Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence for two spatially separated UV continuum emitting regions in the Cloverleaf broad absorption line quasar

Testing the standard Shakura-Sunyaev model of accretion is a challenging task because the central region of quasars where accretion takes place is unresolved with telescopes. The analysis of microlensing in gravitationally lensed quasars is one of the few techniques that can test this model, yielding to the measurement of the size and of temperature profile of the accretion disc. We present spectroscopic observations of the gravitationally lensed broad absorption line quasar H1413+117, which reveal partial microlensing of the continuum emission that appears to originate from two separated regions: a microlensed region, corresponding to the compact accretion disc; and a non-microlensed region, more extended and contributing to at least 30\% of the total UV-continuum flux. Because this extended continuum is occulted by the broad absorption line clouds, it is not associated with the host galaxy, but rather with light scattered in the neighbourhood of the central engine. We measure the amplitude of microlensing of the compact continuum over the rest-frame wavelength range 1000-7000 \AA. Following a Bayesian scheme, we confront our measurements to microlensing simulations of an accretion disc with a temperature varying as $T \propto R^{-1/\nu}$. We find a most likely source half-light radius of $R_{1/2} = 0.61 \times 10^{16}\,$cm (i.e., 0.002\,pc) at 0.18\,$\mu$m, and a most-likely index of $\nu=0.4$. The standard disc ($\nu=4/3$) model is not ruled out by our data, and is found within the 95\% confidence interval associated with our measurements. We demonstrate that, for H1413+117, the existence of an extended continuum in addition to the disc emission only has a small impact on the inferred disc parameters, and is unlikely to solve the tension between the microlensing source size and standard disc sizes, as previously reported in the literature.
Design and analysis of novel high-gain and broad-band GaAs pHEMT MMIC distributed amplifiers with traveling-wave gain stages

Using the concept of traveling-wave gain stages, novel GaAs pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistor monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) distributed amplifiers (DAs) are demonstrated to achieve high gain and over several octaves of bandwidth performance simultaneously for microwave and millimeter-wave frequency applications. The cascaded single-stage distributed amplifier (CSSDA) is used as traveling-wave gain stages to improve the gain performance of the conventional distributed amplifier (CDA). By adopting the low-pass filter topology between the CDA and CSSDA and tuning the gain shape of CDA and CSSDA separately, a broad-band and high-gain DA, called CDA-CSSDA-2, was accomplished. The detailed design equations are derived for the broad-band matching design of this CDA-CSSDA-2. Two other MMICs, namely, a two-stage CSSDA called 2-CSSDA, and another two-stage design called CDA-CSSDA-1, are also included in this paper. This CDA-CSSDA-2 achieves 22/spl plusmn/1.5-dB small-signal gain from 0.1 to 40 GHz with a chip size of 1.5/spl times/2 mm/sup 2/. It also produces a gain-bandwidth product of 503 GHz, which is the highest among all reported GaAs-based DAs. The flat group delay also demonstrates the feasibility of this design for future digital optical communications and broad-band pulse applications.
Unit 5 Case studies 5.2 A Diachronic Study of Melancholy in a British Novel Corpus

Introduction In this case study, I compare the salient semantic features found in the contexts of the word melancholy in a diachronic corpus of fiction from 1722 to 1834. By building such a corpus, I aim to document and explain a change in the usage and meaning of melancholy. I intend to use corpus linguistics to provide empirical evidence of a semantic change of the emotion word melancholy from the pre-Romantic period to the Romantic period. I will use statistics such as frequency and the mutual information score to yield potential collocates and illustrate how melancholy has increased its popularity in usage among the novelists in the Romantic period. This study intends to show how a diachronic corpus study is feasible way of explaining the semantic change of melancholy.
Cloning and sequence analysis of a 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase ( DXS ) gene from Ilex cornuta

