Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dual-Band Vertically Stacked Laminated Waveguide Filter Design in LTCC Technology

A new design method of dual-band filters with laminated waveguide (or substrate integrated waveguide) is proposed by taking advantage of the existence of multiple cavity modes. The major design concept is adequately choosing geometric shape of laminated waveguide resonators to control the frequency bands, and positions of open slots and feeding probes to realize the desired coupling coefficients and external quality factors at both bands simultaneously. Two design examples with third-order and quasi-elliptic filter responses are given and verified by experiments. By using the low-temperature co-fired ceramic technology, the laminated waveguide resonators are vertically stacked, and the filter size can be miniaturized.
Overcrowding, Overtourism and Local Level Disturbance: How Much Can Munich Handle?

ABSTRACT City tourism has been booming for years. As a result, the number of tourists per inhabitant increases in many city destinations. This can lead to conflicts over the simultaneous (over-)use of spaces, often referred to as overtourism. Therefore, many studies of over-visited city destinations focus on the social carrying capacity. Whereas many studies investigate one aspect created by overtourism, the present study concentrates on the city as a whole with all its distinct tourist phenomena. Against this background the social carrying capacity of Munich is analyzed by focusing on the perception and evaluation of different forms of tourism in Munich and their specific impact on the daily life of the inhabitants. A survey conducted in 2018 identifies how the inhabitants of Munich perceive different forms of urban tourism, how much they feel disturbed by them and how they react to them, for example by avoiding the identified tourist spaces. The paper outlines that there are different forms of overtourism, and the phenomenon tends to be more complex than the term suggests, and that it is crucial to differentiate between the various forms of urban tourism depending on the number of tourists, their characteristics, and their spatial and temporal distribution.
Calculation of vertical bearing capacity factor of strip footing by FEM

This paper presents the calculation of vertical bearing capacity factor Nγ of strip footings, which is generally representative of the footing of the buildings, by using the finite element algorithm based elasto-viscoplastic solution. The soil behaviour is idealized as elastic perfectly plastic satisfying the Mohr Coulomb yield criterion with only non-associated flow rules because it tends to treat the actual behaviour of soil in which value of its frictional angle is always different from that of dilative angle. The total bearing resistance is computed using the superposition assumption in Terzaghi classical equation of the three basic components. The comparison of the present solutions with the previous published works including experimental and numerical studies have been presented and discussed. The results reveal in close agreement with the existing published data. In the nutshell, by applying the non-associated soil flow rule representing the real behaviour of soil, the conservation of the superposition assumption is confirmed. Therefore, it could conclude that the results obtaining from these techniques may be confidently applied to a wide range of soil bearing resistance problems.
Strategies to Fight Stigma toward People with Mental Disorders: Perspectives from Different Stakeholders

