Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Position and Attitude Tracking Controller for Satellite Proximity Operations using Dual Quaternions

This paper proposes a nonlinear adaptive position and attitude-tracking controller for satellite proximity operations between a target and a chaser satellite. The controller requires no information about the mass and inertia matrix of the chaser satellite and takes into account the gravitational acceleration, the gravity-gradient torque, the perturbing acceleration due to Earth’s oblateness, and constant (but otherwise unknown) disturbance forces and torques. Sufficient conditions to identify the mass and inertia matrix of the chaser satellite are also given. The controller is shown to ensure almost global asymptotical stability of the translational and rotational position and velocity tracking errors. Unit dual quaternions are used to simultaneously represent the absolute and relative attitude and position of the target and chaser satellites. The analogies between quaternions and dual quaternions are explored in the development of the controller.
The Stellar Content of Obscured Galactic Giant H II Regions. V. G333.1−0.4

We present high angular resolution, near-infrared images of the obscured Galactic giant H II region G333.1-0.4, in which we detect an OB star cluster. For G333.1-0.4 we find OB stars and other massive objects in very early evolutionary stages, possibly still accreting. We obtained K-band spectra of three stars; two show O-type photospheric features, while the third has no photospheric features but does show CO 2.3 μm band-head emission. This object is at least as hot as an early B-type star, based on its intrinsic luminosity, and is surrounded by a circumstellar disk or envelope that produces near-infrared excess emission. A number of other relatively bright cluster members also display excess emission in the K band, indicative of disks or envelopes around young massive stars. Based on the O star photometry and spectroscopy, the distance to the cluster is 2.6 ± 0.4 kpc, similar to a recently derived kinematic (near side) value. The slope of the K-band luminosity function is similar to those found in other young clusters. The mass function slope is more uncertain, and we find -1.3 ± 0.2 < Γ < -1.1 ± 0.2 for stars with M > 5 M⊙, where the upper and lower limits are calculated independently for different assumptions regarding the excess emission of the individual massive stars. The number of Lyman continuum photons derived from the contribution of all massive stars in the cluster is 0.2 × 1050 s-1 < NLyc < 1.9 × 1050 s-1. The integrated cluster mass is 1.0 × 103 M⊙ < Mcluster < 1.3 × 103 M⊙.
Parental involvement : parents´ new role in swedish schools

This doctoral thesis consists of a thesis for a Licentiate degree (Kristoffersson, 2002. Foraldrainflytande i grundskolan. En studie av nio lokala styrelser med foraldramajoritet i grundskolan. [Parents involvement in compulsory school. A study of nine local boards with parents in majority in compulsory school]) and two articles (Kristoffersson, 2005. Parental involvement: Parents´ new role in Swedish schools; and Kristoffersson, 2007. The paradox of parental influence in Danish schools. A Swedish perspective). In this thesis my interest is particularly governance, management, communication and partnership. The research aimed comprehensively to describe the school boards and discuss the education policy behind the implementation of the boards. An additional aim were to see whose interests favoured in local school boards. I also wanted to study how comparative research in this case can be relevant to Swedish studies of local school boards. I used the frame factor theory, which aids the exploration of the correspondence relations between factors that affect local school boards. Governance and partnership are key concepts applied to the analysis of data. Critical analysis and discussions of these boards from a hermeneutic sign are included, which meant that I tried to understand the boards in their context. I used a case study method. Data were gathered through interviews, observations and analysis of documents (e.g., school board minutes). The results signify that different interests are not adequately balanced on the boards. Communication between the board and the parents not on the board was not satisfactory in many cases and such parents felt excluded from the board’s activity. The principal’s collaboration with the board’s chairperson was an important influence on the board. Evaluation, support and feedback of the board’s activity from the local school authority in the municipality were often neglected. The implementation of the boards related to the transferred welfare policy to more market-oriented political governance. The political governing of the school changed, and was influenced by neo-liberal trends where partnership had become the new prestige word. Parents are today seen as individual consumers in a market, whereas as board members they should make decisions that include all parents. Instead of increased parental influence in the schools, the effect of boards could be increased differences between pupils and between parents. This arose because parents are not a homogenous group. Social, cultural and economic conditions have an influence on parents’ activities. The state implementation of local school boards in Sweden and in many countries is, therefore, complex. This can be seen through the weak interest in the creation of boards, which also can be linked to the top-down character of the reform. This study is an example where global, national and local factors interact.
Measurement of Optimal Insertion Angle for Iliosacral Screw Fixation Using Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Scans

