Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wet Snow Diurnal Evolution and Stability Assessment

Wet snow avalanches pose a threat to snow recreationists and to infrastructure such as mountain roads. The timing of wet snow avalanche formation is difficult to predict. The loss of strength is more important than stress imposed by additional loads. Processes leading to weakening, such as water infiltration can be gradual or sudden. Therefore, the time scale of observations is essential. A questionnaire among 40 international avalanche professionals aimed at determining common practice in assessing wet snow stability during first and repeated wetting events. It turns out that only few respondents use different stability tests for dry and wet snow. 14 respondents consider tests in wet snow useful. In view of the responses, we sampled 35 locations during first and repeated wetting cycles in the Swiss Alps. We compare the results of one rutschblock test (RB), four extended column tests (ECT) and two shovel shear tests from the morning and the afternoon. Additionally, vertical liquid water content profiles and snow profiles are analyzed. Moist and very soft persistent weak layers most often produce unstable test results, where the failure character is a collapse. Observed ponding horizons did not produce failures in the tests. As in dry snow, the RB is comparable to the ECT in wet and moist snow. The influence of surface melt-freeze crust is investigated by comparing ECT fracture propagation with a modified version of the ECT, where the surface melt-freeze crust is removed. A procedure to assess deep, wet snow instabilities is suggested.
Boynton-Delray Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Program

This report discusses a sequence of six cruises in the vicinity of the Boynton-Delray (South Central) treated-wastewater plant outfall plume (26°27'43"N, 80°2'32"W), the Boynton Inlet (26°32'43"N, 80°2'30"W), and the Lake Worth Lagoon, Palm Beach County, Florida. The sampling cruises took place on June 5-6, 2007; August 28-29, 2007; October 18-19, 2007; February 14 and 18, 2008; May 19-20, 2008; and July 11-13, 2008. Water was sampled at 18 locations at the surface, middle, and near the seafloor (where there was sufficient depth) for a total of 45 samples; these samples were analyzed for a variety of nutrients and related parameters. The water sampling unit contained a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) instrument from which data were obtained at each sampling site. Synchronal ocean current data were measured by a nearby acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) instrument. The inlet measurements were consistently lower in salinity and more acidic (lower in pH) than the coastal ocean and were warmer during the May and, especially, during the February cruises. For most analytes, viz., nitrite+nitrate (N+N), total suspended solids (TSS), chlorophyll-a, silica (Si), and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), the lagoon concentrations were significantly higher than the coastal ocean; the inlet concentrations appeared to be consistent with lagoon water with partial mixing with the coastal ocean, as expected. Estimates of the nutrient flux to the coastal ocean were computed: approximately 1,500 kg of dissolved nitrogen (N), 2,350 kg of silicate (Si), 33 kg of orthophosphate (P), and 59 kg of ammonium (NH4) per day were delivered to the coastal ocean through the inlet. The coastal ocean appeared to be significantly impacted by the Boynton Inlet and less so from the inlet. A suggestion of a source to the south was seen in some analytes. Measurements from the Gulf Stream Reef area were the lowest in the study, and may provide “background” concentrations for this The outfall boil at South Central outfall (the smallest in volume of the six outfalls in southeast Florida) is only visible under ideal conditions. In the six cruises described in this document, the outfall boil could be found in only one cruise (August 28-29, 2007). Elevated concentrations of nutrients (N+N, P, Si, and P) at the outfall vicinity were measured, and these concentrations decreased rapidly away from the outfall for most analytes, to become undistinguished from the background within 3 km or less. Not finding the boil, however, in five of six cruises meant that the waters with the highest concentrations were probably missed. When the boil was sampled in August 2007, N+N, P, and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) concentrations at the boil were roughly the same as from the inlet. For other analytes (chlorophyll-a, TSS, Si, and dissolved organic carbon [DOC]), the concentrations at or near the outfall were significantly less than those from the lagoon and inlet on most of the cruises.
Predicate Calculus for Boolean Valued Functions . Part XI Shunichi Kobayashi

