Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deep Epitomic Convolutional Neural Networks

Deep convolutional neural networks have recently proven extremely competitive in challenging image recognition tasks. This paper proposes the epitomic convolution as a new building block for deep neural networks. An epitomic convolution layer replaces a pair of consecutive convolution and max-pooling layers found in standard deep convolutional neural networks. The main version of the proposed model uses mini-epitomes in place of filters and computes responses invariant to small translations by epitomic search instead of max-pooling over image positions. The topographic version of the proposed model uses large epitomes to learn filter maps organized in translational topographies. We show that error back-propagation can successfully learn multiple epitomic layers in a supervised fashion. The effectiveness of the proposed method is assessed in image classification tasks on standard benchmarks. Our experiments on Imagenet indicate improved recognition performance compared to standard convolutional neural networks of similar architecture. Our models pre-trained on Imagenet perform excellently on Caltech-101. We also obtain competitive image classification results on the small-image MNIST and CIFAR-10 datasets.
Self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm for numerical optimization

In this paper, we propose a novel self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm (SaDE), where the choice of learning strategy and the two control parameters F and CR are not required to be pre-specified. During evolution, the suitable learning strategy and parameter settings are gradually self-adapted according to the learning experience. The performance of the SaDE is reported on the set of 25 benchmark functions provided by CEC2005 special session on real parameter optimization.
The Searchlight Scheduling Problem

The problem of searching for a mobile robber in a simple polygon by a number of searchlights is considered. A searchlight is a stationary point which emits a single ray that cannot penetrate the boundary of the polygon. The direction of the ray can be changed continuously, and a point is detected by a searchlight at a given time if and only if it is on the ray. A robber is a point that can move continuously with unbounded speed. First, it is shown that the problem of obtaining a search schedule for an instance having at least one searchlight on the polygon boundary can be reduced to that for instances having no searchlight on the polygon boundary. The reduction is achieved by a recursive search strategy called the one-way sweep strategy. Then various sufficient conditions for the existence of a search schedule are presented by using the concept of a searchlight visibility graph. Finally, a simple necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a search schedule for instances having exactly two sea.
Multilingual Validation of the Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke-Free Status in West Africa

Background and Purpose— The Questionnaire for Verifying Stroke-Free Status (QVSFS), a method for verifying stroke-free status in participants of clinical, epidemiological, and genetic studies, has not been validated in low-income settings where populations have limited knowledge of stroke symptoms. We aimed to validate QVSFS in 3 languages, Yoruba, Hausa and Akan, for ascertainment of stroke-free status of control subjects enrolled in an on-going stroke epidemiological study in West Africa. Methods— Data were collected using a cross-sectional study design where 384 participants were consecutively recruited from neurology and general medicine clinics of 5 tertiary referral hospitals in Nigeria and Ghana. Ascertainment of stroke status was by neurologists using structured neurological examination, review of case records, and neuroimaging (gold standard). Relative performance of QVSFS without and with pictures of stroke symptoms (pictograms) was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Results— The overall median age of the study participants was 54 years and 48.4% were males. Of 165 stroke cases identified by gold standard, 98% were determined to have had stroke, whereas of 219 without stroke 87% were determined to be stroke-free by QVSFS. Negative predictive value of the QVSFS across the 3 languages was 0.97 (range, 0.93–1.00), sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were 0.98, 0.82, and 0.80, respectively. Agreement between the questionnaire with and without the pictogram was excellent/strong with Cohen k=0.92. Conclusions— QVSFS is a valid tool for verifying stroke-free status across culturally diverse populations in West Africa.
Multi-state Two-Terminal Reliability : A Generalized Cut-Set Approach

This paper describes an extension of a classical network reliability problem to the multi-state case. The two-terminal reliability (2TR) problem assumes a network and its elements can be in either a working or a failed state. However, many practical networks are built of elements that may operate in more than two states. The major focus of this study is to develop a methodology for obtaining the multi-state equivalent of binary cut sets, namely, multi-state minimal cut vectors (MMCV), for the multi-state two-terminal reliability (M2TR) problem. The algorithm uses an information sharing approach that significantly reduces the number of vector enumerations needed to obtain all MMCV. The algorithm mimics natural organisms in that a select number of MMCV, called “offspring cuts,” inherit information from other MMCV called “parent cuts. ” Additionally, the paper discusses the computation of reliability once the MMCV are known. For large systems with even a relatively small number of states, the computation may not be trivial, and simulation is discussed as a useful approach to obtain fairly accurate approximations. This paper presents preliminary results on a straightforward Monte Carlo simulation to approximate M2TR. Examples are included to illustrate the methodology.
Prospective population-based study on the survival of patients with lung cancer

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the change, over 20 yrs, in the survival of lung cancer patients in a population-based study. Information on all patients with lung cancer in a defined geographical area during 1990–1992 (n=602) was prospectively gathered. The survival of these patients was assessed and also compared with the results of a similar study in the same area during the years 1968–1971 (n=446). The 5-yr survival had improved during 20 yrs from 4% to 12%. The 5-yr survival of the patients with squamous cell carcinoma had increased from 6% to 16%, and adenocarcinoma from 4% to 19%, whereas the survival of small cell carcinoma had remained the same (2% and 3%, respectively). Even though the recent patients were older than those of the earlier series the proportion of surgically treated patients had remained the same (16% and 20%), but the 5-yr survival of patients who had been operated on had increased significantly from 23% to 48%. The differences in survival in the second cohort (1990–1992) between histological types (Chi-squared logrank=59.2), tumour, node, metastasis stages (Chi-squared logrank=199.6), symptomatic stages (Chi-squared logrank=120, p<0.001) and treatment (Chi-squared logrank=277) were significant. Based on this study the independent prognostic factors for better survival of lung cancer patients are tumour, node, metastasis stages I and II, surgical treatment and Feinstein's symptomatic stages I and II.
The Markets and the Media: Business News and Stock Market Movements

Part 1 Micro: Stock Recommendations and Stock Prices Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 The Publicity-Effect: The Big Moment of the Gurus Chapter 4 No News: Stock Recommendations Part 5 Performance Distrubances: Reflexive Return-Reduction Chapter 6 Summary Chapter 7 Coda Part 8 Meso: News Events and Price Movements Chapter 9 Introduction Chapter 10 State of the Art: Random Walks and Irrational Exuberance Chapter 11 News Effects: Rapid Return Reactions Chapter 12 Irregular Price Regularities Chapter 13 World Events: The Effects of 'Big News' Chapter 14 Summary Part 15 Macro: Meta-Communication and Market Dynamics Chapter 16 Introduction Chapter 17 Feedback: The Media as 'Learning Lab' Chapter 18 News Structures: 'Use Value' and 'Narrative Imperative' Chapter 19 Media Manias: The 'CNBC-Effect' Chapter 20 Meta-Communication: Dynamic Interactions Chapter 21 Crash: Media and Market Panics Chapter 22 Summary and Conclusions Part 23 Afterword: Critique of the Noise System Part 24 Appendix: Bibliography Business and Financial Communication
Are Mutual Funds Doomed to Underperform ? Evidence from Managerial Turnover and Fund Flows

We empirically investigate the impact of fund flows and managerial turnover on the investment performance of active equity mutual funds. Fund flows have been suggested by Berk and Green (2004) as mechanism that prevents performance persistence. We propose managerial turnover as an alternative explanation. One the one hand, withdrawing money from loser funds and sacking bad fund managers are measures of external and internal control in delegated money management, respectively. On the other hand, if winner funds receive excessive inflows or their star manager leaves the fund future performance might deteriorate. Using a sample of 3,948 U. S. equity mutual funds from 1992 to 2007 our results confirm this relationship for both control mechanisms for the cross-section and over time. The performance of top funds strongly suffers from excessive inflows and leaving of the skilled fund manager. Loser funds benefit from a replacement of their apparently unskilled manager but cannot gain from cash outflows to the same degree. Thus, we offer empirical evidence that the managerial turnover channel is at least as important in explaining the lack in performance persistence as funds flows. Furthermore, we show that both channels have a marginal impact on performance which is mutually independent.
An analysis of neuropsychological change scores following selective temporal resection of the non-dominant temporal lobe

Reliable change in neuropsychological test scores was examined in patients undergoing right-sided, selective temporal resections for the relief of intractable epilepsy. Measures were taken prior to surgery, 1-month post-operatively and 1-year post-operatively. Non-verbal memory performance was more robustly measured than in previous studies. Results failed to replicate previous studies which report verbal memory deficits even following right-sided surgery. No strong evidence of a material-specific, non-verbal memory deficit was found on commonly used tests of non-verbal memory. The majority of patients failed to show reliable decline in performance following surgery indicating that fears of post-operative memory decline may be unfounded.
Measuring CRM effectiveness: Construct development, validation and application of a process-oriented model

The quality of customer relationship management (CRM) is usually evaluated by outcome indicators such as customer loyalty and business performance. To maintain or improve these indicators, CRM managers should regularly evaluate the progress of CRM practices. In this paper, we propose and develop a construct, called CRM effectiveness (CRME), comprising three dimensions: relationship marketing (RM), customer-focused information technology (CFIT) and customer-focused organisational climate (CFOC). The development of CRME followed the three-stage methodology of Churchill (1979). A survey was conducted at 523 financial services institutions and 407 manufacturing companies in Taiwan with 221 usable returns. The survey evaluated reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity and nomological validity of the construct. The results support the proposed construct and its three dimensions. The three dimensions and their measures offer a parsimonious and practical approach for evaluating CRME and identifying its strengths and weaknesses. They reflect the process perspective of CRME and provide a better operationalisation of CRME for businesses and researchers to apply in practices.
Physical parameters and wind properties of galactic early B supergiants

