Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adding particle collisions to the formation of asteroids and Kuiper belt objects via streaming instabilities

Modelling the formation of super-km-sized planetesimals by gravitational collapse of regions overdense in small particles requires numerical algorithms capable of handling simultaneously hydrodynamics, particle dynamics and particle collisions. While the initial phases of radial contraction are dictated by drag forces and gravity, particle collisions become gradually more significant as filaments contract beyond Roche density. Here we present a new numerical algorithm for treating momentum and energy exchange in collisions between numerical superparticles representing a high number of physical particles. We adopt a Monte Carlo approach where superparticle pairs in a grid cell collide statistically on the physical collision time-scale. Collisions occur by enlarging particles until they touch and solving for the collision outcome, accounting for energy dissipation in inelastic collisions. We demonstrate that superparticle collisions can be consistently implemented at a modest computational cost. In protoplanetary disc turbulence driven by the streaming instability, we argue that the relative Keplerian shear velocity should be subtracted during the collision calculation. If it is not subtracted, density inhomogeneities are too rapidly diffused away, as bloated particles exaggerate collision speeds. Local particle densities reach several thousand times the mid-plane gas density. We find efficient formation of gravitationally bound clumps, with a range of masses corresponding to contracted radii from 100 to 400 km when applied to the asteroid belt and 150 to 730 km when applied to the Kuiper belt, extrapolated using a constant self-gravity parameter. The smaller planetesimals are not observed at low resolution, but the masses of the largest planetesimals are relatively independent of resolution and treatment of collisions.
Diatom culture media contain extracellular silica nanoparticles which form opalescent films

Diatoms are unicellular photosynthetic algae with enormous diversity of patterns in their silica structures at the nano- to micronscale. In this study, we present results, which support the hypothesis that silica nanoparticles are released into the diatom culture medium. The formation of an opalescent film by the self-assembly of silica nanoparticles produced in the growth medium of diatoms. This film was formed on the filter paper from the culture medium of a Coscinodiscus sp. culture. A numbers of diatoms with partially opened valves were observed on the film surface under light microscopy and SEM, which indicates that cell contents inside of diatoms had been released into the culture solution. AFM images of produced opalescent films show ordered arrays of silica nanoparticles with different diameters depending on the colors observed by light microscopy. The film forming silica nanoparticles are either released by the diatoms during reproduction or after cell death. This approach provides an environmentally friendly means for fabricating silica nanoparticles, decorative coatings and novel optical materials.
Healthy Through Presence or Absence, Nature or Science?: A Framework for Understanding Front-of-Package Food Claims

Food products claim to be healthy in many ways, but prior research has investigated these claims at either the macro level (using broad descriptions such as “healthy” or “tasty”) or the micro level (using single claims such as “low fat”). The authors use a meso-level framework to examine whether these claims invoke natural or scientific arguments and whether they communicate about positive attributes present in the food or negative attributes absent from the food. They find that common front-of-packaging claims can be appropriately classified into (1) science- and absence-focused claims about “removing negatives,” (2) science- and presence-focused claims about “adding positives,” (3) nature- and absence-focused claims about “not adding negatives,” and (4) nature- and presence-focused claims about “not removing positives. ” The authors conduct validation studies using breakfast cereals, a category for which nutrition quality varies but food claims are constant. They find that claim type is completely uncorrelated to actual nutrition quality yet influences inferences consumers make about taste, healthiness, and dieting. Claim type also helps predict the effects of hedonic eating, healthy eating, or weight loss goals on food choice.
Introgression the SalTol QTL into the Elite Rice Variety of Russia by Marker-Assisted Selection

The present work is devoted to investigation of the possibility to apply methods of Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) to introgression the SalTol QTL into genotypes of elite Russian varieties of rice. It was shown that microsatellite markers Rm493, may be effectively used to control transfer the SalTol QTL genes into Russian populations of rice. Based on the highly productive variety “Novator”, we obtained the lines Nov-129 and Nov-148 carrying loci SalTol in homozygous state. The lines Nov-129 and Nov-148 are used as an improved salt tolerance donor source to obtain hybrids tolerance to salinity.
Polygynous marriage and child health in sub-Saharan Africa: What is the evidence for harm?

