Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selected Reports: Fall 1997 Software Systems Course

This technical report contains seven final project reports contributed by sixteen participants in CMU’s Fall97 Systems Software introductory graduate course offered by professor Garth Gibson. This course studies the design and analysis of operating systems and distributed systems through a series of background lectures, paper readings, guest lectures and group projects. Projects were done in groups of two or three, required some kind of implementation and evaluation pertaining to the classroom material, but with the topic of these projects left up to each group. Final reports were held to the standard of a systems conference paper submission; a standard well met by the majority of the completed projects, albeit with less thoroughness in the related work category than is expected in most conferences. The reports that follow cover a broad range of topics. Specifically, these reports describe implementations and experimentation with: secure file systems when servers and administrators are untrusted; proportional share allocation for processor scheduling and its interaction with kernel realities such as locks; eventually serializable replicated databases with constant-order dependency checking; compressed file data structures optimized to specific access patterns; atomic, shared object semantics for distributed computing in JAVA; transaction semantics for federated agent databases; and user-level file service offering enhanced memory caching for remote files. All reports include implementations and experimentation. Two involve operating system kernel changes, four use a middleware/library approach and one implements a client/server system. Three involve Linux specific modifications, one is specific to FreeBSD, one extends JAVA programming, and one exploits MPI communications. Evaluations include microbenchmark measurements, formal correctness evaluation, synthetic benchmarks, and more than a couple specifically developed application codes.
New appraisal of radium 226 as a large‐scale oceanic mixing tracer

Radium 226 and Ba data in the eastern and central Indian Ocean collected during the Geochemical Ocean Sections Study (GEOSECS) expeditions are reviewed and used to delineate the geochemical cycle of both species. The data show that although particulate uptake of 226Ra and Ba occurs in the surface ocean, their regeneration may largely take place near or below the sediment-water interface. Therefore, over much of the deep ocean save close to the bottom, 226Ra can be regarded as being chemically conservative. Taking advantage of this geochemical aspect of 226Ra enables us to compute the vertical (z) and horizontal (meridional, x) eddy diffusivities (Kz and Kx) and advective velocities (Vz and Vx) and their variability in the eastern and central parts of the Indian Ocean. The absolute magnitudes of these mixing parameters are calibrated against the decay rate of 226Ra. The computation is done by numerically solving the mass continuity equations for three properties: 226Ra, total salt, and mass of seawater. The grid size used in the calculations, in which the advective transport is taken to be along the isopycnal surface, has dimensions of Δx ≈ 700 km and Δz ≈ 400 m. The model calculation shows that in the eastern and central Indian Ocean along the GEOSECS traverses, values of diapycnal diffusivity (Kz) of 1–10 cm2 s−1 are found near the surface and the bottom. Minima occur in the thermocline region where Kz falls to about 10−2 cm2 s−1. Below, Kz has values largely in the range 0.1–1 cm2 s−1 and increases downward. The horizontal (isopycnal) diffusivity varies between 104 and 108 cm2 s−1, mainly in the range 106–107 cm2 s−1. Upwelling velocities are mostly in the lower end of the range 1–10 m yr−2, whereas downwelling, unlike upwelling which tends to be localized, occurs with velocities of 0.1–1 m yr−2. The meridional component of subsurface currents is in the range of 0.01–0.1 cm s−1, mostly toward the south, and not restricted to a particular depth interval. The current field deduced in the study area provides a broad picture of the strength and pattern of return flows of the deep water introduced from the south and thought to be principally transported northward via the relatively narrow, intense currents along the western boundaries of the basins. The present study as well as recent developments in the high-precision and high-sensitivity mass spectrometric analysis of 226Ra suggests that this naturally occurring isotope warrants further exploitation as a rate tracer for large-scale ocean circulation and mixing processes.
Management of hip disorders in patients with cerebral palsy.

