Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sparsity-promoting dynamic mode decomposition

Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) represents an effective means for capturing the essential features of numerically or experimentally generated flow fields. In order to achieve a desirable tradeoff between the quality of approximation and the number of modes that are used to approximate the given fields, we develop a sparsity-promoting variant of the standard DMD algorithm. Sparsity is induced by regularizing the least-squares deviation between the matrix of snapshots and the linear combination of DMD modes with an additional term that penalizes the l1-norm of the vector of DMD amplitudes. The globally optimal solution of the resulting regularized convex optimization problem is computed using the alternating direction method of multipliers, an algorithm well-suited for large problems. Several examples of flow fields resulting from numerical simulations and physical experiments are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the developed method.
Parabolic reflector near-field to far-field transformation using FDTDM and Pocklington equation

We present a technique to define far field radiation pattern of an antenna. Methodology applies the discrete Pocklington equation to transform the surface field data into a current distribution along the antenna, defining virtual currents over its surface and then through array theory obtain far field patterns. We apply the method over a 1.5 m diameter parabolic reflector, using Finite Difference Time Domain Method (FDTD), to geometricaly acquire magnitude and phase of field over the surface, where the electric field must be known; the acquired electric field is transformed into a current vector using the discrete Pocklington equation, and then we apply array theory, defining an array factor to obtain the field pattern in the Fraunhofer region. To validate our results, we compare them measuring an actual reflector at 2.45 GHz.
Critical Concepts of Mentoring in an Urban Context

Given the increasing challenges faced by high-poverty urban schools, mentoring has become the panacea for policy makers interested in a quick-fix solution to the teacher quality dilemma. As a result, mentoring programs have experienced exponential growth with little empirical attention during the last decade. This 16-month qualitative investigation within a large city in the northeastern United States, sought to better understand the work of mentors in high-poverty urban schools. Analysis of the data collected led to the identification of three assertions that highlight the interplay that occurs in the urban teacher mentoring context between four critical concepts: novice teacher survival, novice teacher success, onus of responsibility, and a social justice stance. Implications are discussed related to the need for adequate resources, placement, and preparation of mentors in high-poverty schools. Additionally, the study also asserts the role that a passion for or a disposition toward social justice plays in the success and survival of both mentors and novice teachers in urban contexts.
Cloud mapping from the ground: use of photogrammetric methods

from the existing observation networks, except at a very few Abstract places around the world which are equipped with high-cost in- Within the European Union (EU) project Cloudmap, a ground- struments (see Table 1). At most climate stations of the national based sky imager system consisting of two commercial digital networks, cloud macroscopic properties—mainly cloud cover, CCD cameras with wide-angle lenses has been established which cloud depth, and cloud-base height—are still visually ob- can theoretically be used to derive various macroscopic cloud served. Mainly at airports, ceilometers are in operational use to parameters (cloud-base height, cloud-base wind, cloud measure the cloud-base height automatically and continuously amount). In this paper, we present the method to calculate a in additionto thevisual observations. It is well recognized today digital surface model (DSM )o fthe cloud base. It includes both thatthe infrequent,spatially notequallydistributed, subjective, the precise determination of the interior and exterior orienta- and too sparse point observations of clouds do not meet the re- tion of the cameras as well as the automatic derivation of the quirements of numerical weather prediction (NWP )a nd global cloud-base heights using modern photogrammetric algorithms. climate models (GCM). The data from our ground-based stereo The presented measurements were taken during the imager system will in this context nicely complement existing Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP )i nS witzerland in October instruments and observations with very accurate, spatial, and 1999. The results from our own matching software and from frequent 3Dcloud-base heights which should be suitable for the commercial photogrammetric systems were validated with meteorological models. semi-automatically measured points and compared with visual Within the EU project Cloudmap2 (Cloudmap2, 2001), we observations, lidar, and radiosonde data from the MAP are currently workingon gaining knowledge aboutthe require- Composite Observing Network and satellite-based cloud-top ments oftemporal frequency,spatial coverage,and accuracyfor heights from ERS2-ATSR2 . T he potential of the system to provide cloud products to be usedas assimilation data into NWP or spe- very accurate areal cloud-base height data was shown. This is cific cloud models. These new requirements are certainly important for the objectives of the EU project Cloudmap2, where higher than the operational user requirements defined in the it is planned to assimilate various cloud parameters, including World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Guide to Meteoro- cloud-base height, into cloud and high-resolution numerical logical Instrumentation and Methods of Observation, which weather prediction (NWP) models.
Adaptive Inter-Mode Decision for HEVC Jointly Utilizing Inter-Level and Spatiotemporal Correlations

