Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Foreign invested enterprises and economic development: The case of China

This paper tries to further the understanding of subsidiary management, role and strategy, by specifically examining an un(der)explored dimension, i.e., the relationship between the multinational subsidiary and the developing host country, in particular China. This paper acknowledges that subsidiaries vary in their contributory role to the multinational system, based on head office assignment, subsidiary choice and host country environment. Instead of adopting the usual simplifying assumption that the host country environment is more or less given, or even that subsidiaries are seen as tapping into or drawing from the host country environment, subsidiaries are seen and analysed as contributors to the local economy. Based on host localisation, global integration and group responsiveness, a three dimensional model at the subsidiary level is developed to assess the economic impact on the host country for different clusters of companies, especially in terms of linkages, and research and development.
Synthesis of rare-earth activated AlN and GaN powders via a three-step conversion process

Using a three-step solution method, we have successfully synthesized rare-earth (RE) activated AlN, GaN, and pure GaAlN powders. Aluminium and/or gallium nitrates are first dissolved in water. For AlN:RE, rare-earth nitrates converted from their corresponding oxides of Dy3+ and Tm3+ are then added to the precursor nitrate solution. The mixture is subsequently converted into Al(OH)3:RE by combining with aqueous NH4OH at room temperature. The product is then mixed with aqueous NH4F to form (NH4)3AlF6:RE. The conversion process is complete when the hexafluoride compound is flushed with anhydrous ammonia to produce the final nitride product AlN:Dy3+,Tm3+. GaN, GaN:Tb3+ and GaAlN are synthesized similarly. Single phase, pure GaN and GaAlN formation has been confirmed. Dysprosium oxide has been observed in AlN:Dy3+, Tm3+. Oxygen concentration of approximately 4 at% has been measured in GaN powders, and is slightly higher in AlN powders. Spectroscopic measurements show clearly observable emission from Dy3+ and Tm3+ co-activated AlN samples. In activated GaN samples, Tb3+ emission has been observed. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A new parameter estimation for K distribution clutter

K distribution is one of the most widely applied statistical models for SAR images clutter. Now there are several approaches to estimate the parameters of K distribution. Based on Raghavanpsilas method, a new method named piecewise-approximation is given in this paper, where gamma and beta-prime distributions are applied to piecewisely approximate K distribution. The experiment results show that the new method broadens the applicable range of parameter, and has a higher accuracy than the method of moment.
Distribution of Intersegmental Interneurones That Can Reset the Respiratory Rhythm of the Locust

Interneurones in the respiratory rhythm generator of the locust were identified by means of intracellular recording and staining techniques. A description is made of the properties and structures of nine intersegmental neurones which reset the respiratory rhythm when injected with current pulses. All but one of these neurones discharged in phase with expiration. The injection of constant depolarizing current into these interneurones altered the respiratory rate (increase for six, decrease for three). The respiratory rhythm generator extends more posteriorly within the ventral nerve cord than the metathoracic ganglion. In the first fused abdominal ganglion, four individual interneurones were identified descending into the unfused abdominal ganglia. In the first unfused abdominal ganglion an intemeurone which reset the respiratory rhythm was found ascending into the metathoracic ganglion. The respiratory rhythm generator also extends more anteriorly within the ventral nerve cord than the metathoracic ganglion. Two interneurones influencing the respiratory rhythm send their axons from the first fused abdominal ganglion into the meta- and mesothoracic ganglia. One of these directly excited a mesothoracic intemeurone which also influenced the respiratory rhythm when injected with current. In the suboesophageal ganglion another intemeurone was found which, although capable of resetting the respiratory rhythm, was not alway active during respiration. We conclude that the respiratory rhythm generator is distributed over abdominal, thoracic and suboesophageal ganglia. At least one part of the respiratory rhythm generator (in the suboesophageal ganglion) is not always active and can be recruited during vigorous respiration. Thus the number of active components in the respiratory rhythm generator is variable and additional elements can be recruited depending on the behavioural situation.
The LFA-1 Integrin Supports Rolling Adhesions on ICAM-1 Under Physiological Shear Flow in a Permissive Cellular Environment1

