Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Participatory Modeling Process to Capture Indigenous Ways of Adaptability to Uncertainty: Outputs From an Experiment in West

Over the centuries, local communities have shaped atypical rules to deal with the uncertainty of their environment. They have developed complex prototypes for flexible overlapping institutions and arrangements to adapt their rules and uses to their uncertain environment. Today, this indigenous way of flexibly institutionalizing access rules could provide blueprints for dealing with uncertainty issues resulting from global change as well as designing practical guidelines for implementing resilient management. However, transforming indigenous skills for developing institutional flexibility into operational management rules that are appropriate in the current environmental and socioeconomic context is a huge challenge. However, communities could easily succeed in this reframing because the structuring principles of institutional flexibility are embedded in their mind frame. In this perspective, a participatory modeling process was applied in Senegal to explore, first, how to design a methodological platform to enable local people to shape different forms of environmental management and policies they consider appropriate in the new context of environmental uncertainty by drawing on their own attitudes to environmental management. Second, to increase the value of such "self-designed" outputs in improving knowledge about, and improving, the practical management of uncertainty, especially in drylands.
Carrier Cooperation Can Reduce the Transmit Power in Parallel MIMO Broadcast Channels With Zero-Forcing

Even though parallel multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channels are known to be separable from an information theoretic point of view, performing separate encoding and decoding on each of the parallel channels has been shown to be potentially suboptimal in broadcast channels with linear transceivers. In this paper, we show that suboptimality of such a carrier-noncooperative transmission also occurs in broadcast channels with zero-forcing and quality of service constraints if time-sharing is not allowed. The proof is given by constructing a minimal example and identifying a rate tuple that is achievable using carrier-cooperative zero-forcing with a certain sum power but requires a higher sum power with carrier-noncooperative zero-forcing. This observation is of practical relevance since zero-forcing without time-sharing is a popular assumption in the design of low-complexity optimization algorithms.
Comparing approaches to convert recurrent neural networks into backoff language models for efficient decoding

In this paper, we investigate and compare three different possibilities to convert recurrent neural network language models (RNNLMs) into backoff language models (BNLM). While RNNLMs often outperform traditional n-gram approaches in the task of language modeling, their computational demands make them unsuitable for an efficient usage during decoding in an LVCSR system. It is, therefore, of interest to convert them into BNLMs in order to integrate their information into the decoding process. This paper compares three different approaches: a text based conversion, a probability based conversion and an iterative conversion. The resulting language models are evaluated in terms of perplexity and mixed error rate in the context of the Code-Switching data corpus SEAME. Although the best results are obtained by combining the results of all three approaches, the text based conversion approach alone leads to significant improvements on the SEAME corpus as well while offering the highest computational efficiency. In total, the perplexity can be reduced by 11.4% relative on the evaluation set and the mixed error rate by 3.0% relative on the same data set.
Metabolic Changes in Urine during and after Pregnancy in a Large, Multiethnic Population-Based Cohort Study of Gestational Diabetes

This study aims to identify novel markers for gestational diabetes (GDM) in the biochemical profile of maternal urine using NMR metabolomics. It also catalogs the general effects of pregnancy and delivery on the urine profile. Urine samples were collected at three time points (visit V1: gestational week 8–20; V2: week 28±2; V3∶10–16 weeks post partum) from participants in the STORK Groruddalen program, a prospective, multiethnic cohort study of 823 healthy, pregnant women in Oslo, Norway, and analyzed using 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Metabolites were identified and quantified where possible. PCA, PLS-DA and univariate statistics were applied and found substantial differences between the time points, dominated by a steady increase of urinary lactose concentrations, and an increase during pregnancy and subsequent dramatic reduction of several unidentified NMR signals between 0.5 and 1.1 ppm. Multivariate methods could not reliably identify GDM cases based on the WHO or graded criteria based on IADPSG definitions, indicating that the pattern of urinary metabolites above micromolar concentrations is not influenced strongly and consistently enough by the disease. However, univariate analysis suggests elevated mean citrate concentrations with increasing hyperglycemia. Multivariate classification with respect to ethnic background produced weak but statistically significant models. These results suggest that although NMR-based metabolomics can monitor changes in the urinary excretion profile of pregnant women, it may not be a prudent choice for the study of GDM.
A Strong Jet-Cloud Interaction in the Seyfert Galaxy IC 5063: VLBI Observations

