Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prenatal exposure to predation affects predator recognition learning via lateralization plasticity

Prey with cerebral lateralization often shows a bias in escape direction and asymmetrical use of eyes for scanning. Such asymmetries are likely to cause ecological disadvantages when, for example, predators attack from the side in which the prey is more susceptible. However, lateralized individuals are diffuse in many species and, paradoxically, their frequency increases via developmental plasticity in environments with high-predation risk. Using wood frog tadpoles, Lithobates sylvaticus, we tested the hypothesis that cerebral lateralization enhances predator recognition learning and thus overcomes the costs of behavioral asymmetries in high predation risk environments. In the first experiment, we found tadpoles exposed to risk as embryos developed more intense lateralization in a rotational test compared to predator-naive controls. Risk exposure led to the more frequent development of clockwise swimming preference. In the second experiment, we found that tadpoles exhibiting no behavioral lateralization and tadpoles with marked clockwise swimming preference learned to recognize the novel predator odor, with the latter showing a better performance as predicted. Tadpoles with anticlockwise swimming preference did not learn to associate the predator with risk. Exposure to a high-risk environment during early ontogeny appears to favor the development of either a lateralization phenotype with refined predator recognition learning skills, or, to a lesser extent, a lateralization phenotype with poor predator recognition learning skills. Such individuals likely cope with predation using mechanisms other than learning.
Can Measurements of the Near‐Infrared Solar Spectral Irradiance be Reconciled? A New Ground‐Based Assessment Between 4,000 and 10,000 cm−1

The near‐infrared solar spectral irradiance (SSI) is of vital importance for understanding the Earth's radiation budget, and in Earth observation applications. Differences between previously published solar spectra (including the commonly used ATLAS3 spectrum) reach up to 10% at the low wavenumber end of the 4,000–10,000 cm−1 (2.5–1 μm) spectral region. The implications for the atmospheric sciences are significant, since this spectral region contains 25% of the incoming total solar irradiance. This work details an updated analysis of the CAVIAR SSI, featuring additional analysis techniques and an updated uncertainty budget using a Monte Carlo method. We report good consistency with ATLAS3 in the 7,000–10,000 cm−1 region where there is confidence in these results due to agreement with other spectra, but ~7% lower in the 4,000–7,000 cm−1 region, in general agreement with several other analyses.
Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Capabilities for Binary Classification of Polar Mesocyclones in Satellite Mosaics

Polar mesocyclones (MCs) are small marine atmospheric vortices. The class of intense MCs, called polar lows, are accompanied by extremely strong surface winds and heat fluxes and thus largely influencing deep ocean water formation in the polar regions. Accurate detection of polar mesocyclones in high-resolution satellite data, while challenging, is a time-consuming task, when performed manually. Existing algorithms for the automatic detection of polar mesocyclones are based on the conventional analysis of patterns of cloudiness and they involve different empirically defined thresholds of geophysical variables. As a result, various detection methods typically reveal very different results when applied to a single dataset. We develop a conceptually novel approach for the detection of MCs based on the use of deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs). As a first step, we demonstrate that DCNN model is capable of performing binary classification of 500 × 500 km patches of satellite images regarding MC patterns presence in it. The training dataset is based on the reference database of MCs manually tracked in the Southern Hemisphere from satellite mosaics. We use a subset of this database with MC diameters falling in the range of 200–400 km. This dataset is further used for testing several different DCNN setups, specifically, DCNN built “from scratch”, DCNN based on VGG16 pre-trained weights also engaging the Transfer Learning technique, and DCNN based on VGG16 with Fine Tuning technique. Each of these networks is further applied to both infrared (IR) and a combination of infrared and water vapor (IR + WV) satellite imagery. The best skills (97% in terms of the binary classification accuracy score) is achieved with the model that averages the estimates of the ensemble of different DCNNs. The algorithm can be further extended to the automatic identification and tracking numerical scheme and applied to other atmospheric phenomena that are characterized by a distinct signature in satellite imagery.
THE GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE HARD EXCESS. II. ANALYSIS OF THE LOCAL POPULATION OF RADIO-QUIET AGNs