The LFA-1 integrin is crucial for the firm adhesion of circulating leukocytes to ICAM-1-expressing endothelial cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that LFA-1 can arrest unstimulated PBL subsets and lymphoblastoid Jurkat cells on immobilized ICAM-1 under subphysiological shear flow and mediate firm adhesion to ICAM-1 after short static contact. However, LFA-1 expressed in K562 cells failed to support firm adhesion to ICAM-1 but instead mediated K562 cell rolling on the endothelial ligand under physiological shear stress. LFA-1-mediated rolling required an intact LFA-1 I-domain, was enhanced by Mg2+, and was sharply dependent on ICAM-1 density. This is the first indication that LFA-1 can engage in rolling adhesions with ICAM-1 under physiological shear flow. The ability of LFA-1 to support rolling correlates with decreased avidity and impaired time-dependent adhesion strengthening. A β2 cytoplasmic domain-deletion mutant of LFA-1, with high avidity to immobilized ICAM-1, mediated firm arrests of K562 cells interacting with ICAM-1 under shear flow. Our results suggest that restrictions in LFA-1 clustering mediated by cytoskeletal attachments may lock the integrin into low-avidity states in particular cellular environments. Although low-avidity LFA-1 states fail to undergo adhesion strengthening upon contact with ICAM-1 at stasis, these states are permissive for leukocyte rolling on ICAM-1 under physiological shear flow. Rolling mediated by low-avidity LFA-1 interactions with ICAM-1 may stabilize rolling initiated by specialized vascular rolling receptors and allow the leukocyte to arrest on vascular endothelium upon exposure to stimulatory endothelial signals.
Support Vector Machines: Review and Applications in Civil Engineering

Support Vector Machines (SVM) are emerging techniques which have proven successful in many traditionally neural network (NN) dominated applications. An interesting property of this approach is that it is an approximate implementation of the Structural Risk Minimization (SRM) induction principle that aims at minimizing a bound on the generalization error of a model, rather than minimizing the mean square error over the data set. In this paper, the basic ideas underling SVM are reviewed and the potential of this method for feature classification and multiple regression (modelling) problems is demonstrated using digital remote sensing data and data on horizontal force exerted by dynamic waves on vertical structure, respectively. The relative performance of the SVM is then analysed by comparing its results with the corresponding results obtained in previous studies where NNs have been applied on the same data sets.
O contributo da experiência turística para o desenvolvimento do turismo nos destinos rurais: uma revisão da literatura

EnglishRural areas have taken on new economic, social and cultural dynamism, as a result, not exclusively, but to a large extent, of the development of tourism. From the beginning of the 21st century, destinations have had to adapt to new forms of tourism, such as rural tourism, with all of its advantages such as small scale and direct contact with local communities as well as natural and cultural resources. This is a result of the change that has occurred in the behaviour of visitors, who tend to quest experiences rather than consumption of place. These facts underscore the importance of understanding and measuring tourist experience, as well as its impact on the sustainable development of rural destinations. Thus, based on a review of the relevant literature of the last three and a half decades, we aim at understanding the state of the art in tourism experiences, and to dimensions the parameters by which these are measured. Additionally, we attempt to grasp how tourism experiences feed into the development of tourism in rural areas. The results show that tourism experiences mean different things to different people. The difficulties encountered in applying quantitative measurement make it equally complicated to gauge the true impact that tourism experiences have on the development of tourism in rural areas. portuguesAs areas rurais tem vindo a ganhar outra dinâmica economica, social e cultural, que resulta, nao so, mas tambem da pratica turistica. Principalmente, a partir do novo milenio, houve a necessidade dos destinos se adaptarem a novas modalidades turisticas, como e o caso do turismo rural, que privilegiam a pequena escala, o contacto direto com as comunidades locais, bem como com os recursos naturais e culturais. Isto resulta da alteracao que ocorreu no comportamento dos visitantes, onde estes sao cada vez mais sensiveis as experiencias turisticas. Tais factos salientam a importância de compreender e mensurar a experiencia turistica, assim como o seu impacte no desenvolvimento sustentavel dos destinos rurais. Deste modo, com base numa revisao da literatura publicada nas ultimas tres decadas e meia, procurou‑se compreender o estado da arte da experiencia turistica, identificando as dimensoes que lhe tem vindo a ser atribuidas. Adicionalmente pretendeu‑se perceber como estas podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento turistico das areas rurais. Os resultados evidenciam que a experiencia turistica tem diferentes dimensoes que foram evoluindo e que variam de acordo com diferentes autores. Esta dificuldade de mensuracao leva a que seja igualmente dificil perceber o verdadeiro impacte que as experiencias turisticas possuem no desenvolvimento do turismo nas areas rurais.
Positional averaging explains crowding with letter-like stimuli

