Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Time-Domain Resource Partitioning, Rate Allocation, and Video Quality Adaptation in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks

Heterogenous cellular networks (HCN) introduce small cells within the transmission range of a macrocell. For the efficient operation of HCNs it is essential that the high-power macrocell shuts off its transmissions for an appropriate amount of time in order for the low-power small cells to transmit. This is a mechanism that allows time-domain resource partitioning (TDRP) and is critical to be optimized for maximizing the throughput of the complete HCN. In this paper, we investigate video communication in HCNs when TDRP is employed. After defining a detailed system model for video streaming in such an HCN, we consider the problem of maximizing the experienced video quality at all the users, by jointly optimizing the TDRP for the HCN, the rate allocated to each specific user, and the selected video quality transmitted to a user. The NP-hard problem is solved with a primal-dual approximation algorithm that decomposes the problem into simpler subproblems, making them amenable to fast well-known solution algorithms. Consequently , the calculated solution can be enforced in the time scale of real-life video streaming sessions. This last observation motivates the enhancement of the proposed framework to support video delivery with dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP (DASH). Our extensive simulation results demonstrate clearly the need for our holistic approach for improving the video quality and playback performance of the video streaming users in HCNs.
Uncommon Trimethoxylated Flavonol Obtained from Rubus rosaefolius Leaves and Its Antiproliferative Activity

This study shows the evaluation the antiproliferative effect of the extract, fractions, and uncommon compounds isolated from R. rosaefolius leaves. The compounds were identified by conventional spectroscopic methods such as NMR-H1 and C13 and identified as 5,7-dihydroxy-6,8,4′-trimethoxyflavonol (1), 5-hydroxy-3,6,7,8,4′-pentamethoxyflavone (2), and tormentic acid (3). Both hexane and dichloromethane fractions showed selectivity for multidrug-resistant ovary cancer cell line (NCI-ADR/RES) with total growth inhibition values of 11.1 and 12.6 μg/ml, respectively. Compound 1 also showed selective activity against the same cell line (18.8 μg/ml); however, it was especially effective against glioma cells (2.8 μg/ml), suggesting that this compound may be involved with the in vitro antiproliferative action.
A New Method for Ellipse Fitting in Satellite Images

A new method for ellipse fitting in satellite image is proposed. First, line segments are extracted and classified into one of three categories: straight line, elliptic line, and pseudo-elliptic line segments. Then elliptic segments are fitted directly with non-iterative ellipse-specific method proposed by Fitzgibbon et al[12]. For pseudo-elliptic segments, we start fitting ellipse with large eccentricity, merge nearby pseudo-elliptic segments that share same monotonicity, validate fitted ellipse, and accept if validation succeeds. If validation fails, fitting process is repeated by lowering eccentricity until either validation succeeds or eccentricity hits zero. We tested the method on some satellite image and obtained good results.
Comparative Analysis of Dispersion Parameter Estimates in Loglinear Modeling: Applied to E-Commerce Sales and Customer Data

When loglinear models are applied to count data the issue of over-dispersion often arises. Moment and maximum likelihood estimation methods in accounting for over-dispersion are widely used because they allow for model checking tools such as Chi-square, F, and likelihood ratio tests. Herein is a comparison between R functions that each uses one method; glm.nb uses MLE, and glm.poisson. disp uses MME. The Index of Dissimilarity and visual model selection (ECDF plots) are also incorporated. These are applied to sales data using product and customer information compiled over the last five years that was generously provided by an e-commerce company.
Classification of learners using linear regression

Proper classification of learners is one of the key aspects in e-Learning environments. This paper uses linear regression for modeling the quantity of accumulated knowledge in relationship with variables representing the performed activity. Within the modeling process there are used the experiences performed by students for which it is known the level of accumulated knowledge. The classification of learners is performed at concept level. The outcome is computed as a percentage representing the concept covering in knowledge
How many steps of progression of diabetic retinopathy are meaningful? The Wisconsin epidemiologic study of diabetic retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether a 1-step or more or 2-step or more progression on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study retinopathy severity scale over a 4-year period is meaningful in predicting the subsequent incidence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and clinically significant macular edema (CSME) over the following 6 years. DESIGN Population-based study of diabetic persons with 10 years of follow-up. SETTING AND PATIENTS Eleven-county area in southern Wisconsin. There were 1025 persons with diabetes who had fundus photographs at baseline and at 4- and 10-year follow-up examinations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Incidence of PDR or CSME between the 4- and 10-year follow-up examinations as determined by masked grading of color stereoscopic fundus photographs of 7 standard fields. RESULTS In a univariate analysis, those with 1 or more steps of progression (n = 551) over the first 4 years of the study were significantly (P<.0001) more likely to develop PDR over the next 6 years than those with no progression (n = 474) (26% vs 4%) (relative risk, 5.85; 95% confidence interval, 4.05-8.47). Similarly, those with 2 or more (n = 364) (33%) or 3 or more (n = 231) (41%) steps of progression over the first 4 years of the study were significantly (P<.0001) more likely to develop PDR over the next 6 years than those with lesser progression (n = 661 [7%] and n = 794 [9%], respectively) (relative risk, 5.10; 95% confidence interval, 3.83-6.80; and relative risk, 4.61; 95% confidence interval, 3.57-5.99, respectively). Similar associations were apparent at every level of retinopathy, duration of diabetes, and glycosylated hemoglobin, and by type of diabetes at baseline. There were also associations between retinopathy progression and incidence of CSME. CONCLUSIONS It seems that 1 or more or 2 or more steps of progression of retinopathy over a 4-year period strongly predict the development of PDR over the next 6 years. Therefore, using these end points of progression would result in the need for fewer subjects or shorter follow-up in some clinical trials.
A corpus-based study of elderly and young speakers of European Portuguese: acoustic correlates and their impact on speech recognition performance

