Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pandemics, climate change and other grand challenges: The pivotal role of containing population growth

The ongoing explosion of the world population is a fundamental driver of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the lack of progress in many Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. However, politicians and policymakers at both national and supra-national levels widely ignore this explosive population growth. This essay outlines the key challenges in developing public policies that explicitly address the need to contain global population growth— that is, to turn the exponential growth curve into a more incremental one. This is a highly sensitive topic on any political agenda, also due to its ethical and legal dimensions. But its sheer complexity and political sensitivity are not good reasons to avoid discussing it altogether.
Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Childhood Vasculitis: A Perspective Comparative Pilot Study

Kawasaki disease (KD) and Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP) are the most frequent vasculitis in childhood. For both, a multifactorial mechanism has been hypothesised, with an abnormal immune response in genetically predisposed children. Gut microbiota (GM) alterations might trigger the hyperimmune reaction. Our aim was to explore the GM in KD and compare it with the GM of HSP and febrile children. Children diagnosed with KD, HSP and non-KD febrile illness (F) were enrolled. GM was profiled by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and compared with the profiles of healthy children from previous studies. We enrolled 13 KD, 10 HSP and 12 F children. Their GM significantly differed from controls, with an overall reduction in the relative abundance of beneficial taxa belonging to the Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae families. Potential KD and HSP signatures were identified, including smaller amounts of Dialister in the former, and Clostridium and Akkermansia in the latter. Notably, the GM structures of KD, HSP and F patients stratified by abdominal involvement, with more severe dysbiosis in those suffering from intestinal symptoms. This is the first study analysing GM in a mostly Caucasian cohort of KD and HSP children. Our data could open up new opportunities for childhood vasculitis treatment.
Contribution of Dysregulated B-Cells and IgE Antibody Responses to Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, causes demyelination of neurons, axonal damage, and neurodegeneration. MS and the murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model have been viewed mainly as T-cell-mediated diseases. Emerging data have suggested the contribution of B-cells and autoantibodies to the disease progression. However, the underlying mechanisms by which dysregulated B-cells and antibody response promote MS and EAE remain largely unclear. Here, we provide an updated review of this specific subject by including B-cell biology and the role of B-cells in triggering autoimmune neuroinflammation with a focus on the regulation of antibody-producing B-cells. We will then discuss the role of a specific type of antibody, IgE, as it relates to the potential regulation of microglia and macrophage activation, autoimmunity and MS/EAE development. This knowledge can be utilized to develop new and effective therapeutic approaches to MS, which fits the scope of the Research Topic “Immune Mechanism in White Matter Lesions: Clinical and Pathophysiological Implications”.
Investor Limited Attention, Opinion Divergence, and Post-earnings-announcement Drift: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT The study provides new evidence for the limited attention theory in explaining post-earnings-announcement drift (PEAD) by using the data of stocks listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2000 to 2020. We introduce two types of inattentive investors: one ignores the market or industry information, while the other ignores the dividend information in a theoretical model and show that the effect of investors’ opinion divergence induced by inattentive investors drives the post-earnings-announcement drift (PEAD). The empirical test supports the testable hypothesis based on the model. When investors’ expectations of future stock prices are more inconsistent, the PEAD effect is more significant after the earnings announcement. Furthermore, the findings remain robust after a series of robustness tests, including the transformation of the variable definitions and the replacement of the study interval. And this positive relationship between opinion divergence and PEAD is more significant in the groups with low information transparency and poor corporate governance. The study provides new and direct evidence of investors’ concerns about the impact of market efficiency and regulators’ recommendations to promote the long-term development of China’s financial markets.
Effective Computer Based Training in Aviation: an Evaluation of the NASA In-Flight Icing Program

Effective aviation training must provide pilots with the knowledge and skills they need to make appropriate operational decisions and to implement those decisions. Pilots must not only learn information, they must be able to retrieve that information and apply it effectively in the operational environment. In this paper, we report an evaluation of a computer-based training (CBT) program designed to impart factual knowledge and to enhance pilots’ abilities to make appropriate operational decisions regarding in-flight icing. To accomplish these goals, the educational design of the CBT relied heavily on current work in cognitive science on learning and decision-making. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, an experiment was conducted. Professional pilots’ factual knowledge of icing and decisions in operational situations were evaluated. Then the participants received one of three educational products: the original CBT including interactive exercises, a CBT lacking the interactive exercises, or an icing text. After completing this training, the pilots’ factual knowledge and operational decisions were again evaluated. In addition, subjective evaluations of the materials and evaluations of the pilots’ previous training experience were obtained. Results indicate that the pilots learned more from the CBT and rated it more highly than the other materials and their previous training. This suggests that computer-based training based on current knowledge of learning and decision-making can be unusually effective and that the effort required to produce these products is justified.
Pick quality over quantity: Expert feature selection and data pre-processing for 802.11 Intrusion Detection Systems

