Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modified average local variance for pixel-level scale selection of multiband remote sensing images and its scale effect on image classification accuracy

Abstract The development of remote sensor technology makes it convenient to obtain multiscale satellite data sets, but selecting data with an appropriate scale has become a problem. We propose improvements based on modified average local variance (MALV) for selecting the optimal spatial resolution of multiband images. One improvement is computing the mean MALVs of all bands, and the other is computing the average MALV of the selected bands. We discuss the optimum index factor and principal component analysis (PCA) methods for band selection. Further image classification experiments with different spatial resolutions are employed to verify the proposed methods. The experimental results prove that the MALV method is suitable for images with simplex landscape type. When the spatial extent of the image data is large, the MALV of the subimage whose landscape type is similar to the dominating landscape of the whole image is significantly referential for selecting the optimal spatial resolution. MALV based on PCA is more effective for reflecting the scale effect of spatial resolution and thus is useful for selecting the optimal spatial resolution of a multiband image. The experimental results also prove that very high spatial resolution will lead to high heterogeneity within class, and thus it will lead to low separability and low classification accuracy. Furthermore, the MALV method provides a feasible approach for quantitative research of the modifiable area unit problem.
On the implementation of efficient channel filters for wideband receivers by optimizing common subexpression elimination methods

The most computationally intensive part of a wideband receiver is the channelizer. The computational complexity of linear phase finite impulse response (LPFIR) filters employed in the channelizer is dominated by the number of adders used in the implementation of the multipliers. In this paper, two methods are proposed to efficiently implement the channel filters in a wideband receiver based on common subexpression elimination (CSE). We exploit the fact that a significant amount of redundant multiplications exist in the filter-bank channelizer as it extracts multiple narrowband channels from the wideband signal. By forming three and four nonzero-bit super-subexpressions utilizing redundant identical shifts that exist between a two- nonzero-bit common subexpression (CS) and a third nonzero bit, or between two nonzero-bit CS, the number of adders to implement the channel filters can be reduced considerably. Furthermore, the complexity of the adders is analyzed and design examples of the channel filters employed in the digital advanced mobile phone system (D-AMPS) and the personal digital cellular (PDC) channelizers show that the proposed methods offer considerable reduction in the number of full adders when compared to conventional CSE methods.
Motion planning for optimal information gathering in opportunistic navigation systems

Motion planning for optimal information gathering in an opportunistic navigation (OpNav) environment is considered. An OpNav environment can be thought of as a radio frequency signal landscape within which a receiver locates itself in space and time by extracting information from ambient signals of opportunity (SOPs). The receiver is assumed to draw only pseudorange-type observations from the SOPs, and such observations are fused through an estimator to produce an estimate of the receiver’s own states. Since not all SOP states in the OpNav environment may be known a priori, the receiver must estimate the unknown SOP states of interest simultaneously with its own states. In this work, the following problem is studied. A receiver with no a priori knowledge about its own states is dropped in an unknown, yet observable, OpNav environment. Assuming that the receiver can prescribe its own trajectory, what motion planning strategy should the receiver adopt in order to build a high-fidelity map of the OpNav signal landscape, while simultaneously localizing itself within this map in space and time? To answer this question, first, the minimum conditions under which the OpNav environment is fully observable are established, and the need for receiver maneuvering to achieve full observability is highlighted. Then, motivated by the fact that not all trajectories a receiver may take in the environment are equally beneficial from an information gathering point of view, a strategy for planning the motion of the receiver is proposed. The strategy is formulated in a coupled estimation and optimal control framework of a gradually identified system, where optimality is defined through various information-theoretic measures. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the improvements gained from adopting the proposed strategy over random and pre-defined receiver trajectories.
Cloud manufacturing: Needs, concept and architecture

In order to obtain an advantageous position in the protean global market, the modern manufacturing enterprises require a flexible and self-adaptive foundation which is capable of dynamically exploiting manufacturing resources and services distributed across the network. In this paper, the cloud manufacturing vision (GetCM) is introduced to provide the on-demand architecture with reliability, flexibility and reliability based on cloud computing. In contrast to the conventional networked manufacturing paradigm, the paper analyzes from technological, functional and economic aspects to provide the evidences of the benefits from GetCM. A primary architecture for GetCM is introduced based on the analysis of key criteria in realizing the vision of a function for cloud manufacturing. Focuses of this paper are placed on the vision and the outline of GetCM architecture.
A comparison of end user and expert system quality assessments

