Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risky Business : Predicting Cancellations in Imbalanced Multi-Classification Settings

We identify a rare event of a customer reneging on a signed agreement, which is akin to problems such as fraud detection, diagnosis of rare diseases, etc. where there is a high cost of misclassification. Our approach can be used in all cases where the class to be predicted is highly under-represented in the data (i.e. data is imbalanced) because it is rare by design; there is a clear benefit attached to this class’ accurate classification and even higher cost attached to its misclassification. Pre-emptive classification of churn, contract cancellations, identification of atrisk youths in a community, etc. are potential situations where our model development and evaluation approach can be used to better classify the rare but important events. We use Random Forest and Gradient Boosting classifiers to predict customers as members of a highly underrepresented class and handle imbalanced data using techniques such as SMOTE, classweights, and a combination of both. Finally, we compare cost-based multi-class classification models by measuring the dollar value of potential lost revenue and costs that our client can save by using our model to identify at-risk projects and proactively engaging with such customers. While most research deals with binary classification problems when handling imbalanced datasets, our case is a multi-classification problem, which adds another layer of intricacy.
HYDROGEN-AND CARBON-ISOTOPE COMPOSITIONS OF METHANE FROM DEEP SEA DRILLING PROJECT SITE 618 , ORCA BASIN 1

Hydrogenand carbon-isotope compositions of methane (δ D-CH4 and δ 13C-CH4) and pore water hydrogen-isotope compositions (δD-H2O) in several samples from the uppermost 100 m of Orca Basin sediments show little variation with depth and have mean values of 184, -73.5, and 7‰, respectively. The δD-CH4 is typical of that generally found in deep-sea sediments and suggests that the methane was produced biologically almost entirely via the CO2 reduction pathway. Production of small amounts of methane (-15% of the total) from acetate dissimilation cannot be completely ruled out, however. The pore water is more enriched in deuterium than present day Gulf of Mexico deep water, suggesting that the brine found at the bottom of Orca Basin was formed at a time when appreciably more isotopically light water was tied up in continental ice sheets than is at present. The δ13C-CH4 values reported here are similar to previously determined brine δ13C-CH4, but substantially more enriched in C than previously determined pore water δCCH4. Isotopic evidence and the decrease in interstitial salinity with depth suggest that most of the methane production within the Orca Basin system occurs in sediments deeper than about 5 m sub-bottom. Small deposits of isotopically anomalous methane occurring in near-surface sediments may be the result of spatially variable inputs of slumped material to the sediments underlying the anoxic, hypersaline brine.
DEPTH CAMERAS ON UAVs: A FIRST APPROACH

Abstract. Accurate depth information retrieval of a scene is a field under investigation in the research areas of photogrammetry, computer vision and robotics. Various technologies, active, as well as passive, are used to serve this purpose such as laser scanning, photogrammetry and depth sensors, with the latter being a promising innovative approach for fast and accurate 3D object reconstruction using a broad variety of measuring principles including stereo vision, infrared light or laser beams. In this study we investigate the use of the newly designed Stereolab's ZED depth camera based on passive stereo depth calculation, mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with an ad-hoc setup, specially designed for outdoor scene applications. Towards this direction, the results of its depth calculations and scene reconstruction generated by Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms are compared and evaluated based on qualitative and quantitative criteria with respect to the ones derived by a typical Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multiple View Stereo (MVS) pipeline for a challenging cultural heritage application.
Nanotechnology and nanostructured materials : trends in carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes have attracted the attention of many researchers since their discovery last decade. These carbon molecules are tiny tubes with diameters down to 0.4 nm, while their lengths can grow up to a million times their diameter. Using their remarkable electrical properties, simple electronic logic circuits have been built. These structures are promising for the semiconductor industry which is leading the search for miniaturisation. They are not only very good conductors, but they also appear to be the yet found material with the biggest specific stiffness, having half the density of aluminium. This paper is written to give a consolidated view of the synthesis, the properties and applications of carbon nanotubes, with the aim of drawing attention to useful available information and to enhancing interest in this new highly advanced technological field for the researcher and the manufacturing engineer. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Obstacle avoidance for small UAVs using monocular vision

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose that the three‐dimensional information of obstacles should be identified to allow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to detect and avoid obstacles existing in their flight path.Design/methodology/approach – First, the approximate outline of obstacles was detected using multi‐scale‐oriented patches (MOPS). At the same time, the spatial coordinates of feature points that exist in the internal outline of the obstacles were calculated through the scale‐invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm. Finally, the results from MOPS and the results from the SIFT algorithm were merged to show the three‐dimensional information of the obstacles.Findings – As the method proposed in this paper reconstructs only the approximate outline of obstacles, a quick calculation can be done. Moreover, as the outline information is combined through SIFT feature points, detailed three‐dimensional information pertaining to the obstacles can be obtained.Practical implications – The propo.
How do Recent Machine Learning Advances Impact the Data Visualization Research Agenda?

