Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space in the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation

The article states the new technical basis of production, which is socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space, and also analyzes the current state of studies on the problem regarding the development of socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space. The concepts definition is described – socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space. The paper proposes to take the target subspaces of the Arctic territory of the Russian Federation as a territory for application of socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space. There are seven types of target subspaces for the Arctic development as the targets for the ideology of socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space: base cities, mobile filed camps, territories for mineral resources extraction, recreational areas, fishing grounds, northern sea route, safe existence protection infrastructure. The article outlines the concept of building socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space. The global conceptual goal of the Russian Arctic development is stated as a transition to the functioning of the Arctic zone in the mode of sustainable development on the basis of socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space. The targeted integrated programs have been conceptually selected as a tool for arrangement and management of the socio-cyberphysical systems and intellectual space development in the target sub-spaces of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
Logistics Efficiency and Firm Performance: Evidence from Indonesian Small and Medium Enterprises

Logistics is a decisive factor for a firm to sustain its competitive advantage. Despite the importance of logistics to firm performance, studies on logistics innovation and efficiency are extremely limited. To fill up the literature gap, this paper provides some insight into the impact of logistics innovation on firm performance and the moderating effects of logistics efficiency on logistics innovation and firm performance. Using a regression analysis on 120 samples collected from agro-based SMEs in Indonesia, it was found that innovation in information sharing and transportation coordination led to superior firm performance. The result of the study also shows that logistics efficiency mediated the relationship between innovations in information sharing and transportation coordination, and firm performance. This proves that the effect of innovation on the performance of SMEs is stronger when logictics efficiency is improved through such an innovation.
Sharp Breaks or Smooth Shifts? An Investigation of the Evolution of Primary Commodity Prices

This paper explores the behavior of real commodity prices over a 50--year period. Attention is given to how the shifting means for various commodity prices have changed with a special emphasis on behavior since the mid 2000s. To identify structural changes in commodity prices, we estimate shifting--mean autoregressions by using: the Bai and Perron (1998) procedure for determining structural breaks; low frequency Fourier functions; and a procedure that specifies shifts to be smooth logistic functions of time. We find that the pattern in the timing of shifts is suggestive of the causal factors underlying the recent boom. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.
Accretion disks around black holes in modified strong gravity

Context. Stellar-mass black holes offer what is perhaps the best scenario to test theories of gravity in the strong-field regime. In particular, f (R) theories, which have been widely discus in a cosmological context, can be constrained through realistic astrophysical models of phenomena around black holes. Aims. We aim at building radiative models of thin accretion disks for both Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes in f (R) gravity. Methods. We study particle motion in f (R)-Schwarzschild and Kerr space-times. Results. We present the spectral energy distribution of the accretion disk around constant Ricci scalar f (R) black holes, and constrain specific f (R) prescriptions using features of these systems. Conclusions. A precise determination of both the spin and accretion rate onto black holes along with X-ray observations of their thermal spectrum might allow to identify deviations of gravity from general relativity. We use recent data on the high-mass X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 to restrict the values of the parameters of a class of f (R) models.
QPP-MAC: A Greener Algorithm for Single Sink Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) with a single data collection node or ‘sink’ play major role in data acquisition (DAQ) and control systems such as smart buildings. These ‘many-to-one’ networks have unique challenges in addition to regular energy concern issues. For example, nodes closer to the sink experience high traffic and drain faster. In this paper, a priority based, distributed, quasi-planned Medium Access Control (MAC) scheduling algorithm is suggested for such network architectures. The proposed Quorum-Pattern-Priority (QPP) MAC approach reduces energy wastage due to idle-listening, overhearing and transmission of unnecessary overhead. The algorithm is tested with multiple sensor classes each with a different data trans-mission pattern. The proposed protocol shows significantly low energy consumption while providing almost ideal throughput for steady traffic. The algorithm also better handles varying traffic compared to many conventional fixed scheduling algorithms.
ADAPTATION AND GENOTYPE x ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION OF FLAXSEED (Linum usitatissimum L.) GENOTYPES IN SOUTH CENTRAL CHILE

Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is imported into Chile mostly for bread making and feed. Identification of genotypes best adapted for seed production in South Central Chile would facilitate producer’s decision. The objective of this study was to determine the adaptation and genotype x environment interaction of 16 flaxseed genotypes (including 10 from North American and six from Argentine sources) grown at 11 environments (defined as location-year) in Chile from 2003 to 2007. Genotype seed yield was above 5700 kg ha -1 for some environments indicating a high yield potential. According to the AMMI (Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction) and SREG (Sites regression) models the 11 environments were classified into four groups by the AMMI and three groups by the SREG models. Genotypes were classified into five groups by the SREG model with four of the groups as single genotypes. Overall mean seed yield was similar for all genotypes; however the genotype Nekoma was the most stable and higher yielding genotype across environments. The environment with the highest yield potential was Chillan 2003-2004, but this location had low yield stability across years. The environments with greatest seed yield potential, Chillan 2003-2004 and Los Angeles 2004-2005, had irrigation during flowering and seed filling. Seed oil content fluctuated between 420 and 530 g kg -1 . The climatic differences among environments did not influence oil composition as expected from previous research. Flaxseed appears adapted to South Central Chile with differences observed among genotypes for biomass and seed yield, harvest index, test weight, oil content, and composition.
The influence of the perceptions of institutional environment on entrepreneurial plans: exploring the moderating effects of firm age and firm size in Bulgarian enterprises

It was acknowledged that institutional environment plays an important role for shaping entrepreneurial behavior in transition economies. The present study investigates the influence of entrepreneurs’ perceptions of institutional environment on their entrepreneurial plans in a large representative sample from a transition economy. The findings reveal that institutional environment has a significant influence on entrepreneurial plans and that firm age and size moderate the effect of institutional environment on entrepreneurial plans. The paper provides recommendations for future research and a discussion of practical implications.
The role of negative links in brain networks.

This paper provides a contribution to understand anti- (or negative) correlations between brain regions in fMRI studies. We report about: 1) characterizing negative correlations under physiological conditions through a careful analysis of records from healthy people; 2) reproducing a (homeostatic) equilibrium between different brain areas by a Multi Agent System and a negative retroaction mechanism on a small network model.
Comparison of Denoising Algorithms for Urban Scenes

Several new denoising algorithms have recently been presented that display comparable performance and it is unclear which provide the best results. We used the practical example of urban scenes to compare two of the top-performing algorithms. We found that when using the practical case of quantizing input and output imagery, the results were different than when using the conventional method for comparison.
The Accumulation and Seasonal Dynamic of the Soil Organic Carbon in Wetland of the Yellow River Estuary, China

The wetland of the Yellow River estuary is a typical new coastal wetland in northern China. It is essential to study the carbon pool and its variations for evaluating the carbon cycle process. The study results regarding the temporal-spatial distribution and influential factors of soil organic carbon in four typical wetlands belonging to the Yellow River estuary showed that there was no significant difference in the contents of the surface soil TOC to the same season among the four types of wetlands. For each type of wetlands, the TOC content in surface soils was significantly higher in October than that in both May and August. On the whole, the obvious differences in DOC contents in surface soils were not observed in the different wetland types and seasons. The peak of TOC appeared at 0–10 cm in the soil profiles. The contents of TOC and DOC were significantly higher in salsa than those in reed, suggesting that the rhizosphere effect of organic carbon in salsa was more obvious than that in reed. The results of the principal component analysis showed that the nitrogen content, salinity, bulk density, and water content were dominant influential factors for organic carbon accumulation and seasonal variation.
The effect of Empowerment of Grandmother on Depression and Maternal Role Realization in Primiparae with Hospitalized Infant: A Randomized, Controlled, Clinical Trial

Background:Hospitalization of the newborn infant can cause depression crisis and severely undermine the attainment and realization of maternal role in a primipara. The neonate’s maternal grandmother can provide the support needed to help the primipara avoid or overcome the ensuing problems. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of empowerment of grandmothers on depression and maternal role realization in primiparae with hospitalized newborn. Method: In this randomized, controlled, clinical trial, 84 primiparae with their infants admitted to Shahid Rajaei Hospital of Gachsaran, Iran, were assigned to intervention and control groups. A grandmother empowerment intervention was devised by combining the concepts of Mercer’s theory with the stages of Ravanipour’s self-management empowerment model. The control group received the routine care. Depression and maternal role realization in all the primiparae were measured with Beck Depression Inventory and a researcher-made role realization questionnaire before and one month after the intervention. Data was analyzed by independent and paired t-test in SPSS, version 18. Results: The mean ages of the mothers in the intervention and control groups were respectively 27.02±5.3 and 24.0±4.1 years. Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the depression scores (P>0.38) and role realization scores (P>0.40) of the subjects in the two groups; however, after the intervention, both scores showed significant differences (P<0.05). Implications for Practice: The intervention based on the self-management empowerment model led to significant improvement in depression and maternal role realization of the primiparae with hospitalized infant. This model can serve as a directive in neonatal wards and neonatal intensive care units.
Tuomas Tikkanen CELL DETECTION FROM MICROSCOPE IMAGES USING HISTOGRAM OF ORIENTED GRADIENTS

