Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design of an AMC with Little Sensitivity to Angle of Incidence Using an Optimized Jerusalem Cross FSS

In this paper, an angularly stable Artificial Magnetic Conductor (AMC) or High-Impedance Surface (HIS) is proposed. The structure is made of the well know Jerusalem Cross Frequency Selective Surface (JC-FSS) placed at the interface of a metal-backed dielectric slab. The paper begins by investigating the properties of a structure optimized in a prior work. Innovatively, this structure is corrected and changed, and the resultant structure is optimized not completely based on time consuming optimization methods, but by utilizing the theoretical clues presented in another work for the same structure. Taking these strategies, just by a simple optimization procedure and some parametric studies, such a structure is obtained that shows better angular stability compared to the initial structure, while having acceptable bandwidth and compact size. Periodic method of moments (PMM) is used to analyze and study the proposed planar periodic structure. Index Terms—Artificial magnetic conductor (AMC), high-impedance surface (HIS), perfect magnetic conductor (PMC), electromagnetic band gap (EBG) surface, frequency selective surface (FSS)
Public debt, domestic and external financing, and economic growth

This paper examines the effect of public debt on growth by controlling for the institutional environment in which the debt was issued in countries grouped by income levels for the period of 1990 to 2007. Our analysis distinguishes between the growth impact of domestic versus external public debt to examine the importance of domestic financing as compared to external financing. In particular, the regressions’ outcome points clearly in the direction of a non-linear relationship between total public debt and growth in the subsets of middle and low-income countries, and this relationship is mainly driven by the non-linear relationship that exists between public external debt and growth, and not by the domestic component of it. Otherwise stated, it appears that high levels of external public debt are associated with low per capita GDP growth rates, but that high levels of domestic public debt are not necessarily associated with low growth. We identify ranges of values for the optimal level of public debt (i. e. the level after which the marginal impact of further debt accumulation becomes harmful for growth) in middle and low-income countries. In a subset of high income countries, we did not find any support for a robust relationship between public debt and growth. Another noteworthy insight that emerges is a strong link between financial development and growth across a subset of middle-income countries. Our analysis shows that the debt structure is relevant to growth and highlights the importance of the development of the domestic bond markets to promote long-lasting economic growth.
Accounting for Inequality Trends: Decomposition Analyses for the UK, 1971-86

Eight explanations for U.K. income inequality trends between 1971 and 1986 are assessed by pooling evidence from inequality index decompositions by population sub-group and by income source. The principal causes of the aggregate trends were a mixture of changes in earnings inequality, employment structure and unemployment, but this mixture changed over time. The impact of wage inequality changes on income inequality changes fell during the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting the secular decline in the importance of employment earnings for household income packages. Unemployment changes had their largest impact at the start of the 1980s. Between 1981 and 1986 self-employment income changes appear to have had the largest influence. Copyright 1995 by The London School of Economics and Political Science.
The Asymmetric Share Effect: An Empirical Generalization on Cross-Price Effects

Prior empirical literature states that asymmetry in cross-price effect favors the high-share brand. That is, when high-share brands discount, they have a greater impact on low-share brands than the reverse. This conclusion is based on consideration of cross-price elasticities. The authors point out that focusing on cross-price elasticities for assessing asymmetry is inappropriate for determining the incremental profitability from price promotions. Instead, asymmetries should be investigated in absolute cross-price effects, that is, change in market share of a competing brand for a unit price change of the focal brand. The authors theoretically and empirically demonstrate that asymmetry reverses when absolute cross-price effect is considered. That is, the absolute cross-price effect of a price reduction of a low-share brand on the market share or sales of a high-share brand is greater than the reverse. The authors discuss the implications of the findings and future research directions.
APOE ε2 Allele Is Associated with Larger Regional Cortical Thicknesses and Volumes