This study aims to provide a more complete and exhaustive perspective on the whole range of potential strategies to fight stigma by considering the perspectives of different stakeholders. Delegates to a Canadian conference were invited to participate in a survey that focused on stigma, from which the responses to the following question were analyzed: tell us briefly what you do to reduce prejudice and stigma toward people with a diagnosis of mental disorder? From 253 participants, 15 categories of strategies to fight stigma were identified from the verbatim (e.g., sharing/encouraging disclosure). These categories fell under six main themes: education, contact, protestation, person centered, working on recovery and social inclusion, and reflexive consciousness. The occurrence of these themes was different among stakeholders (clinical, organizational, and experiential knowledge). For example, people with mental disorders (experiential knowledge) often mentioned contact and person centered strategies, while mental health professionals (clinical knowledge) preferred education and working on recovery and social inclusion strategies. The results from this study highlight the need to pay more attention to the concept of disclosure of mental disorders in the process for de-stigmatization. Future studies are needed to assess the impact of the emerging strategies to fight stigma in the community.
Relation of cerebral blood flow to motor and cognitive functions in chronic stroke patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The aim of this study was to examine the levels of cerebral blood flow in relation to motor and cognitive functions in 300 chronic unilateral stroke patients (age, 64 +/- 12 years; mean +/- SD). METHODS Cerebral blood flow was measured by the 133Xe inhalation method, adjusted for age, sex, and PCO2 level. Motor function was scored according to Brunnstrom hemiplegic staging and cognitive function according to the Hasegawa dementia rating scale tested in Japanese. RESULTS Asymmetries of blood flow between affected and nonaffected hemispheres increased with lesion size and were highest in 11 embolic strokes (20 +/- 9%) and higher in 80 nonembolic cortical infarctions (11 +/- 11%) and 76 hemorrhages (9 +/- 7%) than in the group of 133 subcortical infarctions (2 +/- 6%) or 16 control subjects (1 +/- 2%). Severity of hemiparesis correlated with decreased cerebral blood flow in the affected hemisphere (P < .01) and increased hemispheric asymmetries of blood flow (P < 001). Cognitive impairments, after adjusting for age, correlated with decreased cerebral blood flow in the nonaffected hemisphere (P < .0001), left hemispheric lesions (P < .0005), and embolic stroke (P < .005) but not with asymmetries of blood flow. Among 67 patients having bilateral reductions of cerebral blood flow, 25 patients with left hemispheric lesions showed more severe cognitive impairments than among 42 patients with right hemispheric lesions (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS We confirmed that severity of hemiparesis correlated with the degree of asymmetries of cerebral blood flow, reflecting the extent and location of the lesions. Bilateral reductions of cerebral blood flow in patients with left hemispheric lesions may in part contribute to cognitive impairments, indicating reductions of global neuronal activities in the contralateral hemisphere or diffuse cerebrovascular changes. Further studies of cerebral metabolism and follow-up of cerebral circulation are required to reveal the pathophysiology and clinical consequences.
Comparison of Shear-Wave Slowness Profiles at 10 Strong-Motion Sites from Noninvasive SASW Measurements and Measurements Made in Boreholes

The spectral-analysis-of-surface-waves (SASW) method is a relatively new in situ method for determining shear-wave slownesses. All measurements are made on the ground surface, making it much less costly than methods that require boreholes. The SASW method uses a number of active sources (ranging from a commercial Vibroseis truck to a small handheld hammer for the study conducted here) and different receiver spacings to map a curve of apparent phase velocity versus frequency. With the simplifying assumption that the phase velocities correspond to fundamental mode surface waves, forward modeling yields an estimate of the subsurface shear-wave slownesses. To establish the reliability of this indirect technique, we conducted a blind evaluation of the SASW method. SASW testing was performed at 10 strong-motion stations at which borehole seismic measurements were previously or subsequently made; if previously made, the borehole results were not used for the interpretation of the SASW data, and vice-versa. Comparisons of the shear-wave slownesses from the SASW and borehole measurements are generally very good. The differences in predicted ground-motion amplifications are less than about 15% for most frequencies. In addition, both methods gave the same NEHRP site classification for seven of the sites. For the other three sites the average velocities from the downhole measurements were only 5-13 m/sec larger than the velocity defining the class C/D boundary. This study demonstrates that in many situations the SASW method can provide subsurface information suitable for site response predictions. Manuscript received 18 January 2002.
Chandra’s View of the Ram Pressure Stripped Galaxy M86