In higher plants, 1-Deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS) catalyzes the first step of the MEP pathway, which is considered a key rate-limiting enzyme related to the synthesis of isoprenoids. In this study, we cloned the cDNA of a DXS gene from Ilex cornuta. The cDNA length of IcDXS gene is 2349 bp, encoding 732 amino acids. The molecular weight of the deduced IcDXS protein is 78.60 kDa and the isoelectric point is 6.99. Secondary structure predicted that the α-helix, extended strand, β-turn and random coil in IcDXS protein were 37.84%, 18.58%, 11.20% and 32.38% respectively. The IcDXS protein sequence was highly homologous to DXS proteins from other plants. The phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the IcDXS protein was clustered with the DXS proteins of Manihot esculenta and Jatropha curcas, indicating that there was a close relationship between them. This study lays the foundation for the functional identification of IcDXS gene. Keyword: Ilex cornuta; 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase; gene clone; sequence analysis
DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM FOR MCE 2018

The task of MCE 2018 is to determine whether or not a recorded utterance was spoken by one of a large number of “blacklisted” speakers [1]. Each utterance is represented by a single i-vector [2]. If we verify that the utterance was spoken by one “blacklisted” speaker, the specific Blacklist speaker needs to be found out. In our submission, we tackle the two sub-tasks with specified algorithms. For the top-S detector, we treat the problem as a binary classification. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) [3] is applied to reduce the dimension of data space and transforms the training data to make it easier to classify. An SVM classifier with polynomial kernel plays the role of top-S detector. For the task of top-1 detection, we combine two of the PLDA variants, PLDA1 [4] and PLDAmax to achieve good performance. Evaluation on the development dataset shows that our top-S detector achieves EER of 1.28% and an EER of 7.58% is reported on top-1 detector, with total confusion error of 269.
Experiment and Theory of the Electrical Conductivity of a Compressed Granular Metal

We measured the electrical resistance of a copper powder sample under uniaxial compression. The resistance is controlled by the oxide layer on grains. It follows a power law versus the pressure, with an exponent which is different from that expected either with Hertz or plastic contact between grains. A theoretical explanation based on a description of two grains in contact is proposed. We show that the strong dependence of the macroscopic resistance with the pressure applied to the powder is a consequence of large variabilities and heterogeneities present at the contact surface between two grains.
Computer Vision Tools for 3D Modelling in Archaeology

In archaeological Cultural Heritage study 3D modelling has become a very useful process to obtain indispensable data for documentation and visualization. Nowadays the continuous request to achieve photorealistic 3D models has led to testing different techniques and methodologies to speed up both data acquisition and the data processing phase. There are many examples of surveys conducted with the use of range-based and image-based techniques, but, in the last few years, the scientific research has been increasingly moving towards automatic procedures using Computer Vision approach to reduce time during data processing. Computer Vision approach offers a great opportunity for archaeological survey since it can be very easily used by existing Computer Vision interfaces such as 3D web services and open source or low cost software. The aim of this work is to evaluate the performance offered by Computer Vision interfaces for 3D survey of archaeological ruins using some 3D web-service tools and a low cost softwar.
Speech, Prosody, and Machines: Nine Challenges for Prosody Research

Speech technology is becoming commonplace. Traditional telephony based interactive voice systems have been joined by virtual assistants and navigation systems to create a broad ecosystem of voice enabled technologies. Prosody is an essential component to human communication, but machines still lag in their ability to understand information communicated prosodically and to produce human-like intonation. This paper poses nine challenges designed to effectively and more thoroughly integrate prosody into current speech technologies. These include long-standing and contemporary concerns surrounding the availability and utility of data, gaps in linguistic theory and speciﬁc technological issues. Each of these challenges have received some attention, additional work is necessary to bring the role of prosody in speech technology closer to its role in human communication.
Continuous improvement concepts as a link between quality assurance and implementation of cleaner production: Case study in the generic pharmaceutical industry

