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Shadowing and illumination variations, caused by scene topography or non-uniform lighting, are present in virtually all image data. Given its prevalence and nuisance value when making quantitative image measurements, the development of accurate shading compensation techniques is essential. The linear mixture model of image formation is broadly employed when dealing with hyperspectral data but makes no explicit provision for shading and this can lead to inaccurate analysis results. In this reported work, the effect of shading on a hyperspectral image is demonstrated, and new methods for mitigating the effect using a forced-zero endmember and conical sub-simplex projection are presented. It is shown that together they provide the most accurate and theoretically sound shadow-corrected data. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Terminology dealing with ice nucleation in the atmosphere, in biological systems, and in other areas has not kept pace with the growth of empirical evidence and the development of new ideas over recent decades. Ambiguities and misinterpretations could be seen in the literature. This paper offers a set of definitions for various terms in common use, adds some qualifications, and introduces some new ones. Input has been received on the interpretation of various terms from a fair number of researchers; diverse views have been accommodated with some success. It is anticipated that the terminology proposed here will be helpful both to those who adopt it and to those who wish to explain a different perspective.

Since September, the U.S. has launched more than two dozen strikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Here's how we got here.

Here, we demonstrate that subject motion produces substantial changes in the timecourses of resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) data despite compensatory spatial registration and regression of motion estimates from the data. These changes cause systematic but spurious correlation structures throughout the brain. Specifically, many long-distance correlations are decreased by subject motion, whereas many short-distance correlations are increased. These changes in rs-fcMRI correlations do not arise from, nor are they adequately countered by, some common functional connectivity processing steps. Two indices of data quality are proposed, and a simple method to reduce motion-related effects in rs-fcMRI analyses is demonstrated that should be flexibly implementable across a variety of software platforms. We demonstrate how application of this technique impacts our own data, modifying previous conclusions about brain development. These results suggest the need for greater care in dealing with subject motion, and the need to critically revisit previous rs-fcMRI work that may not have adequately controlled for effects of transient subject movements. ► Large changes in rs-fcMRI timecourses coincide with motion despite motion regression. ► Motion increases short-distance correlations and decreases long-distance correlations. ► Motion artifacts do not arise from, and are not fully countered by, motion regressions. ► Framewise indices of data quality and methods to remove motion artifact are proposed.

The major global concern on energy is focused on conventional fossil resources. The burning of fossil fuels is an origin of greenhouse gas emissions resulting in the utmost threat to the environment and subsequently which leads to global climate changes. As far as sustainability is concerned, fuels and materials derived from organic or plant wastes overcome this downside establishing the solution to the fossil resource crisis. In this context, exploration of agricultural residue appears to be a suitable alternative of non-renewable resources to support the environmental feasibility and meet the high energy crisis. The use of agricultural waste as a feedstock for the biorefinery approach emerges to be an eco-friendly process for the production of biofuel and value-added chemicals, intensifying energy security. Therefore, a prospective choice of this renewable biomass for the synthesis of green fuel and other green biochemicals comes up with a favorable outcome in terms of cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Exploiting different agricultural biomass and exploring various biomass conversion techniques, biorefinery generates bioenergy in a strategic way which eventually fits in a circular bioeconomy. Sources and production of agricultural waste are critically explained in this paper, which provides a path for further value addition by various technologies. Biorefinery solutions, along with a life cycle assessment of agricultural waste biomass toward a wide array of value-added products aiding the bioeconomy, are summarized in this paper.

Using a comprehensive sample of trades from Schedule 13D filings by activist investors, we study how measures of adverse selection respond to informed trading. We find that on days when activists accumulate shares, measures of adverse selection and of stock illiquidity are lower, even though prices are positively impacted. Two channels help explain this phenomenon: (1) activists select times of higher liquidity when they trade, and (2) activists use limit orders. We conclude that, when informed traders can select when and how to trade, standard measures of adverse selection may fail to capture the presence of informed trading.

