Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AN N-STATE ENDOGENOUS MARKOV-SWITCHING MODEL WITH APPLICATIONS IN MACROECONOMICS AND FINANCE

We develop an N-regime Markov-switching model in which the latent state variable driving the regime switching is endogenously determined with the model disturbance term. The models structure captures a wide variety of patterns of endogeneity and yields a simple test of the null hypothesis of exogenous switching. We derive an iterative filter that generates objects of interest, including the model likelihood function and estimated regime probabilities. Using simulation experiments, we demonstrate that the maximum likelihood estimator performs well in finite samples and that a likelihood ratio test of exogenous switching has good size and power properties. We provide results from two applications of the endogenous switching model: a three-state model of US business cycle dynamics and a three-state volatility model of US equity returns. In both cases, we find statistically significant evidence in favor of endogenous switching.
AGGREGATION IN LANDCOVER DATA GENERALIZATION CONSIDERING SPATIAL STRUCTURE CHARACTERISTICS

Aggregation is an important operation for the generalization of land-cover data. However, current research often entails aggregation on a global perspective, which is not conducive to capturing the spatial characteristics of geographic objects with significant spatial structures, i.e., structured geographic objects. Hence this paper proposes an area aggregation method that can maintain the boundary characteristics of the structured geographic objects. First, we identify the structured geographic objects based on the description parameters of the spatial structure. Second, a Miter-type buffer transformation is introduced to extract the boundary of each structured geographic object, and area elements inside the boundary are processed with corresponding aggregation operations. Finally, the boundary of the structured geographic objects and the aggregation result of the area elements are inserted back into the aggregated result of the original land-cover data using the NOT operation. The proposed approach is experimentally validated using geographical condition census data for a city in southern China. The experimental result indicates that the proposed approach not only reasonably identify the typical characteristics of structured geographic objects but also effectively maintains the boundary characteristics of these objects.
Technical Pape ( l BENCHMARKING THE ENERGY · HEALTH NEXUS FOR MORE EFFICIENT WATER RECYCLING OPERATIONS Key findings from the application of a new energy benchmarking approach to optimise recycled water systems

This paper reports on the findings of a 12-month study, undertaken at SA Water and supported by the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence and UniSA, which set out to explore and develop a new approach to energy benchmark and optimise water recycling systems so-called 'energy-health' benchmarking. The project also made the first steps toward developing a new suite of energy benchmarks for a range of advanced water recycling processes. Several South Australian recycling schemes were selected to 'road test' the new benchmarking approach, with the results of these investigations presented for two of the case studies . Following an extensive literature review of specific energy data for a range of recycling processes, preliminary benchmarks for water recycling processes were developed for so-called Guide (50th %ile) and Target (20th %ile) performance values. Detailed processlevel energy benchmarking was then undertaken at each of the case study sites using the newly-developed Guide and Target performance benchmarks. Health-based process performance criteria (i.e . pathogen log reduction values) were then integrated into the process benchmarking and optimisation approach to identify optimisation and energy efficiency opportunities at the process level. Overall, the study provides the first known set of indicative energy benchmarks for a range of advanced water recycling processes and has made the first steps toward developing a new approach for the Aust ralian water industry to use in future water recycling process optimisations.
BEHAVIOUR OF WIDE REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS WITH DIFFERENT SHEAR STEEL PLATES SPACING

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the behavior of wide reinforced concrete beams with different shear steel plate spacing. Four reinforced concrete wide beams with the dimensions of 215x560x1800mm are investigated. The variables studied in this work is using the 10mm stirrups with 125mm spacing and 3mm thickness steel plate with spacing 125, 166 and 250mm instead of reinforcing stirrups. Shear steel plates is a good alternative for stirrups and gives identical results in yield and ultimate loads and increase the ductility by 55% and reduced the strain in exterior and interior legs by 17% and 46% respectively compared with stirrups also reduced the total weight of wide beams by 2.7%. By increasing the spacing of shear steel plate by 33% and 100%, the results showed that the yield load reduced to 5% and 12% respectively, but the deflection was increased with 2% and 16% respectively(at yield). The strain in interior legs is more than the strain in exterior leg (having spacing 125, 166 and 250mm) by 31%, 70% and 1% respectively. ACI 318-14 (1) and EC 2 (2) codes are given a predicted deflection less than the experimental deflection by 19% and 21% on average respectively.
Biokinematic Control Strategy for Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Based on User Intention