Background: The protective effect of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) Ε2 allele against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is controversial. Objective: Our purpose was to clarify if the Ε2 allele affects regional cortical thicknesses and volumes. Methods: Regional cortical thicknesses and volumes were measured with an automated pipeline in 109 subjects with mild cognitive impairment, 114 AD patients and 105 age-matched healthy controls. Results: In the mild cognitive impairment group, the Ε2 carriers had thicker regional cortices at the transverse temporal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus than the subjects with Ε3/Ε3, and a larger cerebral gray matter and smaller lateral ventricles than the Ε3/Ε3 and Ε4 carriers. In the AD group, the Ε2 carriers had significantly thicker entorhinal and transverse temporal cortices, a larger whole cerebral gray matter, and smaller lateral ventricles than the subjects with the Ε3/Ε3 genotype, and a significantly thicker entorhinal cortex and larger cerebral gray matter than Ε4 carriers. No APOE2 effect was found in the control group. Conclusion: The APOE Ε2 allele is associated with larger regional cortical thicknesses and volumes in mild cognitive impairment and AD.
"A lot of people didn't have a chance to support us because we never told them" Stigma management, information poverty and HIV/AIDS information/help networks

Because of fears of stigmatization, people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) may avoid health care and refuse illness-related information and support. However, HIV/AIDS-related information, especially that which is provided by other people, has also been shown to a vital resource for PHAs and their loved ones. This research examines the role of stigmatization in PHAs' and their friends/family members' efforts to establish personal networks for HIV/AIDS-related information and help ("information/help networks"). To investigate this question, I draw upon Goffman's (1963) stigma management theory and Chatman's (1996) theory of information poverty. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 114 PHAs, their friends/family members, health care and service providers in three rural regions of Canada. Results revealed that the majority of PHAs and friends/family members had relatively small networks for HIV/AIDS information/help. For many participants, the challenges of living with HIV/AIDS led to changes in their personal networks, and stigmatization playing a significant part in such changes. Participants developed information/help networks in a manner consistent with stigma management theory in their decisions to disclose selectively to others, to avoid the topic in conversation, to obtain information/help at a distance or to acquire information/help without disclosing their HIV status. However, in contrast to Chatman's theory, participants did not wholly avoid information from interpersonal sources nor believe that no one was available to help them. These findings suggest that information behaviour theory may need to evolve in order to account for the complexity of self-protective behaviour.
Thermal Variation During Osteotomy With Different Dental Implant Drills: A Standardized Study in Bovine Ribs

Introduction: This study evaluated thermal variation (heat generation) by dental drills of similar geometries, made from different materials, during performance of 450 standardized osteotomies in bovine ribs to simulate implant site preparations. Materials and Methods: Each of the 3 groups—steel with a diamond-like carbon coating (SG), experimentally surface-treated steel (EG), and aluminum-toughened zirconium ceramic (ZG)—included 3 drills, distributed across 6 subgroups. An implant motor provided torque, rotation, and irrigation for 50% of subgroups. Results: In preparations drilled to 5 mm under irrigation, the number of osteotomies, material, and diameter did not influence thermal variation (&Dgr;T); when drilling to 13 mm, the greatest &Dgr;T occurred in EG (2.8°C). When drilling to 5 mm without irrigation, drill material influenced mean temperature; when drilling to 13 mm without irrigation, the greatest &Dgr;T (5.5°C) occurred in EG. The highest temperature was observed in SG (79.6°C). Conclusion: After 50 uses, the greatest &Dgr;T occurred in EG and the ∅3.0-mm drill exhibited the highest mean and peak temperatures. Temperatures were influenced by irrigation, number of uses, depth, drill diameter, geometry, and material; however, mean values were within physiological limits.
Protocol-driven vs. physician-driven electrolyte replacement in adult critically ill patients

