Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Migrants as transnational development agents: An inquiry into the newest round of the migration - development nexus.

Migrant networks and organisations have emerged as development agents. They interact with state institutions in flows of financial remittances, knowledge, and political ideas. In the discursive dimension, the new enthusiasm on the part of OECD states and international organisations, such as the World Bank, for migrant remittances, migrant associations and their role in development, is a sign of two trends which have coincided. Firstly, community as a principle of development has come to supplement principles of social order such as the market and the state. Secondly, in the current round of the migration–development nexus, migrants in general and transnational collective actors in particular have been constituted by states and international organisations as a significant agent. In the institutional dimension, agents such as hometown associations, networks of businesspersons, epistemic networks and political diasporas have emerged as collective actors. These formations are not unitary actors, and they are frequently in conflict with states and communities of origin. The analysis concludes with reflections of how national states structure the transnational spaces in which non-state actors are engaged in cross-border flows, leading towards a tight linkage between migration control, immigrant incorporation and development cooperation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A LEARNING BASED STOCHASTIC APPROACH FOR FAULT DIAGNOSIS IN A CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK REACTOR

Many approaches have been developed to detect and diagnose the different types of faults that may occur in a complex process. Most of these approaches have traditionally been based on linear modeling techniques, which restricts the type of practical situations that can be modeled. Recently, many learning based non linear modeling using neural and other on-line approximation models have been developed. This paper presents a learning based stochastic methodology for constructing automated fault detection and diagnosis architecture for Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR). The main idea behind our approach is to use Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). By applying off-line training procedures, different fault models may be constructed using only system measurements. Based on these models, on-line fault diagnosis may be achieved. A Maximum Likelihood approach is used for fault detection. Some practical aspects of the different algorithms are discussed and simulation results using Scilab are presented.
Human lips synchronisation in Autodesk Maya

Realistic facial synthesis is one of the most fundamental problems in computer graphics and one of the most difficult. Human lips synchronization of the faces is very important part of this. In this paper it solves the issue of how to make human lips synchronization in one of the most popular 3D modelling software - Autodesk Maya. It is described an automatic way to analyse voice, using Adobe after effects and how the result interacts to Maya, but this way is still in progress, so voice is analyzed and classified manually. Using programming language of Maya - MEL (Maya Embedded Language) the recognized phonemes are associated with mouth positions to provide visemes for computer animation of speech. Different mouth positions are created using blend shape deformers, that let you to deform a surface into the shapes of other surfaces. Lip animation is facilitated by activating facial muscles and the jaw on the given facial model created specially for animation. Highspeed natural-looking synchronized lips animation is achieved. It is planed to model the expressive visual features of expressive speech. Informal user testing suggests that the addition of detailed internal mouth structures, such as the tongue, would improve the phrase recognition.
Dynamic Diffusion for Congestion Avoidance in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are employed for either continuous monitoring or event detection in the target area of interest. In event-driven applications, it is critical to report the detected events in the area, and with sudden bursts of traffic possible due to spatially-correlated events or multiple events, the data loss due to congestion will result in information loss or delayed arrival of the sensed information. Congestion control techniques detect congestion and attempt to recover from packet losses due to congestion, but they cannot eliminate or prevent the occurrence of congestion. Congestion avoidance techniques employ proactive measures to alleviate future congestion using parameters like queue length, hop count, channel conditions, and priority index. However, maintaining and processing such information becomes a significant overhead for the sensor nodes and degrades the performance of the network. We propose a congestion avoidance MAC protocol that uses the queue buffer length of the sensor nodes to estimate the congestion and diffuse traffic to provide a congestion-free routing path towards the base station. This protocol provides event reporting, packet delivery ratio, by dynamically diffusing the traffic in the network using multiple forwarders in addition to backup forwarding. We used the standard Network Simulator (NS2) to evaluate the performance of our protocol. Results show that our protocol significantly improves event reporting in terms of packet delivery ratio, throughput, and delay by avoiding congestion while diffusing the traffic effectively.
Tax planning may have contributed to high indebtedness among Swedish companies

