Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Online Context Recognition in Multisensor Systems using Dynamic Time Warping

In this paper we present our system for online context recognition of multimodal sequences acquired from multiple sensors. The system uses Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) to recognize multimodal sequences of different lengths, embedded in continuous data streams. We evaluate the performance of our system on two real world datasets: 1) accelerometer data acquired from performing two hand gestures and 2) NOKIA's benchmark dataset for context recognition. The results from both datasets demonstrate that the system can perform online context recognition efficiently and achieve high recognition accuracy.
An effective congestion-based integer programming model for VLSI global routing

Global routing is a fundamental problem in VLSI physical design in which approximate paths for the interconnect (wires) of a circuit are decided. In this paper, a fast, order-free global routing technique is proposed by formulating the global routing problem as an integer linear programming (ILP) problem. A small set of high quality trees, in terms of congestion and length, for each net in the circuit is first produced. Then, a preprocessing technique is proposed to reduce problem sizes while maintaining solution quality. Evaluating performance on the IBM-place 2.0 suite shows a 19.5% average reduction in maximum channel capacity and a 71% average improvement in solving times compared to the traditional concurrent techniques. The proposed concurrent technique is also shown to be faster than the sequential router Labyrinth.
Multi-Document Summarization as Applied in Information Retrieval

In this paper we presented the use of multi-document summarization as postprocessing step in information retrieval (IR). We examined the differences between requirements for general multi-document summarization and requirements when it is applied for IR, and highlighted the requirements for clustering and context information extraction, which is much helpful to the users for browsing and searching relative results. To generate this type of summary, we first cluster the retrieved documents by their topics using a repeated bisection algorithm, and extract the centroid words for each cluster. The final summary is generated on the base of the query words and the cluster centroids, containing query-centered information as well as context information.
Robust local PCR and its application in NIR spectral quantitative analysis

Local principle component regression (PCR) is a widely-used nonlinear calibration method in near infrared (NIR) spectral quantitative analysis. However, it is more sensitive to outliers than global PCR. An algorithm which combines robust PCR and local regression is proposed in this paper. Local training samples are selected according to Mahalanobis distances and the two stages of PCR, principle component analysis (PCA) and multivariate linear regression (MLR), are replaced with robust minimum covariance determinant (MCD) estimation and least median squares (LTS) regression respectively. The proposed algorithm is applied to a set of gasoline samples and experimental result shows that the predictive root mean square error of the proposed algorithm is obviously smaller than global robust PCR while their breakdown points comparable.
The importance of choice in the rollout of ARV-based prevention to user groups in Kenya and South Africa: a qualitative study

Stakeholders continue to discuss the appropriateness of antiretroviral‐based pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention among sub‐Saharan African and other women. In particular, women need formulations they can adhere to given that effectiveness has been found to correlate with adherence. Evidence from family planning shows that contraceptive use, continuation and adherence may be increased by expanding choices. To explore the potential role of choice in women's use of HIV prevention methods, we conducted a secondary analysis of research with female sex workers (FSWs) and men and women in serodiscordant couples (SDCs) in Kenya, and adolescent and young women in South Africa. Our objective here is to present their interest in and preferences for PrEP formulations – pills, gel and injectable.
Recurrent Stroke in Patients With Symptomatic Carotid Artery Occlusion Is Associated With High-Volume Flow to the Brain and Increased Collateral Circulation

Background and Purpose— To investigate whether the risk of recurrent ipsilateral ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic carotid artery occlusion (CAO) is related to (1) volume flow in the contralateral internal carotid artery (ICA), basilar artery (BA), and middle cerebral arteries (MCAs), and (2) intracranial collateral flow to the symptomatic side, measured in the first 6 months after the qualifying symptoms occurred. Methods— We prospectively studied 112 patients with symptomatic CAO. Quantitative volume flow was measured with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and collateral flow via the circle of Willis with MRA, via the ophthalmic artery (OA) with transcranial Doppler sonography, and via leptomeningeal anastomoses with conventional angiography. Results— During 49±14 months of follow-up (mean±SD), 7 patients had recurrent ipsilateral ischemic stroke. Compared with patients without recurrent stroke, these patients had significantly higher total flow to the brain, ie, ICA+BA flow (mean 536 mL/min versus 410 mL/min; P<0.05), and significantly higher contralateral ICA flow (355 mL/min versus 209 mL/min; P<0.001), whereas BA and MCA flow showed no significant differences. Also, they more often had Willisian collateral flow (P<0.05), mainly caused by increased collateral flow via the posterior communicating artery (PCoA; 71% versus 28%; P<0.05), whereas collateral flow via the OA and leptomeningeal anastomoses did not differ significantly. Conclusions— Recurrent ipsilateral ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic CAO is associated with high volume flow to the brain and increased collateral PCoA flow.
The global challenge : frameworks for international human resource management

