Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE DISTANCE DUALITY RELATION FROM STRONG GRAVITATIONAL LENSING

Under very general assumptions of the metric theory of spacetime, photons traveling along null geodesics and photon number conservation, two observable concepts of cosmic distance, i.e., the angular diameter and the luminosity distances are related to each other by the so-called distance duality relation (DDR) . Observational validation of this relation is quite important because any evidence of its violation could be a signal of new physics. In this paper we introduce a new method to test the DDR based on strong gravitational lensing systems and type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) under a flat universe. The method itself is worth attention because unlike previously proposed techniques, it does not depend on all other prior assumptions concerning the details of cosmological model. We tested it using a new compilation of strong lensing (SL) systems and JLA compilation of SNe Ia and found no evidence of DDR violation. For completeness, we also combined it with previous cluster data and showed its power on constraining the DDR. It could become a promising new probe in the future in light of forthcoming massive SL surveys and because of expected advances in galaxy cluster modeling.
Progressive Opportunistic Maintenance Policies for Service-Outsourcing Network With Prognostic Updating and Dynamical Optimization

Increasing machine investments and expensive operations and maintenance (O&M) costs have made manufacturing system leasing and maintenance service outsourcing gaining a momentum. Leading original equipment manufacturers, as lessors, have focused on providing cost-effective maintenance schemes to serve their client-enterprises (lessees) all over the world. However, individual equipment degradations, complex system structures, and global network layout bring challenges for the real-time decision-making. This article comprehensively develops a service-outsourcing progressive opportunistic maintenance methodology for a global service-outsourcing network with prognostic updating and dynamical optimization. At the equipment layer, an automated prognostic model is utilized to characterize and update the individual path of each leased equipment's degradation signals. At the local layer, an opportunistic maintenance policy is developed for balancing production capacity and optimizing maintenance decisions of each system with even series-parallel structure. At the global layer, a routing optimization policy is proposed for the service-outsourcing network by integrating service time windows and multiple geographical locations to optimize the service route of required maintenance teams and the service start time of each group set. Finally, this hierarchical methodology has been verified in a multilocation service-outsourcing network. Its mechanism with real-time prognostic updating and dynamical O&M optimization can significantly ensure cost reduction, service timeliness and network robustness.
Hybrid Materials for Integrated Photonics

In this review materials and technologies of the hybrid approach to integrated photonics (IP) are addressed. IP is nowadays a mature technology and is the most promising candidate to overcome the main limitations that electronics is facing due to the extreme level of integration it has achieved. IP will be based on silicon photonics in order to exploit the CMOS compatibility and the large infrastructures already available for the fabrication of devices. But silicon has severe limits especially concerning the development of active photonics: its low efficiency in photons emission and the limited capability to be used as modulator require finding suitable materials able to fulfill these fundamental tasks. Furthermore there is the need to define standardized processes to render these materials compatible with the CMOS process and to fully exploit their capabilities. This review describes the most promising materials and technological approaches that are either currently implemented or may be used in the coming future to develop next generations of hybrid IP devices.
The Effect of Varying Engine Conditions on Unregulated VOC Diesel Exhaust Emissions

Abstract. An extensive set of measurements were performed to investigate the effect of different engine conditions ( i.e. load, speed, temperature, "driving scenarios") and emission control devices (with/without diesel oxidative catalyst, DOC) on the composition and abundance of unregulated exhaust gas emissions from a light-duty diesel engine. Exhaust emissions were introduced into an atmospheric chamber and measured using thermal desorption comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to a flame ionisation detector (TD-GC×GC-FID). In total, 16 individual and 8 groups of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in the exhaust gas, ranging from volatile to intermediate volatility. The total speciated VOC (∑SpVOC) emission rates varied significantly with different engine conditions, ranging from 70 to 9268 milligrams of VOC mass per kilogram of fuel burnt (mg kg -1 ). ∑SpVOC emission rates generally decreased with increasing engine load and temperature, and to a lesser degree, engine speed. The exhaust gas composition changed as a result of two main influencing factors, the DOC hydrocarbon (HC) removal efficiency and engine combustion efficiency. Increased DOC HC removal efficiency and engine combustion efficiency resulted in a greater percentage contribution of the C7 to C12 branched aliphatics and C 7 to C 12 n -alkanes, respectively, to the ∑SpVOC emission rate. The investigated DOC removed 46 ± 10 % of the ∑SpVOC emissions, with removal efficiencies of 83 ± 3 % for the single-ring aromatics and 39 ± 12 % for the aliphatics (branched and straight-chain). The DOC aliphatic removal efficiency generally decreased with increasing carbon chain length. The emission factors of n -nonane to n -tridecane were compared with on-road diesel emissions from a highway tunnel in Oakland California. Comparable emission factors were from experiments with relatively high engine loads and speeds, engine conditions which are consistent with the driving conditions of the on-road diesel vehicles. Emission factors from low engine loads and speeds ( e.g. cold-start) showed no agreement with the on-road diesel emissions as expected, with the emission factors observed to be 2 to 8 times greater. To our knowledge, this is the first study which has explicitly discussed the effect of the DOC HC removal efficiency and combustion efficiency on the exhaust gas composition. With further work, compositional differences in exhaust gas emissions as a function of engine temperature, could be implemented into air-quality models, resulting in improved refinement and better understanding of diesel exhaust emissions on local air quality.
Inference for Local Distributions at High Sampling Frequencies: A Bootstrap Approach

