Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Avoiding the Ordering Trap in Systems Performance Measurement

It is common for performance studies of computer systems to make the assumption—either explicitly or implicitly—that results from each trial are independent. One place this assumption manifests is in experiment design, speciﬁcally in the order in which trials are run: if trials do not affect each other, the order in which they are run is unimportant. If, however, the execution of one trial does affect system state in ways that alter the results of future trials, this assumption does not hold, and ordering must be taken into account in experiment design. In the simplest example, if all trials with system setting A are run before all trials with setting B , this can systematically bias experiment results leading to the incorrect conclusion that “ A is better than B ” or vice versa. In this paper, we: (a) explore, via a literature and artifact survey, whether experiment ordering is taken in to consideration at top computer systems conferences; (b) devise a methodology for studying the effects of ordering on performance experiments, including statistical tests for order dependence; and (c) conduct the largest-scale empirical study to date on experiment ordering, using a dataset we collected over 9 months comprising nearly 2.3M measurements from over 1,700 servers. Our analysis shows that ordering effects are a hidden but dangerous trap that published performance experiments are not typically designed to avoid. We describe OrderSage, a tool that we have built to help detect and mitigate these effects, and use it on a number of case studies, including ﬁnding previously unknown ordering effects in an artifact from a published paper.
Observation of the Aerosol Plume From the 2022 Hunga Tonga—Hunga Ha'apai Eruption With SAGE III/ISS

The Tonga eruption of 15 January 2022 has released a long‐lived stratospheric plume of sulfate aerosols. More than 17 months after, we focus on the high quality data series of SAGE III (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) on board the International Space Station (ISS) to determine the mean radius and size distribution of the aerosols and their total mass. The persisting volcanic aerosols—with a mode width of 1.25 and an effective radius of 0.4 μm—differ from the significantly smaller background aerosols and from those measured during recent stratospheric eruptions. The sulfuric acid mass between 50°S and 30°N is estimated to be very stable in spite of considerable redistribution in latitude at a value of 0.66 ± 0.1 Tg, corresponding to an initial sulfur dioxide emission of 0.44 Tg. Such properties are expected to facilitate the persistence of a climate warming due to the volcanic water vapor.
Word-level Textual Adversarial Attacking as Combinatorial Optimization

1. What is the primary lesson(s) you took away from this paper (avoid abstract level summary)? The authors in this paper introduced a novel black-box word-level adversarial attack, SememePSO-Attack, that incorporates the sememe-based word substitution method and particle swarm optimization-based search algorithm. Firstly, the authors designed a word substitution method based on sememes (the minimum semantic units), which could retain more potential valid adversarial examples with high quality. Secondly, they presented a search algorithm based on particle swarm optimization, which is very efficient and performs better in finding adversarial examples.
Calibration of Large Neural Weather Models

Uncertainty quantification of weather forecasts is a necessity for reliably planning for and responding to extreme weather events in a warming world. This motivates the need for well-calibrated ensembles in probabilistic weather forecasting. We present initial results for the calibration of large-scale deep neural weather models for data-driven probabilistic weather forecasting. By explicitly accounting for uncertainties about the forecast’s initial condition and model parameters, we generate ensemble forecasts that show promising results on standard diagnostics for probabilistic forecasts. Specifically, we are approaching the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS), the gold standard on probabilistic weather forecasting, on: (i) the spread-error agreement; and (ii) the Continuous Ranked Probability Score (CRPS). Our approach scales to state-of-the-art data-driven weather models, enabling cheap post-hoc calibration of pretrained models with tens of millions of parameters and paving the way towards the next generation of well-calibrated data-driven weather models.
Identifying the Main Causes for Support of Crime Control Theater Forms, and Understanding How to Correct the Public’s Perception

Much research has been completed on the forms of crime control theater (CCT), and the impact that the existence of CCT laws have on society. Research on CCT laws has shown that they are definitively unsuccessful in providing the safety they were created to provide. This thesis will utilize completed research to explain the main psychological phenomena holding people back from decreasing their support for CCT laws. It will also describe proven methods of correcting misinformation in order to change the perceptions of people who support crime control theater laws, and provide suggestions for how research should be continued.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Numerical Investigation on the Suitability of a PCM/Refrigerant Hybrid Cooling System for Lithium-Ion Batteries A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment on the requirements for the Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering By