Chapter 1: The Challenges of International Human Resource Management Chapter 2: Three Faces of Human Resource Management in the International Firm Chapter 3: Exploiting Global Integration Chapter 4: Becoming Locally Responsive Chapter 5: Managing Alliances and Joint Ventures Chapter 6: Forging Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions Chapter 7: Mastering Network Coordination Chapter 8: Developing Talent for the Transnational Enterprise Chapter 9: Steering through the Tensions of Change and Innovation Chapter 10: Transforming the Global Human Resource Role
Do lamellipodia have the mechanical capacity to drive convergent extension?

Convergent extension (CE), a kinematic motif associated with several important morphogenetic movements in embryos, entails narrowing of a tissue in one in-plane direction and elongation in the other. Although the cell elongation and intercalation which accompany this process have been investigated and relevant genes and biochemical pathways have been studied in multiple organisms, a fundamental question that has not yet been answered is "Do the lamellipodia thought to drive these motions actually have the mechanical capacity to do so? " Here, we address this and a number of related issues using a state-of-the-art computational model which can replicate cell motions, changes in cell shape and tissue deformations. The model is based on the cell-level finite element approach of Chen and Brodland, but has additional features which allow it to model lamellipodium formation and contraction. In studying CE, computational models provide an important complement to molecular approaches because they reveal the "mechanical pathways" through which gene products must ultimately act in order to produce physical movements. The model shows that lamellipodia can drive CE, that they do so through cell intercalations and that the elongated cells characteristic of CE arise only when adjacent tissues resist convergence, a result which we confirm experimentally.
Sin Stock Returns Over the Business Cycle

This paper mitigates previous evidence of out-performance of sin stocks – stocks of companies involved in producing tobacco, alcohol and gaming – on the U.S. market. It has been shown empirically that sin stocks earn an abnormal risk-adjusted return compared to industries with similar characteristics. Based on a conditional analysis accounting for different business conditions, I invalidate this hypothesis by first testing a conditional model using different macroeconomic variables and second by looking at earnings growth over expansion and recession periods. Thus, even though sin stocks are unique because of the addictive nature of sin consumption, they are only as recession-proof as some other industry-comparable stocks. However, I find evidence that sin stocks still outperform the overall market during bad times, meaning that socially responsible investors pay a financial cost when avoiding these stocks because of social and ethical criteria.
Non-Intrusive Robust Human Activity Recognition for Diverse Age Groups

Many elderly prefer to live independently at their own homes. However, how to use modern technologies to ensure their safety presents vast challenges and opportunities. Being able to non-intrusively sense the activities performed by the elderly definitely has great advantages in various circumstances. Non-intrusive activity recognition can be performed using the embedded sensors in modern smartphones. However, not many activity recognition models are robust enough that allow the subjects to carry the smartphones in different pockets with unrestricted orientations and varying deviations. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, no existing literature studied the difference between the youth and the elderly groups in terms of human activity recognition using smartphones. In this paper, we present our approach to perform robust activity recognition using only the accelerometer readings collected from the smartphone. First, we tested our model on two published data sets and found its performance is encouraging when compared against other models. Furthermore, we applied our model on two newly collected data sets: one consists of only young subjects (mean age = 22.5) and the other consists of only elderly subjects (mean age = 70.5). The experimental results show convincing prediction accuracy for both within and across diverse age groups. This paper fills the blank of elderly activity recognition using smartphones and shows promising results, which will serve as the groundwork of our future extensions to the current model.
Reduced-complexity iterative decoding and channel estimation for space time BICM over frequency-selective wireless channels

A generic model of bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) on a multipath Rayleigh fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel is derived. A practical low-complexity trellis-based receiver performing iteratively channel estimation, multilayer coded data detection and channel decoding is introduced. The inner multilayer data detector, employing reduced-state techniques together with generalized per-survivor processing, presents two-fold advantages. It enables one to cope with severe channel intersymbol interference and allows the use of more transmit antennas than receive antennas. Simulations show that our approach can dramatically improve the downlink performance of time division multiple access (TDMA) systems with high order modulation, such as EDGE, keeping a reasonable complexity at the receiver side.
Changes in Infants Faecal Characteristics and Microbiota by Inulin Supplementation

