Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resource allocation for asynchronous cognitive radio networks with FBMC/OFDM under statistical CSI

This paper studies resource allocation for a multi-carrier based cognitive radio network under the assumption of statistical channel state information (CSI). To circumvent the inherent high computational complexity investigating the joint power-rate-subcarrier of the outage-constrained sum rate maximization problem, we adopt a sub-optimal strategy by solving independently the subcarrier and power-rate problem. Firstly, we propose a heuristic subcarrier allocation paradigm by utilizing an outage-based metric. Secondly, we conservatively approximate the intractable non-convex powerrate control problem and propose a sequential-based algorithm to efficiently obtain a solution to the problem. The proposed algorithm has been shown to converge to solutions that are stationary points of the original power-rate problem. Extensive simulation results are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed algorithm.
Reinforcement Learning of Traffic Light Controllers under Partial Observability

Due to the increasing amounts of traffic in and around urban areas there is a growing need for intelligent traffic lights that optimize traffic flow. This thesis attempts to implement more realism in intelligent traffic light control. In a realistic traffic light control system there is a lot of partial observability. This thesis provides a description and solution to optimize and adapt traffic light controllers that use multiagent model-based reinforcement learning algorithms to now support partial observability. Multiple methods are described in this thesis. Also a way of learning the model using partial observed data has been implemented. This thesis will show that the methods used to cope with partial observability and even the methods implemented with which to learn the model under partial observability obtain very good results and even outperform the original reinforcement learning algorithms in some cases.
Budgeted Optimization with Constrained Experiments

Motivated by a real-world problem, we study a novel budgeted optimization problem where the goal is to optimize an unknown function f(ċ) given a budget by requesting a sequence of samples from the function. In our setting, however, evaluating the function at precisely specified points is not practically possible due to prohibitive costs. Instead, we can only request constrained experiments. A constrained experiment, denoted by Q, specifies a subset of the input space for the experimenter to sample the function from. The outcome of Q includes a sampled experiment x, and its function output f(x). Importantly, as the constraints of Q become looser, the cost of fulfilling the request decreases, but the uncertainty about the location x increases. Our goal is to manage this trade-off by selecting a set of constrained experiments that best optimize f(ċ) within the budget. We study this problem in two different settings, the non-sequential (or batch) setting where a set of constrained experiments is selected at once, and the sequential setting where experiments are selected one at a time. We evaluate our proposed methods for both settings using synthetic and real functions. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methods.
Immature offenders. A critical history of the representations of the offender in restorative justice

Abstract This paper reconstructs and discusses how the ‘offender’ is represented within policy documents, legal statutes and scholarly literature on restorative justice, published and circulated in England and Wales over the last thirty years. The research first outlines the most wide-ranging and recurrent images and implicit assumptions of the offender in restorative justice. A set of specific offender’s features will be singled out, and the ‘ideal offender’ of restorative justice will be profiled. The final step of this work consists of mapping out the cultural context within which this ideal has emerged, in a historical perspective. The overall goal is to shed light on some taken-for-granted images surrounding the offender in restorative justice, and on the cultural context within which they have developed. In this way, it is possible to contribute toward the critical re-assessment of restorative justice whilst considering implications beyond the British context.
A Web Application to Search a Large Repository of Taxonomic Relations from the Web

Taxonomic relations (also known as isa or hypernymy relations) represent one of the key building blocks of knowledge bases and foundational ontologies and provide a fundamental piece of information for many text understanding applications. Despite the availability of very large knowledge bases, however, some Natural Language Processing and Semantic Web applications (e.g., Ontology Learning) still require automatic isa relation harvesting techniques to cope with the coverage of domain-specific and long-tail terms. In this paper, we present a web application to directly query a very large repository of isa relations automatically extracted from the Common Crawl (the largest publicly available crawl of the Web). Our resource can be also downloaded for research purposes and accessed programmatically (we additionally release a Java application programming interface for this purpose).
Sexual problems and sexual scripts: overview and future directions for bisexual-identified individuals

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper was to conduct an overview of the existing literature on sexual problems and relational factors in self-identified bisexual individuals. Given the limited research including self-identified bisexuals, this paper provides an overview of the sexuality literature on same-gender and mixed-gender relationships to highlight areas where additional research with self-identified bisexual individuals is needed. Identified gaps in the literature include prevalence information on sexual problems, and information on sexual scripts, sexual communication, and partner responses across diverse sexual orientations. Considerations for future research are discussed.
Consensus-tracking in distributed networks by one-hop averaging

