Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mobility-Aware Service Caching in Mobile Edge Computing for Internet of Things

The mobile edge computing architecture successfully solves the problem of high latency in cloud computing. However, current research focuses on computation offloading and lacks research on service caching issues. To solve the service caching problem, especially for scenarios with high mobility in the Sensor Networks environment, we study the mobility-aware service caching mechanism. Our goal is to maximize the number of users who are served by the local edge-cloud, and we need to make predictions about the user’s target location to avoid invalid service requests. First, we propose an idealized geometric model to predict the target area of a user’s movement. Since it is difficult to obtain all the data needed by the model in practical applications, we use frequent patterns to mine local moving track information. Then, by using the results of the trajectory data mining and the proposed geometric model, we make predictions about the user’s target location. Based on the prediction result and existing service cache, the service request is forwarded to the appropriate base station through the service allocation algorithm. Finally, to be able to train and predict the most popular services online, we propose a service cache selection algorithm based on back-propagation (BP) neural network. The simulation experiments show that our service cache algorithm reduces the service response time by about 13.21% on average compared to other algorithms, and increases the local service proportion by about 15.19% on average compared to the algorithm without mobility prediction.
Cloud Atlas: High-precision HST/WFC3/IR Time-resolved Observations of Directly Imaged Exoplanet HD 106906b

HD 106906b is an , ∼15 Myr old directly imaged exoplanet orbiting at an extremely large distance from its host star. The wide separation (7.″11) between HD 106906b and its host star greatly reduces the difficulty in direct-imaging observations, making it one of the most favorable directly imaged exoplanets for detailed characterization. In this paper, we present HST/WFC3/IR time-resolved observations of HD 106906b in the F127M, F139M, and F153M bands. We have achieved ∼1% precision in the lightcurves in all three bands. The F127M lightcurve demonstrates marginally detectable (2.7σ significance) variability with a best-fitting period of 4 hr, while the lightcurves in the other two bands are consistent with flat lines. We construct primary-subtracted deep images and use these images to exclude additional companions to HD 106906 that are more massive than 4 and locate at projected distances of more than ∼500 au. We measure the astrometry of HD 106906b in two HST/WFC3 epochs and achieve precisions better than 2.5 mas. The position angle and separation measurements do not deviate from those in the 2004 HST/ACS/HRC images for more than 1σ uncertainty. We provide the HST/WFC3 astrometric results for 25 background stars that can be used as reference sources in future precision astrometry studies. Our observations also provide the first 1.4 μm water band photometric measurement for HD 106906b. HD 106906b’s spectral energy distribution and the best-fitting BT-Settl model have an inconsistency in the 1.4 μm water absorption band, which highlights the challenges in modeling atmospheres of young planetary-mass objects.
Extinction Characteristics of Six Tremolites with Differing Morphologies

There has been considerable discussion in the literature related to the use of standard optical properties of commercial asbestos minerals for the classification of amphibole minerals found in raw materials as either asbestiform or as non-asbestos (1-4). The goal of this study was to ascertain if there is a relationship between particle morphology and extinction characteristics in monoclinic tremolite amphiboles. Six tremolitic amphiboles were chosen for this study: three are fibrous(five from natural sites (i.e., mining locales)) and one is the NIST SRM 1867a tremolite standard. The morphology of these tremolites ranged from blocky to asbestiform. A particle-by-particle analysis was performed to determine extinction characteristics and the number of EPA-defined asbestos characteristics. In general, zero or near-zero extinction angles correlate to the number of asbestiform characteristics. Exceptions to this occur when a non-fibrous tremolite has (100) parting as a result of twinning or when fibrous tremolites are elongated in the g_-crystallographic direction, therefore preferentially lying on (010). However, when using extinction characteristics in conjunction with morphology, the differences between habit is discemable. The three fibrous tremolites have different fiber widths and, as such, exhibit different extinction characteristics. The smaller the diameter of the fibers, the greater number of particles exhibiting parallel extinction. The sample with the smallest widths (< 0.5 μm) displayed parallel extinction for all *350 Hochberg Rd. Monroeville PA, 15146 particles. When fiber diameters are small (<1 μm) optically visible fibers are in fact bundles of fibrils and are not single crystals; they therefore show parallel extinction.
Screening Readthrough Compounds to Suppress Nonsense Mutations: Possible Application to β-Thalassemia

