Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transmission Line Resistance Compression Networks and Applications to Wireless Power Transfer

Microwave-to-dc rectification is valuable in many applications, including RF energy recovery, dc-dc conversion, and wireless power transfer. In such applications, it is desired for the microwave rectifier system to provide a constant RF input impedance. Consequently, variation in rectifier input impedance over varying incident power levels can hurt system performance. To address this challenge, we introduce multiway transmission line resistance compression networks (TLRCNs) for maintaining near-constant input impedance in RF-to-dc rectifier systems. A development of TLRCNs is presented, along with their application to RF-to-dc conversion and wireless power transfer. We derive analytical expressions for the behavior of TLRCNs, and describe two design methodologies applicable to both single and multistage implementations. A 2.45-GHz four-way TLRCN network is implemented and applied to create a 4-W resistance compressed rectifier system that has narrow-range resistive input characteristics over a 10-dB power range. It is demonstrated to improve the impedance match to mostly resistive but variable input impedance class-E rectifiers over a 10-dB power range. The resulting TLRCN plus rectifier system has >50% RF-to-dc conversion efficiency over a >10-dB input power range at 2.45 GHz (peak efficiency 70%), and standing wave ratio <;1.1 over a 7.7-dB range, despite a nonnegligible reactive component in the rectifier loads.
Does organizational ethical climate influence auditors in perceiving ethical problems and forming ethical judgments? / Maheran Zakaria, Hasnah Haron and Ishak Ismail

The increasing cases of unethical behavior among auditors have led the public to distrust the credibility of this profession. The public accused that most of auditors with unethical behaviors are due to their motivation by revenue generation. Ironically, in the pursuits of generating revenue, some of auditors are willing to go beyond acceptable ethical standards, resulting to increase the probability of unethical judgments. As such, this triggers expectation that audit firms to strictly govern their members’ behavior within the ethical manner. Hence, this paper attempts to examine the influence of organizational ethical climate on auditors’ perceived ethical problems and ethical judgments. A total of 940 questionnaires were sent to auditors throughout Malaysia. However, an approximate of 250 questionnaires was returned but only 224 were usable. By using path analysis, of AMOS 16.0, the study found that organizational ethical climate influences auditors in perceiving ethical problems, while perceived ethical problems does influence ethical judgments. Finally, perceived ethical problems were found to mediate the relationship between organizational ethical climate and ethical judgments. Hence, these findings will be useful to those in auditing industry in their effort to improve auditors’ ethical perceptions and ethical judgments.
Illustration of mobile terminal antenna optimization by genetic algorithms with single frequency simulation

An antenna Q optimization procedure using single frequency method of moments simulation integrated into a genetic algorithm is presented. This procedure is applied to a simplified model that describes the geometry of many mobile terminals in use nowadays. The predicted Q factors show good agreement with those obtained by simulation with a commercial tool. Furthermore, the results are close to the physical bound for many common electrical dimensions.
Object Detection in Image Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Image matching is a key component in almost any image analysis process. Image matching is crucial to a wide range of applications, such as in navigation, guidance, automatic surveillance, robot vision, and in mapping sciences. Any automated system for three-dimensional point positioning must include a potent procedure for image matching. Most biological vision systems have the talent to cope with changing world. Computer vision systems have developed in the same way. For a computer vision system, the ability to cope with moving and changing objects, changing illumination, and changing viewpoints is essential to perform several tasks. Object detection is necessary for surveillance applications, for guidance of autonomous vehicles, for efficient video compression, for smart tracking of moving objects, for automatic target recognition (ATR) systems and for many other applications. Cross-correlation and related techniques have dominated the field since the early fifties. Conventional template matching algorithm based on cross-correlation requires complex calculation and large time for object detection, which makes difficult to use them in real time applications. The shortcomings of this class of image matching methods have caused a slow-down in the development of operational automated correlation systems. In the proposed work particle swarm optimization & its variants based algorithm is used for detection of object in image. Implementation of this algorithm reduces the time required for object detection than conventional template matching algorithm. Algorithm can detect object in less number of iteration & hence less time & energy than the complexity of conventional template matching. This feature makes the method capable for real time implementation. In this thesis a study of particle Swarm optimization algorithm is done & then formulation of the algorithm for object detection using PSO & its variants is implemented for validating its effectiveness.
Differential Response of Acidobacteria Subgroups to Forest-to-Pasture Conversion and Their Biogeographic Patterns in the Western Brazilian Amazon