The subject and the research objective presented in this article is establishing of the relationship between quality assurance and implementation of cleaner production in the generic pharmaceutical industry through the comprehensive concept of continuous improvement. This is mostly related to application of Lean and Six Sigma tools and techniques for process improvement and their link to other known concepts used in the industrial environment, especially manufacturing of generic pharmaceutical products from which two representative case studies were selected for comparative analysis, also considering relevant regulatory requirements in the field of quality management, as well as appropriate quality standards. Although the methodology discussed in this conceptual and practice oriented article is strongly related to chemical engineering, the focus is mainly on process industry, i.e. production systems, rather than any specific technological process itself. The scope of this research is an engineering approach to evaluation of the production systems in terms of continuous improvement concepts application, considering both quality aspects and efficiency of such systems. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 34009]
The Effect of the Cause of Trauma , Sports Activity As Well As Body Mass on Lesions of the Knee Joint Evaluated Using Magnetic Resonance

Introduction: The most common cause is stated to be a fall, bend as well as spontaneous pain. The changes which lead to pain in the knee may be detected with a non-invasive method such as magnetic resonance. The aim of this study is to see whether a linkage exists between the pain intensity and the degree of the lesion on any structure of the knee. Whether body mass plays a significant role in relation to the manner in which the injury occurred. Material and Methods: Our study included 261 patients which met our inclusion criteria for participation in this study. All patients signed an informant consent for participation in the study. The study will involve a prospective analysis with Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the knee for a period of 1 year using an MRI of 1.5 T. The data is acquired using a questionnaire regarding the injury filled by the patient. In our study 261 knee MRIs were processed and analysed in patients with acute injury to the knee, with a negative radiograph of the knee and persistent pain not longer than 1 month despite undergoing a conservative treatment. We analyze in the study the relationship between demographic characteristics of patients with trauma to the knee and the manner in which the injury occurred. Results: With regard to the gender distribution: 65.13% were male The manner of injury in the greater part of the subjects was bending (40.23%). In terms of localization of the pain, the majority of subjects reported that they felt the pain in the medial part of the knee (47.13%). When analysing MRIs of the knees, the majority showed a lesion on the cartilage of the medial condyle on the femur in 88 (33.72%) subjects.In our study the MRI findings showed a lesion on the posterior horn on the medial meniscus in 175 (67.05%) subjects.With an MRI findings of a lesion on the ACL were present in around 40% of the subjects.Patients with lesions on the ACL had a significantly more frequent occurrence of bone oedema (p=0.043). All patients with a combined trauma to the anterior cruciate ligament and the posterior horn of the medial meniscus also had a bone oedema Type 1 and Type 2. Conclusion: Age and body weight do not have an impact on the manner in which the trauma occurs and the type and grade of the lesions of the knee.Males are more prone to sports traumas. The intensity of pain does not depend on the cause of injury.All patients with a combined trauma to the anterior cruciate ligament and the posterior horn of the medial meniscus had a bone oedema Type 1 and Type 2. Bone oedemas should always be searched during an MRI analysis of the knee as it can lead to finding the
Simple normal crossing Fano varieties and log Fano manifolds

Abstract A projective log variety (X, D) is called a log Fano manifold if X is smooth and if D is a reduced simple normal crossing divisor on Χ with − (KΧ + D) ample. The n-dimensional log Fano manifolds (X, D) with nonzero D are classified in this article when the log Fano index r of (X, D) satisfies either r ≥ n/2 with ρ(X) ≥ 2 or r ≥ n − 2. This result is a partial generalization of the classification of logarithmic Fano 3-folds by Maeda.
Surtsey and Mount St. Helens: a comparison of early succession rates

