Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Efficient and Accurate Indoor Positioning System

In this thesis, an indoor localization method using on-line independent support vector machine (OISVM) classification method and under-sampling techniques is proposed. The proposed positioning method is based on the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of Wi-Fi signals. A new under-sampling algorithm is developed to address the imbalanced data problem associated with the OISVM, and a kernel function parameter selection algorithm is introduced for the training process. The time complexity of both the training process and the prediction process are decreased. Comparative experimental results indicate that the training speed and the prediction speed are improved by at least 10 times and 5 times, respectively. Furthermore, through on-line learning, the estimation error is decreased by 0.8m. Such an improvement makes the proposed method an ideal indoor positioning solution for portable devices where the processing power and the memory capacity are limited. A new Particle Filter (PF) scheme for indoor localization using Wi-Fi received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and inertial sensor measurements has also been presented. RSSI is affected significantly by multipath fading, building structure and obstacles in indoor environments. The information provided by inertial sensors combined with the proposed particle filter are used to develop a positioning algorithm supporting a smooth and stable localization experience. To differentiate similar fingerprints, a single-hidden layer feedforward networks (SLFNs) is used to model the multiple probabilistic estimations and to improve the performance of the PF. A new initialization algorithm using Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) has also been presented to reduce the convergence time. Experimental measurements were carried out to determine the performance of the proposed algorithm. The results indicate that the positioning error falls to less than 1.2 (m).
Simulated ducting of high‐frequency atmospheric gravity waves in the presence of background winds

A new nonlinear and time‐dependent model is used to derive the total perturbation energy flux of two gravity wave packets propagating from the troposphere to the lower thermosphere. They are excited by a heat source and respectively propagate in an eastward and westward direction in the presence of a zonal wind. Analysis of the refractive index, the power spectra and the total perturbation energy flux allows us to correctly interpret the ducting characteristics of these two wave packets. In our study the wind acts as a directional filter to the wave propagations and causes noticeable spectral variations at higher altitudes. We are the first that time‐resolve the total perturbation energy flux influenced by the winds and the simulations have immediate impacts to the airglow observations on certain wave spectra.
Solidification Mechanism of the Sediment Formed by Particle Settling — Analysis of the Final State of the Sediment

Particles in a slurry often form a solidified layer at the bottom of its container, making the slurry no longer useable in material fabrication processes. In order to analyze the mechanism of solidification of a sediment, we observed the gravitational sedimentation behavior of various slurries prepared by changing the slurry pH and measured the height of the solidified layer after settling by inclining the test tube. We conclude that the height of the solidified layer has a close correlation with the maximum repulsive force calculated by the DLVO theory, but not with the potential barrier. In addition, we can express the final height of the solidified layer using a very simple model.
Estimating the ETAS model from an early aftershock sequence

Forecasting aftershock probabilities, as early as possible after a main shock, is required to mitigate seismic risks in the disaster area. In general, aftershock activity can be complex, including secondary aftershocks or even triggering larger earthquakes. However, this early forecasting implementation has been difficult because numerous aftershocks are unobserved immediately after the main shock due to dense overlapping of seismic waves. Here we propose a method for estimating parameters of the epidemic type aftershock sequence (ETAS) model from incompletely observed aftershocks shortly after the main shock by modeling an empirical feature of data deficiency. Such an ETAS model can effectively forecast the following aftershock occurrences. For example, the ETAS model estimated from the first 24 h data after the main shock can well forecast secondary aftershocks after strong aftershocks. This method can be useful in early and unbiased assessment of the aftershock hazard.
A Low-Cost Wideband Quasi-Yagi SIW-Based Textile Antenna

A low-cost wideband textile antenna based on the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is proposed, and a pure copper taffeta fabric etched on a woolen felt substrate is used to realize the presented antenna. The impedance matching frequency band for the designed structure is from 2.27 GHz to 3.61 GHz which is significantly improved compared with previous studies. The operational principle of the proposed quasi-Yagi textile antenna is also described in this paper. The antenna is fabricated and measured, and a good agreement is achieved between the simulation and experimental results. The designed antenna has the maximum gain and efficiency of 4.2 dB and 84%, respectively. According to its compactness, low-cost and low-weight specifications, the proposed antenna is a good candidate for being utilized in wearable communication devices.
Cortical Osteoid Osteomas of the Calcaneus Managed by En Bloc Resection and Autogenous Iliac Bone Grafting

