Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Test-day models. Breeding value estimation based on individual test-day records

The studies described in this thesis were achieved within the graduate school Wageningen Institute of Animal Science (WIAS), carried out at the Institute for Animal Science and Health (ID-Lelystad BV) at the department of Genetics and Reproduction, and financially supported by the product division NRS of CR-DELTA. This thesis describes choices and decisions made to develop a random regression test-day model. Studies included were performed on Dutch dairy cattle data. Random regression test-day models are preferred above lactation models, because they model both the level and shape of the lactation curve. Single test-day records are used instead of cumulative lactation yields. Therefore, the correction of fixed effects is better and more precise, herd-test-date effects can be accounted for, and if the lactation curve is modeled by a covariance function (i.e., with a random regression function) information from the number, intervals and ordering of test-day records is included. The trend in breeding values for sires was 94 kg of milk per year compared to 106 kg in a repeatability model. Selection in the past was for the level of production and has not influenced the shape of the lactation curve. Correlations between breeding values were high and standard deviations were slightly higher in the test-day model. But for sires with more persistent daughters breeding values seemed to fluctuate less in the random regression test-day model. For correct modeling of the variance structure higher order functions are needed. A fourth order Legendre polynomials was sufficient for both the genetic and permanent environmental effect. More complete information and a correction for heterogeneity of variance over days in milk allowed a reduction in the least order of fit. However, a multiple-trait random regression test-day model with three parities and a full fit is huge (i.e., 2 × 15 parameters to be estimated per animal) and probably overparameterized. Therefore, a stepwise-reduced rank procedure was applied, which allowed to half the number of parameter without reducing the goodness of fit considerably. For further extension of the random regression test-day model for the traits milk, fat and protein the stepwise-reduced rank procedure is suggested.
Smart small villages conceptualization based on the capabilities co-elevation for smart citizens

Smart Cities represent a new paradigm, a new smart and sustainable urban model that is empowered by increasingly sophisticated technologies applied in various sectors of city ecosystem to enable actors to co-create value. The main actors to be engaged in this transformation process are the citizens who in turn can represent multiple actors simultaneously within the urban environment and are actively involved in economic, social and political life. For this reason, this conceptual paper aims to point out the effective smart city patterns enabling factors. This topic can be very issued in small towns where there are numerous structural, cultural and demographical barriers that inhibit their use from every day-life to urban settings of an increasingly digitized Public Administration. After framing cities as smart service systems and given the issues regarding the citizens’ predisposition and ability to use technologies, with effects in terms of value co-creation, smart citizens and capabilities co-elevation have been outlined as drivers. An illustrative case involving a smart tourism app (PayTourist) in a small town in Southern Italy (Castellabate) is proposed to outline the factors that influence the technology acceptance by citizens and the ways to foster a capabilities co-elevation path. It would be appropriate for scholars and practitioners to adopt the service innovation roadmap to design and map the development of smart cities through the capabilities upskilling of actors involved.
Regional observability of distributed systems

The aim of this paper is to develop the concept of regional observability for distributed systems. This original concept is closer to practical considerations since it only requires the observation of the state on a given subregion. We show by means of an example that it is a weaker concept and we describe two approaches. The first one is state space based and can be easily implemented for numerical simulations. Then a second approach leads to the estimation of the state on the considered subregion with a zero residual state.
Effective index method for all-solid photonic bandgap fibres

An effective index method is proposed for all-solid photonic bandgap fibres, where the effective cladding index is taken to be that of the lower edge of the bandgaps. The weak-guidance approximation allows the effective indices of both the fibre cladding and the defect modes to be calculated analytically. Comparison with a vectorial plane wave method shows that good accuracy is obtained.
Development and Validation of the Need for Online Social Feedback (NfOSF) Scale

People are known to adjust their behavior based on social information. Starting from 2004, social media rapidly became a new social arena for human interaction, and scholars widely studied the effect of likes on people’s psyche and behavior. However, likes are just one of the possible social feedbacks among many others on social media. Moreover, social feedback influence should be analyzed recognizing individual differences in people’s needs and desires for them. This work was aimed at developing and validating (internally and externally) a scale able to capture people’s perceived need for online social feedback (NfOSF) applicable to most social media platforms. Data coming from 1403 Italian participants were used for this purpose. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses appeared to support a two-factor structure for the NfOSF scale, while Pearson’s correlation confirmed the expected positive relations of NfOSF factors with Narcissism, Need to Belong, FOMO, and Social media reputation perception. Eventually, NfOSF scale reliability appeared optimal.
Limit theorems for random analytic functions and their zeros : Dedicated to the late Professor Yasunori Okabe (Functions in Number Theory and Their Probabilistic Aspects)