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) adopts the quadtree structured coding unit (CU), which allows recursive splitting into four equally sized blocks. At each depth level, it enables SKIP mode, merge mode, inter 2N × 2N, inter 2N × N, inter N × 2N, inter 2N × nU, inter 2N × nD, inter nL x 2N, inter nR × 2N, inter N × N (only available for the smallest CU), intra 2N × 2N, and intra N × N (only available for the smallest CU) in inter-frames. Similar to H.264/AVC, the mode decision process in HEVC is performed using all the possible depth levels (or CU sizes) and prediction modes to find the one with the least rate distortion (RD) cost using Lagrange multiplier. This achieves the highest coding efficiency, but leads to a very high computational complexity. Since the optimal prediction mode is highly content dependent, it is not efficient to use all the modes. In this paper, we propose a fast inter-mode decision algorithm for HEVC by jointly using the inter-level correlation of quadtree structure and the spatiotemporal correlation. There exist strong correlations of the prediction mode, the motion vector and RD cost between different depth levels and between spatially temporally adjacent CUs. We statistically analyze the prediction mode distribution at each depth level and the coding information correlation among the adjacent CUs. Based on the analysis results, three adaptive inter-mode decision strategies are proposed including early SKIP mode decision, prediction size correlation-based mode decision and RD cost correlation-based mode decision. Experimental results show that the proposed overall algorithm can save 49%-52% computational complexity on average with negligible loss of coding efficiency, exhibiting applicability to various types of video sequences.
Performance Analysis of Rayleigh-Product MIMO Channels with Optimal Beamforming

This paper presents an analytical performance investigation of a Rayleigh-product multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel using optimum transmit-receive beamforming. By deriving the closed-form expressions for the cumulative distribution function (C.D.F.), and the probability density function (P.D.F.), we provide a complete statistical characterization of the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the Rayleigh-product MIMO channel. These new statistical results further permit the analysis for the outage probability and the symbol-error-rate (SER), which are important performance indications of MIMO systems. In addition, we examine, in detail, an important special case corresponding to the degenerate keyhole scenario, for which we present insightful closed-form expressions for the diversity order and array gain.
An antibody specific for an endoproteolytic cleavage site provides evidence that pro-opiomelanocortin is packaged into secretory granules in AtT20 cells before its cleavage

We have raised a rabbit antiserum against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the cleavage site between beta-lipotropic hormone and the ACTH moieties of murine pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). After affinity purification, the anti-cleavage site antibody immunoprecipitates POMC from extracts of AtT20 cells but it does not immunoprecipitate the ACTH in such extracts or any of the other products of cleavage of POMC. By contrast, an antiserum raised against pure swine ACTH immunoprecipitates both POMC and ACTH from AtT20 cell extracts. Using the anti-cleavage site antibody we have shown that all the POMC synthesized during a 15-min pulse-labeling with [35S]methionine is cleaved at this site within 1 h. By immunoelectron microscopy we show that approximately 25-30% of peripheral secretory granules in AtT20 cells can be labeled with the anti-cleavage site antibody while anti- ACTH antiserum labels all these granules. This establishes that at least some POMC is packaged into secretory granules before its proteolytic cleavage.
Cross-linguistic transfer of morphological awareness between Chinese and English

Substantial biliteracy research on two alphabetic languages has indicated that, once it is fostered in the first language (L1) literacy experience, morphological awareness can transfer and facilitate second language (L2) reading. It is still unclear, however, whether L1 metalinguistic awareness transfers in the same manner across typologically different languages, and to what extent and under what conditions transfer occurs. This paper synthesises eight studies on the transfer of morphological awareness between Chinese and English. Three questions guided this research: (1) how was morphological awareness defined and measured in prior work; (2) what are the patterns of transfer between the two languages; and (3) what are the factors that affect such transfer effects? The findings have shown a lack of consistency in measuring morphological awareness in existing studies; there were small-to-moderate correlations between L1 and L2 morphological awareness in Chinese–English bilingual reading development; and L2 exposure and task demands were shown to have notable impacts on the cross-linguistic transfer. It is suggested that much needs to be done to expand our understanding of how morphological awareness functions as a sharable resource in bilingual reading development.
The Influence of External Load on Quadriceps Muscle and Tendon Dynamics during Jumping

