Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
End-To-End Multi-Modal Sensors Fusion System For Urban Automated Driving

In this paper, we present a novel framework for urban automated driving based on multi-modal sensors; LiDAR and Camera. Environment perception through sensors fusion is key to successful deployment of automated driving systems, especially in complex urban areas. Our hypothesis is that a well designed deep neural network is able to end-to-end learn a driving policy that fuses LiDAR and Camera sensory input, achieving the best out of both. In order to improve the generalization and robustness of the learned policy, semantic segmentation on camera is applied, in addition to applying our new LiDAR post processing method; Polar Grid Mapping (PGM). The system is evaluated on the recently released urban car simulator, CARLA. The evaluation is measured according to the generalization performance from one environment to another. The experimental results show that the best performance is achieved by fusing the PGM and semantic segmentation.
igh-dose Therapy with Single Autologous ransplantation versus Chemotherapy for Newly iagnosed Multiple Myeloma : A Systematic Review nd Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Myeloablative high-dose therapy and single autologous stem cell transplantation (HDT) is frequently performed early in the course of multiple myeloma, supported by some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) indicating overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) benefit compared with nonmyeloablative standard-dose therapy (SDT). Other RCTs, however, suggest variable benefit. We therefore undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of all RCTs evaluating upfront HDT versus SDT in myeloma. The primary objective was to quantify OS benefit with HDT, with PFS benefit a secondary objective. Anticipating heterogeneity, sensitivity and subgroup analyses were undertaken to assess robustness of results. Assessment of harms (treatment-related mortality) was also undertaken. We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Collection of Controlled Trials databases using the terms myeloma combined with autologous or transplant or myeloablative or stem cell. In total, 3407 articles were accessed, and 10 RCTs prospectively comparing upfront HDT with SDT, with >2-year follow-up, and reporting OS benefit on an intent-to-treat basis were identified. Two reviewers independently extracted study characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. Hazard ratios (with 95% confidence interval) were determined. Nine studies comprising 2411 patients were fully analyzed. Significant heterogeneity was present. The combined hazard of death with HDT was 0.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.74-1.13). The combined hazard of progression with HDT was 0.75 (95% confidence interval, 0.59-0.96). The totality of the randomized data indicates PFS benefit but not OS benefit for HDT with single autologous transplantation performed early in multiple myeloma. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses supported the findings and indicated that, contrary to current reimbursement criteria, PFS benefit with upfront HDT is not restricted to chemoresponsive myeloma. However, the overall risk of developing treatment-related mortality with HDT was increased significantly (odds ratio, 3.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.64-5.50). Hence, evaluating alternative therapeutic options upfront may also be reasonable. © 2007 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Pitch salience of various complex sounds

Pitch properties have been reported in the literature for a variety of different sounds. The relative salience of several of these pitch effects was examined through an open‐set melody dictation test using several musically trained subjects. The task was to identify on each trial all the notes of a four‐note melody, randomly selected from an eight‐note diatonic major scale (do‐do), by playing them back on a keyboard. The sounds included pure tones, three‐tone complexes of random simultaneous and of random time‐sequential harmonics, echoed pulses, sinusoidally modulated noise, and 400‐Hz wide bandpass noise. Pitch salience was measured by the correlation between the (quantified) melody and response patterns. For pure tones, a criterion of better than 90% correlation determined the fitness of a subjects for this experiment. Measured correlation values ranged from near 100% for pure tones or complexes of simultaneous harmonics to about 50% for complexes of time‐sequential harmonics, with intermediate values .
Factors Affecting the Adoption of mHealth Services among Young Citizen: A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Approach

In Bangladesh, nearly everyone has access to a mobile phone and it is increasingly affordable and widespread in all clusters of people have significant impact to extend social relations. The telecom is one of the rapidly growing industries in Bangladesh. Mobile phone is playing a vary significance role with pervasive services. Dissemination of health related information to the general people was a great challenge for this highly populated country, but this problem is going to be erased by application of mobile phone in this regards. In this study attempted to determine and measure the various usages of mobile phone in Bangladesh among the young age group (patients) how they use Mobile phones to solve health related problem. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used as the theoretical underpin to conduct this study. A questionnaire survey method was used to collect data from respondents in different public and private universities of Bangladesh. The data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squire (PLS) method, a statistical analysis technique based on structural Equation Model (SEM). Findings revealed that perceived usefulness (p 0.05) was identified as a less significant factor in the mHealth adoption in Bangladesh. The findings from the study can serve as input to promote citizen’s use of mobile phone for better self-management of health.
AMPTE/CCE‐SCATHA simultaneous observations of substorm‐associated magnetic fluctuations

