Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BREAKUP AND SEAFLOOR SPREADING BETWEEN THE KERGUELEN PLATEAU-LABUAN BASIN AND THE BROKEN RIDGE-DIAMANTINA ZONE 1

Using all available geophysical data and an interactive graphic software, we determined the structural scheme of the Australian-Antarctic and South Australian basins between the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge. Four JOIDES Resolution transit lines between Australia and the Kerguelen Plateau were used to study the detailed pattern of seafloor spreading at the Southeast Indian Ridge and the breakup history between the Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge. The development of rifting between the Kerguelen Plateau-Labuan Basin and the Broken Ridge-Diamantina Zone, and the evolution of the Southeast Indian Ridge can be summarized as follows: 1. From 96 to 46 Ma, slow spreading occurred between Antarctica and Australia; the Kerguelen Plateau, Labuan Basin, and Diamantina Zone stretched at 88-87 Ma and 69-66 Ma. 2. From 46 to 43 Ma, the breakup between the Southern Kerguelen Plateau and the Diamantina Zone propagated westward at a velocity of about 300 km/m.y. The breakup between the Northern Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge occurred between 43.8 and 42.9 Ma. 3. After 43 Ma, volcanic activity developed on the Northern Kerguelen Plateau and at the southern end of the Ninetyeast Ridge. Lava flows obscured the boundaries of the Northern Kerguelen Plateau north of 48°S and of the Ninetyeast Ridge south of 32°S, covering part of the newly created oceanic crust. Since 43 Ma, the Southeast Indian Ridge has manifested a typical intermediate spreading rate (25-45 km/m.y.).
SALGAN 360 : VISUAL SALIENCY PREDICTION ON 360 DEGREE IMAGES WITH GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORKS

Understanding visual attention of observers on 360◦ images gains interest along with the booming trend of Virtual Reality applications. Extending existing saliency prediction methods from traditional 2D images to 360◦ images is not a direct approach due to the lack of a sufficient large 360◦ image saliency database. In this paper, we propose to extend the SalGAN, a 2D saliency model based on the generative adversarial network, to SalGAN360 by fine tuning the SalGAN with our new loss function to predict both global and local saliency maps. Our experiments show that the SalGAN360 outperforms the tested state-of-the-art methods.
Gaussian variational Bayes Kalman filtering for dynamic sparse Bayesian learning

Sparse Baysesian Learning (SBL) provides sophisticated (state) model order selection with unknown support distribution. This allows to handle problems with big state dimensions and relatively limited data. The techniques proposed in this paper allow to handle the extension of SBL to time-varying states, modeled as diagonal first-order vector autoregressive (VAR(1)) processes with unknown parameters. Adding the parameters to the state leads to an augmented state and a non-linear (at least bilinear) state-space model. The proposed approach, which applies also to more general non-linear models, uses Variational Bayes (VB) techniques to approximate the posterior distribution by a factored form, with Gaussian or exponential factors. The granularity of the factorization can take on various levels. In one extreme instance, called Gausian Space Alternating Variational Estimation Kalman Filtering (GSAVE-KF), all state components are treated individually, leading to low complexity filtering. Simulations illustrate the performance of the proposed GVB-KF techniques, which represent an alternative to Linear MMSE (LMMSE) filtering.
A ug 2 01 8 Theoretical Aspects of Cyclic Structural Causal Models

Structural causal models (SCMs), also known as (non-parametric) structural equation models (SEMs), are widely used for causal modeling purposes. A large body of theoretical results is available for the special case in which cycles are absent (i.e., acyclic SCMs, also known as recursive SEMs). However, in many application domains cycles are abundantly present, for example in the form of feedback loops. In this paper, we provide a general and rigorous theory of cyclic SCMs. The paper consists of two parts: the first part gives a rigorous treatment of structural causal models, dealing with measure-theoretic and other complications that arise in the presence of cycles. In contrast with the acyclic case, in cyclic SCMs solutions may no longer exist, or if they exist, they may no longer be unique, or even measurable in general. We give several sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of (unique) measurable solutions. We show how causal reasoning proceeds in these models and how this differs from the acyclic case. Moreover, we give an overview of the Markov properties that hold for cyclic SCMs. In the second part, we address the question of how one can marginalize an SCM (possibly with cycles) to a subset of the endogenous variables. We show that under a certain condition, one can effectively remove a subset of the endogenous variables from the model, leading to a more parsimonious marginal SCM that preserves the causal and counterfactual semantics of the original SCM on the remaining variables. Moreover, we show how the marginalization relates to the latent projection and to latent confounders, i.e. latent common causes.
The Long Shadow of History Roman Legacy and Economic Development — Evidence from the German Limes

