Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Auto-tuning Spark with Bayesian optimisation

Computer systems are difficult to auto-tune because they are long running and they have many configurable variables. This project presents a sample-efficient, highdimensional auto-tuner which uses Bayesian optimisation with a directed-acyclicgraph (DAG) surrogate model. The tuner is specialised for computer systems, and uses a system’s architecture, its intermediate metrics and its previous evaluations to tune its performance. On a case study of Apache Spark, my tuner optimised six configurable variables to improve Spark’s throughput by 10% over its default configuration after 40 Spark evaluations. This project contributed a novel implementation of DAG models, including a new method to generate the posterior distribution. I added support for deterministic, first-order optimisation techniques to fit the DAG model and optimise the acquisition function. Furthermore, I added support for batch processing on a GPU, which reduced its computation time by a factor of 10 versus a CPU. The implementation is readily available to other researchers as a pluggable module in the BoTorch software stack. The Spark case study has shown that the tuner is practical on a real-world problem, provides noise-robust optimisation, and is able to overcome difficult issues such as categorical variables. This case study used an expert-defined DAG to model the performance of each of Spark’s sub-systems and used these sub-models to predict Spark’s overall performance. This tackled the curse of dimensionality by reducing the dimensionality of each sub-system from six to four. The methodology used to build the Spark DAG model is accessible to systems researchers so they can use DAGs to model the performance of many other computer systems.
On the properties of contact binary stars

We have compiled a catalogue of light curve solutions of contact binary stars. It contains the results of 159 light curve solutions. The properties of contact binary stars were studied using the catalogue data. As is well known since Lucy's ([CITE],b) and Mochnacki's ([CITE]) studies, primary components transfer their own energy to the secondary star via the common envelope around the two stars. This transfer was parameterized by a transfer parameter (ratio of the observed and intrinsic luminosities of the primary star). We prove that this transfer parameter is a simple function of the mass and luminosity ratios. We introduced a new type of contact binary stars: H subtype systems which have a large mass ratio ($q>0.72$). These systems show behaviour in the luminosity ratio- transfer parameter diagram that is very different from that of other systems and according to our results the energy transfer rate is less efficient in them than in other types of contact binary stars. We also show that different types of contact binaries have well defined locations on the mass ratio – luminosity ratio diagram. Several contact binary systems do not follow Lucy's relation ($L_2/L_1 = (M_2/M_1)^{0.92}$). No strict mass ratio – luminosity ratio relation of contact binary stars exists.
Momentum flow correlations from event shapes: Factorized soft gluons and soft-collinear effective theory

The distributions of two-jet event shapes contain information on hadronization in QCD. Near the two-jet limit, these distributions can be described by convolutions of nonperturbative event shape functions with the same distributions calculated in resummed perturbation theory. The shape functions, in turn, are determined by correlations of momentum flow operators with each other and with lightlike Wilson lines, which describe the coupling of soft, wide-angle radiation to jets. We observe that leading power corrections to the mean values of event shapes are determined by the correlation of a single momentum flow operator with the relevant Wilson lines. This generalizes arguments for the universality of leading power corrections based on the low-scale behavior of the running coupling or resummation. We also show how a study of the angularity event shapes can provide information on correlations involving multiple momentum flow operators, giving a window to the system of QCD dynamics that underlies the variety of event shape functions. In deriving these results, we review, develop and compare factorization techniques in conventional perturbative QCD and soft-collinear effective theory (SCET). We give special emphasis to the elimination of double counting of momentum regions in these two formalisms.
New spectro-photometric characterization of the substellar object HR 2562 B using SPHERE

