Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Layer Detection in Radar Sounder Images

Radar investigations of glaciers rely on accurate identification of layer features in radar survey images (radargrams). Traditionally, these features have been identified (”picked”) manually or semi-manually. To improve the efficiency and consistency of this picking process, we present an automated method to identify the glacier surface and glacier-bedrock interface in radargrams. This method identified 99.9% of surface layer points and 84% of bed layer points within within 20 pixels of accuracy.
Nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation on coupled transmons with ancillaries

The physical implementation of holonomic quantum computation is challenging due to the needed complex controllable interactions in multilevel quantum systems. Here we propose to implement nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation with conventional capacitive coupled superconducting transmon qubits. A universal set of holonomic gates is constructed with the help of the interaction with an auxiliary qubit rather than relying on delicate control over an auxiliary level of multilevel quantum systems. Explicitly, these quantum gates are realized by tunable interactions in an all-resonant way, which leads to high-fidelity gate operations. In this way, the distinct merit of our scheme is that we use only the lowest two levels of a transmon to form the qubit states. In addition, the auxiliary qubits are in their ground states before and after every gate operation, so that the holonomic gates can be constructed successively. Therefore, our scheme provides a promising method towards the practical realization of high-fidelity nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation.
1 Structure and mechanism of ATP-binding cassette exporters

The majority of proteins that belong to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily are transporters that mediate the efflux of substrates from cells. These exporters include multidrug resistance proteins of the ABCB and ABCC subfamilies, such as P-glycoprotein (Pgp) and MRP1, respectively. These proteins are not only involved in the resistance of cancer to cytotoxic agents, but also in the protection from endo and xenobiotics, and the determination of drug pharmacokinetics, as well as in the pathophysiology of a variety of disorders. Here, we present a review of the information available on ABC exporters, with a focus on Pgp, MRP1 and related proteins. We describe tissue localization and function of these transporters in health and disease, and discuss the mechanisms of substrate transport. We also correlate recent structural information with the function of the exporters, and discuss details of their molecular mechanism with a focus on the nucleotide-binding domains,
A Comparative Study of Feature Selection in Face Recognition Using Harmony Search Algorithm and PCA Aayushi Bansal

998 All Rights Reserved © 2017IJARCET  Abstract—Feature selection is a technique used to select most informative features from the training data set. In this paper, we studied a method for feature selection in face recognition on ORL face database using harmony search algorithm and compared it with popular Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for face recognition. The studied method consists of two steps, firstly feature extraction which is followed by feature selection. Results of the experiment reveal that the Harmony Search algorithm yields better results than PCA technique.
The Jumper Metaphor: An Effective Navigation Technique for Immersive Display Setups

—Recently, several novel user interfaces have been introduced, which allow users to actively move the body in order to interact with a displayed immersive virtual environment (IVE). However, in most situations the virtual world in which the user is immersed represents a space that is considerably larger than the available interaction space within which she can move. To overcome this limitation, traditionally, users can travel indirectly by exploiting input devices, with which the viewpoint in the environment can be changed without actually requiring a large physical movement. However, for several applications, it appears reasonable to consider more natural methods for traveling through IVEs. In this paper, we introduce the jumper metaphor , which combines natural direct walking with magical locomotion through large-scale IVEs. The key characteristic of the jumper metaphor is that it supports real walking for short-distances, whereas if the user intends to travel a larger distance, the metaphor predicts the planned target location in the virtual world and then lets the user virtually jump to that particular target. We evaluated this method in an IVE and found that the jumper metaphor has the potential to allow more effective exploration in comparison to real walking, with only minor effects on space cognition and disorientation.
Effects of Wine by-Products on Growth Performance, Complete Blood Count and Total Antioxidant Status in Broilers

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the effect of whole grape pomace (GP), grape seed (GS) and grape pomace polyphenolic extract (GPEP) on growth performance, total antioxidant status (TAS) and complete blood count (CBC) of 40-day-old chicks (hybrid Cobb 500). A total of 432 unsexed one-day-old chicks were divided into six groups: control (CON) and five experimental groups, 10 g/kg GP, 20 g/kg GP, 5 g/kg GS, 10 g/kg GS and 15 mL/L GPEP. The results showed a higher increase in growing rate in 5 g/kg GS group, from the first week of the chicks’ life throughout their growth, the average body weight of the chicks being significantly higher (p 0.05) at 40 days of age. As a conclusion, the amount of 5 g/kg seeds, 10 g/kg and 20 g/kg pomace, can be added to the diet of the broilers, the dose of 5 g/kg seeds in the diet offering advantages in growing rate and feed valorization in weight gain.
A coupled modeling framework for sustainable watershed management in transboundary river basins

