Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Credit on the Income of Households Borrowing from Banks: Evidence from Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Kien Giang Province

This paper investigates the determinants of credit accessibility and the effect of credit on the income of farm households borrowing from Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Giong Rieng District Branch, Kien Giang Province. Based on the primary data of 200 farming households who are the customer of the bank, the study applied the Probit regression model to examine determinant factors of credit accessibility of farm households and employed the Propensity score matching method to investigate the impact of credit on households’ income. The findings of the Probit regression shown that three independent variables that significantly influence the access to credit of households are household size, income source, and farm size. Besides that, the Propensity score matching method results showed a difference of 23.799 million VND/year between the income of borrowing households and that of non-borrowing households at the significance level of 1%. The difference in the imcome from the interval and central matching methods are VND 24.700 million VND/year and VND 24.633 million VND/year, respectively. Given empirical findings suggetsted that several recommendations to increase the credit accessibility of farm households, thereby creating favorable conditions for improving their income.
Multi Attention Neural Network for Digital Rock CT Images Super-Resolution

High-quality digital rock images are essential for subsequent high-precision numerical simulations. But limited by the imaging capability of computed tomography (CT), high resolution digital rock images with wide imaging ﬁeld of view (FOV) cannot be acquired simultaneously. To cope with this constraint, we propose a novel Multi Attention Super-Resolution Neural Network (MASR) that enhances the resolution of images with wide FOV. Considering that textures and edges are more crucial in digital rocks, MASR introduces the component attention mechanism of Component Divide-and-Conquer Super-Resolution (CDCSR) model. By redesigning the hourglass network with spatial and channel attention mechanisms, proposing a spatial attention-based mask module, and optimizing the component attention mask calculation process, MASR delivers higher information utilization with fewer parameters and faster training than CDCSR. And we optimize the depth of MASR to trade oﬀ speed and super-resolution quality. Furthermore, we retrained several state-of-the-art models. Through quantitative evaluations and qualitative visualizations, it is veriﬁed that MASR can recover sharper edges while removing noise, and obtain
Evidence of a causal and modi ﬁ able relationship between kidney function and circulating trimethylamine N -oxide

The host-microbiota co-metabolite trimethylamine N -oxide (TMAO) is linked to increased cardiovascular risk but how its circulating levels are regulated remains unclear. We applied “ explainable ” machine learning, univariate, multivariate and mediation analyses of fasting plasma TMAO concentration and a multitude of phenotypes in 1,741 adult Europeans of the MetaCardis study. Here we show that next to age, kidney function is the primary variable predicting circulating TMAO, with microbiota composition and diet playing minor, albeit signi ﬁ cant, roles. Mediation analysis suggests a causal relationship between TMAO and kidney function that we corroborate in preclinical models where TMAO exposure increases kidney scarring. Consistent with our ﬁ ndings, patients receiving glucose-lowering drugs with reno-protective properties have signi ﬁ cantly lower circulating TMAO when compared to propensity-score matched control individuals. Our analyses uncover a bidirectional relationship between kidney function and TMAO that can potentially be modi ﬁ ed by reno-protective anti-diabetic drugs and suggest a clinically actionable intervention for decreasing TMAO-associated excess cardiovascular risk.
Design of a High Performance Reversible Combinational Digital circuit based on a new Reversible Gate in QCA Technology

— Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) technology and Reversible logic are presented to overcome the various problems such as the chip size reduction and power consumption in the traditional CMOS designs. In this paper, QCA is considered as a professional method for implementation of the reversible logic. Firstly, a new block of two-input XOR gate is provided, and then the novel universal reversible gate is designed based on this block. Using this reversible structure, we can design useful QCA combinational digital circuits. Hence, we design a one-bit full adder using new reversible gate, this structure has single layer and coplanar (clock based) cross-wiring. The proposed reversible full adder achieves 63.83% and 55.38% in the number of cells and occupied area, respectively with Compared to previous best designs. The latency in our proposed structure is 1 clock cycle, the operation of the proposed structures has been tested with QCA Designer version 2. 0. 3.
Integrated Precipitable Water Vapour Measurements At Polish Polar Station Hornsund From GPS Observations Verified By Aerological Techniques