BACKGROUND Researchers from a variety of disciplines have presented data indicating that polygynous marriage is damaging to child health. This work has been used to support the classification of polygyny as a ‘harmful cultural practice’ and to advocate for marital reform across sub-Saharan Africa. OBJECTIVE We present a critical review of studies of polygyny and child health, highlighting issues of context and variation. We also consider methodological limitations of the existing literature. We We
Effect of pre-stimulation on milk flow pattern and distribution of milk constituents at a quarter level

The aim of this study was to investigate milk flow patterns and milk composition in relation to pre- milking udder stimulation. The milk of one quarter of each of the sixteen cows was removed separately and in the course of milking it was divided into six fractions (P - cisternal milk during milking without stimulation and the first 300 ml during milking with pre-stimulation, 0-25%, 25-50%, 50-75%, 75-100%, 75-100%, MS-machine stripping) and into five portions (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 100% + MS). Two milkings were performed during two consecutive evening milkings with or without manual stimulation. Pre-stimulation resulted in a reduction of mil - king time, duration of the increase and decline phase of milk flow, stripping yield, but it increased the peak flow rate as compared to milking without pre-stimulation ( P < 0.05). In both fractions and portions the content of fat increased steadily during milking and reached a maximum at MS. Lactose increased from P to 50-75% and then it decreased to MS. Significantly higher fat contents at 25% and 50% portions and in both protein and dry matter at 25% portions were found during milking with pre-stimulation as compared to no stimulation ( P < 0.05). The content of fat, protein and dry matter were also higher in both P and 0-25% fractions for milking with pre-stimu - lation ( P < 0.05). Pre-stimulation positively influenced the parameters of milk flow and therefore the efficiency of milk removal and contributed to better distribution of components in milk fractions during milking.
Dynamic Model on the Transmission of Malicious Codes in Network

This paper introduces differential susceptible e-epidemic model SSiiIIII (susceptible class-1 for virus (S1) susceptible class-2 for worms (S2) -susceptible class-3 for Trojan horse (S3) – infectious (I) – recovered (R)) for the transmission of malicious codes in a computer network. We derive the formula for reproduction number (R0) to study the spread of malicious codes in computer network. We show that the Infectious free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable and endemic equilibrium is locally asymptotically sable when reproduction number is less than one. Also an analysis has been made on the effect of antivirus software in the infectious nodes. Numerical methods are employed to solve and simulate the system of equations developed. Index Terms — Computer network; Worms; Virus; Trojan horse; Epidemic Model; Reproduction number; Global stability
At-Speed Functional Built-In Self-Test Methodology for Processors

Dependability of systems has become one of the most important engineering concerns. With new technologies new paradigms of testing are emerging. One of them is to make systems self-testing, and the quality of self-test is the key issue. In this paper, a new methodology of functional Built-In Self-Test is proposed, which stresses testing in dynamics to achieve the highest fault coverage. The main novelty of the proposed approach is in using the inherent functionality of systems for testing them at-speed in normal working conditions. The proposed self-test includes on-chip test application and response collection by using the native instructions of the processor under test. A hierarchical divide-and-conquer approach is applied. At component level, tests are targeting structural faults in components whereas at processor level, the functionality of the processor is used to apply structural tests to each component at-speed. Differently from similar approaches, the sequences of component test patterns are not needed to store in the chip under test, they will be generated on-line by the resources of the system. A framework for synthesis of self-test stimuli data is proposed.
Glycerol Copolyesters: Control of Branching and Molecular Weight Using a Lipase Catalyst

Immobilized Lipase B from Candida antartica (Novozyme 435) catalyzed bulk polycondensations at 70 °C for 42 h that resulted in hyperbranched polyesters with octanediol-adipate and glycerol-adipate repeat units. Instead of using organic solvents, the monomers adipic acid (A2), 1,8-octanediol (B2), and glycerol (B‘B2) were combined to form monophasic ternary mixtures. During the first 18 h of a copolymerization with monomer feed ratio (A2 to B2 to B‘B2) 1.0:0.8:0.2 mol/mol, the regioselectivity of Novozyme 435 resulted in linear copolyesters. Extending the reaction to 42 h gave hyperbranched copolymers with dendritic glycerol units. The % regioselectivity for esterifications at the primary glycerol positions ranged from 77 to 82% and was independent of glycerol content in the monomer feed. Variation of glycerol in the monomer feed gave copolymers with degree of branching (DB) from 9 to 58%. In one example, a hyperbranched copolyester with 18 mol % glycerol−adipate units was formed in 90% yield, with Mw 75 6.
School Accountability and Principal Mobility: How No Child Left Behind Affects the Allocation of School Leaders