Several types of thalassemia (including β039-thalassemia) are caused by nonsense mutations in genes controlling globin production, leading to premature translation termination and mRNA destabilization mediated by the nonsense mediated mRNA decay. Drugs (for instance, aminoglycosides) can be designed to suppress premature translation termination by inducing readthrough (or nonsense suppression) at the premature termination codon. These findings have introduced new hopes for the development of a pharmacologic approach to cure this genetic disease. In the present review, we first summarize the principle and current status of the chemical relief for the expression of functional proteins from genes otherwise unfruitful for the presence of nonsense mutations. Second, we compare data available on readthrough molecules for β0-thalassemia. The examples reported in the review strongly suggest that ribosomal readthrough should be considered as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of β0-thalassemia caused by nonsense mutations. Concluding, the discovery of molecules, exhibiting the property of inducing β-globin, such as readthrough compounds, is of great interest and represents a hope for several patients, whose survival will depend on the possible use of drugs rendering blood transfusion and chelation therapy unnecessary.
I Would Speak Up to Live Up to Your Trust: The Role of Psychological Safety and Regulatory Focus

Voicing upward refers to employee efforts to improve organizational functioning by making suggestions or expressing opinions and concerns. While extant studies have investigated how supervisors’ behaviors or attitudes influence employee voice behaviors, researchers have paid little attention to the effects of employee perceptions on voice. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), we developed and tested the effects of feeling trusted by supervisors on two dimensions of voice (promotive and prohibitive), focusing on the mediation role of psychological safety and the interaction effect of psychological safety and regulatory focus on voice. Using a sample of 244 participants and three waves of longitudinal data, we investigated whether feeling trusted would lead to both promotive and prohibitive voice through psychological safety. We also extensively examined the moderation effect of regulatory focus on psychological safety and the contingency dimension of voice. We found that promotion focus strengthens the positive relationship between psychological safety and voice (both promotive and prohibitive voice), whereas prevention focus strengthens the positive relationship between psychological safety and prohibitive voice. This paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Effects of a Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Intervention on Athletes Psychological Responses Following Injury: A Pilot Study

Context: In sport, the occurrence of an injury is almost inevitable and the rehabilitation process can take a toll on athletes’ emotions and contribute to psychological distress. Objective: To examine the effects of heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV BFB) training on pain catastrophizing and the psychological response variables of injured athletes. As a manipulation check, HRV BFB effects on athletes physiological indices including frequency-domain HRV and respiration rate were also assessed. Design: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Twenty-eight athletes (Mage = 20.82, SD = 3.41, Male = 19) who sustained a moderate to severe musculoskeletal sports injury and underwent rehabilitation were randomized into HRV BFB experimental, placebo, or control conditions. Intervention: Participants in the experimental condition received six 30-min HRV BFB training sessions over a 3-week period. Main outcome measures: Psychological responses to sport injury, pain catastrophizing, and physiological indices were assessed at Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3 (post-intervention). Results: Significant training effects on respiration rate and low frequency HRV at rest were found in favour of the experimental group. For pain catastrophizing constructs and psychological responses to sport injury, group differences over time were non-significant; however, the effects were medium to large and consistently favoured the experimental group (η2 range 0.06 0.13). Only isolation reached significance with a large effect in favour of the experimental group group (p = 0.024, η2 = 0.17). Significant, positive associations were found between change in respiration rate-rest and changes in rumination, magnification, devastation, restlessness, and isolation. Conclusion: Preliminary evidence indicates that HRV BFB training may be a promising intervention to improve pain catastrophizing and the psychological responses of injured athletes throughout the rehabilitation process. A large, adequately powered randomized controlled trial is warranted.
Reconstruction Methods and Complications of Esophagogastrostomy and Jejunal Interposition in Proximal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background Proximal gastrectomy is used for the treatment of primary gastric cancer by open or laparoscopic surgery in the upper third of the stomach. Esophagogastrostomy (EG) or jejunal interposition (JI) is widely used in various reconstruction methods after proximal gastrectomy. We conducted a meta-analysis of EG and JI for treatment of gastric cancer. Materials and Methods A search of PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, J-STAGE, and Cochrane Library identified retrospective series on EG and JI. Weight mean differences (WMDs), odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to analyze the operation-related data and postoperative complications. Heterogeneity was evaluated by the I2 test, and potential publication bias was assessed with Egger regression tests and sensitivity analysis. Results Eight studies were selected, and 496 patients were included. EG group benefits were 44.81 min shorter operating time (P < 0.001), 56.58 mL less blood loss (P = 0.03), and 7.4 days shorter hospital stay time (P < 0.001) than the JI group. Between the two groups, there was no significant difference in anastomotic leakage; otherwise, the EG group had a lower risk of anastomotic stenosis (OR = 0.44, 95%CI = 0.20 to 0.97, P = 0.04), lower risk of intestinal obstruction (OR = 0.07, 95%CI = 0.01 to 0.43, P = 0.004), and higher risk of reflux esophagitis (OR = 2.47, 95%CI = 1.07 to 5.72, P = 0.03). Conclusion The results of our study indicated that EG has significant advantages during the perioperative period and in short-term outcomes compared to JI.
Social Media Sharing and Online News Consumption