The terminology and notation used in this paper have been introduced in the following articles: [1], [2], [3], [4], and [5]. For simplicity, we adopt the following rules: Y is a non empty set, a is an element of BVF(Y ), G is a subset of PARTITIONS(Y ), and A, B, C are partitions of Y . One can prove the following propositions: (1) If G is a coordinate and G = {A, B,C} and A 6= B and B 6= C and C 6= A, then ∃¬∃a,AG,BG ⋐ ∃∃¬a,BG,AG. (2) If G is a coordinate and G = {A, B,C} and A 6= B and B 6= C and C 6= A, then ∀¬∃a,AG,BG ⋐ ∃∃¬a,BG,AG. (3) If G is a coordinate and G = {A, B,C} and A 6= B and B 6= C and C 6= A, then ∃¬∃a,AG,BG ⋐ ∀∃¬a,BG,AG. (4) If G is a coordinate and G = {A, B,C} and A 6= B and B 6= C and C 6= A, then ∀¬∃a,AG,BG ⋐ ∀∃¬a,BG,AG. (5) If G is a coordinate and G = {A, B,C} and A 6= B and B 6= C and C 6= A, then ∀¬∃a,AG,BG ⋐ ∃∀¬a,BG,AG. (6) If G is a coordinate and G = {A, B,C} and A 6= B and B 6= C and C 6= A, then ∀¬∃a,AG,BG ⋐ ∀∀¬a,BG,AG.
UCLA, CREST—INSEE and NBER

In this paper, we expand on the seminal work of Altonji and Shakotko (1987) and Topel (1991) and reinvestigate the returns to seniority in the U.S. We begin with the same wage equation as in previous studies. We extend the model of Hyslop (1999) and explicitly model the participation/employment and interfirm mobility decisions, which, in turn, define the individual’s experience and seniority. We introduce into the wage equation a summary of the workers’ entire career path. The three-equation system is estimated simultaneously using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). We find that for each of the three education groups studied the returns to seniority are larger than those previously found in the literature. †We would like to thank Matthew Baird, Claudia Buchinsky, Gary Chamberlain, Andrew Foster, Oded Galor, Hank Farber, Richard Freeman, Jinyong Hahn, Mark Machina, Magali Ponçon-Beffy, Jean-Marc Robin, John Rust, Bernard Salanié, Duncan Thomas and Robert Topel for their comments and discussions. We also thank the editor as well as the three referees whose comments and suggestions considerably improved the paper. The participants of seminars and conferences in Amsterdam, Brown, Crest (Malinvaud seminar), ESEM 2001 in Lausanne, Harvard, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Prague, Tel-Aviv, Toulouse, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin and Yale, provided very helpful comments. Remaining errors are ours. ‡Corresponding author, Department of Economics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477. Email: buchinsky@econ.ucla. edu.
Natural Language-Assisted Sign Language Recognition

Bidirectional Lateral Connections. We apply bidirectional lateral connections [1] to the first four S3D blocks for video-video, keypoint-keypoint, and video-keypoint information exchange. For video-keypoint connections (dashed lines in Figure 4 in the main paper), since the input spatial resolutions of the video and keypoint encoder are 224×224 and 112 × 112, respectively, we use 2D convolution (Figure 6a) and transposed convolution layers (Figure 6b) with a stride of 2 and a kernel size of 3×3 to match the spatial resolutions. For video-video and keypoint-keypoint connections (dotted dashed lines in Figure 4 in the main paper), due to the input length difference, we use 1D convolution (Figure 6c) and transposed convolution layers (Figure 6d) with a stride of 2 and a kernel size of 3 to match the temporal resolutions. Figure 6 shows the bidirectional lateral connections. Keypoint Illustration. We show the keypoints used in our VKNet in Figure 7. The keypoints are estimated by HRNet [9] trained on COCO-WholeBody [3]. We use a subset of keypoints including 11 upper body keypoints, 10 mouth keypoints, and 42 hand keypoints.
A Multistakeholder Approach Towards Evaluating AI Transparency Mechanisms

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Content-Based Image Retrieval at the End of the Early Years

