cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 Pandemic Severity, Lockdown Regimes, and People Mobility: Early Evidence from 88 Countries
Creators: name: Rahman, Md. Mokhlesur
name: Thill, Jean-Claude
name: Paul, Kamal Chandra
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: This study empirically investigates the complex interplay between the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, mobility changes in retail and recreation, transit stations, workplaces, and residential areas, and lockdown measures in 88 countries of the word. To conduct the study, data on mobility patterns, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of people, lockdown measures, and coronavirus pandemic were collected from multiple sources (e.g., Google, UNDP, UN, BBC, Oxford University, Worldometer). A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique is used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of independent variables on dependent variables considering the intervening effects of mediators. Results show that lockdown measures have significant effects to encourage people to maintain social distancing. However, pandemic severity and socioeconomic and institutional factors have limited effects to sustain social distancing practice. The results also explain that socioeconomic and institutional factors of urbanity and modernity have significant effects on pandemic severity. Countries with a higher number of elderly people, employment in the service sector, and higher globalization trend are the worst victims of the coronavirus pandemic (e.g., USA, UK, Italy, and Spain). Social distancing measures are reasonably effective at tempering the severity of the pandemic.
description: 17 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables
Chandra-SDSS Normal and Star-Forming Galaxies I: X-ray Source Properties of Galaxies Detected by Chandra in SDSS DR2
Creators: name: Hornschemeier, A. E.
name: Heckman, T. M.
name: Ptak, A. F.
name: Tremonti, C. A.
name: Colbert, E. J. M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We have cross-correlated X-ray catalogs derived from archival Chandra ACIS observations with a Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 2 (DR2) galaxy catalog to form a sample of 42 serendipitously X-ray detected galaxies over the redshift interval 0.03 < z < 0.25. This pilot study will help fill in the "redshift gap" between local X-ray-studied samples of normal galaxies and those in the deepest X-ray surveys. Our chief purpose is to compare optical spectroscopic diagnostics of activity (both star-formation and accretion) with X-ray properties of galaxies. Our work supports a normalization value of the X-ray-star-formation-rate (X-ray-SFR) correlation consistent with the lower values published in the literature. The difference is in the allocation of X-ray emission to high-mass X-ray binaries relative to other components such as hot gas, low-mass X-ray binaries, and/or AGN. We are able to quantify a few pitfalls in the use of lower-resolution, lower signal-to-noise optical spectroscopy to identify X-ray sources (as has necessarily been employed for many X-ray surveys). Notably, we find a few AGN that likely would have been misidentified as non-AGN sources in higher-redshift studies. However, we do not find any X-ray hard, highly X-ray-luminous galaxies lacking optical spectroscopic diagnostics of AGN activity. Such sources are members of the "X-ray Bright, Optically Normal Galaxy" (XBONG) class of AGN.
description: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal, scheduled for January 2005, for full-resolution figures see http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~annh/SDSSXray
Generalized Policy Improvement Algorithms with Theoretically Supported Sample Reuse
Creators: name: Queeney, James
name: Paschalidis, Ioannis Ch.
name: Cassandras, Christos G.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Machine Learning (cs.LG)
subject: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
subject: Machine Learning (stat.ML)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: We develop a new class of model-free deep reinforcement learning algorithms for data-driven, learning-based control. Our Generalized Policy Improvement algorithms combine the policy improvement guarantees of on-policy methods with the efficiency of sample reuse, addressing a trade-off between two important deployment requirements for real-world control: (i) practical performance guarantees and (ii) data efficiency. We demonstrate the benefits of this new class of algorithms through extensive experimental analysis on a broad range of simulated control tasks.
description: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE OPEN SCHOOL OF TROPICAL ANIMAL SCIENCE AND PRODUCTION
Creators: name: Garcia, Gary Wayne
name: Garcia, Gary Wayne
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2001
Subjects: International Relations/Trade
Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession

description: The paper begins by attempting to acknowledge as many of those persons and organizations worldwide who or which contributed output and activities that helped in the distillation of ideas that helped to formulate this school of thought. The paper also outlines the four (4) assumptions underlying the philosophy of the "Open School of Tropical Animal Science and Production" (OSTASP), and the six (6) elements of the Philosophy. The Mission Statement of the OSTASP is "To contribute towards the continued production, utilization and conservation of Tropical Animal Resources for the benefit of humanity". The Membership of the OSTASP would consist of 1] The Founders [Garcia and Archibald], 2] Foundation Scholars, 3] Scholars, 4] Fellows, 5] Associates, 6] Student Members, 7] Cooperate Members, 8] Institutional Members, 9] Farmer Members, and 10] Ordinary Members. The Suggested Approach of the OSTASP will have the following elements: (i) an increased dialogue between in situ and ex situ wildlife conservation efforts (the bringing together of the different human elements, the advancing of the humanizing project = the Trialectic); (ii) the intensive production of species with the potential for domestication; (iii) the utilization of animal biotechnology for the conservation of useful genes from within the existing wildlife gene-pool; (iv) the expanded research into the anatomy (digestive and reproductive), health and husbandry of wildlife species; (v) the development of an International Network on Wildlife [Non-domestic animal] research and development, which would include Zoos, Conservation Parks, Universities, Research Institutions, and Private Collections; and (vi) the use of the CGIAR International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) Network Model could be used as the basis for setting up the Tropical Animal Science Integrated Network [TASIN], In order to give the OSTASP life all members would be invited to belong to a Web Based Community. Within this community network members could then be of service to each other while we collectively attempt to advance the Mission of the OSTASP, which is "To contribute towards the continued production, utilization and conservation of Tropical Animal Resources for the benefit of humanity"
Hodge Operators and Exceptional Isomorphisms between Unitary Groups
Creators: name: Kramer, Linus
name: Stroppel, Markus J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Group Theory (math.GR)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 20G15 20E32 20G20 20G40 22C05 11E39 11E57