This paper presents a study of European Portuguese elderly speech, in which the acoustic characteristics of two groups of elderly speakers (aged 60-75 and over 75) are compared with those of young adult speakers (aged 19-30). The correlation between age and a set of 14 acoustic features was investigated, and decision trees were used to establish the relative importance of the features. A greater use of pauses characterized speakers aged 60 and over. For female speakers, speech rate also appeared to correlate with age. For male speakers, jitter distinguished between speakers aged 60-75 and older. The correlation between the features and speech recognition performance was also investigated. Word error rate correlated mostly with the use of pauses, speech rate, and the ratio of long phone realizations. Finally, by comparing the phone sequences used by the recognizer on the most frequent words, we observed that the young adult speakers reduced schwas more than the elderly speakers. This result seems to confirm the common idea that young speakers reduce articulation more than older speakers. Further investigation is needed to confirm this result by determining whether this is due to ageing or to the generation gap. Index Terms: acoustic analysis, acoustic correlates, automatic speech recognition, elderly speech, speaker age
Organizational Slack and Firm Performance in the Process of IT Investment - An Experimental Study of Manufacturing Firms

This study considers how organizational slack (unabsorbed and absorbed) changes and affects firm performance in the different stage of IT investment. We test hypotheses using finance data (1994-2008) from 196 manufacturing listed companies in China. The results indicate there is higher unabsorbed slack in the early stage of IT investment, and there is higher absorbed slack in the run-in stage of IT investment. The correlation between unabsorbed slack and firm performance is positive in the process of IT investment. In contrast absorbed slack presents negative correlation with the firm performance. The hypothesis is not supported for the measure of absorbed slack in the run-in stage.
A CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTIONS OF MOBILE ADVERTISING – A SURVEY AMONG AUSTRIAN AND JAPANESE STUDENTS

Mobile devices allow constant access to the World Wide Web without time and location barriers and present new challenges for marketers and an array of research questions for marketing researchers. The topic of mobile advertising is of special interest for companies as it enables communication with customers in unprecedented ways. As mobile technologies are being increasingly adopted on a worldwide basis, international m-advertising becomes an issue of growing importance. This paper therefore presents first cross-cultural evidence of individuals’ perceptions of mobile advertising. The analysis is based on a survey of business students in two respective markets, Japan and Austria. Findings of this study show that people are still skeptical about mobile advertising. However, there are slight differences in perceptions between Japan and Austria. Japanese respondents perceive madvertising as more entertaining and valuable. Despite the fact that they are more frequently exposed to mobile advertising messages, they also show a more positive attitude toward it. Implications for practitioners as well as for future research are suggested based on these findings.
2 7 Ju l 2 00 3 Neural Realisation of the ICMAUS Theory : Cell Assemblies Revisited

The ICMAUS theory—described in previous publications—is an abstract model of any system for processing information, either natural or artificial. Unlike earlier theories of computing, it provides an account of a range of phenomena in perception and cognition, including the analysis and production of natural language, unsupervised learning, recognition of objects and patterns, probabilistic reasoning, planning and problem
Joint Tracking of Manoeuvring Targets and Classification of Their Manoeuvrability

Semi-Markov models are a generalisation of Markov models that explicitly model the state-dependent sojourn time distribution, the time for which the system remains in a given state. Markov models result in an exponentially distributed sojourn time, while semi-Markov models make it possible to define the distribution explicitly. Such models can be used to describe the behaviour of manoeuvring targets, and particle filtering can then facilitate tracking. An architecture is proposed that enables particle filters to be both robust and efficient when conducting joint tracking and classification. It is demonstrated that this approach can be used to classify targets on the basis of their manoeuvrability.
eKISS: sharing experiences in families through a picture blog

