Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rethinking Evaluation Practices in Visual Question Answering: A Case Study on Out-of-Distribution Generalization

Vision-and-language (V&L) models pre-trained on large-scale multimodal data have demonstrated strong performance on various tasks such as image captioning and visual question answering (VQA). The quality of such models is commonly assessed by measuring their performance on unseen data that typically comes from the same distribution as the training data. However, we observe that these models exhibit poor out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization on the task of VQA. To better understand the underlying causes of poor generalization, we comprehensively investigate performance of two pretrained V&L models under different settings ( i.e. classiﬁcation and open-ended text generation) by conducting cross-dataset evaluations. We ﬁnd that these models tend to learn to solve the benchmark, rather than learning the high-level skills required by the VQA task. We also argue that in most cases generative models are less susceptible to shifts in data distribution, while frequently performing better on our tested benchmarks. Moreover, we ﬁnd that multimodal pretraining improves OOD performance in most settings. Finally, we revisit assumptions underlying the use of automatic VQA evaluation metrics, and empirically show that their stringent nature repeatedly penalizes models for correct responses.
Effective capacity evaluation of advanced wideband CDMA and UWB radio networks

High radio capacity is one of the main targets in wireless network planning. The characteristics of the broadband radio channel pose serious challenges for achieving this goal. This thesis views the capacity problem from two frameworks. In the first, the effective user capacity in advanced direct sequence wideband code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) radio networks is evaluated. Sensitivity to various imperfections in key system parameters is studied. The analysis is based on a mathematical foundation that presents complex signal models and enables evaluation of the performance losses due to parameter estimation errors and multipath fading. The effective number of users supported in a cell is restricted by the multiple access interference (MAI) in the same cell (intracell interference) and overall background noise. The studied wideband CDMA receiver structures comprise conventional rake receivers with both the maximal ratio combining (MRC) and equal gain combining (EGC) schemes that can be supplemented with either linear decorrelating or nonlinear successive cancellation-based multiuser detectors and M-antenna spatial diversity. The second framework focuses on direct sequence spread spectrum-based ultra wideband (UWB) indoor communications. Cochannel interference limited capacity is evaluated against the outage probability criterion in exponentially decaying lognormal multipath fading channels. Distancedependence and spatial distribution of users is taken into account at different spatial cell configurations. Only moderate complexity partial rake receivers with noncoherent combining are employed. Total interference is composed of interpath, multipath, intracell, and intercell interference contributions. Lognormal sum approximations and simulations are used to evaluate distributions of the desired and interfering signals. The impact of the timing errors at the receiver monopulse correlation is studied. The numerical results for the wideband CDMA framework show that effective user capacity and sensitivity depend critically on the joint impact of nonidealities in system parameters (e.g., channel profile, severity of fading, receiver algorithms). User capacities of the studied multiuser enhanced receivers were more prone to these impairments than those of the simpler single user receivers. The results should be used for network planning and optimization. The numerical results of the UWB framework suggest that, even in the multipath rich channel, the optimal number of rake fingers can be less than half of the significant multipaths. Differences between circular, square, and hexagonal cell models proved to be minor with respect to link distance distributions. The derived link distance statistics are useful tools in the analytic piconet dimensioning and optimization.
Ozone budget in the upper stratosphere: Model studies using the reprocessed LIMS and the HALOE datasets

Recently reprocessed LIMS dataset has been used with a contemporary photochemical model to study the balance between photochemical production and destruction of ozone in the upper stratosphere. Model results corresponding to January 1979 indicate that the ozone deficit is less than 15% in the pressure range of 5 to 0.5 mb between 50°S and 50°N latitude. The imbalance at 40 km is much smaller than reported by the earliest studies with the archived LIMS data. The same model, when initialized with HALOE (version 19) data for January, 1996, shows similar results with peak ozone deficits being less than 10%. For both cases, the model shows a near balance in the ozone budget above 1 mb, contrary to recent studies based on balloon‐borne measurements. The magnitude of the ozone imbalance seen in this study is within the uncertainties of the data and model.
Effects of point singularities on shear-wave propagation in sedimentary basins

