Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power Management for Cooperative Localization: A Game Theoretical Approach

Network cooperation among agents can significantly increase their position accuracy at the cost of power consumption. Current power management techniques aim at minimizing the total position estimation errors over all the agents subject to the power budgets. There are two main drawbacks for these approaches. First, the performance of a single agent may be sacrificed for the benefit of the whole network, and second, full power budget may be used for only marginal performance improvement on the position accuracy. This paper proposes a new type of power management strategies where each agent individually minimizes its square position error bound penalized by its power cost. The strategies are obtained as solutions to two power management games that are formulated under the knowledge of local information and global information, respectively. We show that agents are more likely to cooperate when global information is available or the channel quality is good. Analytical and numerical results show that the proposed strategies significantly reduce the energy consumption with only marginal performance loss in position accuracy.
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

This paper shows how the productive interplay of theory and experimental work has furthered our understanding of credit markets in developing countries. Descriptive facts motivated a body of theory, which in turned motivated experiments designed to test it. Results from these experiments reveal both the success and the limits of the theory, prompting new work to refine it. We argue that the literature on credit can be a template research in other domains.
Analysis on Transmit Antenna Selection for Spatial Multiplexing Systems: A Geometrical Approach

Recently, the remarkable potential of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication system was unveiled for its ability to provide spatial diversity or multiplexing gains. For MIMO diversity schemes, it is already known that. by the optimal antenna selection maximizing the post-processing signal-to-noise ratio, the diversity order of the full system can be maintained. On the other hand, the diversity order achieved by antenna selection in spatial multiplexing systems, especially those exploiting practical coding and decoding schemes, has not been rigorously analyzed thus far. In this paper, from a geometric standpoint, we propose a new framework for theoretically analyzing the diversity order achieved by transmit antenna selection for separately encoded spatial multiplexing systems with linear and decision-feedback receivers. We rigorously show that a diversity order of (Nt-1)(Nr-1) can be achieved for an Nr by Nt SM system when L=2 antennas are selected from the transmit side; while for L>2 scenarios, we give bounds for the achievable diversity order and show that the optimal diversity order is at least (Nt-L+1)(Nr-L+1) . Furthermore, the same geometrical approach can be used to evaluate the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff curves for the considered spatial multiplexing systems with transmit antenna selection.
Rock Glacier Outflows May Adversely Affect Lakes: Lessons from the Past and Present of Two Neighboring Water Bodies in a Crystalline-Rock Watershed

Despite the fact that rock glaciers are one of the most common geomorphological expressions of mountain permafrost, the impacts of their solute fluxes on lakes still remain largely obscure. We examined water and sediment chemistry, and biota of two neighboring water bodies with and without a rock glacier in their catchments in the European Alps. Paleolimnological techniques were applied to track long-term temporal trends in the ecotoxicological state of the water bodies and to establish their baseline conditions. We show that the active rock glacier in the mineralized catchment of Lake Rasass (RAS) represents a potent source of acid rock drainage that results in enormous concentrations of metals in water, sediment, and biota of RAS. The incidence of morphological abnormalities in the RAS population of Pseudodiamesa nivosa, a chironomid midge, is as high as that recorded in chironomid populations inhabiting sites heavily contaminated by trace metals of anthropogenic origin. The incidence of morphological deformities in P. nivosa of ∼70% persisted in RAS during the last 2.5 millennia and was ∼40% in the early Holocene. The formation of RAS at the toe of the rock glacier most probably began at the onset of acidic drainage in the freshly deglaciated area. The present adverse conditions are not unprecedented in the lake’s history and cannot be associated exclusively with enhanced thawing of the rock glacier in recent years.
Title Targeted next-generation sequencing in anophthalmia and microphthalmia patients confirms

