Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring Cross-lingual Sublanguage Classification with Multi-lingual Word Embeddings

Cross-lingual text classification is an important task due to the globalization and the increased availability of multilingual data. This thesis explores the method of implementing cross-lingual classification on Swedish and English medical corpora. Specifically, this thesis explores the simple convolutional neural network (CNN) with MUSE pre-trained word embeddings to approach binary classification of sublanguages (“lay” and “specialized”) from Swedish healthcare texts to English healthcare texts. MUSE is a library that provides state-of-the-art multilingual word embeddings and large-scale high-quality bilingual dictionaries. The thesis presents experiments with imbalanced and balanced class distribution on training data and test data to examine the effect of class distribution, and also examine the influences of clean test dataset and noisy test dataset. The results show that balanced distribution of classes in training data performs significantly better than the training data with imbalanced class distribution, and clean test data gives the benefit of transferring the labels from one language to another. The thesis also compares the performance of the simple convolutional neural network model with the Naive Bayes baseline. Results show that on this task a simple Naive Bayes classifier based on bag-of-words translated using MUSE English-Swedish dictionary outperforms a simple CNN model based on MUSE pre-trained word embeddings in several experimental settings.
Patient expectations and experiences of multiple sclerosis interferon β -1a treatment: a longitudinal, observational study in routine UK clinical practice

Background: Premature discontinuation and poor treatment adherence are problems in chronic conditions, such as multiple sclerosis in which patients must take long-term treatment in order to receive maximum benefit from their medication. The Assessing needs In Multiple Sclerosis (AIMS) study explored factors related to premature treatment discontinuation and patients’ experiences of subcutaneous (sc) interferon (IFN) β -1a treatment in the UK. Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was integrated into the Bupa Home Healthcare patient-support program, which delivers sc IFN β -1a to patients in their home. Data were collected via patient questionnaires incorporated into routine clinical care and administered upon registration of a new patient by the coordinator, following initial delivery of treatment, prior to each delivery during therapy and at the end of treatment. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with premature discontinuation. Results: Data were collected from 2,390 patients (1,267 new; 1,123 existing) from 59 UK prescribing centers (November 2006–April 2011). Following the first delivery of sc IFN β -1a, 94% (1,149/1,225) of patients had received training, and 73% (818/1,120) reported that they had no concerns. In total, 24% of new patients discontinued therapy by the end of the study. In the univariate model, none of the candidate variables tested were significant predictors of treatment discontinuation. The strongest predictors of discontinuation in multivariate analyses were lack of information prior to starting treatment and patients feeling unwell on treatment and geographic region ( P , 0.05 for each variable). Conclusion: This study suggests that patients feeling well on treatment and provision of high-quality information are the main determinants of persistence with sc IFN β -1a therapy. A package of care that targets these issues should therefore be considered when initiating sc IFN β -1a therapy.
Seismic anisotropy and heterogeneity in the Alaska subduction zone

SUMMARY We determined P- and S-wave tomography and P-wave anisotropic structure of the Alaska subduction zone using 259 283 P- and 73 817 S-wave arrival times from 7268 local shallow and intermediate-depth earthquakes recorded by more than 400 seismic stations. The results show strong velocity heterogeneities in the crust and upper mantle. Low-velocity anomalies are revealed in the mantle wedge with significant along-arc variations under the active volcanoes. In the mantle wedge, the low-velocity zone extends down to 100–150 km depth under the backarc. The results indicate that H2O and fluids brought downwards by the subducting Pacific slab are released to the mantle wedge by dehydration and they are subsequently transported to the surface by the upwelling flow in the mantle wedge. Significant P-wave anisotropic anomalies are revealed under Alaska. The predominant fast velocity direction (FVD) is trench-parallel in the shallow part of the mantle wedge (<90 km depth) and in the subslab mantle, whereas the FVD is trench-normal within the subducting Pacific slab. The trench-parallel FVDs in the mantle wedge and subslab mantle may be caused by 3-D mantle flow that is induced by the complex geometry and strong curvature of the Pacific slab under Alaska. The flat and oblique subduction of the Pacific slab may play a key role in forming the trench-parallel FVD under the slab. The trench-normal FVD in the subducting Pacific slab may reflect the original fossil anisotropy when the Pacific Plate was produced at the mid-ocean ridge.
Annotating Speaker Stance in Discourse: The Brexit Blog Corpus

