Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statistical indoor localization using fusion of depth-images and step detection

This paper presents a method for indoor localization of humans. Our new approach combines an imaged-based position estimation with a given step and turn detection. Estimating the position of an object is not only a question of accuracy, it is also a question of performance and time required. Our approach uses a fusion of an uncalibrated depth-sensor with a smartphone's accelerometer and gyroscope. Both components do not rely on time-consuming practices like fingerprinting and calibration techniques. This approach allows for a real time-tracking by using well-known methods of recursive density propagation and particle filtering. Unlike other image-based methods in autonomous robotics, the depth sensors are mounted at a fixed position. Therefore we will show how our new statistical sensor model covers the four main conditions of an image-based approach: a person is either inside or outside the field of view and is detected or not detected by the depth sensor. This involves the possibility to estimate the position of multiple persons at each point in time. Finally, the experimental results show how the integration of an image-based approach increases the accuracy of the localization estimation and counteracts the increasing error of the given step and turn detection.
The performance of commercial banks : The roleof organizational culture as a mediator and external environment as a moderator

Business environment has become very dynamic and highly competitive. This is occasioned by globalization and massive developments in the technological world, especially advancements in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). As a result, business organizations are faced with a lot of challenges. To cope with the challenges and achieve superior performance, business organizations need to be entrepreneurially inclined, market-oriented, and strategically positioned. Similarly, they need to develop and nurture appropriate and strong organizational culture for them to be entrepreneurially inclined, market-oriented, and strategically positioned. It is against this background that this study investigated the mediating and moderating effects of organizational culture and external environment on the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship, market orientation, strategic orientation, and performance of commercial banks in Nigeria. Data were collected from 297 bank managers through a self-reported questionnaire and data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 19. Findings revealed that corporate entrepreneurship, market orientation, and strategic orientation were positively and significantly related to organizational performance. Further analysis indicated that organizational culture of teamwork mediated the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship, market orientation, strategic orientation, and organizational performance. Also, data analysis showed that external environment (competitive intensity) did not moderate the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship, market orientation, strategic orientation, and organizational performance. Thus, it was concluded that although corporate entrepreneurship, market orientation, and strategic orientation were positively and significantly related to organizational performance, even in the face of competitive challenges, however, the effects of corporate entrepreneurship, market orientation, and strategic orientation on organizational performance will be greater if organizations develop and continuously nurture strong organizational culture of teamwork.
Incentives or Resources? Commercialization of University Research by Startups vs Established Firms

The commercialization of scientific research performed at U.S. universities since the Bayh- Dole Act of 1980 has increasingly been governed by licensing contracts between universities and private firms (Mowery, Sampat, and Ziedonis 2004). A number of scholars have examined factors that influence whether an established firm or start-up venture would be best positioned to develop and introduce a university invention to the market (Shane 2001, 2002; Lowe and Ziedonis 2006). Less attention has been paid to how technology licenses between the univer- sity and these two types of firms are structured to facilitate commercialization, however. We argue that start-ups and established firms have different inherent organizational risks; com- paratively, start-ups bear a greater risk of firm failure, while commercialization incentives in established firms may be weaker. Using data from over one thousand technology licenses at a leading university licensor, Stanford University, we examine how these organizational risks, along with other relevant technology characteristics, affect the structure of licensing contracts in start-ups and established firms. For start-up firms, we also examine the implications for li- cense structure of the involvement of (a) a venture capitalist and (b) a university founder. Our results shed light on how organizational structure, via licensing terms, can be used to control for technology and organizational risks, bearing implications for the role of organization in commercialization success.
Analyse du comportement humain à partir de la vidéo en étudiant l'orientation du mouvement

La reconnaissance du comportement et la prediction des activites des personnes depuis la video sont des preoccupations majeures dans le domaine de la vision par ordinateur. L'objectif principal de mon travail de these est de proposer des algorithmes qui permettent d'analyser des objets en mouvement a partir de la video pour extraire des comportements humains. Cette analyse est effectuee dans des environnements interieurs ou exterieurs filmes par des simples webcams ou par des cameras plus sophistiquee. La scene analysee peut etre de deux types en fonction du nombre de personnes presentes. On distingue les scenes de foule ou le nombre de personnes est important. Dans ce type de scene, nous nous interessons aux problemes de la detection d'evenements de foule, a l'analyse des flux et a l'extraction des motifs de mouvement. Le deuxieme type de scene se caracterise par la presence d'une seule personne a la fois dans le champ de la camera. Elle est appelee scene individuelle. Nous y traitons le probleme de reconnaissance d'actions humaines. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, nous proposons une approche basee sur trois niveaux d'analyse. Le premier est l'extraction des caracteristiques de bas niveau recuperes les images constituant un flux video (ex. les zones en mouvement). Le deuxieme construit des descripteurs pour l'analyse du comportement humain (ex. la direction et la vitesse de mouvement moyennes). Le niveau le plus haut se sert des descripteurs de l'etape intermediaire afin de fournir aux utilisateurs des resultats concrets sur l'analyse du comportement humain (ex. telle personne marche, une autre court, etc.). Des experimentations sur des benchmarks connus ont valide nos approches, avec un positionnement tres interessant par rapport a l'etat de l'art.
Clinical Trial Simulation To Assist In COPD Trial Planning And Design With A Biomarker-Based Diagnostic: When To Pull The Trigger?

