Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Field-Programmable Microwave Substrate

A novel low-loss programmable microwave waveguide is demonstrated. The waveguide is developed for applications in field-programmable microwave circuits with similar levels of programmability as that seen in field-programmable gate arrays. The waveguide is realized with a field-programmable microwave substrate (FPMS). The substrate consists of small unit cells that can be individually reconfigured to have a range of positive dielectric constants or a negative dielectric constant. The substrate is contained in a metal parallel plate structure. Programming a positive material sandwiched between two negative material sidewalls results in a waveguide that behaves in a way that is described by the slab waveguide equations. Miniaturization and increased density of unit cells can result in lower loss and better performance. Two implementations of the FPMS are presented. One implementation is on FR4 using all industry standard processes and components. The other implementation uses low-temperature cofired ceramic and custom designed CMOS chips. The FR4 implementation is used to demonstrate programmable waveguides, amplifiers, and oscillators from 0.9 to 3 GHz. The LTCC implementation is used to demonstrate miniaturization of the FPMS. The proposed FPMS concept promises a new era of programmable microwave circuit design for cognitive radio, the Internet of things, and self-healing/adaptive systems.
Fostering students' independence in modelling activities

Over the last twenty years, research on the teaching of mathematical modelling has recognized the difficulties that students encounter in becoming independent modellers. In this paper, we put forward the notion that supporting and preserving student independence should be a central principle in guiding teaching practices that support students’ modelling activities. This potentially provides new ways to address the tensions, dilemmas and in the moment decision making that occurs when teaching mathematical modelling. We provide empirical evidence of teaching practices that encourage students’ self-evaluation of their modelling activities in ways that foster their independence as learners and modellers.
A generic CAD model for arbitrarily shaped and multi-layer integrated inductors on silicon substrates

A genetic and process-independent lumped element model for simulating the performance of arbitrarily shaped and multi-layer inductors on silicon substrates is presented. Integrated inductors are modeled using an equivalent two-port network for each segment of the spiral. An algorithm that extracts the complete circuit is presented in detail. Element value calculation is based on microstrip line properties, considering magnetic and capacitive coupling, substrate losses, conductor skin effect and image current on the ground plane. Octagonal, square and two-layer integrated spiral inductors were designed and fabricated using three different processes. Measurement results confirm the accuracy of the model.
An improved algorithm for Hausdorff Voronoi diagram for non-crossing sets ∗†‡

We present an improved algorithm for building a Hausdorff Voronoi diagram (HVD) for non-crossing objects. Our algorithm runs in O(n log 4 n) time, where n is the total number of points defining the objects in the plane. This improves on previous results and solves an open problem posed by Papadopoulou and Lee [15]. Moreover, our algorithm is parallelizable. In cluster computing architectures (such as Coarse-Grained Multicomputer (CGM) [4]) our parallel algorithm for computing HVD for non-crossing objects attains speedup that is linearly proportional to the number of processors.
Subgroups of the Torelli group

v Chapter 1: Introduction and Background . 1 1.1 SIP-maps . 2 1.2 The Symmetric Torelli Group . 4 1.3 Background . 8 Chapter 2: SIP-maps . 13 2.1 Basic Facts About SIP-maps . 13 2.2 The SIP(Sg) Group. 16 2.3 Reinterpreting Relations . 24 2.4 Birman-Craggs-Johnson Homomorphism . 26 Chapter 3: The Symmetric Torelli Group . 36 3.
Estimating abundances of retroviral insertion sites from DNA fragment length data

MOTIVATION The relative abundance of retroviral insertions in a host genome is important in understanding the persistence and pathogenesis of both natural retroviral infections and retroviral gene therapy vectors. It could be estimated from a sample of cells if only the host genomic sites of retroviral insertions could be directly counted. When host genomic DNA is randomly broken via sonication and then amplified, amplicons of varying lengths are produced. The number of unique lengths of amplicons of an insertion site tends to increase according to its abundance, providing a basis for estimating relative abundance. However, as abundance increases amplicons of the same length arise by chance leading to a non-linear relation between the number of unique lengths and relative abundance. The difficulty in calibrating this relation is compounded by sample-specific variations in the relative frequencies of clones of each length. RESULTS A likelihood function is proposed for the discrete lengths observed in each of a collection of insertion sites and is maximized with a hybrid expectation-maximization algorithm. Patient data illustrate the method and simulations show that relative abundance can be estimated with little bias, but that variation in highly abundant sites can be large. In replicated patient samples, variation exceeds what the model implies-requiring adjustment as in Efron (2004) or using jackknife standard errors. Consequently, it is advantageous to collect replicate samples to strengthen inferences about relative abundance.
On the Design of a Failure Detection Service for Large-Scale Distributed Systems