Presents a review of 200 references in content-based image retrieval. The paper starts with discussing the working conditions of content-based retrieval: patterns of use, types of pictures, the role of semantics, and the sensory gap. Subsequent sections discuss computational steps for image retrieval systems. Step one of the review is image processing for retrieval sorted by color, texture, and local geometry. Features for retrieval are discussed next, sorted by: accumulative and global features, salient points, object and shape features, signs, and structural combinations thereof. Similarity of pictures and objects in pictures is reviewed for each of the feature types, in close connection to the types and means of feedback the user of the systems is capable of giving by interaction. We briefly discuss aspects of system engineering: databases, system architecture, and evaluation. In the concluding section, we present our view on: the driving force of the field, the heritage from computer vision, the influence on computer vision, the role of similarity and of interaction, the need for databases, the problem of evaluation, and the role of the semantic gap.
Estimation and Inference in Large Heterogeneous Panels with a Multifactor Error Structure

This paper presents a new approach to estimation and inference in panel data models with a general multifactor error structure. The unobserved factors and the individual-specific errors are allowed to follow arbitrary stationary processes, and the number of unobserved factors need not be estimated. The basic idea is to filter the individual-specific regressors by means of cross-section averages such that asymptotically as the cross-section dimension (N) tends to infinity, the differential effects of unobserved common factors are eliminated. The estimation procedure has the advantage that it can be computed by least squares applied to auxiliary regressions where the observed regressors are augmented with cross-sectional averages of the dependent variable and the individual-specific regressors. A number of estimators (referred to as common correlated effects (CCE) estimators) are proposed and their asymptotic distributions are derived. The small sample properties of mean group and pooled CCE estimators are investigated by Monte Carlo experiments, showing that the CCE estimators have satisfactory small sample properties even under a substantial degree of heterogeneity and dynamics, and for relatively small values of N and T. Copyright The Econometric Society 2006.
Tumor Necrosis Factor (cid:1) and Glucocorticoid Synergistically Increase Leptin Production in Human Adipose Tissue: Role for p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase

Context: TNF increases plasma leptin in humans in vivo , but pre- vious studies showed it decreases leptin in vitro . Objective and Participants: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of TNF on leptin release from human adipose tissue (AT) from healthy subjects undergoing elective surgery or nee- dle aspirations of AT at a university hospital. Design: Human omental and abdominal sc AT fragments from non- obese and obese subjects were placed in organ culture without or with TNF added in the presence or absence of insulin and/or dexametha- sone (dex; a synthetic glucocorticoid) for up to 2 d. Results: In the absence of hormones, culture with TNF decreased leptin release. In contrast, when added in the presence of dex, TNF increased secreted leptin and leptin mRNA abundance in AT from nonobese and obese subjects. The TNF (cid:1) dex-stimulated increase in leptin was associated with an increase in p38 MAPK activity and was totally blocked by p38 MAPK inhibitors. In contrast, inhibition of p38 MAPK only partially blocked the effect of TNF on IL-6 production. Culture of obese AT with either p38 or p44/42 MAPK inhibitors also blunted the spontaneous increase in media leptin that occurred from d 1–2 of culture in omental AT of obese subjects. Conclusion: Synergistic effects of increased local or systemic TNF in combination with glucocorticoids may contribute to increased leptin expression in response to stress, including infection and obesity. ( J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91: 1484–1490, 2006)
Tumor Necrosis Factor- (cid:1) Mediates Osteopenia Caused by Depletion of Antioxidants

Werecentlyfoundthatestrogendeficiencyleadstoaloweringofthiolantioxidantdefensesinrodentbone.Moreover,ad-ministrationofagentsthatincreasetheconcentrationinboneofglutathione,themainintracellularantioxidant,preventedestrogen-deficiencyboneloss,whereasdepletionofglutathi-onebybuthioninesulfoximine(BSO)administrationpro-vokedsubstantialboneloss.Ithasbeenshownthattheestrogen-deficiencybonelossisdependentonTNF signal- ing. Therefore, a model in which estrogen deficiency causes bone loss by lowering antioxidant defenses predicts that the osteopenia caused by lowering antioxidant defenses should similarly depend on TNF (cid:1) signaling. We found that the loss of bone caused by either BSO administration or ovariectomy was inhibited by administration of soluble TNF (cid:1) receptors and abrogated in mice deleted for TNF (cid:1) gene expression. In both circumstances, lack of TNF (cid:1) signaling prevented the increase in bone resorption and the deficit in bone formation that otherwise occurred. Thus, depletion of thiol antioxidants by BSO, like ovariectomy, causes bone loss through TNF (cid:1) signaling. Furthermore, in ovariectomized mice treated with soluble TNF (cid:1) receptors, thiol antioxidant defenses in bone remained low, despite inhibition of bone loss. This suggests that the low levels of antioxidants in bone seen after ovariectomy are the cause, rather than the effect, of the increased resorption. These experiments are consistent with a model for estrogen-deficiency bone loss in which estrogen deficiency lowers thiol antioxidant defenses in bone cells, thereby in-creasing
What will the cardiovascular disease slowdown cost? Modelling the impact of CVD trends on dementia, disability, and economic costs in England and Wales from 2020–2029

