Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Price Stability and Welfare

The financial crisis in the advanced countries that began in 2007 has led central bankers to adopt unconventional policy measures as policy interest rates neared the zero bound. One suggestion (Blanchard, Dell’Ariccia, and Mauro, 2010) has been to raise inflation targets to provide more room for policy rate easing during crises. This paper addresses a different issue: the relationship between inflation and welfare. The literature is surveyed and a model is developed. A key conclusion is that an increase in inflation targets gives rise to additional welfare costs, even after the extra room to maneuver above the zero lower bound for nominal policy rates is taken into account. Based on parameter values that fit U.S. data, the additional welfare costs of raising inflation targets from 2 to 4 percent are estimated at about 0.3 percent of annual real income. A rise to 10 percent would yield additional welfare costs of about 1 percent of real income. Other parameter values yield welfare costs as high as 7 (respectively 30) percent of real income for raising inflation targets from 2 to 4 (respectively from 2 to 10) percent. The full costs of raising inflation targets are likely to be higher because the model used to generate these estimates does not account for higher inflation-induced volatility.
Unconventional students in robotics and HRI education

Robotics and human-robot interaction (HRI) are growing fields that may benefit from an expanded perspective stimulated by more interdisciplinary contributions. One way to achieve this goal is to attract non-traditional students from the social sciences and humanities into these fields. This present paper describes two educational initiatives that focused on teaching non-engineering students about robotics and HRI. In one initiative, a group of younger students, including those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), received hands-on experience with robotics in a context that was not overly technical, while in the other initiative, college students in the social sciences and humanities learned about basic HRI concepts and developed robotics applications. Themes common to both initiatives were to reach non-technical students who are not traditional targets for robotics education and to focus their learning on creating interactive sequences for robots based on key HRI design considerations rather than on the underlying mechanical and electrical details related to how those sequences are enacted inside the robot. Both initiatives were successful in terms of producing desired learning outcomes and fostering participant enjoyment.
Global Crisis, Fiscal Response and Medium-term Risks to Inflation in India

Contagion from the global crisis necessitated use of fiscal stimulus measures in India during 2008-10 in order to contain a major slowdown in economic growth. Given the usual downward inflexibility of fiscal deficit once it reaches a high level, as has been experienced by India in the past, there could be medium-term implications for the future inflation path, which must be recognised while designing the timing and speed of fiscal exit. Inflation, at times, may become effectively a fiscal phenomenon, since the fiscal stance could influence significantly the overall monetary conditions. As highlighted in this paper, fiscal deficit could be seen to influence the inflation process either through growth of base money created by the RBI (i.e. net RBI credit to the Government) or through higher aggregate demand associated with an expansionary fiscal stance (which could increase growth in broad money). Empirical estimates of this paper conducted over the sample period 1953-2009 suggest that one percentage point increase in the level of the fiscal deficit could cause about a quarter of a percentage point increase in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). The paper emphasises that the potential inflation risk should work as an important motivating factor to ensure a faster return to the fiscal consolidation path in India, driven by quality of adjustment with appropriate rationalisation of expenditure, rather than waiting for revenue buoyancy associated with sustained robust growth to do the job automatically. The importance of fiscal space in the India specific context needs to be seen in terms of not only the usual output stabilisation role of fiscal policy but also the occasional need for use of fiscal measures to contain such inflationary pressures that may arise from temporary but large supply shocks.
State of the art in vision-based fire and smoke dectection

Video processing techniques for automatic fire and smoke detection have become a hot topic in computer vision during the last decade. The several vision-based detection algorithms that have been proposed in literature have lead to a large amount of techniques that can be used to detect the presence of fire at an early stage. In this paper, we perform a thorough evaluation of the existing techniques and propose an improved smoke detection algorithm. The novel algorithm is based on a chromaticity-based background subtraction method with back-step correction, wavelet-based energy analysis, and boundary disorder analysis. These steps are chosen because they are mainly independent of the burning material and the fire circumstances. Experiments with a large number of fire and non-fire video sequences show that our method is fast and capable of accurately detecting smoke.
Service life design for the Western Scheldt Tunnel

for large infrastructures are becoming more and more important. Service life requirements of 100 year or even more are usual. For the bored reinforced concrete tunnel under the Western Scheldt in the Netherlands the requirement was a service life of at least 100 years. No method had been specified to prove this service life. Since the concrete codes are only based on deem-to-satisfy nules for the durability, without any specification to the service life, it was not possible to base the design on existing codes. The service life design has been made on basis of the methodology that has been developed in a research project of the European Community. This project with the name `DuraCrete' has further improved the existing reliability and performance based structural design method by introducing the modelling of degradations and environmental actions. It is believed that the service life design of the Western Scheldt Tunnel is the first project were the DuraCrete approach has been applied in practice
Vegetative Growth Performance of Different Plum Rootstocks

