Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intensity discrimination as a function of frequency and sensation level.

Intensity discrimination was measured for pulsed sinusoids of various frequencies (200–8000 Hz) and sensation levels (5–80 dB). The data for all frequencies were fitted by a single function, ΔI/I=0.463 (I/I0)−0.072, where I0 is intensity at threshold, I is the intensity of the tone, and ΔI is the increment needed to obtain 71% correct in a two‐interval forced‐choice adaptive procedure. The form of this function is in good agreement with data reported in comparable studies but differs markedly from the data reported by Riesz [Phys. Rev. 31, 867–875 (1928)]. An analysis of the actual values of ΔI/I reported in the other studies indicates a range larger than would be predicted on the basis of individual differences among observers in this study. The data are also discussed differences among observers in this study. The data are also discussed in terms of the predictions of current theoretical models.
Haplotype analysis of the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor locus in three apparently unrelated kindreds from the indian subcontinent with the identical mutation in the GHRH receptor

The growth hormone releasing hormone receptor (GHRHR) plays a critical role in growth. We identified three nominally unrelated kindreds harboring the identical mutation (E72X) in GHRHR, the gene that encodes GHRHR; all three families originated in the Indian subcontinent. Because of the relative geographic proximity of these populations, we employed haplotype analysis in the region of GHRHR to determine the likelihood that this mutation occurred in a common ancestor rather than having occurred on separate occasions in different individuals. Members of all three kindreds segregating the E72X mutation were genotyped for highly polymorphic dinucleotide repeat microsatellites in a 15.5 centimorgan (cM) region around GHRHR on chromosome 7p15. We conclude that the affected individuals share a common ancestor, and we use the association with linked markers to estimate the age of this unique mutation. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Brain dysmorphology in individuals with severe prenatal alcohol exposure

Our previous studies revealed abnormalities on structural MRI (sMRI) in small groups of children exposed to alcohol prenatally. Microcephaly, disproportionately reduced basal ganglia volume, and abnormalities of the cerebellar vermis and corpus callosum were demonstrated. The present study used sMRI to examine in detail the regional pattern of brain hypoplasia resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol using a higher resolution imaging protocol and larger sample sizes than reported previously. Fourteen participants (mean 11.4 years; eight females, six males) with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and 12 participants (mean 14.8 years; four females, eight males) with prenatal exposure to alcohol (PEA) but without the facial features of FAS were compared to a group of 41 control participants (mean 12.8 years, 20 females, 21 males). Findings of significant microcephaly and disproportionately reduced basal ganglia volumes in the FAS group were confirmed. Novel findings were that in FAS participants, white matter volumes were more affected than gray matter volumes in the cerebrum, and parietal lobes were more affected than temporal and occipital lobes. Among subcortical structures, in contrast to the disproportionate effects on caudate nucleus, the hippocampus was relatively preserved in FAS participants. Differences between the PEA group and controls were generally non‐significant; however, among a few of the structures most affected in FAS participants, there was some evidence for volume reduction in PEA participants as well, specifically in basal ganglia and the parietal lobe. There were no group differences in cerebral volume asymmetries. Severe prenatal alcohol exposure appears to produce a specific pattern of brain hypoplasia.
Design of an Underactuated Compliant Gripper for Surgery Using Nitinol

This paper presents the development of an underactuated compliant gripper using a biocompatible superelastic alloy, namely, nitinol. This gripper has two fingers with five phalanges each and can be used as the end-effector of an endoscopic instrument. Optimization procedures are required to obtain the geometry of the transmission mechanism because of its underactuated nature and its underlying complexity. A driving mechanism further incorporated in the gripper to distribute actuation to both fingers and accomplish the grasping of asymmetrical objects without requiring supplementary inputs is also discussed. Finally, the results of numerical simulations with different materials and different grasped objects are presented and discussed.
Complex noncoherent receivers for GMSK signals

