Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OPTIMISATION OF PROCESS CONDITIONS FOR ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM ENZYMATICALLY SACCHARIFIED EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY ( RSM )

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), being one of the lignocellulosic biomass forms generated from the palm oil milling process, has high contents of cellulose and hemicelluloses for bioethanol production. However, the conversion routes so far remain challenging and optimisation is necessary. This article aims at optimising the fermentable process variables in the production of bioethanol from EFB using response surface methodology (RSM). The EFB was firstly pre-treated with mild NaOH, then hydrolysed using diluted H2SO4 to extract mainly xylose and subjected to enzymatic saccharification for glucose recovery prior to fermenting the sugars with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A Central Composite Design (CCD) was used to optimise the three independent variables involved i.e. pH, temperature and agitation rate. The RSM data subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a second-order polynomial model revealed the optimised conditions: pH 4, 30°C, 150 rpm and 72 hr in batch fermentation. The validation experiment under these conditions gave a maximum bioethanol yield of 0.66 g g-1 glucose, which was very close to the predicted value (0.56 g g-1). These results confirmed that the model was adequate and reliable to optimise bioethanol production from the enzymatically hydrolysed EFB.
Reflection Tomographic Imaging of Highly Scattering Objects Using Incremental Frequency Inversion

Reflection tomography is an inverse scattering technique that estimates the spatial distribution of an object’s permittivity by illuminating it with a probing pulse and measuring the scattered wavefields by receivers located on the same side as the transmitter. Unlike conventional transmission tomography, the reflection regime is severely ill-posed since the measured wavefields contain far less spatial frequency information about the object. In this paper, we propose an incremental frequency inversion framework that requires no initial target model, and that leverages spatial regularization to reconstruct the permittivity distribution of highly scattering objects. Our framework solves a wave-equation constrained, total-variation (TV) regularized nonlinear least squares problem that solves a sequence of subproblems that incrementally enhance the resolution of the estimated object model. With each subproblem, higher frequency wavefield components are incorporated in the inversion to improve the recovered model resolution. We validate the performance of our approach using synthetically generated data for retrieving high-contrast material such as water in an underground radar imaging setup.
Comparison of Regression Methods to Identify Differential Expression in RNA-Sequencing Count Data from the Serial Analysis of Gene Expression

Comparative RNA-sequencing analysis for the Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) can help identify changes in gene expression which are characteristic to human diseases. Since the RNA-sequencing experiment measures gene expressions in the form of counts, usually with a large degree of skewness, the analysis methods based on continuous probability distributions such as the normal distribution are generally inappropriate for modeling this type of data. Currently, the parametric regression techniques for solving this problem are based on the well-known discrete probability distributions such as Poisson and negative binomial. In order to overcome this modeling challenge with higher flexibilities to account for a wide range of dispersion levels, here we introduce an alternative Generalized Linear Model (GLM) based on the Conway– Maxwell-Poisson distribution, also known as COM-Poisson or CMP distribution. The CMP regression model generalizes the standard Poisson and negative binomial regressions, and it is suitable for fitting count data with varying degrees of overand underdispersions. Using simulated and real SAGE datasets, the performance of the proposed method is assessed in comparison to the Poissonand negative binomial-based regression models.
POWVER Technical Report 2019-02 Title : Automated Compositional Importance Splitting

Statistical model checking uses simulation to overcome the state space explosion problem in formal verification. Yet its runtime explodes when faced with rare events, unless a rare event simulation method like importance splitting is used. The effectiveness of importance splitting hinges on nontrivial model-specific inputs: an importance function with matching splitting thresholds. This prevents its use by non-experts for general classes of models. In this paper, we present an automated method to derive the importance function. It considers both the structure of the model and of the formula characterising the rare event. It is memory-efficient by exploiting the compositional nature of formal models. We experimentally evaluate it in various combinations with two approaches to threshold selection as well as different splitting techniques for steady-state and transient properties. We find that Restart splitting combined with thresholds determined via a new expected success method most reliably succeeds and performs very well for transient properties. It remains competitive in the steadystate case, which is however challenging to all combinations we consider. All methods are implemented in the modes tool of the Modest Toolset and the Fig simulator for stochastic automata.
Design of a Large-Number Multiplier for Fully Homomorphic Encryption

