Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-coherent two-way relaying: Rate bounds for the high SNR regime

Rate bounds for the non-coherent two-way relaying channel under the high SNR assumption are derived. No channel knowledge is assumed at neither the terminals nor at the relays. An upper and lower bound on the achievable rates are derived and shown that they differ only by a constant in the high SNR regime. As corollary from the analysis, the degrees of freedom of the non-coherent two-way channel are derived. Additionally, it is shown that the degrees of freedom can be achieved by an AF scheme.
Improvement of Expression of α6 and β1 Integrins by the Co-culture of Adult Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cells with SIM Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast Cells (STO) and Growth Factors

Objective(s): Spermatogonial Stem Cells (SSCs) maintain spermatogenesis throughout the life of the male. Because of the small number of SSCs in adult, enriching and culturing them is a crucial step prior to differentiation or transplantation. Maintenance of SSCs and transplantation or induction of in vitro spermio-genesis may provide a therapeutic strategy to treat male infertility. This study investigated the enrichment and proliferation of SSCs co-cultured with STO cells in the presence or absence of growth factors. Materials and Methods: Spermatogonial populations were enriched from the testis of 4-6 week-old male mice by MACS according to the expression of a specific marker, Thy-1. Isolated SSCs were cultured in the presence or absence of growth factors (GDNF, GFRα1 and EGF) on STO or gelatin-coated dishes for a week. Subsequently, the authors evaluated the effects of growth factors and STO on SSCs colonization by alkaline phosphates (AP) activity and flow cytometery of α6 and β1 integrins. Results: SSCs co-cultured with STO cells and growth factors developed colonization and AP activity as well as expression of α6 and β1 integrins (P≤0/05). Conclusion: Our present SSC-STO co-culture provides conditions that may allow efficient maintenance and proliferation of SSCs for the treatment of male infertility.
3D Mandibular Superimposition: Comparison of Regions of Reference for Voxel-Based Registration

Introduction The aim was to evaluate three regions of reference (Björk, Modified Björk and mandibular Body) for mandibular registration testing them in a patients’ CBCT sample. Methods Mandibular 3D volumetric label maps were built from CBCTs taken before (T1) and after treatment (T2) in a sample of 16 growing subjects and labeled with eight landmarks. Registrations of T1 and T2 images relative to the different regions of reference were performed, and 3D surface models were generated. Seven mandibular dimensions were measured separately for each time-point (T1 and T2) in relation to a stable reference structure (lingual cortical of symphysis), and the T2-T1 differences were calculated. These differences were compared to differences measured between the superimposed T2 (generated from different regions of reference: Björk, Modified Björk and Mandibular Body) over T1 surface models. ICC and the Bland-Altman method tested the agreement of the changes obtained by nonsuperimposition measurements from the patients’ sample, and changes between the overlapped surfaces after registration using the different regions of reference. Results The Björk region of reference (or mask) did work properly only in 2 of 16 patients. Evaluating the two other masks (Modified Björk and Mandibular body) on patients’ scans registration, the concordance and agreement of the changes obtained from superimpositions (registered T2 over T1) compared to results obtained from non superimposed T1 and T2 separately, indicated that Mandibular Body mask displayed more consistent results. Conclusions The mandibular body mask (mandible without teeth, alveolar bone, rami and condyles) is a reliable reference for 3D regional registration.
An Examination of Mental Health Promotion within International Schools and Current Reform Practices that can Benefit Third Culture Kids

The rising prevalence of adolescent mental health problems has created a need for increased public health programming in schools. Globalization and the expansion of the International Baccalaureate programs have led to higher numbers of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) attending international schools worldwide. Our review highlights unique characteristics of TCKs and presents a tactical blueprint to meet mental health needs. The first step was to develop an overview of existing mental health promotion practices implemented in national schools across the globe and the research that influenced their development. A second step was to provide suggestions for the application of these blueprints and resultant programs within international schools.
Understanding Pareto Inefficient Intrahousehold Allocations

Udry (1996) uses household survey data and finds that the allocation of resources within households is Pareto inefficient, contradicting the main assumption of most collective models of intrahousehold bargaining. He finds that among plots planted with the same crop in the same year, within a given household, those controlled by women produce lower yields than the men's plots. This paper challenges that finding. Using an alternative nationally representative dataset, I find that only households in regions geographically proximate to those studied by Udry exhibit Pareto inefficient intrahousehold allocations, while the rest of the country reveals no evidence of Pareto inefficiencies. Households in regions experiencing negative rainfall shocks are on average less likely to exhibit Pareto inefficient intrahousehold allocations, and these negative rainfall shocks are correlated with increases in labor resources allocated to the wife’s plots, further confirming that in bad years, households try to avoid losses from Pareto inefficiency.
An Integrated Approach to Rapid Diagnosis of Tuberculosis and Multidrug Resistance Using Liquid Culture and Molecular Methods in Russia