Visual crowding is a breakdown in object identification that occurs in cluttered scenes, a process that represents the principle restriction on visual performance in the periphery. When crowded objects are presented experimentally, a key finding is that observers frequently report nearby flanking items instead of the target. This observation has led to the proposal that crowding reflects increased noise in the positional code for objects; although how the presence of nearby objects might disrupt positional encoding remains unclear. We quantified this disruption using cross-like stimuli, where observers judged whether the horizontal target line was positioned above or below the stimulus midpoint. Overall, observers were poorer at judging position in the presence of crowding flankers. However, offsetting horizontal lines in the flankers also led observers to report that the horizontal line in the target was shifted in the same direction, an effect that held for subthreshold flanker offsets. In short, crowding induced both random and systematic errors in observers' judgment of position, with or without the detection of flanker structure. Computational modeling reveals that perceived position in the presence of flankers follows a weighted average of noisy target- and flanker-line positions, rather than a substitution of flanker-features into the target, as has been proposed previously. Together, our results suggest that crowding is a preattentive process that uses averaging to regularize the noisy representation of position in the periphery.
Intelligent and cooperative environments via internet of sensors: Perspectives and case study analysis

This paper deals with the application of the so called Internet of Things paradigm to the setting up of intelligent and cooperative environments. In particular, it focuses on the management of wide area Wireless Sensor Networks comprised of objects belonging to the logistic domain with the aim of transparent managing them. The IPv6 global addressing is applied allowing the dynamic tracking, information upload and retrieval and nodes management, while coping with inherent mobility. The proposed solution has been adopted in a real world case study, pointing out flexibility and responsiveness.
Temporal consistent fast stereo matching for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)

In this paper, we present a new fast method for matching stereo images acquired by a stereo sensor embedded in a moving vehicle. The method consists in exploiting the matching results obtained in one stereo pair (frame) for computing the disparity map of the following stereo pair. This can be achieved by finding a temporal relationship, which we named association, between consecutive frames. The disparity range of the current frame is deduced from the disparity map of the preceding frame and the association between the two frames. Dynamic programming technique is considered for matching the image features. The proposed approach is tested on virtual and real stereo image sequences and the results are satisfactory. The method is fast and able to provide about 20 millions disparity maps per second on a HP Pavilion dv6700 2.1GHZ.
Antilinearity in Bipartite Quantum Systems and Teleportation

In this paper I consider some assorted antilinear operations and operators in bipartite quantum systems, an application to quantum teleportation, and a link to Tomita and Takasaki’s theory via twisted direct products. The idea is in exploring the natural antilinearity which is inherent to vectors in direct products of Hilbert spaces. The reason for the appearance of certain antilinear maps, here called EPR-maps, is explained in the first section, together with some basic equations. The acronym EPR stands for the problem, raised in [1] by Einstein, Podolski, and Rosen, see also [3], [4].
Human Motion Analysis

