Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hierarchical Guidance Filtering-Based Ensemble Classification for Hyperspectral Images

Joint spectral and spatial information should be fully exploited in order to achieve accurate classification results for hyperspectral images. In this paper, we propose an ensemble framework, which combines spectral and spatial information in different scales. The motivation of the proposed method derives from the basic idea: by integrating many individual learners, ensemble learning can achieve better generalization ability than a single learner. In the proposed work, the individual learners are obtained by joint spectral-spatial features generated from different scales. Specially, we develop two techniques to construct the ensemble model, namely, hierarchical guidance filtering (HGF) and matrix of spectral angle distance (mSAD). HGF and mSAD are combined via a weighted ensemble strategy. HGF is a hierarchical edge-preserving filtering operation, which could produce diverse sample sets. Meanwhile, in each hierarchy, a different spatial contextual information is extracted. With the increase of hierarchy, the pixels spectra tend smooth, while the spatial features are enhanced. Based on the outputs of HGF, a series of classifiers can be obtained. Subsequently, we define a low-rank matrix, mSAD, to measure the diversity among training samples in each hierarchy. Finally, an ensemble strategy is proposed using the obtained individual classifiers and mSAD. We term the proposed method as HiFi-We. Experiments are conducted on two popular data sets, Indian Pines and Pavia University, as well as a challenging hyperspectral data set used in 2014 Data Fusion Contest (GRSS_DFC_2014). An effectiveness analysis about the ensemble strategy is also displayed.
Determinants of banks selection in USA, Taiwan and Ghana

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate bank choice/selection criteria in a range of cultural and country economic scenarios. More specifically, the purpose of this study is to understand international consumers' selection criteria of banks using the USA, Taiwan, and Ghana as illustrations.Design/methodology/approach – Following a literature review, the paper adopts the classical multi‐step scale development process which demanded that thorough attention be paid to every step of the process. The study employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to assess the reliability of the results.Findings – The study reveals three key dimensions/factors/strategies that are consistent across all three economies. The paper concludes that open and liberalized business climate appear to explain consumers' decisions.Research limitations/implications – This research is based on the college student cohort and thus the results do not represent the public. This poses generalizability questions without furt.
Intermediate Inputs and Sectoral Comovement in the Business Cycle

The postwar U.S. business cycle is characterized by positive comovement of employment and output across sectors. It has been argued that multi-sector growth models are inconsistent with this observation when changes in relative productivities are the main source of fluctuations. We suggest that the input-output structure of an economy, in particular the pervasive use of intermediate inputs, can induce positive comovement in sectoral employment and output following changes in relative productivities. We calibrate a model of the U.S. economy for the durable and nondurable goods producing sectors, and show that sectoral employment and output move together if intermediate inputs are used in production. The model is also consistent with the observation that the relative price of nondurable goods is procyclical.
Housing and consumer markets in urban China

In China, the real estate sector has been one of the most powerful driving forces in economic development over the past two decades. The housing sector, particularly, has a strong wealth effect on consumption. This has attracted much attention not only in academia but also in society at large. Yet little is known about the relationship between housing and consumption in urban China. An investigation into the causal relationship between the money flow of the housing market and that of the consumer market for local citizens in urban China applies a recently developed method: renormalized partial directed coherence (renormalized PDC). This is an advanced tool to exclude the indirect relationships between the housing and consumer markets. Since the original renormalized PDC cannot show the result numerically, we quantify the relationships by developing a set of criteria for further discussion within the renormalized PDC framework. The empirical work reveals two major findings: (1) the retail price level is quite useful in predicting the housing turnover-income ratio; (2) the rental price is one of the most important factors affecting the fluctuation of retail prices for the case of urban areas in China. A housing turnover-income ratio (HTIR) is developed to evaluate the money flow into the housing market, which provides a new way to carry out data analysis when the usual indicators might be inappropriate. The research provides a reference point for economic policymaking for the relationship between the money flow into the housing market and the money flow into the consumer market.
How Big was Indonesia's “Real” Colonial Surplus in 1878–1941?

Abstract Colonial surplus is usually taken to be the income transferred overseas from a colony measured through international exchange items in the balance of payments or the much less satisfactory export surplus. Those international exchange items for colonial Indonesia for 1878 to 1941 calculated at 23.5 billion guilders turn out to be much greater than in previous estimates. This article analyses non-international exchange items, such as incomes earned in the colony by foreigners but not transferred abroad and the very great amounts comprising the budget of the colonial government. If we add such items to the existing “normal” calculation of the colonial surplus the already large amounts become enormous. The views of the few observers who have reflected on Indonesia's colonial surplus and who have minimised it are assessed and rejected. One must then ask why most historians of Indonesia have ignored those amounts in assessing the impact of colonialism. That this “new” surplus is designated “real” does not mean other estimates are “unreal” but is used to indicate the size of amounts previously missed. This, real colonial surplus for Indonesia is in the region of 54 billion guilders or about US$22 billion. Roughly in today's terms those amount to US$398 billion or even as much as US$5123 billion depending on the conversion rate used.
Association of ankle kinematics and performance on the y-balance test with inclinometer measurements on the weight-bearing-lunge test.