Numerical Investigation on the Suitability of a PCM/Refrigerant Hybrid Cooling System for Lithium-Ion Batteries By Jesse Kittleson Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering As electric vehicles become more prevalent, the need for safe, efficient battery packs will drastically increase. Lithium-ion batteries are at the forefront of this technology due to their high voltage, high energy density, long lifespan, and low self discharge rate relative to other battery options. The performance and lifespan of a lithium-ion battery pack is closely related to its temperature. Safety is also a concern, as thermal runaway can occur at temperatures above 353K. As a result, battery thermal management systems (BTMS) are required to maintain the temperature at a safe level. The performance of a convective heat transfer and phase change hybrid BTMS has been evaluated numerically using Ansys Fluent. Refrigerant R134a is the primary focus of this paper due to its use in the existing air conditioning system. Its performance is then compared to that of water and air cooling. Paraffin and a paraffin/graphite composite are used as the phase change material (PCM), and their performance is compared to that of aluminum, representing the
Longitudinal Modeling Of Early Hiv Burden In The Central Nervous System

LONGITUDINAL MODELING OF EARLY HIV BURDEN IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM V. Diego Armengol, Veronika Shabanova, Lars Hagberg, Richard Price, Magnus Gisslén, Serena S. Spudich. 1 Department of Neurology, Yale University, School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. 2 Department of Biostatistics, Yale University, School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. 3 Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden. 4 University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Background: The dynamics of plasma HIV replication during early infection including establishment of a viral set-point are well-known. However, the course of HIV in the central nervous system (CNS) after initial entry of HIV into this compartment is less understood. Using longitudinal samples, we modeled the natural history of HIV RNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma during early HIV prior to initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART). Methods: Participants with primary HIV infection (PHI, within 12 months of initial infection) were enrolled in prospective studies with paired longitudinal sampling of blood and CSF conducted in San Francisco, USA, and Gothenburg, Sweden prior to test-andtreat guidelines. This analysis incorporated all samples available over the first 3 years of infection from visits where participants were ART-naïve. HIV RNA assays had a lower limit of quantification of 40 copies per mL. Mean trajectory of CSF HIV RNA levels relative to time from infection was characterized using a restricted cubic spline function of time accounting for the correlated data within subjects. Parametric linear mixed effects models (LME) were also estimated to account for the covariate CD4/CD8 ratio and to confirm results from the spline analysis. Results: The final analytical cohort included 110 PHI participants (95% male, median age = 37, days post infection = 91 at enrollment) with 228 CSF and 247 plasma measurements. The model shows an initial decrease in CSF HIV RNA over the first 100 days of estimated infection, after which CSF HIV RNA begins to increase at a slow rate. Similar trends were seen in the plasma model, but at higher absolute values of HIV RNA copies/mL and with a narrower confidence interval compared to CSF. Plasma-CSF viral load difference declined rapidly in the first 100 days of infection. We confirmed the mean trajectory of change in HIV RNA derived from the cubic splines approach using the parametric LME model. Blood CD4/CD8 ratio negatively correlated with CSF HIV RNA, as there was a 0.69 unit decrease in log10(CSF HIV RNA) for each unit increase in the CD4/CD8 ratio (p = 0.0005). Conclusions: The viral dynamics in the CSF of ART-naïve individuals over the first 36 months of infection support the early spread of HIV to the CNS, and indicate that HIV replication is maintained in this compartment throughout the course of early infection prior to ART. Early initiation of ART may limit nervous system exposure to pathogenic effects of viral replication.
Clinical study and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) of a Robot-Assisted Gait Training on children with neurological disorders: A quasi-experimental study

Background: Even if clinical evidence on effectiveness is still lacking, innovative technological solutions like robotic gait training technologies are gaining increasing attention in pediatric neuromotor rehabilitation. Aim: This study aims to provide clinical-technological analysis for pediatric rehabilitation centers, build a rationale for driving future ideal rehabilitative pathways, and identify the most relevant criteria to evaluate robotic rehabilitation of the gait. Design: Pre-post test design. Setting: The robotic device comprises a bilaterally driven gait orthosis, computer-controlled guidance, and a non-immersive virtual reality system. Robotic-assisted locomotor treadmill therapy (RAGT) training was customized regarding training onset, duration, and specific gait parameters. Population: We assessed 47 patients (mean age: 9.6 years, SD: 3.8 years; 23 females) with several neurologic diseases subjected to RAGT and patient-centered therapy (i.e., traditional therapy). Methods: Inpatients were assessed in motor control, gait, cognition, and autonomies. The clinical investigation was integrated with a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) study, to investigate the introduction and impact of RAGT compared to patient-centered rehabilitation techniques and identify the most relevant criteria to assess the use of robotic rehabilitation technologies. Results: The Patient-centered vs. Hybrid (RAGT+patient-centered) group showed a statistically significant difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment in Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFM) total mean score (p=0.02). A significant increase in the distance walked J Health Soc Sci 2023, 8, 1, 76–92. Doi: 10.19204/2023/clnc6 77 in 6 minutes was found in the comparison between pre and post-treatment evaluation in the hybrid group: average pre-post 126 vs. 156 meters (t(13) = 2.78: p<0.01). Conclusions: The HTA process provided the weights of each evaluation element described in the decision tree. Safety is considered the most important domain, followed by Ethical Aspects and Clinical Effectiveness, which reached about the same weight as the technical characteristics. Less importance was given to organizational aspects and costs. Take-home message: This study provides a detailed analysis of all the possible implications and aspects that should be considered in decision-making about introducing a robotic rehabilitation system in clinical units.
Self-heating induced instability of oxide thin film transistors under dynamic stress

