Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Game Algorithm for Resource Allocation Based on Intelligent Gradient in HetNet

In order to improve system performance such as throughput, heterogeneous network (HetNet) has become an effective solution in Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LET-A). However, co-channel interference leads to degradation of the HetNet throughput, because femtocells are always arranged to share the spectrum with the macro base station. In this paper, in view of the serious cross-layer interference in double layer HetNet, the Stackelberg game model is adopted to analyze the resource allocation methods of the network. Unlike the traditional system models only focusing on macro base station performance improvement, we take into account the overall system performance and build a revenue function with convexity. System utility functions are defined as the average throughput, which does not adopt frequency spectrum trading method, so as to avoid excessive signaling overhead. Due to the value scope of continuous Nash equilibrium of the built game model, the gradient iterative algorithm is introduced to reduce the computational complexity. As for the solution of Nash equilibrium, one kind of gradient iterative algorithm is proposed, which is able to intelligently choose adjustment factors. The Nash equilibrium can be quickly solved; meanwhile, the step of presetting adjustment factors is avoided according to network parameters in traditional linear iterative model. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm enhances the overall performance of the system.
Semantic Role Labeling Based on the CoNLL-2005 Shared Task

In the paper we describe our implementation of a semantic role labeling system based on the results of the CoNLL-2005 shared task. We also describe a number of experiments to determine the effect of feature selection on the final results of our system. Finally, we examine some errors made by the system, and speculate on ways in which to improve. 1 SRL System Architecture Our system followed the four stage process that many CoNLL-2005 systems employed: pruning, argument identification, argument classification, and inference (Carreras and Marquez, 2004). We follow the general method of Koomen (Koomen et al., 2005) and use the features of both Koomen and Xue (Xue and Palmer, 2004), using Support Vector Machines (SVMs) to identify and classify arguments. In the pruning stage, we narrowed the set of possible argument candidates for each target verb. A first SVM was then used to identify those candidates as arguments or not, and then a second SVM was used to classify those candidates marked by the first. Finally, we employed some basic heuristics to select the best set of arguments given the output and confidence of the final SVM. 1.1 Pruning We based our system on picking constituents from a parse tree as argument candidates. In order to keep the number of candidates at a manageable level, we used the method presented in (Xue and Palmer, 2004) to select the most likely constituents. The algorithm starts at the target verb and selects its siblings. It then moves to the parent of the verb and selects the siblings of that constituent and so on up the parse tree. Each time it encounters a propositional phrase, however, it not only adds the PP but also immediately adds its children. We did not account for coordinated conjunctions or incorrect PP attachment.
On the Evolution of Quality Flaws and the Effectiveness of Cleanup Tags in the English Wikipedia

The improvement of information quality is a major task for the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Recent studies targeted the analysis and detection of specific quality flaws in Wikipedia articles. To date, quality flaws have been exclusively investigated in current Wikipedia articles, based on a snapshot representing the state of Wikipedia at a certain time. This paper goes further, and provides the first comprehensive breakdown of the evolution of quality flaws in Wikipedia. We utilize cleanup tags to analyze the quality flaws that have been tagged by the Wikipedia community in the English Wikipedia, from its launch in 2001 until 2011. This leads to interesting findings regarding (1) the development of Wikipedia’s quality flaw structure and (2) the usage and the effectiveness of cleanup tags. Specifically, we show that inline tags are more effective than tag boxes, and provide statistics about the considerable volume of rare and non-specific cleanup tags. We expect that this work will support the Wikipedia community in making quality assurance activities more efficient.
Enforcing Role-Based Access Controls in Software Systems with an Agent Based Service Oriented Approach

Access control is often used to make restrictions to the resources in a system so that these resources can only be accessed by those who have the corresponding privilege. Role-based access controls (RBAC) model introduces roles into access control so that the privilege is assigned to role and access control can be managed easily by defining the role of the users and inheritance structure of the roles. Although the RBAC model has been well accepted, it turns out to have some problems in applying RBAC to an existing system: an existing system is generally not organised in roles; it is very hard to add the access control functions to each module of an existing system. In this paper, an agent-based service oriented approach that helps existing systems be migrated to RBAC for software evolution is proposed. The architecture and working flow of the approach are presented and an example showing how to use the proposed framework and methodology is illustrated.
Plasticity of orientation preference maps in the visual cortex of adult cats

