Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Return to Retail Banking and Payments

The European banking industry joined forces to achieve a fully integrated market for retail payment services in the euro area: The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Against this background, the present paper examines the fundamental relationship between retail payment business and overall bank performance. Using data from across 27 European markets over the period 2000-07, we analyse whether the provisions of retail payment services are reflected in improved bank performance, using accounting ratios and efficiency measures. The results confirm that the performance of banks in countries with more developed retail payment service markets is better. This relationship is stronger in countries with a relatively high adoption of retail payment transaction technologies. Retail payment transaction technology itself can also improve bank performance, and evidence shows that heterogeneity in retail payment instruments is associated with enhanced bank performance. Similarly, a higher usage of electronic retail payment instruments seems to stimulate banking business. We also show that retail payment services have a more significant impact on savings and cooperative bank performance although they have a positive influence on the performance of commercial banks. Additionally, findings reveal that impact of retail services on bank performance is dominated by fee income. Finally, an effective payment service market is found to be associated with higher bank stability. Our findings are robust to different regression specifications. The results may also be informative for the industry when reconsidering its business models in the light of current financial market developments.
The extent and predictors of linguistically responsive teaching in Southwest China

ABSTRACT The study of multilingualism has gained prominence due to increases in linguistically diverse student populations. This paper aims to contribute to research on multilingualism by addressing schoolteachers’ beliefs and practices related to linguistic diversity. A unique sample of 606 teachers across ten minority-dominant schools from Southwest China participated in the survey study. The results show that schoolteachers hold both monolingual and multilingual beliefs. Teachers’ beliefs are mainly positive about multilingual education, and they favor supporting multilingual teachers. However, students’ home languages are viewed as the barrier to the school success. Furthermore, many teachers rarely implement linguistically responsive teaching practices. A moderate correlation was found between teachers’ beliefs and linguistically responsive teaching practices. Additionally, regression analyses show that teachers’ linguistically responsive teaching practices can be predicted by age, gender, language background, travel experience, international news exposure, and culturally relevant teacher training. These findings indicate an urgent need for teachers to participate in professional development to become better equipped to advocate for multilingualism and effectively address the realities of language minority students.
9.2.2 Quantifying Systems Engineering Reuse – a Generalized Reuse Framework in COSYSMO

This paper further elaborates a generalized reuse framework for systems engineering reuse previously published and defines two interrelated reuse processes – development for reuse (DFR) and development with reuse (DWR). It proposes a quantitative approach for assessing such a reuse effort by defining a set of reuse categories for both the DFR and the DWR processes and by extending the model definition and cost estimating relationship of COSYSMO, a systems engineering cost model.
Performance bounds for hot and cold clutter mitigation

A new method is presented for describing the theoretical interference space-time covariance matrix that will be observed in an adaptive airborne radar system under specific topographical conditions. Both hot clutter that is induced by interfering sources and cold clutter that results from the radar transmitter are considered. This method incorporates phenomenology observed under site specific conditions as well as system effects such as array geometry, receiver filtering, and system bandwidth. Use of this formulation rather than sample data analyses that are generally employed enables one to infer performance bounds for site-specific, and thus generally, heterogeneous terrain that are tighter and therefore more meaningful than the thermal noise floor limit.
MOPED - A mobile evaluation system to support observers during distributed team training

Distributed team training, often in joint settings, is becoming more and more important in the military training today. As the teams and training staff are not physically on the same location, special attention should be paid to performance measurement and feedback. Important questions are what should be measured during distributed team training, how this should be evaluated during the After Action Review, and in what ways the training staff should be supported in doing this. In this paper we will explore these issues and describe a tool, the Mobile tool for Performance measurement and Evaluation in Distributed training (MOPED), which we have developed specifically for distributed team training. When evaluating team performance in distributed team training it is important to not only address the performance of the local team, but also the performance of the local team in relation to the other teams in the training and vice versa. The mobile evaluation tool is a hand held device that supports the evaluator in observing team performance. The observer can send data to a central database, where the data of all observers of the distributed team are analyzed and then sent back to the local observer, who can now complete the debrief. Some other functional features of the tool are on call checklists based on targeted behaviors and a debrief organization screen that facilitates the observer's preparation of the After Action Review. A preliminary version of the tool was tested at the Royal Netherlands Navy during a small scale pilot. The results were promising and used to improve the tool. MOPED will be tested more thoroughly to identify those aspects of distributed team training that are crucial for the teams and should be addressed during the After Action Review. Special attention will be paid to the support of observers in providing this AAR.
VOXEL-BASED ESTIMATION OF PLANT AREA DENSITY FROM AIRBORNE LASER SCANNER DATA

