Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction between abstract agents: increasing the readability of causal events with animation principles

In cognitive psychology, causality studies investigate simple causal relations to understand how people perceive a causal relation between agents. In those experiments, geometric shaped characters are used to examine the causal relations only. However, the actions of characters (or agents) in those experiments were not completely described as causal events by many participants, which might be the result of a shortcoming in the design of agents' actions. We believe we can improve the readability of causal events with animation principles. We created expressive actions by the use of animation principles of anticipation and reaction, which are used to emphasize the meaning of the main action with expressiveness in pre- and post- actions. To analyze the effect of expressivity and its effect on different embodiments of agents, we conducted a user study with 4 animation clips including expressivity (expressive vs. non-expressive action) and embodiment (object vs. robot embodiment) conditions. We analyzed data from 116 adult participants and the results showed that expressive actions significantly increased the readability of interaction between abstract agents in causal events. We also found that the type of embodiment has no effect on readability when we applied expressive actions into their movements.
Multicultural Marketing: Selling to the New America

Consider These Facts Today, ethnic Americans--African-Americans, Asian-Pacific-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans--make up 25 percent of the U.S. population. By 2010 this figure will be 33 percent; by 2040, it will be 53 percent. Ethnic Americans are increasing in population seven times as fast as no
Binate Code WAP Approach to access Sequential Pattern Mining for Web Log

Data Explosion is the major challenge which our information industry is facing everyday. As World Wide Web has lots of data there is a need for discovery & analysis of useful information over the web. For this, we use web access pattern which is sequence of accesses followed by users frequently. Finding Web access pattern comes under sequential pattern mining which is the process of applying data mining technique to sequential database in order to discover co-relation relationship that exist among ordered list of events. Web access pattern tree (WAP) can be used to analyze web log access sequences, which first store the original web access sequences database on a pre-fix tree then WAP tree algorithm mine the frequent sequences from the WAPtree in recursive manner by reconstructing intermediate tree starting with suffix sequences & ends with prefix sequences . We have an attempt to improve the efficiency of WAP tree approach. In Binate code WAP , We totally eliminate the need to reconstruct number of intermediate WAP-tree so that we can reduces execution time considerably.
Evolution of Enterprise Systems

The concept of ES (enterprise system) designed to support the functionality of enterprise has a significant step forward in the long history of technology assisted business process integration. The concepts such as MRP I and MRP II. were elaborated to assist business managers by integrating various business planning processes mainly in the topics of logistics and manufacturing. The first breakthrough in the system development was the Enterprise Resources Planning management concept and application system. ERP which, like other new technologies have evaluated over several the years. It was a gradual and continuous development without considerable changes, except the SCM and APS. The radical transformation of economic environment -at the beginning of the current centaury -forced the business stakeholders to elaborate new business models and tightly aligned information technology. At present we are witnesses to and active participants of a new paradigm shift. On the business side the agility and the flexibility are the key features. On the technology (ICT) side two emerging architecture are on the horizon: the web based SOA -service oriented architecture and the BPMS -business process management suites. Our visions are that the "business and IT gap" will be disappeared in the near future, the business oriented information systems dominate the enterprises, the IT systems are the main enablers of the value chains in-and outside of the companies.
Secure and Resilient Low-Rate Connectivity for Smart Energy Applications through Power Talk in DC Microgrids

The future smart grid is envisioned as a network of interconnected microgrids (MGs) - small-scale local power networks comprising generators, storage capacities and loads. MGs bring unprecedented modularity, efficiency, sustainability, and resilience to the power grid as a whole. Due to the high share of renewable generation, MGs require innovative concepts for control and optimization, giving rise to a novel class of smart energy applications, in which communications represent an integral part. In this paper, we review power talk, a communication technique specifically developed for direct current MGs, which exploits the communication potential residing within the MG power equipment. Depending on the smart energy application, power talk can be used either as a primary communication enabler, or an auxiliary communication system that provides resilient and secure operation. The key advantage of power talk is that it derives its availability, reliability, and security from the very MG elements, outmatching standard, off-the shelf communication solutions.
Realization of two-dimensional spin-orbit coupling for Bose-Einstein condensates

