Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structuring public service interpreting: the interpreters bank model as an organised response to communication needs

espanol: La globalizacion insta a los gobiernos a abordar el problema de la igualdad de acceso a los servicios publicos. Si bien los servicios de Interpretacion en los Servicios Publicos (ISP) ayudan a los alofonos a vencer barreras comunicativas, estos necesitan una estructura solida organizada para responder con eficacia a las necesidades linguisticas actuales. Este articulo presenta los resultados de un estudio comparativo de los servicios de interpretacion medica de Barcelona y Montreal que, mediante la aplicacion de un metodo de observacion indirecto (entrevistas), examina los servicios mencionados, describiendo las estructuras y organizaciones existentes tal y como las definen sus propios gestores. Las conclusiones se centran en aspectos de los servicios de interpretacion de Barcelona que convendria modificar y sugieren el modelo de banco de interpretes instaurado en la provincia de Quebec como un ejemplo a seguir en Barcelona, que podria contribuir a la estructuracion de servicios de ISP en Europa. francaisGlobalisation urges governments to address equality in access to public services. Even though Public Service Interpreting (PSI) helps allophones to overcome the breach in communication, such services need a solid, organised structure to effectively respond to the current linguistic needs. This article presents the results of a comparative study of the healthcare interpreting services provided in Barcelona and Montreal which, by applying an indirect method of observation (interviews) to examine the aforementioned services, describes the existing PSI structures and organisations as narrated by their managers. Our conclusions draw attention to certain aspects of Barcelona’s interpreting services which, should they be modified, could be beneficial. Finally, the interpreters bank model settled in Montreal (and throughout Quebec) is suggested as a role model for Barcelona, that could contribute to structuring PSI services in Europe.
XII . A new species of Hydrotrupes SHARP from China , an example of Pacific intercontinental disjunction ( Coleoptera )

Hydrotrupes chinensis sp.n. (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) is described from a single male collected in a stream in Anhui (eastern China). The new species is very similar to the second species of the genus, //. palpalis SHARP, 1882, endemic to western North America. The disjunct distribution of the genus is discussed.
Compact Dual-band Hybrid-Fractal MIMO System for UMTS and LTE Mobile Applications

─ This article presents a bandwidth enriched, dual-band, compact, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with high isolation for UMTS and LTE applications. The proposed coplanar waveguide (CPW)fed, hybrid fractal MIMO antenna was created by integrating Koch fractal and Sierpinski fractal on a rectangular patch radiator. The MIMO antenna uses a rectangular shaped partial ground plane with a T-shaped stub on the ground plane to improve the isolation between radiators. The iterative technique, using the Koch curve and the Sierpinski square slot fractal was used on the rectangular patch to reduce the size of the MIMO antenna and retain the electrical performance. By using an amalgamated fractal configuration and a CPW feed, a large impedance bandwidth was achieved: 80% wide bandwidth over the operating frequency of 1.81–3.17 GHz with a compact size of 25×35 mm. The prototype of the optimized MIMO configuration was fabricated using the FR4 substrate, and its characteristics were measured. The proposed antenna resonates at 2.1 and 2.6 GHz. The antenna parameters, including the reflection coefficient (S11, S12, S21, and S22), surface current distributions, realized gain and radiation patterns were simulated and measured. Additionally, the diversity performances of the MIMO antenna were analyzed in terms of diversity gain (DG) and envelope correlation coefficient (ECC). The proposed antenna retains high isolation of less than -20 dB from 1.81–3.17 GHz band; the DG and the ECC are greater than 9.5 dB and less than 0.08, respectively. The peak gains of the proposed antenna are 5.8 dBi and 6.9 dBi at 2.1 GHz and 2.6 GHz, respectively. Hence, the proposed hybrid fractal MIMO antenna is a good candidate for both UMTS and LTE applications. Index Terms ─ CPW-MIMO, Hybrid Fractal, LTE, MIMO antenna, Mobile applications, UMTS.
A Survey and Analysis on Sequence Learning Methodologies and Deep Neural Networks