SUMMARY In most directions of propagation in anisotropic solids, seismic shear waves split in regular and predictable ways that, in principle, can be directly related to the degree of anisotropy and the anisotropic symmetry of the rockmass. In all anisotropic solids, however, there are directions of propagation, known as shear-wave singularities, where the split shear-waves have the same phase-velocities. For directions of propagation near the commonest type of singularity, the point singularity, the relationship between the phase and group-velocities may undergo rapid variations for small changes in direction. This results in shear-waves along rays (propagating at the grozq-velocity) behaving anomalously, with irregular polarizations and amplitude changes as if they were propagating near cusps, although the degree of anisotropy may be too small to cause conventional cusps on the group-velocity wave surfaces. The effects of propagation near such point singularities have been identified in sedimentary basins where they are features of the well-established phenomenon of azimuthal isotropy (transverse isotropy with a vertical axis of symmetry) caused by horizontal lithology, or by fine layering (PTL anisotropy), combining with the more recently recognized azimuthal anisotropy, caused by distributions of near-parallel near-vertical fluid-filled inclusions (EDA anisotropy). This paper demonstrates these irregular effects by calculating synthetic shear waves in directions near a point singularity in a material simulating a possible sedimentary basin. Such anomalies may be important in exploration seismology as point singularities can occur along nearly vertical ray paths in sedimentary basins. If not identified correctly, the effects of such point singularities could be mistakenly attributed to structural irregularities, and if correctly identified, the directions of such singularities can place tight constraints on possible combinations of PTL and EDA anisotropy in sedimentary basins.
One Thing One Click++: Self-Training for Weakly Supervised 3D Scene Understanding

3D scene understanding, e.g., point cloud semantic and instance segmentation, often requires large-scale annotated training data, but clearly, point-wise labels are too tedious to prepare. While some recent methods propose to train a 3D network with small percentages of point labels, we take the approach to an extreme and propose “One Thing One Click,” meaning that the annotator only needs to label one point per object. To leverage these extremely sparse labels in network training, we design a novel self-training approach, in which we iteratively conduct the training and label propagation, facilitated by a graph propagation module. Also, we adopt a relation network to generate the per-category prototype to enhance the pseudo label quality and guide the iterative training. Besides, our model can be compatible to 3D instance segmentation equipped with a point-clustering strategy. Experimental results on both ScanNet-v2 and S3DIS show that our self-training approach, with extremely-sparse annotations, outperforms all existing weakly supervised methods for 3D semantic and instance segmentation by a large margin, and our results are also comparable to those of the fully supervised counterparts. Codes and models are available at
Photo-to-Caricature Translation on Faces in the Wild

Recently, image-to-image translation has been made much progress owing to the success of conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGANs). However, it's still very challenging for translation tasks with the requirement of high-level visual information conversion, such as photo-to-caricature translation that requires satire, exaggeration, lifelikeness and artistry. We present an approach for learning to translate faces in the wild from the source photo domain to the target caricature domain with different styles, which can also be used for other high-level image-to-image translation tasks. In order to capture global structure with local statistics while translation, we design a dual pathway model of cGAN with one global discriminator and one patch discriminator. Beyond standard convolution (Conv), we propose a new parallel convolution (ParConv) to construct Parallel Convolutional Neural Networks (ParCNNs) for both global and patch discriminators, which can combine the information from previous layer with the current layer. For generator, we provide three more extra losses in association with adversarial loss to constrain consistency for generated output itself and with the target. Also the style can be controlled by the input style info vector. Experiments on photo-to-caricature translation of faces in the wild show considerable performance gain of our proposed method over state-of-the-art translation methods as well as its potential real applications.
The Effects of the Assimilation and Use of IT Applications on Financial Performance in Healthcare Organizations

This research examines the impacts of the assimilation and use of IT on the financial performance of hospitals. We identify two dimensions of IT assimilation and use. They are the IT applications architecture spread, which is the adoption of a broad array of IT solutions, and IT applications architecture longevity, which is the length of experience with use of specific IT solutions. We examine the extent to which these dimensions of assimilation within the business and clinical work processes impact hospital performance. Compared with the effects of IT applications architecture spread, we find that the IT applications architecture longevity has a more significant effect on financial performance. In addition, the effects of assimilation manifest differently across the business and clinical process domains. Our results enhance understanding about the manner in which the assimilation and use of IT contributes to the financial performance of hospitals.
Nitrate isotopic composition between Bermuda and Puerto Rico: Implications for N2 fixation in the Atlantic Ocean

N and O isotope analyses of water column nitrate between Bermuda and Puerto Rico document a bolus of low‐δ15N nitrate throughout the Sargasso Sea thermocline, which we attribute primarily to the input of recently fixed N. Although previous work suggests southward increases in N2 fixation and ventilation age, no meridional trend in nitrate δ15N is apparent. In the upper 200 m, the algal uptake‐driven increase in nitrate δ18O is greater than in δ15N, because of (1) a higher fraction of nitrate from N2 fixation at shallower depths and/or (2) cycling of N between nitrate assimilation and nitrification. A mean depth profile of newly fixed nitrate estimated from the nitrate isotope data is compared with results from an ocean circulation model forced with different Atlantic fields of N2 fixation. The nitrate from N2 fixation is communicated between the model's North and South Atlantic and suggests a whole Atlantic N2 fixation rate between 15 and 24 Tg N a−1. One important caveat is that fixed N in atmospheric deposition may contribute a significant proportion of the low‐δ15N N in the Sargasso Sea thermocline, in which case the relatively low rate we estimate for N2 fixation would still be too high.
Vegetation structure and pollen source area