Organizations rely heavily on applications developed by end users, yet lack of experience and training may compromise the ability of end users to make objective judgments about the quality of their applications. The study reported on in this chapter investigated the ability of end users to assess the quality of applications they develop. The results confirm that there are differences between the system quality assessments of end user developers and independent expert assessors. In particular, the results of this study suggest that end users with little experience may erroneously consider the applications they develop to be of high quality. Some implications of these results are discussed.
Refer efficiently : Use less informative expressions for more predictable meanings

We present the results of a large-scale web experiment investigating comprehenders’ ability to guess upcoming referents in an unfolding discourse. Participants were given a text that had been cut off just before a noun phrase, and attempted to guess which previously mentioned referent, if any, would be mentioned next. Our results show that writers are more likely to refer using a pronoun or proper name rather than a full NP when comprehenders have less uncertainty about the upcoming referent, and are more likely to use names than pronouns when comprehenders all tend to makes guesses to one or a few incorrect referents. These effects hold beyond other possible influences on the choice of referring expression type. Our results support addressee-oriented accounts of referring form choice (e.g. Brennan & Clark, 1996; Arnold, 2008) and suggest that language is a rational solution to the problem of communication: shorter and less informative expressions are favoured when less information is sufficient to carry the message (e.g. Jaeger, 2006; van Son & Pols, 2003).
Towards a Deeper Understanding of Information Technology Governance Effectiveness: A Capabilities-Based Approach

We examine the relationship between the effectiveness of IT steering committee-driven IT governance initiatives and firm’s IT management and IT infrastructure related capabilities. We test these relationships empirically by a field survey of 216 firms. Results of this study suggest that a firms’ effectiveness of IT steering committee-driven IT governance initiatives positively relate to the level of their IT-related capabilities. We also found positive relationships between IT-related capabilities and internal process-level performance, which positively relate to improvement in customer service and firm-level performance. For researchers, we demonstrate that the resourcebased theory provides a more robust explanation of the determinants of firms IT governance initiatives. This would be ideal in evaluating other IT governance initiatives effectiveness in relation to how they contribute to building performance-differentiating IT-related capabilities. For decision makers, we hope our study has reiterated the notion that IT governance is truly a coordinated effort, embracing all levels of human resources.
Broadband Substrate Integrated Waveguide 4$\,\times\,$4 Nolen Matrix Based on Coupler Delay Compensation

A broadband Nolen matrix in substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is proposed and studied in this paper. Being serial feeding networks, Nolen matrices usually introduce significant phase dispersion in their standard form, thus limiting effective bandwidth. In this work, broadband frequency operation is achieved with adequate coupler delay compensation, resulting in a more "parallel" matrix topology. Consequently, H-plane couplers with continuous aperture are preferred in the proposed design as opposed to the cross-couplers previously used in the "serial" configuration. The SIW couplers and phase shifters of a balanced amplitude 4×4 Nolen matrix are designed at 77 GHz for radar applications. The resulting matrix that combines these elementary building blocks is fabricated and measured, and measured characteristics are in good agreement with theoretical and simulated predictions. This first design achieves excellent results over a 11.7% frequency bandwidth centered at 77 GHz. This modified Nolen matrix combines advantages of standard Nolen and Butler matrices and may be used as a building block for generalized orthogonal matrices.
A mutant RNA pseudoknot that promotes ribosomal frameshifting in mouse mammary tumor virus.

A single A-->G mutation that changes a potential A.U base pair to a G.U pair at the junction of the stems and loops of a non-frameshifting pseudoknot dramatically increases its frameshifting efficiency in mouse mammary tumor virus. The structure of the non-frameshifting pseudoknot APK has been found to be very different from that of pseudoknots that cause efficient frameshifting [Kang,H. , Hines,J.V. and Tinoco,I. (1995) J. Mol. Biol. , 259, 135-147]. The 3-dimensional structure of the mutant pseudoknot was determined by restrained molecular dynamics based on NMR-derived interproton distance and torsion angle constraints. One striking feature of the mutant pseudoknot compared with the parent pseudoknot is that a G.U base pair forms at the top of stem 2, thus leaving only 1 nt at the junction of the two stems. The conformation is very different from that of the previously determined non-frameshifting parent pseudoknot, which lacks the A.U base pair at the top of the stem and has 2 nt between the stems. However, the conformation is quite similar to that of efficient frameshifting pseudoknots whose structures were previously determined by NMR. A single adenylate residue intervenes between the two stems and interrupts their coaxial stacking. This unpaired nucleotide produces a bent structure. The structural similarity among the efficient frameshifting pseudoknots indicates that a specific conformation is required for ribosomal frameshifting, further implying a specific interaction of the pseudoknot with the ribosome.
DESIGN OF A CIRCULARLY POLARIZED MICROSTRIP ANTENNA FOR WLAN

