Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Nonparametric Test for Financial Contagion with Application to the Canadian Banking System

This paper proposes a new test of financial contagion based on a nonparametric measure of the cross-market correlation. The test does not depend on the assumption that the data are drawn from a given probability distribution, therefore it allows for maximal flexibility in fitting into the data. Simulation studies show that our test has reasonable size and good power to detect financial contagion, and that the Forbes and Rigobon’ test (2002) is conservative, suggesting that Forbes and Rigobon’ test will tend not to find evidence of contagion when it does exist. The test is applied to investigate financial contagion of a variety of recent financial crises to the Canadian banking system. The empirical results reveal that: (i) compared to recent financial crises including the 1987 US stock market crash, 1994 Mexican Peso crisis, and 1997 East Asian Crisis, the ongoing 2007 subprime crisis has been having more persistent and stronger contagion impacts on the Canadian banking system; (ii) the October 1997 East Asian crisis induced contagion to Asian countries, and it quickly spread across Asian and to Latin America, and G7 countries. The contagious persistency of this crisis to the Canadian banking system was not as strong as the ongoing subprime crisis. However, it had a stronger impact on emerging markets; (iii) there was no evidence of contagion from the 1994 Mexican peso crisis to the Canadian banking system. Contagion occurred to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, but it was only constrained in the region of Latin America. ∗The author is grateful to Jason Allen, Allan Crawford, Toni Gravelle, Pierre St-Amant, and Greg Tkacz for helpful comments and suggestions. The author would also like to thank seminar participants at the Bank of Canada. Address correspondence to: Fuchun Li, Financial Stability Department, Bank of Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0G9, Canada; e-mail: fuchunli@bank-banque-canada.ca
Road Sign Detection – A Vision based Driver Support System

The study of traffic sign detection has been of great interests and often addressed by a three-stage procedure involving detection, tracking and classification. Road safety is an issue of national concern and its impacts is on the economy, public health and the general welfare of the people. We report on-going efforts to develop an intelligent agent for detecting and tracking traffic signs for vision based Driver Assistance System (DAS). This paper describes general framework for traffic sign detection and their subsystems. Almost all of the systems build using computer vision techniques consists of three important stages, color segmentation, sign detection and classification. We explore the important subsystems of each of these stages, and identify their advantages and disadvantages. We propose a system based on the framework to detect circular and triangular road traffic signs making use of artificial intelligence techniques such as heuristics functions for detecting shapes. System is partially implemented and aims to help vehicle driver to have safer and enjoyable driving thereby concentrating on his actual workload.
An Empirical Study on feature selection for Data Classification

In the task of pattern classification features play a very important role. Hence, the selection of suitable features is necessary as most of the raw data might be redundant or irrelevant to the recognition of patterns. In some cases, the classifier cannot perform well because of the large number of redundant features. This paper investigates the performance of different feature selection algorithms for the task of data classification. Different features play different roles in classifying datasets. Unwanted features will result in error information during classification which will reduce classification precision. The most of traditional feature selection can remove these distractions to improve classification performance. As shown in the experimental results, after feature selection using the traditional methods to control false discovery rate, the classification performance of DT’s and NB classifiers were significantly improved.
Adaptive Sliding-Mode Dynamic Control For Path Tracking of Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robot

This paper designs an adaptive sliding mode dynamic controller for the trajectory tracking of wheeled mobile robot. First, a kinematic controller based on backstepping technique is introduced to make the WMR follow a reference trajectory. Secondly, an adaptive sliding-mode dynamic controller (ASMDC) is proposed to make the actual velocity of the WMR reach the velocity command even in presence of uncertainties and disturbances. Using the Lyapunov stability theory, the stability analysis and convergence of the tracking errors are proved. Computer simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
CHAPTER 1 MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL LAYER FOR UNDERWATER SENSOR NETWORKS

There are increasing interests in underwater sensor networks (USNs). Different from terrestrial radio-based sensor networks, communication in underwater sensor networks relies on acoustic signals. Acoustic signals have a propagation speed that is around five orders of magnitude slower than radio signals. Meanwhile, featured by the bandwidth limitations, high transmit energy cost, complex multi-path effects, and high bit-error rates; medium access control (MAC) with an acoustic medium in USNs becomes a complex and challenging problem. In this chapter, we will discuss various MAC protocols which are designed for short range acoustic underwater sensor networks, energy-efficient reliable MAC protocol, and slotted FAMA MAC protocol and low-power acoustic modem for dense underwater sensor networks.
Update Message Delay: An Approach for Improving Distance Vector Routing in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