This paper contributes to the understanding of the long-run consequences of Roman rule on economic development. In ancient times, the area of contemporary Germany was divided into a Roman and non-Roman part. The study uses this division to test whether the formerly Roman part of Germany show a higher nightlight luminosity than the non-Roman part. This is done by using the Limes wall as geographical discontinuity in a regression discontinuity design framework. The results indicate that economic development—as measured by luminosity—is indeed significantly and robustly larger in the formerly Roman parts of Germany. The study identifies the persistence of the Roman road network until the present as an important factor causing this development advantage of the formerly Roman part of Germany both by fostering city growth and by allowing for a denser road network.
Towards Design Recommendations for Training of Security Critical Agents in Mixed Reality Environments

This paper presents an overview of a requirements capture process and identified design challenges for a Mixed Reality (MR) platform which is designed to be used by security critical agents at operational command level. The platform aims to support a wide range of scenarios ranging from firearms training to chemical and nuclear incidents. The paper identifies a number of key design issues which are required to provide effective training across the range of scenarios discussed. Augmented Reality. User studies. Ethical issues.
The Relationship between Family Violence and Self-Control in Adolescence: A Multi-Level Meta-Analysis

Theoretical studies propose an association between family violence and low self-control in adolescence; however, empirical findings of this association are inconclusive. The aim of the present research was to systematically summarize available findings on the relation between family violence and self-control across adolescence. We included 28 studies with 143 effect sizes, representing more than 25,000 participants of eight countries from early to late adolescence. Applying a three-level meta-analysis, taking dependency between effect sizes into account while retaining statistical power, we examined the magnitude and direction of the overall effect size. Additionally, we investigated whether theoretical moderators (e.g., age, gender, country), and methodological moderators (e.g., time lag between family violence and self-control, informant) influenced the magnitude of the association between family violence and self-control. Our results revealed that family violence and self-control have a small to moderate significant negative association (r = −0.191). This association did not vary across gender, country, and informants. The strength of the association, however, decreased with age and in longitudinal studies. This finding provides evidence that researchers and clinicians may expect low self-control in the wake of family violence, especially in early adolescence. Recommendations for future research in the area are discussed.
BeBeC-2012-10 ADAPTING BEAMFORMING TECHNIQUES FOR VIRTUAL SENSOR ARRAYS

Most source localization problems have been assessed so far using beamforming techniques on the data acquired with conventional sensor arrays. However, the number of transducers can be reduced dramatically if the sound field can be assumed time-stationary by using data acquired with scanning techniques, such as “Scan & Paint”. This method is based on mixing tracking information with the signals recorded in order to characterise variations across a sound field. With one PU intensity probe, sound pressure, particle velocity or sound intensity can be assessed. Furthermore, relative phase of the sound field can be preserved by using an additional fixed reference sensor, such as a pressure microphone. Therefore, average magnitude and phase information of discrete spatial areas can be obtained, as if the field were measured with a conventional array. This paper is focused on exploring the requirements needed to apply different beamforming techniques to a set of data acquired with virtual arrays. Furthermore, results from two different experiments are presented: localization of noise sources in low and high frequencies.
The LENA™ Vocal Productivity Measure

This report describes the development of the LENA Research Foundation’s vocal productivity measure (VP). The term vocal productivity is used here to refer to the length of children’s vocal output in canonical syllables (CS), or well-formed consonant/vowel pairs (Oller, 2000). Canonical syllables have been used as a reliable metric for gauging vocal development in young children for several decades, showing particular clinical utility in identifying children at risk for language delays or deafness (Eilers & Oller, 1994). More recent work by Oller et al. (2010) used LENA technology to demonstrate the feasibility of a new methodology for automatically identifying canonical syllables, reporting good reliability in distinguishing typically developing children from children with autism based on their vocal output. The current research investigates an adaptation of this automated canonical syllable measure, focusing on turn-contingent CS count per conversational turn to assess child vocal development from children 6 to 48 months of age. In this report we describe the rationale of this adaptation, methods to achieve a robust estimation, correlations with age and validity compared to professional transcription.
Separation and Analysis of Microwave-assisted Liquefied Products of Corn Stover

Corn stover was successfully liquefied by microwave heating at 160 °C with ethylene glycol (EG) used as the solvent and sulfuric acid as a catalyst. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) data indicated that methyl esters, including 3-(2-methyl-1,3-doxolane-2-yl) propionic acid methyl ester (PAME), levulinic acid isopropyl ester (LAE), methyl laurate, and methyl palmitate were the major degradation compounds, in addition to EG derivatives in the liquefied product of corn stover (LPCS). For high value-added utilization of LPCS, solvent extraction was applied to characterize the components and to separate it into useful fractions. After being dispersed in water, the water-soluble fraction of the LPCS was then extracted with organic solvents, including hexane, chloroform, diethyl ether, and ethyl acetate. Levulinic acid isopropyl ester showed the highest distribution in chloroform and ethyl acetate, while the lowest in hexane and ether. Levulinic acid isopropyl ester was selectively enriched to 28.76% and 43.65% by sequential extraction with chloroform and ethyl acetate, respectively, in accordance with the quantitative analysis.
Therapeutic Hypothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - implementation and clinical management

