Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variance Estimation For Online Regression via Spectrum Thresholding

We consider the dynamic linear regression problem, where the predictor vector may vary with time. This problem can be modeled as a linear dynamical system, where the parameters that need to be learned are the variance of both the process noise and the observation noise. While variance estimation for dynamic regression is a natural problem, with a variety of applications, existing approaches to this problem either lack guarantees or only have asymptotic guarantees without explicit rates. In addition, all existing approaches rely strongly on Guassianity of the noises. In this paper we study the global system operator: the operator that maps the noise vectors to the output. In particular, we obtain estimates on its spectrum, and as a result derive the first known variance estimators with finite sample complexity guarantees. Moreover, our results hold for arbitrary sub Gaussian distributions of noise terms. We evaluate the approach on synthetic and real-world benchmarks.
Optimum design of voice coil motor using for nano-stage in lithographic equipment

An optimized structure of a voice coil motor with a lower force ripple was presented. Through improving the part of the magnet or the back iron of a voice coil motor's structure, its internal vertical peak flux density was reduced greatly. In this way, the motor's peak force was also reduced with force ripple. Different optimization results were compared and analyzed, and an electromagnetic simulation was carried out to verify the theoretical analysis. Finally, the advantages of the optimization scheme were given as a conclusion.
Global Strichartz Estimates for Nontrapping Geometries: About an Article by H. Smith and C. Sogge

Abstract The purpose of this note is to present an alternative proof of a result by H. Smith and C. Sogge showing that in odd dimension of space, local (in time) Strichartz estimates and exponential decay of the local energy for solutions to wave equations imply global Strichartz estimates. Our proof allows to extend the result to the case of even dimensions of space.
Effective Tax Administration and Institutionalization of Accounting Systems in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises: Evidence from Nigeria

The study investigated the role of effective tax administration in institutionalizing accounting systems in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria against the backdrop of the prevalence of poor accounting systems in this sector. Data was obtained from SME operators and staff of the internal revenue agencies like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and State Boards of Internal Revenue (SBIRs) as applicable in Nigeria. The econometric e-view was used to analyze the data so obtained, and it was observed that the lack of an effective tax administrative system which undermines the collection of profit tax from the operators of this sector accounts to a large extent for the non institutionalization of accounting systems SMEs in Nigeria. The study also identified several variables that militate against the establishment of an effective tax administrative system in the country. Accordingly the study advocated the need to build strong institutions, enact appropriate laws and implement stiffer penalties for defaulters. This should be predicated on the basis of an enhanced citizens’ confidence in the government and its institutions, which can be attained through the enthronement of fiscal transparency and accountability framework and good governance that has the capacity for building trust thereby enhancing voluntary compliance with tax laws.
A 3 D DISCRETE MODEL OF THE DIAPHRAGM AND HUMAN TRUNK ∗

In this paper, a 3D discrete model is presented to model the movements of the trunk during breathing. In this model, objects are represented by physical particles on their contours. A simple notion of force generated by a linear actuator allows the model to create forces on each particle by way of a geometrical attractor. Tissue elasticity and contractility are modeled by local shape memory and muscular fibers attractors. A specific dynamic MRI study was used to build a simple trunk model comprised of by three compartments: lungs, diaphragm and abdomen. This model was registered on the real geometry. Simulation results were compared qualitatively as well as quantitatively to the experimental data, in terms of volume and geometry. A good correlation was obtained between the model and the real data. Thanks to this model, pathology such as hemidiaphragm paralysis can also be simulated. Résumé. Dans cet article nous présentons un modèle discret 3D permettant de modéliser les mouvements du tronc pendant la respiration. Les objets du modèle sont représentés par des particules physiques sur leurs contours. Une notion simple de force induite par des actuateurs linéaires permet de génerer des forces au niveau des particules en utilisant un attracteur géométrique. Les propriétés élastiques et contractiles d’un tissu sont ainsi modélisées par des attracteurs de mémoire de forme locale et de fibre musculaire. À partir d’une étude spécifique en IRM dynamique, nous avons construit un modèle de tronc simplifié comprenant trois compartiments : les poumons, le diaphragme et l’abdomen. Ce modèle est recalé sur la géométrie réelle. Nous confrontons les simulations obtenues aussi bien qualitativement que quantitativement, en terme de variation de volume et de géométrie. Une bonne correlation est obtenue entre le modèle et les données réelles. Grâce à ce modèle nous montrons enfin que l’on peut simuler la paralysie hémidiaphragmatique.
Quantification model of X-ray fluorescence analysis based on iterative Monte Carlo procedure

