Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ad Astra Quantile Regression : Overview and Selected Applications 1 I

This report provides a short and generally accessible overview of the technique of quantile regression, with focus on introducing the method and discussing some major applications, rather than exclusively devoting space to either a technical summary of the theory or to a complete survey of recent advances in implementation, plenty of specialized literature having achieved that by now. To the declared aim, two applications of quantile regression to survival analysis and respectively to recursive structural equations models, with supporting empirical implementations from the literature, will be selected for analysis after the basic quantile regression model and its critical features would have been briefly reviewed. Quantile regression has lately received much attention, both from a theoretical and from an empirical viewpoint. Defined in the simplest way, quantile regression is a statistical procedure intended to estimate conditional quantile functions. In analogy with classical linear regression methods, based on minimizing sums of squared residuals and meant to estimate models for conditional mean functions, quantile regression methods are based on minimizing asymmetrically weighted absolute residuals and intended to estimate conditional median functions2 and a full range of other conditional quantile functions. The basic motivation for using quantiles rather than simple mean regression is that the stochastic relationship between random variables can be portrayed much better and with much more accuracy. As extensively discussed in Koenker and Bassett(1978b), conventional least squares estimators may be seriously deficient in linear models constructed on some non-Gaussian settings, where quantile regression would provide more robust and consequently more efficient estimates. The price paid in terms of loss of efficiency (to the least squares estimators) at the normal distribution would moreover not outweigh the gain at the non-Gaussian spreads. Thus quantile regression methods complement and improve established means regression models.
Ion-beam sculpting at nanometre length scales

166 NATURE | VOL 412 | 12 JULY 2001 | www.nature. com to Neptune, whereas the second-largest moons (like Caliban or S/2000 S 3) would have magnitudes of 24±25. Thus if a similar irregular system is present around Neptune, its smaller members were beyond the limits of the deepest known survey and Nereid (Neptune's only distant satellite) is only the brightest member of a population waiting patiently to be discovered. M
Automatic Statics and Residual Statics Correction with Low-rank Approximation

Summary Seismic data, mainly on land, suffers from long-wavelength statics due to the laterally varying and heterogeneous nature of the near-surface weathering layers. We propose an automatic, data-driven and computationally efficient statics correction method based on low-rank approximation to correct for such statics. The method does not require a model to estimate static time shifts, which is the case for other static correction methods; rather it applies the appropriate static corrections on the data such that it becomes low rank in a certain domain. As of now, the method is applicable to data that has been corrected for elevation statics. Due to the near-surface irregularities and due to approximations used by static correction methods that lead to not fully correcting for statics, an iterative residual statics correction becomes necessary. Our proposed method corrects for residual statics without the necessity of the surface consistency assumption and a multi-iterate process. Additional benefits of the method include artifacts and noise suppression. We demonstrate the successful application of our method on several synthetic data examples.
The effects of dietary protein level during food restriction on carcass and non-carcass components, digestibility and subsequent compensatory growth in lambs

The effect of proportion of dietary rumen non-degradable protein during food restriction on the weight of components of the digestive tract, carcass and subsequent growth was investigated in 37 Scottish Blackface wether lambs (initial live weight, 25 kg). Lambs were given individually ad libitum for 4 weeks a complete pelleted diet containing 150 g/kg white fish-meal (HP, 10·4 MJ metabolizable energy (ME) per kg dry matter (DM), 195 g crude protein (CP) per kg DM). Seven lambs were then slaughtered and 15 were switched to a diet containing no white fish-meal (LP, 10·4 MJ ME per kg DM, 122 g CP per kg DM) offered at 18 g DM per kg M per day, i.e. sufficient to maintain constant live weight. A further 15 continued to receive the HP diet at the same rate as the lambs given LP. After 6 and 12 weeks, five lambs on each diet were slaughtered. At 12 weeks the remainder received the HP diet ad libitum for a further 7 weeks before slaughter. During food restriction on both diets, the proportion of live weight formed by the carcass, the dissected components and the chemical composition remained the same as in the initial slaughter group. The relative weight of the non-carcass components fell during food restriction on both diets. There was a significant ( P
Chapter 2 Candidemia

