Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Determinants of Consumption Growth in Austria – Results of a Representative Survey

In the period from 2001 to 2004, Austrian households' consumption expenditure increased by 0.9% per annum in real terms, thus growing 1.6 percentage points more slowly on average than in the period from 1989 to 2000. Subdued consumption growth is attributable not only to economic stagnation, but also to a higher saving rate than is usual at the current stage of the economic cycle. To explain this unusual consumer behavior, numerous hypotheses have been formulated that go beyond the conventional determinants of consumption. In this study, the hypotheses were tested against the results of a representative survey carried out among Austrian households in August 2004. 36% of respondents said they had cut consumption expenditures in the previous 12 months, while 52% claimed to have kept consumption stable and roughly 12% of those surveyed said they had increased consumption expenditures. Among the motives for lower consumption, respondents most frequently cited perceived price increases, the income situation, a pessimistic income outlook and a trend toward smart shopping, while they considered anticipated cuts in pensions or other public benefits, waiting for prices to drop (withholding consumption) and too cautious economic reforms less relevant and geopolitical uncertainties, mounting public debt and liquidity constraints irrelevant. JEL classification: E21
Interrelationships of Serum and Colostral IgG ( Passive Immunity ) with Total Protein Concentrations and Health Status in Lambs

This study was designed to determine relationship between sheep serum before lambing, colostrum and 1-day-old lamb serum total protein (TP) and immunoglobulin-G (IgG) concentration and their effect on neonatal diseases and also the linear relationship between serum TP and IgG concentration (STPC and SIgGC, respectively) in different days of the neonatal period thereby determining the feasibility of TP concentration in the prediction of colostrum quality and passive immunity and to define a cut-off point for STPC and SIgGCat 24 h after birth (STPC-24 and SIgGC-24, respectively) associated with increased risk of illness or death in lambs. For this purpose, blood was obtained from the lambs and ewes at day 1 (n=325), at day 0 (before colostrum intake) and on different days in neonatal periods (n=50) and blood (10-15 days before lambing) and colostrum were obtained from the respective ewes related to the lambs. Mean serum TP and IgG concentrations on days 1, 2, 4, 7, 14 and 28 were significantly higher than values on day 0 (before colostrum intake) from the lambs remained healthy in neonatal period. The STPC-24 was significantly lower in diseased and dead lambs when compared to healthy lambs in the neonatal period (P<0.001 and P<0.001 respectively). The STPC-24 in lambs that died or became ill was 62% to 67% in SIgGC-24, respectively. Mean colostral TPC was significantly (P<0.05) higher in dams (n=254) of healthy lambs when compared to those of sick lambs in neonatal period. There was a significant correlation between the dams’ STPC and both the SIgGC in dams and SIgGC-24 in their lambs (R=0.454, R=0.342, respectively). The study revealed that STPC-24 >55 g/L and SIgGC-24>600 mg/ dL is probably consistent with adequate level of passive transfer. It was also noted that in addition to determining colostrum quality, STPC plays an essential role in the prediction and prevention of neonatal diseases in lambs. In conclusion, immediate and inexpensive determination of TP concentrations is beneficial in making timely management and treatment decisions related to failure of passive transfer (FPT).
A SUPPORT VECTOR REGRESSION METHOD FOR REDUCING THE HIGH-ORDER SYSTEMS TO FIRST-ORDER PLUS TIME-DELAY FORMS

In this paper, a novel method for reducing the high-order systems to first-order plus time-delay forms is introduced. For this purpose Support Vector Machines, which became a popular learning algorithm, is employed. Three parameters of the first-order plus time-delay forms are estimated by three parallel support vector regression machines. Satisfactory performance is obtained at the simulations. Keywords: Support vector regression machines, high-order systems, first-order plus time-delay systems, modeling.
Modern approaches to diagnosis and treatment of early-onset neonatal sepsis

Early-onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among premature babies. Therefore, accurate diagnosis, prompt monitoring of the course of the disease and an effective therapeutic strategy are a guarantee of improving the quality of medical care for newborns, as well as an important reserve for reducing perinatal losses. The aim of the work to summarize modern views on the diagnosis and treatment of early-onset neonatal sepsis in newborns with perinatal pathology. Results and their discussion. An analytical review of modern literature data on problematic issues of EOS diagnostics is carried out. The approaches are stated and the main directions of EOS management at the present stage are formulated. It was revealed that the lack of a consensus definition of neonatal sepsis, the nonspecificity of clinical data is a limiting factor in the timely accurate identification of the septic process. Insufficient diagnostic value of existing laboratory tests leads to defects in the registry and monitoring of this disease, the inability to conduct an objective assessment of the existing epidemiological and microbiological situation in the health care system and the subsequent effective implementation of preventive measures. Conclusions. In the conditions of modern scientific realities, none of the existing laboratory tests can sufficiently reliably confirm or deny the presence of EOS in a newborn child, which determines the search for new promising laboratory tests with high diagnostic and prognostic potential. The optimal treatment strategy for newborns with EOS is broad-spectrum antibiotics. However, today the global problem of excessive irrational prescribing of antibacterial drugs is associated with the formation of multidrug-resistant strains of bacteria, as well as the development of long-term adverse effects, which requires improved diagnostic and treatment algorithms for children who are in the risk group of the development of neonatal sepsis by implementing a comprehensive approach using modern accurate tests in the dynamics of the disease
Research Statement