For a connected network of sensors we consider deriving the linear update weights required by a 1-hop distributed linear averaging algorithm (denoted 1-DLA) such that average-consensus is reached when the sensor nodes simultaneously track, by linear stochastic approximation, a set of distinct Markov chains with time-varying regime. It is found the desired consensus is infeasible for any 1-hop 1-DLA type algorithm in this setting, which includes the consensus filter proposed in [2]. However, assuming a symmetric communication graph we show the average-consensus can be approached with zero asymptotic error by an alternative 1-hop algorithm (denoted 4-DLA) that requires each sensor compute 4 estimates {π̂ s, s0, ŝ} rather than only {s} as required under 1-DLA. We demonstrate a simulation of 4-DLA and explain its advantages compared to alternative multi-hop algorithms.
Indices and Data Structures in Information Systems

One of the key issues in information systems is to provide a fast and reliable access to data. This is true for conventional databases and information systems as well as for spatial or mul- timedia ones. Main tools for such aim are indices, among others. Search and reasoning operations using indices and structured data require a specific support on logical and physical level. A years of research have resulted in a great variety of multidimensional data structures and indices (access methods also). This paper overviews recent trends in the area of multidimensional, spatial, tempo- ral indices and data structures, discusses their principles and implementation issues. The special emphasis is given to research, multimedia and spatial information systems.
Conceptualizing Pattern Analysis of Spectral Change Relative to Ecosystem Status

Change is recognized as being intrinsic to ecosystems, but is also the essence of instability and the outgrowth of situations that lack sustainability. Change is arguably the most fundamental symptom for onset of abnormality in ecosystem function, and change in change cannot be detected without sufficient monitoring to determine spatial and temporal aspects of characteristic change regimes across landscapes. It must also be recognized that change can be associated with either restoration or degradation. A suite of recent developments in change detection using compressed multiband image data provides increased flexibility and practicality for systematic change detection on a regional basis. Combining such capability with conceptual extensions of spatial pattern analysis through echelons can provide a methodology for systematically monitoring spatial structure of spectral change across landscapes in order to profile characteristic broad scale regimes of change and to indicate trends in those regimes. Implementing these analytical scenarios with new generations of computers and remote sensors could lend a further dimension to tracking of ecosystem status over major regions.
Effects of Physical Capabilities on Interaction

work, we investigated how physical capabilities of users with a wide range of abilities are reflected in their interactions with digital devices. In particular, we investi$ gated the principles of visual perception of visually im$ paired people and rapid aiming movements of motor$ impaired users and also compared those with their able$ bodied counterparts. Our studies and results should help interface designers to design inclusive systems and will also enrich cognitive science by explaining the effect of physical capabilities on interaction. to the guidelines while developing new systems. We in$ vestigated the principles of visual perception of visually impaired users and motor$action of motor$impaired u sers and also compared those with their able$bodied coun ter$ parts. Our studies will provide the necessary knowledge about the relationship between physical ability and inter$ action, which will help designers of interactive systems to develop more inclusive systems. We have already used our study to design user models of people with a wide range of abilities (1). Our models can be used to deter$ mine the optimum font size, contrast and colour of on$ screen menu items used to select channels in a digital TV. Similarly, it can also be used to simulate the perception of visually impaired users (2) (like how a person having less visual acuity will view a remote controller) to make de$ signers understand the problems of visual impairment. ANALYZING PERCEPTION
A word-oriented approach to alignment validation

MOTIVATION Multiple sequence alignment at the level of whole proteomes requires a high degree of automation, precluding the use of traditional validation methods such as manual curation. Since evolutionary models are too general to describe the history of each residue in a protein family, there is no single algorithm/model combination that can yield a biologically or evolutionarily optimal alignment. We propose a 'shotgun' strategy where many different algorithms are used to align the same family, and the best of these alignments is then chosen with a reliable objective function. We present WOOF, a novel 'word-oriented' objective function that relies on the identification and scoring of conserved amino acid patterns (words) between pairs of sequences. RESULTS Tests on a subset of reference protein alignments from BAliBASE showed that WOOF tended to rank the (manually curated) reference alignment highest among 1060 alternative (automatically generated) alignments for a majority of protein families. Among the automated alignments, there was a strong positive relationship between the WOOF score and similarity to the reference alignment. The speed of WOOF and its independence from explicit considerations of three-dimensional structure make it an excellent tool for analyzing large numbers of protein families. AVAILABILITY On request from the authors.
Fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of bladder cancer in a male prospective cohort.

