Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of alternative inflation forecasting models in OPEC and BRICS countries

We compare the forecasting performance of univariate and multivariate models for BRICS and OPEC economies. For the univariate models, we produce forecasts using ARIMAX models that have a deterministic component to account for structural breaks over the full sample period and different ARIMA specifications over a reduced sample period that avoids the modelling structural breaks. The univariate ARIMA models that we develop over the reduced sample period are, first, a seasonal ARIMA specification identified using the Box-Jenkins method, second, a seasonal ARIMA model identified using EView’s automatic model selection tool and third, a non-seasonal ARIMA model identified using EView’s automatic model selection tool applied to seasonally adjusted data. The other univariate model we considered include the regime shift threshold Autoregressive model (over the full sample and reduced sample) and the naive model which added as a benchmark. Multivariate models are estimated over the reduced sample period to avoid modelling structural breaks and are based upon Vector Autoregression (VAR) models that utilise differencing and cointegrating restrictions to ensure the stationarity of the data. In particular, we consider the unrestricted VAR model with differenced (stationary) data, the (unrestricted) Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) that assumes cointegration without imposing cointegrating restrictions and the restricted VEC that imposes a single cointegrating equation on the VECM. Our study shows that the benchmark models (naive) were never favoured over the best selected univariate and multivariate model. The univariate EView’s automatic non-seasonal ARIMA model is generally favoured for the BRICS countries (the exception is South Africa). However, the results are mixed between univariate and multivariate methods for OPEC countries. For OPEC countries that have a history of moderate inflation, for example, Saudi Arabia, the univariate automatic non-seasonal ARIMA model outperforms the multivariate model. In contrast, multivariate models generally outperform univariate automatically selected ARIMA models for countries with high inflation (e.g Angola and Algeria).
A combined approach to regularized linear combiner learning

Classifier combination is an important research area since they have a significant contribution to the accuracy. Even though simple fixed combination rules result in satisfactory performances, supervised combination learning surely has higher probability of better accuracy. Among supervised combination methods, linear combiner is one of the well-known methods. In this work, different types of linear combiners are examined in a unifying framework and a regularized least squares (LS) method is investigated for learning the combiner. Experiments are conducted on three different databases and results are examined. It is observed that, learning the weights is beneficial for higher accuracy then that obtained using simple sum rule.
combina-referential Horizontal Partitioning selection Problem in Data Warehouses: Hardness study and selection algorithms

Horizontal Partitioning has been largely adopted by the database community, where it took a significant part in the physical design process. Actually, it is supported by most commercial database systems (DBMS), where a native Data Definition Language for decomposing tables/materialized views using various modes is proposed. In traditional databases, horizontal partitioning has been largely studied, where several fragmenta - tion algorithms were proposed to partition tables in isolation. In the relational data warehouse environment, horizontal partitioning consists in decomposing the whole warehouse schema into sub schemas, where each schema contains fragments of dimension and fact tables. Dimension tables are fragmented using the primary partitioning mode, whereas the fact table is divided using referential mode. In this article, the authors first focus on the evolution of horizontal partitioning in commercial DBMS motivated by decision support applications. Secondly, they give a formalization of the referential fragmentation schema selection problem in the data warehouse and they study its hardness to select an optimal solution. Due to its high complexity, they develop two algorithms: hill climbing and simulated annealing with several variants to select a near optimal partition - ing schema. Finally, extensive experimental studies are conducted using the data set of APB1 benchmark to compare the quality the proposed algorithms using a mathematical cost model.
A new algorithm to feature detection

This paper describes a new feature detection algorithm, which bases on color and curvature. Since color provides valuable information in object recognition and description, a color invariant space is adopted instead of the gray space. With this method, the distinctive features extracted from images are invariant to image scale and rotation. To reduce the computational complexity and improve the quality of detection, the cascade filtering approach is employed. Details of the new feature descriptor are described, along with test results.
Cerebral Blood Flow During Dihydralazine-Induced Hypotension in Hypertensive Rats

