Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Filtering Methods on a Very Sparse Reddit Recommendation Dataset

The research question in this thesis concerns how accurately it is possible to estimate users’ future votes based on their voting history when votes can only be for or against (upvotes or downvotes). This estimation is done on a large and very sparse dataset of over 23 million votes gathered from the website Reddit, which is a very popular social news and entertainment website where users may vote content up or down. Since over 84% of all the votes are upvotes, downvote estimation is made even more difficult. Similar to the Netflix Prize, collaborative filtering (CF) methods can be used to approach this problem. The two main approaches in CF are neighborhood models and latent factor models. Models using both approaches are implemented and tested in this thesis. Neighborhood approach is implemented by using a k-nearest-neighbor (k-NN) classifier with 3 different types of feature vectors and latent factor models are represented by the classical Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and more advanced Variational Bayesian Principal Component Analysis (VBPCA). While both SVD and VBPCA are implemented with regularization, VBPCA also uses Bayesian inference methods by adding the noise term into the model and introducing prior distributions over the model parameters. For the experiments, the full Reddit dataset is preprocessed into 3 different sized datasets (k-cores), where the biggest dataset represents the full dataset after removing some noise and outliers and the smallest dataset represents the core of the data, i.e., the most active users and the most voted links. The middle dataset has some properties from both the small and the big dataset. All models are tested for each dataset and the results are measured using different metrics, most notably RMSE. VBPCA and linkbased k-NN model are shown to perform best on all datasets. While VBPCA is better in terms of downvote estimation for the small and the middle datasets, link-based k-NN performs best on the big dataset.
Effects of cultural practices on weed flora in Virginia (flue-cured) organic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.): green manure and irrigation systems

Organic tobacco is a new industrial crop. Field experiments were conducted, during 2005-2006, to determine the effects of irrigation system and green manure on weed flora in organic tobacco crops (Nicotiana tabacum cv. NC 71). The experiments were designed as a split plot design with 4 replicates, 2 main plots (drip and sprinkler irrigation), and 3 sub-plots (vetch and red clover as green manure, and control). The greatest number and dry weight of weeds was observed in sprinkler irrigation. Our results indicate that weed distribution under drip and sprinkler irrigation is related not only to the surface soil water content but also to competition from the crop for water and light. Moreover, there were no significant differences between vetch, red clover, and the control in terms of number of weeds at site 1. In addition, at site 2, the lowest number of weeds was found in red clover plots. The main reason for weed suppression at site 2 may be attributed to the amount of red clover incorporated into the soil, 390 kg ha-1 and 270 kg ha-1, for site 2 and site 1, respectively. Red clover strongly inhibited germination and growth of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv. ) but only at the first sample date after transplanting of tobacco (35 days after transplanting). These results indicated that green manure and drip irrigation could be used for the suppression of weeds in organic row-crops.
Persuasion Knowledge: A Cognitive Resource against Anti-Smoking Persuasion

The purpose of the paper is to explain resistance to anti-smoking persuasion by integrating persuasion knowledge as a cognitive resource that likely affects persuasive message efficiency. A research model was designed including an anti-smoking persuasive message, persuasion knowledge, coping self-efficacy and attitude certainty as predictors of resistance to anti-smoking persuasion. A survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 617 Tunisian smokers. The sample was divided into two subgroups: the first one was exposed to a high negative anti-smoking print ad; the second was exposed a low negative anti-smoking print ad. The constructs were measured on a 5 points’ Likert scales and were one-dimensional except for the resistance to persuasion scale that contained 3 attitudinal dimensions: cognitive, affective and behavioral. To assess the research model, the Partial Least Square (PLS) method was used. According to the findings, the print ads weren’t effective in activating persuasion knowledge. Nevertheless, persuasion knowledge was high and positively correlated with the cognitive and the behavioral component of resistance to the anti-smoking persuasion when channeled through attitude certainty.
Does Ambiguity Aversion Survive in Experimental Asset Markets?

Although a number of theoretical studies explain empirical puzzles in finance with ambiguity aversion, it is not a given that individual ambiguity attitudes survive in markets. In fact, despite ample evidence of ambiguity aversion in individual decision making, most studies find no or only limited ambiguity aversion in experimental financial markets, even when they exclude arbitrage. We argue that ambiguity effects in markets depend on market feedback and on a sufficiently strong bias toward ambiguity among the participants. Accordingly, we find significant ambiguity effects in low-feedback call markets for assets that provoke high ambiguity aversion, but no ambiguity effects in high-feedback double auctions.
Prevalence of hypertension and associated risk factors among Nomad Tribe groups Screening of Hypertension, Adiposities and ABO Blood Group among Select Nomad Tribes of Rajasthan, India