An ad hoc network is a collection of mobile nodes with wireless communication facilities forming a temporary network without relying on any existing infrastructure. Limited available bandwidth and highly dynamic network topology due to continuously moving nodes require dedicated routing algorithms to achieve reliable communication. In this paper, we present an approach to improve the bandwidth consumption of proactive ad hoc routing algorithms by appropriately delaying particular routing messages. The proposal is analyzed via simulations, and it will be shown that message reductions are possible if the update message delay method is used by a distance vector algorithm within an ad hoc network.
A Comparison between Two Force-Position Controllers with Gravity Compensation Simulated on a Humanoid Arm

The authors propose a comparison between two force-position controllers with gravity compensation simulated on the DEXTER bioinspired robotic arm. The two controllers are both constituted by an internal proportional-derivative (PD) closed-loop for the position control. The force control of the two systems is composed of an external proportional (P) closed-loop for one system (P system) and an external proportional-integrative (PI) closed-loop for the other system (PI system). The simulation tests performed with the two systems on a planar representation of the DEXTER, an eight-DOF bioinspired arm, showed that by varying the stiffness of the environment, with a correct setting of parameters, both systems ensure the achievement of the desired force regime and with great precision the desired position. The two controllers do not have large differences in performance when interacting with a lower stiffness environment. In case of an environment with greater rigidity, the PI system is more stable. The subsequent implementation of these control systems on the DEXTER robotic bioinspired arm gives guidance on the design and control optimisation of the arms of the humanoid robot named SABIAN.
TxComm: Transforming Stream Communication for Load Balance, Efficiency, and Fault-tolerance in Networks-on-Chip

Recent work has examined using application-specific knowledge of streaming communication to optimize network routing (for throughput/performance) and/or design (for simpler hardware). However, previous techniques have assumed that the communication streams are directly mapped to networks-on-chip. In contrast, this paper explores the use of communication transformations (TxComm) to achieve (1) higher throughput via better network load balance, (2) more efficient network utilization, and (3) better fault-tolerance, while retaining the communication semantics of the original streaming application. Specifically, we propose two transformations: stream fission and stream fusion. (While fission and fusion transformations have been applied to computation in streaming programs, we are the first to propose fission and fusion transformations for stream communication.) Stream fission splits streams of communication to multiple streams that may be routed over independent network paths to achieve better network load balance. Stream fusion targets multicast communication and fuses multiple streams to effectively capture the well-known benefits of tree-based multicast, which include more efficient link utilization. Both techniques can be integrated in an integer linear program formulation that executes at compile time. Another key component of TxComm is the use of free routing which serves two key purposes. First, it boosts the performance of fission and fusion. Second, it enables application-specific fault-tolerance. Evaluations with a suite of StreamIT benchmarks show that TxComm achieves significant performance improvement over prior application-specific (non-transformed) routing techniques. On the fault-tolerance front, TxComm achieves similar performance as a fault-free base case even when as many as 10% of links are faulty.
Co-design of control and scheduling in networked control system with delay and access constraint

The problem of a multi-input and multi-output networked control system with communication constraint is addressed in this paper. The shared network medium can only provide a limited number of simultaneous connections for the sensors and actuators to communicate with the controller in the system. A predictive control and scheduling co-design approach is proposed to deal with the problem. In the approach, a predictive controller is applied to generate the predictive control sequences using sensor data and previous control information, and a communication constraint compensator is designed at the actuator side to actively dynamically compensate for the communication constraint in the forward path. The static rate monotonic (RM) scheduling algorithm is considered simultaneously to schedule the transmission of the control signals. Then the co-design scheme is studied. The effectiveness of the proposed results is demonstrated by an illustrative example finally.
Adapting the columns of storage components for lower static energy dissipation

SRAM arrays are used especially in memory structures inside the processor. Static energy dissipation caused by leakage currents is increasing with every new technology and large SRAM arrays are the main source of the leakage current. We analyzed the content distribution of columns of SRAM arrays and based on the majority of the content, the body-bias of transistors are changed to reduce the static energy dissipation of these SRAM arrays. Our simulations reveal that when our technique is used in the register file of the processor, the leakage energy dissipation decreases by 39% and the total energy dissipation by 14% with an area overhead of 11%.
Detection of workpieces on a CNC machining table for measurement and automatic tool positioning

