Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Containment control for general discrete-time second-order multi-agent systems

The containment control problem for general discrete-time second-order multi-agent systems is investigated in this paper. Based on a distributed containment control algorithm with the state gain parameters in a given range, we transform the system to an equivalent error system, and then analyze the convergence of the error system by the eigenvalues of the corresponding coefficient matrix. Finally, a necessary and sufficient condition is derived to guarantee that all the followers asymptotically converge to a convex hull formed by the leaders and numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical findings.
Survival Migration: A New Protection Framework

The modern refugee regime, created in the aftermath of World War II, provides protection mainly to people who flee individualized persecution or generalized violence. Subsequent to its creation, a range of new drivers of external displacement—particularly related to the interaction of environmental change, livelihood collapse, and state fragility—have emerged that fall outside the framework of the regime. In order to examine institutional responses to these people, this article develops the concept of survival migration, which describes people who have left their country of origin because of an existential threat for which they have no domestic remedy. It examines six case studies of national and international institutional responses to survival migrants from Zimbabwe, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which fall outside the 1951 Refugee Convention. Based on a conceptual model of regime stretching, the article offers an explanation for variation in the extent to which the existing globa.
Heavy haze removal in a learning framework

Extreme weather hazards happens more often these days due to climate changes and increased human industrial activities, and one of most notorious of them is haze. State-of-the-art haze removal methods generally work well with light haze conditions, however when haze gets heavier, the physical model tend to produce over-shadowed, noisy, and color distorted restorations. A new physical model has been proposed in this paper for heavy haze weathers. An airlight vector map has been proposed to address the problem caused by uneven aerosol distribution w.r. t. altitude variation. A Random Decision Forest model has been adopted to deal with the additional light attenuation and transmission map underestimation problem caused by heavy haze. Experiment shows the proposed model produces much better visual restoration for heavy haze weathers compared to state-of-the-art methods in terms of colour fidelity, noise reduction, and overall contrast.
Diagnosis and management of patent foramen ovale

The foramen ovale is a slit-like anatomical structure located in the interatrial wall of the fetal heart that enables right-to-left shunting during fetal development. Although this hole generally closes completely shortly after birth due to shifting pressures in the atrial chambers, it remains open, or ‘patent’, in about 25% of cases representing a potential substrate for right-to-left shunting during adult life. A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is usually haemodynamically insignificant, even when large, but is the most common cause of right-to-left shunt. Large-diameter PFOs may act as a pathway for passage of thrombus, air, fat, vegetation or vasoactive substances from the venous to the arterial circulation, potentially causing paradoxical emboli and stroke, inappropriate decompression sickness in divers, platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome and aural migraine. Over the past two decades, the association between PFO and the occurrence of migraine and cryptogenic stroke, particularly in younger adults, has been subject to considerable controversy and debate. Currently, semi-invasive contrast-transoesophageal echocardiography is accepted as the gold standard to detect right-to-left shunt across a PFO, but other imaging modalities utilising contrast such as second-harmonic transthoracic echocardiogram, transcranial Doppler sonography, CT and cardiac MRI have been shown to have similar sensitivity and specificity in detecting a PFO when compared with transoesophageal echocardiography. In this review the authors discuss embryological origins, diagnostic measures and evidence-based treatment options for the prevention of PFO-related paradoxical embolism, with emphasis on cryptogenic stroke and migraine.
Sex-related alcohol expectancies as moderators of the relationship between alcohol use and risky sex in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE Alcohol is frequently identified as a potential contributor to HIV-related sexual risk taking. Drawing on alcohol expectancy explanations for postdrinking behavior, the present study tested the hypothesis that adolescents who drink alcohol on a given occasion will be more likely to engage in sexual risk-taking behavior to the extent that they believe that alcohol disinhibits sexual behavior or promotes sexual risk taking. METHOD The combined effects of sex-related alcohol expectancies and alcohol use in sexual situations were investigated using interview data from a representative sample of 907 (476 male) sexually experienced adolescents (13 to 19 years) who had ever consumed alcohol. RESULTS Regression analyses on a composite measure of risk taking revealed that for two of three intercourse occasions examined alcohol use was associated with greater risk taking primarily among respondents who expected alcohol to increase risky sexual behavior. CONCLUSIONS The results lend support to expectancy theories of alcohol's effects on sexual risk taking and raise the possibility that providing overly simplistic warnings that "alcohol leads to risky sex" may paradoxically increase the likelihood that individuals will fail to act prudently when intoxicated. Preventive interventions might beneficially focus on weakening, rather than strengthening, individuals' expectancies with regard to the impact of alcohol on sexual behavior, so that self-protective behavior will be more likely to occur even during intoxication.
The Human Cost of Recessions: Assessing It, Reducing It