BACKGROUND Previous epidemiologic studies of fruit and vegetable intake and bladder cancer risk have yielded inconsistent results, especially with regard to the types of fruits and vegetables consumed. We examined total fruit and vegetable intake, as well as intakes of subtypes of fruits and vegetables, in relation to bladder cancer risk in a large male prospective cohort study. METHODS Two hundred fifty-two cases of incident bladder cancer were diagnosed from 1986 through January 31, 1996, among 47,909 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Each participant in this cohort completed a 131-item food-frequency questionnaire in 1986 and subsequently in 1990 and 1994. We used logistic regression analyses to examine fruit and vegetable intake in relation to bladder cancer risk, after adjusting for age, history of cigarette smoking, current smoking status, geographic region, total fluid intake, and caloric intake. RESULTS We observed a weak, inverse association that was not statistically significant between total fruit and vegetable intake and bladder cancer risk. Intake of cruciferous vegetables was inversely associated with risk (relative risk = 0.49; 95% confidence interval = 0.32-0.75, for the highest category of cruciferous vegetable intake compared with the lowest), but intakes of yellow or green leafy vegetables or carotenoid-rich vegetables were not associated with risk. Individual cruciferous vegetables, except for coleslaw, were all inversely related to bladder cancer risk, but only the associations for broccoli and cabbage were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Data from this study indicate that high cruciferous vegetable consumption may reduce bladder cancer risk, but other vegetables and fruits may not confer appreciable benefits against this cancer.
Loops in twistor space

We elucidate the one-loop twistor-space structure corresponding to momentum-space maximally helicity-violating diagrams. We also discuss the infrared divergences, and argue that only a limited set of maximally helicity-violating diagrams contain them. We show how to introduce a twistor-space regulator corresponding to dimensional regularization for the infrared-divergent diagrams. We also evaluate explicitly the 'holomorphic anomaly' pointed out by Cachazo, Svrcek, and Witten, and use the result to define modified differential operators which can be used to probe the twistor-space structure of one-loop amplitudes.
Interactive 3 D editing tools for image segmentation q

Segmentation is an important part of image processing, which often has a large impact on quantitative image analysis results. Fully automated operator independent segmentation procedures that successfully work in a population with a larger biological variation are extremely difficult to design and usually some kind of operator intervention is required, at least in pathological cases. We developed a variety of 3D editing tools that can be used to correct or improve results of initial automatic segmentation procedures. Specifically we will discuss and show examples for three types of editing tools that we termed: hole-filling (tool 1), pointbridging (tool 2), and surface-dragging (tool 3). Each tool comes in a number of flavors, all of which are implemented in a truly 3D manner. We describe the principles, evaluate efficiency and flexibility, and discuss advantages and disadvantages of each tool. We further demonstrate the superiority of the 3D approach over the time-consuming slice-by-slice editing of 3D datasets, which is still widely used in medical image processing today. We conclude that performance criteria for automatic segmentation algorithms may be eased significantly by including 3D editing tools early in the design process. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Chasing the green flash: a global illumination solution for inhomogeneous media

Several natural phenomena, such as mirages or the green flash, are owed to inhomogeneous media in which the index of refraction is not constant. This makes the light rays travel a curved path while going through those media. One way to simulate global illumination in inhomogeneous media is to use a curved ray tracing algorithm, but this approach presents some problems that still need to be solved. This paper introduces a full solution to the global illumination problem, based on what we have called curved photon mapping, that can be used to simulate several natural atmospheric phenomena. We also present a model of the Human Visual System (HVS) to display images in a more realistic way, taking into account how we perceive luminances in a real-world scene. This is of special interest in the green flash effect, where some of the perceived green is owed to bleaching of the photoreceptors in the human eye.
Multi-channel slotted aloha optimization for machine-type-communication

Deploying a massive number of MTC (Machine - Type - Communication) devices in the current cellular mobile networks represents a great challenge as they may cause congestion and system overload for both RAN (Radio Access Network) and CN (Core Network) parts. To address this issue, we propose a novel algorithm, named Multi-Channel Slotted ALOHA-Optimal Estimation (MCSA-OE), which estimates the network status (the number of active devices), and thus better controlling the RAN access. Unlike most existing methods that consider only one channel, MCSA-OE uses the statistics of all the channels in order to estimate the number of arrivals (UE and MTC devices) in each RA (Random Access) slot. Simulation results demonstrate that MCSA-OE well tracks the number of arrivals as long as they are smaller than ln(RR), where R is the number of channels. Moreover, we propose to use MCSA-OE estimation to dynamically adjust the acbBarringFactor of the Access Class Barring (ACB) mechanism. Again, simulation results show that the behavior of our proposition merely tends to that of the best acknowledgment case, i.e. when the number of arrivals in each RA slot is well known.
ISPRS Archives XXXVIII-8/W3 Workshop Proceedings: Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture 245 ATMOSPHERIC METHANE CONCENTRATION PATTERN OVER INDIA IN RELATION TO VEGETATION DYNAMICS- AN ANALYSIS USING ENVISAT-SCIAMACHY AND SPOT-VEGETATION NDVI DATA