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) show evidence for reprocessing gas, outflowing from the accreting black hole. The combined effects of absorption and scattering from the circumnuclear material likely explain the “hard excess” of X-ray emission above 20 keV, compared with the extrapolation of spectra from lower X-ray energies. In a recent Suzaku study, we established that the ubiquitous hard excess in hard, X-ray-selected, radio-quiet type 1 AGNs is consistent with a reprocessing of the X-ray continuum in an ensemble of clouds, located tens to hundreds of gravitational radii from the nuclear black hole. Here we add hard X-ray-selected, type 2 AGNs to extend our original study and show that the gross X-ray spectral properties of the entire local population of radio-quiet AGNs may be described by a simple unified scheme. We find a broad, continuous distribution of spectral hardness ratio and Fe Kα equivalent width across all AGN types, which can be reproduced by varying the observer's sightline through a single, simple model cloud ensemble, provided that the radiative transfer through the model cloud distribution includes not only photoelectric absorption but also three-dimensional (3D) Compton scattering. Variation in other parameters of the cloud distribution, such as column density or ionization, should be expected between AGNs, but such variation is not required to explain the gross X-ray spectral properties.
Sampling and Bayes' inference in scientific modelling and robustness

Abstract : Scientific learning is an iterative process employing Criticism and Estimation. Correspondingly the formulated model factors into two complimentary parts - a predictive part allowing model criticism, and a Bayes posterior part allowing estimation. Implications for significance tests, the theory of precise measurement, and for ridge estimates are considered. Predictive checking functions for transformation, serial correlation, bad values, and their relation with Bayesian options are considered. Robustness is seen from a Bayesian viewpoint and examples are given. For the bad value problem a comparison with M estimators is made. (Author)
BSE risk in bovine intestines and mesentery

Bovine intestines and mesenteries in the European Union (EU) have to be removed from the food and feed chain. The opinion provides a quantitative assessment of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) infectious load that might enter the food and feed chain yearly if bovine intestine and mesentery from animals born and raised in the EU would be re-allowed for consumption. Data on the evolution of the BSE infectious titre; and of the weight of histological structures accumulating BSE infectivity, were collected. The Cattle TSE Monitoring Model (C-TSEMM) was used to estimate the number of BSE infected cattle entering undetected in the food and feed chain yearly. A model named TSEi was developed to estimates the BSE infectious load in tissues from infected animals at different ages and the total yearly infectious load that could enter the food and feed chain in the EU27. In BSE infected cattle, the infectivity associated with intestine and mesentery reaches its maximum in animals younger than 18 months and then progressively declines to a minimum value in animals older than 60 months. Due to the decline of the BSE prevalence in the EU, between 2007 and 2012, the yearly amount of BSE infectivity associated with intestine and mesentery (sent to destruction) from animals entering the food and feed chain was reduced by a factor of 10. However, over this period, the maximum level of exposure to the BSE agent for individuals that would have consumed these tissues remained stable. Finally, the TSEi model indicated that the removal of the last four metres of the small intestine and of the caecum from the food and feed chain would result in a major reduction of the BSE exposure risk associated with intestine and mesentery in cattle. © European Food Safety Authority, 2014
DRIFT-INDUCED DECELERATION OF SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLES

We investigate the deceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) during their propagation from the Sun through interplanetary space, in the presence of weak to strong scattering in a Parker spiral configuration, using relativistic full orbit test particle simulations. The calculations retain all three spatial variables describing particles’ trajectories, allowing us to model any transport across the magnetic field. Large energy change is shown to occur for protons, due to the combined effect of standard adiabatic deceleration and a significant contribution from particle drift in the direction opposite to that of the solar wind electric field. The latter drift-induced deceleration is found to have a stronger effect for SEP energies than for galactic cosmic rays. The kinetic energy of protons injected at 1 MeV is found to be reduced by between 35% and 90% after four days, and for protons injected at 100 MeV by between 20% and 55%. The overall degree of deceleration is a weak function of the scattering mean free path, showing that, although adiabatic deceleration plays a role, a large contribution is due to particle drift. Current SEP transport models are found to account for drift-induced deceleration in an approximate way and their accuracy will need to be assessed in future work.
Radboud University Object Localization and Path Prediction Using Radar and Other Sources Towards Autonomous Shipping

In this master thesis we will explore the first steps on the road to creating an autonomous ship. We will create and test multiple path prediction algorithms, which can, based on previous positions, forecast the next positions of a ship. As a result, we will create a novel system that outperforms all benchmarked algorithms, although the performance seems to be unfit for live deployment yet. Besides path predictions, we will also train and test several recent bounding-box prediction algorithms on a custom dataset containing radar images. Results show that the newer neural network based systems significantly outperform the tested classical method, but, like the tested path prediction algorithms, they are not at the required level for autonomous deployment.
1 Hedonic Durability

The hedonic durability of an item refers to how fast one’s happiness with the item fades over time. It is an important variable because it influences how much happiness the item can bring to the person. Yet it is difficult for researchers to assess the hedonic durability of items because it is difficult to track consumers’ happiness with items over time. This paper introduces a simple survey method the Hedonic Durability Questionnaire (HDQ) to estimate hedonic durability. We test the validity of the HDQ by demonstrating that it produces results similar to those produced by more elaborate methods (Studies 1 and 2), and results consistent with predictions derived from existing literature on hedonic adaptation (Studies 3 and 4). Finally, we apply the HDQ to a variety of items in everyday life (Study 5) and discuss implications for measuring total happiness.
Review on Android and Smartphone Security

