Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PI-0811 Optimal Pension Asset Allocation Strategy for Defined-contribution Plans with Exponential Utility

This paper considers the asset allocation strategies for members of defined-contribution pension plans with exponential utility when there are three types of asset, cash, bonds and stocks. The portfolio problem is to maximize the expected utility of terminal wealth that uses the plan member’s final wage as a numeraire, in the presence of three risk sources, interest risk, asset risk and wage risk. The use of a stochastic numeraire makes usual riskless cash assets risky. A closed form solution is found for the asset allocation problem when a portfolio replicates exactly the wage process exists, which is the true riskless asset. The optimal portfolio composition is horizon dependent, while the investments in the three asset classes have constant wealth-to-wage ratios. The paper discusses the implication of using wage as numeraire and assuming exponential utility function in portfolio and pension investment strategy studies.
Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells and Their Orthopedic Applications: Forging a Path towards Clinical Trials

Mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) are nonhematopoietic multipotent cells capable of differentiating into mesenchymal and nonmesenchymal lineages. While they can be isolated from various tissues, MPCs isolated from the bone marrow are best characterized. These cells represent a subset of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) which, in addition to their differentiation potential, are critical in supporting proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. They are of clinical interest because they can be easily isolated from bone marrow aspirates and expanded in vitro with minimal donor site morbidity. The BMSCs are also capable of altering disease pathophysiology by secreting modulating factors in a paracrine manner. Thus, engineering such cells to maximize therapeutic potential has been the focus of cell/gene therapy to date. Here, we discuss the path towards the development of clinical trials utilizing BMSCs for orthopaedic applications. Specifically, we will review the use of BMSCs in repairing critical-sized defects, fracture nonunions, cartilage and tendon injuries, as well as in metabolic bone diseases and osteonecrosis. A review of www.ClinicalTrials. gov of the United States National Institute of Health was performed, and ongoing clinical trials will be discussed in addition to the sentinel preclinical studies that paved the way for human investigations.
A rendering algorithm for visualizing 3D scalar fields

This paper presents a ray tracing algorithm for rendering 3D scalar fields. An illumination model is developed in which the field is characterized as a varying density emittter with a single level of scattering. This model is equivalent to a particle system in which the particles are sufficiently small. Along each ray cast from the eye, the field is expressed as a function of the ray parameter. The algorithm computes properties of the field along the ray such as the attenuated intensity, the peak density, and the center of gravity, etc., These are mapped into HSV color space to produce an image for visualization.Images produced in this manner are perceived as a varying density 'cloud' where color highlights the computed attributes. The application of this technique is demonstrated for visualizing a three dimensional seismic data set.
On-line real time feature extraction of ECG signal: Recent advances & survey

Existing life care systems simply monitor human health and rely on a centralized server to store and process sensed data, leading to a high cost of system maintenance, yet with limited services and low performance. One of the important parameter in health Monitoring is ECG and Wireless ECG acquisition has emerged as a comfortable low-cost technology for continuous Cardiac Monitoring. The analysis of ECG is widely used for diagnosing many cardiac diseases, which are the main cause mortality in developed countries. One type of Cardiovascular Disease is cardiac arrhythmia which is characterized by irregular heartbeat intervals, atrial fibrillation when atriums exhibit rapid and irregular contractions. Another example of arrhythmia is premature ventricular contraction. The existing feature of Data Collection and analysis of ECG information requires lots of accuracy, efforts and are also immune to errors, unnecessary delays in real time information accessibility. Wireless ECG Sensors have been employed to monitor human health and provide life care services. We present a scheme for ECG monitoring that processes the data by using Cloud computing in real time manner. Among the various techniques developed for ECG extraction Time Domain analysis, frequency domain analysis and wavelet transform are predominant techniques. It is also proposed to develop this system which is compatible with various Devices such as Desktop Computers, PDA and smart phones.
Autonomous calibration algorithms for networks of cameras

We deal with the important applicative problem of distributed cameras calibration. We model a network of N cameras as an undirected graph in which communicating cameras can measure their relative orientation in a noisy way. These measures can be used in order to minimize a suitable cost function. The shape of this cost function depends on a vector of integers K. We propose two algorithms which in a distributive way estimate such K, comparing advantages and disadvantages of both. Simulations are run on a grid network to prove effectiveness of the algorithms.
CAUSALITY, MEASUREMENT ERROR AND MULTICOLLINEARITY IN EPIDEMIOLOGY