TAMPERE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Master‘s Degree Programme in Signal Processing TIKKANEN, TUOMAS: Cell Detection from Microscope Images Using Histogram of Oriented Gradients Master of Science Thesis, 50 pages November 2014 Major: Computational Systems Biology Examiners: University Lecturer Heikki Huttunen & Dr. Pekka Ruusuvuori
Pictograms on packaging: A comparison of objective and subjective measures of their noticeability

Safety pictograms convey information to consumers who should be warned and protected from consequences that may arise as a result of the misuse of a product. The noticeability of the safety pictograms on the packaging is a prerequisite for the effectiveness of this communication. There are few methods for measuring the noticeability of the pictograms. In general, they can be based on objective or subjective estimations. This paper investigates the association between the objective and the subjective methods (namely eye-tracking and subjective scores) in order to examine whether expensive eye-tracking procedures can be replaced with low-cost procedures, such as subjective evaluation. Since the packaging is common medium for transmission of safety information by the pictograms, stimuli used in the study are samples of packaging that differ according to shape, colour and transparency. The results of the investigation of these variables provides wider insight in possible moderators of noticeability and gives clearer directions for future research in the field of communication role of the packaging.
The Problem with All-or-Nothing Trust Games: What Others Choose Not to Do Matters in Trust-Based Exchange

Many economic interactions are characterized by “all-or-nothing” action spaces that may limit the demonstrability of intended trust. We investigate whether restricting investment opportunities to all-or-nothing options affects the investment rate and propensity to reciprocate. We do this by manipulating the investor’s action space in two versions of the trust game. In the all-or-nothing game the investor can invest either $10 (all) or $0 (nothing), while in the continuous game the investor can invest any amount between $10 and $0. In both games, the trustee receives the tripled investment and then can return any amount to the investor. Results indicate that investments are higher in the all-or-nothing game than in the continuous game. However, higher investments in the all-or-nothing game do not lead to higher returns. To the contrary, conditional on $10 investments, on average trustees return less in the all-or-nothing game. Although the all-or-nothing action space results in greater wealth overall, it also appears to “backfire” for investors who do not benefit from the increased wealth. These results support the proposition that humans perceive intentions not only by evaluating what others do but also by evaluating what others choose not to do.
Modeled larval fish prey fields and growth rates help predict recruitment success of cod and anchovy in the North Sea

We introduce a new, coupled modeling approach for simulating ecosystem-wide patterns in larval fish foraging and growth. An application of the method reveals how interplay between temperature and plankton dynamics during 1970−2009 impacted a cold-water species (Atlantic cod Gadus morhua) and a warm-water species (European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus) in the North Sea. Larval fish growth rates were estimated by coupling models depicting traitbased foraging and bioenergetics of individuals, spatiotemporal changes in their prey field, and the biogeochemistry and hydrodynamics of the region. The biomass composition of modeled prey fields varied from 89% nano-, 10% micro-, and 1% mesoplankton to 15% nano-, 20% micro-, and 65% mesoplankton. The mean slope of the normalized biomass size spectrum was near −1.2, consistent with theoretical and empirical estimates. Median larval fish growth rates peaked in June for cod (24% d−1) and in July for anchovy (17% d−1). Insufficient prey resources played a substantial role in limiting the growth rates of cod larvae. Anchovy were consistently limited by cold temperatures. Faster median larval growth during specific months was significantly (p < 0.05) positively associated with detrended (i.e. higher than expected) juvenile recruitment indices in cod (rank correlation Kendall’s tau = 22%) and anchovy (tau = 42%). For cod, the most predictive month was February, which was also when food limitation was most prevalent. The continued development of modeling tools based on first principles can help further a mechanistic understanding of how changes in the environment affect the productivity of living marine resources.
Analysis of Domestic and Cross-border Mega-M&As of European Commercial Banks