Members of the phylum Acidobacteria are among the most abundant soil bacteria on Earth, but little is known about their response to environmental changes. We asked how the relative abundance and biogeographic patterning of this phylum and its subgroups responded to forest-to-pasture conversion in soils of the western Brazilian Amazon. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes was employed to assess the abundance and composition of the Acidobacteria community across 54 soil samples taken using a spatially nested sampling scheme at the landscape level. Numerically, Acidobacteria represented 20% of the total bacterial community in forest soils and 11% in pasture soils. Overall, 15 different Acidobacteria subgroups of the current 26 subgroups were detected, with Acidobacteria subgroups 1, 3, 5, and 6 accounting together for 87% of the total Acidobacteria community in forest soils and 75% in pasture soils. Concomitant with changes in soil chemistry after forest-to-pasture conversion—particularly an increase in properties linked to soil acidity and nutrient availability—we observed an increase in the relative abundances of Acidobacteria subgroups 4, 10, 17, and 18, and a decrease in the relative abundances of other Acidobacteria subgroups in pasture relative to forest soils. The composition of the total Acidobacteria community as well as the most abundant Acidobacteria subgroups (1, 3, 5, and 6) was significantly more similar in composition across space in pasture soils than in forest soils. These results suggest that preponderant responses of Acidobacteria subgroups, especially subgroups 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, to forest-to-pasture conversion effects in soils could be used to define management-indicators of agricultural practices in the Amazon Basin. These acidobacterial responses are at least in part through alterations on acidity- and nutrient-related properties of the Amazon soils.
Effects of Environmental Flow upon Tropical Cyclone Structure

Abstract Numerical simulations of tropical-cyclone-like vortices are performed to analyze the effects of unidirectional vertical wind shear and translational flow upon the organization of convection within a hurricane’s core region and upon the intensity of the storm. A series of dry and moist simulations is performed using the Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model version 5 (MM5) with idealized initial conditions. The dry simulations are designed to determine the patterns of forced ascent that occur as the vortex responds to imposed vertical wind shear and translational flow, and the mechanisms that modulate the vertical velocity field are explored. The moist simulations are initialized with the same initial conditions as the dry runs but with a cumulus parameterization and explicit moisture scheme activated. The moist simulations are compared to the dry runs in order to test the hypothesis that the forced vertical circulation modes modulate the convection.
A Minimalist Approach to the Effects of Density- Dependent Competition on Insect Life-history Traits

1. Due to its effects on the phenotypic and genotypic expression of life-history traits, density-dependent competition is an important factor regulating the growth of populations. Specifically for insects, density-dependent competition among juveniles is often associated with increased juvenile mortality, delayed maturity, and reduced adult size. 2. The aim of the work reported here was to test whether the established phenotypic effects of density-dependent competition on life-history traits could be reproduced in an experimental design requiring a minimal number of individuals. Larvae of the mosquito Aedes aegypti were reared at densities of one, two, or three individuals per standard Drosophila vial and in six different conditions of larval food availability. This design required relatively few individuals per independent replicate and included a control treatment where individuals reared at a density of one larva per vial experienced no density-dependent interactions with other larvae. 3. Increased larval densities or reduced food availability led to increased larval mortality, delayed pupation, and the emergence of smaller adults that starved to death in a shorter time (indicating emergence with fewer nutritional reserves). 4. Female mosquitoes were relatively larger than males (as measured by wing length) but males tended to survive for longer. These differences increased as larval food availability increased, indicating the relative importance of these two traits for the fitness of each sex. The role of nutritional reserves for the reproductive success of males was highlighted in particular. 5. This minimalist approach may provide a useful model for investigating the effects of density-dependent competition on insect life-history traits.
Focus on Therapeutic Strategies of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the Western world (it affects 30% of the general adult population). The NAFLD encompasses a histological spectrum ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), defined by steatosis, hepatocellular damage, and lobular inflammation in individuals without significant alcohol consumption and negative viral, congenital, and autoimmune liver disease markers. Currently, NAFLD is considered an emerging epidemic in light of the dramatic increase in obesity rates. With the progressive nature of NASH and its rising prevalence there is a significant need for a specific and targeted treatments since to date there has not been any validated therapies for NAFLD other than weight loss, which is well known to have a poor long-term success rate. In recent years, visceral adipose tissue has taken an important role in NAFLD pathogenesis, and current therapeutic approaches aim at reducing visceral obesity and free fatty acid overflow to the liver. This paper is focused on the treatments used for NAFLD and the potential new therapy.
Face to face: Blocking facial mimicry can selectively impair recognition of emotional expressions