Recessions leave scars on the labor market. Over 200 million people across the globe are estimated to be unemployed at present resulting from the Great Recession of 2007–09. We assess the human cost of increased unemployment by surveying what is known about the effects of past recessions. If past is prologue, the cost to the unemployed (and society) could be high. The focus of this paper is on advanced economies. To their credit, most countries mounted strong policy responses to minimize the human costs, and the policy actions were notable also for their consistency and coherence across countries.
How does financialisation affect functional income distribution? A theoretical clarification and empirical assessment

While it is frequently asserted that financialisation has contributed to the decline in the wage share there are only few econometric studies, which usually focus on a single aspect of financialisation. This paper provides a theoretical clarification and a systematic empirical investigation. We identify four arguments why financialisation would affect the wage share: (1) a political economy approach focusing on the exit options of firms, (2) a neo-Kaleckian approach stressing the role of financial overhead costs for firms, (3) increased competition on capital markets stressed by neo-Marxian approaches and the critical shareholder value literature, and (4) the role of household debt in increasing workers’ financial vulnerability and undermining their class consciousness. The paper compiles a comprehensive set of empirical measures of financialisation and uses it to test the theoretical hypotheses by a panel regression of 14 OECD countries over the 1989-2011 period. We find strong evidence for negative effects of household debt and evidence for negative effects of financial deregulation.
Pediatric trauma undertriage in Ohio.

BACKGROUND Appropriate and timely triage is an essential component of a trauma system. In the state of Ohio, there are 6 verified pediatric trauma centers (PTCs) across 8 state regions. The purpose of this study was to better understand the pediatric undertriage rates in the state. METHODS We used the Ohio Trauma Registry from 2007 to 2012, consisting of 14,045 records of children younger than 16 years admitted to a hospital for more than 48 hours or who sustained a traumatic death. Pediatric undertriage was defined as not being directly transported to a PTC when one was available within 30 minutes or not being transferred to a PTC within 2 hours of injury. RESULTS The state pediatric undertriage rate was 52%, only decreasing to 35% when up to a 4-hour transfer time was allowed. Across state trauma regions, undertriage rates varied from 94% to 40%. More than 28% of injured children had access to a PTC within 30 minutes of their home. A trauma center (adult or pediatric) was within 30 minutes for 66% of the children, yet 32% of the children went to a nontrauma center first. Overall, 29% of children never made it to a PTC, and 4% of children remained at a nontrauma center, with regional variation from 5% to 0.5%. Statewide mortality was nearly 3%, with regional variations between 5% and 0.4%. Mortality rate within the appropriately triaged group was 5.3%, while mortality rate in the undertriage group was only 0.7%. Overall, 53% of transferred patients had a more than 2-hour transfer time. CONCLUSIONS Despite the significant number of PTCs in Ohio, there remains a high undertriage rate with significant regional variations and long transfer times. Continued analysis will be useful in furthering trauma system development for the injured child. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic/care management study, level IV; epidemiological, level IV.
What Do Labor and Consumption Data Jointly Tell About Labor Income Risk

This paper estimates a general stochastic process for labor income via indirect inference, by jointly using labor income data together with the information embedded in the dynamics of individual consumption. We extend earlier work in several directions. First, we do not restrict income shocks to follow a random walk, an assumption that has been made in previous studies that use consumption data to estimate income risk (Blundell and Preston (1998), Blundell, Pistaferri and Preston (2005) among others). Second, we use an auxiliary model for the indirect inference method that captures the rich dynamics of household consumption. To this end, we impute household consumption in PSID using the procedure developed in Blundell, Pistaferri and Preston (2005). Third, we estimate a general process that allows for heterogeneity in income growth rates. Thus, our approach allows us to bring both consumption and income data to distinguish between two alternative views of the income process: the random walk model (as in MaCurdy (1982), Abowd and Card (1989)) versus the profile heterogeneity model (as in Lillard and Weiss (1979), Baker (1997), Guvenen (2005))
Problems in the Theory and Practice of Planning Enforcement

This article reviews current practice in planning enforcement in the UK and draws on regulation theory to assist in explaining it. It raises questions about planning authorities' current capacity to undertake effective enforcement, based on the evidence of recent government sponsored reviews. It draws on international experience in questioning whether the long established model of enforcement underpinning UK practice is universally appropriate. Finally, it seeks to promote a debate about the theory, as well as the practice, of planning enforcement, as a means of improving both, in an era of increasing public concern about environmental rights and new political priorities for environmental regulation.
Pengaruh Kondisi Keuangan Wajib Pajak Terhadap Hubungan Antara Persepsi Wajib Pajak Tentang Kualitas Pelayanan Fiskus dengan Kepatuhan Wajib Pajak (Studi Empiris terhadap WPOP di Kota Bukittinggi)

