinctions to be made between elements of a reproduced sound scene and will assist in the search for related physical parameters.
RareDeNovoandTransmittedCopy-NumberVariation in Autistic Spectrum Disorders

SUMMARY To explore the genetic contribution to autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs), we have studied genomic copy-number variation in a large cohort of families with a single affected child and at least one unaffected sibling. We confirm a major contribution from de novo deletions and duplications but also find evidence of a role for inherited ‘‘ultrarare’’ duplications. Our results show that, relative to males, females have greater resistance to autism from genetic causes, which raises the question of the fate of female carriers. By analysis of the proportion and number of recurrent loci, we set a lower bound for distinct target loci at several hundred. We find many new candidate regions, adding substantially to the list of potential gene targets, and confirm several loci previously observed. The functions of the genes in the regions of de novo variation point to a great diversity of genetic causes but also suggest functional convergence.