Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The union membership wage premium: an analysis using propensity score matching

This paper estimates the size of the union membership wage premium by comparing wage outcomes for unionised workers with ''matched'' non-unionised workers. The method assumes selection on observables. For this identifying assumption to be plausible, one must be able to control for all characteristics affecting both union status and wages. This requires very informative data. We illustrate the value of the rich data offered by the linked employer-employee Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) 1998 in implementing this methodology. We estimate the union membership premium for the whole private sector, among workers in workplaces where at least some workers are covered by collective bargaining, and in occupations with pay set by collective bargaining. We find a raw 17-25% union premium in gross hourly wages for the private sector in Britain, depending on the sub-group used. However, post-matching this difference falls to between 3% and 6%. This indicates that the higher pay of unionised workers is largely accounted for by their better underlying earnings capacity, which is associated with their individual characteristics, the jobs they do and the workplaces they find themselves in.
An intuitive human robot interface for tele-operation

This paper proposed an intuitive human robot interface for real-time tele-operation, where human operator can operate the Baxter robot to implement complicated tasks in unstructured and uncertain environment intuitively and efficiently. Firstly, In this paper a new method for building an human robot interaction interface is proposed. In addition, workspace mapping between master and slave manipulator is a key problem of human robot interaction (HRI) when there are huge difference in size and structure of human and robot's manipulators. So, the workspace mapping method between human arm and Baxter Robot manipulator and the inverse kinematics approach for solving 7-DOF redundant manipulator by using Kinect sensor were also discussed in detail. In the end, an experiment was employed to validate the performance of proposed interface.
Vesivirus 2117 capsids more closely resemble sapovirus and lagovirus particles than other known vesivirus structures

Vesivirus 2117 is an adventitious agent that, in 2009, was identified as a contaminant of Chinese hamster ovary cells propagated in bioreactors at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant belonging to Genzyme. The consequent interruption in supply of Fabrazyme and Cerezyme (drugs used to treat Fabry and Gaucher diseases, respectively) caused significant economic losses. Vesivirus 2117 is a member of the Caliciviridae, a family of small icosahedral viruses encoding a positive-sense RNA genome. We have used cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction to calculate a structure of vesivirus 2117 virus-like particles as well as feline calicivirus and a chimeric sapovirus. We present a structural comparison of several members of the Caliciviridae, showing that the distal P domain of vesivirus 2117 is morphologically distinct from that seen in other known vesivirus structures. Furthermore, at intermediate resolutions, we found a high level of structural similarity between vesivirus 2117 and Caliciviridae from other genera: sapovirus and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus. Phylogenetic analysis confirms vesivirus 2117 as a vesivirus closely related to canine vesiviruses. We postulate that morphological differences in virion structure seen between vesivirus clades may reflect differences in receptor usage.
Photoperiod is associated with hippocampal volume in a large community sample

Although animal research has demonstrated seasonal changes in hippocampal volume, reflecting seasonal neuroplasticity, seasonal differences in human hippocampal volume have yet to be documented. Hippocampal volume has also been linked to depressed mood, a seasonally varying phenotype. Therefore, we hypothesized that seasonal differences in day‐length (i.e., photoperiod) would predict differences in hippocampal volume, and that this association would be linked to low mood. Healthy participants aged 30–54 (M = 43; SD = 7.32) from the University of Pittsburgh Adult Health and Behavior II project (n = 404; 53% female) were scanned in a 3T MRI scanner. Hippocampal volumes were determined using an automated segmentation algorithm using FreeSurfer. A mediation model tested whether hippocampal volume mediated the relationship between photoperiod and mood. Secondary analyses included seasonally fluctuating variables (i.e., sleep and physical activity) which have been shown to influence hippocampal volume. Shorter photoperiods were significantly associated with higher BDI scores (R2 = 0.01, β = −0.12, P = 0.02) and smaller hippocampal volumes (R2 = 0.40, β = 0.08, P = 0.04). However, due to the lack of an association between hippocampal volume and Beck Depression Inventory scores in the current sample, the mediation hypothesis was not supported. This study is the first to demonstrate an association between season and hippocampal volume. These data offer preliminary evidence that human hippocampal plasticity could be associated with photoperiod and indicates a need for longitudinal studies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Polymerase Chain Reaction and Branching Processes

We construct a mathematical model for the polymerase chain reaction and its mutations using the theory of branching processes. Under this model we study the number of mutations in a randomly chosen sequence after n PCR cycles. A method for estimating the mutation is proposed and the variance of this estimator is studied. We also study the distribution of the Hamming distance between two randomly chosen sequences and a method for estimating the mutation rate based on pairwise differences is proposed.
Cluster consensus of multi-agent systems with communication delay (ICCAS 2013)