Iterative Monte Carlo algorithm has been constructed and tested for quantification of X-ray fluorescence analysis in order to determine the atomic composition of solid materials. The calculation model uses simulation code MCNP6 that describes the excitation and relaxation phenomenon in the atomic electron shell. The complete analytical procedure was tested by quantitative analysis of standard reference alloy materials. Acceptable agreement was found between the calculated and nominal concentrations within the standard deviations of the concentrations of the major elements. The total duration of the repeatedly performed Monte Carlo numerical computation for the entire analysis was only a few minutes, due to the application of variance reduction procedures available in the Monte Carlo code. A frame software was designed and written in MatLab programming environment for controlling the iterative calculation of the elementary composition of the sample material.
Toward a task space framework for gesture commanded telemanipulation

This paper introduces a new framework for task space telemanipulation. The TASK space grasping and MANipulation (TaskMan) concept utilizes a library of tasks based on gesture commands, which replaces the conventional mapping required between the human hand and the end effector. Task communication between the human machine interface (HMI) and the robot end effector requires two symbiotic but nonidentical state machines on the master and slave side. The task states on two sides are synchronized via a single channel communication, as opposed to multi-channel joint space or Cartesian mapped information. HAND gesture command for grasping and MANipulation (HandyMan) HMI command algorithm is proposed for the recognition of hand gestures, which incorporates a library of intuitive task gestures to be used by the teleoperator wearing a CyberGlove. The task gestures are used to drive the states of the TaskMan state machines. With the proposed concepts, this work has realized teleoperated grasp and manipulation with a 15-DoF robot hand in task space. Full 6-DoF of object manipulation was achieved with different grasp combinations, and demonstrated higher repeatability, success rate and easier operation compared to conventional joint space teleoperation methods.
Cognitive and Affective Theory of Mind in Children with Callous-Unemotional Traits

Children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits, the childhood analogue of psychopathy, represent a subset of children with conduct disorder who demonstrate the earliest, most severe, and most persistent antisocial behavior (Frick & Ellis, 1999). Attention is being increasingly turned towards the etiology and identification of early warning signs of these traits, but relatively little is known about their developmental antecedents and correlates. The current study aims to examine a unique social cognitive pattern observed in children with CU traits such that compared to their typically developing peers, they have intact or heightened cognitive Theory of Mind (ToM) skills in combination with pervasively deficient affective ToM skills (Jones et al., 2010; Schwenck et al., 2012; Centifanti, Meins, Fernyhough, 2015; Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous & Warden, 2008; Woodworth & Waschbusch, 2008; Blair & Coles, 2000; Loney et al., 2003; Wolf & Centifanti, 2013). That is, they are able to understand what others think, know, and believe, but struggle to understand how other people feel and why. The current study was conducted using data collected as part of the Pittsburgh Girls Study to examine the relationship between CU traits and cognitive and affective ToM in a sample of girls from ages 6 to 17 years. The specific aims were to 1) identify and distinguish applied affective ToM and applied cognitive ToM; 2) examine predictive associations between CU traits, conduct disorder, and both ToM factors; and 3) examine the stability in CU traits in girls from age 6 to age 17, the stability of applied ToM in early adolescence, and the bidirectional relationship between CU traits and applied ToM over time. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a two-factor ToM model demonstrated excellent model fit, suggesting that looking at cognitive and affective ToM skills separately yields meaningful information about developing social cognitive skills. As hypothesized, CU traits at age 6 significantly positively predicted applied cognitive ToM and negatively predicted applied affective ToM at age 11. CU traits in girls demonstrated relatively high stability across all ages. Consistent with the pattern from age 6 to age 11, CU traits at age 11 significantly positively predicted applied cognitive ToM and significantly negatively predicted applied affective ToM at age 14. However, contrary to our hypotheses, CU traits at ages 14 and 17 were not significantly predicted by applied ToM skills at the previous age, suggesting limited bidirectionality. Taken together, these findings support the idea that children with CU traits exhibit a unique ToM profile. By continuing to examine this profile, we will better understand developmental precursors of CU traits, the implications CU traits have for peer relationships, the best targets for CU-specific interventions, and the most effective means through which to try to alter the trajectory of these traits in early childhood.
Atmospheric controls on soil moisture‐boundary layer interactions: Three‐dimensional wind effects