The cerebrovascular effects of graded, controlled dihydralazine-induced hypotension were studied in rats with renal hypertension (RHR) and spontaneous hypertension (SHR). Repeated measure- ments of cerebral blood flow (CBF) were made using the intraarterial133Xenon injection technique in anaesthetised normocapnic animals. Dihydralazine was administered in single increasing i.v. doses (0.1 to 2 mg/kg), and CBF measured after each dose when a stable blood pressure had been reached. From a resting level of 145 ± 7 nun Hg in RHR and 138 ± 11 mm Hg in SHR, mean arterial pressure (MAP) fell stepwise to a minimum of around 50 mm Hg. CBF was preserved during dihydralazine induced hypotension, and remained at the resting level of 79 ± 13 ml/100 g-min in RHR and 88 ± 16 ml/100 g-mln in SHR. Following 2 hours hypotension at the lowest pressure reached, the rats were sacrificed by perfusion fixation and the brains processed for light microscopy. Evidence of regional ischaemic brain damage was found in 4 of 11 animals: in 2 cases the damage appeared to be accentuated in the arterial boundary zones. Although the lower limit of CBF autoregulation in these rats is around 100 mm Hg during haemorrhagic hypotension, dihydralazine brought MAP to around 50 mm Hg without any concomitant fall in CBF. This was interpret- ed as being due to direct dilatation of cerebral resistance vessels. The combination of low pressure and direct dilatation may have resulted in uneven perfusion, thus accounting for the regional ischaemic lesions. Stroke Vol 15, No 1, 1984
Enhancing spatial perception and user experience in video games with volumetric shadows

In this paper, we investigate the use of volumetric shadows for enhancing three-dimensional perception and action in third-person motion games. They offer an alternative to previously studied cues and visual guides. Our preliminary survey revealed that from the games that require Kinect, 37% rely primarily on a third-person view and 9% on a first-person view. We conducted a user study where 30 participants performed object reaching, interception, and aiming tasks in six different graphical modes of a video game that was controlled using a Kinect sensor and PlayStation Move controllers. The study results indicate that different volumetric shadow cues can affect both the user experience and the gameplay performance positively or negatively, depending on the lighting setup. Qualitative user experience analysis shows that playing was found to be most easy and fluent in a typical virtual reality setting with stereo rendering and flat surface shadows.
How to Compute in the Presence of Leakage

We address the following problem: how to execute any algorithm P, for an unbounded number of executions, in the presence of an adversary who observes partial information on the internal state of the computation during executions. The security guarantee is that the adversary learns nothing, beyond P's input/output behavior. This general problem is important for running cryptographic algorithms in the presence of side-channel attacks, as well as for running non-cryptographic algorithms, such as a proprietary search algorithm or a game, on a cloud server where parts of the execution's internals might be observed. Our main result is a compiler, which takes as input an algorithm P and a security parameter κ, and produces a functionally equivalent algorithm P'. The running time of P' is a factor of poly(κ) slower than P. P' will be composed of a series of calls to poly(κ)-time computable sub-algorithms. During the executions of P', an adversary algorithm A, which can choose the inputs of P', can learn the results of adaptively chosen leakage functions - each of bounded output size Ω̃(κ) - on the sub-algorithms of P' and the randomness they use. We prove that any computationally unbounded A observing the results of computationally unbounded leakage functions, will learn no more from its observations than it could given blackbox access only to the input-output behavior of P. This result is unconditional and does not rely on any secure hardware components.
Building a Platform for Economic Democracy : A Cooperative Development Strategy for the Bronx

Cooperative development efforts over the last 25 years have been largely inspired by, and modeled on, the Mondragon experience in the Basque region of Spain. None of these efforts has achieved nearly the success of Mondragon, which stabilized and dramatically developed a regional economy through the creation and growth of a diverse set of industrial worker and supportive secondary cooperatives. U.S. efforts in cooperative development have typically replicated some aspects of the Mondragon model but ignored others. This thesis argues that successful cooperative development requires a more complete understanding of the critical components of the Mondragon model. Drawing on the Mondragon case and on the emergent model from the Evergreen Initiative in Cleveland, I present a cooperative economic development framework made up of three components: defining a geographic area, developing a cooperative network, and designing policies based on an endogenous, import replacing economic development model. Using this framework, I then offer an initial cooperative economic development strategy for the Bronx targeting recommendations to both governmental and non-governmental organizations. Thesis Supervisor: J. Phillip Thompson Title: Associate Professor of Urban Politics
Impaired incretin response after a mixed meal is associated with insulin resistance in nondiabetic men.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether features of the insulin resistance syndrome are associated with altered incretin responses to food intake. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS From a population-based study, 35 men were recruited, representing a wide spectrum of insulin sensitivity and body weight. Each subject underwent a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp to determine insulin sensitivity. A mixed meal was given, and plasma levels of gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), as well as insulin, glucagon, and glucose were measured. RESULTS Insulin resistance was associated with impaired GIP and GLP-1 responses to a mixed meal. The total area under the curve (AUC) of the GIP response after the mixed meal was associated with insulin sensitivity (r = 0.54, P < 0.01). There was a significant difference between the highest and the lowest tertile of insulin sensitivity (P < 0.05). GLP-1 levels 15 min after food intake were significantly lower in the most insulin-resistant tertile compared with the most insulin-sensitive tertile. During the first hour, the AUC of GLP-1 correlated significantly with insulin sensitivity (r = 0.47, P < 0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that insulin resistance, but not obesity, was an independent predictor of these decreased incretin responses. CONCLUSIONS In insulin resistance, the GIP and GLP-1 responses to a mixed meal are impaired and are related to the degree of insulin resistance. Decreased incretin responsiveness may be of importance for the development of impaired glucose tolerance.
Fonema ou gesto articulatório: quem, de fato, alfabetiza?