Sequence learning is one of the hard challenges to current machine learning and deep neural network technologies. This paper presents a literature survey and analysis on a variety of neural networks towards sequence learning. The conceptual models, methodologies, mathematical models and usages of classic neural networks and their learning capabilities are contrasted. Advantages and disadvantages of neural networks for sequence learning are formally analyzed. The state-of-the-art, theoretical problems and technical constraints of existing methodologies are reviewed. The needs for understanding temporal sequences by unsupervised or intensive-training-free learning theories and technologies are elaborated.
Vojtěch Hudeček Exploiting user ’ s feedback to improve pronunciation of TTS systems

Although spoken dialogue systems have greatly improved, they still cannot handle communications involving unknown topics. One of the problems is, that they experience difficulties when they should pronounce unknown words. We will investigate methods that can improve spoken dialogue systems by correcting the pronunciation of unknown words. This is a crucial step to provide a better user experience, since for example mispronounced proper nouns are highly undesirable. Incorrect pronunciation is caused by imperfect phonetic representation of the word. We aim to detect incorrectly pronounced words, use knowledge about the pronunciation and user’s feedback and correct the transcriptions accordingly. Furthermore, the learned phonetic transcriptions can be added to the speech recognition module’s vocabulary. Thus extracting correct pronunciations benefits both speech recognition and text-to-speech components of the dialogue systems.
Compact Wideband Filtering Power Dividers Based on Short-Circuited Stubs

─ A novel circuit is proposed to design filtering power dividers (FPDs) with bandpass filtering responses and out-of-band rejection performances. The presented circuit is constructed of two transmission line sections, four short-circuited sections and one resistor. Based on the introduced novel circuit, FPD1 is designed by selecting transmission line sections and short-circuited sections as quarter-wave transmission lines. The FPD2 is proposed to realize more compact size, enhanced bandpass selectivity and improved out-of-band rejection performance by replacing the quarter-wave transmission lines in FPD1 with dual transmission lines. The corresponding equations are derived to calculate the initial parameter values of FPD1 and FPD2 by adopting even-odd mode method. For verification, two FPDs centered at 2.0 GHz are designed and fabricated. The measured 3-dB fractional bandwidths of FPD1 and FPD2 achieve up to 63.2% and 52.3%, while the measured rejections with the level better than 20 dB extend to 2.4f0 and 4.0f0, respectively. Index Terms ─ Filtering response, high selectivity, outof-band rejection, power divider.
Title Four Heuristics to Guide Structured Content Crawling

Search engines focusing on particular media types face difficulties in discovering suitable URIs on the Web. Since the engines are only interested in a small fraction of the Web, a crawler should use heuristics to concentrate on that fraction. To devise such a heuristic, we postulate four hypotheses based on RFCs and W3C recommendations to find cues for certain content types. Tests on a corpus of 22m files (793GB content size) containing 630m URIs show that for the content types text, image, and application, the recommendations are mostly being followed, while results for audio and video are much less consistent. Our findings and recommendations can be implemented as heuristics for efficient discovery of structured content on the Web on top of existing crawlers.
BIOMASS ESTIMATION AND MAPPING OF CAN GIO MANGROVE BIOSPHERE RESERVE IN SOUTH OF VIET NAM USING ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 DATA

In this study, we used radar data from the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 satellite to build biomass estimation models and then create a biomass map in Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve. We used the single variable regression and multivariate regression method, in which 30 sample plots for training model and 15 sample plots for validation model, the coefficient of determination (R) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used as metrics for evaluating the biomass estimates. The regression analyses showed that the HV polarization was highly related to the biomass, linear model (R = 0.74; RMSE = 28.16), exponential model (R = 0.69; RMSE = 28.73), and polynomial model (R = 0.76; RMSE = 28.03). However, the HH polarization did not show a high relationship with the above-ground biomass, linear model (R = 0.42), exponential model (R = 0.46), or polynomial model (R = 0.42). We also tried multiple linear regression between the parameters extracted from radar image (HH, HV, and textures) and field biomass. The coefficient of determination (R) between the biomass and two independent variables (HH and HV) was 0.79, and RMSE was 29.78. However, the model with the combination of HV variable and eight texture variables provided a better result (R = 0.81; RMSE = 27.76), in other word the model could explain 81% variation of forest biomass. This model was used to produce the aboveground biomass map in Can Gio Biosphere Reserve in South of Vietnam.
Influence of packaging attributes on consumer 1 evaluation of fresh cod 2 3