We present 21 cm H I line and 13 cm continuum observations, obtained with the Australian Long Baseline Array, of the Seyfert 2 galaxy IC 5063. This object appears to be one of the best examples of Seyfert galaxies where shocks produced by the radio plasma jet influence both the radio and the near-infrared emission. The picture resulting from the new observations of IC 5063 confirms and completes the one derived from previous Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) lower resolution observations. A strong interaction between the radio plasma ejected from the nucleus and a molecular cloud of the interstellar medium (ISM) is occurring at the position of the western hot spot, about 0.6 kpc from the active nucleus. Because of this interaction, the gas is swept up, forming around the radio lobe a cocoon-like structure where the gas is moving at high speed. Because of this, part of the molecular gas is dissociated and becomes neutral or even ionized if the UV continuum produced by the shocks is hard and powerful enough. In the 21 cm H I line new data, we detect only part of the strong, blueshifted H I absorption that was previously observed with ATCA at lower resolution. In particular, the main component detected in the VLBI absorption profile corresponds to the most blueshifted component in the ATCA data, with a central velocity of 2786 km s-1 and therefore blueshifted ∼614 km s-1 with respect to the systemic velocity. Its peak optical depth is 5.4%. The corresponding column density of the detected absorption, for a spin temperature of 100 K, is NH I ∼ 2 × 1021 atoms cm-2. Most of the remaining blueshifted components detected in the ATCA H I absorption profile are now undetected, presumably because this absorption occurs against continuum emission that is resolved out in these high-resolution observations. The H I absorption properties observed in IC 5063 appear different from those observed in other Seyfert galaxies, where the H I absorption detected is attributed to undisturbed foreground gas associated with the large-scale galaxy disk. In the case of IC 5063, only a small fraction of the absorption can perhaps be due to this. The reason for this could be that the western jet in IC 5063 passes through a particularly rich ISM. Alternatively, because of the relatively strong radio flux produced by this strong interaction and the high spectral dynamic range of our observations, broad absorption lines of low optical depth as detected in IC 5063 may have remained undetected in other Seyfert galaxies that are typically much weaker radio emitters or for which existing data are of poorer quality.
Fracture Patterns on the Infant Porcine Skull Following Severe Blunt Impact *

Abstract: The objective of this study was to document patterns of fracture on infant porcine skulls aged 2–28 days (n = 57) because of a single, high energy blunt impact to the parietal bone with rigid (nondeformable) and compliant (deformable) interfaces. Fracture patterns were mapped using Geographic Information System software. For the same generated impact force, the rigid interface produced more fractures than the compliant interface for all ages. This study also showed that this increased level of impact energy versus an earlier study using a lower energy resulted in new sites of fracture initiation and also caused previously defined fractures that propagate into an adjacent bone. Several unique characteristics of bone and diastatic fracture were documented as a function of specimen age, impact energy, and interface. These data describe some baseline characteristics of skull fracture using an animal model that may help guide future studies from forensic case files.
Unigest: text entry using three degrees of motion

This paper introduces UniGest, a technique that provides pointer input and text entry in a single device without occupying the display. It uses a Nintendo Wii motion-sensing remote to capture gestures that are mapped to character input. A gesture alphabet is proposed, with each gesture composed of at most two primitive motions. A web-based user study measured movement times for primitive motions. Results range from 296 to 481 ms, implying an upper-bound UniGest text entry performance prediction of 27.9 wpm.
The Relationship between Nature of Social Change, Age, and Position of New Neurons and Their Survival in Adult Zebra Finch Brain

Some kinds of neurons are spontaneously recruited in the intact, healthy adult brain, but the variables that affect their survival are not always clear. We show that in caudal nidopallium of adult male zebra finches, the rostrocaudal position of newly recruited neurons, their age (1 vs 3 months), and the nature of social change (complex vs simple) after the neurons were born affect their survival. Greater social complexity promoted the survival of younger new neurons, and the demise of older ones; a less marked social change promoted the survival of older new neurons. These effects were position dependent. We suggest that functional correlations between new neuron recruitment/survival and its inferred benefit to the animal might be better perceived when taking into account the position of cells, their age at the time of life style changes, and the nature and magnitude of the life style change.
Evidence for Segregated and Integrative Connectivity Patterns in the Human Basal Ganglia

Detailed knowledge of the anatomy and connectivity pattern of cortico-basal ganglia circuits is essential to an understanding of abnormal cortical function and pathophysiology associated with a wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. We aim to study the spatial extent and topography of human basal ganglia connectivity in vivo. Additionally, we explore at an anatomical level the hypothesis of coexistent segregated and integrative cortico-basal ganglia loops. We use probabilistic tractography on magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging data to segment basal ganglia and thalamus in 30 healthy subjects based on their cortical and subcortical projections. We introduce a novel method to define voxel-based connectivity profiles that allow representation of projections from a source to more than one target region. Using this method, we localize specific relay nuclei within predefined functional circuits. We find strong correlation between tractography-based basal ganglia parcellation and anatomical data from previously reported invasive tracing studies in nonhuman primates. Additionally, we show in vivo the anatomical basis of segregated loops and the extent of their overlap in prefrontal, premotor, and motor networks. Our findings in healthy humans support the notion that probabilistic diffusion tractography can be used to parcellate subcortical gray matter structures on the basis of their connectivity patterns. The coexistence of clearly segregated and also overlapping connections from cortical sites to basal ganglia subregions is a neuroanatomical correlate of both parallel and integrative networks within them. We believe that this method can be used to examine pathophysiological concepts in a number of basal ganglia-related disorders.
Co-workers with benefits: The influence of commitment uncertainty and status on employee engagement in romantic workplace relationships

