Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EMPIRICAL MODELING OF HYDROLOGIC AND NFS POLLUTANT FLUX IN AN URBANIZING BASIN 1

ABSTRACT: Long term effects of precipitation and land use/land cover on basin outflow and nonpoint source (NFS) pollutant flux are presented for up to 24 years for a rapidly developing headwater basin and three adjacent headwater basins on the urban fringe of Washington, D.C. Regression models are developed to describe the annual and seasonal responses of basin outflow and IMPS pollutant flux to precipitation, mean impervious surface (IS), and land use. To quantify annual change in mean IS, a variable called delta IS is created as a temporal indicator of urban soil disturbance. Hydrologic models indicate that total annual surface outflow is significantly associated with precipitation and mean IS (r2= 0.65). Seasonal hydrologic models reveal that basin outflow is positively associated with IS during the summer and fall growing season (June to November). NPS pollutant flux models indicate that total and storm total suspended solids (TSS) flux are significantly associated with precipitation and urban soil disturbance in all seasons. Annual NPS total nitrogen flux is significantly associated with both urban and agricultural soil disturbance (r2= 0.51). Seasonal models of phosphorus flux indicate a significant association of total phosphorus flux with urban soil disturbance during the growing season. Total soluble phosphorus (TSP) flux is significantly associated with IS (r2= 0.34) and urban and agricultural soil disturbance (r2= 0.58). In urbanizing Cub Run basin, annual TSP concentrations are significantly associated with IS and cultivated agriculture (r2= 0.51).
A qualitative inquiry into the challenges and complexities of research supervision: viewpoints of postgraduate students and faculty members

Introduction The supervision of academic theses at the Universities of Medical Sciences is one of the most important issues with several challenges. The aim of the present study is to discover the nature of problems and challenges of thesis supervision in Iranian universities of medical sciences. Methods The study was conducted with a qualitative method using conventional content analysis approach. Nineteen faculty members, using purposive sampling, and 11 postgraduate medical sciences students (Ph.D students and residents) were selected on the basis of theoretical sampling. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and field observations in Shiraz and Isfahan universities of medical sciences from September 2012 to December 2014. The qualitative content analysis was used with a conventional approach to analyze the data. Results While experiencing the nature of research supervision process, faculties and the students faced some complexities and challenges in the research supervision process. The obtained codes were categorized under 4 themes Based on the characteristics; included “contextual problem”, “role ambiguity in thesis supervision”, “poor reflection in supervision” and “ethical problems”. Conclusion The result of this study revealed that there is a need for more attention to planning and defining the supervisory, and research supervision. Also, improvement of the quality of supervisor and students relationship must be considered behind the research context improvement in research supervisory area.
VipBoost: A More Accurate Boosting Algorithm

Boosting is a well-known method for improving the accuracy of many learning algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel boosting algorithm, VipBoost (voting on boosting classifications from imputed learning sets), which first generates multiple incomplete datasets from the original dataset by randomly removing a small percentage of observed attribute values, then uses an imputer to fill in the missing values. It then applies AdaBoost (using some base learner) to produce classifiers trained on each of the imputed learning sets, to produce multiple classifiers. The subsequent prediction on a new test case is the most frequent classification from these classifiers. Our empirical results show that VipBoost produces very effective classifiers that significantly improve accuracy for unstable base learners and some stable learners, especially when the initial dataset is incomplete.
Modelling of Antennas for Car Communications

Circular patch antennas are used as low profile antennas for global positioning systems and cellular phones. The far fields are estimated within the frequency range applicable to GSM and UMTS applications. The patch antennas are modelled analytically using the Bessel functions for determining the electric edge fields along the periphery of the patch antenna. The electric edge fields are used as Huygens sources for determining the far fields from subroutines available in the MoM code from simulators. The results of this novel hybrid approach are validated with respect to the full-wave MoM. The results are found to be in agreement when the fringing fields are modelled and combined to the analytical part of the model.
A Semidefinite Hierarchy for Containment of Spectrahedra