Cluster consensus problem of the multi-agent systems with communication delay is studied in this paper. We consider the multi-agent systems with a special Laplacian matrix as its system matrix. For two types of protocols with time-delay, our work shows that the multi-agent systems with communication delays can reach cluster consensus. Some numerical simulations are given to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical results.
A State-based Join Point Model for AOP

The implementation of crosscutting concerns in a safety-critical system needs constant system state monitoring and responding to particular (desirable or undesirable) system states. Such states and their transition cannot easily be captured by low-level fixed code-based behavioural join points exposed by current AOP join point models. In order to find ways to implement crosscutting concerns in such a system using current available join point models, a programmer is forced to write code that does not clearly represent the programmer’s intention or map to the system designs it is supposed to implement, e.g., statetransition models pertaining to fault tolerance. In this paper we present the fundamental basis for a high level join point model which is based on state transitions. By defining system states pertaining to a crosscutting concern as aspects and using the transitions of these states as join points, the proposed State-based Join Point Model offers a high-level means of defining and capturing crosscutting concerns of a safety-critical system.
A template matching technique for artifacts detection in retinal images

The continuous development of automatic retinal diseases diagnosis systems based on image processing has shown their potential for clinical practice. However, the accuracy of these systems is often compromised, mainly due to the intrinsic difficulty in detecting the abnormal structures and also due to deficiencies in the image acquisition which affects image quality. Light flares are one of such deficiencies that usually don't compromise the overall image quality, but can be misclassified by an automatic diagnosis system. In this article a method is proposed for detecting light artifacts (flares) on retinal images. The output from the light artifact detection is a binary image mask that is useful to reject those pixels from being further processed. The proposed method uses a template matching algorithm to detect artifacts similar to the predefined template artifact images. Two main types of light artifacts were identified: light flares and the central artifact. To reduce over-segmentation the light artifact candidates are characterized by their shape and color and are classified by a decision tree. The method was developed using a dataset of 61 images from which 20 were used for the classifier training and the remaining 41 for independent testing. With the test dataset the method obtained an average sensitivity/false detection per image pairs of 0.97/0.12 for the central artifact and 0.73/0.36 for the light flares, what were considered good results regarding the heterogeneity of the dataset which contain low and high quality images.
Quadratic Pulse Inversion Ultrasonic Imaging(QPI): A Two-Step Procedure for Optimization of Contrast Sensitivity and Specificity

Abstract — We have previously introduced an ultrasonic imaging approach that combines harmonic-sensitive pulse sequences with a post-beamforming quadratic kernel derived from a second-order Volterra filter (SOVF). This approach is designed to produce images with high sensitivity to nonlinear oscillations from microbubble ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) while maintaining high levels of noise rejection. In this paper, a two-step algorithm for computing the coefficients of the quadratic kernel leading to reduction of tissue component introduced by motion, maximizing the noise rejection and increases the specificity while optimizing the sensitivity to the UCA is presented. In the first step, quadratic kernels from individual singular modes of the PI data matrix are compared in terms of their ability of maximize the contrast to tissue ratio (CTR). In the second step, quadratic kernels resulting in the highest CTR values are convolved. The imaging results indicate that a signal processing approach to this clinical challenge is feasible.
Regulatory Mechanisms of the Ihh/PTHrP Signaling Pathway in Fibrochondrocytes in Entheses of Pig Achilles Tendon

This study is aimed at exploring the effect of stress stimulation on the proliferation and differentiation of fibrochondrocytes in entheses mediated via the Indian hedgehog (Ihh)/parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) signaling pathway. Differential stress stimulation on fibrochondrocytes in entheses was imposed. Gene expression and protein levels of signaling molecules including collagen type I (Col I), Col II, Col X, Ihh, and PTHrP in the cytoplasm of fibrochondrocytes were detected. Ihh signal blocking group was set up using Ihh signaling pathway-specific blocking agent cyclopamine. PTHrP enhancement group was set up using PTHrP reagent. Ihh/PTHrP double intervention group, as well as control group, was included to study the regulatory mechanisms of the Ihh/PTHrP signaling pathway in fibrochondrocytes. Under low cyclic stress tensile (CTS), PTHrP, Col I, and Col II gene expression and protein synthesis increased. Under high CTS, Ihh and Col X gene expression and protein synthesis increased. Blocking Ihh signaling with cyclopamine resulted in reduced PTHrP gene expression and protein synthesis and increased Col X gene expression and protein synthesis. Ihh and PTHrP coregulate fibrochondrocyte proliferation and differentiation in entheses through negative feedback regulation. Fibrochondrocyte is affected by the CTS. This phenomenon is regulated by stress stimulation through the Ihh/PTHrP signaling pathway.
Team Formation for Research Innovation : The BRAIN Approach

