Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Adaptive Approach to Topographic Feature Extraction from Digital Terrain Models

This study presents an adaptive solution to topographic feature extraction from digital terrain model. First, a slope map is produced by the proposed slope estimator that combines the well-known D8 and finite difference methods. In the second step, the Laplacian of Gaussian (LOG) operator with multiple thresholds is applied to the resultant slope map to determine edge pixels that have local maximum curvature and maximum connectivity. The third step adopts the original and robust marching square algorithms to trace the topographic features. Modification is made to selectively introduce shoulder points according to the local topographic complexity. In comparison to the existing algorithms, the performance of the proposed adaptive marching square algorithm is evaluated in terms of precision and resolution of the extracted features. Digital terrain models over three locations in Antarctica are used for this study. It is shown overall reducing 75 percent of the shoulder points from the robust algorithm will cause 24 percent precision drop in the adaptive method.
The Macroeconomic Rebound Effect and the UK Economy

The study examines the macroeconomic rebound effect for the UK economy, arising from UK energy efficiency policies and programmes for 2000-2010. The work explores the relationships between energy efficiency, energy consumption, economic growth and policy interventions using a well-established and highly detailed macroeconomic model of the UK economy. The work has been carried out in response to a call from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), with the support of Defra’s energy-efficiency policy team. As the focus of this study is to assess the magnitude of the macroeconomic rebound effect, the projections given in the report should not be taken as forecasts of future UK economic or environmental performance, e.g. the projections given here differ from those in the 2006 Climate Change Programme.
Hybrid Simulations of Reaction-Diffusion Systems in Porous Media

Hybrid or multiphysics algorithms provide an efficient computational tool for combining micro- and macroscale descriptions of physical phenomena. Their use becomes imperative when microscale descriptions are too computationally expensive to be conducted in the whole domain, while macroscale descriptions fail in a small portion of the computation domain. We present a hybrid algorithm to model a general class of reaction-diffusion processes in granular porous media, which includes mixing-induced mineral precipitation on, or dissolution of, the porous matrix. These processes cannot be accurately described using continuum (Darcy-scale) models. The pore-scale/Darcy-scale hybrid is constructed by coupling solutions of the reaction-diffusion equations (RDE) at the pore scale with continuum Darcy-level solutions of the averaged RDEs. The resulting hybrid formulation is solved numerically by employing a multiresolution meshless discretization based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method. This ensures seamless noniterative coupling of the two components of the hybrid model. Computational examples illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the hybrid algorithm.
Uplink resource allocation algorithms for Single-Carrier FDMA systems

We have focused on SC-FDMA based resource allocation in uplink cellular systems. Subchannel and power allocation constraints specific to SC-FDMA are considered. We considered a binary integer programming-based solution recently proposed for weighted sum rate maximization and extended it to different problems. We considered problems such as rate constraint satisfaction with minimum number subchannels and sum-power minimization subject to rate constraints. Besides stating the binary integer programming formulations for these problems, we propose simpler greedy algorithms for the three problems. Numerical evaluations show that the greedy algorithms perform very close to the optimal solution, with much less computation time.
Automatic dialog act segmentation and classification in multiparty meetings

We explore the two related tasks of dialog act (DA) segmentation and DA classification for speech from the ICSI Meeting Corpus. We employ simple lexical and prosodic knowledge sources, and compare results for human-transcribed versus automatically recognized words. Since there is little previous work on DA segmentation and classification in the meeting domain, our study provides baseline performance rates for both tasks. We introduce a range of metrics for use in evaluation, each of which measures different aspects of interest. Results show that both tasks are difficult, particularly for a fully automatic system. We find that a very simple prosodic model aids performance over lexical information alone, especially for segmentation. Both tasks, but particularly word-based segmentation, are degraded by word recognition errors. Finally, while classification results for meeting data show some similarities to previous results for telephone conversations, findings also suggest a potential difference with respect to the effect of modeling DA context.
Amygdala Responses to Fearful and Happy Facial Expressions under Conditions of Binocular Suppression

