Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The value of the dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking

In recent years, a perspective on adolescent risk-taking derived from developmental neuroscience has become increasingly popular. This perspective, referred to as the “dual systems model” (Somerville et al., 2010; Steinberg, 2010) or sometimes the “maturational imbalance theory” (Casey et al., 2011), posits that increased risk-taking during adolescence is due to a combination of heightened reward sensitivity and immature impulse control, which are tied to the development of two brain systems that undergo significant change during this age period, but that develop along different timetables. One system, which has been called the “socioemotional” incentive processing system (Steinberg, 2010; Chein et al., 2011) or “ventral affective system” (Pfeifer and Allen, 2012), is localized mainly in the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. The second system, referred to as the “cognitive control” system (Steinberg, 2010; Chein et al., 2011) or “prefrontal control system” (Pfeifer and Allen, 2012), is localized mainly in lateral prefrontal, parietal, and anterior cingulate cortices (Wager and Smith, 2003; Owen et al., 2005). Briefly, the dual systems (DS) perspective posits that risk-taking during mid-adolescence is the product of the heightened reactivity of the socioemotional system against a backdrop of still maturing cognitive control. With further maturation, the socioemotional system becomes less reactive and the cognitive control system becomes stronger and more efficient. Together, these changes lead to an increase in risk taking during adolescence followed by a decrease in risk taking as individuals move into adulthood.
Vertical ozone measurements in the troposphere over the Eastern Mediterranean and comparison with Central Europe

Vertical ozone profiles measured in the period 1996–2002 in the framework of the MOZAIC project (Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus in Service Aircraft) for flights connecting Central Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean basin (Heraklion, Rhodes, Antalya) were analysed in order to evaluate the high rural ozone levels recorded in the Mediterranean area during summertime. The 77 flights during summer (JJAS) showed substantially (10–12 ppb, 20–40%) enhanced ozone mixing ratios in the lower troposphere over the Eastern Mediterranean frequently exceeding the 60 ppb, 8-h EU air quality standard, whereas ozone between 700 hPa and 400 hPa was only slightly (3–5 ppb, 5–10%) higher than over Central Europe. Analysis of composite weather maps for the high and low ozone cases, as well as back-trajectories and vertical profiles of carbon monoxide, suggest that the main factor leading to high tropospheric ozone values in the area is anticyclonic influence, in combination with a persistent northerly flow in the lower troposphere during summertime over the Aegean. On the other hand the lowest ozone levels are associated with low-pressure systems, especially the extension of the Middle East low over the Eastern Mediterranean area.
No reference metric of video coding quality based on parametric analysis of video bitstream

In this paper, we propose a novel method to measure the perceived picture quality of H.264 coded video based on parametric analysis of the coded bitstream. The parametric analysis means that the proposed method utilizes only bitstream parameters, while it does not have any access to the baseband signal (pixel level information) of the decoded video. The proposed method extracts quantiser-scale, slice type and transformed coefficients from each macroblock. These parameters are used to calculate spatiotemporal image features to reflect coding artifacts which have a strong relation to the subjective quality. A computer simulation shows that the proposed method can estimate the subjective quality at a correlation coefficient of 0.867 whereas the PSNR metric, which is referred to as a benchmark, correlates the subjective quality at a correlation coefficient of 0.773.
Higher education policy discourse in South Africa: a struggle for alignment with macro development policy

This article focuses on the government's higher education policy trajectory during the post apartheid period. The central argument of the article is that government policy ought to be examined in the light of a struggle over aligning the higher education policy discourse with the government's chosen macro development path. Policy activity has to be understood in the context of an emerging "policy force field" during the 1990s, which circumscribed the government's ability to act decisively in the sector. I discuss this struggle over policy alignment by focusing on three key policy moments, which point to the shifting policy discourse over an eight-year period. Given the discursive shift, the article shows how Historically Disadvantaged Institutions had become the key "problem" around which higher education policy unfolded. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol.17(2) 2003: 31-39
Spacetimes with singularities

Abstract We report on some advances made in the problem of singularities in general relativity. First is introduced the singular semi-Riemannian geometry for metrics which can change their signature (in particular be degenerate). The standard operations like covariant contraction, covariant derivative, and constructions like the Riemann curvature are usually prohibited by the fact that the metric is not invertible. The things become even worse at the points where the signature changes. We show that we can still do many of these operations, in a different framework which we propose. This allows the writing of an equivalent form of Einstein's equation, which works for degenerate metric too. Once we make the singularities manageable from mathematical viewpoint, we can extend analytically the black hole solutions and then choose from the maximal extensions globally hyperbolic regions. Then we find space-like foliations for these regions, with the implication that the initial data can be preserved in reasonable situations. We propose qualitative models of non-primordial and/or evaporating black holes. We supplement the material with a brief note reporting on progress made since this talk was given, which shows that we can analytically extend the Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordström metrics at and beyond the singularities, and the singularities can be made degenerate and handled with the mathematical apparatus we developed.
The research of chemical plant monitoring base on the internet of things and 3D visualization technology

