Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Mechanism for Greediness Management when Streaming Multimedia to Portable Devices

The majority of streaming solutions use rate adaptation based on congestion avoidance mechanisms that try to obtain as much bandwidth as possible from the limited network resources. This is good if we assume that all clients have equal requirements. However, this is rarely the case as devices have unique characteristics (e.g. screen size, screen resolution, location, etc.) that influence streaming related parameters and consequently the experience obtained by the end user. Due to the inherent greediness of streaming protocols and lack of knowledge about the characteristics of the users device, this may result in certain devices receiving higher bandwidth share than they actually need and others not receiving enough, affecting the users perceived quality. Therefore there is a need to allow for client differentiation in order to provide an acceptable service for all clients, taking their device characteristics into account. This paper proposes a greediness control algorithm (GCA), a specially designed application layer solution that tunes the greediness of the multimedia streaming based on client priority, to make more efficient use of the wireless network and increase the overall user perceived quality.
Snap Your Fingers! An ERP/sLORETA Study Investigating Implicit Processing of Self- vs. Other-Related Movement Sounds Using the Passive Oddball Paradigm

So far, neurophysiological studies have investigated implicit and explicit self-related processing particularly for self-related stimuli such as the own face or name. The present study extends previous research to the implicit processing of self-related movement sounds and explores their spatio-temporal dynamics. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were assessed while participants (N = 12 healthy subjects) listened passively to previously recorded self- and other-related finger snapping sounds, presented either as deviants or standards during an oddball paradigm. Passive listening to low (500 Hz) and high (1000 Hz) pure tones served as additional control. For self- vs. other-related finger snapping sounds, analysis of ERPs revealed significant differences in the time windows of the N2a/MMN and P3. An subsequent source localization analysis with standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) revealed increased cortical activation in distinct motor areas such as the supplementary motor area (SMA) in the N2a/mismatch negativity (MMN) as well as the P3 time window during processing of self- and other-related finger snapping sounds. In contrast, brain regions associated with self-related processing [e.g., right anterior/posterior cingulate cortex (ACC/PPC)] as well as the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) showed increased activation particularly during processing of self- vs. other-related finger snapping sounds in the time windows of the N2a/MMN (ACC/PCC) or the P3 (IPL). None of these brain regions showed enhanced activation while listening passively to low (500 Hz) and high (1000 Hz) pure tones. Taken together, the current results indicate (1) a specific role of motor regions such as SMA during auditory processing of movement-related information, regardless of whether this information is self- or other-related, (2) activation of neural sources such as the ACC/PCC and the IPL during implicit processing of self-related movement stimuli, and (3) their differential temporal activation during deviance (N2a/MMN – ACC/PCC) and target detection (P3 – IPL) of self- vs. other-related movement sounds.
Annexing Reality: Enabling Opportunistic Use of Everyday Objects as Tangible Proxies in Augmented Reality

Advances in display and tracking technologies hold the promise of increasingly immersive augmented-reality experiences. Unfortunately, the on-demand generation of haptic experiences is lagging behind these advances in other feedback channels. We present Annexing Reality; a system that opportunistically annexes physical objects from a user's current physical environment to provide the best-available haptic sensation for virtual objects. It allows content creators to a priori specify haptic experiences that adapt to the user's current setting. The system continuously scans user's surrounding, selects physical objects that are similar to given virtual objects, and overlays the virtual models on to selected physical ones reducing the visual-haptic mismatch. We describe the developer's experience with the Annexing Reality system and the techniques utilized in realizing it. We also present results of a developer study that validates the usability and utility of our method of defining haptic experiences.
Exploring Resources and Capabilities Factors Among Entrepreneurial Ventures Using DEMATEL Approach

Resources and capabilities remain one of the most important factors that influence firms, more especially entrepreneurial ventures, to improve their competitiveness and achieve competitive advantage. In this context, present paper explores how entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses can better identify and distinguish the cause-and-effect relationship amongst resource and capability factors. Resource and capability factors among entrepreneurial ventures were classified into three dimensions and fourteen criteria after a review of the literature. The study applied the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) model to identify and describe the cause-and-effect relationship amongst resource and capability factors. The findings reveal that in prioritizing the importance of criteria and cause-and-effect relationship among criteria under the three core dimensions, firm climate, managerial competence, market knowledge and technological capabilities and equipment were the most critical criteria. Furthermore, the result has shown that firm climate is the most significant criterion in the adjustment of resource and capability factors of entrepreneurial ventures. Therefore, promoting a supportive and conducive firm climate among entrepreneurial ventures can enhance other resources and capabilities factors which, in turn, will improve the overall performance of entrepreneurial ventures and small businesses.
Racial Inclusion in Education: An Australian Context

