Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study on RFID Adoption in the Grocery Retailing Industry of Thailand

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging technology for supply chain management suitable for the retail industry. Large distributing companies such as Wal-Mart, Tesco, and Target have adopted RFID for real-time tracking and efficient order assortment of fast moving products. An agriculture-based developing country with a huge population and strong internal consumption, Thailand has a big grocery retailing industry that provides ample opportunities for the application of RFID technology. Through a questionnaire survey, this study investigated the current status of RFID adoption in the grocery industry of Thailand. The findings reveal that the industry is aware of the potential benefits that RFID may bring but also concerned with the various challenges in implementation. Although companies surveyed are planning to adopt the technology, none have fully implemented an RFID system. This reveals that RFID adoption is still in its infancy in the grocery retailing industry of the country. The major concerns of the firms include high implementation cost and low return on investment, different system designs and multiple standards, and the lack of technical expertise and management experience to ensure success in adopting the technology.
Incomplete vs. divergent representations of unaccusativity in non native grammars of Italian

The term 'near-native', used to refer to speakers at the most advanced stage of second language acquisition, may denote either incompleteness of their competence (lack of given L2 properties) or divergence (interlanguage representations of L2 properties that are consistently different from native representations). An undifferentiated use of the term conceals the fact that incompleteness and divergence are two distinct states of grammatical compe tence, corresponding to two qualitatively different kinds of ultimate attain ment. This article looks at the linguistic intuitions of French L1 and English L1 near-native speakers of Italian L2 about some syntactic and semantic properties related to unaccusativity in Italian, and concludes that the near-native grammar of French subjects exhibits divergence whereas the near-native grammar of English subjects exhibits incompleteness. It is argued that these competence differences reflect differences in the overall repre sentations of unaccusativity in French and English.
Opportunistic relay selection improves reliability-reliability tradeoff and security-reliability tradeoff in random cognitive radio networks

This study investigates the physical-layer security in random cognitive radio network (CRN) consisting of randomly distributed primary nodes, secondary nodes, relay nodes and eavesdroppers, where the secondary nodes share the spectrum of the primary nodes and the eavesdroppers attempt to intercept the secondary transmissions. The authors develop a framework to analysis the reliability-reliability tradeoff (RRT) and security-reliability tradeoff (SRT) in the random CRNs, where the security and reliability are quantified in terms of secrecy outage probability and connection outage probability. The RRT evaluates performance tradeoff between the primary and the secondary networks and the SRT evaluates the performance tradeoff inside the secondary network. Furthermore, they propose an opportunistic relay selection (ORS) scheme to enhance the secondary confidential transmission. It is demonstrated that the ORS scheme significantly improves the RRT and SRT as the density of relays increases, and outperforms the conventional direct transmission when the density of relays is larger than a certain value. This actually promotes the understandings of the performance tradeoffs and provides direct insights on system design for the practical CRNs.
Logging Usage of AJAX Applications With the “ UsaProxy ” HTTP Proxy

This paper shows how to use the UsaProxy HTTP proxy to perform logging of user activity for AJAX web applications. UsaProxy is a special-purpose HTTP proxy which modifies HTML pages before forwarding them to the client browser. It adds JavaScript code which collects data about mouse movement, clicks, key presses and other types of interaction without affecting the user’s browsing experience in any way. Using Gmail as an example for an AJAX application, the paper explains in detail how to prepare for a UsaProxy-based user test and how to interpret the log files generated by the system.
Low-frequency dynamic drain current modeling in AlGaN-GaN HEMTs

Low-frequency dispersive effects in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are here modeled above their cutoff frequencies by adopting a modeling approach developed for GaAs PHEMTs. To this aim, a new identification procedure is proposed, which allows to obtain very accurate predictions of the pulsed drain currents, even in the presence of strong kink effects in the DC characteristics. In addition, a dedicated algorithm of data extrapolation is used, in order to make the model more computationally efficient.
Characterization of BrkA Expression inBordetella bronchiseptica

ABSTRACT BrkA confers resistance to killing by complement inBordetella pertussis. Complement resistance inBordetella bronchiseptica was examined. Four B. bronchiseptica strains possessed the brkA gene; however, only three expressed the protein. Only the strain lacking BrkA was susceptible to complement. Introduction of the B. pertussis brkA gene restored BrkA expression to this strain but did not confer resistance. brkA was mutated in the strains that naturally expressed BrkA, and loss of BrkA did not confer sensitivity to complement. As a species, B. bronchiseptica is more resistant to complement than B. pertussis, and BrkA does not mediate resistance.
Risk assessment for Collision Avoidance Systems

