Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Entry: A Study of Leading U.S. Supermarket Chain Entry Patterns

De novo entry by the top 20 U.S. supermarket chains into local markets is examined using Tobit analysis. We find that entry is related to potential entrants' proximity to the local market, market growth, concentration, the number of large chains that are incumbents in the local market, and the competency of potential entrants as measured by their recent internal expansion rate. With regard to competing theories that relate strategic entry barriers to entry patterns, different components of the analysis provide support for different hypotheses. However, the most general model provides little support for the contestability or Chicago efficiency rent hypotheses.
What Determines the Sacrifice Ratio?

This paper investigates the determinants of the "sacrifice ratio" for disinflation: the ratio of the loss in output to the fall in trend inflation. I develop a method for estimating the sacrifice ratio in individual disinflation episodes, and apply it to 65 episodes in moderate-inflation OECD countries. In this sample. the sacrifice ratio is decreasing in the speed of disinflation: cold turkey is less costly than gradualism. The ratio is also decreasing in the flexibility of wage-setting institutions. The openness of the economy has no effect on the ratio. and the effects of incomes policies and the initial level of inflation are unclear.
InAR: Inverse Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is the art to seamlessly fuse virtual objects into real ones. In this short note, we address the opposite problem, the inverse augmented reality, that is, given a perfectly augmented reality scene where human is unable to distinguish real objects from virtual ones, how the machine could help do the job. We show by structure from motion (SFM), a simple 3D reconstruction technique from images in computer vision, the real and virtual objects can be easily separated in the reconstructed 3D scene.
Experimental evaluation of an SDN-based distributed mobility management solution

The current wireless network architecture needs to be re-thought to support mobility in very dense and heterogeneous network deployments. We propose and experimentally evaluate a novel SDN-based architecture which makes use of DMM concepts to deploy fast, flexible, reliable, and scalable mobility management mechanisms at both local and regional scopes. Our solution is compatible with existing protocols deployed in wireless access and backhaul networks, and is therefore technology transparent to the user. Although our architecture is generic and can be used with heterogeneous wireless networks, we prove the validity of our approach in a lab prototype, by implementing our distributed mobility management mechanism on a set of OpenFlow-controlled IEEE 802.11 networks.
Outage probability of the MIMO Gaussian free-space optical channel with PPM

The main drawback in communicating via the free-space optical channel is the detrimental effect the atmosphere has on a propagating laser beam. Atmospheric turbulence causes random fluctuations in the irradiance of the received laser beam, commonly referred to as scintillation. We investigate the mitigation of scintillation through the use of multiple lasers and multiple apertures, thereby creating a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) channel. We adopt a quasi-static block fading model and study the outage probability of the channel under the assumption of orthogonal pulse-position modulation. Non-ideal photodetection is also assumed such that the combined shot noise and thermal noise are considered as signal-independent additive Gaussian white noise. Assuming perfect receiver channel state information (CSI), we compute the signal-to-noise ratio exponents for the cases when the scintillation is lognormal, exponential and gamma-gamma distributed, which cover a wide range of atmospheric turbulence conditions. Furthermore, we illustrate very large gains when CSI is also available at the transmitter.
Novel real-time 3D radiological mapping solution for ALARA maximization, D&D assessments and radiological management

Good management of decontamination and dismantling (D&D) operations or maintenance activities in contaminated or irradiating zones requires perfect radiological knowledge of the radioactive environment in order to optimize personnel dose and minimize of waste volume; this knowledge itself must be acquired safely and securely in a time-saving way. Additionally, Fukushima accident has imposed a stretch to the nuclear measurement operational approach required in such emergency situation: fast deployment and intervention, quick analysis and fast scenario definition. AREVA, as return of experience from its activities carried out at Fukushima and D&D sites, has developed a novel multi-sensor solution as part of its D&D research, approach and method, a system with real-time 3D photorealistic spatial radiation distribution cartography of contaminated premises. The system may be handheld or mounted on a mobile device (robot, drone, e.g.). In this paper, we will present our current development based on a SLAM technology (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) and integrated sensors and detectors allowing simultaneous topographic and radiological (dose rate and/or spectroscopy) data acquisitions. This enabling technology permits 3D gamma sources cartography in a reconstructed volume in real-time.
Power and Interference Control with Relaying in Cooperative Cognitive Radio Networks