This paper highlights the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric columnar methane (CH4) concentration in the Kharif season over India and its correlation with the terrestrial vegetation dynamics. ENVISAT-SCIAMACHY product (0.5o x 0.5o) was used to analyse the atmospheric methane concentration. Weekly data covering the Kharif season (May to October) for two consecutive years (2004 and 2005) were used to compute monthly and seasonal concentration. SPOT-VEGETATION NDVI product for the same period was used to correlate the NDVI with CH4 concentration. Analysis showed that mean monthly methane concentration during the Kharif season varied from 1704 ppbv to 1780 ppbv with the lowest value in May and the highest value in September month. Correspondingly, mean NDVI varied from 0.31 (May) to 0.53 (September). Analysis of correlation between methane concentration and NDVI values at 0.5o x 0.5o grid level over India showed significant positive correlation (r= 0.76). Further analysis using land cover information showed characteristic low correlation in natural vegetation region and high correlation in agricultural area. Grids, particularly falling in the IndoGangetic plain contributed significantly to the positive correlation. This was attributed to the rice which is grown as a predominant crop during this period. The CH4 concentration pattern matched well with growth pattern of rice with the highest concentration coinciding with the peak growth of the crop in September. Characteristically low correlation was observed (r < 0.2) in deserts of Rajasthan and forested Himalayan ecosystem. This paper highlights the synergistic use of different satellite based data in understanding the dynamics of atmospheric methane concentration in relation to vegetation as a source of emission.
Value Versus Growth: Time-Varying Expected Stock Returns

Is the value premium predictable? We study time-variations of the expected value premium using a two-state Markov switching model. We find that when conditional volatilities are high, the expected excess returns of value stocks are more sensitive to aggregate economic conditions than the expected excess returns of growth stocks. As a result, the expected value premium is time-varying: it spikes upward in the high-volatility state, only to decline more gradually in the ensuring periods. However, out-of-sample predictability of the value premium is close to nonexistent.
Language modeling by variable length sequences: theoretical formulation and evaluation of multigrams

The multigram model assumes that language can be described as the output of a memoryless source that emits variable-length sequences of words. The estimation of the model parameters can be formulated as a maximum likelihood estimation problem from incomplete data. We show that estimates of the model parameters can be computed through an iterative expectation-maximization algorithm and we describe a forward-backward procedure for its implementation. We report the results of a systematical evaluation of multigrams for language modeling on the ATIS database. The objective performance measure is the test set perplexity. Our results show that multigrams outperform conventional n-grams for this task.
Wikipedia Sets: Context-Oriented Related Entity Acquisition from Multiple Words

In this paper, we propose a method which acquires related words (entities) from multiple words by naturally disambiguating their meaning and considering their contexts. In addition, we introduce a bootstrapping method for improving the coverage of association relations. Experimental result shows that our method can acquire related words depending on the contexts of multiple words compared to the ESA-based method.
An Evaluation of Simulated Conversations as an Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers’ Communication Competence in Parent-Teacher Conversations

Parent-teacher conversations positively influence the development of pupils, but are often challenging for teachers. Thus, the aim of this dissertation was to develop and validate an instrument - “simulated conversations” - for measuring the competence of pre-service teachers to conduct conversations with parents. The dissertation shows that this instrument fulfills psychometric quality criteria, possesses the potential to bridge the gap between teacher education and practice and allows for an evidence-based refinement and quality assurance of teacher education. In this way, the dissertation contributes to preparing pre-service teachers for communicating with parents and to improving parent-teacher cooperation.
FRAMESEC: a framework for the application development with end-to-end security provision in the mobile computing environment

Mobile devices offer network connectivity through wireless system communication that makes possible for applications to get access to information at any time and any place. However, the wireless link is more vulnerable to passive and active attacks than the fixed medium in traditional networks. This kind of connectivity brings security problems to applications that deal with confidential data, such as mobile commerce. Although wireless communication systems, such as IEEE 802.11, implement protection mechanisms for data transmission, they have reported vulnerabilities and do not guarantee end-to-end security, which is desirable for these applications. Thus, the paper proposes an application FRAMEwork that provides a reusable structure with SECurity mechanisms (FRAMESEC), which enable end-to-end security in the mobile computing environment.