Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Some Preliminary Findings Concerning the Non-existence of Newspapers in the Minority Languages of Nigeria

Abstract The study sought to ascertain if the non-existence of newspapers published in the languages regarded as minor in Nigeria is due to state policy or language apathy or lack of economic viability, or a combination of some or all of these reasons. This study adopted the Historical Research method, using relevant documents and interviews as instruments. Structured interviews were conducted with some socio-linguists, media scholars and professionals, as well as some members of the ethnic minorities in Nigeria. Data gathered for the study were qualitatively analysed. The dominant opinion is that government policy cannot be said to be responsible for non-existence or poor performance of minority language newspapers. Yet extant literature points to the fact that the language provisions in the Nigerian 1999 Constitution and the Language Policy in the National Policy on Education have an adverse effect on the development of minority languages and their use in publishing. There is a consensus among the respondents that lack of cultural assertiveness, otherwise called language apathy, is responsible for the poor performance or non-existence of minority language newspapers. There is also a strong opinion that even though ethnicity plays a prominent role in power equation and resource allocation, it has nothing to do with the non-existence or poor performance of newspapers published in minority languages. This view runs contrary to the position of Critical Political Economy theory that there is interrelationship between the distribution of material and symbolic resources. There is again a general consensus that minority language newspaper publishing is not economically viable because of the relatively small populations of the minority ethnic groups.
Transformation of NIH 3T3 cells with basic fibroblast growth factor or the hst/K-fgf oncogene causes downregulation of the fibroblast growth factor receptor: reversal of morphological transformation and restoration of receptor number by suramin

When NIH 3T3 cells were transfected with the cDNA for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), most cells displayed a transformed phenotype. Acquisition of a transformed phenotype was correlated with the expression of high levels of bFGF (Quarto et al., 1989). Cells that had been transformed as a result of transfection with bFGF cDNA had a decreased capacity to bind 125I-bFGF to high affinity receptors. NIH 3T3 cells transfected with bFGF cDNA that expressed lower levels of bFGF were not transformed and had a normal number of bFGF receptors. NIH 3T3 cells transfected with the hst/Kfgf oncogene, which encodes a secreted molecule with 45% homology to bFGF, also displayed a transformed phenotype and decreased numbers of bFGF receptors. However, NIH 3T3 cells transfected with the H-ras oncogene were transformed but had a normal number of bFGF receptors. Thus, transformation by bFGF- like molecules resulted in downregulation of bFGF receptors. Receptor number was not affected by cell density for both parental NIH 3T3 cells and transformed cells. In the cells transfected with bFGF cDNA that were not transformed, the receptors could be downregulated in response to exogenous bFGF. Conditioned medium from transformed transfected cells contained sufficient quantities of bFGF to downregulate bFGF receptors on parental NIH 3T3 cells. Thus, the downregulation of bFGF receptors seemed related to the presence of bFGF in an extracytoplasmic compartment. Treatment of the transformed transfected NIH 3T3 cells with suramin, which blocks the interaction of bFGF with its receptor, reversed the morphological transformation and restored receptors almost to normal numbers. These results demonstrate that in these cells bFGF transforms cells by interacting with its receptor and that bFGF and hst/K-fgf may use the same receptor.
IRAM observations of JVAS/CLASS gravitational lenses

We have searched for molecular absorption lines at millimeter wavelengths in eleven gravitational lens systems discovered in the JVAS/CLASS surveys of flat spectrum radio sources. Spectra of only one source 1030+074 were obtained in the 3-, 2- and 1.3-millimeter band at the frequencies corresponding to common molecular transitions of CO and HCO+ as continuum emission was not found in any of the other sources. We calculated upper limits to the column density in molecular absorption for 1030+074, using an excitation temperature of 15 K, to be N_{CO} < 6.3 x 10^{13} cm^{-2} and N_{HCO+} < 1.3 x 10^{11} cm^{-2}, equivalent to hydrogen column density of the order N_H < 10^{18} cm^{-2}, assuming standard molecular abundances. We also present the best upper limits of the continuum at the lower frequency for the other 10 gravitational lenses.
GENDERED BoP HYGIENE MARKETS IN RURAL INDIA: A CASE STUDY OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SOCIAL INNOVATION

Water scarcity and non-existent or poor sanitation have special implications for the poor in a rural context of a developing country such as India, especially in the case of women due to their personal hygiene needs. The penetration of sanitary napkins is very low in Indian villages for reasons such as the high cost of branded napkins, availability, and cultural barriers. Over 88% of rural women use unhygienic alternatives during menstruation, with 77% using a piece of old cloth and many others nothing at all. These practices lead to a deterioration in health of the mother as well as the child and, sometimes, the death of the mother. Furthermore, a large proportion of girls in India do not go to school during their menstruation period, for an average of 4–5 days every month, and at least 23% of girls drop out of school when they start menstruating. Adult women cut down on their productive day-to-day activities. Menstruating lower-income women also have to follow certain social exclusion norms and treat it.
Lightness and retinex theory.

