Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Some remarks on the Stability and Convergence Programmes 2010-2013

It is generally held, from both a global and a European perspective, that the three most impor-tant objectives for the years to come are 1) the reduction of current account imbalances, 2) the reduction of public deficits, and 3) the reduction of unemployment. This paper argues that the Stability and Convergence Programmes (SCPs) for the period 2010-2013, submitted by the euro area member states to the European Commission in January/February 2010, will not achieve all three objectives. Indeed, under current circumstances, the simultaneous realisation of these objectives would be like "squaring a circle". We show that the SCPs rely on rather optimistic assumptions about private sector demand and GDP growth, given the degree of fiscal consolidation. At the same time, they imply that current account imbalances in EMU would remain quite significant until 2013. Our analysis is mainly based on a few simple accounting identities and places special emphasis on Germany. It leads us to conclude that, in the absence of a drastic deterioration of private financial balances, the only way to achieve the GDP growth rates projected in the SCPs (and, ideally, current account rebalancing) would be for the governments of surplus countries to be prepared to run higher deficits over the next few years. This would be more "fiscally responsible" than the current focus on deficit reduc-tion. Failure to do so may result in persistently high unemployment in the years to come and may threaten the European Monetary Union.
Evaluating the Effect of Open Student Models on Self-Assessment

This paper discusses the simple open student models used in two of our constraint-based tutors, SQL-Tutor and KERMIT, and their effects on self-assessment. The systems present a high-level abstraction of the detailed information contained in the student model, in terms of skill meters representing the student's progress on domain concepts. SQL-Tutor presents the open student model when the student requires it, or when selecting new problems. KERMIT, on the other hand, continuously displays a high-level summary of the student's progress, while more detailed information is available on request. Our results show that even simple open student models can have important positive effects on learning and students' meta-cognitive skills. Students appreciated having access to their models, and they felt this feature contributed to their understanding of the domain. Performance of less able students becomes significantly better than that of their peers of similar abilities without access to their models. We have also seen that open student models can help students learn to select better problems.
A Highly Scalable Simulation Model for Atomistic Calculation of Thermal Properties of Silicon

A portable parallel program developed for molecular dynamics simulations shows excellent scalability on a variety of architectures including IBM’s BlueGene, IBM’s Power4 P655+, and Linux clusters. A task that would have taken 30 days on a single processor can now be completed in 2.5,5 hours on 1024 Power4+ processors and 1728 BlueGene’s PowerPC processors respectively, using our parallel molecular dynamics algorithm. This program computes the thermal conductivity of bulk silicon. In particular, we investigate how computational domain size (number of atoms) affects the predicted accuracy. We also explore the thermal conductivity of thin film silicon at room temperature. Results show that, as the thickness increases up to 300 nm, the thermal conductivity approaches the bulk thermal conductivity. This work permits us to confidently apply molecular dynamics to the simulation of thermal conductivity of both bulk materials and thin films.
Uma experiência no balanceamento artificial de conjuntos de dados para aprendizado com classes desbalanceadas utilizando análise ROC. (CDROM)

No que se refere a conjuntos de dados desbalanceados, algoritmos de aprendizado supervisionado podem encontrar dificuldades na indução de modelos de classificação. Uma das alternativas para solucionar esse problema é artificialmente balancear o conjunto de dados. Neste trabalho, utilizamos análise ROC para avaliar o desempenho de vários desses métodos em um conjunto de dados. Análise ROC é utilizada uma vez que ela é uma alternativa mais apropriada para analisar o desempenho desses modelos.
On Growing Perfect Power‐law Graphs