This study examines substorm-associated magnetic field fluctuations observed by the AMPTE/CCE and SCATHA satellites in the near-Earth tail. Three tail reconfiguration events are selected, one event on August 28, 1986, and two consecutive events on August 30, 1986. The fractal analysis was applied to magnetic field measurements of each satellite. The result indicates that (1) the amplitude of the fluctuation of the north-south magnetic component is larger, though not overwhelmingly, than the amplitudes of the other two components and (2) the magnetic fluctuations do have a characteristic timescale, which is several times the proton gyroperiod. In the examined events the satellite separation was less than 10 times the proton gyroradius. Nevertheless, the comparison between the AMPTE/CCE and SCATHA observations indicates that (3) there was a noticeable time delay between the onsets of the magnetic fluctuations at the two satellite positions, which is too long to ascribe to the propagation of a fast magnetosonic wave, and (4) the coherence of the magnetic fluctuations was low in the August 28, 1986, event and the fluctuations had different characteristic timescales in the first event of August 30, 1986, whereas some similarities can be found for the second event of August 30, 1986. Result 1 indicates that perturbation electric currents associated with the magnetic fluctuations tend to flow parallel to the tail current sheet and are presumably related to the reduction of the tail current intensity. Results 2 and 3 suggest that the excitation of the magnetic fluctuations and therefore the trigger of the tail current disruption is a kinetic process in which ions play an important role. It is inferred from results 3 and 4 that the characteristic spatial scale of the associated instability is of the order of the proton gyroradius or even shorter, and therefore the tail current disruption is described as a system of chaotic filamentary electric currents. However, result 4 suggests that the nature of the tail current disruption can vary from event to event.
The moderating effect of gender on continuance intention for mobile Internet services (MIS)

Le present article examine l’effet moderateur du sexe sur l’intention de continuer a utiliser les services de l’Internet mobile (SIM) dans la vie quotidienne. Un modele adapte de la theorie de “technology acceptance model” (TAM) a ete applique pour mesurer l’intention de continuer a utiliser SIM, avec le sexe comme une variable moderatrice. Les hypotheses ont ete testees sur des donnees provenant d’une enquete aupres de 648 utilisateurs francais de SIM. Contrairement aux etudes anterieures basees sur le TAM, les resultats montrent que les femmes sont plutot motivees par l’utilite percue et la facilite d’utilisation que les hommes. Ceci peut etre explique par le role que joue la motivation intrinseque dans l’usage des SIM par les femmes. L’effet ludique percu n’etait pas significatif ni pour les femmes, ni pour les hommes. Cette difference observee laisse entendre que les operateurs de SIM devraient prendre en consideration le sexe des utilisateurs pour la differenciation de leurs offres.
On constellation shaping for short block lengths

Gaussian channel inputs are required to achieve the capacity of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. Equivalently, the n-dimensional constellation boundary must be an n-sphere. In this work, constellation shaping is discussed for short block lengths. Two different approaches are considered: Sphere shaping and constant composition distribution matching (CCDM). It is shown that both achieve the maximum rate and generate Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) distributed inputs. However sphere shaping achieves this maximum faster than CCDM and performs more efficiently in the short block length regime. This is shown by computing the finite-length rate losses. Then the analysis is justified by numerical simulations employing low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes of the IEEE 802.11 standard.
THE EFFECT OF AUTHOR AND GOOD TYPE ON PERCEIVED HELPFULNESS OF ONLINE REVIEWS

This paper contributes to past research by conducting an experimental study which examines perceived review helpfulness in an online context and manipulates both review author type and good type. The two review author types are consumer and professional. The good types are search goods and experience goods. The quality of search goods can be predicted prior purchase while the quality of experience goods cannot. Only partial evidence was found for the effect of author type on perceived review helpfulness. The results showed that if the review was allegedly written by a professional the review was perceived more credible. Evidence was found to support prediction of search goods reviews being more helpful than experience good reviews. This finding contributed to the theory by providing evidence to the prediction of search goods being less prone to information asymmetries. Search good reviews had also a stronger effect on purchase intention. Especially the purchase intention based on a single review was higher if a search good was in question.
Life Cycle Assessment of Phosphorus Sources from Phosphate ore and urban sinks: Sewage Sludge and MSW Incineration fly ash