Background: Anophthalmia/microphthalmia (A/M) is caused by mutations in several different transcription factors, but mutations in each causative gene are relatively rare, emphasizing the need for a testing approach that screens multiple genes simultaneously. We used next-generation sequencing to screen 15 A/M patients for mutations in 9 pathogenic genes to evaluate this technology for screening in A/M. Methods: We used a pooled sequencing design, together with custom single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) calling software. We verified predicted sequence alterations using Sanger sequencing. Results: We verified three mutations c.542delC in SOX2, resulting in p.Pro181Argfs*22, p.Glu105X in OTX2 and p. Cys240X in FOXE3. We found several novel sequence alterations and SNPs that were likely to be non-pathogenic p.Glu42Lys in CRYBA4, p.Val201Met in FOXE3 and p.Asp291Asn in VSX2. Our analysis methodology gave one false positive result comprising a mutation in PAX6 (c.1268A > T, predicting p.X423LeuextX*15) that was not verified by Sanger sequencing. We also failed to detect one 20 base pair (bp) deletion and one 3 bp duplication in SOX2. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the power of next-generation sequencing with pooled sample groups for the rapid screening of candidate genes for A/M as we were correctly able to identify disease-causing mutations. However, next-generation sequencing was less useful for small, intragenic deletions and duplications. We did not find mutations in 10/15 patients and conclude that there is a need for further gene discovery in A/M.
Functional and Structural Correlates of Memory in Patients with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Individuals with medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) often show material-specific memory impairment (verbal for left, visuospatial for right hemisphere), which can be exacerbated following surgery aimed at the epileptogenic regions of medial and anterolateral temporal cortex. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that characterization of structural and functional integrity of these regions using MRI can aid in prediction of post-surgical risk of further memory decline. We investigated the nature of the relationship between structural and functional indices of hippocampal integrity with pre-operative memory performance in a group of 26 patients with unilateral mTLE. Structural integrity was assessed using hippocampal volumes, while functional integrity was assessed using hippocampal activation during the encoding of novel scenes. We quantified structural and functional integrity in terms of asymmetry, calculated as (L − R)/(L + R). Factor scores for verbal and visual memory were calculated from a clinical database and an asymmetry score (verbal − visual) was used to characterize memory performance. We found, as expected, a significant difference between left and right mTLE (RTLE) groups for hippocampal volume asymmetry, with each group showing an asymmetry favoring the unaffected temporal lobe. Encoding activation asymmetry showed a similar pattern, with left mTLE patients showing activation preferential to the right hemisphere and RTLE patients showing the reverse. Finally, we demonstrated that functional integrity mediated the relationship between structural integrity and memory performance for memory asymmetry, suggesting that even if structural changes are evident, ultimately it is the functional integrity of the tissue that most closely explains behavioral performance.
Smoking and Risk of Erectile Dysfunction: Systematic Review of Observational Studies with Meta-Analysis

Background There are many recent observational studies on smoking and risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) and whether smoking increases the risk of ED is still inconclusive. The objective of this meta-analysis was to synthesize evidence from studies that evaluated the association between smoking and the risk of ED. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus in January 2013 to identify cohort and case-control studies that evaluated the association between smoking and ED. Study quality of included studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to combine the results of included studies. Results Four prospective cohort studies and four case-control studies involving 28, 586 participants were included. Because of significant heterogeneity after including case-control studies in meta-analysis, the consistent results of prospective cohort studies were considered more accurate, Because of significant heterogeneity after including case-control studies in meta-analysis, the consistent results of prospective cohort studies were considered more accurate, Compared with non-smokers, the overall odd ratio of ED in prospective cohort studies was 1.51(95% CI: 1.34 to 1.71) for current smokers, and it was 1.29 (95% CI: 1.07 to 1.47) for former smokers. Evidence of publication bias was not found. Conclusion Evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that smoking, especially current smoking, may significantly increase the risk of ED
Robust asset allocation under model ambiguity

A decision maker, when facing a decision problem, often considers several models to represent the outcomes of the decision variable considered. More often than not, the decision maker does not trust fully any of those models and hence displays ambiguity or model uncertainty aversion. In this PhD thesis, focus is given to the specific case of asset allocation problem under ambiguity faced by financial investors. The aim is not to find an optimal solution for the investor, but rather come up with a general methodology that can be applied in particular to the asset allocation problem and allows the investor to find a tractable, easy to compute solution for this problem, taking into account ambiguity. This PhD thesis is structured as follows: First, some classical and widely used models to represent asset returns are presented. It is shown that the performance of the asset portfolios built using those single models is very volatile. No model performs better than the others consistently over the period considered, which gives empirical evidence that: no model can be fully trusted over the long run and that several models are needed to achieve the best asset allocation possible. Therefore, the classical portfolio theory must be adapted to take into account ambiguity or model uncertainty. Many authors have in an early stage attempted to include ambiguity aversion in the asset allocation problem. A review of the literature is studied to outline the main models proposed. However, those models often lack flexibility and tractability. The search for an optimal solution to the asset allocation problem when considering ambiguity aversion is often difficult to apply in practice on large dimension problems, as the ones faced by modern financial investors. This constitutes the motivation to put forward a novel methodology easily applicable, robust, flexible and tractable. The Ambiguity Robust Adjustment (ARA) methodology is theoretically presented and then tested on a large empirical data set. Several forms of the ARA are considered and tested. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the ARA methodology improves portfolio performances greatly. Through the specific illustration of the asset allocation problem in finance, this PhD thesis proposes a new general methodology that will hopefully help decision makers to solve numerous different problems under ambiguity.
Endogenous Liquidity and the Business Cycle ∗ Saki Bigio