Background: With the publication of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in 2002, therapeutic hypothermia (TH) was re-introduced in postresuscitation care of comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients. Many issues, however, were unresolved, including implementation protocol, cooling technique, clinical management, implications of TH treatment on prognostic accuracy and therapeutic benefit in subgroups of OHCA excluded from the initial RCTs. Objectives: We wanted to study the implementation of therapeutic hypothermia into daily practice, provide information on clinical management, including differences in cooling techniques and test application in elderly OHCA patients excluded in earlier trials. Subjects: We evaluated the clinical management of adult comatose OHCA patients who were treated in our ICU (paper I and IV). In paper II we surveyed our intensive care nursing staff with regard to key nursing aspects of different cooling methods and devices. In paper III, ICU consultants were assessed on their prognostic approach in OHCA patients treated with TH. Methods: In paper I we retrospectively compared OHCA patients treated with TH with a historic control group of OHCA patients fulfilling the TH inclusion criteria. We collected Utstein template data, as well as data on ICU-and hospital length of stay (LOS), incidence of adverse events, and outcome at hospital discharge and after one year. In paper II an anonymous survey was conducted with our intensive care nursing (ICN) staff, assessing ease of application, hygiene, work load, noise level and visual patient monitoring of four different cooling methods. In paper III we used a semi-structured telephone interview to conduct a nation-wide survey of the prognostication approach of comatose OHCA patients involving timing, methods, involved specialties and rating of prognostic methods. In paper IV we retrospectively studied outcome variables in all adult OHCA patients treated with TH in our ICU over a six-year period, who fulfilled the Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest study (HACA) criteria with exception of the upper age limit. Results: With our simple cooling protocol we achieved 100% implementation and successful attainment of target temperature (TT) in 89% of patients (paper I).
On the choice of the driving temperature for eddy-covariance carbon dioxide flux partitioning

Abstract. Networks that merge and harmonise eddy-covariance measurements from many different parts of the world have become an important observational resource for ecosystem science. Empirical algorithms have been developed which combine direct observations of the net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide with simple empirical models to disentangle photosynthetic (GPP) and respiratory fluxes (Reco). The increasing use of these estimates for the analysis of climate sensitivities, model evaluation and calibration demands a thorough understanding of assumptions in the analysis process and the resulting uncertainties of the partitioned fluxes. The semi-empirical models used in flux partitioning algorithms require temperature observations as input, but as respiration takes place in many parts of an ecosystem, it is unclear which temperature input – air, surface, bole, or soil at a specific depth – should be used. This choice is a source of uncertainty and potential biases. In this study, we analysed the correlation between different temperature observations and nighttime NEE (which equals nighttime respiration) across FLUXNET sites to understand the potential of the different temperature observations as input for the flux partitioning model. We found that the differences in the correlation between different temperature data streams and nighttime NEE are small and depend on the selection of sites. We investigated the effects of the choice of the temperature data by running two flux partitioning algorithms with air and soil temperature. We found the time lag (phase shift) between air and soil temperatures explains the differences in the GPP and Reco estimates when using either air or soil temperatures for flux partitioning. The impact of the source of temperature data on other derived ecosystem parameters was estimated, and the strongest impact was found for the temperature sensitivity. Overall, this study suggests that the choice between soil or air temperature must be made on site-by-site basis by analysing the correlation between temperature and nighttime NEE. We recommend using an ensemble of estimates based on different temperature observations to account for the uncertainty due to the choice of temperature and to assure the robustness of the temporal patterns of the derived variables.
PRISM: Phase and Resource Information-Aware Scheduler for MapReduce

: MapReduce is one of the important concepts of Hadoop that is used for data handling used by big companies today such as Google and Facebook. Here we divide each job into the map and reduce phases and try to complete the execution of the assigned task in a parallel form. In this paper, we suggest that it would be more efficient if we make the scheduler to work at the phase-level instead of the task-level. The reason is because the task demands a lot of requirements during its lifetime. For this very purpose, we introduce the concept called PRISM, which is aphase and information-aware scheduler for MapReduce and in this concept we divide the tasks into unequal parts called as phases and apply phase-level scheduling to these phases and achieve efficient resource usage
Structure and radial equilibrium of filamentary molecular clouds

