Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relative Performance Ranking : Insights into Competitive Advantage

We examine how changes to the firm’s competitive advantage are manifested in the firm’s financial statements and how market participants react to these changes. We argue that changes to the firm’s competitive advantage are manifested through changes to the firm’s intra-industry performance ranking (measured using return on equity). We find that changes to the firm’s performance ranking are positively associated with earnings persistence, consistent with the sustainability of profits increasing when the firm’s competitive advantage improves. We then provide evidence consistent with investors and analysts positively valuing improvements to the firm’s performance ranking. In fact, our evidence suggests that investors and analysts react more strongly to a change in the firm’s performance ranking than the firm’s actual earnings surprise. We also find that these results (earnings persistence and market participants’ reactions) are stronger when past performance rankings changes are more stable. This paper introduces a measure for the firm’s competitive advantage, which is easy to implement, generalizable, and parsimonious. Our results suggest that investors use the entire distribution of earnings to evaluate a firm’s performance and not just analyst expectations or the prior period’s performance, allowing us to identify an alternative benchmark that has not been explored by prior research.
Relationship of Striatal Dopamine Synthesis Capacity to Age and Cognition

Past research has demonstrated that performance on frontal lobe-dependent tasks is associated with dopamine system integrity and that various dopamine system deficits occur with aging. The positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer 6-[18F]fluoro-l-m-tyrosine (FMT) is a substrate of the dopamine-synthesizing enzyme, aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC). Studies using 6-[18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) (another AADC substrate) to measure how striatal PET signal and age relate have had inconsistent outcomes. The varying results occur in part from tracer processing that renders FDOPA signal subject to aspects of postrelease metabolism, which may themselves change with aging. In contrast, FMT remains a purer measure of AADC function. We used partial volume-corrected FMT PET scans to measure age-related striatal dopamine synthesis capacity in 21 older (mean, 66.9) and 16 younger (mean, 22.8) healthy adults. We also investigated how striatal FMT signal related to a cognitive measure of frontal lobe function. Older adults showed significantly greater striatal FMT signal than younger adults. Within the older group, FMT signal in dorsal caudate (DCA) and dorsal putamen was greater with age, suggesting compensation for deficits elsewhere in the dopamine system. In younger adults, FMT signal in DCA was lower with age, likely related to ongoing developmental processes. Younger adults who performed worse on tests of frontal lobe function showed greater FMT signal in right DCA, independent of age effects. Our data suggest that higher striatal FMT signal represents nonoptimal dopamine processing. They further support a relationship between striatal dopamine processing and frontal lobe cognitive function.
Development and implementation of EBGR routing protocol in cropland based on IRIS platform

For wireless sensor networks in wide-area cropland environments, the routing protocol would be optimal if it is scalable for wide network coverage, energy-efficient for long network lifetime, and adaptive with frequent topology changes. In this paper, a wireless sensor network system with EBGR (Energy-Balanced, Greedy forwarding Routing) protocol was developed based on Memsic IRIS nodes and TinyOS operating system, and then implemented in cropland for producing area monitoring. EBGR is proposed based on the geographical routing protocols to achieve the balanced energy consumption of routing paths while maintaining good efficiency and scalability for a hierarchical wireless sensor network. It uses remaining hop counts instead of Euclidean distance in traditional greedy forwarding mechanism, combing with the residual energy levels of nodes, to establish the path between the origin node and the sink node. This network has been operated for over two years, and can be flexibly reorganized and scalable to ensure the data acquisition and transmission. One-time network deployment can last long enough to support the full growth period of corn or wheat. Hence, EBGR protocol proposed can be well suitable for and applicable to cropland scenarios.
Tutorial on application-oriented evaluation of recommendation systems

Recommendation systems are now widely used in many commercial applications. This tutorial focuses on the evaluation of such systems, from an application-oriented view. The tutorial recommends best practices, suggests a protocol for the evaluation process, and reviews a set of metrics that can be evaluated. The practices in this paper are motivated by similar procedures in nearby areas, such as machine learning, and information retrieval.
Document-Wide Decoding for Phrase-Based Statistical Machine Translation

Independence between sentences is an assumption deeply entrenched in the models and algorithms used for statistical machine translation (SMT), particularly in the popular dynamic programming beam search decoding algorithm. This restriction is an obstacle to research on more sophisticated discourse-level models for SMT. We propose a stochastic local search decoding method for phrase-based SMT, which permits free document-wide dependencies in the models. We explore the stability and the search parameters of this method and demonstrate that it can be successfully used to optimise a document-level semantic language model.
Multi-resolution Data Structure for Two-dimensional Morse Functions

The efficient constructionof simplified modelsis a centralproblem in the field of visualization.We combinetopologicalandgeometricmethodsto constructa multi-resolutiondatastructurefor functionsover two-dimensional domains.Startingwith theMorseSmalecomplex we build a hierarchyby progressi vely canceling critical pointsin pairs. Thedatastructuresupportsmeshtraversal operationssimilar to traditionalmulti-resolutionrepresentations.
Optical and radio observations of the bright GRB 010222 afterglow: evidence for rapid synchrotron cooling?

