Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sandstone-Body and Shale-Body Dimensions in a Braided Fluvial System: Salt Wash Sandstone Member (Morrison Formation), Garfield County, Utah

Excellent three-dimensional exposures of the Upper Jurassic Salt Wash Sandstone Member of the Morrison Formation in the Henry Mountains area of southern Utah allow measurement of the thickness and width of fluvial sandstone and shale bodies from extensive photomosaics. The Salt Wash Sandstone Member is composed of fluvial channel fill, abandoned channel fill, and overbank/flood-plain strata that were deposited on a broad alluvial plain of low-sinuosity, sandy, braided streams flowing northeast. A hierarchy of sandstone and shale bodies in the Salt Wash Sandstone Member includes, in ascending order, trough cross-bedding, fining-upward units/mudstone intraclast conglomerates, single-story sandstone bodies/basal conglomerate, abandoned channel fill, multistory sandstone bodies, and overbank/flood-plain heterolithic strata. Trough cross-beds have an average width:thickness ratio (W:T) of 8.5:1 in the lower interval of the Salt Wash Sandstone Member and 10.4:1 in the upper interval. Fining-upward units are 0.5-3.0 m thick and 3-11 m wide. Single-story sandstone bodies in the upper interval are wider and thicker than their counterparts in the lower interval, based on average W:T, linear regression analysis, and cumulative relative frequency graphs. Multistory sandstone bodies are composed of two to eight stories, range up to 30 m thick and over 1500 m wide (W:T > 50:1), and are also larger in the upper interval. Heterolithic units between sandstone bodies include abandoned channel fill (W:T = 33:1) and overbank/flood-plain deposits (W:T = 70:1). Understanding W:T ratios from the component parts of an ancient, sandy, braided stream deposit can be applied in several ways to similar strata in other basins; for example, to (1) determine the width of a unit when only the thickness is known, (2) create correlation guidelines and maximum correlation lengths, (3) aid in interpreting the controls on fluvial architecture, and (4) place additional constraints on input variables to stratigraphic and fluid-flow modeling. The usefulness of these types of data demonstrates the need to develop more data sets from other depositional environments.
Robust manipulation for temporary lack of sensory information by a multi-fingered hand-arm system

This paper proposes a novel vision-based grasping and manipulation scheme of a multi-fingered hand-arm system robust for a temporary lack of sensory information. Visual information is one of the fundamental components for reliable grasping and manipulation by a multi-fingered hand-arm system. However, in case that visual information such as position and attitude of an object comes to be unavailable due to the occlusion or if the object goes out-of-sight temporarily, unstable and unfavorable behavior is often induced. The proposed method, which utilizes the stable grasping control and the concept of virtual frame, enables to grasp and manipulate an object stably even if the visual information becomes suddenly and temporarily unavailable during manipulation. Firstly, a dynamical model of object grasping using a multi-fingered hand-arm system is formulated. Next, a new control scheme for robust object grasping and manipulation using the virtual frame is proposed. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to verify the usefulness of the proposed method.
A discrete-continuous Bayesian model for Emission Tomography

In this contribution, we propose a discrete-continuous reconstruction method for Positron Emission Tomography (PET). The goal is to reconstruct a continuous radiotracer activity distribution from a finite set of measurements (namely, the discrete projections of detected random emissions). Our approach can be viewed as an indirect density estimation problem, i.e, the problem of recovering a probability density function based on indirect observations. We cast the reconstruction problem in a Bayesian nonparametric estimation framework where regularization of the ill-posed inverse problem is achieved by putting a prior on the investigated radiotracer activity distribution. We propose a hierarchical model and use it for the MCMC schemes to generate samples from the posterior activity distribution and compute its functionals (mean, standard deviation etc.). Results will illustrate the performances of the proposed method and we compare our approach to another Bayesian method, the maximum a posteriori estimation (MAP), which is based on a fully discrete-discrete problem formulation.
Searching the news Using a rich ontology with time-bound roles to search through annotated newspaper archives

A frequent motivation for annotating documents using ontologies is to allow more efficient search. For collections of newspaper articles, it is often difficult to find specific articles based on keywords or topics alone. This paper describes a system that uses a formalisation of the content of newspaper articles to answer complex queries. The data for this system is created using Relational Content Analysis, a method used in Communication Sciences in which documents are annotated using a rich annotation scheme based on an ontology that includes political roles with temporal validity. Using custom inferencing over the temporal relations and query translation, our system can be used to search for and browse through newspaper articles and to perform systematic analyses by evaluating queries against all articles in the corpus. This makes the system useful both for the (Social) Scientist and for interested laypersons.
Flipping Biological Switches: Solving for Optimal Control: A Dissertation