We present optical studies of the physical and wind properties, plus CNO chemical abundances, of 25 O9.5–B3 Galactic supergiants. We employ non-LTE, line blanketed, extended model atmospheres, which provide a modest downward revision in the effective temperature scale of early B supergiants of up to 1-2 kK relative to previous non-blanketed results. The so-called “bistability jump” at B1 ($T_{\rm eff} \sim 21$ kK) from Lamers et al. is rather a more gradual trend (with large scatter) from $v_{\infty}/v_{\rm esc}\sim3.4$ for B0–0.5 supergiants above 24 kK to $v_{\infty}/v_{\rm esc}\sim 2.5$ for B0.7–1 supergiants with 20 kK ≤ T eff ≤ 24 kK, and $v_{\infty}/v_{\rm esc}\sim 1.9$ for B1.5–3 supergiants below 20 kK. This, in part, explains the break in observed UV spectral characteristics between B0.5 and B0.7 subtypes as discussed by Walborn et al. We compare derived (homogeneous) wind densities with recent results for Magellanic Cloud B supergiants and generally confirm theoretical expectations for stronger winds amongst Galactic supergiants. However, winds are substantially weaker than predictions from current radiatively driven wind theory, especially at mid-B subtypes, a problem which is exacerbated if winds are already clumped in the H α line forming region. In general, CNO elemental abundances reveal strongly processed material at the surface of Galactic B supergiants, with mean N/C and N/O abundances 10 and 5 times higher than the Solar value, respectively, with HD 2905 (BC0.7 Ia) indicating the lowest degree of processing in our sample, and HD 152236 (B1.5 Ia + ) the highest.
Toward a Quantum Theory of Humor

This paper proposes that cognitive humour can be modelled using the mathematical framework of quantum theory, suggesting that a Quantum Theory of Humour (QTH) is a viable approach. We begin with brief overviews of both research on humour, and the generalized quantum framework. We show how the bisociation of incongruous frames or word meanings in jokes can be modelled as a linear superposition of a set of basis states, or possible interpretations, in a complex Hilbert space. The choice of possible interpretations depends on the context provided by the set-up versus the punchline of a joke. We apply QTH first to a verbal pun, and then consider how this might be extended to frame blending in cartoons. An initial study of 85 participant responses to 35 jokes (and a number of variants) suggests that there is reason to believe that a quantum approach to the modelling of cognitive humour is a viable new avenue of research for the field of quantum cognition.
Career Development in Retailing: Mentoring as a Management Development Aid Career Development in Retailing: Mentoring as a Management Development Aid

This paper assesses the incidence and contribution that mentoring has to the career development of retail managers. Previous research has identified the benefits that mentoring relationships have for the protégé, the mentor and the organisation, although none have compared the experiences and attitudes towards mentoring within the retail environment. Drawing on a sample of 132 retail managers in the UK, this research found that half the sample had experienced being a protégé in a mentoring relationship. No significant differences were found between a respondent’s sex, age, position in the organisation and whether they have been mentored. Mentoring was found to play an important role in the development of a protégé’s current job and career, as well as self development. It was less apparent whether the incidence of mentoring affected retail managers ultimate career ambitions. However, it appears that the advantages of mentoring as a management development tool far outweigh any disadvantages for the protégé. Retail organisations have much to benefit from the encouragement and facilitation of such relationships. Organisational benefits derive from increased management succession, management development, reduced turnover and increased productivity.
Dynamic Mode Decomposition for Real-Time Background/Foreground Separation in Video

This paper introduces the method of dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) for robustly separating video frames into background (low-rank) and foreground (sparse) components in real-time. The method is a novel application of a technique used for characterizing nonlinear dynamical systems in an equation-free manner by decomposing the state of the system into low-rank terms whose Fourier components in time are known. DMD terms with Fourier frequencies near the origin (zero-modes) are interpreted as background (low-rank) portions of the given video frames, and the terms with Fourier frequencies bounded away from the origin are their sparse counterparts. An approximate low-rank/sparse separation is achieved at the computational cost of just one singular value decomposition and one linear equation solve, thus producing results orders of magnitude faster than a leading separation method, namely robust principal component analysis (RPCA). The DMD method that is developed here is demonstrated to work robustly in real-time with personal laptop-class computing power and without any parameter tuning, which is a transformative improvement in performance that is ideal for video surveillance and recognition applications.
When “Best Practices” Win, Employees Lose: Symbolic Compliance and Judicial Inference in Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Cases