My Ph.D. research focuses on advancing the state of the art in the understanding, design, and implementation of distributed storage systems. Today’s web services, e.g., Facebook, Google, Amazon, process large numbers of user requests and store huge amounts of data, more than a single server can handle. Thus, these large web services are built on distributed storage systems, which shard data across machines within and/or across datacenters. Storage systems are a research area with potentially large impact because it affects all end users of those web services. Instead of seeking better solutions as is typical, I focus my research on how to design the best possible systems. As a result, my research closes a line of research in an area by showing system designers what is the best they can possibly achieve, rather than providing arbitrarily better solutions than previous work. To design the best practical systems, I focus on making the systems have high throughput, low latency, and strong consistency. Higher throughput can satisfy the same amount of user requests with fewer physical machines and effectively reduces per-operation cost, thus saving money and energy. Low latency is critical to good user experience and revenue, e.g., Amazon found every 100ms of latency cost them 1% in sales [4]. Stronger consistency ensures the correctness of the system and makes programming easier. These properties are the dimensions of the design space, in which I look for the best designs that achieve the most out of each property. To make the best systems, I keep pushing new designs close to an ideal, i.e., the intersection of lowest latency, highest throughput, and strongest consistency, until I find an optimum in the design space where it cannot be pushed any further. I then verify the design is indeed optimal by mathematically proving that the ideal is impossible to achieve and there do not exist any designs closer to the ideal than the optimal design. Hence, my approach, i.e., finding and proving the optimum, discovers fundamental tradeoffs in the design space system designers have to make and provides them with insights on how to design the best possible systems. As a first step towards best distributed storage systems, my Ph.D. research focuses on optimal designs for an important component of the storage system: read-only transactions, which consist only of read operations and do not modify data. I start with read-only transactions because they are implemented in most academic and production systems, hence better designs can bring improvements to a large fraction of existing systems. Moreover, read operations dominate real-world workloads. For instance, 99.8% of the operations to Facebook’s TAO system are reads [1]. Hence, making reads better can largely improve the experience of end users because the majority of user operations are reads.
A Study of Metameric Blacks for the Representation of Spectral Images

Spectral images contain a large volume of data and can be efficiently compressed by low dimensional linear models. However, there is a trade-off between the accuracy of spectral and colorimetric representation. When a spectral image is reproduced by a low-dimensional linear model, spectral error and color difference are contrary to each other and minimizing the colour error is by no means equivalent to minimizing the spectral error. Although one aim of a spectral-image file format is to preserve and represent the spectral information, most users are likely to reproduce a spectral image on a trichromatic image-reproduction system and therefore it is important that the spectral information is not preserved at the expense of colorimetric accuracy. In this study a method for spectral encoding that provides an efficient representation of the spectral information whilst perfectly preserving the colorimetric information is analysed. The lossy compression technique that is considered in this work is based on a low-dimensional linear model of spectral reflectance, with the first three basis functions represent color information and the additional basis functions are metameric blacks which preserve spectral information.
A Satisfiability-Based Approximate Algorithm for Logic Synthesis Using Switching Lattices

In recent years the realization of a logic function on two-dimensional arrays of four-terminal switches, called switching lattices, has attracted considerable interest. Exact and approximate methods have been proposed for the problem of synthesizing Boolean functions on switching lattices with minimum size, called lattice synthesis (LS) problem. However, the exact method can only handle relatively small instances and the approximate methods may find solutions that are far from the optimum. This paper introduces an approximate algorithm, called JANUS, that formalizes the problem of realizing a logic function on a given lattice, called lattice mapping (LM) problem, as a satisfiability problem and explores the search space of the LS problem in a dichotomic search manner, solving LM problems for possible lattice candidates. This paper also presents three methods to improve the initial upper bound and an efficient way to realize multiple logic functions on a single lattice. Experimental results show that JANUS can find solutions very close to the minimum in a reasonable time and obtain better results than the existing approximate methods. The solutions of JANUS can also be better than those of the exact method, which cannot be determined to be optimal due to the given time limit, where the maximum gain on the number of switches reaches up to 25%.
Distributional Robust Kelly Gambling