Abstract We study inference for the local innovations of Ito semimartingales. Specifically, we construct a resampling procedure for the empirical CDF of high-frequency innovations that have been standardized using a nonparametric estimate of its stochastic scale (volatility) and truncated to rid the effect of “large” jumps. Our locally dependent wild bootstrap (LDWB) accommodate issues related to the stochastic scale and jumps as well as account for a special block-wise dependence structure induced by sampling errors. We show that the LDWB replicates first and second-order limit theory from the usual empirical process and the stochastic scale estimate, respectively, in addition to an asymptotic bias. Moreover, we design the LDWB sufficiently general to establish asymptotic equivalence between it and a nonparametric local block bootstrap, also introduced here, up to second-order distribution theory. Finally, we introduce LDWB-aided Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests for local Gaussianity as well as local von-Mises statistics, with and without bootstrap inference, and establish their asymptotic validity using the second-order distribution theory. The finite sample performance of CLT and LDWB-aided local Gaussianity tests is assessed in a simulation study and an empirical application. Whereas the CLT test is oversized, even in large samples, the size of the LDWB tests is accurate, even in small samples. The empirical analysis verifies this pattern, in addition to providing new insights about the fine scale distributional properties of innovations to equity indices, commodities and exchange rates.
Feature Profiling for Evolving Systems

Traditionally, most work in program comprehension focuses on understanding the inner workings of software systems. However, for many software maintenance tasks, not only a sound understanding of a system's implementation but also comprehensive and accurate information about the way users actually use a system's features is of crucial importance. Such information e.g. helps to determine the impact that a specific change has on the users of a system. In practice, however, this information is often not available. We propose an approach called feature profiling as a means to efficiently gather usage information to support maintenance tasks that affect the user interface of a software system. Furthermore, we present tool support for feature profiling and report on a case study in the insurance domain. In this study, we profiled the features of an application that is used by 150 users in 10 countries over a period of five months.
Mirroring, mindreading and smart behaviour-reading

This paper examines the claim that mirror neuron activity is the mechanism by which we come to know about the action-related intentions of others (e.g. Gallese et al 1996, Rizzolatti et al 2009), i.e. that they are a mechanism for ‘mindreading’. I agree with recent authors (e.g. Hickok 2008, Jacob 2008) who reject this view but nevertheless I argue that mirror neurons may still have a role to play in the ways in which we understand one another (social cognition). If we adopt a certain kind of pluralism about social cognition then the mirror neuron system could play a role in social cognition even if it provides no access to the minds of others at all. I argue for this view and consider what the approach might entail for the ontology of the mirror neuron system.
Mitochondrial ND 1 Variants in 1281 Chinese Subjects With Leber ’ s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy

Insitute of Genetics, Zhejiang University and Department of Genetics, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China Department of Ophthalmology, Hebei Provincial Eye Hospital, Xingtai, Hebei, China Department of Ophthalmology, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Xinxiang Medical College, Xinxiang, Henan, China Department of Ophthalmology, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology, Beijing, China Joining Institute of Genetics and Genomic Medicine Between Zhejiang University and University of Toronto, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Metrical Properties of Nested Partitions for Image Retrieval

Image processing for the efficient retrieval should perform the ability of data granulation and interpretation. In this paper the properties of metric on nested partitions which allow to analyze objects represented at different levels of granularity and abstraction is considered. It also ensures a retrieval of image parts corresponding to the searched objects i.e. provides a search criterion for background independent objects. Index Terms – Image retrieval, metrics, data granulation
Discovery of 28 pulsars using new techniques for sorting pulsar candidates

