Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Display Advertising with Real-Time Bidding (RTB) and Behavioural Targeting

Online advertising is now one of the fastest advancing areas in the IT industry. In display and mobile advertising, the most significant technical development in recent years is the growth of Real-Time Bidding (RTB), which facilitates a real-time auction for a display opportunity. RTB essentially facilitates buying an individual ad impression in real time while it is still being generated from a users visit. RTB not only scales up the buying process by aggregating a large number of available inventories across publishers but, most importantly, enables direct targeting of individual users. As such, RTB has fundamentally changed the landscape of digital marketing. Scientifically, the demand for automation, integration and optimization in RTB also brings new research opportunities in information retrieval, data mining, machine learning and other related fields. Despite its rapid growth and huge potential, many aspects of RTB remain unknown to the research community for a variety of reasons. This monograph offers insightful knowledge of real-world systems, to bridge the gaps between industry and academia, and to provide an overview of the fundamental infrastructure, algorithms, and technical and research challenges of the new frontier of computational advertising. The topics covered include user response prediction, bid landscape forecasting, bidding algorithms, revenue optimization, statistical arbitrage, dynamic pricing, and ad fraud detection. This is an invaluable text for researchers and practitioners alike. Academic researchers will get a better understanding of the real-time online advertising systems currently deployed in industry. While industry practitioners are introduced to the research challenges, the state of the art algorithms and potential future systems in this field.
Coarse NLOS detection algorithm based on discrete power levels

Indoor localisation has become increasingly important for many services. When the environment is not crowded, i.e. most links between the target and anchors do not suffer from non-line-of sight (NLOS) offsets, the centralised time-difference-of-arrival localisation can efficiently estimate the target position. However, such a method does not work in crowded environments unless a large number of anchors are installed, which is unrealistic for many applications. In this case, the objects that block the LOS links can serve as dynamic anchors (e.g. with round trip time-of-arrival localisation) to improve positioning accuracy. However, such a method tends to include too many unreliable dynamic anchors in estimation, which will significantly increase the computational complexity (e.g. to detect and discard such unreliable anchors in the NLOS mitigation stage). This study proposes a coarse NLOS detection algorithm based on discrete power levels to efficiently achieve the coarse NLOS mitigation, which automatically discards most unreliable dynamic anchors. The simulation results show that the proposed method can achieve very similar estimation performance as the optimal estimation method in the crowded environment, while analysis shows that it can significantly decrease the computational complexity.
Uplink-Downlink Duality for Integer-Forcing

Consider a Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multiple-access channel (MAC) with channel matrix $\mathbf {H}$ and a Gaussian MIMO broadcast channel (BC) with channel matrix $\mathbf {H} ^{\mathsf {T}}$ . For the MIMO MAC, the integer-forcing architecture consists of first decoding integer-linear combinations of the transmitted codewords, which are then solved for the original messages. For the MIMO BC, the integer-forcing architecture consists of pre-inverting the integer-linear combinations at the transmitter, so that each receiver can obtain its desired codeword by decoding an integer-linear combination. In both the cases, integer-forcing offers higher achievable rates than zero-forcing while maintaining a similar implementation complexity. This paper establishes an uplink-downlink duality relationship for integer-forcing, i.e., any sum rate that is achievable via integer-forcing on the MIMO MAC can be achieved via integer-forcing on the MIMO BC with the same sum power and vice versa. Using this duality relationship, it is shown that integer-forcing can operate within a constant gap of the MIMO BC sum capacity. Finally, the paper proposes a duality-based iterative algorithm for the non-convex problem of selecting optimal beamforming and equalization vectors, and establishes that it converges to a local optimum.
POOLED ESTIMATES OF INCIDENCE OF ENDOPHTHALMITIS AFTER INTRAVITREAL INJECTION OF ANTI–VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR AGENTS WITH AND WITHOUT TOPICAL ANTIBIOTIC PROPHYLAXIS

Purpose: To assess the effect of topical antibiotic prophylaxis on postoperative endophthalmitis after intravitreal injection of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor agents. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed from inception to March 2016 using PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, to identify articles that reported cases of endophthalmitis after intravitreal injection of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor agents. We used a pooled analysis to estimate the incidence of cases of endophthalmitis who developed after injections performed with and without topical antibiotic prophylaxis. We used regression analysis to explore the effects of study characteristics on heterogeneity. Results: From our search of electronic databases, we identified and screened 4,561 unique records. We judged 60 articles to have reported findings for cohorts of patients who met our inclusion criteria, (12 arms of randomized clinical trials, 11 prospective cohort studies, and 37 retrospective cohort studies), which included 244 cases of endophthalmitis and 639,391 intravitreal injections of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor agents. The final pooled estimate endophthalmitis proportions were 9/10,000 (95% confidence interval, 7/10,000–12/10,000) in the antibiotic-treated group and 3/10,000 (95% confidence interval, 2/10,000–5/10,000) in the untreated group. The estimated incidence of endophthalmitis with topical antibiotic prophylaxis was approximated three times the incidence without prophylaxis. Random effects regression showed that none of the study characteristics significantly affected the effect size in either group. Conclusion: Topical antibiotic after intravitreal injection of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor agents is associated with a higher risk of endophthalmitis.
Adaptive Full-Duplex Communications in Cognitive Radio Networks

