Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Distant Companions to Known Nearby Stars. II. Faint Companions of Hipparcos Stars and the Frequency of Wide Binary Systems

We perform a search for faint, common proper motion companions of Hipparcos stars using the recently published Lépine-Shara Proper Motion-North catalog of stars with proper motion μ > 0.15″ yr-1. Our survey uncovers a total of 521 systems with angular separations 3″ < Δθ < 1500″, with 15 triples and 1 quadruple. Our new list of wide systems with Hipparcos primaries includes 130 systems identified here for the first time, including 44 in which the secondary star has V > 15.0. Our census is statistically complete for secondaries with angular separations 20″ < Δθ < 300″ and apparent magnitudes V < 19.0. Overall, we find that at least 9.5% of nearby (d < 100 pc) Hipparcos stars have distant stellar companions with projected orbital separations s > 1000 AU. We observe that the distribution in orbital separations is consistent with Öpik's law, f(s) ds ∼ s-1 ds, only up to a separation s ≈ 4000 AU, beyond which it follows a more steeply decreasing power law f(s) ds ∼ s-l ds with l = 1.6 ± 0.1. We also find that the luminosity function of the secondaries is significantly different from that of the single stars' field population, showing a relative deficiency in low-luminosity (8 < MV < 14) objects. The observed trends suggest either a formation mechanism biased against low-mass companions, or a disruption over time of systems with low gravitational binding energy.
The role of gene flow asymmetry along an environmental gradient in constraining local adaptation and range expansion

Theoretically, asymmetric gene flow along an environmental gradient can limit species range expansion by keeping peripheral populations from locally adapting. However, few empirical studies have examined this potentially fundamental evolutionary mechanism. We address this possibility in the cricket Allonemobius socius, which exist along a season‐length gradient where the probability of producing a single generation per year (univoltinism) increases with latitude. As the probability of univoltinism increases northwards, populations are expected to hedge their bets by producing a greater proportion of diapause eggs when exposed to a mild diapause cue. However, gene flow from southern populations may disrupt local adaptation in the north by reducing the proportion of diapause eggs (expected to be 100% in pure univoltine environments). This may limit range expansion along the northern periphery where A. socius compete with A. fasciatus, a sister species that exhibits an invariant diapause‐only egg‐laying strategy. To assess the potential for range limitation, we examined diapause incidence (the proportion of diapause eggs produced under diapause conditions), gene flow symmetry and population structure across nine A. socius populations. We found that gene flow was asymmetric and biased northwards towards the periphery. Furthermore, peripheral populations that inhabited pure univoltine environments produced numerous nondiapause eggs (a southern, bivoltine diapause phenotype), which we assume to be a suboptimal phenotype. These patterns suggest that asymmetric gene flow along the gradient constrains adaptation in peripheral populations, potentially constraining species range expansion.
Score Following at Ircam

Abstract This paper describes the submission to the MIREX‘06 (Mu-sic Information Retrival Evaluation eXchange) ﬁrst scorefollowing tasks. 1. Overview Score following is the key to an interaction with a writtenscore/song based on the metaphor of a performer with anaccompanist or band. For a historical review of score fol-lower systems we refer the reader to [1, 2]. The Score Following Player submitted accepts monophonicaudio and MIDI input from the performer. The audio fol-lowing modules uses a core algorithm based on Hidden MarkovModels (HMM). Figure 1 shows a block diagram overviewof the follower algorithm.The problem of matching a performance with a score canbe considered a special case of sequence alignment, whichhas been extensively addressed in other research areas, no-tably in speech recognition and in molecular genetics. Inboth these domains, HMMs have become extremely popu-lar due to their outstanding results. The HMM in Figure 1can also be viewed as a sequential model of the score
Parallel Matrix Computations Using a Reconfigurable Pipelined Optical Bus

We present fast and cost-efficient parallel algorithms for a number of important and fundamental matrix computation problems on linear arrays with reconfigurable pipelined optical bus systems. These problems include computing the inverse, the characteristic polynomial, the determinant, the rank, the Nth power, and an LU- and a QR-factorization of a matrix and solving linear systems of equations. Our algorithms provide a wide range of performance? cost combinations. Compared with known results, the running time of parallel solutions to all these problems can be reduced by a factor of O(logN) while costs are maintained under o(N4).
THE MEDICINE OF WAR: IMF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT, ETHNIC POLITICS, AND ARMED CIVIL CONFLICT

