Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postnatal development of the afferent innervation of the mammalian cochlea

The adult mammalian cochlea receives dual afferent innervation: the inner hair cells (IHCs) are innervated exclusively by type I spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), whereas the outer hair cells (OHCs) are innervated by type II SGNs. We have characterized the reorganization and morphology of this dual afferent innervation pattern as it is established in the developing rat cochlea. Before the cochlear afferent innervation reaches a mature configuration, there is an initial mismatch, where both populations of SGNs innervate both types of sensory hair cells: during the first postnatal week in the rat cochlea, type I SGN innervation is eliminated from the OHC and type II SGN innervation is eliminated from the IHC. This reorganization occurs during the first two postnatal weeks just before the onset of hearing. Our data reveal distinct phases in the development of the afferent innervation of the organ of Corti: neurite refinement, with a formation of the outer spiral bundles innervating outer hair cells; neurite retraction and synaptic pruning to eliminate type I SGN innervation of OHCs, while retaining their supply to IHCs. Such a reorganization also makes the cochlea a model system for studying CNS synapse development, plasticity and elimination. The present article summarizes the recent progress in our understanding of the afferent innervation of the cochlea. Biomedical Reviews 2012; 23: 37-52.
Asset Price Dynamics in a Chartist-Fundamentalist Model with Time Delays

This paper studies the dynamic behavior of asset prices using a chartist - fundamentalist model with two speculative markets. To this effect, we employ a differential system with delays similar to Dibeh (2007) to describe the price dynamics and we assume that the two markets are coupled via diffusive coupling terms. We study two different time delay cases, namely when both markets experience the same time delay, and when the time delay is different across markets. First, we theoretically determine that the equilibrium exists and investigate its stability. Second, we establish the general conditions for the existence of local Hopf bifurcations and extensively analyze their direction and stability. The common conclusion from both the delay scenarios we consider is that coupled speculative markets with heterogeneous agents in each, but with different price dynamics, can be synchronized through diffusive coupling. Finally, we provide some numerical illustrations to confirm our theoretical findings.
The surface-potential-based compact model HiSIM-SOI for Silicon-On-Insulator MOSFETs

The compact circuit simulation model HiSIM-SOI for Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI)-MOSFET solves the three surface potentials of the SOI-MOSFET accurately without sacrificing simulation time. Depending on device structure and biasing conditions the SOI-MOSFET device may operate in partially depleted (PD) or fully depleted (FD) modes and a smooth transition between these modes is prerequisite for a good compact model. HiSIM-SOI is verified to fulfill these requirements and to cover all the operational regions of SOI-MOSFETs. It is also demonstrated that the floating-body effect, which determines key SOI-MOSFET properties like the kink effect or the history effect, can be accurately captured within the model calculation in a simple way without introducing an additional node in the compact model. Furthermore, HiSIM-SOI correctly reproduces measured data of both body-contact and floating-body devices.
Robot Localization with Image-Based Panoramic Models Using Vertical Line Features

This paper presents a method for estimating the position of a mobile robot in an indoor environment. The proposed technique uses a model of the environment formed by two panoramic cylindrical images taken at di erent locations, and a planar image taken at the current position. The current position and orientation of the robot are then computed without any additional information. We assume that the robot is moving on a plane ( oor plane), which is very common for indoor environments. We will extend our previous result on using point features and exploit vertical line features to perform the localization. Our method is attractive because it does not require an explicit 3D model of the environment, and the location of the camera is not restricted to positions close to the cylindrical models. We will describe experimental results for both synthetic and real data to demonstrate the e ectiveness of the proposed method.
A glove for rubbing and touch gestures