The human amygdala plays a crucial role in processing affective information conveyed by sensory stimuli. Facial expressions of fear and anger, which both signal potential threat to an observer, result in significant increases in amygdala activity, even when the faces are unattended or presented briefly and masked. It has been suggested that afferent signals from the retina travel to the amygdala via separate cortical and subcortical pathways, with the subcortical pathway underlying unconscious processing. Here we exploited the phenomenon of binocular rivalry to induce complete suppression of affective face stimuli presented to one eye. Twelve participants viewed brief, rivalrous visual displays in which a fearful, happy, or neutral face was presented to one eye while a house was presented simultaneously to the other. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study activation in the amygdala and extrastriate visual areas for consciously perceived versus suppressed face and house stimuli. Activation within the fusiform and parahippocampal gyri increased significantly for perceived versus suppressed faces and houses, respectively. Amygdala activation increased bilaterally in response to fearful versus neutral faces, regardless of whether the face was perceived consciously or suppressed because of binocular rivalry. Amygdala activity also increased significantly for happy versus neutral faces, but only when the face was suppressed. This activation pattern suggests that the amygdala has a limited capacity to differentiate between specific facial expressions when it must rely on information received via a subcortical route. We suggest that this limited capacity reflects a tradeoff between specificity and speed of processing.
Simulation of Film Cooling Enhancement With Mist Injection

Cooling of gas turbine hot section components such as combustor liners, combustor transition pieces, turbine vanes (nozzles) and blades (buckets) is a critical task for improving the life and reliability of hot-section components. Conventional cooling techniques using air-film cooling, impingement jet cooling, and turbulators have significantly contributed to cooling enhancements in the past. However, the increased net benefits that can be continuously harnessed by using these conventional cooling techniques seem to be incremental and are about to approach their limit. Therefore, new cooling techniques are essential for surpassing these current limits. This paper investigates the potential of film cooling enhancement by injecting mist into the coolant. The computational results show that a small amount of injection (2% of the coolant flow rate) can enhance the cooling effectiveness about 30% ∼ 50%. The cooling enhancement takes place more strongly in the downstream region, where the single-phase film cooling becomes less powerful. Three different holes are used in this study including a 2-D slot, a round hole, and a fan-shaped diffusion hole. A comprehensive study is performed on the effect of flue gas temperature, blowing angle, blowing ratio, mist injection rate, and droplet size on the cooling effectiveness with 2-D cases. Analysis on droplet history (trajectory and size) is undertaken to interpret the mechanism of droplet dynamics.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Three essays on the labor market

Using a three-essay approach, I focus on two issues related to the labor market: the effect of changes in regulatory costs on informal sector employment, and the role of endogeneity in the relationship between education and earnings. In the first essay, I analyze the implications of regulatory costs on skill-based wage differences and informal sector employment. I use a two sector matching model with exogenous skill types for workers where firms have sector-specific costs and workers have sector-specific bargaining power. In general, there are multiple equilibria possible for this model. I focus on the equilibrium that best resembles the situation in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. My results show that government policies which reduce regulatory costs decrease unemployment, earnings inequality, and the fraction of skilled workers in the informal sector. The different types of regulatory costs affect the skill premium differently and non-monotonically. In the second essay, I test the hypothesis of linearity in returns to education in the Mincer regression with endogenous schooling and earnings. I estimate the marginal rate of return to education using a polynomial model and a semiparametric partial linear model based on the standard Mincer regression. To perform the analysis, I use a control function approach for IV estimation with spousal and parental education as instruments. Results suggest that estimates not accounting for endogeneity understate returns at the tails of the education spectrum and overstate returns for education levels between middle-school and college.
Identifying Attributes of Teacher Leaders within the Advancement via Individual Determination Program: A Survey of School Principals

This study identified what attributes principals believe best exemplify a teacher leader in schools implementing the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program and what attributes they take into consideration when selecting an AVID elective teacher. After surveying more than 1,100 principals, we found that principals tended to rate teacher leadership attributes high in all areas, although they were not in agreement in the areas of professional growth and school/district environments. Respondents also did not consider all teacher leader attributes when selecting their AVID elective teachers. Principals may therefore see an immediate need for a high-quality teacher to teach the AVID elective class yet initially underestimate the importance of the teacher's role in AVID as a catalyst for schoolwide reform.
Fault Diagnosis in Integrated Circuits with BIST

This paper presents an optimized fault diagnosing procedure applicable in built-in self-test environments. Instead of the known approach based on a simple bisection of patterns in pseudorandom test sequences, we propose a novel bisection procedure where the diagnostic weight of test patterns is taken into account. Another novelty is the sequential nature of the procedure which allows pruning the search space. Opposite to the classical approach which targets all failing patterns, in the proposed method not all failing patterns are needed to be fixed for diagnosis. This allows to tradeoff the speed of diagnosis with diagnostic resolution. The proposed method is compared with three known fault diagnosis methods: classical binary search, doubling and jumping. Experimental results demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method compared to the previous ones.
ATM, Internet Banking and Mobile Banking Services in a Digital Environment: The Egyptian Banking Industry