OF DISSERTATION THE MEDICINE OF WAR: IMF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT, ETHNIC POLITICS, AND ARMED CIVIL CONFLICT The dissertation research answers the question of what explains the variation across countries where the IMF SAP implementation is associated with the onset of armed civil conflict in some countries but not in others. Do SAPs increase the likelihood of the outbreak of armed civil conflict in recipient countries? By what causal mechanism could SAPs increase the probability of the onset of armed civil conflict? This study contributes to extant literature by taking actors’ preferences and ethnicity in recipient countries into account. I argue that the effect of SAP implementation on armed civil conflict is conditional on the ethnic characteristics of recipient countries. From a two-level game perspective, highly ethnic-fractionalized countries have a strong bargaining position vis-a-vis the IMF at the international level due to their domestic weakness. Hence such governments will receive relatively moderate conditionality from the IMF because the Fund will adopt its secondorder preference of containing the contagious effect of debt crisis and ensure the loan repayment. The ethnically fractionalized countries will also implement the austerity measures across different ethnic communities. The result is reducing probability of the onset of armed civil conflict when ethnic fractionalization increases. But in ethnically-dominant countries, the governments’ bargaining position at the international level is relatively weak due to their domestic strength. Therefore the governments are more likely to get stringent conditionality from the IMF because the Fund will adopt its first-order preference of satisfying its constituents by imposing stringent conditionality. The result is to increase the likelihood of the onset of armed civil conflict when ethnic dominance increases. By analyzing crossnational data for 162 countries from 1992 to 2009 based on improved measurement of IMF conditionality, the empirical results confirm the theoretical hypotheses. The statistical results also reveal that SAP impact on the outbreak of armed civil conflict varies with conditionality. Historical analyses of Ghana and Rwanda provide further understanding of the theoretical mechanisms.
Halos of Spiral Galaxies. III. Metallicity Distributions

We report results of a campaign to image the stellar populations in the halos of highly inclined spiral galaxies, with the fields roughly 10 kpc (projected) from the nuclei. We use the F814W (I) and F606W (V) filters in the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We unambiguously resolve the stellar halos 1 to 2 mag fainter than the tip of the red giant branch. Extended halo populations are detected in all galaxies. The color-magnitude diagrams appear to be completely dominated by giant branch stars, with no evidence for the presence of young stellar populations in any of the fields. The metallicity distribution function for the galaxy sample is derived from interpolation within an extensive grid of red giant branch loci. These loci are derived from theoretical sequences that are calibrated using the Galactic globular clusters and from empirical sequences for metal-rich stellar populations. We find that the metallicity distribution functions are dominated by metal-rich populations, with a tail extending toward the metal-poor end. To first order, the overall shapes of the metallicity distribution functions are similar to what is predicted by a simple, single-component model of chemical evolution with the effective yields increasing with galaxy luminosity. However, metallicity distributions significantly narrower than the simple model are observed for a few of the most luminous galaxies in the sample. The discrepancies are similar to those previously observed for NGC 5128, the halo of M31, and the Galactic bulge. Our observations can be used to help distinguish between models for the formation of spiral galaxies. It appears that more luminous spiral galaxies also have more metal-rich stellar halos. The increasingly significant departures from the closed-box model for the more luminous galaxies indicate that a parameter in addition to a single yield is required to describe chemical evolution. This parameter, which could be related to gas infall or outflow either in situ or in progenitor dwarf galaxies that later merge to form the stellar halo, tends to make the metallicity distributions narrower at high metallicity.
A Framework for Exploiting Data and Functional Parallelism on Distributed Memory Multicomputers

Abstract : Recent research efforts have shown the benefits of integrating functional and data parallelism over using either pure data parallelism or pure functional parallelism. The work in this paper presents a theoretical framework for deciding on a good execution strategy for a given program based on the available functional and data parallelism in the program. The framework is based on assumptions about the form of computation and communication cost functions for multicomputer systems. We present mathematical functions for these costs and show that these functions are realistic. The framework also requires specification of the available functional and data parallelism for a given problem. For this purpose, we have developed a graphical programming tool. Currently, we have tested our approach using three benchmark programs on the Thinking Machines CM-5 and Intel Paragon. Results presented show that the approach is very effective and can provide a two- to three-fold increase in speedups over approaches using only data parallelism. Functional and data parallelism, Macro dataflow graphs, Graphical programming, Processor allocation, Scheduling, DMM
Engine Based Embedded Control System Design and Implementation