The move toward increased school accountability may substantially affect the career risks that school leaders face without providing commensurate changes in pay. Since effective school leaders likely have significant scope in choosing where to work, these uncompensated risks may undermine the efficacy of accountability reforms by limiting the ability of low-performing schools to attract and retain effective leaders. This paper empirically evaluates the economic importance of principal mobility in response to accountability by analyzing how the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in North Carolina affected principal mobility across North Carolina schools and how it reshaped the distribution of high-performing principals across lowand high-performing schools. Using value-added measures of principal performance and variation in pre-period student demographics to identify schools that are likely to miss performance targets, I show that NCLB decreases average principal quality at schools serving disadvantaged students by inducing more able principals to move to schools less likely to face NCLB sanctions. These results are consistent with a model of principal-school matching in which school districts are unable to compensate principals for the increased likelihood of sanctions at schools with historically low-performing students. ∗I am very grateful to Daron Acemoglu, Leila Agha, Josh Angrist, David Autor, Esther Duflo, David Figlio, Brigham Frandsen, Michael Greenstone, Matt Notowidigdo, Amanda Pallais, Parag Pathak, and numerous participants at the MIT Labor Lunch for helpful comments and suggestions. All errors are my own. †Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
Controlled formation of spheres by phase segregation in hybrid organic- inorganic PMMA-SiO2 systems through the silane coupling agent GLYMOS

The use of coupling agents in a PMMA–SiO2 system, synthesized from TEOS and using diethyl oxalate (DO) as a solvent for PMMA, generates uniform and transparent coatings with good adhesion. The use of DO as a solvent for both phases made the system compatible, and a transparent composite was formed. The introduction of a silane coupling agent usually increases compatibility among organic and inorganic phases and also adhesion to the substrate. Nevertheless, in the case under study, a silane coupling agent (γ-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane, GLYMOS) was used because of the observed effect of increasing the size of emulsion droplets, usually on a nanometric scale. The main characteristic of the composite system consisted of a high density of perfectly formed PMMA spheres wrapped in a silica matrix. These were regularly uniform in both distribution and particle size. Frequently, there were one or two main sizes. High control in sphere size was attained through the GLYMOS content. TGA and contact angle measurements were carried out, comparing coatings made of SiO2, PMMA, hybrid using DO, and hybrid using DO with GLYMOS.
Randomized Model Predictive Navigation

A new methodology for implementing nonlinear receding horizon optimization is presented, with direct application to robot navigation in cluttered environments. The methodology combines elements from statistical learning theory with nonlinear receding horizon schemes that use control Lyapunov functions as terminal costs, while relaxing the conditions on the time derivatives of the latter, based on a new result for stability of nonlinear systems with switching dynamics. As the theoretical analysis indicates, and numerical results verify, the proposed receding horizon scheme can utilize terminal costs that are not control Lyapunov functions. The resulting strategy is shown to outperform traditional potential field-based techniques, even when additional optimization objectives are imposed, and allows for trade-offs between performance and computational complexity.
A round-efficient distributed betweenness centrality algorithm

We present Min-Rounds BC (MRBC), a distributed-memory algorithm in the CONGEST model that computes the betweenness centrality (BC) of every vertex in a directed unweighted n-node graph in O(n) rounds. Min-Rounds BC also computes all-pairs-shortest-paths (APSP) in such graphs. It improves the number of rounds by at least a constant factor over previous results for unweighted directed APSP and for unweighted BC, both directed and undirected. We implemented MRBC in D-Galois, a state-of-the-art distributed graph analytics system, incorporated additional optimizations enabled by the D-Galois model, and evaluated its performance on a production cluster with up to 256 hosts using power-law and road networks. Compared to the BC algorithm of Brandes, on average, MRBC reduces the number of rounds by 14.0× and the communication time by 2.8× for the graphs in our test suite. As a result, MRBC is 2.1× faster on average than Brandes BC for real-world web-crawls on 256 hosts.
Practical Speech Emotion Recognition Based on Online Learning: From Acted Data to Elicited Data

We study the cross-database speech emotion recognition based on online learning. How to apply a classifier trained on acted data to naturalistic data, such as elicited data, remains a major challenge in today’s speech emotion recognition system. We introduce three types of different data sources: first, a basic speech emotion dataset which is collected from acted speech by professional actors and actresses; second, a speaker-independent data set which contains a large number of speakers; third, an elicited speech data set collected from a cognitive task. Acoustic features are extracted from emotional utterances and evaluated by using maximal information coefficient (MIC). A baseline valence and arousal classifier is designed based on Gaussian mixture models. Online training module is implemented by using AdaBoost. While the offline recognizer is trained on the acted data, the online testing data includes the speaker-independent data and the elicited data. Experimental results show that by introducing the online learning module our speech emotion recognition system can be better adapted to new data, which is an important character in real world applications.
Vision-Based Position Estimation Utilizing an Extended Kalman Filter

Abstract : The purpose of this project is to develop and integrate a prototype multicopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a vision-based algorithm to enable a relative position hold capability. The resulting solution will enable automatic operation of a UAV with respect to another visually detectable object without use of GPS receiver or when GPS signal is not available. Navigating a robot in a GPS-denied environment is a desired feature in many applications, including Maritime Interdiction Operations. While automatically maintaining its relative position with respect to a given target, the onboard system will also provide video coverage of blind spots and network relay between the boarding team and ship.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Biomarker — p11