It stands as an unequivocal understanding that, in order to learn to read and write, the phonological processes must be taught, once our language possesses phonic alphabetical basis. However, the dispute about the methodology to use in order to teach to read and write is being changed into an analysis of how to teach and mediate phonological awareness. Such analysis varies between synthetic and analytical approaches. Synthetic approaches can be based upon the syllable or directly on the phoneme; while analytical approaches are based upon the context, being the sound not emphatically proposed. On the first case the focus is on the significant, while on the second case the focus is on having access to meaning. However, in both cases, the act of teaching is founded upon the fixation of graphemes. The proposal of this article, aligned with the neuroscience and theory of perception of speech, is to offer reflection about a new and real possibility for teaching phonological awareness, by the means of a mouth that articulates the sounds and makes it possible for the significant to be easily connected to the meaning, since communication is kept on an authentic form.
A cooperative infrastructure discovery protocol for vehicle to Internet opportunistic communications

Nowadays, wireless 802.11 access points (APs) are increasingly widespread in urban and sub-urban areas. Besides part of them offer free access, hence such infrastructure can provide intermittent Internet access to vehicles for opportunistic applications like software or digital maps updates, vehicle diagnostic reporting, and certificates/pseudonyms renewing.
Bacterial vaginosis and HIV acquisition: a meta-analysis of published studies

Objectives:To assess and summarize the published literature on the extent to which bacterial vaginosis may increase the risk of HIV acquisition. Design:Meta-analysis of published studies. Methods:Medline and other electronic databases were systematically searched for eligible publications. The association between bacterial vaginosis and incident HIV was separately analyzed from that between bacterial vaginosis and prevalent HIV. The latter was further analyzed, stratified by bacterial vaginosis diagnostic method, HIV risk profile of the study population, and whether or not adjusted estimates were presented. Results:Twenty-three eligible publications were identified, including a total of 30 739 women. Bacterial vaginosis was associated with an increased risk of HIV acquisition in HIV-incidence studies (relative risk = 1.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.2, 2.1). All but one of 21 HIV-prevalence studies reported estimates above the null. The latter results were heterogeneous and showed some evidence of funnel plot asymmetry, precluding the estimation of a single summary measure. The association between bacterial vaginosis and HIV in prevalence studies appeared stronger for women without high-risk sexual behavior. Conclusion:Bacterial vaginosis was consistently associated with an increased risk of HIV infection. High bacterial vaginosis prevalence may result in a high number of HIV infections being attributable to bacterial vaginosis. More prospective studies are needed to accurately evaluate the role of bacterial vaginosis in HIV acquisition in low-risk versus high-risk women. Furthermore, randomized clinical trials may be worth considering to determine the effect of bacterial vaginosis control measures on HIV acquisition.
Analysis of thermal storage systems using Modelica

Modelica is used for the analysis of different kinds of thermal storage system for applications in power plants and process industry. The analysis includes concepts using sensible heat storage media, latent heat systems and steam accumulators. The temperature range for these systems is between 200°C – 400°C, the maximum thermal power is 100MW. For the various storage systems physical models are implemented in Modelica. Modelica is also used for system analysis simulating the interaction of the storage unit with the other components. The results of this system analysis help to improve the efficiency y of storage systems significantly.
Professional Development and Teacher Change

This article describes a model of teacher change originally presented nearly two decades ago (Guskey, 1986) that began my long and warm friendship with Michael Huberman. The model portrays the temporal sequence of events from professional development experiences to enduring change in teachers' attitudes and perceptions. Research evidence supporting the model is summarized and the conditions under which change might be facilitated are described. The development and presentation of this model initiated a series of professional collaborations between Michael and myself, and led to the development of our co-edited book, Professional Development in Education: new paradigms and practices (Guskey & Huberman, 1995), which was named 'Book of the Year' by the National Staff Development Council in 1996.
Knowledge-Based Cooperative Particle Filter