Collision Avoidance Systems need to perform scene analysis and risk assessment in order to react conveniently. Based on the information provided by the perception system, scene analysis has to predict the evolution of the current driving situation for the near future. Thanks to the predicted trajectories of the relevant traffic participants, the risk of collision on the ego vehicle can be calculated. In many cases, a predicted trajectory is not defined with explicit equations but is given as a set of sampled poses, each one corresponding to a different future time instant. A predicted trajectory being always uncertain, confidence has to be estimated on the so predicted poses. We present a method that propagates the known error covariance matrix of the current pose of the ego vehicle by considering local approximations of the predicted trajectory. This allows to estimate the risk of collision of the ego vehicle with a considered target object. The proposed approach uses a Monte Carlo simulation to approximate the probability that the ego vehicle and the object come into collision at a given future time instant. Each sample time of the whole prediction horizon is considered as a potential collision time so that a curve describing the variation of the risk of collision is obtained. This allows the system to have a better comprehension of the scene and to react proportionally to the threat. The overall approach has been tested with simulated data and the consistency of results is shown.
Detection of slow-motion replay segments in sports video for highlights generation

We present a novel method for generating sports video summary highlights. Specifically, our method localizes semantically important events in sport programs by detecting slow motion replays of these events, and then generates highlights of these events at multiple levels. In our method, a hidden Markov model (HMM) is used to model slow motion replays, and an inference algorithm is introduced which computes the probability of a slow motion replay segment, and localizes the boundaries of the segment as well. An effective new feature is used in our HMM, based on a moving measure of the number of zero-crossings and the amplitudes of variations over time of video field differences. Furthermore, the method is capable of filtering out slow motion play segments in commercials. As compared with existing methods for video event detection, our method is more generic (ie, domain independent), and has the ability to capture inherently important events.
Feasibility of Single-Beam Interference Alignment in Multi-Carrier Interference Channels

Sun and Luo recently showed that if the vector-space single-beam interference alignment problem for a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-user, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-carrier interference channel is feasible, then <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K\leq 2L-2$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. We prove the converse, that if <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K\leq 2L-2$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, then the problem is feasible, i.e., that the requisite beamformers do exist.
Kissing right? On the consistency of the head-turning bias in kissing

The present study investigated the consistency of the head-turning bias in kissing. In particular we addressed what happens if a person who prefers to kiss with the head turned to the right kisses a person who prefers to kiss with the head turned to the left. To this end, participants (N=57) were required to kiss a life-sized doll's head rotated in different orientations that were either compatible or incompatible with the participants’ head-turning preference. Additionally, participants handedness, footedness, and eye preference was assessed. Results showed that a higher percentage of participants preferred to kiss with their head turned to the right than to the left. In addition, the right-turners were more consistent in their kissing behaviour than left-turners. That is, with the doll's head rotated in an incompatible direction, right-turners were less likely to switch their head to their non-preferred side. Since no clear relationships between head-turning bias and the other lateral preferences (i.e., handedness, footedness, and eye preference) were discerned, the more consistent head-turning bias among right-turners could not be explained as deriving from a joint pattern of lateral preferences that is stronger among individuals with rightward as compared to individuals with leftward lateral preferences.
Corporate Transformations: Designer Culture, Designer Employees and `Post-Occupational' Solidarity

This article argues that the new corporate culture currently being constructed in the corporate institution of work has wide social implications. The interplay of post-industrial technologies, new organizational practices and wider social influences is effecting changes in corporate production and culture. In particular, the integration of knowedge and work tasks and employee flexibility enabled by the `smart' technologies is generating new forms of work organization and blurring occupational boundaries. It is argued that the deliberate reconstruction of corporate culture deconstructs the culture of industrial workplaces as it simultaneously attempts to compensate for the loss of forms of social solidarity typical of industrialism. Industrial corporate culture is replaced with a designer. , `simulated' culture that requires and produces a shift in employee identification and industrial solidarities. This empirically based interpretive essay discusses some of the social effects of the corporate reconstruction of culture and its displacement of a primary locus of industrial society's social solidarity. It proposes the emergence of a post-industrial, `post-occupational' social solidarity.
Evaluation of performance of smart mobile devices in machine vision tasks

The recent advance in mobile processing power and imaging devices opened the door to a wide range of mobile vision applications. However, in contrast to typical specially designed machine vision systems in industrial environment, the mobile devices, expected to address the same mobile vision problems, significantly vary in imaging sensors as well as processing power. In this paper we present the results of the experimental study in which we evaluated 22 smart mobile devices in terms of accuracy that can be achieved when using these devices for measuring distances between points in the plane. The results show that smart phones and tablet computers can be used as a high precision measuring device, achieving sub-milimeter accuracy for measurement in the plane defined by a commonly accessible reference object such as an A4 sheet of paper.
Development, Optimization, and Characterization of PEGylated Nanoemulsion of Prostaglandin E1 for Long Circulation