In contrast to the high degree of experience-dependent plasticity usually exhibited by cortical representational maps, a number of experiments performed in visual cortex suggest that the basic layout of orientation preference maps is only barely susceptible to activity-dependent modifications. In fact, most of what we know about activity-dependent plasticity in adults comes from experiments in somatosensory, auditory, or motor cortex. Applying a stimulation protocol that has been proven highly effective in other cortical areas, we demonstrate here that enforced synchronous cortical activity induces major changes of orientation preference maps (OPMs) in adult cats. Combining optical imaging of intrinsic signals and electrophysiological single-cell recordings, we show that a few hours of intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) lead to an enlargement of the cortical representational zone at the ICMS site and an extensive restructuring of the entire OPM layout up to several millimeters away, paralleled by dramatic changes of pinwheel numbers and locations. At the single-cell level, we found that the preferred orientation was shifted toward the orientation of the ICMS site over a region of up to 4 mm. Our results show that manipulating the synchronicity of cortical activity locally without invoking training, attention, or reinforcement, OPMs undergo large-scale reorganization reminiscent of plastic changes observed for nonvisual cortical maps. However, changes were much more widespread and enduring. Such large-scale restructuring of the visual cortical networks indicates a substantial capability for activity-dependent plasticity of adult visual cortex and may provide the basis for cognitive learning processes.
Phase-Based Dual-Microphone Speech Enhancement Using A Prior Speech Model

This paper proposes a phase-based dual-microphone speech enhancement technique that utilizes a prior speech model. Recently, it has been shown that phase-based dual-microphone filters can result in significant noise reduction in low signal-to-noise ratio [(SNR) less than 10 dB] conditions and negligible distortion at high SNRs (greater than 10 dB), as long as a correct filter parameter is chosen at each SNR. While prior work utilizes a constant parameter for all SNRs, we present an SNR-adaptive filter parameter estimation algorithm that maximizes the likelihood of the enhanced speech features based on a prior speech model. Experimental results using the CARVUI database show significant speech recognition accuracy rate improvement over alternative techniques in low SNR situations (e.g., an improvement of 11% in word error rate (WER) over postfiltering and 23% over delay-and-sum beamforming at 0 dB) and negligible distortion at high SNRs. The proposed adaptive approach also significantly outperforms the original phase-based filter with a constant parameter. Furthermore, it improves the filter's robustness when there are errors in time delay estimation
Population variation in age-related decline in male salivary testosterone.

BACKGROUND Age-related declines in free and bioavailable testosterone are frequently reported for Western populations, but interpopulation variation in this pattern has not previously been investigated. METHODS Salivary testosterone was measured using a consistently applied protocol on morning samples collected from men in four populations (USA, Congo, Nepal, and Paraguay) representing different geographical, ecological, and cultural settings. RESULTS Mean testosterone levels varied significantly between the four populations. The mean testosterone differences between populations were greatest for young men (aged 15-30 years) and insignificant for older men (aged 45-60 years). The slope of age-related decline in testosterone was significant in the USA and Congolese participants, but not in the Nepalese or Paraguayan participants. CONCLUSIONS Age patterns of testosterone decline vary between populations primarily as a result of variation in the peak levels attained in young adulthood. The potential consequences of this variation for other aspects of male health deserve investigation.
Periventricular white matter injury in the premature infant is followed by reduced cerebral cortical gray matter volume at term

Periventricular white matter injury, that is, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), the dominant form of brain injury in the premature infant, is the major neuropathological substrate associated with the motor and cognitive deficits observed later in such infants. The nature of the relationship of this lesion to the subsequent cognitive deficits is unclear, but such deficits raise the possibility of cerebral cortical neuronal dysfunction. Although cortical neuronal necrosis is not a prominent feature of brain injury in premature infants, the possibility of a deleterious effect of PVL on subsequent cerebral cortical development has not been investigated. An advanced quantitative volumetric three‐dimensional magnetic resonance imaging technique was used to measure brain tissue volumes at term in premature infants with earlier ultrasonographic and magnetic resonance imaging evidence of PVL (mean gestational age at birth, 28.7 ± 2.0 weeks; n = 10), in premature infants with normal imaging studies (mean gestational age at birth, 29.0 ± 2.1 weeks; n = 10), and in control term infants (n = 14). Premature infants with PVL had a marked reduction in cerebral cortical gray matter at term compared with either premature infants without PVL or normal term infants (mean ± SD: PVL, 157.5 ± 41.5 ml; no PVL, 211.7 ± 25.4 ml; normal term, 218.8 ± 21.3 ml). As expected, a reduction in the volume of total brain myelinated white matter was also noted (mean ± SD: PVL, 14.5 ± 4.6 ml; no PVL, 23.1 ± 6.9 ml; normal term, 27.6 ± 10.3 ml). An apparent compensatory increase in total cerebrospinal fluid volume also was found (mean ± SD: PVL, 64.5 ± 15.2 ml; no PVL, 52.0 ± 24.1 ml; normal term, 32.9 ± 13.5 ml). PVL in the premature infant is shown for the first time to be followed by impaired cerebral cortical development. These findings may provide insight into the anatomical correlate for the intellectual deficits associated with PVL in the premature infant.
REVIEW: On the species abundance distribution in applied ecology and biodiversity management