Objective To analyse the feasibility, cost and performance of rapid tuberculosis (TB) molecular and culture systems, in a high multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) middle-income region (Samara, Russia) and provide evidence for WHO policy change. Methods Performance and cost evaluation was conducted to compare the BACTEC™ MGIT™ 960 system for culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST) and molecular systems for TB diagnosis, resistance to isoniazid and rifampin, and MDR TB identification compared to conventional Lowenstein-Jensen culture assays. Findings 698 consecutive patients (2487 sputum samples) with risk factors for drug-resistant tuberculosis were recruited. Overall M. tuberculosis complex culture positivity rates were 31.6% (787/2487) in MGIT and 27.1% (675/2487) in LJ (90.5% and 83.2% for smear-positive specimens). In total, 809 cultures of M. tuberculosis complex were isolated by any method. Median time to detection was 14 days for MGIT and 36 days for LJ (10 and 33 days for smear positive specimens) and indirect DST in MGIT took 9 days compared to 21 days on LJ. There was good concordance between DST on LJ and MGIT (96.8% for rifampin and 95.6% for isoniazid). Both molecular hybridization assay results correlated well with MGIT DST results, although molecular assays generally yielded higher rates of resistance (by approximately 3% for both isoniazid and rifampin). Conclusion With effective planning and logistics, the MGIT 960 and molecular based methodologies can be successfully introduced into a reference laboratory setting in a middle incidence country. High rates of MDR TB in the Russian Federation make the introduction of such assays particularly useful.
Relationships Between Kindergarten Teachers’ Empowerment, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Climate: A Chinese Model

ABSTRACT This study investigated the relationships between perceived teacher empowerment, job satisfaction, and organizational climate among 206 randomly sampled kindergarten teachers in Shanghai, China. Chinese versions of the School Participant Empowerment Scale, the Teacher Work Satisfaction Survey, and the Organizational Climate Scale were validated and administered. Statistically significant relationships were found between teacher empowerment, job satisfaction, and organizational climate. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that (1) teacher empowerment and job satisfaction predicted organizational climate, (2) teacher empowerment predicted teacher job satisfaction, and (3) job satisfaction partially mediated the association between teacher empowerment and organizational climate. The results obtained in this Chinese setting were inconsistent with the findings of most Western studies. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.
Field Investigations of Ku-Band Radar Penetration Into Snow Cover on Antarctic Sea Ice

Monitoring long-term, large-scale changes in the Antarctic sea ice thickness is not currently possible due to the sampling constraints of the ship-based and airborne observations which comprise most of the available thickness data. Satellite radar altimetry has been used to measure sea ice thickness variability in the Arctic where it is assumed that the highest amplitude radar return originates from the snow/ice interface as the Arctic snow is cold and dry; however, this may not be the case in the Antarctic due to more complex snow stratigraphy caused by warmer winter temperatures and frequent snow flooding. We present the first measurements of radar penetration into snow cover on Antarctic sea ice in the Ku-band at which satellite radar altimeters operate. Data were taken using a sled-borne radar on sea ice off East Antarctica during September and October 2007. Radar data and field measurements of snow density, thickness, wetness, and layers were taken over a range of locations including snow packs with flooding, hard crusts, and icy layers. Detailed snow pit studies showed that the snow/ice interface was the dominant scattering surface only for snow without morphological features or flooding. Analysis of transect data showed that the mean depth of the dominant scattering surface of the radar was only around 50% of the mean measured snow depth, indicating that the dominant scattering surface was not always the snow/ice interface for the Antarctic sea ice surveyed.
Estimating the Size of HIV Key Affected Populations in Chongqing, China, Using the Network Scale-Up Method

Objectives To estimate the average social network size in the general population and the size of HIV key affected populations (KAPs) in Chongqing municipality using the network scale-up method (NSUM). Methods A general population survey was conducted in 2011 through a multistage random sampling method. Participants aged between 18 and 60 years were recruited. The average social network size (c) was estimated and adjusted by known population method. The size of HIV KAP in Chongqing municipality was estimated using the adjusted c value with adjustment for the transmission effect using the scaled respect factor. Results 3,026 inhabitants of Chongqing agreed to the survey, and 2,957 (97.7%) completed the questionnaire. The adjusted c value was 310. The estimated size of KAP was 28,418(95% Confidence Interval (CI):26,636∼30,201) for female sex workers (FSW), 163,199(95%CI:156,490∼169,908) for clients of FSW, 37,959(95%CI: 34,888∼41,030) for drug users (DU), 14,975(95%CI:13,047∼16,904) for injecting drug users (IDU) and 16,767(95%CI:14,602∼18,932) for men who have sex with men (MSM). The ratio of clients to FSW was 5.74∶1, and IDU accounted for 39.5% of the DU population. The estimates suggest that FSW account for 0.37% of the female population aged 15–49 years in Chongqing, and clients of FSW and MSM represent 2.09% and 0.21% of the male population aged 15–49 years in the city, respectively. Conclusion NSUM provides reasonable population size estimates for FSW, their clients, DU and IDU in Chongqing. However, it is likely to underestimate the population size of MSM even after adjusting for the transmission effect.
Optimization of Tilt Angle for Solar Collector to Receive Maximum Radiation