Spin-orbit coupling in an optical lattice Studying topological matter in cold-atom systems may bring fresh insights, thanks to the intrinsic purity and controllability of this experimental setting. However, the necessary spin-orbit coupling can be tricky to engineer. Wu et al. conceived and experimentally demonstrated a simple scheme that involves only a single laser source and can be continuously tuned between one- and two-dimensional spin-orbit coupling (see the Perspective by Aidelsburger). Although this experiment used bosonic atoms, it is expected that the setup would also work for fermions. Science, this issue p. 83; see also p. 35 Rubidium atoms are used to demonstrate a spin-orbit coupling scheme that is tunable between the 1- and 2D limits. [Also see Perspective by Aidelsburger] Cold atoms with laser-induced spin-orbit (SO) interactions provide a platform to explore quantum physics beyond natural conditions of solids. Here we propose and experimentally realize two-dimensional (2D) SO coupling and topological bands for a rubidium-87 degenerate gas through an optical Raman lattice, without phase-locking or fine-tuning of optical potentials. A controllable crossover between 2D and 1D SO couplings is studied, and the SO effects and nontrivial band topology are observed by measuring the atomic cloud distribution and spin texture in momentum space. Our realization of 2D SO coupling with advantages of small heating and topological stability opens a broad avenue in cold atoms to study exotic quantum phases, including topological superfluids.
When Can a Generic Advertising Program Increase Farmer Returns

Generic advertising has been a widely-used marketing tool of many agricultural industries. The strategy has come under increasing scrutiny lately, especially by levy-paying producers who fund the advertising. Also, for many food products, supermarket chains have developed and advertised their own â€œstoreâ€ or â€œprivate labelâ€ brands in competition with both processor brands and generic advertising of those products. In such an environment, the issue is whether generic promotion will increase producer returns? Farmers gain from a generic advertising program only if the net farm price rises, where the net farm price is inclusive of the levy collected to fund the generic advertising program. A higher net price to farmers increases producer surplus, or the returns on farmer-owned land, management, labour and other resources which are in limited supply. The aim of this research is to examine the conditions under which such an increase in the net farm price is likely to occur. In undertaking this task, two main areas of research are reported. First, the literature is reviewed and theoretical models are developed to assess the conditions under which farmers would gain from a generic advertising program funded by a levy on production. Second, a general model is applied across the range of Australian agricultural products to assess the minimum increase in domestic sales from advertising required if the program is to increase farmer returns. In particular, the assessment distinguishes products by their exposure to international trade.
Implementation of a Non-Isolated Three Level DC/DC Converter Suitable for High Power Systems

This paper describes the implementation of a non-isolated three-level DC/DC buck converter that is suitable for high power systems. This topology has the advantage of achieving all of the design objectives for this classification of power converters. The authors have developed, built and tested a system which utilizes a general purpose power electronic module, which can be configured via software/firmware programming and modifications to its input/output power connections to implement various types of power systems. The work behind this paper has proven the usefulness of this topology and has addressed many of the issues associated with successful implementation and commercialization. The paper describes the control implementations and simulation results compared to measured results used in tuning and commissioning of the system. The final 500 V, 100 kW system is implemented in hardware and experimental results are provided showing its performance under step load and step short circuit conditions.
Thrown in the deep end: newcomers and public sector reform

Triggered by the continuing global financial crisis, most public administration systems internationally are reviewing their ability to meet public expectations in more challenging strategic environments, while satisfying the pressure from their political masters to drive down the costs of public administration. Consequently public sector organizations are under constant pressure to reform to meet not only the global economic challenges, but the need for more responsive government (Brown et al 2003). Doyle et al (2000) propose that organizational change is seldom well managed, but that the public sector faces greater difficulty in implementing corporate change than the private sector because of its unique environment, e.g. the need to deliver bureaucratically impartial outcomes. The scale of the changes required, and the constraints imposed by the context within which these changes need to occur, have intensified the need for capable public sector leadership and management. The types of capability required now extend beyond those typically required in public organizations through the efficiency drive of new public management. Acquiring these capabilities remains a key issue for public organizations. One challenge for public management, then, is leadership and management quality, including the need to recruit externally to refresh, re-energize and change the sector and its individual organizations as well as develop advanced skills among existing senior executives.
Experimental Analysis of Laser Interferometry-Based Robust Motion Tracking Control of a Flexure-Based Mechanism

