Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mean Field for the Stochastic Blockmodel: Optimization Landscape and Convergence Issues

Variational approximation has been widely used in large-scale Bayesian inference recently, the simplest kind of which involves imposing a mean field assumption to approximate complicated latent structures. Despite the computational scalability of mean field, theoretical studies of its loss function surface and the convergence behavior of iterative updates for optimizing the loss are far from complete. In this paper, we focus on the problem of community detection for a simple two-class Stochastic Blockmodel (SBM). Using batch co-ordinate ascent (BCAVI) for updates, we give a complete characterization of all the critical points and show different convergence behaviors with respect to initializations. When the parameters are known, we show a significant proportion of random initializations will converge to ground truth. On the other hand, when the parameters themselves need to be estimated, a random initialization will converge to an uninformative local optimum.
ARE POTENTIAL GAINS FROM ECONOMIC INTEGRATION POSSIBLE WITH MIGRATION

We present a general equilibrium model with migration of consumers. Then the theorems concerning gains from trade and from market integration in customs unions are revisited. The main idea invol ved in showing Pareto gains is the use of dispersed compensation. Two kinds of compensation mechanisms are used. The first uses lump sum transfers. The second assumes that the government can freeze prices and dividends and use a poll subsidy. J.E. L. Classification: D50, F15, F22. Correspondence to: Jaime Sempere, C.E. E. , El Colegio de Mexico, Camino al Ajusco 20, 01000 Mexico D. F. , Mexico. Telephone 6455955. Fax 6450464. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This paper is part of chapter 4 of my Ph. D. thesis submitted to the Economics Department of the European University Institute in Florence. It was presented at the Latin American Meeting of the Econometric Society in Tucuman in August 1993. The comments of my thesis examiners Alan Kirman, Peter Neary, Victor Norman, Rafael Repullo and especially Peter Hammond, as well as of numerous conference participants are gratefully acknowledged. I also thank Manuel Santos and Katherine Baer for many helpful suggestions. All errors and omissions remain my exclusive responsibility.
Assessment of Some Coagulation Parameters among Clients on Hormonal Contraceptive in a Tertiary Health Facility in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria

Background: Hormonal contraceptives are widely used, and contain different doses of estrogen and types of progestogen. However, these hormonal contraceptives may potentially be associated with some side effects of coagulopathy. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the Prothrombin Time (PT) and Partial Thromboplastin Time with Kaolin (PTTK) among clients on hormonal contraceptives. Method: This descriptive case-control study was conducted among clients on hormonal contraceptives. A total of 43 clients on hormonal contraceptives constituted the subjects. Twenty non-hormonal contraceptives users were monitored as controls. PTTK and PT was carried out on citrated samples from subjects and control participants using the Diagen kit for PTTK and PT. Results: The mean values for PT and PTTK of the contraceptive users was 15.6 ± 1.5 s and 36.4 ± 2.7 s respectively, while the mean value for the control group was 16.0 ± 1.2 s and 38.6 ± 3.9 s respectively. The PT and PTTK mean values of the contraceptives users although marginally lower among subjects compared to the control group (0.4 and 2.2 seconds) respectively. The bivariate analysis did not demonstrate any significant difference between the coagulation parameters of contraceptive users and control group (t = 0.702, p = 0.491 for PT; t = 1.732, p = 0.100 for PTTK). There was significant differences in the in the PT and PTTK values of hormonal contraceptive users based on age. There was a negative correlation between PT and duration of contraceptive use. Conclusion: There was no clinically significant differences between the values of coagulation parameters of contraceptives users and non-users. However, it is not conclusive whether long term use of modern hormonal contraceptives increases the risk of thrombosis. There is need for more studies to investigate the effect of long-term hormonal contraceptive use on the PT and PTTK.
Mobility and Mobilisation : Railways and the Spread of Social Movements