Embedded control systems play a very important role in the modern industry, which fulfill various complicated and durable control tasks in automation industry. A typical embedded control system consist of a microprocessor based hardware and a set of software running on top of it. Due to rapid upgrading and function changing, the life cycle of embedded control system becomes shorter and shorter. For the current embedded control system solution, it is usually lack of reconfigurability and secondary development ability. This makes the reusing of the existing design very hard, which usually involves intensive modification or even rewriting of software codes. To ease such kind of system design as well as shorten program coding period, an engine based design method is proposed in this paper. This method separates the embedded system function description and its executor as a function description data (FDD) and an engine. The FDD used by the engine stores the system control logic and processing rules of external/internal stimuli. The engine responses to these stimuli and processes them according to the description of FDD. A Statechart based modeling tool is applied to conduct the FDD design. By doing so, whenever the system function changing or updating is required, only its FDD needs to be regenerated, the Engine remains the same. The embedded control system development burden can be then greatly simplified. Also its secondary development ability can be realized even at shop floor level. A case study of a CNC system is introduced to verify the feasibility of the proposed method.
David Banks Diachronic ESP : at the interface of linguistics and cultural studies

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Bijective Deformations in $\mathbb{R}^n$ via Integral Curve Coordinates

We introduce Integral Curve Coordinates, which identify each point in a bounded domain with a parameter along an integral curve of the gradient of a function $f$ on that domain; suitable functions have exactly one critical point, a maximum, in the domain, and the gradient of the function on the boundary points inward. Because every integral curve intersects the boundary exactly once, Integral Curve Coordinates provide a natural bijective mapping from one domain to another given a bijection of the boundary. Our approach can be applied to shapes in any dimension, provided that the boundary of the shape (or cage) is topologically equivalent to an $n$-sphere. We present a simple algorithm for generating a suitable function space for $f$ in any dimension. We demonstrate our approach in 2D and describe a practical (simple and robust) algorithm for tracing integral curves on a (piecewise-linear) triangulated regular grid.
A Correlation between Light Concentration and Cluster Local Density for Elliptical Galaxies

Using photometric and redshift data for the Virgo and Coma Clusters, we present evidence for a correlation between the light concentration of elliptical galaxies (including dwarf ellipticals) and the local three-dimensional (i.e., nonprojected) density of the clusters: more concentrated ellipticals are located in denser regions. The null hypothesis (i.e., the absence of any relation) is rejected at a significance level of better than 99.9%. In order to explain the observed relation, a power law relating the galaxy light concentration and the cluster three-dimensional density is proposed. We study how the projection effects affect the form and dispersion of the data points in the light concentration-projected density diagram. The agreement between our model and the observed data suggests that there is a paucity of dwarf elliptical galaxies in the cluster central regions.
Physical Modeling of U.S. Cotton Yields and Climate Stresses during 1979 to 2005

Climate variability and changes aff ect crop yields by causing climatic stresses during various stages of the plant life cycle. A crop growth model must be able to capture the observed relationships between crop yields and climate stresses before its credible use as a prediction tool. Th is study evaluated the ability of the geographically distributed cotton growth model redeveloped from GOSSYM in simulating U.S. cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yields and their responses to climate stresses during 1979 to 2005. Driven by realistic climate conditions, the model reproduced long-term mean cotton yields within ±10% of observations at the 30-km model resolution across virtually the entire U.S. Cotton Belt and correctly captured the critical dependence of their geo- graphic distributions on regional climate characteristics. Signifi cant correlations between simulated and observed interannual variations were found across 87% of the total harvest grids. Th e model also faithfully represented the predictive role of July to August air temperature and August to September soil temperature anomalies on interannual cotton yield changes on unirrigated lands, with a similar but weaker predictive signal for irrigated lands as observed. Th e modeled cotton yields exhibited large, positive correlations with July to August leaf area index. Th ese results indicate the model's ability to depict the regional impact of climate stresses on cotton yields and suggest the potential predictive value of satellite retrievals. Th ey also provide a baseline reference for further model improvements and applications in the future study of climate-cotton interactions.
Distribution modelling and statistical phylogeography: an integrative framework for generating and testing alternative biogeographical hypotheses

Statistical phylogeographic studies contribute to our understanding of the factors that influence population divergence and speciation, and that ultimately generate biogeographical patterns. The use of coalescent modelling for analyses of genetic data provides a framework for statistically testing alternative hypotheses about the timing and pattern of divergence. However, the extent to which such approaches contribute to our understanding of biogeography depends on how well the alternative hypotheses chosen capture relevant aspects of species histories. New modelling techniques, which explicitly incorporate spatio‐geographic data external to the gene trees themselves, provide a means for generating realistic phylogeographic hypotheses, even for taxa without a detailed fossil record. Here we illustrate how two such techniques – species distribution modelling and its historical extension, palaeodistribution modelling – in conjunction with coalescent simulations can be used to generate and test alternative hypotheses. In doing so, we highlight a few key studies that have creatively integrated both historical geographic and genetic data and argue for the wider incorporation of such explicit integrations in biogeographical studies.
The Weaknesses and Shortcomings of the Junior High School in Israel: Some Insights into Grade Configurations of Educational Systems