Modern pulsar surveys produce many millions of candidate pulsars, far more than can be individually inspected. Traditional methods for filtering these candidates, based upon the signal-to-noise ratio of the detection, cannot easily distinguish between interference signals and pulsars. We have developed a new method of scoring candidates using a series of heuristics which test for pulsar-like properties of the signal. This significantly increases the sensitivity to weak pulsars and pulsars with periods close to interference signals. By applying this and other techniques for ranking candidates from a previous processing of the Parkes Multi-beam Pulsar Survey, 28 previously unknown pulsars have been discovered. These include an eccentric binary system and a young pulsar which is spatially coincident with a known supernova remnant.
Prosody in Automatic Speech Processing

Automatic speech processing (ASP) is understood as covering word recognition, the processing of higher linguistic components (syntax, semantics, and pragmatics), and the processing of computational paralinguistics (CP), which deals with speaker states and traits. This chapter attempts to track the role of prosody in ASP from the word level up to CP. A short history of the field from 1980 to 2020 distinguishes the early years (until 2000)—when the prosodic contribution to the modelling of linguistic phenomena, such as accents, boundaries, syntax, semantics, and dialogue acts, was the focus—from the later years, when the focus shifted to paralinguistics; prosody ceased to be visible. Different types of predictor variables are addressed, among them high-performance power features as well as leverage features, which can also be employed in teaching and therapy.
An integrated MCDM approach to evaluate public transportation systems in Tehran

Public transportation is one of the most important systems in transportation, especially in big and crowded cities. As a result, evaluation of public transportation systems is a strategic decisionmaking problem for both private and public sections. In this paper, the problem of public transportation passengers in Tehran is addressed and their satisfaction levels are assessed by using passenger satisfaction survey. An integrated MCDM approach is proposed for evaluation of public transportation systems based on Delphi method, group analytic hierarchy process (GAHP) and preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE). The proposed model provides more reliable and realistic results and introduces directions for future improvements of public transportation service quality. A sensitivity analysis is applied to investigate the influence of criteria weights on the decision making problem. As a conclusion, the most important public transportation systems in Tehran orderly are: metro, taxi, BRT, bus and van. Therefore, Tehran Municipality and policy makers should encourage and support the previously mentioned systems.
Expression and regulation of g lucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper in the developing anterior pituitary gland

The expression profile of glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) in the anterior pituitary during the second half of embryonic development in the chick is consistent with in vivo regulation by circulating corticosteroids. However, nothing else has been reported about the presence of GILZ in the neuroendocrine system. We sought to characterize expression and regulation of GILZ in the chicken embryonic pituitary gland and determine the effect of GILZ overexpression on anterior pituitary hormone levels. Pituitary GILZ mRNA levels increased during embryogenesis to a maximum on the day of hatch, and decreased through the first week after hatch. GILZ expression was rapidly upregulated by corticosterone in embryonic pituitary cells. To determine whether GILZ regulates hormone gene expression in the developing anterior pituitary, we overexpressed GILZ in embryonic pituitary cells and measured mRNA for the major pituitary hormones. Exogenous GILZ increased prolactin mRNA above basal levels, but not as high as that in corticosterone-treated cells, indicating that GILZ may play a small role in lactotroph differentiation. The largest effect we observed was a twofold increase in FSH b subunit in cells transfected with GILZ but not treated with corticosterone, suggesting that GILZ may positively regulate gonadotroph development in a manner not involving glucocorticoids. In conclusion, this is the first report to characterize avian GILZ and examine its regulation in the developing neuroendocrine system. We have shown that GILZ is upregulated by glucocorticoids in the embryonic pituitary gland and may regulate expression of several
Transport Control in Crystal Growth from Solution

When a crystal grows or dissolves in a solution the matter has to pass through a diffusion field. If the crystals do not move relative to the surrounding liquid their growth or dissolution rate may be controlled by diffusion through the solution. Crystals of micrometer size or smaller in aqueous solution may be treated as sta:. tionary in this respect. For larger crystals also convection may have influence on the growth or dissolution rate. When a crystal grows or dissolves by a transport controlled process no information on the surface processes can be obtained from the empiricar Kmencs except a lower limit to the rate. As transport processes are more efficient for small crystals than for large ones, as compared to surface processes, there are usually better possibilities for obtaining information about the surface processes when studying small crystals (fine precipitates) than with larger crystalline bodies (rotating discs).
Towards sustainable blue growth: Outline of the joint Baltic Sea and the North Sea research and innovation programme 2018-2023

General information State: Published Organisations: National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Institute Management, Aarhus University Contributors: Andrusaitis, A. , Cox, D. , Dosdat, A. , Emeis, K. , Harms, J., Heral, M. , Herrmann, P., ten Hoopen, F. , Jennings, S. , Johannesson, K. , Kononen, K. , Köster, F. , Laamanen, M. , Niilonen, T. , Ollikainen, M. , Raaska, L. , Riemann, B. , Sirola, M. , Stuefer, J., Svensson, M. , Wolf, U. Number of pages: 59 Publication date: 2016
Mapping the urban wind resource over UK cities using an analytical downscaling method