This unfavorable clinical condition has been increasingly growing all over the world and what is more aggravating; the mortality rates remain higher especially in critically ill patients [4]. Studies suggest that the incidence of candidaemia in the United States and Europe ≥40% [5], in country Latin America as the Brazil the rate greater than 50% [6]. In this scenario, it is clear that management is still a challenge [2,3,7]. Furthermore the risk factors related include, severe comorbidities and other conditions as prolonged stay hospital more than 72 hours, multiple Chapter 2
Management and Shocks to Worker Productivity: Evidence from Air Pollution Exposure in an Indian Garment Factory∗

Rapid industrial growth has generated high levels of pollution in many urban areas of developing countries. We study the role of pollution as a tax on worker effort in an Indian garment factory in Bangalore, India. We match hourly, worker-level data on garment production with multiple hourly PM2.5 measurements on two separate production floors and estimate a steep pollution-productivity gradient: a 10μg/m increase in pollution reduces hourly worker efficiency by more than . 3 percentage points; a one-standard deviation increase (about 45 μg/m) leads to a 1.4 percentage point (6%) decrease in efficiency. We then document significant heterogeneity in this impact across production lines. We show that capable (i.e., experienced and “relatable”) line supervisors are able to flatten this gradient by 25 to 85 percent. Good managers are able to reallocate workers to tasks on high pollution days based on the heterogeneous effects of pollution on worker effort. Thus, in addition to the direct impacts of pollution and other environmental factors, re-optimization of the production process in response to productivity shocks is a mechanism through which management contributes to the productivity gap between firms in developed and developing country settings.
A Parameterized Geometric Model of the Oral Tract for Aero acoustic Simulation of Fricatives

The sound generated during the production of the sibilant (s) results from the impact of a turbulent jet on the incisors. Physical modeling of this phenomenon depends on the characterization of the turbulent flow within the vocal tract and of the acoustic sources resulting from the presence of an obstacle in the path of the flow. The properties of the flow-induced noise strongly depend on several geometric parameters of which the influence has to be determined. In this paper, a simplified geometric model of the oral tract is used to carry out a numerical study of the flow-induced noise generated by a turbulent flow. It is shown from the numerical simulations performed that the modification of the configuration of the geometric model influences the behavior of the turbulent flow and hence the spectral properties and the level of the flow-induced noise generated. increase in the acoustic distinction between (s) and the other sounds as the age of speaker increased. Moreover, (4) pointed out the increase in the high frequency spectral energy of sibilant produced by speakers wearing dentures. The modeling of the turbulent flow within the cavities and the constrictions of the vocal tract is essential to characterize the acoustic sources of the fricatives. From predictions obtained with a Large-Eddy Simulation model and a simplified description of the vocal tract, (5) suggest that aeroacoustic models of the turbulence in fricatives with a small number of geometric parameters can be developed but also that using very simplified description of turbulent jet doesn't seem to be relevant for the modeling of fricatives. Moreover (6) strongly suggests that the interaction of the turbulent jet with the oral tract geometry is generating the noise from the pressure forces induced on the vocal tract walls. Thus, the discontinuities in the vocal tract shape appear to have a key role in the fricative sound production. Complete aeroacoustic models of the sibilant (s) production using simplified (7) or realistic 2-D (8) and 3-D (9) geometries of the vocal tract and the teeth were proposed, but the influence of geometric parameters on the properties of the sound generated was not clearly determined. Experimental in-vivo (10) and in-vitro (11) studies showed that small variations of the position of the tongue and the incisors can lead to significant changes in the spectral characteristics of the sound generated and therefore in the type of speech sound
Picture-perfect Quantum Key Distribution

We provide a new way to bound the security of quantum key distribution using only two high-level, diagrammatic features of quantum processes: the compositional behavior of complementary measurements and the essential uniqueness of purification. We begin by demonstrating a proof in the simplest case, where the eavesdropper doesn't noticeably disturb the channel at all and has no quantum memory. We then show how this approach extends straightforwardly to account for an eavesdropper with quantum memory and the presence of noise.
DNA methylation: its role in transcriptional regulation and association with lung cancer

DNA methylation is a fundamental biochemical modification that in conjunction with noncoding RNAs, histone modifications, and chromatin remodeling institutes the epigenetic machinery of mammalian cells. As a result of the second decade of intense epigenetic research and its role in human disease, substantial new mechanisms have been uncovered. However, it is well acknowledged that we have just scratched the tip of the iceberg. Epigenetic deregulation appears to be one of the foundations of major human diseases, including lung cancer, which is the most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths. Currently, significant effort is made to dissect the role of epigenetic deregulation in the development of lung cancer and utilize this knowledge in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Taking advantage of the recent technologies in genomic research, many studies have been conducted to discover and validate abnormal DNA methylation patterns that may shed light on cancer development pathways and open new areas of potential clinical exploitation. In this article, we provide basic information of the DNA methylation involved in gene regulation and review the latest literature on potential relevant translational applications in lung cancer. Particular emphasis is given to the development and validation of DNA methylation biomarkers that may assist in the clinical management of lung cancer.
Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science