This paper presents experimental analysis of laser interferometry-based closed-loop robust motion tracking control for flexure-based four-bar micro/nano manipulator. To enhance the accuracy of micro/nano manipulation, laser interferometry realized robust motion tracking control is established with the experimental facility. This paper contains brief discussions about the error sources associated with the laser interferometry-based sensing and measurement technique, along with detailed error analysis and estimation. Comparative error analysis of capacitive position sensor-based system and laser interferometry-based system is also presented. Robust control demonstrates high precision and accurate motion tracking of the four-bar flexure-based mechanism. The experimental results demonstrate precise motion tracking, where resultant closed-loop position tracking error is of the order of <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\pm$</tex> </formula>20 nm, and a steady-state error of about <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">$\pm$</tex></formula>10 nm. With the experimental study and error analysis, we offer evidence that the laser interferometry-based closed-loop robust motion tracking control can minimize positioning and tracking errors during dynamic motion.
Application performance benchmark: An experimental analysis on C# programs

Benchmark could help developer to determine the performance of the application based on its processing time to produce the output. This paper evaluated the response time speed performance of the output stream being written to the file and output console. An experiment has been conducted to test whether output stream to the file or the console could affect the response time speed performance. Four types of arithmetical operations have been developed to represent real world application of different size of input and output. These operations represent single input/single output application, single input/many output application, many input/single output application and many input/many output application. Each operation has been tested and its response time performance will be compared. This experiment has shown that arithmetical operations that write the output stream to the file are faster than the console. In most tests, application with many outputs could be improved by writing the output stream to the file.
Asymptotically stable gait generation for biped robot based on mechanical energy balance

This paper investigates dynamic bipedal gait and its stability from the mechanical energy balance point of view. The equilibrium points at impact in a dynamic gait are uniquely and systematically determined by two constraint conditions; one is the constraint on restored mechanical energy, the other is the constraint on impact posture. The dynamic gait then becomes always asymptotically stable around the equilibrium points, and this is shown by a simple recurrence formula of the pre-impact kinetic energy. The validity of the method is numerically confirmed via gait generation by virtual passive dynamic walking.
A Novel Two-Step Traceback Scheme for DDoS Attacks

The defense against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is one of the primary concerns on the Internet today. IP spoofing makes it difficult for the victim to determine the packet's true origin. There is a need for a mechanism that could rapidly trace back to the attacks' origins for the victim. This paper presents a two-step traceback scheme to track DDoS attack source by dividing the tracing process into two steps. In the first step, packet marking method based on autonomous system (ASPMM) is adopted to determine the attack-originating autonomous system (AS). In the second step, non-repeated probabilistic packet marking (NRPPM) is used to identify the exact origin of the attacks in the specific AS. Compared with previous algorithms, the two-step traceback scheme has the benefits of low bandwidth consumption, quick convergence speed, light computational overhead of address recombination, it can decrease the number of packets the path reconstruction needs, and improve the efficiency of path reconstruction, hence making it possible to trace the DDoS attack source rapidly.
Mean value inequalities

In this article, we will discuss various issues concerning when a complete Riemannian manifold possesses a global mean value inequality for positive subsolutions of either the Laplace equation or the heat equation. This study is motivated by the recent result of the first author [L1]. In that paper, he proved estimates on the dimensions of spaces of harmonic functions of at most polynomial growth of degree d on manifolds satisfying the weak volume growth condition and the mean value inequality . Let us first recall the weak volume growth condition.
Characterizing and Exploiting Partial Interference in Wireless Mesh Networks

In evaluating the performance of a wireless network, the interference between wireless links plays a key role. In previous works, interference was assumed to be a binary phenomenon, i.e., either the links mutually interfere with each other, or they do not interfere. However, there were experimental results contradicting this binary assumption. We term this as partial interference. In this paper, we present an analytical framework to characterize partial interference in a single-channel wireless network under unsaturated traffic conditions, and use 802.11b with basic access scheme and differential binary phase shift keying as an illustration. An analogy is drawn between partial interference and code division multiple access to demonstrate their similarities. The gain in capacity across unit cut by exploiting partial interference can be as high as 67% under scheduling in a modified Manhattan network.
LLC series resonant high-frequency sinusoidal power supplier

This paper presents an LLC series resonant high-frequency sinusoidal power supplier for contactless power transmission system utilizing the magnetizing inductance and the leakage inductance of contactless coupled transformer. The design of system's parameters is under 2mm air gap of contactless coupled transformer and utilizes microchip dsPIC30F4011 to track resonance tank voltage and current phase in order to maintain operation of circuit resonant frequency to ensure that circuit can provide maximum power output for various loads. Finally, a 1kW prototype is designed and implemented to access the performance of the proposed LLC series resonant high-frequency sinusoidal power supplier. The proposed circuit also compares with the traditional frequency fixed high-frequency sinusoidal power supplier. The experimental result shows that the proposed circuit can provide maximum power output for various loads and the efficiency is about 95%.
The Porous Surface Model, a Novel Experimental System for Online Quantitative Observation of Microbial Processes under Unsaturated Conditions