description: We give a generalization of the Hodge operator to spaces $(V,h)$ endowed with a hermitian or symmetric bilinear form $h$ over arbitrary fields, including the characteristic two case. Suitable exterior powers of $V$ become free modules over an algebra $K$ defined using such an operator. This leads to several exceptional homomorphisms from unitary groups (with respect to $h$) into groups of semi-similitudes with respect to a suitable form over some subfield of $K$. The algebra $K$ depends on $h$; it is a composition algebra unless $h$ is symmetric and the characteristic is two.
Network Neutrality, Access to Content and Online Advertising
Creators: name: Russo, Antonio
name: D'Annunzio, Anna
Publisher: name: ETH Zurich
Year: 2013
Subjects: ELEKTRONISCHER HANDEL + ELEKTRONISCHER MARKT + DIGITAL ECONOMY
Network Neutrality
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE + ELECTRONIC MARKETS + DIGITAL ECONOMY
Advertising
VIRALES MARKETING (WERBUNG)
VIRAL MARKETING (ADVERTISING)
Internet
Fragmentation
Two-sided markets
info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/330
Economics

description: KOF Working Papers, 344
Mechanics of a ferromagnetic domain wall
Creators: name: Kim, Se Kwon
name: Tchernyshyov, Oleg
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: Pattern Formation and Solitons (nlin.PS)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: This paper gives a pedagogical introduction to the mechanics of ferromagnetic solitons. We start with the dynamics of a single spin and develop all the tools required for the description of the dynamics of solitons in a ferromagnet.
description: Added figures, fixed math error
Evolution of the Cluster Mass and Correlation Functions in LCDM Cosmology
Creators: name: Younger, Joshua D.
name: Bahcall, Neta A.
name: Bode, Paul
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The evolution of the cluster mass function and the cluster correlation function from z = 0 to z = 3 are determined using 10^6 clusters obtained from high-resolution simulations of the current best-fit LCDM cosmology (Ω_m = 0.27, σ_8 = 0.84, h = 0.7). The results provide predictions for comparisons with future observations of high redshift clusters. A comparison of the predicted mass function of low redshift clusters with observations from early Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, and the predicted abundance of massive distant clusters with observational results, favor a slightly larger amplitude of mass fluctuations (σ_8 = 0.9) and lower density parameter (Ω_m = 0.2); these values are consistent within 1-σwith the current observational and model uncertainties. The cluster correlation function strength increases with redshift for a given mass limit; the clusters were more strongly correlated in the past, due to their increasing bias with redshift - the bias reaches b = 100 at z = 2 for M > 5 x 10^13 h^-1 M_sun. The richness-dependent cluster correlation function, represented by the correlation scale versus cluster mean separation relation, R0-d, is generally consistent with observations. This relation can be approximated as R_0 = 1.7 d^0.6 h^-1 Mpc for d = 20 - 60 h^-1 Mpc. The R0-d relation exhibits surprisingly little evolution with redshift for z < 2; this can provide a new test of the current LCDM model when compared with future observations of high redshift clusters.
description: 20 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Sliding grafted polymer layers
Creators: name: Baulin, Vladimir A.
name: Johner, Albert
name: Marques, Carlos M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study theoretically the structure of sliding grafted polymer layers or SGP layers. These interfacial structures are built by attaching each polymer to the substrate with a ring-like molecule such as cyclodextrins. Such a topological grafting mode allows the chains to freely slide along the attachment point. Escape from the sliding link is prevented by bulky capping groups. We show that grafts in the mushroom regime adopt mainly symmetric configurations (with comparable branch sizes) while grafts in dense layers are highly dissymmetric so that only one branch per graft participates in the layer. Sliding layers on small colloids or star-like sliding micelles exhibit an intermediate behavior where the number of longer branches participating in the corona is independent of the total number of branches. This regime also exists for sliding surface-micelles comprising less chains but it is narrower.
description: "For more information, see http://vbaulin.front.ru/research.html"
Are Consumer Expectations Theory-Consistent? The Role of Macroeconomic Determinants and Central Bank Communication: The Role of Macroeconomic Determinants and Central Bank Communication
Creators: name: Lamla, Michael J.
name: Dräger, Lena
name: Pfajfar, Damjan
Publisher: name: ETH Zurich
Year: 2013
Subjects: Macroeconomic literacy
Microdata
KONSUMVERHALTEN + KONSUMENTENVERHALTEN
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
MAKROÖKONOMISCHE MODELLE (OPERATIONS RESEARCH)
Central bank communication
MACROECONOMIC MODELS (OPERATIONS RESEARCH)
Consumer forecast accuracy
Macroeconomic expectations
info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/330
Economics

