Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IMPROVING THE ULTRASONIC NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION SIGNALS BY ITERATIVE WIENER FILTERING

Signals measured in ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of materials are masked by the characteristics of the measuring instruments, the propagation paths taken by the ultrasonic waves, and noise originating from various sources, including the electrical noise. Due to the band-limited characteristics of ultrasonic transducers, the received echoes are degraded by the transducer impulse response and show a relatively low time resolution. In order to remove the transducer impulse response in the presence of noise, deconvolution techniques are usually implemented. One of these deconvolution techniques is the Wiener filter. Implementation of an optimal Wiener filter requires estimation of the statistical distributions of both the desired signal and the noise present in this signal. In practical applications, this information is not readily available and needs to be somehow estimated. In this paper an iterative algorithm is proposed for estimating the power spectral density of the desired signal. This method uses the signal processed by the Wiener filter as an improved signal to update the power spectral density estimates. The results obtained from synthetic data indicate that the proposed method outperforms the conventional Wiener filter and could significantly improve the time resolution of the ultrasonic signals.
Interracial unions and fertility in Brazil: Are there differences when couples are racially mixed?

This paper investigates whether mixed race couples have different or same fertility level than same race couples, and whether there is an asymmetry on men’s and women’s race effect on fertility. Using Brazilian Census data for the year 2000 three explanations are considered:1) adaptation either through assimilation or innovation; 2) resistance or rupture and 3) selectivity. The results support the independent effect of race in fertility and its explanation through innovation. The interracial couples pass through an adaptation process and have fertility in between their racial groups. Both, men’s and women’s race have similar weight in the couple’s outcome (about 50% each). Considering the potential asymmetry between them, the results show that the darker partner has a slightly lower power on fertility after controlling for women’s education. Furthermore, the findings also contribute to the discussion about the importance of considering men's characteristics, besides their income, in reproductive behavior studies.
Stability Analysis in Graphene Nanoribbon Interconnects

We present a Nyquist stability criterion based on transmission line modeling for graphene nanoribbon (GNR) interconnects. This is the first instance that such an analysis has been presented for GNR, so far. In this analysis, the dependence of the degree of relative stability for multilayer GNR (MLGNR) interconnects on the geometry of each ribbon has been acquired. It is shown that, increasing the length and width, MLGNR interconnects become more stable.
On the Break-Even Point between Cloud-Assisted and Legacy Routing (Short Paper)

As more than 40K service providers are advertising 600K or more IP prefixes, scalability of routing has emerged to be a matter of great concern. In this paper, to explore a spectrum of designs, we consider a Cloud-Assisted Routing (CAR) framework which follows a hybrid and opportunistic approach by keeping the high priority tasks at the router and use an adaptive router-cloud integration when beneficial. In particular, it maintains most of the control plane functions at the cloud and least of it at local router and vice versa for the data plane. Comparing the performance and monetary cost benefits between CAR, we discuss: (i) What is the break-even point? (ii) What are the key components of CAR to be monetarily beneficial? (iii) What are the constraints that will make the traditional routing favorable than CAR?
i-ball 2: An Interaction Platform with a Crystal-Ball-Like Display for Multiple Users

The authors’ aim in this work is to develop an easy-to-use computer-human interaction (CHI) platform. In this paper, i-ball 2 (interactive/information ball 2) is introduced as an attempt at the aim. i-ball 2 is a display-based interaction platform and designed to provide various interactive experiences, based on the concept of i-ball (an interactive display system which the authors’ group has developed). i-ball 2’s characteristics are: Firstly, the image is displayed with special optical system as if it were floating in the ball which is equipped in the i-ball 2 system. Secondly, up to two users can participate in interactive experiences (each user has his/her own display system). And lastly, i-ball 2 has various input interfaces and potential for various interactive applications. In this paper, the applications implemented on i-ball 2 are introduced: 3-D CG object viewer, QuickTime VR object movie viewer, interaction with the robot, i-ball 2 game controller and simplified telexistence (videoconference) system. Through these applications, i-ball 2 appears to have high potential as a CHI and communication platform.
Distribution of Local Anesthetic Solutions within the Subarachnoid Space