We present a model in which asymmetric information in the quality of capital endogenously determines liquidity in equity markets. Liquid equity is used as collateral for investment projects. We explain how liquidity, the price of equity and aggregate investment are jointly determined and how they interact with shocks to aggregate productivity and to the distribution of capital quality. The framework is used to decompose business cycles into real and liquidity driven. In fact, recessions can occur without changes in aggregate productivity. We then incorporate a financial sector whose capacity to deal with asymmetric information depends on its net-worth. Financial losses occur when the the distribution of capital quality is worse than expected. As net-worth falls, financial losses exacerbate asymmetric information in future periods. Moreover, as the financial sector takes less risk, its net-worth longer to recover. Through this interaction, the liquidity channel becomes a more powerful and persistent source of aggregate fluctuations.
An econometric investigation of forecasting GDP, oil prices, and relationships among GDP and energy sources

In order for a policy to be effective, the links between the policy tools and the subsequent targets must be known, understandable, stable, and predictable. In this respect, this thesis is composed of three separate yet related empirical studies as summarised below, that target some important macroeconomic variables, which play a central role in the conduct of macroeconomic policies. First, simple regression and factor-based estimates are utilized to produce forecasts for Bahrain quarterly GDP growth in Chapter 2. Using a quarterly dataset from 1995: Q1 to 2008: Q3. The simple regression model is estimated using a small dataset, that includes six explanatory variables. These variables are selected carefully on the basis of in-sample correlation with the target variable. Alternatively, a factor model based on 65 indicators is employed to forecast Bahrain’s quarterly GDP growth. Using simulated out-of-sample experiments, the performance of both approaches are asses and compared. The main finding from this forecasting exercise is that the best forecasting performance can be reached using simple regression estimates with a handful of variables. In particular, results of point and density nowcasts show that the simple regression estimates, which uses industrial production as an indicator is more accurate than the static factor approach, which uses 65 variables in the case of Bahrain. Currently, the official flash estimates of Bahrain’s quarterly GDP are published with a delay of 90 days after the end of the reference quarter. However, the single simple regression model reduces the lag to 54 days. Second, as oil price fluctuations have important implications for future inflation and economic growth, the aim of the third chapter in this thesis is to forecast West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices using a large monthly dataset, that covers the period from March 1983 to December 2011. To achieve this aim, forecasting with factor models offer a usual approach that utilizes large datasets, however; a forecasting model which simply includes all factors in state space equation and do not allow for time varying may be not suitable with a highly volatile market such as oil market. To overcome these limitations, an approach that accounts both for parameter and model uncertainty is employed. In particular, this chapter uses the Dynamic Model Averaging (DMA) approach suggested by Koop and Korobilis (2012). The key element of the DMA approach is that it allows both for model and parameter to vary at each point of time. By doing so, the DMA is robust to structural breaks. Empirical findings show that DMA approach outperforms any other
Integration of E-Commerce by SMEs in the Manufacturing Sector: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

SMEs (small- to medium-sized enterprises) in the manufacturing industry are impacted by enormous changes in their business processes. E-commerce-related developments have reduced the importance of physical branches and moved it toward more sophisticated and e-commerce-enabled supply chains for products and services. This article analyzes the differences among SMEs in the manufacturing sector in four countries based on empirical data collected via a survey. Best-practice cases of efficient e-commerce performance such as in Denmark or the United States are identified in contrast to firms in France or Germany by using a data envelopment analysis (DEA). Leading SMEs in the sample have implemented a wide range of e-commerce applications, resulting in higher satisfaction rates. The results of this cross-country and multi-dimensional DEA research approach contribute to the literature of e-commerce adoption, usage and impact among SMEs in the manufacturing sector.
Task-based Language Teaching in General English Classrooms: A Case Study in Engineering Faculties in Iran