description: KOF Working Papers, 345
Introducing an IP Licence Box in Switzerland: Quantifying the Effects
Creators: name: Köthenbürger, Marko
name: Chatagny, Florian
name: Stimmelmayr, Michael
Publisher: name: ETH Zurich
Year: 2015
Subjects: Tax Competition
SCHWEIZ (MITTELEUROPA). SCHWEIZERISCHE EIDGENOSSENSCHAFT
SWITZERLAND (CENTRAL EUROPE). SWISS CONFEDERATION
Licence Box
TAX REFORMS (FINANCE)
Corporate Tax Reform
General Equilibrium Model
STEUERREFORMEN (FINANZEN)
info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/330
Economics

description: KOF Working Papers, 390
THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES: PROVIDING INFORMATION SUPPORT FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE
Creators: name: Hosein, Sharida
name: Hosein, Sharida
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2001
Subjects: Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession

description: Information is the key to any successful enterprise and Agricultural Education is no exception. The University Library began at the same time as the University and has been providing essential information support for all the Teaching and Research programmes since then. With over 6,000 book/monograph titles and about 1700 serial titles the Agriculture collection covers all the areas of Agriculture covered by the School of Agriculture. The collection includes Caribbean material as well as information from around the world. In addition the Library provides access to databases such as CAB Abstracts and AGRICOLA, both online via the WWW and as CD ROMs. This presentation will focus on the vast Information resources provided by the Main Library, U.W.I., in the field of Agriculture. It will take the form of an oral presentation and a demonstration of some of the information sources and retrieval tools we use to satisfy the information needs of our users.
Spin Hall Current Driven by Quantum Interferences in Mesoscopic Rashba Rings
Creators: name: Souma, Satofumi
name: Nikolic, Branislav K.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We propose an all-electrical nanoscopic structure where {\em pure} spin current is induced in the transverse voltage probes attached to {\em quantum-coherent} one-dimensional ring when conventional unpolarized charge current is injected through its longitudinal leads. Tuning of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling in semiconductor heterostructure hosting the ring generates quasi-periodic oscillations of the predicted spin Hall current due to {\em spin-sensitive quantum-interference effects} caused by the difference in Aharonov-Casher phase acquired by opposite spins states traveling clockwise and counterclockwise. Its amplitude is comparable to the mesoscopic spin Hall current predicted for finite-size two-dimensional electron gases, while it gets reduced in wide two-dimensional or disordered rings.
description: 5 pages, 4 color figures
Causal Interaction Trees: Tree-Based Subgroup Identification for Observational Data
Creators: name: Yang, Jiabei
name: Dahabreh, Issa J.
name: Steingrimsson, Jon A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Methodology (stat.ME)
subject: Machine Learning (stat.ML)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: We propose Causal Interaction Trees for identifying subgroups of participants that have enhanced treatment effects using observational data. We extend the Classification and Regression Tree algorithm by using splitting criteria that focus on maximizing between-group treatment effect heterogeneity based on subgroup-specific treatment effect estimators to dictate decision-making in the algorithm. We derive properties of three subgroup-specific treatment effect estimators that account for the observational nature of the data -- inverse probability weighting, g-formula and doubly robust estimators. We study the performance of the proposed algorithms using simulations and implement the algorithms in an observational study that evaluates the effectiveness of right heart catheterization on critically ill patients.
INITIATING SELF-DISCOVERY EXTENSION IN TRINIDAD
Creators: name: Ganpat, Wayne G.
name: Ganpat, Wayne G.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2001
Subjects: Farm Management
Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession

description: An alternative approach to extension education for Pineapple farmers in Tableland, Trinidad was initiated based on constructivist learning principles. Experiential learning and interactive techniques, which facilitated self-discovery, were used to address identified problems in fertilizer use and insufficient soil conservation practices. The objectives of this exercise were to pilot a participatory method and to encourage farmers to change the agronomic practices that they discovered reduced their optimum returns. Traditional technology transfer approaches were not considered appropriate as these farmers were operating profitable enterprises, albeit in an unsustainable manner. Group administered preevaluations, simulation exercises, walk-about on plots and structured discussions were used to guide farmers to identify problems in their production practices and to suggest workable solutions to which they could commit themselves to implement. Farmer involvement and feedback throughout the sessions were high and initial evaluation indicated improved contextual knowledge. This initiative also presented an opportunity to introduce participatory techniques to extension field staff, who would be the main facilitators of this approach and to challenge them to use creativity in designing participatory exercises, which simulate the concepts to be conveyed. The experience has wider application in other farm enterprises.
APPROACHES TOWARDS AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPOWERMENT FOR THE CARIBBEAN AND DEVELOPING TROPICAL COUNTRIES: 2001 TO 2050
Creators: name: Garcia, G. W.
name: Bekele, I.
name: Roberts-Nkrumah, L. B.
name: Braithwaite, C.
name: Lallo, C. H. O.
name: Young, G.
name: Garcia, G. W.
name: Bekele, I.
name: Roberts-Nkrumah, L. B.
name: Braithwaite, C.
name: Lallo, C. H. O.
name: Young, G.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2001
Subjects: Agricultural and Food Policy
Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession

description: This paper examines the historical relationship between higher education in Agriculture and the economy in the English Speaking Caribbean [ESC] with special emphasis on the philosophy, content, structure and delivery of the degree offering. This is done within the context of the significant changes occurring in the agricultural sector, and in the economies of the region, the fragility of our ecosystems, as well as of globalization. The paper evaluates the current degree programmes and presents an emerging paradigm that focuses on strategies for enhancing Access to the University Education in Agriculture and the Environment in the Caribbean and the wider tropics.
CONTROLLING PASTURE MOLE CRICKETS WITH NEMATODES
Creators: name: Adjei, M. B.
name: Adjei, M. B.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2001
Subjects: Crop Production/Industries
Food Security and Poverty

description: Several bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) pastures in south Florida have been destroyed by non indigenous mole crickets (Orthopthera: Gryllotalpedae: Scapteriscus spp.). 'Pitfall' traps were installed on damaged pastures in July 1997 and weekly numbers of trapped mole crickets were recorded through December 2000 and used to develop mole cricket population histories. The mole cricket nematode (Steinernema scapterisci) was applied in strips to cover 1/8, 1/4, and 'Λ the area of different pastures in May and September 2000, and in March and April 2001 to determine the best procedures and times for using the nematode. An exponential curve (Gaussian, 3 Parameter) best described the weekly incidence of immature (nymphs and juveniles) mole crickets in bahiagrass pasture. Mole cricket eggs usually begin to hatch in May and the number of trapped nymphs reached a peak (average = 23 nymphs/week) in July and then dropped sharply. Preliminary data showed a reduction in peak incidence of immature mole crickets after applying the nematodes in experimental plots, regardless of strip treatment. Percentage of trapped mole crickets that were infected with nematodes ranged from 86% for the Vi area treatment to 41% for the control on 4 April 2001 sample date. These levels of infection clearly indicate that the nematode has become established across entire pasture and is reproducing and killing mole crickets.
title: Exploring audience participation in live music with a mobile application
Creators: name: Bartmann, Christoph
Publisher: name: TU Wien
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: audience participation
subject: music
subject: interactive
subject: music computing

description: Smartphones dringen noch immer in verschiedenste Bereiche des Lebens vor. Es gibt jedoch Anwendungsgebiete in denen Smartphones entweder garnicht oder missbräuchlich verwendet werden. Eines dieser Anwendungsgebiete sind Konzerte. Dort werden Smartphones heutzutage vom Publikum entweder garnicht verwendet oder aber sie werden in einer Weise verwendet, die vom eigentlichen Konzert ablenkt. Dennoch haben Smartphones neue Arten der Publikumsinteraktion ermöglicht. Weitere Interaktionsmöglichkeiten müssen noch erforscht werden. Dabei sollte man beachten, dass schon vorhandene Interaktionsmöglichkeiten möglicherweise auf Smartphones umgelegt werden können. In dieser Arbeit interviewen wir Konzertbesucher und Musiker, um neue Möglichkeiten der Publikumsinteraktion mittels Smartphones herauszufinden. Des Weiteren untersuchen wir eine bestimmte Publikumsinteraktion, welche hochfrequente Töne verwendet. Umgesetzt wird die Interaktion mithilfe einer Cross-Plattform Smartphone Applikation, welche im großen Rahmen getestet und anhand von Fragebögen und eines qualitativen Interviews mit einer Performerin evaluiert wird.
description: Smartphones are still becoming more and more important in everyday life. Although there are areas of application where they are either not used or misused. One of these areas of application are live concerts. Nowadays, the audience either does not use their smartphones during concerts or they are distracted by using them. Nevertheless, smartphones have enabled new possibilities for the audience to participate and interact. New concepts still have to be explored. Traditional audience participation methods may possibly be transferred to the use of smartphones as well. In this thesis we interview musicians as well as audience members to discover new ideas of audience participation using smartphones. Furthermore, we explore one specific audience participation concept using high frequency sounds with a cross-platform smartphone application. The application is tested in a large-scale setting and evaluated on the basis of questionnaires as well as a qualitative interview with a performer.
STATUS OF THE HIBISCUS MEALYBUG (HMB) MACONELLICOCCUS HIRSUTUS AND THE EXOTIC NATURAL ENEMIES IN TRINIDAD
Creators: name: Shirpat, C.
name: Shirpat, C.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2001
Subjects: Crop Production/Industries
Food Security and Poverty