In order to meet the application demand for informatization, intellectualization, real-time and visualization of chemical plan, this paper proposes a real-time monitoring project based on the Internet of Things and visualization technology. In the project, with the backing of data acquisition, transmission, storage, analysis and display in cloud architecture and full use of ZigBee, a new wireless sensor network, a real-time visual monitoring system, which can be run on multiple platforms, is constructed through synthetic analysis of the actual monitoring requirements and the application characteristics. This paper elaborates the architecture, the function-constructing project and 3D visual platform of the monitoring system and makes an exploratory study of the real-time monitoring in a new era.
A 53-nW 9.1-ENOB 1-kS/s SAR ADC in 0.13-$\mu$m CMOS for Medical Implant Devices

This paper describes an ultra-low power SAR ADC for medical implant devices. To achieve the nano-watt range power consumption, an ultra-low power design strategy has been utilized, imposing maximum simplicity on the ADC architecture, low transistor count and matched capacitive DAC with a switching scheme which results in full-range sampling without switch bootstrapping and extra reset voltage. Furthermore, a dual-supply voltage scheme allows the SAR logic to operate at 0.4 V, reducing the overall power consumption of the ADC by 15% without any loss in performance. The ADC was fabricated in 0.13-μm CMOS. In dual-supply mode (1.0 V for analog and 0.4 V for digital), the ADC consumes 53 nW at a sampling rate of 1 kS/s and achieves the ENOB of 9.1 bits. The leakage power constitutes 25% of the 53-nW total power.
THREE APPROACHES TO AUTOMATED TOPOLOGY , AND HOW COMPUTATIONAL GEOMETRY HELPS

Traditional polygon-arc-node topology is standard in vector GIS, but it has its limitations. This is particularly evident at the digitizing stage, which often appears excessively complex and tedious, Other methods, however, are capable of maintaining some forms of topology “automatically”, and this paper is an overview of three approaches based on the Voronoi diagram (or the equivalent Delaunay triangulation). The first uses standard point Voronoi diagrams to speed up the polygon digitizing process; the second uses the constrained Delaunay triangulation to represent terrain as a triangulated irregular network with included linear features; and the third uses the Voronoi diagram of line segments and points to generate dynamically a more complete version of the traditional topology. These and other aspects of spatial relationships are studied in the field of computational geometry, which is increasingly applicable to GIS problems.
Fetal in vivo continuous cardiovascular function during chronic hypoxia

The in vivo fetal cardiovascular defence to chronic hypoxia has remained by and large an enigma because no technology has been available to induce significant and prolonged fetal hypoxia whilst recording longitudinal changes in fetal regional blood flow as the hypoxic pregnancy is developing. We introduce a new technique able to maintain chronically instrumented maternal and fetal sheep preparations under isobaric chronic hypoxia for most of gestation, beyond levels that can be achieved by high altitude and of relevance in magnitude to the human intrauterine growth‐restricted fetus. This technology permits wireless recording in free‐moving animals of longitudinal maternal and fetal cardiovascular function, including beat‐to‐beat alterations in pressure and blood flow signals in regional circulations. The relevance and utility of the technique is presented by testing the hypotheses that the fetal circulatory brain sparing response persists during chronic fetal hypoxia and that an increase in reactive oxygen species in the fetal circulation is an involved mechanism.
An Immune Basis for Malaria Protection by the Sickle Cell Trait

Background Malaria resistance by the sickle cell trait (genotype HbAS) has served as the prime example of genetic selection for over half a century. Nevertheless, the mechanism of this resistance remains the subject of considerable debate. While it probably involves innate factors such as the reduced ability of Plasmodium falciparum parasites to grow and multiply in HbAS erythrocytes, recent observations suggest that it might also involve the accelerated acquisition of malaria-specific immunity. Methods and Findings We studied the age-specific protection afforded by HbAS against clinical malaria in children living on the coast of Kenya. We found that protection increased with age from only 20% in the first 2 y of life to a maximum of 56% by the age of 10 y, returning thereafter to 30% in participants greater than 10 y old. Conclusions Our observations suggest that malaria protection by HbAS involves the enhancement of not only innate but also of acquired immunity to the parasite. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms might yield important insights into both these processes.
Nonlinear dynamic system identification using Legendre neural network