Hip disorders are common in patients with cerebral palsy and cover a wide clinical spectrum, from the hip at risk to subluxation, dislocation, and dislocation with degeneration and pain. Although the hip is normal at birth, a combination of muscle imbalance and bony deformity leads to progressive dysplasia. The spasticity or contracture usually involves the adductor and iliopsoas muscles; thus, the majority of hips subluxate in a posterosuperior direction. Many patients with untreated dislocations develop pain by early adulthood. Because physical examination alone is unreliable, an anteroposterior radiograph of the pelvis is required for diagnosis. Soft-tissue lengthening is recommended for children as soon as discernable hip subluxation (hip abduction <30 degrees, migration index >25%) is recognized. One-stage comprehensive hip reconstruction is effective treatment for children 4 years of age or older who have a migration index >60% but who have not yet developed advanced degenerative changes of the femoral head. Salvage options for the skeletally mature patient with a neglected hip are limited.
The Myth of Mars and Venus

1. Myths, and why they matter 2. A time and a place: putting myths in their cultural context 3. Partial truths: why difference is not the whole story 4. A world of difference? Mars and Venus in childhood and adolescence 5. Cross purposes: the myth of male-female misunderstanding 6. Back to nature: brains, genes, and evolution 7. Public speaking: Mars and Venus in politics and the workplace 8. Doing what comes culturally: identity and style 9. Beyond Mars and Venus Notes Index
Domain Adaptation of Deformable Part-based Models

La deteccio de vianants es crucial per als sistemes d'assistencia a la conduccio (ADAS). Disposar d'un classificador precis es fonamental per a un detector de vianants basat en visio. Al entrenar un classificador, s'assumeix que les caracteristiques de les dades d'entrenament segueixen la mateixa distribucio de probabilitat que la de les dades de prova. Tot i aixo, a la practica, aquesta assumpcio pot no complir-se per diferents causes. En aquests casos, en la comunitat de visio per computador es cada cop mes comu utilitzar tecniques que permeten adaptar els classificadors existents del seu entorn d'entrenament (domini d'origen) al nou entorn de prova (domini de desti). En aquesta tesi ens centrem en l'adaptacio de domini dels detectors de vianants basats en models deformables basats en parts (DPMs). Com a prova de concepte, utilitzem dades sintetiques com a domini d'origen (mon virtual) i adaptem el detector DPM entrenat en el mon virtual per a funcionar en diferents escenaris reals. Comencem explotant al maxim les capacitats de deteccio del DPM entrenant en dades del mon virtual, pero, tot i aixo, al aplicar-lo a diferents conjunts del mon real, el detector encara perd poder de discriminacio degut a les diferencies entre el mon virtual i el real. Es per aixo, que ens centrem en l'adaptacio de domini del DPM. Per comencar, considerem un unic domini d'origen per a adaptar-lo a un unic domini de desti mitjancant dos metodes d'aprenentatge per lots, l'A-SSVM i el SASSVM. Despres, l'ampliem a treballar amb multiples (sub-)dominis mitjancant una adaptacio progressiva, utilitzant una jerarquia adaptativa basada en SSVM (HASSVM) en el proces d'optimitzacio. Finalment, extenem HA-SSVM per a aconseguir un detector que s'adapti de forma progressiva i sense intervencio humana al domini de desti. Cal destacar que cap dels metodes proposats en aquesta tesi requereix visitar les dades del domini d'origen. L'evaluacio dels resultats, realitzada amb el sistema d'evaluacio de Caltech, mostra que el SA-SSVM millora lleugerament respecte el ASSVM i millora en 15 punts respecte el detector no adaptat. El model jerarquic entrenat mitjancant el HA-SSVM encara millora mes els resultats de la adaptacio de domini. Finalment, el metode sequencial d'adaptacio de domini ha demostrat que pot obtenir resultats comparables a la adaptacio per lots, pero sense necessitat d'etiquetar manualment cap exemple del domini de desti. L'adaptacio de domini aplicada a la deteccio de vianants es de gran importancia i es una area que es troba relativament sense explorar. Desitgem que aquesta tesi pugui assentar les bases del treball futur d'aquesta area.
Assessment of climate change on the future water levels of the Iberá wetlands, Argentina, during the twenty-first century

