Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Innovation Adoption Processes for Third Party Property Management Companies

Innovation adoption studies have never been applied to third party property management companies. These companies manage buildings for a fee as their primary business. Property management companies are influential in the adoption process for new technologies because they act as gatekeepers for technical information. This study analyzes radical and routine adoption process that are found in large, professionally operated property management companies. The process is explicated. The technical managers, and their role as technology gate keepers, are described. The distinction to the technical managers between routine and radical technology is that routine technologies do something in a new way and radical technologies do something new. Observations concerning evaluation and adoption of information technologies are described. The findings suggest methods of successfully tailoring and introducing technologies to this market.
A helical jet model for OJ287

Context. OJ287 is a quasar with a quasi-periodic optical light curve, with the periodicity observed for over 120 years. This has lead to a binary black hole model as a common explanation of the quasar. The radio jet of OJ287 has been observed for a shorter time of about 30 years. It has a complicated structure that varies dramatically in a few years time scale. Aims. Here we propose that this structure arises from a helical jet being observed from a small and varying viewing angle. The viewing angle variation is taken to be in tune with the binary orbital motion. Methods. We calculate the effect of the secondary black hole on the inner edge of the accretion disk of the primary using particle simulations. We presume that the axis of the helix is perpendicular to the disk. We then follow the jet motion on its helical path and project the jet to the sky plane. This projection is compared with observations both at mm waves and cm waves. Results. We find that this model reproduces the observations well if the changes in the axis of the conical helix propagate outwards with a relativistic speed of about 0.85c. In particular, this model explains at the same time the long-term optical brightness variations as varying Doppler beaming in a component close to the core, i.e. at parsec scale in real linear distance, while the mm and cm radio jet observations are explained as being due to jet wobble at much larger (100 parsec scale) distances from the core.
Scalable Hyperparameter Transfer Learning

Bayesian optimization (BO) is a model-based approach for gradient-free black-box function optimization, such as hyperparameter optimization. Typically, BO relies on conventional Gaussian process (GP) regression, whose algorithmic complexity is cubic in the number of evaluations. As a result, GP-based BO cannot leverage large numbers of past function evaluations, for example, to warm-start related BO runs. We propose a multi-task adaptive Bayesian linear regression model for transfer learning in BO, whose complexity is linear in the function evaluations: one Bayesian linear regression model is associated to each black-box function optimization problem (or task), while transfer learning is achieved by coupling the models through a shared deep neural net. Experiments show that the neural net learns a representation suitable for warm-starting the black-box optimization problems and that BO runs can be accelerated when the target black-box function (e.g., validation loss) is learned together with other related signals (e.g., training loss). The proposed method was found to be at least one order of magnitude faster that methods recently published in the literature.
Efficiency Limit of Long-distance Magneto-Inductive Power Transfer

The problem of optimising long-distance power delivery via magneto-inductive waveguides is considered, and limits to efficiency are derived. Arrangements for impedance matching are proposed, and it is shown that efficiency can be improved by operation off-resonance, when losses are at a minimum, using broadband matching transformers.
A Medical Image Watermarking Technique for Embedding EPR and Its Quality Assessment Using No-Reference Metrics

Digital watermarking can be used as an important tool for the security and copyright protection of digital multimedia content. The present paper explores its applications as a quality indicator of a watermarked medical image when subjected to intentional (noise, cropping, alteration) or unintentional (compression, transmission or filtering) operations. The watermark also carries EPR data along with a binary mark (used for quality assessment). The binary mark is used as a No-Reference (NR) quality metrics that blindly estimates the quality of an image without the need of original image. It is a semi-fragile watermark which degrades at around the same rate as the original image and thus gives an indication of the quality degradation of the host image at the receiving end. In the proposed method, the original image is divided into two parts- ROI and non-ROI. ROI is an area that contains diagnostically important information and must be processed without any distortion. The binary mark and EPR are embedded into the DCT domain of Non- ROI. Embedding EPR within a medical image reduces storage and transmission overheads and no additional file has to be sent along with an image. The watermark (binary mark and EPR) is extracted from non-ROI part at the receiving end and a measure of degradation of binary mark is used to estimate the quality of the original image. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by calculating MSE and PSNR of original and extracted mark.
The significance of citation impact indicators of research performance in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa

This paper argues that Sub-Saharan Africa needs to produce more journals indexed by ISI Web of Science (WoS). Researchers from the region should also publish in other ISI indexed, reputable and high impact journals such as Nature and Science. Inevitably, this will make Sub-Saharan African researchers visible and globally competitive. The Sub- Saharan African region has only about 40 journals out of over 12 000 journals that have been indexed by the ISI Web of Science (WoS). Arguably, ranking of universities across the globe and qualification for Nobel Prizes are determined by metrics-based evaluation of research performance. Sub-Saharan Africa is poorly represented on the world university rankings. The region has also produced only six Nobel Prize award winners from 1901 to 2010. In the same period, USA, UK and Germany produced 326, 116 and 102 recipients respectively. While there are some limitations on the use of citation indicators to evaluate research output, this researcher argues that citation impact indicators of research performance provide policymakers, researchers and funding agencies with an objective measure for assessing research performance and therefore are of great significance in the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Clustering genomic signatures

Pathogens such as bacteria and viruses are leading causes of disease worldwide, which makes it essential to identify them in DNA samples. Instead of analysing raw DNA sequences, mathematical models based on Variable Length Markov Chains (VLMCs), known as Genomic signatures, make it possible to classify DNA samples faster than with traditional alignment-based methods. To analyse a set of genomic signatures, we use clustering, which is an unsupervised machine-learning method. For the clustering of VLMCs, an accurate and fast similarity measure (distance function) is needed. To analyse distance functions and clusters, we define metrics based primarily on the taxonomic ranks of the underlying organisms. For the distance functions, we primarily analysed whether the VLMCs within the same taxonomic rank were closest to each other. For the cluster analysis, we use the silhouette metric to determine how well separated the clusters are and define the average percentages, sensitivity, and specificity of the captured taxonomic ranks. We present a new distance function for VLMCs, called Frobenius-intersection, which correlates accurately with the well-known Kullback-Liebler distance function, while also being several orders of magnitude faster. We use average-link clustering together with the Frobenius-intersection distance to cluster data sets of known viruses and bacteria with relatively short DNA sequences. The clusters of VLMCs correspond accurately to the Baltimore types of the viruses as well as the viruses’ and bacteria’s taxonomic families. However, most of the classifications of viruses are also subdivided into multiple clusters. Moreover, when combining the set of bacteria and viruses, the clusters start to mix the viruses and bacteria before finding all of the taxonomic families. The clustering of the genomic signatures is accurate with respect to, for instance, taxonomic ordering. Therefore, it can help in identifying unclassified pathogens. Future research may reveal other causes of similarity between the genomic signatures.
Trophodynamics of estuarine intertidal harpacticoid copepods based on stable isotope composition and fatty acid profiles

Trophic interactions at the basis of food webs, for instance between meiofauna, primary producers and bacteria, are key drivers of benthic energy fluxes. Yet both qualitative and quantitative information about meiofaunal resource utilization under in situ conditions is scant. By means of natural stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen and of fatty acid (FA) profiles, we examined the variability of in situ resource utilization of a range of harpacticoid copepod species from 5 stations in an estuarine intertidal area. These stations, located in different habitats, differed in sediment granulometry, resource availability, presence/absence of vegetation and other environmental variables, as well as in copepod species composition. Our goal was to describe interspecific differences among harpacticoid species, as well as spatio-temporal variability within species. Despite differences in resource availability between habitats, delta C-13 data clearly point at microphytobenthos (MPB) as the major carbon source to the harpacticoid assemblages at all 5 stations. Small differences in carbon isotopic ratios between co-occurring species indicate some degree of resource differentiation, whereas both the delta N-15 and FA composition suggest that several harpacticoid species obtain MPB carbon indirectly, perhaps through feeding on bacteria or ciliates. For a limited number of species, such as Paraleptastacus spinicauda, clear dietary contributions of suspended particulate matter and bacteria were found, and MPB appeared to have only a small or no contribution. Even in vegetated salt-marsh stations, Spartina anglica detritus did not appear to contribute to copepod diets. The delta C-13 of Cletodidae were highly depleted, reflecting a contribution of methane-derived carbon.
Bulk entanglement gravity without a boundary: Towards finding Einstein's equation in Hilbert space