Nowadays, machine learning approaches have revolutionized many domains, by enabling machines to solve problems which could before solely be solved when involving humans. As this pushes the human out of the loop, the human-in-the-loop paradigm, which is one of the main pillars of data visualization research, might be endangered. Thus, we would like to investigate, which old visualization challenges are rendered obsolete, and which new visualization challenges arise from the recent advances in machine learning. Along these lines, we will among other aspects investigate the role of visualization when training networks, but also in how to make machine-made decisions more transparent to humans.
On the risk of cross-language plagiarism for less resourced languages such as Amazigh

The exact population of Amazigh speakers is hard to be said since most North African countries do not record language data. What is a fact is that Amazigh is a less resourced language with a very low degree of representation on the Web. In a society where information in multiple languages is available on the Web, crosslanguage plagiarism is occurring every day with increasing frequency, especially for less resourced languages. Potentially this could be the case of Amazigh. The lack of resources, such as Amazigh-Arabic and Amazigh-French, makes the detection of cross-language plagiarism a real challenge. This paper gives an overview of what plagiarism is and what are the available plagiarism detection tools, as well as the state-of-the-art plagiarism detection systems, focusing especially on the case where plagiarism occurs across languages. Special emphasis will be given to cross-language plagiarism in less resourced languages such as Amazigh.
Learning Demand Curves in B2B Pricing: A New Framework and Case Study

In business-to-business (B2B) pricing, a seller seeks to maximize revenue obtained from high-volume transactions involving a wide variety of buyers, products, and other characteristics. Buyer response is highly uncertain, and the seller only observes whether buyers accept or reject the offered prices. These deals are also subject to high opportunity cost, since revenue is zero if the price is rejected. The seller must adapt to this uncertain environment and learn quickly from new deals as they take place. We propose a new framework for statistical and optimal learning in this problem, based on approximate Bayesian inference, that has the ability to measure and update the seller’s uncertainty about the demand curve based on new deals. In a case study, based on historical data, we show that our approach offers significant practical benefits.
Childcare Subsidies, Wages, and Employment of Single Mothers

This paper develops and estimates a model for the choice of part-time and full-time employment and the decision to pay for childcare among single mothers. The results indicate that a lower childcare price and a higher full-time wage rate both lead to an increase in overall employment and the use of paid childcare. The part-time wage effects are found to be too small to have significant behavioral implications. An analysis of cost-effectiveness indicates that the additional hours of work generated per dollar of government expenditure is larger for a childcare subsidy than a wage subsidy.
The Onset of Thermally Unstable Cooling from the Hot Atmospheres of Giant Galaxies in Clusters: Constraints on Feedback Models

We present accurate mass and thermodynamic profiles for 57 galaxy clusters observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We investigate the effects of local gravitational acceleration in central cluster galaxies, and explore the role of the local free-fall time ( ) in thermally unstable cooling. We find that the radially averaged cooling time ( ) is as effective an indicator of cold gas, traced through its nebular emission, as the ratio / . Therefore, primarily governs the onset of thermally unstable cooling in hot atmospheres. The location of the minimum / , a thermodynamic parameter that many simulations suggest is key in driving thermal instability, is unresolved in most systems. Consequently, selection effects bias the value and reduce the observed range in measured / minima. The entropy profiles of cool-core clusters are characterized by broken power laws down to our resolution limit, with no indication of isentropic cores. We show, for the first time, that mass isothermality and the entropy profile slope imply a floor in / profiles within central galaxies. No significant departures of / below 10 are found. This is inconsistent with models that assume thermally unstable cooling ensues from linear perturbations at or near this threshold. We find that the inner cooling times of cluster atmospheres are resilient to active galactic nucleus (AGN)-driven change, suggesting gentle coupling between radio jets and atmospheric gas. Our analysis is consistent with models in which nonlinear perturbations, perhaps seeded by AGN-driven uplift of partially cooled material, lead to cold gas condensation.
Changing shapes and implied viscosities of suspended submicron particles