BACKGROUND The intensive care unit is a dynamic environment, where high numbers of patients cared for by health care workers of different experiences and backgrounds might result in great variability in patient care. Protocol-driven interventions may facilitate timely and uniform care of common problems, like electrolyte disturbances. We prospectively compared protocol-driven (PRD) vs. physician-driven (PHD) electrolyte replacement in adult critically ill patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS In the first month of the two-month study, potassium, magnesium, and phosphate levels were checked by a physician before ordering replacement (PHD replacement period). Over the second month, ICU nurses proceeded with replacement according to the protocol (PRD replacement period). We collected demographic data, admission diagnosis, number of potassium, magnesium, and phosphate levels done per day, number of low levels per day, number of replacements per day, time between availability of results to ordering replacement, time to starting replacement, post-replacement levels, serum creatinine, replacement dose, arrhythmias and replacement route. RESULTS During the PHD replacement period, 43 patients meeting the inclusion criteria were admitted to the ICU, while 44 were admitted during the PRD month. The mean time (minutes) from identifying results to replacement of potassium, phosphate and magnesium was significantly longer with PHD replacement compared with PRD replacement (161, 187, and 189 minutes vs. 19, 26, and 19 minutes) (P<0.0001). The number of replacements needed and not given was also significantly lower in the PRD replacement period compared with the PHD replacement period (2, 4, and 0 compared with 9, 6 and 0) (P<0.05). No patients had high post-replacement serum concentrations of potassium, phosphate or magnesium. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that a protocol-driven replacement strategy for potassium, magnesium and phosphate is more efficient and as safe as a physician-driven replacement strategy.
Transcend: Detecting Concept Drift in Malware Classification Models

Building machine learning models of malware behavior is widely accepted as a panacea towards effective malware classification. A crucial requirement for building sustainable learning models, though, is to train on a wide variety of malware samples. Unfortunately, malware evolves rapidly and it thus becomes hard—if not impossible—to generalize learning models to reflect future, previously-unseen behaviors. Consequently, most malware classifiers become unsustainable in the long run, becoming rapidly antiquated as malware continues to evolve. In this work, we propose Transcend, a framework to identify aging classification models in vivo during deployment, much before the machine learning model’s performance starts to degrade. This is a significant departure from conventional approaches that retrain aging models retrospectively when poor performance is observed. Our approach uses a statistical comparison of samples seen during deployment with those used to train the model, thereby building metrics for prediction quality. We show how Transcend can be used to identify concept drift based on two separate case studies on Android andWindows malware, raising a red flag before the model starts making consistently poor decisions due to out-of-date training.
Unlocking the black box: line managers and HRM‐Performance in a call centre context

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show the way to unlock the black box of HRM and performance linkages by exploring one of the key variables that mediates the link, namely whether line managers can stimulate improvements in firm performance by eliciting appropriate employee outcomes in a call centre context. Design/methodology/approach - The research draws on Purcell's “People-Performance Model” as a sensitising framework to inform an in-depth case study of a call centre. This provides a mechanism to unlock the HRM-Performance black box by focusing on the ability, motivation and opportunities for line managers to perform and any subsequent impact on employee outcomes. Data were collected over multiple site visits by means of multi-level interviews and a survey of telesales representatives (TSRs). Findings - Research findings indicate that one large client exerted significant control over the HRM policies developed within the call centre. Evidence suggests, however, that line managers' interventions ameliorated some of the negative aspects of work tasks and the HRM imposed by this dependency relationship. Research limitations/implications - This research is an exploratory attempt to better understand HRM-Performance linkages in one specific context. Results are not generalisable across contexts or even within call centres, which can vary extensively. Nonetheless, the research suggests that exploring line management behaviour is a promising avenue for more extensive research. Originality/value - This paper considers HRM-Performance linkages in a service context. Results indicate that both external relations and line managers are critical mediating variables conditioning HRM-Performance linkages, thereby lending support to the notion that hard and soft HRM practices are not necessarily irreconcilable.
Molecular determinants of cetuximab efficacy.

