Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrastive Individual Treatment Effects Estimation

Inferring causal effects on observational data has been widely adopted in various fields. One of the cornerstones of causal inference research, named Individual Treatment Effects (ITE) estimation, aims to predict the expected difference between the treatment and control outcome. It provides a more precise solution to meeting personalized needs while enhancing prediction accuracy in machine learning tasks. Nevertheless, the lack of counterfactual truth and selection bias remain the main challenges in ITE estimation and exert detrimental effects on inference accuracy. In this work, we propose a novel Contrastive Individual Treatment Effects (CITE) estimation framework to alleviate both above issues. Based on the contrastive task designed for causal inference, we fully exploit the self-supervision information hidden in data to achieve balanced and predictive representations while appropriately leveraging causal prior knowledge. Our method outperforms the state-of-the-art ITE estimation algorithms on several real-world and semi-synthetic datasets, which validates its efficacy and superiority.
Perception of roughness of time-variant sounds

Besides loudness, other psychoacoustic parameters like sharpness and roughness are important for sound quality evaluation. Sharpness considers the relationship between the loudness of high frequency components and total loudness, and roughness evaluates modulation characteristics. While loudness of stationary sounds has been standardized for decades, standards for sharpness of stationary sounds and for loudness of time-varying sounds have been published in 2009 (DIN 45692:2009-08) and 2010 (DIN 45631/A1:2010-03), respectively. In addition, there are several roughness models available, performing more or less well for synthetic and selected technical signals. Currently, a roughness standard is under discussion in a DIN working group. In recent listening tests, the subjects showed consistent overall roughness evaluation of synthetic signals but heterogeneous judgments concerning the more complex technical sounds containing distinct rough components. The results of the listening test will be discussed and co.
ENSO and Asian Summer Monsoon: Persistence and Transitivity in the Seasonal March

The lagged correlations between monthly Asian summer monsoon indices and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index change prominently in the middle of the summer season, based upon data from the late 1970’s to late 1990’s. Following this change in correlations, the traditional summer monsoon season (June-July-August-September) could be divided into two sub-periods in terms of the interannual variability. One is early summer (June), in which the variability of the Asian monsoon is strongly influenced by the anomalous state of ENSO in the previous winter. Another is mid-late summer (July-August-September), in which the Asian monsoon is related to the anomalous state of ENSO in the following winter rather than the previous winter. The precursory signals of the anomalous Asian summer monsoon which are associated with the anomalous state of ENSO in previous seasons, are valid only for the variability of monsoon in the early summer, but not for that in the whole summer season. Therefore, the drastic change of persistence of the ENSO/monsoon system occurs after the early summer, and a new anomalous state tends to start from the middle or late summer. In this coupled system of ENSO and monsoon, the role of the western Pacific seems to be much different from the eastern Pacific. The anomalous state of sea surface temperature (SST) over the western Pacific warm pool area tends to persist from winter until the following late spring (May), and the related abnormal convective activity over that region can be maintained until the following early summer (June). Such kind of characteristics of persistence over the western Pacific is likely to have a memory effect of the anomalous ENSO state, and plays an active role in influencing the variability of the Asian monsoon in the following early summer.
Photometric and spectroscopic variability of the pre-main sequence star V1184 Tauri (CB 34V)

We present recent results from optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the pre-main sequence star V1184 Tau (CB 34V). The star is associated with the Bok globule CB 34 and was considered as a FUOR candidate in previous studies. Our photometric data obtained from October 2000 to April 2003 show that the stellar brightness varies with an amplitude of about 0.m 5 (I ), but from August 2003 the photometric behavior of the star has changed dramatically. Three deep brightness minima (ΔI ∼ 4m.2) were observed during the past two years. The analysis of available photometric data suggests that V1184 Tau shows two types of variability produced (1) by rotation of large cool spotted surface and (2) by occultation from circumstellar clouds of dust or from features of a circumstellar disk. The behavior of the V – I index indicates that the star becomes redder towards minimum light, but from a certain turning point (V ∼ 18m.2) it gets bluer and is fading further. Five medium dispersion optical spectra of V1184 Tau were obtained in the period 2001–2004. Signi.cant changes in the profile and strength of the emission lines in the spectrum of V1184 Tau were found. During minimum light the equivalent width of the Hα emission line increases from 4 A to 9 A. The [O I] lines (λλ 6003, 6363 A) are also seen in emission while the sodium doublet keeps its absorption strength and equivalent width. The possibility to reconstruct the historical light curve of V1184 Tau using photographical plate archives is brie.y discussed. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Robust estimates for arch processes

