Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward a Socio-Cognitive Theory of Information Systems: An Analysis of Key Philosophical and Concept

Both the satisfaction of end-user needs and the attainment of organizational objectives have received considerable attention in the information systems literature. Little attention has been paid, however, to reconciling these two facets of best practice at the methodological level. To provide a basis for doing so, this paper proposes a socio-cognitive theory of information systems that reconciles human action and human agency to explain how human and organizational factors in systems development interrelate. Particular attention is paid to the impacts of presented information on learning and action, and the centrality of the selection and organization of information to the nature of organizational forms.
Human faces detection and localization with simulated prosthetic vision

Clinical trials reveal that current visual neuroprosthesis are not yet usable. The main reason is the small number of implanted electrodes, leading to a very poor visual resolution. The resolution is especially not sufficient to detect specific objects (faces, signs, etc.) in the surroundings. We used simulated prosthetic vision (SPV) to show that pre-processing of the camera image could restore these functions, even with low-resolution implants. Specifically, we showed that it is possible to quickly detect and localize human faces located nearby. We suggest that high-level processing of the video stream may be included in current visual neuroprosthesis. This would restore many visuomotor behaviors such as grasping, heading, steering, etc.
Trust and Distrust in the USSR: An Overview

Abstract:One of the main reasons for the exceptional virulence of the 1930s Terror was that the Soviet Union was an extremely low-trust society. Most institutions which had underpinned social trust before 1917 had been weakened or destroyed. The Bolsheviks' messianic and apocalyptic outlook excluded any way of explaining setbacks except by identifying ‘enemies, which further intensified distrust. Stalin's personality was ideally suited to exercising power in this atmosphere. Eventually Soviet citizens learned to create antibodies, ‘mutual protection associations, against terror from above, and those associations formed the basic matrix of post-Stalin society.
Handwritten Digit Classification Abrita Chakravarty

The aim of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of classifiers in recognizing handwritten digits. It has been shown in pattern recognition that no single classifier performs the best for all pattern classification problems consistently. So the goal of the project was to experiment with different classifiers and combination methods and evaluate their performance in this particular problem of handwritten digit recognition. This report discusses the different classifiers used in the project, the rationale for their choices and the results obtained by their individual and combined performances.
It ’ s As Easy As abc

1224 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 49, NUMBER 10 Fermat’s Last Theorem In this age in which mathematicians are supposed to bring their research into the classroom, even at the most elementary level, it is rare that we can turn the tables and use our elementary teaching to help in our research. However, in giving a proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, it turns out that we can use tools from calculus and linear algebra only. This may strike some readers as unlikely, but bear with us for a few moments as we give our proof. Fermat claimed that there are no solutions to
BioRoute: A Network-Flow-Based Routing Algorithm for the Synthesis of Digital Microfluidic Biochips

Due to recent advances in microfluidics, digital microfluidic biochips are expected to revolutionize laboratory procedures. One critical problem for biochip synthesis is the droplet routing problem. Unlike traditional very large scale integration routing problems, in addition to routing path selection, the biochip routing problem needs to address the issue of scheduling droplets under practical constraints imposed by the fluidic property and timing restriction of synthesis results. In this paper, we present the first network-flow-based routing algorithm that can concurrently route a set of noninterfering nets for the droplet routing problem on biochips. We adopt a two-stage technique of global routing followed by detailed routing. In global routing, we first identify a set of noninterfering nets and then adopt the network-flow approach to generate optimal global-routing paths for nets. In detailed routing, we present the first polynomial-time algorithm for simultaneous routing and scheduling using the global-routing paths with a negotiation-based routing scheme. Our algorithm targets at both the minimization of cells used for routing for better fault tolerance and minimization of droplet transportation time for better reliability and faster bioassay execution. Experimental results show the robustness and efficiency of our algorithm.
The influence of political and economic changes on macro-level property crime variation: The case of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe

The goal of this article was to assess the extent to which major changes in the political and economic systems of Central and Eastern European countries after the fall of communism contributed to variations in property crime rates, controlling for other structural predictors. Data for 17 countries from 1990–2003 were collected for three types of property crimes: total theft; motor vehicle theft; and domestic burglary. Traditional predictors derived from modernization and routine activities theories produced inconsistent results, but political and economic changes due to the post-communist transformations were significant predictors of property crime variation. Economic changes toward liberalization, marketization, and privatization were strongly, positively related to higher property crime rates across all three types. Political changes toward democratization were only positively related to higher domestic burglary rates. The control variables were weak and inconsistent predictors of all three property crimes. The article discusses some of the implications of these findings for updating macro-level crime theories.
Stratified Community Responses to Methane and Sulfate Supplies in Mud Volcano Deposits: Insights from an In Vitro Experiment