We outline here two new algorithms for growing perfect power‐law graphs of increasing size for the given set of parameters of the desired graph, such as the average and maximum node degrees as well as desired exponent of the power law distribution of the node degrees. We present also relations of these parameters to each other and constraint of their feasible values. Both algorithms are distributed, therefore they requires just one broadcast for joining each newly added node and limited response from the existing nodes to interconnect new edges to the existing nodes. In both cases only nodes with the currently desired node degree respond to the broadcast. In making a choice of the node to which the new edge is added, additional criteria for node selection, such as distance to the newly added node, can be used. The first presented algorithm, SRA (Semi‐Random Algorithm), select the currently desired node degree according to the probabilities defined by the power law distribution of node degrees. The second algorithm, SDA (Semi‐Deterministic Algorithm), selects the currently desired node degree to minimize the sum of absolute differences between current and desired node degrees. The goal of this note is to derive an algorithm for constructing a graph with a power‐law distribution of node degrees. Unlike previous solution, see for example [1, 2], we aim at having power law distribution of node degrees at every stage of construction and for the given set of power‐law and graph parameters, such as exponent of the power‐law, the minimum, average and maximum node degree in the graph. The construction starts with a fully connected graph with just n 0 =2k+1 nodes, where 2k denotes the desired average node degree and the process continues until the graph with the desired number of nodes n max is constructed. In each step of the construction, we add a new node with the number of edges equal to the half of desired average node degree 2k. These edges are then connected to the nodes of the graph created in the previous step. We will characterize such a set of graph by the following parameters: n – the current number of nodes in the graph, in our analysis n is not a constant, like other parameters, but rather an instance of the value, and can assume any positive value between k and n max ,, but we are interested in cases when n …
Efficient Usage of Concurrency Models in an Object-Oriented Co-design Framework

Increased complexity of micro-electronic systems demands a need for efficient system level models. System level models can provide detailed architectural simulation results to make architectural tradeoffs in the early stages of the design process. For effective system-level design, there is a need for an efficient co-simulation model for precise and speedy system level simulation and design exploration. Recently, several object-oriented language based co-design frameworks have been proposed for hardware modeling at the system-level. In this paper, we focus on modeling concurrency in these frameworks and how it can be used to improve the efficiency of system-level simulation. Specifically, we examine the use of threads to implement process concurrency and compare against non-threaded implementations using function calls. This distinction is important because it determines the choice of the class (e.g., synchronous/asynchronous processes, blocks etc) to use for specification of a given system block or behavior. Although, it is a commonly held belief that usage of threads might slow down the simulation performance due to context switch overheads, our analysis and experiments show, that by judicious choice of the threading model, and by striking a balance between the usage of threads and function calls in a system model, one can improve the simulation speed. Hardware designs being inherently concurrent, it is very important to be able to express concurrency in co-simulation models without compromising simulation efficiency. Hence our methodology is based on analysing the concurrency in the model, before expressing them in a high level language. To demonstrate the simulation effectiveness, we present an architectural model of a system with adaptive memory hierarchy and demonstrate the effect of modeling choices on the overall simulation efficiency.
Operative Mortality and Procedure Volume as Predictors of Subsequent Hospital Performance

Context:Despite growing interest in evidence-based hospital referral for selected surgical procedures, there remains considerable debate about which measures should be used to identify high-quality providers. Objectives:To assess the usefulness of historical mortality rates and procedure volume as predictors of subsequent hospital performance with different procedures. Design, Setting, and Participants:Using data from the national Medicare population, we identified all U.S. hospitals performing one of 4 high-risk procedures between 1994 and 1997. Hospitals were ranked and grouped into quintiles according to 1) operative mortality (adjusted for patient characteristics) and 2) procedure volume. Main Outcome Measures:Risk-adjusted operative mortality in 1998 to 1999. Results:Although historical mortality and volume both predicted subsequent hospital performance, the predictive value of each varied by procedure. For coronary artery bypass graft surgery, mortality rates in 1998 to 1999 differed by 3.3% across quintiles of historical mortality (3.6% to 6.9%, best to worst quintile, respectively), but only by 1.0% across volume quintiles (4.8% to 5.8%). In contrast, for esophagectomy, mortality rates in 1998 to 1999 differed by 12.5% across volume quintiles (7.5% to 20.0%, best to worst quintile, respectively), but only by 1.5% across quintiles of historical mortality (11.4% to 12.9%). Historical mortality and procedure volume had comparable value as predictors of subsequent performance for pancreatic resection and elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Our findings were similar when we repeated the analysis using data from later years. Conclusions:Historical measures of operative mortality or procedure volume identify hospitals likely to have better outcomes in the future. The optimal measure for selecting high-quality providers depends on the procedure.
Joint channel assignment and routing in rate-variable wireless mesh network

For multi-radio multi-channel (MRMC) wireless mesh networks (WMNs), the joint channel assignment and routing problem has been shown to be NP-complete. In this paper, we propose a joint linear programming (LP) and genetic algorithm (LPGA), in which we use an improved genetic algorithm to tackle the CA problem and solve the routing by a mixed integer linear programming model. To successfully decouple the two problems, we evaluate the fitness value of a chromosome (certain CA configuration) in our genetic algorithms (GAs) by computing the linear objective function. Meanwhile, we propose a rate-variable model to increase the network through output, which use the physical interference model that can evaluate the capacity more precisely. Simulation results show that the proposed approach effectively increases the network through output.
Foreign Direct Investment and the Internationalisation of South African Mining Companies into Africa