In this paper, we present two robust estimates for ARCH(p) models: τ ‐ and filtered τ‐estimates. These are defined by the minimization of conveniently robustified likelihood functions. The robustification is achieved by replacing the mean square error of the standardized observations with the square of a robust τ‐scale estimate in the reduced form of the Gaussian likelihood function. The robust filtering procedure avoids the propagation of the effect of one outlier on subsequent conditional variances. A Monte‐Carlo study shows that the maximum likelihood estimate practically collapses when there is only a small percentage of outlier contamination, while both robust estimates perform much better.
On the kinetic instabilities of uniform magnetized plasmas with generalized loss-cone distribution functions

A general proof is given that in uniform magnetized plasmas described by generalized loss-cone distribution functions (loss-cone index l, thermal velocity α∥, and perpendicular spread α⊥), electromagnetic, electrostatic, or coupled-mode instabilities are insensitive to the separate values of l and (α⊥/α∥); they depend rather, on the effective thermal anisotropy Aeff ≡ (T⊥/T∥)eff-1, where (T⊥/T∥)eff ≡ (l + 1) (α2⊥/α2∥). In the case of parallel propagation this statement is limited only by the linearization assumption; in the oblique propagation case, the additional condition λ⊥/rL ≫ 1 is required (λ⊥ = 1/k⊥, where k⊥ is the wave vector perpendicular to the external magnetic field, and rL is the Larmor radius). Thus, dispersion relations and their solutions obtained by using simple bi-Maxwellian distribution functions can be used directly for the complex case of generalized loss-cone distribution functions by simply replacing the anisotropy factor, A ≡α2⊥/α2∥-1, by Aeff defined above. This result explains earlier conclusions that the growth rate of the whistler instability is independent of the explicit value of the loss-cone index l, for a given thermal anisotropy.
The null distribution of the first serial correlation coefficient

The null sampling distribution of the first serial correlation coefficient for random samples from populations of various shepes has been investigated by experimental sampling. The sampling distribution is very stable under changes of population shape and the asymptotic normal form of the sampling distribution is a rsesonable approximation even in samples as small as 10-20. One effect of a long tail in the population is to decrease the sampling variance.
The Interface Probing Technique in Domain Decomposition

The interface probing technique, which was developed and used by Chan and Resasco and Keyes and Gropp, is an algebraic technique for constructing interface preconditioners in domain decomposition algorithms. The basic technique is to approximate interface matrices by matrices having a specified sparsity pattern. The construction involves only matrix-vector products, and thus the interface matrix need not be known explicitly. A special feature is that the approximations adapt to the variations in the coefficients of the equations and the aspect ratios of the subdomains. This preconditioner can then be used in conjunction with many standard iterative methods, such as conjugate gradient methods.In this paper, some old results are summarized and new ones are presented, both algebraic and analytic, about the interface probing technique and its applications to interface operators. Comparisons are made with some optimal preconditioners.
Wavefront sensor for the ESA-GAIA mission