This article provides a new account of employers' advantages over employees in federal employment discrimination cases. We analyze the effects of judicial deference, in which judges use institutionalized employment structures to infer nondiscrimination without scrutinizing those structures in any meaningful way. Using logistic regression to analyze a representative sample of judicial opinions in federal EEO cases during the first thirty‐five years after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, we find that when judges uncritically use the presence of organizational structures to reason about whether discrimination occurred, employers are much more likely to prevail. This pattern is especially pronounced in opinions written by liberal judges. In light of these findings, we offer recommendations for judges, lawyers, and policy makers—including legal academics—who seek to improve the accuracy and efficacy of employment discrimination adjudications.
Mapping the genetic variation of executive attention onto brain activity

Brain imaging data have repeatedly shown that the anterior cingulate cortex is an important node in the brain network mediating conflict. We previously reported that polymorphisms in dopamine receptor (DRD4) and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genes showed significant associations with efficiency of handling conflict as measured by reaction time differences in the Attention Network Test (ANT). To examine whether this genetic variation might contribute to differences in brain activation within the anterior cingulate cortex, we genotyped 16 subjects for the DRD4 and MAOA genes who had been scanned during the ANT. In each of the two genes previously associated with more efficient handling of conflict in reaction time experiments, we found a polymorphism in which persons with the allele associated with better behavioral performance showed significantly more activation in the anterior cingulate while performing the ANT than those with the allele associated with worse performance. The results demonstrate how genetic differences among individuals can be linked to individual differences in neuromodulators and in the efficiency of the operation of an appropriate attentional network.
Metabolic Activity and Functional Diversity Changes in Sediment Prokaryotic Communities Organically Enriched with Mussel Biodeposits

This experimental microcosm study reports the influence of organic enrichments by mussel biodeposits on the metabolic activity and functional diversity of benthic prokaryotic communities. The different biodeposit enrichment regimes created, which mimicked the quantity of faeces and pseudo-faeces potentially deposited below mussel farms, show a clear stimulatory effect of this organic enrichment on prokaryotic metabolic activity. This effect was detected once a certain level of biodeposition was attained with a tipping point estimated between 3.25 and 10 g day-1 m-2. Prokaryotic communities recovered their initial metabolic activity by 11 days after the cessation of biodeposit additions. However, their functional diversity remained greater than prior to the disturbance suggesting that mussel biodeposit enrichment may disturb the functioning and perhaps the role of prokaryotic communities in benthic ecosystems. This manipulative approach provided new information on the influence of mussel biodeposition on benthic prokaryotic communities and dose-response relationships and may support the development of carrying capacity models for bivalve culture.
Experience-driven Design Innovation in Erp Systems Experience-driven Design Innovation in Erp Systems

General Purpose Technologies (Bresnahan and Trajtenberg, 1995; Helpman, 1998) have been hitherto conceptualized as upstream technical inventions whose downstream commercialization requires sector-specific complementary investments. This article points up the existence of a different class of general purpose technologies that – unlike the classic cases of dynamos, transistors, and computers – originate downstream as special purpose technologies in specific sectors and then evolve upstream into general purpose technologies through discovery of broader applications that lead to design breakthroughs in product embodiment of the technology. The evolving design of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software exemplifies this process of „technology generalization. “ Technology generalization is related to the process of technological convergence (Rosenberg, 1972; 1976), but lays the emphasis on design improvements enabled by the accumulation of experience and exposure to multiple environments rather than on changes in industry structure.
BUT BABEL system for spontaneous Cantonese

This paper presents our work on speech recognition of Cantonese spontaneous telephone conversations. The key-points include feature extraction by 6-layer Stacked Bottle-Neck neural network and using fundamental frequency information at its input. We have also investigated into robustness of SBN training (silence, normalization) and shown an efficient combination with PLP using Region-Dependent transforms. A combination of RDT with another popular adaptation technique (SAT) was shown beneficial. The results are reported on BABEL Cantonese data.
Have Real Interest Rates Really Fallen that Much in Spain?

This paper analyses the behaviour of real interest rates in the Spanish economy over the last 15 years. Since inflation-indexed-bonds are not available, changes in implicit real interest rates are estimated using several approaches suggested by macroeconomic and financial theory. In particular, we employ equilibrium conditions of a representative agent under several specifications of preferences. Moreover, we exploit no-arbitrage conditions in securities markets. The evidence we report indicates that inflation uncertainty could account for a notable part of the observed decrease in nominal rates. Consequently, the actual real cost of financing might have decreased significantly less than what the course of ex-post real rates would suggest.