Urban sinks accumulate phosphorus and other elements and may serve as sources of secondary raw materials. This paper evaluates phosphorus sources based on their environmental impact. In a life cycle assessment (LCA) the conventional production was used as a yardstick against which to measure the performance of two recycling options: spreading of sewage sludge and phosphorus recovery from municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWA). When compared as three gate-to-gate processes, the sludge spreading had the lowest potential environmental impact, except in the impact categories ecoand human toxicity. In the future, the sludge spreading could potentially outperform the conventional process also with regard to toxicity, provided its Hg and Cu content can be reduced. Phosphorus extracted from the MSWA had the highest impact, except in relation to eutrophication. The benefits of avoiding the conventional production were greater than the sludge recycling impacts for all categories except toxicity. When conventional production is substituted by the MSWA recycling, the eutrophication and land-use impacts are avoided, while the impacts in other categories are considerable. The development needs identified for this method include substitution of HCl, reduced water consumption, and reduction of the product’s metal content. Solutions to all of these challenges have been proposed and are currently being tested.
RADON CONCENTRATION IN GROUDWATER AND ASSOCIATED EFFECTIVE DOSE ASSESSMENT IN WESTERN HARYANA , INDIA

Radon levels were measured in 45 groundwater samples collected from Sirsa district of Haryana state, India. The measurements were performed by RAD7 an electronic radon detector manufactured by Durridge Company Inc. The concentrations of radon ranged from 0.60 to 7.81 Bq/l with an average value of 3.90 Bq/l. Radon concentrations from all the villages/towns were well below the reference level of 100 Bq/l prescribed by World Health Organization and European Commission. The total annual effective doses due to ingestion and inhalation of radon in drinking water ranged from 3.03 to 39.48 μSv/y for adults, 2.67 to 34.73 μSv/y for children and 4.67 to 60.84 μSv/y for infants and the average values were found to be 19.69, 17.32 and 30.35 μSv/y respectively.
Intercomparison and interpretation of single-column model simulations of a nocturnal stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer

Ten single-column models (SCMs) from eight groups are used to simulate a nocturnal nonprecipitating marine stratocumulus-topped mixed layer as part of an intercomparison organized by the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment Cloud System Study, Working Group 1. The case is idealized from observations from the Dynamics and Chemistry of Marine Stratocumulus II, Research Flight 1. SCM simulations with operational resolution are supplemented by high-resolution simulations and compared with observations and large-eddy simulations. All participating SCMs are able to maintain a sharp inversion and a mixed cloud-topped layer, although the moisture profiles show a slight gradient in the mixed layer and produce entrainment rates broadly consistent with observations, but the liquid water paths vary by a factor of 10 after onl y1ho fsimulation at both high and operational resolution. Sensitivity tests show insensitivity to activation of precipitation and shallow convection schemes in most models, as one would observationally expect for this case.
Modeling Financial Return Dynamics via Decomposition

While the predictability of excess stock returns is detected by traditional predictive regressions as statistically small, the direction-of-change and volatility of returns exhibit a substantially larger degree of dependence over time. We capitalize on this observation and decompose the returns into a product of sign and absolute value components whose joint distribution is obtained by combining a multiplicative error model for absolute values, a dynamic binary choice model for signs, and a copula for their interaction. Our decomposition model is able to incorporate important nonlinearities in excess return dynamics that cannot be captured in the standard predictive regression setup. The empirical analysis of U.S. stock return data shows statistically and economically significant forecasting gains of the decomposition model over the conventional predictive regression.
Treatment of Recurrent Central Nervous System Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumours ( PNETs ) in Children and Young People Version 1 . 0 September 2011

