Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Explicit Image Quality Detection Rules for Functional Safety in Computer Vision

Computer vision has applications in a wide range of areas from surveillance to safety-critical control of autonomous robots. Despite the potentially critical nature of the applications and a continuous progress, the focus on safety in relation to compliance with standards has been limited. As an example, field robots are typically dependent on a reliable perception system to sense and react to a highly dynamic environment. The perception system thus introduces significant complexity into the safety-critical path of the robotic system. This complexity is often argued to increase safety by improving performance; however, the safety claims are not supported by compliance with any standards. In this paper, we present rules that enable low-level detection of quality problems in images and demonstrate their applicability on an agricultural image database. We hypothesise that low-level and primitive image analysis driven by explicit rules facilitates complying with safety standards, which improves the real-world applicability of existing proposed solutions. The rules are simple independent image analysis operations focused on determining the quality and usability of an image.
Thermal Oxidation Mechanism of Silicon Carbide

Recently, semiconductor devices that work normally for a long time under harsh environ‐ ments are demanded such as in nuclear power application or in space development field. Especially, after the disaster of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant caused by the EastJapan great earthquake on March 11, 2011, the importance of such a hard electronic devices has been growing. However, it is difficult to achieve the performance using conventional semiconductors such as Si semiconductor because of its physical property limit.
What is to Be Done about Undeclared Work? An Evaluation of the Policy Options

Grounded in the view that undeclared work is conducted under work relations akin to employment and motivated primarily by monetary gain, the thrust of public policy has been to deter this work by seeking to ensure that the expected cost of being caught and punished is greater than the potential economic benefits. Reviewing how recent research reveals that although some undeclared work is market-like and conducted for monetary gain, a large proportion is carried out under relations more akin to unpaid mutual aid, the implications of pursuing deterrence as well as other approaches are evaluated critically. The result is a proposal for a new policy approach that recognises the heterogeneous nature of undeclared work and seeks to actively facilitate its legitimisation.
The Organization of Industry

The Organization of Industry collects essays written over two decades—pieces prepared especially for this volume, previously unpublished material, and reprinted articles drawn from numerous sources, many which include additional commentary by the author. The essays are unified by George J. Stigler's careful analysis and by his clear and witty style. In part one, Stigler examines the nature of competition and monopoly. In part two he discusses the forces that determine the size structure of industry, including barriers to entry, economics of scale, and mergers. Part three contains articles on a wide range of topics, such as profitability, delivered price systems, block booking, the economics of information, and the kinky oligopoly demand curve and rigid price. Part four offers a discussion of antitrust policy and includes Stigler's recommendations for future policy as well as an examination of the effects of past policies. "Stigler's writings might well be subtitled 'The Joys of Doing Economics. ' He, more than any other contemporary American economist, dispels the gloom surrounding economic theory. It is impossible to confront the subject treated with such humor and verve and come away still believing that economics is the dismal science. "—Shirley B. Johnson, American Scholar
Global Public Policy: Governing without Government?

During the last decade "globalization" has become a fashion among policymakers and academics alike. Not one day passes during which the term is not being invoked to legitimize a policy decision, promote a policy prescription, or explain a policy outcome. Despite its frequent use, however, little is known about globalization and its effects. In this pathbreaking new book, Wolfgang Reinicke provides an in-depth analysis of economic globalization and examines its implications for public policy. National responses, as suggested on both ends of the political spectrum in the United States and elsewhere, are often flawed. Global public policy--not world government, but a mixed approach to global management in which states, corporations, NGOs, regional and international organizations, and coalitions cooperate--provides an alternative and promising framework. Using four case studies--global banking, money laundering, dual-use export controls, and trade in chemical precursors--the book develops the concept of global public policy and shows how its principles have the potential to improve the capacities of policymakers to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.
Amplitude of accommodation in type 1 diabetes.