In classic Kelly gambling, bets are chosen to maximize the expected log growth of wealth, under a known probability distribution. In this note we consider the distributional robust version of the Kelly gambling problem, in which the probability distribution is not known, but lies in a given set of possible distributions. The bet is chosen to maximize the worst-case (smallest) expected log growth among the distributions in the given set. This distributional robust Kelly gambling problem is convex, but in general need not be tractable. We show that it can be tractably solved in a number of useful cases when there is a finite number of outcomes.
A meta‐analysis of emotional intelligence and work attitudes

Our meta-analysis of emotional intelligence (EI) demonstrates that: First, all three types of EI are significantly related with job satisfaction (ability EI: ρ = .08; self-report EI: ρ = .32; and mixed EI: ρ = .39). Second, both self-report EI and mixed EI exhibit modest yet statistically significant incremental validity (ΔR2 = .03 for self-report EI and ΔR2 = .06 for mixed EI) and large relative importance (31.3% for self-report EI and 42.8% for mixed EI) in the presence of cognitive ability and personality when predicting job satisfaction. Third, we found mixed support for the moderator effects (i.e., emotional labor demand of jobs) for the relationship between EI and job satisfaction. Fourth, the relationships between all three types of EI and job satisfaction are mediated by state affect and job performance. Fifth, EI significantly relates to organizational commitment (self-report EI: ρ = .43; mixed EI: ρ = .43) and turnover intentions (self-report EI: ρ = -.33). Sixth, after controls, both self-report EI and mixed EI demonstrate incremental validity and relative importance (46.9% for self-report EI; 44.2% for mixed EI) in predicting organizational commitment. Seventh, self-report EI demonstrates incremental validity and relative importance (60.9%) in predicting turnover intentions.
Conscious perception modulates perceptual echoes

Alpha rhythms (~10Hz) in the human brain are classically associated with idling activities, being predominantly observed during quiet restfulness with closed eyes. However, recent studies demonstrated that alpha (~10Hz) rhythms can directly relate to visual stimulation, resulting in oscillations which can last for as long as one second. This alpha reverberation, dubbed Perceptual Echoes (PE), suggests that the visual system actively samples and processes visual information within the alpha-band frequency. Although PE have been linked to various visual functions, their underlying mechanisms and functional role are not completely understood. In the current study, we investigated whether conscious perception modulates the generation and the amplitude of PE. Specifically, we displayed two colored Gabor patches with different orientations on opposite sides of the screen, and using a set of dichoptic mirrors we induced a binocular rivalry between the two stimuli. We asked participants to continuously report which one of two Gabor patches they consciously perceived, while recording their EEG signals. Importantly, the luminance of each patch fluctuated randomly over time, generating random sequences from which we estimated two impulse-response functions (IRFs) reflecting the perceptual echoes generated by the perceived (dominant) and non-perceived (suppressed) stimulus respectively. We found that the alpha power of the PE generated by the consciously perceived stimulus was comparable with that of the PE generated during monocular vision (control condition), and significantly higher than the PE induced by the suppressed stimulus. Moreover, confirming previous findings, we found that all PEs propagated as a travelling wave from posterior to frontal brain regions, irrespective of conscious perception. All in all our results demonstrate that conscious perception modulates PE, suggesting that the synchronization of neural activity plays an important role in visual sampling and conscious perception.
Resonator with transverse surface wave on lithium tantalate crystal for applications in viscosity and temperature sensors

The purpose of this work was to calculate and measure transverse surface acoustic wave resonators on 36°YX oriented lithium tantalate crystal as well as to measure of viscosity and temperature of liquids. An attenuation coefficient was used to model the leak of acoustic energy from surface into bulk of the crystal. The latest materials constants were used. Velocity, electromechanical coupling coefficient, reflection coefficient, attenuation coefficient under free and metallized surface, anisotropy coefficient were calculated, the first three of which were measured using synchronous resonator. A good agreement between measurements and calculations were obtained. Double-channel resonator was sensitive to viscosity and density multiplication product of liquid deposited on the metallized area between transducers. The temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) of the temperature channel was measured.
Antioxidant Activity of Mixed Katuk Leaf Extract and Honey