Noncoherent demodulators are very attractive for high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN) systems because of their low implementation costs and their inherent robustness against frequency and carrier phase offsets. However, when the channel is time dispersive, the nonlinear intersymbol interference (ISI) introduced by these demodulators precludes the use of conventional linear equalization strategies. We present an alternative noncoherent receiver structure followed by a nonlinear equalizer, which includes a RAM and a Viterbi detector, capable of equalizing nonlinear multipath fading channels. In addition, we also present a new algorithm specifically for noncoherent demodulators, which allows estimation of all useful signal values at the input of the equalizer to be stored in the RAM. By means of computer simulations, we report the performance and computational complexity tradeoffs of the receiver/equalizer structure, including antenna diversity. We show that demodulators which consist of a complex receiver and a Viterbi detector are much more robust against multipath fading channels than traditional real noncoherent demodulators. The results suggest that in a typical HIPERLAN scenario, where the channel delay spread is less than 50 ns and a reliable line of sight component exists, it is feasible to combat multipath effects using noncoherent demodulation.
Arsenite and arsenate activate extracellular signal‐regulated kinases 1/2 by an epidermal growth factor receptor‐mediated pathway in normal human keratinocytes

Background Inorganic arsenic is an environmental contaminant and is associated with the increased risk of human skin cancer. Arsenic has been reported to activate or inhibit a variety of cellular signalling pathways which has effects on cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanisms of these arsenic‐induced biological effects are not completely understood.
Selective Attention Deficits in High Test Anxious Children

Dusek, Mergler and Kermis (1976) reported results from a visual incidental learning task supporting the hypothesis that performance deficits in high test anxious children result from attention to task—irrevelant information. The present study investigated selective attention in high test anxious children and the possibility that Dusek et al.'s findings resulted from an association between test anxiety and poor reading ability, with reading ability rather than test anxiety being the variable associated with selective attention difficulties. Three measures of selective attention were employed—visual and auditory incidental learning tasks and a speeded classification task. The results failed to support Dusek et al.'s findings; no evidence was found for selective attention deficits in high test—anxious children. In addition, there was a marginal tendency for older poor readers to be more likely than normal readers to be high test—anxious; this finding is consistent with the suggestion that Dusek et. al's results from one measure of selective attention may have been a function of a confound of these two variables.
Frequency and Nature of Cerebellar Injury in the Extremely Premature Survivor with Cerebral Palsy

We report on the frequency and variable nature of magnetic resonance imaging—documented injury to the cerebellum in children with cerebral palsy who had survived a birth with a weight under 1000 g and/or a gestational age under 28 weeks. Thirty of 67 patients who had magnetic resonance images were found to have injury to the cerebellum. Those with cerebellar injury were much more likely to be microcephalic and to be unable to walk or talk. They did not demonstrate a greater frequency of observed injury to the cerebrum. From a larger collection of children with known cerebellar injury and cerebral palsy who had a history of being extremely premature, we found that 35 of 47 patients had prominent injury to the inferior cerebellum, suggesting infarction, whereas the remainder demonstrated varying degrees of cerebellar atrophy with or without asymmetry and four also had enlarged 4th ventricles. Injury to the cerebellum in the extremely premature survivor who has cerebral palsy is common and associated with a more adverse clinical picture. The etiology of this injury is obscure. (J Child Neurol 2005;20:60—64).
Telecommunications and Economic Activity: An Analysis of Granger Causality

The pervasive role of telecommunications in contemporary commerce is well documented, and has dramatically increased the demand for services. Across the world, countries are seeking to improve telecommunications infrastructure and benefit from anticipated increases in economic activity, and a causal relation between the two is often tacitly assumed. This paper analyzes aggregate data at the national level to see if there is any empirical evidence that supports this assumption. We apply the well established Granger test for causality using time series data for levels of telecommunications infrastructure and economic activity from thirty countries. We find that the evidence for causality from levels of telecommunications infrastructure to economic activity is stronger than that for causality in the opposite direction. Moreover, this pattern appears to hold for both industrialized and developing economies, even though the former has strong service sectors that are heavily dependent on telecommunications. These findings provide additional insights into the complex relationship between telecommunications and economic activity. Some potential policy implications are also discussed. Granger causality tests have not seen much application in the IS literature, and we mention some IS research issues that may benefit from such analysis.
Social capital, substance use disorder and depression among youths