Abstract. There is a growing recognition among water resource managers that sustainable watershed management needs to not only account for the diverse ways humans benefit from the environment, but also incorporate the impact of human actions on the natural system. Coupled natural–human system modeling through explicit modeling of both natural and human behavior can help reveal the reciprocal interactions and co-evolution of the natural and human systems. This study develops a spatially scalable, generalized agent-based modeling (ABM) framework consisting of a process-based semi-distributed hydrologic model (SWAT) and a decentralized water system model to simulate the impacts of water resource management decisions that affect the food–water–energy–environment (FWEE) nexus at a watershed scale. Agents within a river basin are geographically delineated based on both political and watershed boundaries and represent key stakeholders of ecosystem services. Agents decide about the priority across three primary water uses: food production, hydropower generation and ecosystem health within their geographical domains. Agents interact with the environment (streamflow) through the SWAT model and interact with other agents through a parameter representing willingness to cooperate. The innovative two-way coupling between the water system model and SWAT enables this framework to fully explore the feedback of human decisions on the environmental dynamics and vice versa. To support non-technical stakeholder interactions, a web-based user interface has been developed that allows for role-play and participatory modeling. The generalized ABM framework is also tested in two key transboundary river basins, the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia and the Niger River basin in West Africa, where water uses for ecosystem health compete with growing human demands on food and energy resources. We present modeling results for crop production, energy generation and violation of eco-hydrological indicators at both the agent and basin-wide levels to shed light on holistic FWEE management policies in these two basins.
An integrated model for the assessment of global water resources – Part 2: Applications and assessments

To assess global water resources from the per- spective of subannual variation in water availability and wa- ter use, an integrated water resources model was developed. In a companion report, we presented the global meteoro- logical forcing input used to drive the model and six mod- ules, namely, the land surface hydrology module, the river routing module, the crop growth module, the reservoir op- eration module, the environmental flow requirement mod- ule, and the anthropogenic withdrawal module. Here, we present the results of the model application and global water resources assessments. First, the timing and volume of sim- ulated agriculture water use were examined because agricul- tural use composes approximately 85% of total consumptive water withdrawal in the world. The estimated crop calen- dar showed good agreement with earlier reports for wheat, maize, and rice in major countries of production. In ma- jor countries, the error in the planting date was ±1 mo, but there were some exceptional cases. The estimated irrigation water withdrawal also showed fair agreement with country statistics, but tended to be underestimated in countries in the Asian monsoon region. The results indicate the validity of the model and the input meteorological forcing because site- specific parameter tuning was not used in the series of sim- ulations. Finally, global water resources were assessed on a subannual basis using a newly devised index. This index lo- cated water-stressed regions that were undetected in earlier studies. These regions, which are indicated by a gap in the
Ti Valence States in Al,Ti-rich Pyroxenes from Comet Particles: Anchoring Ti ELNES Spectra with Vanadium Thin-films

Detailed investigations of particles captured from comet Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft and a giant cluster interplanetary dust particle (IDP) of probable cometary origin have shown that high temperature, moderately refractory materials are present in outer Solar System bodies where Kuiper Belt objects accreted [1,2]. Unraveling the physical and chemical processes of how these particles formed is vital toward understanding comets. The mineral pyroxene, a common phase in these refractory grains and believed to be a nebular condensation product, often contains significant amounts of the transition element Ti which can adopt different oxidation states, thus pyroxenes can provide evidence of redox conditions during formation of their host grains. Refractory minerals in comet samples are typically micron to submicron in size and electron energy loss near-edge spectroscopy with transmission electron microscopy to valence states Ti electron energy in Ti core-loss edges ELNES spectra, and a least fine-structure Ti core-loss spectra octahedral volume, polyhedron distortions and site ELNES spectra comparisons. energy drift the EELS spectra during energy comparison Ti spectra
Adductor Canal Block Combined with Sciatic Nerve Block Vs. Local Analgesic Infiltration for Pain Control after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Background: A combined adductor canal block (ACB) and sciatic nerve block (SNB) is new different way to achieve an efficient postoperative analgesia after total knee replacement (TKR) that spares the weakness of quadriceps femoris muscle. This prospective randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the efficiency and safety of the combined adductor canal with sciatic nerve blocks versus local analgesic infiltration alone for pain control after total knee replacement.Patients and methods: Forty patients (ASA II, and III), undergoing unilateral total knee replacement, were randomly and allocated to two groups (20 patients each), block group (ACB+SNB): the patient received US- guided adductor canal block combined with sciatic nerve block, local group (LAI): patient received local analgesic injection (LAI) to entire of the knee joint. The primary outcomes were postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) at rest and with movement, first request of analgesics and 24 h total consumption of morphine. Secondary outcome measures included sedation score and side effects associated with morphine consumption like nausea, vomiting.Results: There was a significant reduction in postoperative morphine consumption, VAS, nausea and vomiting and sedation at 12 h in local group. There were no complications attributable to the ACB or SNB blocks.Conclusion: Combined adductor canal with sciatic nerve blocks could significantly reduce VAS scores, morphine consumption, and first request for analgesia in comparison with local analgesic infiltration alone following TKA. Additionally, there is a lower incidence of sedation, nausea and vomiting in the combined blocks group.
Dynamic Computation Offloading for Mobile Cloud Computing: A Stochastic Game-Theoretic Approach