In view of the current possible degradation phenomenon of particles in the particle filter and the problem of particle diversity caused by the re-sampling, a novel particle filter algorithm based on knowledge plate and co-evolution is proposed in this paper. The main idea of this algorithm is to sample from the importance density function in order to generate particle samples which are further divided into several sub-sample groups. Particle swarm searches for each sample in different areas and finds the optimal state estimation of the dynamical system through the communication between sampling particle swarm. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has potential advantages in improving convergence rate and keeping population diversity.
The Psychosocial Environment of Childhood Poverty

Poor children confront widespread environmental inequities. Compared with their economically advantaged counterparts, they are exposed to more family turmoil, violence, separation from their families, instability, and chaotic households. Poor children experience less social support, and their parents are less responsive and more authoritarian. Low-income children are read to relatively infrequently, watch more TV, and have less access to books and computers. Low-income parents are less involved in their children’s school activities. The air and water poor children consume are more polluted. Their homes are more crowded, noisier, and of lower quality. Low-income neighborhoods are more dangerous, offer poorer municipal services, and suffer greater physical deterioration. Predominantly low-income schools and day care are inferior. The accumulation of multiple environmental risks rather than singular risk exposure may be an especially pathogenic aspect of childhood poverty.
Design Space Exploration for Java Processors with Cross-Profiling

Most processors are used in embedded systems, where the processorarchitectures are diverse due to optimizations for differentapplication domains. The main challenge for embedded systemprocessors is the right balance between performance and chip size,which directly relates to cost. An early estimation of theperformance for a new design is of paramount importance. In thispaper we propose cross-profiling for that performance estimation,which can be accomplished very early in the design phase. We evaluateour approach in the context of a Java processor for embedded systemsusing cross-profiling on a standard desktop Java virtual machine. Weexplore the performance impact of various processor design choicesand optimizations, such as different caches strategies or pipelineorganizations, and come up with an improved processor design thatyields speedups of up to 40\% on standard Java benchmarks. Comparingthe generated cross-profiles with the execution of benchmarks in realhardware confirms that our approach is sound.
Towards nanotube linear servomotors

Nanoscale linear servomotors with integrated position sensing are investigated from experimental, theoretical, and design perspectives. Prismatic motion is realized using the interlayer motion of telescoping multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). Position sensing can be achieved by monitoring field emission or by measuring resistance change between an MWNT and a gold substrate during sliding movement. Experimental results demonstrate resolution in the nanometer range. Actuation experiments demonstrate the feasibility of a linear nanoservomotor with integrated position sensing based on field emission. A local "kink"-like fluctuation of emission current is observed, which is caused by the change of the protruding length of the nanotube core, thus demonstrating the potential of using emission as a "linear encoder. " The complete extension of the inner core is observed and the electrostatic force is calibrated to be tens of nano-Newtons for individual nanotubes-16.5 nN under a 30-V bias. These results demonstrate the possibility of fabricating linear servomotors at the nanometer scale with integrated position sensing. Note to Practitioners-Nanometer scale actuators and sensors that can provide motion and measurement with nanometer-order resolution will enable new industrial applications in which only a few atoms or molecules are measured, transported, or processed. Linear servomotors will play a significant role in such applications because they provide precision prismatic motion directly without requiring a conversion from rotary to linear motion. Nano linear servomotors are experimentally and theoretically investigated in this paper. The devices take advantage of the ultra-low interlayer friction of a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT). Position sensing feedback is achieved by monitoring field emission, which depends on interelectrode distance, or by measuring resistance change between an MWNT and a gold substrate during sliding movement. Whereas this paper targets long-term nanotechnology contributions, some intermediate results are ready for applications in the near future. The interlayer sliding motion demonstrated would enable the building of devices, such as Gigahertz oscillators and attolitter nanosyringes, and the sensors used for position feedback could find applications independently in a macro or microscale machine for detecting proximity, touch, displacement, or orientation.
A novel method to implement an interactive mobile robot

This paper presents a novel method to implement an interactive mobile robot. The proposed mobile robot is implemented under the technique of mixed reality. The mixed reality technique is realized by both the Virtools tool and mobile robot. There are three basic interactive behaviors of human beings have been implemented on this proposed mobile robot. There are target navigation behavior, face tracking behavior, and obstacle avoidance behavior; the three behaviors are designed by the fuzzy rules method, respectively. These behaviors lead to the proposed path planning strategy possibly. On the other hand, a novel path planning strategy for a mobile robot is given in this paper. The path planning strategy is according to the experience that the mobile robot has been experienced in target navigation. Experiments show that the proposed behaviors are well designed. With the basic ability of the behaviors, the proposed robot can automatically learn from the previous navigation experience and can optimize the path planning.