Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards improving channel switching in cognitive radio networks

Since their introduction in the late 1990's, Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs) have received a substantial amount of interest. One of the issues that can have a negative impact on the performance of CRNs is related to the way each Secondary User (SU) chooses the channel it will use. The traditional method is to sequentially switch to channels in a round-robin manner and sense whether each channel is available or not before using it. Such an approach can cause significant degradation in the network's performance in terms of delay and disconnections. In this work, we propose a new channel switching scheme for CRNs that takes into account both the future location of the SU and predictions about the channel availability while making the channel switching decision with the objective of reducing both the number of unnecessary switches and the number of disconnections. The results show that even with the simplest techniques to predict the future location of the SU and the availability of channels, there is an improvement over one of the widely used and studied channel switching schemes, the random scheme.
Antecedents and consequences of corporate diversification

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to introduce a comprehensive model explaining what affects the scope of the firm and also to find out its impact on firm performance.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on an empirical analysis of a sample of 312 hardware manufacturing companies in Taiwan.Findings – The research findings indicate that capability exploitation and upgrading will exert a positive influence on corporate diversification. In addition, corporate diversification will exhibit a curvilinear effect on firm performance.Practical implications – Under the logic of capability‐based growth, managers should manage portfolios of capability upgrading and capability exploitation; and then, managers have to conduct econometric analyses to find out a firm's optimal level of corporate diversification for performance maximization.Originality/value – This study attempts to propose a dynamic capabilities perspective, which suggests that the successful growth of a firm hinges on a strategic .
Identifying leaf in a natural image using morphological characters

Plants are normally identified by humans using the morphological properties of the leaf. The leaf of the plant is the major characteristic feature that is mostly available in all season. The computer vision system which tries to replicate the human vision system requires some intelligence to detect and identify the object. The leaf can be easily identified by the vision based system if it is present in normal or specified texture of background but in the case of images captured from natural condition it need some extra effort. Most of the research works are done on identification of plant using leaf feature with constraint background. The proposed system is designed to detect plant leaf even in natural condition which may contain interference and overlapping. The image is captured from the camera and the particular plant leaves are segmented from the image and a single leaf is segmented using marker-controlled watershed segmentation. The marker is generated automatically using morphological operations. The shape of the leaf is obtained and it is converted into feature with Hu moments. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) act as a classifier is responsible for identification of the plant species and it is trained with more than 300 leaves of three different plants. This work is done in BeagleBone Black with the help of an open source library of programming functions mainly aimed at real-time computer vision called OpenCV. The proposed system is tested on leaf image taken in real time and the system shows 86.66% average identification accuracy.
Closing the loop: tracking and perturbing behaviour of individuals in a group in real-time

Quantitative description and selective perturbation of individual animals in a social group is prerequisite for understanding complex social behaviors. Tracking behavioral patterns of individuals in groups is an active research field, however, reliable software tools for long-term or real-time tracking are still scarce. We developed a new open-source platform, called xyTracker, for online tracking and recognition of individual animals in groups. Featuring a convenient Matlab-based interface and a fast multi-threading C++ core, we achieved an > 30× speed-up over a popular existing tracking method without loss in accuracy. Moreover, since memory usage is low, many hours of high-resolution video files can be tracked in reasonable time, making long-term observation of behavior possible. In a number of exemplary experiments on zebra fish, we show the feasibility of long-term observations and how to use the software to perform closed-loop experiments, where the tracked position of individuals is fed-back in real-time to a stimulus presentation screen installed below the fish-tank. Visual stimulation capabilities is incorporated into xyTracker and can be based on any behavioral features of all members of the group, such as, collective location, speed, or direction of movement, making interesting closed-loop experiments for investigating group behavior in a virtual reality setting possible.
Occupational asthma due to manual metal-arc welding of special stainless steels

Occupational asthma (OA) can be induced by fumes of manual metal-arc welding on stainless steel. In recent years, the use of special stainless steels (SSS) with high chromium content has increased. This study presents two cases of OA caused by manual metal-arc welding on SSS. In both cases, the diagnosis of OA was based on respiratory symptoms, occupational exposure and positive findings in the specific challenge tests. In the first case, a 46-yr-old welder had experienced severe dyspnoea while welding SSS (SMO steel), but not in other situations. Challenge tests with both mild steel and stainless steel using a common electrode were negative. Welding SSS with a special electrode caused a delayed 37% drop in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). In the second case, a 34-yr-old male had started to experience dyspnoea during the past few years, while welding especially SSS (Duplex steel). The workplace peak expiratory flow monitoring was suggestive of OA. Challenge tests with both mild steel and stainless steel using a common electrode did not cause bronchial obstruction. Welding SSS with a special electrode caused a delayed 31% drop in FEV1. In conclusion, exposure to manual metal-arc welding fumes of special stainless steel should be considered as a new cause of occupational asthma.
Axonal Dynactin p150Glued Transports Caspase-8 to Drive Retrograde Olfactory Receptor Neuron Apoptosis