How do reductions in interaction costs shape the diffusion of social movements? In this paper, I use a natural experiment from Swedish history to answer this question. During the thirty-year period 1881-1910, Swedish society underwent two transformative developments: the large-scale roll-out of a national railway network and the nascence of social movements which came to dominate social and political spheres well into the twentieth century. Using event-study and instrumental variables methodologies, I document the causal impact of proximity to the newly constructed railway network on the spread and growth of membership in these social movements. Well-connected municipalities were more likely to host a local movement organisation and saw more rapid growth of membership per capita. The movement of individuals is key: results are driven by passenger arrivals into connected municipalities, not freight arrivals. I implement a market access framework to uncover the mechanisms underlying this result: by reducing least-cost distances between municipalities, railways intensified the influence exerted by neighbouring concentrations of membership, thereby enabling social contagion. I explore the interrelationships between movement types, and show that railway access reduced levels of strategic substitutability between different groups.
Sky Browser: Search for HDR Sky Maps

In a visual effects studio for movie production, sky maps play an important role for acting as a sky backdrop to a scene. The backdrop to a scene is often represented using a high-resolution sky map. This motivates the need for a large collection of sky maps to match various moods and lighting conditions. A comprehensive collection of images is not useful however, without a method of searching for desired images within that database. In this paper we deﬁne a feature space that supports an interactive search function for HDR sky maps, allowing users to ﬁnd ideal images based on its appearance. The set of features are automatically extracted from the sky maps in an ofﬂine pre-processing step, and are queried in real time for progressive browsing. The system uses unsupervised learning techniques, discarding the need for labelling a large set of existing sky maps
Copepod distribution in surface waters of the Drake Passage using Continuous Plankton Recorder and a Pump-Net onboard system

There is no single instrument that can sample quantitatively the complete spectrum of pelagic organisms, or even all the components of zooplankton. Mesh size is the main factor affecting species selectivity in the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR), implying a need to use multiple net systems to fully characterize a community. The spatial distribution of copepod communities in the water masses of the western and eastern sectors of Drake Passage were studied using, respectively, a CPR and a Pump Net onboard system. For this purpose, and assuming that copepod community size structures of each of the three water masses were similar in both the sectors studied, the possibility of complementing CPR results using a Pump-Net onboard system was evaluated. The latter system allows the estimation of absolute abundances and has the advantage of solving two problems associated with CPR, namely mesh clogging and low catching efficiency. The contribution of the nauplius forms and species accurately identified with both samplers was analyzed. Although Oithona similis dominated both communities, in the western sector small species made a greater contribution than Calanus simillimus, the opposite being true for the eastern sector. Nauplii and early copepodite stages of O. similis were missing from the CPR samples and represented between 69 and 79% of total copepod communities, whereas small calanoid copepods, C. simillimus copepodites and later stages of O. similis were inaccurately sampled by the CPR and represented between 14 and 18% of the copepod community. Hence, the Pump Net sampler is useful for complementing the semi-quantitative information of the CPR and for its calibration.
In situ measurement of survival and growth of Lophelia pertusa in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Growth rates of Lophelia pertusa were directly measured using stained coral fragments, deployed in situ for more than 1 yr on small transplant units. Survival of the fragments was quantified after deployment (1) within dense coral areas (high coral) and (2) on exposed bare substrate (no coral) in the same area as the reef. Samples of L. pertusa were collected from Viosca Knoll (430 to 520 m depth), northern Gulf of Mexico in July 2004, stained with Alizarin red, photographed and secured onto transplant units for redeployment. The transplants were recovered in September 2005 and per- cent polyp survival, growth (mm of linear extension) and number of new polyps were recorded. Sur- vival was high (>90%) for all transplant units and the average linear growth rate observed (~3.77 and 2.44 mm yr -1 for high coral and no coral sites, respectively) fell at the lower end of the published range for this species. There was no significant difference between any of the survival or growth parameters between sites. The stain bands on the coral sections illustrated double growth centers, which introduces an additional level of complexity when assessing growth through lateral banding patterns. Growth rates of L. pertusa have been inferred using various direct and indirect methods; however, this study represents the first direct measurement of in situ growth for this species.
Psychological Well-being in Parents of Paediatric Patients with TD 1 . Role of Family Conflict and Parental Fear of Children ’ s Self-injecting on Their Glycaemic Control and Psychological Well-being

