Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Hubble Space Telescope Quasar Absorption Line Key Project. XIII. A Census of Absorption-Line Systems at Low Redshift

We present a catalog of absorption lines obtained from the analysis of the ultraviolet spectra of 66 quasars. The data were acquired with the Faint Object Spectrograph of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as part of the Quasar Absorption Line Survey, a Key Project for the first four cycles of HST observations. This is the third of a series of catalogs of absorption lines produced from the survey and increases the number of quasars whose higher resolution (R = 1300) spectra we have published from 17 to 83. The general properties and execution of the survey are reviewed, including descriptions of the final sample of observed objects and the algorithmic processes used to construct the catalog. This database is suitable for a wide variety of studies of gaseous systems in the nearby universe. This third catalog includes 2594 absorption lines and brings the total number of absorption lines in the combined catalog to 3238. The third catalog has 878 identified Lyα lines, 27 extensive metal line systems (detected absorption lines from four or more metal ions), 88 C IV systems, and 34 O VI systems. The combined catalog contains the following numbers of extragalactic absorption lines: 1129 Lyα lines, 107 C IV systems, 41 O VI systems, 16 Lyman limit systems, and one damped Lyα system (in the spectrum of PG 0935+416). In addition, there are 25 pairs of identified Lyα lines that are candidate C IV doublets. Of the 122 identified C IV and candidate C IV systems in the completely identified sample of absorption lines, 24 ± 5 are expected to be chance coincidences of other lines (based upon Monte Carlo simulations). The detection of a single damped Lyα system in a path length of Δz = 49 yields an observed number of damped systems per unit redshift of (dN/dz)damp(z = 0.58) = 0.020 with 95% confidence boundaries of 0.001-0.096 systems per unit redshift. We include notes on our analysis of each of the observed quasars and the absorption systems detected in each spectrum. Some especially interesting systems include low-redshift Lyα absorbers suitable for extensive follow-up observations (e.g., in the spectra of TON 28 and PG 1216+069), possibly physically associated pairs of extensive metal line absorption systems (e.g., in the spectrum of PG 0117+213), and systems known to be associated with galaxies (e.g., in the spectrum of 3C 232). The spectra of five broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (UM 425, PG 1254+047, PG 1411+442, PG 1700+518, and PG 2112+059) can be found in this third catalog, bringing the total number of BAL quasars in the combined catalog to six (including PG 0043+039).
PSO Algorithm for IPD Game

Mechanisms promoting the evolution of cooperation in two-player, two-strategy evolutionary games have been discussed in great detail over the past decades. Understanding the effects of repeated interactions in multi-player with multi-choice is a formidable challenge. This paper presents and investigates the application of co-evolutionary training techniques based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) to evolve cooperation for the iterated prisoner’s dilemma (IPD) game with multiple choices in noisy environment. Several issues will be addressed, which include the evolution of cooperation and the evolutionary stability in the presence of multiple choices and noise. First is using PSO approach to evolve cooperation. The second is the impact of noise on the evolution of cooperation is examined.
Conjoint Analysis for Evaluating Parameterized Gamut Mapping Algorithms

We show that conjoint analysis, a popular multi-attribute preference assessment technique used in market research, is a well suited tool to evaluate a multitude of gamut mapping algorithms simultaneously. Our analysis is based on data from psycho-visual tests assessed in a laboratory and in a web environment. Conjoint analysis allows us to quantify the contribution of every single parameter value to the perceived value of the algorithm; it also allows us to test the influence of additional parameters like gamut size or color shifts. We show that conjoint analysis can be individualized to images or observers if enough data is available. Especially promising in this respect is the combination of individual and population data.
Multipath effects on time reversal OFDM communications between wireless sensors

Time reversal orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (TR-OFDM) has recently been received significant concerns in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) applications for its reliable, high-speed, and green communications in multipath environments. However, most publically reported studies were typically performed in strongly multipath channels. In more general non-rich multipath environments, the TR-OFDM performance has not been fully exploited. In this paper, we make a comparative analysis of TR-OFDM communications in different multipath environments. We find that TR-OFDM communications exhibit irremovable bit error floors (BEF) in their bit-error-rate (BER) curves if no channel equalization techniques are applied to the TR-OFDM systems. The underlying reason of the bit error floor is clearly revealed for the TR-OFDM wireless systems.
Corporate social responsibility and behavioral intention: the moderator effect of contextual factors: a meta-analytic examination

