Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examination of the influence of data aggregation and sampling density on spatial estimation

Spatial processes may be sampled by point sampling or by aggregate sampling. If aggregate samples are collected over a regular grid and used to represent the central point of each aggregation area, the aggregate sampling functions as a low‐pass filter and may eliminate aliasing during spatial estimation. To assess potential accuracy improvements, a numerical procedure for calculating the estimation error variance was developed. Analysis of point and block sampling techniques for kriging and inverse distance interpolation showed that for the same sampling density, block sampling provides better estimation. To achieve the same error levels, over 30%–50% more point samples were required than block samples. Furthermore, interpolation of block sampled data resulted in lower error variability and surfaces with more visual appeal.
The effect of pair work on students’ writing skill for Junior Hight School

The purpose of this research is to see how pair work affects students' descriptive text writing skills. A quantitative research design was adopted in this study. It was a quasi-experimental study using a pret-test and post-test control design. The participants in the study were junior high school students in grades VIII F and VIII G in Madiun, East Java, Indonesia. There were 26 students in grades VIII F and 26 students in grades VIII G. There are 52 students in total. Giving the students a writing test was used to collect data. The descriptive writing test was employed as the instrument. The students were categorized into two groups: the control group and the experimental group. The data was analyzed using an independent t-test in SPSS version 16. The result of this research shows that pair work attests significant difference on the means score of the students’ writing skill on descriptive text for junior high school. Based on the score of the test, the significance value of t-test for equality of means is 0,000. It is less than α =0, 05 (0,000 < 0, 05). Then, the null hypothesis (H0) is rejected and alternative hypothesis (H1) is accepted. It means that there is significant difference on the students’ writing means score in descriptive text after using pair work. Based on the findings, it can be stated that adopting pair work to improve students' descriptive text writing skills in junior high school is successful. Furthermore, pair work allows students to interact with their partners about the issue, gather knowledge, and correct their written content collaboratively. As a result, the teacher must be able to maintain control over the class in order for learning activities to perform efficiently. In the future, researchers are encouraged to do a study on pair work, particularly with eighth-grade junior high school students who are taught to a variety of text types.
Psychoacoustics as the basis for modern audio signal data compression

To almost everyone involved in music, whether they create it or listen to it, storing and transmitting music signals is of great importance. Recent progress makes it possible to store audio signals in small files and transmit them with very small transmission bandwidths, so that standardized data compression schemes, such as ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) or MP3 (Motion Picture Expert Group Layer 3 Format), are now ubiquitous. Successful development of audio storage and transmission technology has always taken into account how the final receiver of audio signals and final judge of their quality, the human auditory system, can actually appreciate them. For example, standards for frequency response and wow and flutter for analog studio tape recorders were originally designed to satisfy known limits of hearing. The use of digital signal processing to exploit newly discovered intricacies of the auditory system has increased the accuracy with which stored and transmitted audio signals can be tailor.
Variational image segmentation in presence of multiplicative gamma noise

A variational active contour model to segment images corrupted by multiplicative gamma noise is proposed. Inspired by the well-known AA model, a new energy functional is derived to attract the contour to the true boundary. Split Bregman methods are adopted to resolve the corresponding energy minimisation problem. Experimental results for synthetic and real images show that the proposed algorithm is very efficient and effective.
Simplicial and Continuation Methods for Approximating Fixed Points and Solutions to Systems of Equations

This paper presents a digest of recently developed simplicial and continuation methods for approximating fixed-points or zero-points of nonlinear finite-dimensional mappings. Underlying the methods are algorithms for following curves which are implicitly defined, as for example, in the case of homotopies. The details of several algorithms are outlined sufficiently that they should be easily implemented. Applications of simplicial and continuation methods to nonlinear complementarily, location of critical points, location of multiple solutions and bifurcation are presented.
The dependence of retrieved cirrus ice‐crystal effective dimension on assumed ice‐crystal geometry and size‐distribution function at solar wavelengths

The dependence of retrieved ice‐crystal effective dimension on assumed ice‐crystal shape and size‐distribution function is investigated at solar wavelengths (0.87, 1.6 and 3.7 µm). The dual viewing Along Track Scanning Radiometer is used to retrieve ice‐crystal effective dimension using a method of Optimal Estimation over semi‐transparent cirrus located in the tropics and mid‐latitudes. The ice‐crystal effective dimension is defined in terms of the effective diameter and it is retrieved assuming roughened hexagonal ice aggregates, pristine hexagonal ice columns, and four‐branched bullet rosettes. It is shown that if a phase function that well represents the scattering properties of cirrus is applied to each crystal type then the retrieved ice‐crystal effective diameter is only weakly dependent on ice‐crystal shape and size‐distribution function. Absolute differences between retrieved ice‐crystal effective diameter assuming hexagonal ice columns and ice aggregates combined with a representative phase function are generally well within ±5 µm. The findings of this paper have the important implication that, in climate models, simulation of cirrus cloudy radiances at solar wavelengths might be made to be independent of assumed ice‐crystal shape and size‐distribution function. © Crown copyright, 2004.
Effect of Resistance Exercise Order on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Older Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

We compared the effects of two specific resistance training (RT) exercise orders on cardiovascular risk factors. Forty-four untrained older women (>60 years) were randomly assigned to three groups: control (CON, n = 15), multi-joint to single-joint (MJ-SJ, n = 14), and single-joint to multi-joint (SJ-MJ, n = 15) exercise orders. Training groups performed a whole-body RT program (eight exercises, 3 × 10–15 repetitions for each exercise) over 12 weeks in 3 days/week. Body fat, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, VLDL-c, glucose, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, C-reactive protein, total radical-trapping antioxidant (TRAP), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), ferrous oxidation-xylenol (FOX), and nitric oxide concentrations (NOx) were determined pre- and post-intervention. Significant interaction group × time (p < 0.05) revealed reducing fat mass and trunk fat and improvements in glucose, LDL-c, IL-10, TNF-α, C-reactive protein, FOX, and AOPP concentrations in both training groups, without differences between them (p > 0.05). The results suggest that 12 weeks of RT, regardless of exercise order, elicit positive adaptations on body fat and metabolic biomarkers similarly in older women.
Theory of Low-Temperature Impact Ionization in High-Purity Germanium

An analysis of low-temperature electrical breakdown of semiconductors shows that the main theoretical problem is to find the distribution function $f(\ensuremath{\epsilon}, E)$ of the charge carriers, depending on the applied electric field $E$. In the case of high-purity $n$-type germanium (${N}_{D}+{N}_{A}l4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{13}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$), it is shown that the only important interactions are the electron-acoustical phonon ones. The distribution function has been calculated under equivalent assumptions by Stratton. It is used here in order to find the rates of creation and recombination of the charge carriers. Direct radiative recombination is found to be negligible; and the prebreakdown characteristics are mainly governed by the decrease of the thermal recombination rate. The impact ionization rate is calculated under the simplifying assumption of a cross section independent of the energy, thus introducing the only adjustable parameter. The breakdown field dependence on both temperature and compensation of the material is obtained. The results are compared with the data of Koenig and Brown. The agreement is found to be satisfactory. Conclusions to be drawn from this agreement are discussed, together with the limitations introduced by the chosen models.
A Strong Law for the Longest Edge of the Minimal Spanning Tree

Suppose X 1 , X 2 , X are independent random points in Rd, d > 2, with common density f, having connected compact support Ω with smooth boundary ∂Ω, with f|Ω continuous. Let M n denote the smallest r such that the union of balls of diameter r centered at the first n points is connected. Let θ denote the volume of the unit ball. Then as n → ∞, nθM d a /log n → max((min f) -1 , 2(1 - 1/d)(min f) -1 ), a.s.
CXXXVIII. Concentration contours in grain boundary diffusion

Abstract Formulae are obtained for the concentration in a poorly diffusing half space bisected by a thin well-diffusing slab, at different times after the edge of the half-space has been suddenly raised from zero to unit concentration. This represents a simplified model for studying ‘grain boundary’ diffusion of one metal into another. The problem also has obvious application to the study of heat flow in a poorly conducting solid with a metallic fin.
X-Ray Magnetic Form Factor of UTe

A measurement of the magnetic form factor of a ferromagnetic actinide compound of UTe with circularly polarized X-rays is reported. The present geometrical configuration of the measurement gives a form factor of L ( k )+0.3 S ( k ), where L ( k ) and S ( k ) are the form factors of the orbital and the spin magnetic moment, respectively. We have combined the X-ray magnetic form factor with the neutron one which gives L(k)+2S(k) (G. Busch e t a l .: J. Phys. C 12 (1979) 1391), and have deduced L ( k ) and S ( k ) separately. The obtained profiles of L ( k ) and S ( k ) show that the orbital and the spin magnetic moments are spatially spread out more than those calculated for a free uranium ion.
Performance report on FEROS, the new fiber-linked echelle spectrograph at the ESO 1.52-m telescope