E-services are revolutionizing the way business is conducted in banking industry. Banks are trying to provide a variety of self-service channels such as Automated Teller Machines (ATM,) Internet banking and Mobile Banking (m-banking) in order to increase customer convenience, reduce costs and maintain profitability. This paper proposes a framework to explore and compare the dimensions and barriers that affect consumer’s intention to use or adopt different self-service banking technologies in the Egyptian context. An empirical study on bank customers was conducted using a quantitative approach, where structured questionnaires were distributed over 1500 respondents that were divided into three groups in order to investigate the usage of ATM, Internet banking and m-banking. Data collected, was statistically analyzed using Chi square test, frequencies and cross tabulations. The results indicate that the three groups differ significantly with respect to usage, value, risk, tradition and image barriers. Moreover, significant relations between decisions of adoption with Internet banking experience, level of education, type of mobile owned and mobile Internet experience were also noted.
Does Corporate Governance Really Matter ?

We examine the relation between a broad set of corporate governance factors and various measures of managerial behavior and organizational performance. Using a sample of 2,126 firms we distill 38 structural measures of corporate governance (e.g., board characteristics, stock ownership, anti-takeover variables etc.) to 13 governance factors using principal components analysis. For a wide set of dependent variables (e.g., abnormal accruals, excessive CEO compensation, debt ratings, analyst recommendations, Q and over-investment) we find that the 13 governance factors on average explain only 1% to 5.5% of the cross-sectional variation using standard OLS multiple regression techniques and 1.4% to 9.1% of the variation using exploratory recursive partitioning techniques. Overall, our results suggest that the typical structural indicators of corporate governance used in academic research and institutional rating services have very limited ability to explain managerial behavior and organizational performance. Does Corporate Governance Really Matter?
Changes in thick filament length in Limulus striated muscle

Here we describe the change in thick filament length in striated muscle of Limulus, the horseshoe crab. Long thick filaments (4.0 microns) are isolated from living, unstimulated Limulus striated muscle while those isolated from either electrically or K+-stimulated fibers are significantly shorter (3.1 microns) (P less than 0.001). Filaments isolated from muscle glycerinated at long sarcomere lengths are long (4.4 microns) while those isolated from muscle glycerinated at short sarcomere lengths are short (2.9 microns) and the difference is significant (P less than 0.001). Thin filaments are 2.4 microns in length. The shortening of thick filaments is related to the wide range of sarcomere lengths exhibited by Limulus telson striated muscle.
Novel Transformerless Grid-Connected Power Converter With Negative Grounding for Photovoltaic Generation System

This paper proposes a novel transformerless grid-connected power converter with negative grounding for a photovoltaic generation system. The negative terminal of the solar cell array can be directly connected to the ground in the proposed grid-connected power converter to avoid the transparent conducting oxide corrosion that occurs in some types of thin-film solar cell array. The proposed grid-connected power converter consists of a dc-dc power converter and a dc-ac inverter. The salient features of the proposed power converter are that some power electronic switches are simultaneously used in both the dc-dc power converter and dc-ac inverter, and only two power electronic switches operate at high switching frequency at the same time (one is in the dc-dc power converter and the other is in the dc-ac inverter). The leakage current of the photovoltaic generation system is reduced because the negative terminal of the solar cell array is connected directly to the ground. Finally, a prototype was developed to verify the performance of the proposed grid-connected power converter. The experimental results show that the performance of the proposed grid-connected power converter is as expected.
Developments of Electrolyte Systems for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries: A Review

With a theoretical specific energy 5 times higher than that of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries (2,600 vs. ~500 Wh kg-1), lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have been considered as one of the most promising energy storage systems for the electrification of vehicles. However, both the polysulfide shuttle effects of the sulfur cathode and dendrite formation of the lithium anode are still key limitations to practical use of traditional Li-S batteries. In this review, we focus on the recent developments in electrolyte systems. First we start with a brief discussion on fundamentals of Li-S batteries and key challenges associated with traditional liquid cells. We then introduce the most recent progresses in liquid systems, including ether-based, carbonate-based, and ionic liquid-based electrolytes. And then we move on to the advances in solid systems, including polymer and non-polymer electrolytes. Finally, the opportunities and perspectives for future research in both the liquid and solid Li-S batteries are presented.
Antenna selection diversity for IEEE 802.11p