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) undergo caspase-mediated retrograde apoptosis after target removal (bulbectomy), in which axonal caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation leads to terminal apoptosis in ORN soma of the olfactory epithelium. Here, we show that caspase-8 can act as an initiator of ORN apoptosis after bulbectomy and also after synaptic instability is induced by NMDA-mediated excitotoxic death of ORN target neurons in the olfactory bulb. Caspase-8 and caspase-3 are sequentially activated within ORN presynaptic terminals, and caspase-8 complexes with dynactin p150Glued, (a retrograde motor protein) and is transported retrogradely, preceding axonal caspase-3 activation and apoptosis of ORN cell bodies. Focal in vivo inhibition of initiator caspase activation or microtubule-dependent transport (with Taxol) at the lesioned axon terminus results in a significant reduction in retrograde axonal caspase-8 and caspase-3 activation and inhibition of retrograde ORN death. Caspase-8 activation and retrograde transport after NMDA lesion is similarly reduced in mice null for p75, the low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor. The retrograde apoptosis of ORNs thus involves a novel mechanism that used p75 in the local activation of caspase-8. Once caspase-8 is maximally activated in the presynaptic terminal, it is transported retrogradely by the motor complex dynactin/dynein, a process that can be inhibited focally to inhibit ORN apoptosis after acute axonal lesion. These data have revealed a novel mechanism of retrograde apoptosis, in which caspase-8 complexes directly with axonal dynactin p150Glued to reveal a differential vulnerability of subpopulations of ORNs to undergo apoptosis after axonal damage and the loss of olfactory bulb target neurons.
Kodaira-Iitaka Dimension on a Normal Prime Divisor

This paper was inspired by work by T. Peternell, M. Schneider and A.J. Sommese on the Kodaira dimension of subvarieties. In it I find a relation between the Kodaira-Iitaka dimension of a divisor on a normal variety and that of related divisors on an irreducible normal subvariety of codimension one. The main result may be stated in a simplified form as: For $X$ a complete normal variety, $Y \sub X$ an irreducible complete normal divisor and $\sL$ an invertible sheaf on $X$, there exist integers $n_1 > 0, n_2 \geq 0$ for which $\kappa(X,\sL) - 1 \leq \kappa(Y,\sL^{n_1}(-n_2Y)|_Y)$, where, if $Y$ is not a fixed component of large tensor powers of $\sL$, we may take $n_1 >> n_2$. This has implications for Kodaira-Iitaka dimension on a subvariety of any codimension.
A Novel Technique for QRS Complex detection in ECG Signal based on Hilbert Transform and Autocorrelation

This paper proposes an algorithm for QRS complex detection technique based on Hilbert transform and autocorrelation method. In the proposed method, the period of the ECG signal is calculated first using autocorrelation method and then the R-peaks are detected using Hilbert transform. This method allows R-peaks to be differentiated from large peaked T and P waves with a high degree of accuracy and minimizes the problems associated with baseline drift, motion artifacts, and muscular noise. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using the records of the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database. A detection error rate of 0.12%, a sensitivity of 99.95% and a positive prediction of 99.94% are achieved for the proposed method. Experimental result shows that the performance of proposed method is better as compared to the other two established techniques like Pan-Tompkins method and the technique which uses only Hilbert transform method. KeywordsECG signal; MIT-BIH Arrhythmia database; Hilbert transform; Autocorrelation ; QRS complex detection
Standards for pH Measurements of Bis-((2-Hydroxyethyl)amino)acetic Acid (BICINE) from (278.15 to 328.15) K

The second dissociation constant, pK2, and related thermodynamic data for BICINE have been previously de- termined and reported from temperatures (278.15 to 328.15) K. For the present study, three buffer solutions without NaCl, and five with NaCl yielding an ionic strength (I = 0.16 mol·kg -1 ) similar to that of blood plasma were prepared. These buffer solutions have been evaluated in the temperature range of (278.15 to 328.15) K using the extended form of the De- bye-Huckel equation. The Bates-Guggenheim convention is only valid when I< 0.1 mol·kg -1 . Values of the residual liquid junction potential (δEj) between the BICINE solutions and the saturated KCl calomel electrode have been estimated at (298.15 and 310.15) K. Two BICINE buffer solutions are recommended as primary standard reference solutions for pH measurements of biological fluids.
America's Competitive Secret: Utilizing Women as a Management Strategy