The European Commission has identified in a survey of potential imbalances within the EU a number of European countries that are assessed as having excessive leverage. One of these countries is Sweden, which is alleged to have a high burden of debt in the private sector, which could make the economy vulnerable and entail risks to growth and financial stability. The Commission uses private sector debt as a percentage of GDP as an indicator of potential imbalances. However, this measure can to some extent exaggerate the risks as far as Sweden is concerned. This is because loans in the same corporate group, which are included in the European Commission’s measures, comprise a large part of the total debt in the Swedish corporate sector. In this commentary we show that group loans should not be assessed in the same way as, for instance, loans from credit institutions, as the relationship between the lender and the borrower are different for these loans and they are often motivated by an endeavour to keep taxes as low as possible. We also discuss why non-financial companies’ debts have increased substantially over the past 15 years. Our conclusion is that the adjustment to the tax regulations may have contributed to Swedish companies having a relatively high level of indebtedness, seen from a European perspective. Moreover, we show that the Swedish companies’ level of indebtedness, in terms of debts in relation to equity, have fallen during the first decade of the 2000s, which would contradict the claim that company debt levels are a problem.
The Gravitational Lens-Galaxy Group Connection. II. Groups Associated with B2319+051 and B1600+434

We report on the results of a spectroscopic survey of the environments of the gravitational lens systems CLASS B1600+434 (zl = 0.41,zs = 1.59) and CLASS B2319+051 (zl = 0.62). The B1600+434 system has a time delay measured for it, and we find that the system lies in a group with a velocity dispersion of 90 km s-1 and at least seven members. B2319+051 has a large group in its immediate foreground with at least 10 members and a velocity dispersion of 460 km s-1 and another in the background of the lens with a velocity dispersion of 190 km s-1. These systems increase the sample of spectroscopically confirmed groups associated with strong lenses by 20%. We find that modeling groups as single group-sized halos produces only small corrections (κenv,grp ∼ 0.01) to lensing models. However, the very local environments, i.e., galaxies within ∼15″ of the lensing galaxy, have stronger effects on the lens models of the systems studied here. We quantify the effects of the local environment on the lens models and find up to an ≈10% correction to the derived value of H0 for B1600+434 compared to models that do not account for the lens environment.
Pleasant music overcomes the loss of awareness in patients with visual neglect

During the past 20 years there has been much research into the factors that modulate awareness of contralesional information in neurological patients with visual neglect or extinction. However, the potential role of the individual's emotional state in modulating awareness has been largely overlooked. In the current study, we induced a pleasant and positive affective response in patients with chronic visual neglect by allowing them to listen to their pleasant preferred music. We report that the patients showed enhanced visual awareness when tasks were performed under preferred music conditions relative to when tasks were performed either with unpreferred music or in silence. These results were also replicated when positive affect was induced before neglect was tested. Functional MRI data showed enhanced activity in the orbitofrontal cortex and the cingulate gyrus associated with emotional responses when tasks were performed with preferred music relative to unpreferred music. Improved awareness of contralesional (left) targets with preferred music was also associated with a strong functional coupling between emotional areas and attentional brain regions in spared areas of the parietal cortex and early visual areas of the right hemisphere. These findings suggest that positive affect, generated by preferred music, can decrease visual neglect by increasing attentional resources. We discuss the possible roles of arousal and mood in generating these effects.
Facial expression recognition based on a weighted Local Binary Pattern

We introduce a facial expression recognition method, which incorporates a weight to the Local Binary Pattern (LBP), and generates solid expression features. Furthermore, we use Adaboost to select a small set of prominent features, which is used by the Support Vector Machine (SVM) to classify facial expressions efficiently. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of both accuracy and complexities.
Collision and Detection Performance with Three Overlap Signal Collisions in Space-Based AIS Reception

A space based receiving system for signals of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) will extend the coverage of the existing ground network which is limited to the coastal zone (around 40 nautical miles) to open seas. With newly available satellite-based AIS receivers, the complete global ocean shipping fleet of about 60,000 ships (AIS Class A, that is, terminals with a transmitted power of 12 W and report messages with a rate that ranges from two seconds to three minutes, depending on their navigation status (speed, course,)) can be tracked. In the previous theory analysis on performance of AIS receiver, it is assumed that signal collisions cannot be resolved. Each message collision event results in the loss of all colliding messages, while any message without collision is successfully detected. In this paper we investigate a theory analysis model on three signals overlap collision scenario in space-based AIS receiver. In comparison to the previous works which assumed signal collisions could not be resolved, this paper discusses three signals overlap collision probability and detection probability which assumes that signal collisions can be resolved by some special methods. In fact, the problem of message collision can be mitigated by applying some innovative technologies, such as a satellite antenna architecture optimization strategy and an innovative receiver scheme. Simulation are used to validate the proposed analysis model of computing collision probability and detection probability. The results show that simulation results have good consistent with that of the theory model. The analysis model can be used to guide the computing of the collision and detection probabilities for three signals overlap collision situations when signal collisions can be resolved by using some innovative technologies.
Native Assessment of International Affective Picture System among 116 Chinese Aged