Aims: This study aims to assess psychological well-being and life perceptions in parents of paediatric patients with T1D and to identify how the parents’ fear of children’s self-injecting and conflicts could influence the paediatric patients’ glycaemic control and well-being. Study Design: One-time point cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The participants were recruited from patients attending the Original Research Article Tremolada et al.; BJESBS, 19(1): 1-13, 2017; Article no.BJESBS. 30323 2 Paediatric Department of the Hospital of Bolzano (Italy) in 2011–2012. Methodology: Paediatric patients (n=59) with a mean age of 13.19 years (SD=3.26, range 8-18) and their parents were contacted during the check-ups and selfand proxy-reported questionnaires were administered. Parents were principally represented by mothers (n=48), married (79.7%) and with a medium perceived economic situation (54.2%). Results: Glycaemic control was severely inadequate, especially if paediatric patients were older at the time of assessment and younger at diagnosis and if parents declared more conflicts with them. Parental fear about their child’s self-injection of insulin was identified as a key element impacting externalising/internalising symptoms and on worries about the illness. Conclusion: By examining family conflicts and parenting practices, it will be possible to set up specific psycho-social interventions to increase adolescents’ treatment adherence and to mitigate the family conflicts and fears that may arise in the context of the daily management of the illness.
Antibiotic Resistance and Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Production of Escherichia coli Isolated from Irrigation Waters in Selected Urban Farms in Metro Manila, Philippines

Highly-polluted surface waters are increasingly used for irrigation in different agricultural settings because they have high nutrient content and are readily available. However, studies showed that they are reservoirs for the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this study, the resistance of 212 Escherichia coli isolates from irrigation water, soil, and vegetables in selected urban farms in Metro Manila, Philippines was evaluated. Results showed that antibiotic resistance was more prevalent in water (67.3%) compared to soil (56.4%) and vegetable (61.5%) isolates. Resistance to tetracycline was the highest among water (45.6%) and vegetable (42.3%) isolates while ampicillin resistance was the highest among soil isolates (33.3%). Multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates were also observed and they were more prevalent in water (25.3%) compared to soil (2.8%) and vegetable (8.4%) isolates. Interestingly, there are patterns of antibiotic resistance that were common to isolates from different samples. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production (ESBL) was also investigated and genes were observed to be present in 13 isolates. This provides circumstantial evidence that highly-polluted surface waters harbor antibiotic-resistant and MDR E. coli that may be potentially transferred to primary production environments during their application for irrigation purposes.
GRAPH THEORETICAL METHODS TO STUDY CONTROLLABILITY AND LEADER SELECTION FOR DEAD-TIME SYSTEMS

In this article a graph theoretical approach is employed to study some specifications of dynamic systems with time delay in the inputs and states, such as structural controllability and observability. First, the zero and non-zero parameters of a proposed system have been determined, next the general structure of the system is presented by a graph which is constructed by non-zero parameters. The structural controllability and observability of the system is investigated using the corresponding graph. Our results are expressed for multi-agents systems with dead-time. As an application we find a minimum set of leaders to control a given multi-agent system.
A combined experimental-theoretical study of the ligW-catalyzed decarboxylation of 5-carboxyvanillate in the metabolic pathway for lignin degradation