A spectrahedron is the positivity region of a linear matrix pencil and thus the feasible set of a semidefinite program. We propose and study a hierarchy of sufficient semidefinite conditions to certify the containment of a spectrahedron in another one. This approach comes from applying a moment relaxation to a suitable polynomial optimization formulation. The hierarchical criterion is stronger than a solitary semidefinite criterion discussed earlier by Helton, Klep, and McCullough as well as by the authors. Moreover, several exactness results for the solitary criterion can be brought forward to the hierarchical approach. The hierarchy also applies to the (equivalent) question of checking whether a map between matrix (sub-)spaces is positive. In this context, the solitary criterion checks whether the map is completely positive, and thus our results provide a hierarchy between positivity and complete positivity.
An Enhanced Representation of Time Series Which Allows Fast and Accurate Classification, Clustering and Relevance Feedback

We introduce an extended representation of time series that allows fast, accurate classification and clustering in addition to the ability to explore time series data in a relevance feedback framework. The representation consists of piece-wise linear segments to represent shape and a weight vector that contains the relative importance of each individual linear segment. In the classification context, the weights are learned automatically as part of the training cycle. In the relevance feedback context, the weights are determined by an interactive and iterative process in which users rate various choices presented to them. Our representation allows a user to define a variety of similarity measures that can be tailored to specific domains. We demonstrate our approach on space telemetry, medical and synthetic data.
Gray and White Matter Distribution in Dyslexia: A VBM Study of Superior Temporal Gyrus Asymmetry

In the present study, we investigated brain morphological signatures of dyslexia by using a voxel-based asymmetry analysis. Dyslexia is a developmental disorder that affects the acquisition of reading and spelling abilities and is associated with a phonological deficit. Speech perception disabilities have been associated with this deficit, particularly when listening conditions are challenging, such as in noisy environments. These deficits are associated with known neurophysiological correlates, such as a reduction in the functional activation or a modification of functional asymmetry in the cortical regions involved in speech processing, such as the bilateral superior temporal areas. These functional deficits have been associated with macroscopic morphological abnormalities, which potentially include a reduction in gray and white matter volumes, combined with modifications of the leftward asymmetry along the perisylvian areas. The purpose of this study was to investigate gray/white matter distribution asymmetries in dyslexic adults using automated image processing derived from the voxel-based morphometry technique. Correlations with speech-in-noise perception abilities were also investigated. The results confirmed the presence of gray matter distribution abnormalities in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the superior temporal Sulcus (STS) in individuals with dyslexia. Specifically, the gray matter of adults with dyslexia was symmetrically distributed over one particular region of the STS, the temporal voice area, whereas normal readers showed a clear rightward gray matter asymmetry in this area. We also identified a region in the left posterior STG in which the white matter distribution asymmetry was correlated to speech-in-noise comprehension abilities in dyslexic adults. These results provide further information concerning the morphological alterations observed in dyslexia, revealing the presence of both gray and white matter distribution anomalies and the potential involvement of these defects in speech-in-noise deficits.
Graph-based codes for Quantize-Map-and-Forward relaying

We present a structured Quantize-Map-and-Forward (QMF) scheme for cooperative communication over wireless networks, that employs LDPC ensembles for the node operations and message-passing algorithms for decoding. We demonstrate through extensive simulation results over the full-duplex parallel relay network, that our scheme, with no transmit channel state information, offers a robust performance over fading channels and achieves the full diversity order of our network at moderate SNRs.
A Domain Decomposition Method for Fast Manifold Learning

We propose a fast manifold learning algorithm based on the methodology of domain decomposition. Starting with the set of sample points partitioned into two subdomains, we develop the solution of the interface problem that can glue the embeddings on the two subdomains into an embedding on the whole domain. We provide a detailed analysis to assess the errors produced by the gluing process using matrix perturbation theory. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed methods.
High-Performance XML Twig Filtering using GPUs

Current state of the art in information dissemination comprises of publishers broadcasting XML-coded documents, in turn selectively forwarded to interested subscribers. The deployment of XML at the heart of this setup greatly increases the expressive power of the proﬁles listed by subscribers, using the XPath language. On the other hand, with great expressive power comes great performance responsibility: it is becoming harder for the matching infrastructure to keep up with the high volumes of data and users. Traditionally, general purpose computing platforms have generally been favored over customized computational setups, due to the simpliﬁed usability and signiﬁcant reduction of development time. The sequential nature of these general purpose computers however limits their performance scalability. In this work, we propose the implementation of the ﬁltering infrastructure using the massively parallel Graphical Processing Units (GPUs). We consider the holistic (no post-processing) evaluation of thousands of complex twig-style XPath queries in a streaming (single-pass) fashion, resulting in a speedup over CPUs up to 9x in the single-document case and up to 4x for large batches of documents. A thorough set of experiments is provided, detailing the varying eﬀects of several factors on the CPU and GPU ﬁltering platforms.
A Portable Tungsten Coil Atomic Emission Spectrometer for the Simultaneous Determination of Metals in Water and Soil Samples