Rehabilitation exoskeletons require a control interface for the direct transfer of mechanical power and exchange of information in order to assist the patient in his/her movements. By using co-contraction indexes (CCI), it is possible to accurately characterize human movement and joint stability. But when dealing with human movement disorders, no existing index allows to achieve neuro-motor control with bio-kinematic sensors. Thus, we propose a neuro-motor interactive method for lower-body exoskeleton control. A novel dynamic index called neuro-motor index (NMI) is introduced to estimate the relation between muscular co-contraction derived from electromyography signals (EMG) and joint angles. To estimate the correlation in the state space and enhance the precision of the NMI, we describe an estimation method relying on a two-way analysis of canonical correlation (CCA). A thorough assessment is presented, by conducting two studies on control subjects and on patients with abnormal gait in a medical environment. i) An offline study on control patients showed that NMI captures the complex variation induced by changing walking speed more accurately than CCI, ii) an online study, applied on successive gait cycles of patients with abnormal walk indicates that the existing CCI have a low accuracy related with joint angles while it is significantly higher with NMI.
Comparative Analysis of Attack Graphs

It is well-known that nowadays computers and networks that are unique in their computational and service provision power have also major weaknesses and vulnerabilities that can be exploited by outsiders in compromising the valuable data and knowledge. Network administrators and network security analysts must be aware of different properties of current software solutions and diversity of problems regarding the possible protection of network assets. This means that they must know and use the latest and newest types of vulnerabilities, techniques and tools. “Attack Graphs” present formalized network maps and help with analysis of possible vulnerabilities that may exist in the network. Hence, in this paper we will describe some basic concepts that can be used to understand and generate the attack graphs.
An Empirical Study on the Adoption of E-Commerce in Pondicherry.

Purpose – This study investigates the consumer’s technology adoption toward electronic commerce. In addition to the variables perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use derived from TAM, the study included and tested factors like perceived security, perceived product value, personal cost, perceived enjoyment, perceived cost and perceived quality. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was developed primarily based on the available scales in the already published literature. All model constructs requested participants to indicate their perceptions of Likert-style responses. The data analysis was executed using Smart PLS to test the validity and reliability of the measurement instrument.
Accuracy Analysis of Stereo Side-Looking Radar * Radar stereo geometry and the accuracy of derived coordinates and coordinate differences

Renewed interest exists in stereo side-looking radar in the context of satellite projects to map the surface of the Earth and of Venus (Venus Orbital Imaging Radar, VOIR) . This has led to the present review of known facts about stereoscopic vision with radar, of vertical exaggeration, of radar stereo geometry, and of the accuracy of radar derived coordinates and coordinate differences. have had the lunar Apollo-17-ALSE and Seasat-A projects, and many other satellite radar projects are being discussed or are in preparation, of which a rather spectacular one may be the Venus Orbital Imaging Radar (with the judicious acronym VOIR, which is French for "to see"). It is in the context of this development that stereo SLR analyses not only serve an academic interest but also may find an actual application in the * This paper is an abbreviated version of JPL Publication 79-17, Accuracy Aspects of Stereo Side-Looking Radar, March 1, 1979, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. The work was performed at JPL while the author was on leave from the Technical University, Graz. Generally the term stereo refers to visual perception when an observer views an overlapping stereo image pair and in his brain forms a three-dimensional replica of the imaged area. But stereo may also be used for a computation process employing monocular measurements of homologue details in overlapping images. Radar stereo is perceived in a manner similar to its photographic equivalent, although geometries are quite different as is demonstrated in Figure 1. Our understanding of visual SLR-stereo is largely due to the work of LaPrade (1963, 1970, 1975). Accuracy analyses were performed by several authors. Innes (1964), Rosenfield (1968), LaPrade (1970), Gracie et al. (1970), Konecny PHOTOGRAMMETRIC NG NEERING A D REMOTE SENSING, Vol. 45, No. 8, August 1979, pp. 1083-1096. PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING, 1979
Gender Stereotype in Prosody : Japanese Interactional Particles

0. Introduction In this paper, I will focus on how prosody affects the interpretation of genderneutral interactional particles ne and yo in Japanese. The interactional particles are potential sites for stereotyping, and "males have flatter intonation patterns than females do in pitch range and pitch heights" (McConnell-Ginet 1983: 73). Based on these assumptions, a purpose of the paper is to find possible answers for the following research questions: I) Will gender stereotype characteristics appear on some of the most frequently used particles such as ne or yo? and 2) Will female-style speech, in general, will be more emphasized than male-style speech? Interactional particles are discourse markers, and by their nature "loosely placed at various points of utterances in conversation" (Reynolds 2000:88). Previous research tried to explain the different functions of the interactional particles in a categorical way. However, there are limitations to this kind of analysis because such particles are emphatic and vague in meaning when used as discourse markers. In other words, it is very difficult to say that ne marks an affirmation or yo marks a suggestion the way one can say that ga marks nominal case or o marks accusative case. For example, the following sentence can be interpreted in different ways according to the prosodic value on the interactional particles.
Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Technology and Applications in Agriculture

