Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neural network based stochastic design charts for settlement prediction

Traditional methods of settlement prediction of shallow foundations on granular soils are far from accurate and consistent. This can be attributed to the fact that the problem of estimating the settlement of shallow foundations on granular soils is very complex and not yet entirely understood. Recently, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been shown to outperform the most commonly used traditional methods for predicting the settlement of shallow foundations on granular soils. However, despite the relative advantage of the ANN based approach, it does not take into account the uncertainty that may affect the magnitude of the predicted settlement. Artificial neural networks, like more traditional methods of settlement prediction, are based on deterministic approaches that ignore this uncertainty and thus provide single values of settlement with no indication of the level of risk associated with these values. An alternative stochastic approach is essential to provide more rational estimation of settlement.
Homophily, Cultural Drift, and the Co-Evolution of Cultural Groups

Studies of cultural differentiation have shown that social mechanisms that normally lead to cultural convergence—homophily and influence—can also explain how distinct cultural groups can form. However, this emergent cultural diversity has proven to be unstable in the face of cultural drift—small errors or innovations that allow cultures to change from within. The authors develop a model of cultural differentiation that combines the traditional mechanisms of homophily and influence with a third mechanism of network homophily, in which network structure co-evolves with cultural interaction. Results show that in certain regions of the parameter space, these co-evolutionary dynamics can lead to patterns of cultural diversity that are stable in the presence of cultural drift. The authors address the implications of these findings for understanding the stability of cultural diversity in the face of increasing technological trends toward globalization.
Labor Market Upheaval, Default Regulations, and Consumer Debt

In 2005, reforms made formal personal bankruptcy much more costly. Shortly after, the US began to experience its most severe recession in seventy years, and while personal bankruptcy rates rose, they rose only modestly given the severity of the rise in unemployment. By contrast, informal default through delinquency rose sharply. In the subsequent recovery, households have been widely viewed as "deleveraging" (Mian and Sufi 2011, Krugman and Eggertson 2012) via the largest reduction of unsecured debt seen in the past three decades. We measure the relative roles of recent bankruptcy reform and labor market risk in accounting for consumer debt and default over the Great Recession. Our results suggest that bankruptcy reform likely prevented a substantial increase in formal bankruptcy filings, but had only limited effect on informal default from delinquencies, and that changes in job-finding rates were central to both. (Copyright: Elsevier)
Low-shot visual object recognition

Low-shot visual learning - the ability to recognize novel object categories from very few examples - is a hallmark of human visual intelligence. Existing machine learning approaches fail to generalize in the same way. To make progress on this foundational problem, we present a novel protocol to evaluate low-shot learning on complex images where the learner is permitted to first build a feature representation. Then, we propose and evaluate representation regularization techniques that improve the effectiveness of convolutional networks at the task of low-shot learning, leading to a 2x reduction in the amount of training data required at equal accuracy rates on the challenging ImageNet dataset.
THE ABUNDANCE OF BORON IN DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS

We present a comprehensive survey of boron abundances in diffuse interstellar clouds from observations made with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) of the Hubble Space Telescope. Our sample of 56 Galactic sight lines is the result of a complete search of archival STIS data for the B ii λ1362 resonance line, with each detection confirmed by the presence of absorption from O i λ1355, Cu ii λ1358, and Ga ii λ1414 (when available) at the same velocity. Five previous measurements of interstellar B ii from Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph observations are incorporated in our analysis, yielding a combined sample that more than quadruples the number of sight lines with significant boron detections. Our survey also constitutes the first extensive analysis of interstellar gallium from STIS spectra and expands on previously published results for oxygen and copper. The observations probe both high- and low-density diffuse environments, allowing the density-dependent effects of interstellar depletion to be clearly identified in the gas-phase abundance data for each element. In the case of boron, the increase in relative depletion with line-of-sight density amounts to an abundance difference of 0.8 dex between the warm and cold phases of the diffuse interstellar medium. The abundance of boron in warm, low-density gas is found to be B/H = (2.4 ± 0.6) × 10−10, which represents a depletion of 60% relative to the meteoritic boron abundance. Beyond the effects of depletion, our survey reveals sight lines with enhanced boron abundances that potentially trace the recent production of 11B, resulting from spallation reactions involving either cosmic rays or neutrinos. Future observations will help to disentangle the relative contributions from the two spallation channels for 11B synthesis.
Adults who do not want to participate in learning: a cross-national European analysis of their perceived barriers