description: The HMB was first reported in Trinidad in 1995. Following short term control strategies a classical biological control programme was initiated in 1996 as a long term sustainable control strategy. The exotic natural enemies released were Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Cm), Scymnus coccivora (Sc) and Anagyrus kamali (Ak). Since 1996, six islandwide surveys were conducted to determine spatial distribution of HMB and the exotic natural enemies to assess the impact of the natural enemies, and to quantify plant damage. The methodology was developed by the FAO under the Technical Cooperation Project (TCP). The data from these surveys were compared to determine the impact of the natural enemies on HMB. Generally few Ak and Sc were recovered. Flowever, Cm appears to be established in the environment. The FIMB population after releases was also low for all counties. Hibiscus spp. continue to be the most susceptable host plants. Although crinkling and curling symptoms appeared in surveyed plants, damage was not critical. Data from these surveys also served to provide supportive information on the status of the HMB population and facilitated the resumption of regional trade.
Probing the Nature of Neutrinos with a New Force
Creators: name: Perez, Pavel Fileviez
name: Plascencia, Alexis D.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We discuss the possibility to distinguish between Dirac and Majorana neutrinos in the context of the minimal gauge theory for neutrino masses, the B-L gauge extension of the Standard Model. We revisit the possibility to observe lepton number violation at the Large Hadron Collider and point out the importance of the decays of the new gauge boson to discriminate between the existence of Dirac or Majorana neutrinos.
description: 18 pages, 10 figures. v2: Typos fixed. Accepted for publication in PRD
Logística Reversa de Defensivos Agrícolas: fatores que influenciam na consciência ambiental de agricultores gaúchos e mineiros
Creators: name: Ladeira, Wagner Junior
name: Maehler, Alisson Eduardo
name: Nascimento, Luís Felipe Machado Do
name: Ladeira, Wagner Junior
name: Maehler, Alisson Eduardo
name: Nascimento, Luís Felipe Machado Do
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Agribusiness
subject: reverse logistics
subject: environment
subject: pesticides.

description: In recent years, legal and social pressures in favor of environmental affairs have increased in several countries, including Brazil. If, before, concerns were mainly focused on large polluting companies, nowadays, the agricultural sector is also influenced by this matter. Considering this scenario, this study aims to identify which are the main factors that lead rural producers to perform the milk run process. In order to evaluate this process, questionnaires were sent to 398 farmers (residents in Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais States), producers of soybean, coffee, tobacco, beans and strawberry. We analyzed both environmental and legal issues. In order to achieve the objective proposed, a quantitative approach was adopted, using multiple regression analysis. In the regression model estimated, it was observed that, in the process of collecting packaging, three questions were related to environmental awareness: i) handling pesticides and current legislation, ii) adoption of new technology and practices, and iii) risks to human health. Empirical findings in environmental awareness receive strong interference of factors relating to the handling of pesticides and current legislation.
title: Design and implementation of an agent architecture combining emotions and reasoning
Creators: name: Tapolczai, Janos
Publisher: name: TU Wien
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Artificial Intelligence
subject: Affective Reasoning
subject: Intelligent Agents

description: We design and implement a hybrid agent architecture that combines emotional reactions to stimuli with reasoning about the consequences of actions as a means of developing effective behaviour in a toy world. The fundamental task of our agents is to survive by periodically finding and eating food and by dealing with hostile predators, either through flight or through flight. Agents are free to cooperate, antagonize, or ignore each other and agents with different emotional profiles will pursue different strategies. The thesis begins with theoretical investigations of different models of computations and their relation to the biological brain. Our assumption is that the brain's function is, to some degree, analogous to a collection of white boxes, observable to each other. Accordingly, our agents are modelled as a collection of loosely coupled components which communicate with each other through messages. Any component is free to read any message and components have no information about which other components read the messages which they insert into the agent's message space. The affective evaluation of its environment forms the basis of each agent's decision-making, though it is complemented by a belief generator which makes inferences about future world-states resulting from certain choices. Though evaluation of these future states as well, agents can optimize their behaviour, as they can foresee likely positive or negative consequences of their actions. The thesis ends with an evaluation of individual behaviour as well as a population-based evaluation: we evaluate our agents qualitatively by placing agents in a number of simple scenarios and observing whether they perform tasks like collecting food or avoiding predators. After that, we evaluate them in a population-based manner by placing various populations into larger scenarios and recording the survival of different personality types over time.
Estratégias de Diversificação em Áreas de Cultivo de Tabaco no Vale do Rio Pardo: uma análise comparativa
Creators: name: Vargas, Marco Antonio
name: Oliveira, Bruno Ferreira De
name: Vargas, Marco Antonio
name: Oliveira, Bruno Ferreira De
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Agribusiness
subject: tobacco crops
subject: crop substitution strategies
subject: rural development.

description: This paper presents the main results of the socio-economic assessment of small farmers involved with tobacco crops and other cash crops in the Vale do Rio Pardo region, in Rio Grande do Sul state, in Brazil. The study aims to provide evidences for the implementation of effective crop substitution and diversification programs in tobacco producing countries/regions. A questionnaire survey involved a sample of 299 small family farms in the Vale do Rio Pardo region. The sample was designed to include both small farmers who are fully or partially dedicated to tobacco production and farmers who are mainly dedicated to other agricultural products instead of tobacco. The study shows that, in the Vale do Rio Pardo region, tobacco farming activities account for about 60% of the gross value of the production in agriculture. However, the comparative analysis of the profitability of tobacco crops and other cash crops in this region shows that alternative crops might offer lower gross income than tobacco, but offer a higher net income, because their production costs are lower.
LUXOR: An FPGA Logic Cell Architecture for Efficient Compressor Tree Implementations
Creators: name: Rasoulinezhad, SeyedRamin
name: Siddhartha
name: Zhou, Hao
name: Wang, Lingli
name: Boland, David
name: Leong, Philip H. W.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Hardware Architecture (cs.AR)
subject: Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing (cs.DC)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: B.2.1; C.0

description: We propose two tiers of modifications to FPGA logic cell architecture to deliver a variety of performance and utilization benefits with only minor area overheads. In the irst tier, we augment existing commercial logic cell datapaths with a 6-input XOR gate in order to improve the expressiveness of each element, while maintaining backward compatibility. This new architecture is vendor-agnostic, and we refer to it as LUXOR. We also consider a secondary tier of vendor-speciic modifications to both Xilinx and Intel FPGAs, which we refer to as X-LUXOR+ and I-LUXOR+ respectively. We demonstrate that compressor tree synthesis using generalized parallel counters (GPCs) is further improved with the proposed modifications. Using both the Intel adaptive logic module and the Xilinx slice at the 65nm technology node for a comparative study, it is shown that the silicon area overhead is less than 0.5% for LUXOR and 5-6% for LUXOR+, while the delay increments are 1-6% and 3-9% respectively. We demonstrate that LUXOR can deliver an average reduction of 13-19% in logic utilization on micro-benchmarks from a variety of domains.BNN benchmarks benefit the most with an average reduction of 37-47% in logic utilization, which is due to the highly-efficient mapping of the XnorPopcount operation on our proposed LUXOR+ logic cells.
description: In Proceedings of the 2020 ACM/SIGDA International Symposium on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA'20), February 23-25, 2020, Seaside, CA, USA
The aesthetics of trespass : the art and practice of urban exploration in the postmodern metropolis
Creators: name: Hale, Lisa Anne
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: Urban exploration (UE) seeks to discover, explore and document the hidden, abandoned and restricted sites in the postmodern metropolis that the majority of urban citizens never see. Urban explorers take as their mission the infiltration of sites such as abandoned factories, closed asylums, drainage systems, old subway tunnels, catacombs, and other facets of the urban landscape. Members of the UE community maintain a stringent code of ethics that aims to change nothing and leave no traces in the sites they visit. Urban explorers do not forcibly enter sites, vandalize, cause damage or remove objects during the course of their explorations. While recent mainstream media and popular culture representations of urban exploration have focused on the practice as a form of adrenalinebased "extreme sport", this work seeks to highlight the overlooked and highly sophisticated ways in which proponents of UE reimagine the city. In a landscape littered with the broken remnants of the industrial era, urban explorers are often the only ones to investigate the ruins of (post)modernity with a sense of respect and awe. Their photographs, art and written representations of their travel through the ruined landscape serve as aide-memoires and lasting documents of the places left to decay in the shadow of North American and Western European consumer culture. I argue that urban explorers act as postmodern artist-intellectuals in the tradition of Walter Benjamin and Georg Simmel, two sociologists who I consider to be urban explorers avant la lettre. I use the themes of fliinerie, urban archaeology and bricolage to discuss how the acts of observing, documenting and creating undertaken by urban explorers constitute an alternative mode of perception and way of knowing the postmodern metropolis.
Hermitian zero modes protected by nonnormality: Application of pseudospectra
Creators: name: Okuma, Nobuyuki
name: Sato, Masatoshi
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)
subject: Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Recently, it was established that there exists a direct relation between the non-Hermitian skin effects, -strong dependence of spectra on boundary conditions for non-Hermitian Hamiltonians-, and boundary zero modes for Hermitian topological insulators. On the other hand, in terms of the spectral theory, the skin effects can also be interpreted as instability of spectra for nonnormal (non-Hermitian) Hamiltonians. Applying the latter interpretation to the former relation, we develop a theory of zero modes with quantum anomaly for general Hermitian lattice systems. Our theory is applicable to a wide range of systems: Majorana chains, non-periodic lattices, and long-range hopping systems. We relate exact zero modes and quasi-zero modes of a Hermitian system to spectra and pseudospectra of a non-Hermitian system, respectively. These zero and quasi-zero modes of a Hermitian system are robust against a class of perturbations even if there is no topological protection. The robustness is measured by nonnormality of the corresponding non-Hermitian system. We also present explicit construction of such zero modes by using a graphical representation of lattice systems. Our theory reveals the presence of nonnormality-protected zero modes, as well as the usefulness of the nonnormality and pseudospectra as tools for topological and/or non-Hermitian physics.
description: 11 pages, 4 figures
This document contains all of the tables and figures in the Supplementary Info, plus some explanatory notes, including references to the other files that are part of the SI. from Behavioural variation and learning across the lifespan in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys
Creators: name: Perry, Susan
Publisher: name: The Royal Society
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Evolutionary Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: 60801 Animal Behaviour