Numerous sensors have been developed over time for precision agriculture; though, only recently have these sensors been incorporated into the new realm of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This UAS technology has allowed for a more integrated and optimized approach to various farming tasks such as field mapping, plant stress detection, biomass estimation, weed management, inventory counting, and chemical spraying, among others. These systems can be highly specialized depending on the particular goals of the researcher or farmer, yet many aspects of UAS are similar. All systems require an underlying platform—or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)—and one or more peripherals and sensing equipment such as imaging devices (RGB, multispectral, hyperspectral, near infra-red, RGB depth), gripping tools, or spraying equipment. Along with these wide-ranging peripherals and sensing equipment comes a great deal of data processing. Common tools to aid in this processing include vegetation indices, point clouds, machine learning models, and statistical methods. With any emerging technology, there are also a few considerations that need to be analyzed like legal constraints, economic trade-offs, and ease of use. This review then concludes with a discussion on the pros and cons of this technology, along with a brief outlook into future areas of research regarding UAS technology in agriculture.
GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS: THE CASE OF CARICOM

The removal of artificial barriers and freeing up the international trade process are two aspects of globalisation that could potentially contribute positively to the economic growth and development of CARICOM countries. However, tremendous challenges remain. This research provides compelling evidence that the region has lost grounds in its efforts to create a true path to sustainable development. Our findings imply that the governments of these countries do not fully understand the importance of being competitive or the underlying challenges associated with a globalized environment. Consequently, policies to boost trade are not crafted in a holistic fashion, thus lacking focus in many areas. Hence, our research focuses on this key question: Can CARICOM countries maintain positive economic growth rates in an era of increasing globalization under the same modus operandi--without meaningful improvements in their international competitiveness? Evidence suggests that the region’s trade receipts and, by extension, its wealth, continues to comparatively fall below the more developed nations. Persistent fiscal deterioration, high debt and rising arrears provide tenable support to this conclusion. Despite the openness resulting from globalisation, numerous facets of regional trade, both in products and services, of which CARICOM nations have now devoted significant resources to; have yet to reap expected benefits. The accompanying costs of globalisation have solidified the fundamental importance of efficiency and competitiveness for the survival of small developing nations. Our analysis of the region's state of affairs reveals concerns regarding the measurements and associated levels of competitiveness in trade, compelling swift action at the macro and micro levels to resolve this problem. Conclusively, the crafting of policies which enhance regional competitiveness to support increased global integration through trade and investment, should now become the primary role for governments as they embark on a new sustainable development model.
Saudi Women’s Experiences, Barriers, and Facilitators when Accessing Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Services

Background: Breast cancer is considered the most common cancer among females followed by cancers of the cervix, lung, and stomach. Its mortality can be avoided by early detection. Aim: This thesis aimed to explore Saudi women’s barriers facilitators and experiences, when accessing breast and cervical cancer screening services in the United Kingdom (UK) and Saudi Arabia. Methods: A mixed method approach was used to fulfil the thesis objectives. A quantitative questionnaire was administered to 503 Saudi women living in the United Kingdom and in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was followed up by a qualitative study using seven focus groups discussions. Results: Survey and focus groups provided some consistent findings regarding Saudi women’s perceptions, knowledge, beliefs of the barriers and facilitators in accessing both breast and cervical cancer screening services in the UK and Saudi Arabia. Fear of having cancer and lack of knowledge of the importance of early detection, particularly in cervical cancer were major findings with regard to barriers to attend screening services. However, being employed and highly educated was correlated with better knowledge and awareness of the signs, symptoms, and treatment of both breast and cervical cancer. Participants shared their responsibilities with health professionals and the structure of the health system in the arrangement of early screening of breast and cervical cancers. Additionally, they suggested the role of media, education, and use of places such as mosques in disseminating information about the importance of early cancer detection. Conclusion: While the data reported in this thesis are encouraging, rich and diverse, conclusions must be drawn with caution. Important barriers included health and cultural beliefs and attitudes, language and unsupportive attitudes of health professionals. A majority of Saudi participants believed educational programs would increase breast and cervical cancer awareness and knowledge and use of screening services. The health belief model was utilized to structure and explain the thesis findings and analysis.
Status of SixTrack with collimation

In this paper, we review the functionality and status of the collimation version of SixTrack. It is a simulation tool that contains both an accurate magnetic tracking of an ensemble of particles, as well as a model for particle-matter interaction inside collimators, in order to model the efficiency of a proton collimation system. We summarize recent upgrades and improvements and we review also a benchmark with measured data before finally discussing plans for future development.
Severity of Depression and Relational Functioning.

