Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CALIBRATION OF PALSAR POLARIMETRIC DATA

JAXA’s PalSAR system produces L-Band SAR data of exceptional quality and performance. In this paper we introduce a new system calibration model for PalSAR data acquired in polarimetric mode. The system model accounts for cross-talk, channel imbalances and Faraday rotation. We establish that the cross-talk of the PalSAR system is at around ‐ 40 dB, and that higher levels reported in the literature are due to uncorrected (small) amounts of Faraday rotation. This level of cross-talk is sufficiently low that it need not be corrected for in processing ‐ it can be considered negligible. We also show that the effect of Faraday rotation introduces an asymmetry into the measured scattering matrix which, if we can assume the system crosstalk is either reciprocal or negligible, allows full polarimetric calibration without the use of external targets such as corner reflectors. In this paper, we apply this technique to PalSAR polarimetric data, with expected low levels of Faraday rotation, to explore its limitations.
QoS issues in the converged 3G wireless and wired networks

The Internet evolution delineated through the last years has urged the wireless network community to support the deployment of IP multimedia services with guaranteed quality of service (QoS) in 3G wireless networks. This article copes with the interoperability between 3G wireless networks and wired next-generation IP networks, for the provision of services with an a priori known quality level over both environments. More specifically, the UMTS architecture as well as a prototypical implementation of the next-generation Internet based on DiffServ are considered. The article focuses on the mapping among the traffic classes of the two networks at the point where the networks converge, and discusses the requirements and possible solutions for their proper interworking at the signaling and user levels. Simulations prove that proper mapping among the traffic classes of each world is necessary in order to achieve the desired end-to-end traffic characteristics.
Generalized Stable Multivariate Distribution and Anisotropic Dilations

After having closely re-examined the notion of a L\'evy's stable vector, it is shown that the notion of a stable multivariate distribution is more general than previously defined. Indeed, a more intrinsic vector definition is obtained with the help of non isotropic dilations and a related notion of generalized scale. In this framework, the components of a stable vector may not only have distinct Levy's stability indices $\alpha$'s, but the latter may depend on its norm. Indeed, we demonstrate that the Levy's stability index of a vector rather correspond to a linear application than to a scalar, and we show that the former should satisfy a simple spectral property.
Genome-Wide Prediction and Analysis of Yeast RNase III-Dependent snoRNA Processing Signals

ABSTRACT In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the maturation of both pre-rRNA and pre-small nucleolar RNAs (pre-snoRNAs) involves common factors, thereby providing a potential mechanism for the coregulation of snoRNA and rRNA synthesis. In this study, we examined the global impact of the double-stranded-RNA-specific RNase Rnt1p, which is required for pre-rRNA processing, on the maturation of all known snoRNAs. In silico searches for Rnt1p cleavage signals, and genome-wide analysis of the Rnt1p-dependent expression profile, identified seven new Rnt1p substrates. Interestingly, two of the newly identified Rnt1p-dependent snoRNAs, snR39 and snR59, are located in the introns of the ribosomal protein genes RPL7A and RPL7B. In vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that snR39 is normally processed from the lariat of RPL7A, suggesting that the expressions of RPL7A and snR39 are linked. In contrast, snR59 is produced by a direct cleavage of the RPL7B pre-mRNA, indicating that a single pre-mRNA transcript cannot be spliced to produce a mature RPL7B mRNA and processed by Rnt1p to produce a mature snR59 simultaneously. The results presented here reveal a new role of yeast RNase III in the processing of intron-encoded snoRNAs that permits independent regulation of the host mRNA and its associated snoRNA.
Coupled Di usion Maps as Neural Computational Modelsfor Texture

The computational capabilities of 2D continuous distribution of locally-interacting neural cells are analyzed through nonlinear partial derivative equations of reaction-diiusion type. The resulting coupled diffusion maps can be interpreted as a phenomenologi-cal model for the processes that take place on visual cortical surface. A point excitation on the map activates, in two antagonist populations, both local excitatory diiusion processes and spatially displaced inhibitory reactions through lateral clustered coupling. The nonlinear competition between the two populations leads to a macroscopic organized dynamic behavior that, under appropriate input conditions, results in oscillations. Superimposed excitatory and inhibitory couplings between localized portions of the orientation map impose a long-range coherence and the whole system evolves through diierent conngurations of coherent states. Averaging the pattern of activity over a window comparable in size with those of a complete set of orientations, we gain instantaneous global perception supporting scene segmentation. Experiments on texture segmentation, conducted with artiicial and natural textures, validates the approach.
Using mixed method approach to understand acceptance and usage of ICT in Nigerian Public University