The effects of inulin on the microbial composition and faecal characteristics in 36 healthy, formula-fed infants (average age 7.7 months) given 3 different daily dosages of native inulin (0.75 g/day, 1.00 g/day, and 1.25 g/day) were studied. At all levels of inulin consumption, a significant (p<0.05) reduction of potential pathogenic microorganisms such as clostridia was found. An intake of 1.25 g/day of inulin caused a significant (p<0.05) increase of Bifidobacterium spp. as well as a significant (p<0.05) decline in Gram-positive cocci and coliform bacteria. Inulin consumption resulted in a significant (p<0.05) decrease in faecal pH value and changes in faecal weight, faecal texture and colour, indicating improvement in healthy bile production and bacterial fermentation. It is concluded that inulin consumption in formula-fed infants after weaning positively affected the microbial composition of faeces and faecal properties.
Environmental governance reconsidered : challenges, choices, and opportunities

This survey of current issues and controversies in environmental policy and management is unique in its thematic mix, broad coverage of key debates and approaches, and in-depth analysis of concepts treated less thoroughly in other texts. The contributing authors, all distinguished scholars or practitioners, offer a comprehensive examination of key topics in environmental governance today, including perspectives from environmental economics, democratic theory, public policy, law, political science, and public administration. Environmental Governance Reconsidered is the first book to integrate these wide-ranging topics and perspectives thematically in one volume.Many are calling for a change in the bureaucratic, adversarial, technology-based regulatory approach that is the basis for much environmental policy -- a move from "rule-based" to "results-based" regulation. Each of the thirteen chapters in Environmental Governance Reconsidered critically examines one aspect of this "second generation" of environmental reform, assesses its promise-versus-performance to date, and points out future challenges and opportunities. The first section of the book, "Reconceptualizing Purpose," discusses the concepts of sustainability, global interdependence, the precautionary principle, and common pool resource theory. The second section, "Reconnecting with Stakeholders," examines deliberative democracy, civic environmentalism, environmental justice, property rights and regulatory takings, and environmental conflict resolution. The final section, "Redefining Administrative Rationality," analyzes devolution, regulatory flexibility, pollution prevention, and third-party environmental management systems auditing. This book will benefit students, scholars, managers, natural resource specialists, policymakers, and reformers and is ideal for class adoption.
Galactic rotation curves and linear potential laws

We study the possibility that galactic rotation curves can be explained by a gravitational potential that contains a linear term as well as a Newtonian one. This hypothesis, suggested by conformal gravity, does allow good fits to the galactic rotation curves of the galaxies we study, which have a wide range of luminosities. However, the universality one might have expected of the parameter describing the strength of the linear potential does not emerge. Instead, a different regularity is seen.
Immunohistochemical localization of aspartoacylase in the rat central nervous system

Aspartoacylase (ASPA; EC 3.5.1.15) catalyzes deacetylation of N‐acetylaspartate (NAA) to generate free acetate in the central nervous system (CNS). Mutations in the gene coding ASPA cause Canavan disease (CD), an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease that results in death before 10 years of age. The pathogenesis of CD remains unclear. Our working hypothesis is that deficiency in the supply of the NAA‐derived acetate leads to inadequate lipid/myelin synthesis during development, resulting in CD. To explore the localization of ASPA in the CNS, we used double‐label immunohistochemistry for ASPA and several cell‐specific markers. A polyclonal antibody was generated in rabbit against mouse recombinant ASPA, which reacted with a single band (∼37 kD) on Western blots of rat brain homogenate. ASPA colocalized throughout the brain with CC1, a marker for oligodendrocytes, with 92–98% of CC1‐positive cells also reactive with the ASPA antibody. Many cells were labeled with ASPA antibodies in white matter, including cells in the corpus callosum and cerebellar white matter. Relatively fewer cells were labeled in gray matter, including cerebral cortex. No astrocytes were labeled for ASPA. Neurons were unstained in the forebrain, although small numbers of large reticular and motor neurons were faintly to moderately stained in the brainstem and spinal cord. Many ascending and descending neuronal fibers were moderately stained for ASPA in the medulla and spinal cord. Microglial‐like cells showed faint to moderate staining with the ASPA antibodies throughout the brain by the avidin/biotin‐peroxidase detection method, and colocalization studies with labeled lectins confirmed their identity as microglia. The predominant immunoreactivity in oligodendrocytes is consistent with the proposed role of ASPA in myelination, supporting the case for acetate supplementation as an immediate and inexpensive therapy for infants diagnosed with CD. J. Comp. Neurol. 472:318–329, 2004. Published 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
TQM IMPLEMENTATION : A CASE STUDY OF MQT ( MANAGEMENT ' S QUESTIONABLE TECHNOLOGY )