Abstract People spontaneously mimic a variety of behaviors, including emotional facial expressions. Embodied cognition theories suggest that mimicry reflects internal simulation of perceived emotion in order to facilitate its understanding. If so, blocking facial mimicry should impair recognition of expressions, especially of emotions that are simulated using facial musculature. The current research tested this hypothesis using four expressions (happy, disgust, fear, and sad) and two mimicry-interfering manipulations (1) biting on a pen and (2) chewing gum, as well as two control conditions. Experiment 1 used electromyography over cheek, mouth, and nose regions. The bite manipulation consistently activated assessed muscles, whereas the chew manipulation activated muscles only intermittently. Further, expressing happiness generated most facial action. Experiment 2 found that the bite manipulation interfered most with recognition of happiness. These findings suggest that facial mimicry differentially contributes to recognition of specific facial expressions, thus allowing for more refined predictions from embodied cognition theories.
Bird community structure in natural and urbanized habitats along an altitudinal gradient in Pauri district (Garhwal Himalaya) of Uttarakhand state, India

In the Indian subcontinent there is hardly any study that compares the bird community structure of urban/suburban areas with those of forest habitat. The present survey identified diverse assemblages of birds in the Pauri district at different elevations. A total of 125 bird species belonging to 40 families including two least count species (Lophura leucomelanos and Pucrasia marcolopha) were recorded during this survey in the forest and urbanized habitats of Pauri District (Garhwal Hiamalaya) of Uttarakhand state, India. The high elevation (Pauri 1600–2100 m a.s.l.), mid elevation (Srikot-Khanda 900–1300 m a.s.l.) and low elevation (Srinagar 500–900 m a.s.l.) contributed 88.8%, 63.2% and 58.4% of the total species respectively. Rarefaction analysis and Shannon diversity index showed that the high elevation forest habitat had highest bird species richness (BSR) and bird species diversity (BSD) followed by the mid and then the low elevation forests. BSR and BSD fluctuated across seasons at all elevations but not across habitat types. Present study provides a base line data about avian community composition in urbanized and natural habitats along altitudinal gradient in the study area. This information may be useful to the conservation biologists for the better management and conservation of the avifauna in the Western Himalaya, a part of one of the hot biodiversity spots of the world.
A non-cooperative game theory model for bandwidth allocation in network virtualization

Network virtualization is a new technology that aims to allow multiple virtual networks to coexist in the same equipment and hide the heterogeneity of network infrastructure. This technology leads the list of top strategies employed by ISPs to boost their green IT initiatives. A critical issue is how to provide customized and on demand resources for different service providers. Each infrastructure provider should fairly distribute network resources, such as bandwidth of each physical link, buffer space and processing time at each node. In this paper we present a novel game theoretic approach for bandwidth allocation between infrastructure providers (InPs) and service providers (SPs). The proposed approach is based on two-stage non-cooperative games. The first stage of game is the bandwidth negotiation game where a SP requests bandwidth from multiple InPs. Every InP decides whether to accept or to deny its request when the SP would cause link congestion. The second stage of the non-cooperative game is the bandwidth provisioning game, where different SPs compete for an amount of bandwidth in a shared physical link for a given infrastructure provider. Simulation results show that the proposed approach achieves higher bandwidth utilization, improves network performance, and fairly distributes bandwidth between multiple service providers.
Understanding Contrasting Approaches to Nationwide Implementations of Electronic Health Record Systems: England, the USA and Australia

As governments commit to national electronic health record (EHR) systems, there is increasing international interest in identifying effective implementation strategies. We draw on Coiera’s typology of national programmes – ‘top-down’, ‘bottom-up’ and ‘middle-out’ – to review EHR implementation strategies in three exemplar countries: England, the USA and Australia. In comparing and contrasting three approaches, we show how different healthcare systems, national policy contexts and anticipated benefits have shaped initial strategies. We reflect on progress and likely developments in the face of continually changing circumstances. Our review shows that irrespective of the initial strategy, over time there is likely to be convergence on the negotiated, devolved middle-out approach, which aims to balance the interests and responsibilities of local healthcare constituencies and national government to achieve national connectivity. We conclude that, accepting the current lack of empirical evidence, the flexibility offered by the middle-out approach may make this the best initial national strategy.
Finely-Threaded History-Based Topology Computation