In this paper, we propose a novel adaptive scheme for full-duplex communication of secondary users (SUs) in a cognitive radio network. The secondary network operates adaptively in three modes; cooperative sensing (CS), full duplex transmit and sensing (FDTS), and in-band bidirectional full duplex transmit and receive (FDTR). In the CS mode, the secondary nodes will detect the signal of a primary user (PU) through a novel cooperative medium access control (MAC) protocol and will decide the system's mode of operation in the subsequent spectrum hole. This adaptive decision is based on dual-threshold detection introduced for the first time. When the PU's signal at SU's receivers is weak, the system switches to the FDTS mode to avoid higher collisions probability and long or endless collision durations. In the FDTS mode, one of SUs senses the PU activity continuously while transmitting to another node. When the channel conditions allow, the system switches to the FDTR mode, in which the SUs would communicate bidirectionally in an asynchronous full duplex manner. The novel idea of asynchronous transmission in this mode will result in decreased maximum and average collision durations. Analytical closed forms for probability of collision, average collision duration, and cumulative collision duration, as well as throughput of the SU network are derived, and performance of the proposed scheme in terms of the above-mentioned metrics, effectiveness, and advantages over conventional methods of sensing and transmission are verified via simulations.
The minimal behavioral time window for reward conditioning in the nucleus accumbens of mice

The temporal precision of reward-reinforcement learning is determined by the minimal time window of the reward action—theoretically known as the eligibility trace. In animal studies, however, such a minimal time window and its origin have not been well understood. Here, we used head-restrained mice to accurately control the timing of sucrose water as an unconditioned stimulus (US); we found that the reinforcement effect of the US occurred only within 1 s after a short tone of a conditioned stimulus (CS). The conditioning required the dopamine D1 receptor and CaMKII signaling in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The time window was not reduced by replacing CS with optogenetic stimulation of the synaptic inputs to the NAc, which is in agreement with previous reports on the effective dopamine timing of NAc synapses. Thus, our data suggest that the minimal reward time window is 1 s, and is formed in the NAc.
Brachypodium distachyon seedling growth visualization under osmotic stress and overexpression of MIR7757 to increase drought tolerance

Brachypodium distachyon a monocot model plant has facilitated the downscaling for studying the most important cereal crops of the world both genetically and phenetically. This owes to its dwarf stature, small genome size and rapid life cycle which was utilized in our research for analysing its morphological features under osmotic stress. The purpose of this study was to visualize Brachypodium seedlings under osmotic pressure to observe morphological adaptation under drought-like conditions. It was found that Brachypodium displays the typical adaptive mechanisms of cereal plants mainly root apical meristem showing lateral hair growth and stunted growth. The root cells also displayed change in single cell morphology by swelling into compartment like structures as compared to non-stressed cells. This observation was made in the elongation and maturation zones of the root. Lateral hair growth was observed from the root apical meristem after 18 hours of PEG-mediated osmotic stress. Brachypodium not only manifests physiological adaptations to drought stress but also elicits molecular adaptation to counter it. To explore the genetic basis of drought tolerance the microRNAs involved in water deficit were traced out through a reverse genetics approach. The T-DNA mutant library of Brachypodium distachyon allowed for the investigation of a newly discovered microRNA miR7757 involved in water deficit to be overexpressed in Brachypodium to rapidly produce drought tolerant varieties bypassing conventional breeding techniques.
A new method for fuzzification of nested dummy variables by fuzzy clustering membership functions and its application in financial economy

In this study, the aim is to propose a new method for fuzzification of nested dummy variables. The fuzzification idea of dummy variables has been acquired from non-linear part of regime switching models in econometrics. In these models, the concept of transfer functions is like the notion of fuzzy membership functions, but no principle or linguistic sentence have been used for inputs. Consequently, for the non-linear part including transfer function, there is no reason why the different types of functions such as logistic are used. Therefore, in order to solve the aforementioned problem like the regime switching models, the transfer functions are considered for dummy variables. However, the presented transfer functions are proposed by fuzzy clustering membership function. Finally, using fuzzy logic, the membership functions of clusters are combined with each other and constitute the fuzzy nested regimes. The suggested model has been used in financial data of Iran's stock in order to examine the equity premium Puzzle. The results of using above model helped in modeling appropriate second-order moments in consumption capital asset pricing model.
Dynamics of Muscular Performance Indices during the 30‑s Vertical Jump Test in Endurance and Sprint Cohorts

