Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fluctuations of K-band galaxy counts

We measure the variance in the distribution of off-plane (|b| > 20 ◦ ) galaxies with mK < 13.5 from the 2MASS K-band survey in circles of diameter between 0.344 ◦ and 57.2 ◦ . The use of a near-infrared survey makes the contribution of Galactic extinction to these fluctuations negligible. We calculate these variances within the standard ΛCDM model assuming that the sources are distributed like halos of the corresponding mass, and it reproduces qualitatively the galaxy count variance. Therefore, we conclude that the counts can be explained in terms only of the large scale structure. A second result of this paper is a new method to determine the two point correlation function obtained by forcing agreement between model and data. This method does not need the knowledge of the two-point angular correlation function, allows an estimation of the errors (which are low with this method), and can be used even with incomplete surveys. Using this method we get ξ(z = 0,r < 10 h −1 Mpc) = (29.8 ± 0.5)(r/h −1 Mpc) −1.79±0.03 , which is the first measure of the amplitude of ξ in the local Universe for the K-band. It is more or less in agreement with those obtained through red optical filter selected samples, but it is larger than the amplitude obtained for blue optical filter selected samples. The distribution of the number of galaxies or clusters of galax- ies in a certain volume V can be used to test the large-scale structure of the universe. The calculation of probabilities of finding different structures in a clustering model are some- times amenable to analytical techniques: for instance, for voids (Betancort-Rijo 1990), density of Abel clusters (Betancort-Rijo 1995), number of galaxies in a randomly placed sphere and cluster density profiles (Betancort-Rijo & Lopez-Corredoira 1996), etc. The calculation of variance of the number of galax- ies within the cones corresponding to the circles in the sky, or another 2D figure, (i.e., galaxy counts) is another possibility, and even easier to compare with the observations since we do not need any information about the redshifts of the individual galaxies. This is precisely the purpose of this paper: the calcu- lation from a model of the variance of the number of galaxies in the different regions of the sky, and to see how well they fit real data obtained directly from a sky survey. This will allow us to determine some parameters of the two-point correlation function independent of any other method. One disadvantage of galaxy counts is that they are af- fected by Galactic extinction, and it is difficult to separate the fluctuations due to this extinction from the real fluctuation in the galaxy distribution. However, the arrival of near-infrared
The Non-Regular CEO Problem

We consider the CEO problem for non-regular source distributions (such as uniform or truncated Gaussian). A group of agents observe independently corrupted versions of data and transmit coded versions over rate-limited links to a CEO. The CEO then estimates the underlying data based on the received coded observations. Agents are not allowed to convene before transmitting their observations. This formulation is motivated by the practical problem of a firm's CEO estimating (non-regular) beliefs about a sequence of events, before acting on them. Agents' observations are modeled as jointly distributed with the underlying data through a given conditional probability density function. We study the asymptotic behavior of the minimum achievable mean squared error distortion at the CEO in the limit when the number of agents L and the sum rate R tend to infinity. We establish a 1/R2 convergence of the distortion, an intermediate regime of performance between the exponential behavior in discrete CEO problems [Berger, Zhang, and Viswanathan (1996)], and the 1/R behavior in Gaussian CEO problems [Viswanathan and Berger (1997)]. Achievability is proved by a layered architecture with scalar quantization, distributed entropy coding, and midrange estimation. The converse is proved using the Bayesian Chazan-Zakai-Ziv bound.
Preferred Principles in Writing Instruction and the Intrinsic Motivation of High-Achieving High School Students