Technology acceptance is about how people accept and adopt some technology to use. The primary target of many technology acceptance studies is to examine how to encourage usage and also analyze what interrupts acceptance and usage of technologies. Using the mixed method approach, the quantitative phase shows that, the perceived usefulness (PE) is significant with p-value (.023) and the perceived ease of use (EE) is significant with p-value (.001). These results shows that the intention to accept and use ICT by the academic staff is a function of various concepts including the understanding that ICT is useful and it is not difficult to use. However the qualitative phase shows that it is true that the academicians intent to use ICT but the conditions and environment are not encouraging, classrooms are poorly designed. No regular power supply, no ICT facilities on ground and poor internet connectivity. The mixed method approach has given the true picture of the acceptance and usage of ICT in Nigerian public university. The quantitative phase shows the constructs that have significant influence on acceptance and use of ICT, while the qualitative phase interprets the in-depth meaning of the statistical results and the environmental challenges that most be tackled to realize the full vision.
Solvable metric growing networks

In considering the structure and dynamics of complex networks, we usually deal with degree distributions, clustering, shortest path lengths and other graph properties. Although these concepts have been analysed for graphs on abstract spaces, many networks happen to be embedded in a metric arrangement, where the geographical distance between vertices plays a crucial role. The present work proposes a model for a growing network that takes into account the geographical distance between vertices: the probability that they are connected is higher if they are located nearer to each other than if they are further apart. In this framework, the mean degree of vertices, degree distribution and shortest path length between two randomly chosen vertices are analysed.
Cognitive performance after postoperative pituitary radiotherapy: a dosimetric study of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.

OBJECTIVE The hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are important for memory and executive functioning and are known to be sensitive to radiotherapy (RT). Radiation dosimetry relates radiation exposure to specific brain areas. The effects of various pituitary RT techniques were studied by relating detailed dosimetry of the hippocampus and PFC to cognitive performance. METHODS In this cross-sectional design, 75 non-functioning pituitary macroadenoma (NFA) patients (61±10 years) participated and were divided into irradiated (RT+, n=30) and non-irradiated (RT-, n=45) groups. The RT+ group (who all received 25 fractions of 1.8 Gy; total dose: 45 Gy) consisted of three RT technique groups: three-field technique, n=10; four-field technique, n=15; and five-field technique, n=5. Memory and executive functioning were assessed by standardized neuropsychological tests. A reconstruction of the dose distributions for the three RT techniques was made. The RT doses on 30, 50, and 70% of the volume of the left and right hippocampus and PFC were calculated. RESULTS Cognitive test performance was not different between the four groups, despite differences in radiation doses applied to the hippocampi and PFC. Age at RT, time since RT, and the use of thyroid hormone varied significantly between the groups; however, they were not related to cognitive performance. CONCLUSION This study showed that there were no significant differences on cognitive performance between the three-, four-, and five-field RT groups and the non-irradiated patient group. A dose-response relationship could not be established, even with a radiation dose that was higher on most of the volume of the hippocampus and PFC in case of a four-field RT technique compared with the three- and five-field RT techniques.
Galois Connections, T-CUBES & Database Mining

Galois connections are the bread and butter of the formal concept analysis. The universe of discourse there is the collections of objects with properties. A property corresponds typically to a single-valued (.true or null) binary attribute of the object. Probably the most studied connections are the closed sets and Galois lattices. We propose a generalization of these connections to the relational database universe with the multi-valued domains. We show the database mining queries that appear from, hard or impossible to formulate with SQL at present. We further show that the groups produced by the popular CUBE operator form a type of multi-valued closed sets, including the traditional binary closed sets. To deal with more types of closed sets, we generalize CUBE to a new operator we call θ-CUBE, writing it T-CUBE. This one calculates the groups according to all the values of the θ operator popular with the relational joins, namely θ = {=, ≤, , ≥, >}. The θ = ‘=’ defines the CUBE. The generalization applies naturally also to GROUP BY and to the other popular SQL grouping operators. We further show the utility of the aggregate function LIST and of a new one that we have named T-GROUP. The couple conveniently aggregates the composition of a closed set produced by T-CUBE into a single tuple. We finally discuss the algorithms for the computation of the queries involving the closed sets. Unlike perhaps for the concept analysis, the scalable distributed algorithms in P2P or grid environment appear the most useful for the database mining in practice. Our proposals should benefit to both the database mining and the concept analysis over larger collections of objects.
Comparison of raised source/drain Implant-Free Quantum-Well and Tri-gate MOSFETs using 3D Monte Carlo simulation

