Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical Research in Mid-Air Interaction: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT Mid-air interaction is a distinct style of natural HCI (Human-Computer Interaction). In mid-air interaction, users make use of their whole body—with a strong focus on hands—and apply gestures, postures, and movements to interact with digital content on distant displays or remote devices. Although the idea of exploiting body movements and gestures in HCI is not new, mid-air interaction is now possible due to the availability of reasonably priced depth cameras and sensors. This article presents a systematic review of empirical research in mid-air interaction, based on a corpus of 104 publications from 2011 to 2018. The review includes: (a) a retrospective on mid-air interaction, which outlines its historical development and clarifications on important concepts; (b) current application domains of mid-air interaction; (c) user requirements methods, focusing on gesture elicitation studies; (d) dimensions of prototyping and design; (e) empirical evaluation methods and issues; (f) a discussion on several trends and challenges for further research and development.
ANALYZING THE IMPACTS OF LAND COVER CHANGE TO THE HYDROLOGIC AND HYDRAULIC BEHAVIOURS OF THE PHILIPPINES' THIRD LARGEST RIVER BASIN

Abstract. Changes in land cover can have negative impacts on the hydrological and hydraulic processes in river basins and watersheds such as increase in surface runoff and peak flows, and greater incidence, risk and vulnerability of flooding. In this study, the impacts of land-cover changes to the hydrologic and hydraulic behaviours of the Agusan River Basin (ARB), the third largest river basin in the Philippines, was analysed using an integrated approach involving Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS), and hydrologic and hydraulic models. Different land-cover classes in the ARB for the years 1995 and 2017 were mapped using Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI images. Using a post-classification change detection approach, changes in land-cover were then determined. The impacts of these changes in land-cover to the to the basin discharge were then estimated using a calibrated hydrologic model based on the Hydrologic Engineering Center - Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) under different extreme rainfall conditions. The impact of the changes in land-cover to flood depth and extent was also determined using a hydraulic model based on the HEC-RAS (River Analysis System). Land cover classification results revealed that the ARB is 67.7% forest in 1995 but have decreased to 62.8% in 2017. Agricultural areas in the basin were also found to have increased from 12.2% to 15.5% in the same period. Other notable land cover changes detected include the increase in built-up lands and range lands, and decrease in barren lands. HEC HMS and HEC RAS model simulation results showed that there was an increase in discharge, flood depth, and flood extents between 1995 and 2017, implying that that the detected changes in land cover have negative impacts to hydrologic and hydraulic behaviours of the ARB.
Inheritance of Resistance to Alfalfa Mosaic Virus in Soybean PI 153282

Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) infects soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ] causing mosaic or mottle patterns on leaves. Resistance to AMV has been identified in soybean, but no AMV resistance genes have been mapped or assigned gene symbols. The objective of this research was to study the genetic basis of resistance to AMV from plant introduction (PI) 153282. This resistance was studied in a population of F 4:7 lines developed from a cross between this PI and the susceptible cultivar Syngenta (NK) S19-90. Results from the F 4:7 population were confirmed in F 2 and F 2:3 populations developed by crossing the same parents. A major AMV resistance gene was mapped as a quantitative trait locus (QTL) near the simple sequence repeat marker Sat_226 in the F 4:7 population. For this QTL, the resistance allele was from PI 153282, the LOD score was 45.5, and the QTL explained 79% of the genotypic variation for resistance in the population. The identification of an AMV resistance gene near Sat_228 was confirmed in the F 2 and F 2:3 populations and the resistance gene showed complete dominance in the F 2 population. This AMV resistance gene identified from PI 153282 is named Rav1 and it should be useful in breeding for resistance to this virus.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Essays on mathematical and computational finance : With a view towards applied probability

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Checking NFA equivalence with bisimulations up to congruence

We introduce bisimulation up to congruence as a technique for proving language equivalence of non-deterministic finite automata. Exploiting this technique, we devise an optimisation of the classical algorithm by Hopcroft and Karp. We compare our approach to the recently introduced antichain algorithms, by analysing and relating the two underlying coinductive proof methods. We give concrete examples where we exponentially improve over antichains; experimental results moreover show non negligible improvements.
Biomedical Informatics: We Are What We Publish

