Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing an intelligent recommendation system for a private university in Thailand

In Thailand, choosing a program of study for tertiary students is significant due to the associated future job opportunities. Many students have enrolled in course majors without receiving counseling or advices from appropriate authorities or university services. This could have potential mismatch between students’ aptitude, personal interest and capability, and the particular course being taken up. This may lead to low retention rate and failures. In order to improve and support the academic management processes, many universities in Thailand are developing innovative information systems and services with an aim to enhance efficiency and student relationship. Some of these initiatives are in the form of a Student Recommendation System (SRM). In Thailand, this university service is normally provided by professional counselors or advisors who have many years of experience within the organization or in the higher education sector. However, the success or appropriateness of such advice is entirely depending on expertise of the counselor and it is entirely human-driven. In addition, the process is also tedious and time consuming. This paper reports a study on an investigation of possible correlation between student historic data and their final results. Clustering techniques have been used with the aim to find structures and relationship within the data. Results from two clustering methods, k-means and TwoStep methods have been compared. This paper describes the development of the experiments, and the proposed Intelligent Recommendation System framework.
BPLRU: A Buffer Management Scheme for Improving Random Writes in Flash Storage

Flash memory has become the most important storage media in mobile devices, and is beginning to replace hard disks in desktop systems. However, its relatively poor random write performance may cause problems in the desktop environment, which has much more complicated requirements than mobile devices. While a RAM buffer has been quite successful in hard disks to mask the low efficiency of random writes, managing such a buffer to fully exploit the characteristics of flash storage has still not been resolved. In this paper, we propose a new write buffer management scheme called Block Padding Least Recently Used, which significantly improves the random write performance of flash storage. We evaluate the scheme using trace-driven simulations and experiments with a prototype implementation. It shows about 44% enhanced performance for the workload of MS Office 2003 installation.
The New Role of CD163 in the Differentiation of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells into Vascular Endothelial-Like Cells

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) can differentiate into vascular endothelial cells (VECs). It is regarded as an important solution to cure many diseases, such as ischemic diseases and diabetes. However, the mechanisms underlying BMSC differentiation into VECs are not well understood. Recent reports showed that CD163 expression was associated with angiogenesis. In this study, overexpression of CD163 in BMSCs elevated the protein level of the endothelial-associated markers CD31, Flk-1, eNOS, and VE-cadherin, significantly increased the proportion of Alexa Fluor 488-acetylated-LDL-positive VECs, and promoted angiogenesis on Matrigel. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CD163 acted downstream homeobox containing 1 (Hmbox1) and upstream fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2). These data suggested that CD163 was involved in Hmbox1/CD163/FGF-2 signal pathway in BMSC differentiation into vascular endothelial-like cells. We found a new signal pathway and a novel target for further investigating the gene control of BMSC differentiation into a VEC lineage.
Waypoint navigation on land : different ways of coding distance to the next waypoint

We investigated experimentally the feasibility of using a tactile display developed by TNO Human Factors as a wayfinding aide for soldiers in the field. Participants walked ten routes on a open field, each route consisting of six waypoints. The participants used the PeTaNa tactile wayfinding aide on all trials. PeTaNa is a wearable system that presents navigation information based on predefined routes, a GPS system, and an electronic compass. A minicomputer calculates the navigation input on the basis of heading and distance to the next waypoint. The navigation messages are presented on a tactile display consisting of eight tactors on a belt around the torso. PeTaNa proved to be a very efficient navigation tool, as after approximately 30 minutes (5 routes) all participants demonstrated very acceptable effective walking speeds (4-4.5 km/h). The differences between the coding alternatives for distance to the next waypoint were surprisingly small.
Load Forecasting Using Support Vector Machines: A Study on EUNITE Competition 2001

Load forecasting is usually made by constructing models on relative information, such as climate and previous load demand data. In 2001, EUNITE network organized a competition aiming at mid-term load forecasting (predicting daily maximum load of the next 31 days). During the competition we proposed a support vector machine (SVM) model, which was the winning entry, to solve the problem. In this paper, we discuss in detail how SVM, a new learning technique, is successfully applied to load forecasting. In addition, motivated by the competition results and the approaches by other participants, more experiments and deeper analyses are conducted and presented here. Some important conclusions from the results are that temperature (or other types of climate information) might not be useful in such a mid-term load forecasting problem and that the introduction of time-series concept may improve the forecasting.
A Study of African- American College Students' Attitudes towards Mathematics