Abstract We present results of the comparison of integrated precipitable water measurements from GPS solution and aerological techniques: CIMEL-318 sun-photometer and radiosoundings (RAOB). Integrated Precipitable Water (IPW) - important meteorological parameter is derived from GPS tropospheric solutions by known procedure for GPS station at Polish Polar Station, Hornsund (Svalbard). The relation between 2 m temperature and the mean temperature of atmosphere above, used to convert from wet part of tropospheric delay (ZWD) to IPW, has been derived using local radiosonde data at Ny Alesund. Sunphotometer data have been provided by AERONET. Quality of dedicated tropospheric solutions has been verified by comparison with EPN tropospheric combined product. Several IPW comparisons and analyses lead to determination of systematic difference between techniques: GPS IPW and sunphotometer data (not present in case of RAOBs). IPW measured by CIMEL is on average 5% bigger (0.5 mm) than IPW from GPS. This bias changes seasonally and is a function of atmospheric temperature what signals some systematic deficiencies in solar photometry as IPW retrieval technique. CIMEL IPW show some temperature dependent bias also in relation to radiosoundings.
Environmental Modelling and Software

The PAWN index is gaining traction among the modelling community as a sensitivity measure. However, the robustness to its design parameters has not yet been scrutinized: the size ( 𝑁 ) and sampling ( 𝜀 ) of the model output, the number of conditioning intervals ( 𝑛 ) or the summary statistic ( 𝜃 ). Here we fill this gap by running a sensitivity analysis of a PAWN-based sensitivity analysis. We compare the results with the design uncertainties of the Sobol’ total-order index ( 𝑆 ∗ 𝑇𝑖 ). Unlike in 𝑆 ∗ 𝑇𝑖 , the design uncertainties in PAWN create non-negligible chances of producing biased results when ranking or screening inputs. The dependence of PAWN upon ( 𝑁,𝑛,𝜀,𝜃 ) is difficult to tame, as these parameters interact with one another. Even in an ideal setting in which the optimum choice for ( 𝑁,𝑛,𝜀,𝜃 ) is known in advance, PAWN might not allow to distinguish an influential, non-additive model input from a truly non-influential model
The significance of the threshold and turbidity concentrations in relation to sodicity and microstructure

Quirk and Schofield (1955) in their paper on the effect of electrolyte concentration on soil permeability in relation to sodicity designated 2 concentrations: the threshold concentration, which related to the first discernible effect on soil structure; and the turbidity concentration, at which the dismantling of the soil microstructure is indicated by the appearance of dispersed particles in the percolate—this occurs when the electrolyte concentration is about one-quarter of the threshold concentration. This behaviour is explained in terms of clay domains, which are assemblages of many clay particles in parallel alignment. Within a clay domain, slit-shaped pores with surface separations about equal to the thickness of clay crystals exist. When calcium is the dominant exchangeable ion the clay domains are stable because where contiguous crystals overlap the surfaces reside in a potential well as a result of strong attractive forces. These attractive forces are similar to those responsible for the stability of Camontmorillonite and Ca-vermiculite crystals. A model of 3 clay crystals is used to illustrate how crystal interaction within a clay domain, in terms of classical repulsive diffuse double-layer forces and modern attractive forces, affect domain stability. Attention is drawn to a misconception, now prevalent in the literature, which does not recognise the basic significance of the turbidity concentration with respect to microstructure and wrongly contends that the concentration of electrolyte required to effect the dispersion to flocculation transition in soil suspensions can be used for predicting the level of electrolyte required to sustain soil permeability or infiltration rate in irrigation practice. It is shown that the flocculation concentration is almost 8 times the turbidity concentration. The application of the threshold concentration concept in irrigation practice is discussed. It is demonstrated that the threshold and turbidity concentration comfortably explain the behaviour of a heavy clay soil subjected to border-check irrigation and Cajon sandy loam in Arizona.
E�cient and secure computation of edit distance on genomic data

