Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
University of Pittsburgh at GeoCLEF 2008: Towards Effective Geographic Information Retrieval

This paper reports University of Pittsburgh's participation in GeoCLEF 2008. As the first time participants, we only worked on the monolingual GeoCLEF task and submitted four runs under two different methods. Our GCEC method aims to test the effectiveness of our online geographic coordinate extraction and clustering algorithm, and our WIKIGEO method wants to examine the usefulness of using the geo-coordinate information in Wikipedia for identifying geo-locations. Our experiments results show that: 1) our online geographic coordinate extraction and clustering algorithm is useful for the type of locations that do not have clear corresponding coordinates; 2) the expansion based on the geo-locations generated by GCEC is effectiveness in improving Geographic retrievals. 3) Using Wikipedia we can find the coordinates for many geo-locations, but its usage for query expansion still need further studies. 4) query expansion based on title only obtained better results than using the combination of title and narrative parts, which are thought to contain more related geographic information. Further study is need for this part too.
DENIM : An Informal Sketch-based Tool for Early Stage Web Design

Informed by field studies with professional web designers, we created DENIM, a system that helps web site designers in the early stages of design. DENIM supports rapid prototyping of web sites through sketching, allowing designers to refine their ideas at three different levels—site map, storyboard, and individual page—which are unified through animated zooming. DENIM uses very little sketch recognition, and when recognition is used, the sketched ink is almost always unchanged. This informal interaction allows designers to concentrate on designing and documenting web sites without being distracted by recognition technology. DENIM also supports evaluation of these sketched web sites by allowing designers to “run” the sketches, as well as export the sketches so that they can be accessed from standard web browsers. Through informal evaluations with web designers, we found that they had highly positive reactions and great interest in using such a system in their work.
Monitoring Pezothrips kellyanus on citrus in eastern Sicily

Citrus thrips Pezothrips kellyanus was first recorded in Sicily in 1998. This species is considered a key pest in Sicilian citrus orchards. In a preliminary survey, P. kellyanus was the main thrips species in all samples, followed by Thrips flavus and Thrips tabaci, which are considered secondary pests; Lemon was the variety most commonly attacked, followed by orange. In a field trial, white sticky traps were the most attractive for adult thrips followed by blue traps, while yellow traps did not differ from the transparent check. Abamectin and spinosad were identified as potential candidates for integrated pest management programmes in field trials on lemon and orange. In 2000 and 2001, citrus thrips was monitored on lemon orchards to compare sampling methods (fruit counts or captures on blue sticky traps) and level of fruit scarring by citrus thrips. The ability to predict season-end scarring from May-June fruit counts was encouraging. In all monitoring sites, the presence of the predatory mite Iphiseius degenerans was observed. The ratio of predatory mites:thrips was tested as an “indicator” for predicting fruit damage at season-end. This new pest is suspected to compromise the production of export quality citrus in the coastal area of Eastern Sicily, as evidenced by the damage caused in Australia and New Zealand (Smith et al., 1997; Blank & Gill, 1996). In Sicily, the most severe damage occurred on lemon and Navelina orange (18% culled). Lemon fruits were predominantly damaged around the calyx (halo damage, 17%). Tarocco and Valencia oranges received similar damage as well (7% and 12 % respectively) (Conti et al., 2001). In several lemon orchards the phytoseiid predaceous mite Iphiseius (Amblyseius) degenerans was found. This mite plays a significant regulatory role on Frankliniella occidentalis, the Western flower thrips, on protected vegetable crops (Ramakers, 1995; van Houte & van Stratum, 1995), but it is unclear if it is responsible for natural control of
The role of duplication of tumour-derived chromosome 15 carrying the rearranged pvt-1 gene in the transformed phenotype of YACUT T-cell lymphoma x G4 T-cell line somatic cell hybrids in dictating the terminal differentiation program of the parental G4 cell.