This article deals with the localization and measurement of workpieces on top of a CNC machine tool's table. This paper builds upon one of our previous work and covers the same idea, however, the algorithms that had been used were not robust to misalignment. Indeed they required inflexible system settings. The plane of the depth sensor's frame had to be accurately set parallel to the machining table's plane using bubble levels. This process was not convenient since it had to be repeated whenever the camera was moved. In this paper, a Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) based plane fitting method is applied for the segmentation of workpieces and for determining their sizes and locations for automatic tool positioning.
A New Method to Estimate Cosmological Parameters Using the Baryon Fraction of Clusters of Galaxies

We propose a new method to estimate cosmological parameters using the baryon fraction of clusters of galaxies for a range of redshifts. The basic assumption is that the baryon fraction of clusters is constant, which is a reasonable assumption when it is averaged within a Mpc scale. We find that the baryon fraction vs. redshift diagram can estimate the cosmological parameters, since the derived value of the baryon fraction from observations depends on the adopted value of cosmological parameters. We also discuss some points in comparing theoretical calculations with observations.
Measuring the performance of Customs Information Systems (CIS) in Malaysia

In the scope of this study, ‘performance measurement’ includes the collection and presentation of relevant information that reflects progress in achieving organisational strategic aims and meeting the needs of stakeholders such as merchants, importers, exporters and other clients. Evidence shows that utilising information technology (IT) in customs matters supports import and export practices and ensures that supply chain management flows seamlessly. This paper briefly reviews some practical techniques for measuring performance. Its aim is to recommend a model for measuring the performance of information systems (IS): in this case, the Customs Information System (CIS) used by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD). The study evaluates the effectiveness of CIS implementation measures in Malaysia from an IT perspective. A model based on IS theories will be used to assess the impact of CIS. The findings of this study recommend measures for evaluating the performance of CIS and its organisational impacts in Malaysia. It is also hoped that the results of the study will assist other Customs administrations evaluate the performance of their information systems.
Cochlear implantation in young children: Effects of age at implantation and communication mode

This study examined the effects of age at implantation on the development of communication abilities in early-implanted children. The 106 participants were prelingually deafened and used current cochlear implant technology. The children were administered a battery of speech and language outcome measures prior to implantation and again at successive sixmonth postimplant intervals. A mixed model analysis was used to examine the rate of growth in word recognition and language skills as a function of age at time of implantation. Results revealed significant improvements in communication skills over time. Spoken word recognition improved at a faster rate in the children implanted at five years of age or older, possibly because they were more likely to be familiar with the test vocabulary. In addition, the rate of spoken word development was significantly greater for children who used oral communication than for children who used total communication. Age effects on the development of receptive and expressive language differed from those on spoken word recognition. That is, the earliest implanted children showed more rapid rates of language development, or superior skills overall. Children implanted prior to 2 years had significantly faster rates of receptive vocabulary and language development than later-implanted children. Furthermore, children implanted prior to age 2 years had superior expressive language abilities compared to those who were implanted after that age. There were no significant differences in rates of language development between the oral and total communication groups. Effects of Age at Implantation and Communication Mode
Environmental service discovery based on semantically annotated OGC service descriptions

Environmental information is a valuable resource for a wide range of applications and decision support systems in different domains. This is reflected in different initiatives around the world, such as the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), which focuses on defining strategies and standards for collecting, defining and sharing environmental data. One of the key challenges in order to boost the collaboration in the community is to find interoperable ways to share this information and powerful mechanisms to discover it. Semantic technologies can provide the necessary capabilities to achieve this. In this paper, we present a solution for environmental service discovery based on semantic annotations. As we target the environmental community, we build our solution on existing OGC standards for service discovery. Our approach is integrated inside the ENVISION platform, the aim of which is to provide non-ICT users with the means to create decision support Web portals based on environmental services.
Distributed Hypertext Resource Discovery Through Examples

We describe the architecture of a hypertext resource discovery system using a relational database. Such a system can answer questions that combine page contents, metadata, and hyperlink structure in powerful ways, such as “find the number of links from an environmental protection page to a page about oil and natural gas over the last year. ” A key problem in populating the database in such a system is to discover web resources related to the topics involved in such queries. We argue that that a keywordbased “find similar” search based on a giant all-purpose crawler is neither necessary nor adequate for resource discovery. Instead we exploit the properties that pages tend to cite pages with related topics, and given that a page u cites a page about a desired topic, it is very likely that u cites additional desirable pages. We exploit these properties by using a crawler controlled by two hypertext mining programs: (1) a classifier that evaluates the relevance of a region of the web to the user’s interest (2) a distiller that evaluates a page as an access point for a large neighborhood of relevant pages. Our implementation uses IBM’s Universal Database, not only for robust data storage, but also for integrating the computations of the classifier and distiller into the database. This results in significant increase in I/O efficiency: a factor of ten for the classifier and a factor of three for the distiller. In addition, ad-hoc SQL queries can be used to monitor the crawler, and dynamically change crawling strategies. We report on experiments to establish that our system is efficient, effective, and robust.
A Magnetically actuated guide-wire steering system towards arteriovenous fistula angioplasty procedures