We consider the emergence from quantum entanglement of spacetime geometry in a bulk region. For certain classes of quantum states in an appropriately factorized Hilbert space, a spatial geometry can be defined by associating areas along codimension-one surfaces with the entanglement entropy between either side. We show how radon transforms can be used to convert these data into a spatial metric. Under a particular set of assumptions, the time evolution of such a state traces out a four-dimensional spacetime geometry, and we argue using a modified version of Jacobson’s “entanglement equilibrium” that the geometry should obey Einstein’s equation in the weak-field limit. We also discuss how entanglement equilibrium is related to a generalization of the Ryu-Takayanagi formula in more general settings, and how quantum error correction can help specify the emergence map between the full quantum-gravity Hilbert space and the semiclassical limit of quantum fields propagating on a classical spacetime.
A First Account of Organelle Preservation in Eocene Nonmarine Diatoms: Observations and Paleobiological Implications

Abstract Post-eruptive lacustrine sediments that infill a Middle Eocene kimberlitic diatreme near Lac de Gras (Northwest Territories, Canada) have spectacular preservation of diatom microfossils. A single undiagnosed species belonging to the genus Aulacoseira is abundant in this material and reveals, in addition to the full complement of siliceous structures comprising the frustule, an array of soft parts that hitherto have been unavailable for study in diatoms of this age. These features include the velar complex, which lines the interior of valves, layered internal membranes, lamellate plastid fragments with pyrenoid-like inclusions, and extracellular mucilagenous bodies. Both ultrastructural and cytoplasmic characters have pronounced affinities with extant congeneric taxa, with an especially close resemblance to the resting cells observed in living Aulacoseira. These observations suggest that modern cellular organization and associated ecological adaptations were present early in the history of nonmarine aulacoseiroid diatoms, implying that prolonged evolutionary stasis has characterized the ecologically important genus Aulacoseira.
O nly Freezing tolerance of winter wheat as influenced by extended growth at low temperature and exposure to freeze-thaw cycles

As the seasons progress, autumn-planted winter wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L.) first gain, then progressively lose freezing tolerance. Exposing the plants to freeze-thaw cycles of -3/3°C results in increased ability to tolerate subsequent freezing to potentially damaging temperatures. This study was conducted to determine to what extent the length of time grown at low temperature influenced the effectiveness of this freeze-thaw enhancement of freezing tolerance. Plants from six winter wheat lines were grown at 4°C for 1-18 weeks, exposed to 0-2 cycles of freezing to -3°C for 24 h, then thawing for 24 h at 3°C, then tested for their ability to tolerate freezing to -10 to -17°C. The freeze-thaw treatments resulted in increased freezing tolerance after 6 to 12 weeks of growth at low temperature, but had no significant effect before or after that time period. Two cycles of -3/3°C freeze-thaw was consistently more effective than one cycle. Variation in the extent and timing of the effectiveness of the freeze-thaw treatments was found among the wheat lines, suggesting genetic variation that may be useful for prolonging freezing tolerance further into the winter months could be found in winter wheat. Page 1 of 18 https://mc.manuscriptcentral. com/cjps-pubs Canadian Journal of Plant Science
Computed tomography based real-time joint kinematics during in-vitro tests

INTRODUCTION To assess and compare the effect of new orthopedic surgical procedures, in vitro evaluation remains critical during the pre-clinical validation. Focusing on reconstruction surgery, the ability to restore normal kinematics and stability is thereby of primary importance. Therefore, several simulators have been developed to study the kinematics and create controlled boundary conditions [1,2]. To simultaneously capture the kinematics in six degrees of freedom as outlined by Grood & Suntay [3], markers are often rigidly connected to the moving bone segments. The position of these markers can subsequently be tracked while their position relative to the bones is determined using computed tomography (CT) of the test specimen with the markers attached [4]. Although this method serves as golden standard, it clearly lacks real-time feedback. Therefore, this paper presents the validation of a newly developed real-time framework to assess knee kinematics at the time of testing. Health
High-Frequency Amplification : Sharpening the Pencil