The United States has a large number of well educated, experienced professional women ready, willing and able to move into the boardrooms and executive suites of corporate America. Together they represent a great, untapped economic resource, a resource no other country in the world can claim. This is America's competitive secret, argues Judy B. Rosener in this refreshingly pragmatic new book for managers who want to improve their bottom line. A leading expert on women and men at work and a highly sought-after speaker, Rosener argues that not only are men and women different, so are male and female managers. Drawing on in-depth interviews with top-flight executives and middle managers and the latest research on working women and organizational change, she describes the unique contribution of female professionals. Her profiles of top women managers reveal that they cope well with ambiguity, are comfortable sharing power, and they tend to empower others-- leadership traits that Rosener contends lead to increased employee productivity, innovation, and profits. As businesses today struggle with corporate reorganization and an increasingly diverse workforce, America's Competive Secret offers compelling evidence that the changes that help organizatiions more fully utilize the talents of women are the same changes that will give them an important edge in today's fast-changing, service oriented, global workplace. Rosener explains why the so-called glass ceiling still prevents many competent women from reaching the upper echelons of management. She analyzes why women and men are perceived and evaluated differently at work, and provides new insight into the feelings of men who are asked to interact with women in new roles when there are few new rules. Rosener shows that removing the glass ceiling can no longer be viewed solely in terms of social equity--it is now an economic imperative. Too many American businesses have limited their economic strength by viewing the promotion of women employees only within the context of federally mandated affirmative action laws and policies. America's Competitive Secret redefines the issue for a new era, showing that America's most successful competitive strategy is one that most effectively utilizes all its human resources.
Predicting the Uptake of a University's Offers of Places

Institutions such as Universities spend considerable resources in recruiting and following up on applicants. Unfortunately, much wastage results from the sending out of follow-up letters to students who never arrive, and who perhaps had applied only as a form of insurance; and also in hiring instructors and scheduling classes when the attendance is uncertain. In a competitive market, a predictive model of the uptake of offers made might well be helpful.
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1 Interactions with Western Corn Rootworm Midgut Membrane Binding Sites

Background Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1 are binary insecticidal proteins that are co-expressed in transgenic corn hybrids for control of western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte. Bt crystal (Cry) proteins with limited potential for field-relevant cross-resistance are used in combination, along with non-transgenic corn refuges, as a strategy to delay development of resistant rootworm populations. Differences in insect midgut membrane binding site interactions are one line of evidence that Bt protein mechanisms of action differ and that the probability of receptor-mediated cross-resistance is low. Methodology/Principal Findings Binding site interactions were investigated between Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1 and coleopteran active insecticidal proteins Cry3Aa, Cry6Aa, and Cry8Ba on western corn rootworm midgut brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV). Competitive binding of radio-labeled proteins to western corn rootworm BBMV was used as a measure of shared binding sites. Our work shows that 125I-Cry35Ab1 binds to rootworm BBMV, Cry34Ab1 enhances 125I-Cry35Ab1 specific binding, and that 125I-Cry35Ab1 with or without unlabeled Cry34Ab1 does not share binding sites with Cry3Aa, Cry6Aa, or Cry8Ba. Two primary lines of evidence presented here support the lack of shared binding sites between Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1 and the aforementioned proteins: 1) No competitive binding to rootworm BBMV was observed for competitor proteins when used in excess with 125I-Cry35Ab1 alone or combined with unlabeled Cry34Ab1, and 2) No competitive binding to rootworm BBMV was observed for unlabeled Cry34Ab1 and Cry35Ab1, or a combination of the two, when used in excess with 125I-Cry3Aa, or 125I-Cry8Ba. Conclusions/Significance Combining two or more insecticidal proteins active against the same target pest is one tactic to delay the onset of resistance to either protein. We conclude that Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1 are compatible with Cry3Aa, Cry6Aa, or Cry8Ba for deployment as insect resistance management pyramids for in-plant control of western corn rootworm.
Technology and the Theory of Vintage Aggregation

Each machine’s marginal product will be impacted by exogenous cyclical and temporal changes in demand. A capital stock measure holds the exogenous cyclical effects fixed, so they fall into its "shadow" price. But if technical change improves the productivity of labor using newer vintages, the stock will not be homogeneous and the cyclical impacts will be proportionally greater for older models. An alternative aggregate capital measure is devised that simply weights each machine by its contemporaneous marginal product. The new measure, which is a supplement to traditional capital measures rather than a replacement, varies flexibly with demand, and dramatically reduces the pro-cyclical volatility of Solow's [1957] residual. Quality adjustment assumes durable goods prices reflect marginal products, at odds with the neoclassical axiom that prices reflect discounted streams of future rents. The exogenous temporal effects of obsolescence will likely depress future rents of the oldest models fastest. This will be reflected in goods prices and may lead to an overstatement of quality change.
Data-Driven Semantic Concept Analysis for User Profile Learning in 3G Recommender Systems