Numerous studies on marine prokaryotic communities have postulated that a process of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) coupled with sulfate reduction (SR) is the main methane sink in the world's oceans. AOM has also been reported in the deep biosphere. But the responses of the primary microbial players in eliciting changes in geochemical environments, specifically in methane and sulfate supplies, have yet to be fully elucidated. Marine mud volcanoes (MVs) expel a complex fluid mixture of which methane is the primary component, forming an environment in which AOM is a common phenomenon. In this context, we attempted to identify how the prokaryotic community would respond to changes in methane and sulfate intensities, which often occur in MV environments in the form of eruptions, diffusions or seepage. We applied an integrated approach, including (i) biochemical surveys of pore water originated from MV, (ii) in vitro incubation of mud breccia, and (iii) prokaryotic community structure analysis. Two distinct AOM regions were clearly detected. One is related to the sulfate methane transition zone (SMTZ) at depth of 30–55 cm below the sea floor (bsf); the second is at 165–205 cm bsf with ten times higher rates of AOM and SR. This finding contrasts with the sulfide concentrations in pore waters and supports the suggestion that potential AOM activity below the SMTZ might be an important methane sink that is largely ignored or underestimated in oceanic methane budget calculations. Moreover, the incubation conditions below the SMTZ favor the growth of methanotrophic archaeal group ANME-2 compared to ANME-1, and promote the rapid growth and high diversity of bacterial communities. These incubation conditions also promote the increase of richness in bacterial communities. Our results provide direct evidence of the mechanisms by which deep AOM processes can affect carbon cycling in the deep biosphere and global methane biochemistry.
CSAE WPS / 2002-08 Does firm size really affect earnings ? November 2002

In this paper we investigate the implications of labour and capital market imperfections for the relationship between firm size and earnings. To establish that such a question is of interest we need to show that the firm size-wage effect cannot be explained by either the observed or unobserved skills of the workforce or the characteristics of the workplace. To do that we require data where controls are possible for observable time-varying firm and worker characteristics, as well as the unobservable characteristics of both the firm and its workers. Our data is a sample of workers matched with firms over time so such controls are possible. Changes in wages are shown to respond to changes both to profits per employee and the size of the firm. It is argued that these empirical results clearly reject the hypothesis that the firm-size relationship can be explained by the skills of the workers. They can be shown to be consistent with some forms of non-competitive theories of bargaining and efficiency wages. JEL classification: J3, L25.
Money flows like mercury: the geography of global finance

ABSTRACT. If the social relations and inherited configuration of production were at the core of economic geography a decade ago, these aspects of the world are increasingly taken for granted. The global scope of industry and corporate strategy has claimed increasing attention over the past decade. And while any ‘new’ economic geography must have something to say about the nature of human agency and the role of institutions in structuring the landscape, care must be taken not to exaggerate their significance for constructive interaction. In point of fact, the global finance industry is an essential lens through which to study contemporary capitalism from the top‐down and the bottom‐up. If we are to understand the economic landscape of twenty‐first century capitalism, it should be understood through global financial institutions, its social formations and investment practices. This argument is developed by reference to the recent literature on the geography of finance and a metaphor – money flows like mercury – designed to explicate the spatial and temporal logic of global capital flows. Some may dispute this argument, but in doing so they lament the passing of an era rather than advancing a convincing counterclaim about how the world is and what it might become. All this means that we have to rethink the significance of geographical scale and organizational processes as opposed to an unquestioned commitment to localities.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BRAIN SKETCHING TECHNIQUE IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