The study was conducted to investigate the vegetative growth performance of Damascos, Myrobalan and Desi plum (Prunus dornistka L.) rootstocks propagated by hardwood cuttings at Peshawar, during 1999. Desi (Local) plum gained maximum number (176.75) of roots, root length (58.75 cm), shoot length (375.95 cm), shoot diameter (1.82 cm) and survival (73.33 ) percentage, while there was no differences in the sprouting percentage among all
Morphometrics of the Yellow-bellied Toad (Bombina variegata) in the Central Balkans: Implications for Taxonomy and Zoogeography

c(2006) Morphometrics of the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) in the Central Balkans: implications for taxonomy and zoogeography. Zoological Studies 45(2): 213-222. A comprehensive survey of the Central Balkan yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) populations was undertaken to describe morphometric differentiation between 4 geographic groups previously demarcated by molecular studies. Our analyses confirmed pronounced geographic structuring at the population level, as well as a clear transition over a relatively short distance separating the localized B. v. scabra, endemic to the Balkans, and the widely distributed B. v. variegata. We present the inferred range boundaries of these geographic groups in the Central Balkans, and discuss their historical zoogeography and taxonomy. Our study provides evidence that the Northern Balkans, a secondary transition zone of postglacial origin, constitutes an important European suture area for amphibians. http://zoolstud.sinica. edu.tw/Journals/45.2/213.pdf
Wavelet Filtering of Speckle Noise - Some Numerical Results

We present our most recent results about an ongoing study addressing the comparison of various speckle reduction filters. In a previous work, we have concentrated on the best Signal-to-Mean-Square-Error (S/MSE) ratio provided by a complex Wavelet Coefficient Shrinkage (WCS) filter and several standard speckle filters. Here we specifically address the numerical behavior of the WCS filter over a change (1) in the regularity and type of the wavelet (orthogonal versus bi-orthogonal) and (2) in the wavelet coefficient thresholding type (soft- versus hard-thresholding). We also present measures of the variation of the S/MSE over a wide range of the WCS filter parameters in order to provide information on the optimal application range of the filter in practical situations. As in our previous work, tests are performed on optical imagery with a simulated multiplicative Log-Normal noise. The S/MSE ratio is measured after averaging the filtered images over 16 diagonal shifts of the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) in order to approximate a shift invariant DWT. Our experiments show, among other, that the optimal threshold level depends on the spectral content of the image and that the soft-thresholding scheme is the best choice for images with high spectral content.
Block Copolymer Based Composition of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate with Improved Oral Bioavailability as a Way to Increase its Therapeutic Activity

At the present, a high potential of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) as a new preventive and therapeutic agent in oncology and several other indications is well established. EGCG exerts its antitumor activity through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, inhibition of tumor angiogenesis, migration, and metastasisdue to its ability to interact with multiple targets in cancer cell. Unfortunately, very low oral bioavailability of EGCG prevents its efficient development as novel medicine. In this work, we have developed a polymer based nano-formulation of EGCG that significantly improved its oral bioavailability by increasing systemic exposure of the compound by about8-fold. This formulation comprises a well-known inactive ingredient non-ionic blockcopolymer Pluronic F127 that has recently been successfully used to increase bioavailability of another promising phytonutrient, 3,3`-diindolylmethane. The pharmacokinetic parameters established in the present study revealed that AUC and Cmax of the new formulation dosed at 500 mg/kg were 578.5 ± 73.8 μgâh/mL and 49.3 ± 2.9 μg/mL, while in the case of control EGCG administered in the equivalent dose AUC and Cmax were 72.9 ± 14.7 μgâh/mL, and 10.7 ± 1.1 μg/mL.
Polarimetric modeling of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) threading massive-star winds

Context. Massive star winds are complex radiation-hydrodynamic (sometimes magnetohydrodynamic) outflows that are propelled by their enormously strong luminosities. The winds are often found to be structured and variable, but can also display periodic or quasi-periodic behavior in a variety of wind diagnostics. Aims. The regular variations observed in putatively single stars , especially in UV wind lines, have often been attributed to corotating interaction regions (CIRs) like those seen in the solar wind. We present light curves for variable polarization from winds with CIR structures. Methods. We develop a model for a time-independent CIR based on a kinematical description. Assuming optically thin electron scattering, we explore the range of polarimetric light curves that result as the curvature, latitude, and number of CIRs are varied. Results. We find that a diverse array of variable polarizations result from an exploration of cases. The net polarization from an unresolved source is weighted more toward the inner radii of the wind. Given that most massive stars have relatively fast winds compared to their rotation speeds, CIRs tend to be conical at inner radii, transitioning to a spiral shape at a few to sever al stellar radii in the wind. Conclusions. Winds with a single CIR structure lead to easily identifiable polarization signatures. By contrast allowing for multipl e CIRs, all emerging from a range of azimuth and latitude positions at the star, can yield complex polarimetric behavior. Although our model is based on some simplifying assumptions, it produces qualitative behavior that we expect to be robust, and this has allowed us to explore a wide range of CIR configurations that will prove u seful for interpreting polarimetric data.
Winter movements and long-term dispersal of Steller sea lions in the Glacier Bay region of Southeast Alaska