Adaptive learning techniques have typically scheduled practice using learners' accuracy and item presentation history. We describe an adaptive learning system (Adaptive Response Time Based Sequencing—ARTS) that uses both accuracy and response time (RT) as direct inputs into sequencing. Response times are used to assess learning strength and to determine mastery, making both fluency and accuracy goals of learning. ARTS optimizes spacing by expanding item recurrence intervals as an inverse function of RT. In Experiment 1, we compared ARTS to Atkinson’s (1972) Markov model system using geography learning and found substantially greater learning efficiency for ARTS. In Experiment 2, we deployed the system in a real learning setting. Third graders attending an online school mastered basic multiplication facts in about two hours using ARTS, outperforming a control group using standard instruction. These results suggest that response time-based adaptive learning has remarkable potential to enhance learning in many domains.
ECActive Embodied Conversational Agent for Mental Health Intervention by Mehedi Anam Sarder

Embodied Conversational Agents (ECA) seek to provide a more natural means of interaction for a user through verbal and non-verbal properties of human face-to-face communication. For this reason, these systems are found to bring benefits in different mental health related interventions. However, a key challenge in developing agents to replace the human interlocutor in a dyadic conversation, is to simulate appropriate attentive listening behaviors. In this thesis work, we explored different backchannel strategies and studied their effects in terms of likability and engagement. We built a fully embodied conversational agent with three different levels of backchannel strategies and ran a within-subject study with a convenience sample of 24 participants. The results showed that the amount of emotional words in the speech of users increased if the attentive listening capabilities of the agent were improved. In addition, the capability to trigger both verbal and nonverbal backchannels with proper timing was found to be a relevant feature in terms of improved speech rate and emotional words. Contrary to our hypothesis, backchannels based on actual emotion and sentiment analysis of the speech content were not found to be significantly influential on the quality of interaction. Multi-modal approaches are suggested for future works in order to overcome limitations of this work due to potential lack in emotion detection accuracy.
effect of telehealth-to-home interventions on quality of life for individuals with depressive and anxiety disorders

Although millions of individuals suffer from mental health problems worldwide, only a small fraction receives adequate treatment. The high prevalence of depression and anxiety observed worldwide, in conjunction with very low rates of treatment utilization, are of great clinical significance, as these psychiatric conditions are two of the most important determinants of quality of life (QoL). Telehealth interventions have been touted as potential solutions to these mental health care disparities, with great interest and utility demonstrated across a diverse array of medical and psychiatric populations. Telehealth interventions may be clinic-based or home- based. The primary objective of this paper is to highlight the extent to which telehealth-to-home interventions positively impact multiple facets of QoL for individuals with depression and anxiety disorders, including those with comorbid medical conditions. While QoL outcomes are important to consider in any assessment of treatment effectiveness, QoL enhancement has received limited attention in the telemental health literature to date. All studies included in the present review evaluate telehealth-to-home treatments, assess QoL outcomes, and incorporate some degree of live, synchronous therapist-patient contact. Recommendations to advance the application of telehealth-to-home approaches are proposed and include: additional research on video-to-home telehealth platforms, strategies to increase the adoption of telehealth-to-home interventions amongst mental health treatment providers, national legislative reform to establish fair and appropriate reimbursement parameters for telehealth-to-home care, standardized definitions of telehealth-to-home services to facilitate provider engagement and reimbursement, and systematic
Subitizing and Visual Counting in Children with Problems in Acquiring Basic Arithmetic Skills