HR2562 is an F5V star located at ~33 pc from the Sun hosting a substellar companion that was discovered using the GPI instrument. The main objective of the present paper is to provide an extensive characterisation of the substellar companion, by deriving its fundamental properties. We observed HR 2562 with the near-infrared branch (IFS and IRDIS) of SPHERE at the VLT. During our observations IFS was operating in the YJ band, while IRDIS was observing with the $H$ broad-band filter. The data were reduced with the dedicated SPHERE GTO pipeline, which is custom-designed for this instrument. On the reduced images, we then applied the post-processing procedures that are specifically prepared to subtract the speckle noise. The companion is clearly detected in both IRDIS and IFS datasets. We obtained photometry in three different spectral bands. The comparison with template spectra allowed us to derive a spectral type of T2-T3 for the companion. Using both evolutionary and atmospheric models we inferred the main physical parameters of the companion obtaining a mass of 32+/-14$~MJup, T_{eff}=1100+/-200 K and log(g)=4.75+/-0.41.
X-Ray Lighthouses of the High-Redshift Universe: Probing the Most Luminous z > 4 Palomar Digital Sky Survey Quasars with Chandra

We present the results from exploratory Chandra observations of nine high-redshift (z = 4.09–4.51) optically selected quasars. These quasars, taken from the Palomar Digital Sky Survey (DPOSS), are among the optically brightest and most luminous z > 4 quasars known (MB ≈ -28.4 to -30.2). All have been detected by Chandra in exposure times of ≈5–6 ks, tripling the number of highly luminous quasars (MB < -28.4) with X-ray detections at z > 4. These quasars' average broadband spectral energy distributions are characterized by steeper (more negative) αox values (⟨αox⟩ = -1.81 ± 0.03) than those of lower luminosity, lower redshift samples of quasars. We confirm the presence of a significant correlation between the ultraviolet magnitude and soft X-ray flux previously found for z > 4 quasars. The joint ≈2–30 keV rest-frame X-ray spectrum of the nine quasars is well parameterized by a simple power-law model whose photon index, Γ ≈ 2.0 ± 0.2, is consistent with those of lower redshift quasars. No evidence for significant amounts of intrinsic absorption has been found (NH ≲ 8.8 × 1021 cm-2 at 90% confidence). In general, our results show that z ≈ 4.1–4.5 quasars and local quasars have reasonably similar X-ray and broadband spectra (once luminosity effects are taken into account), suggesting that the accretion mechanisms in these objects are similar. We also present near-simultaneous optical spectra for these quasars obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope; this is the first time optical spectra have been published for seven of these objects. The objects presented in this paper are among the best z > 4 targets for X-ray spectroscopy with XMM-Newton and next-generation, large-area X-ray telescopes. These will detect or constrain iron Kα emission lines down to rest-frame equivalent widths of ≈50 eV and intrinsic column densities down to NH values roughly a few times 1021 cm-2 at z ≈ 4. We also present 45 new ROSAT upper limits for z ≥ 4 quasars and a likely (3 σ) HRI detection of the blazar GB 1713+2148 at z = 4.01.
‘Factory farming’? Public perceptions of farm sizes and sustainability in animal farming

Farm sizes play an important role in increasing public debates surrounding the sustainability of agriculture, specifically of animal farming. While research cannot find consistent relationships between sustainability and farm sizes, the ‘small-is-beautiful’-hypothesis remains still prominent in public perceptions. The aim of this study is to deeply analyze public associations coming with small and large farms with a focus on sustainability issues, including animal welfare. We additionally consider the memory of media reporting on farms with different sizes, wishes for legal regulations on farm and herd sizes, and the persuasiveness of scientific results that disentangle farm size from sustainability aspects. To answer these questions, an online survey with 985 German residents was conducted in May 2021 and descriptively analyzed. Although the attribute ‘small numbers of animals’ range among the less important ones that constitute an ‘ideal animal farm’ (rank 10 of 12 attributes), the large majority of participants (75.8%) reveal a preference for small over large animal farms. This is backed up by the perception that small farms are advantageous in terms of good animal welfare, environmental protection and product quality, but disadvantaged when it comes to profitability. Additionally, negative media reporting on animal farms (remembered by 92%) is more frequently related to large farms (82.5%) whereas positive media reporting (remembered by 81.4%) are mainly linked to small farms by 56.8%. More than half of respondents wish for regulations that limit farm and barn sizes. Scientific results finding no relationship between farm size and animal protection or climate protection are convincing for only 33.0% and 39.8% of the sample, respectively. A large farm size acts as a proxy for farming systems with low animal welfare and conservation levels. This challenges communications about the future of farming with the public as it can be assumed that farm sizes will further increase.
Assessing Genetic Associations with Depressive Features and Body Mass Index in Samoans

