Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating fractal dimension with fractal interpolation function models

Fractal dimension (FD) is a feature which is widely used to characterize medical images. Previously, researchers have shown that FD separates important classes of images and provides distinctive information about texture. The authors analyze limitations of two principal methods of estimating FD: box-counting (BC) and power spectrum (PS). BC is ineffective when applied to data-limited, low-resolution images; PS is based on a fractional Brownian motion (fBm) model-a model which is not universally applicable. The authors also present background information on the use of fractal interpolation function (FIF) models to estimate FD of data which can be represented in the form of a function. They present a new method of estimating FD in which multiple FIF models are constructed. The mean of the FD's of the FIF models is taken as the estimate of the FD of the original data. The standard deviation of the FD's of the FIF models is used as a confidence measure of the estimate. The authors demonstrate how the new method can be used to characterize fractal texture of medical images. In a pilot study, they generated plots of curvature values around the perimeters of images of red blood cells from normal and sickle cell subjects. The new method showed improved separation of the image classes when compared to BC and PS methods.
Income, leisure and proficiency: an economic study of football performance

The influence of income, across countries, on the proficiency of leisure, as measure by international football achievement is addressed. It is widely concluded that leisure is a normal good, however; little research has been conducted on the influences of efforts to become proficient at a specific leisure activity. While the law of diminishing marginal productivity indicates that leisure proficiency will increase at a decreasing rate with increases in time allocated toward the leisure activity, the second-order effect of income on neither leisure nor leisure proficiency can theoretically be determined. To estimate these effects, an empirical examination of FIFA's World Rankings has been conducted. The results indicate that leisure proficiency on an aggregate level is positively associated with income and increases at a decreasing rate. This subsequently provides evidence that the consumption of leisure on an aggregate level also increases at a decreasing rate with increases in income.
On the Sum Rate of Fair Resource Allocation With Selective Feedback

Opportunistic scheduling exploits the multiuser diversity to improve the performance of wireless communications. The scheduling gain is enabled by the channel feedback sent from the receiver to the transmitter. In this paper, we consider the so-called opportunistic cumulative distribution function (CDF) scheduling with threshold-based selective feedback in the orthogonal frequency division multiple access downlink system. Among opportunistic scheduling techniques, the CDF scheduling is known to provide multiuser diversity gain while maintaining fair radio resource sharing among users. We first derive the exact and asymptotic average sum rates assuming antenna selection at transmitters. The expressions are valid for arbitrary number of inter-cell interference and number of transmit antennas. Moreover, a closed-form approximation for the user rate distribution is calculated using the exact moments of the user sum rate. The approximation is shown to provide an accurate estimate for the rate distribution, and the results can be utilized in rate adaptation at the transmitter.
Book‐to‐Market Components, Future Security Returns, and Errors in Expected Future Earnings

type="main" xml:lang="en"> This study investigates whether the ability of book-to-market to predict returns derives from systematic errors in the market’s expectation of future earnings. We extend Beaver and Ryan (1996, 2000) by decomposing book-to-market into a more persistent (bias) component and a delayed recognition (lag) component. We find that both components are related to analyst expectations of future earnings, but the lag component is the dominant factor across all forecast horizons. Similarly, we find that the lag component explains most of the inverse relation between book-to-market and future returns. Given that lag is constructed by regressing book-to-market ratios on lagged price changes, our results are consistent with the lag component capturing systematic stock price reversals. We find that the components have unique relations with subsequent earnings forecast revisions, and controlling for these relations substantially mitigates the components’ ability to predict returns. Our component-level analysis provides insight into how expected future earnings, summarized in book-to-market ratios help to explain this market anomaly.
SonoKnife for ablation of neck tissue: In vivo verification of a computer layered medium model