Abstract The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of identifying speaker stance in discourse, provide an analytical resource for it and an evaluation of the level of agreement across speakers. We also explore to what extent language users agree about what kind of stances are expressed in natural language use or whether their interpretations diverge. In order to perform this task, a comprehensive cognitive-functional framework of ten stance categories was developed based on previous work on speaker stance in the literature. A corpus of opinionated texts was compiled, the Brexit Blog Corpus (BBC). An analytical protocol and interface (Active Learning and Visual Analytics) for the annotations was set up and the data were independently annotated by two annotators. The annotation procedure, the annotation agreements and the co-occurrence of more than one stance in the utterances are described and discussed. The careful, analytical annotation process has returned satisfactory inter- and intra-annotation agreement scores, resulting in a gold standard corpus, the final version of the BBC.
NUTRIENT MASS BALANCE AND TRENDS, MOBILE RIVER BASIN, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, AND MISSISSIPPI 1

ABSTRACT: A nutrient mass balance — accounting for nutrient inputs from atmospheric deposition, fertilizer, crop nitrogen fixation, and point source effluents; and nutrient outputs, including crop harvest and storage — was calculated for 18 subbasins in the Mobile River Basin, and trends (1970 to 1997) were evaluated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Agricultural nonpoint nitrogen and phosphorus sources and urban nonpoint nitrogen sources are the most important factors associated with nutrients in this system. More than 30 percent of nitrogen yield in two basins and phosphorus yield in eight basins can be attributed to urban point source nutrient inputs. The total nitrogen yield (1.3 tons per square mile per year) for the Tombigbee River, which drains a greater percentage of agricultural (row crop) land use, was larger than the total nitrogen yield (0.99 tons per square mile per year) for the Alabama River. Decreasing trends of total nitrogen concentrations in the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers indicate that a reduction occurred from 1975 to 1997 in the nitrogen contributions to Mobile Bay from the Mobile River. Nitrogen concentrations also decreased (1980 to 1995) in the Black Warrior River, one of the major tributaries to the Tombigbee River. Total phosphorus concentrations increased from 1970 to 1996 at three urban influenced sites on the Etowah River in Georgia. Multiple regression analysis indicates a distinct association between water quality in the streams of the Mobile River drainage basin and agricultural activities in the basin.
A successful rock magnetic technique for correctng paleomagnetic inclination shallowing: Case study of the Nacimiento Formation, New Mexico

The accuracy of an inclination shallowing correction technique was tested on the remanence of the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation. The correction assumes that changes in paleomagnetic inclination during deformation will be directly related to changes in remanence anisotropy. The remanence anisotropy is also a function of the magnetic anisotropy of the individual magnetic grains. The Nacimiento Formation was selected for this test because its inclination is shallow by 7° to 8° and previous paleomagnetic studies indicate that it has a primary remanence with a well-constrained age and that magnetic overprints are minimal. Tectonics are an unlikely explanation for its shallow inclination. These conditions allow the inclination-corrected remanence to be compared to a well-defined paleomagnetic pole to determine the accuracy of the technique. The characteristic remanence from 20 Nacimiento sites was isolated by alternating field and thermal demagnetization and was corrected using the anisotropy of anhysteretic remanence measured for three to five samples per site. Individual particle anisotropy was determined by drying a magnetic separate/epoxy mixture in a 35–50 mT magnetic field. Laboratory compaction of disaggregated Nacimiento material was also used to yield an effective individual magnetic particle anisotropy. The two techniques resulted in similar values for individual particle anisotropy and similar inclination shallowing corrections. Both corrections were successful, and the inclination-corrected formation mean direction was indistinguishable from the direction predicted by North America's Paleocene paleopole. The inclination shallowing correction technique reported here should be applied routinely in paleomagnetic studies, provided that the remanence is a primary depositional remanence that has been affected only by syndepositional or early postdepositional processes (e.g., compaction).
Geothermobarometry of basaltic glasses from the Tamu Massif, Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau

We present the results of a petrological study of core samples from Tamu Massif (Site U1347), recovered during the Shatsky Rise Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 324. The basaltic glasses from Site U1347 are evolved tholeiitic basalts containing 5.2–6.8 wt% MgO, and are principally located within the compositional field of mid‐ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) but they have systematically higher FeO, lower Al2O3, SiO2, and Na2O concentrations, and the CaO/Al2O3 ratios are among the highest known for MORBs. In this sense, glasses from Site U1347 more closely resemble basaltic magmas from the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP), although they still have lower SiO2 concentrations. In contrast to MORB and similar to OJP, our fractionation corrected values of Na2O and CaO/Al2O3 indicate more than 20% of partial melting of the mantle during the generation of the parental magmas of Tamu Massif. The water contents in the glasses, determined by midinfrared Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, are MORB‐like, and vary between 0.18 and 0.6 wt% H2O. The calculated pressure (P)‐temperature (T) conditions at which the natural glasses represent cotectic olivine‐plagioclase‐clinopyroxene compositions range from 0.1 to 240 MPa and 1100 to 1150°C reflecting magma storage at shallow depth. The variation of the glass compositions and the modeled P‐T conditions in correlation with the relative ages indicate that there were at least two different magmatic cycles characterized by variations in eruptive styles (massive flows or pillow lavas), chemical compositions, volatile contents, and preeruptive P‐T conditions. Each magmatic cycle represents the progressive differentiation in course of polybaric crystallization after the injection of a more primitive magma batch. Magma crystallization and eruption episodes are followed by magmatic inactivity reflected in the core sequence by a sedimentary layer. Our data for Tamu Massif demonstrate that, similar to Ontong Java ocean Plateau, the crystallization beneath Shatsky Rise occurs at different crustal levels.
Labor Market Policy in Developing Countries: A Selective Review of the Literature and Needs for the Future

This paper presents a selective overview of the literature on modeling labor market policies in developing countries. It considers welfare economics, theoretical models, and empirical evidence to highlight the three general features needed in future research on labor market policy in developing countries. The author identifies desirable research components (welfare economics, theoretical modeling, and empirical modeling) and pitfalls in the literature (inappropriate use of productivity, reliance on wrong kinds of empirical studies, lack of cost-benefit analysis, attention to only a subset of the goods and bads, and fallacy of composition). The paper concludes with suggested topics and methods for future research. The author states that sound labor market policy requires sound labor market models. The paper makes a case for developing policy based on explicit evaluation criteria, specific theoretical models, and comprehensive empirical evidence.
Tundra lake changes from 1978 to 2001 on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, western Canadian Arctic

Landsat scenes spanning 1978–2001 were used to classify thermokarst lake area and determine changes in lake coverage on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula in northwestern Canada. Changes in total lake area between scenes were substantial, spanning a 14% increase and 11% decrease, mostly owing to changes in the area of lakes >1.3 km2 in area. Increases in total lake area occurred primarily between 1978–1992, and decreases between 1992–2001. Differences in total lake area between scenes from different years depend strongly on cumulative precipitation in the 12 month period preceding scene acquisition (r2 = 0.82), and not on summer or mean annual air temperature (MAAT). Our results indicate that precipitation is the primary factor influencing the areal extent of lakes as detected by remote sensing. On the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, persistent lake area changes (if any) such as might occur by regional warming or changes in evaporation/precipitation balance over decades, are well‐masked by short‐term climatological changes.
Geomorphology and River Management: Applications of the River Styles Framework

Engineering-dominated practices, visible in a "command and control" outlook on natural systems, have induced enormous damage to the environment. Biodiversity losses and declining provision of ecosystem services are testimony to the non-sustainable outcomes brought about by such practices. More environmentally friendly approaches that promote a harmonious relationship between human activities and nature are required. Moves towards an "ecosystem approach" to environmental management require coherent (integrative) scientific guidance. Geomorphology, the study of the form of the earth, provides a landscape template with which to ground this process. This way of thinking respects the inherent diversity and complexity of natural systems. Examples of the transition toward such views in environmental practice are demonstrated by the use of science to guide river management, emphasising applications of the River Styles framework.
Evaluation of Evapotranspirative Covers for Waste Containment in Arid and Semiarid Regions in the Southwestern USA

Performance evaluation of evapotranspirative (ET) covers is critical for waste containment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ET covers at sites in Texas and New Mexico representative of arid and semiarid regions in the southwestern USA using water balance monitoring during 4‐ and 5‐yr periods and water balance simulations using short‐term (1–5 yr) and long‐term (25 yr) climate forcing. Estimated drainage at the Texas site was related to irrigation while measured drainage at the New Mexico site was restricted to the first 2 yr of the 5‐yr monitoring period. Evapotranspirative covers work extremely well in these regions because of the dominance of summer precipitation (62–80%) that corresponds to periods of highest ET. Strong relationships between decreases in soil water storage and vegetation productivity at both sites underscore the importance of vegetation in controlling the water balance in these systems. Simulations of the Texas site indicate that drainage can occur in response to high precipitation near the end of the growing season, but such drainage can be eliminated with a capillary barrier. Inclusion of a capillary barrier increased available water storage by a factor of about 2.5 at both sites. The capillary barrier effect of drainage lysimeters can result in underestimation of drainage and overestimation of water storage relative to covers not underlain by capillary barriers. The data from this study indicate that a 1‐m‐thick ET cover underlain by a capillary barrier should be adequate to minimize drainage to ≤1 mm yr−1 in these arid and semiarid regions. Comprehensive monitoring integrated with modeling is required to assess total system performance to develop a predictive understanding of ET covers.
An unloading foam model to constrain Etna’s 11–13 January 2011 lava fountaining episode