Background: Genetic information are the most sensitive data for a person and must be protected from malicious attacks. In this paper we focus on the application of secure multi-party computation, a subﬁeld of cryptography, to the computation of edit distance, one of the most used metrics among genetic similarity indicators, useful for the diagnosis and treatment of many genetically based diseases. Results: We analyze four algorithms and compare them to the best prior results found in literature [1]: (1) the Wagner-Fischer algorithm [2], using the entire dynamic programming matrix; (2) the Wagner-Fischer algorithm, optimized to use only the minimum needed columns for the computation; (3) the Ukkonen algorithm [3], considering a threshold of approximately 60% of the longest string; (4) the Ukkonen algorithm, using a generalized cut-oﬀ technique which reduces the number of cells to be computed. The Ukkonen algorithm with generalized cut-oﬀ is the one that performed better among the considered algorithms and it also proved to have better performances than the best prior results found in literature. Conclusions: Securely computing the edit distance between human genomes have become very important in medical and public health domains. Improving computational performance is a key factor for real-world application scenarios. In this work, we proposed several secure implementations of some of the most eﬃcient edit distance algorithms, achieving better performances over existing protocols found in literature [4]. Moreover, this is the ﬁrst time the Ukkonen’s algorithm is proposed using all possible state-of-the-art optimizations for garbled circuits. The algorithms and protocols used in this work were also applied on both random, high-entropy, and real genomic, low-entropy strings and are provably secure with respect to the standard deﬁnition of security for Multi-Party Computation (MPC) protocols.
Knowing where to go The knowledge foundation for investments in renewable energy

Energy policies are increasingly focused on promoting the transition towards a more sustainable energy system. Evidence-based decision-making regarding such policies needs a solid knowledge foundation. Wetakestockofourexistingknowledgeregardingthestatisticsanddatathatformthebasisforresearch, policyandbusinessdecision-makingregardinginvestmentsinrenewableenergy(RE). Wepointtoseveral types of problems and challenges related to achieving a statistical overview of investments in the energy sector,andarguethataddressingtheseproblemsisnotsimplyamatterofintensifyingexistingstatistical efforts and improving precision because they are caused by fundamental difﬁculties. We particularly emphasize the role of investors as a linkage between public policy and ﬁrm-level activity, discussing the kind of data needed to sufﬁciently identify investors and their activities and fulﬁl their particular informationneedsrelatedtoinvestingintheREsector.Thisinformationisimportantnotonlyinresearch and policy contexts, but also for investment behaviour.
Stomatal design principles in synthetic and real leaves

Stomata are portals in plant leaves that control gas exchange for photosynthesis, a process fundamental to life on Earth. Gas fluxes and plant productivity depend on external factors such as light, water and CO2 availability and on the geometrical properties of the stoma pores. The link between stoma geometry and environmental factors has informed a wide range of scientific fields—from agriculture to climate science, where observed variations in stoma size and density are used to infer prehistoric atmospheric CO2 content. However, the physical mechanisms and design principles responsible for major trends in stomatal patterning are not well understood. Here, we use a combination of biomimetic experiments and theory to rationalize the observed changes in stoma geometry. We show that the observed correlations between stoma size and density are consistent with the hypothesis that plants favour efficient use of space and maximum control of dynamic gas conductivity, and that the capacity for gas exchange in plants has remained constant over at least the last 325 Myr. Our analysis provides a new measure to gauge the relative performance of species based on their stomatal characteristics.
Oxygen in the deep Strait of Georgia, 1951–2009: The roles of mixing, deep‐water renewal, and remineralization of organic carbon