Objective: To carry out the native assessment of International Affective Picture System(IAPS) among Chinese older adults.Methods:Altogether 116 Chinese older adults,including 51 male and 65 female,from three communities in Dalian City,aged from 60 to 80 years,rated 60 pictures(positive:25,neutral:12,negative:23) selected from the IAPS in terms of valence,arousal and dominance with Self-Assessment Manikin(SAM). The mean affective ratings were compared to the normative ratings of USA National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH). Result: Reliability analysis indicated that the affective ratings of our sample were stable and highly internally consistent.The affective ratings of Chinese older participants were strongly correlated with the normative ratings of NIMH(r=0.92,0.54 and 0.88 respectively for valence,arousal and dominance,P0.001). But paired t test showed there were still significant differences between the two samples.Chinese aged reported relatively higher arousal and dominance than NIMH sample for all pictures [(5.33±0.93)vs.(4.83±1.25),(5.60±1.20)vs.(5.19±1.21),P0.001],but lower valence than NIMH sample[(4.99±2.28)vs.(5.28±1.85),P=0.020]. Male and female Chinese older participants showed similar emotional responses to most pictures.But female Chinese older participants reported higher valence than male ones(5.05±2.33/4.93±2.24,P0.05). The 60 pictures were distributed as "" shape in the two-dimensional affective space(valence-arousal). The association between valence and arousal was pronounced and linear for positive pictures(r=0.71,P0.001),but unpronounced for negative pictures,(r=-0.35,P0.05). Conclusion: IAPS is highly internationally accessible just as the expectation of its designers.However,considering about great differences in many aspects such as culture,social living and age between Chinese aged and NIMH sample,they may have different affective experiences to the same emotional stimuli.Therefore it is necessary to do some revisal before the IAPS is applied to Chinese aged.
In Silico Screening of Mutated K-Ras Inhibitors from Malaysian Typhonium flagelliforme for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

K-ras is an oncogenic GTPase responsible for at least 15–25% of all non-small cell lung cancer cases worldwide. Lung cancer of both types is increasing with an alarming rate due to smoking habits in Malaysia among men and women. Natural products always offer alternate treatment therapies that are safe and effective. Typhonium flagelliforme or Keladi Tikus is a local plant known to possess anticancer properties. The whole extract is considered more potent than individual constituents. Since K-ras is the key protein in lung cancer, our aim was to identify the constituents of the plant that could target the mutated K-ras. Using docking strategies, reported potentially active compounds of Typhonium flagelliforme were docked into the allosteric surface pockets and switch regions of the K-ras protein to identify possible inhibitors. The selected ligands were found to have a high binding affinity for the switch II and the interphase region of the ras-SOS binding surface.
Exhibit F: an Update on Physical and Biological Variables, Cancer and Safety Standards Comments on Elf Sections

This review is divided into comments on two separate sections, one for extremely-low frequency (ELF) and the other for radiofrequency (RFR) studies. Comments are presented to address deficiencies in the Preliminary Opinion on EMF issued by the SCENIHR Committee. The comments are relevant to sections of the BioInitiative Working Group letter including brain tumors, oxidative damage, genomic instability, mitochrondrial damage, carcinogenic classifications, biological plausibility and methodological deficiencies.
A survey of Haar-Like feature representation

Object detection has been one of the most studied topics in the computer vision literature. To detect an object in an image, the detector must have knowledge of the characteristics of the object. Various approaches have been utilized such as Haar-Like features, color information, texture, edge orientation, etc. While numerous methods have been proposed to extract information using Haar-like feature, we are unaware of any surveys on this particular topic. For this reason we wrote this paper for surveying the different researches on Haar-Like features.
On exotic modular tensor categories

It has been conjectured that every $(2+1)$-TQFT is a Chern-Simons-Witten (CSW) theory labelled by a pair $(G,\lambda)$, where $G$ is a compact Lie group, and $\lambda \in H^4(BG;Z)$ a cohomology class. We study two TQFTs constructed from Jones' subfactor theory which are believed to be counterexamples to this conjecture: one is the quantum double of the even sectors of the $E_6$ subfactor, and the other is the quantum double of the even sectors of the Haagerup subfactor. We cannot prove mathematically that the two TQFTs are indeed counterexamples because CSW TQFTs, while physically defined, are not yet mathematically constructed for every pair $(G,\lambda)$. The cases that are constructed mathematically include: 1. $G$ is a finite group--the Dijkgraaf-Witten TQFTs; 2. $G$ is torus $T^n$; 3. $G$ is a connected semi-simple Lie group--the Reshetikhin-Turaev TQFTs. We prove that the two TQFTs are not among those mathematically constructed TQFTs or their direct products. Both TQFTs are of the Turaev-Viro type: quantum doubles of spherical tensor categories. We further prove that neither TQFT is a quantum double of a braided fusion category, and give evidence that neither is an orbifold or coset of TQFTs above. Moreover, representation of the braid groups from the half $E_6$ TQFT can be used to build universal topological quantum computers, and the same is expected for the Haagerup case.
Adjusting Autonomy and Reliance on Agents in Human Supervised UCAV