The science of human motion analysis is fascinating because of its highly interdisciplinary nature and wide range of applications. Histories of science usually begin with the ancient Greeks, who first left a record of human inquiry concerning the nature of the world in relationship to our powers of perception. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) might be considered the first biomechanician. He wrote the book called ’De Motu Animalium’ On the Movement of Animals. He not only saw animals’ bodies as mechanical systems, but pursued such questions as the physiological difference between imagining performing an action and actually doing it [9].
Separation of speech sources using an Acoustic Vector Sensor

This paper investigates how the directional characteristics of an Acoustic Vector Sensor (AVS) can be used to separate speech sources. The technique described in this work takes advantage of the frequency domain direction of arrival estimates to identify the location, relative to the AVS array, of each individual speaker in a group of speakers and separate them accordingly into individual speech signals. Results presented in this work show that the technique can be used for real-time separation of speech sources using a single 20ms frame of speech, furthermore the results presented show that there is an average improvement in the Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR) for the proposed algorithm over the unprocessed recording of 15.1 dB and an average improvement of 5.4 dB in terms of Signal to Distortion Ratio (SDR) over the unprocessed recordings. In addition to the SIR and SDR results, Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) and listening tests both show an improvement in perceptual quality of 1 Mean Opinion Score (MOS) over unprocessed recordings.
A Single Amino Acid Difference Distinguishes Resistant and Susceptible Alleles of the Rice Blast Resistance Gene Pi-ta

The rice blast resistance (R) gene Pi-ta mediates gene-for-gene resistance against strains of the fungus Magnaporthe grisea that express avirulent alleles of AVR-Pita. Using a map-based cloning strategy, we cloned Pi-ta, which is linked to the centromere of chromosome 12. Pi-ta encodes a predicted 928–amino acid cytoplasmic receptor with a centrally localized nucleotide binding site. A single-copy gene, Pi-ta shows low constitutive expression in both resistant and susceptible rice. Susceptible rice varieties contain pi-ta– alleles encoding predicted proteins that share a single amino acid difference relative to the Pi-ta resistance protein: serine instead of alanine at position 918. Transient expression in rice cells of a Pi-ta+ R gene together with AVR-Pita+ induces a resistance response. No resistance response is induced in transient assays that use a naturally occurring pi-ta– allele differing only by the serine at position 918. Rice varieties reported to have the linked Pi-ta2 gene contain Pi-ta plus at least one other R gene, potentially explaining the broadened resistance spectrum of Pi-ta2 relative to Pi-ta. Molecular cloning of the AVR-Pita and Pi-ta genes will aid in deployment of R genes for effective genetic control of rice blast disease.
A Bayesian framework for robust speech enhancement under varying contexts

Single-microphone speech enhancement algorithms that employ trained codebooks of parametric representations of speech spectra have been shown to be successful in the suppression of non-stationary noise, e.g., in mobile phones. In this paper, we introduce the concept of a context-dependent codebook, and look at two aspects of context: dependency on the particular speaker using the mobile device, and on the acoustic condition during usage (e.g., hands-free mode in a reverberant room). Such context-dependent codebooks may be trained on-line. A new scheme is proposed to appropriately combine the estimates resulting from the context-dependent and context-independent codebooks under a Bayesian framework. Experimental results establish that the proposed approach performs better than the context-independent codebook in the case of a context match and better than the context-dependent codebook in the case of a context mismatch.
Architectural Models of J2ee Web Tier Frameworks

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the architectural models of four selected Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) Web tier frameworks. The approach to the subject is a conceptual­analytical research with a focus on the application concerns the different frameworks promote. The thesis begins with an introduction to frameworks and the basic categorization into Black­box and White­box frameworks. An introduction to the J2EE with a focus on the Servlet framework and the general J2EE application model follows. After that the chosen frameworks are presented. JavaServer Faces and the Portlet framework as frameworks from Sun Microsystems and Jakarta Struts and Apache Cocoon from the Apache Software Foundation cover most of the current framework extensions for the J2EE Web tier. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the results and presents a compact evaluation of the frameworks with a focus on possible future scenarios.
Epiphany root canal sealer prepared with resinous solvent is irritating to rat subcutaneous tissues