Contemporary family life can be very stressful and many families are often busy and separated by time or distance. Physical separation makes it difficult to maintain an awareness of each other and the feeling of intimacy. But lack of such intimacy can result in insecure and troubled children. This paper outlines eKISS, a picture weblog for mediating intimacy between children and parents. eKISS supports asynchronous sharing of experiences from the children to their parents while being physically separated. Communication is based on pictures and text sent through mobile technology and shared on a weblog available to the family. A longitudinal field evaluation revealed that eKISS was able to support acts of intimacy by providing insight, new communication channel, and the possibility to easily share experiences. It also revealed that eKISS was most useful when the family was separated for longer periods of time.
Structured approach to measure performance in construction research and development: Performance measurement system development

Purpose - The aim of this study is to explore performance measurement applications within construction research and development (R&D) to develop a structured approach to measure the performance of a collaborative construction R&D project during its lifecycle from initiation, conceptualisation, development, and launch stages, and during project management. Design/methodology/approach - During the exploratory phase of the study, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey were carried out to develop the performance measurement system (PMS). During the explanatory phase, the developed PMS was refined with a series of semi-structured interviews. The data were gathered from principal investigators, researchers and industrial partners involved in collaborative construction R&D work. Findings - The main finding is the developed PMS to measure the performance of construction R&D that consists of critical success factors, performance indicators and performance measures during the lifecycle of a R&D project. Practical implications - The PMS developed through the study provides critical success factors, performance indicators and measures that need to be considered during construction R&D projects to measure the performance. Thus, through the implementation of the PMS, this study contributes to practice by assisting the performance improvement within construction R&D projects. Originality/value - The developed PMS to measure the performance of construction R&D projects will provide value for those who are engaged in R&D work (principal investigators, researchers and industrial partners) to ensure the success of their projects.
Improving a Statistical MT System with Automatically Learned Rewrite Patterns

Current clump-based statistical MT systems have two limitations with respect to word ordering: First, they lack a mechanism for expressing and using generalization that accounts for reorderings of linguistic phrases. Second, the ordering of target words in such systems does not respect linguistic phrase boundaries. To address these limitations, we propose to use automatically learned rewrite patterns to preprocess the source sentences so that they have a word order similar to that of the target language. Our system is a hybrid one. The basic model is statistical, but we use broad-coverage rule-based parsers in two ways - during training for learning rewrite patterns, and at runtime for reordering the source sentences. Our experiments show 10% relative improvement in Bleu measure.
An innovative localization system of transformer substation automation robots based on pattern recognition and ICP algorithm

This paper proposes a novel, laser-based localization method for the autonomous mobile robot in transformer substations. Iterative closet point (ICP) algorithm has been widely used in current laser localization system for locating the mobile robot. However, after initialization, current localization system cannot finish positioning without human assistance. There is a growing interest in finding an effective way to improve the stability and correctness of laser system. We describe a method that combines the pattern recognition with laser localization system. Robot positioning in feature map is to search the relative distance and orientation to landmarks.
Delegation, agency, and agenda setting in the European Community

Do supranational institutions matter—do they deserve the status of an independent causal variable—in the politics of the European Community (EC)? Does the Commission of the European Communities matter? Does the European Court of Justice (ECJ) or the European Parliament? Is the EC characterized by continued member state dominance or by a runaway Commission and an activist Court progressively chipping away at this dominance? These are some of the more important questions for our understanding of the EC and of European integration. They have divided the two traditional schools of thought in regional integration, with neofunctionalists generally asserting, and intergovernmentalists generally denying, any important causal role for supranational institutions in the integration process. By and large, however, neither neofunctionalism nor intergovernmentalism has generated testable hypotheses regarding the conditions under which, and the ways in which, supranational institutions exert an independent causal influence on either EC governance or the process of European integration.
Developments in large vocabulary, continuous speech recognition of German

We describe our large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system for the German language, the development of which was partly carried out within the context of the European LRE project 62-058 SQALE. The recognition system is the LIMSI recognizer originally developed for French and American English, which has been adapted to German. Specificities of German, as relevant to the recognition system, are presented. These specificities have been accounted for during the recognizer's adaptation process. We present experimental results on a first test set ger-dev95 to measure progress in system development. Results are given with the final system using different acoustic model sets on two test sets ger-dev95 and ger-eval95. This system achieved a word error rate of 17.3% (official word error rate of 16.1% after SQALE adjudication process) on the ger-eval95 test set.
Regulated Association of Microtubule-associated Protein 2 (MAP2) with Src and Grb2: Evidence for MAP2 as a Scaffolding Protein*

Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and tau, which is involved in Alzheimer's disease, are major cytoskeletal proteins in neurons. These proteins are involved in microtubule assembly and stability. To further characterize MAP2, we took a strategy of identifying potential MAP2 binding partners. The low molecular weight MAP2c protein has 11 PXXP motifs that are conserved across species, and these PXXP motifs could be potential ligands for Src homology 3 (SH3) domains. We tested for MAP2 interaction with SH3 domain-containing proteins. All neuronal MAP2 isoforms bound specifically to the SH3 domains of c-Src and Grb2 in anin vitro glutathione S-transferase-SH3 pull-down assay. Interactions between endogenous proteins were confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation using brain lysate. All three proteins were also found co-expressed in neuronal cell bodies and dendrites. Surprisingly, the SH3 domain-binding site was mapped to the microtubule-binding domain that contains no PXXP motif. Src bound primarily the soluble, non-microtubule-associated MAP2c in vitro. This specific MAP2/SH3 domain interaction was inhibited by phosphorylation of MAP2c by the mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 but not by protein kinase A. This phosphorylation-regulated association of MAP2 with proteins of intracellular signal transduction pathways suggests a possible link between cellular signaling and neuronal cytoskeleton, with MAP2 perhaps acting as a molecular scaffold upon which cytoskeleton-modifying proteins assemble and dissociate in response to neuronal activity.
Ultrasound Image Denoising Using Improved Image Decomposition Method

Ultrasound images are very noisy. Along with system noise, a significant noise source is the speckle phenomenon caused by interference in the viewed object. The noise of ultrasound image was always deemed as multiplicative noise, but the present multiplicative noise models are not fitting for it very well, because the noise is more complex than the simple multiplicative one. So we should consider separate the real part from large noised image using image decomposition for the purpose of denoising. The VO (Vese-Osher) model can decompose image into smooth area and the oscillating patterns, but it unable to deal with image with large oscillating part very well. To deal with this problem, we modify the VO model by add a fourth order filter and we call this improved decomposition methods as mixted VO model. The combined algorithm takes the advantage of both filters since it is able to preserve edges and separate large oscillating part. The minimization problem must be realized through solving partial differential equations with complex finite difference scheme which leads to low efficiency. To simplify this, the Split Bregman algorithm for the mixted VO model is proposed and then we use it for ultrasound image denoising.
A risk-estimation-based formulation for speech enhancement and its relation to Wiener filtering

The goal of speech enhancement algorithms is to provide an estimate of clean speech starting from noisy observations. The often-employed cost function is the mean square error (MSE). However, the MSE can never be computed in practice. Therefore, it becomes necessary to find practical alternatives to the MSE. In image denoising problems, the cost function (also referred to as risk) is often replaced by an unbiased estimator. Motivated by this approach, we reformulate the problem of speech enhancement from the perspective of risk minimization. Some recent contributions in risk estimation have employed Stein's unbiased risk estimator (SURE) together with a parametric denoising function, which is a linear expansion of threshold/bases (LET). We show that the first-order case of SURE-LET results in a Wiener-filter type solution if the denoising function is made frequency-dependent. We also provide enhancement results obtained with both techniques and characterize the improvement by means of local as well as global SNR calculations.
Maximum Power Point Tracking for Photovoltaic Array Using Parabolic Interpolation

Parabolic interpolation based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique has been used in this paper to track the maximum power point (MPP) of a photovoltaic system. The proposed technique requires only one current sensor to track the MPP, which means that systems incorporating this technique will need less hardware support and will be cost effective. The proposed technique has been applied on the simulation and experimental data of a charge controller circuit and it has been found that the proposed technique requires around 50% less iteration to track the MPP than the tradition P&O method.
Concomitant production of two proteases and alpha-amylase by a novel strain of Bacillus subtilis in a microprocessor controlled bioreactor

We describe the simultaneous production of Bacillus subtilis based proteases and alpha amylase using a computer controlled laboratory scale 7.5 L batch bioreactor. The present strain is the first to be reported that concomitantly produces these two industrially important enzymes. The growth and sporulation of Bacillus subtilis was monitored and maximum production of alkaline protease and alpha amylase was found to coincide with maximum sporulation. Two types of proteases were detected in the fermentation broth; a neutral and an alkaline protease most active in a pH range of 7.0–8.0 and 8.0–10, respectively. Maximum production of proteases was observed at an incubation temperature of 37°C while that of alpha amylase was observed at 40°C. The optimum aeration and agitation levels for protease production were 0.6 L/L/min and 200rpm, respectively, and for alpha amylase were 0.6 L/L/min and 150 rpm. The kinetic parameters Yp/x and qp were also found to be significant at the given fermentation conditions.