Steller sea lions Eumetopias jubatus in the Glacier Bay region of northern Southeast Alaska experience greater survival and more rapid population growth than sea lions elsewhere in this region. To better understand demographics of sea lions in the region, and to describe the origins and behavior of sea lions and relate these descriptions to previous studies, we studied genetic origins, residency, foraging range, diving behavior, and dispersal of immature sea lions (≤24 mo of age) captured in Glacier Bay. Fifty-two percent of individuals had maternal origins in the distant (550 km) endangered western population rather than in the local recovered eastern population. During winter, 5 mo old pups, dependent on their dams for nutrition, remained within Glacier Bay, diving to shallow depths (≤108 m) mainly during daylight, whereas older (17 mo old) juveniles ranged more widely to areas of known seasonal prey aggregations, performing deep (≥241 m) nocturnal dives. Both pups and juveniles remained within the northern portion of Southeast Alaska, in contrast to farther-ranging pup and juvenile sea lions captured elsewhere in Southeast Alaska. Over the long term, females from Glacier Bay remained within this northern area through maturity and were sighted breeding in this area only. Restricted ranging patterns and natal and breeding philopatry by Steller sea lions of both eastern and western distinct population segment origin in the Glacier Bay region reveal that optimal foraging and breeding conditions likely prevail and help explain the recent colonization, increased survival, and rapid population growth of this species in the region.
Intersection of Main James Abacus Diagram for the Outer Chain Movement with Length [1,0,0...]

James abacus with β- number is one of the graphical representations for any partition of a non-negative integer. James abacus can be divided into several chains which consist of outer and inner chains. In this paper, a new diagram A tco is developed by employing movement to the outer chain with length [1, 0, 0,…] on the active James abacus. Then, a consecutive new diagram of b1, b2…, be-1 can be found from active diagram A tco . Finally intersection of the main new diagrams A tco is obtained. Some theoretical results for intersection of main James diagram are established. In addition, several examples are given to illustrate the results
A climatology study on ionospheric F2 peak over Anyang, Korea

We analyzed peak electron densities (NmF2) and peak heights (hmF2)of F2 layer, measured by a digisonde at Anyang (37.4°N, 127.0°E, Geomag = 27.7°N, 196.9°E) during the period of April 1998 through April 2008. The Anyang NmF2 and hmF2 values averaged over each month show generally good linear relationship with increasing solar activities for all local time and for various geomagnetic activities. The change of the noon NmF2 with increasing solar flux indices (F10.7) is much slower in summer than in other seasons, and the NmF2 difference between noon and midnight is minimized in summer. The hmF2 varies with F10.7 from 200 km to 350 km at noon and from 300 to 450 km at midnight, but the hmF2 variations do not show seasonal difference significantly for all local time. The semi-annual variations of NmF2 and hmF2 are apparent and the winter anomaly of NmF2 is also clearly seen for most cases of geomagnetic and solar activities. The Anyang NmF2 values are in good agreement with the IRI 2007 model except for high solar and geomagnetic activity cases. However, the Anyang hmF2 values at midnight are significantly higher than the IRI model, being higher by up to ∼100 km for high solar activities.
A new species of Schizopera (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from Japan, its phylogeny based on the mtCOI gene and comments on the genus Schizoperopsis

The predominantly marine genus Schizopera Sars, 1905 has only two significant inland water species-flocks, one in the ancient African Lake Tanganyika and the other in subterranean waters of Western Australia. Discovery of Schizopera abei sp. nov. from several interstitial locations in the vicinity of the ancient Lake Biwa has wider implications for the study of morphological homoplasies in the genus, as well as for the study of freshwater invasions in harpacticoid copepods. The new Schizopera species belongs to a small group of congeners with a two-segmented endopod of the fourth leg, which used to be recognised as a separate genus, Schizoperopsis Apostolov, 1982. Our reconstructed phylogenies based on the mtCOI partial sequences suggest that this character probably evolved convergently in at least some Schizopera, thus rendering the genus Schizoperopsis polyphyletic. However, almost all basal nodes in our cladograms are weakly supported, which shows limitations of a single-gene approach for reconstructing phylogenetic relationships. The new species is the first member of its genus from Japanese inland waters, and it has no close relatives among extent congeners anywhere in the world. We speculate that its ancestor may have invaded Lake Biwa, and subsequently its surrounding subterranean waters, from brackish areas around central Japan, presumably during a period of high sea water level through its major outflow river. This discovery may provide further support for the hypothesis about the role of ancient lakes as biodiversity pumps for subterranean habitats. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1F71F7AD-B7C8-4AD3-BE44-5E1BEE4E2AA8
New voltage-mode universal filter and sinusoidal oscillator using only single DBTA