Lipo-PGE1 is the most widely used formulation of PGE1 in clinic. However, PGE1 is easier to leak out from lipo-PGE1 and this will lead to the phlebophlogosis when intravenous injection. The stability of lipo-PGE1 in storage and in vivo is also discounted. The aim of this study is to develop a long-circulating prostaglandin E1-loaded nanoemulsion modified with 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (DSPE-PEG) to improve the stability and pharmacokinetics profiles of lipo-PGE1. PEGylated PGE1 nanoemulsion was prepared using a dispersing-homogenized method. The stability of nanoemulsion in 1 month was investigated. Pharmacokinetic studies were employed to evaluate the in vivo profile of the optimized nanoemulsion. The optimized nanoemulsion PGE1-PEG2000(1%)-NE showed an oil droplet size <100 nm with a surface charge of −14 mV. Approximately, 97% of the PGE1 was encapsulated in the nanoemulsion. The particle size, zeta potential, and drug loading of PGE1-PEG2000(1%)-NE were stable in 1 month. After PGE1-PEG2000(1%)-NE was intravenously administered to rats, the area under curve (AUC) and half-life of PGE1 were, respectively, 1.47-fold and 5.98-fold higher than those of lipo-PGE1 (commercial formulation). PGE1-PEG2000(1%)-NE was an ideal formulation for prolonging the elimination time of PGE1. This novel parenteral colloidal delivery system of PGE1 has a promising potential in clinic use.
Toward tool support for interactive synthesis

Syntax-guided synthesis searches for an implementation of a given specification by exploring large spaces of candidate programs. Sketches reduce these search spaces, making synthesis more tractable, by predefining the structure of the desired implementation. Typically, this structure is obtained through human insight---this paper introduces a method for interactive, tool-supported discovery of such structure. The key idea is to decompose the specification into subcomputations such that the decomposition dictates the sketch. We rely on a readily obtainable specification that is nothing more than a finite set of sample input-output pairs or execution traces of the desired program. We introduce two complementary decomposition operators and demonstrate them on case studies. We find that our interactive methodology to discover structure extends the reach of computer-aided programming to problems that cannot be solved with synthesis alone.
The Even Harder Problem of Consciousness

The problem of subjective experience remains a major topic of debate amongst researchers in both the philosophy of mind and the foundations of artificial intelligence. David Chalmers has referred to this as The Hard Problem of Consciousness, since subjective experience appears to resist most attempts at a functional description. Theories involving 60Hz oscillations in the cerebral cortex, Bose condensates, and quantum collapse in microtubules have all been proffered as offering potential solutions to The Hard Problem, while some other researchers seem eager to retain an essentially dualistic world-view. This paper proposes an even more fundamental problem, potentially disturbing to both sides of the materialist / dualist divide: given that conscious organisms exist in the world, how can it be that one of those organisms happens to be you?
Youth Crime: Whose Responsibility?

Responsibility is an increasingly important concept within both political and academic debates about youth justice. As an alternative approach to youth crime, restorative justice ideology has contributed to this debate. Restorative justice emphasizes the importance of repairing harm by encouraging offenders to address past behavior and to become responsible for future actions. This article reflects on empirical findings from the author's research with 41 young offenders who were the subjects of Referral Orders, a purportedly restorative disposal. It considers how successfully the English youth justice system has adopted this approach, arguing that there is a significant difference between the theory of restorative justice and its use in practice. To some extent, New Labor's emphasis on the criminal justice system has missed the point behind the ideology of restorative justice and the wider opportunities it offers for a pro-actively restorative society.
Improved Function of Circulating Angiogenic Cells Is Evident in Type 1 Diabetic Islet‐Transplanted Patients

Circulating angiogenic cells (CACs) are vascular‐committed bone marrow‐derived cells that are dysfunctional in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Here we studied whether restoration of normoglycemia following islet transplantation is associated with better CAC function. We carried out a cross‐sectional study of 18 T1D patients, 14 insulin‐independent islet‐transplanted patients (ITA) and 14 healthy controls (C) evaluating in vivo and in vitro CACs viability and function. We found that the percentage of CACs in vivo did not differ among the three groups while the number of CAC colonies obtained from T1D, but not from ITA, was reduced compared to C (C = 7.3 ± 1.9, T1D = 0.9 ± 0.4 and ITA = 4.7 ± 1.9; p < 0.05 T1D vs. all). In vitro CAC migration/differentiation were similar, while in vivo an improved angiogenic ability of ITA compared to T1D was shown (capillary density: C = 93.5 ± 22.1, T1D = 19.2 ± 2.8 and ITA = 44.0 ± 10.5, p < 0.05 T1D vs. all). Increased apoptosis and lesser IL‐8 secretion were evident in CACs obtained from T1D compared to C and ITA. in vitro addition of anti‐hIL‐8 reduced the number of colonies obtained from C. Finally, T1D, but not ITA, had a lower endothelial‐dependent dilatation (EDD) compared with C. These data suggest that CAC function is altered in T1D and may be improved after islet transplantation.
The Impact of Oregon Reading First on Student Reading Outcomes