Racism in various forms exists worldwide. In Australia, racism is inextricably linked to the history of Australian immigrants and early setters. Although the Australian education system has adopted inclusive education, evidence shows several incidents of racial exclusion. With the public education system experiencing an increased cultural diversity in student population, schools are required to develop inclusive education policies. While policies related to disability inclusion have been in practice for many years, only recently has there been an increasing awareness of racial inclusion. This research paper explores the importance of racial inclusion in education by examining the causes and effects of racial exclusion in the Australian education context. This paper considers existing practices at the national level and in schools to explore racial discrimination. It identifies the factors contributing towards racism and proposes a framework employing key strategies at the macro, meso and micro levels to achieve racial inclusion in education. It also suggests opportunities based on research to strengthen the response against racism.
Housing Loan and the Price of Housing in Singapore

We use the Johansen co-integration test and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to analyze data on housing loan, housing price, interest rate and GDP from 19911Q to 20102Q to particularly ascertain the extent to which housing loan affects house prices in Singapore. The results show the existence of a long run co-integration among housing loan, house price, interest rate and GDP. Furthermore, housing loan is found to be positively correlated with house price and GDP but negatively correlated with interest rate in the long run. There seems to be no correlation between housing loan and house price in the short run. Moreover, a change in housing loan per se does not affect house price, neither does a change in house price per se affect housing loan in the short run. Thus, while there is long run equilibrium among housing loan, house price, interest rate and GDP, the causality direction between housing loan and house price is somewhat obscure. This implies that targeting housing loan as a means to control property price inflation in Singapore may not achieve the immediate desired result.
Climate‐Influenced Migration in Bangladesh: The Need for a Policy Realignment

Recent research into migration in Bangladesh has highlighted that people migrate for better livelihoods, not necessarily in response to climatic stresses and shocks. If facilitated appropriately, internal and international migration can help build adaptive capacity to future environmental and climatic hazards. In this framing, migration happens in the context of a growing city-centred economy that promotes remittances to villages. However, a textual analysis of current and recent policies concerning climate change, development and poverty alleviation, and disaster management shows that the economic and adaptive roles of internal migration are often not included in policy framing. We argue that if migration works as a positive step towards adaptation, then the key challenge is to align the policies with this new understanding.
Magnetic Structure of Domain Walls Confined in a Nano-Oxide Layer

In the recent years, a spin valve was developed with a current-confined-path structure consisting of a non-oxide-layer. We analyze magnetic structures of the current-confined-path in the nano-oxide layer sandwiched between ferromagnetic electrodes and clarify the dependency of the magnetic structure on the shape and size of the current-confined path. Our results of stiffness energy density and thermal stability shows that we should fabricate a current perpendicular to the plane spin valve with narrow current-confined paths with a large aspect ratio and strong constriction in order to enhance the magnetoresistance ratio.
Dysmetabolic Iron Overload and Cardiometabolic Diseases. Cause-Effect Relationship or Indirect Association?

Iron is a micronutrient involved in many organic functions. It is essential for the oxygen transport and participates in numerous enzymatic systems related to cellular respiration, synthesis of DNA, RNA and proteins, as well as others involved in antioxidant defense and immunity. However, since iron is both an electron donor and acceptor, it has the potential to generate free radicals [1,2]. Iron status is regulated at the level of absorption, and numerous ingested food components can enhance or inhibit its bioavailability [3] (Figure 1, number 1). Iron deficiency anemia affects health and life quality and may produce growth retardation and decreases in physical and intellectual performance with the subsequent public health and socioeconomic impacts [3]. Homeorretic mechanisms exist to adapt the body to the iron deficiency. When body iron should be increased, hepcidin -a hormone that blocks iron transport from the intestine and storage cells (eg. hepatocytes and macrophages) to the bloodis downregulated in order to increase net absorption and maintain functional iron [2,3]. In this condition, iron supplementation and the consumption of iron-fortified foods can effectively restore this metal status [3-7].
Antenna effects in terahertz apertureless near-field optical microscopy

We have performed measurements on terahertz (THz) apertureless near-field microscopy that show that the temporal shape of the observed near-field signals is approximately proportional to the time-integral of the incident field. Associated with this signal change is a bandwidth reduction by approximately a factor of 3 which is observed using both a near-field detection technique and a far-field detection technique. Using a dipole antenna model, it is shown how the observed effects can be explained by the signal filtering properties of the metal tips used in the experiments.
The Difficulties of Financial Inclusion via Large Banks:
Evidence from Mexico