Background There is uncertainty around the health impact and economic costs of the recent slowing of the historical decline in cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and the future impact on dementia and disability. Methods Previously validated IMPACT Better Ageing Markov model for England and Wales, integrating English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) data for 17,906 ELSA participants followed from 1998 to 2012, linked to NHS Hospital Episode Statistics. Counterfactual design comparing two scenarios: Scenario 1. CVD Plateau—age-specific CVD incidence remains at 2011 levels, thus continuing recent trends. Scenario 2. CVD Fall—age-specific CVD incidence goes on declining, following longer-term trends. The main outcome measures were age-related healthcare costs, social care costs, opportunity costs of informal care, and quality adjusted life years (valued at £60,000 per QALY). Findings The total 10 year cumulative incremental net monetary cost associated with a persistent plateauing of CVD would be approximately £54 billion (95% uncertainty interval £14.3-£96.2 billion), made up of some £13 billion (£8.8-£16.7 billion) healthcare costs, £1.5 billion (-£0.9-£4.0 billion) social care costs, £8 billion (£3.4-£12.8 billion) informal care and £32 billion (£0.3-£67.6 billion) value of lost QALYs. Interpretation After previous, dramatic falls, CVD incidence has recently plateaued. That slowdown could substantially increase health and social care costs over the next ten years. Healthcare costs are likely to increase more than social care costs in absolute terms, but social care costs will increase more in relative terms. Given the links between COVID-19 and cardiovascular health, effective cardiovascular prevention policies need to be revitalised urgently.
USING FRS TO PROVIDE ADVICE TO GROWERS ON THE OPTIMUM CANE AGE AT HARVEST IN THE MIDLANDS SOUTH AREA

With the threat of eldana stem borer levels increasing in the midlands south area, and because older cane is more susceptible to eldana damage, there is a need to reduce the maximum age at which cane should be harvested, or to establish the maximum area of the farm that should be har­ vestedin this area in anyone seasonwhile providinga mill­ ablecrop.The monthlycuttingcycles requiredfor harvesting varying percentages of the farm each season are presented. Yield data from the Industrial Field Record System (FRS) from 1980 to 1986 are used to establish the relationship between yield and rainfall for each monthly cutting cycle. Rainfall data from the Powerscourt and Beaumont me­ teorological stationsare used to calculate the maximum area that should be harvested in this area in one season. The suitability of FRS data to establishgeneral guidelines is also discussed.
Strategic Mass Killings