This research aim ed to find out the students’ improvement in writing descriptive text especially in content and organization by using Brain Sketching Technique . The problem statement of this research wa s how is the use of Brain-Sketching Technique improved the students’ skill in writing descriptive text . The researcher used quasi experimental design, and used two classes they were experimental class and control class, the data was collected by using written test. The pre-test was given to the students’ to find out the students’ improvement in writing process before the treatment and the post-test was given to find out the students’ improvement in writing process after the treatment. The population was the second year students of SMP Aisyiyah Paccinongang that consisted of 2 0 students in academic year 201 4 /201 5 . Meanwhile, the sample of this research was taken by using purposive sampling. The research findings indicated that the achievement of the second year students of S MP Aisyiyah Paccinongang, Gowa , improved after the use of Brain-Sketching Technique . It proven by the mean score of pre-test in experimental class was 6 7.12 and post-test was 77 . 32 and the mean score of pre-test in controlled class was 6 8.12 and post-test was 7 4.37 . The statistical computations showed that Brain-Sketching Technique was likely effective to improve the students’ writing in descriptive text.
Another approach for the teaching of the foundations of programming using UML and Java

This paper presents one proposal for teaching the foundations of object oriented programming using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) as one modeling language and Java as one object oriented programming language. Unlike other approaches where only two types of UML diagrams are used with the intention of transferring them to a codification (class diagram and sequence diagram, or class diagram and statechart diagram), this proposal uses tree types of UML diagrams: class diagram, sequence diagram and activity diagram, for modeling basic programming problems. This is with the intention of facilitating to the student the transition between the diagrams used to model one solution and its final codification in one programming language.
Evaluation of a Multithreaded Architecture for Defense Applications.

Abstract : Multithreading has received considerable attention in recent years as a promising way to hide memory latency in high performance computers, while providing access to a large and uniform shared memory. Tera Computer of Seattle has designed and built a state of the art multithreaded computer called the MTA. Its intended benefits are high processor utilization, scalable performance on applications that are difficult to parallelize, and reduced programming effort. The largest MTA and the only one outside of Seattle is at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) on the campus of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Currently the MTA at SDSC has 8 processors. The performance and usability of the MTA for 14 defense relevant applications were evaluated in a two year project described here. The applications included seven standard kernels, five mini-applications, and two large applications. The evaluation was led by researchers at UCSD with collaborators at Caltech, Tera, Boeing, and Sanders/Lockheed Martin. UCSD researchers also carried out multithreaded scheduler and compiler studies. The principal findings of the project follow in the enclosed final report.
Constant H field, cosmology and faster than light solitons

We analyze the possibility of having a constant spatial NS-NS field, $H_{123}$. Cosmologically, it will act as stiff matter, and there will be very tight constraints on the possible value of $H_{123}$ today. However, it will give a noncommutative structure with an {\em associative} star product of the type $\theta^{ij}=\alpha \epsilon^{ijk} x^k$. This will be a fuzzy space with constant radius slices being fuzzy spheres. We find that gauge theory on such a space admits a noncommutative soliton with galilean dispersion relation, thus having speeds arbitrarily higher than c. This is the analogue of the Hashimoto-Itzhaki construction at constant $\theta$, except that one has fluxless solutions of arbitrary mass. A holographic description supports this finding. We speculate thus that the presence of constant (yet very small) $H_{123}$, even though otherwise virtually undetectable could still imply the existence of faster than light solitons of arbitrary mass (although possibly quantum-mechanically unstable). The spontaneous Lorentz violation given by $H_{123}$ is exactly the same one already implied by the FRW metric ansatz.
Feature extraction using supervised spectral analysis

This paper proposes a feature extraction algorithm, called supervised spectral analysis (SSA) which is motivated by spectral clustering. The algorithm is interesting from a number of perspectives: (a) utilize the class information of the data points to construct the affinity matrix, which can enhance the discriminant power of the features; (b) solve the small-sample-size problem which is often confronted in the practical application; (c) effectively discover the nonlinear structure hidden in the data. We analysis the properties of the SSA and apply it to facial expression recognition. Experiments on JAFFE and Cohn-Kanade databases show the effectiveness of the SSA algorithm.
Use of an arm weight-bearing combined with upper-limb reaching apparatus to facilitate motor paralysis recovery in an incomplete spinal cord injury patient: a single case report