Tendons possess both viscous (rate-dependent) and elastic (rate-independent) properties that determine tendon function. During high-speed movements external loading increases both the magnitude (FT) and rate (RFDT) of tendon loading. Purpose The influence of external loading on muscle and tendon dynamics during maximal vertical jumping was explored. Methods Ten resistance-trained men performed parallel-depth, countermovement vertical jumps with and without additional load (0%, 30%, 60%, and 90% of maximum squat lift strength), while joint kinetics and kinematics, quadriceps tendon length (LT) and patellar tendon FT and RFDT were estimated using integrated ultrasound, motion analysis and force platform data and muscle tendon modelling. Results Estimated FT and RFDT, but not peak LT, increased with external loading. Temporal comparisons between 0% and 90% loads revealed that FT was greater with 90% loading throughout the majority of the movement (11%–81% and 87%–95% movement duration). However, RFDT was greater with 90% load only during the early movement initiation phase (8%–15% movement duration) but was greater in the 0% load condition later in the eccentric phase (27%–38% movement duration). LT was longer during the early movement (12%–23% movement duration) but shorter in the late eccentric and early concentric phases (48%–55% movement duration) with 90% load. Discussion External loading positively influenced peak FT and RFDT but tendon strain appeared unaffected, suggesting no additive effect of external loading on patellar tendon lengthening during human jumping. Temporal analysis revealed that external loading resulted in a large initial RFDT that may have caused dynamic stiffening of the tendon and attenuated tendon strain throughout the movement. These results suggest that external loading influences tendon lengthening in both a load- and movement-dependent manner.
A generalized skew probit class link for binary regression

We introduce a generalized skew probit (gsp) class of links for the modeling of binary regression giving some properties and conditions for the existence of the maximum likelihood estimator and of the posterior distributions of the parameters of the model when improper uniform priors are established. As shown, asymmetric links already proposed in the literature are special cases of the general family of links proposed. A Bayesian inference approach using MCMC is developed and implementations of the approach are facilitated by considering the augmented likelihood proposed. Several models comparison criteria are introduced and confirm that the gsp class are more adequate for the biological data sets analyzed than other asymmetrical and symmetrical links in the literature. Moreover, extensions of the methods developed in this paper for dichotomous responses to ordinal response data and mixed models for binary response data are indicated.
From Logic to Language : Natural Language Generation from Logical Forms. (de la logique à la langue)

De grote droom van het vroege computertijdperk was de ontwikkeling van een intelligente elektronische machine, die mensen kon begrijpen en met hen kon communiceren door middel van hun eigen taal. Het werd echter al snel duidelijk dat computers niet binnen een paar jaar zover zouden zijn dat ze met mensen aan tafel konden zitten en een gesprek konden voeren. Het vakgebied van mens-computercommunicatie had nog een lange weg te gaan. Natuurlijke taal, zoals het Nederlands of het Engels, is voor een computer erg moeilijk te begrijpen vanwege het onsystematische en soms dubbelzinnige gebruik ervan. Daarom is het overgrote deel van het onderzoek naar natuurlijke taalverwerking door computers gericht op het interpreteren van natuurlijke taal, en niet op de productie ervan. Het resultaat hiervan is dat het genereren van goedgevormde taal gegeven een bepaalde betekenis een onopgelost probleem is. Computerapplicaties die prompt tekst moeten genereren op basis van verschillende vormen van invoer zijn essentieel, maar moeilijk om te implementeren. Het uiteindelijke doel van een generatiesysteem voor natuurlijke taal is om zowel simpele als complexe betekenis te kunnen overbrengen door middel van natuurlijke taal. De eerste vraag die we moeten beantwoorden is echter hoe deze betekenis beschreven kan worden. Wij maken hiervoor gebruik van Discourse Representation Theory, een formalisme dat succesvol is gebleken bij het beschrijven van en redeneren over natuurlijke taal. De logische representaties van dit formalisme zijn erg geschikt om door een computer geanalyseerd te worden. Dit proefschrift presenteert een modulair systeem dat vanuit deze logische representaties natuurlijke taal genereert.
Filled Pause Refinement Based on the Pronunciation Probability for Lecture Speech

Nowadays, although automatic speech recognition has become quite proficient in recognizing or transcribing well-prepared fluent speech, the transcription of speech that contains many disfluencies remains problematic, such as spontaneous conversational and lecture speech. Filled pauses (FPs) are the most frequently occurring disfluencies in this type of speech. Most recent studies have shown that FPs are widely believed to increase the error rates for state-of-the-art speech transcription, primarily because most FPs are not well annotated or provided in training data transcriptions and because of the similarities in acoustic characteristics between FPs and some common non-content words. To enhance the speech transcription system, we propose a new automatic refinement approach to detect FPs in British English lecture speech transcription. This approach combines the pronunciation probabilities for each word in the dictionary and acoustic language model scores for FP refinement through a modified speech recognition forced-alignment framework. We evaluate the proposed approach on the Reith Lectures speech transcription task, in which only imperfect training transcriptions are available. Successful results are achieved for both the development and evaluation datasets. Acoustic models trained on different styles of speech genres have been investigated with respect to FP refinement. To further validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, speech transcription performance has also been examined using systems built on training data transcriptions with and without FP refinement.
Conditional functional dependencies for capturing data inconsistencies