Objective: This study assessed the biocompatibility of the Epiphany endodontic sealer prepared with resinous solvent of Epiphany system (Thinning resin) in rat subcutaneous tissues. Study Design: Polyethylene tubes were filled with the sealer and 4 groups were established: GI, Epiphany prepared with 1 drop of resinous solvent (RS); GII, Epiphany prepared with 1 drop of RS and photoactivated; GIII, Epiphany associated with self-etch primer and prepared with 1 drop of RS; GIV, Epiphany associated with self-etch primer, prepared with 1 drop of RS and photoactivated. The filled tubes were implanted into 4 different regions of the dorsum of 20 adult male rats. Results: After 7, 14 and 21 days, all groups presented a moderate to severe chronic inflammation, necrosis and foreign-body giant cells. At 42 days, although the intensity of chronic inflammatory reaction decreased, the other features still were observed. Conclusion: The Epiphany sealer prepared with the RS was irritating to rat subcutaneous tissues. Key words:Biocompatibility, Epiphany, methacrylate resin sealer, resinous solvent, root canal sealer.
Visual motion observer-based stabilizing receding horizon control via image space navigation function

This paper investigates stabilizing receding horizon control via an image space navigation function for a three-dimensional (3-D) visual feedback system. Firstly, a brief summary of a visual motion observer is given. Next, a visual motion error system is reconstructed in order to apply to time-varying desired motion. Then, visual motion observer-based stabilizing receding horizon control for the 3-D visual feedback system, highly nonlinear and relatively fast system, is proposed. Moreover, a path planner to be appropriate for the visual motion error system is designed through the image space navigation function to keep all features into a camera field of view. Finally, simulation results are shown in order to confirm the proposed method.
Evaluation of data management and transfer tools for the biomedical community

The biomedical community produces and uses a continuously growing amount of data while it lacks an inter-institutional research data management system. The LABIMI/F project founded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) implements an infrastructure to close this gap with an exemplary prototype for the use cases of medical image and genome research data. To determine suitable application(s) for this intention, several criteria for data management and data transfer, concerning their up-to-dateness, usability, metadata and payload management etc., are developed. These criteria are applied to three data management tools (DSpace, Fedora Commons and ISA-Tab tools), and four data transfer tools (PowerFolder, iRODS, CryptShare and Globus-Online), in an use-value analysis (UVA). The UVA reveals that no application meets all criteria; therefore other tools, e.g. eSciDoc, should be evaluated before making a final decision. Fedora Commons scores highly in the category metadata and payload management but has no sufficient user frontend. Therefore, further research is necessary in order to find an appropriate frontend for Fedora Commons. The data transfer tool with the highest total application score is PowerFolder, which provides easy synchronization of files and folders between the users and a central repository.
A Framework for the Study of Modelling Techniques in Agile Methods

Since the software crisis of the 1960’s, numerous methodologies have been developed to impose a disciplined process upon software development, and to encourage logical, rational and systematic thought. However, the failure of heavyweight methods has given rise to a new breed of methodology known as the agile method. Although many in industry and academia have heralded agile methods as revolutionary, little academic research has been carried out to study how these methods will facilitate logical programming and, indeed, logical thought. This paper looks at the extensive literature on flexibility in an attempt to provide a conceptual foundation upon which a study of model engineering in agile methods can be conducted. The review examines literature from such disciplines as management, labour, manufacturing and marketing theory and discovers that there is no consensus as to what flexibility entails, only that it is not a single entity or ability but rather a broad concept of many dimensions that is drawn from many sources. As a result, this paper proposes that a study of the impact that agile approaches will have on modelling techniques will have to consider many factors.