CONTEXT Ankle-dorsiflexion range of motion has often been measured in the weight-bearing condition in the clinical setting; however, little is known about the relationship between the weight-bearing-lunge test (WBLT) and both ankle kinematics and performance on dynamic postural-control tests. OBJECTIVE To examine whether ankle kinematics and performance on the Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT-LQ) are correlated with results of the WBLT using an inclinometer and tape measure. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING University motion-analysis laboratory. PARTICIPANTS 30 physically active participants. INTERVENTIONS None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The WBLT was evaluated using an inclinometer and a tape measure. The reach distances in the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions on the YBT-LQ were normalized by limb length. Ankle dorsiflexion during the YBT-LQ was recorded using a 3-dimensional motion-analysis system. Simple linear regression was used to examine the relationship between the WBLT results and both ankle dorsiflexion and the normalized reach distance in each direction on the YBT-LQ. RESULTS The WBLT results were significantly correlated with ankle dorsiflexion in all directions on the YBT-LQ (P < .05). A strong correlation was found between the inclinometer measurement of the WBLT and ankle dorsiflexion (r = .74, r2 = .55), whereas the tape-measure results on the WBLT were moderately correlated with ankle dorsiflexion (r = .64, r2 = .40) during the anterior reach on the YBT-LQ. Only the normalized anterior reach distance was significantly correlated with the results for the inclinometer (r = .68, r2 = .46) and the tape measure (r = .64, r2 = .41) on the WBLT. CONCLUSIONS Inclinometer measurements on the WBLT can be an appropriate tool for predicting the amount of ankle dorsiflexion during the YBT-LQ. Furthermore, WBLT should be measured in those who demonstrate poor dynamic balance.
Contrarian Real Estate Investment in Some Asia Pacific Cities

The profitability of contrarian investment strategy (i.e. investing in value stocks) is one of the most well‐established empirical facts in the finance literature. It would appear, however, that the strategy has not been extended to real estate. Thus, the paper examines the contrarian investment strategy in relation to real estate so as to ascertain the comparative advantage(s) (in terms of performance) of ‘value’ and ‘growth’ property investments. It is found, after a case study of 11 cities in the Asia‐Pacific over the period 1994Q2 through 2004Q2, that contrarian real estate investment consistently outperformed growth property investment. The results of stochastic dominance test validate the relative superiority of ‘value’ over ‘growth’ property investment. This implies that fund managers who traditionally have been favouring prime (i.e. growth) property investment may have to reconsider their investment strategy if they want to maximize their return.
Conceptualizing Policy Work as Activity and Field of Research

The area of policy work and policy workers within government bureaucracies is encompassing a large field of activities and research. This article aims to provide a synthesised perspective on policy work in relating theoretical and empirical accounts of policy workers, identifying points of convergence and linking them to essential assumptions on research in policy work. We conceptualize policy work as activity within government bureaucracies from three interrelated perspectives: the professional identity of policy workers based on knowledge, performance, and motivation; empirical evidence of policy work activities in different contexts; and accounts of main approaches to policy work research. By this conceptualisation, we hope to contribute to the consolidation of present-day knowledge on the policy work field and possibly outline some promising avenues of research into it. We argue that it seems to be necessary, sooner or later, for further development of policy work research, to clarify and arrange essential concepts and terms used by policy work scholars as well as to consolidate methodologies and designs undelying the empirical enquiries. We conclude that without these efforts the field of policy work research will not be moving towards theoretical, methodological and empirical maturity.
Load-aware stochastic feedback control for DVFS with tight performance guarantee

Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) has become a primary means for achieving power efficiency on many processor architectures. However, traditional DVFS techniques cannot provide tight performance guarantees while scaling the clock frequency. We present an elegant, theoretical approach to stochastically characterize workloads. Based on load characterization, a systematic feedback control design methodology is developed that leads to stochastic minimization of performance loss. It is demonstrated that our load-aware stochastic approach is able to significantly reduce processor power consumption while delivering a performance guarantee that is much tighter than what it is achievable with classical feedback controller.
Drug delivery strategies for therapy of visceral leishmaniasis

Importance of the field: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most overwhelming type of leishmaniasis associated with the poverty of developing countries and usually mortal if untreated. Most of the conventionally used dosage forms offer us the shortcomings of toxic side effects and emergence of drug resistance. Several efforts have been made to overcome the barriers involved in the treatment of VL. Colloidal carriers extensively represent the drug delivery systems (DDSs) for intracellular localization of antileishmanial compounds in macrophage-rich organs such as liver, spleen and bone marrow. These DDSs offer superior therapeutic efficacy over the conventional treatment in terms of site-specific drug delivery with reduced side effects. However, after 35 years of research in the field, AmBisome® (Amphotericin B liposome for injection, Astellas Pharma US, Inc.) is the only DDS used against the VL. Areas covered in this review: A literature search was performed (for drugs and DDSs against VL) on PubMed and through Google. What the reader will gain: This review aims to describe the pathophysiology of VL and its current conventional treatment with special reference to DDSs designed against VL. Take home message: On reviewing the conventional drugs and DDSs developed against VL, it is concluded that advances in the field of targeted drug delivery can result in more efficient strategies for the therapy of VL.
Structural Determinants of Real Exchange Rates and National Price Levels: Some Empirical Evidence

Contrary to the long-held notion of purchasing power parity (PPP), economists have found systematic evidence that the general level of prices across countries at a point in time varies dramatically. Irving B. Kravis, Alan W. Heston, and Robert Summers (1982), for example, report that some countries' national price levels are no more than one-third the U.S. price level. Extensions of this work show that such departures from PPP have persisted for decades. Recently, efforts have been made to explain systematically these persistent, or structural, departures from PPP. Pioneering work by Kravis and Robert E. Lipsey (1983, 1987, 1988) has demonstrated that a positive correlation between the price level and (real) per capita gross domestic product is robust across numerous cross-sectional specifications. For instance, using data from Kravis et al. (1982 table 6-12), 87 percent of the variation in national price levels (PL) of 21 countries' in 1975 is explained by per capita GDP (y) and a constant:
Wikipedia and its network of authors from a social network perspective

Online social networks (OSNs) become more and more important in today's social and business life. Therefore, considerable effort is put in research to gain a deeper knowledge of the development of these networks and their dynamics. However, most of the existing literature is based on very limited subsets of the network data, which is often filtered by the OSN operator providing the data or biased by the crawling mechanisms used to obtain the data. This makes it difficult to analyze the temporal evolution of OSNs based on complete data. To overcome this issue, we investigate the dynamics of the publicly available collaboration network of the Wikipedia authors as an example for an OSN-like network. In particular, we study the temporal evolution of this network since its beginning and demonstrate that it exhibits prominent similarities to well known social networks such as the small-world phenomenon. This indicates that the insights gained from the analysis of Wikipedia's collaboration network might be transferable to social networks in general.
A Bug Is a Bug Is a Bug: Symbolic Responses to Contingent Valuation Questions about Forest Pest control programs?

Symbolic responses are one of many issues attending contingent valuation studies. The problem is that many objects that are the subject of contingent valuation surveys can act as symbols for larger issues. In this paper, we want to compare the attitudes of residents of five communities with two different forest pests, jack pine budworm and gypsy moth. Jack pine budworm affects commercially important forests in Canada, while gypsy moth generally affects recreational areas and has less commercial significance. All of the respondents were asked about both insects; however, not all of the communities had direct experience with both insects. The purpose is to examine whether respondents would differentiate their willingness to pay for control mechanisms between these different defoliators. The implication is that all bugs are alike and generally noxious, a notion that would not necessarily sit well with resource managers who have to deal with insect outbreaks. Respondents did not differentiate strongly between insect control programs that would impact their community and those that would not. While not conclusive, the results do suggest symbolic responses to this particular issue. This is further evidence that willingness-to-pay results from contingent valuation studies need to be cautiously interpreted as pseudo market values. Les reponses symboliques sont l'une des nombreuses questions qui se rattachent aux enquetes par la methode des encheres. C'est qu'une bonnepartie des objets vises dans ce type d'etude peuvent servir de symbols a des questions plus vastes. Nous voulions ici comparer les attitudes des habitants de cinq localites de VOntario a Vegard de deux insectes ravageurs des forets, la tordeuse du pin gris et la spongieuse. Le premier s'attaque aux peuplements forestiers exploitables, tandis que le second interesse en general les zones de loisirs mais revet une importance commerciale moins forte. On inter-rogeait tous les enquetes au sujet des deux insectes, meme si les localites n'en n'avaient pas toutes subi l'experience immediate. On voulait savoir si leur disposition a assumer le cout de programmes de lutte etait le meme envers les deux defoliateurs, c'est-a-dire que pour eux tous les insectes seraient pareils et generalement nuisibles, une reaction qui ne ferait pas Vaffaire des gestionnaires de ressources qui doivent faire face a des foyers d'infestation. De fait, les enquetes ne faisaient pas beaucoup de difference entre les programmes de lutte qui concernaient leur localite et ceux qui ne la concernaient pas. Sans etre concluants, les resultats font apparaitre des reponses symboliques a cette question particuliere et viennent renforcer le besoin de prudence lorsqu'on interprete les donnees de disposition a payer obtenues par la methode des encheres comme pseudo-valeurs commerciales.
Diagnostic potential of the peptide‐mediated magnetic separation (PMS)‐phage assay and PMS‐culture to detect Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in bovine milk samples