Driven by the growing popularity of mobile applications, mobile cloud computing has been envisioned as a promising approach to enhance computation capability of mobile devices and reduce the energy consumptions. In this paper, we investigate the problem of multi-user computation offloading for mobile cloud computing under dynamic environment, wherein mobile users become active or inactive dynamically, and the wireless channels for mobile users to offload computation vary randomly. As mobile users are self-interested and selfish in offloading computation tasks to the mobile cloud, we formulate the mobile users’ offloading decision process under dynamic environment as a stochastic game. We prove that the formulated stochastic game is equivalent to a weighted potential game which has at least one Nash Equilibrium (NE). We quantify the efficiency of the NE, and further propose a multi-agent stochastic learning algorithm to reach the NE with a guaranteed convergence rate (which is also analytically derived). Finally, we conduct simulations to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and evaluate its performance under dynamic environment.
Effect of Intrauterine Infusions of E. coli Endotoxin on Luteinizing Hormone Receptor Binding Capacity in Ovarian Follicles of Heifers: Exploratory Study

A study was conducted to determine whether follicles recovered from heifers treated with intrauterine infusions of E. coli endotoxin had altered LH binding capacities. Four Holstein heifers were synchronized (two PGF2 injections PG-1 and PG-2) and then super ovulated (with twice daily injections of FSH in decreasing doses for four days). On the third day luteolysis was induced with a third PGF2 injection (PG-3). Starting 24 h after PG-3, heifers received intrauterine infusions of either 5 cc sterile pyrogen-free water (CTR; n=2) or E. coli endotoxin at a dose of 5 μg/Kg bw (TRT; n=2), every 6 h for 7 treatments. An intensive blood sampling was carried out and plasma concentrations of LH, P4 and cortisol were determined by RIA's. All heifers were ovariectomized 64 h after PG-3 injection. Follicles were hystologicaly evaluated and classified as atretic or non-atretic. The concentrations of LH receptors in follicular wall were determined by one-point saturation analysis. A third of the follicles in TRT were classified as atretic versus a quarter in CTR heifers. Intrauterine infusions of endotoxin triggered only transitory, inconsistent rises in plasma cortisol. Treated animals had larger areas under the cortisol curve (5.9 and 7.71 v/s 4.66 and 4.13), but not significantly different from the controls (P>0.05). The concentrations of LH receptors were significantly lower (P<0.05) in TRT (1.9 ± 0.58 and 2.24 ± 0.2 fmol/mg) compared to CTR heifers (3.51 ± 0.53 and 3.72 ± 0.44 fmol/mg). In conclusion, E. coli endotoxin induced a significant reduction in the follicular concentrations of LH receptors in heifers. The mechanism whereby endotoxin affects follicular LH receptors is unknown.
Ch. 18: Sensing mechanisms of carbon nanotube based NH3 gas detectors