Degradation caused by Joule heating of transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) is an important issue for display technology. Deep understanding of the mechanism of self-heating degradation generated by driving pulse voltage will pave the way for the development of highly reliable flexible displays. In this work, by using a pseudo interval measurement method, we examined the relationship of the highest and the lowest heating temperature in pulse 1 cycle and frequency. These self-heating converged to a constant temperature under pulse voltage applied at 1 kHz. Moreover, the long-term reliability under positive-bias stress voltage at 1 kHz of low converged temperature condition was improved relative to that of the stress voltage at 10 Hz of dynamic temperature change condition. We discussed the degradation mechanism of oxide TFTs generated by pulse voltage, and clarified that the degradation was accelerated by thermionic emission which occurred at low frequency.
A Grounded Theory of Enterprising Mothers: Work-Life Balancing of Women in Fiji

Gender equality is recognized as crucial for firms’ growth. This paper attempts to investigate how and why do certain sociocultural and structural factors influence sustained gender inequality in Fiji? And then, using Grounded Theory (GT) method, it attempts to conceptualise how are Fijian working mothers striving to promote equality and diversity in the workplace, society, and family-life? By employing Grounded theory (GT) method, semi-structured interviews (32) were used to collect data from high-ranked officers in private and public sectors and, the interview transcripts were analysed using GT techniques: iterative and recursive processes of coding, categorising, theoretical sampling and constant comparison. The core category, “enterprising mothers need comprehensive support for equal status,” emerged from Fijian executive mothers’ efforts in: (1) securing a fair share for females in senior-management positions with the support of legal backing; (2) discouraging women’s reticent attitudes towards sociocultural suppressions of gender equality; (3) challenging certain discriminatory structural factors and self-effacing allegations; and (4) balancing work-life and endeavouring career advancements. This study attempts, for the first time, to theorise these Fijian working mothers’ efforts to conquer gender inequality and to expose how the Fijian sociocultural and structural system influences sustained gender inequality.
Isolation, Identification and Effect of Fungi from Rhizosphere of Diseased Amaranthus hybridus L., Solanum lycopersicum L., Lactuca sativa L. and Allium fistulosum L Vegetable Crops in selected Farms in Lagos State, Nigeria

Soil microorganisms play prominent roles in soil health, promotion of crop growth and incidence of disease. The objective of this study was to isolate, identify and understand the impact of fungi isolated from rhizosphere and diseased Amaranthus hybridus L. , Solanum lycopersicum L. , Lactuca sativa L. and Allium fistulosum L vegetable crops in selected farms in Lagos State of Nigeria using standard techniques. A pathogenicity test was conducted to ascertain the pathogen responsible for crop diseases. A total of 138 fungi isolates comprising of 26 fungi species were isolated from the four selected farms. Idi-Araba farm had the highest fungi isolates with 46%, Mile 12 contributed 24% fungi isolates, Iyana Iba had 18% while the least contribution was Badagry farm with 12% fungi isolates. Five were found to be pathogenic on the vegetables which include Fusarium oxysporium, Fusarium solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, Alternaria alternata, and Colletotrichum gleosporoides. Thirty-three (33%) percent of pathogenic fungi isolated were from Idi-araba farm, Iyana-Iba and Mile 12 farms contributed 25% respectively while Badagry farm contributed 17% pathogenic fungi. Our results showed that the presence of pathogenic fungi in all farms is the principal cause of crop disease and severe post-harvest losses.
Psychedelic-assisted therapy: Support for the REBUS hypothesis and its application to specific psychiatric illnesses