Sensations of color show a strong correlation with reflectance, even though the amount of visible light reaching the eye depends on the product of reflectance and illumination. The visual system must achieve this remarkable result by a scheme that does not measure flux. Such a scheme is described as the basis of retinex theory. This theory assumes that there are three independent cone systems, each starting with a set of receptors peaking, respectively, in the long-, middle-, and short-wavelength regions of the visible spectrum. Each system forms a separate image of the world in terms of lightness that shows a strong correlation with reflectance within its particular band of wavelengths. These images are not mixed, but rather are compared to generate color sensations. The problem then becomes how the lightness of areas in these separate images can be independent of flux. This article describes the mathematics of a lightness scheme that generates lightness numbers, the biologic correlate of reflectance, independent of the flux from objects
A Component-Based Design Pattern for Improving Reusability of Distributed Automation Programs

This paper proposes a component-based design pattern for distributed automation programs. This design pattern aims to improve reusability of programs and reduce redevelopment time. Component-based design issues in both IEC 61131-3 and IEC 61499 platforms are analyzed. Then the design pattern is proposed in a form of a set of rules. The pattern combines properties of serviceoriented architecture (SOA) with multi-layered organization and engineering benefits of component organization. This design pattern is applied to both IEC 61131-3 and IEC 61499 on example of a real airport baggage handling automation system. The result proves that the design pattern brings convenience for developers of automation programs and improves reusability of software components.
Nonadaptive Group Testing Based on Sparse Pooling Graphs

An information theoretical analysis of nonadaptive group testing schemes based on <italic>sparse pooling graphs</italic> is presented. A pooling graph is a bipartite graph for which the adjacency matrix is a pooling matrix. The binary status of the objects to be tested are modeled by independent identically distributed. Bernoulli random variables with probability <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$p$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. An <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(l, r, n)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-regular pooling graph is a bipartite graph in which the left nodes have degree <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$l$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, the right nodes have degree <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$r$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is the number of left nodes. The main contribution of this paper is a direct coding theorem that gives the conditions for the existence of an estimator that can achieve an arbitrarily small probability of error. An estimator is a function that uses observations to infer the state of an object. The direct coding theorem is proved by averaging the upper bound on the probability of the estimation error of the typical set estimator over an <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(l, r, n)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-regular pooling graph ensemble. Numerical results indicate sharp threshold behaviors in the asymptotic regime. These results can provide a concrete benchmark for nonadaptive group testing of existing and emerging detection algorithms over a noiseless system.
A robust multivariate reranking algorithm for Question Answering enrichment

Cognitive research indicates that multimedia information have benefits over text-only information by means of intuitive and vivid expression. In this paper, we introduce a novel multimedia Question Answering approach to enrich text answers with image and video information. Especially, we propose a robust multivariate reranking algorithm which adopts a squared hinge loss function for learning ranking functions from preference information. Given a question and the community-contributed answer, our approach determines whether it should perform enrichment, for which a list of relevant and high-quality web-scale multimedia data are enriched and ranked automatically by reranking algorithm. Different from some efforts that attempt to directly use image and video data to replace text answers, enriching text in this way may be more feasible and useful to deal with more complex questions. The empirical experiments conducted on a wide variety of daily questions show the effectiveness of our approach.
A novel vertical handoff strategy for integrated IEEE 802.11 WLAN/CDMA networks

The integration of WLANs and CDMA networks has recently evolved into hot issue. We propose a vertical handoff algorithm between WLAN and CDMA network. In this algorithm, a vertical handoff is classified into handoff decision making and MIP (mobile IP) registration process. Then, a handoff initiation is decided by the received signal strength (RSS). To reduce the unnecessary handoff probability, we consider a hand-off initiation model based on the criteria of RSS. As a mechanism of network selection, we also propose a context based network selection and the corresponding algorithms between WLAN to CDMA network, based on wireless channel assignment. We focus on a handoff initiation criteria which uses both the RSS and the network selection method which uses context information such as dropping probability, blocking probability, GOS (grade of service), velocity. As a decision making criterion, velocity threshold is determined to optimize the system performance. The optimal velocity threshold is adjusted to assign available channels to the mobile stations. The proposed scheme is validated by computer simulation.
Iris Recognition Based on Multichannel Gabor Filtering