The paper investigates the factors influencing the internationalisation of mining firms into Africa and the strategies employed. We focus on the FDI of South African mining firms because of the dominance of this country in the extractive resources industry for over a century. A semi-structured interview survey process consisting of written questionnaires and one-on-one interviews that incorporated both structured as well as open-ended questions was used. The structured questionnaire attempted to identify the entry-mode characteristics of the mining firms as well as the importance of the factors influencing the internationalisation of mining firms. The open-ended questionnaire was designed to be probing in nature, in order to identify how mining companies manage the factors deemed present in an operational context. More than 80% of South African mining firms by market capitalisation provided responses to the survey. The research revealed that security of tenure, political stability and the availability of infrastructure were the three most important factors influencing the internationalisation of South African mining firms out of the nine factors tested in the survey. The most widespread strategies used to manage these factors were political lobbying, bargaining and negotiation.
Reliability of a New Stabilized Dynamometer System for the Evaluation of Hip Strength

Background: Hip strength is associated with numerous orthopaedic and neuromuscular injuries and/or pathologies and may be assessed with a variety of anatomic testing positions and techniques. Isokinetic dynamometers are generally too cumbersome and intricate for efficient use in mass screenings (for prognostic studies of risk for injury) as well as with special populations. The reliability of isometric testing devices has demonstrated varied reliability, generally examining only 1 or 2 motions of the hip and reporting values of force, not torque. Consequently, there is a need for an efficient hip strength-testing device to quantify torque that tests subjects in 1 anatomic position, while evaluating multiple hip motions. Hypothesis: Evaluation of supine hip abduction, adduction, flexion, and extension torque using a new stabilized dynamometer system will produce good to excellent intra- and interexaminer reliability results. Study Design: A blinded, randomized, repeated-measures study design was used in this descriptive laboratory investigation. Methods: Supine isometric hip flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction torques were evaluated with a cage-stabilized dynamometer in 19 collegiate and professional-level ice hockey athletes by 2 investigators at 3 time intervals. Inter- and intrarater reliability was assessed. Results: Supine hip flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction torque was performed with good to excellent inter- and intrarater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.74 to 0.92 and 0.78 to 0.92, respectively) for all motions tested. Conclusions: We have developed an isometric hip strength-testing device that can be assembled around an examination table to efficiently and reliably evaluate torque developed for multiple motions of the hip. Clinical Relevance: This device and testing protocol may be used to efficiently evaluate hip strength in numerous settings; it allows decreased subject burden and increased comfort (which may be important following an injury in case-control investigations); and it may be well tolerated when testing athletes as well as special populations in the clinical setting.
Remote optimal state estimation over communication channels with random delays

Abstract This paper is concerned with the optimal estimation of linear systems over unreliable communication channels with random delays. The measurements are delivered without time stamp, and the probabilities of time delays are assumed to be known. Since the estimation is time-driven, the actual time delays are converted into virtual time delays among the formulation. The receiver of estimation node stores the sum of arrived measurements between two adjacent processing time instants and also counts the number of arrived measurements. The original linear system is modeled as an extended system with uncertain observation to capture the feature of communication, then the optimal estimation algorithm of systems with uncertain observations is proposed. Additionally, a numerical simulation is presented to show the performance of this work.
Developing a Platform That Supplies Processed Information from Internet Resources and Services

In this paper, a Turkish question answering system that extracts most suitable answers from Internet services and resources is described. During the question-analyzing period of our question answering system, the question class is determined from lexical-morphological properties of the words appearing in the question. In addition, some other properties of the question are predicted and various solution methods are tried in order to get the right answer. Furthermore, to increase the success rate of the system, Wordnet platform is used to find synonym words and other related words of question words. In the information retrieval phase of the system, the system utilizes Tim Berner Lee's semantic web approach, instead of classic search engine approach. Using extracted features of given questions, subject-predicate-object triples are fetched from DBpedia, which extracts structural information from Wikipedia articles. From obtained triples, the final answer is formulated. For searching and getting Turkish equivalent of the information, Wikipedia Search API and Bing Translate API are used.
UAV-Based Oblique Photogrammetry for Outdoor Data Acquisition and Offsite Visual Inspection of Transmission Line