For centuries, psychedelic substances have been a part of human culture. Classic psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin are characterized by their agonism of 5HT-2A receptors, and recent clinical trials have found that these substances hold great promise for treating mental disorders. Neurobiological evidence supports the recent theory that psychedelic-assisted therapy works by increasing neuroplasticity and allowing for the revision of maladaptive predictions. This theory is called the REBUS hypothesis, and it is situated within a predictive processing model of cognition. There is evidence that individuals with mental disorders such as depression, addiction, and eating disorders have a diminished ability to update predictions in response to changing sensory input. Thus, psychedelic-assisted therapy is a promising mode of treatment for these conditions. Mental disorders involving mania or psychosis are not characterized by an overreliance on predictions, and case reports suggest that psychedelics may be dangerous for individuals with a personal or family history of these disorders. These ideas point to the larger conclusion that increasing neuroplasticity is important for the healing of many mental health conditions, and this extends to more traditional psychiatric care. Although psychedelic-assisted therapy has thus far shown promising results, limitations such as bias and small, non-representative samples highlight a need for further research in which diversity and accessibility should be a top priority.
A Fast and Reliable Solution to PnP, Using Polynomial Homogeneity and a Theorem of Hilbert

One of the most-extensively studied problems in three-dimensional Computer Vision is “Perspective-n-Point” (PnP), which concerns estimating the pose of a calibrated camera, given a set of 3D points in the world and their corresponding 2D projections in an image captured by the camera. One solution method that ranks as very accurate and robust proceeds by reducing PnP to the minimization of a fourth-degree polynomial over the three-dimensional sphere S3. Despite a great deal of effort, there is no known fast method to obtain this goal. A very common approach is solving a convex relaxation of the problem, using “Sum Of Squares” (SOS) techniques. We offer two contributions in this paper: a faster (by a factor of roughly 10) solution with respect to the state-of-the-art, which relies on the polynomial’s homogeneity; and a fast, guaranteed, easily parallelizable approximation, which makes use of a famous result of Hilbert.
Echo Tunnels: Polarized News Sharing Online Runs Narrow but Deep

Online social platforms afford users vast digital spaces to share and discuss current events. However, scholars have concerns both over their role in segregating information exchange into ideological echo chambers, and over evidence that these echo chambers are nonetheless over-stated. In this work, we investigate news-sharing patterns across the entirety of Reddit and find that the platform appears polarized macroscopically, especially in politically right-leaning spaces. On closer examination, however, we observe that the majority of this effect originates from small, hyper-partisan segments of the platform accounting for a minority of news shared. We further map the temporal evolution of polarized news sharing and uncover evidence that, in addition to having grown drastically over time, polarization in hyper-partisan communities also began much earlier than 2016 and is resistant to Reddit's largest moderation event. Our results therefore suggest that social polarized news sharing runs narrow but deep online. Rather than being guided by the general prevalence or absence of echo chambers, we argue that platform policies are better served by measuring and targeting the communities in which ideological segregation is strongest.
Adapting for shared use – evaluating the lifecycle carbon impact

Vast amounts of resources extracted through the times are in today’s built environment, with only an estimated 20-30% of building material recycled or reused and the sector accounting for over 35% of the EU’s total waste generation. Buildings are also responsible for 25-40% of all global carbon dioxide emissions. Circular Economy (CE) refers to the better management of resources and waste by closing material and energy loops, as well as minimizing the material that enters the system to begin with. In the built environment context, adaptive reuse reduces the need for new construction through adapting existing buildings to new uses. Another way is to use existing space more efficiently, e.g., through co-location, sharing and flexible workspaces which all lead to higher utilisation rates. This study will assess the lifecycle carbon impact of an adaptive reuse project which aims for space efficiency through reconfiguring the spaces and upgrading and increasing the dimensions and accessibility of services. Three different lifecycle analyses (LCAs) are made using typical and conservative data manually, as well as one LCA tool, to compare how the choice of method impacts the LCA results. The main sources of impact within the system boundaries will also be explored, in order to understand the relationship between different lifecycle phases in an adaptive reuse project. The results can form a baseline for similar renovation projects which include space efficiency measures, as this project did in terms of sharing spaces. Future research will include comparing the results of this project with a minor renovation scenario for the same building, where space efficiency was not included. Less building work would lead to a lower impact per m2, however not necessarily per person as less people would be able to utilise the space.
Hydromorphic analysis of urban areas transformations: the case study of the Matera city

The paper analyzes the urban context of Matera city, adopting an approach based on the concept of watershed, interpreted in its dynamic meaning. This approach exceeds the classical urban planning analysis by focusing on the interaction between the morphological characteristics of the territory, the land uses and their human-made changes and the consequent hydrological response and surface runoff. The morphological description combined with the classic urban representation that looks at the types of intervention implemented (permeable, impervious, green, land uses) drive into the understanding of the urban and territorial transformation processes responses. Furthermore the urban evolution analysis for different time period can provide a time-based interpretation of the transformations impacts providing useful information for future planning of the entire area of Matera.