FEROS is a new fiber-fed bench-mounted prism-cross dispersed echelle spectrograph which has been recently commissioned at the ESO 1.52-m telescope at La Silla. The opto-mechanical concept and performance predictions have been presented by Kaufer and Pasquini. In this contribution we present the test results as obtained during two commissioning runs in October and December 1998. Special emphasis is given to the measured performance sin efficiency, spectral resolution, straylight contamination, and spectral stability. The definite highlight of the FEROS instrument performance is the high peak detection quantum efficiency of 17 percent at 550nm. These measured numbers include the 20mirror telescope, the fiber link, the instrument, and the detector while the whole wavelength range is covered by a single exposure on a thinned EEV 2k by 4k 15 micron pixel CCD and a constant resolving power of R equals 48.000. In addition the FEROS instrument proved its high spectral stability by radial-velocity observations as carried out on the known radial-velocity standard star (tau) Ceti over a time base of 2 months. By recording a calibration-lamp spectrum in parallel with the object spectrum and by the use of a simple cross-correlation technique, a rms of 21 m/s has been obtained for a data set of 130 individual measurements. FEROS has ben made available to the ESO community in January 1999.
Broad emission features in QSOs and active galactic nuclei. II - New observations and theory of Fe II and H I emission

Seven QSOs of low to intermediate redshift are characterized on the basis of: 320-850-nm spectra obtained with the UVITS spectrograph and image-dissector scanner at the f/9 Cassegrain focus of the 2.7-m reflecting telescope at McDonald Observatory; improved model calculations for the Fe II, Mg II, and Balmer lines and the Balmer continuum; and the theoretical results of Netzer and Wills (1983). The data are presented in tables, spectra, and difference spectra and described in detail. Fe II is found to be the largest contributor to the emission line spectrum, with strong UV Fe II lines in all QSOs (regardless of the strength of the optical Fe II lines) and an abundance ratio suggesting a factor-of-three overabundance of Fe relative to Mg and probably H. A discrepancy between the observed Fe II strength and the predictions of dustless standard photoionization models is noted, and the addition of a high-density component to the models is suggested.
Full C-band responsivity characterization of monolithically integrated optical channel monitors for DWDM transmission systems

Characterization of DWDM photonic integrated circuits presents many challenges and trade-offs. High channel numbers significantly increase the required time to screen and qualify devices at different stages within their production. The SurePath Monitor product requires accurate calibration of the absolute responsivity of each of its 43 100GHz-spaced channels, across the C-band (1525 to 1565nm), to meet its power monitoring accuracy specification of ±0.5dB. Further specifications such as input optical power range (0 to -40dBm) require photocurrent measurement capabilities ranging from mA down to sub-nA levels, whilst the high efficiency of the integrated demultiplexer filter requires large electrical dynamic range (>65dB). Characterization stations developed to ensure high throughput and low cost without sacrificing measurement accuracy and repeatability were based upon matrix-based measurement methodologies to ensure this balance is achieved.
I-II-V half-Heusler compounds for optoelectronics: Ab initio calculations

Half-Heusler compounds $XYZ$ crystallize in the space group $F\overline{4}3m$ and can be viewed as a zinc-blende-like ${(YZ)}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ lattice partially filled with He-like ${X}^{+}$ interstitials. In this work, we investigated I-II-V (eight-electrons) half-Heusler compounds by first-principles calculations in order to find suitable semiconductors for optoelectronics such as Cd-free buffer layer materials for chalcopyrite-based thin-film solar-cell devices. We report a systematic examination of band gaps and lattice parameters, depending on the electronegativities and the ion radii of the involved elements. Half-Heusler buffer materials should have a band gap of more than 2 eV to avoid absorption losses and a lattice constant of about $5.9\text{ }\text{\AA{}}$ to match the crystal structure of the absorber material. With these criteria we selected seven half-Heusler compounds as candidates for a buffer layer material.
Optische Gitter: Die Abbildung der Realität 75 Jahre berührungslose dynamische Meßtechnik auf der Basis optischer Gitter

Noch vor dem Beginn der modernen Optik, sogar vor Erfindung der Halbleiterelektronik erblickte ein optoelektronisches Sensorprinzip das Licht der Welt, das die Detektion von Bewegungen durch die Abbildung auf ein Gitter ermoglichte. Aber erst in den 1960er Jahren fuhrte ein tieferes Verstandnis der Signaltheorie hinter dem optischenAufbauzueinerweitenVerbreitung dieser Technologie fur die beruhrungslose, schlupffreie Messung dynamischer Vorgange. Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft eines Mesprinzips, auf das sich zwei Schwesterfirmen in der Tradition der ehemaligen Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH spezialisiert haben.
Optical detection of photoacoustic waves using phase sensitive low-coherence interferometry