Summary 1. The species abundance distribution (SAD) is an important concept in ecology, and much work has focused on the SAD in a theoretical context. However, less focus has been placed on the utility of SADs in applied ecology and biodiversity management, which therefore forms the focus of the present article. We illustrate that study of the SAD allows inferences beyond those that flow from many simple diversity indices, enabling workers to identify patterns in the commonness and rarity of species in a community. 2. First, we discuss how incorporating SAD analyses into the study of ecological communities can generate useful information for the management of biodiversity. In particular, we argue that deconstructing ecological assemblages into various subsets and analysing how each subset contributes to the overall SAD can reveal patterns of interest to managers. Secondly, we review the many applications of SADs in applied ecological fields, including disturbance ecology, conservation planning and conservation biological control. 3. Using examples we show that the SAD can be useful in applied ecology as it is visually intuitive, easy to implement in a broad variety of ecological contexts, and does not require substantial species-specific data. We provide a summary of the various methods available for plotting the SAD and illustrate how each method provides information of value for applied ecologists. 4. Using empirical and simulated data, we show that the SAD can provide early warning of the effects of disturbance on ecological communities and that a number of SAD models represent useful tools for comparing communities in a management context. 5. Synthesis and applications. Applied ecologists require tools that allow for relatively quick assessments of ecosystem health and/or the success of management prescriptions aimed at ameliorating the effects of disturbance. We demonstrate that that the methods reviewed herein provide such tools and that the species abundance distribution (SAD) has additional applied uses beyond traditional applications in disturbance ecology. We hope that this synthesis will provide a catalyst for advancing a more utilitarian SAD research agenda.
Load-Balancing Tactics in Cloud

Cloud computing enables shared servers to provide resources, software and data for collaborative services on demand with high interoperability and scalability. However, there are a number of technical challenges that need to be tackled before these benefits can be fully realized, which include system reliability, resource provisioning, and efficient resources consuming, etc. Among them, load-balancing is a necessary mechanism to increase the service level agreement (SLA) and better uses of the resources. Unfortunately, servers¡¦ capability varies much in practice and is not easy to record in ordered positions in a server farm, which will causes non resource-aware load-balancing algorithms to distribute workloads evenly. We discuss this issue and show why such algorithms don¡¦t fit the cloud computing environment and then present a feasible resource-aware load-balancing mechanism by using existing proven technologies to meet higher SLA and the return of investment as well.
Episodes of Large Exchange Rate Appreciations and Reserves Accumulations in Selected Asian Economies: Is Fear of Appreciations Justified?

The objective of our paper is to provide an empirical platform to the debate on the macroeconomic consequences of large currency appreciations. Observing the experiences of six major Asian economies (the ASEAN-5 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore) and Korea) during the past two decades, the primary aim of this study is to ascertain the consequences of strong currencies, on the one hand, and reserves accumulation, on the other, for a set of vital macroeconomic indicators, namely, exports, growth and price. We then deal squarely, in retrospect, with the question of whether there is any justification to the so-called fear of appreciation phenomenon among the policy makers of these Asian economies.
Refinement of a Mouse Movement Biometric System

This study focuses on the further development and testing of an existing Mouse Movement Biometric Identification system. Building on the research and work from a previous implementation of a mouse biometric system, the study focuses on enhancing the data capture program to enrich the data with more features to identify the user, collecting more samples of data, normalization of the data into the required format and comparing the results to previous conclusions. A total of 205 data files were collected from users to further develop and test the software. All features of the Mouse Movement system are discussed as well as final recommendations for future research and improvement has been included.
Visual Attention Shift based on Image Segmentation Using Neurodynamic System