Android has the biggest market share among all Smartphone operating system. Security is one of the main concerns for Smartphone users today. As the power and features of Smartphone’s increase, so has their vulnerability for attacks by viruses etc. Perhaps android is more secured operating system than any other Smartphone operating system today. Android has very few restrictions for developer, increases the security risk for end users. In this paper we have reviewed android security model, application level security and security issues in the Android based Smartphone.
VARIATIONS OF THE STELLAR INITIAL MASS FUNCTION IN THE PROGENITORS OF MASSIVE EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES AND IN EXTREME STARBURST ENVIRONMENTS

We examine variations of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in extreme environments within the formalism derived by Hennebelle & Chabrier. We focus on conditions encountered in progenitors of massive early-type galaxies and starburst regions. We show that, when applying the concept of turbulent Jeans mass as the characteristic mass for fragmentation in a turbulent medium, the peak of the IMF in such environments is shifted toward smaller masses, leading to a bottom-heavy IMF, as suggested by various observations. In very dense and turbulent environments, we predict that the high-mass tail of the IMF can become even steeper than the standard Salpeter IMF, with a limit for the power-law exponent α ≃ −2.7, in agreement with recent observational determinations. This steepening is a direct consequence of the high densities and Mach values in such regions but also of the time dependence of the fragmentation process, as incorporated in the Hennebelle–Chabrier theory. We provide analytical parameterizations of these IMFs in such environments to be used in galaxy evolution calculations. We also calculate the star-formation rates and the mass-to-light ratios expected under such extreme conditions and show that they agree well with the values inferred in starburst environments and massive high-redshift galaxies. This reinforces the paradigm of star formation as being a universal process, i.e., the direct outcome of gravitationally unstable fluctuations in a density field initially generated by large-scale, shock-dominated turbulence. This globally enables us to infer the variations of the stellar IMF and related properties for atypical galactic conditions.
The rhetoric and reality of research reputation: ‘fur coat and no knickers’

Evaluation systems including global university rankings have been recently introduced as mechanisms for assessing overall academic quality, appraising research reputation and as a basis for funding and policy decisions. This study explores the concept of research reputation in terms of how it is defined, constituted and assessed. Eight professor-level academics from a range of disciplines based at European universities were interviewed. The findings highlight the subjective and multidimensional nature of research reputation, the role of informal and formal communications in creating and building research reputation, and the inter-relationships between academics, departments and institutions in enabling research reputation, individually and collectively. Given the problematic nature of research reputation, it is critical that higher education institutions engage in effective strategic reputation management at all levels. Consistency of understanding of research reputation should also exist among all users of ranking systems, particularly those involved in higher education policy and research strategy decision-making.
Jupiter – friend or foe ? I : the asteroids Journal Item

The asteroids are a major source of potential impactors on the Earth today. It has long been assumed that the giant planet Jupiter acts as a shield, significantly lowering the impact rate on the Earth from both cometary and asteroidal bodies. Such shielding, it is claimed, enabled the development and evolution of life in a collisional environment, which is not overly hostile. The reduced frequency of impacts, and of related mass extinctions, would have allowed life the time to thrive, where it would otherwise have been suppressed. However, in the past, little work has been carried out to examine the validity of this idea. In the first of several papers, we examine the degree to which the impact risk resulting from a population representative of the asteroids is enhanced or reduced by the presence of a giant planet, in an attempt to understand fully the impact regime under which life on Earth developed. Our results show that the situation is far less clear cut that has previously been assumed, that is, the presence of a giant planet can act to enhance the impact rate of asteroids on the Earth significantly. Received 12 March 2008, accepted 30 May 2008, first published online 23 July 2008
Screening for depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress in pre-operative surgical patients: A psychometric analysis of the Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ-4)

Editorial Office, WHO-CC • Clinical Health Promotion Centre • Bispebjerg & Frederiksberg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Copyright © Clinical Health Promotion Research and Best Practice for patients, staff and community, 2014 Editorial Office, WHO-CC • Clinical Health Promotion Centre • Bispebjerg & Frederiksberg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Copyright © Clinical Health Promotion Research and Best Practice for patients, staff and community, 2014 Clin Health Promot 2014; 4:5-14 Although data exist that demonstrate psychometric quality of brief depression and anxiety screening instruments in the general medical field (3;7), evidence is lacking for the perioperative setting.
Universality of Poisson-driven plasma fluctuations in the Alcator C-Mod scrape-off layer