Introduction: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent psychiatric disorders among general population. According to WHO it will be 2nd most disabling disease by 2020 after Ischemic Heart Disease.MDD has recurring and relapsing course and causes significant functional impairment. Aims & Objective: To assess association between severity of depression and functional impairment as per patient’s and relative’s view. Methodology and Analysis: Hundred patients diagnosed as having MDD according to DSM IV TR were assessed for severity of depression by administering HAM-D scale. Disability was assessed by Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (APA,1994). Result: Compared to patients with moderate depression, those with severe and very severe depression had significantly higher scores on Global Assessment of Relational Functioning Scale from both patient as well as family member interviews. The difference was statistically highly significant (p
Mining Frequent Patterns from Linear Graphs

Text classification tasks such as sentiment and subjectivity prediction require a dependency structure beyond a bag of words. The BACT method by Kudo and Matsumoto (2004) extracts frequent subtrees from the dependency trees by a tree mining method, and uses them as features of AdaBoost. It cannot deal with predicateargument structures (PASs) produced by recent deep parsers, because PAS is represented not as a tree, but as an attributed graph with totally ordered vertices (linear graphs). We propose an efficient frequent mining method for linear graphs based on the reverse search paradigm. In comparison to dependency trees, our graph features were better in accuracy and interpretability, while the efficiency stays competitive.
Induction of cellular senescence as a novel therapeutic strategy for melanoma treatment

Oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) is a well-documented phenomenon both in vitro and in vivo as a tumorsuppression mechanism. It functions as a barrier to tumor initiation and progression. However, tumor cells develop a sophisticated yet not well-understood mechanism to overcome and subsequently repress cellular senescence to facilitate its progression. Here we report our findings on oncogene-induced senescence and therapy-induced senescence in human melanoma cells. Mutated BRAF or NRAS oncogenes can induce senescence in some but not all melanoma cells, whereas some small molecules are more potent triggers of premature senescence in melanoma cells than others. We established an integrated FACS approach to quantify the heterogeneous response of melanoma cells to therapies. Importantly, we identified two distinct forms of therapy-induced senescence, which were dependent on the type of therapy. By implementing a systems biology approach, we identified core senescence components that were sufficient and necessary for the induction of therapy-induced senescence in melanoma cells. Furthermore, we showed that oncogeneinduced senescence in normal cells resembled therapy-induced senescence in cancer cells based on gene expression profiles. Our work unraveled an intimate link between autophagy and senescence in melanoma cells undergoing therapy-induced senescence. We proved that combination therapy might not necessarily lead to synergy but antagonism, depending on which pathways were targeted. Thus we present the rationale for utilizing pro-senescence therapy as a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with advanced melanoma, and suggest that pro-senescence therapy should be combined with other targeted therapies or immunotherapies to maximize cell death. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Bioengineering First Advisor Meenhard Herlyn
Aalborg Universitet Substitution of Fish for Red Meat or Poultry and Risk of Ischemic Stroke

We investigated the risk of ischemic stroke and its subtypes when red meat or poultry was substituted with fish. A total of 57,053 participants aged 50–65 years at baseline were included in the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study. All participants filled in a food-frequency questionnaire at recruitment. Potential ischemic stroke cases were identified by linkage to the Danish National Patient Register, and all cases were validated and subclassified. Substitutions were investigated as 150 g/week of fish for 150 g/week of red meat or of poultry using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models. During 13.5 years of follow-up, 1879 participants developed an ischemic stroke. Replacing red meat or poultry with fish was not associated with the rate of total ischemic stroke, but there was a statistically significant lower rate of large artery atherosclerosis when fish replaced processed (hazard ratio (HR): 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.67; 0.90) and unprocessed (HR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.75; 0.99) red meat. A statistically significant higher rate of cardioembolism was found when poultry was replaced by total fish (HR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.04; 1.93). When fatty fish replaced unprocessed red meat, a statistically significant lower rate of small-vessel occlusion was found (HR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.77; 0.99). In conclusion, replacing red meat with fish was not associated with risk of total ischemic stroke but was associated with a lower risk of subtypes of ischemic stroke.