Summary Introduction: This article is part of a For-Discussion-Section of Methods of Information in Medicine on “Biomedical Informatics: We are what we publish“. It is introduced by an editorial and followed by a commentary paper with invited comments. In subsequent issues the discussion may continue through letters to the editor. Objective: Informatics experts have attempted to define the field via consensus projects which has led to consensus statements by both AMIA. and by IMIA. We add to the output of this process the results of a study of the Pubmed publications with abstracts from the field of Biomedical Informatics. Methods: We took the terms from the AMIA consensus document and the terms from the IMIA definitions of the field of Biomedical Informatics and combined them through human review to create the Health Infor -matics Ontology. We built a terminology server using the Intelligent Natural Language Processor (iNLP). Then we downloaded the entire set of articles in Medline identified by searching the literature by “Medical Informatics” OR “Bioinformatics”. The articles were parsed by the joint AMIA / IMIA terminology and then again using SNOMED CT and for the Bioinformatics they were also parsed using HGNC Ontology. Results: We identified 153,580 articles using “Medical Informatics” and 20,573 articles using “Bioinformatics”. This resulted in 168,298 unique articles and an overlap of 5,855 articles. Of these 62,244 articles (37%) had titles and abstracts that contained at least one concept from the Health Infor -matics Ontology. SNOMED CT indexing showed that the field interacts with most all clinical fields of medicine. Conclusions: Further defining the field by what we publish can add value to the consensus driven processes that have been the mainstay of the efforts to date. Next steps should be to extract terms from the literature that are uncovered and create class hierarchies and relationships for this content. We should also examine the high occurring of MeSH terms as markers to define Biomedical Informatics. Greater understanding of the Biomedical Informatics Literature has the potential to lead to improved self-awareness for our field.
A selectable marker using cytochrome P450 monooxygenases for Arabidopsis transformation

We have developed a selection system for transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. This selection system uses human cytochrome P450 monooxygenases that metabolize herbicides. Herbicide-tolerant seedlings transformed with CYP1A1, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, or CYP2C19 were selected with the herbicides acetochlor, amiprophos-methyl, chlorpropham, chlorsulfuron, norflurazon, and pendimethalin. The herbicide-tolerant plants transformed with CYP1A1, CYP2B6, and CYP2C19 expressed the corresponding P450 cDNAs. Inheritance and segregation of the P450 genes were analyzed in T2 progeny of herbicide-tolerant T1 seedlings. Metabolism of [14C]norflurazon by transgenic T2 seedlings expressing CYP1A1 produced non-toxic N-demethylated norflurazon. This result suggests that the P450 species expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis plants coordinately functioned as selectable markers because of active metabolism of the herbicides.
Social Capital and Start-Up Performance: The Role of Customer Capital

Research has provided ample evidence for the importance of entrepreneurs’ social capital for venture creation. Scholars have particularly focused on relationships with investors, suppliers, administrative boards, and on interfirm networks. However, anecdotal evidence illustrates that social capital with customers can be most decisive, as obviously, an established customer base instantly generates sales, word-of-mouth, and referrals. Based on longitudinal data from 450 German start-ups in franchised services, I explore the role of social capital with customers for successful start-up. The results document a strong linkage between customer capital and start-up performance. Entrepreneurs’ subsequent efforts for managing customer relationships successfully (concerning retention, cross- and upselling, referrals) moderate the linkage. However, contrary to expectations, performance advantages are rather short-lived. Yet, initial customer capital still pays off in terms of opportunities for faster expansion.
Limelight on dark markets: An experimental study of liquidity and information

The goal of this paper is to study how informational frictions a ﬀ ect asset liquidity in OTC markets in a laboratory setting. The experiments replicate an OTC market similar to the one used in monetary and ﬁ nancial economics (Shi, 1995; Trejos and Wright, 1995; Du ﬃ e, Garleanu, and Pedersen, 2005): individuals are matched bilaterally and at random, there are gains from trades due to di ﬀ erences in technologies and endowments, and the terms of trade are determined through a simple bargaining protocol. Subjects buy commodities that have di ﬀ erent private values with assets that have common values and can be subject to a private information problem. The asset plays the role of a medium of exchange, but this role can be a ﬀ ected by its lack of "recognizability. " We study a benchmark experiment where the OTC bargaining game takes place under complete information, a set of experiments with adverse selection where the terminal value of notes are determined exogenously, and a set of experiments with hidden actions where subjects can produce fraudulent notes at some cost. this name we may denote the capability of a substance for being easily recognized and distinguished from all other substances. As a of and it will if every currency has to scrutinize, weigh, and test it. If it requires any skill to discriminate good money from bad, poor ignorant people are sure to be imposed upon. Hence the medium of exchange should have certain distinct marks which nobody can mistake. ” Jevons (1875, o ﬀ ered more notes than proposers with red notes in contrast with an asset retention mechanism. These results suggest that the uncertainly about the value of the medium of exchange matters for its liquidity regardless of whether information is symmetric or asymmetric. We view this result as consistent with the demand for absolute safety emphasized by Krishnamurty and Vissing-Jorgensen (2012) to explain the liquidity and convenience yield of Treasury debt and highly-rated corporate bonds. The results also illustrate how informational frictions generate search-like frictions despite
Comparative Study on Adolescents’ Response to Parents’ Marital Conflict in Japan and China