Author(s): Castellanos, Sara G; Jimenez-Hernandez, Diego; Mahajan, Aprajit; Seira, Enrique | Abstract: We provide evidence on why large financial institutions in developing economies have had difficulties expanding formal sector credit. Using detailed credit data and a product that accounted for 15% of all first-time formal loans, we show that borrowers new to formal credit default at high rates and generate ex-ante unpredictable revenue. Using a large country-wide experiment, we show that expost contract terms do little to mitigate risk, implying moral hazard is not a primary cause of default. Failing to make its flagship financial inclusion product profitable, the bank eventually discontinued it
Planetary Transits toward the Galactic Bulge

One of the primary difficulties with using transits to discover extrasolar planets is the low probability a planet has of transiting its parent star. One way of overcoming this difficulty is to search for transits in dense stellar fields, such as the Galactic bulge. Here I estimate the number of planets that might be detected from a monitoring campaign toward the bulge. A campaign lasting 10 nights on a 10 m telescope (assuming 8 hr of observations per night and a 5′ × 5′ field of view) would detect five to 50 planets with radius Rp = 1.5 RJ or two to 15 planets with Rp = 1.0 RJ, if the frequency of planets in the bulge is similar to that in the solar neighborhood. The precise number detected depends sensitively on the distribution of planets around their parent stars. Most of these planets will be discovered around stars just below the turnoff, i.e., slightly evolved G dwarfs. Campaigns involving 1 or 4 m class telescopes are unlikely to discover any planets, unless there exists a substantial population of companions with Rp > 1.5 RJ.
Pasture production gains from strategic winter nitrogen applications on a North Island sheep and beef hill country farm

Inadequate pasture growth from September to November has been a major constraint on animal production at Limestone Downs, Port Waikato. In an attempt to address this, urea was applied by air in two applications per year (late autumn + winter) at rates up to 250 kg N/ha/year for each of 3 years (2004-2007). Pasture production, botanical composition and N concentration in leachate were determined on a range of slopes and aspects. Average N fertiliser response for the 3 years of the trial was, respectively, 18.9, 15.7 and 13.6 kg DM/kg N applied. Easy northerly slopes and southerly aspects showed strong positive responses to N application for all 3 years while moderate to steep northerly slopes showed smaller, inconsistent responses. Leachate N concentration was always higher in fertilised paddocks but values varied annually and with slope and aspect. Strategic use of high rates of N fertiliser use in hill country should ideally concentrate on areas showing a strong positive pasture growth response with limited N loss from leachate. At Limestone Downs, areas with little slope showed strong pasture growth responses but increased leachate N concentration while moderate southerly aspects had lower increases in leachate N concentration but only moderate pasture growth responses.
INVITED: Toward an Open-Source Digital Flow: First Learnings from the OpenROAD Project

We describe the planned Alpha release of OpenROAD, an open-source end-to-end silicon compiler. OpenROAD will help realize the goal of “democratization of hardware design”, by reducing cost, expertise, schedule and risk barriers that confront system designers today. The development of open-source, self-driving design tools is in and of itself a “moon shot” with numerous technical and cultural challenges. The open-source flow incorporates a compatible open-source set of tools that span logic synthesis, floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis, global routing and detailed routing. The flow also incorporates analysis and support tools for static timing analysis, parasitic extraction, power integrity analysis, and cloud deployment. We also note several observed challenges, or “lessons learned”, with respect to development of open-source EDA tools and flows.
CEO Overconfidence and Shadow-Banking Life Insurer Performance Under Government Purchases of Distressed Assets

In this paper, we develop a contingent claim model to evaluate the equity, default risk, and efficiency gain/loss from managerial overconfidence of a shadow-banking life insurer under the purchases of distressed assets by the government. Our paper focuses on managerial overconfidence where the chief executive officer (CEO) overestimates the returns on investment. The investment market faced by the life insurer is imperfectly competitive, and investment is core to the provision of profit-sharing life insurance policies. We show that CEO overconfidence raises the default risk in the life insurer’s equity returns, thereby adversely affecting the financial stability. Either shadow-banking involvement or government bailout attenuates the unfavorable effect. There is an efficiency gain from CEO overconfidence to investment. Government bailout helps to reduce the life insurer’s default risk, but simultaneously reduce the efficiency gain from CEO overconfidence. Our results contribute to the managerial overconfidence literature linking insurer shadow-banking involvement and government bailout in particular during a financial crisis.
Alkali-Activated Blast furnace Slag as a Green Construction Material