Three-dimensional distribution of plant area density (PAD) was retrieved using airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. The calculation of PAD requires the number of laser-pulses intercepted by plant materials and which are not intercepted by trees (i.e., passed laser-pulses) for the spatial unit. To estimate the passed laser-pulses at a voxel (1-m voxel in this study), we traced every laser-return by using its flight line information. The assumption was that every laser-pulse traveled on the orthogonal line to flight line, meaning that the sensor mounted in the aircraft scanned perpendicularly to its flight line. Our function based on this assumption allowed PAD to be calculated. Consequently, we successfully obtained the PAD profiles at every 1-m voxel for the canopy area of 56 trees, which could be useful in the quantitative assessment of canopy structure at a broad scale.
Clinical analysis of patients with respiratory failure after esophageal cancer operation

Background To explore the clinical profiles and outcomes of patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) after esophagectomy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed cases of patients who had been diagnosed with ARF after esophagectomy and compared survivors with non-survivors to explore the risks that may affect their outcomes. Results In total, 62 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with ARF after esophagectomy between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2017. Of these patients, 69.4% needed mechanical ventilation, with an average time on the ventilator of 304 hours (304.33±374.37 hours). The average length of stay in the ICU and in the hospital were 14 days (14.48±17.64 days) and 50 days (50.15±37.28 days), respectively. Mortality in the ICU and 90 days after the operation was 6.5% and 16.1%, respectively. Compared with the survivors, the 90-day post-operative non-survivors had a poorer N stage in the TNM classification system. The causes of ARF included anastomotic leakage, pneumonia, vocal cord paralysis, sputum plugging, pulmonary embolism (PE), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ARF induced by different factors occurred at different times and had different outcomes. The three most common reasons for mortality in the ICU were ARDS (33.33%), anastomotic leakage (11.76%), and pneumonia (10%). The three most common reasons for mortality in the 90-day post-operative period were pneumonia (40%), anastomotic leakage (23.53%), and ARDS and acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) (33.33%). Conclusions Anastomotic leakage, pneumonia, ARDS, and AECOPD were the main causes of death in ARF patients after esophagectomy. We found that the N stage in the TNM classification system may affect 90-day post-operative mortality in these patients.
Analysis of Tablet Device usage for Mobile Internet with Segmentation Approach

When a new product is introduced in the market, some consumers adopt it quickly, while others wait before using it. Product managers should classify end users and explore the characteristics of consumers according to each consumer’s segment. The objective of this paper is to investigate the use of a tablet device for accessing information on the mobile Internet. The study first analyses variables such as consumer perceptions and attitudes toward tablet devices through expert interviews and factor analysis. Then, it classifies consumers into categories according to their perceptions and attitudes toward tablet devices using latent class regression methodology. The final section of the paper tests the statistical significance of a set of variables related to tablet characteristics such as the relative advantage related to contents and tablet display, compatibility with consumers’ prior experiences and needs, image, and company’s reputation. The results validate that end users are classified into three segments and factors elicited have significant effects on the use of tablet devices. The five factors are significant in indicating differences across segments, whereas four indicators excluding compatibility are significant in terms of the amount of variables’ sensitivity. Segment 1 could be labeled “Product oriented segment”; segment 2, “Company’s reputation with contents advantage oriented segment”; and segment 3, the “Innovative image with tablet display advantage oriented segment. These results have implications for product managers wanting to classify end users and determine the optimal variables in developing innovative products.
Recalibrating the Devonian time scale: A new method for integrating radioisotopic and astrochronologic ages in a Bayesian framework

The numerous biotic, climatic, and tectonic events of the Devonian cannot be correlated and investigated without a well-calibrated time scale. Here, we updated the calibration of the Devonian time scale using a Bayesian age-depth model that incorporates radioisotopic ages and astrochronology durations. We used existing radioisotopic ages collected and harmonized in the last two geologic time scale compilations, as well as new U-Pb zircon ages from Emsian {Hercules I K-bentonite, Wetteldorf, Germany: 394.290 ± 0.097(0.21)[0.47] Ma} and Eifelian K-bentonites {Tioga B and Tioga F K-bentonites, Fayette, New York, USA: 390.82 ± 0.18(0.26)[0.48] Ma and 390.14 ± 0.14(0.23)[0.47] Ma, respectively}. We anchored floating astrochronology stage durations on radioisotopic ages and chained astrochronologic constraints and uncertainty together to extrapolate conditioning age likelihoods up or down the geologic time scale, which is a new method for integrating astrochronology into age-depth modeling. The modeling results in similar ages and durations for Devonian stages regardless of starting biostratigraphic scaling assumptions. We produced a set of rescaled biostratigraphic zonations, and a new numerical calibration of Devonian stage boundary ages with robust uncertainty estimates, which allow us to evaluate future targets for Devonian time scale research. These methods are broadly applicable for time scale work and provide a template for an integrated stratigraphic approach to time scale modeling.
Efficiency and power density potential of combustion-driven thermophotovoltaic systems using GaSb photovoltaic cells