Detection of acoustic waves is the cornerstone of photoacoustic tomography (PAT). Detection has conventionally been performed mechanically using ultrasonic transducers, or optically by interferometric techniques. We propose an interferometric detection scheme using low coherence interferometry (LCI) and discuss the challenges, advantages and limitations of applying this technique to photoacoustics.
DNA Metabarcoding-Based Evaluation of the Diet of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Abstract - High-throughput DNA sequencing can generate large genetic datasets in a cost-effective manner. Although the diet of Eptesicus fuscus (Big Brown Bat) has been studied widely in natural and rural systems using visual identification of prey items in feces, our aim was to more completely assess diet using a metabarcoding approach across a wide urban–natural landscape gradient in the mid-Atlantic region. Concordant with our expectations and previous Big Brown Bat diet studies from visual identification, we observed a high abundance of Coleoptera (beetles) relative to other insect orders. Although a possible improvement over visual techniques for studying food habits, we suggest caution in interpreting metabarcoding results in diet studies. We noted observations of environmental or contaminant taxa within these data, and designed a stringent filtering method that we used to eliminate these taxa, but that also removed previously documented prey taxa from our dataset.
Word of Mouth Marketing: A Scientometric Analysis

This paper examines the importance, evolution, and intellectual structure of the Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) field over the past years. Firstly, this study uses a citation analysis to investigate 528 WOMM papers. Secondly, an SAP algorithm mapped the evolution of the topic. Finally, a cluster analysis was implemented to identify the WOMM knowledge structure. This research in WOMM distinguishes between three important emerging subfields, such as relationship and social media marketing, as well as the WOMM theory. Marketers are currently using electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) due to the explosive growth of social media sites.
A Statistical Relational Learning Approach Towards Products, Software Vulnerabilities and Exploits

Data on software vulnerabilities, products, and exploits are typically collected from multiple non-structured sources. Valuable information, e.g., on which products are affected by which exploits, is conveyed by matching data from those sources, i.e., through their relations. In this paper, we leverage this simple albeit unexplored observation to introduce a statistical relational learning (SRL) approach for the analysis of vulnerabilities, products, and exploits. In particular, we focus on the problem of determining the existence of an exploit for a given product, given information about the relations between products and vulnerabilities, and vulnerabilities and exploits, focusing on Industrial Control Systems (ICS), the National Vulnerability Database, and ExploitDB. Using RDN-Boost, we were able to reach an AUC ROC of 0.80 and an AUC PR of 0.65 for the problem at hand. To reach that performance, we indicate that it is instrumental to include textual features, e.g., extracted from the description of vulnerabilities, as well as structured information, e.g., about product categories. In addition, using interpretable relational regression trees, we report simple rules that shed insight on factors impacting the weaponization of ICS products.
Influence diagnostics for the structural errors-in-variables model under the Student-t distribution

The influence of observations on the parameter estimates for the simple structural errors-in-variables model with no equation error, under the Student-t distribution, is investigated using the local influence approach. The main conclusion is that the Student-t model with small degrees of freedom is able to incorporate possible outliers and influential observations in the data. The likelihood displacement approach is useful for outlier detection, especially when a masking phenomenon is present and the degrees of freedom parameter is large. The diagnostics are illustrated with two examples.
Extended period frequency domain interferometry observations at stratospheric and tropospheric heights

Frequency domain interferometry (FDI) is a method for more accurately measuring the position and thickness of various refractive index structures, as compared to the measurements under normal MST radar operation. For this paper a 7-hour data set has been collected and analyzed, forming a longer data set than previously used at stratospheric-tropospheric heights. A technique for fixing the height measurements within each range gate to be absolute rather than relative is presented. Two types of structure are present in the data, referred to as “layers” and “blobs. ” The layers have a thickness of around 50–100 m, are often aspect sensitive, last for many hours, and exhibit fine altitude variations, some oscillatory. One layer descending over the experiment appears to be positioned at the top edge of a frontal surface zone in the overall meteorological structure. The blobs are thicker regions of around 600 m, are not aspect sensitive, and are short-lived.
A “grappling hook” interaction connects self-assembly and chaperone activity of Nucleophosmin 1

Abstract How the self-assembly of partially disordered proteins generates functional compartments in the cytoplasm and particularly in the nucleus is poorly understood. Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) is an abundant nucleolar protein that forms large oligomers and undergoes liquid–liquid phase separation by binding RNA or ribosomal proteins. It provides the scaffold for ribosome assembly but also prevents protein aggregation as part of the cellular stress response. Here, we use aggregation assays and native mass spectrometry (MS) to examine the relationship between the self-assembly and chaperone activity of NPM1. We find that oligomerization of full-length NPM1 modulates its ability to retard amyloid formation in vitro. Machine learning-based structure prediction and cryo-electron microscopy reveal fuzzy interactions between the acidic disordered region and the C-terminal nucleotide-binding domain, which cross-link NPM1 pentamers into partially disordered oligomers. The addition of basic peptides results in a tighter association within the oligomers, reducing their capacity to prevent amyloid formation. Together, our findings show that NPM1 uses a “grappling hook” mechanism to form a network-like structure that traps aggregation-prone proteins. Nucleolar proteins and RNAs simultaneously modulate the association strength and chaperone activity, suggesting a mechanism by which nucleolar composition regulates the chaperone activity of NPM1.