Graphics and visualization pipelines often make use of highly parallelized algorithms which transform an input mesh into an output mesh. One example is Marching Cubes, which transforms a voxel grid into a triangle mesh approximation of an isosurface. These techniques often discard the topological connectivity of the output mesh, and instead produce a 'soup' of disconnected geometric elements. Calculations that require local neighborhood, such as surface curvature, cannot be performed on such outputs without first reconstructing its topology. We present a novel method for reconstructing topological information across several kinds of mesh transformations, which we demonstrate with GPU and OpenMP implementations. Our approach makes use of input topological elements for efficient location of coincident elements in the output. We provide performance data for the technique for isosurface generation, tetrahedralization, subdivision, and dual mesh generation, and demonstrate its use in visualization pipelines containing further computations of local curvature and mesh coarsening.
Do teenagers’ and parents’ alcohol-related views meet? – Analysing focus group data from Finland and Norway

Abstract Aims: This study analyses how Finnish and Norwegian teenagers and parents of teenagers perceive the appropriateness, desirability or harmfulness of different drinking situations. The focus is on whether teenagers and parents perceive the situations similarly or differently. Methods: Our data consist of focus group interviews from Finland and Norway with teenagers aged 14–17 years (n = 8 groups, n = 44 participants) and parents (n = 8 groups, n = 38). Three pictures portraying different drinking situations were presented to the participants, who were asked to describe (1) what kind of situation the picture depicts, (2) whether the way of drinking in the picture was acceptable or not and (3) whether they identified with the situation or not. Findings: Our analysis showed that teenagers and parents defined the situations similarly and applied rather similar criteria when assessing the appropriateness of drinking. The most important criteria related to the amount and the way of drinking, and whether or not children were present in the situation. Regarding the identification with the situations, teenagers seemed to have somewhat stricter attitudes towards intoxication than adults, which can be perceived as a sign of an ongoing trend of decreasing youth drinking. Conclusions: Overall, our analysis suggests that the alcohol worlds of parents and teenagers resembled each other, supporting the notion that the generational gap between parents and teenagers is diminishing.
Socioeconomic Status and Other Related Factors of Seasonal Influenza Vaccination in the South Korean Adult Population Based on a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose We investigated the association between seasonal influenza vaccination in South Korea and socioeconomic status (SES) as well as other potential related factors. Methods The study was based on data obtained in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2010 to 2011. Education level and household income were used as indicators for SES. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate SES and other demographic variables as related factors for influenza vaccination, the primary outcome. Results Higher household income was positively associated with higher vaccine uptake in the younger (19–49 years) group [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08–2.23], whereas the low-income and low-education group had increased vaccination coverage than the middle-income and middle-education group in the older (≥ 50 years) group (aOR 1.36, 95% CI 1.09–1.69). Current smokers tend to be unvaccinated in all age groups. Among individuals aged ≥ 50, older age, mild to moderate alcohol consumption, regular exercise, and having co-morbidities were positively associated with vaccination, while those who self-reported their health status as good were less likely to be vaccinated. Conclusions The relationship between SES and seasonal influenza vaccination coverage differed between the age groups throughout the adult South Korean population. Public health policies need to address these inequalities.
Apathy or alienation? Political passivity among youths across eight European Union countries

Abstract Political participation is one of the most studied aspects of the contemporary development of western democracies. A recent trend focuses the lack of political participation among younger generations. At the same time, the last decades have also witnessed a growth in the share of young European Union (EU) citizens who express alienation, and distrust toward social and political institutions at the national as well as the European level. By studying young people across different countries of the EU, the current study aims to examine if youths’ political passivity is better explained by political apathy or alienation. Our analyses are based on a comparative survey data collected by the Catch-EyoU project comprising approximately 4 454 late adolescents assembled from eight member countries of the EU. Results from logistic regressions predicting non-voting from apathy and alienation support the idea that political passivity is best understood as the result of political apathy. Moreover, it seems that the underlying separator of apathetic and alienated youths is cognitive awareness of political life. These results are discussed in relation to potentially built-in paradoxes of apathy present in efficient and well-functional welfare-state democracies.