We present results from a mosaic of nine Chandra observations of M86 and the surrounding field. We detect three main diffuse components: the Virgo intracluster medium (ICM), the extended halo of M86, and the cooler central and stripped gas of M86. The most striking feature is a long tail of emission, which consists of a plume ~4′ north of M86 and two main extensions emanating from the plume. We conclude that it is formed by ram pressure stripping of M86 as it falls into the Virgo Cluster and interacts with the Virgo ICM, in agreement with earlier work. The tail is 150 kpc in projection, and a simple estimate gives a lower limit on the true length of the tail of 380 kpc, making this the longest ram pressure stripped tail currently known. The total gas mass in the plume (~7 × 108 M☉) and tail (~1 × 109 M☉) is about 3 times that in the core of M86, which supports the scenario where most of the gas was stripped rapidly and recently. The projected position of the plume can be understood if M86 has an aspherical potential. Ram pressure stripping from an aspherical potential can also explain the split “double tails” seen in M86 and in other Virgo Cluster galaxies in the field. The large line-of-sight velocity of M86 (1550 km s−1 with respect to M87), its position relative to the Virgo Cluster, and the orientation of the tail tightly constrain its orbital parameters.
The Association of Parental Monitoring and Peer Rejection on Antisocial Behavior among Malaysian Juvenile Offenders

ABSTRACT Frequent reports concerning vandalism, bullying, and other delinquent behaviors have revealed that antisocial behaviors among adolescents are a major social issue in Malaysia. This study examined the relationships between poor parental monitoring, peer rejection, and antisocial behavior of Malaysian juvenile offenders. The participants consisted of three hundred and sixty (n = 360) juvenile offenders. Participants were selected randomly from three juvenile rehabilitation residential schools (Tunas Bakti Schools; TBS). The findings revealed a gender difference in antisocial behavior with a significant positive relationship between poor parental monitoring, peer rejection, and antisocial behavior. Parental monitoring was the strongest predictor of antisocial behavior among Malaysian juvenile offenders, followed by peer rejection. The result of the study reveals the importance of developing integrated preventive intervention programs focusing on positive parenting monitoring practices and the development of self-resilience among juvenile offenders
Information systems project teams: factors for high performance

Purpose The purpose of this research is twofold: identify and gain a better insight on factors that can influence high performance of Information Systems (IS) project teams from the perspective of IS professionals (i.e. team members and leaders), and thus contribute to the general discussion on high-performance project teams; and offer both IS project team members and their project managers some feedback on how to build and manage teams more constructively and to enhance team performance in today’s demanding business environment. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an exploratory case study of a small-size holding company and a qualitative analysis of the data to address the research questions. Findings Results show a set of perceived factors that can influence high team performance in IS projects. Participants’ perceptions barely coincide. For instance, mutual trust was the only factor suggested as facilitating high team performance by 5 participants (out of 13). Differences may be because of participants’ characteristics (e.g. time on the job). All perceived factors are classified in the literature as nontechnical (i.e. having to do with behavioral and/or socio-organizational matters of project management). Originality/value This paper is among the very few empirical studies consolidating knowledge on high-performance IS project teams (e.g. it is still unclear if there are IS project team-specific factors that influence high performance). For the highly technical IS industry, this study came across human-centric factors transversal to different project teams.
Emotional responses to thermal stimuli

The present aim was to study if thermal stimuli presented to the palm can affect emotional responses when measured with emotion related subjective rating scales and changes in skin conductance response (SCR). Two target temperatures, cold and warm, were created by either decreasing or increasing the temperature of the stimulus 4 °C in respect to the participants current hand temperature. Both cold and warm stimuli were presented by using two presentation methods, i.e., dynamic and pre-adjusted. The results showed that both the dynamic and pre-adjusted warm stimuli elevated the ratings of arousal and dominance. In addition, the pre-adjusted warm and cold stimuli elevated the SCR. The results suggest that especially pre-adjusted warm stimuli can be seen as effective in activating the autonomic nervous system and arousal and dominance dimensions of the affective rating space.
Treatment response, safety, and tolerability of paliperidone extended release treatment in patients recently diagnosed with schizophrenia