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic and disabling anxiety disorder associated with a traumatic event [1]. It is linked to increased risk of suicide and deficits in social functioning [2, 3]. Despite extensive study in psychiatry, the underlying mechanisms of PTSD are still poorly understood [4, 5]. Currently, the diagnosis for PTSD is based on clinical observation and symptom checklist [4, 6-8] and no laboratory blood-based tests. Although biomarker discovery for PTSD is not easy [8], a reliable biomarker would significantly impact the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of PTSD. Developing interventions to identify and treat PTSD requires objective approaches to determining the presence of PTSD [8]. Substantial data indicate several potential biomarkers for PTSD. Of these candidate markers, p11 (S100A10) has been studied in PTSD animal models [7] and in human subjects with PTSD [6]. We found that p11 is over-expressed in both animal models and post-mortem brains of subjects with PTSD [7]. Incorporating testing of p11, a novel biomarker for PTSD, into clinical practice, along with more subjective measures, such as participants’ medical history, mental status, duration of symptoms, and symptom checklist or self-report, would provide additional power to predict impending PTSD. In this chapter, we discuss the biomarker concept and the potential clinical utility of PTSD biomarkers. We further discuss the potential of p11 as a PTSD biomarker and as a tool that may enhance PTSD diagnosis and intervention in health care practice.
From Olson to Veblen: The Stagflationary Rise of Distributional Coalitions

This essay deals with the relationship between stagflation and the process of restructuring. The literature dealing with the interaction of stagnation and inflation is invariably based on some explicit or implicit assumptions about economic structure, but there are very few writings which concentrate specifically on the link between the macroeconomic phenomenon of stagflation and the process of structural change. Of the few who dealt with this issue, we have chosen to focus mainly on two important contributors – Mancur Olson and Thorstein Veblen. The first based his theory on neoclassical principles, attempting to demonstrate their universality across time and place. The second was influenced by the historical school and concentrated specifically on the institutional features of modern capitalism. Despite the fundamental differences in their respective frameworks, both writers arrive at a similar conclusion, namely, that the phenomenon of stagflation is inherent in the dynamic evolution of collective economic action, particularly in the rise and consolidation of 'distributional coalitions. '
Establishing Human Identification by Short Tandem Repeat ( STR ) and Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA )

The usage of DNA sequencing and fingerprinting has given rise to many powerful techniques that are extremely useful in the modern world, two particular areas where these have become vitally important is in the determination of paternity and in the investigation of ancestral roots. STR allele frequency and mtDNA HVR sequencing are both used for human identification purposes, they can also be applied to determine the area an individual most likely came from and the lineage they originated from tracking inheritance patterns over several generations. In this study we tested twenty related individuals of Arabic descent for both mtDNA and STR allele frequency to confirm their racial status, comparing and contrasting to existing data to verify the results and to localise their lineage. The data collected was also analysed for unusual results in both STR and mtDNA output. The results indicated that the individuals were in fact of Arabic descent, with very close matching to published Iraqi and Kuwaiti STR frequency population data. Furthermore, analysis of the mtDNA further confirmed likely Arabic status and location of origin in the Middle East. Analysis also determined that there was one unusual result for the D19S433 locus where a particularly lengthy allele was discovered in one allele. This allele had been previously reported and was not present in any other individuals in the sample group. Two of the single nucleotide mismatches in the mtDNA sequence appeared to be unique to the individual and were not definitive mutations for any known haplogroup; these may be truly unique or symptomatic of an undiscovered haplogroup or sub-clade. These results indicate that use of STR frequency is more accurate in determining lineage in small groups, whereas it is likely that in large groups mtDNA may be more useful due to its internal self-referencing in family groups, lower cost and timescale.
HARMLESS: Cost-Effective Transitioning to SDN for Small Enterprises

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) offers a new way to operate, manage, and deploy communication networks and to overcome many long-standing problems of legacy networking. However, widespread SDN adoption has not occurred yet due to the lack of a viable incremental deployment path and the relatively immature present state of SDN-capable devices on the market. While continuously evolving software switches may alleviate the operational issues of commercial hardware-based SDN offerings, namely lagging standards-compliance, performance regressions, and poor scaling, they fail to match the cost-efficiency and port density.In this paper we propose HARMLESS, a new SDN switch design that seamlessly adds SDN capability to legacy network gear, by emulating the OpenFlow switch OS in a separate software switch component. This way, HARMLESS enables a quick and easy leap into SDN, combining the rapid innovation and upgrade cycles of software switches with the port density and cost-efficiency of hardware-based appliances into a fully dataplane-transparent and vendor-neutral solution. HARMLESS incurs an order of magnitude smaller initial expenditure for an SDN deployment than existing turnkey vendor SDN solutions while it yields matching, or even better data plane performance for smaller enterprises.