In this paper we use a simulation approach to explore the effect of variation in taxon parameters and landscape patterning on relevant source area of pollen. We use the Prentice-Sugita model, assume constant atmospheric conditions and basin morphology, and take a reductionist approach to explore the behaviour of pollen dispersal and deposition in a simple landscape scenario. Individual factors within the scenario (pollen fall speed, relative pollen productivity, size of basic unit in the landscape mosaic, patch size, rarity of individual taxa and overall number of taxa present in the landscape) are varied while all other parameters are kept constant. thus pennitting exploration of the role of different components of the system. These simulations suggest that, for basins of given size under fixed atmospheric conditions, the relevant source area of pollen is primarily an expression of the patterning of the different vegetation elements within the landscape. This has important implications for the interpretation of palaeoecological records and reconstruction of past environments. Reconstruction, especially quantitative reconstruction, requires some estimate of past relevant source area of pollen. If, as our results suggest, vegetation patterning is an important determinant of this, then it must also be taken into account when attempting to reconstruct past vegetation communities.
Snakes from Griesbeckerzell (Langhian, Early Badenian), North Alpine Foreland Basin (Germany), with comments on the evolution of snake faunas in Central Europe during the Miocene Climatic Optimum

ABSTRACT Two fossil-bearing levels at Griesbeckerzell (the central part of the North Alpine Foreland Basin; Early Badenian, Mittlere Serie of the Upper Freshwater Molasse) have produced a rich reptile fauna that includes a large number of snakes, i.e. Grisbeckerzell lb (OSM E, 15.0–14.9 Ma): Boidae: Python sp. ; Colubridae: “Coluber” cf. caspioides; Vipendae: Vipera sp. (“oriental vipers” group) or Daboia sp. ; Griesbeckerzell la (beginning of unit OSM F, 14.77 Ma): Boidae: Bavarioboa aff. hermi, cf. Bavarioboa sp. , Python sp. ; Colubridae: “Coluber” cf. caspioides, Coluber hungaricus, “Coluber” sp. , Texasophis cf. meint, Natrix sp. ; Elapidae: Micrurus cf. gallicus; Viperidae: Vipera sp. (“Oriental vipers” group), Vipera sp. (“European vipers” group; “Vipera aspis complex”). The Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO) is documented in central Europe by the presence of highly thermophilous reptile taxa, including Python sp. , which is the most thermophilous reptile known from the European Neogene. The presence of Python sp. in Griesbeckerzell 1 a pushes up the last appearance date (LAD) of this large Booidea in central Europe into the early Middle Miocene. The dramatic decrease in temperatures after 14.0 Ma (i.e. below 16°C in mean annual air temperature) was most probably responsible for the extinction of the European non-Erycinae Booidea, regardless of food competition. The genus Bavarioboa (Bavarioboa aff. hermi) and possibly “Coluber” caspioides (“Coluber” cf. caspioides) both have their LADs in Griesbeckerzell la; Coluber hungaricus probably represents the earliest appearance (FAD) of this colubrid snake. Palaeoclimatic analyses of the herpetofauna indicate for both Griesbeckerzell levels humid conditions of between 750 and 1 025 mm mean annual precipitation. Temperature estimates combined with palaeobotanical data indicate a warm, subtropical climate with mean annual temperatures of 18.6 to 20.8°C, cold month temperatures with 12.6 to 13.3°C, and warm month temperatures with 25.1 to 28.1°C.
COMAGMATIC GRANOPHYRIC GRANITE IN THE FISH CANYON TUFF, COLORADO : IMPLICATIONS FOR MAGMA-CHAMBER PROCESSES DURING A LARGE ASH-FLOW ERUPTION

The 27.8 Ma Fish Canyon Tuff, a vast ash-flow sheet (∼ 5000 km 3 ) of uniform phenocryst-rich dacite, is representative of “monotonous intermediate” eruptions from a magma chamber that lacked compositional gradients. Sparse small fragments of comagmatic granophyre in late-erupted tuff and postcaldera lava, having mineral compositions indistinguishable from phenocrysts in the tuff and precaldera lava-like rocks, record complex events in the Fish Canyon chamber just prior to eruption. Sanidine phenocrysts in the granophyre preserve zoning evidence of mingling with andesitic magma, then shattering by decompression and volatile loss accompanying early Fish Canyon eruptions before overgrowth by granophyre. The textural and chemical disequilibria indicate that the eruption resulted from batholith-scale remobilization of a shallow subvolcanic chamber, contrary to previous interpretations of magma storage and phenocryst growth in the lower crust.
Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Pb isotope systematics of pyrite: Implications for the age and genesis of lode gold deposits

