Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of measured brightness temperatures from SMOS with modelled ones from ORCHIDEE and H-TESSEL over the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract. L-band radiometry is considered to be one of the most suitable techniques to estimate surface soil moisture (SSM) by means of remote sensing. Brightness temperatures are key in this process, as they are the main input in the retrieval algorithm which yields SSM estimates. The work exposed compares brightness temperatures measured by the SMOS mission to two different sets of modelled ones, over the Iberian Peninsula from 2010 to 2012. The two modelled sets were estimated using a radiative transfer model and state variables from two land-surface models: (i) ORCHIDEE and (ii) H-TESSEL. The radiative transfer model used is the CMEM. Measured and modelled brightness temperatures show a good agreement in their temporal evolution, but their spatial structures are not consistent. An empirical orthogonal function analysis of the brightness temperature's error identifies a dominant structure over the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula which evolves during the year and is maximum in autumn and winter. Hypotheses concerning forcing-induced biases and assumptions made in the radiative transfer model are analysed to explain this inconsistency, but no candidate is found to be responsible for the weak spatial correlations at the moment. Further hypotheses are proposed and will be explored in a forthcoming paper. The analysis of spatial inconsistencies between modelled and measured TBs is important, as these can affect the estimation of geophysical variables and TB assimilation in operational models, as well as result in misleading validation studies.
A kernel-driven framework for high performance internet routing simulation

The ability to provide the simulation of packets traversing an internet path is an integral part of providing realistic simulations for network training, and cyber defence exercises. This paper builds on previous work, and considers an in-kernel approach to solving the routing simulation problem. The inkernel approach is anticipated to allow the framework to be able to achieve throughput rates of 1GB/s or higher using commodity hardware. Processes that run outside the context of the kernel of most operating system require context switching to access hardware and kernel modules. This leads to considerable delays in the processes, such as network simulators, that frequently access hardware such as hard disk accesses and network packet handling. To mitigate this problem, as experienced with earlier implementations, this research looks towards implementing a kernel module to handle network routing and simulation within a UNIX based system. This would remove delays incurred from context switching and allows for direct access to the hardware components of the host.
Operadic bar constructions, cylinder objects, and homotopy morphisms of algebras over operads

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we review applications of the bar duality of operads to the construction of explicit cofibrant replacements in categories of algebras over an operad. In view toward applications, we check that the constructions of the bar duality work properly for algebras over operads in unbounded differential graded modules over a ring. In a second part, we use the operadic cobar construction to define explicit cyclinder objects in the category of operads. Then we apply this construction to prove that certain homotopy morphisms of algebras over operads are equivalent to left homotopies in the model category of operads.
Using ontologies for supporting genomic sequence annotation projects

Traditionally, biological knowledge has been represented in an understandable way for humans, but not for machines. During the last years, the implementation and success of the Gene Ontology has influenced the development of several biological ontologies, which make it possible for machines to understand and process biological knowledge. One of such bio-ontologies is the Sequence Ontology, which provides a shared vocabulary for defining the terms that should be used for normalizing the annotations produced by sequencing projects. In this work, we present how this ontology has been incorporated into a tool that is used for supporting researchers in the annotation of genomes. Besides, this tool also reuses knowledge and integrates data from previous work from our group related to orthology and genetic disorders.
The Role of Sexual and Gender Identity in Long-Term Psychodynamic Therapy for Comorbid Social Anxiety and Depression in an Adolescent Female

Adolescence is a time of significant change with social, cognitive, and emotional alternations, and growth of autonomy and identity. This is a single clinical case study that uses long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy with an adolescent female diagnosed with comorbid social anxiety and persistent depression. The treatment initially focused on addressing the patient’s self-esteem, perfectionism, and self-criticism. During the treatment it was revealed that the patient’s sexual and gender identity contributed to social anxiety and depressive symptoms, and the therapy conceptualized the role of these identities as contributing to social discomfort which perpetuated her depressive symptoms. Through accepting her budding sexual and gender identity, the patient successfully became more comfortable in social settings which ultimately alleviated her depressive symptoms. This treatment highlights the unique nature of working with an adolescent apart of the sexual and gender minority, and how these identities contributed to her experience of social anxiety and depression.
OpenVoIP : An Open Peer-to-Peer VoIP and IM System

This demo presents OpenVoIP, a 500 node open peer-to-peer VoIP and IM system running on Planet Lab. The three key aspects of OpenVoIP’s design are its ability to use any DHT or unstructured peer-to-peer protocol for directory service, the use of intermediate peers with unrestricted connectivity to relay signaling and media traffic between peers behind NAT and firewalls, and a diagnostic system integrated with Google maps for graphical monitoring. The demo will show these aspects of OpenVoIP and provide insights on issues and related problems in building such a system.
Building autonomous learners: perspectives from research and practice using self-determination theory

