Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local calibration: metrics and recalibration

Probabilistic classifiers output confidence scores along with their predictions, and these confidence scores should be calibrated, i.e., they should reflect the reliability of the prediction. Confidence scores that minimize standard metrics such as the expected calibration error (ECE) accurately measure the reliability on average across the entire population. However, it is in general impossible to measure the reliability of an individual prediction. In this work, we propose the local calibration error (LCE) to span the gap between average and individual reliability. For each individual prediction, the LCE measures the average reliability of a set of similar predictions, where similarity is quantified by a kernel function on a pretrained feature space and by a binning scheme over predicted model confidences. We show theoretically that the LCE can be estimated sample-efficiently from data, and empirically find that it reveals miscalibration modes that are more fine-grained than the ECE can detect. Our key result is a novel local recalibration method LoRe, to improve confidence scores for individual predictions and decrease the LCE. Experimentally, we show that our recalibration method produces more accurate confidence scores, which improves downstream fairness and decision making on classification tasks with both image and tabular data.
Framework for evaluating the performance of engineering consultants

The evaluation of consultant’s performance is crucial to the success of a consulting assignment especially when today’s construction projects are becoming more sophisticated, large-scale, and risky. However, since individual clients have developed their own consultant’s performance evaluation (CPE) procedures, the sharing of performance information, though desirable, may not be too meaningful as the results of evaluation could be inconsistent. There is a need to examine whether a unified framework can be derived for CPE. The aim of this paper is to improve the transparency and rigorousness of CPE through the establishment of an evaluating framework for gauging the performance of engineering consultants. In this paper, a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria is identified, and the significance of these criteria is discussed through an empirical survey. Then, a multicriteria model for evaluating the performance of engineering consultants is presented. The results indicate that once an acceptable CPE fram.
Spiral spin liquid behavior and persistent reciprocal kagome structure in frustrated van der Waals magnets and beyond

We study classical $J_1$-$J_2$ models with distinct spin degrees of freedom on a honeycomb lattice. For the XY and Heisenberg spins, the system develops a spiral spin liquid (SSL) that is a thermal cooperative paramagnetic regime with spins fluctuating around the spiral contours in the momentum space, and at low temperatures supports a vector spin-chirality order despite the absence of long-range magnetic order. In a strong contrast, for the Ising moments, the low-temperature spin correlation forms a reciprocal"kagom\'e"structure in the momentum space that resembles the SSL behaviors and persists for a range of exchange couplings. The unexpected emergence and persistence of the reciprocal"kagom\'e"are attributed to the stiffness of the Ising moments and the frustration. At higher temperatures when the thermal fluctuations is strong and the spin correlation is not fully melted, the reciprocal structures evolve from the"kagom\'e"towards the ones demanded by the soft spin limit. This contrasts strongly with the behaviors of the spiral contours in the SSL regime for the continuous spins. We suggest various experimentally relevant systems including van der Waals magnets such as the transition metal phosphorus trichalcogenides TMPX$_3$, Cr$_2$Ge$_2$Te$_6$, the rare-earth chalcohalides (like HoOF, ErOF and DyOF) and other isostructural systems to realize the SSL-like behaviors and/or the reciprocal kagom\'{e} structure.
SYNTHESIS OF SAFETY RESEARCH RELATED TO SPEED AND SPEED MANAGEMENT

This report presents a synthesis of research findings on the safety effects of speed, speed limits, enforcement, and engineering measures to manage speed. The report is the update of research on speed and speed control that was originally published in 1963 and updated in 1970 by the Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility as a chapter in "Traffic Control and Roadway Elements--Their Relationship to Highway Safety. " The synthesis was updated again in 1982 by the Federal Highway Administration. A great deal of speed related research has been carried out since that time. This synthesis highlights the results of significant safety research related to speed completed since the last update in 1982. Some of the earlier benchmark studies are summarized where appropriate. The report is a product of the FHWA-NHTSA Speed Management Team.
STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF LEAN MEAT CONTENT ON COMMERCIAL VALUE OF PORCINE CARCASSES