Fusion of the YACUT T-cell lymphoma with the Mls-1a-antigen-specific non-tumorigenic T-cell line G4 was previously reported to produce growth-arrested hybrids that could be induced to proliferate in the presence of Mls-1a antigen. The proliferation-suppressed hybrid lines exhibited phenotypic changes as follows: the usually high levels in YACUT of J11d antigen, IL-2 receptor, and c-myb expression, which are markers of immature T cells, were all down-regulated; the G4 T-cell function, i.e., contact helper activity for B-cell proliferation in T/B cell collaboration, was retained. Furthermore, fusion of the YACUT lymphoma with a killer T-cell line produced growth-arrested and tetraploid somatic cell hybrids having killer activity. Thus, in addition to the transformed phenotype (autonomous proliferation in vitro), the antigen-specific non-tumorigenic T-cell line genomes introduced into the YACUT lymphoma suppressed the immature phenotypes of YACUT and imposed their own programming of terminally differentiated traits on the hybrids. Prolonged growth of the proliferation-suppressed hybrid lines by repeated antigenic stimulation was previously reported to result in the appearance of transformed hybrids, which was accompanied by both a reversion of c-myc expression to the levels of YACUT and an increase in the number of chromosome 15. The present study revealed that the amplification of chromosome 15 resulted from the duplication of the tumour-derived chromosome 15 carrying the rearranged pvt-1 gene. However, the differentiated phenotypes of the hybrids remained mostly unchanged upon cell transformation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps of Tibet and the surrounding regions from ambient seismic noise tomography

Ambient noise tomography is applied to the significant data resources now available across Tibet and surrounding regions to produce Rayleigh wave phase speed maps at periods between 6 and 50 s. Data resources include the permanent Federation of Digital Seismographic Networks, five temporary U.S. Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL) experiments in and around Tibet, and Chinese provincial networks surrounding Tibet from 2003 to 2009, totaling ∼600 stations and ∼150,000 interstation paths. With such a heterogeneous data set, data quality control is of utmost importance. We apply conservative data quality control criteria to accept between ∼5000 and ∼45,000 measurements as a function of period, which produce a lateral resolution between 100 and 200 km across most of the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions to the east. Misfits to the accepted measurements among PASSCAL stations and among Chinese stations are similar, with a standard deviation of ∼1.7 s, which indicates that the final dispersion measurements from Chinese and PASSCAL stations are of similar quality. Phase velocities across the Tibetan Plateau are lower, on average, than those in the surrounding nonbasin regions. Phase velocities in northern Tibet are lower than those in southern Tibet, perhaps implying different spatial and temporal variations in the way the high elevations of the plateau are created and maintained. At short periods (<20 s), very low phase velocities are imaged in the major basins, including the Tarim, Qaidam, Junggar, and Sichuan basins, and in the Ordos Block. At intermediate and long periods (>20 s), very high velocities are imaged in the Tarim Basin, the Ordos Block, and the Sichuan Basin. These phase velocity dispersion maps provide information needed to construct a 3‐D shear velocity model of the crust across the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions.
Language models applied to the field of Information Retrieval

Information retrieval deals with the representation, storage, organization, and access to information items. The emphasis is on the retrieval of information as opposed to the retrieval of data. Nowadays, its most visible applications are (web) search engines. In UAM’s Master Degree in Computer Science there is a course named Recuperación y almacenamiento de información en la web in which some classic retrieval models are studied (Vector Space Model, Probabilistic Model, · · ·), along with fusion ranking techniques and other related concepts. Some new techniques are out of the scope of this course, such as Language Modelling, an innovative probabilistic-based framework used to rank documents and for query analysis. Since it is a powerful and not very spread Information Retrieval model it is very interesting to learn its functionality and capabilities. Besides that, we may have here a possible application in the thesis’ area. In particular, envisioned application to query characterization (difficulty, performance, ambiguity), which can be used, for instance, to explore novel approaches to dynamic rank fusion. The following are the goals of this work:
Usability Recommendations for the SKA Control Room Obtained by a User-Centred Design Approach