Abstract Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disease with a wide range of clinical phenotypes that vary from predominantly airway disease (chronic bronchitis) to predominantly parenchymal disease (emphysema). Current advances for the treatment of COPD are increasingly focused on targeted treatments and development of novel biomarker-based diagnostics (Dx)'s to select the patients most likely to benefit. Clinical trial planning and design with biomarkers includes additional considerations beyond those for conventional trials in un-selected populations, e.g., the heterogeneity of COPD phenotypes in the population, the ability of a biomarker to predict clinically meaningful phenotypes that are differentially associated with the response to a targeted treatment, and the data needed to make Go/No Go decisions during clinical development. We developed the Clinical Trial Object Oriented Research Application (CTOORA), a computer-aided clinical trial simulator of COPD patient outcomes, to inform COPD trial planning with biomarkers. CTOORA provides serial projections of trial success for a range of hypothetical and plausible scenarios of interest. In the absence of data, CTOORA can identify characteristics of a biomarker-based Dx needed to provide a meaningful advantage when used in a clinical trial. We present a case study in which CTOORA is used to identify the scenarios for which a biomarker may be used successfully in clinical development. CTOORA is a tool for robust clinical trial planning with biomarkers, to guide early-to-late stage development that is positioned for success.
The Efficiency Of Intellectual Capital Investments As A Potential Leading Indicator

This paper aims to test the VAIC model in order to explore and recognize the relationship between Intellectual Capital (IC) components and the financial performance of companies, with an ambition to establish whether IC investment efficiency indicators can serve as potential leading indicators of the future financial performance of companies. We test our hypotheses by using the VAIC model. The data set includes more than 12,000 Slovenian companies within a 14-year period (from 1995 to 2008). OLS regression and panel regression method are used as tools. Most of the research hypotheses have been confirmed, but the results are of limited practical use. In contrast to the primary test, our test conducted on the ranked data indicates a high degree of correspondence between the improvement in rank of a company’s IC investment efficiency and the improvement in rank of its financial performance in the peer group. As IC value is a result of above-average financial performance, the IC investment efficiency can potentially serve as leading indicators of future financial performance. By comparing the results of similar studies, we indicate possible systematic biases as potential sources of differences in the results, and suggest the areas that need further investigation.
Friction forces arising from fluctuating thermal fields

We calculate the damping of a classical oscillator induced by the electromagnetic field generated by thermally fluctuating currents in the environment. The fluctuation-dissipation theorem is applied to derive the linear-velocity damping coefficient {gamma}. It turns out that {gamma} is the result of fourth-order correlation functions. The theory is applied to a particle oscillating parallel to a flat substrate and numerical values for {gamma} are evaluated for particle and substrate materials made of silver and glass. We find that losses are much higher for dielectric materials than for metals because of the higher resistivity. We predict that measurements performed on metal films are strongly affected by the underlying dielectric substrate and we show that our theory reproduces existing theoretical results in the nonretarded limit. The theory provides an explanation for the observed distance-dependent damping in shear-force microscopy and it gives guidance for future experiments. Also, the theory should be of importance for the design of nanoscale mechanical systems and for understanding the trade-offs of miniaturization.
Experiences Implementing a Routine HIV Screening Program in Two Federally Qualified Health Centers in the Southern United States