The concentration of oxygen in the deep Strait of Georgia has declined at a rate of 0.45–1.3 µmol L−1 yr−1 since 1971 and now seasonally approaches thresholds of biological tolerance. The decline has resulted principally from the increasing hypoxia of upwelled Pacific Ocean water. Local anthropogenic loadings have little potential to reduce bottom water oxygen concentrations. Hypoxic, upwelled water mixes vigorously with surface water in the tidal passages of Haro Strait before entering the deep Strait of Georgia during a series of deep‐water renewal events in late spring and late summer. Remineralization of at least 22 µmol L−1 yr−1, together with diffusive mixing, reduces the bottom water oxygen concentration to a winter minimum of 90–110 µmol L−1. Linear extrapolation of the long‐term trend indicates that parts of the Strait could become episodically hypoxic (< 62.5 µmol L−1; < 1.4 mL L−1) as early as 2042. However, water mass modeling shows that the mixing with surface water in Haro Strait limits the potential of the shelf water to reduce the oxygen concentration in the deep Strait; even should the shelf water become completely anoxic, the concentration of oxygen in bottom waters would level off just above 90 µmol L−1 after 3 yr. Increasing surface water temperature will reduce the solubility of oxygen, but this effect is projected to cause a further decline of only 2.2 µmol L−1 over the next 25 yr. Despite its restricted circulation, the deep Strait of Georgia is less threatened by hypoxia than are many other coastal areas, because of the combination of light‐limited primary production and intense tidal mixing in the approaches, which replenishes the deep‐water oxygen annually.
Long term eﬀects of cueing procedural memory reactivation during NREM sleep

Targeted memory reactivation (TMR) has recently emerged as a promising tool to manipulate and study the sleeping brain. Although the technique is developing rapidly, only a few studies have examined how the eﬀects of TMR develop over time. Here, we use a bimanual serial reaction time task (SRTT) to investigate whether the diﬀerence between the cued and un-cued sequence of button presses persists long-term. We further explore the relationship between the TMR beneﬁt and sleep spindles, as well as their coupling with slow oscillations. Our behavioural analysis shows better performance for the dominant hand. Importantly, there was a strong eﬀect of TMR, with improved performance on the cued sequence after sleep. Closer examination revealed a signiﬁcant beneﬁt of TMR at 10 days post-encoding, but not 24 h or 6 weeks post-encoding. Time spent in stage 2, but not stage 3, of NREM sleep predicted cueing beneﬁt. We also found a signiﬁcant increase in spindle density and SO-spindle coupling during the cue period, when compared to the no-cue period. Together, our results demonstrate that TMR eﬀects evolve over several weeks post-cueing, as well as emphasising the importance of stage 2, spindles and the SO-spindle coupling in procedural memory consolidation.
Active Multisensory Perception and LearnIng For InteractivE Robots

—The AMPLIFIER (Active Multisensory Perception and LearnIng For InteractivE Robots) project (2018-2022) will study how multisensory fusion and active perception can inﬂuence each other during the developmental sensori-motor loop of an autonomous agent. Psychophysics experiments will provide insights on how active perception may inﬂuence multisensory fusion in human. Using neural ﬁelds, a multi-scale computational neuroscience paradigm, we want to model the behavioral observations in order to transfer and to extend the extracted functional properties to social robots. Especially, we target to provide more natural interactions with humans by allowing the robot to have a better understanding and more appropriate contextual reactions to its environment.
Shear wave anisotropy beneath the Tibetan Plateau

Eleven broadband digital seismic stations were deployed across the central Tibetan Plateau in the first extensive passive-source experiment attempted within the Tibetan Plateau. One year of recording resulted in 186 event-station pairs which we analyze to determine the characteristics of shear wave splitting in the upper mantle beneath the array. Measurements of the fast polarization direction (ϕ) and delay time (δt) for SKS and direct S arrivals reveal systematic variations along the north-south oriented array. In the north central region of the plateau, very large delay times are observed at three stations, the largest of which is BUDO with of δt=2.4 s. However, at TUNL, which is off the northern edge of the plateau and 110 km from BUDO, and at sites in the south central plateau, δt decreases by nearly a factor of 3. We also observe systematic rotation of ϕ from about 45° (NE) to 90° (E-W) from south to north along the array. A previously identified zone of inefficient Sn propagation correlates well with our region of large δt observations. The large delay times suggest that a relateively high number of anisotropic crystals are preferentially alligned within the mantle-lid, beneath the north central portion of the Tibetan Plateau. In most cases, fast polarization directions appear to be parallel to surface geologic features suggesting as much as 200 km of the upper mantle has been involved in the collisional deformation that has produced the Tibetan Plateau.
Chemical and Biological Reduction of PCE by Pneumatic Fracturing and Injection of ZVI in Saprolite