PURPOSE People with diabetes have accelerated age-related biometric ocular changes compared with people without diabetes. We determined the effect of type 1 diabetes on amplitude of accommodation. METHODS There were 43 participants (33 ± 8 years) with type 1 diabetes and 32 (34 ± 8 years) age-balanced controls. There was no significant difference in mean equivalent refractive error and visual acuity between the groups. Amplitude of accommodation was measured using two techniques: objective by determining the accommodative response to a stimulus in a COAS-HD wavefront aberrometer and subjective with a Badal hand optometer. Influences of age and diabetes duration on amplitude of accommodation were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS People with diabetes had lower objective (2.7 ± 1.6 diopters [D]) and subjective (4.0 ± 1.7 D) amplitudes than controls (objective 4.1 ± 2.1 D, subjective 5.6 ± 2.1 D). Across both groups, objective amplitude was less than subjective amplitude by 1.4 ± 1.2 D. For objective amplitude and the whole group, the duration of diabetes contributed 57% variation to the loss of amplitude relative to that provided by age. For the objective amplitude and only the diabetes group, this was 78%. For subjective amplitude, the corresponding proportions were 68% and 103%. CONCLUSIONS Lowered amplitude of accommodation exists in individuals with type 1 diabetes when compared with age-matched controls. The loss correlated strongly with duration of diabetes. The results suggest that individuals with diabetes will experience presbyopia earlier in life than people without diabetes, mainly due to changes in the lens.
Integrating Strategy with Performance Measures

Hints that performance measurement systems are inaccurate in that what is measured is often not done. Suggests changing plans of measurement can often defeat their achievement; and addresses the problem of devising cost‐effective measurement systems which measure the correct items and minimize any disastrous consequences. Highlights some of these disasters with examples of unintended side effects.
Accruals Quality and Debt Maturity Structure

In this paper we use panel data and GMM estimation to examine the effect of accounting quality on debt maturity structure in a bank-based financial system and show that, even after controlling for unobservable heterogeneity, endogeneity, variables reflecting operating volatility and the cost of debt, firms with poor accounting quality face a shorter debt term than firms with higher accounting quality. This association between accounting quality and debt maturity is consistent with accounting quality as a means of reducing information asymmetry problems and improving the monitoring of managers.
Association Between Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Risk of Dementia

Importance A growing body of evidence supports a link between androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and cognitive dysfunction, including Alzheimer disease. However, it is currently unknown whether ADT may contribute to the risk of dementia more broadly. Objective To use an informatics approach to examine the association of ADT as a treatment for prostate cancer with the subsequent development of dementia (eg, senile dementia, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Alzheimer dementia). Design, Setting, and Participants In this cohort study, a text-processing method was used to analyze electronic medical record data from an academic medical center from 1994 to 2013, with a median follow-up of 3.4 years (interquartile range, 1.0-7.2 years). We identified 9455 individuals with prostate cancer who were 18 years or older at diagnosis with data recorded in the electronic health record and follow-up after diagnosis. We excluded 183 patients with a previous diagnosis of dementia. Our final cohort comprised 9272 individuals with prostate cancer, including 1826 men (19.7%) who received ADT. Main Outcomes and Measures We tested the effect of ADT on the risk of dementia using propensity score–matched Cox proportional hazards regression models and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results Among 9272 men with prostate cancer (mean [SD] age, 66.9 [10.9] years; 5450 [58.8%] white), there was a statistically significant association between use of ADT and risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.58-2.99; P < .001). In sensitivity analyses, results were similar when excluding patients with Alzheimer disease (hazard ratio, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.73-3.12; P < .001). The absolute increased risk of developing dementia among those who received ADT was 4.4% at 5 years (7.9% among those who received ADT vs 3.5% in those who did not receive ADT). Analyses stratified by duration of ADT found that individuals with at least 12 months of ADT use had the greatest absolute increased risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.64-3.38; P < .001). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that ADT users 70 years or older had the lowest cumulative probability of remaining dementia free (log-rank P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance Androgen deprivation therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer may be associated with an increased risk of dementia. This finding should be further evaluated in prospective studies.
Are Emerging Market Currency Crises Predictable? - a Test

This paper analyzes the predictability of emerging market currency crises by comparing the often used probit model to a new method, namely a multi-layer perceptron artificial neural network (ANN) model. According to the results, both models were able to signal currency crises reasonably well in-sample, but the forecasting power of these models out-ofsample was found to be rather poor. Only in the case of Russian (1998) crisis were both models able to signal the crisis well in advance. The results reinforced the view that developing a stable model that can predict or even explain currency crises is a challenging task. JEL Classification: F31, E44, C25, C23, C45
Explaining implementation deficits through multi-level governance in the EU's new member states: EU limits for arsenic in drinking water in Hungary

This paper uses a multi-level governance lens to explore a case of non-compliance with EU legislation in Hungary and expands historical institutionalist explanations of EU laggards. Despite adopting the European Union's (EU's) limit of 10 ppb arsenic in drinking water, parts of Hungary do not comply. To explain this deficit, the paper examines the match between discourse incorporated into policy and held by policy actors in Hungary. Multiple points of mismatch are found that influence implementation because of governance structures, adding specificity to explanations of ‘goodness of fit’ between EU and national policy.
PENGARUH TAX AVOIDANCE TERHADAP NILAI PERUSAHAAN DENGAN TRANSPARANSI PERUSAHAAN SEBAGAI VARIABEL MODERATING