Switches play an important regulatory role at all levels of biology, from molecular switches triggering signaling cascades to cellular switches regulating cell maturation and apoptosis. Medical therapies are often designed to toggle a system from one state to another, achieving a specified health outcome. For instance, small doses of subpathologic viruses activate the immune system’s production of antibodies. Electrical stimulation revert cardiac arrhythmias back to normal sinus rhythm. In all of these examples, a major challenge is finding the optimal stimulus waveform necessary to cause the switch to flip. This thesis develops, validates, and applies a novel model-independent stochastic algorithm, the Extrema Distortion Algorithm (EDA), towards finding the optimal stimulus. We validate the EDA’s performance for the Hodgkin-Huxley model (an empirically validated ionic model of neuronal excitability), the FitzHugh-Nagumo model (an abstract model applied to a wide range of biological systems that that exhibit an oscillatory state and a quiescent state), and the genetic toggle switch (a model of bistable gene expression). We show that the EDA is able to not only find the optimal solution, but also in some cases excel beyond the traditional analytic approaches. Finally, we have computed novel optimal stimulus waveforms for aborting epileptic seizures using the EDA in cellular and network models of epilepsy. This work represents a first step in developing a new class of adaptive algorithms and devices that flip biological switches, revealing basic mechanistic insights and therapeutic applications for a broad range of disorders.
Imaginary interfaces: spatial interaction with empty hands and without visual feedback

Screen-less wearable devices allow for the smallest form factor and thus the maximum mobility. However, current screen-less devices only support buttons and gestures. Pointing is not supported because users have nothing to point at. However, we challenge the notion that spatial interaction requires a screen and propose a method for bringing spatial interaction to screen-less devices. We present Imaginary Interfaces, screen-less devices that allow users to perform spatial interaction with empty hands and without visual feedback. Unlike projection-based solutions, such as Sixth Sense, all visual "feedback" takes place in the user's imagination. Users define the origin of an imaginary space by forming an L-shaped coordinate cross with their non-dominant hand. Users then point and draw with their dominant hand in the resulting space. With three user studies we investigate the question: To what extent can users interact spatially with a user interface that exists only in their imagination? Participants created simple drawings, annotated existing drawings, and pointed at locations described in imaginary space. Our findings suggest that users' visual short-term memory can, in part, replace the feedback conventionally displayed on a screen.
Energy saving in metro-transit systems: Impact of braking energy management

In the urban mobility of big cities and metropolitan areas, the metro-transit system plays a fundamental role and it is one of the most energy-impactive. Considering the actual general upward interest for energy saving and sustainability in city transport, with the consumptions increasing and the technological evolution, new studies and projects on metro-transit lines are in progress. The aim is achieving new design proposals -including new technologies and management techniques -based on high-quality simulation models and software for energy evaluations. In this framework a study on a line of the metro-transit system of Rome has been performed. The study tasks are to provide future upgrading actions for energy saving with a reduced economic impact thanks to the maximum exploitation of existing electric power systems. The analysis principally regards the assessment of the impact of the braking energy recovering on the energy consumption. Its results point out the necessity of a revaluation of the choices on the power system design for its management, also according to the actual storage technologies, confirmed by a wide literature overview.
Comparative versus Informative Advertising in Oligopolistic Markets

The present paper investigates the firms’ incentives to invest in informative and/or comparative advertising, in an oligopolistic market with horizontal and vertical product differentiation. We show that, in equilibrium the firms’ optimal decision is to invest in a combination of informative and comparative advertising where, the expenditure levels on each type of advertising are being determined by the degree of substitution between products. Further, through the comparison with the benchmark case without advertising activities and the mere informative advertising case, we show that firms’ investment in both types of advertising always leads to higher output and lower profits. Finally, the impact of advertising on social welfare is also discussed.
Perispeckles are major assembly sites for the exon junction core complex

The exon junction complex (EJC) allows the spliceosome to communicate with other cellular machinery. This study shows that assembled EJC cores are enriched in nuclear regions around speckles, called perispeckles. Speckles and perispeckles may represent specialized nuclear regions for messenger ribonucleoprotein maturation.
Balancing Sum Rate and TCP Throughput in OFDMA Based Wireless Networks

Abstract-In this paper, we propose a dynamic OFDMA based subcarrier/power allocation scheme, which aims to balance the aggregate rate and the achieved TCP throughput of competing TCP flows. The proposed allocation utilizes the theoretical TCP throughput which can be accomplished in the end-to-end path. In doing so, the TCP aware scheme attempts to minimize the gap between the allocated rate and the theoretical upper bound under the system constraints. Such a technique can be of significant importance since due to its popularity, TCP is commonly used for streaming video or other ultimedia applications. Numerical investigations reveal that the proposed approach, provides more balance towards the TCP throughput, and under some considerations significantly increase the fairness among competing TCP flows over end-to-end paths of different characteristics. In addition to that, it also manages to avoid starvation of TCP flows with poor channel conditions.
Real-time feedback for improving medication taking