Background Percutaneous iliosacral screw fixation can provide stable fixation with a minimally invasive surgical technique for unstable posterior pelvic ring injuries. This surgical technique is not limited by cases of difficult fracture patterns, sacral dysplasia, and small sacral pedicles that can occur in Asians. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of the sacral dysplasia in the Korean population and determine the optimal direction of iliosacral screws by analyzing pelvic three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) scans. Methods One hundred adult patients who had pelvic 3D-CT scans were evaluated. The upper sacral morphology was classified into three groups, i.e., normal, transitional, and dysplastic groups; the cross-sectional area of the safe zone was measured in each group. S1 pedicle with a short width of more than 11 mm was defined as safe pedicle. The incidences of safe pedicles at different angles ranging from 0° to 15° were investigated in order to determine optimal angle for screw direction. Results The incidence of normal, transitional, and dysplastic group was 46%, 32%, and 22%, respectively. There were significant increases of the cross-sectional area of the safe zones by increasing the angles from 0° to 15° in all groups. The incidence of safe pedicles increased similar to the changes in cross-sectional area. The overall incidence of safe pedicles was highest at the 10° tilt angle. Conclusions The incidence of sacral dysplasia in Koreans was 54%, which is higher than previous studies for Western populations. The cross-sectional area of the safe zone can be increased by anteromedial direction of the iliosacral screw. Considering the diversity of sacral morphology present in the Korean population, a tilt angle of 10° may be the safest angle.
Understanding Philanthropy: A Review of 50 Years of Theories and Research

We present an overview of theories and research on charitable giving in economics, sociology, social psychology, and marketing from the past 50 years (1955-2005). We identify seven mechanisms as the most important forces that drive giving. The seven principles of philanthropy are: (1) solicitation; (2) awareness of need; (3) costs; (4) reputation; (5) psychological benefits; (6) changing the world; (7) confidence. We discuss each of these mechanisms and show how they are related to the findings of survey and experimental studies on philanthropy, and how practitioners can use them.
Excision Repair Cross Complementation Group 1 Immunohistochemical Expression Predicts Objective Response and Cancer-Specific Survival in Patients Treated by Cisplatin-Based Induction Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose: To assess the correlation of excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1) immunohistochemical expression with objective tumor response and cancer-specific survival in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with cisplatin-based induction chemotherapy. Experimental Design: The initial cohort was composed of 107 patients who were treated from 1992 to 1996 by an induction chemotherapy regimen for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. p53 mutations had previously been studied. Pretherapeutic biopsy samples from 96 patients with a known tumor response were available. Two independent observers blinded to clinical annotations evaluated ERCC1 immunohistochemical expression. Results: Of 96 patients, 68 (71%; 95% confidence interval, 61-79%) had tumors that expressed ERCC1 intensively and diffusely. Using the logistic regression method, the 28 (29%) patients with tumors expressing ERCC1 at lower levels had a 4-fold greater odds of benefiting from an objective response to chemotherapy (odds ratio, 4.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-13.4; P = 0.01) compared with the group of 68 patients with high ERCC1 expression. ERCC1 and p53 status, but not their interaction, were independent predictors of tumor response. In a Cox proportional hazard model adjusted on age, TNM stage, tumor differentiation, and tumor localization, ERCC1 low expression was associated with a lower risk of cancer death (risk ratio, 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.20-0.90; P = 0.04) whereas p53 status had no prognostic value. Conclusion: Our results suggest that those patients characterized by low ERCC1 expression are more likely to benefit from cisplatin induction chemotherapy compared with patients with high ERCC1 expression.
Privacy and Security Issues in E-commerce