The co-occurrence of depression and obesity has significant public health implications due to their potentially compounding and debilitating effects. The Samoan population provides a unique opportunity to further investigate the relationship, a component of which may be genetic, between obesity and depression because of the high prevalence of obesity. The first aim of this research is to determine if the three genetic variants associated with depression in Europeans are associated with the depressive features of helplessness and hopelessness in a sample of 519 Polynesians. The second aim is to determine if there is an association between the three genetic variants and BMI. In ordinal regression of helplessness and hopelessness on age, sex, BMI, and genotype I observed no significant associations, except for an association between higher age and higher reported hopelessness. In linear regression of BMI on age, sex, and genotype I observed associations between both lower age and female sex with higher BMI. However, there were no significant associations between genotype and BMI. Although I did not see associations between three genetic variants and the depressive features of helplessness and hopelessness or BMI, additional study of genetic variation and depressive features and BMI could identify pleiotropy between these phenotypes. Association between age and hopelessness is intriguing and additional exploration to investigate the robustness of this association and its underlying causes could enhance awareness, prevention,
Impacts of biomass burning and photochemical processing on the light absorption of brown carbon in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract. Brown carbon (BrC) in the atmosphere can greatly influence aerosol's radiative forcing over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) because it has the non-negligible capacity of light absorption compared to black carbon (BC); however, our understanding of optical properties, sources, and atmospheric processes of BrC in this region remains limited. In this study, a multiple-wavelength Aethalometer coupled with a quadrupole aerosol chemical speciation monitor was deployed to investigate the highly time resolved BrC in the submicron aerosol at the southeastern edge of the TP during the pre-monsoon season. The results showed that BrC made substantial contributions (20.0 %–40.2 %) to the light absorption of submicron aerosol from 370 to 660 nm. Organic aerosol (OA), an alternative to BrC, was split into a biomass burning OA (BBOA) with aging processes and a photochemical-oxidation-processed oxygenated OA (po-OOA) by a hybrid environmental receptor model analysis. Combined with the light absorption coefficient of BrC (babs-BrC), the source-specific mass absorption cross sections of BBOA (0.61–2.78 m2 g−1) and po-OOA (0.30–1.43 m2 g−1) at 370–660 nm were retrieved. On average, babs-BrC from po-OOA (1.3–6.0 Mm−1) was comparable to that from BBOA (1.3–6.0 Mm−1) at all wavelengths. The concentration-weighted trajectory analysis showed that the most important potential source regions for babs-BrC values from BBOA and po-OOA were located in northern Myanmar and along the China–Myanmar border, indicating the cross-border transport of BrC from Southeast Asia. A “simple forcing efficiency” evaluation further illustrated the importance of the BrC radiative effect with the high fractional radiative forcing by two OAs relative to BC (48.8 ± 15.5 %). This study highlights a significant influence of BrC of biomass burning origin and secondary formation on climate change over the TP region during the pre-monsoon season.
Inflation from branes at angles

In this lecture I will review the present status of inflation within string-based brane-world scenarios. The idea is to start from a supersymmetric configuration with two parallel static Dp-branes, and slightly break the supersymmetry conditions to produce a very flat potential for the field that parametrises the distance between the branes, i.e. the inflaton field. This breaking can be achieved in various ways. I will describe one of the simplest examples described in Ref. [1]: two almost parallel D4-branes in a flat compactified space, with a small relative angle between the branes, softly breaking supersymmetry. If the breaking parameter is sufficiently small, a large number of e-folds can be produced within the D-brane, for small changes of the configuration in the compactified directions. Such a process is local, i.e. it does not depend very strongly on the compactification space nor on the initial conditions. Moreover, the breaking induces a very small velocity and acceleration, which ensures very small slow-roll parameters and thus an almost scale invariant spectrum of metric fluctuations, responsible for the observed temperature and polarization anisotropies in the microwave background. Another prediction of the model is the small amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum, which may not be detectable in the near future. Inflation ends as in hybrid inflation, triggered by the negative curvature of the string tachyon potential.
Celebrity-Induced Yoga Tourism: The Case of Amritapuri Ashram, India