A new approach for personal identification based on iris recognition is presented in this paper. The body of this paper details the steps of iris recognition, including image preprocessing, feature extraction and classifier design. The proposed algorithm uses a bank of Gabor filters to capture both local and global iris characteristics to form a fixed length feature vector. Iris matching is based on the weighted Euclidean distance between the two corresponding iris vectors and is therefore very fast. Experimental results are reported to demonstrate the performance of the algorithm.
Interviewer Trustworthiness and Intended Self-Disclosure as a Function of Verbal and Nonverbal Assurances of Confidentiality

This study attempted to clarify to what degree assurances of confidentiality and interviewer behavior protective of confidentiality impacted an interviewee's trust of an interviewer and subsequent willingness to self-disclose. Ninety-six undergraduates were asked interview questions. Male and female subjects were divided into four conditions: confidentiality statement/protective behavior, confidentiality statement/nonprotective behavior, neutral statement/protective behavior, and neutral statement/ nonprotective behavior. The Intended Self-Disclosure Questionnaire and Counselor Rating Form were used to measure self-disclosure and trustworthiness levels. Results . did not support the main hypothesis that protective behavior would have a more significant impact on self-disclosure and trustworthiness than verabal assurances of confidentiality. However, assurances of confidentiality did lead to significantly higher trust levels. Responses to a post-questionnaire revealed overreporting of confidentiality instructions. Implications for therapy and future research are discussed.
TQ-Bot: An AIML-based Tutor and Evaluator Bot

Intelligent Tutoring Systems are computer programs that aim at providing personalized instruction to students. In recent years, conversational robots, usually known as chatterbots, become very popular in the Internet, and ALICE (Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity) is probably the most popular one. ALICE brain is written in AIML (Artificial Intelligence Markup Language), an open XML language. We have considered the combination of both approaches, i.e, the use of AIML-based bots for tutoring purposes in open e-Learning platforms such as Claroline or Moodle. With that aim in mind, we have developed a bot (chatterbot) for helping the students during their learning process and for supporting the activities of the teacher. This bot (TQ-Bot) is able to analyse the requests made by the learners in written natural language and to provide adequate and domain specific answers orienting the student to the right course contents. Besides, TQ-Bot is able to track and supervise the student progress by means of personalized questionnaires. This bot has been developed and integrated as user-friendly modules in Claroline and Moodle.
APOLOGIZING STRATEGIES REALIZATION OF INDONESIAN: A CASE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KUNINGAN STUDENTS

Abstract: This study examines the apologizing strategies used by 20 Indonesian students of the Kuningan University. A 8-item Discourse Completion Task and interview are used to collect the data to know the apologizing strategies and the dominant strategies they used. This research applied the apologizing speech act of Indonesian in apologizing which is analyzed by using Blum-Kulka (1984). The findings show that there are various strategies used by then when apologizing. That strategies including IFID, addressed, an explanation or account of situation, acknowledgement of responsibility, offer of repair and promise forbearance, phatic and interjection. IFID was used by them as a favorite strategy. Generally, they used different ways when apology depend on power, social distance and ranking of imposition. Keywords : apology, strategy, Indonesian students
Evaluating Language Complexity in Context : New Parameters for a Constraint-Based Model

Language processing can be more or less difficult for human subjects. It is then important to identify what are the complexity factors not only to better understand cognitive mechanisms, but also in the perspective of more realistic NLP tools. The problem is that existing models have been experimented on very small examples, on written texts. We present in this paper new parameters adapted to the description of the processing difficulty in natural situations: spoken language, conversations, etc. These parameters account for the fact that information comes from different modalities and that the form of the input in such situations can be very variable, even ill-formed. These parameters have been integrated into a constraint-based formalism, making it possible to quantify them directly. The result is a computational difficulty model, opening the way to new investigation towards a better understanding of language processing and acquisition.
A weighted least squares source localization algorithm using TDOA measurements in wireless sensor networks

This paper proposes a novel weighted least squares (WLS) algorithm for a single static source localization in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) using time difference of arrival (TDOA). Owing to the nonlinearity of the original distance difference equations derived from TDOA, it is difficult to estimate the location directly. So we first establish a new linearizing approach to give a closed-form solution. By taking a node as reference, all the equations share the same term as the range between the source and the reference node. Utilizing simple algebraic means, the same term can be eliminated with equations transformed into linear formulas. We further analyze the noise component in the formulas and develop a WLS solution to estimate the single source's coordinate. Simulation results show that the proposed method outperforms the existing closed-form GS method.
Studying the Effects of Internet Exchange Points on Internet Topology