The Adolescents’ Response to Parents’ Marital Conflict Scale was developed and administered to 602 high-school students in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade in order to examine its constructs and internal consistency. A multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the scale had a common structure across the Japanese and Chinese samples. To some extent, the internal consistency of the Adolescents’ Response to Parents’ Marital Conflict Scale was confirmed. When encountering a parents’ marital conflict, women scored higher than men on “depression/anxiety,” “irritation/anger,” and “interventional behavior” in both countries. Moreover, 3rd grade (high-school) students scored higher on “parents’ conflict resolution” than 1st and 2nd grade students in both countries. There were some differences between the two countries in the adolescents’ response: Japanese adolescents scored high on “coping efficacy toward self,” and “avoidance behavior,” and Chinese adolescents scored high on “parents’ conflict resolution,” “depression/anxiety,” “irritation/anger,” and “interventional behavior. ” The differences of adolescents’ response between the two countries were discussed from the perspective of cross-cultural psychology.
Not in employment, education or training: the long-term NEET spells of young people in New Zealand

This paper uses longitudinal data from the Survey of Families, Incomes and Employment to examine the patterns and duration of NEET spells – episodes of being ‘not in employment, education or training’ - among young people in New Zealand. The data cover the period from 2002 to 2010. [The author finds] that the majority of young people were NEET for short periods while in their teens or early 20s and at least 25-30 per cent experienced a long-term NEET spell (lasting for six months or longer). Long-term NEET spells were particularly common among early school leavers, those with low school qualifications and teenage parents, and were more frequent than average among those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Conditional on having a long-term spell, total durations of inactivity were also higher among the higher-risk groups. During a three to four year follow-up period, average NEET rates declined sharply but the teenagers who had had a long-term NEET spell remained more likely than other teenagers to have further periods of inactivity.
Hereditary Male Pseudohermaphroditism Associated with an Unstable Form of 5α-Reductase

The properties of 5alpha-reductase have been compared in genital skin fibroblasts cultured from five patients from three families (Los Angeles, Dallas, and Dominican Republic) in which hereditary male pseudohermaphroditism has been established to result from deficient conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. Despite the fact that 5alpha-reductase was immeasurable in a homogenate of epididymis removed from one of the Los Angeles patients, 5alpha-reductase activity was normal in intact fibroblasts and fibroblast extracts from both patients from the Los Angeles family. Although the apparent K(m) for testosterone was also near normal, the apparent K(m) for NADPH in these mutants is elevated some 40-fold above normal. Furthermore, the enzyme is not protected against denaturation at 45 degrees C by concentrations of NADPH that stabilize normal 5alpha-reductase, and in intact fibroblasts from these patients (but not from controls), enzyme activity decreases promptly when protein synthesis is inhibited. We conclude that the mutation in this family results in an unstable enzyme. In contrast 5alpha-reductase activity in fibroblast extracts from a patient from the Dominican Republic family is similar to that previously described in two members of the Dallas family, namely total enzyme activity is low at the optimal pH for the normal reaction, and the apparent K(m) for testosterone is some 20-fold higher than that of the controls. We conclude that the mutations in the Dallas and Dominican Republic families are similar and result in low activity of the enzyme as the result of a decreased affinity for testosterone.Thus, two distinct types of mutations can produce male pseudohermaphroditism due to deficient dihydrotestosterone formation.
Wing‐beat characteristics of birds recorded with tracking radar and cine camera

This study presents wing-beat frequency data measured mainly by radar, complemented by video and cinematic recordings, for 153 western Palaearctic and two African species. Data on a further 45 Palaearctic species from other sources are provided in an electronic appendix. For 41 species with passerine-type flight, the duration of flapping and pausing phases is given. The graphical presentations of frequency ranges and wing-beat patterns show within-species variation and allow easy comparison between species, taxonomic groups and types of flight. Wing-beat frequency is described by Pennycuick (J. Exp. Biol. 2001; 204: 3283‐3294) as a function of body-mass, wing-span, wing-area, gravity and air density; for birds with passerine-type flight the power-fraction has also to be considered. We tested Pennycuick’s general allometric model and estimated the coefficients based on our data. The general model explained a high proportion of variation in wing-beat frequency and the coefficients differed only slightly from Pennycuick’s original values. Modelling continuous-flapping flyers alone resulted in coefficients not different from those predicted (within 95% intervals). Doing so for passerine-type birds resulted in a model with non-significant contributions of body-mass and wing-span to the model. This was mainly due to the very high correlation between body-mass, wing-span and wing-area, revealing similar relative scaling properties within this flight type. However, wing-beat frequency increased less than expected with respect to power-fraction, indicating that the drop in flight level during the non-flapping phases, compensated by the factor (g ⁄q) 0.5 in Pennycuick’s model, is smaller than presumed. This may be due to lift produced by the body during the bounding phase or by only partial folding of the wings.
Data Categorization and Model Weighting Approach for Language Model Adaptation in Statistical Machine Translation