[1] This paper expands the one-dimensionally based CTP-HIlow framework for describing atmospheric controls on soil moisture-boundary layer interactions [Findell and Eltahir, 2003] to three dimensions by including low-level wind effects in the analysis. The framework is based on two measures of atmospheric thermodynamic properties: the convective triggering potential (CTP), a measure of the temperature lapse rate between approximately 1 and 3 km above the ground surface, and a low-level humidity index, HIlow. These two measures are used to distinguish between three types of early morning soundings: those favoring rainfall over dry soils, those favoring rainfall over wet soils, and those whose convective potential is unaffected by the partitioning of fluxes at the surface. The focus of this paper is the additional information gained by incorporating information about low-level winds into the CTP-HIlow framework. Three-dimensional simulations using MM5 and an analysis of observations from the FIFE experiment within this framework highlight the importance of the winds in determining the sensitivity of convection to fluxes from the land surface. A very important impact of the 3D winds is the potential for low-level backing or unidirectional winds with great shear to suppress convective potential. Because of this suppression of convection in certain wind conditions, far fewer simulations produced rain than would be anticipated based solely on the 1D framework of understanding. However, when the winds allowed, convection occurred in a manner consistent with the 1D-based expectations. Generally speaking, in the regime where dry soils were expected to have an advantage, convection was triggered over dry soils more often than over wet; in the regime where wet soils were expected to have an advantage, convection was more frequently triggered over wet soils than over dry. Additionally, when rainfall occurred in both simulations with wet soils and simulations with dry soils for a given day, rainfall depths were typically greater in the simulations with wet soils. Similarly, the FIFE data showed numerous days with convective potential but no rainfall: each of these days had low-level backing or strongly shearing winds. Four days with high humidity deficits and veering winds in the lowest 300 mbar did have rain, highlighting the enhanced buoyancy effects of low-level veering winds.
Multiscale modelling of the influence of hydrogen on dislocation junctions in bcc iron

Multiscale modelling of the influence of hydrogen on dislocation junctions is presented by incorporating a hydrogen core force into the total nodal force. The hydrogen core force arises due to hydrogen induced change in dislocation core energy, which was calibrated at the atomic scale accounting for the nonlinear inter-atomic interactions at the dislocation core, giving the model a sound physical basis. Hydrogen reduces the core energy of edge dislocations, which reduces the magnitude of the dislocation core force. We refer to this as hydrogen core force shielding, as it is analogous to hydrogen elastic shielding but occurs at much lower hydrogen concentrations. Hydrogen was found to strengthen binary junctions and promote the nucleation of dislocations from triple junctions. Simulations of microcantilever bend tests with hydrogen core force shielding showed an increase in the junction density and subsequent hardening. These simulations were performed at a small hydrogen concentration realistic for bcc iron.
Outdoor-Indoor Impulse Response Measurements and Channel Modeling for Metropolitan Wireless Local Loops at 2 GHz

| This paper reports on a series of measurements carried out at 2 GHz designed to characterise a wide-band wireless local loop (WLL) for urban and suburban environments. The measurements consisted of having omni-directional roof-top mounted transmitters with receivers inside various rooms in a variety of buildings. The extracted channel parameters are used in a channel simulation model and the output of this simulation is compared to the original data. The WLL channel was found to have very static characteristics. For a given set of measured impulse responses (IRs), the number of multi-path components (MPCs) and the amplitude distributions of these components do not vary signiicantly. The channel characteristics did however demonstrate sensitivity to movement at the receiver. The urban channel in particular is characterised by very large, late multi-path components, while the suburban environment demonstrates these to a lesser extent.
Tunable Bandstop Defected Ground Structure Resonator Using Reconfigurable Dumbbell-Shaped Coplanar Waveguide

A modification of the conventional dumbbell-shaped coplanar waveguide defected ground structure (DGS) is proposed. This modification permits the continuous tuning of the rejected frequencies by using reconfiguration technique and it allows the control of the DGS equivalent-circuit model. The modified DGS possesses two-dimensional symmetry, hence, it has been studied under different symmetry conditions and the corresponding equivalent-circuit model in each case has been developed. Based upon this study, a tunable bandstop DGS resonator is proposed. 19% tuning range centered at 3.7 and 7.4 GHz, respectively, is achieved. The equivalent-circuit model of the resonator is also developed. All proposed structures have been fabricated. Measurements as well as three-dimensional simulations are found to be in a very good agreement with theoretical predictions
Controlled release microspheres loaded with BMP7 suppress primary tumors from human glioblastoma