The Portland Cement industry contributes approximately 7% of global greenhouse gas production. The reduction of CO2 emissions can be possible through the development of alternate binders like Alkali-activated slag (AAS). An attempt has been made to manufacture Alkali-Activated Slag composites which can be considered as a Green construction material. The paper presents the effect of curing conditions on engineering properties such as Water absorption, Apparent porosity and Compressive strength of AAS pastes. The alkali-activation was done using a combination of potassium hydroxide and sodium silicate. The test parameters include curing types (Water curing at room temperature (28 0 C) , Heat curing at 40 0 , 50 0 and 60 0 C ) and Alkali content ( 6.41%, 10.41% and 12.41% ) of the mass of blast furnace slag ). It has been found that Curing condition and Alkali content have significant effects on the physical and mechanical properties of AAS.
Space representation in unilateral spatial neglect.

Patients with unilateral brain lesions were given a task requiring exploration of space with the hand in order to assess the visual dependency of unilateral spatial neglect. The task was carried out both without visual control and under visual control. Performances were compared with that of normal subjects. Results were :(1) patients with right brain damage with no visual field defect demonstrated left-sided neglect only when the exploration was not controlled visually; (2) patients with left and right brain damage with visual field defect demonstrated contralateral neglect only when the exploration was under visual guidance. The performance of the patients with right brain damage without visual field defect in not clearly understood. The other results suggest that inner spatial representation remains intact in most cases of spatial neglect. The role of parietal lobe damage in the development of this visually induced phenomenon is hypothesised. The dominant position of vision among the senses is indicated.
Text-Enhanced Representation Learning for Knowledge Graph

Learning the representations of a knowledge graph has attracted significant research interest in the field of intelligent Web. By regarding each relation as one translation from head entity to tail entity, translation-based methods including TransE, TransH and TransR are simple, effective and achieving the state-of-the-art performance. However, they still suffer the following issues: (i) low performance when modeling 1-to-N, N-to-1 and N-to-N relations. (ii) limited performance due to the structure sparseness of the knowledge graph. In this paper, we propose a novel knowledge graph representation learning method by taking advantage of the rich context information in a text corpus. The rich textual context information is incorporated to expand the semantic structure of the knowledge graph and each relation is enabled to own different representations for different head and tail entities to better handle 1-to-N, N-to-1 and N-to-N relations. Experiments on multiple benchmark datasets show that our proposed method successfully addresses the above issues and significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.
Processing Speed, Attentional Capacity, and Age-Related Memory Change

This study compared the relative importance (i.e., proportion of shared variance) of attentional capacity and processing speed accounts of cognitive aging to predict age differences in episodic and working memory performance. Right-handed adults (n = 100), 18 to 88 years of age, completed measures of attentional capacity (divided attention), processing speed, and episodic and working memory. The results provide little support for the predictive utility of the attentional capacity construct, independent of processing speed ability in accounting for age-specific episodic memory relations. The results are, however, consistent with the notion that attentional capacity mediates aspects of age-related working memory change.
Birds as Suppliers of Seed Dispersal in Temperate Ecosystems: Conservation Guidelines from Real‐World Landscapes

Abstract: Seed dispersal by animals is considered a pivotal ecosystem function that drives plant‐community dynamics in natural habitats and vegetation recovery in human‐altered landscapes. Nevertheless, there is a lack of suitable ecological knowledge to develop basic conservation and management guidelines for this ecosystem service. Essential questions, such as how well the abundance of frugivorous animals predicts seeding function in different ecosystems and how anthropogenic landscape heterogeneity conditions the role of dispersers, remain poorly answered. In three temperate ecosystems, we studied seed dispersal by frugivorous birds in landscape mosaics shaped by human disturbance. By applying a standardized design across systems, we related the frequency of occurrence of bird‐dispersed seeds throughout the landscape to the abundance of birds, the habitat features, and the abundance of fleshy fruits. Abundance of frugivorous birds in itself predicted the occurrence of dispersed seeds throughout the landscape in all ecosystems studied. Even those landscape patches impoverished due to anthropogenic disturbance received some dispersed seeds when visited intensively by birds. Nonetheless, human‐caused landscape degradation largely affected seed‐deposition patterns by decreasing cover of woody vegetation or availability of fruit resources that attracted birds and promoted seed dispersal. The relative role of woody cover and fruit availability in seed dispersal by birds differed among ecosystems. Our results suggest that to manage seed dispersal for temperate ecosystem preservation or restoration one should consider abundance of frugivorous birds as a surrogate of landscape‐scale seed dispersal and an indicator of patch quality for the dispersal function; woody cover and fruit resource availability as key landscape features that drive seedfall patterns; and birds as mobile links that connect landscape patches of different degrees of degradation and habitat quality via seed deposition.