Regular inspection of transmission lines is an essential work, which has been implemented by either labor intensive or very expensive approaches. 3D reconstruction could be an alternative solution to satisfy the need for accurate and low cost inspection. This paper exploits the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for outdoor data acquisition and conducts accuracy assessment tests to explore potential usage for offsite inspection of transmission lines. Firstly, an oblique photogrammetric system, integrating with a cheap double-camera imaging system, an onboard dual-frequency GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver and a ground master GNSS station in fixed position, is designed to acquire images with ground resolutions better than 3 cm. Secondly, an image orientation method, considering oblique imaging geometry of the dual-camera system, is applied to detect enough tie-points to construct stable image connection in both along-track and across-track directions. To achieve the best geo-referencing accuracy and evaluate model measurement precision, signalized ground control points (GCPs) and model key points have been surveyed. Finally, accuracy assessment tests, including absolute orientation precision and relative model precision, have been conducted with different GCP configurations. Experiments show that images captured by the designed photogrammetric system contain enough information of power pylons from different viewpoints. Quantitative assessment demonstrates that, with fewer GCPs for image orientation, the absolute and relative accuracies of image orientation and model measurement are better than 0.3 and 0.2 m, respectively. For regular inspection of transmission lines, the proposed solution can to some extent be an alternative method with competitive accuracy, lower operational complexity and considerable gains in economic cost.
How far away is "artificial man"

The authors claim that a careful examination of robotics science and technology from its origins in the 1950s to its current status reveals that such progress, albeit very important, profitable, and with a strong impact on society, was basically the "side activities" to the ever-existing and continuous desire of mankind to build and realize humanoid robots, artificial men equipped uith proper intelligence capable of operating autonomously, thus replacing trained individuals for dexterous jobs. They consider such a humanoid robot through the realistic tasks/jobs it will most probably do. It is postulated that this humanoid robot be considered as a personal helper (a home robot or personal robot). Given the present level of technology, the question is posed: are we ready to move towards personal robotics, and what might be the first step? A possible answer to this question is given through a discussion of the human-like characteristics a personal robot must have; namely, human-like motion, human-like intelligence, and human-like communication.
Are EU and Bulgarian business cycles synchronized

This paper examines the degree of business cycles synchronisation between Bulgaria and the European Union (EU). The period of the study is 1999 Q1 – 2007 Q2. Using cross spectral analysis, we find that both economic areas share two common cycles at the frequencies of 0.029 and 0.59 cycles (34 and 17 quarters, respectively) but they exhibit a negative phase shift, implying that their phase takes place at different times (their phases are not coordinated). Further, the transmission mechanism of stochastic shocks, expressed by impulse response functions from a VAR model, shows that shocks in these two economic areas are absorbed within 5-11 quarters. Hence, we conclude that the Bulgarian and the European business cycles are not coordinated and the costs of participating in the EU should be taken into account.
Geometries and AdS Bubbles

Recently, 1 2-BPS AdS bubble solutions have been obtained by Lin, Lunin and Mal-dacena, which correspond to Fermi droplets in phase space in the dual CFT picture. They can be thought of as generalisations of 1 2-BPS AdS black hole solutions in five or seven dimensional gauged supergravity. In this paper, we extend these solutions by invoking additional gauge fields and scalar fields in the supergravity Lagrangians, thereby obtaining AdS bubble generalisations of the previously-known multi-charge AdS black solutions of gauged supergravity. We also obtain analogous AdS bubble solutions in four-dimensional gauged supergravity. Our solutions generically preserve supersymme-try fractions 1 4 , 1 8 and 1 8 in seven, five and four dimensions respectively. They can be lifted to M-theory or type IIB string theory, using previously known formulae for the consistent Pauli sphere reductions that yield the gauged supergravities. We also find similar solutions in six-dimensional gauged supergravity, and discuss their lift to the massive type IIA theory.
Modeling and Analysis of Load and Time Dependent Software Rejuvenation Policies

Due to repeated and potentially faulty usage of continuously running client-server type software systems by many clients, such software \ages" with time and eventually fails. Huang et. al. proposed a technique called \software rejuvenation" [3] in which the software is periodically stopped and then restarted in a \robust" state after proper maintenance. This \re-newal" of software prevents, or at least postpones, the crash failure. In this paper, we present a quantitative analysis of two software rejuvenation policies. The (cid:12)rst one considers only the ageing behaviour of the system by time, while the second one considers the actual load of the system as well. The behaviour of the system is represented through a Markov Regenerative Stochastic Petri