User-Centred Design is a powerful approach for designing UIs that match and satisfy users’ skills and expectations. Interviews, affinity diagrams, personas, usage scenarios are some of the fundamental tools for gathering and analysing relevant information. We applied these techniques to the development of the UI for the control room of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescopes. We interviewed the personnel at two of the SKA precursors, LOFAR andMeerKAT, with the goal of understanding what features satisfy operators’ needs, which ones are missing and which ones can be improved. What was learned includes several usability issues dealing with fragmentation and low cohesiveness of the UIs, some gaps, and an excessive number of user actions needed to achieve certain goals. Low usability of the UI and the large scale of SKA are two challenges in developing its UI because they affect the extent to which operators can focus on important data, the likelihood of human errors and their consequences. This paper illustrates the followed method, provides examples of some of the artefacts that were produced and describes and motivates the resulting usability recommendations which are specific for SKA.
Analysis of synchronization algorithms with time-out control over networks with exponentially symmetric delays

We study the performance of a class of time-offset estimation algorithms for synchronization of master-slave nodes based on asynchronous transfer of timing cells when GPS is not used. We implement a synchronization control mechanism based on cell acknowledgment time-out (TO) with wait or no wait options. We analyze the mechanism reliability and performance parameters over symmetric links using an exponential cell delay variation model. We show that the maximum-likelihood offset estimator does not exist for the exponential likelihood function. We analytically provide RMS error result comparisons for five ad hoc offset estimation algorithms: the median round delay, the minimum round delay, the minimum link delay (MnLD), the median phase, and the average phase. We show that the MnLD algorithm achieves the best accuracy over symmetric links without having to impose a strict TO control, which substantially speeds up the algorithm. We also discuss an open-loop estimation updating mechanism based on standard clock models.
New molecular complexes of fullerenes C60 and C70 with tetraphenylporphyrins [M(tpp)], in which M=H2, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, and FeCl.

New molecular complexes of fullerenes C60 and C70 with tetraphenylporphyrins [M(tpp)] in which M-H2, MnII, CoII, CuII, ZnII and Fe(III)Cl, have been synthesised. Crystal structures of two C60 complexes with H2TPP, which differ only in the number of benzene solvated molecules, and C60 and C70 complexes with [Cu(tpp)] have been studied. The fullerene molecules form a honeycomb motif in H2TPP.2C60. 3C6H6, puckered graphite-like layers in H2TPP.2C60. 4C6H6, zigzag chains in [Cu(tpp)]. C70.1. 5C7H8.0. 5C2HCl3 and columns in [Cu(tpp)]2.C60. H2TPP has van der Waals contacts with C60 through nitrogen atoms and phenyl groups. Copper atoms of the [Cu(tpp)] molecules are weakly coordinated with C70, but form no shortened contacts with C60. The formation of molecular complexes with fullerenes affects the ESR spectra of [M(tpp)] (M = Mn, Co and Cu). [Mn(tpp)] in the complex with C70 lowers its spin state from S = 5/2 to S = 1/2, whereas [Co(tpp)] and [Cu(tpp)] change the constants of hyperfine interaction. ESR, IR, UV-visible and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic data show no noticeable charge transfer from the porphyrinate to the fullerene molecules.
GENETiC DiFFERENCES iN NEEDLE CAST DAMAGE OF SCOTS PiNE ( pINuS SyLvESTRIS L . )

The impact of climatic and genetic factors on needle cast damage, as well as relationship between the degree of damage and survival and growth of trees was evaluated in the study. The analysis was done in two series of experiments, both established in two locations in Latvia (central and eastern part). Needle cast damage (in 5 grade scale) as well as the height and height increment, diameter of root collar and survival of trees were assessed. Results suggest that the degree of needle cast damage was influenced by the genetic, as well as climatic factors, and also their interaction. The average degree of needle cast damage in experiment of open-pollinated families was 4.7 ± 0.01 in central and 4.6 ± 0.03 in eastern Latvia; in the experiment of control-crossed families it was 4.6 ± 0.02 in central and 3.4 ± 0.04 in eastern Latvia. The impact of genetics on the needle cast damage degree was statistically significant (p<0.05), and this effect was observed when any of growth traits (diameter, height or height increment) was used as a covariate in analysis. Results suggest the potential to select more resistant families, since the genetic correlation of grade of the damage between locations was significant (r = 0.40 0.72) and therefore improve also the growth of trees, since the grade of the damage had a negative correlation with growth traits both at provenance and family mean level (r = -0.69 and r = -0.42; p<0.01).
Come rain or shine? Public expectation on local weather change and differential effects on climate change attitude

Tailored messages are instrumental to climate change communication. Information about the global threat can be ‘localised’ by demonstrating its linkage with local events. This research ascertains the relationship between climate change attitude and perception of local weather, based on a survey involving 800 Hong Kong citizens. Results indicate that concerns about climate change increase with expectations about the likelihood and impacts of local weather change. Climate change believers attend to all three types of adverse weather events, namely, temperature rises, tropical cyclones and prolonged rains. Climate scepticism, however, is not associated with expectation about prolonged rains. Differential spatial orientations are a possible reason. Global climate change is an unprecedented and distant threat, whereas local rain is a more familiar and localised weather event. Global climate change should be articulated in terms that respect local concerns. Localised framing may be particularly effective for engaging individuals holding positive views about climate change science.
CEO Successions and Firm Performance in the US Financial Industry

This paper examines the labor market for CEOs in the financial sector from 1988 to 2007, using a new hand-collected sample of 1,655 CEO successions. We document that there is a significant role of outside successions, as about one out of two successions involves an outside hire. In addition, using difference-in-differences estimates, we study the link between the labor market for finance CEOs and firm performance. We document that (1) there is a large performance gap between inside and outside successions, as outside successions are followed by significantly larger improvements in firm performance; (2) the performance gap between outside and inside successions is larger for firms with an insider dominated board of directors; (3) the performance gap widened after an important deregulation event (the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act). These results are robust to using a battery of firm performance measures (short-run and long-run stock market returns, and several long-run operating performance measures) and a matched sample approach to address selection issues. Overall, our findings suggest that managerial human capital is very valuable in the financial industry, and weak internal governance hurts firm performance by limiting the scope of labor market competition.
Renal Siderosis in Donor Allograft: Pathologic and Clinical Sequelae

Transplantation of a cadaver kidney with marked siderosis and its outcome has not been reported. Increasing use of marginal kidneys has become common practice to expand the donor pool to meet the growing demand and will lead to increased recognition of kidney disease in cadaver donors with an unknown effect on graft outcome. This is a case report of a recipient of a cadaver kidney with marked siderosis monitored by surveillance biopsies and evaluated by clinico‐pathological correlation. The recipient continued to have transplant kidney function, and a surveillance biopsy shows the natural course of the pathologic resolution of renal siderosis.
a dynamical – statistical downscaling approach by coupling the PRECIS regional modelling system and a statistical method – SCADS

Xiuquan Wang,a Guohe Huang,a,b* Qianguo Lin,c Xianghui Niea and Jinliang Liud aInstitute for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Communities, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada bSC Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability Research, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China cMOE Key Laboratory of Regional Energy and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China dDepartment of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Depletion of Heat Producing Elements in the Martian Mantle

Heat is primarily generated in planetary interiors by the decay of long‐lived heat producing elements (HPE). Planetary heat flow estimates can thus provide critical insights into the thermal state of a planet and the bulk distribution of the HPE. The lack of appreciable lithospheric deflection in the north polar region of Mars by the weight of the polar ice cap is suggestive of low heat flow. Here we model the deflection of the Martian lithosphere and show that the present‐day mantle heat flow cannot exceed 7 mW m−2 in the north polar region of Mars. Our mantle heat flow estimate is notably lower than the heat flow expected from a chondritic mantle suggesting the Martian mantle to be depleted in HPE. If our result is globally representative, lower levels of heat generation in the planet's mantle may have inhibited widespread late‐stage volcanism on Mars.
The Famous Names Discrimination Task as a Biomarker of Alzheimer's Disease Risk: An ERP Study

THE FAMOUS NAMES DISCRIMINATION TASK AS A BIOMARKER OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RISK: AN ERP STUDY Elizabeth R. Paitel, B.A. Marquette University, 2018 Current ERP research emphasizes ageand pathology-related declines in neural processing in the form of attenuated amplitudes and prolonged latencies. Notably, there is a gap in the ERP literature regarding neural processing trajectories in the time between healthy young adulthood and clinical MCI/AD samples. fMRI research, however, has demonstrated periods of increased, compensatory activation in healthy, cognitively intact APOE ɛ4 carriers both during resting state and event-related tasks (Bondi, Houston, Eyler, & Brown, 2005; Evans et al., 2014; Filippini et al., 2009; Rao et al., 2015), consistent with compensatory theories of cognitive aging (Cabeza, 2002; Park & ReuterLorenz, 2009; Reuter-Lorenz & Park, 2014). Such theories suggest increased magnitude and extent of activation in older adults and groups that are at risk for pathological aging (e.g. via APOE ɛ4 allele) to allow for comparable behavioral performance in spite of neural degradation. The current study sought to expand upon the neuroimaging literature by investigating the N200 and N400 components at left and right hemisphere sites between not only healthy young (n = 42) and older adults (total n = 46), but also healthy, cognitively intact older adults with and without genetic risk for AD via the APOE ɛ4 allele (ɛ4+ n = 23, ɛ4n = 23). Notably, we employed a high-accuracy, low-effort semantic memory task (Famous Names Discrimination Task (FNDT)) for which performance was comparable across groups. Our findings support compensatory theories of cognitive aging by demonstrating larger N400 components, shorter frontal N200 and parietal N400 latencies in older compared to younger adults. Further, we expand upon the pathological aging literature by demonstrating shorter, larger, and more bilaterally comparable ERPs in the ɛ4+ compared to ɛ4group. Together these results further elucidate the compensatory mechanisms associated with ageand pathology-related cognitive decline in a healthy, cognitively intact sample, and suggest the utility of the FNDT as a potential biomarker for AD risk.
A framework for cutover management

The purpose of this paper is to provide a governance structure for IT-related projects in order to assure a safeguarded and timely transition to a productive environment. This transitioning, which rarely exceeds a weekend, is colloquially called ‘cut-over’, ‘rollout’ or ‘deployment’. The governance structure is defined in accordance with a set of project-specific deliverables for a cascade-type procedural project-management model, which is integrated within an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)-orientated service organization. This integration is illustrated by the use of a semi-agile release model. Due to the release model selected, which is particularly characterized by its bundling of projects for a release-specific rollout (as it is referred to in the project documentation), a new definition and interpretation of deployment from a generic ITIL perspective is required. The facilitated release model requires a distinction between a project-specific cut-over and a release-specific rollout. This separation gives rise to two types of go-live scenarios: one for each participating project and one for each release. Additionally, an interplay between cut-over planning for a project and rollout planning for a release becomes apparent. Projects should already incorporate cut-over related deliverables in the initial planning phase. Even though consulting methodologies such as ASAP (Accelerated SAP), recommend scattered, project-specific deliverables useful for cut-over planning, this publication offers an integrated approach on how to prepare systematically for a project-specific cut-over with all required deliverables. The framework provided maps out ITIL’s release and deployment process by means of IT projects; furthermore it allows IT projects to interface easily with the ITIL change-management process. Subjects Computer Architecture, Theory and Formal Methods, Software Engineering
Electroabsorption modulator laser for cost-effective 40 Gbit/s networks with low drive voltage, chirp and temperature dependence

The performances of a novel low-chirp electroabsorption modulator laser module are presented. Transmission is analysed in standard singlemode fibre at 40 Gbit/s. Propagation without chromatic dispersion compensation up to 2 km exhibits a low penalty variation over a wide temperature range. A propagation scheme with compensation leads to negligible impairment at 88 km.