The ability of recognizing a number of briefly presented items without actually counting is called subitizing (from lat. subito = suddenly). Adult subjects can subitize 3 to 4 items. For greater numbers the subjects begin a counting process relying on the visual memory of the test pattern, which needs increasingly more time as the number of items increases. The development of accuracy and speed of subitizing and visual counting was measured for subjects up to the age of 17 years. Furthermore, this study tests the hypothesis that children with difficulties in acquiring basic arithmetic skills exhibit developmental deficits in subitizing and/or counting. The study does not intend to investigate theories on the nature of dyscalculia even though most test children can be classified as dyscalculic. Methods: Two-hundred-nineteen control subjects and 156 test subjects with problems in arithmetic skills in the age range of 7 to 17 years were given a visual counting task in which 1 to 9 items were presented for 100 ms. The subjects had to press a digit key on a numerical keyboard to indicate the number of items they had seen. Percentages of correct responses and response times were recorded. Results: The analysis shows systematic differences between control and test children increasing with age. The percentage of test children performing below the 16-percentile of the age matched controls was estimated to be between 40% and 78% (increasing with age). Conclusions: We concluded that the deficit in a basic visual capacity may contribute to the problems encountered by children with anomalies in acquiring
Response to referee 1 : ' Ice shelf fracture parameterization in an ice sheet model ' by 5

to make this more obvious. In a similar vein, one of the questions that authors seek to address is whether there is an equivalence between the rheology of damaged ice and ice with an adjusted rate factor A. The answer to this question seems obvious, especially when comparing 20 Equations 5 and 6. We see that so long as we define A = A(1 − D) there is an exact correspondence. That this question can be addressed by a simple mathematical definition makes me suspicious that the authors are examining a more subtle question, but if so it would help to provide more signposts for readers to help bring us along. We meant some simple rule of thumb e.g. A = A/8 everywhere, rather than A = A(1 − D), which would require knowledge of D(x, y, z) (or in our case d(x, y)) We did not make a good job of explaining this and have made a number 25 of modifications to the text. One of the outcomes is that we do seem able to emulate the damage model with a simple prescription, at least in terms of the ice flow. 1.3 Detailed comments: The definition of ‘damage’ in Equations (6) and (7) doesn’t follow naturally to me. In the standard approach to continuum 30 damage mechanics one introduces a mapping from the actual stress σij to the effective stress σ̃ij of the form: σ̃ij = (1 − D)σij .
Automatic Detection of TV Commercial Blocks in Broadcast TV Content

 Abstract — This paper describes in detail an algorithm proposed for detecting TV Commercial Blocks in Broadcast TV Content, based on the presence or absence, in the screen, of a TV channel logo. No pre-built database is required, as the proposed solution sets up its own collection of logos and takes into account the different types of logos that are broadcasted in a regular TV transmission. By distinguishing a TV channel logo from a commercial brand logo, a final classification is assigned for each video shot, differentiating regular programs from commercial blocks. For the used test video dataset, that resulted from recordings of three different Portuguese TV channels, a minimum accuracy of 93,9% on commercials detection was achieved; furthermore, the measured and reported processing time suggests that the proposed solution could enable real time (i.e., while recording) detection of commercial blocks.
Depression and anxiety detection from blog posts data

Depression and anxiety affect the life of many individuals and if the diagnosis is not stated in time it could lead to considerable health decline and even suicide. Nowadays, mental health specialists, as well as data scientists, work towards analyzing social media sources and, in particular, publicly available text messages and blogs to identify depressed people and provide them with necessary treatment and support. In this work, we adopt an experimental data collection approach to gather a corpus of blog posts from clinical and control subjects. Ill people are considered as clinical subjects while control subjects refer to healthy individuals. We inspect the latent topics found in collected data to analyze the blog’ content according to themes covered by blog authors. We experiment with various text encoding techniques such as Bag-of-Words (BOW), Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TFIDF) and topic model’s features. We apply Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classifiers to discriminate between clinical and control subjects. Additionally, we explore the classification performance of CNNs trained on blog post texts of different size. The best accuracy and recall scores of 78% and 0.72 respectively were obtained with a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classifier initialised with pretrained GloVe word vectors.
How species traits and affinity to urban land use control large‐scale species frequency

Aim Although urban areas only occupy c. 2.8% of the earth's land surface, urbanization threatens biodiversity as areas of high human population density often coincide with high biodiversity. Therefore, nature conservation should concentrate on both remote areas and densely populated regions. Protecting rare plant species in rural and urban areas can contribute to the protection of biodiversity. We therefore need to understand why species are rare. Studies on causes of rarity often concentrate on either plant traits or extrinsic threats (such as habitat fragmentation or nitrogen enrichment). However, there are only a few studies that combine traits and extrinsic threats, although such analyses might clarify causes of rarity. We assessed how the affinity of vascular plant species to urban land use (‘urbanity’) interacts with plant traits in determining species frequency.