The design and performance of a circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna, for the application in Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), are reported here. The antenna is a proximity coupled microstrip patch antenna where the radiating patch is loaded by a V-slot. This miniaturized microstrip antenna has wide bandwidth in the frequency band of WLAN and exhibits circularly polarized far field with very good axial ratio bandwidth. The simulated results using IE3D software are verified by measurement.
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Open Access T2 Quantification for Improved Detection of Myocardial Edema

Background: T2-Weighted (T2W) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequences have been used to detect edema in patients with acute myocardial infarction and differentiate acute from chronic infarction. T2W sequences have suffered from several problems including (i) signal intensity variability caused by phased array coils, (ii) high signal from slow moving ventricular chamber blood that can mimic and mask elevated T2 in sub-endocardial myocardium, (iii) motion artifacts, and (iv) the subjective nature of T2W image interpretation. In this work we demonstrate the advantages of a quantitative T2 mapping technique to accurately and reliably detect regions of edematous myocardial tissue without the limitations of qualitative T2W imaging.
1804 Usman Dan Fodio's jihad on inter-group relations in the contemporary Nigerian state

The history of mankind is replete with the issues of conflicts, wars, crises, intolerance as well as series of moves for peace, tolerance, understanding and mutual cohesion aimed at ensuring common good. Most times these activities hardly live out long lasting objectives. Therefore, this paper seeks to discuss the brief history of Usman dan Fodio and his 1804 jihad, the state of Hausa land before the jihad, some remote and immediate causes of the jihad, the outcomes of the jihad, the amalgamation of Nigeria and its effects on the inter-group relationships in Nigeria.
Speech-property-based FEC for Internet telephony applications

In this paper we first analyze the concealment performance of the G.729 decoder. We find that the loss of unvoiced frames can be concealed well. Also, the loss of voiced frames is concealed well once the decoder has obtained sufficient information on them. However the decoder fails to conceal the loss of voiced frames at an unvoiced/voiced transition because it extrapolates internal state (filter coefficients and excitation) for an unvoiced sound. Moreover, once the encoder has failed to build the appropriate linear prediction synthesis filter, it takes a long time for the decoder to resynchronize with the encoder. Using this result, we then develop a new FEC scheme to support frame-based codecs, which adjusts the amount of added redundancy adaptively to the properties of the speech signal. Objective quality measures (ITU P.861A and EMBSD) show that our speech property-based FEC scheme achieves almost the same speech quality as current FEC schemes while approximately halving the amount of necessary redundant data to adequately protect the voice flow.
European Conference on Information Systems ( ECIS ) 10-6-2011 WHY ARE CONSUMERS GOING GREEN ? THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN PRIVATE GREEN-IS ADOPTION

Globally, efforts are undertaken to promote the diffusion of Green-IS. The aim is to mitigate negative environmental impacts of IS itself and to leverage IS’ potential in the creation of environmentally sustainable societies. A particular Green-IS, essential for the intended modernization of energy systems, is the Smart Metering Technology (SMT). It facilitates demand-reduction and -shifting and is supposed to trigger behavioural and economic changes in households’ energy consumption. While technology adoption in the workplace has been studied extensively, scientific evidence as to residential settings is limited. Likewise, the IS-community has hitherto been reluctant in addressing issues regarding environmental sustainability (Melville 2010). This study aims at bridging these gaps by investigating the factors influencing private consumers’ intention to adopt Green-IS. We present a comprehensive research model which was empirically validated by employing data collected from 708 potential adopters. The model was found to explain a substantial proportion (.55) of the variance. The results implicate that apart from the major determinant attitude, intention is driven by environmental concerns and social influence. The study’s outcomes will help refining researchers’ understanding of private Green-IS adoption and will be useful for diverse stakeholders interested in encouraging SMT-adoption. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Rapid Assessment of Ecosystem Services Provided by Two Mineral Extraction Sites Restored for Nature Conservation in an Agricultural Landscape in Eastern England