After we briefly review on determinantal point processes and Gaussian analytic functions, we establish a functional central limit theorem for random analytic functions and the corre‐ sponding limit theorem for their zero processes. We also show that the zeros of the complex Wiener integral of the Szegö kernel for the upper half‐plane form a determinantal point process on it.
Fluorescence detection of dental calculus

This work is devoted to the optimization of fluorescence dental calculus diagnostics in optical spectrum. The optimal wavelengths for fluorescence excitation and registration are determined. Two spectral ranges 620 – 645 nm and 340 – 370 nm are the most convenient for supra- and subgingival calculus determination. The simple implementation of differential method free from the necessity of spectrometer using was investigated. Calculus detection reliability in the case of simple implementation is higher than in the case of spectra analysis at optimal wavelengths. The use of modulated excitation light and narrowband detection of informative signal allows us to decrease essentially its diagnostic intensity even in comparison with intensity of the low level laser dental therapy.
Q-switched Er/Yb co-doped cladding pumped fiber laser

A compact all fiber Q-switched fiber laser based on an Er/Yb co-doped fiber (EYDF) is demonstrated. Two Bragg gratings (FBG1 and FBG2) were employed as the cavity mirrors. The Average output power, single pulse energy and pulse width of the fiber laser at different pumping powers and different repetition rates was studied. The output spectrum of the fiber laser is 0.5 nm. At maximum launched pump power of 558mW, pulse energy of about 50μJ and duration of 140ns was obtained at the repetition of 2 kHz.
A Comparison of Task-Based and Questionnaire Assessments of Executive Control Aspects in Relation to Adolescent Marijuana Initiation

Prior research has linked deficits in executive control (EC) to marijuana use in adolescents but has relied either primarily on adolescent self-report of EC or tasked-based EC, and focused on limited aspects of EC, usually inhibitory control. We examined unique associations of three established aspects of EC (inhibitory control, working memory, and flexible shifting) assessed with both performance on laboratory tasks and self-report in relation to marijuana initiation. Participants were 260 youth (ages 14-18 years) from a small Midwestern city in the United States enrolled in the adolescent phase (beginning in 2017) of an ongoing study of EC development recruited originally between 2006 and 2012 (46% male, 72% European American). The three aspects of executive control were measured in a laboratory setting with well-established performance-based measures and with a psychometrically-sound self-report survey instrument. Youth also provided self-report of marijuana initiation in a phone survey administered during their laboratory visit. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that flexible shifting as measured by a performance-based task was negatively and uniquely associated with marijuana initiation (AOR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.48 – 0.91), and self-reported deficits in inhibitory control were positively associated with marijuana initiation (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.15 – 3.21). Although larger-scale longitudinal research is needed, findings of this study suggest that screening efforts to identify youth at risk of marijuana initiation might rely on more cost- effective self-report assessment of inhibitory control, but further valuable information can come from more resource-intensive but sensitive performance-based assessment of flexible shifting.
On the group of purely inseparable points of an abelian variety defined over a function field of positive characteristic, II

Let $A$ be an abelian variety over the function field $K$ of a curve over a finite field. We describe several mild geometric conditions ensuring that the group $A(K^{\rm perf})$ is finitely generated and that the $p$-primary torsion subgroup of $A(K^{\rm sep})$ is finite. This gives partial answers to questions of Scanlon, Ghioca and Moosa, and Poonen and Voloch. We also describe a simple theory (used to prove our results) relating the Harder-Narasimhan filtration of vector bundles to the structure of finite flat group schemes of height one over projective curves over perfect fields. Finally, we use our results to give a complete proof of a conjecture of Esnault and Langer on Verschiebung divisibility of points in abelian varieties over function fields.
Cardiac sarcoidosis in a carrier of transthyretin gene mutation: a case report