TNO developed a Wave Front Sensor (WFS) instrument for the GAIA mission. This Wave Front Sensor will be used to monitor the wave front errors of the two main telescopes mounted on the GAIA satellite, which may be corrected by a 5-degree of freedom (DOF) mechanism during operation. The GAIA-WFS will operate over a broad wavelength (450 to 900 nm) and under cryogenic conditions (130 to 200 K operation temperature). The WFS uses an all reflective, a-thermal design and is of the type of Shack-Hartmann. The boundary condition for the design is that the focal plane of the WFS is the same plane as the focal plane of the GAIA telescopes. The spot pattern generated after a micro lens array (MLA) by a star is compared to the pattern of one of the three calibration sources that is included in the WFS, allowing in flight calibration. We show the robust and lightweight opto mechanical design that is optimised for launch and cryogenic operation. Furthermore we give details on its alignment and commissioning. The WFS can measure wave front distortions in the order of lambda/1000, and determines the focal plane with an accuracy of 50 μm.
The Origin of the β Pictoris Moving Group

The β Pictoris moving group (BPMG) as proposed by Zuckerman et al. is a group of 19 low-mass star systems containing β Pictoris and its protoplanetary disk. This nearest moving group is at a mean distance of 36 pc from the Earth, and these authors have proposed, by means of an H-R diagram, an evolutionary age of 12 Myr for this group. Here, by retracing the three-dimensional orbits of all the members of the BPMG and using a realistic Galactic potential, we find that a first maximum concentration of orbits occurs at 11.5 Myr and in a space region having a maximum size of 24 pc, 3 times smaller than its present size. We consider this region to be the birthplace of the BPMG. This interesting similarity of independently obtained evolutionary and kinematical ages indicates that this group could have already been formed as an unbound system, as observed today. The birthplace of the BPMG is located in a three-dimensional space, at ~45 pc from the region where the Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC) and Upper Centaurus Lupus (UCL) subgroups of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association were when they were between 4 and 6 Myr old. At that age, both subgroups were able to produce supernovae (SNe) capable of triggering the formation of the BPMG. This interaction distance could even be smaller, up to ~26 pc, if SNe exploded in the outer regions of the LCC or UCL near the proposed birthplace of the BPMG. This scenario confirms, at least for the BPMG, the suggestion made by Mamajek & Feigelson and other authors that young unbound nearby stellar associations with ages around ~10 Myr originated in this OB complex. In contrast to the BPMG, for which we propose a coeval formation, the LCC and UCL subgroups appear not to be truly coeval.
On k-detour subgraphs of hypercubes

A spanning subgraph G of a graph H is a k-detour subgraph of H if for each pair of vertices $x,y \in V(H)$, the distance, ${\rm dist}_G(x,y)$, between x and y in G exceeds that in H by at most k. Such subgraphs sometimes also are called additive spanners. In this article, we study k-detour subgraphs of the n-dimensional cube, $Q^n$, with few edges or with moderate maximum degree. Let $\Delta(k,n)$ denote the minimum possible maximum degree of a k-detour subgraph of $Q^n$. The main result is that for every $k\geq 2$ and $n \geq 21$ $$e^{-2k} {{n} \over {\ln n}} \le \Delta(k,n) \le 20 {n{\ln {\ln n}} \over {\ln n}}. $$ On the other hand, for each fixed even $k \geq 4$ and large n, there exists a k-detour subgraph of $Q^n$ with average degree at most $2 + 2^{4-k/2}+o(1)$. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 57: 55–64, 2008
The local metallicity-surface brightness relationship in galactic disks