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the behavioral intention (BI) of customers (e.g. repurchase/revisit intention, spread word of mouth, loyalty, willingness to pay). Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative meta-analysis of 37 articles ( Findings - Meta-analysis suggests that the positive relationship between CSR and BI is well-established and has a large effect size ( Originality/value - The originality of this paper comes from presenting a summary of the direction of research on primary relationship between CSR and BI, as no prior meta-analysis on the primary relationship has been conducted till date (to the best of the authors’ knowledge).
Identifying FrameNet Frames for Verbs from a Real-Text Corpus

Previous systems that automatically tag text with FrameNet labels have been trained from the FrameNet example data, as there is no FrameNet annotated corpus. The FrameNet data is systematically biased by the criteria for the examples’ selection, as annotators attempt to select simple sentences that include the target word. Instead of using the FrameNet examples, we train a maximum entropy model classifier to identify verb frames on text from the Penn Treebank. We use examples of verbs with only one entry in FrameNet as training data, and evaluate the system on human annotated text from the Wall Street Journal. We accurately identify the frame used by 76% of finite verbs. We also investigate how well the system performs on verbs it has not encountered before. This task examines the feasibility of using the system to automatically extend the coverage of FrameNet by classifying verbs with no FrameNet entries. The classifier accurately assigns a frame to 55% of instances of verbs it has not been trained on.
Music Information Retrieval

Huge amount of audio resources, including music data, is becoming available in various forms, both analog and digital. Notes, CDs, and digital resources of the World Wide Web are constantly growing in amount, but the value of music information depends on how easy it can be found, retrieved, accessed, filtered and managed. MIR consists in quick and efficient searching for various types of audio data of interest to the user, and filtering them in order to receive only the data items which satisfy the user’s preferences (Fingerhut, 1997), (International Organization for Standardization, 2003), (Wieczorkowska & Ras, 2003). MIR applications include retrieval of music pieces from huge audio databases, and automatic production of music score on the basis of the presented input. The MIR topics are interrelated, since similar techniques can be applied for various purposes, e.g., source separation is applied in auditory scene analysis, music transcription, and even for restoring (de-noising) of all recordings. Generally, the research within MIR domain is focused on: harmonic structure analysis, note extraction, melody and rhythm tracking, timbre and instrument recognition, classification of type of the signal (speech, music, pitched vs. non-pitched), etc. The research basically uses digital audio recordings, where sound waveform is digitally stored as a sequence of discrete samples representing the sound intensity at given time instant, and MIDI files, storing information on parameters of electronically synthesized sounds (voice, note on, note off, pitch bend etc.). Sound analysis and data mining tools are used to extract information from music files, in order to provide the data that meet user’s needs (Wieczorkowska & Ras, 2001).
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Prison Admissions Across Counties: An Evaluation of Racial/Ethnic Threat, Socioeconomic Inequality, and Political Climate Explanations

Previous macro-level studies of racial and ethnic disparities in prison admissions have focused narrowly on differences in offending and have limited their analyses to national- and state-level data. This study explores three alternative explanations for inequality in prison admissions for Blacks and Latinos compared to Whites: racial/ethnic threat, socioeconomic inequality, and the political and legal climate. I analyze data from multiple county- and state-level sources and employ hierarchical linear modeling techniques to examine the role of both county- and state-level factors in producing inequality in county-level prison admission rates. Findings indicate that Black–White disparities are lower in jurisdictions with greater shares of Black citizens; however, the reverse is true for Latino–White inequality. For both comparisons, political conservatism is associated with less inequality. Results also indicate that counties with greater parity in income and employment across race/ethnicity and that are located in the South have reduced racial/ethnic disparities in prison admissions. I argue that the presence of large shares of African Americans and of Republican voters, in addition to southern location, are likely better indicators of total prison admission rates than of racial/ethnic disparities in prison admissions.
The molten globule state is unusually deformable under mechanical force

Recently, the role of force in cellular processes has become more evident, and now with advances in force spectroscopy, the response of proteins to force can be directly studied. Such studies have found that native proteins are brittle, and thus not very deformable. Here, we examine the mechanical properties of a class of intermediates referred to as the molten globule state. Using optical trap force spectroscopy, we investigated the response to force of the native and molten globule states of apomyoglobin along different pulling axes. Unlike natively folded proteins, the molten globule state of apomyoglobin is compliant (large distance to the transition state); this large compliance means that the molten globule is more deformable and the unfolding rate is more sensitive to force (the application of force or tension will have a more dramatic effect on the unfolding rate). Our studies suggest that these are general properties of molten globules and could have important implications for mechanical processes in the cell.
An Alternative Definition of Finite-Sample Breakdown Point with Applications to Regression Model Estimators