Surtsey and Mount St. Helens are celebrated but very different volcanoes. Permanent plots allow for comparisons that reveal mechanisms that control succession and its rate and suggest general principles. We estimated rates from structure development, species composition using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), changes in Euclidean distance (ED) of DCA vectors, and by principal components analysis (PCA) of DCA. On Surtsey, rates determined from DCA trajectory analyses decreased as follows: gull colony on lava with sand > gull colony on lava, no sand ≫ lava with sand > sand spit > block lava > tephra. On Mount St. Helens, plots on lahar deposits near woodlands were best developed. The succession rates of open meadows declined as follows: Lupinus -dominated pumice > protected ridge with Lupinus > other pumice and blasted sites > isolated lahar meadows > barren plain. Despite the prominent contrasts between the volcanoes, we found several common themes. Isolation restricted the number of colonists on Surtsey and to a lesser degree on Mount St. Helens. Nutrient input from outside the system was crucial. On Surtsey, seabirds fashioned very fertile substrates, while on Mount St. Helens wind brought a sparse nutrient rain, then Lupinus enhanced fertility to promote succession. Environmental stress limits succession in both cases. On Surtsey, bare lava, compacted tephra and infertile sands restrict development. On Mount St. Helens, exposure to wind and infertility slow succession.
Role of the microstructure on the magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles

We report on the magnetic and structural properties of Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by the vaporization-condensation method in a solar reactor. X-ray diffraction data and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) confirm the total absence of metallic Co clusters or any other phase different from wurtzite-type ZnO. Electron energy loss spectroscopy analyses performed on several particles indicate that the oxidation state of Co is +2 and yield an average Co concentration of 4.5at. %, in good agreement with the nominal composition. Transmission electron microscopy micrographs show that shape and size of the particles are strongly dependent on the preparation conditions, as well as the microstructure as evidenced by HREM. Ferromagnetism is only found in samples prepared in vacuum revealing a close correlation between microstructure and magnetic properties.
The Art of Facilitating Archiving Workshops in South Africa, in Order to Develop Skills in the Archival Profession Accommodating Unique Challenges

The core of this article is aimed at highlighting the challenges in the facilitating of archiving workshops in South Africa. Apart from formal training of Archivists (of which some available qualifications and courses are discussed), there is a huge need for shorter, hands-on training. Learners represent a variety of working environments, backgrounds, levels of education, languages and cultures. The current situation in terms of formal training is briefly outlined. Available, more informal training and workshops are discussed as a means of filling the gaps for a specific sector in the archival profession. The challenges and the outline of workshops’ content are shared. Current research in order to establish loopholes and needs regarding archival skills in the workplace, is mentioned. The majority of the article has been written against the background of the author’s own experiences.
Behavioral therapy in diabetes mellitus and obesity

In Weimar, on the wall of Albert Schweitzer Museum, there is a memorial tablet which says: “The purpose of our life is to serve, to show solidarity and helpfulness. ” The humanist medical doctor, theologian, philosopher, organist could not have expressed more clearly our confession. Behavioral therapy integrates the cure of body and soul, which occasionally show some duality and opposition.
Towards Norm Realization in Institutions Mediating Human-Robot Societies

Social norms are the understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society. As such, they regulate communication, cooperation and other social interactions. Robots capable of reasoning about social norms are more likely to be recognized as an extension of our human society. However, norms stated in a form of the human language are inherently vague and abstract. This allows for applying norms in a variety of situations, but if the robots are to adhere to social norms, they must be capable of translating abstract norms to the robotic language. In this paper we use a notion of institution to realize social norms in real robotic systems. We illustrate our approach in a case study, where we translate abstract norms into concrete constraints on cooperative behaviors of humans and robots. We investigate the feasibility of our approach and quantitatively evaluate the performance of our framework in 30 real experiments with user-based evaluation with 40 participants.
A nonpotential model for the Sun's open magnetic flux