Osteoid osteoma was firstly described by Bergstrand [1] as a benign osteoblastic tumor in 1930, then followed by Jaffe [2] in 1935 who described it and he was the first one to recognize it as a unique entity. The most common sites of osteoid osteomas are the femur, especially the intertrochanteric or intracapsular regions of the hip, which are affected in two thirds of cases [2,3] the other common sites are the diaphyseal parts of the tibia and the humerus. This osteoid osteoma is not common in the foot and its incidence ranges from 4% to 16%, the preferred locations in the foot are the talus which ranges from 31% to 59% followed by the calcaneus which ranges from 12.5% to 22% of all osteoid osteomas of the foot [3-5]. There are frequent difficulties in the diagnosis and the localization of osteoid osteomas in the foot and also difficulties for the standard x-ray films to detect the tumor especially if there are extensive sclerosis in cortical lesion or arthrititic changes in subarticular regions in the small tarsal bone [3-6]. In this study we evaluated the results of six rare cases of cortical osteoid osteomas of the calcaneus managed by en bloc resection of osteoid osteomas with autogenous iliac bone grafting.
A method and example system for managing provenance information in a heterogeneous process environment - a provenance architecture containing the Provenance Management System (PROMS)

For large distributed environmental information systems built for projects of national significance, such as eReefs and Bioregional Assessments, it is crucial they be able to capture information about their data processing in order to be able to trace the lineage of their data products. Policy and decision makers may need to know great detail about the processes that created data products in order to trust them as they influence crucial and high profile political decisions. Scientists may even need to be able to recreate modelling or data manipulation processes long after their original implementation in order to verify results. There are a series of tools that help in this task: there is a W3C Recommendation for a 2 nd generation provenance data model and Semantic Web ontology that has been developed by an international team of provenance researchers, known as PROV-O (Moreau and Missier, 2013). It is intended that it be used to represent the provenance of generic processes and can therefore be used as a common information format for projects that contain heterogeneous processes. Researchers in the CSIRO have developed a Persistent ID Service (PID) that helps to manage the identity of 'things' (information resources and representations of real world features) (Golodoniuc, 2013) for which, when those things are generated by human processes, provenance can be recorded. Provenance information can be very complex and different for every single process recorded, thus making storage difficult. Even though there are mechanisms (triplestores) built to store data of the PROV-O type, they are not massively scalable so we have used a recently popular, schema-less, databases that is able to store large collections of data 'documents' without forcing structural constraints on them. Additionally, the use of Linked Data through a variant of the Linked Data API (Epimorphics, 2013), also by CSIRO members, can be used to provide access to different forms, or views, of the 'things' stored. Putting these four developments together allows us to represent, manage, store and provide access to provenance data in novel ways. Implementing this is the focus of this paper. A provenance architecture using the PROV-O ontology, PID Services, variant Linked Data APIs and several support services has been tested with several automated workflows, notably the Bureau of Meteorology's Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric's Contracted Catchments production workflow. We describe the development of this architecture and detail the componentry it uses - in particular the new Provenance Management System PROMS. The methodology and architecture described here, more than the specific tools detailed, are this paper's contribution to large, multi-part, information systems' provenance handling so we present this information in order to demonstrate and approach, not to evangelise the use of a specific tool.
Long Memory and Periodicity in Intraday Volatility of Stock Index Futures

This paper investigates the intraday volatility pattern of the E-mini SP500 hourly returns. In order to account for the observed long memory and periodicity in returns volatility we introduce the Fractionally Integrated Periodic EGARCH and the Seasonal Fractional Integrated Periodic EGARCH. For both models we compute the population kurtosis and the autocorrelation function of power transformations of absolute returns. The results confirm that volatility of hourly returns sampled over the 24 hours across different markets are characterized by strong seasonal pattern with a statistically significant persistence.
Multivariate indices as estimates of dry body weight for comparative study of body size in Lepidoptera

Comparative studies on the size of adult Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) frequently rely on single linear estimates of body size, namely of forewing length or wingspan. As the shape of the wings of these insects - in fact, of all body parts - differs from one taxon to another, such estimates of body mass may not be adequate for comparisons across a wide taxonomic range. Using the length and width of the forewing, thorax and abdomen, as well as the wing area of 375 species and their correlations with dry body weight, several composite indices were determined that might be used in different circumstances. As the coefficients of determination from the multivariate regression models were rather high (R 2 >0.96), the results are believed to be reliable. A critical re-evaluation of the results indicates that important varia- tions in the regression slopes described here would be expected, if at all, only from species with unusual body shapes. Incidentally, the bivariate relationships are in agreement with former comparative work on Lepidoptera and other terrestrial insects in that the relationship between body weight and single linear measurements follows a slightly negatively allometric trend, implying comparatively lighter bodies at the largest body sizes and relatively heavier ones at the shortest body sizes.
Antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from chickens in a diagnostic laboratory