Objective. The southern United States is highly affected by HIV, and community health centers play a key role in addressing the health-care needs of residents of southern cities. In 2012, Southside Medical Care Services (“Southside”) in Atlanta, Georgia, and Central Care Community Health Center (“Central Care”) in Houston, Texas, began comprehensive programs for routine HIV screening and linkage to HIV care. Methods. We examined patient-level testing outcomes using medical record-derived data. We also compared the total number of HIV tests and HIV-positive tests in the most recent 12 months of the program with the number of HIV tests and HIV-positive tests during the 12 months prior to the program start. Results. Southside saw 52,437 eligible patients from June 2012 through April 2014; 41,720 (80%) were offered an HIV test, 11,092 (27% of those offered a test) were tested, 75 (0.7% of those tested) had a positive result, and 74 (99% of those with a positive result) were linked to HIV care. Compared with the 12 months prior to the start of routine HIV screening implementation, Southside's routine HIV screening program conducted 5,955 more HIV tests (733% increase) and had 31 more patients who tested positive (238% increase). Central Care saw 22,658 eligible patients from July 2012 to April 2014; 10,904 (48%) were offered an HIV test, 9,909 (91% of those offered a test) were tested, 52 (0.5% of those tested) had a positive result, and 41 (79% of those with a positive result) were linked to HIV care. Compared with the 12 months before routine HIV screening was implemented, Central Care's routine HIV screening program conducted 4,559 more HIV tests (618% increase) and had 36 more patients who tested positive (600% increase). Conclusion. Southside and Central Care effectively implemented routine HIV screening programs that dramatically increased their testing volume while also linking the majority of HIV-positive patients to care. Other community health centers should consider similar programs.
FUZZY LOGIC METHODOLOGY FOR SHORT TERM LOAD FORECASTING

Load forecasting is an important component for power system energy management system. Precise load forecasting helps the electric utility to make unit commitment decisions, reduce spinning reserve capacity and schedule device maintenance plan properly and it also reduces the generation cost and increases reliability of power systems. In this work, a fuzzy logic approach for short term load forecasting is attempted. Time, temperature and similar previous day load are used as the independent variables for short term load forecasting. Based on the time, temperature and similar previous day load, fuzzy rule base are prepared using mamdani implication, which are eventually used for the short term load forecasting. MATLAB SIMULINK software is used here in this work. For the short term load forecasting, load data from the specific area load dispatch center is considered.
A Tourist Guide through Treewidth

A short overview is given of many recent results in algorithmic graph theory that deal with the notions treewidth, and pathwidth. We discuss algorithms that find tree-decompositions, algorithms that use tree-decompositions to solve hard problems efficiently, graph minor theory, and some applications. The paper contains an extensive bibliography.
Public Capital and its Contribution to the Productivity Performance of the Canadian Business Sector

This paper quantifies the contribution of public capital to productivity growth in the Canadian business sector. The approach developed here incorporates demand and supply forces, including the contribution of public capital, which may affect productivity performance. We estimate the model using disaggregated data composed of 37 industries in the Canadian business sector for the period 1961-2000. The results indicate that the main contributors to productivity growth, both at the industry and aggregate levels are technical change and exogenous demand (representing the effect of aggregate income and population growth). Public capital contributed for about 18% of the overall business sector multi-factor productivity growth over the 1961-2000 period. This is somewhat lower than the figures reported in the literature. However, the magnitudes of the contribution of public capital to productivity growth vary significantly across industries, with the largest impact occurring in transportation, trade and utilities.
RENIN AND ALDOSTERONE IN HYPOTHYROIDISM: RELATION TO EXCRETION OF SODIUM AND POTASSIUM

Changes in plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma aldosterone (PA) were studied together with the urinary excretion of sodium and potassium in patients with hypothyroidism. The basal levels of PRA and PA were significantly less than those in normal subjects. However, there was no significant relationship between PRA and PA. The response of PRA after administration of 40 mg of frusemide in patients with hypothyroidism was significantly less than that in normal subjects, although the excretion of sodium was slightly higher than that in normal subjects. On the other hand, the excretion of potassium in patients with hypothyroidism was significantly lower than that in normal subjects. The responses of PA to various stimulations, such as ACTH, angiotensin II, potassium and frusemide, were equally suppressed. These results suggest that PRA and PA may be suppressed independently in hypothyroidism, probably due to dysfunction of juxtaglomerular cells and glomerulosa cells, respectively, and the possibility that suppression of PRA and PA in patients with hypothyroidism is related to exaggerated sodium excretion and a decrease in potassium excretion cannot be ruled out.
ALIGNMENT OF STRATEGY TO INDUSTRY CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS AMONG COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA

The research report is about the alignment of strategy to industry critical success factors among commercial banks in Kenya. The objectives of the study were, to determine the extent to which commercial banks align strategy to industry critical success factors and the forces that influence the alignment. By aligning strategy to industry critical success factors, commercial banks can streamline its operations and maintain sustainable competitive advantage within the industry. The survey focused on all 43 commercial banks in Kenya and the data was mainly primary data. The primary data was gathered through the use of self administered questionnaires to the CEOs of the respective commercial banks. The researcher used descriptive data to find out the extent to which commercial banks align strategy to industry critical success factors and also determine the forces that influence this alignment. The respondents exhibited a high level of knowledge of the critical success factors as well as alignment of these factors to strategy. The response rate was 83% where thirty six of the forty three commercial banks responded. The findings reveal that majority of commercial banks in Kenya align their strategy to critical success factors in that in every critical success factor, majority of the banks have a strategy to support it. It was concluded that commercial banks that align strategy to industry critical success factors are able to survive and gain a competitive advantage over other commercial banks. From the study, customer service, product range and pricing as well as adoption of ICT emerged as the most important critical success factors. The study also revealed that majority of commercial banks have strategies to support these critical success factors.
The Effects of Serial Correlation and Data Aggregation on Advertising Measurement

Many annual data series for the sales of branded consumer goods exhibit marked autocorrelation which provides significant fits with lagged-variable advertising sales response models. Concern continues to be expressed that the source of such autocorrelation is not advertising efforts but spurious effects from temporal data aggregation, and some researchers have criticized advertising studies using annual data as being misleading. The authors investigate the source of autocorrelation in annual series and show that temporal data aggregation is unlikely to be the primary cause of upwardly biased estimates of the coefficient (λ) of the lagged dependent variable. Sampling and specification error are more likely causes. The authors develop the aggregate form of the brand loyal model for data aggregated over time and derive a formula to calculate the amount of autocorrelation that is induced by aggregation. They present a new estimation approach which takes into account the impact of aggregation on estimates of coefficients and the error terms of such models. They compare the effects of specification error on the estimate of λ for two well known approximations to the aggregate function as well as for the approximation developed here.
The Impacts of Exports on Regional Economic Development and Industrial Restructuring in China

In the last two decades,especially since joining the World Trade Organization in 2002,China has witnessed a rapid growth in international trade of commodities,which is seen as a major driver to its economic growth.The rise of China as a major import export country,not only changes the world's economic geography,but also has significant impacts on its domestic economic geography.The European Union (EU),USA and Japan are the largest trade partners of China,accounting for about half of China's import export in 2008.Given the economic difficulties faced by both China and others as a result of the current world-wide financial crisis,it is meaningful to examine the impacts of Chinese exports to the EU,USA and Japan on the development of both sides.In this paper,we will focus on such impacts on regional development in China.We try to compute the contribution of Sino-EU,Sino-USA and Sino-Japan exports to provincial GDP growth and industrial restructuring in China in terms of value-added.We find the exports to the EU,USA and Japan have major contributions to economic growth and industrial upgrading in some coastal provinces,e.g.Shanghai,Jiangsu and Guangdong.
Image segmentation an early detection to Alzheimer's disease

Image segmentation is a significant research field in medical engineering. Segmented brain images are used to visualize volume and quantitatively analyse anatomical and cortical structures. Segmented brain tissues provide an anatomical framework for visualisation which has a potential use in neuro-science research and neurosurgical planning owing to advances in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Segmentation refers to the labeling of pixels into different regions. At a higher level these regions can be labeled as anatomical structures and then grouped across different slices to give three dimensional descriptions of these structures. The method proposed here is successful in segmenting the brain without human intervention and accurately detecting the variation in the total volume or size of the brain. The purpose of this work is to detect any subtle changes in the volume of the brain.
Transforming Growth Factor‐β1 Gene Polymorphism, Bone Turnover, and Bone Mass in Italian Postmenopausal Women

Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) is abundant in bone and is an important regulator of the osteoclastic‐osteoblastic interaction (coupling). The sequence variation, 713–8delC in the TGF‐β1 gene has previously been found to be associated with very low bone mass in osteoporotic women and with increased bone turnover in both osteoporotic and normal women. The possible association of this polymorphism with bone mass and bone turnover has now been investigated in 256 postmenopausal Italian women. A significant association of TGF‐β1 with bone mass was detected in the populations. Subjects carrying the sequence variation 713–8delC (Tt) genotype showed a significantly lower bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip than those without sequence variation in the genotype (TT). Individuals carrying the tt genotype have a more severe osteoporosis (P = 0.0001 vs. TT and Tt genotypes). The frequency of the fragility fractures was significantly lower in individuals with TT genotype than in those with the Tt and tt genotypes (χ2 = 21.9; P = 0.006). Furthermore a significant association was found between 713–8delC and bone turnover. The results suggest a strong evidence for an association among the 713–8delC allele of the TGF‐β1 gene and the femoral BMD, the prevalence of osteoporotic fractures, and finally a high bone turnover in a sample of Italian postmenopausal women.