PURPOSE To investigate whether mRNA expression levels of cyclin D1 (CCND1), cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), interleukin 8 (IL-8), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), all members of the EGFR signaling pathway, are associated with clinical outcome in patients with EGFR-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with cetuximab. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-nine patients with metastatic CRC, refractory to both irinotecan and oxaliplatin, were enrolled on IMCL-0144 and treated with single-agent cetuximab. The intratumoral mRNA levels of CCND1, Cox-2, EGFR, IL-8, and VEGF were assessed from paraffin-embedded tissue samples using laser-capture microdissection and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS There were 21 women and 18 men with a median age of 64 years (range, 35 to 83 years). Higher gene expression levels of VEGF were associated with resistance to cetuximab (P = .038; Kruskal-Wallis test). The combination of low gene expression levels of Cox-2, EGFR, and IL-8 was significantly associated with overall survival (13.5 v 2.3 months; P = .028; log-rank test). Both findings were independent of skin toxicity that was itself significantly correlated to survival. Patients with a lower mRNA amount of EGFR had a longer overall survival compared with patients that had a higher mRNA amount (7.3 v 2.2 months; P = .09; log-rank test). Patients with lower expression of Cox-2 had a significantly higher rate of grade 2 to 3 skin reactions under cetuximab treatment. CONCLUSION This pilot study suggests that gene expression levels of Cox-2, EGFR, IL-8, and VEGF in patients with metastatic CRC may be useful markers of clinical outcome in single-agent cetuximab treatment.
Peginterferon alpha‐2a is associated with higher sustained virological response than peginterferon alfa‐2b in chronic hepatitis C: Systematic review of randomized trials

A combination of weekly pegylated interferon (peginterferon) alpha and daily ribavirin represents the standard of care for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C according to current guidelines. It is not established which of the two licensed products (peginterferon alpha‐2a or peginterferon alfa‐2b) is most effective. We performed a systematic review of head‐to‐head randomized trials to assess the benefits and harms of the two treatments. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and LILACS through July 2009. Using standardized forms, two reviewers independently extracted data from each eligible trial report. We statistically combined data using a random effects meta‐analysis according to the intention‐to‐treat principle. We identified 12 randomized clinical trials, including 5,008 patients, that compared peginterferon alpha‐2a plus ribavirin versus peginterferon alfa‐2b plus ribavirin. Overall, peginterferon alpha‐2a significantly increased the number of patients who achieved a sustained virological response (SVR) versus peginterferon alfa‐2b (47% versus 41%; risk ratio 1.11, 95% confidence interval 1.04–1.19; P = 0.004 [eight trials]). Subgroup analyses of risk of bias, viral genotype, and treatment history yielded similar results. The meta‐analysis of adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation included 11 trials and revealed no significant differences between the two peginterferons. Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that peginterferon alpha‐2a is associated with higher SVR than peginterferon alfa‐2b. However, the paucity of evidence on adverse events curbs the decision to definitively recommend one peginterferon over the other, because any potential benefit must outweigh the risk of harm. (HEPATOLOGY 2010.)
THE IMPACTS OF FINANCIAL DEREGULATION UPON TRADING EFFICIENCY AND THE LEVELS OF RISK AND RETURN OF JAPANESE BANKS

Japanese banks are very large and were rigidly controlled until financial deregulation began in the late 1970s. This paper measures the impact of deregulation upon the trading efficiency and the levels of risk and return of the largest twenty-seven listed Japanese banks. The authors found that, as the pace of deregulation increased, there were significant increases in trading efficiency, as well as in the levels of returns and risks. With deregulation , the Japanese banking system, which contains the largest banks in the world, has become less protected and more vulnerable to the discipline of market movements. Copyright 1988 by MIT Press.
Making Real Options Work for Practitioners: A Generic Model for Valuing R&D Projects