Abstract This article explores cross-national differences in the intensity of perceived barriers to adult learning in Europe focusing on the barriers recognised by those not participating and having no intention to do so. This relatively large subgroup has received scant scholarly attention, yet exploring their participation barriers is critical for policies aimed at encouraging learning activity. The authors propose a country typology of adult learning based on earlier typologies of welfare state regimes, varieties of capitalism and models of lifelong learning. Multilevel analysis of 19 European countries reveals individual and contextual effects on barriers to adult learning. The results indicate substantial country differences in all types of barriers perceived. In general, in the Nordic countries adults not participating and not intending to participate in learning are the least impeded. For this group of adults, institutional barriers are perceived most often in the Baltic countries, situational barriers occur most frequently in liberal and continental countries, whereas dispositional barriers are most frequent in all post-socialist countries as well as in Southern Europe. This confirms the significance of including structural and institutional factors in addition to individual characteristics in explaining barriers to adult learning.
Overconﬁdence and diversiﬁcation

Experimental evidence suggests that people tend to be overcon dent in the sense that they overestimate the accuracy of their private information. In this paper we show that risk-averse principals might prefer overcon dent agents in various strategic interactions because these agents help diversify the aggregate risk. This may help understanding why successful analysts and entrepreneurs tend to be overcon dent. In addition, a di erent interpretation of the model presents a novel evolutionary foundation for overcon dence, and explains various stylized facts about this bias.
Adolescent lifestyle profiles and personal and community competences

Abstract Revealing how health-related lifestyle behaviors are associated with competences during adolescence can contribute to understanding the complexity of factors that intervene in adolescents’ health. The objectives of this study were to explore the clustering of different lifestyle behaviors and their connection to personal and community competence. Participants were 795 adolescents who were taking part in the initial assessment of a Spanish community-based intervention program. They were asked to complete four self-report measures: the Lifestyle Questionnaire, the Self-Concept and Social Realization Questionnaire, the Coping Scale for Children and Youth Questionnaire, and the Perceived Community Support Questionnaire. Cluster analysis was then used to discover different patterns of lifestyle behaviors and associate them with sociodemographic and competence factors. The cluster analysis revealed three groups of adolescents: a first group that presented all-round healthy habits, a second group with abusive screen use and a third group with unhealthy habits related to going out at night. These clusters were modulated by age, student status, psychosocial risk status and mothers’ level of education. Further analysis showed higher levels of Self-worth, Task-oriented strategy, Empathy and Community participation in the Healthy group compared to those in the Unhealthy group, whereas the Screen-user group had more Behavioral avoidance than the Healthy group and less Community integration than both of the other groups. The identification of personal and community competences as health-promoting factors associated with adolescents’ lifestyles may help professionals to prioritize certain strengths for best results in intervention programs.
Animal Welfare Evaluation at a Slaughterhouse for Heavy Pigs Intended for Processing

The Council Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009 requires slaughterhouse managers to implement specific standard operating procedures for all pre-slaughter stages considered at risk, aimed at achieving adequate levels of animal welfare. This survey was aimed at testing the applicability to an abattoir for heavy pigs of an assessment system of animal welfare through animal-based measures. In the monitoring of handling operations, the number of animals fallen/slipped and prodded, and that of vocalising pigs were recorded. In the monitoring of the immobilisation stage, carried out on the same pigs, vocalisations were recorded at the entrance to the box and falls/slips occurring inside it. Animal welfare assessment during the stunning-sticking-bleeding steps, was carried out by recording the head-only electrical stunning basic parameters set by legislation, vocalisations resulting from hot wanding, and clinical signs of consciousness, sensibility and certain death. Except for immobilisation, the percentage of occurrence of these events above acceptability limits was detected in all other pre-slaughter steps. The most critical stages were: handling in the unloading area and along the single-file chute, stunning and especially bleeding, where 84.13% of animals showed one or more signs of consciousness and/or sensibility recovery. Wrong placement of electrodes observed in 53.98% of the animals, insufficient voltage and low amperage may explain why a high percentage of pigs recovered consciousness and/or sensibility before death. Some simple restructuring of unloading area, slowdown of slaughter line speed, increase of personnel involved in pre-slaughter management and regular calibration of the electrical stunning device could be effectively corrective measures aimed at raising the animal welfare level at the slaughterhouse under study.
Propositional proof complexity

Propositional proof complexity studies efficient provability of those statements that can be expressed in propositional logic, in various proof systems and under various notions of “efficiency”. Proof systems and statements of interest come from a variety of sources that, besides logic and combinatorics, include many other areas like combinatorial optimization and practical SAT solving. This article is an expanded version of the ECM talk in which we will attempt to convey some basic ideas underlying this vibrant area. Mathematics Subject Classification 2020. Primary 03F20; Secondary 68Q17
A new control strategy for high-speed atomic force microscopy