This paper describes the design and preliminary evaluation of a glove with individual sensors covering the tips of the thumb, third, and fourth fingers, plus grids of smaller sensors lining the palmar sides of the first and second fingers. The glove senses two types of gestures: rubbing the thumb against the first two fingers, and tapping the thumb on the tip of any of the four fingers, alone or simultaneously in different combinations. The glove occupies a novel point in the space of input devices, supporting low-resolution spatial input in one or two dimensions by rubbing, for discrete input by finger tapping, and for discrete input by single-stroke directional rubbing.
Household Resource Endowment and Determinants of Adoption of Drought Tolerant Maize Varieties: A Double-hurdle Approach

Existing literature suggests the influence of household wealth on farmer's technology adoption decisions. In 2007, this study was conducted to provide a clearer understanding of how differences in household wealth affect the way in which other variables influence adoption decisions. Using data from 369 households in Adama and Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha districts of Ethiopia, the paper first stratified households into poorly and well-endowed categories based on wealth indices constructed using their productive assets by the principal components method. A double hurdle model was then specified and estimated for each wealth group to assess factors influencing the adoption and use intensity of improved varieties. The results suggest that factors influencing the adoption and use intensity of improved maize varieties among the 61% of the poorly endowed households differed from those observed for the well endowed households. The results, therefore, draw attention to the need to design wealth group specific interventions to improve the adoption and use intensity of improved maize varieties among farmers in the two and similar districts of Ethiopia.
Women and Men of the States: Public Administrators at the State Level

This text discusses and compares men's and women's career patterns in state government. It is based upon newly conducted original research surveys in six states. From this research, generalisations are made concerning commonalities and differences between men's and women's experiences in public adminstration at the state level. This is a new area of research: while much has been done at the federal level (and there is a federal database to work from) until now little work has been done and little data is available for the states.
Revisable Justified Belief: Preliminary Report

The theory $\mathsf{CDL}$ of Conditional Doxastic Logic is the single-agent version of Board's multi-agent theory $\mathsf{BRSIC}$ of conditional belief. $\mathsf{CDL}$ may be viewed as a version of AGM belief revision theory in which Boolean combinations of revisions are expressible in the language. We introduce a theory $\mathsf{JCDL}$ of Justified Conditional Doxastic Logic that replaces conditional belief formulas $B^\psi\varphi$ by expressions $t{\,:^{\psi}}\varphi$ made up of a term $t$ whose syntactic structure suggests a derivation of the belief $\varphi$ after revision by $\psi$. This allows us to think of terms $t$ as reasons justifying a belief in various formulas after a revision takes place. We show that $\mathsf{JCDL}$-theorems are the exact analogs of $\mathsf{CDL}$-theorems, and that this result holds the other way around as well. This allows us to think of $\mathsf{JCDL}$ as a theory of revisable justified belief.
G65.2+5.7: A Thermal Composite Supernova Remnant with a Cool Shell

This paper presents archival ROSAT PSPC observations of the G65.2+5.7 supernova remnant (also known as G65.3+5.7). Little material obscures this remnant, and so it was well observed, even at the softest end of ROSAT's bandpass (~0.11-0.28 keV). These soft X-ray images reveal the remnant's centrally filled morphology, which, in combination with existing radio frequency observations, places G65.2+5.7 in the thermal composite (mixed-morphology) class of supernova remnants. Not only might G65.2+5.7 be the oldest known thermal composite supernova remnant, but owing to its optically revealed cool, dense shell, this remnant supports the proposal that thermal composite supernova remnants lack X-ray-bright shells because they have evolved beyond the adiabatic phase. These observations also reveal a slightly extended point source centered on R.A. 19h36m46s, decl. 30°40'07'' and extending 6. ′5 in radius in the band 67 map. The source of this emission has yet to be discovered, as there is no known pulsar at this location.
Effect of Equal and Mismatched Signal Transition Time on Power Dissipation in Global VLSI Interconnects