This study examined the impact of Oregon Reading First on student reading outcomes. Outcomes in schools that began Reading First implementation in 2003–2004 (Cohort A) were compared to outcomes in schools that began Reading First implementation in 2005–2006 (Cohort B). The primary hypothesis, that experienced Cohort A schools would outperform less-experienced Cohort B schools, is linked to the model of Reading First used in Oregon and evidence that school reform outcomes can improve over time with high-quality reforms and strong implementation. School-level analyses involved 51 schools and over 3,000 K–3 students. In the major analysis year, 2005–2006, Cohort A schools consistently outperformed Cohort B schools on both formative and summative measures. Also, Cohort A schools had consistently higher rates of within-year reading growth on formative measures. Findings are discussed in the context of the national Reading First Impact Study.
Minimax approaches to optimal transmission expansion planning considering non-probabilistic scenarios of market-based renewable generation capacity additions

This paper investigates the potential of minimax-cost and minimax-regret approaches for centralized & determinative transmission expansion planning under uncertainty regarding market-based generation expansion, particularly when the times needed to implement transmission facilities are longer than those required to build renewable generators. The approaches can deal with non-probabilistic uncertainties in variables representing key drivers for generation investors' decisions, and reduce exposure to high regrets if adverse scenarios materialize, at the expense of the costs needed to bestow the transmission grid with flexibility to cope with uncertainties in market-based generation expansion. These properties are illustrated with help of a case study.
Contracts for Cooperation between Web Service Programmers and HTML Designers

Interactive Web services consist of a mixture of HTML fragments and program code. The fragments, which are maintained by designers, are combined to form HTML pages that are shown to the clients. The code, which is maintained by programmers, is executed on the server to handle the business logic. Current Web service frameworks provide little help in separating these constituents, which complicates cooperation between programmers and HTML designers. We propose a system based on XML templates and formalized contracts allowing a flexible separation of concerns. The contracts act as interfaces between the programmers and the HTML designers and permit tool support for statically checking that both parties fulfill their obligations. This ensures that (1) programmers and HTML designers work more independently focusing on their own expertises, (2) the Web service implementation is better structured and thus easier to develop and maintain, (3) it is guaranteed that only valid HTML is sent to the clients even though it is constructed dynamically, (4) the programmer uses the XML templates consistently, and (5) the form input fields being sent to the client always match the code receiving those values. Additionally, we describe tools that aid in the construction and management of contracts and XML templates.
The combined use of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and brain natriuretic peptide improves risk stratification in pediatric cardiac surgery

Abstract Background: The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis whether the combined use of a cardio-specific biomarker, the brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and a marker of early renal damage, the assay of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL), may improve risk stratification in pediatric cardiac surgery. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 135 children [median age 7 (interquartile range 1–49) months] undergoing to cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease. All biomarkers were evaluated pre- and post-operatively at different times after cardiopulmonary-bypass (CPB): uNGAL at 2, 6 and 12 h; BNP at 12 and 36 h; serum creatinine at 2, 6, 12, and 36 h. Primary endpoints were development of acute kidney injury (AKI) (defined as 1.5 serum creatinine increase) and intubation time. Results: AKI occurred in 39% of patients (65% neonates and 32% older children, p=0.004). The peak of uNGAL values occurred more frequently at 2 h. uNGAL values at 2 h [median 28.2 (interquartile range 7.0–124.6) ng/L] had a good diagnostic accuracy for early diagnosis of AKI with an AUC (area under the curve) ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve of 0.85 (SE 0.034). Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, development of AKI was significantly associated with uNGAL values at 2 h after CPB [OR=1.88 (1.30–2.72, p=0.001)], together with the CPB time and Aristotle score, as an index of complexity of the surgical procedure, while pre-operative BNP values were not. Furthermore, uNGAL and pre-operative BNP values (together with Aristotle score) were significantly associated with adverse outcome (longer intubation time and mortality). Conclusions: Pre-operative BNP and uNGAL values after surgery (together with the Aristotle score) were independently associated with a more severe course and worse outcome in children undergoing cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease.