Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Connecting Molecular Clouds to Clustered Star Formation using Interferometry

Title of dissertation: CONNECTING MOLECULAR CLOUDS TO CLUSTERED STAR FORMATION USING INTERFEROMETRY Arnab Dhabal Doctor of Philosophy, 2018 Dissertation directed by: Professor Lee Mundy Department of Astronomy Stars are commonly formed in clusters in dense regions of interstellar medium called molecular clouds. In this thesis, we improve our understanding of the physics of star formation through multiple experiments involving interferometry. We use CARMA observations of filaments in Serpens and Perseus molecular clouds to study their morphology and kinematics using dense gas tracers. The observations are compared against predictions from simulations to explain how filaments form and evolve to form stars. Ammonia inversion transitions data is obtained from VLA observations of the NGC 1333 molecular cloud. From this data, we derive temperature, structural and kinematic information about the gas participating in star formation on scales from 2 parsec to 0.01 parsec, thereby connecting the large scale gas and dust structure to individual protostellar envelopes. These observations from ground-based arrays are complemented by the development of the Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infra-red Interferometry (BETTII). This pioneering instrument performs Michelson interferometry along with Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, thereby providing sub-arcsecond angular resolution and spectroscopic capabilities at far-infrared wavelengths 30−100 μm. Using this capability, BETTII will study the dusty envelopes around protostars in clustered star forming regions. The instrument development is a component of the thesis with focus on the optics designing, evaluation and alignment for the completed and upcoming flights. We discuss how the optical system mitigates the challenges of phase control for such a balloon borne interferometer. Further, interferometric simulations of BETTII observations are carried out to investigate how well these observations can constrain the defining parameters of protostars. CONNECTING MOLECULAR CLOUDS TO CLUSTERED STAR FORMATION USING INTERFEROMETRY
Tinbergen Institute The Tinbergen Institute is the institute for economic research of the Erasmus Universiteit

This experimental study is concerned with the impact of the timing of the resolution of risk on people’s willingness to take risks, with a special focus on the role of affect. While the importance of anticipatory emotions has so far been only inferred from decisions regarding hypothetical choice problems, we had participants put their own money at risk in a real investment task. Moreover, emotions were explicitly measured, including anticipatory emotions experienced during the waiting period under delayed resolution (which involved two days). Affective traits and risk attitudes were measured through a web-based questionnaire before the experiment and participants’ preferences for resolution timing, risk, and time were incentive compatibly measured during the experiment. Main findings are that delayed resolution can affect investment, that the effect depends on the risk involved, and that (among all the measures considered) only emotions can explain our results, albeit in ways that are not captured by existing models.
Can aerosols influence deep tropical convection? Aerosol indirect effects in the Hector island thunderstorm

This article addresses the effects of cloud condensation nuclei on the evolution of an intense tropical convective system, known as Hector, using data taken from the ACTIVE and TWP‐ICE field campaigns, which were conducted in 2005 and 2006. The Hector thunderstorms were observed in a variety of aerosol conditions so the data serve as an ideal dataset to test whether aerosols have a significant impact on the evolution of convective clouds and precipitation. We find evidence for an aerosol effect on the storm's properties, which are reproduced with a state‐of‐the‐art mesoscale cloud‐resolving model. Including the measured aerosol concentration within the model is shown to improve the fractions skill‐score metric for every case presented in the article, thus giving us confidence that the deep convection observed during the period was indeed influenced by the aerosol entering the storm's inflow. However, we do not find a general relationship for the way aerosols affect properties such as cloud‐top height, precipitation or radiative properties, as has been suggested in previous work. The reasons for this appear to be because of the nonlinearity of interactions between neighbouring cells and because of the variability in the meteorological profiles of temperature, wind and humidity.
A Mathematical Model for the Evaluation of Airborne Infection Risk for Bus Passengers

—Human breath emits a lot of carbon dioxide, which contributes a lot to airborne infections. Airborne infections spread speedily, and breathing can expose us to life-threatening airborne infections. There is a risk of infection if people are traveling by bus. A mathematical model of carbon dioxide concentration measurement due to human breath is proposed in this research. The focus of this research is to determine the amount of carbon dioxide produced by bus passengers. The model's solution is approximated using an explicit finite difference technique. The model solution can be used to determine how much time passengers are willing to spend on the bus while carbon dioxide levels are kept under control. Furthermore, mathematical models were utilized to quantify the risk of air infection among bus passengers with ventilation systems, in order to reduce the risk of air infection and increase ventilation. The proposed air quality model was found to be in good agreement in that it allows us to know the balance between the number of passengers allowed to sit on the bus while managing the risk of airborne infection, carbon dioxide concentration, and ventilation system potential. A significant advantage of the ventilation will be better air quality control that balances the number of passengers permitted to ride on a bus.
Estimation of turbulent dissipation rate using 2D data in channel flows

The dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy is a key parameter in the analysis of turbulent flows and its accurate determination in experiments is of paramount importance to turbulence research. In order to calculate turbulence dissipation rate, values of all the components of fluctuating velocity gradient tensor are required. Experimental methods, in particular 2D planar Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), cannot measure velocity components in all three spatial dimensions, hence dissipation cannot be calculated completely from the data provided by such methods. This paper uses data from a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) to compare the true turbulent dissipation in a channel flow with its estimates calculated from various models available in literature. These models are shown to fail near the wall, where a substantial fraction of the turbulent kinetic energy is dissipated, significantly limiting estimates of total turbulent dissipation in the flow. This study aims to develop an improved model to estimate turbulent dissipation rate where information limited velocity field information is available especially in the near wall region.
Binary mesovortex structure associated with southwest vortex

Previous work has concluded that the southwest vortex (SWV) is a single mesoscale vortex. Applying the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Final Operational Global Analysis, the Interim European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Re‐Analysis, and the non‐hydrostatic mesoscale Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to a case study, we discovered a new type of SWV associated with another coexisting mesoscale warm and moist vortex. In the case study, meso‐β‐scale vortex‐A was generated at 1800 UTC 17 July, and dissipated around 0500 UTC 18 July 2013, with a lifespan of approximately 11 h. Vortex‐B occurred at 0600 UTC 17 July and moved out of the Sichuan Basin at 0800 UTC 18 July 2013, remaining over the basin for approximately 26 h. Stronger atmospheric upward motion and two mesoscale rainbelts associated with each of the vortices further demonstrate the binary mesoscale vortex structure related to the SWV using the WRF model. The quasi‐geostrophic balance of the two mesoscale cyclonic circulations is responsible for the generation and maintenance of the two closed mesoscale vortices.
The TAL Effector PthA4 Interacts with Nuclear Factors Involved in RNA-Dependent Processes Including a HMG Protein That Selectively Binds Poly(U) RNA

Plant pathogenic bacteria utilize an array of effector proteins to cause disease. Among them, transcriptional activator-like (TAL) effectors are unusual in the sense that they modulate transcription in the host. Although target genes and DNA specificity of TAL effectors have been elucidated, how TAL proteins control host transcription is poorly understood. Previously, we showed that the Xanthomonas citri TAL effectors, PthAs 2 and 3, preferentially targeted a citrus protein complex associated with transcription control and DNA repair. To extend our knowledge on the mode of action of PthAs, we have identified new protein targets of the PthA4 variant, required to elicit canker on citrus. Here we show that all the PthA4-interacting proteins are DNA and/or RNA-binding factors implicated in chromatin remodeling and repair, gene regulation and mRNA stabilization/modification. The majority of these proteins, including a structural maintenance of chromosomes protein (CsSMC), a translin-associated factor X (CsTRAX), a VirE2-interacting protein (CsVIP2), a high mobility group (CsHMG) and two poly(A)-binding proteins (CsPABP1 and 2), interacted with each other, suggesting that they assemble into a multiprotein complex. CsHMG was shown to bind DNA and to interact with the invariable leucine-rich repeat region of PthAs. Surprisingly, both CsHMG and PthA4 interacted with PABP1 and 2 and showed selective binding to poly(U) RNA, a property that is novel among HMGs and TAL effectors. Given that homologs of CsHMG, CsPABP1, CsPABP2, CsSMC and CsTRAX in other organisms assemble into protein complexes to regulate mRNA stability and translation, we suggest a novel role of TAL effectors in mRNA processing and translational control.
Asymptotic results for bifurcating random coefficient autoregressive processes

The purpose of this paper is to study the asymptotic behavior of the weighted least square estimators of the unknown parameters of random coefficient bifurcating autoregressive processes. Under suitable assumptions on the immigration and the inheritance, we establish the almost sure convergence of our estimators, as well as a quadratic strong law and central limit theorems. Our study mostly relies on limit theorems for vector-valued martingales.
Optimistic tree search strategies for black-box combinatorial optimization

The optimization of combinatorial black-box functions is pervasive in computer science and engineering. However, the combinatorial explosion of the search space and the lack of natural ordering pose significant challenges for the current techniques from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In this paper, we propose to introduce and analyze novel combinatorial black-box solvers that are based on the recent advances in tree search strategies and partitioning techniques. A first contribution is the analysis of an algorithm called Optimistic Lipschitz Tree Search (OLTS) which assumes the Lipschitz constant of the objective function to be known. We provide linear convergence rates for this algorithm which are shown to improve upon the logarithmic rates of the baselines under specific conditions. Then, an adaptive version of OLTS, called Optimistic Combinatorial Tree Search (OCTS), is introduced for a more realistic setup where we do not have any information on the Lipschitz constant of the function. Again, similar linear rates are shown to hold for OCTS. Finally, a numerical assessment is provided to illustrate the potential of tree searches with respect to state-of-the-art methods over typical benchmarks.
On Quasi-Isometry of Threshold-Based Sampling