SUMMARY This paper demonstrates that measurement error can conspire with multicollinearity among explanatory variables to mislead an investigator. A causal variable measured with error may be overlooked and its significance transferred to a surrogate. The latter’s significance can then be entirely spurious, in that controlling it will not predictably change the response variable. In epidemiological research, such a response may be a health outcome. The phenomenon we study is demonstrated through simulation experiments involving nonlinear regression models. Also, the paper presents the measurement error problem in a theoretical setting. The paper concludes by echoing the familiar warning against making conclusions about causality from a multiple regression analysis, in this case because of the phenomenon presented in the paper.
TOWARDS GENERALLY INTELLIGENT MACHINES

by KARAN SHARMA (Under the Direction of Walter D. Potter) ABSTRACT In spite of the impressive successes of many Artificial Intelligence techniques in narrow domains, one of the unrealized goals of AI remains the creation of a generally intelligent machine. It is hypothesized that the capacity for being creative in a wide variety of environments is a necessary and sufficient condition for general intelligence in machines. In defense of our proposition, we bring forth three arguments: Law of Requisite Variety Argument, Turing Test Argument, and Complex Systems Argument. Grounded in our hypothesis, we introduce a new test of machine intelligence.
Teachers and Student Achievement in the Chicago Public High Schools

We estimate the importance of teachers in Chicago public high schools using matched student‐teacher administrative data. A one standard deviation, one semester improvement in math teacher quality raises student math scores by 0.13 grade equivalents or, over 1 year, roughly one‐fifth of average yearly gains. Estimates are relatively stable over time, reasonably impervious to a variety of conditioning variables, and do not appear to be driven by classroom sorting or selective score reporting. Also, teacher quality is particularly important for lower‐ability students. Finally, traditional human capital measures—including those determining compensation—explain little of the variation in estimated quality.
psychometricand computational approachesto individual differ ences in multimodal reasoning

Psychometricmeasuresof ability are unsuitedto computationaldescriptionsof tasks,primarily becausethey cannottake processinto account. Studiesof aptitude–treatment interactionshave often failed to replicatefrom taskto taskprecisely becauseof this difficulty. The currentstudy aligns psychometricmeasureswith processaccountsin thedomainof multimodal reasoning.Learningfrom multimodal logic courses transfersto other reasoningtasks,and this transferhasbeen foundto relateto differencesin strategic useof graphicalrepresentationsin proofconstruction.Thecurrentstudyis areplicationandanextensionof thesefindings.Differentgoaltypes aredistinguishedin termsof: their modality;whetherthey involveproofsof consequence or non-consequence; andwhether they can be solved by constructingsingle or multiple cases. We reporton the interactionof a rangeof psychometricmeasures,and the ways in which they relateto the development anddeploymentof strategies. In particular, studentswho develop coping strategies to overcomedifficulties with certain problemsfind that thesestrategiesariseat the expenseof appropriateuseof a variety of strategies. Our approach,which characterises goalsin termsof their logicalaswell asphenomenalproperties,supportsa computationalperspecti ve on psychometricmeasuresin reasoningtasks.
Processing of Abstract Ordinal Knowledge in the Horizontal Segment of the Intraparietal Sulcus

The anterior intraparietal sulcus, and more specifically its horizontal segment (hIPS), is known to play a crucial role in the cognitive representation of numerical quantity. Whether the involvement of hIPS is restricted to the processing of numerical information or generalizes to non-numerical ordinal dimensions remains an open question. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging during comparison tasks, we demonstrate that the hIPS is equally responsive to numbers and letters, indicating that hIPS is also involved in the representation and processing of non-numerical ordinal series. This extends the numerical processing function of IPS into the realm of abstract knowledge processing.
Dynamic, context-specific SON management driven by operator objectives

The management and operation of a Self-Organizing Network (SON)-enabled mobile network still requires considerable human effort. On the one hand, SON Functions need to be configured through low-level parameters in order to control the optimization of the network. On the other hand, an operator wants to steer the system with solely technical objectives, and the underlying network should be adapted accordingly. This opens up a gap in network management that is currently closed manually. This paper presents an approach that overcomes the manual gap between technical objectives and SON Functions by choosing the best values for the SON Functions' configurations automatically. Main advantage of this approach is that it allows to manage a system at a high level of abstraction and, at the same time, reduces manual effort. The approach is explained by applying it in a case study in the field of mobile networks with four SON Functions, namely Mobility Load Balancing (MLB), Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO), Energy Savings Management (ESM) and Mobility Robustness Optimization (MRO).
Diversity gain analysis of free-space optical communication systems