The renewed interest in thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy conversion, based on recent progress in materials and photovoltaic (PV) cell technology, requires a new evaluation of the TPV efficiency and power density potential. In this paper, we address some important points in TPV system design. We proceed in three steps, analyzing 1) the thermodynamic limit, 2) an idealized, and 3) a realistic model, based on an extrapolation of the current state of technology. In a TPV system, the radiation converted to electricity is adapted to the spectral response of the PV cell. This can be achieved by different means, which are examined in detail. Broadband and selective radiators, and optical filters are considered. We focus on combustion driven systems using low bandgap GaSb PV cells. For a system containing GaSb cells and a radiator at 1500 K, we find a thermodynamic limit efficiency of 60.5% and an output power density of 3 W/cm/sup 2/. For an idealized system model, an efficiency of 34% and a power density of 2.2 W/cm/sup 2/ are determined. For a realistic system with a broadband radiator and a filter, 9% and 1.2 W/cm/sup 2/ are estimated; using a selective radiator without filter, 16% and 1 W/cm/sup 2/ are expected. Performance values of this order should be achievable with a sufficient development effort.
Effect of Steam and Smoke Cooking Processes on Web-Foot Octopus (Amphioctopus sp.) Home Meal Replacement Product

In Korea, the web-foot octopus (Amphioctopus sp.) is commonly consumed as jjukkumi bokkeum, a spicy stir-fried octopus dish. Using steaming and smoking methods, we made jjukkumi bokkeum home meal replacement (HMR) products. The response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the steam and smoke processes. Quick freezing was applied to freeze the test product at −35 °C. Then, the physicochemical, biological, nutritional characteristics, and shelf-life of the test HMR products were evaluated. The optimal conditions for steaming and smoking were 95 °C for 2 min and 70 °C for 11 min, respectively. The pH, volatile basic nitrogen content, and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances content decreased after steaming and smoking, indicating that these processes maintained these parameters well. Sensory evaluation revealed that there were no changes in these characteristics after freezing and reheating. Further, the test HMR products contained the daily nutritional requirements of macro and micronutrients, as well as amino acids and fatty acids. The shelf-life of the HMR products was estimated to be 15 months. The findings of this study indicate that the application of steam and smoke processes to produce a jjukkumi bokkeum HMR product results in a high-quality product with a long shelf-life.
Real-Time Non-Visual Shape Estimation and Robotic Dual-Arm Manipulation Control of an Elastic Wire

The dual-arm manipulation of elastic wires has been a hard problem for many decades. Nevertheless, recent work has shown that the shape of a wire can be defined by a very simple representation. Theoretical analysis has stated that simple sensing of the force and torque at one end of the wire can be used to determine its shape. In this letter, we experimentally analyze the developed theoretical foundation. We deploy a dual-arm robotic system able to accurately manipulate an elastic wire. The system does not require complex visual perception and is able to reason about the shape of the wire by solely sensing forces and torques on one arm. Furthermore, we propose a full framework in which the mechanical properties of the wire are rapidly approximated in real-time. Then, a simple control rule based on Force/Torque feedback is used to manipulate the wire to some goal or track a planned path. We conduct various experiments on a full-scale system to analyze pose estimation and control accuracies. Results validate the benefit of the approach and demonstrate the ability to accurately manipulate a wire.
Ladder derived switched-current decimators and interpolators

Switched-current elliptic decimators and interpolators based on bilinear-transformed low-sensitivity ladder structures are proposed. The combination of polyphase networks and doubly terminated ladder structures preserve low passband sensitivity and maximizes time for settling by operating at the lower sampling frequency. The decimators are derived via a z-domain multirate transformation procedure. Two different types of decimator architectures, finite-impulse response (FIR)-infinite-impulse response (IIR) cascade (FIC) and multiple feed-in (MFI) are presented and compared. The complementary IIR-FIR cascade (IFC) and multiple feed-out (MFO) interpolator structures are obtained by direct transposition, which avoids the need for redesign. A third-order elliptic low pass filter is used as prototype for deriving the decimators and interpolators. The circuits are verified by SCNAP4 and HSPICE simulations.
UAV-Assisted Thermal Infrared and Multispectral Imaging of Weed Canopies for Glyphosate Resistance Detection