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between employee engagement, decisions to be in a relationship with a co-worker, and commitment uncertainty in a sample of adults who identified they were currently working with their romantic partner. Design/methodology/approach – Because workplace romance can be a taboo topic among working adults, we recruited participants anonymously from online social media websites (n=68). The use of non-experimental design limits the ability to draw causal references in relation to the variables of interest. Findings – Participants who reported they were motivated to be in a romantic relationship with a co-worker to increase status also reported lower levels of engagement, even after controlling for other relationship (e.g. relationship adjustment) and workplace variables (e.g. intent to turnover). Practical implications – Romantic relationships within the workplace will most certainly transpire yet the topic remains underexplored in the management liter.
Semi-Autonomous Vehicle Control for Road Departure and Obstacle Avoidance

: This paper presents an active safety system for avoiding obstacles and preventing road departures by means of assistance in steering and braking. A Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (NMPC) is designed with the goal of using the minimum control intervention to keep the driver safe. The NMPC uses a nonlinear vehicle and driver steering model to predict a collision or a roadway departure. The ﬁrst part of the paper presents the models and the control design approach. In the second part, simulations demonstrate the eﬀectiveness of the proposed approach.
Biologically inspired color perception

The primate visual system has an efficient mechanism for color processing, it can receive a constant color in varying lighting conditions, so that many algorithms has been proposed to model the visual system functionalities. The aim of this study is to develop a color perception model that can use the opponency mechanism found in the visual system as a classification method in order to compute a unique hue. The response of the single opponent cells are represented by equally spaced vector in polar coordinate which are added to find a single vector for each pixel and the vector angle represent the unique hue of that pixel. The model has been tested with an image under five different illumination, and the average ratio of the correctly classified pixels was 95%.
Private and Public Merger Waves

We examine the participation of public and private firms in merger waves and productivity outcomes. We show that public firms participate more than private firms as buyers and sellers of assets and their participation is more cyclical. Public firms are affected more by credit spreads and aggregate market valuation. Public firm transactions are also impacted positively by their stock market valuations and liquidity. Public firm acquisitions realize higher gains in productivity, particularly when their transactions occur on-the-wave and when their firms' stock is liquid and highly valued. We show that our results are not just driven by the fact that public firms have better access to capital. Using productivity data from early in the firm's life, we find that better private firms subsequently select to become public and that these initial conditions predict higher participation in asset purchases and sales five and more years later.
The impact of energy extraction on tidal flow development

Synopsis Application of 2-d and 3-d numerical tidal models in the marine renewable energy field has typically been to identify appropriate sites for marine energy extraction and quantify the potential energy available for extraction. Implicit in such an analysis is the assumption that local flow conditions will not be significantly altered by the energy extraction process. Considering the complex hydrodynamic conditions associated with the majority of sites identified as suitable for economic extraction of tidal energy, the general validity of this assumption is questionable. It is therefore necessary to develop modelling techniques which take account of the dynamic ‘feedback’ of extracting energy from the system. This will enable a more rigorous assessment of suitable sites for development and aid in determining the localised environmental impact of exploitation.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy and athletes

Recent case reports have described athletes previously exposed to repetitive head trauma while participating in contact sports who later in life developed mood disorders, headaches, cognitive difficulties, suicidal ideation, difficulties with speech, and aggressive behavior. Postmortem discoveries show that some of these athletes have pathologic findings that are collectively termed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Current hypotheses suggest that concussions or perhaps blows to the head that do not cause the signs and symptoms necessary for making the diagnosis of concussion, so-called subconcussive blows, cause both the clinical and pathologic findings. There are, however, some athletes who participate in contact sports who do not develop the findings ascribed to CTE. Furthermore, there are people who have headaches, mood disorders, cognitive difficulties, suicidal ideation, and other clinical problems who have neither been exposed to repeated head trauma nor possessed the pathologic postmortem findings of those currently diagnosed with CTE. The current lack of prospective data and properly designed case-control studies limits the current understanding of CTE, leading to debate about the causes of the neuropathologic findings and the clinical observations. Given the potential for referral and recall bias in available studies, it remains unclear whether or not the pathologic findings made postmortem cause the presumed neurobehavioral sequela and whether the presumed risk factors, such as sports activity, cerebral concussions, and subconcussive blows, are solely causative of the clinical signs and symptoms. This article discusses the current evidence and the associated limitations.
Analysis of a finite PML approximation for the three dimensional time-harmonic Maxwell and acoustic scattering problems