The aim of this study was to determine the resistance profile of 24 Campylobacter jejuni and 16 Campylobacter coli isolates from chickens in a diagnostic laboratory in Nigeria. Susceptibility testing was done by a broth microdilution MIC method with MICRONAUT – S anaerob test plates (Merlin Diagnostika, GmbH, Germany). MIC assay was performed according to CLSI (formally NCCLS) methods. Resistance to ciprofloxacin (57.5%) was the highest, followed by nalidixic acid (47%), tetracycline (35%) and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole (22%). Campylobacter jejuni were more resistant than Campylobacter coli to nalidixic acid, tetracycline and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole while Campylobacter coli were more resistant than Campylobacter jejuni to erythromycin and streptomycin. 47.5% of the isolates were multi - drug resistant with nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin as the most frequently occurring antimicrobial agent in the pattern. This work has shown that majority of the Campylobacter isolates were resistant to most of the antimicrobial agents used with multi - drug resistance, thus the need for surveillance and rational use of antimicrobial agents in poultry production. Key words: Antimicrobial resistance, campylobacter, chickens, diagnostic laboratory, MIC, multi-drug resistance.
Blow up on a curve for a nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation on Riemannian surfaces

We consider the focusing quintic nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation posed on a rotationally symmetric surface, typically the sphere $S^2$ or the two dimensional hyperbolic space $H^2$. We prove the existence and the stability of solutions blowing up on a suitable curve with the log log speed. The Euclidean case is handled in Rapha\"el (2006) and our result shows that the log log rate persists in other geometries with the assumption of a radial symmetry of the manifold.
Optical assessment of gel-like mechanical and structural properties of surface layers: single particle tracking and molecular rotors

Thin gel-like layers form at many surfaces of natural or artificial origin. Important properties of such layers include thickness, viscosity and density. Here we discuss two optical approaches which allow assessment of these properties with high resolution. The first approach relies on centroid calculation and defocus imaging based 3D tracking of fluorescent tracer particles, which is based on standard fluorescent microscopy and allows a precision of particle detection in the range of 10nm. The size of the particle and its surface charge and polarity will determine the particle invasion into the layer. Thus simultaneous application of different colored beads with different size and properties can reveal the thickness and nature of the layer. Via tracking the thermal vibration of particles invading the layer the bulk viscosity of the layer can be calculated. The second approach uses “molecular rotor” fluorophores (MR). Due to their molecular structure, the MR’s fluorescence quantum yield increases as their internal rotation is hampered by e.g. high viscosity of the embedding medium. The MRs are several orders of magnitude smaller than the structural (macro) molecules of a gel-like layer and therefore the MRs are not necessarily directly sensitive toward the bulk viscosity of the layer. In contrast, the MRs internal rotation will be attenuated by the MRs interaction with the structural elements of the layer or the solvent included in it. Depending on their molecular structure MRs exhibit different sensitivity to the mechanical properties of the large macromolecules or the solvent in a layer. Thus, they may be used to assess the microdomain’s viscosity or density in a surface layer. Using a ratiometric imaging approach, they can be used for continuous measurements in very different experimental settings.
Productivity, chemical composition and ruminal degradability of irrigated Napier grass leaves harvested at three stages of maturity

The effect of the stage of maturity on the productivity, chemical composition, and ruminal degradability of Napier grass ( Pennisetum purpureum ) leaves under irrigation was studied. Samples were collected at three stages of maturity, at intervals of four weeks starting from the fourth week until the twelfth week (April–July) after sprouting and then harvested to determine biomass. The stages of maturity had significant effects on longest leaf length per plant and plant height, but had no effect on number of leaves per plant and number of tillers. Dry matter (DM) increased significantly with maturity, while crude protein (CP) and fat content decreased significantly, with no significant effect on acid detergent lignin (ADL), ash, acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF). Maturity significantly decreased potassium, copper and sodium, while calcium and zinc increased significantly up to the intermediate stage, then declined toward the late stage of maturity. Maturity did not affect the magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and iron contents of the forage. Ruminal degradability of CP at 48, 72, 96 and 120 incubation hour decreased significantly with maturity, with no effect on all other incubation times for DM and CP. Maturity significantly decreased the soluble fraction (a) of DM, with no significant effect on other fractions of DM and CP. Effective degradability (%) of DM and CP decreased with maturity when the rate of passage increased from 2% to 8%. Napier forage should be harvested before maturity to retain its high nutrient content, and the degradability of DM and CP. Keywords: mineral composition, in sacco, dry matter, crude protein disappearance
City-Dyad Analyses of China’s Integration into the World City Network