With the ever-increasing development of technology and its integration into users’ private and professional life, a decision regarding its acceptance or rejection still remains an open question. A respectable amount of work dealing with the technology acceptance model (TAM), from its first appearance more than a quarter of a century ago, clearly indicates a popularity of the model in the field of technology acceptance. Originated in the psychological theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior, TAM has evolved to become a key model in understanding predictors of human behavior toward potential acceptance or rejection of the technology. The main aim of the paper is to provide an up-to-date, well-researched resource of past and current references to TAM-related literature and to identify possible directions for future TAM research. The paper presents a comprehensive concept-centric literature review of the TAM, from 1986 onwards. According to a designed methodology, 85 scientific publications have been selected and classified according to their aim and content into three categories such as (i) TAM literature reviews, (ii) development and extension of TAM, and (iii) modification and application of TAM. Despite a continuous progress in revealing new factors with significant influence on TAM’s core variables, there are still many unexplored areas of model potential application that could contribute to its predictive validity. Consequently, four possible future directions for TAM research based on the conducted literature review and analysis are identified and presented.

Speech processing for under-resourced languages is an active field of research, which has experienced significant progress during the past decade. We propose, in this paper, a survey that focuses on automatic speech recognition (ASR) for these languages. The definition of under-resourced languages and the challenges associated to them are first defined. The main part of the paper is a literature review of the recent (last 8 years) contributions made in ASR for under-resourced languages. Examples of past projects and future trends when dealing with under-resourced languages are also presented. We believe that this paper will be a good starting point for anyone interested to initiate research in (or operational development of) ASR for one or several under-resourced languages. It should be clear, however, that many of the issues and approaches presented here, apply to speech technology in general (text-to-speech synthesis for instance).

El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar las novelas latinoamericanas sobre la piratería del siglo XIX con las novelas sobre el narcotráfico del siglo XX para demostrar que los negocios del crimen organizado crean su propia soberanía yuxtapuesta a la soberanía estatal y que tanto los piratas como los narcotraficantes están en la constante renegociación de su relación con el Estado. Las novelas que se tomarán en cuenta son: del siglo XIX, El filibustero (1864), del escritor mexicano Eligio Ancona, y Los piratas en Cartagena (1886), de la escritora colombiana Soledad Acosta de Samper; del siglo XX, Contrabando (1991), del escritor mexicano Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda, y La Virgen de los Sicarios (1994), del escritor colombiano Fernando Vallejo. El trabajo se divide en dos apartados; el primer apartado trabaja la relación entre los piratas y narcotraficantes con el Estado. Se discuten las actitudes de los escritores de la época hacia el Estado y las implicaciones de los actores estatales en el negocio ilegal. El segundo apartado discute la existencia de las soberanías yuxtapuestas que se representan a través la creación del imaginario social de la piratería y del narcotráfico. Partiendo de los recursos históricos y políticos sobre la piratería y el narcotráfico, este trabajo pretende crear un ambiente interdisciplinario para discutir el crimen organizado en la literatura y su influencia política en la sociedad. PALABRAS CLAVE: piratería, narcotráfico, soberanía, Estado, ambigüedad, literatura instrumental The aim of this paper is to compare 19th-century Latin American novels about piracy with 20th-century novels about drug trafficking in order to demonstrate that organized crime creates its own sovereignty juxtaposed with state sovereignty and that both pirates and drug traffickers are constantly renegotiating their relationship with the state. The literary corpus from the 19th century includes El filibustero (1864), by Mexican writer Eligio Ancona, and Los piratas en Cartagena (1886), by Colombian writer Soledad Acosta de Samper; from the 20th century, Contrabando (1991), by Mexican writer Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda, and La Virgen de los Sicarios (1994), by Colombian writer Fernando Vallejo. This paper is divided into two sections; the first section deals with the relationship between pirates and drug traffickers and the State. It discusses the attitudes of the writers towards the State and the implications of the State actors in the illegal business. The second section discusses the existence of juxtaposed sovereignties represented through the creation of the social imaginary of piracy and drug trafficking. Drawing on historical and political resources on piracy and drug trafficking, this paper aims to create an interdisciplinary environment to discuss organized crime in literature and its political influence on society. KEYWORDS: piracy, drug trafficking, sovereignty, State, ambiguity, instrumental literature