Publishers' strategies in the digital age depend critically on whether social media substitutes for or drives online news consumption. Unfortunately, a number of empirical challenges, including endogeneity and the confounding effect of inherent newsworthiness, make identifying the causal effect of social media on news consumption difficult. We overcome these challenges by leveraging exogenous variation in regional news consumption to identify the cross region viewership effects of news sharing on social media. We apply this method to a novel data set constructed from over 200 million page views of the New York Times between April 8, 2013 to October 27, 2013. Exploiting regional rainfall as a natural experiment, we first identify positive and significant cross-region peer effects in online news consumption. A 1% increase in aggregate viewership outside of a focal region causes viewership in that region to increase by approximately 0.34%. Further analysis suggests that social media is the primary driver of these cross-region peer effects. Specifically, cross-region peer effects in viewership are stronger when referred by social media than when referred by search engines. Furthermore, regions that are strongly-connected with each other on social media exhibit more positive and significant peer effects than regions that are weakly-connected. Taken together, these results suggest that social media sharing drives online news consumption.
Corporate Governance Quality and the Information Content of Discretionary Accruals: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

The aim of this paper was to examine whether corporate governance (CG) quality affects the information content of discretionary accruals in Saudi Arabia. To approach the concept of CG, which covers such dimensions as the board of directors, its committees, and ownership structure, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was applied to a sample of 124 Saudi firms for the period 2012 to 2016. The findings indicate that the association between stock return and discretionary accruals is greater for firms with a good CG structure. However, this paper was restricted to firms in in Saudi Arabia. Future research should cover other CG countries and compare the results among these countries or examine other moderating variables, such as foreign ownership. Citation: Dhahbi AN (2019) Corporate Governance Quality and the Information Content of Discretionary Accruals: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. Arabian J Bus Manag Review 9: 367.
Development of the Audio Enhancement Method by Using the Reflected Signals in the Reverberant Environment

This paper presents a new audio signal enhancement method based on reflection signal detection in the reverberant environment. This technique enhances the audio signal from the target sound source in time domain. The advantages of this technique are enhancing the target sound source by a simple algorithm and reducing the background noise effectively. The effects of distances between the speaker and microphone and the coefficient of correlation are discussed in this paper. The coefficient of correlation is rising from 0.17 to 0.63 as the distance between the speaker and microphone is varying from 30 to 90 cm. Also, some antinoise experiments are carried out in this study and the results show that the audio enhancement algorithm provides a good antinoise performance in different background noise levels.
Bayesian Estimates of Transmission Line Outage Rates That Consider Line Dependencies

Transmission line outage rates are fundamental to power system reliability analysis. Line outages are infrequent, occurring only about once a year, so outage data are limited. We propose a Bayesian hierarchical model that leverages line dependencies to better estimate outage rates of individual transmission lines from limited outage data. The Bayesian estimates have a lower standard deviation than estimating the outage rates simply by dividing the number of outages by the number of years of data, especially when the number of outages is small. The Bayesian model produces more accurate individual line outage rates, as well as estimates of the uncertainty of these rates. Better estimates of line outage rates can improve system risk assessment, outage prediction, and maintenance scheduling.
Rate and Determinants of Recurrence at 1 Year and 5 Years After Stroke in a Low-Income Population in Rural China

Recurrent stroke is becoming an increasingly important public health issue owing to the increased risk of disability and death. However, population-based studies investigating the rate of recurrent stroke in China are rare. We explored the rate and determinants of recurrent stroke within 1 and 5 years after the initial stroke in a rural population in China. Data for stroke events were obtained from the Tianjin Brain Study, conducted between 1992 and 2016. The age-standardized rates of recurrent stroke within the first year and the first 5 years after the initial stroke were calculated for this period. Determinants of recurrent stroke were assessed using Cox regression analyses. The overall age-standardized rate of recurrent stroke within 1 year was 5.7% (men, 6.9%; women, 4.6%); within 5 years, the overall recurrent stroke rate was 22.5% (men, 24.0%; women, 20.2%). The recurrence rate increased with advancing age and decreased with increased educational attainment. Age ≥65 years and a history of alcohol consumption were independent risk factors for recurrent stroke within 1 year after the incident stroke, after adjusting for age, sex, education, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol consumption. However, the risk of recurrent stroke within 5 years after the incident stroke was positively associated with male sex, age ≥65 years, a lower level of education, known diabetes, and alcohol consumption, after adjusting for the previously indicated covariates. These findings suggest a crucial need to address risk factor management among stroke patients to reduce the burden of stroke, especially among low-income populations. Furthermore, a multicenter, large sample, nationwide study is urgently needed.
Multi-objective Neural Architecture Search via Non-stationary Policy Gradient