The foundation of contemporary weed management practices in many parts of the world is glyphosate. However, dependency on the effectiveness of herbicide practices has led to overuse through continuous growth of crops resistant to a single mode of action. In order to provide a cost-effective weed management strategy that does not promote glyphosate-resistant weed biotypes, differences between resistant and susceptible biotypes have to be identified accurately in the field conditions. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-assisted thermal and multispectral remote sensing has potential for detecting biophysical characteristics of weed biotypes during the growing season, which includes distinguishing glyphosate-susceptible and glyphosate-resistant weed populations based on canopy temperature and deep learning driven weed identification algorithms. The objective of this study was to identify herbicide resistance after glyphosate application in true field conditions by analyzing the UAV-acquired thermal and multispectral response of kochia, waterhemp, redroot pigweed, and common ragweed. The data were processed in ArcGIS for raster classification as well as spectral comparison of glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-susceptible weeds. The classification accuracy between the sensors and classification methods of maximum likelihood, random trees, and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were compared. The random trees classifier performed the best at 4 days after application (DAA) for kochia with 62.9% accuracy. The maximum likelihood classifier provided the highest performing result out of all classification methods with an accuracy of 75.2%. A commendable classification was made at 8 DAA where the random trees classifier attained an accuracy of 87.2%. However, thermal reflectance measurements as a predictor for glyphosate resistance within weed populations in field condition was unreliable due to its susceptibility to environmental conditions. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and a composite reflectance of 842 nm, 705 nm, and 740 nm wavelength managed to provide better classification results than thermal in most cases.
Efficient full‐wave analysis of inverted circular microstrip antenna

In this article, a rigorous full‐wave analysis for determining the resonant frequency and half‐power bandwidth of inverted circular microstrip patch antenna is presented. Green's functions of the structure are determined in Hankel transform domain. Galerkin's is used in the resolution of the electric field integral equation. The TM set modes issued from the cavity model theory are used to expand to unknown current on the patch. The validity of the results is tested by comparing results with the experimental data. Also, numerical results for the variation of the resonant characteristics of the structure for high‐order mode, and for several values of substrates thickness are presented. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:2422–2425, 2014
Reliability and responsiveness of the Danish version of The Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment tool (CPAx)

ABSTRACT Introduction Measurement instruments are important in clinical practice and research for assessing physical function in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Objective To investigate inter-rater reliability and responsiveness of the Danish version of the CPAx (CPAx-D). Method Critically ill patients from three Danish ICUs were included. Patients were assessed with CPAx-D by two blinded testers during a regular physiotherapy session. Follow-up tests were performed in patients who stayed in the ICU for more than 24 hours, were not transferred to another hospital or received palliative care. Floor and ceiling effects were examined in all assessments.Results For the reliability analysis 66 patients were included. Results Showed no significant difference between raters. For the total score, intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.996 (95% CI: 0.993; 0.997), standard error of measurement was 0.72 point and minimal detectable change 2.0 points. Bland-Altman plot revealed no heteroscedacity. The responsiveness results of 24 patients showed that the effect size was 1.2 and the standardized response mean 1.1, which was in accordance with the hypothesis. No ceiling or floor effect was revealed. Conclusion The CPAx-D showed excellent inter-rater reliability and responsiveness.
11-GHz CMOS differential VCO with back-gate transformer feedback

A fully integrated back-gate transformer feedback CMOS differential voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) has been designed for high-frequency and low-phase noise operation using an 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The proposed VCO topology utilizes the monolithic transformer feedback configuration from the drain to the back-gate of the switching transistors in VCO. The VCO operating in an 11-GHz band shows the phase noise of -109dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset, and draws around 3.8mA in the differential core circuits from a 1.8-V power supply.
D2CL: A Dense Dilated Convolutional LSTM Model for Sea Surface Temperature Prediction

Accurately predicting sea surface temperature (SST) is practically important to many applications, such as weather forecasting, ocean environment protection, and marine disaster prevention. The major challenge for predicting SST is to capture both the spatial and temporal characteristics of SST, which has not yet been well addressed by the existing methods. In this work, we proposed a novel dense dilated convolutional LSTM (D2CL) model to predict SST. D2CL first integrates dilated convolutional network and LSTM to learn spatial and temporal features from the SST data simultaneously. Then, it uses multiple feature extractors of different dilated kernel sizes to learn features of varying scales. Finally, it introduces dense connection to reduce feature loss during the training process and achieves SST prediction in an encoder–decoder style. We have conducted extensive experiments over two real datasets to validate the effectiveness of D2CL and all the proposed enhancing techniques. As suggested by the experimental results, D2CL outperforms the existing methods and could achieve accurate SST prediction for as long as seven days in future.