This research aims to examine the effect perception of tax service quality on taxpayer’s compliance. This research also aims to examine the moderating effect of financial condition of taxpayer’s for the relationship between perception of tax service quality with taxpayer’s compliance. This study considered the causative research. The population in this study was This study considered the causative research. The population in this study was individual taxpayer’s in Bukittinggi city. The sample was determined by the purposive sampling method and obtain sample of 100 respondent from individual taxpayer’s in Bukittinggi city. The research data used are the primary data by questionnaire which have contained respondent answer’s. In this research, data analysis used by Moderated Regression Analysis. Based on the results of regression analysis with a significance level of 5%, the results of the study concluded: (1) the effect perceptions of tax service quality, is positively and significantly related with taxpayer’s compliance with the β coefficient is positive amounted to 0,551 and significance value 0.000 < α 0.05. (2) the moderating effect of financial condition of taxpayer’s has no effect related perceptions of tax service quality with taxpayer’s compliance with the β coefficient is negative amounted to -0.026 and significance value 0.216 < α 0.05, Keyword : Perceptions of tax service quality, financial condition of taxpayer’s, , and taxpayer’s compliance
Image, place and nostalgia in hospitality branding and marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of nostalgia, especially nostalgia associated with place, and its potential in the development of branding and advertising images for the hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approach – The paper achieves its aims by reviewing the relevant literature and illustrating the extant theory with the results of a small pilot study.Findings – Nostalgia is an effective tool for developing brand and advertising images for the hospitality industry. It is relevant especially to place and place‐related aspects such as terroir and it communicates with consumers of all ages. As well as evoking a direct response, nostalgic images also bring to mind many related sounds, odours and objects, which may also be linked with expectation. However, nostalgic images must be chosen with care, since some individuals may be negatively affected by them.Practical implications – Hospitality organizations can make greater use of their links with place, culture and food by in.
Simplified Early Stopping Criterion for Belief-Propagation Polar Code Decoders

As the first theoretically proven capacity-achieving error correction code, polar codes have become a milestone in information theory field, which draw serious attention by its low complexity encoding and decoding structures. For the decoding section, studies are focused on efficient and low complex algorithms based on successive cancellation and belief-propagation (BP) decoders. To reduce computational complexity of BP-based decoders further, early stopping methods that avoid unnecessary iterations can be used. In this letter, we propose a reduced complexity early stopping method for BP-based polar code decoders. The proposed method is based on the hypothesis that observing only a small cluster of information bits polarized to the highest error probabilities is enough to detect successful decoding. Simulation results show that the proposed early stopping criterion significantly reduces the computational complexity of successful decoding detection as well as the total operation numbers of the whole decoding process compared with previous methods in the literature.
Wage Effects of the Move toward Free Markets in East Germany

This analysis of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 1989–91 illuminates important changes in the structure of wages that were occurring in the former East Germany during its transition toward a capitalist economy—and changes that are probably occurring in other countries in Eastern Europe as well. Under the new capitalist wage regime, workers realized significant returns to schooling gained under socialism, but no significant returns to work experience. Because work experience is the largest element in the human capital of older workers, their wages fell under the new system; and the results suggest that their wages will continue to fall relative to those of younger workers. Generous transfer payments from western Germany may prevent an absolute decline in living standards of these workers. Older workers in other eastern countries, however, will have no such social assistance, and their living standards will probably fall.
Enterotoxigenic Bacillus spp. DNA fingerprint revealed in naturally contaminated nonfat dry milk powder using rep‐PCR

Dry milk powders and functional ingredients frequently contain high levels of viable bacterial spores, some of which may result in growth of toxigenic Bacillus spp. in reconstituted and temperature‐abused foods. Samples from nonfat dry milk (NFDM), infant milk formula (IMF), coffee creamer, lecithin, and cocoa powder were subjected to a short heat treatment followed by enrichment in tryptone phosphate glucose yeast extract (TPGY) broth at 32 °C for 12–25 hours to obtain cell densities of 106 CFU ml–1. DNA was extracted using a modification of established protocol, leading to the development of an optimized method for each food system. Purified DNA was amplified by rep‐PCR using extragenic sequence‐targeting primers and optimized for each food. PCR fingerprints from each food were analyzed electrophoretically for banding patterns earlier correlated to that of enterotoxigenic Bacillus spp. and Bacillus cereus positive control DNA fingerprints. Reverse passive latex agglutination (RPLA) and Bacillus Diarrhoeal Enterotoxin Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Tecra Diagnostics) confirmed the presence of HBL and NHE enterotoxin production in NFDM, Coffee creamer, infant milk formula, and two lecithin samples but not in cocoa powder. These results demonstrate the utility of rep‐PCR not only as a tool for bacterial genotyping, but a unique means of quality control and hygiene monitoring in food microbiology. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Moving to Territoriality? Implications for the United States and the Rest of the World