It is well known that secondary users can take advantages of spectrum opportunities from primary users via cognitive radio technology. However, general sense cognitive radio networks allow all users to cooperatively relay the packets, especially primary users are aware of existence and activity of secondary users. Secondary users may act as cooperative relays for primary traffic. We propose a relay selection criteria such that cooperation is beneficial to both primary and secondary systems. With the suitably chosen relays, power consumption in primary transmissions is reduced and simultaneously interference from primary traffic decreases exposing spectrum opportunities for secondary traffic. We characterize the performance improvement of secondary network due to the extra spectrum opportunities by analyzing the extension of its connectivity region through percolation theory. Such self-motivated cooperation leads the way toward self-organizing wireless networks.
Monitoring the Benefits of Active Learning Exercises in Introductory Survey Courses in Science: an Attempt to Improve the education of Prospective Public School Teachers

Introduction of collaborative, active-learning exercises in a traditional lecture-based Environmental Geology course produced measurable changes in student learning. Oral surveys used as part of an assessment strategy suggest that students in the class use material from the exercises in responding to questions long after the subjects were covered in class. In addition, the variance of the grade distribution of the final examination suggests that learning is more uniform across the class than in previous semesters. Implementation of this approach is not limited to small classes; a single instructor can monitor a class of approximately 60 students as they work through the exercise.
Vanishing procyclicality of productivity?: industry evidence

The robust performance of U.S. labor productivity (LP) early in the recovery from the Great Recession contrasts markedly with the sluggish growth of output, and even more with the lack of recovery in employment. This pattern has renewed interest in understanding why productivity has become much less procyclical in recent decades. This is an important topic because the cyclicality of productivity has implications for how we model business cycles, and our understanding of how they are propagated. The topic also has implications for monetary policy because it affects the trend-cycle decomposition and in turn the projection of trend growth as well as the assessment of the economy's output gap. A number of papers have investigated the aggregate time-series data and proposed mechanisms that may explain the observed changes. Those papers rely entirely on dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models. This study, in contrast, uses the cross-industry dimension as an alternative and complementary method for identifying the mechanisms that have led to the diminished procyclicality of productivity.
Uncertainty in Ecohydrological Modeling in an Arid Region Determined with Bayesian Methods

In arid regions, water resources are a key forcing factor in ecosystem circulation, and soil moisture is the critical link that constrains plant and animal life on the soil surface and underground. Simulation of soil moisture in arid ecosystems is inherently difficult due to high variability. We assessed the applicability of the process-oriented CoupModel for forecasting of soil water relations in arid regions. We used vertical soil moisture profiling for model calibration. We determined that model-structural uncertainty constituted the largest error; the model did not capture the extremes of low soil moisture in the desert-oasis ecotone (DOE), particularly below 40 cm soil depth. Our results showed that total uncertainty in soil moisture prediction was improved when input and output data, parameter value array, and structure errors were characterized explicitly. Bayesian analysis was applied with prior information to reduce uncertainty. The need to provide independent descriptions of uncertainty analysis (UA) in the input and output data was demonstrated. Application of soil moisture simulation in arid regions will be useful for dune-stabilization and revegetation efforts in the DOE.
Interaction of 4.1G and cGMP-gated channels in rod photoreceptor outer segments

Summary In photoreceptors, the assembly of signaling molecules into macromolecular complexes is important for phototransduction and maintaining the structural integrity of rod outer segments (ROSs). However, the molecular composition and formation of these complexes are poorly understood. Using immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, 4.1G was identified as a new interacting partner for the cyclic-nucleotide gated (CNG) channels in ROSs. 4.1G is a widely expressed multifunctional protein that plays a role in the assembly and stability of membrane protein complexes. Multiple splice variants of 4.1G were cloned from bovine retina. A smaller splice variant of 4.1G selectively interacted with CNG channels not associated with peripherin-2–CNG channel complex. A combination of truncation studies and domain-binding assays demonstrated that CNG channels selectively interacted with 4.1G through their FERM and CTD domains. Using immunofluorescence, labeling of 4.1G was seen to be punctate and partially colocalized with CNG channels in the ROS. Our studies indicate that 4.1G interacts with a subset of CNG channels in the ROS and implicate this protein–protein interaction in organizing the spatial arrangement of CNG channels in the plasma membrane of outer segments.
Sensor Fusion with Coordinated Mobile Robots