This research focuses on the belief that a person’s attitude affects the way they view, pursue, and achieve within a subject area. From research using the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales come Fennema’s Theory, which Tapia and Marsh (2004) explain as the belief that performance in mathematics is an interaction of attitudes, mathematics anxiety, and behavior that occur during a learning task. The participants of the research were African-American students enrolled in college algebra at a Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU). For the most part, this was the first mathematics course that the majority of the participants had enrolled in while a student at the institution. The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales were administered to determine the students’ attitudes towards mathematics. The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scales has been used over the last three decades to evaluate students of various ethnic backgrounds and gender and at various academic grade levels from middle school to college level students. This research centered on the hypothesis that there will be a significant relationship between attitude towards mathematics and achievement for AfricanAmerican students. A multiple linear regression revealed that there was a significant relationship between attitude towards mathematics and achievement for African-American students with 15.3% of the grade being explained by the attitude domain scales. The results of the research found that students would like to be successful in mathematics, but they do not want to put too much effort or work into doing the mathematical problems.
Object-Tracking in Wireless Sensor Networks with A novel Energy Efficient Algorithm

—In this paper we propose and simulate an energy efficient protocol for object-tracking over Wireless Sensor Networks. The proposed algorithm aims to use virtual clustering among the observation region to initiate duty-cycle across the border nodes and the nodes in the inside region. The main idea is to keep the outer nodes active and the interior nodes sleep for energy saving until an object is detected by the outer nodes. Castalia 3.2 wireless sensor network simulator is used to simulate the proposed protocol. Results indicate that an improvement of 42% is achieved in terms of energy consumption. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that S-MAC protocol is a better choice in high load traffic applications in terms of energy consumption.
A high gain microstrip antenna integrated with the novel FSS

Based on the square patch frequency selective surface (FSS) element, a novel FSS unit is proposed in this paper. And the novel FSS unit is used as a spatial filter to improve the performance of the antenna. The single-layer FSS(SL-FSS) and double-layer FSS(DL-FSS) are respectively loaded onto the K band microstrip antenna. And the gain of antenna has been improved. The gain has increased by almost 5.06 dB and 6.86 dB respectively at the resonant frequency of 24GHz. Moreover, the directivity of the antenna is also improved. The half power beamwidth are reduced to 22 degrees and 24 degrees in E-plane. Through the theoretical analysis of the high gain microstrip antenna, the simulated results are almost in agreement with the theoretical analysis results. The simulated results validate the antenna integrated with the novel FSS.
Preferential trading and welfare: The small-union case revisited

The welfare analyses of preferential trading arrangements have been characterized by generally inconclusive and messy results. In this paper, I attempt to give order to the analysis of one important case: a union between two small countries. The analysis has two key advantages over the existing literature. First, the model employed is fully general in that it allows for goods that are exported and imported by both partners as well as those that are exported by one and imported by the other partner. Second, the results are derived for finite changes in tariff rates rather than being limited to infinitesimally small changes. The main results of the paper can be summarized as follows. First, assuming all goods to be normal in consumption, if two small countries form a free trade area or exchange some tariff preferences, their joint welfare falls or rises as their joint output, valued at world prices, rises or falls. Second, if, in addition, the numeraire good uses only labor and all other goods use labor and a sector-specific factor, the exchange of preferences or free trade area necessarily lowers the union’s joint welfare. Third, a union member is necessarily hurt by its own preferential liberalization. The higher are its external tariffs and the larger its imports from the partner, the more it loses from extending the preferences. Fourth, in the specific-factors case just mentioned, a union member necessarily benefits from the tariff preference it receives from the partner. The more it exports to the partner and the higher the latter’s tariffs, the greater the gain. Finally, in the specific-factors case, an FTA benefits a member more the larger its bilateral trade surplus with the partner and the lower its external tariffs relative to the partner.
Automatic Facial expression Recognition System using Orientation Histogram and Neural Network

expression is the most challenging task in the field of computer vision. In this paper, an automatic facial expression recognition system from a still frontal posed image is presented. This system recognizes the human expression by observing the shape of the mouth. This paper uses color based segmentation followed by template matching for face detection and localization. For mouth segmentation, Canny_Template method is used. Orientation Histogram is used for feature extraction. Feed forward neural network is used as a classifier for classifying the expressions of supplied face into five basic expressions like surprise, neutral, sad, happy and angry. Experiments are carried out on Myanmar Facial Expression Database and give the correct performance in terms of 100% accuracy for training set and 70.71% accuracy for test set.
Evolution of genetic variation for condition-dependent traits in stalk-eyed flies

