Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Heat Treatments on the Properties of Two Long-grain Rice Cultivars During Storage

During storage, the milling and physicochemical properties and eating quality of rice change, which is generally termed ‘aging’. Aged rice is preferred by processors, and there are attempts to develop accelerated aging process using various heat sources. In this study, the effects of various heat treatments and their influence on the milling, pasting, thermal, and cooking properties of two long-grain rice cultivars during storage were investigated using a full-factorial experimental design. Two long-grain rice cultivars, Wells and XP723, was treated with 8 different heat treatments including one control and stored at room temperature for 180 days. Heat treatments included 2 levels of UV irradiation, 2 levels of autoclaving and 3 levels of convection oven. The heat treatments significantly influenced head rice yield and thermal properties. The surface lipid content and cooked rice hardness and stickiness were impacted by cultivars, heat treatments and storage with different extent showing 3-way interactions. Severe autoclaving resulted in different protein composition from the other treatments. Peak pasting viscosity significantly increased at the first 3 months and gradually leveled off regardless of cultivar and heat treatments. Leached solid contents were decreased gradually during storage. Autoclaving (especially severe autoclaving) samples showed more distinct characteristics on HRY, leached solids and cooking properties. Although different heat treatments had different impacts on their properties, the results show that the various heat treatments employed in this study slightly accelerated rice aging by stabilizing rice properties during storage. This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. Thesis Director: _______________________________________ Dr. Ya-Jane Wang Thesis Committee: _______________________________________ Dr. Terry Siebenmorgen _______________________________________ Dr. Andy Mauromoustakos THESIS DUPLICATION RELEASE I hereby authorize the University of Arkansas Libraries to duplicate this Thesis when needed for research and/or scholarship. Agreed __________________________________________ Youngbum Lee Refused __________________________________________ Youngbum Lee ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work has completed with all of several people’s help for which I would like to express my sincere appreciation. First, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my academic advisor, Dr. Ya-Jane Wang, for her encouragement, patience and guidance throughout whole my work. Thank to my thesis committee, Dr. Terry Siebenmorgen and Dr. Andy Mauromoustakos for being my committee member. Thanks the University of Arkansas Rice Processing Program for my samples and for the access to the rice processing laboratories. Also, special thanks my loving family for consistent support and love. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 .
Design of a centralized controller for an irrigation channel using H loop-shaping

This paper describes the design of a multivariable H∞ loopshaping controller for water level regulation on the Haughton Main Channel, Queensland Australia. A one-degree-of-freedom controller structure is applied to three successive pools. Analysis of robust performance is presented in terms of the structured singular value. Closed-loop performance is also evaluated through simulations with high fidelity models of the channel. The controller shows better performance than decentralized PI control, and attains similar performance to a multivariable LQ controller. The H∞ loop-shaping controller is, however, much easier to tune than an LQ controller. This becomes important when the number of pools to be controlled is increased. As such, it is an appealing design paradigm when high performance control of an irrigation channel is required.
On the improvement of MACC aerosol spatial resolution for irradiance estimation in the United Arab Emirates

In desert regions, dust is the most critical atmospheric parameter for irradiance assessment and solar resource conversion. Nowadays, atmospheric communities – chemical transport and re-analysis models – provide aerosols information, including dust, but with a spatial resolution greater than 100 km. This low spatial resolution makes the prediction of aerosol loads in a small scale very difficult, considering the possible high spatial variability of this aerosol loads in such desert regions. It has been indeed established in the United Arab Emirates that the variation of aerosol optical depth (AOD) within 100 km can lead to 18% deviation on Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) estimations. Therefore, the MACC AOD, which is provided at a spatial resolution of 125 km, has to be corrected before being used for DNI estimation, as well as any other publicly available AOD database. In this work, images from the High Resolution Visible channel data of the SEVIRI instrument on board Meteosat Second Generation satellite are used to downscale the MACC AOD. The first results of the downscaling approach are tested with one year datasets of AOD from two AERONET ground stations showing that this downscaling leads to a decrease of the mean absolute error on AOD and on the corresponding estimated DNIs.
A family of measures to evaluate scale reliability in a longitudinal setting

Summary. The concept of reliability denotes one of the most important psychometric properties of a measurement scale. Reliability refers to the capacity of the scale to discriminate between subjects in a given population. In classical test theory, it is often estimated by using the intraclass correlation coefficient based on two replicate measurements. However, the modelling framework that is used in this theory is often too narrow when applied in practical situations. Generalizability theory has extended reliability theory to a much broader framework but is confronted with some limitations when applied in a longitudinal setting. We explore how the definition of reliability can be generalized to a setting where subjects are measured repeatedly over time. On the basis of four defining properties for the concept of reliability, we propose a family of reliability measures which circumscribes the area in which reliability measures should be sought. It is shown how different members assess different aspects of the problem and that the reliability of the instrument can depend on the way that it is used. The methodology is motivated by and illustrated on data from a clinical study on schizophrenia. On the basis of this study, we estimate and compare the reliabilities of two different rating scales to evaluate the severity of the disorder.
Optical characterization of silicon-on-insulator-based single and coupled racetrack resonators