It is widely recognized that distributed systems would greatly benefit from the availability of a generic failure detection service. There are however several issues that must be addressed before such a service can actually be implemented. In this paper, we highlight the main issues related to ensuring failure detection in large-scale systems, and overview the main solutions proposed in the literature so far. Then, we outline a pragmatic architecture for a failure detector service based on the'-failure detector, and a combination of techniques proposed in related work.
Chapter 2 Cell Culture Systems for Hepatitis C Virus

Due to the obligatory intracellular life style of viruses, cell culture systems for efficient viral propagation are crucial to obtain a detailed understanding of the virus host cell interaction. For hepatitis C virus (HCV) the development of permissive and authentic culture models has been and continues to be a challenging task. The first ef­ forts to culture HCV had limited success and range back to before the virus was molecularly cloned in 1989. Since then several major breakthroughs have gradually overcome limitations in culturing the virus and sequentially permitted analysis of viral RNA replication, cell entry and ultimately the complete replication cycle in cultured cells in 2005. Until today, basic and applied HCV research greatly benefit from these tremendous efforts which spurred multiple com­ plementary cell based model systems for distinct steps of the HCV replication cycle. When used in combination they now permit deep insights into the fascinating biology of HCV and its interplay with the host cell. In fact drug development has been much facilitated and our understanding of the molecular determinants of HCV replication has grown in parallel to these advances. Building on this ground­ work and further refining our cellular models to better mimic the ar­ chitecture, polarization and differentiation of natural hepatocytes should reveal novel unique aspects of HCV replication. Ultimately, models to culture primary HCV isolates across all genotypes may teach us important new lessons about viral functional adaptations that have evolved in exchange with its human host and that may ex­ plain the variable natural course of hepatitis C.
The effect of stress-related factors on depressive state among medical residents

Background: Medical residents are at a high risk of depression. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) job stress model explains that job stressors, buffer factors, and individual factors are related to worker health, including depression. This study investigated which job stressors and buffer factors influence depression in residents, independent of individual factors.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to second-year residents at 251 teaching hospitals. The questionnaire contained the Brief Scales for Job Stress (BSJS), the Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale, and questions on working hours and demographic characteristics. The BSJS is composed of six subscales including workload, mental workload, problems in personal relationships, job control, reward from work, and support from colleagues and superiors. The SOC includes individual factors about life stressors and health. We analyzed the relationship between depressive symptoms and these factors.Results: Among 1,121 second-year residents who responded (64.5% response rate), 274 (24.4%) had depressive symptoms. In the multivariable analysis, depressive symptoms were significantly associated with SOC-13 score (p < 0.001), mental workload (p < 0.01), problems in personal relationships (p < 0.001), and reward from work (p < 0.01). Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with mean number of hours worked per week.Conclusion: Mental workload and problems in personal relationships are job stressors and reward from work is a buffer factor associated with depressive symptoms in medical residents. These findings can help residency programs support mental health of residents more effectively.
Elementary students’ perceptions of their classroom activities in China: A validation study

ABSTRACT This study is to investigate whether My Class Activities (MCA; Gentry & Gable, 2001a), an instrument developed to measure students’ perceptions of their classroom activities, yields valid data when used with elementary students in China after translation into Chinese. The four factors measured by the instrument (Interest, Challenge, Choice, and Enjoyment) are related closely to students’ motivation and optimal learning as described in Chinese literature. Data from 943 elementary students from a school in mid-China were used in the analyses from an elementary school. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a four correlated factor model with all 31 items was not a good fit to the data. Factor loadings were checked, and two items were removed from the “challenge” factor. A second four correlated factor model with 29 items generated better goodness-of-fit indices. Measurement equivalence of this model was tested between the Chinese and the U.S. sample of 943 students randomly selected from the original normative sample of the MCA. Results indicated partial measurement invariance of the revised instrument. Further research was suggested with implications for practice.
Exposing The American Dilemma: How Aversive Racism Plays a Part in Homicide News Reception

ABSTRACT This study examined whether news stories about violent shooting homicides impact implicit and explicit attitudes about race. To explore these relationships, the authors used a 3 (race: White, Black, control) × 3 (role: victim, perpetrator, control) × 3 (multiple messages) mixed factorial design. The study found that high social dominant-oriented (SDO) individuals expressed more empathy in general, with the most empathy toward Black perpetrators in homicide news stories in comparison to low SDO individuals. Ironically, for high SDO individuals, perpetrators in the stories received more explicit negative Black stereotyping than victim in the stories. These findings indicate that aversive racism occurs in the processing of news stories. This has practical implications for journalists because stereotyping and bias in news coverage could reinforce aversive racism.
Stressors and stressor response levels of Hong Kong primary school music teachers