ABSTRACT Background: Social capital – the network of social connections that exists among people – is known to be related to depression and substance use among adults. However, little is known about these relationships among adolescents, even though this age group is vulnerable due to factors of peer pressure, family, neighborhood, and maturational changes. Objectives: To evaluate the associations among social capital, substance use disorder and depression on a sample of 17 705 respondents between the ages of 12 and 17 in the 2009 National Survey of Drug Use and Health. Methods: Structural equation modeling was used to examine social capital; responses to 48 items differentiated into two factors that measured structural social and cognitive social capital. Adolescent depression and substance use disorder were measured as past-year major depressive episodes and substance use disorder according to DSM-IV criteria. Results: Structural social capital was associated with substance use disorder (β = −0.12; p = 0.001) and depression (β = −0.19; p = 0.001). Cognitive social capital was associated with substance use disorder (β = −0.17; p = 0.001), but not with depression (β = −0.002; p > 0.005). Substance use disorder mediated the association between structural and cognitive social capital and depression (β = 0.06; p = 0.001). Conclusion: There was support for associations among youth structural and cognitive social capital, substance use disorder and depression. These findings suggest that additional research of a longitudinal nature is needed to determine causal connections among social capital, depression and substance use disorder for adolescents.
PENGARUH CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DAN FIRM SIZE TERHADAP PERUSAHAAN YANG MENGALAMI KESULITAN KEUANGAN (FINANCIAL DISTRESS)

This study aimed to examine the effect of corporate governance and firm size for firms experiencing financial distress at non-financial companies. corporate governance used in this study is divided into five variables: the number of board of directors, the number of independent board, institutional ownership, managerial ownership, and the number of audit committee members. The other variable is firm size. This study also uses the control variables of leverage and liquidity. This study uses all firms are listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The data obtained from the annual report and the Indonesian Capital Market Directory (ICMD) the period of 2009 to 2012. The data in 2009, 2010, and 2011 are used to predict financial distress at 1 year after the year of 2010, 2011, and 2012. The data were analyzed using logistic regression model. Results of this study showed that the variables that significantly influence the company experiencing financial distress only variable number of board of directors and the number of audit committee members. While the number of independent board variables, institutional ownership, managerial ownership and firm size do not have a significant influence on companies experiencing financial distress.
Regulating Financial Advice: The Conflicted Role of Record Keepers in Pension Rollovers

Rollovers from 401(k) plans to IRAs have resulted in IRAs having more assets than 401(k) plans. Roughly 40% of assets rolled over to IRAs are managed by the 401(k) plan record keeper. Record keepers know when employees have changed jobs, often contacting them to urge them to roll over to an IRA managed by the record keeper. Because they know the fees their clients are paying in 401(k) plans, they know when advising a rollover will likely result in clients paying higher fees. While much of the literature relating to the DOL fiduciary rule is on how to meet the rule, greater attention should be paid to the steps advisers and financial services firms will take to avoid it. The author shows that it is easy for record keepers to reword their communications to avoid their being considered as advice while still effectively influencing the decisions of the recipients of the communications.
Acceptance of the Internet by Iranian business management students

Introduction The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Iranian business management students’ Internet usage and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) constructs, such as perceived usefulness, ease of use and perceived enjoyment. The second purpose was to investigate the impact of gender on students’ Internet usage. The respondents were composed of business management students from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Economics of Isfahan University in Iran. The data were collected via questionnaires that were administered to students during classes. A total of 105 questionnaires were used for analysis. Regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to examine research hypotheses.
Psychosocial Treatment for Bipolar Disorder