This paper presents the design of a powerand areaefficient high-speed 768 000-bit multiplier, based on fast Fourier transform multiplication for fully homomorphic encryption operations. A memory-based in-place architecture is presented for the FFT processor that performs 64 000-point finite-field FFT operations using a radix-16 computing unit and 16 dual-port SRAMs. By adopting a special prime as the base of the finite field, the radix-16 calculations are simplified to requiring only additions and shift operations. A two-stage carry-look-ahead scheme is employed to resolve carries and obtain the multiplication result. The multiplier design is validated by comparing its results with the GNU Multiple Precision (GMP) arithmetic library. The proposed design has been synthesized using 90-nm process technology with an estimated die area of 45.3 mm2. At 200 MHz, the large-number multiplier offers roughly twice the performance of a previous implementation on an NVIDIA C2050 graphics processor unit and is 29 times faster than the Xeon X5650 CPU, while at the same time consuming a modest 0.97 W.
Nanoconfining affinity materials for pH-mediated protein capture–release

The nanoconfinement effect may dramatically influence the physicochemical properties of substances. Porous materials have been widely used as separation media in liquid chromatography. However, the confinement effect of pores was usually considered as a detrimental factor. Here, we report novel types of functional materials, nanoconfining affinity materials (NCAMs), which rely on the nanoconfinement effect of porous materials with pore sizes comparable to the molecular sizes of proteins to provide dominant affinity. Two NCAMs, which have a pH-responsive capture–release ability for proteins, were developed. The NCAMs are able to bind proteins with a molecular mass larger than 18 kDa, when the surrounding pH is ≥6.0, and the captured proteins can be reversibly released upon switching the environmental pH <3.0. The dissociation constants for three test proteins ranged from 10−5 to 10−7 M. The NCAMs retained the conformation and activities of the captured proteins. Promising applications of the NCAMs for enantiomer resolution, immobilized enzyme reactors and the depletion of serum proteins were demonstrated. The nanoconfining strategy opens up new avenues for the rational design of unique functional materials.
Culture, Diffusion, and Economic Development

This research explores the effects of culture on technological diffusion and economic development. It shows that culture's direct effects on development and barrier effects to technological diffusion are, in general, observationally equivalent. In particular, using a large set of cultural measures, it establishes empirically that pairwise differences in contemporary development are associated with pairwise cultural differences relative to the technological frontier, only in cases where observational equivalence holds. Additionally, it establishes that differences in cultural traits that are correlated with genetic and linguistic distances are statistically and economically significantly correlated with differences in economic development. These results highlight the difficulty of disentangling the direct and barrier effects of culture, while lending credence to the idea that common ancestry generates persistence and plays a central role in economic development.
The Effects of the Usage of Solvent Extracted Safflower Meal with Soybean Oil in the Laying Hen Diets on the Performance , Egg Quality and Egg Yolk Fatty Acid Composition