Teaching General English, as a fundamental course in all the non-English majors, at universities in Iran has constantly been considered vital among the scholars' concerns. Thus, the TEFL researchers have always attempted to study and analyze the currently practice teaching methodologies at different levels in order to introduce the most efficient ones to the practitioners in the field. Therefore, to improve the quality and efficiency of teaching general English at universities, the researchers in the present study have tried to explore the currently practiced general English teaching methodologies for engineering students in Islamic Azad University, Yadegar-e Emam Khomeini (RAH) Shahre Rey Branch. In other words, they have attempted to reflect on a comparative study of two globally popular teaching methodologies namely; Task-based and Task- supported at this university to present the more efficient one to the target community. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015. v6n4p587
Strong Efficiency Improvement of SOI-LEDs Through Carrier Confinement

Contemporary silicon light-emitting diodes in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology suffer from poor efficiency compared to their bulk-silicon counterparts. In this letter, we present a new device structure where the carrier injection takes place through silicon slabs of only a few nanometer thick. Its external quantum efficiency of 1.4middot10-4 at room temperature, with a spectrum peaking at 1130 nm, is almost two orders higher than reported thus far on SOI. The structure diminishes the dominant role of nonradiative recombination at the n+ and p+ contacts, by confining the injected carriers in an SOI peninsula. With this approach, a compact infrared light source can be fabricated using standard semiconductor processing steps
Cross Hedging with Currency Forward Contracts

This study examines the behavior of a competitive exporting firm that exports to a foreign country and faces multiple sources of exchange rate uncertainty. Although there are no hedging instruments between the home and foreign currencies, there is a third country that has well-developed currency forward markets to which the firm has access. The firm's optimal cross-hedging decision is shown to depend both on the degree of incompleteness of the currency forward markets in the third country, and on the correlation structure of the random spot exchange rates. Furthermore, the firm is shown to be more eager to produce and expand its exports to the foreign country when the missing currency forward contracts between the home and foreign currencies can be synthesized by the existing currency forward contracts. In this case of perfect cross hedging, the separation theorem holds but the full-hedging theorem may or may not hold. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark
Metabolism of cellobiose by Clostridiurn cellulolyticurn growing in continuous culture : evidence for decreased NADH reoxidation as a factor limiting growth 5

Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique I, Universitri Henri PoincarC, FacultC des Sciences, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-I&-Nancy cedex, France Previous results indicated that molar growth yields are reduced when Clostridium cellulolyticum is cultured in media containing cellobiose concentrations greater than 1 g I-'. Continuous cultures were examined to determine the physiological basis of these poor growth yields. Acetate was the main product of C. cellulolyticum metabolism, whereas the production of reduced compounds such as ethanol or lactate was low. Such patterns of product formation were accompanied by a 12-fold increase in intracellular NADH concentration when the cellobiose flow was increased. Catabolic enzymic activities were measured in vitro. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), acetate kinase and phosphoroclastic activities were found at similar levels as in cells metabolizing higher substrate concentrations. In contrast, lactate dehydrogenase activity was low and correlated with the rate of lactate production. Furthermore, an inhibition of GAPDH activity by high NADH/NAD+ ratios was established. These results suggested that a decreased NADH reoxidation could be responsible for limiting C. cellulolyticum growth. Lactate and ethanol production were not sufficient to balance out the NADH produced in the GAPDH step of glycolysis. One consequence of poor NADH reoxidation would be an increase in intracellular concentration of NADH, which in turn could inhibit GAPDH activity.
Human capital externalities vs. substitution effects as determinants of regional wages: Evidence from German micro data

This article reconsiders the empirical evidence on regional human capital externalities using longitudal survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). It complements the empirical literature on the role of human capital for explaining regional wage differences. Based on the framework by Moretti (2004a), the impact of different proxies of regional human capital intensity on regional wages is estimated while controlling for individual productivity determinants and regional characteristics. The results are compared with the constant-composition approach by Ciccone and Peri (2006) which accounts for imperfect substitution between unskilled and skilled labor. The Mincerian panel results with level data indicate that one additional year of education has an external wage effect of 2%. However, once a difference specification is estimated, external effects are no longer present. The theoretical predictions by Ciccone and Peri (2006) that the Mincerian approach leads to an upward biased estimate cannot be verified.