Background: Hypertension is strongly correlated with modifiable risk factors such as adiposities, age, stress, high salt intake, Overweight and obesity is conveniently determined from BMI and visceral adiposity is determined by waist circumference. On the other hand, genetic factor has been established as an important non–modifiable predisposing factor. And ABO blood group is one such factor which needs to be investigated. Objectives: To study the prevalence rate of hypertension and various associated risk factors among few select endogamous group of Tribal Population. Methods: Cross-sectional, Tribal population-based study, consisting of a total sample of twelve hundred and eighty-six discrete subjects of age ≥18 years was chosen. BMI, waist circumference, ABO blood group, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were determined and correlated with each other. Results: The results were analyzed by applying correlation analysis and chi-square test. This study revealed that the prevalence of hypertension was high among the entire select tribe groups but seen highest in frequency in Bhopa (31%). It further showed that the subjects with blood group B had high blood pressure in the entire tribal groups except Bhopa Tribe. Conclusion: This study provides population based study on hypertensive tendency among select few endogamous tribal populations.
Effects of exogenous melatonin treatment on out-of-season ram fertility

Abstract Three field experiments were performed to determine the effects of melatonin implants on the fertility of rams. The experiments were performed on three breeds (Rasa Aragonesa, Assaf and Manchega) in three commercial farms in Spain. Melatonin-treated rams (M) and non-implanted control rams (C) mated either ewes oestrous-induced with FGA intravaginal sponges (Rasa Aragonesa and Assaf farms) or melatonin-treated ewes during the anoestrous period (Manchega farm). Scrotal circumference (SC) was measured at melatonin implantation and at ram introduction (nearly 45 d later). Lambing rate, litter size, and fecundity were recorded at parturition. Melatonin implants in rams increased the number of lambs born per ewe in Rasa Aragonesa (19%), Assaf (9%), and Manchega (7%) because of the higher lambing rates exhibited by ewes mated with melatonin-treated rams (Rasa Aragonesa: 80.2% vs 70.5%, P<0.05; Assaf: 74.2% vs 68.0%, NS; Manchega: 90.0% vs 81.5%, P<0.05; for M and C groups, respectively). As a result, the number of extra lambs born per treated ewe was 0.17, 0.10, and 0.10 in the Rasa Aragonesa, Assaf, and Manchega ewes, respectively. In the M and C groups of Rasa Aragonesa rams, mean scrotal circumference increased significantly between the start of the experiments and the onset of mating, but the two groups did not differ significantly at the implantation or at the onset of mating. In the melatonin-treated and control Assaf rams, scrotal circumference increased over the course of the experiments but, at the onset of mating, the melatonin-treated rams had higher SC than did the control rams. Melatonin-treated Manchega rams had scrotal circumferences that were significantly greater than those of the control rams. In the Rasa Aragonesa and Manchega breeds, treating rams using melatonin implants significantly increased the net lamb production of ewes in field conditions. In the Assaf breed, the number of extra lambs born per ewe mated with melatonin treated rams was lower than in the other breeds, even though rams exhibited a significant increase in scrotal circumference. Further research involving the study of semen quality has been planned.
A Study on the Frequency of Occurrence and Usage of Anglicism in Speech of Young Iranian Telegram Users

This paper investigates the frequency of occurrence of English borrowed words in terms of three variables of age, gender, and educational status. To do so, a corpus including the extant files of participants in a target group of telegram social networking was selected and analyzed. The quantitative study of the data shows that the occurrence of the loanwords is much more frequent in the speech of both youngster and highly educated telegram users. The results indicated that Persian speakers' tendency to employ more Anglicism in particular functional domains can be justified in terms of gender differentiation. In short, the results of this study highlights that Telegram social networking inter alia expedites the ongoing process of loan word influx into Persian language.
On the subject marker in Kinyarwanda

This article examines the morphosyntactic representation of the subject agreement marker (SM) in null subject constructions in the Bantu language Kinyarwanda. Three prominent analyses are compared. The first analysis treats the SM in null subject constructions as a pronoun which receives the subject theta role in the morphology. The second approach analyses the SM as a syntactic pronoun, i.e. as a determiner phrase (DP) which receives its theta role in [Spec, V] and then moves to [Spec, T]. The third analysis is based on the theory of pro, which assumes that the subject theta role in null subject constructions is assigned to a phonetically unrealised pronoun. According to the pro-theory, the SM is simply a reflex of agreement between the verb and the null subject pro. The paper shows that the first analysis, which treats the SM as a morphological pronoun, must be rejected for Kinyarwanda on empirical grounds. In contrast, the paper argues that both remaining alternatives represent feasible accounts. The study identifies the empirical predictions and theoretical consequences which are associated with each of these two competing alternatives.
Recent shrinkage and hydrological response of Hailuogou glacier, a monsoon temperate glacier on the east slope of Mount Gongga, China