In this paper we offer case studies of empowering agents with adjustment of cognitive notions of autonomy and trust that enable them to have a more socially adept interaction with a human supervisor. The application domain is control of unmanned aerial vehicles. Agents learn to change autonomies as they observe they learn the relationship between their assumed autonomy and performance. Agents also learn to change their reliance on human supervision as it takes different lengths of time.
Transient kinetics and mechanics of myosin's force-generating rotation in muscle: resolution of millisecond rotational transitions in the spin-labeled myosin light-chain domain.

We have used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of spin-labeled scallop muscle, in conjunction with laser flash photolysis of caged ATP, to resolve millisecond rotational transitions of the myosin light-chain domain (LCD) during transient force generation. We previously used EPR to resolve two distinct orientations of the LCD [Baker, J. E. , Brust-Mascher, I. , Ramachandran, S. , LaConte, L. E. , and Thomas, D. D. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95, 2944-2949], correlated these structural states with biochemical states in the actin-myosin ATPase reaction, and showed that a small shift in the steady-state distribution between these two LCD orientations (i.e., a net lever arm rotation) is associated with force generation in muscle. In the study presented here, we measured millisecond changes in this orientational distribution (i.e., the rates of transition between the two LCD orientations) in muscle following flash photolysis of caged ATP, in both the presence and absence of Ca. The transient acquired in the absence of Ca is dominated by a rapid (1/tau(1) = 37 s(-1)) disordering transition from the single orientation in rigor to the bimodal orientation distribution observed for detached cross-bridges in relaxation (i.e., the reversal of the lever arm rotation), followed by a recovery phase (1/tau(2) = 2.4 s(-1)) of very small amplitude (small fraction of heads participating). In the presence of Ca, the transient exhibited a similar initial disordering phase (1/tau(1) = 38.5 s(-1)), followed by a recovery phase (1/tau(2) = 8.33 s(-1)) of substantial amplitude, corresponding to the forward rotation and ordering of the lever arm. A standard kinetic model was used to fit these data, revealing rate constants consistent with those previously determined by other methods. Surprisingly, a comparison of the EPR transients with force transients reveals that the rate of force development (91 s(-1)) is faster than the rate of the forward lever arm rotation (8 s(-1)). This observed relationship between the kinetics of the lever arm rotation and transient force development in muscle provides new insight into how myosin both generates and responds to muscle force.
Do Two Machine-Learning Based Prognostic Signatures for Breast Cancer Capture the Same Biological Processes?

The fact that there is very little if any overlap between the genes of different prognostic signatures for early-discovery breast cancer is well documented. The reasons for this apparent discrepancy have been explained by the limits of simple machine-learning identification and ranking techniques, and the biological relevance and meaning of the prognostic gene lists was questioned. Subsequently, proponents of the prognostic gene lists claimed that different lists do capture similar underlying biological processes and pathways. The present study places under scrutiny the validity of this claim, for two important gene lists that are at the focus of current large-scale validation efforts. We performed careful enrichment analysis, controlling the effects of multiple testing in a manner which takes into account the nested dependent structure of gene ontologies. In contradiction to several previous publications, we find that the only biological process or pathway for which statistically significant concordance can be claimed is cell proliferation, a process whose relevance and prognostic value was well known long before gene expression profiling. We found that the claims reported by others, of wider concordance between the biological processes captured by the two prognostic signatures studied, were found either to be lacking statistical rigor or were in fact based on addressing some other question.
Development of 4 degree-of-freedom ultra-precision stage with millimeter motion range

High precision positioning is a key technology in various advanced applications. Performances such as longer motion range, nanometer level precision and multiple degree-of freedom(d.o.f) motion within compact size are strongly required recently. In this paper, we proposed and realized new 4 d.o. f ultra-precision stage employing 5 VCMs and 2 flexure guide mechanisms. The non-contact characteristic of the VCM and the flexure is utilized to achieve ultra precision and long motion range simultaneously. The VCMs and the flexure guides were mathematically modeled and optimized to achieve the best performance. The stage was manufactured within compact size of 180 × 180 × 30.7 mm3 and feedback controlled. The experimental results showed the motion range more than 1.80 mm in plane and 0.3 mm vertically and the resolution of 10 nm in plane and 14 nm vertically.