This study aims to identify and analyze the effect of tax avoidance on firm value with the company transparency as a moderating variable. The study population used is the manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Sampling method using purposive sampling and normal samples obtained by 50 years of research with 2010 – 2012. Testing hypotheses using multiple regression analysis. Based on test results, obtained information that the variable tax avoidance is a significant negative effect on firm value, which means that the higher the tax avoidance, the lower the value of the company. Variable transparency able to moderate the relationship between tax avoidance on firm value. The positive influence shows that the higher the level of transparency in corporate tax evasion, the value of the company will be increased . Keywords : tax avoidance, transparency, firm value
Aching to Retire? The Rise in the Full Retirement Age and its Impact on the Disability Rolls

The Social Security Amendments of 1983 reduced the generosity of Social Security retired worker benefits in the U.S. by increasing the program's full retirement age from 65 to 67 and increasing the penalty for claiming benefits at the early retirement age of 62. These changes were phased in gradually, so that individuals born in or before 1937 were unaffected and those born in 1960 or later were fully affected. No corresponding changes were made to the program's disabled worker benefits, and thus the relative generosity of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits increased. In this paper, we investigate the effect of the Amendments on SSDI enrollment by exploiting variation across birth cohorts in the policy-induced reduction in the present value of retired worker benefits. Our findings indicate that the Amendments significantly increased SSDI enrollment since 1983, with an additional 0.6 percent of men and 0.9 percent of women between the ages of 45 and 64 receiving SSDI benefits in 2005 as a result of the changes. Our results further indicate that these effects will continue to increase during the next two decades, as those fully exposed to the reduction in retirement benefit generosity reach their fifties and early sixties.
Effects of Prior Infestation on Host Choice of Bat Flies (Diptera: Streblidae)

Abstract Experimental approaches provide insight into the dynamics of species competition and coexistence, but studies of ectoparasitic arthropods are rare. Host choice experiments were undertaken in Amazonian Peru, by using obligate bat fly parasites of Seba’s short-tailed bat, Carollia perspicillata (L.). The fly species Trichobius joblingi Wenzel strongly preferred clean hosts to those previously infested with individuals of T. joblingi. Abundance thresholds may limit conspecific parasites on host individuals, and similar morphologies and habitat use may increase intraspecific competition among individuals of T. joblingi. T. joblingi did not distinguish between clean hosts and those previously infested with flies of another species, Speiseria ambigua Kessel. Results suggest that the presence of a morphologically dissimilar species does not preclude subsequent colonization. Differential microhabitat selection, aided by adaptive morphology, may facilitate species coexistence among ectoparasitic bat fly species.
Proteins in intercellular washing fluid from noninoculated and rust-affected leaves of wheat and barley.

Proteins in intercellular washing fluid (IWF) from wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) leaves were separated by two-dimensional isoelectric focusing-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and stained with Coomassie brilliant blue (CBB) or silver. Intracellular protein from the cut ends of leaves accounted for only a small proportion of total protein in IWF from wheat leaves. When these were heavily infected with the stem rust fungus (Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici) and grown at 19 degrees C, four infection-related CBB-stainable proteins were detected in IWF.To compare IWF proteins from wheat and barley leaves infected with the same pathogen, conditions were established that permitted luxuriant growth of stem rust of wheat in barley (exposure to chloroform before inoculation and maintenance at 25 degrees C thereafter). Under these conditions, at least 10 infection-related silver-stainable proteins were detected in IWF from infected wheat in addition to the more than 50 that were of host origin. The electrophoretic properties of 8 of the infection-related proteins were the same as those of 8 infection-related proteins in IWF from barley.IWF from wheat and barley grown under these conditions was analyzed for Concanavalin A-binding glycoproteins immobilized on nitrocellulose membrane replicas made from gels. Of the many infection-related glycoproteins that were detected in IWF from stem rust-affected wheat, approximately 20 occupied the same positions as those from stem rust-affected barley. The glycoprotein pattern of IWF prepared from wheat leaves grown at 19 degrees C and infected with the leaf rust fungus (P. recondita f. sp. tritici) was markedly different to that of IWF from the same host infected with the stem rust fungus. We conclude that IWF from rust-affected cereal leaves may be a useful source of surface or extracellular proteins from the parasitic mycelium.
Immediate and long-term atrial sensing stability in single-lead VDD pacing depends on right atrial dimensions.