Temperate glaciers are more sensitive to climate changes than polar or continental glaciers, and can drive remarkable runoff variation in local water catchments. Here we present recent glacier shrinkage and runoff change for Hailuogou glacier, a typical monsoon temperate glacier on the east slope of Mount Gongga (Minya Konga), China. The surface area of Hailuogou glacier has decreased by 3.5% (0.92 km(2)) between 1966 (aerial photographs) and 2007 (ASTER images). Flow measurements at a stream gauge about 500 m down-glacier commencing in 1994 display a remarkable increase in annual runoff (mostly during July September) since 1999. Annual runoff over the same period in a non-glacierized but forested subcatchment (9.17 km(2)) did not experience significant change. By separating the daily rainfall component from the daily total discharge, monthly catchment water-balance series were calculated for the period 1994-2005, which shows an increasing trend of glacier storage loss. We concluded that air-temperature rise (with a trend of +0.2 degrees C (10a)(-1) between 1988 and 2005, recorded at nearby weather stations) has had an increased effect on glacier mass loss and river runoff change during the past 20 years.
Bite force in vertebrates: opportunities and caveats for use of a nonpareil whole-animal performance measure

Measurements of whole-organism performance traits have been useful in studies of adaptation and phenotype– environment correlations. Bite force capacities may be tightly linked to both the type and magnitude of the ecological challenges of food acquisition, mate acquisition, and antipredation in vertebrates. In the present study, we present technical details on bite meters and on measuring bite forces. The ability to take reliable measurements depends on specific features of the measuring device and on where in the mouth the bite is applied. Using both previously available and original data, we demonstrate several ecologically and evolutionarily relevant features of bite force measurements. First, maximal bite forces are repeatable among individuals across all vertebrates studied to date. Second, in ectotherms such as lizards, maximal bite forces are affected by body temperature and motivational states. Third, bite forces are strongly correlated with head size and shape. Fourth, bite forces correlate with features of prey of vertebrates. Finally, bite forces are linked to male dominance and correlated with social-display structures. Thus, bite force performance measures can be used as ‘traits’, and thus be used in integrative studies at multiple levels of organismal biology. Accordingly, bite force data will help our understanding of the functions, capacities, and evolution of jaw–cranial musculoskeletal systems. Moreover, a plethora of opportunities exist for the use of bite force measurements, and if methods are carefully applied, several levels of organismal and ecological organization can be integrated to aid our understanding of the ecology and evolution of vertebrate taxa. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 93, 709–720.
Variation in Nutrient Release of Polymer-Coated Fertilizers

Polymer-coated fertilizers (PCF) are used primarily in horticultural plant production. However, interest in using these fertilizers in forest tree nurseries has increased over the last decade. Compared to immediately-available forms of fertilizer and other controlled-release fertilizer types, PCF tend to release nutrients in a relatively consistent flow over time. This helps to improve efficiency of fertilizer use. Nutrient release from PCF is primarily dependent on media temperature; an estimated timeframe for nutrient release at a specific temperature is provided by the manufacturer. Although many different products fall into the general category of PCF, the actual polymer material used varies among products. This affects the degree to which nutrients are released over time. Additionally, timeframes for nutrient release are simply estimates provided by the manufacturer based on lab results, and actual release under operational conditions may deviate considerably from these estimates. There is also considerable variation in release of individual nutrient ions over time from PCF. For instance, many products release a large percentage of available nitrogen soon after application, while release of phosphorus is delayed. Because timing of nutrient release can be critical to successfully using PCF in forest tree nurseries, differences among products should be understood by nursery growers when incorporating various types of PCF into production.Individual papers from this publication
Surface Reconstruction and Discontinuity Detection: A Fast Hierarchical Approach on a Two-Dimensional Mesh

Recently multigrid techniques have been proposed for solving low-level vision problems in optimal time (i.e. time proportional to the number of pixels). In the present work this method is extended to incorporate a discontinuity detection process cooperating with the smoothing phase on all scales. Activation of line element detectors that signal the presence of relevant discontinuities is based on information gathered from neighboring points at the same and different scales. Because the required computation is local, parallelism can be profitably used. A mapping of the required data structure onto a two dimensional mesh of processors is suggested. Domain decomposition is shown to be efficient on MIMD computers capable of containing many individual cells in each processor. Some examples of the proposed multiscale solution techniques are shown for two different applications. In the first case a surface is reconstructed from first derivative information (extracted from the intensity data), in the second case from noisy depth constraints.
Agency and communication in IMF conditional lending.