Robust localization is a prerequisite for mobile robot autonomy. In many situations the GPS signal is not available and thus an additional localization system is required. A simple approach is to apply localization based on dead reckoning by use of wheel encoders but it results in large estimation errors. With exteroceptive sensors such as a laser range finder natural landmarks in the environment of the robot can be extracted from raw range data. Landmarks are extracted with the Hough transform and a recursive line segment algorithm. By applying data association and Kalman filtering along with process models the landmarks can be used in combination with wheel encoders for estimating the global position of the robot. If several robots can cooperate better position estimates are to be expected because robots can be seen as mobile landmarks and one robot can supervise the movement of another. The centralized Kalman filter presented in this master thesis systematically treats robots and extracted landmarks such that benefits from several robots are utilized. Experiments in different indoor environments with two different robots show that long distances can be traveled while the positional uncertainty is kept low. The benefit from cooperating robots in the sense of reduced positional uncertainty is also shown in an experiment. Except for localization algorithms a typical autonomous robot task in the form of change detection is solved. The change detection method, which requires robust localization, is aimed to be used for surveillance. The implemented algorithm accounts for measurementand positional uncertainty when determining whether something in the environment has changed. Consecutive true changes as well as sporadic false changes are detected in an illustrative experiment.
Transformation of Freshwater Ecosystems by Bivalves A case study of zebra mussels in the Hudson River

B ivalves (clams and mussels) are among the most familiar of aquatic organisms. Many have been used by humans for centuries as important sources of food and ornament, and some species are economically important pests, fouling water intakes and other structures. It is only recently, however, that ecologists have begun to understand that bivalves also play many important roles in ecosystems (e.g., Dame 1996). The functional importance of bivalves, especially in fresh water, is still not fully appreciated. For example, recent fresh water ecology textbooks (Wetzel 1983, Horne and Goldman 1994, Allan 1995, Petts and Calow 1996) scarcely mention the ecological roles of bivalves (the words "bivalve," "clam," and "mussel" do not even appear in the index of any of these books). By contrast,
Combination of PoInSAR Coherence Optimization to Vector Filtering Tested on a Forested Area

Applying a phase difference between two SLC SAR images acquired on the same area, radar interferometry is able to measure the topography or ground displacement with a good precision. Because of the noisy nature of interferograms, fully polarimetric data offers the possibility to separate scattering contributions of different natures. Polarimetric interferometry uses coherence optimization and reduces noise in interferometric phase. In this paper we propose the association of coherence optimization to interferogram filtering in order get a better result in the digital terrain model (DTM) quality. Interferometric filtering reduces the number of residues. We apply a vector filter to preserve interferometric phase statistics on polarimetric data
Simulation-Driven Thermal-Safe Test Time Minimization for System-on-Chip

Thermal safety has become a major challenge to the testing of systems-on-chip with deep sub-micron technologies. In order to avoid overheating the devices under test while reducing test application times, new techniques are needed. In this paper, we propose a test scheduling technique to minimize the test application time such that the temperatures of individual cores are kept below a given limit. The proposed approach takes into account thermal influences between cores, and thus accurate temperature evolution information of all cores in a system-on-chip is needed for the test scheduling. In order to avoid overheating, we have employed a thermal simulation driven scheduling algorithm, in which instantaneous thermal simulation results are used to guide the partitioning of test sets into test sub-sequences and to determine cooling periods inserted between the partitions. Furthermore, the partitioned test sets for different cores are interleaved such that a cooling period reserved for one core can be utilized for the test-data transportations and test applications for other cores. Experimental results have shown that by using the proposed technique, the test application time is minimized and the temperatures of cores under test are kept below the temperature limit during the entire test process.
PeerfactSim.KOM: A simulation framework for Peer-to-Peer systems

Since P2P systems have become popular in the late nineties, simulation of these systems has always been a preferable method of performance evaluation. Simulations facilitate the development and evaluation of new protocols and mechanisms, while enabling a comparison of existing solutions. In this paper, we present PeerfactSim.KOM, a discrete-event P2P simulator that is suitable for a wide range of varying scenarios in the area of P2P. It consists of a layered architecture, provides a broad selection of P2P protocols for the modeled layers, and eases the implementation of new components through its modular design. In addition, the simulator provides helpful tools to configure and evaluate a simulation scenario.
Performance Evaluation for V-Blast MIMO Systems under Various Modulation Schemes Using Ricean Channel