Antioxidants can be obtained from plants or animals. One of the plants that can be used as a source of antioxidants is katuk leaf (Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr. ) and honey. The content of compounds in both materials that function as antioxidants are phenolic, flavonoids, and vitamin C. This study aims to analyze the levels of total phenolic, flavonoids, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, the effect of different compositions on combination treatments, and analyze the relationship between phenolic levels and vitamin C with antioxidant activity from the test sample. This study used an experimental method with a completely randomized design. Antioxidant activity was tested using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The results showed phenolic levels of all test samples ranged from 0.509-23.205 mg GAE/g samples; flavonoids amounted to 0.027-17.329 mg QE/g samples, vitamin C amounted to 15,917-101,705 mg AA/g samples and IC50 of 114.213-20727.500 mg/l. The combination treatment with more katuk leaf composition can increase the levels of compounds and antioxidant activity. Phenolic levels and vitamin C have a moderate relationship with antioxidant activity with the correlation coefficient values of -0.480 and -0.500.
Face Detection and Recognition using Viola-Jones algorithm and Fusion of PCA and ANN

The human face is a complicated multidimensional visual model and hence it is very difficult to develop a computational model for recognizing it. The paper presents a methodology for recognizing the human face based on the features derived from the image. The proposed methodology is implemented in two stages. The first stage detects the human face in an image using violaJones algorithm. In the next stage the detected face in the image is recognized using a fusion of Principle Component Analysis and Feed Forward Neural Network. The performance of the proposed method is compared with existing methods. Better accuracy in recognition is realized with the proposed method. The proposed methodology uses Bio ID-Face-Database as standard image database.
The Omega Affair: Discontinuing the University of Michigan Department of Geography (1975–1982)

The University of Michigan Department of Geography was discontinued in 1982, after a grueling review process that saw the discipline’s necessity very publicly called into question. Despite the fact that Michigan’s department was central to most of twentieth-century academic geography’s major intellectual movements, it was also the first in a series of major department closures in the early to mid-1980s. With the exception of the well-known case at Harvard, these events have gone largely unexamined. When austerity arrived following a decade of disinvestment, administrators raised this question: Which disciplines were least essential to the university? We find that many at Michigan had been prepared to answer “geography” since at least the mid-1970s. This answer was at the ready for reasons that had a great deal to do with the department’s self-defense (and its misalignment with its actual practices). We draw on oral histories and archival research at the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library to trace the events surrounding the closure. We see this study as the first in a series of necessary histories that begin from the discipline’s deinstitutionalization rather than its growth and development, what we call breakdown historiography.
Characteristics of the Angled Printed Dipole Array Antenna with Different Numbers of Dipole Elements

This paper investigated the characteristics of series-fed angled dipole antennas as the number of dipoles increased from one to two, four, and eight. A parallel strip line printed on both sides of the substrate was used to connect angled printed dipoles of the same size in a series with equal spacing. As expected, although the gain increased as the number of dipoles increased, the impedance and gain bandwidths decreased. In addition, as the number of dipoles increased, the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) differences between the xzand yzplanes decreased and the radiation pattern of the xz-plane became more symmetric. Antennas with one, two, four, and eight-dipole elements in a series were designed, and their peak gains were 5.0 dBi, 7.2 dBi, 9.4 dBi, and 10.4 dBi, respectively. The differences between the xzand yz-plane HPBWs of the four antennas were 160.4°, 41.7°, 14.2°, and 5.3°, respectively. As the number of dipoles in the antenna increased, the differences between the HPBWs in the xzand yz-planes decreased.
Hydrochemical and isotopegeochemical evaluation of density stratification in mine water bodies of the Ruhr coalfield

After mining activities in the Ruhr coalfield ceased, mine water rises in the mine excavations. In flooded shafts distinct stratification patterns between differently mineralised and stagnant water bodies have been observed at a variety of locations. The influx of more brine-type water from the surrounding rock mass and the mine workings on the one hand and the infiltration of less mineralised meteoric waters on the other hand causes substantial density differences in the mine water column. Temporal stability of stratification was proven by continuous, depth-based geophysical measurements in combination with hydrochemical and isotope geochemical investigations on levelled samples.
Implementing the Round Four maximal order algorithm

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Repetition of Semantic Comparisons: Temporary and Persistent Priming Effects

Abstract : Two experiments tested the involvement of both abstract semantic memory representations and instance specific memory for feature encoding in repetition effects for a semantic processing task. Experiment 1 showed that a relatively small amount of facilitation (10%-15%) was attributable to memory for instance specific features (typography) of repeated trials. Although small, this effect showed no decay over repetition lags investigated, suggesting persistent memory for encoded features or encoding processes. Experiment 2 showed that facilitation for semantically related repetitions was short-lived compared with facilitation for lexically exact repetitions. This suggested that priming of abstract semantic memory may be involved in temporary but not persistent repetition effects. Individual differences analyses supported the conclusion that despite the increased semantic complexity of this repetition priming task over those previously used, abstract semantic memory representations were not involved in persistent repetition effects.