High density chips have introduced problems like crosstalk noise and power dissipation. The mismatching in transition time of the inputs occurs because different lengths of interconnects lead to different parasitic values. This paper presents the analysis of the effect of equal and unequal (mismatched) transition time of inputs on power dissipation in coupled interconnects. Further, the effect of signal skew on transition time is analysed. To demonstrate the effects, a model of two distributed RLC lines coupled capacitively and inductively is taken into consideration. Each interconnect line is 4mm long and terminated by capacitive load of 30fF. The analysis is carried out for simultaneously switching lines. The results are obtained through SPICE simulations and waveforms are generated.
Texture Retrieval by Scale and Rotation Invariant Directional Empirical Mode Decomposition

In this paper, a method for texture retrieval based on Scale and Rotation Invariant Directional Empirical Mode Decomposition (SRIDEMD) is presented. Different from other filtering based techniques such as wavelet and Gabor decomposition, EMD uses the nonlinear filtering process called 'sifting' which attains its scalead aptivity and obtained Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) which has approximate orthogonality. We extend DEMD which is a fast technique of extending 1-D EMD to 2-D case by introducing scale and rotation invariance. Features including frequency and envelopes of IMFs are extracted after 2-D Hilbert transform. Decomposition in several directions is made for rotation invariance and main direction is used. Scale-invariant features are attained by further processing the results and using fractal dimensions of the residues and IMFs. We validate the effectiveness of this method by experiments for textures from public texture database.
Integrating Data into Objects Using Structural Knowledge

The concept of object technology has been well accepted. Using the grouping of data provided by object-oriented data structuring provides advantages in terms of efficient programming and program maintenance. However, current object-oriented systems are far from solving all the problems that exist in computing. Scalability is a particular concern. The modest acceptance of object-oriented databases is evidence of that problem. In this paper we survey the state of object data management, and current research. In particular we assesses multi-user and semantic scalability the object-oriented data paradigm. Rather than rejecting the use of objects due to the problems discovered we describe an algebraic approach which permits the generation of data objects from relational data, based on the knowledge captured in a formal model. Now objects can be created that satisfy a variety of particular views, as long as the hierarchies represented by the views are subsumed in the network represented by the overall structural model. In truly large systems new problems arise, namely that not only multiple views will exist, but also that the domains to be covered by the data will be autonomous and hence heterogeneous. We extend concepts used in object-based structural algebras to an algebra that can handle differences in terminology, suitable for information systems that span multiple domains. Using such a knowledgebased algebra, the domain knowledge can be partitioned for maintenance. Only the articulation points, where the integration intersects, have to be agreed upon. This to be achieved defined by matching rules which define the shared knowledge. The principal operations in the algebras are simple and provide for selection from the objects in the data space and composing them into new structures that represent the desired information. At both levels, scaling is achieved by moving beyond hierarchical structures. The underlying concepts are based on the observation that integrated, multi-purpose data, and the knowledge that describes the data forms complex webs of information, while effective processing and its algorithms require hierarchical processing of the application problem-specific subsets.
Detecting Wormhole Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks

The development of wireless sensor devices in terms of low power and inexpensive data-relaying has been partially achieved because of the rapid progress in integrated circuits and radio transceiver designs and device technology. Due to these achievements, the wireless sensor devices are able to gather information, process them if required and send them to the next sensor device. The captured information might be regarding temperature, pressure or light, and so on. In some applications, these wireless sensor devices must be secured, especially when the captured information is valuable, sensitive or for military usage. Wormhole attacks are a significant type of security attacks which can damage the wireless sensor networks if they go undetected. Unfortunately, these attacks are still possible, even if the communication is secured. The wormhole attack records packets at one point of the network, passes them into another node and this last node injects the packet into the wireless sensor network again. The main objective of this project is to build an actual test bed to simulate the wormhole attack on a wireless sensor network and to implement one of the current solutions which is called packet leashes to protect sensor networks from these kinds of attacks. This project’s test bed consists of a combination of Mica 2 motes and Stargate sensor devices.
Utility of Oatp1a/1b-Knockout and OATP1B1/3-Humanized Mice in the Study of OATP-Mediated Pharmacokinetics and Tissue Distribution: Case Studies with Pravastatin, Atorvastatin, Simvastatin, and Carboxydichlorofluorescein