The Iberá wetlands, located in La Plata Basin, is a fragile ecosystem habitat of several species of flora and fauna and it also constitutes one of the largest inland freshwater of the world. In this study, the hydroclimatologic response to projected climatic changes in the Iberá wetlands is assessed. Bias corrected temperature and precipitation data from four Regional Climate Models (RCMs) developed for the CLARIS-LPB project were used to drive the calibrated variable infiltration capacity (VIC) hydrological model for different time slices. Derived future scenarios consist on changes in temperature, precipitation and water level of the Iberá Lake for the periods 2021–2040 and 2071–2090 with respect to present. All RCMs are consistent in predicting a warming for the near future (0–2°C) and also to the end of the century (1.5–4.5°C) in the study region, but differ in the sign and percentage of precipitation changes. VIC modelling results suggest that the Iberá Lake level could increase in the twenty-first century and that this increment would be higher in the summer months. Nevertheless, the projected 10 cm of water-level increase could be not so relevant as it is of the same order of magnitude than the observed interdecadal variability of the system.
INFLUENCE OF WATER CONTENT ON ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF THE SOIL

MEASUREMENT OF DYNAMIC SALINITY AND WATER CONTENT PROFILES UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS WERE NEEDED TO TEST A MODEL DEVELOPED TO CHARACTERIZE THE SIMULTANEOUS FLOW OF WATER AND SALTS IN SOILS. METHODS WERE NEEDED FOR MEASURING SALINITY IN PLACE IN A SYSTEM WHERE RAPID WATER MOVEMENT OCCURRED. BECAUSE OF THE TIME LAG IN SALINITY SENSORS, OTHER METHODS WERE CONSIDERED FOR EVALUATING SALINITY. THE FOUR-PROBE SYSTEM OF MEASURING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF SOIL ELIMINATES THE TIME LAG ERROR, BUT INTRODUCES THE PROBLEM OF CORRECTING THE CHANGES IN CONDUCTIVITY CAUSED BY WATER CONTENT. UNITS WERE CONSTRUCTED AND SAMPLES PREPARED TO EVALUATE THE INFLUENCE OF WATER CONTENT, AND SALT CONCENTRATIONS OF THE FOUR-PROBE CONDUCTIVITY. TWO SOILS WERE STUDIED. REGRESSION EQUATIONS DEVELOPED TO ESTIMATE SATURATION OR 1:5 EXTRACT ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY FROM FOUR- PROBE CONDUCTIVITY AND WATER CONTENT GAVE CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS OF 0.75 AND 0.90, RESPECTIVELY. CORRELATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL SOILS WERE GENERALLY HIGHER THAN THE COMBINED SOILS.
Accurate Dye Tracer Concentration Estimations Using Image Analysis

In this paper, the accuracy of dye tracer concentration estimations using image analysis is examined. The variability before and after application of different image correction methods was investigated in three experiments using a digital camera. In each of these experiments, one correction was applied and the remaining variability after correction was calculated as the SD of uniformly colored patches on color scale. Correction for inhomogeneous illumination results in relatively small remaining variability. The variability after correction for different color temperatures (or white point) was larger if the correction was made for image files directly from the camera. However, when using the raw data from the image sensor in the camera, the remaining variability was significantly reduced. A calibration experiment was also conducted, in which photographs of calibration samples of dye-stained soil were taken. Between 72 and 260 samples were prepared for each of three soils. The samples had dye concentrations from 0 to 1.5 g L-1. Effects of exposure settings and calibration model were investigated. The exposure settings only affected the results significantly in one soil which became dark when the dye concentration was high. Overexposure made the image lighter and the root mean square error (RMSE) of the concentration estimate decreased for this soil. By applying a neural network (NN) model, the RMSE of the dye concentration estimates could be as low as 0.0747 to 0.0944 g L-1. Reasonable accuracy (0.10-0.13 g L-1) could also be achieved with a polynomial calibration relationship derived from around 20 soil samples. (Less)
Program for Promoting Social Science Research Aimed at Solutions of Near-Future Problems Design of Interfirm Network to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth

Using a unique micro dataset compiled from official real estate registries in Japan, we examine the evolution of loan-to-value (LTV) ratios for business loans over the 1975 to 2009 period, the determinants of these ratios, and the ex post performance of the borrowers. We find that the LTV ratio exhibits counter-cyclicality, implying that the increase (decrease) in loan volumes is smaller than the increase (decrease) in land values during booms (busts). Most importantly, the median LTV ratios are at their lowest during the bubble period in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The counter-cyclicality of LTV ratios is robust to controlling for various characteristics of loans, borrowers, and lenders. We also find that borrowers that obtained high-LTV loans performed no worse ex-post than those with low-LTV loans, and performed better during the bubble period. These findings cast doubt on the conventional wisdom that banks adopted more lax lending standards during the bubble period, although we have other evidence in support of that story. We also draw some implications for the ongoing debate on the use of LTV ratio caps as a macroprudential policy measure.
The Possibility of Provenancing A Series of Bronze Punic Coins Found At Tharros (Western Sardinia) Using the Literature Lead Isotope Database

A sample set of 42 bronze Punic coins dating from the third century bc and excavated in the Phoenician, Punic and then Roman town of Tharros (western Sardinia) has been used to test the performance of the literature lead isotope database and to establish a well defined provenancing procedure. A selection from the available database, including Cypriot, Sardinian and Spanish ore deposits, has been used. The complete assignment has been carried out twice, using both statistical methods (linear discriminant analysis) and the conventional raw data plots. Three major and one minor disagreements have been found, suggesting that the two procedures, when properly employed, may be acceptably compatible. Almost one third of the coins exhibit a characteristic Cypriot signature, whereas only very few samples are compatible with Sardinian ores. However, the majority of the coins (c. 60%) cannot be associated with any known source, which suggests the possibility of extensive metal recycling.
The Summer North Atlantic Oscillation Influence on the Eastern Mediterranean

AbstractThis study highlights an important and previously overlooked summer North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) influence over the eastern Mediterranean. The featured analysis is based on a synergistic use of reanalysis data, satellite retrievals, and coastal and buoy meteorological observations. The physical mechanisms at play reveal a strong summer NAO involvement on the pressure fields over northern Europe and the Anatolian plateau. Especially during August, the summer NAO modulates the Anatolian low, together with the air temperature, meridional atmospheric circulation, and cloudiness over the eastern Mediterranean. Including the dominant action centers over Greenland and the Arctic, the identified modulations rank among the strongest summer NAO-related signals over the entire Northern Hemisphere.
East Asian Winter Monsoon and Arctic Oscillation

In this study, the connection between Arctic Oscillation (AO) and variability of East Asian winter monsoon is investigated. Two indices are chosen to describe the winter monsoon. One is the intensity of the Siberian High, defined as the average SLP over the center region, and the other is the temperature of eastern China, averaged over 76 surface stations. These are two tightly related components, correlate at −0.62 for period 1951–99. Temperature drops by 0.64 degrees Celsius in association with a one standard deviation increase in Siberian High intensity. It is found that there are significant out‐of‐phase relationships between the AO and the East Asian winter monsoon. The correlation coefficient between the AO and the Siberian High intensity index is −0.48 for period 1958–98. AO is also significantly correlated with the temperature of eastern China at 0.34. However, when the linear trend is removed, the correlation between AO and temperature is no longer significant. But the strong connection between the AO and Siberian High, and between the Siberian High and temperature are still significant. These results reveal that the AO influences the East Asian winter monsoon through the impact on the Siberian High. Negative phase of the AO is concurrent with a stronger East Asian Trough and an anomalous anticyclonic flow over Urals at the middle troposphere (500hPa). Both the AO and the Eurasian pattern play important roles in changes of the Siberian High and/or East Asian winter monsoon. They account for 13.0% and 36.0% of the variance in the Siberian High respectively.
Total reactive nitrogen (NO y ) as an indicator of the sensitivity of ozone to reductions in hydrocarbon and NO x emissions