In this paper we examine the impact of a raised source/drain architecture on the performance of single-gate and multi-gate, high mobility channel MOSFETs. We make use of 3D Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to predict the performance of InGaAs n-type and Germanium (Ge) p-type MOSFETs. The transition from a raised source/drain Implant-Free QuantumWell (IFQW) MOSFET to an Implant-Free Tri-gate MOSFET is expected to show both improved electrostatic behaviour and better drive current due to the larger gated channel area. We show that although significant electrostatic improvement is demonstrated in the tri-gate case, there is poor on-current performance in comparison to the IFQW MOSFET due to increased access resistance to the fin channel from the raised source/drain.
Influences of Transporter Associated with Antigen Processing (TAP) on the Repertoire of Peptides Associated with the Endoplasmic Reticulum–resident Stress Protein gp96

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident stress protein gp96 induces protective immunity and specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against antigens expressed in those cells it has been isolated from. This ability is based on peptides associated with gp96. Because gp96 is located inside the ER, our experiments address the question whether or not the repertoire of peptides associated with gp96 is influenced by the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP). For this purpose, gp96 was isolated from cells with and without a TAP defect and used for immunization of mice. We found that for some antigens the association of peptides with gp96 required functional TAP molecules, whereas the association of peptides from other antigens was TAP independent. In the case of a TAP-dependent association of peptides with gp96, our results prove that peptide binding by gp96 in vivo occurs inside the ER and is not an artifact induced by cell lysis during the gp96 purification. The finding that some antigens can also associate with gp96 in the absence of functional TAP molecules indicates that the repertoire of peptides bound by gp96 truly reflects the entire repertoire of peptides present inside the ER and not only those peptides transported by TAP. These results, together with the earlier finding that the gp96 peptide repertoire is independent of the major histocompatibility complex molecules expressed by the cell gp96 is isolated from, give the theoretical foundation for the ability of gp96 to induce CTL responses against all kinds of intracellular antigens.
e-Fraud Prevention Based on the Self-Authentication of e-Documents

We consider a method for preventing e-Fraud in which a binary image is encrypted with a floating point cipher using a convolution operation and the output quantized into a 1-bit array generating a binary image ciphertext. The output is then ‘embedded’ in a host image to hide the encrypted information. Embedding is undertaken either in the lowest 1- bit layer or multiple 1-bit layers. Decryption is accomplished by: (i) extracting the binary image from the host image; (ii) correlating the result with the original cipher. In principle, any cipher generator can be used for this purpose and the method has been designed to operate with 24-bit colour images. The approach has a variety of applications and in this paper, we focus on the authentication and self-authentication of edocuments (letters and certificates, for example) that are communicated over the Internet and are thereby vulnerable to e-Fraud (e.g. modification, editing, counterfeiting etc.).
Beyond GDP: Measuring Welfare and Assessing Sustainability

In spite of recurrent criticism and an impressive production of alternative indicators by scholars and NGOs, GDP remains the central indicator of countries' success. This book revisits the foundations of indicators of social welfare, and critically examines the four main alternatives to GDP that have been proposed: composite indicators, subjective well-being indexes, capabilities (the underlying philosophy of the Human Development Index), and equivalent incomes. Its provocative thesis is that the problem with GDP is not that it uses a monetary metric but that it focuses on a narrow set of aspects of individual lives. It is actually possible to build an alternative, more comprehensive, monetary indicator that takes income as its first benchmark and adds or subtracts corrections that represent the benefit or cost of non-market aspects of individual lives. Such a measure can respect the values and preferences of the people and give as much weight as they do to the non-market dimensions. A further provocative idea is that, in contrast, most of the currently available alternative indicators, including subjective well-being indexes, are not as respectful of people's values because, like GDP, they are too narrow and give specific weights to the various dimensions of life in a more uniform way, without taking account of the diversity of views on life in the population. The popular attraction that such alternative indicators derive from being non-monetary is therefore based on equivocation. Moreover, it is argued in this book that "greening" GDP and relative indicators is not the proper way to incorporate sustainability concerns. Sustainability involves predicting possible future paths, therefore different indicators than those assessing the current situation. While various indicators have been popular (adjusted net savings, ecological footprint), none of them involves the necessary forecasting effort that a proper evaluation of possible futures requires. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship. com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/9780199767199/toc.html
Remote Power Analysis of RFID Tags