description: Natural selection has evidently mediated many species characteristics relevant to the evolution of learning, including longevity, length of the juvenile period, social organization, timing of cognitive and motor development, and age-related shifts in behavioural propensities such as activity level, flexibility in problem-solving and motivation to seek new information. Longitudinal studies of wild populations can document such changes in behavioural propensities, providing critical information about the contexts in which learning strategies develop, in environments similar to those in which learning strategies evolved. The Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project provides developmental data for the white-faced capuchin, Cebus capucinus, a species that has converged with humans regarding many life history and behavioural characteristics. In this dataset, focused primarily on learned aspects of foraging behaviour, younger capuchins are more active overall, more curious and opportunistic, and more prone to inventing new investigative and foraging-related behaviours. Younger individuals more often seek social information by watching other foragers (especially older foragers). Younger individuals are more creative, playful and inventive, and less neophobic, exhibiting a wider range of behaviours when engaged in extractive foraging. Whereas adults more often stick with old solutions, younger individuals often incorporate recently acquired experience (both social and asocial) when foraging.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
Geometric analysis of fast-slow PDEs with fold singularities via Galerkin discretisation
Creators: name: Engel, Maximilian
name: Hummel, Felix
name: Kuehn, Christian
name: Popović, Nikola
name: Ptashnyk, Mariya
name: Zacharis, Thomas
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Analysis of PDEs (math.AP)
subject: Dynamical Systems (math.DS)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 35B25, 35K57, 34Cxx, 34D15, 34E15, 37G10

description: We study a singularly perturbed fast-slow system of two partial differential equations (PDEs) of reaction-diffusion type on a bounded domain via Galerkin discretisation. We assume that the reaction kinetics in the fast variable realise a generic fold singularity, whereas the slow variable takes the role of a dynamic bifurcation parameter, thus extending the classical analysis of the singularly perturbed fold. Our approach combines a spectral Galerkin discretisation with techniques from geometric singular perturbation theory which are applied to the resulting high-dimensional systems of ordinary differential equations. In particular, we show the existence of invariant slow manifolds in the phase space of the original system of PDEs away from the fold singularity, while the passage past the singularity of the Galerkin manifolds obtained after discretisation is described by geometric desingularisation, or blow-up. Finally, we discuss the relation between these Galerkin manifolds and the underlying slow manifolds.
description: 45 pages with 9 figures. Corresponding author: Thomas Zacharis
The essential function of yeast acetyltransferase proteins
Creators: name: Grimes, Daniel Edwin
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2010