AIMS Single-pass VDD is a physiological stimulation mode which requires a single-lead with a floating dipole to detect the atrial signal. We investigated the impact of right heart dimensions on immediate and long-term atrial sensing stability in VDD systems to draw guidelines for optimal atrial sensitivity programming. METHODS Forty-one patients (23 males, mean age 73 +/- 11 years) with II or III degree AV block and normal sinus node function received a Thera VDD Medtronic 8948 pulse generator with Medtronic 5032 lead. Atrial sensing was evaluated at pre-discharge and during 12-months follow-up in the supine and upright positions, during normal and forced breathing. Atrial sensing variability, quantified by a D value (mV), which represents the difference between the maximum and the minimum atrial electrogram amplitude obtained during the various activities, was analyzed and related to right heart dimensions measured at echocardiography. RESULTS Long-term appropriate atrial sensing was obtained in 40/41 patients. P wave mean amplitude at pre-discharge, during every specific activity, was predictive of 12-month values. No atrial oversensing was observed. According to the right atrial dimension (RAD), patients with RAD > 38 mm had a sensing variability significantly higher than those with RAD < or = 34 mm (D=1 + 1 Vs D=0.4+/-0.5; P<0.05). A linear relationship between D and RAD dimensions was observed (r=0.47; P<0.005). According to the distance from the roof of the right atrium to the right ventricular apex (RAVD), patients with RAVD < 93 mm had D=1.1 +/- 1, while patients with RAVD > 93 mm had D=0.5 +/- 0.4; P<0.05); a inverse correlation between RAVD and D was highlighted (r=-0.43; P<0.01). Using a cluster analysis, the combination of RAD and RAVD identified a subgroup (RAD > 30 mm and RAVD < 80 mm) at high risk of loss of AV synchrony with 67% sensitivity and 80% specificity. Nevertheless, apart from heart dimensions, no patient showed an atrial signal amplitude lower than 0.3 mV. CONCLUSIONS According to our data, in VDD single-lead systems the amplitude of the atrial signal is stable over time in every physical activity. High RAD and low RAVD values may select patients with poor atrial sensing stability. Anyway, taking into account that no atrial oversensing was observed, atrial sensitivity setting at the highest value should be recommended.
Oral self-administration of pentobarbital by rhesus monkeys: maintenance of behavior by different concurrently available volumes of drug solution.

For 4 rhesus monkeys, mouth-contact responses with either of two brass spouts were reinforced according to fixed-ratio schedules by 0.65-mL liquid deliveries during daily 3-hr sessions. Three experiments were conducted. In each experiment, independent fixed-ratio schedules were concurrently in effect at the two spouts. Following completion of each fixed ratio on a spout, a specified number of liquid deliveries were available from that spout under a continuous-reinforcement schedule. The number of such deliveries available at each spout was manipulated independently. In Experiment 1, a 1-mg/mL pentobarbital solution was simultaneously available with water (the drug vehicle) under concurrent fixed-ratio schedules of 32 responses for 3 subjects and 64 responses for the remaining subject. The number (N) of liquid deliveries that were available after completion of each fixed ratio was varied in the following order: 8, 4, 2, 1, and 8 (retest). For each subject at each condition, drug maintained more responding than water. The number of drug deliveries obtained per session was directly related to the amount of drug available per fixed ratio (i.e., to N), whereas the number of fixed ratios completed per session generally was inversely related to the value of N. In Experiment 2, fixed-ratio size was the same for each subject as in Experiment 1, but deliveries of a 1-mg/mL pentobarbital solution were available at both spouts. The number of drug deliveries available under one fixed-ratio schedule (Ns, the "standard" reinforcer amount) was held at eight, and the number of drug deliveries available under the second schedule (Nc, the "comparison" reinforcer amount) was changed across blocks of six sessions of stable responding in the following order: 1, 2, 4, 8, 4, 2, and 1. The identical series of comparison reinforcer amounts (Nc) was then tested twice more, but with the standard reinforcer (Ns) held first at four and then at two deliveries. Across the three choice series, reinforcing effects were directly related to reinforcer magnitude. In Experiment 3, deliveries of a 1-mg/mL pentobarbital solution again were available at both spouts. However, the two reinforcer amounts were held constant at N = 8 deliveries under one schedule and N = 4 deliveries under the second schedule, and fixed-ratio size was systematically varied. Across the range of fixed-ratio sizes from low to high, the degree to which behavior was better maintained by the larger of the two drug quantities was an inverted U-shaped function of fixed-ratio size. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)