Uptake of local anesthetics injected into the subarachnoid space determines which neuronal functions are affected during spinal anesthesia. Elimination of local anesthetics from the subarachnoid space determines the duration of these effects. Distribution of local anesthetics within cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) determines the extent of altered neuronal function. Uptake and elimination have been reviewed previously (1). The present review deals with distribution, the determinant of the level of spinal anesthesia. Studies of drug distribution usually rest upon measurements of concentrations of the drug as a function of time after administration. Technical and ethical considerations make it impossible to take multiple samples of CSF at different levels of the subarachnoid space in patients. Reliance must, therefore, be placed upon estimates of distribution of local anesthetics in CSF not by measuring drug concentrations in CSF but, instead, by measuring the extent of neurologic responses to local anesthetics in CSF. The neurologic response that will be relied upon in this review, for estimation of local anesthetic distribution in CSF, is the spinal segmental level of anesthesia. Anesthesia is defined (for the present purposes only) as loss of pinprick sensation. This definition of anesthesia is employed because it is the definition most widely used by clinicians in determining the level to which local anesthetic solutions have spread. Differences between the levels of anesthesia as thus defined and levels of analgesia, somatic motor paralysis, sympathetic denervation, and other forms of neuronal impairment are not dwelt upon. These other forms of
Stability of linear time-delay systems: a delay-dependent criterion with a tight conservatism bound

The stability of linear time-delay systems is investigated via the robustness analysis of a related delay-free comparison system with an uncertain real parameter. By exploiting its phase properties, the delay element is removed from the system via a parameter-dependent Pade approximation. We then present a simple yet rigorous condition for delay-dependent stability of the original time-delay system. The novelty of this result is that it explicitly provides an a priori upper bound of how conservative this condition can be, and this bound depends only on the order of Pade approximation and can be reduced to any desired degree. Furthermore, the delay margin provided by this condition can be computed explicitly without incurring any additional conservatism for the single delay case. This condition can also be checked with some (typically small) additional conservatism by reducing it to finite-dimensional linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, several numerical examples demonstrate that this simplified LMI criterion can be significantly less conservative than those in the literature.
FUSION OF LASERSCANNER AND VIDEO FOR ADVANCED DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS

In established driver assistance systems each application relies on its own sensor, which observes the vehicles environment. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have increasing demand for several sensor systems. The described Laserscanner and video based sensor fusion approach serves as a general platform for multiple active safety and comfort applications. A large field of view is obtained and the certainty and precision of the estimates in the relevant regions is increased significantly. Vehicle position measurements and classification, lane estimation as well as pedestrian recognition enable a broad support for applications such as Lane Departure Warning, Automatic Emergency Breaking, PreCrash, Pedestrian Protection, ACC Stop&Go and Low Speed Following. INTRODUCTION Recent projects on driver assistance systems have focused on applications such as PreCrash (Chameleon) [1], ACC Stop&Go (Carsense) [2] and recognition of vulnerable road users (PROTECTOR). These advanced driver assistant systems (ADAS) have increasing demand for several sensor systems, which are mainly complementary but also redundant. Some research has therefore been focused on multi-sensor fusion [2,3,4,5,6]. The aim of such a step is to provide a fused description of the traffic scene surrounding the vehicle, which is relevant for ADAS, but not specific to a certain application. This fusion system incorporates the data of diverse sensors into a single description. Thus the field of view of a single sensor is enlarged, the certainty and precision of the estimates is increased and additionally this system design is economically efficient, as different applications share a set of sensors.
Bellman Equations for Stochastic Programs

This is a revised version of a paper entitled \World Modeling vs. World Axiomatizing" which accompanied an invited talk at LPNMR-99. Abstract. This paper gives a model-checking style algorithm for verifying the decision-theoretic utility of a handwritten robot controller. The paper presents a simple Turing-complete programming language for expressing robot control programs. The robot control language supports stochastic nondeterminism, complex data structures, conditional expressions , and recursive procedures. A similar Turing-complete programming language for writing models of the robot's environment is also given. The paper shows that if a given controller running in a given environment has only nitely many behaviors (as deened in the paper) then the value of that controller in that environment can be computed by iterating appropriately generalized Bellman equations.
Enteric Pathogens in Stored Drinking Water and on Caregiver’s Hands in Tanzanian Households with and without Reported Cases of Child Diarrhea

Background Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of mortality in young children. Diarrheal pathogens are transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and for children the majority of this transmission is thought to occur within the home. However, very few studies have documented enteric pathogens within households of low-income countries. Methods and Findings The presence of molecular markers for three enteric viruses (enterovirus, adenovirus, and rotavirus), seven Escherichia coli virulence genes (ECVG), and human-specific Bacteroidales was assessed in hand rinses and household stored drinking water in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Using a matched case-control study design, we examined the relationship between contamination of hands and water with these markers and child diarrhea. We found that the presence of ECVG in household stored water was associated with a significant decrease in the odds of a child within the home having diarrhea (OR = 0.51; 95% confidence interval 0.27–0.93). We also evaluated water management and hygiene behaviors. Recent hand contact with water or food was positively associated with detection of enteric pathogen markers on hands, as was relatively lower volumes of water reportedly used for daily hand washing. Enteropathogen markers in stored drinking water were more likely found among households in which the markers were also detected on hands, as well as in households with unimproved water supply and sanitation infrastructure. Conclusions The prevalence of enteric pathogen genes and the human-specific Bacteroidales fecal marker in stored water and on hands suggests extensive environmental contamination within homes both with and without reported child diarrhea. Better stored water quality among households with diarrhea indicates caregivers with sick children may be more likely to ensure safe drinking water in the home. Interventions to increase the quantity of water available for hand washing, and to improve food hygiene, may reduce exposure to enteric pathogens in the domestic environment.
Projection Cells and Interneurons of the Lateral and Basolateral Amygdala: Distinct Firing Patterns and Differential Relation to Theta and Delta Rhythms in Conscious Cats