The paper presents Semantic Concept Analysis (SCA) framework intended for automatic data-driven design of actionable ontology specifying mobile device user's personal interest's hierarchy together with dual structure reflecting the user's preferences over these interests. The framework integrates known technique for semi-automatic ontology design exploiting DBpedia and Wikipedia categories, on the one hand, and the data-driven Formal Concept Analysis (FCA), on the other one. The framework implements a kind of machine-learning approach integrating algebraic and statistical models of data and knowledge structured as s a pair of dual concept semi-lattices. The proposed technology implementing SCA framework basic ideas is validated experimentally through its software prototyping and subsequent computer experimentation using natural language text data sample.
State Complexity of Catenation Combined with a Boolean Operation: A Unified Approach

In this paper we study the state complexity of catenation combined with symmetric difference. First, an upper bound is computed using some combinatoric tools. Then, this bound is shown to be tight by giving a witness for it. Moreover, we relate this work with the study of state complexity for two other combinations: catenation with union and catenation with intersection. And we extract a unified approach which allows to obtain the state complexity of any combination involving catenation and a binary boolean operation.
White Matter Fiber Degradation Attenuates Hemispheric Asymmetry When Integrating Visuomotor Information

Degradation of white matter fibers can affect the transmission of signals in brain circuits that normally enable integration of highly lateralized visual and motor processes. Here, we used diffusion tensor imaging tractography in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the specific contributions of interhemispheric and intrahemispheric white matter fibers to functional measures of hemispheric transfer and parallel information processing using bilateral and unilateral left and right visual field stimulation in normal and compromised systems. In healthy adults, a greater degree of bilateral processing advantage with the left (nondominant) hand correlated with higher integrity of callosal fibers connecting occipital cortices, whereas less unilateral processing advantage with the right hand correlated with higher integrity of left-hemispheric posterior cingulate fibers. In contrast, alcoholics who have compromised callosal integrity showed less bilateral processing advantage than controls when responding with the left hand and greater unilateral processing advantage when responding with the right hand. We also found degraded left posterior cingulate and posterior callosal fibers in chronic alcoholics, which is consistent with functional imaging results of less left posterior cingulate and extrastriate cortex activation in alcoholics than controls when processing bilateral compared with unilateral visual field stimulation. Together, our results demonstrated that interhemispheric and intrahemispheric white matter fiber pathways mediate visuomotor integration asymmetrically and that subtle white matter fiber degradation in alcoholism attenuated the normal pattern of hemispheric asymmetry, which may have ramifications for the efficiency of visual information processing and fast response execution.
Efficient secure query evaluation over encrypted XML databases

Motivated by the "database-as-service" paradigm wherein data owned by a client is hosted on a third-party server, there is significant interest in secure query evaluation over encrypted databases. We consider this problem for XML databases. We consider an attack model where the attacker may possess exact knowledge about the domain values and their occurrence frequencies, and we wish to protect sensitive structural information as well as value associations. We capture such security requirements using a novel notion of security constraints. For security reasons, sensitive parts of the hosted database are encrypted. There is a tension between data security and efficiency of query evaluation for different granularities of encryption. We show that finding an optimal, secure encryption scheme is NP-hard. For speeding up query processing, we propose to keep metadata, consisting of structure and value indices, on the server. We want to prevent the server, or an attacker who gains access to the server, from learning sensitive information in the database. We propose security properties for such a hosted XML database system to satisfy and prove that our proposal satisfies these properties. Intuitively, this means the attacker cannot improve his prior belief probability distribution about which candidate database led to the given encrypted database, by looking at the encrypted database as well as the metadata. We also prove that by observing a series of queries and their answers, the attacker cannot improve his prior belief probability distribution over which sensitive queries (structural or value associations) hold in the hosted database. Finally, we demonstrate with a detailed set of experiments that our techniques enable efficient query processing while satisfying the security properties defined in the paper.
Camera Fingerprint: A New Perspective for Identifying User's Identity

Identifying user's identity is a key problem in many data mining applications, such as product recommendation, customized content delivery and criminal identification. Given a set of accounts from the same or different social network platforms, user identification attempts to identify all accounts belonging to the same person. A commonly used solution is to build the relationship among different accounts by exploring their collective patterns, e.g., user profile, writing style, similar comments. However, this kind of method doesn't work well in many practical scenarios, since the information posted explicitly by users may be false due to various reasons. In this paper, we re-inspect the user identification problem from a novel perspective, i.e., identifying user's identity by matching his/her cameras. The underlying assumption is that multiple accounts belonging to the same person contain the same or similar camera fingerprint information. The proposed framework, called User Camera Identification (UCI), is based on camera fingerprints, which takes fully into account the problems of multiple cameras and reposting behaviors.