Working towards remote steering of distal guide-wire in arteriovenous fistula angioplasty procedures, we develop a magnetically actuated robotic guide-wire manipulation system involving electromagnetic coils and a flexible guide-wire with a magneto-responsive attachment. By varying the coil voltages, we show the controlled deflections of the distal guide-wire. Specifically we are investigating the guidewire actuation mechanism under controlled electromagnetic field, the transfer function of the system, and the steering experiments in a custom phantom. The studied phenomenon has importance for guide-wire placement in minimally invasive cardio-vascular surgeries. A video demonstration is available at: http://bioeng.nus. edu.sg/mm/magnetically-actuated-guide-wire-steering.
Behavior of Lactobacilli Isolated from Fermented Slurry (ben-saalga) in Gnotobiotic Rats

Most bacterial strains, which have been studied so far for their probiotic functions, are extensively used by manufacturers in developed countries. In our work, we sought to study a mix (called BSL) comprising three strains belonging to Lactobacillus fermentum, L. paraplantarum and L. salivarius, that were isolated from a traditional African pearl millet based fermented slurry. Our objective was to study this BSL cocktail in gnotobiotic rats, to evaluate their survival and their behavior in the digestive tract conditions. After a single oral inoculation of germfree rats with BSL, the species established stably in the digestive tract with the following hierarchy of abundance: L. salivarius> L. plantarum> L. fermentum. BSL cocktail was metabolically active since it produced 50 mM lactate and it expressed genes involved in binding mechanism in the caecum. Furthermore, the global morphology of the colon epithelium was not disturbed by the BSL cocktail. BSL cocktail did not modify mucus content and host mucus-related genes (MUC1, MUC2, MUC3 or resistin-like molecule β). The cocktail of lactobacilli enhanced the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) at a level comparable to what was observed in conventional rats. PCNA was involved in proliferation and DNA repair, but the presence of the cocktail did not provoke proliferative events (with Ki67 as indicator), so we suppose BSL may help gut preservation. This work is the first step towards the selection of strains that are derived from traditional fermented food to formulate new probiotic mixture.
Fast non-rigid registration and model-based segmentation of 3 Dimages using mutual informationJean -

In this paper, we present a method to register medical images non-rigidly and to determine critical structures using a model-based segmentation. We present our method in the case of 2D and 3D magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brain. In our approach, we rst use an existing algorithm for rigid matching of medical images by Mutual Information maximization for the initialization of our registration. Then we apply our gray level based non-rigid matching algorithm to match the contours of the model on acquired medical images. We have also added an elastic internal energy term to our algorithm, so that the contour deformations are elastically propagated throughout the whole object to be matched. We present this non-rigid and iterative method in the context of inter-patient matching and of deforming an elastic brain atlas on medical images for automatic localization and identiication of brain structures in medical images. The main advantages of our implementation are its very low computational cost in comparison to other methods and the fact that it can be applied directly on a synthetic atlas without passing through a corresponding medical image. We present preliminary results, we mention some existing limitations of our method and indicate future work.
What knowledge, skills and character qualities do successful teachers require?

The demands on student learning in the 21st century have profound implications for teachers and teaching. In addition to continuously updating their own knowledge of the subjects they teach, teachers are expected to work with multicultural classes, integrate students with special needs, be “assessment literate”, work and plan in teams, assume some leadership roles and provide professional advice to parents, among other tasks. This chapter defines some of the knowledge, skills and character attributes required for effective teaching, including content and pedagogic knowledge, communication and organisational skills, and self-efficacy and motivation.
Square Root Extended Kernel Recursive Least Squares Algorithm for Nonlinear Channel Equalization

This study presents a square root version of extended kernel recursive least square algorithm. Basically main idea is to overcome the divergence phenomena arise in the computation of weights of the extended kernel recursive least squares algorithm. Numerically stable givens orthogonal transformations are used to obtain the next iteration of the algorithm. The usefulness of the proposed algorithm is illustrated by discussing its application on the nonlinear multipath fading channel equalization based on Rayleigh distribution. Experiments are performed on slow fading Rayleigh channel with scattered signals.