We describe the rst power analysis attack on passive RFID tags. Compared to standard power analysis attacks, this attack is unique in that it requires no physical contact with the device under attack. The power analysis can be carried out even if both the tag and the attacker are passive and transmit no data, making the attack very hard to detect. As a proof of concept, we use power analysis to extract the kill passwords from Class 1 EPC tags operating in the UHF frequency range. Tags from several major vendors were successfully attacked. Our attack can be extended to HF tags and to remote fault analysis. The main signi cance of our attack is not in the discovery of kill passwords but in its implications on future tag design any cryptographic functionality built into tags needs to be designed to be resistant to power analysis, and achieving this resistance is an undertaking which has an e ect both on the price and on the performance of tags.
TOWARDS REDEFINING THE NEWS AGENDA IN THE NIGERIAN MEDIA FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Introduction The media (radio, television, film, print, social networks, etc) are change agents in contemporary world. They can be/should be deployed to ensure the culture of peace as well as galvanise other agents of development in 21st century societies, especially in Africa, where peace and sustainable development appear to be eluding many countries, including Nigeria, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Somalia, to mention a few. Appraising the state of affairs in Nigeria, Igbuzor (2006) warns that several intelligence reports on Nigeria indicate that if the country is unable to create about 24 million jobs for its growing population, to provide effective platforms and infrastructures for fighting corruption, and to ensure equitable distribution of its abundant wealth, it could become a failed state. The questions of youth restiveness, unemployment and all shades of crime have taken a dominant space in global discourse, even as youth intransigence is threatening to shred the fabric of the Nigerian society (Ugor 2009; Onuoha 2009; 2010; 2011; Omoera 2013). If this were to happen, it will not only unsettle Nigeria, but disrupt the relative peace and security in West Africa and indeed the African continent as a whole. This is a grave issue that
Is the world agile ? A review of the IT knowledge base and debate on agile methodologies in the field of information systems development

The question of how information systems are constructed, has been one of the major research objects in the IS field during the last decades (Avgerou, 2000). Actually, we can state that there has always been a kind of quest for the ―best methodology‖ in systems development, in a way relating to the desire for having a rational, systematic way of designing a system (Parnas & Clements, 1986). As to why methodologies are needed at all, the answer can be found in the different functions they serve; in short, they represent work practices, making it easier to introduce new people to the process, defining responsibilities, convincing sponsors or providing a curriculum for training (Cockburn, 2007).
Factors Influencing Adolescents Engagement in Risky Internet Behavior

The present study used data from the SAFT (Safety, Awareness, Facts and Tools) Singapore survey, a national survey of 1,124 youths aged 12-17, to explore the issue of risk on the Internet. We investigated factors that influence adolescents' engagement in risky Internet behavior, in particular, meeting face-to-face someone they first encountered online. The adolescents ranged from ages 12 to 17, with a mean of 14.32 (SD = 1.37); 49.6% of the adolescents were girls. The study utilized a 93-item survey that was part of the SAFT Project. Results indicated that 16% of adolescent Internet users in Singapore have had a face-to-face meeting with someone first encountered online. The following factors were found to be predictors of adolescents engagement in such face-to-face meetings: age, frequency of Internet use, frequency of chatting and gaming behavior, parental rules, type of personal information given out, amount of inappropriate messages received, whether inappropriate websites have been visited, and type of internet advice heard. Implications of the results are discussed.
Evidence for angiotensin-converting enzyme- and chymase-mediated angiotensin II formation in the interstitial fluid space of the dog heart in vivo.

BACKGROUND We have previously demonstrated that angiotensin II (Ang II) levels in the interstitial fluid (ISF) space of the heart are higher than in the blood plasma and do not change after systemic infusion of Ang I. In this study, we assess the enzymatic mechanisms (chymase versus ACE) by which Ang II is generated in the ISF space of the dog heart in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS Cardiac microdialysis probes were implanted in the left ventricular (LV) myocardium (3 to 4 probes per dog) of 12 anesthetized open-chest normal dogs. ISF Ang I and II levels were measured at baseline and during ISF infusion of Ang I (15 micromol/L, n=12), Ang I+the ACE inhibitor captopril (cap) (2.5 mmol/L, n=4), Ang I+the chymase inhibitor chymostatin (chy) (1 mmol/L, n=4), and Ang I+cap+chy (n=4). ISF infusion of Ang I increased ISF Ang II levels 100-fold (P<0.01), whereas aortic and coronary sinus plasma Ang I and II levels were unaffected and were 100-fold lower than ISF levels. Compared with ISF infusion of Ang I alone, Ang I+cap (n=4) produced a greater reduction in ISF Ang II levels than did Ang I+chy (n=4) (71% versus 43%, P<0.01), whereas Ang I+cap+chy produced a 100% decrease in ISF Ang II levels. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates for the first time a very high capacity for conversion of Ang I to Ang II mediated by both ACE and chymase in the ISF space of the dog heart in vivo.
Object tracking by applying mean-shift algorithm into particle filtering

In the pursuit of robust object tracking, both particle filter and mean-shift algorithm have proven successful approaches. Also both of them have weaknesses. The article presents the integration of mean-shift algorithm with particle filtering during the moving object tracking. In our method Mean-shift algorithm is used in the sampling steps of particle filtering, which efficiently reduces the number of sampled particles. That integrates the advantages of mean-shift algorithm and particle filtering. When applied in the moving object tracking, our method proved to be more robust and time saving compared with the conventional particle filtering and mean shift algorithm.