Purpose: This study aimed to determine which treatment parameters of the SonoKnife device can be used to safely and effectively perform non-invasive thermal ablation of subcutaneous tissue. Methods: A three-dimensional computational layered medium model was constructed to simulate thermal ablation treatment of the SonoKnife device. The acoustic and thermal fields were calculated with the Fast Object-Oriented C++ Ultrasound-Simulator software and a finite difference code, respectively. Subcutaneous tissue was represented as layers of skin, fat and muscle. The simulations were conducted for ultrasound frequencies of 1 or 3.5 MHz. The thermal dose model was used to predict the size and location of the ablated regions. The computer simulations were verified by using the SonoKnife to perform subcutaneous ablations in the neck area of healthy pigs, in vivo. Triphenyltetrazolium chloride viability stain was used to differentiate viable tissue from ablated regions ex vivo. Results: The simulations for the layered medium model suggest that operating the SonoKnife at frequency of 1 MHz is more effective and safer than 3.5 MHz providing skin cooling is applied prior to ablation. These predictions were in agreement with the results observed in the animal studies. The required sonication time for ablation increased from 50 to 300 s by using 1 MHz. Conclusion: Our modelling and animal studies suggest that 1 MHz with pretreatment skin cooling are the optimal settings to operate the SonoKnife to safely and effectively perform subcutaneous thermal ablation of porcine skin. More work is needed to optimise skin cooling and define the optimal sonication time.
ISOLATION BY RESISTANCE

Abstract Despite growing interest in the effects of landscape heterogeneity on genetic structuring, few tools are available to incorporate data on landscape composition into population genetic studies. Analyses of isolation by distance have typically either assumed spatial homogeneity for convenience or applied theoretically unjustified distance metrics to compensate for heterogeneity. Here I propose the isolation-by-resistance (IBR) model as an alternative for predicting equilibrium genetic structuring in complex landscapes. The model predicts a positive relationship between genetic differentiation and the resistance distance, a distance metric that exploits precise relationships between random walk times and effective resistances in electronic networks. As a predictor of genetic differentiation, the resistance distance is both more theoretically justified and more robust to spatial heterogeneity than Euclidean or least cost path-based distance measures. Moreover, the metric can be applied with a wide range of data inputs, including coarse-scale range maps, simple maps of habitat and nonhabitat within a species' range, or complex spatial datasets with habitats and barriers of differing qualities. The IBR model thus provides a flexible and efficient tool to account for habitat heterogeneity in studies of isolation by distance, improve understanding of how landscape characteristics affect genetic structuring, and predict genetic and evolutionary consequences of landscape change.
Temporal aggregation for first-person action recognition using Hilbert-Huang transform

This paper presents a new approach for action recognition in the first-person videos which aggregates both of the short- and long-term trends based on the coefficients of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), a renowned time-frequency analysis tool. In contrast to previous works like Pooled Time Series (PoT), the new scheme can extract the salient features of activities based on the non-stationary HHT analysis, which consists of empirical mode decomposition and Hilbert spectral analysis, and can be incorporated with the convolutional neural network (CNN) features such as trajectory pooled CNN features to achieve superior detection accuracy. Conducted simulations show that the proposed method outperforms the main state-of-the-art works on two widespread public firstperson datasets.
Management Forecasts and Information Asymmetry: An Examination of Bid-Ask Spreads

This paper investigates whether the decision to issue a management earnings forecast is related to information asymmetry in the market for the firm s stock and whether the forecasts reduce the asymmetry. Theoretical models hold that a portion of the bid-ask spread arises because of asymmetric information and that specialists widen spreads when they perceive greater information asymmetry. We find that forecasting firms have wider bid-ask spreads than a matched sample of non-forecasting firms prior to the forecast release. This difference disappears after the release of the management forecast. Forecasting firms also experience a gradual increase in spreads over the twelve months leading up to the forecast. The spread is reduced to below the pre- forecast level after the forecast is released.
Ambidexterity and Unit Performance: Intellectual Capital Antecedents and Cross-Level Moderating Effects of Human Resource Practices

This study develops a cross-level model examining the effects of intellectual capital facets (i.e., human, social, and organizational capital) on unit ambidexterity. Further, it proposes that organizational-level high-performance human resource (HPHR) practices significantly shape these effects as well as the unit ambidexterity–unit performance relationship. Hierarchical linear modeling on multisource and lagged data from a sample of 148 business units from 58 US Fortune 500 firms shows that unit human and social capital positively contributes to unit ambidexterity, unit organizational capital has a negative relationship with unit ambidexterity, and organizational HPHR practices amplify the former and mitigate the latter of these unit-level effects. The findings also reveal that the relationship between ambidexterity and unit performance becomes stronger in organizational contexts of heightened HPHR practices. This multilevel approach increases understanding of how units achieve ambidexterity and attain related performance gains.
Work-related acculturation: change in individual work-related cultural values following immigration