[1] Measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) over several solar cycles do not agree with computed values of open magnetic flux from potential field extrapolations. The discrepancy becomes greater around solar maximum in each cycle when the IMF can be twice as strong as predicted by the potential field model. Here we demonstrate that this discrepancy may be resolved by allowing for electric currents in the low corona (below 2.5R⊙). We present a quasi-static numerical model of the large-scale coronal magnetic evolution, which systematically produces these currents through flux emergence and shearing by surface motions. The open flux is increased by 75%–85% at solar maximum, but only 25% at solar minimum, bringing it in line with estimates from IMF measurements. The additional open flux in the nonpotential model arises through inflation of the magnetic field by electric currents, with superimposed fluctuations due to coronal mass ejections. The latter are modeled by the self-consistent ejection of twisted magnetic flux ropes.
THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF TRIDHAM AND 1,2,3,4,6-PENTA-O-GALLOYL-Β-D-GLUCOSE ON ALTERED ENERGY METABOLISM IN MAMMARY CARCINOMA BEARING RATS

ABSTRACT Objective: Emerging evidence indicates that cancer is primarily a metabolic disease involving disturbances in energy production, and hence, reprogramming of cellular energy metabolism is deemed to be one of the principal hallmarks of cancer. Tridham (TD) has been used by traditional practitioners of Siddha medicine against various ailments. Hence, the present study has been designed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of TD on altered energy metabolism in mammary carcinoma-bearing rats. Methods: Adult female albino rats of Sprague-Dawley strain weighing 170-190 g were used and 7,12-dimethylbenzeneanthracene (DMBA) was used for induction of mammary carcinoma and rats were divided into seven groups. Group I - control rats, Group II - DMBA-induced rats, Group III - DMBA- and TD-treated rats, Group IV - DMBA- and 1,2,3,4,6-Penta-O-galloyl-β-d-glucose (PGG)-treated rats, Group V - DMBA- and cyclophosphamide-treated rats, Groups VI and VII are TD and PGG control rats. Results: Significant (p<0.05) increase in the glycolytic enzymes, hexokinase, phosphoglucoisomerase and aldolase, was observed in tumor-bearing rats whereas gluconeogenic enzymes, glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-biphosphatase, were significantly decreased. The activities of the mitochondrial Krebs cycle enzymes, isocitrate dehydrogenase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase, and respiratory chain enzymes, nicotinamide dinucleotide dehydrogenase and cytochrome c oxidase, were significantly reduced in tumor tissue of the mammary carcinoma-bearing rats. These biochemical disturbances were effectively counteracted by TD and PGG which restore the activities of all these enzymes to the respective control levels. Conclusion: TD and PGG effectively ameliorated the altered glucose metabolism resulting in the regression of breast cancer. Keywords: Breast cancer, Cancer cachexia, Carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes, Krebs cycle.
Effects of yohimbine, an alpha 2-antagonistic reversal agent, on physiological recovery parameters of anesthetized sows

Materials and methods: Anesthesia was induced with xylazine, ketamine, and telazol in a single syringe, injected intramuscularly (IM). Following a 20-minute stabilization period, palpebral reflex was evaluated, and if absent, sows were injected IM with sterile saline (Control sows; n = 12) or yohimbine HCl (0.1 mg per kg; Yohimbine sows; n = 12). Data collected included insensibility measures (palpebral reflex, jaw tone, nose prick, alertness to human approach test, body posture) and physiologic measurements (heart rate, rectal temperature, respiratory rate, oxyhemoglobin saturation). Data was collected every 10 minutes until complete sensibility was attained.
Applying Image Fusion Technique with MRFKMC for Change Detection in SAR Images

In this paper, a novel framework for change detection in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images based on image fusion and clustering algorithms have been carried out. The significance of image fusion technique is to generate a difference image (DI) by using complementary information from a mean-ratio image and a log-ratio image. Dual tree complex discrete wavelet transform (DTCWT) fusion technique is considered in this paper. To restrain the background information and enhance the information of changed regions in the fused image, DTCWT fusion algorithm is applied on ratio images. The approach then classifies changed and unchanged regions by Markov random field K-means (MRFKMC) clustering algorithm. Theoretical analysis experiments are carried out on SAR images by applying MRFKMC and compared the results with MRFFCM.