Recent dust continuum surveys have shown that filamentary structures are ubiquitous along the Galactic plane. While the study of their global properties has gained momentum recently, we are still far from fully understanding their origin and stability. Theories invoking magnetic field have been formulated to help explain the stability of filaments; however, observations are needed to test their predictions. In this paper, we investigate the structure and radial equilibrium of five filamentary molecular clouds with the aim of determining the role that magnetic field may play. To do this, we use continuum and molecular line observations to obtain their physical properties (e.g. mass, temperature and pressure). We find that the filaments have lower lineal masses compared to their lineal virial masses. Their virial parameters and shape of their dust continuum emission suggests that these filaments may be confined by a toroidal dominated magnetic field.
Cardioversion and Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation Using Novel Oral Anticoagulants

Novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have emerged as important agents for thromboprophylaxis in the patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Both cardioversion and catheter ablation carry the risk of thromboembolic complications, and ablation is also associated with a risk of procedural bleeding. An uninterrupted warfarin regimen during catheter ablation has been shown to decrease the overall risks of thromboembolic complications and bleeding compared to warfarin discontinuation with heparin bridging. Due to the lack of robust data on NOAC use in the setting of cardioversion and catheter ablation, an optimal strategy regarding their use in patients undergoing these procedures remains controversial. In this review, we aim to discuss the considerations regarding NOAC use in the setting of cardioversion and catheter ablation based on the currently available data.
Statistical methods for the analysis of left-censored variables [Statistische Analysemethoden für linkszensierte Variablen und Beobachtungen mit Werten unterhalb einer Bestimmungs- oder Nachweisgrenze]

In some applications statisticians are confronted with values which are reported to be below a limit of detection or quantitation. These leftAnne Lotz Benjamin Kendzia censored variables are a challenge in the statistical analysis. In a simuKatarzyna Gawrych lation study, we compare different methods to deal with this type of Martin Lehnert data in statistical applications. These include measures of location, dispersion, association, and statistical modeling. Our simulation study Thomas Brüning showed that the multiple imputation approach and the Tobit regression Beate Pesch lead to unbiased estimates, whereas the naïvemethods including simple substitution of non-detects lead to unreliable estimates. We illustrate the application of the multiple imputation approach and the Tobit regression with an example from occupational epidemiology. 1 Institut für Prävention und Arbeitsmedizin der
Tracing Anthropogenic Inputs of Nitrogen to Ecosystems

Nitrate (NO3 ) concentrations in public water supplies have risen above acceptable levels in many areas of the world, largely as a result of overuse of fertilizers and contamination by human and animal waste. The World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have set a limit of 10 mg L nitrate (as N) for drinking water because nitrate poses a health risk, especially for children, who can contract methemoglobinemia (blue-baby syndrome). Nitrate in lower concentrations is non-toxic, but the risks from long-term exposure are unknown, although nitrate is a suspected carcinogen. High concentrations of nitrate in rivers, lakes, and coastal areas can cause eutrophication, often followed by fi sh-kills, due to oxygen depletion. Increased atmospheric loads of anthropogenic nitric and sulfuric acids have caused many sensitive, low-alkalinity streams in North America and Europe to become acidifi ed. Still more streams that are not yet chronically acidic could undergo acidic episodes in response to large rain storms and/or spring snowmelt, seriously damaging sensitive local ecosystems. Future climate changes may exacerbate the situation by affecting biogeochemical controls on the transport of water, nutrients, and other materials from land to freshwater ecosystems. The development of effective management practices to preserve water quality, and remediation plans for sites that are already polluted, requires the identifi cation of actual N sources and an understanding of the processes affecting local nitrate concentrations. In particular, a better understanding of hydrologic fl owpaths and solute sources is required to determine the potential impact of contaminants on water supplies. Determination of the relation between nitrate concentrations in groundwater and surface water and the quantity of nitrate introduced from a particular source is complicated by:
A Multi-Industry Model of Growth with Financing Constraints

We develop a general equilibrium multi-industry model in which firms use external funds to conduct productivity-enhancing R&D. Industries differ in terms of research costs, which lead them to different optimal research expenditures. In the model, more R&D-intensive industries require more external funding, and tend to grow relatively faster in more financially developed environments -- consistent with empirical evidence. As a result, industry composition and the level of financial development have joint implications for aggregate growth and for equilibrium patterns of structural change. Aggregate growth in a financially underdeveloped economy converges to that in a frictionless benchmark economy, so long as its fastest-growing industry is not financially constrained. We show that equilibrium industry dynamics in the model can be approximated using a differences-in-differences industry growth regression that links financial development to industry growth.