The purpose of this study was to determine what effect, if any, the use of "preferred principles in writing instruction" had on Advanced Placement (AP) secondary school students' intrinsic motivation to write. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in a mixed methods, concurrent triangulation design. Prior to the study, ten research-based best practices in writing instruction were identified and implemented in two eleventh-grade high school English classes. Forty-one students participated in the study. The Biggs (1987) Learning Process Questionnaire was adapted to determine the motivation of these students in regard to writing. Treatment consisted of 66 class meetings in which the researcher employed "preferred principles in writing instruction. " Data sources included a focus group session, documents, and observations of student responses to writing instruction. Based on the students' preand post-treatment questionnaire scores and their behaviors and comments, the researcher concluded that: (1) Teachers can improve the intrinsic motivation of students to write by using the "preferred principles in writing instruction," (2) The most effective "preferred principles in writing instruction" are those that increase student autonomy and develop the students' sense of self-efficacy, (3) Intrinsic motivation to write is a complex entity that depends on a variety of factors, and ( 4) Students already possessing significant intrinsic motivation to write do not lose this motivation due to the use of"preferred principles in writing instruction. "
Characteristics of Cadmium Uptake and Accumulation by Two Contrasting Ecotypes of Sedum alfredii Hance

Abstract The mined ecotype of Sedum alfredii Hance has been identified to be a zinc (Zn) hyperaccumulator native to China. In the present article, the characteristics of cadmium (Cd) uptake and accumulation were compared with hydroponic experiments between the mined and the nonmined ecotypes of Sedum alfredii Hance. The results indicate that the plants of the mined ecotype (ME) have higher tolerance of Cd than the plants of the nonmined ecotypes (NME) in terms of dry matter yield. The thresholds of external Cd levels for the reduction of plant growth were 100 µmol L−1 for the NME and 400 µmol L−1 for the ME, respectively. Kinetic study showed that the rates of Cd influx into roots (IR) and transport to shoots (TR) were higher in the ME than in the NME, with 5-fold higher for the maximum IR (I max) and 13-fold higher for the maximum TR (T max) in the NME, respectively. Cadmium concentrations increased with increasing external Cd supply levels. Root Cd concentrations in the NME were higher than that in the ME, with a maximum being 5646 mg kg−1 for the NME and 2889 mg kg−1 for the ME at 1000 µmol L−1 Cd. On the contrary, shoot Cd concentrations of the NME were far lower than that of the ME. Maximum shoot Cd concentrations were 533 mg kg−1 in leaves and 935 mg kg−1 in stems at 1000 µmol L−1 Cd for NME, whereas, 4933 and 3874 mg kg−1 at 400 µmol L−1 Cd for the ME, respectively. Meanwhile, Cd concentrations in the shoots of both the NME and ME increased with advancing Cd treatment time. At 100 µmolL−1 Cd, concentrations of Cd in leaves and stems of the NME sharply increased within initial 8 and 12 days, and those in the ME increased dramatically until D20 and D16, respectively. However, leaf and stem Cd concentrations reached their maximum values on D4 for the NME and D8 for the ME, respectively, when the plants were exposed to 1 µmol L−1 Cd. Cadmium accumulation by plant shoots was obvious higher in the ME than in the NME at varied Cd supply levels or Cd treatment time. The maximum Cd taken up by the shoots was 1032 µg plant−1 in concentration-dependent uptake, and 1699 µg plant−1 in time-course uptake for the ME, with 15-fold and 18-fold higher than those for the NME, respectively. The ratios of shoot/root of Cd ranged from 12 to 39, varying with Cd supply levels, and from 13 to 24 in the varied treatment times for the ME, more than 10 times greater than those for the NME. In addition, Cd distribution in leaves, stems and roots of ME was greatly different from those of NME. The percentage of Cd distribution in shoots was more than 79 at the varied Cd supply levels, or 83 in the varied treatment time for ME, both higher than that for NME. It could be concluded that the mined ecotype of Sedum alfredii Hance has a greater ability to tolerate, transport, and accumulate Cd, as compared with the nonmined ecotype.
Ambiguous chance constrained programs: algorithms and applications