An advanced controller consisting of a feedback and feedforward part is presented to improve the performance of an atomic force microscope (AFM) enabling topography measurements at higher scan rates with a reduced measurement error. The tip–sample interaction force is held constant by an -controller while the scanner is simultaneously tracked to the topography of the last recorded scan line by a model-based feedforward controller. The designed controller is implemented on a commercial AFM system to compare the performance to a standard proportional integral controlled AFM. The new controller reduces the measurement error and enables imaging at higher speeds and at smaller tip–sample interaction forces.
Optimization of structural dynamic behaviour based on effective modal parameters

Optimization of complex structures often leads to high calculation costs. Indeed, the structure has to be frequently reanalysed in order to update the optimization criteria. We propose an optimization method based on effective modal parameters. These parameters are close to the modal matrices used for the modal analysis of a structure. Thus, once the structure has been analysed, it becomes very easy to calculate optimization criteria. First, we will explain the modal analysis that we will use in this paper. A modal model will be used to analyse the hollow parts of the structure. The modal analysis of the whole structure will be performed using substructuring and ‘double modal synthesis’ proposed by Jezequel. Secondly, we will explain how to obtain effective modal parameters and their use for optimization. Finally, we will show the efficiency of these parameters through the optimization of a complex structure, using two types of optimization methods. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Market Impacts of a Nuclear Power Plant Closure

Falling revenues and rising costs have put US nuclear plants in financial trouble, and some threaten to close. To understand the potential private and social consequences, we examine the abrupt closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in 2012. Using a novel econometric approach, we show that the lost generation from SONGS was met largely by increased in-state natural gas generation. In the twelve months following the closure, natural gas generation costs increased by $350 million. The closure also created binding transmission constraints, causing short-run inefficiencies and potentially making it more profitable for certain plants to act noncompetitively. (JEL D24, L25, L94, L98, Q42, Q48)
Sexual behaviour of adolescents in Nigeria: cross sectional survey of secondary school students

Abstract Objectives: To determine whether family structure (polygamous or monogamous) is associated with sexual activity among school students in Nigeria. Design: Cross sectional school survey with a two stage, clustered sampling design. Participants: 4218 students aged 12–21 years attending 39 schools in Plateau state, Nigeria. Responses from 2705 students were included in the analysis. Main outcome measure: Report of ever having had sexual intercourse. Variables of interest included sexual history, age, sex, religion, family polygamy, educational level of parents, having a dead parent, and sense of connectedness to parents and school. Results: Overall 909 students (34%) reported ever having had sexual intercourse, and 1119 (41%) reported a polygamous family structure. Sexual activity was more common among students from polygamous families (42% of students) than monogamous families (28%) (χ2=64.23; P<0.0001). Variables independently associated with sexual activity were male sex (adjusted odds ratio 2.52 (95% confidence interval 2.05 to 3.12)), older age (1.62 (1.24 to 2.14)), lower sense of connectedness with parents (1.87 (1.48 to 2.38)), having a dead parent (1.59 (1.27 to 2.00)), family polygamy (1.58 (1.29 to 1.92)), lower sense of connectedness with school (1.25 (1.09 to 1.44)), and lower educational level of parents (1.14 (1.05 to 1.24)). Multistep logistic regression analysis showed that the effect of polygamy on sexual activity was reduced by 27% by whether students were married and 22% by a history of forced sex. Conclusions: Secondary school students in Nigeria from a polygamous family structure are more likely to have engaged in sexual activity than students from a monogamous family structure. This effect is partly explained by a higher likelihood of marriage during adolescence and forced sex. Students' sense of connectedness to their parents and school, regardless of family structure, decreases the likelihood of sexual activity, and fostering this sense may help reduce risky sexual behaviour among Nigerian youth. What is already known on this topic In 2000 Nigeria developed a national health policy aimed at preventing behaviour among adolescents leading to sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), pregnancy, and dropout from school Effective interventions in Nigeria have been hampered by inadequate information on contextual factors associated with sexual behaviour of adolescents In Western countries adolescents' sense of connectedness to their parents and to school is inversely associated with risky sexual behaviour, but these effects may differ in countries where polygamy is prevalent and where school attendance is low What this paper adds A polygamous family structure is associated with early sexual activity among adolescents, an effect partly explained by a higher likelihood of marriage and history of forced sexual intercourse A greater sense of connectedness to parents and school decreases the likelihood of sexual activity, regardless of family structure
On the usefulness of taking the weights into account in the GAIA visualisations