The recent uncovering of a high number of peering links at Internet eXchange Point (IXP) locations across the world has made these exchange switches a critical component of the Internet Autonomous System (AS) level ecosystem. Studies concentrating on the Internet topology evolution have surmised that numerous links hidden at these exchange points hold the key towards solving the missing links problem in studying the evolution of the AS-level topology of the Internet. In this work, we study the e? ect of this? set of hitherto unseen peering links on the visible Internet topology. Starting with a set of measurements determining the growth of IXPs in the inter-domain routing architecture of the Internet and continuing with a more advanced graph based metric analysis of available Internet topology data, we conclude that IXP links follow power law increase characteristics while exhibiting definitive clustering characteristics. Moreover, these additional links a? ect the joint degree distributions of nodes with higher degrees while? leaving most other types of nodes unchanged. We conclude that the currently inferred AS-level maps of the Internet demonstrate considerable variations with the incorporation of these new links and could eventually lead to a remodeling of our understanding of Internet topology evolution.
Asymptotically regular LDPC codes with linear distance growth and thresholds close to capacity

Families of asymptotically regular LDPC block code ensembles can be formed by terminating (J, K)-regular protograph-based LDPC convolutional codes. By varying the termination length, we obtain a large selection of LDPC block code ensembles with varying code rates and substantially better iterative decoding thresholds than those of (J, K)-regular LDPC block code ensembles, despite the fact that the terminated ensembles are almost regular. Also, by means of an asymptotic weight enumerator analysis, we show that minimum distance grows linearly with block length for all of the ensembles in these families, i.e., the ensembles are asymptotically good. We find that, as the termination length increases, families of ¿asymptotically regular¿ codes with capacity approaching iterative decoding thresholds and declining minimum distance growth rates are obtained, allowing a code designer to trade-off between distance growth rate and threshold. Further, we show that the thresholds and the distance growth rates can be improved by carefully choosing the component protographs used in the code construction.
Uncertainty and spectrogram geometry

Ultimate possibilities of localization for time-frequency representations are first reviewed from a joint perspective, evidencing that Heisenberg-type pointwise limits are not exclusive of sharp localization along trajectories in the plane. Spectrogram reassignment offers such a possibility and, in order to revisit its connection with uncertainty, geometrical properties of spectrograms are statistically investigated in the generic case of white Gaussian noise. Based on Voronoi tessellations and Delaunay triangulations attached to extrema, it is shown that, in a first approximation, local energy “patches” are distributed according to a randomized hexagonal lattice with a typical scale within a factor of a few that of minimum uncertainty Gabor logons.
View-based Recognition Using Shoslif

We describe a self-organizing framework for content-based retrieval of images from large image databases at the object recognition level. The system uses the theories of optimal projection for optimal feature selection and a hierarchical image database for rapid retrieval rates. We demonstrate the query technique on a large database of widely varying real-world objects in natural settings, and show the applicability of the approach even for large variability within a particular object class.
Massively Parallel Nearest Neighbor Queries for Dynamic Point Clouds on the GPU

We introduce a parallel algorithm to solve approximate and exact nearest neighbor queries on the GPU, exploiting its massively parallel processing power. Both data structure construction and nearest neighbor queries are performed on the GPU, avoiding memory copies from system memory to device memory. This algorithm achieves real-time performance, enabling its usage in dynamic scenarios, by minimizing the sorting comparisons needed for a large K value. The underlying data structure for spatial subdivision handles 3D points and is based on grid spatial hashing. Users can specify the grid size interactively. Comparisons were done with other nearest neighbor algorithms implemented on both CPU and GPU. Our approach clearly surpasses CPU implementations regarding processing time, while it presents a competitive solution to GPU ones. Real-time results were obtained with ANN searches (K = 10) for data sets up to 163K points and the potential of our algorithm is demonstrated through a point-based rendering application.
A snoring classifier based on Heart Rate Variability analysis

The effect of snoring on the cardiovascular system is not well-known. In this study we analyzed the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) differences between light and heavy snorers. The experiments are done on the full-whole-night polysomnography (PSG) with ECG and audio channels from patient group (heavy snorer) and control group (light snorer), which are gender- and age-paired, totally 30 subjects. A feature Snoring Density (SND) of audio signal as classification criterion and HRV features are computed. Mann-Whitney statistical test and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification are done to see the correlation. The result of this study shows that snoring has close impact on the HRV features. This result can provide a deeper insight into the physiological understand of snoring.