Abstract Background Sarcoidosis is a rare multiorgan inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology, characterized by the formation of non-caseating granulomas in the affected organs. Cardiac involvement is underrecognized and observed in up to 25% of cases in autopsy studies, and is associated with a high mortality rate, especially due to sudden cardiac death due to ventricular arrhythmias. Case summary A 41-year-old man well known to our hospital because of his father’s diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis, and carrier of transthyretin (TTR) gene mutation, was hospitalized following a resuscitated cardiac arrest. The patient was hospitalized a month before for a syncopal episode with demonstration of preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with akinetic basal septum at heart ultrasound and normal coronary. Chest computed tomography, performed in the emergency department, was significant for hilar lymphadenopathies and pulmonary nodules highly suggestive of sarcoidosis. A subsequent 18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) showed multiorgan phlogistic involvement, including the myocardium. After the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis, the patient was started on steroids therapy and underwent ICD implantation. A follow-up 18-FDG-PET showed a reduction of organs glucose uptake and a follow-up echo an improvement in LVEF. Despite that, he occurs occasional recording of repetitive ventricular arrhythmias and one appropriate ICD shock during the next 12 months. Discussion Cardiac sarcoidosis is an insidious disease. Its diagnosis can be challenging, with no specific finding in echocardiography. The best strategy would be multi-modality imaging involving both magnetic resonance imaging with late gadolinium enhancement and 18-FDG-PET, followed by biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Multi-modality imaging should be further used to evaluate the response to treatment and assess prognosis. Since the patient was a known carrier of the TTR gene mutation, many efforts were made in order to come up with the correct diagnosis considering that both cardiac amyloidosis and cardiac sarcoidosis are non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy with systemic involvement.
On the implementation of quasiregular mappings by feedforward connectionist networks / Paul E. Bakker

This thesis investigates the question of whether feedforward connectionist networks construct a functional dual route architecture to implement quasiregular cognitive mappings, such as the reading aloud of English text or the generation of English past tense verbs. Connectionist models are generally considered to constitute a challenge to the established dual route account, which posits that separate functional mechanisms are required to correctly map regular and exception items. However, a review of the connectionist literature reveals that both dissociations and double dissociations between regulars and exceptions have been recorded in lesioned connectionist networks; these ndings demonstrate that there is a qualitatively similar body of evidence supporting the existence of a dual route in both human subjects and connectionist networks. Furthermore, it is found that the conceptual distinction typically drawn between connectionist and dual route models in the recent literature rests on a confusion of levels: the physical single route of a connectionist network is erroneously contrasted with the functional dual route of the dual route theory. A methodology is developed to detect the presence of a dual route in feedforward connection-ist networks. Methodological issues considered include a discussion of how a dual route could be instantiated in a distributed connectionist architecture; possible representational manifestations of a dual route; the appropriateness of statistical visualization techniques for examining the internal representational space of connectionist networks; and how best to operationalize the constructs ofèxceptions' and`regulars' in the connectionist paradigm. Speciically, it is argued that exceptions should be deened with respect to the mapping actually learned by the network, rather than { as is the standard practice { with respect to an arbitrary mapping chosen by the experimenter. Using the proposed methodology, the hidden unit spaces of the Plaut and McClelland (1993) and the Bullinaria and Chater (1993) feedforward connectionist networks { the latter of which has displayed the strongest dissociationist evidence for a dual route so far { are examined for the existence of dual mapping mechanisms. No evidence for a functional dual route architecture is found. The apparent lack of a dual route in the Bullinaria and Chater (1993) network challenges one of the core assumptions of cognitive neuropsychology, namely that dissociations are only able to arise in systems with a modular architecture. To resolve this connict I demonstrate that, with a suucient amount of lesioning, damaged exemplars of the Bullinaria and Chater (1993) network are able to display both single and double …
Underwater ultrasonography and blood sampling provide the first observations of reproductive biology in free-swimming whale sharks

: We report on a non-invasive technique for observing the reproductive states of wild, free-swimming whale sharks Rhincodon typus for the first time. Female whale sharks (n = 22) were assessed using underwater ultrasonography and a novel blood-sampling technique at Darwin Island in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, Ecuador. Despite the widely held assumption among researchers that the post-pelvic distention of large females is indicative of pregnancy, ultrasound provided no evidence of embryos or egg cases. However, the presence of follicles (diameter: 28.5− 83.6 mm) was confirmed in 2 female sharks of 11−12 m total length (TL). Additionally, 3 steroid hormones (estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone) were analyzed in blood plasma from 6 female sharks (11−12 m TL). Hormone levels were similar to, or lower than, those obtained from an immature female in the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. Based on these results, we infer that female whale sharks (TL >11 m) in this study were mature but not pregnant. The techniques used here for whale sharks can be successfully used to obtain non-lethal field data on the biology and reproductive anatomy of this globally endangered fish, and are adaptable for use in other large marine species.
Monte Carlo simulation of health risk from cadmium, lead, and nickel in cigarettes