Language model encapsulates semantic, syntactic and pragmatic information about specific task. Intelligent systems especially natural language processing systems can show different results in terms of performance and precision when moving among genres and domains. Therefore researchers have explored different language model adaptation strategies in order to overcome effectiveness issue. There are two main categories in language model adaptation techniques. The first category includes the techniques that based on the data selection where task-oriented corpus can be extracted and used to train and generate models for specific translations. While the second category focuses on developing a weighting criterion to assign the test data to specific model corpus. The purpose of this research is to introduce language model adaptation approach that combines both categories (data selection and weighting criterion) of language model adaptation. This approach applies data selection for specific-task translations by dividing the corpus into smaller and topic-related corpora using clustering process. We investigate the effect of different approaches for clustering the bilingual data on the language model adaptation process in terms of translation quality using the Europarl corpus WMT07 that includes bilingual data for English-Spanish, English-German and English-French. A mixture of language models should assign any given data to the right language model to be used in the translation process using a specific weighting criterion. The proposed language model adaptation has achieved better translation quality compare to the baseline model in Statistical Machine Translation (SMT).
Operationalising and measuring language dominance

The aim of this article is to show how measures of lexical richness (Guiraud 1954; Malvern, Richards, Chipere and Duran, 2004) can be used to operationalise and measure language dominance among bilinguals. A typology of bilinguals is proposed based on these measures of lexical richness, and the validity of the typology is then investigated in an empirical study among two groups of bilingual informants with different language dominance profiles (25 Dutch-French bilinguals from Brussels and 24 French-English bilinguals from Paris). The most important advantage of the proposed operationalisation is that it allows researchers carry out precise measurements of bilingual ability in languages or language varieties for which no standardised tests exist and that these measures can be calculated on oral data that have been collected in an informal and unobtrusive way, in a naturalistic setting.
Algorithms for Segmenting Time Series

As with most computer science problems, representation of the data is the key to efficient and effective solutions. Piecewise linear representation has been used for the representation of the data. This representation has been used by various researchers to support clustering, classification, indexing and association rule mining of time series data. A variety of algorithms have been proposed to obtain this representation, with several algorithms having been independently rediscovered several times. In this paper, we examine the techniques and then introduce the best-known algorithm.
Evidence for increasing homogenization and de-ruralization of the Central European village flora

In this study, the spontaneous flora of North Rhine-Westphalian villages (NW Germany) recorded in the periods 1980–1984 and 2004–2005 was analyzed. We asked: (i) Did the similarity of the village flora increase with time and to what extent did non-native species contribute to this? (ii) Is the ongoing trend of urbanization reflected in the village flora? (iii) Regarding the species composition and βdiversity: are there differences between the results of a repeated survey and of a type comparison? In both periods, 200 villages were visited once, using consistent criteria for village selection and floristic investigation. Of these, a subset of 61 villages was investigated in both time periods and the rest were selected randomly for the second survey but with respect to the same criteria as used in the first. Using different β -diversity indices (Sorensen index of dissimilarity, Simpson index of dissimilarity and nestedness resultant index) to disentangle pure species turnover and nestedness of species assemblages, we tested whether the similarity among the villages increased over the years. This was done by calculating all pairwise comparisons among the villages of each time period, i.e. their spatial turnover. Additionally, different ecological groups were defined (e.g. “neophytes”, “C-strategists” or “urbanophilous species”) using the subgroups of species traits (floristic status, Grime’s life strategy and urbanity) to indentify urbanization and compositional changes. Our results show that the traditional village flora (species of the Arction lappae, Bidention tripartitae and Potentillion anserinae) is further blurred towards unspecific ubiquitous assemblages found in the periphery of man and that the floristic urbanization is still ongoing. Supported by nearly all ecological groups regarded, our results corroborate that the species composition of Central European villages underwent a considerable degree of homogenization. To some extent this is caused by structural homogenization of villages. Regarding the considerable increase of common ubiquists and α-diversity in general, however, changes in weeding practices seem to be the main reason. Based on the re-investigated subset we could show that comparable results can be obtained by a consistent use of criteria for the selection of villages, even if unpaired samples were used.