It is well known that the electrical performance of carbon nanotube (CNT) devices is extremely sensitive to chemical environment. Studying the interaction between CNTs and chemical gases could, from fundamental point of view, significantly deepen our understanding on nanoscale device physics. Meanwhile, as large scale integration of CNT devices is still challenging at the current stage, individual electronic devices containing CNTs as their key elements for sensing purpose would be more feasible for practical applications of CNTs. In addition to a small diameter, an extremely large surface to volume ratio makes CNT a suitable material for nanoscale chemical sensing. Since the first CNT gas sensor reported in 2000 (Kong, et al., 2000), many types of CNT-based chemical sensors have been demonstrated. CNT networks (Li, et al., 2003), functionalized CNTs (Qi, et al., 2003), CNT and polymer composites (Wei, et al., 2006), etc, are used as sensing elements. Although tremendous progresses have been achieved in this area, the underlying sensing mechanism still remains unclear. NH3 gas detection represents the most typical argument in CNT based gas sensing area. Previously proposed mechanisms include the indirect interaction through the hydroxyl group on SiO2 substrates (Kong, et al., 2000) or pre-adsorbed water layer (Bradley, et al., 2003), adsorption of gas molecules at the interstitial sites in the CNT bundle (Zhao, et al., 2002), direct charge transfer from the adsorbed gas molecules to the CNT channel (Chang, et al., 2001), and modulation of the SB at CNT/metal contacts (Yamada, 2006), etc. Till now, there is no well recognized sensing mechanisms. Hence in this chapter, we will first review the development of CNT based NH3 gas sensors. After that, we will present a systematic study on the sensing mechanisms through selective Si3N4 passivation, which enables us to truly distinguish the sensing signal from the CNT channel and CNT/metal contacts. By comparing the strikingly distinct sensing performance at various testing conditions, we clearly show that the Schottky barrier modulation at the CNT/metal contacts dominates the sensing performance at room temperature. At higher temperatures, say 150oC or above, NH3 molecules start to adsorb on the CNT wall and the charge transfer from the adsorbed NH3 molecules to the CNTs contributes to the sensing signal. Next, we will demonstrate tunable real-time NH3 sensors with three-terminal CNT field-effect transistors. The room-temperature sensitivity and reversibility of such sensors can be greatly 18
Evaluation of Novelty Detection Methods for Condition Monitoring applied to an Electromechanical System

Dealing with industrial applications, the implementation of condition monitoring schemes must overcome a critical limitation, that is, the lack of a priori information about fault patterns of the system under analysis. Indeed, classical diagnosis schemes, in general, outdo the membership probability of a measure in regard to predefined operating scenarios. However, dealing with noncharacterized systems, the knowledge about faulty operating scenarios is limited and, consequently, the diagnosis performance is insufficient. In this context, the novelty detection framework plays an essential role for monitoring systems in which the information about different operating scenarios is initially unavailable or restricted. The novelty detection approach begins with the assumption that only data corresponding to the healthy operation of the system under analysis is available. Thus, the challenge is to detect and learn additional scenarios during the operation of the system in order to complement the information obtained by the diagnosis scheme. This work has two main objectives: first, the presentation of novelty detection as the current trend toward the new paradigm of industrial condition monitoring and, second, the introduction to its applicability by means of analyses of different novelty detection strategies over a real industrial system based on rotatory machinery.
Platformed antagonism: racist discourses on fake Muslim Facebook pages

ABSTRACT This research examines how fake identities on social media create and sustain antagonistic and racist discourses. It does so by analysing 11 Danish Facebook pages, disguised as Muslim extremists living in Denmark, conspiring to kill and rape Danish citizens. It explores how anonymous content producers utilise Facebook’s socio-technical characteristics to construct, what we propose to term as, platformed antagonism. This term refers to socio-technical and discursive practices that produce new modes of antagonistic relations on social media platforms. Through a discourse-theoretical analysis of posts, images, ‘about’ sections and user comments on the studied Facebook pages, the article highlights how antagonism between ethno-cultural identities is produced on social media through fictitious social media accounts, prompting thousands of user reactions. These findings enhance our current understanding of how antagonism and racism are constructed and amplified within social media environments.
Morphological correlates of ant eating in horned lizards (Phrynosoma)

The North American horned lizards ( Phrynosoma ) represent a morphologically specialized group of ant-eating liz- ards. Although variation in dietary fidelity is observed among the species, all appear to possess morphological specializations thought to be related to their ant-eating diets. Previous studies have examined morphological spe- cialization in Phrynosoma , but they have not taken into account the phylogenetic relationships of its member species. In the present study, the morphological characteristics of the head, jaws and teeth that are thought to be important in prey capture and prey processing were examined to test whether variation in cranial morphology is associated with diet in lizards of the genus Phrynosoma . It is suggested that lizards of the genus Phrynosoma are indeed mor- phologically specialized and that ant-eating is associated with reduced dentition and an overall reduction in the robustness of morphological structures important in prey processing. Although this trend holds for the highly myrmecophagous species of Phrynosoma , a robust cranial morphology is apparent in the short-horned lizard clade ( Phrynosoma ditmarsi , Phrynosoma douglasii , Phrynosoma hernandesi , Phrynosoma orbiculare ), implying the abil- ity to process a variety of dietary items. The present study suggests that additional feeding specializations exist within an already specialized clade (i.e. the short-horned lizard clade) and highlights the need for more detailed dietary and behavioural studies of feeding behaviour in this uniquely specialized group of lizards. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 89 , 13-24.