Tungsten coil atomic emission spectrometry (WCAES) has been evaluated as a potentially portable technique for field applications. The tungsten coil (W-coil) was extracted from a commercially available slide projector bulb and used as both the atomizer and the excitation source. The coil was powered by a small solid-state power supply. A hand-held CCD spectrometer, powered from a laptop computer, collected the signal. Fifteen elements were used to evaluate the portable system. For elements in the UV region, LODs were increased by a factor of 2000 for Cu; 200 for Ag; and 25 for Co through a 400-W solid state power supply compared to a 200-W solid state power supply. Signals for Al, Cr, Ga, Mn, Li and V in the near UV region also increased around a factor of 25. Therefore, the WCAES device could be used for elements in both the visible and UV regions, and the system could be taken into the field to measure elements in various samples.
Action Selection in Bayesian Reinforcement Learning

My research attempts to address on-line action selection in reinforcement learning from a Bayesian perspective. The idea is to develop more effective action selection techniques by exploiting information in a Bayesian posterior, while also selecting actions by growing an adaptive, sparse lookahead tree. I further augment the approach by considering a new value function approximation strategy for the belief-state Markov decision processes induced by Bayesian learning.
Budget Online Multiple Kernel Learning

Online learning with multiple kernels has gained increasing interests in recent years and found many applications. For classification tasks, Online Multiple Kernel Classification (OMKC), which learns a kernel based classifier by seeking the optimal linear combination of a pool of single kernel classifiers in an online fashion, achieves superior accuracy and enjoys great flexibility compared with traditional single-kernel classifiers. Despite being studied extensively, existing OMKC algorithms suffer from high computational cost due to their unbounded numbers of support vectors. To overcome this drawback, we present a novel framework of Budget Online Multiple Kernel Learning (BOMKL) and propose a new Sparse Passive Aggressive learning to perform effective budget online learning. Specifically, we adopt a simple yet effective Bernoulli sampling to decide if an incoming instance should be added to the current set of support vectors. By limiting the number of support vectors, our method can significantly accelerate OMKC while maintaining satisfactory accuracy that is comparable to that of the existing OMKC algorithms. We theoretically prove that our new method achieves an optimal regret bound in expectation, and empirically found that the proposed algorithm outperforms various OMKC algorithms and can easily scale up to large-scale datasets.
Cre‐loxP‐Mediated Recombination: General Principles and Experimental Considerations

The cre‐loxP–mediated recombination system (the “cre‐loxP system”) is an integral experimental tool for mammalian genetics and cell biology. Use of the system has greatly expanded our ability to precisely interrogate gene function in the mouse, providing both spatial and temporal control of gene expression. This has been largely due to the simplicity of its use and its adaptability to address diverse biological questions. While the use of the cre‐loxP system is becoming increasingly widespread, in particular because of growing availability of conditional mouse mutants, many considerations need to be taken into account when utilizing the cre‐loxP system. This review provides an overview of the cre‐loxP system and its various permutations. It addresses the limitations of cre‐loxP technology and related considerations for experimental design, and it discusses alternative strategies for site‐specific genetic recombination and integration. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Public Duty and Private Prejudice: Sexualities Equalities and Local Government

Rather than critiquing social institutions and practices that have historically excluded lesbians and gay men, as did earlier social movements in the 1960s and 1970s, since the 1990s the politics of sexuality has increasingly been about demanding equal rights of citizenship. These citizenship demands have, at least to a degree, been answered via a raft of recent legislation in the UK including the Adoption and Children Act 2002, Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, and by associated changes in policy making and practice that emphasize ‘Equality and Diversity’. In this article we consider how the implementation of sexualities equalities policies is related to processes of privatization and individualization. This is illustrated by using sexualities equalities work in local government as a case study to indicate how processes of change and resistance are aided by these processes. The article draws on findings from a study of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equalities initiatives in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which examined the views of those who now have a public duty to implement recent legislative and policy shifts and are obliged to develop equalities initiatives concerning ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender reassignment’.
Scalable algorithms for QoS-aware virtual network mapping for cloud services