ABSTRACT Water is arguably the most important constituent of microbial microhabitats due to its control of physical and physiological processes critical to microbial activity. In natural environments, bacteria often live on unsaturated surfaces, in thin (micrometric) liquid films. Nevertheless, no experimental systems are available that allow real-time observation of bacterial processes in liquid films of controlled thickness. We propose a novel, inexpensive, easily operated experimental platform, termed the porous surface model (PSM) that enables quantitative real-time microscopic observations of bacterial growth and activity under controlled unsaturated conditions. Bacteria are inoculated on a porous ceramic plate, wetted by a liquid medium. The thickness of the liquid film at the surface of the plate is set by imposing suction, corresponding to soil matric potential, to the liquid medium. The utility of the PSM was demonstrated using Pseudomonas putida KT2440 tagged with gfp as a model bacterium. Single cells were inoculated at the surface of the PSM, and the rate at which colonies expanded laterally was measured for three matric potentials (−0.5, −1.2, and −3.6 kPa). The matric potential exerted significant influence on colony expansion rates, with a faster rate of spreading at −0.5 than at −1.2 or −3.6 kPa (diameter increase rate, ca. 1,000, 200, and 17 μm h−1, respectively). These differences can be attributed to cell motility, strongly limited under the most negative matric potential. The PSM constitutes a tool uniquely adapted to study the influence of liquid film geometry on microbial processes. It should therefore contribute to uncovering mechanisms of microbial adaptation to unsaturated environments.
Electromagnetic analysis of large nanoplasmonic assemblies with fast multipole methods

The frontiers in the research field of nanoplasmonics are not seldom restrained by the limits imposed by available electromagnetic analysis tools, which tend to struggle when addressing realistic systems with several-wavelength electric sizes. This work shows that boundary element variational methods, along with the hierarchical spectral compression of the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA), can effectively model the interaction of light with large nanoplasmonic assemblies, raising the bar of full-wave simulations in the field of nanoplasmonics to a new level.
Optical properties of coupled metallic nanorods for field-enhanced spectroscopy

The optical properties of coupled metallic nanorods are studied to investigate the use of coupled plasmonic structures in field-enhanced spectroscopies. Light scattering by coupled nanorods is calculated with the boundary element method, including retardation. The modes of coupled nanorod systems are calculated by the boundary charge method and discussed in terms of their symmetry. Similar scattering behavior for isolated nanorods and pairs of nanorods can mask the very different local responses that produce near-field enhancement. The response of isolated rods redshifts with increasing rod length because intrarod restoring forces are reduced. The near- and far-field responses increase monotonically with increasing rod length increasing polarization along the rod. For coupled nanorods, coupling localizes charge at the gap between the rod ends and splits degenerate modes. The localized charge depolarizes the intrarod response and provides an additional redshift. Moreover, the near-field enhancement in the gap between the nanorods is dramatically increased by coupling-induced charge localization at the gap. For short nanorods, the near-field response in coupled systems is determined by the geometry of the rod ends that define the gap. For longer nanorods, the response in coupled systems is determined by the rod length. Changing the dimensions and geometry of the nanorods to modify the interrod coupling has a major effect on the local-field enhancement. The effects of the environment and the actual metallic material do not have as big an influence on the field enhancement.
Unravelling causality from correlations: revealing the impacts of endemic ectoparasites on a protected species (tuatara)

SUMMARY Understanding the impacts of endemic parasites on protected hosts is an essential element of conservation management. However, where manipulative experiments are unethical, causality cannot be inferred from observational correlative studies. Instead, we used an experimental structure to explore temporal associations between body condition of a protected reptile, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) and infestation with ectoparasites (ticks and mites). We surveyed tuatara in a mark-recapture study on Stephens Island (New Zealand), which encompassed the pre-peak, peak and post-peak infestation periods for each ectoparasite. Tick loads during the peak infestation period were negatively related to body condition of tuatara. Body condition before the peak was not related to subsequent infestation rates; however, tick loads in the peak were negatively related to subsequent changes in body condition. Mite loads during the peak infestation period were not correlated with body condition of tuatara. Body condition before the peak had no effect on subsequent mite infestation rates, but mite loads of small males during the peak were negatively related to subsequent changes in body condition. Our results suggest that both ectoparasites reduce the body condition of tuatara, which has implications for the long-term conservation management of this host and its parasites.