Research background and hypothesis. According the methodological requirement testing procedures do not modify the main training objectives. It is well known that specificity of performance assessment tests is important if we want to compare performance of different groups tested.Research aim was to find out the peculiarities of muscular performance indices in sprint and endurance cohorts while performing a 30-s vertical jump test.Research methods. The participants of the study were two groups of athletes, i. e. sprint and endurance runners. The participants of the study performed a 30-s vertical jumps test with maximal efforts. The sum of height of all jumps was calculated by a special computerized program and the values in height of jumps, contact time and relative power at onset of workload and at each 5 seconds of the test were analyzed.Research results. The difference between the cohorts in jumps height was statistically significant (p < 0.05) during the whole series of jumps. Athletes’ adaptation to speed-power type of exercising produced higher anaerobic muscle performance indices while performing 30-s duration jumps test. Endurance runners usually demonstrate lower results in jumping than sprint- athletes and they compensate reduced muscular power with prolonged duration of take-off.Discussion and conclusions. Despite some methodological limitations the results of this study show that the assessment of muscular performance indices allows assessing the peculiarities of dynamics of relative muscle power and fatigue.Keywords: endurance and sprint running, muscular performance, vertical jump test.
Filtering Power Amplifier With Wide Bandwidth Using Discriminating Coupling

This paper presents a filtering power amplifier (PA) with wide bandwidth. A bandpass filter (BPF) using discriminating coupling is first proposed to be utilized as the output matching network (OMN) of PA. Discriminating coupling means that the fundamental and the harmonics of the proposed structure have different coupling coefficients. Thus, the input impedances of the fundamental, second and third harmonics could meet the requirements of the extended continuous mode theory, respectively. Also, good frequency selectivity is obtained. The working principle of discriminating coupling, the filter synthesis theory and the equivalent circuit are utilized to guide the design of the filtering PA. To demonstrate the proposed structure, a compact filtering PA operating at 1.8 GHz is designed. The measured results exhibit good frequency selectivity and high power added efficiency (PAE). More importantly, comparing to the previous filtering power amplifiers (PAs) with good frequency selectivity, the proposed design possesses wide bandwidth of 31.1% with PAE higher than 60%.
Mechanical Simplification of Variable-Stiffness Actuators Using Dielectric Elastomer Transducers

Legged and gait-assistance robots can walk more efficiently if their actuators are compliant. The adjustable compliance of variable-stiffness actuators (VSAs) can enhance this benefit. However, this functionality requires additional mechanical components making VSAs impractical for some uses due to increased weight, volume, and cost. VSAs would be more practical if they could modulate the stiffness of their springs without additional components, which usually include moving parts and an additional motor. Therefore, we designed a VSA that uses dielectric elastomer transducers (DETs) for springs. It does not need mechanical stiffness-adjusting components because DETs soften due to electrostatic forces. This paper presents details and performance of our design. Our DET VSA demonstrated independent modulation of its equilibrium position and stiffness. Our design approach could make it practical to obtain the benefits of variable-stiffness actuation with less weight, volume, and cost than normally accompanies them, once weaknesses of DET technology are addressed.
Cardiac mGluR1 metabotropic receptors in cardioprotection

Aims In a previous study using a genome-wide microarray strategy, we identified metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) as a putative cardioprotective candidate in ischaemic postconditioning (PostC). In the present study, we investigated the role of cardiac mGluR1 receptors during cardioprotection against myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury in the mouse myocardium. Methods and results mGluR1 activation by glutamate administered 5 min before reperfusion in C57Bl/6 mice subjected to a myocardial ischaemia protocol strongly decreased both infarct size and DNA fragmentation measured at 24 h reperfusion. This cardioprotective effect was mimicked by the mGluR1 agonist, DHPG (10 μM), and abolished when glutamate was coinjected with the mGluR1 antagonist YM298198 (100 nM). Wortmannin (100 nM), an inhibitor of PI3-kinase, was able to prevent glutamate-induced cardioprotection. A glutamate bolus at the onset of reperfusion failed to protect the heart of mGluR1 knockout mice subjected to a myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion protocol, although PostC still protected the mGluR1 KO mice. Glutamate-treatment improved post-infarction functional recovery as evidenced by an echocardiographic study performed 15 days after treatment and by a histological evaluation of fibrosis 21 days post-treatment. Interestingly, restoration of functional mGluR1s by a PostC stimulus was evidenced at the transcriptional level. Since mGluR1s were localized at the surface membrane of cardiomyocytes, they might contribute to the cardioprotective effect of ischaemic PostC as other Gq-coupled receptors. Conclusion This study provides the first demonstration that mGluR1 activation at the onset of reperfusion induces cardioprotection and might represent a putative strategy to prevent ischaemia-reperfusion injury.
Sixth International Conference on Sport, Leisure and Ergonomics: 14–16 November 2007