We present the results of a first attempt to employ multiaperture masks to obtain spectrophotometry of H II regions in nearby galaxies. A total of 97 H II regions in six southern spiral galaxies were observed using a combination of multiaperture masks and conventional long-slit spectrophotometry. The oxygen abundances derived from the multiaperture mask observations using the empirical abundance diagnostic R(sub 23) are shown to be consistent with those from long-slit spectra and generally show better reproducibility and object definition. Although the number of objects that can be observed simultaneously with this particular system is still quite limited compared with either imaging spectrophotometry or fiber-fed spectrographs, the spectral resolution offered and high throughput in the blue help make multiaperture spectrophotometry a competitive technique for increasing the sampling of H II regions in both radial distance and luminosity. There is still no clear trend of abundance gradient with either the galaxy's luminosity or its Hubble type, although the extrapolated central abundance does appear to correlate with galaxy luminosity/mass. In order to avoid difficulty in choosing an appropriate normalizing radius, we instead plot the oxygen abundance against the underlying I-band surface brightness at the radial distance of the H II region and confirm the existence of a local metallicity-surface brightness reltaionship within the disks of spiral galaxies. Although the simple closed-boc model of galaxy evolution predicts almost the right form of this relationship, a more realistic multizone model employing expnentially decreasing gas infall provides a more satisfactory fit to the observational data, provided the expected enriched gas return from dying low-mass stars shedding their envelopes at late epochs is properly taken into account. This same model, with a star formation law based upon self-regulating star formation in a three-dimensional disk (Dopita & Ryder 1994), is equally capable of accounting for the observed relationship between recent massive star formation and stellar surface brightness (Ryder & Dopita 1994).
3D topography measurements on correlation cells—a new approach to forensic ballistics identifications

Based on three-dimensional (3D) topography measurements on correlation cells, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed the ‘NIST Ballistics Identification System (NBIS)’ aimed at accurate ballistics identifications and fast ballistics evidence searches. The 3D topographies are divided into arrays of correlation cells to identify ‘valid correlation areas’ and eliminate ‘invalid correlation areas’ from the matching and identification procedure. A ‘congruent matching cells’ (CMC)’ method using three types of identification parameters of the paired correlation cells (cross correlation function maximum CCFmax, spatial registration position in x–y and registration angle θ) is used for high accuracy ballistics identifications. ‘Synchronous processing’ is proposed for correlating multiple cell pairs at the same time to increase the correlation speed. The proposed NBIS can be used for correlations of both geometrical topographies and optical intensity images. All the correlation parameters and algorithms are in the public domain and subject to open tests. An error rate reporting procedure has been developed that can greatly add to the scientific support for the firearm and toolmark identification specialty, and give confidence to the trier of fact in court proceedings. The NBIS is engineered to employ transparent identification parameters and criteria, statistical models and correlation algorithms. In this way, interoperability between different ballistics identification systems can be more easily achieved. This interoperability will make the NBIS suitable for ballistics identifications and evidence searches with large national databases, such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network in the United States.
SAXS, SANS and NSE Studies on "Unbound State" in DPPC/Water/CaCl2 System

The temperature and CaCl 2 concentration dependence of the lamellar repeat distance of a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) aqueous solution was investigated by small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, and neutron spin echo. At certain CaCl 2 concentrations, the repeat distance in the liquid-crystalline phase tends to increase up to infinity while that in the gel phase has an upper limit. This behavior is attributable to the fact that the steric repulsion of lipid bilayers due to the membrane undulation in the liquid-crystalline phase is larger than that in the gel phase. The free-energy calculation suggested that the cooperation of the short-range electrostatic interaction and the long-range steric interaction is the origin of the increase in the repeat distance in the liquid-crystalline phase, and it can be the origin of an “unbinding transition”.
Stochastic mode-locking theory of external-cavity semiconductor lasers

A stochastic mode-locking model has been developed to study the effect of intrinsic spontaneous noise and carrier shot noise on the phenomenon of active mode-locking in external-cavity semiconductor lasers. This frequency-domain numerical model includes nonlinear carrier dynamics, population pulsation, and self- and cross-saturation of the gain and is sufficiently flexible to account for coupling of multiple harmonic field components. The computer simulation of noise follows Marcuse's approach1 except that, because of active modulation, the Langevin noise strengths are allowed to depend on the time evolution of the gain and photon number. The resulting numerical simulation models the pulse-height probability distribution and the correlation of pulse height deviations under various operating conditions, such as the bias level, modulation strength, modulation type, and frequency detuning. The array of optical pulses are also numerically sampled and averaged to reveal the detailed stable structure of pulses, including possibly the reproducible satellite peaks, as have been evidenced in other experiments.
Temperature distribution in a large Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ mesa