Privacy – the control over one's personal data – and security – the attempted access to data by unauthorized others – are two critical problems for both e-commerce consumers and sites alike. Without either, consumers will not visit or shop at a site, nor can sites function effectively without considering both. This chapter reviews the current state of the art and the relevance for privacy and security respectively. We examine privacy from social psychological, organizational, technical, regulatory, and economic perspectives. We then examine security from technical, social and organizational, and economic perspectives. 1 Privacy Privacy is a serious issue in electronic commerce, no matter what source one examines. Fisher [2001] reported "Forty-one percent of Web buyers surveyed last year by Forrester Research of Cambridge, Mass. , said they have contacted a site to be taken off their databases because they felt that the organization used their information unwisely. (pp. 20-21). " A Business Week/Harris Poll found that over forty percent of online shoppers were very concerned over the use of personal information, and 57% wanted some sort of laws regulating how personal information is collected and used [Harris Poll 2000]. Similarly, Culnan [2000] argued that privacy concerns were a critical reason why people do not go online and provide false information online. Why this concern about privacy? The answer is simple. As of 1998, the FTC found that the majority of online businesses " had failed to adopt even the most fundamental elements of fair information practices. ([Culnan 2000], p. 8). " Indeed, relatively few consumers believe that they have very much control over how personal information, revealed online, is used or sold by businesses [Culnan and Armstrong 1999]. The combination of current business practices, consumer fears, and media pressure has combined to make privacy a potent problem for electronic commerce. Tackling privacy, however, is no easy matter. If nothing else, privacy discussions often turn heated very quickly. Some people consider privacy to be a fundamental right; others consider it to be a tradable commodity. Detailed arguments about the historical progression of privacy can be found, for example, in [Davies 1997] and [Etzioni 1999]. (Even these historical accounts have sharply differing viewpoints. For example Etzioni argues that privacy is societally illegitimate or infeasible, while Davies argues that it has become a squandered right.) For the purposes of this article, we will explore the potential space of privacy concerns, not privileging any …
Employer branding: perceived organisational support and employee retention – the mediating role of organisational commitment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employer branding attribute of organisational support and employee retention in a government agency in New Zealand.Design/methodology/approachThis study is cross-sectional in design, and an online survey method was used to collect data from 134 research participants. Research participants were recruited from a local council in New Zealand. The Process Macro Regression method was employed to analyse the collected data.FindingsThe main findings from this study are: first, the study shows that perceived organisational support (POS) as an employer branding technique affects employee retention. Second, POS significantly influenced employees’ organisational commitment (OC) as a predictor of employee retention. Third, the relationship between organisational support and employee retention was mediated by OC in this study.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examined POS as an employer branding strategy; the findings have a number of valuable implications for organisations. This study suggests that organisations should develop adequate organisational support mechanisms as a way of acquiring the status of a better employer among different stakeholders.Practical implicationsPrecisely, the findings imply that organisations should focus on increasing organisational support to attract, maintain and retain employees because employees desire conducive and favourable work environments.Social implicationsA well-crafted and efficiently implemented organisational supportive strategies may enhance the reputational status of the organisation as an employer brand among its future job applicants.Originality/valueThis study tested POS as an employer branding attribute in the New Zealand context; research on POS as an employer branding strategy is scarce. The results suggest that organisations that embrace organisational support mechanisms as employer branding strategy succeed in maintaining and retaining their talents for a longer time.
Finite Element Analysis of Progressive Degradation versus Failure Stress Criteria on Composite Damage Mechanics

It is well known that the engineering applications using composite materials is in constant growth, mainly because of the large strength/weight ratio that they provide. The modelling of these materials has been of interest for a long time, due to the experimental costs that can be saved by means of computer simulations. However, the mixed mode of failure in composite materials makes it a complicated task to deal with, resulting often in sophisticated damage models. There have been numerous techniques proposed for the simulation or prediction of the failure of composites. Many of these techniques were integrated on analytical methods that were subsequently implemented on major simulation software packages or in-house finite element method programs. This is the case in failure models based on stress quadratic functionals, such as those by Tsai & Wu (1971), and implemented within ANSYS (Swanson, 2007) or by Hoffman (1967) and included within ABAQUS (Hibbit et al., 2007). Such functionals imply the disappearing of bearing capability to outstanding loads once the stress criteria are satisfied. From a strict numerical point of view, a finite element satisfying the criteria may potentially be removed from the mesh as it does not experience further loading. This possibility is available in major software packages such as LS-DYNA. The removal of a finite element frequently causes certain numerical oscillations when using explicit solvers. This may degenerate into instabilities and, hence, in divergence of the numerical procedure. A significant number of these criteria have been proposed in the last decades. For instance, the models by Tsai & Wu (1971), Hoffman (1967), Yamada and Sun (1978) or Puck and Schurmann (1998) amongst many others have been very popular. A worldwide assessment failure exercise (WWFE) of a number of these criteria is described in references (Hinton and Soden, 1998; Hinton et al., 2004). Also, Soden et al. (1998a) presented the result for fibre-reinforced composite laminates and their correlation to a set of shared-by-participants experimental data (Soden et al., 1998b). It is clear that considerable efforts have been done in the searching of a general criteria that may be applied in a wide range of problems. However, Daniel (2007) reveals discrepancies of up to 200-300% in the WWFE results shown by Soden et al. (1998a). Unawareness of the numerical consequences that carry the use of these criteria within a finite element method, such as instability and, finally, divergence of the numerical procedure , result in unrealistic solutions. On the other hand, different 19
Progestin Treatment Induces Apoptosis and Modulates Transforming Growth Factor-β in the Uterine Endometrium