Summary. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of fleshing of fatteners on their commercial value, calculated on the basis of the total manufacturing costs for elements from cutting and trimming of halfcarcasses in a large meat processing plant. Analyses were conducted in 2009 on 327 porcine carcasses, divided into 16 groups with leanness ranging from 45 to 60%, each differing by 1% in the meat content. It was found that the index of carcass value increment, defining an increase in the value of 1 kg carcass at leanness increased by 1%, was 2.82 grosz in case of cutting and 7.32 grosz in case of trimming of elements from halfcarcasses. In order to increase this index in case of cutting to the level comparable to that of trimming it is necessary to differentiate purchase prices for cuts according to the EUROP classification. The recorded differing indexes of value increments for individual elements of halfcarcasses confirm the finding that in the selection of genotype for fattening the focus should be on the high proportion of the hindquarter (indexes of 5.13, 7.38 and 9.25 gr/%/kg for the forequarter, middles and the hindquarter).
Material Characterization for FEM Simulation of Sheet Metal Stamping Processes

Sheet metal forming is an important technology in manufacturing, especially in the automotive industry. Today, engineering simulation tools based on the finite elements method are employed regularly in the design of stamping dies for sheet metal parts. However, a bad material model choice or the use of nonaccurate enough parameters can lead to imprecise simulation results. This work uses ANSYS LS-DYNA software to analyze several material models and the influence of their parameter values in FEM simulation results. The main tool to solve these problems is an application designed to assist die stamp designers. The program allows a procedure to be defined to obtain the values of the properties of an unknown material, which combines finite element simulations with real experimental results. Results obtained for the simulation of a real automotive part are analyzed and compared with the real experimental results. Parameters involved in each material model have been identified, and their influence in final results has been quantified. This is very useful to fit material properties in other simulations. This paper fulfils an identified need in the manufacturing industry. In fact, the proposed application is currently being used by a manufacturer of automotive components.
Patchy Distributions and Distinct Niche Partitioning of Mycoplankton Populations across a Nearshore to Open Ocean Gradient

Fungi are an important, but understudied, group of heterotrophic microbes in marine environments. Traditionally, fungi in the coastal ocean were largely assumed to be derived from terrestrial inputs. ABSTRACT Evidence increasingly suggests planktonic fungi (or mycoplankton) play an important role in marine food webs and biogeochemical cycles. In order to better understand their ecological role and how oceanographic gradients from the coastal to open ocean shape the mycoplankton community, molecular approaches were used to study fungal dynamics along a repeatedly sampled, five-station transect beginning at the mouth of an estuary and continuing 87 km across the continental shelf to the oligotrophic waters at the boundary of the Sargasso Sea. Similar to patterns in chlorophyll a, fungal 18S rRNA gene abundance showed a sharp decrease from nearshore to offshore stations. While Shannon’s diversity was not statistically different across the transect, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination revealed that fungal communities at the nearshore station were significantly different from those at other stations. Even though spatial gradients were consistently strong, the shelf mycoplankton were more similar to those of the offshore communities when temperature was high (>20°C) and while they shifted toward the nearshore communities when temperature was low (<19°C), suggesting a role for additional seasonal factors (such as temperature) in shaping mycoplankton distributions. However, overall phylotype distributions were patchy with few taxa observed at all stations and the majority observed at a single station with the nearshore station exhibiting the largest number of exclusive phylotypes. Overall, our findings revealed the patchy spatial distributions and distinct niche partitioning of mycoplankton populations across a nearshore to open ocean gradient, which improved our understanding of fungal ecology in coastal waters. IMPORTANCE Fungi are an important, but understudied, group of heterotrophic microbes in marine environments. Traditionally, fungi in the coastal ocean were largely assumed to be derived from terrestrial inputs. Yet here we find many fungal taxa are endemic to the open ocean environment but are rare or absent in nearshore waters, suggesting they are not washed into the ocean from the land. As observed for the bacterioplankton, coastal oceanographic gradients can function as habitat barriers to partition fungal communities. Compared to the bacterioplankton, however, the mycoplankton exhibit a much patchier distribution pattern, suggesting differential drivers and the potential for spatially/temporally limited habitats or strong density-dependent selection. Therefore, our results show that mycoplankton in the coastal ocean may play a significant but complementary role to that of the bacterioplankton.
Interferon-γ-Inducible Protein 10 (IP-10) Kinetics after Antiretroviral Treatment Initiation in Ethiopian Adults with HIV