To study relations between the basolateral (BL) amygdaloid complex and major electroencephalogram (EEG) rhythms of the entorhinal cortex (delta and theta), neurons of the lateral and BL nuclei were recorded in conscious cats. An essential task to this end was to obtain criteria allowing the identification of projection cells and interneurons. BL projection cells, identified by their antidromic response to parahippocampal stimuli, generated stereotyped high-frequency bursts (2–4 spikes at 140–250 Hz), which repeated at low rates. Projection cells of the lateral nucleus were virtually silent, but their presence was disclosed by cortical-evoked responses. In both nuclei, the firing rates and/or responsiveness of projection cells increased from waking to slow-wave sleep (S). In contrast with projection cells, presumed interneurons discharged at high rates (∼10–15 Hz) and displayed various discharge patterns ranging from tonic to phasic. The bipartite classification of BL neurons on the basis of their discharge patterns and synaptic responses was supported by the differential relation existing between EEG rhythms and the activity of the two cell types. Indeed, fast-firing and bursting cells of the BL nucleus tended to fire on opposite phases of the delta oscillation of S and entorhinal theta oscillation of paradoxical sleep. The unusual state-related changes in activity displayed by lateral and BL neurons point to functional similarities between the amygdala and hippocampus. This idea is supported by the presence of coherent theta oscillations in the amygdalo-hippocampal circuit that might favor the emergence of recurring time windows when synaptic interactions will be facilitated in this limbic network.
Symmetrical Large-Signal Modeling of Microwave Switch FETs

This paper presents a new symmetrical field-effect transistor (FET) model suitable for microwave switches. The model takes advantage of the inherent symmetry of typical switch devices, justifying a new small-signal model where all intrinsic model parameters can be mirrored between the positive and negative drain-source bias regions. This small-signal model is utilized in a new and simplified approach to large-signal modeling of these type of devices. It is shown that the proposed large-signal model only needs a single charge expression to model all intrinsic capacitances. For validation of the proposed model, small-signal measurements from 100 MHz to 50 GHz and large-signal measurements at 600 MHz and 16 GHz, are carried out on a GaAs pHEMT. Good agreement between the model and the measurements is observed under both small- and large-signal conditions with particularly accurate prediction of higher harmonic content. The reduced measurement requirements and complexity of the symmetrical model demonstrates its advantages. Further, supporting operation in the negative drain-source voltage region, the model is robust and applicable to a variety of circuits, e.g., switches, resistive mixers, oscillators, etc.
Retrieving Music --- To Index or not to Index

Pattern matching methods are used as an essential component in a large variation of multimedia applications. The search agents for Internet as well as various systems for retrieving images from image databases by image content are good examples. However, not too much research eeort has been directed yet for information retrieval in music databases. We present a coding of music (melodies) that is invariant under diierent musical keys and tempos. It can applied on melodies written in traditional notation using notes and staves. The conversion e.g. from MIDI les is straightforward. As our codes are linear discrete sequences, general string matching algorithms can be used for nding the occurrences of a melody sample in a music database. We report some experimental results on the performance of two alternative ways to organize such a search. One uses the suux-trie as an index for the database, the second makes an on{line search with the Boyer{Moore algorithm. Introduction In this paper we discuss some issues and ideas that we are experimenting with in our project which develops methods and software for music retrieval by music content. We use a simple two{dimensional relative coding to represent the melodies in the database. The coding of a note consists of two elements, the \vertical distance" or an interval between the note and its predecessor, and the \horizontal distance" or the relative duration of the note as compared to a designated base duration. The coding is invariant in two important respects, namely under transpositions and changes of the tempo. This considerably simpliies the music retrieval task. There are rather small number of intervals and relative durations of notes, that traditionally are used in (western) music. Therefore our coded presentation can be seen as a discrete linear string over a nite alphabet. Then the matching of a given melody sample, encoded in the same way, against the melodies in the database can be done by using the string matching algorithms originally designed for key{word matching in texts 3, 7].
Parsing in OT