The problem of isometry for threshold-based sampling such as integrate-and-fire or send-on-delta is addressed. While for uniform sampling the Parseval theorem provides isometry and makes the Euclidean metric canonical, there is no analogy for threshold-based sampling. The relaxation of the isometric postulate to quasi-isometry, however, allows the discovery of the underlying metric structure of threshold-based sampling. This paper characterizes this metric structure, making Hermann Weyl's discrepancy measure canonical for threshold-based sampling. The usefulness of the approach is demonstrated by means of a novel adaptive threshold-based sampling scheme, which, applied on electrocardiography signals, allows a substantial reduction of the number of samples while maintaining nearly the same SNR after reconstruction.
An efficient optimization method for mechanical shells considering cut‐outs

In this contribution an optimization method for shell structures is presented. This method was developed in order to perform a simultaneous optimization of the shape and position of the mid surface and a topology optimization to introduce cut‐outs. A topology optimization method for continuum structures is combined with a manufacturing constraint for deep drawable sheet metals. It is shown, how more than a million design variables can be handled efficiently using a mathematical optimization algorithm for the design update and the finite element method for the structural simulation. © 2016 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Time-Course Analysis of the Neuroanatomical Correlates of Sexual Arousal Evoked by Erotic Video Stimuli in Healthy Males

Objective To assess the dynamic activations of the key brain areas associated with the time-course of the sexual arousal evoked by visual sexual stimuli in healthy male subjects. Materials and Methods Fourteen right-handed heterosexual male volunteers participated in this study. Alternatively combined rest period and erotic video visual stimulation were used according to the standard block design. In order to illustrate and quantify the spatiotemporal activation patterns of the key brain regions, the activation period was divided into three different stages as the EARLY, MID and LATE stages. Results For the group result (p < 0.05), when comparing the MID stage with the EARLY stage, a significant increase of the brain activation was observed in the areas that included the inferior frontal gyrus, the supplementary motor area, the hippocampus, the head of the caudate nucleus, the midbrain, the superior occipital gyrus and the fusiform gyrus. At the same time, when comparing the EARLY stage with the MID stage, the putamen, the globus pallidus, the pons, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the lingual gyrus and the cuneus yielded significantly increased activations. When comparing the LATE stage with the MID stage, all the above mentioned brain regions showed elevated activations except the hippocampus. Conclusion Our results illustrate the spatiotemporal activation patterns of the key brain regions across the three stages of visual sexual arousal.
On Chern-Simons invariants of geometric 3-manifolds.

We consider 3-dimensional cone-manifolds, which admit complete Riemannian metric of constant curvature. 3-dimensional cone-manifolds with singular knots and links are investigated actively in recent years (see e.g. [1] [10]). Very important geometric invariants of nonsingular manifolds are the volume V ol and the ChernSimons invariant CS of manifolds. By the Mostow Rigidity Theorem [11] the V ol as well as CS is a topological invariant. It occurs that these invariants are extended on cone-manifolds. This generalization was reached by e orts of Kojima, MontesinosAmilibia, Mednykh and others. The CS-invariants of 2-bridge knots cone-manifolds were found by Hilden, Lozano and Montesinos-Amilibia [2] (they presented formulas with implicit function as integrand). Explicit integrand formulas for the volumes of Whitehead link conemanifolds were obtained by Mednykh and Vesnin [10]. In the present talk we investigate the Chern-Simons invariant of a Whitehead link cone-manifold W (α, β) with cone angles α and β along the link components ( gure 1).
The Rise and Fall of Small Worlds: Exploring the Dynamics of Social Structure

This paper explores the interplay between social structure and economic action by examining some of the evolutionary dynamics of an emergent network that coalesces into a small-world system. The study highlights the small-world system’s evolutionary dynamics at both the macro level of the network and the micro level of an individual actor. This dual analytical lens helps establish that, in competitive and information-intensive settings, a small-world system could be a highly dynamic structure that follows an inverted U-shaped evolutionary pattern, wherein an increase in the smallworldliness of the system is followed by its later decline due to three factors: (1) the recursive relationship between the evolving social structure and individual actors’ formation of bridging ties, which eventually homogenizes the information space and decreases actors’ propensity to form bridging ties, creating a globally separated network; (2) self-containment of the small-world network, or increasing homogenization of the social system, which makes the small world less accepting of and less attractive to new actors, thereby limiting formation of bridging ties to outside clusters; and (3) fragmentation of the small-world network, or the small-world system’s inability to retain current clusters. The study uses data on interorganizational tie formation in the global computer industry in the period from 1996 to 2005 to test the hypothesized relationships.
Finite Temperature Field Theory