Packaging attributes have an important role in attracting consumer attention, creating expectations 12 and influencing food choice. In this study, conjoint and cluster analysis were used to investigate the 13 importance of visual attributes (packaging shape and colour) and informational attributes (freshness 14 indicators, shelf life and freshness statements, convenience and taste information) for fresh cod. The 15 consumer segments were profiled using individual consumer characteristics. A conjoint analysis of a 16 nationwide representative sample of 503 Norwegian consumers revealed that the informational 17 attributes were more important than the visual attributes. The most important factors for consumers 18 when choosing cod fillets were two freshness attributes (with a total relative importance value of 19 45%). Cognitive freshness information was found to be more important than affective information. A 20 cluster analysis of the part-worth utility scores revealed three clusters: packaging, quality and 21 convenience. The packaging segment was the largest (with approximately 50% of the consumers) 22 and the consumers in this segment preferred the visual attributes of shape and colour. The results of 23 an ANOVA performed on the measurements of the individual characteristics revealed significant 24 differences among the segment profiles. The findings of this study can be used by the seafood 25 industry to design packaging for cod products that better match consumers’ needs and expectations. 26
The design, fabrication and test of MEMS image stabilizer

This project present two types 2-D decoupling XY stage, which are fabricated by using SOI wafer. The stages are 12 x 12 x 0.5 mm of electrostatic actuating XY stage and 8 x 8 x 0.2 mm of thermal actuating XY stage in size, and two structures are strong enough to suspend an image sensor as an image stabilizer applied in anti-shake photographic function. The stages can be used in a PDA or cell phone as an anti-shaking device when a picture is being taken. The image stabilizer is fabricated by the SOI process includes ICP etching process, which identify the structure layer. When the actuator is implemented, flip-chip bonding is adopted to attach the image sensor onto the decoupling XY stage. The XY stage is designed as image stabilizer to be installed in a cell phone. The longest calculated distance of motion of the stabilizer is designed to be 25um and a special stopper is also designed to prevent the actuator
Institutional voids as a trigger for the emergence of born global production and innovation networks

The article complements the existing work on the evolution of global innovation networks (GINs) from a less developed innovation context by documenting that GINs can also be ? born global? , rather than be the outcome of the gradual upgrading of global production networks into GINs. The article, focusing on two GINs (Skype and MXIT) that operate digital services, suggests the importance of institutional theory as a useful lens for understanding firms? actions. Both companies have emerged from countries with less developed innovation systems, Estonia and South Africa, and have developed GINs in response to the talent, product market and capital market voids of those countries. While the existing literature places a strong emphasis on firm capabilities, our evidence suggests that firms can internationalise their production and innovation also due to a lack of local capabilities.
LAND USE CHANGES ACROSS RIVER NANYUKI CATCHMENT, KENYA

Land use change is a significant factor in environmental conservation and climate change which may be positive or negative depending on how it occurs. The study aimed at examining the land use changes that took place across River Nanyuki catchment from 1984 to 2010. Landsat images of the area were downloaded from USGS database and processed using CLASlite, a forest monitoring application developed by Carnegie Institute for Science (CIS) and ENVI software for land use classification and change detection. Four predominant land use classes were considered, namely forest, agriculture, uncultivated area, and water. Over the study period, the area was observed to have experienced different modifications, most notable being deforestation in the upper part of the catchment where Mount Kenya Forest extended with an overall accuracy of 80%. Most of the deforestation was understood to have taken place in the 1980s and 1990s with 2.5% forest depletion between 1984 and 1995.
NONLINEAR FLAPPING OSCILLATIONS IN HELICOPTER ROTORS