In this paper we study the multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) methods PROMETHEE and GAIA. The PROMETHEE method provides the decision maker with a ranking. The GAIA method provides a two dimensional representation of the decision problem based on the flows computed by the PROMETHEE method. However, a limit of the GAIA method is the loss of information by its two-dimensional projection which may lead to inconsistencies with the PROMETHEE rankings. Recently, some extensions of the GAIA method have been proposed in Hayez et al. (2009) in order to decrease the number of inconsistencies. We propose in our paper to slightly adapt the proposed GAIA methods by taking the weights into account when representing the problem. The aim of this paper is thus to analyse the impact on the gain or loss of information of the GAIA. Different illustrative examples are given and numerical simulations have been made to justify this approach.
Covariation between Spike and LFP Modulations Revealed with Focal and Asynchronous Stimulation of Receptive Field Surround in Monkey Primary Visual Cortex

A focal visual stimulus outside the classical receptive field (RF) of a V1 neuron does not evoke a spike response by itself, and yet evokes robust changes in the local field potential (LFP). This subthreshold LFP provides a unique opportunity to investigate how changes induced by surround stimulation leads to modulation of spike activity. In the current study, two identical Gabor stimuli were sequentially presented with a variable stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) ranging from 0 to 100 ms: the first (S1) outside the RF and the second (S2) over the RF of primary visual cortex neurons, while trained monkeys performed a fixation task. This focal and asynchronous stimulation of the RF surround enabled us to analyze the modulation of S2-evoked spike activity and covariation between spike and LFP modulation across SOA. In this condition, the modulation of S2-evoked spike response was dominantly facilitative and was correlated with the change in LFP amplitude, which was pronounced for the cells recorded in the upper cortical layers. The time course of covariation between the SOA-dependent spike modulation and LFP amplitude suggested that the subthreshold LFP evoked by the S1 can predict the magnitude of upcoming spike modulation.
Modelling the spectral evolution of classical double radio sources

The spectral evolution of powerful double radio galaxies (FR II's) is thought to be determined by the acceleration of electrons at the termination shock of the jet, their transport through the bright head region into the lobes and the production of the radio emission by synchrotron radiation in the lobes. Models presented to date incorporate some of these processes in prescribing the electron distribution which enters the lobes. We have extended these models to include a description of electron acceleration at the relativistic termination shock and a selection of transport models for the head region. These are coupled to the evolution of the electron spectrum in the lobes under the influence of losses due to adiabatic expansion, by inverse Compton scattering on the cosmic background radiation and by synchrotron radiation. The evolutionary tracks predicted by this model are compared to observation using the power/source-size (P-D) diagram. We find that the simplest scenario, in which accelerated particles suer adiabatic losses in the head region which become more severe as the source expands produces P-D-tracks which conflict with observation, because the power is predicted to decline too steeply with increasing size. Agreement with observation can be found by assuming that adiabatic losses are compensated during transport between the termination shock and the lobe by a re-acceleration process distributed throughout the head region.
Distinct 5′ UTRs regulate XIAP expression under normal growth conditions and during cellular stress

X-chromosome linked inhibitor of apoptosis, XIAP, is cellular caspase inhibitor and a key regulator of apoptosis. We and others have previously shown that XIAP expression is regulated primarily at the level of protein synthesis; the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of XIAP mRNA contains an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) that supports cap-independent expression of XIAP protein during conditions of pathophysiological stress, such as serum deprivation or gamma irradiation. Here, we show that XIAP is encoded by two distinct mRNAs that differ in their 5′ UTRs. We further show that the dominant, shorter, 5′ UTR promotes a basal level of XIAP expression under normal growth conditions. In contrast, the less abundant longer 5′ UTR contains an IRES and supports cap-independent translation during stress. Our data suggest that the combination of alternate regulatory regions and distinct translational initiation modes is critical in maintaining XIAP levels in response to cellular stress and may represent a general mechanism of cellular adaptation.
Empirical research on IPO financing efficiency of state-owned enterprises based on DEA

The state-owned enterprises play a very important role in China. The financing behavior and efficiency of state-owned enterprises not only have a great influence on its own operation competition, but also relate closely to the development and stability of the whole national economy and social economic efficiency. 51 listed companies which have performed IPO(initial public offering) in 2010 have been chosen under certain principles as samples. Data envelopment analysis (DEA)-Malmquist is used in this paper to evaluate the IPO financing efficiency of state-owned enterprises in China. It is found that the type of ultimate controller of company has played an insignificant way in IPO financing efficiency. IPO financing efficiency did not bring an increase in the efficiency of state-owned enterprises. Finally, the present paper explored the possible reasons for this phenomenon and analyzed two countermeasures to improve the IPO financing efficiency.