The effects of culture in the workplace have been well documented. Because cultures vary across countries, business practices that are effective in some regions may not be effective in others. While cross-country cultural differences have been explored in depth, little is known about cultural variations and dynamics in the context of immigration. On the basis of a multilevel study of 2163 immigrants and locals residing in Canada, we investigate (1) patterns of immigrant acculturation; (2) the relationship between acculturation of visible elements of culture, such as language proficiency or cuisine and music tastes, and acculturation of tacit cultural values and (3) individual- and group-level predictors and moderators of acculturation. The results are discussed with a focus on implications for practitioner managers and immigration policy makers.
Innovation Labs: An Examination into the Use of Physical Spaces to Enhance Organizational Creativity

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of innovation labs, purpose-built physical facilities designed to enhance and support creativity and innovation in organizations. This rising phenomenon may be driven by the increasing emphasis placed on innovation as the key to the survival of modern day organizations. Innovation labs are attracting greater attention from organizations, yet little is known about their effectiveness. Using a mixed-method approach this paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a major UK-based facility in enhancing creativity and to explore users' attitudes towards this rising organizational phenomenon. The findings have implications for the management of existing innovation labs and those in the planning.
Mundellâ€“Fleming without the LM curve: the exogenous interest rate in an open economy

In this paper we evaluate critically the popular Mundellâ€“Fleming model from the heterodox standpoint of the exogenous interest-rate approach. We criticize the assumptions of exogenous money supply, â€˜perfectâ€™ international capital markets and inelastic exchange-rate expectations. We show that in a more realistic framework none of the main results of the Mundellâ€“Fleming model on the relative effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies is valid, either in floating and fixed exchange-rate regimes. We conclude that, within certain very asymmetric bounds, the Central Bank has the power to determine the domestic interest rate exogenously even in open economy with free capital mobility and that there is no automatic market mechanism to ensure the automatic adjustment of the interest rate and exchange rate to sustainable levels.
On the use of bit filters in shared nothing partitioned systems

Parallel query processing is in the core of many business analysis environments. Such applications impose a high demand on the computer hardware to achieve results in reasonable times, specially when queries are launched against huge amounts of warehouse data. We look into the problem of parallel query processing on large data sets focusing on a rational use of the network and memory resources. In this context, we propose a new protocol to make use of bit filters in parallel shared nothing systems for non-collocated joins. We call our protocol remote bit filters with requests (RBF/sub R/). We have implemented a prototype of RBF/sub R/ for the first time in a major commercial database, IBM/spl reg/ DB2 Universal Database/spl trade/(DB2 UDB). RBF/sub R/ has two important advantages over the previous usage of bit filters in the same context. First, it reduces the amount of memory used compared to previous solutions. This allows for the processing of more or larger queries. Second, the protocol itself has an insignificant impact on communication. This means that it is as efficient as the previous strategies, avoiding the saturation of the network in parallel intensive network usage environments.
Parallel Three-Phase Inverters: Optimal PWM Method for Flux Reduction in Intercell Transformers

Parallel multilevel converters are now widely used in the industry, particularly in high-current applications such as voltage regulator modules. The reduction of the output current ripple and the increase of its frequency are possible due to the use of interleaving techniques and, as a consequence, the filters associated with the converter may be reduced. The current ripple reduction in each commutation cell of a parallel converter is possible by the use of intercell transformers (ICT). The design of such a special magnetic component depends very strongly on the magnetic flux flowing through their cores. In three-phase systems coupled by ICTs, the injection of zero-sequence signals in the output voltage reference changes this flux. The aim of this paper is to explain the influence of the most popular pulse width modulation (PWM) methods regarding the ICT flux for applications to three-phase loads. An optimal PWM method that minimizes the size of the ICT design is developed. Experimental results verify the analysis presented in this paper and validate the flux reduction provided by the developed optimal zero-sequence signals.
The relationship between the new European governance emerging from the fiscal crisis and administrative reforms: Qualitatively different, quantitatively different, or nothing new? A plea for a research agenda