We propose a class of integrity constraints for relational databases, referred to as conditional functional dependencies (CFDs), and study their applications in data cleaning. In contrast to traditional functional dependencies (FDs) that were developed mainly for schema design, CFDs aim at capturing the consistency of data by enforcing bindings of semantically related values. For static analysis of CFDs we investigate the consistency problem, which is to determine whether or not there exists a nonempty database satisfying a given set of CFDs, and the implication problem, which is to decide whether or not a set of CFDs entails another CFD. We show that while any set of transitional FDs is trivially consistent, the consistency problem is NP-complete for CFDs, but it is in PTIME when either the database schema is predefined or no attributes involved in the CFDs have a finite domain. For the implication analysis of CFDs, we provide an inference system analogous to Armstrong's axioms for FDs, and show that the implication problem is coNP-complete for CFDs in contrast to the linear-time complexity for their traditional counterpart. We also present an algorithm for computing a minimal cover of a set of CFDs. Since CFDs allow data bindings, in some cases CFDs may be physically large, complicating the detection of constraint violations. We develop techniques for detecting CFD violations in SQL as well as novel techniques for checking multiple constraints by a single query. We also provide incremental methods for checking CFDs in response to changes to the database. We experimentally verify the effectiveness of our CFD-based methods for inconsistency detection. This work not only yields a constraint theory for CFDs but is also a step toward a practical constraint-based method for improving data quality.
Towards a GBit/s Programmable Decoder for LDPC Convolutional Codes

We analyze the decoding algorithm for regular time-invariant LDPC convolutional codes as a 3D signal processing scheme and derive several parallelization concepts, which were used to design a novel low-complexity programmable decoder architecture with throughput in the range of 1 Gbit/s at moderate system clock frequencies. The synthesis results indicate that the decoder requires relatively small areas, even when high levels of parallelism are used.
Bias and Cultural diversity in Psychological Assessment: An Empirical Review

A century of research evidence on psychological assessment shows that scientist have made several efforts to advance a ''culture free'' tests (Jensen, 1980). Similarly, research also demonstrates that only a few numbers of issues in psychology research divide researchers and the general public as the use of standardized assessments with diverse culture. To illuminate these concerns and possibilities in a concrete context, the article systematically analyse the history of psychological assessment and explains the application of psychometric and socio-cultural framework for psychological tests. This article uses empirical evidence to analyses cultural bias in psychological tests and explores various approaches that describes and examine bias in psychological assessment. The paper also explores (1)the taxonomy of bias and equivalence in psychological testing,(2) identifies issues surrounding test bias, (3)explain sources of bias (4) evaluate how culture influences psychological assessment of diverse groups and last but not the least,(5)examine the inference of bias controversy and recommend various processes that remove bias in psychological assessment. Finally, findings reveal that psychological test performance on different cultural group shows different outcomes. (Olusegun Emmanuel Afolabi. Bias and Cultural diversity in Psychological Assessment: An Empirical Review. Researcher 2014;6(2):42-53). (ISSN: 1553-9865). http://www.sciencepub. net/researcher . 7 Keyword: Bias, Cultural diversity, Method bias, Psychological assessment
Effect of Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockade on Cardiac Remodeling in Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor Null Mice

&NA; To clarify the possible involvement of uninhibited angiotensin II (Ang II) type 2 (AT2) receptor stimulation in the effects of an Ang II type 1 (AT1) receptor blocker, valsartan, we examined the cardiovascular remodeling induced by aortic banding with the use of wild‐type (Agtr2+) and AT2 receptor null (Agtr2−) mice. Aortic banding caused cardiac hypertrophy in Agtr2+ and Agtr2− mice to a similar degree 6 weeks after surgery, whereas coronary arterial thickening and perivascular fibrosis were more exaggerated in Agtr2− mice. The AT2 receptor was observed predominantly in the coronary arteries and perivascular region of Agtr2+ mice. Valsartan at a dose of 1 mg/kg per day, which did not influence systolic blood pressure, suppressed cardiac hypertrophy similarly in both strains. Valsartan inhibited coronary arterial thickening and perivascular fibrosis in both groups; however, the inhibitory effects of valsartan were significantly weaker in Agtr2− mice. The inhibitory effects of a nonselective Ang II receptor antagonist, [Sar1,Ile8]‐Ang II, on cardiac hypertrophy, coronary artery thickening, and perivascular fibrosis were not significantly different in Agtr2+ and Agtr2− mice. These results suggest that the improvement by valsartan of coronary arterial thickening and perivascular fibrosis after pressure overload is caused by uninhibited AT2 receptor stimulation in addition to AT1 receptor blockade.