This work presents a study of the nonlinear flapping motion of helicopter rotor blades in hover considering gust effects. The nonlinear differential equation for the flapping motion is obtained and the computational simulations and bifurcation analysis show that above a critical collective pitch angle, large flapping oscillations can occur due to a jump phenomenon, particularly under high winds and with reduced rotational speeds. These large, possibly destructive, oscillations are not predicted by the linear model and may be related to the phenomenon of blade sailing, a common occurrence in naval operations.
A Microfoundational View of Open Innovation: Investigating the Role of the Lower-level Managers

Existing open innovation (OI) research has largely focused on the organizational level, with fewer studies addressing individual-level behavior and characteristics necessary to deploy OI in organizations. In this study we draw routines and microfoundational thinking, and use a multiple case study design to identify microfoundations that underpin OI within organizations. We find that these microfoundations rest on lower-level managers who deploy performative OI routines drawing on their ostensive counterparts. In combination, these two routine aspects make up the organization? s OI capability. Our results indicate that the proficiency of this OI capability is a function of the recursive nature of these performative and ostensive routines that are based on learning and generative mechanisms that leverage three memory elements characterizing ostensive OI routines. These mechanisms are initiated by tensions that lower-level managers face when deploying OI. This paper advances the OI literature by clarifying that OI routines that make up an OI capability involve both performative and ostensive aspects, and the microfoundations literature by specifying the distinctive role of lower-level managers (as opposed to senior-level managers) and by outlining how tensions experienced by lower-level managers prompt learning and generative mechanisms that shape the development and deployment of OI routines.
N ov 2 01 8 Optimal Iterative Threshold-Kernel Estimation of Jump Diffusion Processes

In this paper, we study a threshold-kernel estimation method for jump diffusion processes, which iteratively applies thresholding and kernel methods in an approximately optimal way to achieve improved finite-sample performance. As in Figueroa-López and Nisen (2013), we use the expected number of jump mis-classifications as the objective function to optimally select the threshold parameter of the jump detection scheme. We prove that the objective function is quasi-convex and obtain a novel second-order infill approximation of the optimal threshold, hence extending results from the aforementioned paper. The approximate optimal threshold depends not only on the spot volatility σt, but also turns out to be a decreasing function of the jump intensity and the value of the jump density at the origin. The estimation methods for these quantities are then developed, where the spot volatility is estimated by a kernel estimator with threshold and the value of the jump density at the origin is estimated by a density kernel estimator applied to those increments deemed to contains jumps by the chosen thresholding criterion. Due to the interdependency between the model parameters and the approximate optimal estimators designed to estimate them, a type of iterative fixed-point algorithm is developed to implement them. Simulation studies show that it is not only feasible to implement the higher-order local optimal threshold scheme but also that this is superior to those based only on the first order approximation and/or on average values of the parameters over the estimation time period.
A Real Options Approach To Evaluating Agricultural Investments Under Uncertainty: When To Get In And Out Of Sugarcane Production