Wireless communication using Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems increases spectral efficiency for a given total transmits power. Wireless communication technology has shown that the application of multiple antennas at both transmitter and receiver sides improve the possibility of high data rates through data rates through multiplexing or to improve performance through diversity compared to single antenna systems. In this article, we studied the BER performance of Vertical Bells Lab Layered Space Time Architecture (V-BLAST) (2) Spatial Multiplexing Technique with various decoding techniques like Maximum Likelihood (ML), Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE), Minimum Mean Square Error + Ordered Serial Interference Cancellation (MMSE+OSIC), MMSE, Zero Forcing, Zero Forcing + Ordered Serial Interference Cancellation (ZF+OSIC) by using different modulation techniques such as BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM in independent, identically distributed (i.i.d) flat fading channel. In this also we will consider a point to point MIMO communications with 'N' transmitting antennas and 'M' receiving antennas (M≥N). In this article we will compared a different detection techniques with different modulation techniques and finally we will concluded that Maximum Likelihood (V-BLAST ML) decoding technique using BPSK modulation scheme gives better result, QPSK modulation gives almost similar results as BPSK and also we concluded that BER performance of 16-QAM Modulation scheme gives worst result than other modulation techniques in Ricean Channel. Finally we will conclude that ML-VBLAST decoding technique gives the better performance than other decoding techniques using BPSK modulation. Further simulation results for BPSK modulation with only ML decoding technique using various antennas at input and output using rician channel. In this we got more optimal result for 1× 4 antennas for V-BLAST system in rician fading channel. Keywords: - Binary Phase Shift Key (BPSK), Bit Error Rate (BER), Multiple input multiple output (MIMO), Minimum Mean-Squared-Error (MMSE-V-BLAST), Maximum Likelihood (ML), Ordered Serial Interference Cancellation (OSIC), Vertical Bell Laboratories Layered Space-Time (V-BLAST) and Zero-Forcing V-BLAST (ZF--BLAST)
Analysis and Modeling of Video Popularity Evolution in Various Online Video Content Systems: Power-Law versus Exponential Decay

Internet evolved from a world communication network with restricted information transmission capabilities into an entertainment and information network with many broadband clients and more multimedia-rich applications. In particular, video (streaming) applications are gaining in popularity and usage, but those are also notorious for their high resources demand. A study of the popularity evolution of videos in different online video content systems can give insight and have implications for adequate network dimensioning. In this paper we study and model the popularity evolution of some video traces from YouTube, one Dutch catch-up TV online portal, and historical data on DVD rentals in the US. The model we put forward can degenerate into either a power-law distribution or an exponential distribution depending on its form-determining parameter. We find out that not all traces have a power-law decay as suggested in other works, but also a significant part of those expose an exponential popularity evolution.
Can political inequalities be educated away? Evidence from a Swedish school reform

Over the years, many suggestions have been made on how to reduce the importance of family background in political recruitment. In this study, we examine the effectiveness of one such proposal: the expansion of mass education. More precisely, we utilize a difference-in-difference strategy to analyze how a large school reform launched in Sweden in the 1950s, which lengthened compulsory schooling and postponed tracking, affected the likelihood of individuals with different family backgrounds to run for public office. The data comes from public registers and pertains to the entire Swedish population born between 1943 and 1955. Overall, the empirical analysis provides strong support for the view that improved educational opportunities for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds can be an effective means to reduce the importance of family background in political recruitment. According to our estimates, the Swedish comprehensive school reform served to reduce the effect of family background on the likelihood of running for public office by up to 40 percent.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The production of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has long been associated with Alfred's reign. This chapter focuses primarily on the common stock of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the annals which were added up to 896. It explores the ways in which the Chronicle responded to and exploited the historical, literary and political imperatives of Alfred's reign. The chapter addresses such issues as genre and its implications, the relationship between the Chronicle and its sources, links with annalistic activity on the Continent, and the manuscript and linguistic evidence for compilation and circulation in Alfred's reign. It also examines the ways in which various annals and sets of annals may fit into the Chronicle. The Chronicle's story of the development of the Angelcynn conveys meanings which extend far beyond the often spartan individual records incorporated within it. Keywords: Alfred's reign; Angelcynn ; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; spartan
Improved Capacity and Grade-of-Service in 802.11-Type Cell with Frequency Binning

Random medium access, such as the one employed in IEEE 802.11 standard, is known to unfairly allocate channel resources under realistic channel conditions such as fading, shadowing and propagation loss. In this paper, we propose and analyze a scheme based on frequency binning to improve grade-of-service. For 802.11a/g, our scheme can be implemented with minor changes to the physical and MAC layers. The proposed frequency binning has positive as well as negative effects. But we show that the positive effect dominates in the spectral efficiency regime of interest and leads to better utilization of underlying channel dimensions. We provide a fixed point analysis of the MAC in steady state and quantify the advantages by studying the improvements in grade-of-service, cell-radius, user-capacity and mean throughput of user at cell-edge.