Attempts to introduce TQM into two NZ companies and the consequent changes to management and accounting systems are examined in a critical way. The aim is to get a better understanding of why such implementations fail so frequently, or at least produce results unanticipated by the normative literature. The paper looks at the implementations from the workers' as well as the managers' point of view. The fieldwork evidence is used to reflect on the traditional and critical literatures. The managerial literature seeks solutions in the form of removal of barriers to successful TQM implementations. The critical literature raises questions about "successful" implementations. The way the two literatures could complement rather than oppose each other is presented in the concluding section. 2 INTRODUCTION TQM is claimed not to be a set of techniques but a philosophy of management (Sashkin and Kiser, 1993). The introduction of TQM into an organization involves a change in culture. A new way of thinking and acting, a new philosophy, has to be inculcated. Often the attempts end in failure. Failures of TQM implementation may be as high as 80% (Morris and Haigh, 1996, p. 93). The vast majority of the literature appears undaunted by such magnitude of failure. It is not the philosophy that is questioned but the implementation that must be at fault. In the normative literature, where failure is acknowledged, it is used merely to identify barriers that must be overcome for successful implementation (ibid, p. 93). There is an unquestioning acceptance of a unitary perspective on organisational life, which is directed with single purpose to the satisfaction of customers' needs. Though claiming that TQM is not a set of techniques, the literature identifies techniques necessary to measure and control for quality, including accounting techniques. Research includes a considerable number of reports of changes to management accounting systems as a result of TQM implementation. Most of these (reviewed below) are undertaken from the perspective labelled "integration" by Martin and Meyerson (1988). This paper adopts a perspective that Martin and Meyerson would label "differentiation". It questions the TQM philosophy and its underlying assumptions. The attempts to introduce TQM in two NZ companies and the changes to management and accounting systems are examined in a critical way. The aim is to get a better understanding of why such implementations fail so frequently, or at least produce results unanticipated by the normative literature. The paper looks at …
Wireless Sensor Network Protocol for Smart Parking Application Experimental Study on the Arduino Platform

The paper presents an Arduino-based wireless sensor network to monitor parking lots using a non-standard low-power energy-balanced system. The event-driven routing protocol follows the hierarchical clustering philosophy. Energy is saved by minimising the number of transmissions needed to forward information to the base station. The smart sensor platform is build using the popular Arduino development platform, Sharp IR distance sensors and nRF24 low-power radio modules. Our practical results show that this platform is easy to use, but not the most appropriate platform to develop low-power wireless sensor network applications. Keywords-Wireless Sensor Network (WSN); Smart Parking Application; Clustering; Arduino; nRF24.
1 Conceptual Projection and Middle Spaces 1994

Conceptual projection from one mental space to another always involves projection to "middle" spaces—abstract "generic" middle spaces or richer "blended" middle spaces. Projection to a middle space is a general cognitive process, operating uniformly at different levels of abstraction and under superficially divergent contextual circumstances. Middle spaces are indispensable sites for central mental and linguistic work. The process of blending is in particular a fundamental and general cognitive process, running over many (conceivably all) cognitive phenomena, including categorization, the making of hypotheses, inference, the origin and combining of grammatical constructions, analogy, metaphor, and narrative. Blending is not secondary to these phenomena but prerequisite, and its operation is not restricted to any one of these phenomena. We give evidence for blending from a wide range of data that includes everyday language, idioms, literary metaphor, non-verbal conceptualization of action, creative thought in mathematics, evolution of socio-cultural models, jokes, and advertising. Blending is in general invisible to consciousness and detectable only on analysis. Blended spaces are routinely necessary for constructing central meanings, inferences, and structures, and for motivating emotions. We show that the blending of highly schematic spaces yields the fusion of grammatical constructions and functional assemblies studied in Cognitive Grammar and Construction Grammar. Finally, recognizing the cognitive import of middle spaces allows us to propose a generalized four-space model of conceptual projection that subsumes a variety of previous models. We explore the consequences of this model for the theory of concept formation.
Frequency Response Enhancement of Optical Injection-Locked Lasers

The modulation response of injection-locked lasers has been carefully analyzed, theoretically and experimentally, with a focus on the strong optical injection regime. We derive closed-form solutions to the relaxation oscillation (resonance) frequency and damping term, as well as the low-frequency damping term, and discuss design rules for maximizing resonance frequency and broadband performance. A phasor model is described in order to better explain the enhancement of the resonance frequency. Experimental curves match closely to theory. Record resonance frequency of 72 GHz and broadband results are shown.
Measuring Saturation in Neural Networks

In the neural network context, the phenomenon of saturation refers to the state in which a neuron predominantly outputs values close to the asymptotic ends of the bounded activation function. Saturation damages both the information capacity and the learning ability of a neural network. The degree of saturation is an important neural network characteristic that can be used to understand the behaviour of the network itself, as well as the learning algorithm employed. This paper suggests a measure of saturation for bounded activation functions. The suggested measure is independent of the activation function range, and allows for direct comparisons between different activation functions.