Controlling the spread of Johne's disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), in domestic livestock is challenging. Current diagnostic methods lack sufficient sensitivity to detect subclinically infected animals, and thus, better diagnostic methods are needed. This study was carried out to investigate the diagnostic potential of two novel peptide-mediated magnetic separation (PMS)-based tests-a PMS-phage assay and PMS-culture-both of which have been developed and optimized to detect viable MAP cells in bovine milk. Individual milk samples (50 ml) were obtained from 105 "non-infected" and 40 "MAP-infected" animals (classified as such on the basis of prior faecal culture and serum-ELISA results) in three dairy herds and tested in parallel by the PMS-phage assay and PMS-culture. Diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) and specificity (DSp) of the PMS-phage and PMS-culture methods were determined relative to the MAP infection status of the animal contributing the milk sample. The PMS-based tests applied individually showed moderate DSe (PMS-culture 0.250 and PMS-phage assay 0.325) and high DSp (0.962 and 1.000, respectively). When results of the two PMS-based tests were combined, DSe increased substantially to 0.525, and the DSp was calculated to be 0.962. It was concluded that combined application of the PMS-phage assay and PMS-culture provided the most complete picture regarding the presence of viable MAP in bovine milk samples. A comprehensive validation of the PMS-based assays relative to currently used diagnostic methods (faecal culture and serum-ELISA) would be the next step in assessment of the diagnostic potential of these novel PMS-based methods.
Expression of ESR1 in Glutamatergic and GABAergic Neurons Is Essential for Normal Puberty Onset, Estrogen Feedback, and Fertility in Female Mice

Circulating estradiol exerts a profound influence on the activity of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal network controlling fertility. Using genetic strategies enabling neuron-specific deletion of estrogen receptor α (Esr1), we examine here whether estradiol-modulated GABA and glutamate transmission are critical for the functioning of the GnRH neuron network in the female mouse. Using Vgat- and Vglut2-ires-Cre knock-in mice and ESR1 immunohistochemistry, we demonstrate that subpopulations of GABA and glutamate neurons throughout the limbic forebrain express ESR1, with ESR1-GABAergic neurons being more widespread and numerous than ESR1-glutamatergic neurons. We crossed Vgat- and Vglut2-ires-Cre mice with an Esr1lox/lox line to generate animals with GABA-neuron-specific or glutamate-neuron-specific deletion of Esr1. Vgat-ires-Cre;Esr1lox/lox mice were infertile, with abnormal estrous cycles, and exhibited a complete failure of the estrogen positive feedback mechanism responsible for the preovulatory GnRH surge. However, puberty onset and estrogen negative feedback were normal. Vglut2-ires-Cre;Esr1lox/lox mice were also infertile but displayed a wider range of deficits, including advanced puberty onset, abnormal negative feedback, and abolished positive feedback. Whereas <25% of preoptic kisspeptin neurons expressed Cre in Vgat- and Vglut2-ires-Cre lines, ∼70% of arcuate kisspeptin neurons were targeted in Vglut2-ires-Cre;Esr1lox/lox mice, possibly contributing to their advanced puberty phenotype. These observations show that, unexpectedly, ESR1-GABA neurons are only essential for the positive feedback mechanism. In contrast, we reveal the key importance of ESR1 in glutamatergic neurons for multiple estrogen feedback loops within the GnRH neuronal network required for fertility in the female mouse. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Circulating estradiol acts upon the brain to regulate the functioning of many neuronal networks, including those controlling reproduction. Acting in classic homeostatic negative or positive feedback modes, estradiol variably suppresses or enhances the activity of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons throughout the ovarian cycle. We show here that estrogen receptor α (ESR1) within glutamate (VGLUT2) neurons is essential for both the negative and positive estradiol feedback loops. In contrast, ESR1 in GABA neurons is only required for estradiol positive feedback. These studies emphasize the importance of estradiol-modulated amino-acidergic neurons within the GnRH neuronal network and highlight an unexpected prominent role for ESR1-expressing glutamate neurons in fertility control.