The book Building Autonomous Learners: Perspectives from Research and Practice using Self-Determination Theory offers a thorough account of the theoretical tenets of self-determination theory (SDT) and how they can be applied within the contexts of school learning, sport and parenting. The editors, and each respective chapter author, provide a logical illustration of how motivationally supportive climates can foster a range of cognitive, affective and behavioural adaptive outcomes in children, as well as learners of all ages. Adding to the more theoretical and developmental books of SDT (Ryan and Deci, 2017; Wehmeyer et al., 2017), the reviewed book makes a successful attempt to direct educators and parents in how to integrate motivationally supportive strategies within the daily practices of school classrooms and home life. Through reading the book, a clear understanding can be gained of not only why the support of learners’ autonomous motivation may promote emotional well-being and learning engagement, but also how practitioners may create such motivationally supportive environments. The book begins by providing an overview of SDT, distinguishing the different types of quality motivation (i.e. autonomous versus controlled), dissimilar goals and motives (i.e. intrinsic versus extrinsic), and introducing the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. A specific focus of the book regards the fostering of autonomy support, structure (competence support) and interpersonal involvement (relatedness support) within different environments. The book builds upon the well-established concept of autonomy support and provides new insights into how autonomy support can be understood and applied. A number of chapters outline the explicit components of autonomy support for teachers to employ in pre-lesson planning and in-classroom teaching. The book also offers new instructional methods of enhancing autonomous motivation and coping with non-successful events or challenging tasks. I found the ‘instruction sequence’ provided in Chapter 8 to be particularly insightful, promoting co-operation between teachers and students when setting learning objectives, formulating work plans and structuring feedback to foster psychological need satisfaction. Furthermore, the book may be of interest and use to parents by exemplifying how different parenting styles can facilitate, or thwart, children’s autonomous motivation, emotional well-being and learning. Chapters 9 and 10 specifically discuss how parents can be involved in their children’s learning in an autonomy supportive manner, both at school and at home. A particular strength of the book is that it demonstrates the conceptual links between SDTand other psychological concepts and theories, such as achievement goal theory (AGT; British Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 67, No. 2, June 2019, pp. 269–282
Genetic Algorithm-Optimized PID Controller for Better Performance of PV System

In recent years, a radical increase of photovoltaic (PV) power generators installation took place because of increased efficiency of solar cells, as well as the growth of manufacturing technology of solar panels. This paper shows the operation and modeling of photovoltaic systems, particularly designing PID controller to control the system. Parameters of the designed controller are tuned using genetic algorithm (GA) which leads to getting the best performance of the designed PV system. Using GA the maximum overshoot and rise time obtained become 0.1% and 0.175 seconds, respectively.
Metabolic and ovarian effects of rosiglitazone treatment for 12 weeks in insulin-resistant women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

BACKGROUND Insulin sensitizers have favourable metabolic and ovarian effects in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study examined rosiglitazone, a thiazolidinedione, in PCOS. METHODS In a prospective, open-label study, the effects of rosiglitazone on metabolism and ovarian function were examined in 42 non-diabetic women with PCOS classified according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development criteria and insulin resistance (IR) by steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) > or =10 mmol/l on octreotide-modified insulin suppression testing. Participants were randomized to rosiglitazone 2, 4 or 8 mg daily for 12 weeks. Endpoints included ovulation and menstrual pattern; serum testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and LH; and changes in IR and glucose-insulin responses on 8 h mixed-meal profile. RESULTS After rosiglitazone 8 mg daily for 12 weeks, SSPG declined and insulinaemia fell by 46%; lower doses gave lesser effects. Serum LH, total and free testosterone were unchanged; SHBG increased. With rosiglitazone, ovulation occurred in 23/42 women (55%), without significant dose dependence. Both before and during treatment, ovulators on rosiglitazone had lower circulating insulin and free testosterone and higher SHBG than non-ovulators. Testosterone declined only in a subgroup of ovulators with early vaginal bleeding after starting rosiglitazone. CONCLUSIONS Rosiglitazone in insulin-resistant PCOS promoted ovulation and dose-dependently decreased IR and insulinaemia; ovulators had lower circulating insulin and testosterone.
SEAMLOC: Seamless Indoor Localization Based on Reduced Number of Calibration Points