This paper examines value gains to acquirers in large commercial bank mega-mergers (with transaction values over £1 billion) that occurred in the European Union during the period 1997-2007, distinguishing between domestic and cross-border transactions. Based on a sample of 62 bank mega-mergers, an event study methodology is employed using a market model to determine cumulative standardised abnormal returns (CSAR) to acquiring banks around the announcement date of completed merger deals. This is followed by cross-sectional regression to determine specific characteristics driving acquirers’ CSAR. The study adopts a longer window of 61 days to capture announcement effects, reflects the recent period of increased cross-border banking consolidation in the EU, and reveals findings that differ in some respects from previous studies on EU bank M&As. In particular, cross-border bank mergers have been more frequent in recent years, reflecting a growing trend of banking sector consolidation in the EU. However, such mergers are found to yield significant negative announcement period acquirer returns, while domestic deals have marginally positive but insignificant returns. The operational cost efficiency and capital strength of acquiring banks are found to be the main significant factors influencing excess returns.
Measuring the effects of labour productivity on ASEAN5 plus 3 economic growth

This paper analyses the effects of labour productivity, capital deepening and total factor productivity (TFP) intensity in ASEAN5 (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) plus 3 (China, Japan and South Korea). The results of this study show that there was slight contribution of the TFP intensity to the economic growth of these countries during the periods of the study. The results also confirm that capital intensity had a strongly significant role in achieving light labour productivity contribution that had been produced by most of these economies through using huge inputs (such as physical, capital and labour) to produce outputs. The results show that the productivity growth of most of these countries is input driven, however, the South Korean model is moving to be a productivity driven; Japan is productivity driven as the only Asian nation that joined the industrial club which is dominated by Western nations.
Imaging Spectrometry on Mangrove Species Identification and Mapping in Malaysia

This study was conducted in Tok Bali, Kelantan and Setiu, Terengganu, Malaysia with the objectives to determine the spectral properties and to identify the significant wavelength in discriminating five mangrove species at different locations. The five mangrove species selected were Rhizophora apiculata, Brugiuera cylindrica, Avicennia alba), Heritiera littoralis) and Hibiscus tiliaceus. In the Near Infra Red (NIR) region, the mean spectral reflectance of five mangrove species at Tok Bali showed that the highest reflectance was recorded by R. apiculata with 84% and the lowest was recorded by A. alba with 69% spectral reflectance, respectively. Meanwhile at Setiu, the highest reflectance was represented by H. littoralis with 81% and the lowest was B. cylindrica with 73%. Spectral reflectance of five selected mangrove species were statistically tested using canonical stepwise discriminant analysis of SPSS program. Fifteen wavelengths were produced in discriminating among five selected mangrove species at both locations. Student t-test showed that there were no significant differences between spectral reflectance of mangrove species at Tok Bali and Setiu (P=0.345, P=0.778, P=0.753 and P= 0.513 greater than 0.05). These spectral signatures were also influenced by several factors such as cloud cover changes, atmospheric condition, leaf internal structure and chlorophyll content. This study therefore implies that individual mangrove species have a unique spectral reflectance and can be easily identified and mapped with a narrow contiguous wavelength bands in the NIR region.
Circumstantial evidence for the presence of monk seals in the West Indies

Based on interviews with 93 fishermen in northern Haiti and Jamaica during 1997 an assessment was made of the likelihood that monk seals survive in this region of the West Indies. Fishermen were asked to select marine species known to them from randomly arranged pictures: 22.6 per cent (n = 21) selected monk seals. This number was significantly (P < 0.001) greater than the number who selected control species (walrus, harbour seal, and sea-lion) that they were unlikely to have observed. However, it was not significantly different (n = 19, P > 0.1) from the number who selected manatees, which are known to occur in the region in small numbers. More than 95 per cent of respondents also identified species that are known to occur commonly in the region. Further questioning of the 21 respondents who selected monk seals suggested that 16 (78 per cent) of them had seen at least one in the past 1–2 years. Those fishermen that were able to provide further descriptions gave information about size and colour that was consistent with many of these seals being monk seals. It is possible that the Caribbean monk seal is not extinct.