Although it is a member of the amidohydrolase superfamily, LigW catalyzes the nonoxidative decarboxylation of 5-carboxyvanillate to form vanillate in the metabolic pathway for bacterial lignin degradation. We now show that membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) can be used to measure transient CO2 concentrations in real time, thereby permitting us to establish that C–C bond cleavage proceeds to give CO2 rather than HCO3– as the initial product in the LigW-catalyzed reaction. Thus, incubation of LigW at pH 7.0 with the substrate 5-carboxyvanillate results in an initial burst of CO2 formation that gradually decreases to an equilibrium value as CO2 is nonenzymatically hydrated to HCO3–. The burst of CO2 is completely eliminated with the simultaneous addition of substrate and excess carbonic anhydrase to the enzyme, demonstrating that CO2 is the initial reaction product. This finding is fully consistent with the results of density functional theory calculations, which also provide support for a mechanism in .
Barriers to Adherence to Diet and Exercise Recommendation amongst Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Diet modification and exercise require commitment to long term established behavioural change and are often very difficult. The study aimed at assessing the barriers to adherence to diet and exercise recommendations among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients seeking healthcare at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital, Ghana. A sample size of 212 respondents aged ≥30 years who have been diagnosed of Type 2 DM for at least one year were sampled using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The study revealed that rates of non-adherence were 34.9% and 19.3% for diet and exercise respectively. Reasons for exercise non-adherence included inadequate understanding about exercise (66.0%), perception that exercise could potentially exacerbate their illness (46.4%), being far away from home (16.5%) and busy schedule (15.5%) , while the main reasons for non-adherence to diet were inadequate understanding about dietary recommendations (52.3%), eating outside home (32.4%), poor self-control (17.6%), financial constraints (14.9) and situation at home (12.1%). The study also found a strong positive correlation (r=0.984*, p<0.05) between respondents’ age and adherence to exercise recommendation. It is recommended that education on the type of exercise, time and duration of the exercise and the different food combinations for the Type 2 DM should be intensified in diabetic clinics. Keywords: Aerobic, Barriers, Diabetes, Diet and Exercise, Adherence.
SIZING UP THE MILKY WAY: A BAYESIAN MIXTURE MODEL META-ANALYSIS OF PHOTOMETRIC SCALE LENGTH MEASUREMENTS

The exponential scale length (Ld) of the Milky Way’s (MW’s) disk is a critical parameter for describing the global physical size of our Galaxy, important both for interpreting other Galactic measurements and helping us to understand how our Galaxy fits into extragalactic contexts. Unfortunately, current estimates span a wide range of values and are often statistically incompatible with one another. Here, we perform a Bayesian meta-analysis to determine an improved, aggregate estimate for Ld, utilizing a mixture-model approach to account for the possibility that any one measurement has not properly accounted for all statistical or systematic errors. Within this machinery, we explore a variety of ways of modeling the nature of problematic measurements, and then employ a Bayesian model averaging technique to derive net posterior distributions that incorporate any model-selection uncertainty. Our meta-analysis combines 29 different (15 visible and 14 infrared) photometric measurements of Ld available in the literature; these involve a broad assortment of observational data sets, MW models and assumptions, and methodologies, all tabulated herein. Analyzing the visible and infrared measurements separately yields estimates for Ld of kpc and kpc, respectively, whereas considering them all combined yields 2.64 ± 0.13 kpc. The ratio between the visible and infrared scale lengths determined here is very similar to that measured in external spiral galaxies. We use these results to update the model of the Galactic disk from our previous work, constraining its stellar mass to be M⊙, and the MW’s total stellar mass to be M⊙.
Endogenous Growth and Fluctuations in an Overlapping Generations Economy with Credit Market Imperfections

We study the dynamic properties of growth rates in an overlapping generations economy with credit market imperfections. The analysis demonstrates that in early stages of financial development where credit constraints are severe, growth rates evolve monotonically. At the intermediate level of financial development, as the degree of credit market imperfections diminishes, growth rates exhibit endogenous fluctuations for some parameter values. However, as the financial sector matures, fluctuations disappear and the growth rates evolve once again monotonically.
Success and Defeat in the Second World War by MAJ Dzul Fazil

during the second World War (WWii), many nations from all over the world were divided into two major alliances – germany, Japan and italy forming the axis powers and the allied forces led by the ‘Big three’, i.e. great Britain, the soviet union and the united states. firstly, this essay will analyse the strategic failure of the Wehrmacht, the german armed forces and the imperial Japanese forces in WWii. secondly, it will also address the importance of having both tactical and strategic success as crucial factors to winning a war. lastly, it will examine the factors that allowed the Wehrmacht and the imperial Japanese forces to succeed in their early conquest and the reasons why they failed at the end.
MODERATE SALT STRESS ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS OF ALOE VERA L.