We propose a computationally efficient Legendre neural network (LeNN) for identification of nonlinear dynamic systems. Due to its single-layer architecture, the LeNN offers much less computational complexity than that of a multilayer perceptron (MLP). By taking several plant models of increasing complexity and with extensive simulations we have shown superior performance of the LeNN-based plant model in comparison to that of an MLP model in terms of estimated output, mean square error (MSE) and computational complexity, in presence of additive noise.
Fatigue self-management strategies and reported fatigue in international pilots

The use of strategies to manage fatigue associated with work was investigated in a sample of 253 pilots operating Air New Zealand regional and international routes. Overall, 13% of pilots responded that they experienced fatigue from their job as a pilot three times a week or more but no differences in overall fatigue levels were found by age, rank or fleet. The use of napping by pilots prior to an overnight duty was variable and 25% of pilots responded that they napped only a little of the time or not at all before such a duty. Pilots who routinely used daytime napping prior to overnight duties reported significantly lower levels of general fatigue. The use of the cockpit napping procedure was evenly split, with 52.5% of pilots reporting the use of cockpit napping over the previous 12 months. The use of the cockpit napping procedure was associated with lower levels of reported fatigue. Hypnotic medication use in the previous 2 months was reported by 19% of pilots mostly on an occasional basis. Melatonin and alternative medicine were used less frequently than hypnotics. This study highlights fatigue as a major problem for many pilots operating regional and international routes. The strategies used by international aircrew to manage fatigue are variable and provide support for the association between napping and lower reported fatigue.
MultiPhen: Joint Model of Multiple Phenotypes Can Increase Discovery in GWAS

The genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach has discovered hundreds of genetic variants associated with diseases and quantitative traits. However, despite clinical overlap and statistical correlation between many phenotypes, GWAS are generally performed one-phenotype-at-a-time. Here we compare the performance of modelling multiple phenotypes jointly with that of the standard univariate approach. We introduce a new method and software, MultiPhen, that models multiple phenotypes simultaneously in a fast and interpretable way. By performing ordinal regression, MultiPhen tests the linear combination of phenotypes most associated with the genotypes at each SNP, and thus potentially captures effects hidden to single phenotype GWAS. We demonstrate via simulation that this approach provides a dramatic increase in power in many scenarios. There is a boost in power for variants that affect multiple phenotypes and for those that affect only one phenotype. While other multivariate methods have similar power gains, we describe several benefits of MultiPhen over these. In particular, we demonstrate that other multivariate methods that assume the genotypes are normally distributed, such as canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and MANOVA, can have highly inflated type-1 error rates when testing case-control or non-normal continuous phenotypes, while MultiPhen produces no such inflation. To test the performance of MultiPhen on real data we applied it to lipid traits in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966). In these data MultiPhen discovers 21% more independent SNPs with known associations than the standard univariate GWAS approach, while applying MultiPhen in addition to the standard approach provides 37% increased discovery. The most associated linear combinations of the lipids estimated by MultiPhen at the leading SNPs accurately reflect the Friedewald Formula, suggesting that MultiPhen could be used to refine the definition of existing phenotypes or uncover novel heritable phenotypes.
The use of sense in unsupervised training of acoustic models for ASR systems

In unsupervised training of ASR systems, no annotated data are assumed to exist. Word-level annotations for training audio are generated iteratively using an ASR system. At each iteration a subset of data judged as having the most reliable transcriptions is selected to train the next set of acoustic models. Data selection however remains a difficult problem, particularly when the error rate of the recognizer providing the initial annotation is very high. In this paper we propose an iterative algorithm that uses a combination of likelihoods and a simple model of sense to select data. We show that the algorithm is effective for unsupervised training of acoustic models, particularly when the initial annotation is highly erroneous. Experiments conducted on Fisher-1 data using initial models from Switchboard, and a vocabulary and LM derived from the Google N-grams, show that performance on a selected held-out test set from Fisher data improves more with iterations relative to likelihood-based data selection.
Why Should They Care? The Role of Institutional Investors in the Market for Corporate Global Responsibility