The present-day stress, societal changes, and hectic life make the quest for mental and physical well-being. The market for yoga tourism has been growing ever before. Ashrams and Gurus are vital aspects of Yoga tourism. These religious gurus are functional celebrities with millions of followers and franchises worldwide. Gurus are inextricably linked to the global popularisation of Yoga, and they have the potential to be more convincing than government initiatives since they travel to and through more nations and establish personal contact zones between multinational groups. To this end, this study examines the significance of religious gurus as celebrities in promoting Yoga tourism. This research utilized a qualitative interpretive approach by the application of Netnography. The findings emphasize the substantial role of religious gurus in tourists’ motivation, behavioral intentions, destination attachment, and ashram selection. The study also connects the search for authenticity in the well-being tour with the pleasant tourism experience that Yoga ashrams offer.
Fundamental Oxidation Processes in the Remote 1 Marine Atmosphere Investigated Using the NO- 2 NO 2 -O 3 Photostationary State 3

The photostationary state (PSS) equilibrium between NO and NO 2 is reached within minutes in the atmosphere and can be described by the PSS parameter, φ. Deviations from expected values of φ have previously been used to infer missing oxidants in diverse locations, 20 from highly polluted regions to the extremely clean conditions observed in the remote marine boundary layer (MBL), and have been interpreted as missing understanding of fundamental photochemistry. Here, contrary to these previous observations, we observe good agreement between PSS-derived NO 2 ([NO 2 ] PSS ext. ) calculated from photochemical model predictions of peroxy radicals (RO 2 and HO 2 ) and measured NO, O 3 , and j NO 2 , and observed NO 2 in 25 extremely clean air containing low levels of CO (< 90 ppbV) and VOCs. However, in clean air containing small amounts of aged pollution (CO > 100 ppbV), we observed higher levels of NO 2 than inferred from the PSS, with [NO 2 ] Obs. /[NO 2 ] PSS ext. of 1.12-1.68 (25 th -75 th percentile) implying 18.5-104 pptV (25 th -75 th percentile) of missing RO 2 radicals. Potential NO 2 measurement artefacts have to be carefully considered when comparing PSS-derived NO 2 to 30 observed NO 2 , but we show that the NO 2 artefact required to explain the deviation would have to be ~ 4 times greater than the maximum calculated from known interferences. If the missing RO 2 radicals have an ozone production efficiency equivalent to that of methyl peroxy radicals (CH 3 O 2 ), then the calculated net ozone production including these additional oxidants is similar to that observed, within estimated uncertainties, once halogen oxide chemistry is accounted 35 for. This implies that peroxy radicals cannot be excluded as the missing oxidant in clean marine air containing aged pollution, and that measured and modelled RO 2 are both significantly underestimated under these conditions. state NO2-NO airborne observations
Differential feeding habits of the shallow-water hydrothermal vent crab Xenograpsus testudinatus correlate with their resident vent types at a scale of meters

Abstract. The shallow-water hydrothermal vents (SVs) located off Kueishan (KS) Island, Taiwan, are one of the world's most intensively studied vent systems. It has long been known that white vents (WVs) and yellow vents (YVs) differ in the color and composition of the vent plumes. The endemic vent crabs (Xenograpsus testudinatus) are abundant in both vent types, and ovigerous females migrate to the vent periphery with a distance of 100–200 m to release their offspring. However, most research on the vent crabs was associated with WV or unspecified vent areas. To increase our knowledge of the crabs dwelling in other vent types, we compared the feeding habits of the vent crabs living in WV and YV with 2 sampling months. Specifically, we examined the benthic community of WV and YV, the isotopic niche width, and protein expression patterns of the crabs from the two vents at a distance of 100 m and sampled in July and August 2010. The coverage of sessile organisms and low-mobility fauna in WV was more abundant than in YV, based on the survey in August 2010. The δ13C and δ15N values of crabs differed spatially and temporally (multivariate analysis of variance test; p<0.05). The niche width of the vent crabs from YV-August (0.88 ‰2) narrowed substantially compared to the rest, i.e., YV-July (2.94 ‰2), WV-July (2.88 ‰2), and WV-August (3.62 ‰2; p<0.05), respectively. Based on the protein expression patterns, the vent crabs exhibited three groups, i.e., WV-July and YV-July, WV-August, and YV-August, respectively. Our results indicated that the dwelling crabs were associated with their living vent, and within-vent variability was more noticeable in YV compared to WV. We suggested that vent crabs inhabit their resident vent. Even at a scale of meters, trans-vent movement is probably rare as an adaptation to minimize predation risk.
Spectroscopic Confirmation of a Large Population of Active Galactic Nuclei in Clusters of Galaxies