The business connections between Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai and other major world cities are investigated using the interlocking network model based upon the location strategies of advanced producer service firms. This approach emphasises non-hierarchical relations between cities. A key new finding is that city-dyad analysis enhances the prominence of these China cities compared with simple ranking by total global network connectivity. This suggests that Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing have developed more strategically important roles in the world city network than previously understood. Yet the geographies of these links are distinctive, with Shanghai shown to be better connected to the more important world cities such as London and New York than Beijing; and Beijing is found to be better connected to political world cities such as Washington and Brussels, and to other Pacific Asian cities, than Shanghai. The results are interpreted as suggestions for developing a new research programme.
Revealing the Pathway from Couple Relationship to Children’s Social Competence: The Role of Life Stress, Parenting Self-Efficacy, and Effective Parenting

Parenting is an intricate matter influenced by multiple processes and elements within the family. Drawing from the earlier work, I this study aims to examine the effects of supportive couple relationships on mothers’ ability to engage in competent parenting, which helps promote children’s self-regulation development conducted comparative path analysis with a sample of 335 mothers drawn from a larger study of families of first- and second-grade children in public elementary schools in an urban school district in Northern California (n=130) and in the Tokyo metropolitan area (n=157) and 58 teachers (38 teachers in the United States, 20 teachers in Japan),. The results indicated a consistency in the association between mothers’ satisfaction in couple relationships and their parenting competence across groups in both the United States and Japan. The result also indicated the uniqueness in the couple relationship-parenting competence link across the two nations, especially in terms of the domains of parenting vulnerable to couple relationship quality and its effects upon parenting self-efficacy. The benefits that supportive couple relationships project onto child rearing may be a universal feature of family life. Nevertheless, the values and practices specific to various cultural models of parenting determine which domains of parenting are vulnerable to the quality of couple relationships. The purpose of the present research is to uncover the cross-national generalizability and differences of the psychological process that links supportive couple to mothers’ psychological well-being and parenting competence.
The influence of small-scale flow and chemical cues on the settlement of two congeneric barnacle species

We report the results of 2 types of field experiment done to examine the influence of the interaction between small-scale flow disruptions and chemical cues associated with conspecific individuals on the settlement of larvae of 2 congeneric barnacle species, Elminius modestus and E. covertus. One series of experiments (ridge experiments) examined the effects of the chemical component of barnacle presence and flow disruptions at the scale of settlement plates (<10 cm). Cyprids could contact surfaces containing chemical cues from conspecific adults on either ridged or flat plates. Settlement was greatest on plates with cues but was not affected by flow disruptions. The other experiment (mimic experiment) used settlement plates with either live barnacles or casts of adult barnacles attached, as well as flat control plates, to test the influence of conspecific presence and flow disruption at the scale of individual barnacles (< 1 cm) on the settlement of cyprids. Settlement was affected by both live barnacles and barnacle mimics, indicating that a combination of flow and conspecific-derived cues influence settlement. Hence, the importance of flow disruption to the settlement of cyprids is dependent on the scale of the disruption. The survival of barnacles for up to 2 mo after settlement was also followed in the ridge experiments. The settlement patterns larvae showed early in these experiments were not evident after periods of heavy recruitment; we discuss possible causes.
MAGNETOSPHERIC AND THERMOSPHERIC ORIGIN ELECTRIC FIELDS INFLUENCE ON THE ENHANCED ELECTRON DENSITY REGIONS IN THE NIGHT-TIME IONOSPHERIC F2-LAYER

The electric fields influence on the equatorial sides of the enhanced electron density regions (EEDR's) in the night-time middle-latitude ionospheric F2-layer has been investigated by using the global Upper Atmosphere of the Earth Model (UAM) and the empirical model of the ionosphere IRI-2001. It has been shown that the strengthening of the magnetospheric electric field results in the decrease of the steepness of the equatorial sides of the EEDR's. The seasonal and solar activity variations of the latitudinal location of the EEDR's equatorial sides are formed by corresponding variations of the thermospheric dynamo electric field.
Learning Race in a U.S. Context: An Emergent Framework on the Perceptions of Race among Foreign-Born Students of Color.

Foreign-born students of color arrive in the United States with racial and cultural orientations specific to their country of origin, which are often quite distinct from issues of race and racism within the U.S. context. This qualitative study examines the college experiences of 15 foreign-born students of color to address the research question: How do foreign-born students of color perceive and respond to racialized experiences and their racial minority status in the United States? The findings of this study reveal that traditional frameworks on race and racial identity development do not fully capture the perceptions and behaviors of foreign-born students of color. Our data reveal patterns that we offer as an emergent framework on Learning Race in a U.S. Context (LRUSC). Understanding how foreign-born students make meaning of racialization in the United States can give education researchers and practitioners more holistic insight into the educational experiences of this growing student population.