Background: Epidemiologic, animal, and human data suggest that progestins are potent endometrial cancer preventive agents. In the ovarian surface epithelium, progestins have been hypothesized to confer a cancer preventive effect via apoptosis and modulation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Given that the ovarian epithelium and endometrium share a common embryologic origin and similar reproductive and hormonal risk factors for malignancy, we tested the hypothesis that progestins confer biological effects in the endometrium similar to those in the ovary. Methods: Postmenopausal female macaques (n = 78) were randomized into four groups to receive a diet for 36 months containing no hormone versus conjugated equine estrogen (CEE), medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), or CEE + MPA. The endometrium was then examined immunohistochemically for treatment-specific changes using antibodies to activated caspase-3 (for apoptosis), Ki-67 (proliferation), and the TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3 isoforms. Results: Percentages of caspase-positive endometrial glandular cells were 3- to 5-fold higher in CEE + MPA–treated animals compared with all others (P < 0.05). Caspase-expressing cells were six times more numerous in the endometrial stroma of animals treated with MPA alone relative to other groups (P < 0.0001). Induction of endometrial glandular cell apoptosis in the CEE + MPA–treated group was associated with a dramatic increase in expression of TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 in the stromal compartment of the endometrium (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Progestin treatment activates chemopreventive biological effects in the endometrium that are similar to those in the ovarian surface epithelium. These data may facilitate identification of a chemopreventive approach that dramatically lessens the risk of both uterine and ovarian cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(3):578–84)
Neuronal MHC-I expression and its implications in synaptic function, axonal regeneration and Parkinson’s and other brain diseases

Neuronal expression of major histocompatibility complex I (MHC-I) has been implicated in developmental synaptic plasticity and axonal regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS), but recent findings demonstrate that constitutive neuronal MHC-I can also be involved in neurodegenerative diseases by playing a neuroinflammtory role. Recent reports demonstrate its expression in vitro and in human postmortem samples and support a role in neurodegeneration involving proinflammatory cytokines, activated microglia and increased cytosolic oxidative stress. Major histocompatibility complex I may be important for both normal development and pathogenesis of some CNS diseases including Parkinson’s.
Predictability of persistent frequent attendance: a historic 3-year cohort study.

BACKGROUND Few patients who attend GP consultations frequently continue to do so long term. While transient frequent attendance may be readily explicable, persistent frequent attendance often is not. It increases GPs' workload while reducing work satisfaction. It is neither reasonable, nor efficient to target diagnostic assessment and intervention at transient frequent attenders. AIM To develop a prediction rule for selecting persistent frequent attenders, using readily available information from GPs' electronic medical records. DESIGN OF STUDY A historic 3-year cohort study. METHOD Data of 28 860 adult patients from 2003 to 2005 were examined. Frequent attenders were patients whose attendance rate ranked in the (age- and sex-adjusted) top 10% during 1 year (1-year frequent attenders) or 3 years (persistent frequent attenders). Bootstrapped multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine which predictors contained information on persistent frequent attendance. RESULTS Of 3045 1-year frequent attenders, 470 (15.4%) became persistent frequent attenders. The prediction rule could update this prior probability to 3.3% (lowest value) or 43.3% (highest value). However, the 10th and 90th centiles of the posterior probability distribution were 7.4% and 26.3% respectively, indicating that the model performs modestly. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.67 (95% confidence limits 0.64 and 0.69). CONCLUSION Among 1-year frequent attenders, six out of seven are transient frequent attenders. With the present indicators, the rule developed performs modestly in selecting those more likely to become persistent frequent attenders.
I Believe: The Connection between Trust and the Development of Credit and Banking in Western-Europe

Nowadays, the reputation of financial institutions is an important topic in international financial economics. Financial crises, like the one in 2008, often deal a blow to the trust that people have in banks and in the financial system as a whole. However, lots of people do not even know why the banking system exists in the first place and how it came to be. This thesis provides a framework, which provides information about the relationship between trust and the development of credit and banking in three relevant, historical time periods; the Italian renaissance, the Dutch golden age and eighteenth century England. A wide variety of relevant literature was consulted and compared in order to get a good picture of how the system of credit and banking developed in those time periods as well as to what extent trust could be considered an important factor in this development. It turns out that there is no evidence to prove that people have disliked using credit over the ages, because of the risk credit contains in itself. However, the reputation of the parties involved as well as economic, social and political events turned out to be major factors in the development of the banking system. In conclusion to this research, one could say that trust has indeed played a major role in the development of credit and banking, over the ages. However, it is recommended to supplement or complement the findings in this research with a deepening or widening of the covered material, in order get a better picture of the story