Silicon photonics is the emerging optical interconnect technology where integrated nanophotonic components allow reaching high device density and improved optical functional- ities. One key component is the optical microresonator. A particular kind of microresonator is the racetrack resonator where straight waveguide sections are used to achieve a large value of the coupling coefficient with a bus waveguide for any light polarization state. It is our aim to study the performances of racetrack resonators fabricated on silicon on insulator via CMOS pro- cessing. We experimentally investigated different multiple resonator designs where box-shaped filter characteristic, Vernier effect, and coupled resonator induced transparency effects are ob- tained. We demonstrate that racetrack resonators are instrumental to several different functions in nanophotonics and that the actual lithographic process is fully capable of building these
Investment Dispersion and the Business Cycle

We document a new business cycle fact: the cross-sectional standard deviation of firm-level investment (investment dispersion) is robustly and significantly procyclical. This makes investment dispersion different from the dispersion of productivity and output growth, which is countercyclical. Investment dispersion is more procyclical in the goods-producing sectors, for smaller firms and for structures. We show that a heterogeneous-firm real business cycle model with countercyclical idiosyncratic firm risk and non-convex adjustment costs calibrated to match moments of the long-run investment rate distribution, produces a time series correlation coefficient between investment dispersion and aggregate output of 0.58, close to the 0.45 in the data. We argue, more generally, that cross-sectional business cycle dynamics impose tight empirical restrictions on the physical environments and the structural parameters of heterogeneous-firm models.
Alterations of ASL Blood Perfusion in the Thalamus and VentralIntermediate Thalamic Nucleus in ParkinsonÃ¢ÂÂs Disease Patients

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by brain metabolic abnormalities, particularly in subcortical regions. However, previously reported observations of subcortical blood perfusion are inconsistent, especially in the thalamus. This study aimed to investigate the alterations of thalamic regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in PD by using a recently developed advanced 3D pseudo-continuous pulse arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging approach. Twenty-three PD patients with mild-to-moderate stage disease and 29 normal control subjects underwent ASL MRI. Regional mean CBF values in the thalamus and ventral intermediate thalamic nucleus (Vim) were measured and compared between the groups by one-way analysis of variance. The PD patients showed significantly lower CBF than controls in the bilateral thalamus and Vim. Our findings indicate that hypoperfusion in the thalamus and Vim could be an imaging marker of PD.
A SAS Program to Construct Simultaneous Confidence Intervals for Relative Risk

Assessing adverse effects is critical in any clinical trial or interventional study. Adverse effects for testing a drug/device often involve many clinical symptoms and each patient may experience multiple adverse events. Patients may be lost during follow-up, or their treatments are terminated early given the prospective nature of a clinical trial. Consequently, commonly used SAS programs and other statistical packages for analysis of adverse events (AE), which form individual confidence intervals of cumulative incidence based relative risk (RR), are often not adequate and sometimes not appropriate. This paper presents a SAS program which can be used to analyze data with multiple AE by forming simultaneous confidence intervals of incidence density based RR. This program can dynamically estimate RR by calculating person-time based incidence densities and build simultaneous confidence intervals across all AE types by controlling type I error rates with family-wise error rate (FWER) and/or false discovery rate (FDR). The program is designed for analysis of multiple AE in clinical trials and can be extended to any cohort study with multiple endpoints.
The social inclusion of immigrants in the United Kingdom and Italy: different but converging trajectories?

Over the last 25 years, immigration flows in Europe have significantly increased, both from outside the continent and within the European Union (EU). Traditional countries of destination in Northern Europe have been joined by Southern European ones – such as Italy and Spain – in receiving growing immigrant populations. More recently the dramatic increase in the number of asylum seekers coming from war zones, although still relatively low compared to other categories, has brought the issue of immigration to the centre of political discussions. Old and new demands for social services coming from immigrant populations are seen to compete with other social needs, in a context of generalised austerity measures, contributing to a radicalisation of political discourses about the social inclusion of immigrants. Few data suffice to illustrate the changed geography of immigration. According to Eurostat (2016), the number of people born in a non-EU country that were resident in the EU-28 on 1 January 2014 amounted to 33.5 million, with the highest numbers in Germany (7.0 million), the United Kingdom (henceforth UK) (5.0), Italy (4.9), Spain (4.7) and France (4.2). As a percentage of the total resident population, the share of foreign residents was highest in Spain (10.1 per cent), followed by Germany (8.7 per cent), Italy (8.1 per cent) and the UK (7.8 per cent). Although the latter figures reflect different immigration histories and citizenshipgranting regimes, it is unquestionable that the five countries mentioned above now concentrate the large majority of foreign residents, to an extent that is higher than their share of the overall population: 76 per cent of all foreign residents in the EU-28, compared to 63 per cent of total residents (Eurostat, 2016). The distance between established countries of immigration and
Local Polynomial Fitting and Spatial Price Relationships: Price Transmission in the EU Markets for Pigmeat