We have completed a spectroscopic survey of X-ray point sources in eight low-redshift clusters of galaxies (0.05 < z < 0.31) and have identified 40 cluster members with broadband (0.3-8 keV) X-ray luminosities between LX = 8 × 1040 and 4 × 1043 ergs s-1. There are between two and 10 X-ray sources per cluster. We use visible-wavelength emission lines, X-ray spectral shapes, and multiwavelength flux ratios to determine that at least 35 of these galaxies are active galactic nuclei (AGNs). From our spectroscopic survey of other candidate cluster members we estimate that the AGN fraction fA is ~5% for cluster galaxies more luminous than MR = -20 mag hosting AGNs with broadband X-ray luminosities above LX = 1041 ergs s-1, or fA(MR < -20; LX > 1041) ~ 5%. We stress that additional, lower luminosity AGNs are expected to be present in the MR < -20 mag cluster members. Our data unambiguously demonstrate that cluster galaxies host AGNs more frequently than previously expected. Only four of these galaxies have obvious visible-wavelength AGN signatures, even though their X-ray luminosities are too high for their X-ray emission to be due to populations of low-mass X-ray binaries or hot, gaseous halos. We attribute the significant difference in visible and X-ray AGN identification to dilution of low-luminosity AGN spectral signatures by host galaxy starlight and/or obscuration of accretion onto the central, supermassive black hole.
A Spectral Line Survey from 138.3 to 150.7 GHz toward Orion-KL

We present the results of a spectral line survey from 138.3 to 150.7 GHz toward Orion-KL. The observations were made using the 14 m radio telescope of Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory. Typical system temperatures were between 500 and 700 K, with the sensitivity between 0.02 and 0.06 K in units of T. A total of 149 line spectra are detected in this survey. Fifty lines have been previously reported; however, we find 99 new detections. Among these new lines, 33 are "unidentified," while 66 are from molecular transitions with known identifications. There is no detection of H or He recombination lines. The identified spectra are from a total of 15 molecular species and their isotopic variants. In the range from 138.3 to 150.7 GHz, the strongest spectral line is the J = 3-2 transition of the CS molecule, followed by transitions of H2CO, CH3OH, CH3CN, and SO2. Spectral lines from the large organic molecules such as CH3OH, CH3OCH3, HCOOCH3, C2H5CN, and CH3CN are prominent, with 80% of the identified lines arising from transitions of these molecules. The rotational temperatures and column densities are derived using the standard rotation diagram analysis for CH3OH (13CH3OH), HCOOCH3, CH3CN, and SO2 at 10-270 K and 0.2-20 × 1015 cm-2. These estimates are fairly comparable to the values for the same molecules found in other frequency regions by other studies.
Measuring the Thermal Accommodation Coefficient while Aerobraking Magellan

The Magellan spacecraft was inserted into an elliptical orbit around the planet Venus on August 10, 1990. A small aerodynamic force was applied later to the spacecraft for 730 consecutive orbits to lower the apoapsis of the orbit from 8500 km to 541 km. Atmospheric drag removed a maximum of 2 m/sec per orbit from the velocity at periapsis for a total delta-V of 1200 m/sec. This paper will discuss the thermal accommodation coefficient which was inferred from one of the four solar panel temperature measurements from the aerobraking pass through the atmosphere.