Large-amplitude, intermittent fluctuations are ubiquitous in the boundary region of magnetically confined plasmas and lead to detrimental plasma-wall interactions in the next-generation, high duty cycle fusion power experiments. Using gas puff imaging data time series from the scrape-off layer in the Alcator C-Mod device, it is here demonstrated that the large-amplitude fluctuations can be described as a super-position of pulses with fixed shape and constant duration. By applying a new deconvolution algorithm on the data time series with a two-sided exponential pulse function, the arrival times and amplitudes of the pulses can be estimated and the measurement time series can be reconstructed with high accuracy. The pulse amplitudes are shown to follow an exponential distribution. The waiting times between pulses are uncorrelated, their distribution has an exponential tail, and the number of arrivals is a linear function of time. This demonstrates that pulse arrivals follow a homogeneous Poisson process. Identical statistical properties apply to both ohmic and high confinement mode plasmas, clearly demonstrating universality of the fluctuation statistics in the boundary region of Alcator C-Mod.
A Hyperfine-resolved Rotation–Vibration Line List of Ammonia (NH3)

A comprehensive, hyperfine-resolved rotation–vibration line list for the ammonia molecule (14NH3) is presented. The line list, which considers hyperfine nuclear quadrupole coupling effects, has been computed using robust, first principles methodologies based on a highly accurate empirically refined potential energy surface. Transitions between levels with energies below 8000 cm−1 and total angular momentum F ≤ 14 are considered. The line list shows excellent agreement with a range of experimental data and will significantly assist future high-resolution measurements of NH3, both astronomically and in the laboratory.
Daily seasonality and stock market reforms in Spain

This paper addresses the consequences of Spanish Stock Exchange Reform on the seasonal patterns of daily asset excess returns. Before the Reform, positive abnormal average Monday excess returns are found. Possible causes are discussed and related with clearing and trading mechanisms. After the Reform daily seasonal effects disappear, suggesting an increase in the market's operational efficiency.
FORMALIZED PROOF, COMPUTATION, AND THE CONSTRUCTION PROBLEM IN ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY

This is an informal discussion of how the construction problem in alge- braic geometry, that is the problem of constructing algebraic varieties with various topological behaviors, motivates the search for methods of doing mathematics in a formal, machine-checked way. I also include a brief discussion of some of my work on the formalization of category theory within a ZFC-like environment in the Coq proof assistant.
Citizens as political participants: The myth of the active online audience?

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Temperature variations at diffuse and focused flow hydrothermal vent sites along the northern East Pacific Rise

In the decade following documented volcanic activity on the East Pacific Rise near 9°50′N, we monitored hydrothermal vent fluid temperature variations in conjunction with approximately yearly vent fluid sampling to better understand the processes and physical conditions that govern the evolution of seafloor hydrothermal systems. The temperature of both diffuse flow (low‐temperature) and focused flow (high‐temperature) vent fluids decreased significantly within several years of eruptions in 1991 and 1992. After mid‐1994, focused flow vents generally exhibited periods of relatively stable, slowly varying temperatures, with occasional high‐ and low‐temperature excursions lasting days to weeks. One such positive temperature excursion was associated with a crustal cracking event. Another with both positive and negative excursions demonstrated a subsurface connection between adjacent focused flow and diffuse flow vents. Diffuse flow vents exhibit much greater temperature variability than adjacent higher‐temperature vents. On timescales of a week or less, temperatures at a given position within a diffuse flow field often varied by 5°–10°C, synchronous with near‐bottom currents dominated by tidal and inertial forcing. On timescales of a week and longer, diffuse flow temperatures varied slowly and incoherently among different vent fields. At diffuse flow vent sites, the conceptual model of a thermal boundary layer immediately above the seafloor explains many of the temporal and spatial temperature variations observed within a single vent field. The thermal boundary layer is a lens of warm water injected from beneath the seafloor that is mixed and distended by lateral near‐bottom currents. The volume of the boundary layer is delineated by the position of mature communities of sessile (e.g., tubeworms) and relatively slow‐moving organisms (e.g., mussels). Vertical flow rates of hydrothermal fluids exiting the seafloor at diffuse vents are less than lateral flow rates of near‐bottom currents (5–10 cm/s). The presence of a subsurface, shallow reservoir of warm hydrothermal fluids can explain differing temperature behaviors of adjacent diffuse flow and focused flow vents at 9°50′N. Different average temperatures and daily temperature ranges are explained by variable amounts of mixing of hydrothermal fluids with ambient seawater through subsurface conduits that have varying lateral permeability.