In this paper, I propose to implement syllabification in OT as a parser. I propose several innovations that result in a finite and small candidate set. The candidate set problem is handled with several moves: i) MAX and DEP violations are not hypothesized by the parser, ii) candidates are encoded locally, and iii) EVAL is applied constraint by constraint. The parser I propose is implemented in Prolog. It has a number of desirable consequences. First, it runs and thus provides an existence proof that syllabification can be implemented in OT. There are a number of other desirable consequences as well. First, constraints are implemented as finite-state transducers. Second, the parser makes several interesting claims about the phonological properties of so-called nonrecoverable insertions and deletions. Third, the implementation suggests some particular reformulations of some of the benchmark constraints in the OT arsenal, e.g. *COMPLEX, PARSE, ONSET, and NOCODA.
Os impactos da adoção de metodologias ativas no desempenho dos discentes do curso de ciências contábeis de instituição de ensino superior mineira

Uma reformulacao na educacao tem sido discutida pela comunidade cientifica com a finalidade de atender a novos objetivos nos processos de aprendizagem. E um desafio para universidades modificar o seu papel social, agregando novas metodologias de ensino nos seus programas de graduacao para se inserirem neste contexto atual. A motivacao deste estudo e verificar se a adocao de metodologias ativas de ensino no Curso de Ciencias Contabeis de uma Instituicao de Ensino Superior privada, situada na regiao da Zona da Mata mineira, contribuiu para o desempenho dos seus discentes, sendo caracterizado como desempenho, nesta pesquisa, a melhoria das notas dos estudantes. As metodologias ativas, atendendo a essa reformulacao educacional, estao preocupadas em formar um estudante critico capaz de atuar no mercado atual, de constantes mudancas. O periodo de estudo compreende os anos entre 2011 e 2014. Buscou-se responder a seguinte questao: ha impacto no desempenho dos discentes do curso de Ciencias Contabeis apos a implantacao de metodologias ativas na IES pesquisada? Para testar a hipotese proposta, utilizou-se o teste de medias T student e metodos de regressao. Os dados analisados foram coletados a partir de documentos cedidos pelos colaboradores da Instituicao. Os resultados mostram que ha evidencias de que a utilizacao das metodologias ativas no Curso de Ciencias Contabeis contribuiram para o desempenho dos estudantes, no periodo estudado.
Energy ejection in the collapse of a cold spherical self-gravitating cloud

When an open system of classical point particles interacting by Newtonian gravity collapses and relaxes violently, an arbitrary amount of energy may, in principle, be carried away by particles which escape to infinity. We investigate here, using numerical simulations, how this released energy and other related quantities (notably the binding energy and size of the virialized structure) depend on the initial conditions, for the one-parameter family of starting configurations given by randomly distributing N cold particles in a spherical volume. Previous studies have established that the minimal size reached by the system scales approximately as N 1/3 , a behaviour which follows trivially when the growth of perturbations (which regularize the singularity of the cold collapse in the N → oo limit) is assumed to be unaffected by the boundaries. Our study shows that the energy ejected grows approximately in proportion to N 1 /3 , while the fraction of the initial mass ejected grows only very slowly with N, approximately logarithmically, in the range of N simulated. We examine in detail the mechanism of this mass and energy ejection, showing explicitly that it arises from the interplay of the growth of perturbations with the finite size of the system. A net lag of particles compared to their uniform spherical collapse trajectories develops first at the boundaries and then propagates into the volume during the collapse. Particles in the outer shells are then ejected as they scatter through the time-dependent potential of an already re-expanding central core. Using modified initial configurations, we explore the importance of fluctuations at different scales and discreteness (i.e. non-Vlasov) effects in the dynamics.
PENGARUH PENGEMBANGAN USAHA KOPERASI TERHADAP PENINGKATAN SISA HASIL USAHA PADA KOPERASI PEGAWAI REPUBLIK INDONESIA (KPRI) IAIN MATARAM

Koperasi adalah badan hukum yang didirikan oleh orang perseoranganatau badan hukum koperasi yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkankesejahteraan anggota. Dalam rangka peningkatan kesejahteraan anggotakoperasi harus terus melakukan pengembangan usaha dari waktu kewaktusehingga akan terus meningkatkan kesejahteraan anggota terutama darisegi sisa hasil usaha. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui seberapabesar pengaruh Pengembangan atau pengembangan usaha KoperasiPegawai Republik Indonesia (KPRI) IAIN Mataram di Kampus 2 IAINMataram terhadap peningkatan sisa hasil usaha sebagai pertimbanganpengambilan keputusan KPRI IAIN Mataram untuk pengembanganusaha di Kampus 2 IAIN Mataram.Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode penelitian kuantitatifdengan pendekatan deskriptif. Adapun metode pengumpulan datamenggunakan metode observasi, angket, dan wawancara. Berdasarkanhasil analisis data dapat disimpulkan bahwa pengembangan usahaKPRI IAIN Mataram di Kampus 2 IAIN Mataram berpengaruh positifterhadap sisa hasil usaha anggota yaitu sebesar 60,2%.