Wi-Fi is arguably the most proliferated wireless technology today. Due to its massive adoption, Wi-Fi deployments always remain in the epicenter of attackers and evildoers. Surprisingly, research regarding machine learning driven intrusion detection systems (IDS) that are specifically optimized to detect Wi-Fi attacks is lagging behind. On top of that, the field is dominated by false or half-true assumptions that potentially can lead to corresponding models being overfilled to certain validation datasets, simply giving the impression or illusion of high efficiency. This work attempts to provide concrete answers to the following key questions regarding IEEE 802.11 machine learning driven IDS. First, from an expert’s viewpoint and with reference to the relevant literature, what are the criteria for determining the smallest possible set of classification features, which are also common and potentially transferable to virtually any deployment types/versions of 802.11? And second, based on these features, what is the detection performance across different network versions and diverse machine learning techniques, i.e., shallow versus deep learning ones? To answer these questions, we rely on the renowned 802.11 security-oriented AWID family of datasets. In a nutshell, our experiments demonstrate that with a rather small set of 16 features and without the use of any optimization or ensemble method, shallow and deep learning classification can achieve an average F1 score of up to 99.55% and 97.55%, respectively. We argue that the suggested human expert driven feature selection leads to lightweight, deployment-agnostic detection systems, and therefore can be used as a basis for future work in this interesting and rapidly evolving field.
Three Novel Experiments on Wheatstone's Bridges

This is a compilation of three dissertations based on experimental projects by final year undergraduate students of Jhargram Raj College, Jhargram-721507, West Bengal, India. The topics embody a detailed idea of Wheatstone’s Bridge as a basic tool for electrical circuit networks, its different applications in direct and alternating circuits, some new experiments based on it. The first and second chapter gives ideas of Wheatstone’s Bridge and different types it. The third chapter determines variation of low resistance of manganin wire with the help of Kelvin double Bridge. In the fourth chapter, the variation of magnetic permeability and susceptibility of different media, viz. steel wool of different concentrations, inside a solenoid are investigated using Anderson’s Bridge. The study on measuring the variation of dielectric constant and polarisability of paraffin wax doped with different concentrations of lamp black carbon is investigated and compared with the help of Schering’s Bridge and De Sauty’s Bridge.
Impact of Demand Response Programs on Optimal Operation of Multi-Microgrid System

The increased penetration of renewables is beneficial for power systems but it poses several challenges, i.e., uncertainty in power supply, power quality issues, and other technical problems. Backup generators or storage system have been proposed to solve this problem but there are limitations remaining due to high installation and maintenance cost. Furthermore, peak load is also an issue in the power distribution system. Due to the adjustable characteristics of loads, strategies on demand side such as demand response (DR) are more appropriate in order to deal with these challenges. Therefore, this paper studies how DR programs influence the operation of the multi-microgrid (MMG). The implementation is executed based on a hierarchical energy management system (HiEMS) including microgrid EMSs (MG-EMSs) responsible for local optimization in each MG and community EMS (C-EMS) responsible for community optimization in the MMG. Mixed integer linear programming (MILP)-based mathematical models are built for MMG optimal operation. Five scenarios consisting of single DR programs and DR groups are tested in an MMG test system to evaluate their impact on MMG operation. Among the five scenarios, some DR programs apply curtailing strategies, resulting in a study about the influence of base load value and curtailable load percentage on the amount of curtailed load and shifted load as well as the operation cost of the MMG. Furthermore, the impact of DR programs on the amount of external and internal trading power in the MMG is also examined. In summary, each individual DR program or group could be handy in certain situations depending on the interest of the MMG such as external trading, self-sufficiency or operation cost minimization.
Transactive Real-Time Electric Vehicle Charging Management for Commercial Buildings With PV On-Site Generation