3 Abstract A method of predicting visual attention shift is proposed based on image segmentation using neurodynamic system in this paper. The input image is mapped to a neural oscillator network. Each oscillator corresponding to a pixel is modeled by means of simplified Wilson-Cowan equations, and is coupled with its 8- nearest neighbors. Then the image is segmented by classifying the oscillation curves of the excitatory groups of all the oscillators. The classifier is constructed based on features of frequency, offset, phase and amplitude of the curves. The visual attention shift between the regions on the image is predicted according to the saliency strength of each region. Referring to the mechanism of winner-take-all competition, the saliency of a region is the aggregation of the dissimilarities between this region and all the other ones. Experimental results on images show the effectiveness of our method.
Sediment pulses in mountain rivers: 1. Experiments

Sediment often enters rivers in discrete pulses associated with landslides and debris flows. This is particularly so in the case of mountain streams. The topographic disturbance created on the bed of a stream by a single pulse must be gradually eliminated if the river is to maintain its morphological integrity. Two mechanisms for elimination have been identified: translation and dispersion. According to the first of these, the topographic high translates downstream. According to the second of these, it gradually diffuses away. In any given river both mechanisms may operate. This paper is devoted to a description of three controlled experiments on sediment pulses designed to model conditions in mountain streams. Each of the experiments began from the same mobile‐bed equilibrium with a set rate and grain size distribution of sediment feed. In one experiment the median size of the pulse material was nearly identical to that of the feed sediment. In the other two the pulse material differed in grain size distribution from the feed sediment, being coarser in one case and finer in the other case. In all cases the mode of pulse deformation was found to be predominantly dispersive, a result that constitutes the main conclusion of this paper. The pulses resulted in a notable but transient elevation of sediment transport rate immediately downstream. When the pulse was coarser than the ambient sediment, the bed downstream remained armored, and a migrating delta formed in the backwater upstream. When the pulse was finer than the ambient sediment, translation was observed in addition to dispersion. The presence of the finer material notably elevated the transport of ambient coarse material on the bed downstream. In part 2 [ Cui et al., 2003 ], the experimental results are used to test a numerical model.
Un análisis transversal y longitudinal en el estado de pobreza en Alemania // A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of poverty in Germany

El objetivo del trabajo se centra en un analisis transversal y longitudinal de la pobreza en Alemania en el periodo de 1985 a 1996, utilizando la base de datos Panel Comparability Project. El analisis transversal nos permite conocer como el proceso de reunificacion alemana influye en el nivel de pobreza y en la intensidad de la misma. Por su parte, el analisis longitudinal nos permite seguir a los individuos en el tiempo, posibilitando la observacion de los periodos en el estado de pobreza, la transicion al estado de no pobreza, asi como la longitud de su permanencia por debajo del umbral de pobreza. Dado que los datos contienen informacion de caracteristicas individuales y del hogar, un analisis basado en las estimaciones de la funcion riesgo y de supervivencia hace posible la identificacion de aquellas caracteristicas socioeconomicas mas destacables de la poblacion que son propias de la pobreza permanente y transitoria. = The objective of this research focuses on both a cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of poverty in Germany from 1986 to 1996, using the Panel Comparability Project data set. On the one hand, the cross-sectional analysis allows us to know how the Reunification Process influences on the level and the intensity of poverty. On the other hand, the longitudinal analysis allows us to follow up the individuals in time, and therefore to observe the permanence in poverty, and the transition out of poverty. Since the data set contains information about household and individual characteristics, an analysis based on the estimations of the risk and survival function makes possible the identification of those socioeconomic characteristics of the population which are more proper of the permanent and transitory poverty.
The Economic Value of Reject Inference in Credit Scoring

We use data with complete information on both rejected and accepted bank loan applicants to estimate the value of sample bias correction using Heckman’s two-stage model with partial observability. In the credit scoring domain such correction is called reject inference. We validate the model performances with and without the correction of sample bias by various measurements. Results show that it is prohibitively costly not to control for sample selection bias due to the accept/reject decision. However, we also find that the Heckman procedure is unable to appropriately control for the selection bias. † Data contained in this study were produced on site at the Carnegie-Mellon Census Research Data Center. Research results and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily indicate concurrence by the Bureau of the Census or the Carnegie-Mellon Census Research Data Center. Åstebro acknowledges financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s joint program in Management of Technological Change as well as support from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.