Chance constrained problems are optimization problems where one or more constraints ensure that the probability of one or more events occurring is less than a prescribed threshold. Although it is typically assumed that the distribution defining the chance constraints are known perfectly; in practice this assumption is unwarranted. We study chance constrained problems where the underlying distributions are not completely specified and are assumed to belong to an uncertainty set Q . We call such problems "ambiguous chance constrained problems. " We focus primarily on the special case where the uncertainty set Q of the distributions is of the form Q=Q:rp Q,Q0 ≤b , where ρp denotes the Prohorov metric. We study single and two stage ambiguous chance constrained programs. The single stage ambiguous chance constrained problem is approximated by a robust sampled problem where each constraint is a robust constraint centered at a sample drawn according to the central measure Q0 . We show that the robust sampled problem is a good approximation for the ambiguous chance constrained problem with a high probability. This result is established using the Strassen-Dudley Representation Theorem. We also show that the robust sampled problem can be solved efficiently both in theory and in practice. Nemirovski and Shapiro [61] formulated two-stage convex chance constrained programs and proposed an ellipsoid-like iterative algorithm for the special case where the impact function f(x, h) is bi-affine. We show that this algorithm extends to bi-convex f(x, h ) in a fairly straightforward fashion. The complexity of the solution algorithm as well as the quality of its output are functions of the radius r of the largest Euclidean ball that can be inscribed in the polytope defined by a random set of linear inequalities generated by the algorithm [61]. In this dissertation we provide some guidance for selecting r. We develop an approximation algorithm to two-stage ambiguous chance constrained programs when the impact function f(x, h) is bi-affine and the extreme points of a certain "dual" polytope are known explicitly.
Constrained Regular Expressions in SPARQL

RDF is a knowledge representation language dedicated to the annotation of resources within the Semantic Web. Though RDF itself can be used as a query language for an RDF knowledge base (using RDF consequence), the need for added expressivity in queries has led to the definition of the SPARQL query language. SPARQL queries are defined on top of graph patterns that are basically RDF (and more precisely GRDF) graphs. To be able to characterize paths of arbitrary length in a query (e.g., "does there exist a trip from town A to town B using only trains and buses? "), we have already proposed the PRDF (for Path RDF) language, effectively mixing RDF reasonings with database-inspired regular paths. However, these queries do not allow expressing constraints on the internal nodes (e.g., "Moreover, one of the stops must provide a wireless connection."). To express these constraints, we present here an extension of RDF, called CRDF (for Constrained paths RDF). For this extension of RDF, we provide an abstract syntax and an extension of RDF semantics. We characterize query answering (the query is a CRDF graph, the knowledge base is an RDF graph) as a particular case of CRDF entailment that can be computed using some kind of graph homomorphism. Finally, we use CRDF graphs to generalize SPARQL graph patterns, defining the CSPARQL extension of that query language, and prove that the problem of query answering using only CRDF graphs is an NP-hard problem, and query answering thus remains a PSPACE-complete problem for CSPARQL.
The role of aesthetic experiential qualities for tourist satisfaction and loyalty

The aim of this study is to examine the role of aesthetic experiential qualities for tourist overall satisfaction and three types of loyalty. ,A national tourist route in Norway was chosen as an empirical context for this study. Totally, the role of five aesthetic experiential qualities were examined, namely, scenery, cleanliness harmony, art/architecture and genuineness. ,The findings reveal that the three aesthetic experiential qualities, scenery, harmony and genuineness, were all positively related to tourist overall satisfaction with the tourist road. Moreover, tourist overall satisfaction had a direct influence on three types of loyalty, referring to tourists’ intentions to recommend the tourist road to other, to revisit same tourist road and to visit similar tourist roads in the future. However, the findings reveal that only two aesthetic qualities, cleanliness and genuineness, had a direct effect on intention to revisit the same tourist road, and thus indicates a more complex explanatory pattern concerning tourist loyalty. ,This study is limited to five aesthetic experiential qualities in a specific nature-based tourist context. The results open up some of the areas for future research on the role of aesthetics in man-made environments (in addition to the natural environment) in nature-based tourism. When most of the other variables are similar, aesthetic experiential qualities may make a difference to a nature-based product’s performance, and thus provide the competitive edge. ,Destination managers and marketers should focus on aesthetic experiential qualities to increase tourist satisfaction and loyalty, and thereby strengthen a destination competitiveness and value creation. ,Responding to the need to focus on aesthetic experiential qualities in a nature-based tourism context, this study measures the effects of the aesthetic experiential qualities for tourist satisfaction and loyalty in an original destination setting.
Transitions to, and correlates of, suicidal ideation, plans, and unplanned and planned suicide attempts among 3,729 men and women with alcohol dependence.