In the future smart grids, it is important for prosumers to manage uncertainties from distributed renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic (PV) generation. As a type of distributed energy resource, electrical vehicles (EVs) are regarded as a promising solution to the problem. In this paper, a transactive real-time EV charging management scheme is proposed for the building energy management system (BEMS) of commercial buildings with PV on-site generation and EV charging services. Instead of direct EV charging control, the proposed EV charging management scheme applies a transactive energy concept-based approach to address real-time EV charging management. With the proposed scheme, the BEMS can schedule its net electricity exchange with the external grid under the uncertainties of PV generation and EV parking and maximize its profit in the real-time operation. Meanwhile, the EV owners need not provide the BEMS with further private information (such as future driving plans) but only their real-time charging requirements and preference setting of the response to the BEMS’s pricing signal in the proposed scheme. As such, the BEMS as a charging service provider only requires the minimal necessary information from EV owners. The EV owners’ charging requirements, preference setting of the response curves and their required reimbursements for the response are respected by the real-time charging management and their contributions to the demand response are reimbursed by the BEMS. Case studies with real world driving data from the Danish National Travel Survey were carried out to verify the proposed framework.
Hybrid group IV nanophotonics

Advancements in electronic integrated chip technology are slowing down with transistor sizes approaching their theoretical limit in most equipment and devices. As the data transmission rate has benefited from the telecommunication technology through optical fibers, Photonic Integrated Chips (PICs) are expected to fill the gap in the demand for higher transmission rates and faster computational speeds that the electronic chips would fail to fulfill. The research into PICs is in the center of attention in the academic and industrial fields, and the way in front of PICs development and improvement is still long. There are many opportunities including the use of new materials, different designs and architectures, and the use of various physical effects on the macro and micro scales. The main aim of this work is to design a hybrid-multi-layer PIC that allows the integration between an ultra-high-Q micro-resonator made of silica and an optical waveguide of a different material through a MEMS actuated coupler. To date, the ultra-high-Q silica micro-resonators can confine light within for the longest period, which is very beneficial for many applications including revolutionary accurate time measurements, and studying non-linear optical phenomena using modest laser powers. As using silica micro-resonators offers the highest-Q factor, using an optical waveguide of different material can offer the best operation condition based on the required application. For instance, having a silicon waveguide with high refractive index allows the fabrication of dense photonic chips, while using nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) waveguide suits wide-transmission-window applications. To achieve this goal, several studies were required along the way. For example, the hybrid-chip would include a suspended NCD waveguide structure that has not been demonstrated before. So we took the initiative and designed, fabricated and studied its operation. During fabricating the chips in this work, the ablation of NCD films using CO2 laser was observed, which was unexpected. As explanations in the literature was unsatisfactory, we hypothesized a new explanation, and confirmed it using numerical and experimental tests. After designing the hybrid-multi-layer PIC, we took the study a step further and developed the fabrication process. Also, an analytical formula for estimating the scattering loss from asymmetric rough rectangular waveguide surfaces has been formulated to assess the practicality of using specific waveguide designs using certain fabrication techniques. Finally, the design of grating couplers is presented as a starting point for prospective work. The work presented here is believed to be a beneficial milestone in the realisation of practical hybrid multi-layer PICs.
Demanda de trabajadores con habilidades blandas y nivel de empleabilidad de egresados universitarios

El presente artículo estuvo orientado en encontrar las relaciones existentes entre el nivel de empleabilidad definido en no empleo, subempleo y empleo de los egresados universitarios y sus habilidades blandas, tomando como caso de estudios los egresados de la Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal de Lima-Perú a los cuales se les aplicó un cuestionario virtual donde se obtuvo un total de 877 encuestas. A través del algoritmo Stepwise se realizó la calibración del modelo logístico multinomial entre los niveles de empleo definidos y habilidades blandas, las cuales fueron medidas mediante los test de Grit y Big Five, así como preguntas complementarias de escala Likert. Los resultados muestran que habilidades blandas como la perseverancia aumentan la probabilidad de subempleo, mientras que la ambición aumenta la probabilidad de no estar empleado. Otras habilidades como el liderazgo, solución de problemas y trabajo en equipo, aumentan las probabilidades de subempleo en los egresados.
Job Location Decisions and the Effect of Children on the Employment Gender Gap

IZA DP No. 15353 JUNE 2022 Job Location Decisions and the Effect of Children on the Employment Gender Gap We study the effect of childbirth on local and non-local employment dynamics for both men and women using Belgian social security and geo-location data. Applying an event-study design that accounts for treatment effect heterogeneity, we show that 75 percent of the effect of the birth of a first child on the overall gender gap in employment is accounted for by gender disparities in non-local employment, with mothers being more likely to give up non-local employment compared to fathers. This gender specialisation is mostly driven by opposing job location responses of men and women to individual, household and regional factors. On the one hand, men do not give up non-local employment after childbirth when they are employed in a high-paid job, have a partner who is not participating in the labour market or experience adverse local labour market conditions, suggesting that fathers trade off better employment opportunities with longer commutes. On the other hand, women give up non-local jobs regardless of their earnings level, their partner’s labour market status and local economic conditions, which is consistent with mothers specialising in childcare provision compared to fathers. JEL Classification: J13, J16, J61, C21, C23, J22, R23
Three-Phase Short-Circuit Current Calculation of Power Systems with High Penetration of VSC-Based Renewable Energy