Abstract. The change in shape of atmospherically relevant organic particles is used to estimate the viscosity of the particle material without the need for removal from aerosol suspension. The dynamic shape factors χ of particles produced by α-pinene ozonolysis in a flow tube reactor, under conditions of particle coagulation, were measured while altering the relative humidity (RH) downstream of the flow tube. As relative humidity was increased, the results showed that χ could change from 1.27 to 1.02, corresponding to a transition from aspherical to nearly spherical shapes. The shape change could occur at elevated RH because the organic material had decreased viscosity and was therefore able to flow to form spherical shapes, as favored by the minimization of surface area. Numerical modeling was used to estimate the particle viscosity associated with this flow. Based on particle diameter and RH exposure time, the viscosity dropped from 10(8.7±2.0) to 10(7.0±2.0) Pa s (two sigma) for an increase in RH from
Performance of Virtual Machine Live Migration with Various Workloads

Virtual machine (VM) consolidation is one of the strategies implemented to accomplish energy e ciency in data centres. Data centres take advantage of VM live migration to reduce the energy consumption without application downtime. However, the cost of VM live migration is not considered in some of the VM consolidation approaches. The key focus of this paper is to show how di↵erent workloads can impact the time of VM live migration. We demonstrate through live experiment the link between various workload characteristics and the time of VM live migration. We used the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) as a hypervisor and SPECjvm2008 benchmark to generate various workloads. Our results show a link between VM migration time and memory size of the VM as well as the speed of the network. We also provide a testing framework to facilitate automated experimentation and benchmarking of VM live migration by other researchers.
Fluorescence and Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds, Antioxidant and Binding Activities in Some Kiwi Fruit Cultivars

Spectrophotometric assays (Folin–Ciocalteu, ferric-reducing/antioxidant power, cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity, and β-carotene linoleate model system) have been used to evaluate the total phenolics and flavonoids in kiwi fruit cultivars in ethanol and water extracts. Fluorescent and infrared measurements were correlated with the obtained spectroscopic data. It was found that the contents of the bioactive compounds and the level of antioxidant activity in different extracts differ significantly (p < 0.05). Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities were significantly higher in two kiwi fruit cultivars (“Bidan” and “SKK12”) than in other studied samples. To our knowledge this is the first report showing the differences and similarities in new kiwi fruit cultivars, using these spectroscopic data. The ethanol extracts of these cultivars exhibited high binding properties with human serum albumin compared with rutin. In conclusion, the applied analytical methods showed the main compounds in the kiwi fruit cultivars and can be used for determination of these compounds in any plants. The relative knowledge would contribute to the pharmaceutical development and clinical application of extracts of kiwi fruit extracts.
Model for microhardness profile prediction of annealed AISI 1045 steel cylindrical bars subjected to torsion

In this work, the effect of the torsion process angle of twist and distance from the center of cylindrical bars on the microhardness profile of annealed AISI 1045 steel was studied. The results showed that the microhardness increase with the evaluated parameters and the hardening is related to the plastic deformation caused by the process rather than by microstructural transformations. Based on the experimental results, ANOVA-Pareto analysis was conducted proving that the angle of twist is the most influential control factor (59.35%) among the parameters investigated. Finally, a model to predict the microhardness profile from the torsion process is presented.
Mercury adsorption on PdAu, PdAg and PdCu alloys

Under specific conditions, sorbent materials such as activated carbon, metal oxides, metal sulfides and pure metals can effectively capture mercury (Hg). Among these materials activated carbon is one of the most widely-used sorbents because of its high removal capacity. Unfortunately, activated carbon can hinder the recycling of particulate matter for concrete manufacturing because it prevents concrete from meeting the freeze-thaw requirements. The use of a sorbent material that can capture Hg efficiently but is also concrete-friendly would allow for the increased sale of waste materials, ultimately oversetting landfill costs. In this work, density functional theory calculations have been used to predict the binding mechanism of Hg on the binary alloys PdAu(111), PdAg(111), PdCu(111) which are potential candidates for concrete-friendly sorbents. Although bulk Pd surfaces are more reactive than bare Au, Ag and Cu surfaces, the addition of small amounts of Au, Ag and Cu alloyed with the Pd acts to increase .
The pterothoracic skeletomuscular system of Scirtoidea ( Coleoptera : Polyphaga ) and its implications for the high-level phylogeny of beetles