Despite growing recognition that mineral sites restored for nature conservation can enhance local biodiversity, the wider societal benefits provided by this type of restoration relative to alternative options are not well understood. This study addresses this research gap by quantifying differences in ecosystem services provision under two common mineral site after-uses: nature conservation and agriculture. Using a combination of site-specific primary field data, benefits transfer and modelling, we show that for our sites restoration for nature conservation provides a more diverse array of ecosystem services than would be delivered under an agricultural restoration scenario. We also explore the effects of addressing different conservation targets, which we find alter the provision of ecosystem services on a service-specific basis. Highly species-focused intervention areas are associated with increased carbon storage and livestock grazing provision, whereas non-intervention areas are important for carbon sequestration, fishing, recreation and flood risk mitigation. The results of this study highlight the wider societal importance of restored mineral sites and may help conservation managers and planners to develop future restoration strategies that provide benefits for both biodiversity and human well-being.
Economic Growth and Regional Labor Market Development in German Regions: Okun's Law in a Spatial Context

The inverse relationship between economic growth and labor market developments in the form of changes in the unemployment rate is known in economic literature as Okun’s law. The objectives of this paper are to estimate a regionalized Okun coefficient and its associated (regional) unemployment thresholds. The suitability and limitations of Okun’s law as a rule of thumb for regional economic growth and labor market policy are also discussed. Motivated by “Germany’s Jobs Miracle” in face of the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009, the existence of an uncoupling effect between economic and unemployment growth is questioned and whether regional economic growth is a driving force for regional labor market development. A regional dataset for the years 2002 to 2009 is employed for this study. The spatial dimension is pursued in two ways: a non-parametric approach using functionally defined labor markets as study areas and the application of spatial econometric panel data models, in particular the Spatial Durbin Error Model. The rationale is that functionally defined regional study areas are the appropriate spatial reference level for the analysis. It is found that, without accounting for spatial dependence, regionalized Okun coefficients are likely to be overestimated. The empirical results confirm a positive impact of economic growth on labor market performance; however, the estimated effect of regional economic growth is far lower than would have been expected. The paper illustrates the limited transferability of Okun’s law as a rule of thumb for growth dynamics on a regional level as well as limitations of regional growth dynamics for regional labor market development.
Comparing Rule-Based and Deep Learning Models for Patient Phenotyping

Objective: We investigate whether deep learning techniques for natural language processing (NLP) can be used efficiently for patient phenotyping. Patient phenotyping is a classification task for determining whether a patient has a medical condition, and is a crucial part of secondary analysis of healthcare data. We assess the performance of deep learning algorithms and compare them with classical NLP approaches. Materials and Methods: We compare convolutional neural networks (CNNs), n-gram models, and approaches based on cTAKES that extract pre-defined medical concepts from clinical notes and use them to predict patient phenotypes. The performance is tested on 10 different phenotyping tasks using 1,610 discharge summaries extracted from the MIMIC-III database. Results: CNNs outperform other phenotyping algorithms in all 10 tasks. The average F1-score of our model is 76 (PPV of 83, and sensitivity of 71) with our model having an F1-score up to 37 points higher than alternative approaches. We additionally assess the interpretability of our model by presenting a method that extracts the most salient phrases for a particular prediction. Conclusion: We show that NLP methods based on deep learning improve the performance of patient phenotyping. Our CNN-based algorithm automatically learns the phrases associated with each patient phenotype. As such, it reduces the annotation complexity for clinical domain experts, who are normally required to develop task-specific annotation rules and identify relevant phrases. Our method performs well in terms of both performance and interpretability, which indicates that deep learning is an effective approach to patient phenotyping based on clinicians' notes.
FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH PROGRAMME WORKING PAPER SERIES

This paper investigates the agency theory of dividend policy in the context of an emerging economy, India. The paper utilises Rozeff’s cost minimisation model, which predicts that the target payout ratio is at the level that minimises the sum of transaction costs associated with raising external finance on the one hand and agency costs on the other. A main innovation is achieved by introducing business group affiliation into the original cost minimisation model. The model is estimated and tested on a cross-section of 661 non-financial companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The results suggest that group affiliation has an important impact on the transaction cost structure as well as agency conflicts faced by Indian companies. In general, the findings support the cost minimisation model and the agency theory rationale for dividend policy.