Medication taking is a self-regulatory process that requires individuals to self-monitor their medication taking behaviors, but this can be difficult because medication taking is such a mundane, unremarkable behavior. Ubiquitous sensing systems have the potential to sense everyday behaviors and provide the objective feedback necessary for self-regulation of medication taking. We describe an unobtrusive sensing system consisting of a sensor-augmented pillbox and an ambient display that provides near real-time visual feedback about how well medications are being taken. In contrast to other systems that focus on reminding before medication taking, our approach uses feedback after medication taking to allow the individual to develop their own routines through self-regulation. We evaluated this system in the homes of older adults in a 10-month deployment. Feedback helped improve the consistency of medication-taking behaviors as well as increased ratings of self-efficacy. However, the improved performance did not persist after the feedback display was removed, because individuals had integrated the feedback display into their routines to support their self-awareness, identify mistakes, guide the timing of medication taking, and provide a sense of security that they are taking their medications well. Finally, we reflect on design considerations for feedback systems to support the process of self-regulation of everyday behaviors.
Garbage Collector Scheduling in Dynamic, Multiprocessor Real-Time Systems

We present a garbage collector scheduling algorithm for dynamic multiprocessor real-time systems called GCMUA. The algorithm considers mutator activities that are subject to time/utility function time constraints, stochastic execution-time and memory demands, and overloads. We prove that GCMUA probabilistically lower bounds each mutator's accrued utility, lower bounds the total accrued utility, and upper bounds the assurances' sensitivity to variations in execution-time and memory demand estimates. Our simulation results confirm our analytical results
Investigating the mechanics of earthquakes using macroscopic seismic parameters

To understand the physics of earthquake rupture mechanics, we have to relate seismologically observable parameters to the dynamics of faulting. One of the key seismological parameters that will help us achieve this objective is radiated energy. In this work, we develop a new method of estimating radiated energy from regional data using an empirical Green's functions; we also modify existing methods of estimating radiated energy from teleseismic data by improving the corrections applied to the observed seismic data for attenuation and directivity effects. We compute teleseismic estimates of radiated energy for 23 large subduction zone earthquakes recorded between 1992 and 2001; most of these earthquakes have a magnitude, Mw > 7.5, but we also include some smaller (Mw~6.5) well-studied subduction zone earthquakes and 6 crustal earthquakes. We compile the static stress drop estimates for these 29 earthquakes from published literature. We then determine radiation efficiency of these earthquakes using a stress relaxation model that relates measurable and macroscopic seismological parameters to the physical processes on the fault zone via fracture energy. We also determine the rupture velocity of these earthquakes from published literature. A comparison of radiation efficiencies and rupture velocities of these earthquakes with the expected theoreticial values for different modes of crack propagation validates the use of the stress relaxation model to understand earthquake rupture mechanics. From our calculations, we observe that most earthquakes have radiation efficiencies between 0.25 and 1 and are hence efficient in generating seismic waves, but tsunami earthquakes and two deep earthquakes, the 1994 deep earthquake that occurred in Bolivia and the 1999 Russia-China border earthquake, have very small radiation efficiencies (<0.25) and hence dissipate a large amount of energy on the fault plane. We suggest that the difference in the radiation efficiencies of the different types of earthquakes could be due to fundamental differences in the rupture mechanics of different events. In case of deep events, the energy is probably dissipated in thermal processes on the fault zone, while it is possible that the morphology of the trench causes branching and bifurcation of rupture resulting in the large energy dissipation during the rupture process of tsunami earthquakes.
The role of academic publishers in shaping the development of Web 2.0 services for scholarly communication

This paper examines how two contrasting academic publishers are responding to the opportunities and challenges of Web 2.0 to innovate their services. Our findings highlight the need to take seriously the role of publishers in the move towards a vision of more rapid and open scholarly communication and to understand the factors that shape their role as intermediaries in the innovation pathways that may be needed to achieve it.
PolyU at TAC 2009