Background The treatment of previously irradiated patients with recurrent central nervous system primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs) is a considerable challenge. A study was undertaken to attempt to improve the outcome for such patients using a high dose chemotherapy (HDCT) based strategy. Methods Between 2000 and 2007, 40 patients with relapsed medulloblastoma (MB) and 5 with relapsed supratentorial PNETs (StPNETs) were accrued. All but one had received prior craniospinal radiotherapy. Patients were initially treated with cyclophosphamide (4g/m 2 ) together with surgery or local radiotherapy where appropriate. If complete or near complete remission was achieved, the patient proceeded to receive two sequential courses of HDCT with stem cell rescue. The first course consisted of thiotepa (900 mg/m 2 ) and the second carboplatin (AUC 21). Results All five patients with StPNET died of tumour progression with a median OS of 0.4 years. Nineteen of the 40 patients with relapsed MB underwent surgery. Radiotherapy was administered to eight patients. All patients received at least one course of cyclophosphamide. Only 22 MB patients progressed to the HDCT phase; 10 patients received thiotepa only and 12 thiotepa and carboplatin. At a median follow-up of 7.4 years (Range 2.8 – 8.2 years), only three MB patients are still alive, one following a further relapse. Three and 5 year OS was 22.0% and 8.2% respectively and 3 and 5 year EFS was 14.6% and 8.7% respectively. Conclusion This national study based on a strategy including a particular tandem HDCT regimen showed no benefit for previously irradiated patients with relapsed StPNET and very limited benefit for patients with relapsed medulloblastoma.
Are courageous actions successful actions?

When asked to describe a courageous action they have taken personally, people overwhelmingly describe an action with a successful outcome (Pury, Kowalski, & Spearman, 2007). Study 1 replicated these findings in observations of other people. Fifty participants described a courageous action taken by another person and made parallel ratings to Pury et al. Participants in Study 1 also described actions with overwhelmingly successful outcomes. In Study 2, 152 participants rated otherwise identical scenarios differing in success of outcome and attribution (internal vs. external) for outcome. Successful actions were rated as more courageous than unsuccessful outcomes, although this effect was attenuated for external attributions. Thus, we suggest that successful outcome is an unarticulated part of implicit theories of courage.
Gas-to-dust mass ratios in local galaxies over a 2 dex metallicity range

Aims. The goal of this paper is to analyse the behaviour of the gas-to-dust mass ratio (G/D) of local Universe galaxies over a wide metallicity range. We especially focus on the low-metallicity part of the G/D vs metallicity relation and investigate several explanations for the observed relation and scatter.Methods. We assembled a total of 126 galaxies, covering a 2 dex metallicity range and with 30% of the sample with 12 + log(O/H)≤ 8.0. We homogeneously determined the dust masses with a semi-empirical dust model including submm constraints. The atomic and molecular gas masses have been compiled from the literature. We used two XCO scenarios to estimate the molecular gas mass: the Galactic conversion factor, XCO,MW, and a XCO that depends on the metallicity XCO,Z (∝Z-2). We modelled the observed trend of the G/D with metallicity using two simple power laws (slope of –1 and free) and a broken power law. Correlations with morphological type, stellar masses, star formation rates, and specific star formation rates are also discussed. We then compared the observed evolution of the G/D with predictions from several chemical evolution models and explored different physical explanations for the observed scatter in the G/D values.Results. We find that out of the five tested galactic parameters, metallicity is the main physical property of the galaxy driving the observed G/D. The G/D versus metallicity relation cannot be represented by a single power law with a slope of –1 over the whole metallicity range. The observed trend is steeper for metallicities lower than ~8.0. A large scatter is observed in the G/D values for a given metallicity: in metallicity bins of ~0.1 dex, the dispersion around the mean value is ~0.37 dex. On average, the broken power law reproduces the observed G/D best compared to the two power laws (slope of –1 or free) and provides estimates of the G/D that are accurate to a factor of 1.6. The good agreement of observed values of the G/D and its scatter with respect to metallicity with the predicted values of the three tested chemical evolution models allows us to infer that the scatter in the relation is intrinsic to galactic properties, reflecting the different star formation histories, dust destruction efficiencies, dust grain size distributions, and chemical compositions across the sample. Conclusions. Our results show that the chemical evolution of low-metallicity galaxies, traced by their G/D, strongly depends on their local internal conditions and individual histories. The large scatter in the observed G/D at a given metallicity reflects the impact of various processes occurring during the evolution of a galaxy. Despite the numerous degeneracies affecting them, disentangling these various processes is now the next step.
LJMU Research Online Attention capture by faces

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Modeling : An H ∞ Based Approach

One of the challenges in the design of highbandwidth control systems is the development of a global model, suitable for high-performance controller synthesis, while concomitant with both high model fidelity in Open-Loop (OL), e,g. for trajectory planning, and high computational efficiency for on-line processing. It is the purpose of this paper to present such a modeling structure, anchored in the realm of affine quasiLinear Parameter-Varying (LPV) systems, for the specific case where a plant’s complex Nonlinear Model (NM) is already available.