[Purpose] Training using an arm weight-bearing device combined with upper-limb reaching apparatus to facilitate motor paralysis recovery, named the “Reaching Robot”, as well as Repetitive Facilitation Exercise were applied to a patient with severe impairment of the shoulder and elbow due to incomplete spinal cord injury and the effects were examined. [Subjects and Methods] A 66-year-old man with incomplete spinal cord injury participated in an upper extremity rehabilitation program involving a Reaching Robot. The program was comprised of active motor suspension, continuous low amplitude neuromuscular electrical stimulation and functional vibratory stimulation, as well as Repetitive Facilitation Exercise combined with continuous low amplitude neuromuscular electrical stimulation. This protocol used a crossover design following an A1-B1-A2-B2. “A” consisted of 2 weeks of Repetitive Facilitation Exercise, and “B” consisted of 2 weeks of Reaching Robot training. [Results] Improvements were observed after all sessions. Active range of motion for shoulder flexion improved after 2 weeks of Reaching Robot sessions only. There were no adverse events. [Conclusion] Reaching Robot training for severe paretic upper-extremity after incomplete spinal cord injury was a safe and effective treatment. Reaching Robot training may be useful for rehabilitation of paretic upper-extremity after incomplete spinal cord injury.
Stability analysis of a class of hybrid systems

In this paper, the stability analysis problem of a class of hybrid system which involves multiple subsystems and these subsystems interconnect and interact with each other is considered. A stability analysis approach is proposed and proved in which a Lyapunov function candidate can be constructed in terms of that of subsystems. A numerical example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
An enhanced capacity and fairness scheme for MIMO-OFDMA downlink resource allocation

This paper presents a new scheme for MIMO-OFDMA (multiple input multiple output-orthogonal frequency division multiple access) downlink resource allocation. This scheme intends to simultaneously enhance capacity and proportional rate fairness among users. A suboptimal power allocation method is also described in detail in this paper. The system objective is to maximize the total capacity subject to constraints on total available power, BER and rate proportions. Based on MIMO channel state information, eigen-channels are intelligently used to determine subcarrier allocation and power allocation, which forms the foundation of the new scheme. Simulation results show that this new adaptive allocation scheme can achieve good tradeoff between capacity and fairness as well as provide much better capacity gain than the conventional static FDMA allocation method.
Aspirin Use in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Objectives. To examine the patterns of low-dose aspirin use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with high risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods. Cross-sectional study of 36 consecutive RA patients with a Framingham score ≥10% for CAD. Eligible RA patients were provided with a questionnaire on CAD risk factors and use of low-dose aspirin. For aspirin nonusers, the reason for nonuse was requested by both the patient and rheumatologist. Questions for patients included physician's advice, self-preference, history of gastrointestinal bleeding, allergy to aspirin, or concomitant use of other anti-inflammatory medications. Questions for rheumatologists included awareness of the increased CAD risk, attribution, patient preference, history of gastrointestinal bleeding, allergy to aspirin, and medication interactions. Results. Patients participated in the study; 8 patients reported using daily aspirin, while 23 patients did not. The main reason cited by patients for not taking aspirin was that they were not instructed by their primary care physician (PCP) to do so (n = 16), which was also the main reason cited by rheumatologists (n = 9). Conclusion. This study confirmed underutilization of aspirin in RA patients at high risk for CAD, largely due to the perception that this is an issue which should be handled by the PCP.
Genetic Diversity and Differentiation of Dendrocalamus membranaceus (Poaceae: Bambusoideae), a Declining Bamboo Species in Yunnan, China, as Based on Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Analysis

Dendrocalamus membranaceus Munro is a woody bamboo with a high economic and ecological value that often occurs as natural stands, such as in the large-scale forested areas of China’s Yunnan Province. Due to its overexploitation, the habitat of D. membranaceus in Yunnan has been dramatically reduced, and the quality of the stands has declined. As a preliminary analysis in considering the effective protection for these germplasm resources, we assessed the genetic diversity of 12 natural populations in Yunnan, using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. From 10 ISSR primers, we generated 155 bands, of which 153 were polymorphic (98.71%). Compared with other species in the genus, this species demonstrated a greater genetic diversity (S = 0.349) and lower genetic differentiation (GST = 0.252). Our analysis of molecular variance revealed that the genetic differentiation among the populations is significant. A large proportion of the genetic variation (78.95%) resides among the individuals within populations, whereas only 21.05% are found among populations. Mantel tests indicated no significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances among the populations. Given the low sexual reproducibility and characteristics of monocarpic plants, we recommend implementing in situ conservation measures for all of the D. membranaceus populations in Yunnan and collecting sufficient samples for ex situ conservation. Furthermore, the conservation area should be extended to its main natural habitats, the Lancang-Mekong River Valley.