Abstract We propose an alternative definition of the finite-sample breakdown point. This breakdown point is invariant with respect to reparameterization and compatible with the Donoho-Huber breakdown point in linear regression situations. It also overcomes certain limitations of the definition proposed by Stromberg and Ruppert and can be used in a wide range of estimation problems. We investigate the breakdown properties of some nonlinear regression estimators. These results alert us to the danger of using familiar M estimators with data sets containing outliers and to the advantages of using estimators based on Hampel's proposal, such as S estimators.
MobiCom poster: mining a world of smart sensors

Imagine driving towards a destination in a busy metropolitan area. While stopped at a traffic light, you query your PDA specifying your destination and criteria for desirable parking spaces (e.g., within two blocks o f your destination, at least a four hour meter). You get back directions to an available parking space satisfying your criteria. Hours later, you realize that your meter is about to run out. You query your PDA to discover that, historically, meter enforcers are not likely to pass by your car in the next hour. A hal f hour later, you return to your car and discover that although it has not been ticketed, it has been dented/ Querying your PDA, you get back images showing how your car was dented and by whom.
A world full of surprises: bayesian theory of surprise to quantify degrees of uncertainty

In the specific area of Software Engineering (SE) for self-adaptive systems (SASs) there is a growing research awareness about the synergy between SE and Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, just few significant results have been published so far. In this paper, we propose a novel and formal Bayesian definition of surprise as the basis for quantitative analysis to measure degrees of uncertainty and deviations of self-adaptive systems from normal behavior. A surprise measures how observed data affects the models or assumptions of the world during runtime. The key idea is that a "surprising'' event can be defined as one that causes a large divergence between the belief distributions prior to and posterior to the event occurring. In such a case the system may decide either to adapt accordingly or to flag that an abnormal situation is happening. In this paper, we discuss possible applications of Bayesian theory of surprise for the case of self-adaptive systems using Bayesian dynamic decision networks.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT WIRELESS AD HOC ROUTING PROTOCOLS

One of the major challenges in wireless ad hoc network is the design of robust routing protocols. The routing protocols are designed basically to established correct and efficient paths between source and destination. In the recent years several routing protocols have been proposed in literature and many of them studied through extensive simulation at different network characteristics. In this paper we compare the performance of three most common routing protocols of mobile ad hoc network i.e. AODV, DSR and ZRP. Performance of these three routing protocols are analysed based on given set of parameters. We compare the packet delivery ratio, average end to end delay, average jitters and energy consumption behaviours of the AODV, DSR and ZRP.
The German Definite Article and the ‘Sameness’ of Indices

Abstract The German definite article may contract with a preceding preposition under certain circumstances; the contracted form is referred to in the literature as weak, while the non-contracted form is referred to as strong. Schwarz (2009) gives an analysis of this contrast according to which the weak form is required when the referent of an NP is unique, while the strong form is required when it is also anaphoric, i.e., when it refers back to an antecedent. However, as Schwarz himself points out, anaphoric uses in which the anaphoric NP is modified by the adjective same surprisingly surface with the weak form, and not the strong. The use of the weak form with the clearly anaphoric uses of same pose a challenge to the generalization that anaphoric uses of the definite article always require the strong form. I provide an account of the strong/weak distinction in the German definite article that explains the puzzling use of the weak form in anaphora involving same by proposing the following. P-D contraction in the general case is achieved through P-D Lowering (Embick and Noyer 2001). In the strong form however, D selects for the index-hosting head idx, to which it may lower and bleed the environment for P-D contraction. However, D may optionally not lower to idx, in which case P-D contraction freely occurs while idx spells out as same. Same in this account is therefore treated as an allomorph of an otherwise non-exponed anaphora-encoding head that is usually occupied by D. This account draws support from cross-linguistic evidence from English and Hebrew that same may undergo alternations with pronominal expressions.
Semantic inference by first order logic

Higher-level fusion involves machine based assessments of situations in the world, with situations ultimately being represented by sets of propositions. To facilitate fusion, a common canonical language is required to represent these propositions within the machine and to perform appropriate inferences with them. This paper presents an implemented first order logic programming-based approach to this problem, while incorporating novel improvements relating to structure preserving formula renaming and Skolem function elimination. We prove that both of the introduced techniques are truth preserving. Experimental results show that the implementation is able to not only generate structure preserving normal clauses, but also avoids an exponential increase in number of clauses.
Characterization of Magnetoacoustic Emission Related to Structural Properties of Ferromagnets