External and internal structures of the pterothorax of six adult representatives of three families of Scirtoidea were examined. A detailed description of the skeleton and musculature is presented for the scirtid species Elodes pseudominuta. Phylogenetically relevant characters are discussed and a comprehensive table of thoracic muscles of adult beetles is presented. The monophyly of Scirtoidea is supported by derived features of the skeleton, the musculature and the hind wing. Thoracic characters suggest a branching pattern {Decliniidae + [Eucinetidae + (Clambidae + Scirtidae)]}. However, the interrelationships of the scirtoid families were difficult to reconstruct, as internal characters of Decliniidae are unknown and Clambidae are characterized by many autapomorphic features related to miniaturization. The largest family, Scirtidae, is well supported as a clade. The position of the superfamily remains ambiguous. A basal position within Polyphaga is only suggested by one character state, the complete absence of the bending zone of the hind wing in all other lineages of the suborder. A position of Scirtoidea within Elateriformia is tentatively supported by the elongated anepisternum 3 (polarity unclear), a triangular radial cell, and the reduction of the apical branches of the radius posterior in the hind wing. The thoracic features of Scirtoidea – like those of all polyphagan lineages – are clearly derived compared with the conditions in Adephaga, and especially Archostemata. A basal position of Archostemata and a sister group relationship between Polyphaga and Myxophaga is supported by the results of this study. Characters in support of a basal position of Polyphaga were not found.
Cost-Benefit Analysis to Address Runaway Health Care Expenditures Through Lifestyle Modification Programs

The cost of health care in the United States has been increasing at an annual rate of 9.8%, faster than the cost of living, since 1970. This is due to many factors, the most significant being preventable and manageable chronic conditions and diseases, known as comorbidities. These conditions and diseases are associated with individuals who classify as being overweight or obese, representing 68% of the United States population. This creates a strain on the health care system and the economy. Decreasing the number of overweight or obese individuals is necessary to reduce the prevalence of weight-related comorbidities. This can be accomplished through establishing and maintaining the proper energy balance between caloric intake and physical activity. The government leads many efforts to educate individuals on the importance of incorporating nutrition and physical activity into their daily lives to promote healthy behaviors. Since limited budgets for encouraging participation exist, a need for a system designed to assists policy makers in determining which age cohorts, or groups, given a level of adherence to recommendations, would result in the most benefit to stakeholders. An analysis was conducted to determine which 10-year age cohort(s) should be targeted for health promotion in efforts to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obese individuals. Each alternative was evaluated based on its effectiveness versus the associated cost of promotion. Each age cohort’s participation and predicted weight loss was simulated using a validated weight prediction model. Weight loss resulted from partial cohort adherence to nutritional and physical activity recommendations. Effectiveness was determined by weight loss, prevalence of comorbidities, and health care equity. The analysis showed that if 90% of a given cohort adhered to government recommendations, the 60-year age cohorts’ outcome would result in the greatest benefit for the smallest cost. For 30 and 60 percent adherence levels, analysis showed that the 60-year cohort would result in the largest benefit. The remaining alternatives were ranked based on their cost benefit. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine if the results were sensitive to changes of the importance of the benefit measures. The results demonstrated that the 60-year age cohort was the best alternative in all cases except when health care equity was most important.
GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH

Michael Heller’s The Gridlock Economy popularizes a concept that Heller has developed over nearly two decades of influential academic writing: the notion that, when it comes to property rights, too many rights-endowed cooks really can spoil the broth. I was asked in this conference to apply Heller’s insight to the Google Book Search project, and the request at first seemed natural. Heller himself suggested that Google Book Search might be an apt poster child for the gridlock phenomenon; Google likewise can often be heard to complain, in Heller-esque tones, that the only way to build a comprehensive search engine for books is to take the books without asking. This Essay, however, questions the example and offers a refinement on Heller’s theory. Gridlock, I argue, is not simply a catch-all for situations where a large number of permissions are in play. It is more narrowly a reference to situations where a large number of permissions are in play, and those permissions intertwine.
FAMILY POULTRY PRODUCTION IN MAURITIUS : PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

FAMILY POULTRY PRODUCTION IN MAURITIUS: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS. The Republic of Mauritius has been self-sufficient in poultry meat and eggs for more than two decades and has been successfully meeting the increasing demand for these commodities. About 85% of the poultry meat is presently produced by four industrial farms, 10% by small commercial producers, and around 5% by family (backyard) poultry farms. The flourishing broiler production industry has transformed the erstwhile important traditional backyard poultry farming of indigenous chickens into an insignificant side activity on the main island of Mauritius, while on the other hand, scavenging chickens continue to be an important source of both food and income on Rodrigues, the second biggest island territory of the Republic. A survey carried out on 30 selected family poultry farms in Mauritius and Rodrigues in 1999 and 2000 enabled the identification of the major problems faced by smallholder poultry farmers. At the same time the results provided a basis for future interventions for improving family poultry production. The results showed that diseases like fowl pox, Newcastle disease, Gumboro disease, respiratory and parasitic diseases occurred all year round on 42% and 82% of farms in Mauritius and Rodrigues, respectively. Low to mild helminth and lice infestations were detected on 40% and 50% of the farms in Mauritius and Rodrigues, respectively.