To reach the goal of elimination of HIV as public health threat, access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) has to be further scaled up. To ensure viral suppression in individuals receiving ART, novel and robust systems for treatment monitoring are required. ABSTRACT Interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) has been suggested as a marker for targeted viral load (VL) monitoring during antiretroviral treatment (ART). We aimed to determine the kinetics of IP-10 during the initial year of ART, with particular regard to the impact of tuberculosis (TB) co-infection on IP-10 secretion. Longitudinal plasma IP-10 levels were quantified in 112 treatment-naive HIV-positive adults at Ethiopian health centers, through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using samples obtained before and during the initial 12 months of ART. All participants underwent bacteriological TB investigation before starting ART. In virological responders (VRs; defined as VL < 150 copies/ml with no subsequent VL ≥ 1,000 copies/ml), IP-10 kinetics were analyzed using linear regression models. Among 91/112 (81.3%) participants classified as VRs, 17 (18.7%) had concomitant TB. Median baseline IP-10 was 650 pg/ml (interquartile range [IQR], 428–1,002) in VRs. IP-10 decline was more rapid during the first month of ART (median 306 pg/ml/month) compared with later time intervals (median 7-48 pg/ml/month, P < 0.001 in each comparison). Although VRs with TB had higher IP-10 levels at baseline (median 1106 pg/ml [IQR, 627–1,704]), compared with individuals without TB (median 628 pg/ml [IQR, 391–885]; P = 0.003), the rate of IP-10 decline during ART was similar, regardless of TB-status. During the initial year of ART, IP-10 kinetics followed a biphasic pattern in VRs, with a more rapid decline in the first month of ART compared with later time intervals. Baseline IP-10 was higher in individuals with TB versus individuals without TB, but the kinetics during ART were similar. IMPORTANCE To reach the goal of elimination of HIV as public health threat, access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) has to be further scaled up. To ensure viral suppression in individuals receiving ART, novel and robust systems for treatment monitoring are required. Targeting viral load monitoring to identify individuals at increased likelihood of treatment failure, using screening tools, could be an effective use of limited resources for viral load testing. Interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), a host inflammation mediator, has shown potential for this purpose. Here, we have investigated IP-10 kinetics in Ethiopian adults with HIV during the initial year after ART initiation. IP-10 levels decreased in parallel with viral load during ART, and prevalent tuberculosis at ART initiation did not influence IP-10 kinetics. This study shows satisfactory performance for IP-10 as a surrogate marker for viral load in persons starting ART, with no influence of concomitant tuberculosis.
Molecular evidence for the cladistic classification of euptyctimous moss mites (Acari, Oribatida, Euptyctima)