In this paper, we present a diversity gain analysis for free-space optical (FSO) diversity systems operating in log-normal atmospheric turbulence channels. We consider a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system and two decode-and-forward (DF) relay-assisted systems based on either serial (i.e., multi-hop transmission) or parallel (i.e., cooperative diversity) configurations. We adopt the recently introduced so-called ldquoasymptotical relative diversity orderrdquo (ARDO) in our analysis and derive ARDOs for FSO diversity systems under consideration. Assuming M transmit and N receive apertures in MIMO scheme, we demonstrate that an ARDO of 4sigmachi 2 / ln(1 + (exp(4sigmachi 2)-1)/MN) is achievable where sigmachi 2 is the variance of the fading log-amplitude. For weak turbulence conditions (i.e., sigmachi ~ 0.1 ), ARDO is well approximated as MN. For DF relaying schemes with K relays each of which is equipped with single transmit/receive apertures, we demonstrate that ARDOs of (K +1)11/6 and 211/6 K are achievable, respectively, for serial and parallel relaying configurations.
Defining Change Management Properties for Component Interoperability Assessment

In this paper, we leverage software architecture analysis techniques to codify change management properties and to examine their affect on the functional integration of software components. Software architecture provides a means to predict and analyze the potential for interoperability problems among interacting components. However, the properties addressed in traditional software architecture analysis are limited to the functions for a component’s exchange of control and data. We define architectural abstractions for change management that can be used to extend integration analysis. We exemplify how these properties contribute to the architectural conflicts between interacting components, as well as influence the conflict resolution. The goal is to extend component-based systems analysis to include change management concerns so that clearer designs of dynamic, distributed systems emerge.
Impact of MSWI Bottom Ash Codisposed with MSW on Landfill Stabilization with Different Operational Modes

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) bottom ash (BA) codisposed with municipal solid waste (MSW) on landfill stabilization according to the leachate quality in terms of organic matter and nitrogen contents. Six simulated landfills, that is, three conventional and three recirculated, were employed with different ratios of MSWI BA to MSW. The results depicted that, after 275-day operation, the ratio of MSWI BA to fresh refuse of 1 : 10 (V : V) in the landfill was still not enough to provide sufficient acid-neutralizing capacity for a high organic matter composition of MSW over 45.5% (w/w), while the ratio of MSWI BA to fresh refuse of 1 : 5 (V : V) could act on it. Among the six experimental landfills, leachate quality only was improved in the landfill operated with the BA addition (the ratio of MSWI BA to fresh refuse of 1 : 5 (V : V)) and leachate recirculation.
Orientation matters: how to efficiently solve ocst problems with problem-specific EAs

The optimal communication spanning tree (OCST) problem is a well known $\mathcal{NP}$-hard combinatorial optimization problem which seeks a spanning tree that satisfies all given communication requirements for minimal total costs. It has been shown that optimal solutions of OCST problems are biased towards the much simpler minimum spanning tree (MST) problem. Therefore, problem-specific representations for EAs like heuristic variants of edge-sets that are biased towards MSTs show high performance. In this paper, additional properties of optimal solutions for Euclidean variants of OCST problems are studied. Experimental results show that not only edges in optimal trees are biased towards low-distance weights but also edges which are directed towards the graph's center are overrepresented in optimal solutions. Therefore, efficient heuristic search algorithms for OCST should be biased towards edges with low distance weight \emph{and} edges that point towards the center of the graph. Consequently, we extend the recombination operator of edge-sets such that the orientation of the edges is considered for constructing offspring solutions. Experimental results show a higher search performance in comparison to EAs using existing crossover strategies of edge-sets. As a result, we suggest to consider not only the distance weights but also the orientation of edges in heuristic solution approaches for the OCST problem.
Do we really see a cosmological constant in the supernovae data

The magnitude-redshift relation is one of the tools for a direct observational approach to cosmology. The discovery of high redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) and their use as “standard candles” has resurrected interest in this approach. Recently collected data have been used to address the problem of measuring the cosmological parameters of the universe. Analysed in the framework of homogeneous models, they have yielded, as a primary result, a strictly positive cosmological constant. However, a straight reading of the published measurements, conducted with no a priori idea of which model would best describe our universe at least up to redshifts z ∼ 1, does not exclude the possibility of ruling out the Cosmological Principle and cosmological constant hypotheses. It is therefore shown here how the large scale homogeneity of this part of the universe can be tested on our past light cone, using the magnitude-redshift relation, provided sufficiently accurate data from sources at redshifts approaching z = 1 would be available. An example of an inhomogeneous model with zero cosmological constant reproducing the current observations is given. The presently published SNIa data can thus be interpreted as implying either a strictly positive cosmological constant in a homogeneous universe or large scale inhomogeneity with no constraint on Λ. An increase in the number and measurement accuracy of the candidate “standard candles” at very high redshift is therefore urgently needed, for progress in both fundamental issues of the Cosmological Principle and of the cosmological constant.
Authoring of a mixed reality furniture assembly instructor