Indoor localization based on ubiquitous WLAN has exhibited the capability of being a cheap and relatively precise technology and has been verified by many successful examples. Its performance is subject to change due to multipath propagation and changes in the environment (people, building layouts, antenna characteristics, etc.) which cannot be eliminated easily. An indoor localization and tracking algorithm is described which is based on the creation of a database of WLAN signal strengths at pre-chosen calibration points (CPs). The need for fewer CPs than in standard methods is due to use of a novel interpolation algorithm, based on the specification of robust, range and angle-dependent likelihood functions that describe the probability of a user being in the vicinity of each CP. The actual location of the user is estimated by solving a system of two non-linear equations with two unknowns derived for a pair of CPs. Different pairs of CPs can be chosen to make several estimates which then can be combined to increase the accuracy of the estimate. A variety of results are presented using challenging data collected in a typical office environment which demonstrate the accuracy that can be achieved with a reduced number of CPs. )) The method is compared to several competing localization methods and is shown to give superior results.
BiQ Analyzer: visualization and quality control for DNA methylation data from bisulfite sequencing

SUMMARY Manual processing of DNA methylation data from bisulfite sequencing is a tedious and error-prone task. Here we present an interactive software tool that provides start-to-end support for this process. In an easy-to-use manner, the tool helps the user to import the sequence files from the sequencer, to align them, to exclude or correct critical sequences, to document the experiment, to perform basic statistics and to produce publication-quality diagrams. Emphasis is put on quality control: The program automatically assesses data quality and provides warnings and suggestions for dealing with critical sequences. The BiQ Analyzer program is implemented in the Java programming language and runs on any platform for which a recent Java virtual machine is available. AVAILABILITY The program is available without charge for non-commercial users and can be downloaded from http://biq-analyzer.bioinf. mpi-inf.mpg. de/
SMT-CAT integration in a Technical Domain: Handling XML Markup Using Pre & Post-processing Methods

The increasing use of eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is bringing additional challenges to statistical machine translation (SMT) and computer assisted translation (CAT) workflow integration in the translation industry. This paper analyzes the need to handle XML markup as a part of the translation material in a technical domain. It explores different ways of handling such markup by applying transducers in pre and post-processing steps. A series of experiments indicates that XML markup needs a specific treatment in certain scenarios. One of the proposed methods not only satisfies the SMT-CAT integration need, but also provides slightly improved translation results on English-to-Spanish and English-to-French translations, compared to having no additional pre or post-processing steps.
Ciudad inteligente y sostenible: hacia un modelo de innovación inclusiva

El objetivo de la investigacion fue presentar algunos principios y conceptos en los que se fundamentan los modelos de Ciudades Inteligentes y Sostenibles, asi como la relacion que guarda con los elementos teoricos de la innovacion inclusiva. Para el estudio se empleo un abordaje exploratorio-descriptivo y con el apoyo del Indice Cities in Motion 2016 (IESE Business School, 2016), se realizo la ubicacion regional y comparacion de las principales ciudades inteligentes y sostenibles a nivel mundial, teniendo prelacion en exponer la situacion de America Latina, en particular Mexico. Se concluye en la necesidad de crear ambientes adecuados para la innovacion inclusiva desde el uso eficiente e intensivo de las tecnologias disponibles, por lo cual es necesario acelerar los procesos de aprendizaje, construccion y acumulacion de capacidades tecnologicas; en la conjuncion de Ciudades Inteligentes e innovacion inclusiva como estrategias de gestion urbana que permita la inclusion social desde el uso y apropiacion de las TIC asi como el desarrollo economico, social y ambiental para mejorar la calidad de vida e igualdad de la ciudadania. Palabras clave: Sociedad de la informacion y el conocimiento; I+D+I; gestion urbana; cohesion social; brecha digital; gobierno electronico
Statistical Monitoring + Predictable Recovery = Self-*

It is by now motherhood-and-apple-pie that complex distributed Internet services form the basis not only of ecommerce but increasingly of mission-critical networkbased applications. What is new is that the workload and internal architecture of three-tier enterprise applications presents the opportunity for a new approach to keeping them running in the face of both inaturali failures and adversarial attacks. The core of the approach is anomaly detection and localization based on statistical machine learning techniques. Unlike previous approaches, we propose anomaly detection and pattern mining not only for operational statistics such as mean response time, but also for structural behaviors of the systemowhat parts of the system, in what combinations, are being exercised in response to different kinds of external stimuli. In addition, rather than building baseline models a priori, we extract them by observing the behavior of the system over a short period of time during normal operation. We explain the necessary underlying assumptions and why they can be realized by systems research, report on some early successes using the approach, describe benets of the approach that make it competitive as a path toward selfmanaging systems, and outline some research challenges. Our hope is that this approach will enable inew sciencei in the design of self-managing systems by allowing the rapid and widespread application of statistical learning theory techniques (SLT) to problems of system dependability.
A Secure and Legal Network-Aware P2P VoD System