An extensive study of magnetoacoustic emission (MAE) properties has been performed over the past several years. As a result, the dependence of the spectral characteristics of MAE on certain microstructural variations and uniaxially applied stress in a particular type of low carbon steel are now well known. The embrittlement-causing concentration of certain atomic species, e. g. , tin, sulphur, phosphorous etc., at the grain boundaries of this steel creates strong potential barriers resisting the motion of non-180 domain walls which is the source of MAE. (Since the only type of non-180 domain walls in this material are 90 domain walls, the term 90 domain wall will be used throughout this paper in place of non-180 domain wall.) An MAE burst produced during one-half cycle of a hysteresis loop at a low AC magnetic field frequency (e. g., 0.7 Hz) shows two sub-peaks; the leading peak is usually sharp and short-lived, while the trailing peak is usually smooth and long-lasting. It has been shown that the enhanced domain wall-defect interaction, due to the strengthened potential barriers, causes an increase in the asymmetry of the MAE signal by suppressing the leading sub-peak and amplifying the trailing sub-peak. This phenomena is due to the delayed motion of the 90 domain walls. The effect of a tensile stress applied parallel to the external AC magnetic field is to diminish the MAE. On the other hand, the amplitude of the MAE burst has been shown to be a non-monotonic function of the stress amplitude. Recently, our study has concentrated on obtaining quantitative values for parameters computed from the MAE spectra averaged over a sufficient number of cycles to achieve statistical stability. Nevertheless, certain fundamental elements of the MAE characteristics remain unexplained.
Magnetoencephalographic Investigation of Human Cortical Area V1 Using Color Stimuli

The aim of this study was to determine the response properties of the human visual cortex to chromatic stimuli using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Evoked responses were recorded to isoluminant red/green sinusoidal gratings for a wide range of spatial and temporal frequencies. For each condition the response was dominated by a single major component which was well modeled by an equivalent current dipole. Coregistration of MEG and MRI data provided evidence that the principal evoked cortical activity originated from visual area V1. To investigate the chromatic response properties of this area, the maximum global field power of the evoked response was plotted as a function of stimulus spatial and temporal frequency. The spatial-frequency tuning was lowpass and the temporal-frequency tuning was multimodal, with peaks at 0 and 4 Hz. The results demonstrate the use of MEG as a technique for investigating activity from discrete regions of cortex.
Facilitators: A Networked Computing Infrastructure for Distributed Software Interoperation

Facilitators1 provides an infrastructure a collection of networked task-independent system programs supporting automated interoperation between distributed heterogeneous software agents. Through a flexible communication model, the Facilitators infrastructure provides a variety of services to heterogeneous software agents based on both request/reply and publish/subscribe protocols, the communication of knowledge about agents’ capabilities and interests, and the semantic translation between different information models. The underlying communication language is based on first-order logic, which supports automated reasoning. The Facilitators infrastructure has been used in several projects requiring interoperation among distributed software applications. This paper describes the interoperation model, architecture, and operation supported by Facilitators. It then discusses the underlying communication language and illustrates automated interoperation through examples. The paper concludes with a discussion of related research and an outline of future directions.
Simple algorithms for network visualization: A tutorial

The graph drawing and information visualization communities have developed many sophisticated techniques for visualizing network data, often involving complicated algorithms that are difficult for the uninitiated to learn. This article is intended for beginners who are interested in programming their own network visualizations, or for those curious about some of the basic mechanics of graph visualization. Four easy-to-program network layout techniques are discussed, with details given for implementing each one: force-directed node-link diagrams, arc diagrams, adjacency matrices, and circular layouts. A Java applet demonstrating these layouts, with open source code, is available at http://www.michaelmcguffin. com/research/simpleNetVis/. The end of this article also briefly surveys research topics in graph visualization, pointing readers to references for further reading.
Stochastic maximum likelihood mean and cross-spectrum structure estimation: analytic and neuromagnetic Monte Carlo results.

In [1] we proposed to analyze cross-spectrum matrices obtained from electroor magneto-encephalographic (EEG/MEG) signals, to obtain estimates of the EEG/MEG sources and their coherence. In this paper we extend this method in two ways. First, by modelling such interactions as linear filters, and second, by taking the mean of the signals across different trials into account. To obtain estimates we propose a stochastic maximum likelihood (SML) method, and obtain the concentrated likelihood that includes the trial means. Keywords—equivalent current dipole, EEG, MEG, stochastic maximum likelihood, array signal processing, mean structure, covariance structures, functional connectivity, effective connectivity
A Fast Algorithm for Segmentation of Microscopic Cell Images

In this paper we introduce a fast algorithm for the segmentation of breast nuclei in the microscopic images of fine needle aspiration. The algorithm depends on the color information of the nuclei to separate them from the background. It consists of two main steps. First, apply Sobel edge detection method on the blue component of the image to separate touching nuclei. Second, the green component of the image is thresholded to separate the nuclei from the background. The algorithm correctly segmented 80% of the nuclei and it is also fast compared to previous algorithms.