For areas in the United States not meeting the federal air quality standard for ozone, an issue of continuing controversy is the emphasis to be placed on controlling nitrogen oxides (NOx) in addition to emissions of reactive organic gases (ROG). To assess conditions under which ROG or NOx controls would be most effective, we have analyzed predictions from four studies that represent different locations and meteorological conditions, distinct chemical inputs, e.g., with or without significant biogenic emissions, and different air quality models. A consistent association is found between the sensitivity of ozone to reductions in ROG versus NOx emissions and the simulated total reactive nitrogen (NOy) at the time and place of peak ozone. In the studies examined, ozone was predicted to be reduced most effectively by ROG controls at locations where NOy concentrations exceeded a threshhold value falling in the range of 10 to 25 ppb, whereas NOx controls were predicted to be more effective where NOy concentrations were below that threshhold. The NOy level explains much of the difference in ozone sensitivity at different locations and provides a basis for comparison of predicted sensitivity from different models. In contrast, the morning concentration ratio of ROG to NOx that has been used in the past is a less reliable indicator of O3 sensitivity. Measurement of NOy concentrations along with ozone would assist in empirical testing of model predictions of responses to emission reductions.
Variability of Warm Deep Water Inflow in a Submarine Trough on the Amundsen Sea Shelf

The ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea are thinning rapidly, and the main reason for their decline appears to be warm ocean currents circulating below the ice shelves and melting these from below. Ocean currents transportwarm densewater ontothe shelf,channeledby bathymetric troughs leadingto the deep inner basins. A hydrographic mooring equipped with an upward-looking ADCP has been placed in one of these troughs on the central Amundsen shelf. The two years (2010/11) of mooring data are here used to characterize the inflow of warm deep water to the deep shelf basins. During both years, the warm layer thickness and temperature peaked in austral fall. The along-trough velocity is dominated by strong fluctuations that do not vary in the vertical. These fluctuations are correlated with the local wind, with eastward wind over the shelf and shelf break giving flow toward the ice shelves. In addition, there is a persistent flow of dense lower Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) toward the ice shelves in the bottom layer. This bottom-intensified flow appears to be driven by buoyancy forces rather than the shelfbreak wind. The years of 2010 and 2011 were characterized by a comparatively stationary Amundsen Sea low, and hence there were no strong eastward winds during winter that could drive an upwelling of warm water along the shelf break. Regardless of this, there was a persistent flow of lower CDW in the bottom layer during the two years. The average heat transport toward the ice shelves in the trough was estimated from the mooring data to be 0.95 TW.
Irrational time allocation in decision-making

: Time is an extremely valuable resource but little is known about the efficiency of time allocation in decision-making. Empirical evidence suggests that in many ecologically relevant situations, decision difficulty and the relative reward from making a correct choice, compared to an incorrect one, are inversely linked, implying that it is optimal to use relatively less time for difficult choice problems. This applies, in particular, to value-based choices, in which the relative reward from choosing the higher valued item shrinks as the values of the other options get closer to the best option and are thus more difficult to discriminate. Here, we experimentally show that people behave sub-optimally in such contexts. They do not respond to incentives that favour the allocation of time to choice problems in which the relative reward for choosing the best option is high; instead they spend too much time on problems in which the reward difference between the options is low. We demonstrate this by showing that it is possible to improve subjects’ time allocation with a simple intervention that cuts them off when their decisions take too long. Thus, we provide a novel form of evidence that organisms systematically spend their valuable time in an inefficient way, and simultaneously offer a potential solution to the problem. no competing interests. Abstract Time is an extremely valuable resource but little is known about the efficiency of time allocation in decision making. Empirical evidence suggests that in many ecologically relevant situations, decision difficulty and the 36 relative reward from making a correct choice, compared to an incorrect one, are inversely linked, implying that it 37 is optimal to use relatively less time for difficult choice problems. This applies, in particular, to value-based choices, in which the relative reward from choosing the higher-valued item shrinks as the values of the other options get closer to the best option and are thus more difficult to discriminate. Here, we experimentally show that people behave sub-optimally in such contexts. They do not respond to incentives that favor the allocation of time 41 to choice problems in which the relative reward for choosing the best option is high; instead they spend too much time on problems in which the reward difference between the options is low. We demonstrate this by showing that 43 it is possible to improve subjects’ time allocation with a simple intervention that cuts them off when their decisions take too long. Thus we provide a novel form of evidence that organisms systematically spend their valuable time in an inefficient way, and simultaneously offer a potential solution to the problem.