Most of the episodes of large-scale mass killings of civilians and massive forced displacements after World War II were meticulously planned and independent of military goals. We provide a model of conict and mass killing decisions, to identify the key variables and situations that make mass killings more likely to occur. We predict that mass killings are most likely in countries with large amounts of natural resources, institutional constraints regarding rent sharing, and low productivity of labor. The role of resources like oil, gas and diamonds and other key determinants of mass killings is con rmed by our empirical results. JEL codes: C73, D74, F51, O12, Q34. Keywords: Mass Killings, Civil War, Natural Resources, Rent Sharing. We wish to thank Carmen Bevia, Alex Debbs, Oeindrila Dube, Jon Eguia, Macartan Humphreys, Johannes Horner, Navin Kartik, Kalle Moene, Carlo Prato, Debraj Ray, Ken Sheeve, Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl, Mathias Thoenig, Nils Weidmann, Alexander Wolitzky, Pierre Yared, Fabrizio Zilibotti, three anonymous referees and especially Canice Prendergast and Tomas Sjostrom for very useful comments. We would also like to thank workshop and seminar participants at EUI, Columbia, NYU, Yale, Princeton (twice), Oslo, IMT, Dehli, Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich and Lausanne for stimulating questions, and David Schönholzer, Borek Vasicek, and Peter Van der Windt for excellent research assistance. The usual disclaimer applies. We thank CEPR for sponsoring a conict theory workshop in Gerzensee in July 2009, where the project was conceived. yInstitut dAnalisis Economica, CSIC, Barcelona. Email: joan.esteban@iae.csic. es. Joan Esteban is a member of the Barcelona GSE Research Network funded by the Government of Catalonia. He gratefully acknowledges nancial support from the AXA Research Fund and from the Spanish Government CICYT project n. SEJ2006-00369. zColumbia University, Department of Political Science and Department of Economics. Email: mm3331@columbia.edu. xUniversity of Zurich. Email: dominic.rohner@econ.uzh. ch. Financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF grant no. 100014-122636) is gratefully acknowledged.
Grupo de Economía Europea European Economy Group

This paper examines the duration of fiscal consolidations among the fifteen EU Members States using data from the European Commission for the period 1960-2000. Using the duration model approach, we estimate the hazard and survivor functions of our series. Then we discuss what is the duration model that best fits our data, and which are the explanatory variables that best exp lain the probability of ending a fiscal consolidation period. We also deal with those aspects related to sample heterogeneity and the sensitivity of the results to different possible definitions of fiscal adjustment. We find evidence that the probability of ending a period of fiscal consolidation depends on the debt level, the magnitude of the adjustment, the extent of expenditure cuts, and the degree of cabinet fragmentation. We also find that under a stricter definition of fiscal consolidation, political variables, such as coalition size and election year, gain importance with respect to economic variables as predictors of the probability of ending a fiscal consolidation period.
Electricity Bill Savings from Residential Photovoltaic Systems: Sensitivities to Changes in Future Electricity Market Conditions

LBNL E RNEST O RLANDO L AWRENCE B ERKELEY N ATIONAL L ABORATORY Electricity Bill Savings from Residential Photovoltaic Systems: Sensitivities to Changes in Future Electricity Market Conditions Naim Darghouth , Galen Barbose, Ryan Wiser Environmental Energy Technologies Division January 2013 Downloaded from: http://emp.lbl. gov/publications This work was supported by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Solar Energy Technologies Program) and the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (National Electricity Delivery Division) of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.
Developing Innovative Wall Systems that Improve Hygrothermal Performance of Residential Buildings

This document serves as the Topical Report documenting work completed by Washington State University (WSU) under U.S. Department of Energy Grant, Developing Innovative Wall Systems that Improve Hygrothermal Performance of Residential Buildings. This project was conducted in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and includes the participation of several industry partners including Weyerhaeuser, APA - The Engineered Wood Association, CertainTeed Corporation and Fortifiber. This document summarizes work completed by Washington State University August 2002 through June 2006. WSU's primary experimental role is the design and implementation of a field testing protocol that monitored long term changes in the hygrothermal response of wall systems. During the project period WSU constructed a test facility, developed a matrix of test wall designs, constructed and installed test walls in the test facility, installed instrumentation in the test walls and recorded data from the test wall specimens. Each year reports were published documenting the hygrothermal response of the test wall systems. Public presentation of the results was, and will continue to be, made available to the building industry at large by industry partners and the University.
FEATURE SELECTION USING AN EFFECTIVE DIMENSIONALITY REDUCTION TECHNIQUE

processing applications with a large number of dimensions has been a challenge to the KDD (Knowledge Discovery and Data mining) community. An effective dimensionality reduction technique is an essential pre-processing method to remove noisy features. The proposed combined method for feature selection, where a filter based on correlation is applied on whole features set to find the relevant ones, and then, on these features a wrapper is applied in order to find the best features subset for a specified predictor. Keywords— Feature subset selection; feature clustering; filters; wrappers