Abstract The cladistic classification of Phthiracaroidea (Niedbała 1986) and Euphthiracaroidea (Mahunka 1990) (Acari, Oribatida), based on morphological symplesio- and synapomorphic characters has been subjected to verification by molecular analysis of mitochondrial COI and nuclear ITS2, 18S and 28S DNA regions. Twenty-one selected species from representative genera of both superfamilies were analyzed. The phylogenetic trees generated by maximum likelihood method confirm the classification of ptyctimous mites resulting from the analysis of morphological characters. Mesoplophoridae, representing the supercohorts Enarthronota, were placed separately to the clade Mixonomata containing Phthiracaroidea and Euphthiracaroidea that are in a sister relationship. The percentage of genetic divergence between the main clades is high in three markers (COI, ITS2 and 28S), it ranges from 36.8% to 38.7% in the barcode marker COI from 26.0% to 35.4% in ITS2 and from 16.2% to 30.0% in 28S, while in 18S it is very low (1.1% - 3.3%). In the Phthiracaroidea, two sister clades Steganacaridae and Phthiracaridae are distinguished. Steganacaridae include three clades Atropacarus, Hoplophthiracarus and Steganacarus with Steganacarus and Tropacarus as the sister clades. Closely related S. (T.) carinatus and S. (T.) pulcherrimus are separate species. Within the Euphthiracaroidea, the four clades: Mesotritia, Microtritia, Acrotritia and Euphthiracarus are resolved. Mesotritia is the most distant, and Microtritia and Acrotritia show the closest relationship.
Phytoseiidae mites associated with native and cultivated solanaceous in Central-West Brazil

Abstract Predatory mites represent important biological control agents and those belonging to the Phytoseiidae family are the most promising for the control of phytophagous mites and small insects. The control of key pests of tomato and other solanaceous crops, highlighting phytophagous mites, has been a challenge and the biological control constitutes a promising strategy. Prospecting predatory mites in wild host plants, natural environments as well as in agroecosystems is relevant because these non-crop and crop areas can serve as reservoirs for promising species for biological control programs. This study aimed to know the Phytoseiidae fauna associated with wild and cultivated solanaceous plants in a poorly prospected area in Brazil, the Central-West Region. A detailed taxonomic identification of phytoseiid mites was conducted, and the most important morphological traits are presented for each species. In addition, associated phytophagous mites mainly belonging to the Tetranychidae, Tenuipalpidae and Eriophyoidea were identified. Surveys were carried out in 23 species of solanaceous collected in the Distrito Federal (12 areas) and Goiás State (1 area), from February 2017 to January 2018. Nineteen species of predators belonging to ten genera were recorded: Amblyseius (2 species), Euseius (3), Galendromus (1), Iphiseiodes (1), Neoseiulus (3), Paraphytoseius (1), Phytoseius (3), Proprioseiopsis (2), Typhlodromalus (2, one probably new to science) and Typhlodromips (1). Solanum lycocarpum was the solanaceous that harbored the highest richness (11 species), as well as the one with the highest abundance of phytoseiids (250 specimens). Typhlodromalus aripo was the most common species, being the most abundant (423 specimens; 32%) and registered on the largest number of hosts (14). Many of phytoseiid species found present morphological traits that facilitate their occurrence in leaves with trichomes, as in the case of tomato and other cultivated solanaceous. These traits and the association between predators and phytophagous mites may indicate that these species are promising for biological control programms. Thus, extensive studies to assess the efficiency of the identified predatory mites to control key solanaceous pests are required.
Benefits of vitamin D supplementation to attenuate TBI secondary injury?

Abstract Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to improve outcomes for patients suffering from a variety of illnesses such as stroke and cancer. Vitamin D deficiencies have been associated with longer hospital stays, greater severity of symptoms, and death in some complex cases. Due to vitamin D’s burgeoning role in improving patient outcomes, a new sector of research is focusing on the lesser-known implications of vitamin D on health. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects approximately 69 million people worldwide per year. Here, we summarize the current scientific understanding of vitamin D dynamics with TBI to elucidate a potential way to lessen the cascade of secondary damage after an initial insult, with the goal of improving overall patient outcomes. Because vitamin D supplementation has been correlated with better outcomes in other pathologies involving immune and inflammatory molecules, it is important to study the potential effect of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and supplementation on TBI outcomes. Research on vitamin D supplementation in TBI remains in the preliminary stages. There is still much to learn about vitamin D deficiency, dosage, variants of supplementary forms, mechanisms, and its role in TBI.
Reliability in Short-Channel p-Type Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-Film Transistor under High Gate and Drain Bias Stress