This study examined the effects of the usage of solvent extracted safflower meal (SM) with soybean oil (SO) in laying hen diets. The experimental diets were prepared with 0 (control), 4, 8, and 12% SM, with the SO content being 0.3, 0.62, 1.9 and 3.17%, respectively. A total of 216 ATAK-S hybrid laying hens were tested at between 22 and 52 weeks of age. No differences in liveability, body weight gain, egg production, egg weight and mass, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and shape index were observed among the groups. SM at 4 and 12% increased eggshell breaking strength, SM at 8% increased eggshell thickness, and SM at 8 and 12% increased egg yolk colour, compared to the control. The addition of 8% SM decreased albumen height, and the addition of 4 and 8% SM decreased the Haugh unit, compared to the control and SM at 12%. SM supplementation at 12% increased vitamin E content of the egg yolk compared to other groups. As the SM and SO content of the diet increased, the amount of palmitic acid in the egg yolk decreased, while linoleic, linolenic and docosahexaenoic acids increased. We conclude that SM could be used to supplement the laying hen diets at a rate of up to 12%, together with SO, with no negative effects while simultaneously having a positive impact on egg quality.
Series TRiSS-03-2019 Location , Migration and Age : Literary Clusters in Germany from mid-18 th to early-20 th Century 1

We study the formation of creative clusters in the light of the changes in the German economic and political structures during the 19th century. We show how the migration and geographic location of writers mirrors the evolution of the literary market from a patronage system in a pre-industrial, politically fractured area to a market system in a modern nation state. For this, we have collected yearly data on the 149 German writers listed in the Encyclopedia Britannica and born in the 18th and 19th centuries. We find that, first, large cities, especially Berlin, become the dominant location though only at the end of this process. Second, migration and publication output are both strongly linked to age. These agemigration and age-productivity patterns remain for subsequent cohorts. However, while laterborn writers spend their formative and most productive years close to other writers, there is no clear cluster pattern for earlier writers
Does the Tat polymorphism originate in northern Mongolia ?

It has been suggested that the Y-chromosomal T! C transition arose in Mongolia ~2400– 4000 years ago. To test this hypothesis, we screened 2300-year-old Mongolian male specimens and ancient Yakut male specimens for this Y-chromosomal marker. Our results demonstrate that the mutation was present in Asia 2300 years ago. D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The Effects of Severe Hypoxia on Nitric Oxide Parameters in Hypoxia-tolerant Rodent : Nannospalax nehringi

Blind mole rats (BMRs) are solitary rodents which are tolerant to severe hypoxia. The aim of this study is to reveal the changes in nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide enzymes (NOS), which are involved in many physiological and pathological processes related with hypoxia, in BMRs under severe hypoxia. For this purpose, 12 subadult (11-15 moths) male Nannospalax nehringi were captured in Kars location. Captured BMRs were divided into two groups as Normoxic (NG) and Hypoxic (HG) randomly (n=6). NG were kept in completely dark, normoxic conditions for 52 h. HG were kept inside completely dark glovebox chamber with 7% oxygen flow for 52 h. After experimental protocol, NG were sacrificed under normoxic conditions and HG were sacrificed inside glovebox chamber with 7% oxygen. NO, iNOS, eNOS, nNOS and MDA levels of plasm and homogenized tissue samples were detected spectrophotometrically. All parameters of each sample were found to be high in HG compared to NG. But especially, NO was high in the lung tissues of HG. Additionally eNOS level of the kidney, liver and lung, iNOS levels of the liver and eNOS, and nNOS levels of the brain were found to be markedly high. Consequently, our data on NO and NOS enzyme production in Nannospalax nehringi tissues under hypoxia are compatible with the data obtained from other animals, but it contains differences in some points. We believe that these differences are different evolutionary adaptations of BMRs to hypoxia.
Relationship between lipid profile and blood pressure in hypertensive patients

Arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia are two of the most prevalent cardiovascular risk factors in the general population and their relationship has become a central focus for cardiovascular disease prevention. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the differences of lipid profile, blood pressure (BP) profile and the influence of risk factors in a group of patients with essential arterial hypertension. Over two years, 140 patients with essential hypertension have been evaluated. We analyzed: the cardiovascular risk factor profile, with specific accent on the lipid parameters, left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and the values of systolic and diastolic BP (SBP, DBP) at hospital admission and discharge in non-acute setting. The results showed that admission BP was better correlated with hypercholesterolemia than BP at discharge, especially total cholesterol and HDL. All lipid markers were increased in patients with higher grades of arterial hypertension, total cholesterol having the best statistical significance (149.38 ± 40.04 – grade 1 vs. 197.29 ± 54.75 – grade 2 vs. 187.88 ± 44.29 mg/dl – grade 3, p=0.015). However, LVMI was not significantly different according to BP grade and did not correlate with lipid markers. LDL presented higher values in the hypertensive patients’ group with newly diagnosed diabetes (121.36 ± 39.84 vs. 97.31 ± 37.51 mg/dl, p=0.023), while the other risk factors were not apparently associated with significantly different lipid values. Our results sustain the close relation between lipid profile, hypertension and the risk for diabetes development.
Comparison of Conditioning Procedures to Condition Praise as a Reinforcer for Children with Autism

This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact scholarcommons@usf.edu. Scholar Commons Citation Livingston, Cynthia P., "Comparison of Conditioning Procedures to Condition Praise as a Reinforcer for Children with Autism" (2018). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7331 brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac. uk
Social Comparison in Behavior Change Support Systems: Heuristic Evaluation of a System's Usability

People’s willingness for sharing personal data with others allows designers to consider utilizing social comparison functions into behavior change support systems. Behavior change applications, which enable social comparison, seem to be gaining popularity nowadays. Usability flaws may diminish the usage and engagement of behavior change support systems, therefore attention was paid to usability issues in this particular case. Following usability guidelines early enough in the design may save time and resources.
Grover's algorithm on a Feynman computer

We present an implementation of Grover's algorithm in the framework of Feynman's cursor model of a quantum computer. The cursor degrees of freedom act as a quantum clocking mechanism, and allow Grover's algorithm to be performed using a single, time-independent Hamiltonian. We examine issues of locality and resource usage in implementing such a Hamiltonian. In the familiar language of Heisenberg spin–spin coupling, the clocking mechanism appears as an excitation of a basically linear chain of spins, with occasional controlled jumps that allow for motion on a planar graph: in this sense our model implements the idea of 'timing' a quantum algorithm using a continuous-time random walk. In this context we examine some consequences of the entanglement between the states of the input/output register and the states of the quantum clock.
1 0 M ar 2 01 1 Mechanics of extended masses in general relativity

The “external” or “bulk” motion of extended bodies is studied in general relativity. Material objects of arbitrary shape, spin, internal composition, and velocity are allowed as long as the metric remains near a vacuum solution (with a possible cosmological constant). Under this restriction, physically reasonable linear and angular momenta are proposed that evolve as though they were the momenta of an extended test body moving in an effective vacuum metric. This result holds to all multipole orders. The portion of the physical metric that does not directly affect the motion is a slightly generalized form of the Detweiler-Whiting S-field originally introduced in the context of self-force. This serves only to (finitely) renormalize the “bare” multipole moments of the object’s stress-energy tensor. The MiSaTaQu expression for the gravitational self-force is recovered as a simple application. A gravitational self-torque is obtained as well. Lastly, a certain exact result is derived that may provide a basis for understanding self-interaction at higher orders.
Synergistic effect of binary ligands on nucleation and growth/size effect of nanocrystals: Studies on reusability of the solvent

An attempt to reduce the effect of major toxic components namely phosphine ligands and unsaturated solvents as being used in conventional nanocrystal synthesis, has been made with a new binary ligand, and a reusable solvent N-octadecane for a smokeless and clean synthesis procedure. The optimized effects of the two ligands oleic acid and octadecyl amine on the nucleation rate and growth of CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) are reported and substantiated by AFM analysis. Oleic acid accelerates particle ripening and nuclei growth, but inhibits nucleation whereas octadecyl amine catalyses nucleation and very gradually improves growth to obtain small stable NCs. Another important feature of the present study is the replacement of 1-octadecene by a competitive N-octadecane as a solvent in such ligand mediated nanocrystal synthesis. The GCMS analysis reports a recovery of 95% of solvent after reuse, thus opening a scope for environmental friendly processes.
The cosmological background of vector modes