Lode gold deposits commonly consist of pyrite and lesser amounts of lead and zinc sulfides accompanied by quartz and calcite. Their exact origin remains controversial mainly because of the scarcity of reliable geochronological data. Here we present direct Rb-Sr dating of pyrite from a lode gold deposit and propose the method as a useful geochronological technique for gold mineralization for which age data are poor. A positive correlation between present-day 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 87 Rb/ 86 Sr ratios of pyrite (FeS 2 ) subsamples from the Linglong gold mine of China corresponds to an age of 122–123 Ma, which dates the age of gold mineralization. The Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions of pyrites and the associated rocks suggest that the hydrothermal fluids responsible for the pyrite and gold mineralization were probably derived from a mixed source (i.e., degassing of mafic magmas and meteoric water that had leached the country rocks).
Effects of Foundation Geometry on Bridge Pier Scour

An experimental investigation of local scour at a nonuniform cylindrical pier is presented. A nonuniform pier is one for which the cross-sectional dimension varies over the length of the pier. In this study the pier comprised a cylinder of diameter D founded on a larger cylinder of diameter D *, called the foundation. Besides the parameters that affect scour at a uniform pier, the scour depth at a nonuniform pier is dependent on the ratio D /D* and the depth from the bed level to the top of the foundation. The results are used to define three scour zones, namely: zone 1 where the foundation is below the bottom of the scour hole and does not affect the scour, zone 2 where the top of the foundation is within the scour hole and reduces the scour, and zone 3 where the top of the foundation is above bed level and increases the scour compared to that at a uniform pier. Various design relationships are presented. The concept of an effective pier size ( D e ) is introduced, and it is shown that use of D e leads t.
Is Intrinsic Motivation as Important in Utilitarian Systems as It Is in Hedonic Systems? A Preliminary Meta-Analysis

This research examines whether the hedonic 1 or utilitarian nature of a system serves as a boundary condition for understanding an individual’s interaction with information technology (IT). To do so, we reviewed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) literature to identify studies incorporating intrinsic motivators (i.e. indicators of hedonic responses to IT). We then employed meta-analytic techniques to examine whether the nature of the system moderates intrinsic motivators’ influence across studies. Results from the meta-analysis of 24 studies indicate intrinsic motivators are as germane to understanding use of utilitarian systems as they are to hedonic systems. The implications of these results are discussed.
Physics-Informed Transfer Learning Strategy to Accelerate Unsteady Fluid Flow Simulations

- Since the derivation of the Navier– Stokes equations, it has become possible to numerically solve real-world viscous flow problems (computational fluid dynamics (CFD)). However, despite the rapid advancements in the performance of central processing units (CPUs), the computational cost of simulating transient flows with extremely small time/grid-scale physics is still unrealistic. In recent years, machine learning (ML) technology has received significant attention across industries, and this big wave has propagated various interests in the fluid dynamics community. Recent ML–CFD studies have revealed that completely suppressing the increase in error with the increase in interval between the training and prediction times in data-driven methods is unrealistic. The development of a practical CFD acceleration methodology that applies ML is a remaining issue. Therefore, the objectives of this study were developing a realistic ML strategy based on a physics-informed transfer learning and validating the accuracy and acceleration performance of this strategy using an unsteady CFD dataset. This strategy can determine the timing of transfer learning while monitoring the residuals of the governing equations in a cross-coupling computation framework. Consequently, our hypothesis that continuous fluid flow time-series prediction is feasible was validated, as the intermediate CFD simulations periodically not only reduce the increased residuals but also update the network parameters. Notably, the cross-coupling strategy with a grid-based network model does not compromise the simulation accuracy for computational acceleration. The simulation was accelerated by 1.8 times in the laminar counterflow CFD dataset condition including the parameter-updating time. Open-source CFD software OpenFOAM and open-source ML software TensorFlow were used in this feasibility study.
Rb- Sr isochron dating of granitoids from the Kazaure schist belt, Nigeria

The results of Rb-Sr isochron dating of granites from the crystalline basement complex of Kazaure Schist Belt are presented in this paper. Whole rock Rb-Sr radiometric age determination of five samples of a syntectonic coarse-grained porphyritic granite define a 4-point whole-rock Rb-Sr isochron (MSWD=1.2) corresponding to an age of 592 + 14 Ma, the initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio being 0.7097 + 0.0004. This is distinctly a Pan-African age and is taken as the time of emplacement and crystallization of a granitic magma formed from a reworking of a pre-existing continental crust. The initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio indicates a significant contribution of older crustal materials by partial melting to the granitic magma. Key Words: Kazaure Belt, Geochronology, Isochron, Pan-African, Crust. (Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences: 2002 8(3): 319-324)