The aim of this study was to examine acute physiological responses and time-motion characteristics associated with three different small-sided soccer game formats in youth players. Sixteen male soccer players aged 16.3+/-0.6 years (mean+/-s) completed three variations of a small-sided game (i.e. 2 vs. 2, 4 vs. 4, and 6 vs. 6 players) in which heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), blood lactate concentration, and time-motion characteristics were recorded. The pitch size was altered to keep the relative pitch area per player consistent for each game format. The 2 vs. 2 games exhibited greater blood lactate, heart rate, and RPE responses compared with 4 vs. 4 and 6 vs. 6 games (P<0.05). The players travelled less (P<0.05) distance at speeds of 0-7 km.h(-1) in the 4 vs. 4 compared with the 2 vs. 2 games (1128+/-10 m and 1176+/-8 m, respectively). Average maximal sprint distances above 18 km.h(-1) were lower (P<0.05) in 2 vs. 2 than in 4 vs. 4 and 6 vs. 6 games (11.5+/-3.9 m, 15.3+/-5.5 m, and 19.4+/-5.9 m, respectively), and in 4 vs. 4 compared with 6 vs. 6 games. The results show that as small-sided game formats decrease in size and relative pitch area remains constant, overall physiological and perceptual workload increases.
Improvisation in Dance and the Movement of Everyday Life

Dance improvisation, as developed in the UK and the US in particular, has become associated with a number of tropes that apparently offer means of best practice. By attending to a few of these, I examine how they might offer insight into dance improvisation. This incorporates research into ways in which improvisation is a part of everyday life, as demonstrated most clearly in examples of infant movement and cognitive development. Taking Henry Montes and Marcus Coates’s dance film A Question of Movement as a case study example, I consider how their innovative way of dancing responses to life questions connects with the infant’s reliance on ‘thinking in movement’, a term offered by Maxine Sheets-Johnstone. Finally, I consider what dancers can learn from people living with chronic dementia-related diseases who forge ways to live in a perpetual present and, conversely, what insight dancers might offer through integration of dance improvisatory processes in caregiving.
Authenticity of employee voice channels: a critical discourse analysis of Nigeria's banking and ICTs sectors

Employee voice efficacy has remained at the centre of global employment relations discourse following the continuing demise of union representative voice, largely portrayed as a tendentious function of the surge of alternative voice systems (or non-unionised employee representations -NERs). Discourses pertaining to voice have equally remained contentious in the developed world and fundamentally complex to follow in the developing countries, giving the widening gap in their employment relations literatures, particularly in Nigeria’s terrain currently being investigated in this study. Thus, this research aims to identify the various voice channels through which employees are represented and to establish how participatory they are perceived by respondents. Consequently, an empirical investigation was conducted in 5 organisations across the Nigeria’s banking and ICTs sectors, via a semistructured interviews and focus group discussions with 73 managers and employees altogether. Data gathered consequently were qualitatively analysed via critical discourse analytical (CDA) framework, to uncover Nigeria’s unique cultural-environmental dynamics driving the adoption of non-unionised employee voice systems by organisations.
Visible light propagation characteristics under turbulent atmosphere and its impact on communication performance of traffic system

In this paper, mathematical modeling and statistical methods are used. establishing a simple bit error rate evaluation model of intelligent transportation optical communication system under ideal atmospheric conditions. The lognormal turbulence distribution model is introduced into the geometric model of visible optical communication system to further calculate the parameters of the whole communication system. The effects of signal-to-noise ratio, aperture size, visibility, wavelength and other factors on the bit error rate and channel capacity of visible optical communication are calculated and analyzed. After calculation, the bit error rate increases with the increase of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), decreases with the increase of visible wavelength and increase with distance. besides, the stronger the turbulence is, the more violent the fluctuation of BER is. The simulation results based on this model are basically consistent with the actual situation. It can simulate the visible light communication of intelligent transportation system better and provide reference for the selection of communication parameters in different environments.
A HYBRID NEURO -FUZZY (ANFIS) APPROACH TO THE CONTROL SYSTEM OF BENFIELD SOLUTION STAGE IN UREA PLANT

A nonlinear model for the chemical process Benfield Solution (B.S.) stage in urea plant system is presented . This stage in a closed loop chemical process to a chive certain range of values for the concentration of that (B.S.). Different types of controllers such as PID, fuzzy and Neuro-fuzzy are proposed to achieve the required performance. Comparison study was made to select the best con-troller from point of view of transient response parameters (over shoot percentage, settling time ,steady state error) . Therefore, the proposed design confirms the fact that fuzzy control is relevant to the fast control of non-linear processes such as system drives where quantitative meth-ods are not always appropriate