Multi-objective Neural Architecture Search (NAS) aims to discover novel architectures in the presence of multiple conflicting objectives. Despite recent progress, the problem of approximating the full Pareto front accurately and efficiently remains challenging. In this work, we explore the novel reinforcement learning (RL) based paradigm of non-stationary policy gradient (NPG). NPG utilizes a non-stationary reward function, and encourages a continuous adaptation of the policy to capture the entire Pareto front efficiently. We introduce two novel reward functions with elements from the dominant paradigms of scalarization and evolution. To handle non-stationarity, we propose a new exploration scheme using cosine temperature decay with warm restarts. For fast and accurate architecture evaluation, we introduce a novel pre-trained shared model that we continuously fine-tune throughout training. Our extensive experimental study with various datasets shows that our framework can approximate the full Pareto front well at fast speeds. Moreover, our discovered cells can achieve supreme predictive performance compared to other multi-objective NAS methods, and other single-objective NAS methods at similar network sizes. Our work demonstrates the potential of NPG as a simple, efficient, and effective paradigm for multi-objective NAS.
Do managers engage in earnings management to support firm's market valuation?

This study examines the relationship between a firm’s market value and earnings management in the Italian financial market. Change in total accruals is used as a proxy for earnings management and change in the market to book ratio is used as a proxy for a firm’s market value. In contrast to the United States, Italy is a code-law and insider system country. The financial accounting system is characterized by a close overlap with tax accounting systems, which allows me to study the relationship with a different perspective than is possible with U.S. data. Moreover, I imply change in total accruals to measure earnings management. To my knowledge, there are no studies utilising this methodology in this type of institutional setting. The results of my study show that an increase in a firm’s market value is associated with income-increasing earnings management and a decrease in a firm’s market value is associated with income-decreasing earnings management. In line with U.S. evidence, my findings empirically validate Jensen’s prediction (Jensen, 2005) of the overvalued company also in the Italian financial market. The positive relationship between a decrease in a firm’s market value and income-decreasing earnings management is consistent with Badertscher (2011) study.
Image Analysis for Nail-fold Capillaroscopy

Detection of diseases in an early stage is very important since it can make the treatment of patients easier, safer and more ecient. For the detection of rheumatic diseases, and even prediction of tendencies towards such diseases, capillaroscopy is becoming an increasingly recognized method. Nail-fold capillaroscopy is a non-invasive imaging technique that is used for analysis of microcirculation abnormalities that may lead todisease like systematic sclerosis, Reynauds phenomenon and others.The main goal of this master thesis project is to provide new tools and techniques for the analysis of capillaroscopy images from the nail-fold area. Image processing and machine learning techniques are applied to images obtained by digital microscopes, like Mediscope as produced by Optilia Instruments AB, Sollentuna. This thesis oers a novel way for segmentation of capillaries from images as well as (semi)automatic capillary width calculation and automatic annotation of capillaries. These tools provide new insights into the structure of capillaries and also reduce the time required for measurement/annotation of capillaries.
Lipreading Using Temporal Convolutional Networks

Lip-reading has attracted a lot of research attention lately thanks to advances in deep learning. The current state-of-the-art model for recognition of isolated words in-the-wild consists of a residual network and Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (BGRU) layers. In this work, we address the limitations of this model and we propose changes which further improve its performance. Firstly, the BGRU layers are replaced with Temporal Convolutional Networks (TCN). Secondly, we greatly simplify the training procedure, which allows us to train the model in one single stage. Thirdly, we show that the current state-of-the-art methodology produces models that do not generalize well to variations on the sequence length, and we address this issue by proposing a variable-length augmentation. We present results on the largest publicly-available datasets for isolated word recognition in English and Mandarin, LRW and LRW1000, respectively. Our proposed model1 results in an absolute improvement of 1.2% and 3.2%, respectively, in these datasets which is the new state-of-the-art performance.