This paper reviews the tax policy debate in the United States on the move of the corporation tax from its present worldwide basis to a territorial basis, and considers the implications for the United States and the rest of the world. It finds that there is no clear view on whether the move would significantly benefit the United States. Such a move, however, could have significant implications for the rest of the world in terms foreign direct investment (FDI) from the United States, the intensity of tax competition, and tax revenues.
Improving Semantic Role Labeling with Word Sense

Semantic role labeling (SRL) not only needs lexical and syntactic information, but also needs word sense information. However, because of the lack of corpus annotated with both word senses and semantic roles, there is few research on using word sense for SRL. The release of OntoNotes provides an opportunity for us to study how to use word sense for SRL. In this paper, we present some novel word sense features for SRL and find that they can improve the performance significantly.
Predicting Metal Toxicity in Sediments: A Critique of Current Approaches

Abstract The ability to predict metal toxicity in sediments based on measurements of simple chemical parameters is not possible using currently available sediment-quality guidelines (SQGs). Past evaluations of available SQGs for metals indicated little difference in their predictive abilities; however, the scientific understanding of cause–effect relationships is progressing rapidly. Today, it is clear that they can be protective of benthic ecosystem health, but single-value SQGs will be ineffective for predicting the toxicity of metals in sediments. Recent exposure–effects models and the sediment biotic ligand model both indicate that a better approach would be to have SQG concentrations, or ranges, that are applied to different sediment types. This review indicates that significant improvements in laboratory and field-based measurements, better recording of parameters that influence metal toxicity in sediments, as well as quantification of the metal exposure routes and the relative contribution of dissolved and particulate sources to toxic effects are needed to improve the power of predictive models and the overall effectiveness of SQGs for metals. Simply exposing benthic organisms to contaminated sediments and reporting effects concentrations or thresholds based on particulate metal concentrations will provide little information to aid future SQG development. For all tests, careful measurement and reporting of concentrations of particulate metal-binding phases (e.g., sulfide, organic carbon, and iron phases), metal partitioning between porewater and sediments, and porewater pH are considered as minimum data requirements. When using metal-spiked sediments, much better efforts are required to achieve sediment properties that resemble those of naturally contaminated sediments. Our current understanding of metal toxicity indicates that considerably greater information requirements will be needed to predict sublethal and chronic effects of metals, because the toxic, metabolically available concentration of metals within an organism will fluctuate over time. Based on the review of exposure and effects models, along with improved measurement of metal exposure-related parameters, the measurement of the short-term uptake rate of metals into organisms is likely to improve future models.
The Market For Australian Vice-Chancellors

Are Vice-Chancellors and CEOs remunerated on the same basis? We analyse data from university annual reports on Vice Chancellors' remuneration over 1995–2002 and test whether there is alignment between the market for Vice-Chancellors and CEOs in Australia by investigating the relationship between remuneration and size between universities and companies. We find that the responsiveness of pay to institution size is dissimilar, with Vice-Chancellors receiving on average about 56% less than CEOs. We also compare the demographic profile of Vice-Chancellors against CEOs, showing that relative to CEOs, Vice-Chancellors are appointed later in life but do not have shorter tenures.
The knowledge-innovation nexus in the welfare service ecosystem

This paper makes two contributions on knowledge-intensive innovation research. Firstly, it identifies and elaborates on the knowledge problems present in the welfare service's innovation ecosystem. Secondly, drawing on relevant theoretical approaches, this paper discusses the managerial implications these knowledge problems pose for stakeholders involved in innovating welfare services. The identified knowledge problems are uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity; uncertainty refers to a lack of information or factual knowledge about something, complexity arises from the intricacy and connectivity of the various elements, and ambiguity stems from multiple interpretations. The paper also presents the managerial implications for each type of knowledge problem; uncertainty can be reduced by the acquisition of more information and knowledge increased by creating connections within the ecosystem, complexity can be minimised by increasing knowledge capacity and decomposing problems, and ambiguity can be addressed by structuring the unknown into a frame of reference.