Although organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP)–mediated hepatic uptake is generally conserved between rodents and humans at a gross pharmacokinetic level, the presence of three major hepatic OATPs with broad overlap in substrate and inhibitor affinity, and absence of rodent-human orthologs preclude clinical translation of single-gene knockout/knockin findings. At present, changes in pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of pravastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin, and carboxydichlorofluorescein were studied in oatp1a/1b-knockout mice lacking the three major hepatic oatp isoforms, and in knockout mice with liver-specific knockin of human OATP1B1 or OATP1B3. Relative to wild-type controls, oatp1a/1b-knockout mice exhibited 1.6- to 19-fold increased intravenous and 2.1- to 115-fold increased oral drug exposure, due to 33%–75% decreased clearance, 14%–60% decreased volume of distribution, and ≤74-fold increased oral bioavailability, with the magnitude of change depending on the contribution of oatp1a/1b to pharmacokinetics. Hepatic drug distribution was 4.2- to 196-fold lower in oatp1a/1b-knockout mice; distributional attenuation was less notable in kidney, brain, cardiac, and skeletal muscle. Knockin of OATP1B1 or OATP1B3 partially restored control clearance, volume, and bioavailability values (24%–142% increase, ≤47% increase, and ≤77% decrease vs. knockout, respectively), such that knockin pharmacokinetic profiles were positioned between knockout and wild-type mice. Consistent with liver-specific humanization, only hepatic drug distribution was partially restored (1.3- to 6.5-fold increase vs. knockout). Exposure and liver distribution changes in OATP1B1-humanized versus knockout mice predicted the clinical impact of OATP1B1 on oral exposure and contribution to human hepatic uptake of statins within 1.7-fold, but only after correcting for human/humanized mouse liver relative protein expression factor (OATP1B1 = 2.2, OATP1B3 = 0.30).
A Risk-Based, Value-Oriented Approach to Quality Requirements

When quality requirements are elicited from stakeholders, they're often stated qualitatively, such as "the response time must be fast" or "we need a highly available system". However, qualitatively represented requirements are ambiguous and thus difficult to verify. The value-oriented approach to specifying quality requirements uses a range of potential representations chosen on the basis of assessing risk instead of quantifying everything.
Multiple Equilibria in Complex Chemical Reaction Networks: Extensions to Entrapped Species Models

In two earlier papers, means were provided to decide the capacity of complex chemical reaction networks, taken with mass-action kinetics, to admit multiple equilibria in the context of the isothermal homogeneous continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CFSTR). In such a reactor, all species are deemed to be in the outflow, a fact which has an important bearing on the nature of the governing equations. In contrast, one can imagine CFSTR-like models of the cell in which certain large molecules (e.g. enzymes) remain entrapped within the cell, whereas smaller ones (e.g. metabolites) are free to diffuse through the cell boundary. Although such models bear a strong physical resemblance to the classical CFSTR picture, there are substantive differences in the corresponding mathematics. Without a presumption of mass-action kinetics, this research is intended to indicate a general way in which results about uniqueness of equilibria in the classical CFSTR context extend to entrapped species models. 1 Introduction In two earlier papers [1, 2] we developed means to determine whether a given complex reaction network, taken with mass-action kinetics, has the capacity to exhibit more than one steady state. That is, our interest was in whether, for the network, there exist parameter values such that the corresponding isothermal mass-action differential equations admit at least two distinct rest points. (This is surprisingly uncommon.) In the first paper, the theory led to a test that lends itself to computational implementation, whereas in the second paper, the capacity for multiple steady states was tied more directly to subtle aspects of reaction network structure, as revealed in the network's species-reaction graph. (At the end of this section we shall state a theorem, which is a consequence of results in Craciun and Feinberg [2] and that connects the species-reaction graph to the capacity for multiple steady states.) In both papers, it was understood that the reactions were taking place in the context of what chemical engineers call a continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CFSTR). In particular, the reacting mixture was presumed to be an incompressible liquid, filling a perfectly stirred vessel maintained at constant temperature and volume. (We assume isothermal incompressible mixtures throughout.) Moreover, it was supposed that at least certain reactants were fed to the vessel at constant rate and that all species were removed from the vessel at rates proportional to their molar concentrations within the vessel. (In the normal chemical engineering context, mixture is withdrawn from …
Evolving geographical structures : mathematical models and theories for space-time processes