Glioblastoma tumor initiating cells are believed to be the main drivers behind tumor recurrence, and therefore therapies that specifically manage this population are of great medical interest. In a previous work, we synthesized controlled release microspheres optimized for intracranial delivery of BMP7, and showed that these devices are able to stop the in vitro growth of a glioma cell line. Towards the translational development of this technology, we now explore these microspheres in further detail and characterize the mechanism of action and the in vivo therapeutic potential using tumor models relevant for the clinical setting: human primary glioblastoma cell lines. Our results show that BMP7 can stop the proliferation and block the self-renewal capacity of those primary cell lines that express the receptor BMPR1B. BMP7 was encapsulated in poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres in the form of a complex with heparin and Tetronic, and the formulation provided effective release for several weeks, a process controlled by carrier degradation. Data from xenografts confirmed reduced and delayed tumor formation for animals treated with BMP7-loaded microspheres. This effect was coincident with the activation of the canonical BMP signaling pathway. Importantly, tumors treated with BMP7-loaded microspheres also showed downregulation of several markers that may be related to a malignant stem cell-like phenotype: CD133+, Olig2, and GFAPδ. We also observed that tumors treated with BMP7-loaded microspheres showed enhanced expression of cell cycle inhibitors and reduced expression of the proliferation marker PCNA. In summary, BMP7-loaded controlled release microspheres are able to inhibit GBM growth and reduce malignancy markers. We envisage that this kind of selective therapy for tumor initiating cells could have a synergistic effect in combination with conventional cytoreductive therapy (chemo-, radiotherapy) or with immunotherapy.
Information-theoretic measures for nonlinear causality detection: application to social media sentiment and cryptocurrency prices

Information transfer between time series is calculated using the asymmetric information-theoretic measure known as transfer entropy. Geweke’s autoregressive formulation of Granger causality is used to compute linear transfer entropy, and Schreiber’s general, non-parametric, information-theoretic formulation is used to quantify nonlinear transfer entropy. We first validate these measures against synthetic data. Then we apply these measures to detect statistical causality between social sentiment changes and cryptocurrency returns. We validate results by performing permutation tests by shuffling the time series, and calculate the Z-score. We also investigate different approaches for partitioning in non-parametric density estimation which can improve the significance. Using these techniques on sentiment and price data over a 48-month period to August 2018, for four major cryptocurrencies, namely bitcoin (BTC), ripple (XRP), litecoin (LTC) and ethereum (ETH), we detect significant information transfer, on hourly timescales, with greater net information transfer from sentiment to price for XRP and LTC, and instead from price to sentiment for BTC and ETH. We report the scale of nonlinear statistical causality to be an order of magnitude larger than the linear case.
Social Networks and the College Attendance Decision

College attendance is an important life decision that occurs during a time when social influences are particularly strong. This paper quantifies the impact of social networks, specifically the choices made by friends of an individual, on college application and attendance decisions. An instrumental variable – the size of the extracurriculars in which a student participates – uses previously documented features of high school friend networks to relax an assumption common to the literature: that friendship network formation is exogenous. School fixed effects control for unobserved selection into schools. For estimation, I use student, friendship, and school data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The IV effects of friends are large and significant for submitting any college application and attending college but smaller and insignificant for having ever considered college attendance. I interpret this as evidence that friends have the largest effect when a student is near the margin of attending college but are not able to move a student to college attendance if they have never considered it. ∗The author is at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This research received support from the grant T32 HD007014, awarded to the Center for Demography and Ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.
Acquired Codes of Meaning in Data Visualization and Infographics: Beyond Perceptual Primitives

While information visualization frameworks and heuristics have traditionally been reluctant to include acquired codes of meaning, designers are making use of them in a wide variety of ways. Acquired codes leverage a user's experience to understand the meaning of a visualization. They range from figurative visualizations which rely on the reader's recognition of shapes, to conventional arrangements of graphic elements which represent particular subjects. In this study, we used content analysis to codify acquired meaning in visualization. We applied the content analysis to a set of infographics and data visualizations which are exemplars of innovative and effective design. 88% of the infographics and 71% of data visualizations in the sample contain at least one use of figurative visualization. Conventions on the arrangement of graphics are also widespread in the sample. In particular, a comparison of representations of time and other quantitative data showed that conventions can be specific to a subject. These results suggest that there is a need for information visualization research to expand its scope beyond perceptual channels, to include social and culturally constructed meaning. Our paper demonstrates a viable method for identifying figurative techniques and graphic conventions and integrating them into heuristics for visualization design.
“This Group Is Vital”: Adult Peers in Community for Support and Learning

Adult learners often experience uncertainty, isolation, and, in graduate school, angst about meeting program requirements. Therefore, graduate students created and facilitated a seminar series and preliminary examination study group. The experience, however, transcended seminars and study meetings to build relevant and meaningful community. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine adult peers in community for support and learning. Major findings included participants built community for support and learning, using programming as foundation for building a community of practice (CoP), with peer mentoring playing a major role. The findings also feature participant voices and share programming ideas for adult learners and educators.