description: The yeast proteins Sas3p (something about silencing 3) and Gcn5p (general control nonderepressible 5) are the catalytic subunits of the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complexes NuA3 and SAGA, ADA, SLIWSALSA, and HAT-A2 respectively. When incorporated into their respective complexes they gain the ability to acetylate nucleosomal histone H3 at the overlapping K14 residue. Previous work reveals gcn5Δsas3Δ strains are inviable, suggesting they have an essential function in the redundant acetylation of histone H3. Furthermore, researchers have shown that viability is dependent on the HAT domains of Sas3p and Gcn5p. We show that a H3 tail with an arginine substitution mutation at K14 but not K9,18,23,27R is synthetically lethal in a gcn5Δ background. Thus, NuA3’s essential role in the cell is acetylating K14. To determine how Sas3p acetylation is targeted, we performed a yeast 2-hybrid screen against Sas3p’s essential N-terminus. Hsl7p and Rldp are tentatively shown to interact with Sas3p but did not interact or share genetic interactions with NuA3. Previous research shows the synthetic lethality between loss of Gcn5p and loss of components of NuA3 is independent of the adaptor proteins Ada2p and Ada3p; thus, Gcn5p’s essential function appears independent of known HAT complexes, suggesting it could be acetylating a non-histone protein. Consistent with this idea, we created a Gcn5p truncation that cannot interact with Ada2p or rescue a SAGA phenotype but rescues the synthetic lethality. Furthermore, we showed that histone H3 tail mutations in K9,14,18,23R or K9,18,23,27R are viable in a sas3Δ background. We attempted to find the essential subunit of Gcn5p and ruled out Sinlp and Htzlp as the sole substrate. In a synthetic lethality suppression screen, we identified several mutants that suppress the sas3Δgcn5Δ synthetic lethality. These mutants appear to have the characteristics of petites and/or prions. Thus, a possible role for these HATS in DNA damage repair is proposed.
Evidence for an Intermediate-Mass Black Hole: Chandra and XMM-Newton Observations of the Ultraluminous Supersoft X-ray Source in M101 during its 2004 Outburst
Creators: name: Kong, A. K. H.
name: Di Stefano, R.
name: Yuan, F.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We report the results of Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of a new outburst of an ultraluminous supersoft X-ray source in M101. CXOU J140332.3+542103 was observed in a low luminosity state (L_x~1e37 erg/s) between 2004 January and May. The low-state X-ray spectra were relatively hard; the combined low state spectrum can be fitted with a combination of a power-law with photon index of 1.4 and a blackbody of 63 eV. During 2004 July, the source underwent a strong outburst and the peak 0.3-7 keV luminosity reached 3e40 erg/s, with a bolometric luminosity of about 1e41 erg/s. The outburst spectra were very soft and can generally be fitted with a blackbody model with temperatures of 50-100 eV. In two of the observations, absorption edges at 0.33 keV, 0.56 keV, 0.66 keV, and 0.88 keV were found. An XMM-Newton observation was also performed during the decay of the outburst, and a power-law tail was seen in addition to the supersoft spectrum. We consider different accretion models; one involving an intermediate-mass black hole can explain the observations.
description: 4 pages, 1 figure; accepted for publication in ApJL
Pacta Sunt Servanda Versus the Social Role of Contracts: the case of Brazilian agriculture contracts
Creators: name: Rezende, Christiane Leles
name: Zylbersztajn, Decio
name: Rezende, Christiane Leles
name: Zylbersztajn, Decio
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Agribusiness
subject: agribusiness
subject: contracts
subject: judicial decisions
subject: soybean.
subject: agronegócio
subject: contratos
subject: decisões judiciais
subject: soja

description: Este estudo explora a instabilidade criada por decisões jurídicas contraditórias relacionadas às quebras contratuais. O mercado a termo representa uma importante fonte de recursos para o financiamento da agricultura Brasileira, no entanto, durante um período de aumento de preços da saca de soja no mercado spot, aconteceram muitas quebras contratuais. Foram realizadas análises descritiva e econométrica utilizando 161 decisões judiciais de segunda instância (Apelações) e foi realisada uma pesquisa quantitativa com 70 produtores de soja. Os resultados mostraram larga dispersão entre as decisões dos juízes, bem como a existência de efeitos de segunda ordem, tais como maior exigência de garantias e a redução do número de contratos. Aqueles produtores que não quebraram seus contratos também foram negativamente afetados com as estratégias adotadas pelas empresas de processamento e comercialização. O conceito de “Função social do contrato” introduzido no Código Civil do Brasil está associado à elevação da instabilidade nos contratos, aumento nos custos de transação, bem como, a adoção de sanções econômicas......This study explores the instability created by contradictory court decisions related with contract breaches. Forward marketing contracts represent an important source of resources to finance Brazilian agriculture, however a large number of contract breaches were observed during a period of marked increase in soy prices. The study analyzed 161 judicial appeal decisions and a survey was carried with 70 farmers. The results show the difference of judges’ interpretation and the existence of second order effects. The effects of court decisions were more requirements of guarantees and the reduction in the number of contracts. Those soybean farmers who did not breach their contracts have also been negatively affected by the strategic reactions of trading and processing companies. The concept of “social function of the contract” introduced in Brazilian civil code led to a higher degree of instability in contracts, raising transaction costs and motivating private economic sanctions.
Quadratic forms for Aharonov-Bohm Hamiltonians
Creators: name: Fermi, Davide
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: 47A07, 49J45, 81Q10

description: We consider a charged quantum particle immersed in an axial magnetic field, comprising a local Aharonov-Bohm singularity and a regular perturbation. Quadratic form techniques are used to characterize different self-adjoint realizations of the reduced two-dimensional Schrödinger operator, including the Friedrichs Hamiltonian and a family of singular perturbations indexed by $2 \times 2$ Hermitian matrices. The limit of the Friedrichs Hamiltonian when the Aharonov-Bohm flux parameter goes to zero is discussed in terms of $Γ$ - convergence.
description: 21 pages, contribution to the proceedings of the intensive period "INdAM Quantum Meetings (IQM22)" at Politecnico di Milano, March-May 2022 (see https://sites.google.com/view/iqm22)