AbstractThe combination of special interest politics (agency problems) and informationalasymmetries presents serious problems as the implementation of Fund conditionalityis concerned. In this paper we focus on the role that the transmission of informationbetween the IMF and the borrowing government has for the design of the mosteﬃcient "incentive contract. " Speciﬁcally, we ﬁnd that when agency problems areespecially severe, and/or IMF information is very valuable, a centralized control isindeed optimal (conventional conditionality). To the contrary, when local knowledgeis more important than the agency bias we expect delegation (ownership) to be theoptimal incentive scheme. Keywords: IMF conditionality, delegation, communicationJEL Classiﬁcation: D82, F33, N2. ∗ A preliminary verison of this paper was presented at the ASSET 2008 meeting (EUI), Silvaplana2008 Workshop on Political Economy, Bank of Finland monthly research seminar (Helsinky, 2008), theAnnual Meeting of the Political Economy of International Organizations (Ascona, 2008). Correspondingauthor: Silvia Marchesi, Dipartimento di Economia Politica, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, I-20126 Milano.Tel. +39 02 6448 3057; Fax. +39 02 6448 3085; E-mail: silvia.marchesi@unimib.it.
The Index of Cognitive Activity as a Measure of Cognitive Processing Load in Dual Task Settings

Increases in pupil size have long been used as an indicator of cognitive load. Recently, the Index of Cognitive Activity (ICA), a novel pupillometric measure has received increased attention. The ICA measures the frequency of rapid pupil dilations, and is an interesting complementary measure to overall pupil size because it disentangles the pupil response to cognitive activity from effects of light input. As such, it has been evaluated as a useful measure of processing load in dual task settings coordinating language comprehension and driving. However, the cognitive underpinnings of pupillometry, and any differences between rapid small dilations as measured by the ICA and overall effects on pupil size are still poorly understood. Earlier work has observed that the ICA and overall pupil size may not always behave in the same way, reporting an increase in overall pupil size but decrease in ICA in a dual task setting. To further investigate this, we systematically tested two new dual-task combinations, combining both language comprehension and simulated driving with a memory task. Our findings confirm that more difficult linguistic processing is reflected in a larger ICA. More importantly, however, the dual task settings did not result in an increase in the ICA as compared to the single task, and, consistent with earlier findings, showed a significant decrease with a more difficult secondary task. This contrasts with our findings for pupil size, which showed an increase with greater secondary task difficulty in both tasks. Our results are compatible with the idea that although both pupillometry measures are indicators of cognitive load, they reflect different cognitive and neuronal processes in dual task situations.
Szekrényes Rate of Laminated Composites The Influence of Crack Length and Delamination Width on the Mode-III Energy Release

In this article, the modified split-cantilever beam (MSCB) is applied to investigate the dependence of the mode-III energy release rate (at crack initiation) on the crack length and the specimen width. The main goal of this study is to apply the same specimen geometry to both double-cantilever beam and end-notched flexure systems. The energy release rate of the specimen was calculated by an improved beam theory scheme, which was used to reduce the experimental data. The obtained results are comparable to those obtained by mode-I and mode-II tests, and they indicate the important role of the MSCB specimen. The results show that the energy release rate decreases significantly with the initial crack length and there is no crack length where the energy release rate becomes independent of it.
Modeling spatiotemporal trends in the productivity of North Pacific Salmon

Fisheries management of North Pacific salmon stocks greatly relies on the understanding of changes in spawning and survival over time and across habitats. Underlying the yearly observed number of surviving salmon is a productivity parameter that cannot be directly measured and, moreover, is masked by short‐term changes in the observed population. We model the unobserved productivity of chum, sockeye, and two broodlines of pink salmon along the Pacific Coast of North America as a smoothly varying function of time and spatial location based on the Ricker spawner–recruit model of salmon reproduction. The candidate models belong to the class of Gaussian additive models and require the selection of smoothing parameters that control the trade‐off between fit to the data and smoothness of the estimated functions. We select the smoothing parameters by optimizing the pseudo Bayes information criterion, which incorporates prior knowledge about the degree of smoothness of the estimated functions and is well suited for detecting low‐frequency oscillations in the data, such as those due to long‐term climate effects. Comparing the candidate models based on fit and model parsimony via the Akaike information criterion, we find that the productivity components of time and spatial location may be related nonlinearly. We find evidence of an increase in productivity in the mid‐1970s for chum and sockeye populations and a north–south inverse relationship in productivity among sockeye and odd‐year pink salmon stocks. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.