We apply nonparametric methods to assess price transmission processes within the EU pig markets. We compare results derived from nonparametric regressions with those obtained using alternative nonlinear threshold models. Results show that nonparametric regressions support the parametric results. However, parametric techniques often suggest a higher degree of price transmission than that implied by threshold models.
Recovery of phenolic antioxidants from the peel fraction of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) processing waste

The extraction of phenolic compounds from the peel fraction of bilberry processing waste was investigated. The phenolic content of bilberry peels was 25.3 ± 2.4 mg GAE per gram dry weight and the flavonoid content was 2.85 ± 0.42 mg QE per gram dry weight. Extraction experiments were carried out in batch mode, using ethanolÂÂÂwater mixtures as solvent. A central composite design was used to study the effects of liquid-to-solid ratio (R = 20ÂÂÂ40 mL gÂÂÂ1), aqueous ethanol concentration (C= 30ÂÂÂ70 vol%), extraction time (E = 90ÂÂÂ210 min) and temperature (T = 30ÂÂÂ50 °C) on the recovery of phenolic compounds. Under the best conditions (R = 40 mL gÂÂÂ1, C = 70%, E = 210min and T = 50 °C) over 95% of the phenolics present in the waste were recovered. R, C and T were the most influential factors and all had a positive effect on the extraction efficiency. Based on the statistical analysis of the data, a simplified model was developed which provided an accurate estimation of the extraction yields both inside and outside the design space. Overall, the results of this study strongly support the potential of bilberry processing waste as a source of natural antioxidants and give useful directions on how to improve recovery by proper selection of extraction conditions.
Highly Selective Deethylation of Rhodamine B on TiO 2 Prepared in Supercritical Fluids

Pure phase anatase TiO2 nanoparticles with sizes of 5–8 nm and varying crystallinity were synthesized in supercritical isopropanol/water using a continuous flow reactor. Their photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) was evaluated under visible light irradiation. The as-prepared TiO2 nanoparticles show much higher photodegradation efficiencies than commercial Degussa P25 TiO2. Moreover, the photodegradation of RhB on the as-prepared TiO2 follows a different process from that on P25 TiO2, quicker N-deethylation and slower cleavage of conjugated chromophore structure. Based on PXRD, TEM, and BET measurements, these two photodegradation properties have been explained by the physicochemical properties of TiO2.
Introduction to the mathematical methods of the solution to the direct and inverse problems of the optical waveguide design

In this paper we give an introduction to the mathematical foundations of the optical waveguide design. A survey of the main results of the spectral theory of the Schr¨odinger operator on the line having compactly supported potential, with particular emphasis on the case of piece-wise constant potential is presented. This theory is then applied to the optical waveguide design problem of a piece-wise constant permittivity.
The role of corporate citizenship values in promoting corporate social performance: towards a conceptual model and a research agenda

Performance of corporations, under the stakeholder approach, is not measured in financial terms only; modern corporations have significant responsibilities beyond those to their shareholders. A value‐laden concept such as sustainable construction, which emerges from a multi‐stakeholder perspective, involves participation of the whole supply chain and incorporates the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Creating sustainable habitats has societal as well as economic implications. While the UK government’s Department of Trade and Industry is promoting CSR as a business contribution to sustainable development, many have argued that corporate citizenship takes shape at the point of government failure in the facilitation of citizen’s rights. Recent research demonstrates varying degrees of corporate social performance (CSP) in different sectors and there are differing relationships between CSP and innovation in the real estate and construction sectors. A conceptual model linking corporate citizenship values (CCV) and CSP through corporate behaviour (BCORP) from a CSR and stakeholder theory perspective is developed. The proposed model presents avenues for future research and represents a significant first step towards modelling the important link between CCV and CSP.
Cell Cycle Regulators in Female Meiosis of Drosophila melanogaster

Meiosis is a highly regulated and complex variation on the canonical cell cycle. It depends on the activity of most of the known mitotic cell cycle regulators, as well as many mei-osis-specific factors that interact with and modify the activities of this core cell cycle machinery. This review will examine the roles of known mitotic cell cycle regulators and meiosis-specific factors in Drosophila female meiosis, focusing on three important meiotic events: nuclear envelope breakdown or maturation, establishment of the meiosis I spindle, and release from metaphase I arrest at ovulation. Many meiotic processes are controlled by the mitotic kinase, Cdk1 with its cyclin partners, cyclins A, B, and B3. Other major mitotic kinases, including Polo and Aurora B have been found to play multiple roles in Drosophila meiosis. The Anaphase Promoting Complex or Cyclosome (APC/C) controls many meiotic processes through regulation of Cdk1, the sister chromatid cohe- sion regulator, Separase and other targets. This review will focus on these and other meiotic regulators, emphasizing some of the technical advances that have driven the field forward in recent years, and highlighting gaps that need to be filled to achieve a more complete picture of how meiosis is regulated in Drosophila .
Consequences of population change for local abundance and site occupancy of wintering waterbirds

Population size changes can lead to changes in local abundance and/or site occupancy, depending on the processes influencing site use by individuals. Here, we quantify such changes for wintering waterbirds and assess their implications for widely used conservation strategies in which sites that support in excess of a given proportion of a population are prioritized for protection.
Branch‐Width and Tangles

This article describes the notion of branch-width and its dual notion, tangles. Branch-width was introduced by Robertson and Seymour and has been applied to various combinatorial structures. Keyword: branch-width; carving-width; rank-width; tangle Branch-width, introduced by Robertson and Seymour [41], is a general concept to describe the diculty of decomposing nitely many objects into a tree-like structure by partitioning them into two parts recursively, while maintaining each cut to have small connectivity measure. Branch-width normally is dened for graphs or hypergraphs, as discussed by Robertson and Seymour [41] but it is easy to be extended for other combinatorial objects such as matroids and any integer-valued symmetric submodular functions. Roughly speaking branch-decomposition is a description on a maximal collection of non-overlapping partitions of a nite set E. The width of a branch-decomposition is the maximum \complexity" of each part appearing in the branch-decomposition, where the \complexity" is given by some function on subsets of E. The branch-width is the minimum possible width over all possible branch-decompositions of E. Precise denition will be discussed in the following section. To show that branch-width is small, we need to illustrate how to decompose nicely; in other words, we need to present a branch-decomposition of small width in order to certify that branchwidth is small. On the other hand, if we want to certify that branch-width is large, a naive approach would be trying all possible branch-decompositions, which is too time consuming. For that purpose
Heterogeneity and Long-Run Changes in U.S. Hours and the Labor Wedge

From 1980 until 2007, U.S. average hours worked increased by thirteen percent, due to a large increase in female hours. At the same time, the U.S. labor wedge, measured as the discrepancy between a representative household's marginal rate of substitution between consumption and leisure and the marginal product of labor, declined substantially. We examine these trends in a model with heterogeneous households: married couples, single males and single females. Our quantitative analysis shows that the shrinking gender wage gaps and increasing labor income taxes observed in U.S. data are key determinants of hours and the labor wedge. Changes in our model's labor wedge are driven by distortionary taxes and non-distortionary factors, namely the cross-sectional differences in households' labor supply and productivity. We conclude that the labor wedge measured from a representative household model partly reflects inaccurate household aggregation.
- 1-Routing with Hexagonal Virtual Coordinates in Wireless Sensor Networks

Using geographic routing, like GPSR, is efficient for ad hoc and wireless sensor networks, but it requires that nodes be aware of their physical positions. However, if there are holes in the network, routing across them using GPSR will lead to a lot of overloaded nodes on their boundaries. In this paper, we propose a distributed protocol, named Hexagonal Virtual Coordinate (HVC), for constructing a virtual coordinate system. After the HVC is constructed, the nodes in the network will be aware of the relative coordinates among the landmarks through the HVC chart. Based on the HVC chart, a source node can find an Auxiliary Routing Path to indicate the direction of the journey from the source to the destination. Simulation results show that our protocol can support geographic routing efficiently, and the landmarks found by our protocol are uniformly located in the network even if some holes exist within it. In addition, our protocol is resilient to various network shapes and can find a load balancing routing path to the destination even if this path comes across holes in the network.
Corruption, Institutions, and Economic Development

Many scholarly articles on corruption give the impression that the world is populated by two types of people: the 'sanders' and the 'greasers'. The 'sanders' believe that corruption is an obstacle to development, while the 'greasers' believe that corruption can (in some cases) foster development. This paper takes a critical look at these positions. It concludes that the evidence supporting the 'greasing the wheels hypothesis' is very weak and shows that there is no correlation between a new measure of managers' actual experience with corruption and GDP growth. Instead, the paper uncovers a strong negative correlation between growth in genuine wealth per capita --a direct measure of sustainable development--and corruption. While corruption may have little average effect on the growth rate of GDP per capita , it is a likely source of unsustainable development. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.