OBJECTIVE Using a heuristic model of suicidal ideation and behavior, the two objectives were to identify correlates of (1) unique suicide-related outcomes (ideation, planning, planned attempt, unplanned attempt) and (2) specific transitions from one suicide-related category to the next. METHOD Analyses were conducted with data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), a six-site family pedigree study of individuals in treatment for alcoholism, their relatives, and control families. There were 3,729 subjects in the analysis; all were age 18 years or older with a diagnosis of current alcohol dependence according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised. Lifetime suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts were analyzed retrospectively. Correlates of each lifetime transition were analyzed using a series of multivariate logistic regressions. Multivariate multinomial regression analysis was used to examine correlates of each lifetime outcome. RESULTS Female gender is uniquely associated with transitions to unplanned and planned attempts. Independent depression and substance-induced depression are associated with transitions to ideation and planning, whereas alcohol-related aggression is correlated with transitions to unplanned attempts. Analyses of suicide-related outcomes show that women are at higher risk for unplanned and planned attempts. Substance use and impairment are related to suicidal plans and attempts but not ideation. Independent and substance-induced depressions are associated with each suicide-related outcome, whereas alcohol-related aggression is uniquely related to unplanned attempts. CONCLUSIONS Data underscore the heterogeneity of suicidal ideation and behavior among alcoholics and indicate the need to make clear distinctions between types of suicidal ideation and behavior in research and prevention efforts.
How Much Do Expected Stock Returns Vary Over Time? Answers From the Options Markets

This paper makes indirect inference about the time-variation in expected stock returns by comparing unconditional sample variances to estimates of expected conditional variances. The evidence reveals more predictability as more information is used, more reliable predictability in indexes than large common stocks, and no evidence that predictability has diminished over time. A "strong-form" analysis using options suggests that time-variation in market discount rates are economically important.
Underwater 3D capture using a low-cost commercial depth camera

This paper presents underwater 3D capture using a commercial depth camera. Previous underwater capture systems use ordinary cameras, and it is well-known that a calibration procedure is needed to handle refraction. The same is true for a depth camera being used underwater. We describe a calibration method that corrects the depth maps of refraction effects. Another challenge is that depth cameras use infrared light (IR) which is heavily attenuated in water. We demonstrate scanning is possible with commercial depth cameras for ranges up to 20 cm in water. The motivation for using a depth camera under water is the same as in air - it provides dense depth data and higher quality 3D reconstruction than multi-view stereo. Underwater 3D capture is being increasingly used in marine biology and oceanology; our approach offers exciting prospects for such applications. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first approach that successfully demonstrates underwater 3D capture using low cost depth cameras like Intel RealSense. We describe a complete system, including protective housing for the depth camera which is suitable for handheld use by a diver. Our main contribution is an easy-to-use calibration method, which we evaluate on exemplar data as well as 3D reconstructions in a lab aquarium. We also present initial results of ocean deployment.
Local depth patterns for fine-grained activity recognition in depth videos