We investigate the spectrum of vector modes today which is generated at second order by density perturbations. The vector mode background that is generated by structure formation is small but in principle it contributes to the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, to redshift-space distortions and to weak lensing. We recover, clarify and extend previous results, and explain carefully why no vorticity is generated in the fluid at second order. The amplitude of the induced vector mode in the metric is around 1% that of the first-order scalars on small scales. We also calculate the power spectrum and the energy density of the vector part of the shear at second order.
POLINSAR AND TLS DATA MODELING FOR FOREST BIOPHYSICAL PARAMETER CHARACTERIZATION

Forests play a pivotal role in synchronizing earth’s carbon cycle by absorbing around 2.4 million tons of carbon each year from the atmosphere and storing billions more in the form of biomass. Therefore it is imperative to monitor the forests and understand the climatic variations, especially those occurring due to destruction of forest and its corresponding biomass loss. Estimation of forest biophysical parameters can be used as an effective tool for determination of forest inventories, vegetation modeling and global carbon cycle. The present study aims at quantification of the forest biophysical parameters of Barkot Forest with the utilization of Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and Polarimetric Interferometry SAR (PolinSAR) modeling approach. Barkot Forest is a sub-tropical moist deciduous forest located in Doon valley with heterogeneous tree structures and encompassing an aboveground biomass up to 369t/ha. Terrestrial laser scanner based modeling was used for retrieving biophysical parameters with the implementation of RANSAC shape detection algorithm. Stem volume of the trees retrieved from the TLS point cloud were calibrated by the incorporation of the tree height variable. It was observed that TLS derived and field measured biophysical parameters displayed a comparable correlation. The TLS modeled DBH and stem volume exhibited a coefficient of determination of 0.88 and 0.80 and RMSE of 2.85cm and 0.4 cu.m respectively. Second part of the research work employs the PolinSAR Coherence Amplitude Inversion (CAI) and RVoG techniques for retrieving forest stand height. Both the techniques were modeled with the integration of complex coherences occurring in different polarimetric channels. It was noticed that CAI estimated the forest height precisely nearly equivalent to the true forest height with a coefficient of determination of 0.49, percent accuracy 90.4% and RMSE of 2.94m. Application of the RVoG model further improved the statistics of the forest height with a coefficient of determination of 0.71, percent accuracy 91.6% and RMSE of 2.13m. Results from both the sensors data modeling showed that measurement of biophysical parameters from TLS point cloud are more accurate and reliable with a slight error range ranging from 0.3m to 0.8m in forest stand height determination. Finally the results indicate that it is possible to retrieve forest biophysical parameters using modeling approach with the help of ground based Lidar and space borne SAR data.
Susceptibility of Psorophora confinnis (Diptera: Culicidae) to infection with epizootic (subtype IC) and enzootic (subtype ID) Venezuelan Equine encephalitis viruses.

Abstract To test the hypothesis that adaptation to epizootic mosquito vectors mediates the emergence of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, VEEV) from enzootic progenitors, the susceptibility of the epizootic vector Psorophora confinnis (Lynch-Arribalzaga) to epizootic versus enzootic strains was evaluated. Artificial bloodmeals containing subtype IC strains isolated during the 1962–1964, 1992–1993, and 1995 Venezuelan/Colombian epizootics and closely related Venezuelan enzootic subtype ID strains were used to compare mosquito infectivity and transmission potential. Strains from the smaller 1992–1993 epizootic showed lower or equal infectivity and replication compared with enzootic viruses and to strains isolated during the larger 1962–1964 and 1995 epizootics. These experiments failed to provide evidence that Ps. confinnis selects for epizootic VEEV viruses with higher infectivity, as has been shown for Aedes (Ochlerotatus) taeniorhynchus (Wiedemann). Nonetheless, .