High-frequency amplification is similar to a sharpened pencil. When amplification is extended to frequencies higher than those of today’s commercially available hearing aids, the quality and clarity of the signal is perceptibly improved –much like sharpening a dull pencil to write a clearer message. Unfortunately, the benefits of improved clarity and signal quality have been difficult to demonstrate, particularly in adult listeners. This calls into question the need for commercially available hearing aids to provide amplification over the full range of speech frequencies. This paper describes the benefits of high-frequency spectral information to the speech and language development of children. Studies regarding the bandwidth of hearing aids are described, acoustic phonetic information occurring at high-frequencies are identified, the unique manner in which children with hearing loss may derive benefit from high-frequency amplification is examined, and finally, data regarding the benefits of high-frequency amplification for learning new words are presented.
Reproductive ecology of the western silvery aster Symphyotrichum sericeum in Canada

Previous studies suggest that low seed production due to pollinator competition and seed predation may negatively affect the reproduction of the rare forb western silvery aster Symphy- otrichum sericeum in Canada. Research was conducted to determine normal flower and seed produc- tion and the impact of seed predation, and to ascertain whether clipping surrounding vegetation and/or fertilizing with nitrogen stimulates flower and seed production in S. sericeum. Only 41% of all stems observed produced capitula, and less than 40% of the seeds in each capitulum were filled. Flower production was negatively correlated with percentage vascular plant cover and positively cor- related with percentage cryptogamic cover. The main seed predator was a weevil (Anthonomus sp.) that destroyed about one-third of all capitula produced. None of the treatments applied (e.g. clipped, fertilized and clipped × fertilized) significantly increased stem height, the percentage of flowering stems or seed production over the control; clipping actually decreased stem height. Fertilizing was the only treatment that showed some promise as it increased the number of capitula per flowering stem. Flower and seed production in S. sericeum may be facilitated by the presence of other species that modify the microenvironment. Low flower and seed production of plants in Canada is likely due to limited soil resources and pollen, and seed predation.
U.S. Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Food Labeled ‘Genetically Modified’

This study analyzes U. S. consumers' choice of cornflakes under five different labeling statements. Using a nationwide survey and choice modeling framework, results indicate that consumers value labeling statements differently, depending on the information contained on the label. The random parameter logit model results indicated that, compared to cornflakes that have no label information, cornflakes labeled “contains no genetically modified com” have a value of 10 percent more, the label “USDA approved genetically modified com” has a value of 5 percent more, and the label “com genetically modified to reduce pesticide residues in your food” has a value of 5 percent more. The results also suggest that consumers negatively valued the label “contains genetically modified com,” paying 6.5 percent less, and the label “may contain genetically modified com,” paying 1 percent less than the product that has no label information.
Imperfect competition in an overlapping generations model : a case for fiscal policy

Imperfect competition is a meaningful feature for macroeconomic analysis only to the extent that it leads to properties qualitatively different from those obtained under perfect competition. In particular, we have to wonder how imperfect competition per se may found an effective fiscal policy. For that matter we consider a simple overlapping generations model with firms acting as Cournot oligopolists in the good market. Through fiscal policy, a government, keeping the stock of money constant, redistributes wealth among generations and absorbs some of the output to provide public services. We show in this model that fiscal policy, by affecting firms' market power, can move the economy across perfect foresight stationary equilibria along a Pareto improving path, or that it can implement a full employment stationary equilibrium which Pareto-dominates underemployment equilibria.
Exact and Approximate Stepdown Methods for Multiple Hypothesis Testing

Consider the problem of testing k hypotheses simultaneously. In this article we discuss finite- and large-sample theory of stepdown methods that provide control of the familywise error rate (FWE). To improve on the Bonferroni method or on Holm's stepdown method, Westfall and Young made effective use of resampling to construct stepdown methods that implicitly estimate the dependence structure of the test statistics. However, their methods depend on an assumption known as “subset pivotality. ” Our goal here is to construct general stepdown methods that do not require such an assumption. To accomplish this, we take a close look at what makes stepdown procedures work; a key component is a monotonicity requirement of critical values. By imposing monotonicity on estimated critical values (which is not an assumption on the model but rather is an assumption on the method), we show how to construct stepdown tests that can be applied in a stagewise fashion so that at most k tests need to be computed. Moreover, at each stage, an intersection test that controls the usual probability of a type 1 error is calculated, which allows us to draw on an enormous resampling literature as a general means of test construction. In addition, it is possible to carry out this method using the same set of resamples (or subsamples) for each of the intersection tests.