Both business and consumer applications increasingly depend on cloud solutions. Yet, many are still reluctant to move to cloud-based solutions, mainly due to concerns of service quality and reliability. Since cloud platforms depend both on IT resources (located in data centers, DCs) and network infrastructure connecting to it, both QoS and resilience should be offered with end-to-end guarantees up to and including the server resources. The latter currently is largely impeded by the fact that the network and cloud DC domains are typically operated by disjoint entities. Network virtualization, together with combined control of network and IT resources can solve that problem. Here, we formally state the combined network and IT provisioning problem for a set of virtual networks, incorporating resilience as well as QoS in physical and virtual layers. We provide a scalable column generation model, to address real world network sizes. We analyze the latter in extensive case studies, to answer the question at which layer to provision QoS and resilience in virtual networks for cloud services.
Resolved CO (1 → 0) Nuclei in IRAS 14348–1447: Evidence for Massive Bulge Progenitors to Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

High-resolution, CO (1 → 0) interferometry of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy IRAS 14348-1447 is presented. The merger system has a molecular gas mass of ∼3 × 1010 M⊙ and a projected nuclear separation of 4.8 kpc (3.″5), making it one of the most molecular gas-rich galaxies known and an ideal candidate for studying the intermediate stages of an ultraluminous merger event. The CO morphology shows two molecular gas components associated with the stellar nuclei of the progenitors, consistent with the idea that the molecular disks are gravitationally bound by the dense bulges of the progenitor galaxies as the interaction proceeds. In contrast, less luminous infrared galaxies observed to date with projected nuclear separations of ≲5 kpc show a dominant CO component between the stellar nuclei. This discrepancy may be an indication that the progenitors of mergers with lower infrared luminosity do not possess massive bulges and that the gas is stripped during the initial encounter. A comparison of the CO and radio luminosities of the northeast and southwest components of IRAS 14348-1447 show them to have comparable radio and CO flux ratios of f(NE)/f(SW) ∼ 0.6, possibly indicating that the amount of star-forming molecular gas in the progenitors is correlated with the supernovae rate. The estimate of molecular gas masses of the nuclei and the extent of the radio emission are used to infer that the nuclei of IR 14348-1447 have gas densities comparable to the cores of elliptical galaxies.
Model-Based Estimation of Energy Savings in Load Control Events for Thermostatically Controlled Loads

Load control (LC) of populations of air conditioners (ACs) is considered suitable to shift energy from on- to off-peak times, and track the intermittent power output of renewable generation. From a technical and economical point of view, it is paramount to quantify the amount of energy that can be saved by implementing these LC events. This paper proposes a new causal methodology to estimate such energy savings using a Kalman filter that includes a parametric second-order model of the aggregate demand of a population of ACs. The proposed methodology relies only on readings of aggregate electrical power at the feeder level and does not require historical load data, or a control group, and hence, it can be used where other methods reported in the literature are inapplicable. The proposed estimator is evaluated on a numerical case study that embeds simulated ACs in real power and temperature data from a 70-house residential precinct.
Improved Characterization of Groundwater Flow in Heterogeneous Aquifers Using Granular Polyacrylamide (PAM) Gel as Temporary Grout

The range of options for investigation of hydraulic behavior of aquifers from boreholes has been limited to rigid, cumbersome packers, and inflatable sleeves. Here we show how a new temporary borehole sealing technique using soft grains of polyacrylamide (PAM) gel as a sealing material can be used to investigate natural groundwater flow dynamics and discuss other possible applications of the technology. If no compressive stress is applied, the gel packing, with a permeability similar to open gravel, suppresses free convection, allowing for local temperature measurements and chemical sampling through free‐flowing gel packing. Active heating laboratory and field experiments combined with temperature measurements along fiber optic cables were conducted in water‐filled boreholes and boreholes filled with soft grains of polyacrylamide gel. The gel packing is shown to minimize the effect of free convection within the well column and enable detection of thin zones of relatively high or low velocity in a highly transmissive alluvial aquifer, thus providing a significant improvement compared to temperature measurements in open boreholes. Laboratory experiments demonstrate that under modest compressive stress to the gel media the permeability transitions from highly permeable to nearly impermeable grouting. Under this configuration the gel packing could potentially allow for monitoring local response pressure from the formation with all other locations in the borehole hydraulically isolated.