This article examines the theoretical aspects of choosing a tilt angle for the solar flat-plate collectors used at ten different stations in the world and makes recommendations on how the collected energy can be increased by varying the tilt angle. In this paper, the collector surface is assumed to be facing toward equator. For Indian stations, the calculations are based upon the measured values of monthly mean daily global and diffuse solar radiation on a horizontal surface. For other stations, the calculations are based upon the data of monthly mean daily global solar radiation and monthly average clearness index on a horizontal surface. It is shown that nearly optimal energy can be collected if the angle of tilt is varied seasonally, four times a year. Annual optimum tilt angle is found to be approximately equal to latitude of the location. It is found that the loss in the amount of collected energy is around 1 % if the angle of tilt is adjusted seasonally instead of us- ing ￻ opt for each month of the year. The loss of energy when using the yearly average fixed angle is around 15 % com- pared with the monthly optimum tilt.
A Zonotoped Macromodeling for Eye-Diagram Verification of High-Speed I/O Links With Jitter and Parameter Variations

It is challenging to efficiently evaluate the performance bound of high-precision analog circuits with input and parameter variations at nano-scale. With the use of zonotope to model uncertainty of input data pattern (or jitter) and multiple parameters, a reachability-based verification is developed in this paper to compute the worst-case eye-diagram. The proposed zonotope-based reachability analysis can consider both spatial and temporal variations in one-time simulation. Moreover, a nonlinear zonotoped macromodeling is further developed to reduce the computational complexity. Performance bound for I/O links considering the parameter variations are evaluated. In addition, the eye-diagrams are generated by the proposed zonotoped macromodel for performance evaluation considering both temporal and spatial variations. As shown by experiments, the zonotoped macromodel achieves up to 450× speedup compared to the Monte Carlo simulation of the original model within small error under specified macromodel order for high-speed I/O links eye-diagram verification.
health accounting , and fi rm value : The case of HIV / AIDS disclosures in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the highest prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the world, with negative effects on productivity, profitability, economic growth, and development. The social responsibility role of public companies in contributing towards reducing the negative effects of HIV/AIDS is priceless. This paper investigates the impact of corporate governance (CG) on social and environmental accounting (SEA) with specific focus on corporate health accounting (CHA) and, consequently, examines whether CG can moderate the link betweenCHA andfirm value (FV), with particular focus onHIV/AIDS disclosures. First, employing one of the most extensive data on CG, CHA, and FV from a sample of listed SSA companies to date, our results suggest that companies that are better-governed tend to engage in increased CHA disclosures. Second, we find that the combined effects of CG and CHA on FV are stronger than CHA alone, meaning that the quality of firm-level CG moderates the link between CHA and FV. Our econometric specifications are robust to different traditional firm-level characteristics, endogeneities, and alternative CG (corporate board and shareholding structure variables), FV, and CHA proxies. We interpret our findings within a framework that attempts to combine Suchman's (1995) legitimacy theoretical perspective with Ashforth and Gibbs' (1990) substantive and symbolic legitimacy management strategies. © 2016 The Author. University of Illinois. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). JEL classification: G34 Corporate governance; M14 Social responsibility; M41 Accounting
Double-stranded RNA is a trigger for apoptosis in vaccinia virus-infected cells

The vaccinia virus E3L gene codes for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding proteins which can prevent activation of the dsRNA-dependent, interferon-induced protein kinase PKR. Activated PKR has been shown to induce apoptosis in HeLa cells. HeLa cells infected with vaccinia virus with the E3L gene deleted have also been shown to undergo apoptosis, whereas HeLa cells infected with wild-type vaccinia virus do not. In this report, using virus recombinants expressing mutant E3L products or alternative dsRNA binding proteins, we show that suppression of induction of apoptosis correlates with functional binding of proteins to dsRNA. Infection of HeLa cells with ts23, which leads to synthesis of increased dsRNA at restrictive temperature, induced apoptosis at restrictive but not permissive temperatures. Treatment of cells with cytosine arabinoside, which blocks the late buildup of dsRNA in vaccinia virus-infected cells, prevented induction of apoptosis by vaccinia virus with E3L deleted. Cells transfected with dsRNA in the absence of virus infection also underwent apoptosis. These results suggest that dsRNA is a trigger that can initiate a suicide response in virus-infected and perhaps uninfected cells.
Phenotypic variation in nestlings of a bird of prey under contrasting breeding and diet conditions