Sexual selection has been proposed to increase genetic variation for condition-dependent ornaments. The condition capture model predicts the genetic variance for a sexually selected trait from the genetic variance in condition and the slope of the relationship between the ornament and condition. Assuming that body size reflects condition we assess the efficacy of this model using six species of stalk–eyed flies (Diopsidae). Prior evidence indicates that male eye span exhibits strong condition dependence and is under sexual selection in sexually dimorphic but not monomorphic species. In contrast, thorax width is weakly related to condition and probably under stabilizing selection. We estimated additive genetic variances for eye span, body length and thorax width from half–sib breeding studies and found that the condition capture model explained 97% of the variation in eye span genetic variance but only 7% of thorax width genetic variance. Comparison of phylogenetically independent contrasts revealed that evolutionary change in male eye span genetic variance is due to evolutionary change in the allometric relationship between eye span and condition: not to evolutionary change in genetic variance for condition. These results suggest that sexual selection can accelerate evolutionary change in condition-dependent male ornaments by increasing the genetic variation available for selection.
Item Recommendation in Social Tagging Systems Using Tag Network

How to profile users and items is a key problem for recommendation in tagging systems. In contrast to tag vector based methods which ignore the semantic relations between tags, we present a novel profiling method based on a weighted tag network model to fully exploit the rich tag relations. Furthermore, by considering the extent of other users’ usage of tags, we present a novel NTF-IUF-IIF method to calculate weights for tags, which can seize the user’s preference accurately. Instead of a single document of traditional methods, it is the first effort to regard each user as a document collection, which enables the statistics of all items. Then the extent of other users’ usage of tags can be counted via the global item information, and then used as a factor for accurate tag weighting. Finally, a Fusion Method (FM) is proposed for measuring similarities between tag networks of users and items to get the recommendation lists. Experimental results on MovieLens and CiteULike datasets validate the effectiveness of our methods.
Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Conflict in Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Is Associated with Nuclear and Plastidic Candidate Genes Encoding Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase Subunits

In crosses of wild and cultivated peas (Pisum sativum L.), nuclear-cytoplasmic incompatibility frequently occurs manifested as decreased pollen fertility, male gametophyte lethality, sporophyte lethality. High-throughput sequencing of plastid genomes of one cultivated and four wild pea accessions differing in cross-compatibility was performed. Candidate genes for involvement in the nuclear-plastid conflict were searched in the reconstructed plastid genomes. In the annotated Medicago truncatula genome, nuclear candidate genes were searched in the portion syntenic to the pea chromosome region known to harbor a locus involved in the conflict. In the plastid genomes, a substantial variability of the accD locus represented by nucleotide substitutions and indels was found to correspond to the pattern of cross-compatibility among the accessions analyzed. Amino acid substitutions in the polypeptides encoded by the alleles of a nuclear locus, designated as Bccp3, with a complementary function to accD, fitted the compatibility pattern. The accD locus in the plastid genome encoding beta subunit of the carboxyltransferase of acetyl-coA carboxylase and the nuclear locus Bccp3 encoding biotin carboxyl carrier protein of the same multi-subunit enzyme were nominated as candidate genes for main contribution to nuclear-cytoplasmic incompatibility in peas. Existence of another nuclear locus involved in the accD-mediated conflict is hypothesized.
On the theory of patching

We study the problem of patching, i.e., modifying the behavior of an existing system. We consider systems modelled as finite state machines (FSMs), and define edit operators for them based on a traditional fault model. We argue that sequences of edit operations can be considered as models of patches defining modifications to an FSM system. We utilize recent results in graph matching theory as mathematical foundations. We introduce a new type of problem which we call the optimal patch or optimal update problem: given an FSM M modeling the behavior of an existing system and an other machine M' modeling a new design, find an optimal patch, i.e., the edit operations changing M to M' that are minimal according to a given cost function associated with the edit operations. We analyze the complexity of the problem, and conclude that it is unlikely to have a polynomial time solution for it. We also show that the problem can be easily transformed to a state-space search problem, for which many heuristic approximation algorithms have been developed.
Design and Performance Assessment of High-Capacity MIMO Architectures in the Presence of a Line-of-Sight Component