Abstract The human health risks of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni) in fifty regular and slim cigarette brands available in the Serbian market were evaluated. Distributions on per-cigarette basis concentrations of these metals, as determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, were used as inputs in the probabilistic risk assessment. The contents of these metals in cigarettes varied significantly. Larger quantities of the studied metals were observed in regular cigarettes than in slim cigarettes, but the concentration levels per cigarette tobacco mass were higher in slim cigarettes. The metal concentrations in counterfeit cigarettes were marginally higher than those in authentic brands. Based on the mean concentrations, Pb was the most abundant toxic metal, followed by Ni and Cd. The calculated values of the cumulative hazard index (HI) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) indicated a low noncarcinogenic risk and low but not negligible carcinogenic risk from Cd, Pb, and Ni. The mean HI and ILCR values obtained using probabilistic and deterministic approaches were similar. A Monte Carlo simulation was employed to minimize the uncertainty of health risk estimation. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the most influential factor was cigarette mass followed by Cd content.
A DRL-Based Intelligent Jamming Approach for Joint Channel and Power Optimization

The traditional jamming methods mainly focus on the optimization of a single domain, such as frequency domain. However, in the practical wireless communication, the jamming methods in single dimension domain are limited and difficult to cope with multidomain scenarios. To overcome these issues, this paper investigates the problem of joint decision-making for jamming channel and power in a dynamic spectrum environment. Firstly, the Markov decision process (MDP) is used to formulate the jamming channel and power joint selection problem. Then, a deep reinforcement learning- (DRL-) based jamming algorithm is proposed with the function of parallel learning and joint decision-making. Specially, to accelerate the learning speed of the algorithm, the prioritized experience reply (PER) technology is introduced. Finally, a practical jamming testbed is built to evaluate the proposed algorithm. The simulation results and the testbed results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, which can guarantee the jamming effect and maximize the utilization of jamming resources.
The Runge-Kutta equations by quadrature methods

This report gives a basically new approach to the formulation of the classic Runge-Kutta process. Dependence on the tedious Taylor expansions is ob-viated by a matrix equation which defines the Runge- Kutta equations for any order; furthermore, the elements of these matrices are obtained quite simply. The method of quadratures is used to determine the conditions on the parameters which characterize the process since these parameters determine the order of accuracy of these functions.
On Stability of Compact Submanifolds of Complex Manifolds

Abstract : Stability of compact submanifolds of complex manifolds and some related topics are discussed. A compact submanifold V of a complex manifold W is said to be stable if any small deformation W T OF contains a small deformation Vt of V. Let psi be the sheaf over V of germs of holomorphic sections of the normal bundle of V in W. If the first cohomology group H1(V,psi) vanishes then V is a stable submanifold of W. A fibre structure of a compact fibred complex manifold M is said to be stable if any small deformation Mt of M retains a fibre structure. If each fibre of M is regular then the fibre structure of M is stable. (Author)
On the performance of discrete adjoint CFD codes using automatic differentiation

Adjoint methods are a computationally inexpensive way of deriving sensitivity information where there are fewer dependent (cost) variables than there are independent (input) variables. Automatic differentiation (AD) software makes it possible to create discrete adjoint codes with minimal human effort, an issue that had previously restricted acceptance of adjoint CFD codes. In terms of computational performance, automatic code is often assumed to be inferior to hand code. The structure of the underlying code is critical to the performance of the transformed code. This paper reviews the implementation of AD on Fortran CFD codes and gives details of how small rearrangements can be used to produce competitive tangent and adjoint code using source transformation AD. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of Huanglongbing on the Volatile Organic Compound Profile of Fruit Juice and Peel Oil in ‘Ray Ruby’ Grapefruit

Along with orange and mandarin, grapefruit production in Florida has declined sharply due to Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening disease, caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas). HLB affects the volatile profiles of juice and peel oil in oranges, but there is limited information on grapefruit. In this research, ‘Ray Ruby’ grapefruit were harvested in 2020 and 2021 from healthy (HLB−) and HLB-affected (HLB+) trees. Peel oil was extracted by hydrodistillation, and the volatiles were analyzed by direct injection of the oil samples into gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Volatiles in the juice were analyzed by headspace (HS)-solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with GC-MS. HLB significantly altered the volatile profiles of peel oil and juice in ‘Ray Ruby’ grapefruit. Juice samples of HLB+ fruits had lower decanal, nonanal, and octanal, important citrus juice flavor compounds. HLB+ samples also showed reduced content of nonterpene compounds, other aliphatic and terpene aldehydes, and terpene ketones. Ethanol, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, and ethyl butanoate were increased in HLB+ juice samples, indicating an HLB-induced stress response. The most abundant compounds D-limonene and β-caryophyllene, as well as other sesquiterpenes, were increased in HLB+ juice and peel oil samples. On the other hand, the oxidative/dehydrogenated terpenes were increased by HLB in peel oil but decreased in the juice sample. Nootkatone, the key grapefruit volatile was consistently reduced by HLB in both peel oil and juice samples. The impact of HLB on nootkatone deteriorated the quality of both juice and peel oil in grapefruits.