Objective: This study was designed to explore the efficacy and tolerability of oral paliperidone extended release (ER) in a sample of patients who were switched to flexible doses within the crucial first 5 years after receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Methods: Patients were recruited from 23 countries. Adults with nonacute but symptomatic schizophrenia, previously unsuccessfully treated with other oral antipsychotics, were transitioned to paliperidone ER (3–12 mg/day) and prospectively treated for up to 6 months. The primary efficacy outcome for patients switching for the main reason of lack of efficacy with their previous antipsychotic was at least 20% improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores. For patients switching for other main reasons, such as lack of tolerability, compliance or ‘other’, the primary outcome was non-inferiority in efficacy compared with the previous oral antipsychotic. Results: For patients switching for the main reason of lack of efficacy, 63.1% achieved an improvement of at least 20% in PANSS total scores from baseline to endpoint. For each reason for switching other than lack of efficacy, efficacy maintenance after switching to paliperidone ER was confirmed. Statistically significant improvement in patient functioning from baseline to endpoint, as assessed by the Personal and Social Performance scale, was observed (p < 0.0001). Treatment satisfaction with prior antipsychotic treatment at baseline was rated ‘good’ to ‘very good’ by 16.8% of patients, and at endpoint by 66.0% of patients treated with paliperidone ER. Paliperidone ER was generally well tolerated, with frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse events being insomnia, anxiety and somnolence. Conclusions: Flexibly dosed paliperidone ER was associated with clinically relevant symptomatic and functional improvement in recently diagnosed patients with non-acute schizophrenia previously unsuccessfully treated with other oral antipsychotics.
Interrater reliability of the authorized Italian version of the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS-ITA)

1 Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addiction, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy; 2 School of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical, Diagnostic and Public Health Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; 3 Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addiction, Azienda USL di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; 4 Intensive Care Unit, Guastalla Civil Hospital, Azienda USLIRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy; 5 Division of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY 2018, Epub, Dec 21
De novo variants in population constrained fetal brain enhancers and intellectual disability

Purpose The genetic aetiology of a major fraction of patients with intellectual disability (ID) remains unknown. De novo mutations (DNMs) in protein-coding genes explain up to 40% of cases, but the potential role of regulatory DNMs is still poorly understood. Methods We sequenced 70 whole genomes from 24 ID probands and their unaffected parents and analyzed 30 previously sequenced genomes from exome-negative ID probands. Results We found that DNVs were selectively enriched in fetal brain-specific enhancers that show purifying selection in human population. DNV containing enhancers were associated with genes that show preferential expression in the pre-frontal cortex, have been previously implicated in ID or related disorders, and exhibit intolerance to loss of function variants. DNVs from ID probands preferentially disrupted putative binding sites of neuronal transcription factors, as compared to DNVs from healthy individuals and most showed allele-specific enhancer activity. In addition, we identified recurrently mutated enhancer clusters that regulate genes involved in nervous system development (CSMD1, OLFM1 and POU3F3). Moreover, CRISPR-based perturbation of a DNV-containing enhancer caused CSMD1 overexpression and abnormal expression of neurodevelopmental regulators. Conclusion Our results, therefore, provide new evidence to indicate that DNVs in constrained fetal brain-specific enhancers play a role in the etiology of ID.
Bayesian topic models for describing computer network behaviors

We consider the use of Bayesian topic models in the analysis of computer network traffic. Our approach utilizes latent Dirichlet allocation and time-varying dynamic latent Dirichlet allocation, with the goal of identifying significant co-occurrences of types of network traffic, these forming topics of user behavior. In our experiments, these topics of user behavior included: (i) web traffic, (ii) email client and instant messaging, (iii) Microsoft file access, (iv) email server, and (v) other miscellaneous traffic. Each identified behavior topic included a variety of different, but related, protocols without using any a priori knowledge of the purpose of the protocol. We believe that the techniques presented in this paper can be used to form more complex topics through the use of deep packet inspection, and that such topic models could prove useful in the identification of zero-day exploits or other network threats.
Determination of Perception and Adaptive Capacity towards Climate Change among Paddy Farmers in State of Kelantan, Malaysia