In this article, a new voltage-mode second-order universal frequency filter and sinusoidal oscillator using only single differential-input buffered and transconductance amplifier (DBTA) is presented. The proposed voltage-mode filter structure using single DBTA and four passive elements can provide all standard filter functions, i.e. low-, band-, high-pass, band-stop, and all-pass without changing the circuit topology and enables independent control of the quality factor Q using single passive element. The circuit requires the minimal number of active and passive elements with no conditions for component matching. By slight modification of the proposed filter structure, the new DBTA-based sinusoidal oscillator is easily obtained. The oscillation condition and the oscillation frequency are independently adjustable by different virtually grounded passive elements. The proposed sinusoidal oscillator employs only grounded capacitors. The passive and active sensitivities of all the proposed circuit configurations are low. PSPICE simulations using a BJT realisation of DBTA and experimental results based on commercially available amplifiers OPA860 and MAX436 are included, which prove the workability of the proposed circuits.
Foreign Aid, Green Cities and Buildings

This paper attempts, first, to assess foreign aid effectiveness in fostering green city procedures in developing countries. For this purpose, we rely on the following aid effectiveness criteria: national ownership; harmonization; alignment and mutual accountability; and results management. Our analysis shows that some programmes are effective and scalable. Secondly, using a GMM model, we try to link CO2 emissions from residential buildings as well as commercial and public services to foreign aid for renewable energy sources. Our results show that the effect of foreign aid is significant with a negative impact on CO2 emissions. The relationship is linear but also quadratic, indicating that there is a threshold before foreign aid can be effective in reducing CO2 emissions. Efforts of the international community for climate change mitigation through the promotion of green city procedures should be supported to reach appreciable levels so that foreign aid will help to promote green cities procedures and green building in developing countries.
Examining a possibility to use and the benefits of post-quantum algorithms dependent on the conditions of their application

We established the need for comparative analysis and evaluation of the possibility to use asymmetric post-quantum cryptographic mechanisms. In order to compare, a procedure for evaluation was selected based on integral assessments of unconditional and conditional criteria. An analysis was conducted among the algorithms that fulfilled general unconditional criteria. As conditional criteria, we chose numerical characteristics of algorithms. In addition, additional unconditional criteria were put forward that differed depending on the conditions of use. The relevance of present research is associated with the emergence of a quantum computer. Previous studies have already proved that the existing cryptographic algorithms are vulnerable to the methods of quantum cryptanalysis. That is why, at present, leading organizations in the standardization of crypto algorithms conduct research and comparisons for selecting the post-quantum standard of cryptography. As a result of present research, we found a lack of a universal post-quantum cryptographic algorithm. In addition, not all algorithms can be employed under different conditions. It is proposed to separate three variants in the application of post-quantum algorithms: for lightweight cryptography, for the use by standard automated systems and use in a cloud-based environment. For all conditions of use, a separate evaluation of benefits in the cryptographic algorithms was carried out. We detected shortcomings in the leading candidate in that it may possible have a reduced resistance for the specialized quantum attack. That is why the recommendations were given to employ these algorithms as the basic ones in the transition period. And, if the suspicion is confirmed, then we proposed alternatives for each variant of application. Results of present research allow us to understand current state in the development of post-quantum crypto algorithms and to predict their possible further development. This forecast is important in that the post-quantum cryptographic mechanisms represent a new stage in the development and use of cryptography. In addition, the practical value of the research consists in obtaining the evaluation for post-quantum algorithms, depending on the conditions of their application.
INTELLIGENT WIRELESS VIDEO MONITORING SYSTEM USING COMPUTER

The present wireless video monitoring system described in this paper is designed using wireless video monitoring system, to detect the presence of a person who is inside the restricted area. This type of automatic wireless video monitors is quite suitable for the isolated restricted zones, where the high security is required. On the earlier time much importance is not given for the security system. As we see today lot of terrorism has grown up across the country and need has aroused to develop different types of security systems for various applications to safe guard the zones of various types like, military zones, railway yards, borders etc., this kind of automatic video monitoring systems can be installed at borders, where the terrorists are crossing borders.Our country is spending lot of its revenue to safe guard the borders. Installing this type of security systems everywhere at critical points lot of revenue can be saved by minimizing the manpower.