Section 1. Towards Evolutionary Models of Migration. - Attraction-regulated Dynamic Equilibrium Models of Migration of the Multiplicative Type. - A Non-linear Dynamic Model for the Migration of Human Populations. - An Optimal Control Representation of a Stochastic Multistage-Multiactor Choice Process. - Section 2. Models of Innovation Diffusion Processes. - Technological Change, Policy Response and Spatial Dynamics. - Competition and Environment: A Theory of Temporal Innovation Diffusion. - The Dynamics of Communication. - Section 3. Urban and Regional Change: Growth, Development and Decline. - Empirical Evidence of Volterra-Lotka Dynamics in United States Metropolitan Areas: 1940-1977. - Phasing-out of the Sugar Industry in Puerto Rico. - The Spatial Econometrics of the European FLEUR Model. - A Simulation Model of Regional Demoeconomic Development in North Rhine-Westphalia: Theory, Structure, and Calibration. - Section 4. Spatial Pricing: Efficiency and Dynamic Aspects. - Inefficiency and Instability of Trade Patterns. - Pasinetti, Marx and Urban Accumulation Dynamics. - Spatial Structure and Spatial-temporal Processes. - Section 5. Towards Dynamic Models of Spatial Search. - The Effects of Job Search and Competition on Unemployment and Vacancies in Regional Labor Markets. - Structures for Research on the Dynamics of Residential Search. - Section 6. Temporal Dimensions of the Geography of Public Finance. - Dynamic Models of Spatial Variation in Local Government Expenditures. - Jurisdiction Size and Public Good Supply in the Presence of Reciprocal Spillovers: Static Analysis and an Introduction to Optimal Control of the Dynamics. - Epilogue. - Institute Participants.
“Current City” prediction for coarse location based applications on Facebook

Location-Based services with social networks improve users' experience and enrich people's social live. However, location information is often inadequate due to privacy and security concerns. We seek to infer users' `Current City' on Facebook for coarse location based applications. We first extract users' multiple explicit and implicit location attributes, and analyze correlations of these attributes from two perspective: user-centric and user-friends. We observe that both user-centric and user-friends location attributes tightly correlate to a user's Current City (e.g., 60% of users stay in their hometown, 60% of users live in the same city as 50% of their friends). Based on extensive analysis and observations on location attributes correlations, we have constructed a Current City Prediction model (CCP) using artificial neural network (ANN) learning frameworks. The experimental results indicate that we achieve accuracy levels of 84% for city-level prediction and 98% for country-level which are increases of 9% and 18%, respectively than what is possible with Tweecalization.
Semi-Supervised Priors for Microblog Language Identification

O ering access to information in microblog posts requires successful language identification. Language identification on sparse and noisy data can be challenging. In this paper we explore the performance of a state-of-the-art n-gram-based language identifier, and we introduce two semi-supervised priors to enhance performance at microblog post level: (i) blogger-based prior, using previous posts by the same blogger, and (ii) link-based prior, using the pages linked to from the post. We test our models on five languages (Dutch, English, French, German, and Spanish), and a set of 1,000 tweets per language. Results show that our priors improve accuracy, but that there is still room for improvement.