[1] The 11–13 January 2011 eruptive episode at Etna volcano occurred after several months of increasing ash emissions from the summit craters, and was heralded by increasing SO2 output, which peaked at ∼5000 megagrams/day several hours before the start of the eruptive activity. The eruptive episode began with a phase of Strombolian activity from a pit crater on the eastern flank of the SE-Crater. Explosions became more intense with time and eventually became transitional between Strombolian and fountaining, before moving into a lava fountaining phase. Fountaining was accompanied by lava output from the lower rim of the pit crater. Emplacement of the resulting lava flow field, as well as associated lava fountain- and Strombolian-phases, was tracked using a remote sensing network comprising both thermal and visible cameras. Thermal surveys completed once the eruptive episode had ended also allowed us to reconstruct the emplacement of the lava flow field. Using a high temporal resolution geostationary satellite data we were also able to construct a detailed record of the heat flux during the fountain-fed flow phase and its subsequent cooling. The dense rock volume of erupted lava obtained from the satellite data was 1.2 × 106 m3; this was emplaced over a period of about 6 h to give a mean output rate of ∼55 m3 s−1. By comparison, geologic data allowed us to estimate dense rock volumes of ∼0.85 × 106 m3 for the pyroclastics erupted during the lava fountain phase, and 0.84–1.7 × 106 m3 for lavas erupted during the effusive phase, resulting in a total erupted dense rock volume of 1.7–2.5 × 106 m3 and a mean output rate of 78–117 m3 s−1. The sequence of events and quantitative results presented here shed light on the shallow feeding system of the volcano.
Trend analysis of upper stratospheric Umkehr ozone data for evidence of turnaround

Recent upper stratospheric (∼35–45 km) Umkehr ozone data from three high‐quality stations have been examined, with residual and change‐in‐trend analyses performed. These data show a consistent feature of mildly positive tendency in values for the recent several years. Trend analyses of these data yield significant positive change‐in‐trend estimates of about 0.75% per year since 1996 relative to negative trends of about −0.55% per year existing prior to 1996, leading to a (nonsignificant) estimate of about 0.2% per year positive trend for the recent 5‐year period since the 1996 change‐in‐trend date.
A Survey of DNN Methods For Blind Image Quality Assessment

Blind image quality assessment (BIQA) methods aim to predict quality of images as perceived by humans without access to a reference image. Recently, deep learning methods have gained substantial attention in the research community and have proven useful for BIQA. Although previous study of deep neural networks (DNN) methods is presented, some novelty DNN methods, which are recently proposed, are not summarized for BIQA. In this paper, we provide a survey covering various DNN methods for BIQA. First, we systematically analyze the existing DNN-based quality assessment methods according to the role of DNN. Then, we compare the prediction performance of various DNN methods on the synthetic databases (LIVE, TID2013, CSIQ, LIVE multiply distorted) and authentic databases (LIVE challenge), providing important information that can help understand the underlying properties between different DNN methods for BIQA. Finally, we describe some emerging challenges in designing and training DNN-based BIQA, along with few directions that are worth further investigations in the future.
Future changes in drought characteristics over southern South America projected by a CMIP5 multi-model ensemble

The impact of climate change on drought main characteristics was assessed over Southern South America. This was done through the precipitation outputs from a multi-model ensemble of 15 climate models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). The Standardized Precipitation Index was used as a drought indicator, given its temporal flexibility and simplicity. Changes in drought characteristics were identified by the difference for early (2011-2040) and late (2071-2100) 21st century values with respect to the 1979-2008 baseline. In order to evaluate the multi-model outputs, model biases were identified through a comparison with the drought characteristics from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre database for the baseline period. Future climate projections under moderate and high-emission scenarios showed that the occurrence of short-term and long-term droughts will be more frequent in the 21st century, with shorter durations and greater severities over much of the study area. These changes in drought characteristics are independent on the scenario considered, since no significant differences were observed on drought changes. The future changes scenario might be even more dramatic, taking into account that in most of the region the multi-model ensemble tends to produce less number of droughts, with higher duration and lower severity. Therefore, drought contingency plans should take these results into account in order to alleviate future water shortages that can have significant economic losses in the agricultural and water resources sectors of Southern South America.