PolyU has participated in both the two tasks in the TAC 2009 summarization track, including the update summarization task and the automatically evaluating summaries of peers (AESOP) task. The update summarization task is to generate short fluent multi-document summaries of news articles. For each topic, a topic statement and two chronologically ordered newswire document sets are given. The task requires generating a 100-word summary for each document set. The purpose of the AESOP task is to promote research and development of systems that automatically evaluate the quality of summaries. The automatic metrics are run on the data and submitted summarization systems from the update summarization task and compared to manual evaluations. In this year, we mainly study the word-based approaches for both tasks. Simple word-based approaches are first proposed as basic solutions. More sophisticated approaches are then studied by considering the factors beyond words. The systems are detailed in following sections.
Constraints on the timing of crustal imbrication in the central Trans-Hudson Orogen from single zircon 207Pb/206Pb ages of granitoid rocks from the Pelican thrust zone, Saskatchewan

The Pelican thrust is a major ductile high-strain zone in the Reindeer Zone, Trans-Hudson Orogen, northern Saskatchewan. It is interpreted as the main sole thrust separating stacked juvenile Paleoproterozoic allochthons and underlying Archean microcontinental crust in this central part of the orogen. Exposed nonmylonitic rocks in the footwall of the thrust consist of the Sahli monzocharnockite and the smaller, more highly retrograded MacMillan Point granite. Protomylonitic to ultramylonitic gneisses in the thrust zone derive from a variety of prethrust protoliths. A footwall "internal suite" mainly comprises quartzofeldspathic orthogneisses ("Q" gneisses) and high-grade migmatitic paragneisses. Hanging-wall "external suite" mylonitic gneisses include feldspar-porphyroclastic hornblendic grey gneisses probably derived from arc plutons, and laminated amphibolites derived from volcanic rocks. The overlying allochthon mainly comprises protoliths equivalent to those of the porphyroclastic orthogneisses and lam.
Genetic Feedback Regulation of Frontal Cortical Neuronal Ensembles Through Activity-Dependent Arc Expression and Dopaminergic Input

Mental functions involve coordinated activities of specific neuronal ensembles that are embedded in complex brain circuits. Aberrant neuronal ensemble dynamics is thought to form the neurobiological basis of mental disorders. A major challenge in mental health research is to identify these cellular ensembles and determine what molecular mechanisms constrain their emergence and consolidation during development and learning. Here, we provide a perspective based on recent studies that use activity-dependent gene Arc/Arg3.1 as a cellular marker to identify neuronal ensembles and a molecular probe to modulate circuit functions. These studies have demonstrated that the transcription of Arc is activated in selective groups of frontal cortical neurons in response to specific behavioral tasks. Arc expression regulates the persistent firing of individual neurons and predicts the consolidation of neuronal ensembles during repeated learning. Therefore, the Arc pathway represents a prototypical example of activity-dependent genetic feedback regulation of neuronal ensembles. The activation of this pathway in the frontal cortex starts during early postnatal development and requires dopaminergic (DA) input. Conversely, genetic disruption of Arc leads to a hypoactive mesofrontal dopamine circuit and its related cognitive deficit. This mutual interaction suggests an auto-regulatory mechanism to amplify the impact of neuromodulators and activity-regulated genes during postnatal development. Such a mechanism may contribute to the association of mutations in dopamine and Arc pathways with neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders. As the mesofrontal dopamine circuit shows extensive activity-dependent developmental plasticity, activity-guided modulation of DA projections or Arc ensembles during development may help to repair circuit deficits related to neuropsychiatric disorders.
Prior Models for Indoor Super-Resolution Time of Arrival Estimation

We propose a scheme for super-resolution estimation of the time of arrival of a radio signal which makes use of a prior model of the radio propagation conditions. The method is based on examination of the leading edge of the channel impulse response, and comparison with a database of leading edge shapes generated by Monte Carlo simulation. We also propose an efficient implementation, which makes the method practical for mobile devices with limited computational power. We verify the performance of the method using actual measured data, taken in a number of different situations, and show improved performance over other super-resolution methods proposed in the literature.
Update semantics of relational views

A database view is a portion of the data structured in a way suitable to a specific application. Updates on views must be translated into updates on the underlying database. This paper studies the translation process in the relational model. The procedure is as follows: first, a “complete” set of updates is defined such thattogether with every update the set contains a “return” update, that is, one that brings the view back to the original state; given two updates in the set, their composition is also in the set. To translate a complete set, we define a mapping called a “translator,” that associates with each view update a unique database update called a “translation. ” The constraint on a translation is to take the database to a state mapping onto the updated view. The constraint on the translator is to be a morphism. We propose a method for defining translators. Together with the user-defined view, we define a “complementary” view such that the database could be computed from the view and its complement. We show that a view can have many different complements and that the choice of a complement determines an update policy. Thus, we fix a view complement and we define the translation of a given view update in such a way that the complement remains invariant (“translation under constant complement”). The main result of the paper states that, given a complete set U of view updates, U has a translator if and only if U is translatable under constant complement.