We report photometric observations of the optical afterglow of GRB 010222 in V , R and I passbands carried out between 22-27 February 2001 at Nainital. We determine the CCD Johnson BV and Cousins RI photometric magnitudes for 31 stars in the field of GRB 010222 and use them to calibrate our measurements as well as other published BV RI photometric magnitudes of the GRB 010222 afterglow. We construct the light curve of the afterglow emis- sion in B,V,R and I passbands, and from a broken power-law fit determine the early and late time power-law flux decay indices as 0.74±0.05 and 1.35±0.04 respectively. Steepening in the flux decay seems to have started around 0.7 day after the burst. Negligible Galactic extinction amounting E(B V ) = 0.023 mag is derived in the direction of the GRB. We derive the value of the spectral index in the X-ray to optical region to be 0.61±0.02 and 0.75±0.02 at �t = 0.35 and 9.13 day. We attempted radio observations of the afterglow from RATAN-600 telescope during 23-26 February 2001 and from the Giant Metre-
Use of Simulated Thermal Cues for Material Discrimination and Identification with a Multi-Fingered Display

Thermal cues provide information about the thermal properties of an object held in the hand. These cues can be simulated in a thermal display and used to assist in identifying the object. Two experiments were conducted using a thermal display that simulated the cues associated with contact with different materials. The thermal contact model was based on a semi-infinite body model that included thermal contact resistance and blood perfusion. Its performance was evaluated in two experiments, the first of which involved discriminating between simulated materials, and in the second, subjects were required to identify simulated materials based on the thermal cues presented to one, three, or five fingers. The results from the first experiment indicated that when the temperature profile associated with contact with a real material is presented to the finger, subjects can use this cue to discriminate between simulated materials. Their performance on this task is comparable to that achieved with real materials with similar thermal properties. In the second experiment, the accuracy with which subjects identified a simulated material based on thermal cues improved as the number of fingers stimulated increased, suggesting that spatial summation of cold occurs when the area stimulated is noncontiguous. However, most of the improvement in identifying materials occurred when the display presented thermal cues to three as compared to one finger, with little further enhancement in performance when five fingers were stimulated. These results indicate that thermal displays can be used effectively to present information about the material composition of objects in virtual environments.
OHS: OH-Airglow Suppressor for the Subaru Telescope

This paper describes an OH-airglow Suppressor (OHS) for the infrared Nasmyth focus of the Subaru telescope. OHS has the capability of eliminating 224 airglow-lines in the $J$- and $H$-bands, which are major sources of background radiation at near-infrared wavelengths up to 2 $\mu$m. Specifically, it is a pre-optics system installed between the telescope and an infrared camera/spectrograph (CISCO). The suppressor reduces sky background emissions to 1/25 and its throughput is 40%. As a result, the S/N gain achieved with OHS is more than 1 mag compared to the typical spectroscopic approach. The limiting magnitude measured during a test observing run was found to be $H$ = 21.1 mag ($\lambda/\Delta\lambda$ = 210, S/N = 5) in the standard 4000 s exposure sequence.
Optimal Control of Vortex Shedding UsingLow Order ModelsPart I : Open-Loop Model

An approach to developing active control strategies for separated ows is presented. The methodology proposed is applied to the incompressible unsteady wake ow behind a circular cylinder at a Reynold's number of 100. Control action is achieved via cylinder rotation. Low order models which are amenable to control and which incorporate the full non-linear dynamics are developed by applying the proper orthogonal decomposition technique to data provided by numerical simulation. This process involves extensions to the usual POD approach and the results are therefore assessed for two \open-loop" test cases. The predictions are found to be satisfactory for control purposes, assuming the model can be reset periodically. The use of these models for optimal control is discussed in a companion paper, Part II.
Synthesized Multiple Antigenic Polypeptide Vaccine Based on B-Cell Epitopes of Human Heparanase Could Elicit a Potent Antimetastatic Effect on Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Vivo

Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the antimetastatic effect of multiple antigenic polypeptide (MAP) vaccine based on B-cell epitopes of heparanase (HPSE) on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vivo. Methods The antiserum against B-cell epitopes of HPSE was isolated, purified and characterized after immunizing white-hair-black-eye (WHBY) rabbit with freshly synthesized MAP vaccine. Tumor-bearing murine models of orthotopic implants using HCC-97H cell line were built in BALB/c nude mice. Anti-MAP polyclonal antibodies induced by MAP vaccine were administrated to the models. The impact on metastasis was assessed, the expressions of VEGF/bFGF in hepatoma tissues and in murine sera were evaluated, and the micro-vessel density (MVD) was counted as well. In addition, the possible impairments of the HPSE MAP vaccine on certain HPSE positive normal organs and blood cells were investigated. Results The antiserum was harvested, purified and identified. The antibodies induced by MAP vaccine could specifically react with the dominant epitopes of both precursor protein and large subunit monomer of HPSE, markedly decrease HPSE activity, suppress the expressions of both VEGF and bFGF, and reduce the MVD. Pulmonary metastasis was also attenuated significantly by the anti-MAP polyclonal antibodies. In addition, no obvious impairment could be observed in certain HPSE positive organs and cells. Conclusion MAP vaccine based on B-cell epitopes of HPSE is capable of alleviating HCC metastasis in vivo, mainly through inhibiting the HPSE activity and tumor associated angiogenesis, by virtue of the specific anti-MAP polyclonal antibodies. Furthermore, these HPSE-specific antibodies do not cause obvious abnormalities on certain HPSE positive blood cells and organs. Our study provides theoretical evidences for the clinical use of the synthesized MAP vaccine based on B-cell epitopes of HPSE in preventing HCC metastasis.
DYNACARE-OP : Dynamic Cardiac Arrest Risk Estimation Incorporating Ordinal Features

Cardiac arrest, a deadly condition caused by a sudden failure of the heart, is synonymous with clinical death (in-hospital mortality rate of ∼ 80%). Early and accurate estimation of patients at high risk of cardiac arrest is crucial for improving the survival rate. Existing research generally fails to utilize a patient’s temporal dynamics and/or leverage ordinal measurements. This paper presents a dynamic cardiac risk estimation model using ordered probit (DYNACARE-OP) to incorporate ordinal features. The model tracks a patient’s risk trajectory, leverages continuous and ordinal clinical measurements, provides an intuitive visualization to medical professionals, improves cardiac arrest event predictability, and estimates the cardiac arrest risk for a new patient.
How someone with a neuromuscular disease experiences operating a PC (and how to successfully counteract that)

This paper describes the experiences of the first author, who has been diagnosed with the neuromuscular disease Friedreich's Ataxia more than 25 years ago, with the innovative approach to human-computer interaction characterized by the software tool OnScreenDualScribe. Originally developed by (and for! ) the first author, the tool replaces the standard input devices -- i.e., keyboard and mouse -- with a small numerical keypad, making optimal use of his abilities. The paper attempts to illustrate some of the difficulties the first author usually has to face when operating a computer, due to considerable motor problems. It will be shown what he tried in the past, and why OnScreenDualScribe, offering various assistive techniques -- including word prediction, an ambiguous keyboard, and stepwise pointing operations -- is indeed a viable alternative. The ultimate goal is to help not only one single person, but to make the system -- which does not accelerate entry very much, but clearly reduces the required effort -- available to anyone with similar conditions.
THE ROLE OF ECTOMYCORRHIZAL FUNGI ON FERTILIZED AND UNFERTILIZED NURSERY GROWN WHITE SPRUCE

Nursery grown seedlings are an essential part of the forestry industry. These seedlings are grown under high nutrient conditions caused by fertilization. Though grown in a controlled environment, symbionts such as ectomycorrhizal fungi (EcMF) are often found in these conditions. To examine the effects of EcMF in these conditions, colonized Picea glauca seedlings were collected from Toumey Nursery in Watersmeet, MI. After collection, the EcMF present were morphotyped, and seedlings with different morphotypes were divided equally into two treatment typesfertilized and unfertilized. Seedlings received treatment for one growing season. After that time, seedlings were collected, ectomycorrhizas identified using 1morphotyping and DNA sequencing, and seedlings were analyzed for differences in leaf nutrient concentration, content, root to shoot ratio, total biomass, and EcMF community structure. DNA sequencing identified 5 unique species groupsAmphinema sp. 1, Amphinema sp. 5, Thelephora terrestris, Sphaerosporella brunnea, and Boletus variipes. In the unfertilized treatment it was found that Amphinema sp. 1 strongly negatively impacted foliar N concentration. In fertilized seedlings, Thelephora terrestris had a strong negative impact on foliar phosphorus concentration, while Amphinema sp. 1 positively impacted foliar boron, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus concentration. In terms of content, Amphinema sp. 1 led to significantly higher content of manganese and boron in fertilized treatments, as well as elevated phosphorus in unfertilized seedlings. Amphinema sp. 5 had a significant negative effect on phosphorus content. When examining root to shoot ratio and biomass, those seedlings with more non-mycorrhizal tips had a higher root to shoot ratio. Findings from the study shed light on the interactions of the species. Amphinema sp. 5 shows very different functionality than Amphinema sp. 1. Amphinema sp. 1 appears to have the highest positive effect on seedling nutrition when in both fertilized and unfertilized environments. Amphinema sp. 5 and T. terrestris appear to behave parasitically in both fertilized and unfertilized conditions.
Isomorphic mechanisms in manufacturing supply chains: a comparison of indigenous Chinese firms and foreign-owned MNCs