Aloe vera L. is a perennial liliaceous plant with succulent green leaves, it is a xerophyte with economic and social val- ue, but little is known about its response to salt stress and its mechanisms of tolerance, especially at moderate concentrations. The objective was to investigate the effect of salinity stress (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mM NaCl) on Aloe by measuring physiological and morphometric traits related to growth. The results of measuring physiological traits showed no signifi cant differences compared to the control at 30 and 60 mM (chlorophylls a, b, total, relative water content, net assimilation rate, specifi c leaf weight, and specifi c leaf area), even at 90 mM or 120 mM most parameter variations were not signifi cantly different. Similarly, for morphological traits no signifi cant differences were found compared to the control for all 16 morphological traits at 30 mM, or even at 60 mM since at this concentration only one trait varied signifi cantly (1 out of 16). Although the general trend of increasing NaCl was to lower leaf fresh weight as salinity increased, presumably due to a decrease in water content. However leaf dry weight was not signifi cantly reduced at any of the salinity concentrations applied. Thus, total dry leaf biomass was basically the same or similar, this suggesting that Aloe has an ability to withstand these levels of salinity stress. It is noteworthy to point out, that there is a general trend of lower growth (lower parameters both physiological and morphological) that is not signifi cant at low doses (30 and 60 mM), however be- coming more signifi cant at higher doses (90 and 120 mM). Thus, we suggest that Aloe has continuum responses to NaCl stress.
Ecology and natural history of the knobby newt Tylototriton podichthys ( Caudata : Salamandridae ) in Laos

Almost nothing is known on the ecology and natural history of Tylototriton (Knobby Newts) in Laos. Here, a population of the newly described T. podichthys was intensively studied in a 55,800 m2 area in Xiengkhouang Province, Laos, from June 2012–July 2013. Mark-recapture methods estimated 301 individuals of T. podichthys at the study site. Newts were abundant during the breeding season (June–July), with a maximum density of 8.75 newts in 100 m2 of stream. The sex ratio of adult males and females was almost equal and did not differ throughout the year. The population was sexually dimorphic, with females having larger and heavier bodies than males, and different cloacal morphologies during the breeding season. Males, females and immature newts (efts) used a variety of habitat and microhabitat types. Adult newts occupied a stream only during a brief breeding period, but otherwise were primarily terrestrial. The breeding season began in the early rainy season during June–July, and efts emerged from the stream during the dry, cold season beginning in December. Diet was studied by stomach-flushing methods, and consisted primarily of terrestrial invertebrates, especially woodlice (Ligiidae), earthworms (Haplotaxida) and pillbugs (Armadillidae). Unlike in many other newts, conspecific oophagy was not observed. Diet composition, number of prey consumed, and volume of prey consumed did not differ among adult males, adult females or efts.
Exploring species attributes and site characteristics to assess plant invasions in Spain

Aim Biological invasions are a major component of global change with increasing effects on natural ecosystems and human societies. Here, we aim to assess the relationship between plant invader species attributes and the extent of their distribution range size, at the same time that we assess the association between environmental factors and plant invader species richness.
Superbubble dynamics in globular cluster infancy. I. How do globular clusters first lose their cold gas

M. Krause1, C. Charbonnel, T. Decressin, G. Meynet, N. Prantzos, and R. Diehl, 'Superbubble dynamics in globular cluster infancy', Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 546, L5 (2012), the version of record is available online at DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201220244. Published by EDP Sciences. © ESO 2012.