Responses from 309 randomly sampled Hong Kong primary school music teachers to the shortened version of the Chinese Teacher Stress Questionnaire were subjected to a descriptive percentage analysis, one-way ANOVA and independent t test. Obtained results identify five key stressors: “changing education policy of the government”; “being observed by colleague, student teachers, college tutors, inspectors or parents”; “too much subject matter to teach”; “inclusive education”; and “additional administrative work”. An explanation is offered identifying stressor responses being underpinned by either global or contextual issues, while others by a combination of both. Unlike other studies that found relations between stressors and respondents’ individual characteristics, the results of this study uniquely display no significant statistical evidence to link music teachers’ stressor response levels with age, teaching experience, education, specialization or teaching-related workload. The evidence here supports the view that stressors are neutral and reported stressor response levels reflect global or contextual factors which can be intensified by a combination of both.
Efficacy of a dual-ring wound protector for prevention of incisional surgical site infection after Whipple's procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) with preoperatively-placed intrabiliary stents: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Introduction Among surgical oncology patients, incisional surgical site infection is associated with substantially increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Moreover, while adults undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy with preoperative placement of an intrabiliary stent have a high risk of this type of infection, and wound protectors may significantly reduce its risk, no relevant studies of wound protectors yet exist involving this patient population. This study will evaluate the efficacy of a dual-ring wound protector for prevention of incisional surgical site infection among adults undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy with preoperatively-placed intrabiliary stents. Methods and analysis This study will be a parallel, dual-arm, randomised controlled trial that will utilise a more explanatory than pragmatic attitude. All adults (≥18 years) undergoing a pancreaticoduodenectomy at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with preoperative placement of an intrabiliary stent will be considered eligible. Exclusion criteria will include patient age <18 years and those receiving long-term glucocorticoids. The trial will employ block randomisation to allocate patients to a commercial dual-ring wound protector (the Alexis Wound Protector) or no wound protector and the current standard of care. The main outcome measure will be the rate of surgical site infection as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria within 30 days of the index operation date as determined by a research assistant blinded to treatment allocation. Outcomes will be analysed by a statistician blinded to allocation status by calculating risk ratios and 95% CIs and compared using Fisher's exact test. Ethics and dissemination This will be the first randomised trial to evaluate the efficacy of a dual-ring wound protector for prevention of incisional surgical site infection among patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy. Results of this study are expected to be available in 2016/2017 and will be disseminated using an integrated and end-of-grant knowledge translation strategy. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01836237.
Effect of education on overall and cause-specific mortality in injecting drug users, according to HIV and introduction of HAART.

BACKGROUND We assessed the impact of education on long-term overall and cause-specific mortality among 6575 injecting drug users (IDUs) according to HIV status and introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS Community-based cohort study of IDUs recruited in three AIDS prevention centres (1987-1996). Causes of death were ascertained in clinical centres and Mortality Registry and classified as AIDS, drug use related, injuries, or liver diseases. Poisson regression models including education and calendar period interaction and adjusted by sex, age, and HIV were used. RESULTS In 73 901 person-years of follow-up, there were 1493 deaths (20.2/1000 person-years): 761 related to AIDS, 234 to drug use, 179 to injuries, and 93 to liver diseases. IDUs with university studies had a lower risk of death (RR 0.52; 95% CI 0.36-0.77) than those without studies: this difference was higher after (RR 0.45; 95% CI 0.25-0.80) than before 1997 (RR 0.68; 95% CI 0.41-1.13). Compared to before 1997, while decreases in the risk of AIDS mortality were seen during 1997-2004 for both lower (RR 0.49; 95% CI 0.41-0.58) and higher (RR 0.33; 95% CI 0.23-0.48) educated, only those higher educated experienced a reduction in drug-use mortality (RR 0.54; 95% CI 0.28-1.05) and death from injuries (RR 0.52; 95% CI 0.23-1.21). CONCLUSIONS Independently of HIV status, lower education predicts a higher risk of death in IDUs and its impact is stronger after 1997. Education has a protective effect on most causes of death and it cannot be entirely attributable to the access or use of HAART.
Teenage Moms Become "Twenty-Something:" Paths to Self-Sufficiency

by Christine Claire Willard Noria The stability of resilience of 144 adolescent mothers from pregnancy through 10 years after first becoming a mother was examined. There was considerable instability in resilience during the transition to adulthood: Only 38% of mothers maintained the same resiliency status across time. Three prenatal constructs – cognitive resources, school involvement and success, and adjustment – were used to predict resilience and evaluate its mediational role in maternal outcomes. Each of three predictor constructs were related to maternal adjustment, socioeconomic status and child abuse potential. Additionally, resilience at 5 years mediated the relationships between prenatal characteristics and subsequent outcomes, suggesting that early success in educational attainment, employment, and socioemotional adjustment is the path through which important prenatal characteristics influence 10 year life outcomes.
Dynamical Casimir effect with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions

We derive the radiation pressure force on a nonrelativistic moving plate in 1 + 1 dimensions. We assume that a massless scalar field satisfies either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary condition (BC) at the instantaneous position of the plate. We show that when the state of the field is invariant under time translations, the results derived for Dirichlet and Neumann BC are equal. We discuss the force for a thermal field state as an example for this case. On the other hand, a coherent state introduces a phase reference, and the two types of BC lead to different results.
Race and Rhetoric: An Analysis of College Presidents’ Statements on Campus Racial Incidents

For decades, racial incidents have routinely occurred on college campuses. But today, news about them is more quickly and widely shared because of the public’s access to technology. In response, it is common for senior-level administrators to release statements about racial incidents after an institution receives widespread negative publicity. This study is an analysis of 18 statements issued by college presidents. Each statement is in response to a racial incident that occurred over 3 academic years (2012–2015). Findings reveal how college presidents’ statements broadly mention the racial incident itself, regularly address the group or individual who committed the racist act, but usually do not acknowledge the systemic or institutional issues that foster racial hostility on college campuses. Because racist behaviors on college campuses have been constant, the need to address concerns about racial issues will continue, and this study offers a new perspective on evaluating college presidents’ responses to highly publicized racial incidents in higher education.
Effects of Emotion- and Gratitude-Focused Expressive Writings on Incoming College Students' Adjustment

The transition to college can introduce new roles, opportunities, and challenges for growth and adjustment. Effective management of these challenges promotes personal adjustment and academic success (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001). However, difficulty in managing aspects of this transition introduces risks for dysfunction in emotional, social, and academic areas (Heiligenstein & Guenther, 1996). These risks are exacerbated for students who from underrepresented backgrounds at their college and within their field of study (Strayhorn, 2012). Among undergraduates, expressive writing interventions have been used to improve adjustment. These brief activities of self-reflection were originally used to address past hurts and have been adapted to attend to life’s benefits. Reflections on both negative and positive life experiences have been tied to improvements in well-being, social success, and physical health (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Sloan & Marx, 2004). This is the first study to directly compare effects of expressive writings focused on strong negative emotional experiences with effects of writings focused on positive emotional experiences (gratitude). Furthermore, questions remain about mechanisms of influence for these two writing paradigms. The current study tested the influence of these
On the Study of Dynamic and Adaptive Dependable Distributed Systems

Due to the usage of MANETs and some kinds of collaborative applications (P2P), current distributed systems are becoming increasingly dynamic; i.e., it is difficult to manage membership information and to forecast the accessibility of each system node. Moreover, dependable applications for static distributed systems also need to provide good adaptability levels (to different request arrival rates, usage patterns, classes of requests,.) and good scalability; a case to study is the cloud computing paradigm. Development of dependable applications in dynamic and adaptive systems is not trivial, since both dynamism and adaptability may compromise algorithm liveness or may complicate the design of such algorithms, specially those best suited for static systems. Strategies for building adaptable and scalable dependable services (based on “cloud systems”) will be surveyed and improved. Moreover, an efficient support for dependable applications in dynamic systems will be provided, combining three different approaches: relaxed consistency models, interconnection protocols (for supporting both consistency and multicasting) and reconciliation strategies. Last but not least, also the usage and support for integrity constraints in replicated systems will be analyzed and improved for dynamic systems.
Precision cosmology from X-ray AGN clustering

We place tight constraints on the main cosmological parameters of spatially flat cosmological models by using the recent angular clustering results of XMM–Newton soft (0.5–2 keV) X-ray sources, which have a redshift distribution with a median of z∼ 1. Performing a standard likelihood procedure, assuming a constant in comoving coordinates active galactic nuclei (AGN) clustering evolution, the AGN bias evolution model of Basilakos, Plionis & Ragone-Figueroa and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe5 value of σ8, we find stringent simultaneous constraints in the (Ωm, w) plane, with Ωm= 0.26 ± 0.05, w=−0.93+0.11−0.19.