Environmental conditions often vary in space and time, and this may explain variation in the expression of phenotypic traits related to individual quality, such as ornamental coloration. Furthermore, the direction and strength of the relationship between coloured trait expression and individual quality might vary under contrasting conditions. These issues have been explored in adult birds but much less so in nestlings, which are more likely to experience different selective pressures and different physiological trade-offs than adults. Here, we empirically investigated the effects of contrasting breeding and diet conditions on the expression of carotenoid-based colour traits displayed by marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) nestlings. We studied the variation in coloration, body condition, and immune responsiveness of nestlings in four populations over a 5-year period. We characterized spatiotemporal differences in rearing conditions experienced by C. aeruginosus nestlings in terms of breeding (laying date, clutch size, and number of nestlings hatched and fledged) and diet (percentage of mammal in diet and prey diversity) conditions. We found that breeding conditions influenced the co-variation between coloration and immune responsiveness in female nestlings, and that diet conditions influenced the condition-dependence of nestling coloration in later-hatched nestlings. In addition, breeding conditions influenced nestling body condition and immune responsiveness, whereas diet conditions influenced nestling coloration and body condition. Our study highlights that nestling phenotype (levels of signalling, circulating carotenoids, and immunity) varies both spatially and temporally, and that some of this variation is related to differences in breeding and diet conditions. Moreover, under contrasting conditions, the direction of the relationships between nestling carotenoid-based coloration and nestling quality may also vary. In order to fully understand the evolution and maintenance of colour traits in nestling birds, studies and experiments should ideally be replicated under contrasting rearing conditions. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ••, ••–••.
Physical Health and Cognitive Function Independently Contributed to Functional Disability among Chinese Older Adults: Data from Two Asian Metropolises

Objective. We aimed to examine the independent contributions of physical health and cognitive function to disability among Chinese older adults living in two Asian metropolises and explore the potential influences of environment. Design and Participants. Cross-sectional analysis based on data from two population-based studies: the Shanghai Survey of Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia (n = 4639) and the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study (n = 2397). Disability was defined as needing help in at least one activity of daily living. Results. The prevalence of functional disability was higher in Shanghai sample (5%) than that in Singapore sample (1.8%). Number of chronic diseases, self-rated health status, cognitive function (measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination), and environment (Singapore versus Shanghai) significantly contributed to functional disability independent of each other. The adjusted Odds Ratio was 1.35 (95%CI 1.22–1.50), 2.85 (95% CI 2.36–3.43), 0.89 (95% CI 0.85–0.94), and 0.68 (95% CI 0.48–0.96), respectively. The strength of associations between health variables and disability appeared to be influenced by environment. Conclusion. Physical health and cognitive function independently contributed to functional disability. The associations are modulated by environmental factors.
Parental and early childhood predictors of persistent physical aggression in boys from kindergarten to high school.

BACKGROUND In a prior study, we identified 4 groups following distinct developmental courses, or trajectories, of physical aggression in 1037 boys from 6 to 15 years of age in a high-risk population sample from Montréal, Québec. Two were trajectories of high aggression, a persistently high group and a high but declining group. The other 2 trajectories were a low group and a moderate declining group. This study identified early predictors of physical aggression trajectories from ages 6 to 15 years. METHODS In this study, logistic regression analysis was used to identify parental and child characteristics that distinguished trajectory group membership. RESULTS For boys displaying high hyperactivity and high opposition in kindergarten, the odds of membership in the 2 high aggression groups were increased by factors of 3.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0-4.3) and 2.7 (95% CI, 1.9-3.8), respectively, compared with boys without these risks. Counterpart odds ratios for the risk factors of mothers' teen-onset of parenthood and low educational attainment were 1.6 (95% CI, 1.1-2.2) and 1.8 (95% CI, 1.3-2.4), respectively. Only the maternal characteristics distinguished between the trajectory of persistently physical high aggression and the trajectory starting high but subsequently declining. For the 2 maternal risk factors combined, the odds ratio of persisting in high level physical aggression was 9.4 (95% CI, 2.9-30.4). CONCLUSIONS Kindergarten boys displaying high levels of opposition and hyperactivity are at high risk of persistent physical aggression. However, among kindergarten boys who display high levels of physical aggression, only mothers' low educational level and teenage onset of childbearing distinguish those who persist in high levels of physical aggression.