Rapid changes in the climatic factors affect paddy farming in Malaysia. As Kelantan is the most vulnerable state to climate variations, its paddy production is negatively affected. Proper mitigation and adaptation approach can reduce paddy farmers’ vulnerability to climate change. Hence, it is important to the paddy farmers to cope with climate change by having the right perception to ensure farmers take the right decisions on dealing with climate change. There are four objectives of this study which include estimating the trend of climate change in Kelantan using Mann-Kendall test, determining paddy farmers’ perceptions towards climate change, measuring paddy farmers’ adaptive capability using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and ascertaining associated factors of the adaptive capacity of paddy farmers using Binary Logistic Regression. Results showed that majority (85.9%) of paddy farmers in Kelantan perceived changes in climate but only 62.9% of paddy farmers were highly adaptive towards climate change. Finally, age, monthly income, and district were found to be significantly associated with paddy farmers’ adaptive capacity towards climate change. Although, most paddy farmers in Kelantan were highly adaptive towards climate change, government and related agencies still need to take some efforts and initiatives to enhance the farmers’ adaptation towards climate change.
ℓ1-regularized Neural Networks are Improperly Learnable in Polynomial Time

We study the improper learning of multi-layer neural networks. Suppose that the neural network to be learned has $k$ hidden layers and that the $\ell_1$-norm of the incoming weights of any neuron is bounded by $L$. We present a kernel-based method, such that with probability at least $1 - \delta$, it learns a predictor whose generalization error is at most $\epsilon$ worse than that of the neural network. The sample complexity and the time complexity of the presented method are polynomial in the input dimension and in $(1/\epsilon,\log(1/\delta),F(k,L))$, where $F(k,L)$ is a function depending on $(k,L)$ and on the activation function, independent of the number of neurons. The algorithm applies to both sigmoid-like activation functions and ReLU-like activation functions. It implies that any sufficiently sparse neural network is learnable in polynomial time.
Invasive surgery reduces infarct size and preserves cardiac function in a porcine model of myocardial infarction

Reperfusion injury following myocardial infarction (MI) increases infarct size (IS) and deteriorates cardiac function. Cardioprotective strategies in large animal MI models often failed in clinical trials, suggesting translational failure. Experimentally, MI is induced artificially and the effect of the experimental procedures may influence outcome and thus clinical applicability. The aim of this study was to investigate if invasive surgery, as in the common open chest MI model affects IS and cardiac function. Twenty female landrace pigs were subjected to MI by transluminal balloon occlusion. In 10 of 20 pigs, balloon occlusion was preceded by invasive surgery (medial sternotomy). After 72 hrs, pigs were subjected to echocardiography and Evans blue/triphenyl tetrazoliumchloride double staining to determine IS and area at risk. Quantification of IS showed a significant IS reduction in the open chest group compared to the closed chest group (IS versus area at risk: 50.9 ± 5.4% versus 69.9 ± 3.4%, P = 0.007). End systolic LV volume and LV ejection fraction measured by echocardiography at follow‐up differed significantly between both groups (51 ± 5 ml versus 65 ± 3 ml, P = 0.033; 47.5 ± 2.6% versus 38.8 ± 1.2%, P = 0.005). The inflammatory response in the damaged myocardium did not differ between groups. This study indicates that invasive surgery reduces IS and preserves cardiac function in a porcine MI model. Future studies need to elucidate the effect of infarct induction technique on the efficacy of pharmacological therapies in large animal cardioprotection studies.
Coordination and partnering structure are vital domains in collaborative business-IT alignment: Elaborating on the ICoNOs MM

Current business-IT alignment (B-ITa) maturity models are oriented to single organizations and fail in taking special characteristics of collaborative networked organizations (CNOs) into account, such as the need for considering domains like coordination and partnering structure. In this paper, we elaborate on these two domains which are included in our IT-enabled Collaborative Networked Organizations Maturity Model (ICoNOs MM).