This article questions the extent to which extant theoretical frames are apt for the task of interpreting the dynamics of administrative reforms under the conditionsof fiscal crisis that occurred in a number of euro-zone countries. The question addressed is: how can we interpret what happened in the field of administrative reforms in such countries as Greece, Ireland or Portugal, as well as in countries like Italy or Spain after the burst of the fiscal crisis in euro-zone countries? We discuss different theoretical perspectives and conclude by advocating a research agenda probing the influence that the changing relationships between the EU and the national levels of governance have on the administrative reform policy cycle. Such research work may lead to findings of interest both for the field of EU studies (questioning the extent to which the “new” European governance represents another embodiment of “integration by stealth” – a finding that would be problematic from a democratic normative theory perspective) and for the field of public administration and management (shedding light on the extent to which the dynamics of public-management reform unfold at the interface between the national and the supranational, rather than just within the boundaries of a country’s national borders).
Explaining the Adoption of Innovation: An Empirical Analysis of Public Management Reform

Innovation has become a cornerstone of many government programmes of public management reform. In this study we provide the first empirical analysis of innovation adoption in a programme of public management reform that involves an external authority decision. Studies of this nature have not formed a central element of innovation-adoption research, which typically focuses upon the voluntary adoption of innovations by public organisations. Over a two-year period seventy-nine services adopting a programme of innovative management in local government were studied. The empirical results indicate that innovation adoption in local authorities is likely to be achieved where there are dispersed populations, where adoption is concentrated upon a limited number of services, and where there is prior experience of facets of the programme of innovative management reform. Explanations of these results are identified and the implications of researching innovation in public organisations are considered.
Discharge threshold is enhanced for several seconds after a single interictal spike in a model of focal epileptogenesis

Interictal spikes (ISs) are typically observed between seizures in focal epilepsies. Whether ISs are causally involved or represent protective elements in the transition toward an ictal discharge is an open question. Previous studies suggested that inhibition or disfacilitation occurs during the period elapsing between two ISs induced by local application of either bicuculline or penicillin in the piriform cortex of the in vitro isolated guinea pig brain preparation. We further investigated this issue by studying responses to afferent stimulation during the interspike period (6.3 ± 2.5 s; mean ± SD). Properly set stimulation intensity of the lateral olfactory tract resets ISs exclusively (and not before) 4–10 s (5.6 ± 2.0 s; mean ± SD) after a preceding spontaneous spike. This finding demonstrates the existence of a period of enhanced threshold to stimulus‐evoked activation that coincides with the interspike interval in the absence of stimulation. Current source density analysis of depth laminar profiles demonstrated that both stimulus‐evoked and spontaneous ISs were generated by the activation of an identical cortical circuit. Our study suggests that interictal spiking could play a protective role or at least provide an effective restraint against the onset of a focal ictal discharge.
The role of agency in sustainable local community development

Abstract In this paper we question the importance of social capital as a primary indicator of a community's ability to engage in sustainable development as social capital can have both hindering and facilitating effects. We suggest that actor agency allows an individual or group to increase access to other critical forms of capital to overcome barriers and solve problems. We present ‘bonding’ social capital consisting of strong network ties as a negative in excess quantity as it can lead to the enforcement of social norms that hinder innovative change, and ‘bridging’ social capital consisting of weak network ties as a benefit that allows actors to bring about critical social changes. Communities achieve agency through a dynamic mix of bonding and bridging ties. We close with suggestions for fostering community agency and flag the need for further research in this area.
The Drivers of Predicted Beta

The authors present a methodology for attributing an asset’s or portfolio’s predicted beta to an underlying set of factors. The approach’s foundation rests on the concept of factor beta, which represents the beta of a factor portfolio with respect to the market portfolio. This analysis gives investors important insights into the drivers of predicted beta for a particular portfolio. The authors also study the cross-sectional dispersion of stock-level predicted betas. They show that the dispersion can be decomposed into contributions from individual factors. This framework provides valuable insight into how factor volatilities and correlations affect observed differences in stocks’ predicted betas.
The Impact of Increasing Non-Agricultural Market Access on EU Demand for Imported Fish: Implications for Lake Victoria Chilled Fillet Exports

Import demand functions for origin-specific chilled fish fillets to the EU using a Rotterdam-type production model are estimated. Results are used to project the impact of the EU expanding market access to non-African countries. The preference erosion argument suggests that the lower tariffs will erode the competitive position of African countries; however, when the total impact of prices is considered, expanding preferential access may result in increased imports from African countries. If tariffs are reduced to zero, the total EU imports are projected to increase by 4.1 per cent resulting in a 2.2 per cent increase in chilled fillet imports from Lake Victoria.