The current study aimed to explore the weaknesses of the junior high school system in Israel, a country whose first junior high schools (Grades 7–9) were established in the early 1970s and whose educational system differs from the systems of Europe and North America in terms of structure, ideology, and control. Based on semistructured interviews with role incumbents in the junior high school system, the study found major difficulties in areas such as student behavior, student achievements, personal attention, interschool transition, resources, clear policy, and so forth. Implications for the planning of grade configurations worldwide are suggested.
TWO CONTROL LAWS FOR A SPRAY SYSTEM WITH TIME VARYING DELAY AND DEAD BAND

Two control laws, to control the liquid pressure of an agricultural spray boom are presented and compared. Characteristic for the process is a dead zone and a time varying delay. The first control law is rather intuitive and is based on direct dead zone compensation and a pole placement idea. The other control law originates from sliding mode control where the continuous part of the control contains some compensation dynamics, assuring stability. Both control laws are compared and tested in practice.
IDH mutation, 1p19q codeletion and ATRX loss in WHO grade II gliomas

Background Epigenetic, genetic, and molecular studies have identified several diagnostic and prognostic markers in diffuse gliomas. Their importance for evaluating WHO grade II gliomas has yet to be specifically delineated. Methods We analyzed markers, including IDH mutation(IDHmut), 1p19q codeletion(1p19qcodel), ATRX expression loss(ATRX loss) and p53 overexpression, and outcomes in 159 patients with WHO grade II oligodendroglioma, oligoastrocytoma, and astrocytoma (2003–2012). Results IDHmut was found in 141(91%) and ATRX loss in 64(87%) of IDHmut-noncodel tumors (p = 0.003). All codeleted tumors (n = 66) were IDHmut. Four subgroups were identified: IDHmut-codel, 66(43%); IDHmut-noncodel-ATRX loss, 60(39%); IDHmut-noncodel-ATRXwt, 9(6%); IDHwt, 14(9%). Median survival among 4 groups was significantly different (p = 0.038), particularly in IDHmut-codel (median survival 15.6 years) compared to the remaining 3 groups (p = 0.025). Survival by histology was not significant. Overall (OS), but not progression-free (PFS), survival was significantly longer with gross total resection vs. biopsy only (p = 0.042). Outcomes for patients with subtotal resection were not significantly different from those with biopsy only. Among these uniformly treated patients, OS far exceeds PFS, particularly in those with 1p/19q codeletion. Conclusions For WHO grade II diffuse glioma, molecular classification using 1p/19qcodel, IDHmut, and ATRX loss more accurately predicts outcome and should be incorporated in the neuropathologic evaluation.
DETERMINATION OF THE COMPETITIVENESS IN THE MEXICAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, 1980-2009

The agricultural sector in Mexico is becoming less competitive, since there is a growing food import, which implies the existence of reduced ability to produce and distribute them in the market. The aim of this paper was to analyze macroeconomic indicators to quantify the competitiveness of agriculture in Mexico and its tendency, within a framework of trade liberalization. The revealed additive competitiveness was less than zero, with a decreasing trend. At the same time, food self-suff iciency, balance of trade, gross domestic product of agriculture (GDPA) in relation to GDP, per capita nominal GDPA and productivity wages, showed a significant tendency to decrease, so that, macroeconomic fundamentals will not be an appropriate pillar to improve agricultural competitiveness in the analyzed context. Trade liberalization has not resulted in increased competitiveness, but it can be improved by giving priority to food sovereignty by strengthening its domestic market and investing in public goods.
Parallel Algorithm for the HP Protein Folding Problem

Proteins play a key role in cells' function and metabolism. Their functions are directly related with the three-dimensional (3D) native structure. Different algorithms have been proposed to predict the 3D protein structure from the amino acids sequence by minimizing its free energy, nonetheless, this problem still a great challenge in structural biology. The space of possible conformations becomes very large for long proteins, making it difficult to search for the optimal minimum free energy with the available computational resources. Due to the complexity involved in the protein folding problem the researchers have developed some simplified protein models as the hydrophobic-polar (HP). In this work we propose a parallel algorithm to predict protein conformations in HP model by dividing tasks among processing nodes distributed in a server cluster. With this approach we circumvent the memory constraints observed by other approaches. We discuss the correctness of the algorithm based on the verification results achieved by model checking. The performance of our algorithm was evaluated but although benefits of parallel execution are noticeable for small proteins, we demonstrated that our algorithm has an exponential complexity.