Medication is the mainstay of treatment for bipolar disorder. However, no medication will be effective if patients do not take it, and the rates of medication compliance in bipolar disorder are very low. Johnson and McFarland found that the modal length of compliance with a mood stabilizer was only 2 months. Keck and colleagues found that 50% to 66% of patients with bipolar disorder exhibit poor compliance within the first 12 months of treatment. In addition, even with adequate medication compliance, high rates of relapse persist. Adjunctive psychosocial treatments can help reduce relapse and provide patients as well as their families with tools to manage bipolar disorder more effectively. Several forms of intensive psychotherapy have shown promise for the treatment of bipolar disorder. In the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder, Miklowitz and colleagues compared three forms of intensive interventions: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, and family-focused treatment. These were compared to a brief, 3-session psychoeducational intervention known as collaborative care. A total of 293 depressed patients with bipolar type I or type II disorder were treated with protocol pharmacotherapy and were randomly assigned to either one of the three intensive interventions or the brief psychoeducational intervention. The three intensive interventions provided up to 30 sessions of treatment over a 9-month period. The collaborative care intervention consisted of three sessions administered over a 6-week period. The authors found that patients who received one of the intensive interventions had a median time to recovery 110 days earlier than patients who had received the collaborative care conditions. Patients who received one of the three intensive psychotherapies also had significantly higher year-end recovery rates, and are more than 1 to 1.5 times more likely to be clinically well during any study month. No statistically significant differences were found between the 3 intensive treatments.
Valuing Social Capital: Shifting Strategies for Export Success of Vietnamese Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This study examines the impact of social capital on the export success of domestic SMEs in Vietnam, looking at both export propensity (whether they export at all) and export performance (how much they export). Two stylized facts inspire the research. The first is the relatively modest performance of Vietnamese SMEs in export activities to date, despite their potential and increasing importance in the economy. The second is the widespread perception within Vietnam about the power of social relationships of firms in the Vietnamese business environment. This study uses a mixed methods approach, combining a qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews of SME owners/managers with quantitative testing of hypotheses on a secondary panel dataset from 2007 to 2015. Logistic regression models were employed to test hypotheses related to export propensity and multiple linear regressions were used to test those related to export performance. The results indicate that social capital is positively related to export propensity of domestic SMEs, but that its impacts on their export performance are not consistent. Each type of network impacts differently on export performance indicators of the studied SMEs (positive, negative and sometimes non-significant). Similarly, the qualitative study provides evidence that social capital supports SMEs in the initial stage of their export venture, but not their continuous export sustainability. One of the significant findings to emerge from the qualitative study is that the impact channels of social capital on SMEs’ export success may have changed from relying on rent-seeking opportunities provided by close connections with authorities towards being a tool for improving credibility and building capability for SMEs. This study highlights the importance of establishing an appropriate networking strategy for SMEs who wish to pursue export ventures. It suggests that, if SMEs aim at long-term export success, they may need to diversify their networks, including business networks and social networks, both domestically and internationally, rather than focus on connections with politicians and authorities. This is because the expected benefits from rent appropriation in export activities will eventually diminish as a more transparent system is put in place. Hence, SMEs should utilize their networks to improve their knowledge, credibility and capability, which help in enhancing their long-term competitiveness. The present study also implies that the government and relevant trade associations, in supporting SMEs to participate successfully in the international market, may need to focus on long-term network building and capacity-building activities.
Modified Beta Algorithm for GMPPT and Partial Shading Detection in Photovoltaic Systems

When the photovoltaic (PV) string is under the partial shading condition (PSC), the conventional maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques may fail to track the global maximum power point (GMPP). Although some global MPPT (GMPPT) techniques have been proposed, they may overlook the GMPP and fail to detect the PSC occurrence. Therefore, a novel GMPPT technique is proposed in this paper by modifying the conventional beta method. The proposed technique is more accurate than the previous techniques since it can guarantee that all the peaks in the $\beta$ range and never overlook the GMPP. Furthermore, the proposed technique can inherently detect the PSC occurrence without setting any additional threshold parameters or periodical interruption, which is simpler and more effective. In order to verify the advantages of the proposed technique, a prototype with buck-boost converter was constructed. For a fair comparison, two popular GMPPT techniques were also implemented and tested in the same prototype under various scenarios. The performance improvement with the proposed technique for different PSCs has been validated by both simulation and experimental results.
Fertility in Women With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to assess fertility in women with type 1 diabetes and the risk of congenital malformations in their offspring. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—This was a register-based cohort study in Sweden. All 5,978 women hospitalized for type 1 diabetes at age ≤16 years identified in the Swedish Inpatient Register during 1965–2004 were followed until the end of 2004 through linkage to nationwide registers. A standardized fertility ratio (SFR), the ratio of observed to expected number of live births, with 95% CIs, was used to express the relative fertility rate. The proportion of newborns with congenital malformations was compared with that of the general population. RESULTS—We observed 4,013 live births (SFR 0.80 [95% CI 0.77–0.82]). The SFRs for those who had retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, or cardiovascular complications were 0.63, 0.54, 0.50, and 0.34, respectively. Stratified analyses by year of first hospitalization showed that the reduced fertility was confined to women first hospitalized before 1985, but the presence of complications was associated with subfertility in all calendar-year strata. The proportions of newborns with congenital malformations decreased from 11.7% during 1973–1984 to 6.9% during 1995–2004 but were consistently higher than the corresponding figures for the general population. CONCLUSIONS—Women with type 1 diabetes have reduced fertility, but it appears that normalization has occurred among women with uncomplicated disease and an onset in the past 20 years. Our results suggest that the stricter metabolic control exercised in the past 20 years may have helped prevent subfertility. However, although the risk of congenital malformations has decreased, it is still higher than that for the general population.