In this paper, the capacity of multiple-input multiple- output (MIMO) communication systems is investigated in the presence of a line-of-sight (LoS) component. Under this scenario, the channel-response matrix is usually rank deficient due to the high correlation between the LoS responses. Previous studies have shown that this problem can be overcome by the use of specifically designed antenna arrays. The antenna elements are positioned to preserve orthogonality and, hence, maximize the LoS-channel rank. To help in the design of such architectures, we derive a 3-D criterion for maximizing the LoS MIMO capacity as a function of the distance, the orientation, and the spacing of the arrays. The sensitivity of these systems to imperfect positioning and orientation is examined using a geometric MIMO model. The spectral efficiency is also investigated in the presence of scattered signals in the environment using a stochastic channel model and a Monte Carlo simulator. To demonstrate the validity of our predictions, we present the results of two MIMO measurement campaigns in an anechoic and an indoor environment where the measured capacities are compared with the capacities obtained from our models. All experimental results validate our predictions and, hence, confirm the potential for superior MIMO performance (when the developed criterion is applied) in strong LoS channels.
Real-time emulation of networked robot systems

In this paper we present a methodology for the evaluation of networked systems communicating using WLAN technology. We show a case study of goal-oriented cooperating robots, for which our approach is particularly useful. Developing robots is expensive; hence emulation can be employed in the first part of the development cycle to study robot software implementations in realistic conditions at a reduced cost. Our methodology is based on the emulation of both the robots and the WLAN communication technology. The robots we consider cooperate in order to efficiently reach a destination while avoiding collisions with obstacles and other robots. The WLAN communication emulation engine QOMET is deployed in the emulated robots to recreate network conditions similar to those occurring in a real WLAN environment. The experiments are run on a large-scale network experiment environment, StarBED, using the support software RUNE. Currently, over one hundred emulated robots can be run simultaneously during an experiment on our testbed.
Dictionary for Sparse Representation of Chirp Echo in Broadband Radar

A new dictionary for sparse representation of chirp echo in broadband radar is put forward in this paper. Different with chirplet decomposition which decomposes echo in time-frequency plane, the dictionary transforms the sparsity of target observed by radar in distance range to the sparsity in frequency domain by stretch processing and the sparse representation of echo is realized. Using strict deduction with mathematics, the sparsity of echo in dictionary is proved and the dictionary is orthogonal. In the application property, the construction of dictionary is simple, the parameters that are needed for dictionary can be obtained conveniently and the dictionary is convenient to use. Furthermore, the object of application can be expanded to the echo of multi-component chirps with single freedom degree.
The Skeleton Document Image Retrieval System

This paper describes Skeleton, a document image retrieval system whose design and implementation is based upon image analysis and document retrieval technologies incorporated in the IDUS image understanding system and the INQUERY information retrieval system, respectively. Most of the current Skeleton development effort has been put into establishing indexing and query formulation methodologies in which both words and character subsequences of words (ngrams) are tokenized. A Web-based interface has been developed for Skeleton which includes a Java image display applet to support word and region highlighting. 1 Overview The Skeleton architecture supports document image analysis, indexing, and retrieval. The indexing component assumes an image analysis in which text regions are grouped into articles with head and body relations identified and text recognized using conventional OCR technology. Functional role distinctions such as dateline and caption are not taken advantage of in the current implementation but in future versions of the system they will be used to extend fielded search capabilities. Both the OCR text output of an indexed unit of text and the corresponding page image containing it can be retrieved by Skeleton. It is assumed that end users will normally want to retrieve page images with appropriate regions highlighted and pointers to other pages of the same document provided. However, our experience has indicated that access to the OCR text output is useful in the search process. In the next two sections, additional information about the image analysis process incorporated into Skeleton from the IDUS system and the system's basic retrieval capabilities inherited from the INQUERY system are described [1,2]. Following this discussion, Skeleton's Web-based interface is illustrated. Skeleton's image analysis component, which was originally developed for use in the IDUS system, is illustrated in Figure 1. The image analysis component includes ScanWorX, a commercial product developed by Xerox Information Systems which provides segmentation and OCR support. Image analysis modules developed specifically for use in IDUS which have been incorporated into Skeleton include a logical analyzer, a document classifier and a functional analyzer. The IDUS image understanding system from which these modules were borrowed provides a sophisticated X-windows user interface for examining image analysis output in a graphical form. Although the IDUS interface is not a component of Skeleton, the ability to use IDUS to evaluate image analysis performance is an attractive option. Since Skeleton relies upon ScanWorX to perform the initial segmentation of document images, it inherits that component's …