We consider the approximation of the frequency domain three-dimensional Maxwell scattering problem using a truncated domain perfectly matched layer (PML). We also treat the time-harmonic PML approximation to the acoustic scattering problem. Following work of Lassas and Somersalo in 1998, a transitional layer based on spherical geometry is defined, which results in a constant coefficient problem outside the transition. A truncated (computational) domain is then defined, which covers the transition region. The truncated domain need only have a minimally smooth outer boundary (e.g., Lipschitz continuous). We consider the truncated PML problem which results when a perfectly conducting boundary condition is imposed on the outer boundary of the truncated domain. The existence and uniqueness of solutions to the truncated PML problem will be shown provided that the truncated domain is sufficiently large, e.g., contains a sphere of radius R t . We also show exponential (in the parameter R t ) convergence of the truncated PML solution to the solution of the original scattering problem inside the transition layer. Our results are important in that they are the first to show that the truncated PML problem can be posed on a domain with nonsmooth outer boundary. This allows the use of approximation based on polygonal meshes. In addition, even though the transition coefficients depend on spherical geometry, they can be made arbitrarily smooth and hence the resulting problems are amenable to numerical quadrature. Approximation schemes based on our analysis are the focus of future research.
The galaxy major merger fraction to ${z}$ ~ 1

Aims. The importance of disc-disc major mergers in galaxy evolution remains uncertain. We study the major merger fraction in a SPITZER/IRAC-selected catalogue in the GOODS-S field up to z ~ 1 for luminosity- and mass-limited samples. Methods. We select disc-disc merger remnants on the basis of morphological asymmetries/distortions, and address three main sources of systematic errors: (i) we explicitly apply morphological K-corrections; (ii) we measure asymmetries in galaxies artificially redshifted to z_d = 1.0 to deal with loss of morphological information with redshift; and (iii) we take into account the observational errors in z and A, which tend to overestimate the merger fraction, though use of maximum likelihood techniques. Results. We obtain morphological merger fractions (f_m^mph) below 0.06 up to z ~ 1. Parameterizing the merger fraction evolution with redshift as f_m^mph (z) = f_m^mph (0)(1 + z)^m, we find that m = 1.8 ± 0.5 for M(B)≤ -20 galaxies, while m = 5.4 ± 0.4 for M_* ≥ 10^10 M_⨀ galaxies. When we translate our merger fractions to merger rates (R_m^mph), their evolution, parameterized as R_m^mph (z) = R_m^mph (0)(1+ z)^n, is quite similar in both cases: n = 3.3 ± 0.8 for M(B) ≤ -20 galaxies, and n = 3.5 ± 0.4 for M_* ≥10^10 M_⨀ galaxies. Conclusions. Our results imply that only similar to 8% of today's M(star) ≥ 10^10 M_⨀ galaxies have undergone a disc-disc major merger since z ~ 1. In addition, ~ 21% of M_* ≥ 10(10) M_⨀ galaxies at z ~ 1 have undergone one of these mergers since z similar to 1.5. This suggests that disc-disc major mergers are not the dominant process in the evolution of M_* ≥ 10(10) M_⨀ galaxies since z 1, with only 0.2 disc-disc major mergers per galaxy, but may be an important process at z > 1, with ~ 1 merger per galaxy at 1 < z < 3.
Modeling the Evolution of Infrared Luminous Galaxies: The Influence of the Luminosity-Temperature Distribution

The evolution of the luminous infrared galaxy population is explored using a pure luminosity evolution model that incorporates the locally observed luminosity-temperature distribution for IRAS galaxies. Pure luminosity evolution models in a fixed ΛCDM cosmology are fitted to submillimeter and infrared counts and backgrounds. We find that the differences between the locally determined bivariate model and the single-variable luminosity function (LF) do not manifest themselves in the observed counts but rather are primarily apparent in the dust temperatures of sources in flux-limited surveys. Statistically significant differences in the redshift distributions are also observed. The bivariate model is used to predict the counts, redshifts, and temperature distributions of galaxies detectable by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The best-fitting model is compared to the high-redshift submillimeter galaxy population, revealing a median redshift for the total submillimeter population of z = 1.8, in good agreement with recent spectroscopic studies of submillimeter galaxies. The temperature distribution for the submillimeter galaxies is modeled to predict the radio/submillimeter indices of the submillimeter galaxies, revealing that submillimeter galaxies exhibit a broader spread in spectral energy distributions than seen in the local IRAS galaxies.