Joule heating in large Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta mesas was numerically analyzed while taking into account typical thermal conductivities and their temperature dependences of all the materials involved in heat dissipation and removal. Such mesas are used in experiments on THz-range radiation. The analysis shows that the temperature increases with bias current and is distributed unevenly along the mesas. The temperature of the mesa's middle part can even exceed T-c at sufficiently high bias. The overall current-voltage characteristics are also calculated self-consistently, showing a negative differential conductance in a wide range of currents.
HONIR: an optical and near-infrared simultaneous imager, spectrograph, and polarimeter for the 1.5-m Kanata telescope

We have developed an optical and near-infrared instrument HONIR (Hiroshima Optical and Near-InfraRed camera) with imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetry capabilities in two (one optical and one near-infrared) bands simultaneously. Imaging capability with a field of view of 10 arcmin by 10 arcmin has been available since 2011, as reported in the previous SPIE conference. In addition, spectroscopic and polarimetric optical components (grisms, an Wollaston prism, a half-wave plate, and focal masks) were installed in the instrument, which enabled us to perform spectroscopy and linear polarization measurement by imaging polarimetry and spectro-polarimetry. Spectral resolution of R = λ/(triangle)λ ~ 440 - 800 is achieved in spectroscopy using a slit mask with an 1". 3 width. In polarimetry, instrumental polarization is less than ~0.05 % with stability of better than ~0.05 %, which is sufficiently small to achieve an aimed accuracy of polarization measurement of ~0.1 % at primal observing wavelengths.
On riemann–hilbert boundary problem in several complex variables

The Riemann-Hilbert boundary value problem for a holomorphic function in the polydomain and in the unit ball of is considered. In contrast to well known results in the case of a single complex variable for polydomain the cokernel of the problem turns to have always infinite dimension, while its kernel has the finite dimension. One of the features of the problem for the unit ball is that its boundary coefficient doesn't produce an index.
Effect of rotation on the electrohydrodynamic instability of a fluid layer with an electrical conductivity gradient

The electrohydrodynamic instability of a horizontal rotating fluid layer with a vertical electrical conductivity gradient is considered. An external electric field is applied across the fluid layer to induce an unstably stratified electrical body force. A linear stability analysis has been performed to study the effect of rotation on the onset of electrohydrodynamic instability in the fluid layer. Results show that the instability behaviors depend heavily on the boundary condition of bottom surface. In the case of stress-free condition, rotation enhances the stability and the onset of instability will be dominated by the oscillatory mode once the speed of rotation (or Taylor number) exceeds a critical value. In contrast, in the case of rigid bottom surface, rotation also tends to stabilize the fluid layer and the stationary mode will prevail eventually with increasing Taylor number. However rotation becomes destabilizing as the critical mode shifts from oscillatory to stationary. Moreover, under the same .
Hysteresis phenomena in polyvinylidene fluoride under high electric field

Dielectric and piezoelectric responses caused by a high electric field and a 10‐Hz small strain have been simultaneously measured for stretched polyvinylidene fluoride using a minicomputer system. The electric field was applied up to 240 MV/m in a sinusoidal or triangular wave form in the frequency range 10−4–10−2 Hz at temperatures between −100 and 100 °C. Ferroelectric hysteresis loops were observed even below the glass‐transition temperature of −60 °C. At 20 °C the 120‐MV/m electric field gave the remanent polarization Pr of 50 mC/m2 which resulted in the piezoelectric activities e31 and e32 of 70 and 7.5 mC/m2, respectively. The origin of Pr was confirmed to be the molecular dipole orientation because the value of Pr was independent of the frequency of applied field. The coercive field Ec significantly decreased with increasing temperature from 180 MV/m (−100 °C) to 25 MV/m (100 °C), while Pr showed only a slight temperature dependence.