We propose a generic valuation framework for the appraisal of R&D projects based on real option theory. The added value of this approach is the presentation of a model that was implemented in a manner that allows corporate decision makers to use real options in an intuitive and standardized way. The project valuation procedure is separated into three main phases: project modeling, data and input collection, and result generation and analysis. The project model represents the structure of the real world R&D project with its investments, expected results, and decisions that need to be taken conditionally on the outcomes of research activities. The project model is represented in the form of a decision tree, where different research results or taken decisions lead to new branches. In this way, every possible situation the project can pass through can be represented. Uncertainties are separated into market uncertainties (e.g., market prices) and project specific, private uncertainties (e.g. uncertainty of research results). For both uncertainties, event trees are constructed which are then combined and merged with the above mentioned decision tree in order to represent the value evolution of the R&D project under given decisions and uncertainties. For every possible state of the project the real option value is calculated. By creating multidimensional trees, a multitude of decision steps and various kinds of real options (e.g., continue, expansion, switch, abandonment) can be modeled. The calculation complexity for the decision trees is given. From the tree structure we can calculate the real option value of starting an R&D project, i.e., the value of undertaking the first investment and thus acquiring the subsequent decision opportunities given by the completion of the first research effort. Furthermore, the optimal exercise strategy is derived from the decision tree. The exercise strategy gives the manager the possibility to have an a priori overview of where an R&D project may lead to, which decisions need to be taken in which circumstances, and when the project needs to be stopped in order not to generate losses. In an in-depth case study we use an illustrative R&D project to set up and discuss the three phases of project modeling in the real options framework: building the multidimensional decision tree, input generation, and calculation of the real option value as well as the optimal strategy for the R&D project.
In situ measurements and modeling of reactive trace gases in a small biomass burning plume

Abstract. An instrumented NASA P-3B aircraft was used for airborne sampling of trace gases in a plume that had emanated from a small forest understory fire in Georgia, USA. The plume was sampled at its origin to derive emission factors and followed ∼ 13.6 km downwind to observe chemical changes during the first hour of atmospheric aging. The P-3B payload included a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS), which measured non-methane organic gases (NMOGs) at unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution (10 m spatial/0.1 s temporal). Quantitative emission data are reported for CO2, CO, NO, NO2, HONO, NH3, and 16 NMOGs (formaldehyde, methanol, acetonitrile, propene, acetaldehyde, formic acid, acetone plus its isomer propanal, acetic acid plus its isomer glycolaldehyde, furan, isoprene plus isomeric pentadienes and cyclopentene, methyl vinyl ketone plus its isomers crotonaldehyde and methacrolein, methylglyoxal, hydroxy acetone plus its isomers methyl acetate and propionic acid, benzene, 2,3-butanedione, and 2-furfural) with molar emission ratios relative to CO larger than 1 ppbV ppmV−1. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, 2-furfural, and methanol dominated NMOG emissions. No NMOGs with more than 10 carbon atoms were observed at mixing ratios larger than 50 pptV ppmV−1 CO. Downwind plume chemistry was investigated using the observations and a 0-D photochemical box model simulation. The model was run on a nearly explicit chemical mechanism (MCM v3.3) and initialized with measured emission data. Ozone formation during the first hour of atmospheric aging was well captured by the model, with carbonyls (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, 2,3-butanedione, methylglyoxal, 2-furfural) in addition to CO and CH4 being the main drivers of peroxy radical chemistry. The model also accurately reproduced the sequestration of NOx into peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and the OH-initiated degradation of furan and 2-furfural at an average OH concentration of 7.45 ± 1.07 × 106 cm−3 in the plume. Formaldehyde, acetone/propanal, acetic acid/glycolaldehyde, and maleic acid/maleic anhydride (tentatively identified) were found to be the main NMOGs to increase during 1 h of atmospheric plume processing, with the model being unable to capture the observed increase. A mass balance analysis suggests that about 50 % of the aerosol mass formed in the downwind plume is organic in nature.