Fine-grained activities are human activities involving small objects and small movements. Automatic recognition of such activities can prove useful for many applications, including detailed diarization of meetings and training sessions, assistive human-computer interaction and robotics interfaces. Existing approaches to fine-grained activity recognition typically leverage the combined use of multiple sensors including cameras, RFID tags, gyroscopes and accelerometers borne by the monitored people and target objects. Although effective, the downside of these solutions is that they require minute instrumentation of the environment that is intrusive and hard to scale. To this end, this paper investigates fine-grained activity recognition in a kitchen setting by solely using a depth camera. The primary contribution of this work is an aggregated depth descriptor that effectively captures the shape of the objects and the actors. Experimental results over the challenging “50 Salads” dataset of kitchen activities show an accuracy comparable to that of a state-of-the-art approach based on multiple sensors, thereby validating a less intrusive and more practical way of monitoring fine-grained activities.
Exploring the relationship among leisure engagement, affective and cognitive leisure involvement, and subjective happiness: a mediating role of leisure satisfaction

ABSTRACT The current study was conducted to examine the relationship among leisure engagement, affective (i.e. attraction, centrality, resistance to change) and cognitive (i.e. equipment, knowledge) leisure involvement, leisure satisfaction, and subjective happiness. From a sample of 493 American scuba divers, we found that (1) the oft-supported leisure engagement-happiness relationship was rejected, and (2) subjective happiness was directly or indirectly associated with affective and cognitive leisure involvement factors. Specifically, leisure engagement did not show any significant relationship with subjective happiness. Rather, subjective happiness was associated with several affective and cognitive leisure involvement factors. Attraction was associated with subjective happiness through leisure satisfaction, while the relationship between subjective happiness and centrality was negative. Equipment was positively and indirectly associated with subjective happiness whereas knowledge was directly linked to subjective happiness. These demonstrated that affective and cognitive involvement rather than leisure engagement are strongly associated with subjective happiness. Detailed theoretical interpretation and useful information for policy makers who develop leisure programmes aimed at enhancing public happiness will be provided.
Hidden Orders on Euronext: Nothing is quite as it seems

This paper is devoted to hidden order submission on Euronext, especially for the CAC40 stocks. The goal is twofold. On the one hand, we investigate the impact of hidden order use on market depth and pretrade transparency. From the order book rebuilding, we find that there are twice more quantities available in the 5 best limits than what traders can observe on the market screens. We also show that hidden depth in the top of the order book varies a lot all along the continuous session while displayed depth is quite stable. Furthermore, we highlight that short-term volatility affects significantly hidden depth magnitude. On the other hand, we compare hidden order placement with usual order submission. We analyze order aggressiveness and interactions between the order flow and the order book. Our results suggest that hidden order traders are mainly liquidity suppliers who focus especially on the 5 best limits of the order book. They also appear to focus on a given market side at a point in time and are not concerned with what happens on the opposite market side. Finally, we find evidence of splitting strategies for hidden orders placed below the best bid or ask price.
New Names for Known Things: On the Association of Novel Word Forms with Existing Semantic Information

The plasticity of the adult memory network for integrating novel word forms (lexemes) was investigated with whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG). We showed that spoken word forms of an (artificial) foreign language are integrated rapidly and successfully into existing lexical and conceptual memory networks. The new lexemes were learned in an untutored way, by pairing them frequently with one particular object (and thus meaning), and infrequently with 10 other objects (learned set). Other novel word forms were encountered just as often, but paired with many different objects (nonlearned set). Their impact on semantic memory was assessed with cross-modal priming, with novel word forms as primes and object pictures as targets. The MEG counterpart of the N400 (N400m) served as an indicator of a semantic (mis)match between words and pictures. Prior to learning, all novel words induced a pronounced N400m mismatch effect to the pictures. This component was strongly reduced after training for the learned novel lexemes only, and now closely resembled the brain's response to semantically related native-language words. This result cannot be explained by mere stimulus repetition or stimulus–stimulus association. Thus, learned novel words rapidly gained access to existing conceptual representations, as effectively as related native-language words. This association of novel lexemes and conceptual information happened fast and almost without effort. Neural networks mediating these integration processes were found within left temporal lobe, an area typically described as one of the main generators of the N400 response.