We have investigated the electrical characteristics of short-channel p-type excimer laser annealed (ELA) polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) under high gate and drain bias stress. We found that the threshold voltage of short-channel TFTs was significantly shifted in the negative direction owing to high gate and drain bias stress (ΔVTH = -2.08 V), whereas that of long-channel TFTs was rarely shifted in the negative direction (ΔVTH = -0.10 V). This negative shift of threshold voltage in the short-channel TFT may be attributed to interface state generation near the source junction and deep trap state creation near the drain junction between the poly-Si film and the gate insulator layer. It was also found that the gate-to-drain capacitance (CGD) characteristic of the stressed TFT severely stretched for the gate voltage below the flat band voltage VFB. The effects of high gate and drain bias stress are related to hot-hole-induced donor like interface state generation. The transfer characteristics of the forward and reverse modes after the high gate and drain bias stress also indicate that the interface state generation at the gate insulator/channel interface occurred near the source junction region.
Enhanced bit rate‐distance product impulse radio ultra‐wideband over fiber link

We report on a record distance and bit rate‐wireless impulse radio (IR) ultra‐wideband (UWB) link with combined transmission over a 20 km long fiber link. We are able to improve the compliance with the regulated frequency emission mask and achieve bit rate‐distance products as high as 16 Gbit/s·m. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52: 1679–1680, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.25234
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Imaging Technology

This paper presents short review of the OCT technology concepts, including the recently emerging low-cost OCT devices. Technology concept of Fourier-domain OCT, based on spectral interferometry, is presented: spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) and swept-source OCT (SS-OCT). Technical properties of the recently developed low-cost OCT solutions are reviewed. Advanced OCT measurements in clinical ophthalmology are discussed, with relevant case studies. Further research directions that consider AI-based methods in OCT imaging is briefly presented.
Estimating Impulse-Response Functions for Macroeconomic Models using Directional Quantiles

Abstract A multivariate vector autoregressive model is used to construct the distribution of the impulse-response functions of macroeconomics shocks. In particular, the paper studies the distribution of the short-, medium-, and long-term effects after a shock. Structural and reduced form quantile vector autoregressive models are developed where heterogeneity in conditional effects can be evaluated through multivariate quantile processes. The distribution of the responses can then be obtained by using uniformly distributed random vectors. An empirical example of exchange rate pass-through in Argentina is presented.
Diversity of drought tolerance and seed yield in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) hybrids

Randomized complete block design with four replications in two drought and non-drought environments was used for this study. Drought resistance indices were calculated based on seed yield in stress and non-stress conditions. The results showed that GMP and STI were the best drought resistance indices so had the positive and significant correlation with Yp and Ys. Three dimensional graph showed that RFG5*AF80, G-543 and Farokh were the drought resistant hybrids. These hybrids had the highest amount of Yp, Ys, GMP and STI that revealed the highest yield potential as well as drought tolerance in these genotypes. Because of that these hybrids have promised potential to cultivate in drought prone environments. Regression analysis revealed that the traits grain filling rate, grain filling duration and water use efficiency accounted for 97.0% of total variation exist in seed yield. Path coefficient analysis demonstrated the highest and positive direct effect of grain filling rate and grain filling duration on seed yield in sunflower hybrids. Water use efficiency had low direct effect while high indirect effects via grain filling duration on seed yield. Therefore, the study revealed the importance of total grain filling rate and grain filling duration as indirect selection criteria for genetic improvement of seed yield in sunflower breeding programs especially in early generations. On the other hand, indirect effects of water use efficiency through grain filling duration on seed yield have promising result in selection programs.