This case study presents an application of the Real Options approach to evaluate a farming enterprise under sugarcane in the lower Herbert district of north Queensland, Australia. It demonstrates how this approach may be used to calculate the value of a farming enterprise using real-world data as well as the critical prices at which it is optimal for the farm operator to exercise managerial options in order to maximise the value of their investment. In practical terms, this information is useful to assist farmers to make optimal decisions regarding whether or not to plant their field crops for the current season and at which price it is worth considering alternative uses for their crop land, such as rotating their crops or converting their land for other industrial uses. Results of the case study indicate that the value of the 99.25 ha cane enterprise in 2011-12 sugar prices was $1,380,000, which amounts to $13,904 per hectare ($5,629 per acre), and the average value of the enterprise over the period 1998-99 to 2011-12 was $762,500, which amounts to $7,683 per hectare ($3,110 per acre). The critical price at which to cease farming operations is shown to be $15.75 per tonne of cane (IPS sugar price of ~$188/t), while the price at which to recommence operations is $24.14 per tonne of cane (IPS sugar price of ~ $286/t). A significant finding from the case study is that the critical price to abandon sugarcane production on a previously decommissioned cane farm turned out to predict remarkably well a period of low sugar prices during which sugarcane growers within neighbouring districts actually exercised their option to exit the industry and the land was converted to managed-investment forestry schemes.
Light sleep vs . slow wave sleep in memory consolidation : A question of global vs . local processes ?

Sleep is strongly involved in memory consolidation, but its exact role remains unclear. 'Sleep replay', the active potentiation of relevant synaptic connections via reactivation of patterns of network activity that occurred during previous experience, has received considerable attention. Alternatively, sleep has been suggested to homeostatically and nonspecifically regulate synaptic weights, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio of memory traces. Here, we attempt to reconcile these theories by highlighting the distinction between light and deep non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Specifically, we propose that studies in humans and animals suggest a link between light NREM and active potentiation, and between deep NREM and homeostatic regulation. Finally, we suggest this framework could serveas a key to interpreting the physiology of sleep stages. Sleep and memory: the need for an updated picture In roughly 100 years of research sleep has been shown to be beneficial for memory in a wide variety of tasks and species, e.g. insects, birds, rodents, and humans . In humans, positive effects of sleep have been reported for declarative memory , motor memory , visual discrimination , and many other tasks . However, there is still an intense debate about the mechanisms of this involvement. Contrasting hypotheses see sleep either as a moment of reprocessing, i.e. reinforcing and reorganisation of specific information and memory traces or the 'active' role of sleep ; or as conducive to non-specific homeostatic processes, solving
Robust L 1 PCA and Its Application in Image Denoising

The so-called robust L1 PCA was introduced in our recent work based on the L1 noise assumption. Due to the heavy tail characteristics of the L1 distribution, the proposed model has been proved much more robust against data outliers. In this paper, we further demonstrate how the learned robust L1 PCA model can be used to denoise image data.
Feed Thy Neighbour: how Social Ties shape Spillover Effects of Cash Transfers on Food Security and Nutrition

– Economic development in Sub Saharan African countries is strongly tied to households’ ability to cope with exogenous events affecting their well-being. Using data from the Lesotho Child Grant Program dataset we provide evidence on whether households’ food security and nutrition are influenced by the presence of a particular network structure, and if there is any spill-over effect of the program on ineligible households living in treated villages. We take advantage of information on money and in-kind transfers to build a set of indicators representing quantitatively and qualitatively the network architecture of each household. We find relevant spill-over effects of the CGP on the food security and nutrition of ineligible households living in treated villages and embedded in a social network.
A New Compact Finline OMT Based on Multi-Section Transformer

─ In the millimeter wave band, the simplification of the orthomode transducer (OMT)’s structure and processing technic is placed in a more important position. The finline OMT can meet the requirement, but its size is usually not compact enough. To solve this problem, a compact finline OMT based on multi-section transformer is presented. Such OMT can enable size reduction by reasonably designing three transformers to reach the matching condition, which makes the design more flexible. As a result, the -20dB reflection bandwidth of the proposed OMT is 30.2 GHz to 49.8 GHz (49%), while the lengths of main arm’s and side arm’s transition for vertical polarization are 1. 35λmax and 0. 9λmax (λmax denotes the maximum free space wavelength in band), respectively, which has been greatly reduced compared with the traditional ones. To verify the working performance of the design, a prototype is fabricated and measured. Finally, some assembly errors are analyzed to study its influence. The results show that the proposed OMT can be a good candidate for millimeter wave application. Index Terms ─ Compact, finline OMT, millimeter wave application, multi-section transformer.