This text discusses all three formalisms used in the study of finite temperature field theory, namely the imaginary time formalism, the closed time formalism and thermofield dynamics. Applications of the formalisms are worked out in detail. Gauge field theories and symmetry restoration at finite temperature are among the practical examples discussed in depth. The question of gauge dependence of the effective potential and the Nielsen identities are explained. The nonrestoration of some symmetries at high temperature (such as supersymmetry) and theories on nonsimply connected space-times are also described thoroughly. Other topics include (1+1)- and (2+1)-dimensional field theories at finite temperature and phase transitions, derivative expansion, linear response theory and the question of infrared divergences at finite temperature. In addition, examples of nonequilibrium phenomena are discussed with the disoriented chiral condensates as an illustration. This book should be a useful tool for graduate students, teachers, and researchers in theoretical physics.
Probabilistic Assessment of Rocking Response for Simply-Supported Rigid Blocks

Abstract: A probabilistic assessment of the rocking and overturning response of a simplysupported rigid block on a horizontal plane is reported. A two-dimensional rectangular block resting on a rough, horizontal, tensionless and cohesionless rigid base at ground surface is considered, subjected to far field horizontal earthquake excitations. The roughness of the interface is assumed to be sufficiently large to prevent sliding, while the flexibility of the block is neglected. Rocking response curves are calculated for increasing ground motion intensity (or, equivalently, decreasing uplift strength) via Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA), and results are summarised in the form of 16%, 50% and 84% fractile IDA curves. By employing non-linear regression analysis, simple expressions are developed for each fractile of peak response to offer a complete probabilistic characterisation of rocking behaviour. Generalised overturning criteria are proposed covering a wide set of excitations and block parameters.
Some Stylized Facts About the Euro Area Business Cycle

This paper presents stylised facts about the business cycle of the euro area. The results suggest that the stylised facts for the euro area economy and the US are very similar. The magnitude of the fluctuations in consumption, investment, prices, inflation, interest rate, monetary aggregates relative to the fluctuations of GDP are very similar in the two monetary unions. There is also high synchronicity of the national cycles and the euro area aggregate cycle. This synchronicity is observed for the main GDP components as well as for interest rates and it is particularly high for the largest countries of the euro area and for countries of the core ERM. These results are not sensitive to a different aggregation method chosen to build euro area aggregates. However, we do find differences between the euro area and the member countries when looking at what variables are predicting inflation or GDP JEL Classification: E42, E50
Very small planar broadband monopole antenna with hybrid trapezoidal–elliptical radiator

A compact and broadband printed monopole antenna (PMA) with a hybrid trapezoidal–elliptical radiator is proposed. An overlap region between the trapezoidal and elliptical patches is introduced to enhance the impedance bandwidth. Meanwhile, by etching two symmetrical quarter-elliptical slots on the ground plane and optimising the ellipticity ratio, further improvement in the impedance bandwidth is achieved. Measured results show that the antenna can cover the frequency range of 2.4–18.6 GHz (|S 11| < −10 dB) while its total size is only 25 × 25 × 1.2 mm3. In addition, omnidirectional radiation patterns, desirable gain, high radiation efficiency and nearly constant group delay are obtained. Compared with recent PMAs, the proposed antenna has a smaller size and wider bandwidth, simultaneously.
Anomalous Taxi Trajectory Detection using Popular Routes in Different Traffic Periods

—Anomalous trajectory detection is an important approach to detecting taxi fraud behaviors in urban traffic systems. The existing methods usually ignore the integration of the trajectory access location with the time and trajectory structure, which incorrectly detects normal trajectories that bypass the congested road as anomalies and ignores circuitous travel of trajectories. Therefore, this study proposes an anomalous trajectory detection algorithm using the popular routes in different traffic periods to solve this problem. First, to obtain popular routes in different time periods, this study divides the time according to the time distribution of the traffic trajectories. Second, the spatiotemporal frequency values of the nodes are obtained by combining the trajectory point moments and time span to exclude the interference of the temporal anomaly trajectory on the frequency. Finally, a gridded distance measurement method is designed to quantitatively measure the anomaly between the trajectory and the popular routes by combining the trajectory position and trajectory structure. Extensive experiments are conducted on real taxi trajectory datasets; the results show that the proposed method can effectively detect anomalous trajectories. Compared to the baseline algorithms, the proposed algorithm has a shorter running time and a significant improvement in F-Score , with the highest improvement rate of 7.9%, 5.6%, and 10.7%, respectively.