Recently trends show that innovative research requires multidisciplinary teams. This brings forth the importance of team formation for innovation. In order to successfully identify who has to be in a specific team and what constitutes potentially successful multidisciplinary team collaboration, social processes important for team formation for innovation have to be understood. Based on this, technological approaches that can support these processes can be defined. This paper outlines key processes regarding team formation for innovation, following psychology and social sciences literature. We then present the BRAIN approach on forming multidisciplinary teams for innovation, which addresses some of the aspects identified in the literature. The paper revisits the current state of the BRAIN application, and recommends future work where user modelling, adaptation and personalisation approaches can be used to address the limitations identified
Face detection and recognition method based on skin color and depth information

An improved face detection and recognition method based on information of skin color and depth obtained by binocular vision system was proposed in this paper. With this method, the face area was detected firstly by using Adaboost algorithm. Afterwards, the real face was distinguished from fake one by using the skin color information and the depth data. Then, by using PCA algorithm, a specific face can be recognized by comparing the principal components of the current face to those of the known individuals in a facial database built in advance. This method was applied to a service robot equipped with a binocular camera system for real-time face detection and recognition experiment, and satisfactory results were obtained.
Genome-Wide Analysis Indicates Lineage-Specific Gene Loss during Papilionoideae Evolution

Gene loss is the driving force for changes in genome and morphology; however, this particular evolutionary event has been poorly investigated in leguminous plants. Legumes (Fabaceae) have some lineage-specific and diagnostic characteristics that are distinct from other angiosperms. To understand the potential role of gene loss in the evolution of legumes, we compared six genome-sequenced legume species of Papilionoideae, the largest representative clade of Fabaceae, such as Glycine max, with 34 nonlegume plant species, such as Arabidopsis thaliana. The results showed that the putative orthologs of the 34 Arabidopsis genes belonging to 29 gene families were absent in these legume species but these were conserved in the sequenced nonlegume angiosperm lineages. Further evolutionary analyses indicated that the orthologs of these genes were almost completely lost in the Papillionoideae ancestors, thus designated as the legume lost genes (LLGs), and these underwent purifying selection in nonlegume plants. Most LLGs were functionally unknown. In Arabidopsis, two LLGs were well-known genes that played a role in plant immunity such as HARMLESS TO OZONE LAYER 1 and HOPZ-ACTIVATED RESISTANCE 1, and 16 additional LLGs were predicted to participate in plant–pathogen interactions in in silico expression and protein–protein interaction network analyses. Most of these LLGs’ orthologs in various plants were also found to be associated with biotic stress response, indicating the conserved role of these genes in plant defense. The evolutionary implication of LLGs during the development of the ability of symbiotic nitrogen fixation involving plant and bacterial interactions, which is a well-known characteristic of most legumes, is also discussed. Our work sheds light on the evolutionary implication of gene loss events in Papilionoideae evolution, as well as provides new insights into crop design to improve nitrogen fixation capacity.
Well-being and psychological consequences of temporary contracts: the case of younger Italian employees

Working conditions in Western countries have changed dramatically in the last twenty years, witnessing the emergence of new forms of employment contracts. The number of "standard" fulltime permanent jobs has decreased, while non-standard work arrangements such as temporary, contingent or part-time contracts have become much more common. This paper analyses the impact of temporary contracts and job insecurity on well-being among younger Italian employees. We use the "Health Conditions and Use of the Health Service Survey" carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics in conjunction with the Bank of Italy's Survey on Households Income and Wealth (SHIW). We consider four dimensions of individual well-being: physical health, mental health, self-assessed health and happiness. To account for individual heterogeneity we match each temporary worker with a permanent worker using propensity score matching. Well-being of matched individuals is compared to estimates of the average effect of working with a temporary as opposed to a permanent contract. Our analysis reveals a negative relationship between psychological well-being, happiness and having a temporary job and is particularly marked for males.
Hendra Virus Infection Dynamics in the Grey-Headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) at the Southern-Most Extent of Its Range: Further Evidence This Species Does Not Readily Transmit the Virus to Horses

Hendra virus (HeV) is an important emergent virus in Australia known to infect horses and humans in certain regions of the east coast. Whilst pteropid bats (“flying foxes”) are considered the natural reservoir of HeV, which of the four mainland species is the principal reservoir has been a source of ongoing debate, particularly as shared roosting is common. To help resolve this, we sampled a colony consisting of just one of these species, the grey-headed flying fox, (Pteropus poliocephalus), at the southernmost extent of its range. Using the pooled urine sampling technique at approximately weekly intervals over a two year period, we determined the prevalence of HeV and related paramyxoviruses using a novel multiplex (Luminex) platform. Whilst all the pooled urine samples were negative for HeV nucleic acid, we successfully identified four other paramyxoviruses, including Cedar virus; a henipavirus closely related to HeV. Collection of serum from individually caught bats from the colony showed that antibodies to HeV, as estimated by a serological Luminex assay, were present in between 14.6% and 44.5% of animals. The wide range of the estimate reflects uncertainties in interpreting intermediate results. Interpreting the study in the context of HeV studies from states to the north, we add support for an arising consensus that it is the black flying fox and not the grey-headed flying fox that is the principal source of HeV in spillover events to horses.
A model-driven approach for experimental evaluation of intrusion detection systems Anas