Institutional investors, primarily pension funds, drive global financial markets. The result is investors vulnerable to the risks companies face in global consumer and capital markets. Though some market risks are inevitable, others, such as reputation risk, can be mitigated through increased corporate social and environmental standards and the increased transparency that such higher standards demand. The transparency necessitated by reputation management has a dual role in monitoring corporate behaviour and providing all stakeholders (internal and external) with the information to evaluate corporate behaviour. Driving this process is the belief that higher standards of corporate responsibility pay off for investors over the long term both through potential equity premia and through risk reduction. This paper presents a model for understanding how and why institutional investors may encourage firms to adopt higher standards. To illustrate our argument, we refer to the experience of the UK Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) strategy of corporate engagement and the attempts of the USS to encourage firms to raise their environmental standards by focusing on the climate change impacts of pension-fund investments. Investor engagement in corporate responsibility offers an insight into the role of investors in global-standard setting and global citizenship.
Supernovae as Probes of Extra Dimensions

Since the dawn of the new millennium, there has been a revived interest in the concept of extra dimensions. In this scenario all the standard model matter and gauge fields are confined to the 4 dimensions and only gravity can escape to higher dimensions of the universe. This idea can be tested using table‐top experiments, collider experiments, astrophysical or cosmological observations. The main astrophysical constraints come from the cooling rate of supernovae, neutron stars, red giants and the sun. In this article, we consider the energy loss mechanism of SN1987A and study the constraints it places on the number and size of extra dimensions and the higher dimensional Planck scale.
A recent ice age on Mars: Evidence for climate oscillations from regional layering in mid‐latitude mantling deposits

Two end‐member hypotheses have been proposed to account for the emplacement and distribution of ice in the near‐subsurface of Mars at mid to high latitudes during recent spin‐axis/orbital variation‐induced climate change. In the first, diffusion of atmospheric water vapor into and out of a porous regolith forms ice‐cemented soils whose latitudinal stability migrates as a function of orbitally controlled climatic conditions. In the alternative hypothesis, atmospheric deposition of ice, snow, and dust produces dusty ice‐rich layers during periods of higher obliquity. New image data reveal meters‐thick layered deposits exposed on mid‐latitude pole‐facing slopes supporting the latter hypothesis. These observations suggest that the near surface ice detected by the GRS instrument suite and the Phoenix lander at high latitudes is linked to thick, buried ice that was atmospherically deposited during recent ice ages and that significant amounts of subsurface ice may remain today in the 30–50° mid‐latitude regions where fresh craters, imaged by HiRISE, expose abundant ice.
Essays on Intergenerational Transfers

Author(s): Fahle, Sean Patrick | Advisor(s): McGarry, Kathleen | Abstract: The chapters of this dissertation examine transfers between generations across three distinct contexts: a potential role for informal care in U.S. long-term care policy (Chapter 1), the effect of caregiving on bequests (Chapter 2), and making inferences about intra-household allocations using data on intergenerational transfers (Chapter 3). The first chapter poses the question: how can government policy leverage family caregiving to make Medicaid financing of long-term care more sustainable without compromising the well-being of elderly beneficiaries and their families? This question is addressed using a partial equilibrium life-cycle model augmented with a repeated game played between an elderly parent and her adult child over long-term care and living arrangements. The results indicate that policies which either expand access to consumer-directed home care or provide direct financial compensation to caregivers can result in a substantial reduction in the use of institutional care, an increase in informal caregiving, and a decrease in government expenditures.The second chapter is one of the first studies to examine bequest patterns and their determinants using data on actual bequests from a large and approximately representative, longitudinal survey of the U.S. population over age 50. The results indicate that caregiving from and co-residence with adult children are important predictors of the division of assets among children, with child caregivers receiving larger bequests than non-caregivers. The effects are strongest for bequests of housing assets. The salience of housing assets is further supported by evidence of a relationship between ownership of housing assets and the receipt of informal care from children near the end-of-life.The third chapter utilizes a novel source of variation, intergenerational financial transfers from parents to children, to recover the intra-household allocation of resources (the "sharing rule") in a collective model of household behavior. The identifying assumption is that financial transfers from a household to, for instance, the wife's own children (the stepchildren of her husband) can be regarded as the private consumption (an "assignable" good) of the wife. The results indicate that married women receive roughly half of household resources and that an increase in a wife's wage increases her share of household income.
Supporting virtual collocation with a combination of basic awareness services

This paper aregues for long–term awareness in cooperation support systems as a means for simulating physical proximity in virtually collocated groups. It then introduces a modular approach to awareness support. This approach makes it possible to configure the amount and the type of awareness to fit different cooperative settings. An example implementation is described in order to demonstrate the ideas.