This article presents a case study of the source-area treatment of tetrachloroethene (PCE) in a low-permeability formation using zero-valent iron (ZVI). Evidence of the stimulation of biological reduction processes within the treatment zone occurred. Pneumatic fracturing and injection of microscale ZVI slurry in the overburden and weathered bedrock zones was performed at a commercial brownfields redevelopment site in Maryland. A 20,000-square-foot source area impacted with PCE at concentrations greater than 15,000 µg/L was treated at depths ranging from 10 to 70 feet bgs. An average ZVI dosage of 0.0024 iron-to-soil mass ratio within the overburden zone led to a 75 percent decrease in PCE mass in less than one year. For the weathered bedrock zone, an average 0.0045 iron-to-soil mass ratio resulted in a 92 percent decrease in PCE mass during the same period. The reducing environment and hydrogen generated by the ZVI may have stimulated Dehalobacter populations, as evidenced by concentrations up to 104 cells per milliliter measured within the treatment area despite a groundwater pH as high as 9. The biological reductive dechlorination of the chlorinated ethenes explains the temporary increase in trichloroethene and cis-1,2-dichloroethene concentrations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Implementing Cloud-Based Feedback to Facilitate Scalable Psychomotor Skills Acquisition

Personalized feedback in psychomotor training often involves the use of sophisticated Machine Learning (ML)-based algorithms, requiring the utilization of cloud-based computational power for efficiency and scalability. By incorporating a cloud-based feedback system, learners may receive individualized feedback on their psychomotor performance in real-time or as summative analysis, allowing them to develop their abilities more efficiently. The integration of a cloud-based feedback mechanism into immersive learning environments is explored to improve the acquisition of psychomotor abilities. The essential components of the feedback system are discussed in this article, including data collection, analysis, and dissemination, as well as the obstacles and issues related to its implementation.
Patient enablement and health-related quality of life for patients with chronic back and knee pain: a cross-sectional study in primary care

Background Chronic back and knee pain impairs health- related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient enablement can improve HRQoL. Aim To determine whether enablement was a moderator of the effect of chronic back and knee pain on HRQoL. Design and setting A cross-sectional study of Chinese patients with chronic back and knee problems in public primary care clinics in Hong Kong. Method Each participant completed the Chinese Patient Enablement Instrument-2 (PEI-2), the Chinese Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and the Pain Rating Scale (PRS). Multivariable regression examined the effects of PRS score and PEI-2 score on WOMAC total score. A moderation regression model and simple slope analysis were used to evaluate whether the interaction between enablement (PEI-2) and pain (PRS) had a significant effect on HRQoL (WOMAC). Results Valid patient-reported outcome data from 1306 participants were analysed. PRS score was associated with WOMAC total score (β = 0.326, P<0.001), whereas PEI-2 score was associated inversely with WOMAC total score (β = −0.260, P<0.001) and PRS score. The effect of the interaction between PRS and PEI-2 (PRS × PEI-2) scores on WOMAC total score was significant (β = −0.191, P<0.001) suggesting PEI-2 was a moderator. Simple slope analyses showed that the relationship between PRS and WOMAC was stronger for participants with a low level of PEI-2 (gradient 3.056) than for those with a high level of PEI-2 (gradient 1.746). Conclusion Patient enablement moderated the impact of pain on HRQoL. A higher level of enablement can lessen impairment in HRQoL associated with chronic back and knee pain.