Because attacks are becoming more frequent and more complex, intrusion detection systems (IDSes) need significant improvements to be able to detect new attacks and variants of already known attacks. It is thus necessary to assess precisely their quality of detection, performance, and robustness in the environment where they will be deployed. In this paper, we present an evaluation approach designed to overcome most of the identified weaknesses in several IDS evaluation: the lack of a rigorous methodology, the use of non-representative test datasets, and the use of inappropriate metrics. In our approach, model-based evaluation is combined with experimental testing. Because testing an IDS against all possible attacks is practically impossible, we propose a classification of elementary attacks and a model of attack processes. Then, we developed the attack planning and injection tool that helps security administrators to plan and select the most relevant attack scenarios. Attack planning and injection tool is able to generate and carry out concrete and adaptable attacks on specifically identified computers. To demonstrate the validity of our approach, we experimented our tool in a case study environment to compare well-known IDSes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Suzaku Observation of the Metallicity in the Interstellar Medium of NGC 4258

The Suzaku X-ray satellite observed the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 4258 for a total good exposure time of 100 ks. We present an analysis of the Suzaku XIS data, in which we confirm that the 0.5--2 keV spectra of the interstellar medium (ISM) are well-represented by a two-temperature model. The cool and hot ISM temperatures are 0.23+-0.02 and 0.59 +-0.01 keV, respectively. Suzaku's excellent spectral sensitivity enables us to measure the metal abundances of O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe of the ISM for the first time. The resultant abundance pattern of O, Mg, Si, and Fe is consistent with that of the new solar abundance table of Lodders (2003), rather than Anders & Grevesse (1989). This suggests that the metal enrichment processes of NGC 4258 and of our Galaxy are similar.
High-purity 4-nitrophenol: purification, characterization, and specifications for use as a spectrophotometric reference material.

We describe specifications for high-purity 4-nitrophenol, which is suitable for spectrophotometric standardization. Such a reference material is needed in clinical enzymology to establish the proper molar absorptivity of 4-nitrophenol under final reaction conditions, particularly for measuring alkaline phosphatase activity in human serum. Some lots of 4-nitrophenol available commercially met these specifications, but several did not. The latter can be purified to meet our specifications by recrystallization or sublimation. The molar absorptivity of 4-nitrophenol (35 mumol/L) IN 10 mmol/L NaOH at 25 degrees C at 401 nm is 18380 +/- 90 L.mol-1.cm-1.
Experiences with online local model predictive control for WMR navigation

Path-tracking by using MPC (model predictive control) is a suitable control science solution for mobile robot navigation applications. Online MPC is reported by using short-term horizons that allow dealing with flexible path-tracking and reactive behaviors. The majority of MPC experimental research developed is based on the fact that the reference trajectory is known beforehand. However, under dynamic environments the global solution becomes unfeasible for the majority of applications where the scenario should be considered as partially unknown due to the lack of global sensors or the existence of dynamic obstacles. Moreover, traditional motion control of wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) is achieved by using discontinuous control laws that are implemented through low level velocity PID controllers. Instead of using such methods, this work proposes to use local MPC as a useful methodology for WMR navigation under dynamic environments or as obstacle avoidance strategy. In this way, the desirable path coordinates are used in the control law as a way for obtaining the robot speed commands. Simulation results are used for addressing online MPC implementations. The system is on-robot tested by using simple on board perception systems. In this context, a local occupancy grid is built by using dead-reckoning and monocular data.
MIMO Wireless Communications

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology constitutes a breakthrough in the design of wireless communications systems, and is already at the core of several wireless standards. Exploiting multipath scattering, MIMO techniques deliver significant performance enhancements in terms of data transmission rate and interference reduction. This book is a detailed introduction to the analysis and design of MIMO wireless systems. Beginning with an overview of MIMO technology, the authors then examine the fundamental capacity limits of MIMO systems. Transmitter design, including precoding and space-time coding, is then treated in depth, and the book closes with two chapters devoted to receiver design. Written by a team of leading experts, the book blends theoretical analysis with physical insights, and highlights a range of key design challenges. It can be used as a textbook for advanced courses on wireless communications, and will also appeal to researchers and practitioners working on MIMO wireless systems.