Decentralised energy sources, such as urban wind energy, have a number of well known advantages. However, accurately predicting urban wind resource is notoriously difficult due to the complexity of air flows in the urban boundary layer. Without sufficiently accurate methods of predicting this resource, there is the danger that small-scale turbines will be installed at unsuitable locations, which can be detrimental to the reputation of the wind energy industry. Additionally, viable sites may be overlooked, leading to the under-exploitation of small-scale wind in built areas. In this paper, we use an analytical down-scaling method to produce maps of mean wind speed as a function of height for a number of UK cities, via the use of detailed building data to estimate their aerodynamic characteristics. The predictions are shown to compare well with mean wind speeds measured at various locations, except at some sheltered sites which lie in highly complex regions of flow. We then consider the viability of urban wind energy at the city scale. The results suggest that residential properties in suburban areas are often unsuitable locations for rooftop turbines. However, there are many tall, unsheltered buildings in urban areas upon which turbines could access a substantial wind resource. Preliminary results suggest that in the city of Leeds, UK there are potentially over 8000 suitable turbine locations. These results should be informative for turbine suppliers and customers attempting to assess the viability of potential sites, as well as being instructive for policymakers developing subsidies for small-scale renewable energy projects.
The PU . 1 and NF-EM 5 binding motifs in the Ig κ 3 enhancer are responsible for directing somatic hypermutations to the intrinsic hotspots in the transgenic V κ gene

Somatic hypermutation is a key mechanism in generating Ig with higher affinities to antigen, a process known as affinity maturation. Using Igκ transgenes, the 3 enhancer (κE3 ) has been shown to play an important role in introducing hypermutations. In order to identify the cis-acting elements that regulate hypermutagenesis, we have generated transgenic substrates containing mutations/deletions in the κE3 region. Here, we report that base substitutions in the κE3 , either in the PU.1 or in the NF-EM5 binding motif, not only reduce the mutation rate but also disrupt the directed mutagenesis in the intrinsic hotspots of the Igκ transgene.
Ionic solution pretreatment of oil palm empty fruit bunch to produce sugars

Ferric (III) chloride, when prepared as an ionic solution, was used to pretreat oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) before undergoing enzymatic hydrolysis to convert into value-added products. The pretreatment was assisted with microwave irradiation to improve the degradation of recalcitrant structure of lignocellulosic materials with minimum time. The effects of salt concentration, temperature, and duration of pretreatment on the chemical composition of OPEFB and total reducing sugar (TRS) yield were investigated. The results revealed that the best pretreatment occurred at pretreatment time of 10 min, 100 °C, and ferric chloride concentration of 10 w/v%. The TRS yield achieved using the pretreated OPEFB was approximately 0.485 g/g, which was three times higher than the non-pretreated OPEFB, which was only 0.154 g/g. Thus, the ionic solution pretreatment method is a promising alternative for replacing other pretreatment methods.
Thermal Stratification in Saldanha Bay (South Africa) and Subtidal, Density-driven Exchange with the Coastal Waters of the Benguela Upwelling System

A study was conducted to understand the mechanisms driving observed subtidal variability in the stratification of Saldanha Bay, located in the southern Benguela system. It was found that the 6–8 day period variability in bay stratification was caused by the inflow and outflow of cold upwelled water driven by changing baroclinic pressure gradients between the coastal and bay domains. The direction and magnitude of the pressure gradients were governed by coastal upwelling activity and a lag in the response of the bay to changes in density structure in the coastal ocean. When the pressure gradients were bayward and cold water was being driven into the bay the cycle was termed to be in an ‘ active phase ’ and the reverse was termed the ‘ relaxation phase ’. The upwelling-favourable equatorward wind stress impacted the bay stratification in two ways: on the regional scale, wind drives upwelling and governs the inflow–outflow of cold upwelled bottom water, which strengthens stratification; conversely, on the local bay scale, wind drives vertical mixing, which weakens stratification. A four-phase model is used to describe the observed variability in stratification in the bay. The associated density-driven exchange flows are capable of flushing the bay in 6–8 days, about one-third of the time for tidal exchange alone (c. 25 days). These inflows of cold bottom water are ecologically critical as they supply nutrients to the bay and thus impose a control on new production within the bay environment. Further ecological implications of this bay–ocean exchange include export of phytoplankton new production to the coast, limitation of the risk of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and the division of the system into two distinct ecosystems (bay and lagoon). 1999 Academic Press