Short-circuit current level of power grid will be increased with high penetration of VSC-based renewable energy, and a strong coupling between transient fault process and control strategy will change the fault features. The full current expression of VSC-based renewable energy was obtained according to transient characteristics of short-circuit current. Furtherly, by analyzing the closed-loop transfer function model of controller and current source characteristics presented in steady state during a fault, equivalent circuits of VSC-based renewable energy of fault transient state and steady state were proposed, respectively. Then the correctness of the theory was verified by experimental tests. In addition, for power grid with VSC-based renewable energy, superposition theorem was used to calculate AC component and DC component of short-circuit current, respectively, then the peak value of short-circuit current was evaluated effectively. The calculated results could be used for grid planning and design, short-circuit current management as well as adjustment of relay protection. Based on comparing calculation and simulation results of 6-node 500 kV Huainan power grid and 35-node 220 kV Huaisu power grid, the effectiveness of the proposed method was verified.
Design and real‐time implementation of an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller for a coupled tank system

In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller (AFSMC) is proposed for regulation of liquid level in a coupled tank system (CTS). In this controller design, a fuzzy variable is considered in the sliding surface in order to reduce the chattering effect. The proposed controller exhibits high robustness against external disturbances and also measurement error. To verify the efficacy of the proposed controller, we compared its performances with that of a linear matrix inequality (LMI)–based proportional integral (PI) controller. The efficacy of the proposed controller is verified by implementing this controller in real time on the coupled tank liquid level system. From both the obtained simulation and experimental results, it is observed that the proposed controller exhibits superior control performance to maintain the desired level as compared with the LMI‐based PI controller.
Impact of Super-High Density Olive Orchard Management System on Soil Free-Living and Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in Central and South Italy

Simple Summary Super-high density olive orchards are spreading in Italy to reduce production costs and increase yields per hectare. The objective of this study was to assess the orchards’ effect on the soil nematode community in five sites located in the main Italian olive cultivation areas compared to the adjacent traditional olive orchard system. Super-high density olive orchard management combined with conventional tillage and mineral fertilization decreased total organic carbon compared to traditional management. The soil nematode community was affected by the depletion of organic matter, especially for plant-parasitic nematodes, which increased. Moreover, this investigation evidenced that the Super-high density olive orchard management system could change the soil plant-parasitic nematode composition of olive orchards. In fact, the families Telotylenchidae, Paratylenchidae, Meloidogynidae, and Criconematidae were favored in the Super-high density olive orchard system, while Longidoridae, Heteroderidae, and Pratylenchidae were disadvantaged. However, conservative and sustainable soil management might maintain or improve the soil nematode community functionality and reduce plant-parasitic nematodes. Abstract The soil nematode community plays an important role in ecosystem services. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of Super-high density (SHD) olive orchards on the nematode community in five sites with different soils, climates, and cultivars. At each site, the SHD management system was compared to the adjacent olive orchard traditional (TRAD) system, in which the same soil management and phytosanitary measures were applied. Soil management was assessed by total organic carbon content (TOC), while the soil nematode community was evaluated using the nematode taxa abundances and soil nematode indicators. TOC was significantly decreased in the SHD olive orchard system compared to TRAD in the sites characterized by conventional tillage and mineral fertilization. The two-way ANOSIM analysis on nematode abundance showed no difference between the two olive management methods, instead showing only a significant difference per site mainly due to variabilities in plant-parasitic nematode assemblage. However, a negative impact of SHD management was evident in environments stressed by summer droughts and conventional tillage: the ratio of obligate plant-parasites to bacterivores and fungivores (Pp/(B+F)) was significantly higher in SHD than in the TRAD olive orchard system, and the prey-to-predator θ mass ratio showed the lowest values in the sites under organic fertilization or green manure. The canonical correspondence analysis showed that the free-living nematodes were only slightly affected by SHD olive orchards; instead, the presence of plant-parasitic nematodes families such as Telotylenchidae, Paratylenchidae, Meloidogynidae, and Criconematidae was favored, in comparison to Longidoridae, Heteroderidae, and Pratylenchidae.