Purpose – This study aims to demonstrate empirically the varied mechanisms through which supply chain practices of indigenous Chinese companies are influenced by foreign‐owned multinational companies (MNCs) operating within China. It also provides empirical evidence of how the foreign‐owned MNCs are influenced by the coercive pressures arising from the local cultural norms and begins an exploration of the mechanisms through which isomorphic pressures operate between industries.Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a multi‐disciplinary approach by applying institutional theory from the field of organisational studies. The study is based on 27 in‐depth interviews in matched pairs of firms consisting of an indigenous Chinese firm and a foreign‐owned MNC in three industries. The interviews also include suppliers and third‐party logistics providers and hence the study extends beyond the dyad.Findings – The findings show a “startling homogeneity” between the SCM practices of the paired firms and across.
Towards robust on-line multi-robot coverage

Area coverage is an important task for mobile robots, with many real-world applications. In many cases, the coverage has to be completed without the use of a map or any a priori knowledge about the area, a process referred-to as on-line coverage. Previous investigations of multi-robot on-line coverage focused on the improved efficiency gained from the use of multiple robots, but did not formally addressed the potential for greater robustness. We present a novel multi-robot on-line coverage algorithm, based on approximate cell decomposition. We analytically show that the algorithm is complete and robust, in that as long as a single robot is able to move, the coverage would be completed. We analyze the assumptions underlying the algorithm requirements and present a number of techniques for executing it in real robots. We show empirical coverage-time results of running the algorithm in two different environments and several group sizes
A Comparison of Evaluation Measures for Emotion Recognition in Dimensional Space

Emotion recognition from physiological signals like electroencephalography (EEG) can be performed using different underlying emotion models. While dimensional emotion models have recently gained attention, measures to evaluate recognition methods that are based on these models differ from study to study. This paper offers an analysis of proposed evaluation measures by comparing recognition results achieved on a self recorded dataset. Emotions are estimated using ridge regression and estimation results are compared using different evaluation measures. Additionally, three different baselines are studied, two types of random regression as well as naive estimation. Among the investigated evaluation measures, bandwidth accuracy was found to have many desirable characteristics.
Curvature Morphology

The notion of curvature of planar curves has emerged as one of the most powerful for the representation and interpretation of objects in an image. Although curvature extraction from a digitized object contour would seem to be a rather simple task, few methods exist that are at the same time easy to implement, fast, and reliable in the presence of noise. In this paper we first briefly present a scheme for obtaining the discrete curvature function of planar contours based on the chain-code representation of a boundary. Secondly, we propose a method for extracting important features from the curvature function such as extrema or peaks, and segments of constant curvature. We use mathematical morphological operations on functions to achieve this. Finally, on the basis of these morphological operations, we suggest a new scale-space representation for curvature named theMorphological Curvature Scale-Space. Advantages over the usual scale-space approaches are shown.
Ankle-Brachial Pressure Index and Pulse Wave Velocity as Markers of White Matter Hyperintensities and Cognitive Impairment

Vascular disease is associated with cognitive impairment. White matter hyperintensities (WMHs), as detected by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are associated with cognitive impairment and considered to be a marker of cerebral microvascular abnormality. Ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are noninvasive methods to assess blockage and stiffness in peripheral arteries, respectively. We investigated the associations of ABI and PWV with WMHs and cognition. We included 242 subjects representing 56 controls, 75 patients with mild cognitive impairment, and 111 patients with Alzheimer’s disease. We assessed brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV), ABI, general cognitive status with the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), and WMHs with brain MRI. The mean age of subjects correlated with values of baPWV (r=0.432, p<0.001) and ABI (r=-0.192, p=0.002). Among vascular risk factors, baPWV was positively associated with the presence of intracerebral artery stenosis (r=0.102, p=0.028) and ABI was negatively correlated with the presence of hypertension (r=-0.150, p=0.017) and smoking (r=-0.176, p=0.005), independent of age. After adjusting for age and vascular risk factors, baPWV was associated with WMHs (r=0.192, p=0.002), and ABI was associated with the K-MMSE score (r=0.14, p=0.028). There was no association of ABI with WMHs and of baPWV with K-MMSE. An increased baPWV was associated with the severity of WMHs, and a lower ABI was associated with cognitive impairment. Management of peripheral vascular disease may help prevent the progression of WMHs or cognitive decline.