This is a common problem that many people have had before: making sense of complicated handbooks, reference manuals or instructions when assembling furniture. But people simply don’t have time to bother with instructions. Besides, they are just another unwanted annoyance. [Antifakos et al. 2002] showed a very innovative idea that involved placing multiple sensors onto different parts of the assembly. As a result, the system as a whole could recognize user actions and thus monitor the whole assembly process. Our approach, likewise, uses Mixed Reality technology to solve assembly problems. By using ARToolKit [Kato et al. 1999], we also attach reference markers to the various furniture parts thus allowing a system to determine the point and order of assembly.
An Examination of References for Ecosystems in a Watershed Context: Results of a Scientific Pulse in Redwood National and State Parks, California

Characteristics of reference sites for stream and riparian ecosystems were examined and discussed during a ‘pulse’ (a short, interdisciplinary field-based inquiry) that visited three pristine streams in old-growth redwood forests in northern California. We concluded that useful reference sites need not be pristine, but must be rich in data linking physical and biological processes, and must frame conditions in a watershed context. Not requiring pristine conditions allows data-rich watersheds with a spectrum of conditions to be incorporated into a regional reference framework. We describe and exemplify three types of references: 1) Reference sites (e.g., watersheds) offer real-world examples of how ecosystems function over time; 2) Reference parameters measured in a region offer first-cut comparisons that can lead to deeper, more contextual analyses; 3) Analytical references can reveal disturbance-related departures from conditions predicted with simple assumptions about some aspects of system behavior. Each type has strengths and weaknesses, and used in combination they can effectively inform management decisions.
Toward autonomous underwater mapping in partially structured 3D environments

Motivated by inspection of complex underwater environments, we have developed a system for multi-sensor SLAM utilizing both structured and unstructured environmental features. We present a system for deriving planar constraints from sonar data, and jointly optimizing the vehicle and plane positions as nodes in a factor graph. We also present a system for outlier rejection and smoothing of 3D sonar data, and for generating loop closure constraints based on the alignment of smoothed submaps. Our factor graph SLAM backend combines loop closure constraints from sonar data with detections of visual fiducial markers from camera imagery, and produces an online estimate of the full vehicle trajectory and landmark positions. We evaluate our technique on an inspection of a decomissioned aircraft carrier, as well as synthetic data and controlled indoor experiments, demonstrating improved trajectory estimates and reduced reprojection error in the final 3D map. Thesis Supervisor: John Leonard Title: Professor of Mechanical and Ocean Engineering
Stochastic Analysis of Greedy Algorithms for the Subset Sum Problem

The subset sum problem is the selection of a subset of items from a given ground set summing up as close as possible to a given capacity value. In this paper we deal with the proba-bilistic analysis of greedy algorithms for a subset sum problem where the items are drawn from a discrete uniform distribution. Starting from results by ddAtri and Puech we derive expected values for several crucial output parameters of these algorithms, in particular for the nal gap between the heuristic solution value and the subset capacity. These expectations are given as explicit functions in the input size and a distribution parameter. This gives a more precise picture of the quality of a solution than an asymptotic statement.
Annual Postgraduate Progress Report

This paper discusses the use of computer–aided verification as a practical means for analysing quantum information systems; specifically, the BB84 protocol for quantum key distribution is examined using this method. This protocol has been shown to be unconditionally secure against all attacks in an information– theoretic setting, but the relevant security proof requires a thorough understanding of the formalism of quantum mechanics and is not easily adaptable to practical scenarios. Our approach is based on probabilistic model–checking; we have used the PRISM model–checker to show that, as the number of qubits transmitted in BB84 is increased, the amount of valid information held by an eavesdropper about the transmitted key decreases exponentially. We have also shown that the probability of detecting the presence of an eavesdropper increases exponentially with the number of qubits. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the model–checking approach for systems where analytical solutions may not be possible or plausible.
A sequential particle filter method for static models

Particle filter methods are complex inference procedures, which combine importance sampling and Monte Carlo schemes in order to explore consistently a sequence of multiple distributions of interest. We show that such methods can also offer an efficient estimation tool in 'static' set-ups, in which case p(t | y-sub-1, …, y-sub-N) (n
Anomaly Event Detection Method Based on Compressive Sensing and Iteration in Wireless Sensor Networks

Anomaly event detection is one of the research hotspots in wireless sensor networks. Aiming at the disadvantages of current detection solutions, a novel anomaly event detection algorithm based on compressed sensing and iteration is proposed. Firstly, a measured value can be sensed in each node, based on the compressed sensing. Then the problem of anomaly event detection is modeled as the minimization problem of weighted l1 norm, and OMP algorithm is adopted for solving the problem iteratively. And then the result of problem solving is judged according to detection functions. Finally, in the light of the judgment results, the weight value is updated for beginning a new round iteration. The loop won't stop until all the anomaly events are detected in wireless sensor networks. Simulation experimental results show the proposed algorithm has a better omission detection rate and false alarm rate in different noisy environments. In addition, the detection quality of this algorithm is higher than those of the traditional ones.