Dependable vehicular communications systems are a key requirement for the implementation of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Multiple antenna receivers enable the utilization of spatial diversity to increase the reliability as well as improve the availability. The cost of a multiple antenna receiver is the increased hardware complexity due to multiple receive chains. In this paper we demonstrate that antenna selection for IEEE 802.11p allows to connect the antenna with the best instantaneous signal to noise ratio (SNR) to a single receive chain while maintaining the diversity gain. We extend the IEEE 802.11p frame structure by two short preambles to estimate the SNR for each receive branch. The numerical simulation results from our standard compliant link level simulation show a bit error ratio reduction from 8.159 · 10-3 to 6.681 · 10-3 at an SNR of 8 dB and from 4.688 · 10-5 to 1.063 · 10-5 at an SNR of 12 dB with antenna selection.
Liang Determinants of the U . S . Current Account T

This article provides empirical evidence on the effect of domestic and international factors on the U.S. current account deficit. Linear dynamic regression and vector autoregression models are employed to estimate the relationships during the period from 1986 to 2011. The findings of this study suggest that the current and lagged private saving rate and foreign current account for East Asian economies have played a vital role in affecting the U.S. current account. Additionally, using Granger causality tests and variance decompositions, the change of the productivity growth and foreign domestic demand are determined to influence significantly the change of the U.S. current account. To summarize, the empirical relationship between the U.S. current account deficit and its determinants is sensitive to alternative regression models and specifications. Keywords—Current account deficit, productivity growth, foreign demand, vector autoregression.
Model-Checking an Alternating-time Temporal Logic with Knowledge, Imperfect Information, Perfect Recall and Communicating Coalitions

We present a variant of ATL with distributed knowledge operators based on a synchronous and perfect recall semantics. The coalition modalities in t his logic are based on partial observation of the full history, and incorporate a form of cooperation between members of the coalition in which agents issue their actions based on the distributed knowledge, for that coalition, of the system history. We show that model-checking is decidable for this logic. The technique utilizes two variants of games with imperfect information and partially observable objectives, as well as a subset construction for identifying states whose histories are indistinguishable to the considered coalition.
capB2 Expression Is Associated with Staphylococcus aureus Pathogenicity

CapB2 is recognized as a tyrosine kinase and is likely a vital factor in extracellular polysaccharide synthesis in Staphylococcus aureus, but its pathogenicity function and regulatory mechanism remain obscure. Here, we demonstrate that CapB2 enhances bacterial virulence in a murine model. Mice infected with the wild type SA75 strain exhibited significantly larger (P < 0.05) skin lesions from days 4 to 7 of infection than those challenged with the capB2 mutant strain. The effect on virulence was reverted by restoring the capB2 mutation to the wild type. The related components of the wild type SA75 cell wall in the capB2 mutant strain (SA75ΔcapB2) were thinner than wild type SA75 strain and the capB2 mutant complemented strain (SA75ΔcapB2-C), which was determined by the transmission electron microscopy. The survival percentages of the wild type strain SA75 and SA75ΔcapB2-C were significantly higher relative to SA75ΔcapB2. The results of qRT-PCR studies also indicated that mutations in regulatory gene sarA led to a drastic increase in capB2 gene transcription, with a 326-fold increase of growth at 6 h compared with the wild type strain, suggesting that sarA is a major negative regulator of capB2 expression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the expression of CapB2 promotes S. aureus virulence in a mouse model of skin infection, and that capB2 gene transcription is regulated negatively by SarA.
Towards a taxonomy of techniques to detect cross-site scripting and SQL injection vulnerabilities

Since 2002, over half of reported cyber vulnerabilities are caused by input validation vulnerabilities . Over 50 % of input validation vulnerabilities were cross-site scripting and SQL injection vulnerabilities in 2006, based on the (US) National Vulnerability Database. Techniques to mitigate cross-site scripting and SQL injection vulnerabilities have been proposed. However, applying those techniques without precise understanding can result in a false sense of security. Clearly understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each security technique can provide a basis for comparison of those techniques. This survey provides a taxonomy of techniques to detect cross-site scripting and SQL injection vulnerabilities based upon of 21 papers published in the IEEE and ACM databases. Our taxonomy characterizes the detection methods and evaluation criteria of the techniques. The taxonomy provides a foundation for comparison among techniques to detect cross- site scripting and SQL injection vulnerabilities. Organizations can use the comparison results to choose appropriate techniques depending on available resources.