File sharing applications using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks such as Bittorrent or eDonkey rapidly attracted a lot of people and proved the efficiency and interest of this P2P technology. Distribution of video and of live contents also experienced the P2P mechanisms with success. PPLive, UUSee and others have many of customers, hundreds of channels and thousands of concurrent users. However, major content providers are reluctant to use this technology because no solution to ensure the distribution of only legal contents is provided. In the same way, network operators do not really push towards P2P content distribution because bad organization of the overlay can lead to overload the network and consume a lot of networks resources. In this paper, a secure and legal network-aware P2P video system is introduced, which aims at overcoming those two drawbacks. The design of the system and the evaluation of a prototype showed good results and let us be optimistic about a possible deployment of P2P systems for video delivery, having the support of content providers as well as network operators.
A Real Implementation of DPI in 3G Network

In 3G mobile communication system, mobile broadband data services create great opportunities on revenue growth for network carriers. In the mean time, the dramatically increased subscribers make the access and core network more and more over-loaded everyday. Unfortunately, majority of wireless bandwidth is consumed by non revenue driven application traffic such as the P2P downloading, illegal VoIP and file sharing that launched by minority of subscribers. This phenomenon seriously affects the experience of normal users. From the perspective of network carriers, network performance and user behavior should be monitored to detect mis-conducts and abnormal utilization in real time so as to achieve utilization fairness and efficiency. In this paper, we implement the deep packet inspection (DPI) technology into the CDMA 1x EV DO mobile network packet switch (PS) domain and construct a DPI based network traffic monitoring, analysis and management system. With the system, subscriber, cell, base station, PCF and PDSN based traffic monitoring and control, and application based traffic management is enabled. As a result, network capacity has been fully utilized by setting the application rate threshold, customer satisfaction has been greatly improved by keeping fair bandwidth utilization.
A new integral equation approach to elastodynamic homogenization

A new theory of elastodynamic homogenization is proposed, which exploits the integral equation form of Navier's equations and relationships between length scales within composite media. The scheme is introduced by focusing on its leading-order approximation for orthotropic, periodic fibre-reinforced media where fibres have arbitrary cross-sectional shape. The methodology is general but here it is shown for horizontally polarized shear (SH) wave propagation for ease of exposition. The resulting effective properties are shown to possess rich structure in that four terms account separately for the physical detail of the composite (associated with fibre cross-sectional shape, elastic properties, lattice geometry and volume fraction). In particular, the appropriate component of Eshelby's tensor arises naturally in order to deal with the shape of the fibre cross section. Results are plotted for circular fibres and compared with extant methods, including the method of asymptotic homogenization. The leading-order scheme is shown to be in excellent agreement even for relatively high volume fractions.
Testing Theories That Predict Time Variation of Fundamental Constants

We consider astronomical and local bounds on the time variation of fundamental constants to test some generic Kaluza-Klein-like models and some particular cases of Beckenstein theory. Bounds on the free parameters of the different theories are obtained. Furthermore, we find that none of the proposed models is able to explain recent results (as from Webb and coworkers in 1999 and 2001) claiming an observed variation of the fine-structure constant from quasar absorption systems at redshifts 0.5 < z < 3.
Notes on Median and Quantile Estimation with ApplicationsMark HuberSchool of Operations Research and Industrial

We compute the rate of convergence for nonparametric selection estimators of the median using Chernoo type bounds, and consider some applications. The accuracy bound derived from Chernoo for Monte Carlo quantile estimators depends upon the quantity we wish to estimate. We give an estimator which runs for a nearly optimal amount of time. Finally, we give a formula for Chernoo bounds which is correct up to a multiplicative constant.
Factors Influencing the Synonymous Codon and Amino Acid Usage Bias in AT-rich Pseudomonas aeruginosa Phage PhiKZ

Abstract To reveal how the AT-rich genome of bacteriophage PhiKZ has been shaped in order to carry out its growth in the GC-rich host Pseudomonas aeruginosa, synonymous codon and amino acid usage bias of PhiKZ was investigated and the data were compared with that of P. aeruginosa. It was found that synonymous codon and amino acid usage of PhiKZ was distinct from that of P. aeruginosa. In contrast to P. aeruginosa, the third codon position of the synonymous codons of PhiKZ carries mostly A or T base; codon usage bias in PhiKZ is dictated mainly by mutational bias and, to a lesser extent, by translational selection. A cluster analysis of the relative synonymous codon usage values of 16 myoviruses including PhiKZ shows that PhiKZ is evolutionary much closer to Escherichia coli phage T4. Further analysis reveals that the three factors of mean molecular weight, aromaticity and cysteine content are mostly responsible for the variation of amino acid usage in PhiKZ proteins, whereas amino acid usage of P. aeruginosa proteins is mainly governed by grand average of hydropathicity, aromaticity and cysteine content. Based on these observations, we suggest that codons of the phage-like PhiKZ have evolved to preferentially incorporate the smaller amino acid residues into their proteins during translation, thereby economizing the cost of its development in GC-rich P. aeruginosa.