Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beam learning

Beamforming is the key enabler for wireless communications in the mmWave bands. 802.11 ad and WiGig are wireless technologies that currently use the 60 GHz unlicensed mmWave spectrum via beamforming techniques. Given the widespread study and potential deployments of LTE in the 5GHz unlicensed band, it is likely that 5G systems will be considered for potential deployments in the 60GHz unlicensed spectrum (apart from other unlicensed bands). Therefore, 5G systems must coexist with 802.11 ad and WiGig in this spectrum. The first step to achieve this co-existence is to find the directions in which the nodes using these incumbent technologies are communicating and eliminate those directions to avoid interference. In this paper, we use multi-armed bandits-based algorithms to blindly detect the beam directions (both along azimuth and elevation i.e., 3D-beamforming) used for communication by the incumbents. Numerical results show the superior performance of these algorithms over techniques that are commonly employed in such blind settings.
Lifetime comorbidities between phobic disorders and major depression in Japan: results from the World Mental Health Japan 2002–2004 Survey

Background: Although often considered of minor significance in themselves, evidence exists that early‐onset phobic disorders might be predictors of later more serious disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD). The purpose of this study is to investigate the association of phobic disorders with the onset of MDD in the community in Japan. Methods: Data from the World Mental Health Japan 2002–2004 Survey were analyzed. A total of 2,436 community residents aged 20 and older were interviewed using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 (response rate, 58.4%). A Cox proportional hazard model was used to predict the onset of MDD as a function of prior history of DSM‐IV specific phobia, agoraphobia, or social phobia, adjusting for gender, birth‐cohort, other anxiety disorders, education, and marital status at survey. Results: Social phobia was strongly associated with the subsequent onset of MDD (hazard ratio [HR]=4.1 [95% CI: 2.0–8.7]) after adjusting for sex, birth cohort, and the number of other anxiety disorders. The association between agoraphobia or specific phobia and MDD was not statistically significant after adjusting for these variables. Conclusions: Social phobia is a powerful predictor of the subsequent first onset of MDD in Japan. Although this finding argues against a simple neurobiological model and in favor of a model in which the cultural meanings of phobia play a part in promoting MDD, an elucidation of causal pathways will require more fine‐grained comparative research. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. Published 2009 Wiley‐liss, Inc.
Board Industry Experience, Firm Value, and Investment Behavior

We analyze the valuation effect of board industry experience and channels through which industry experience of outside directors affects firm value. Our analysis shows that firms with more experienced outside directors are valued at a premium compared to firms with less experienced outside directors. Additional analyses, including a quasi-experimental setting based on director deaths, mitigate endogeneity concerns. Firms with experienced boards limit investment distortions (lower investment-cash flow sensitivities) by building up valuable financial slack. The results further indicate that firms with experienced boards undertake shareholder-value friendly investments, particularly into R&D. Overall, our findings are consistent with board industry experience being a valuable corporate governance mechanism.
Concerns and intentions among young migrants in the shoe-shine business in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

In sub-Saharan Africa, studies on young people engaged in the shoe-shine business are scanty and also their future intentions in the business are not known. This paper examines the concerns and intentions among young migrants involved in the shoe-shine business in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Through snowball sampling, 191 responded to a questionnaire while 15 others participated in in-depth interviews. The data were analysed using logistic regression and content analysis. The main concerns were injuries, physical stress, exposure to malaria and thieves. Consequently, some of them intend to quit the job in future due to physical stress, aging, declining earnings, inability to combine the job with farming at their places of origin and the precarious nature of the job. The study concluded that the shoe-shine business could be described as a stepping stone to more lucrative and stable jobs due to the challenges involved. There is the need for the National Board for Small-Scale Industries and other relevant state institutions to build the capacities of young people who have already created their own jobs in the informal sector such as the shoe-shine boys to enable them sustain their businesses. Keywords: Migrants, Shoe-shine Business, Intentions to Remain or Quit, Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana
Plasma membrane tension orchestrates membrane trafficking, cytoskeletal remodeling, and biochemical signaling during phagocytosis

Phagocytes clear the body of undesirable particles such as infectious agents and debris. To extend pseudopods over the surface of targeted particles during engulfment, cells must change shape through extensive membrane and cytoskeleton remodeling. We observed that pseudopod extension occurred in two phases. In the first phase, pseudopods extended rapidly, with actin polymerization pushing the plasma membrane forward. The second phase occurred once the membrane area from preexisting reservoirs was depleted, leading to increased membrane tension. Increased tension directly altered the small Rho GTPase Rac1, 3′-phosphoinositide, and cytoskeletal organization. Furthermore, it activated exocytosis of vesicles containing GPI-anchored proteins, increasing membrane area and phagocytosis efficiency for large particles. We thus propose that, during phagocytosis, membrane remodeling, cytoskeletal organization, and biochemical signaling are orchestrated by the mechanical signal of membrane tension. These results put a simple mechanical signal at the heart of understanding immunological responses.
Corporate Governance Practices and Banks ’ Performance in Nigeria

In the aftermath of the bank consolidation exercise in Nigeria of 2006, the regulatory authorities intensified their focus on how business is managed and run, which led to developing different forms of framework for corporate governance. This study investigates the relationship between corporate governance practices of First Bank (Formerly First Bank of Nigeria PLC) and its performance in the banking industry. The study adopted the survey research design, using the quantitative research approach. The primary source of data was the use of self-completed questionnaire administered on 120 employees of the bank. The data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and correlation analysis. The results show that First Bank embraced the codes of good corporate governance. The study further established a positive significant relationship between corporate governance practices and the performance of the bank. On this note, the study recommends that, to improve bank performance in Nigeria, banks should conduct their businesses in a transparent and accountable manner, and cultivate a high ethical standard to promote corporate governance.
Early Use of Pressure Flaking on Lithic Artifacts at Blombos Cave, South Africa

Ancient Innovations Pressure flaking is a method of forming points, grooves, and notches on stone tools in which a tool is pressed up against another stone, instead of striking it. It has been thought to be a fairly recent innovation, arising in the Upper Paleolithic 20,000 or so years ago. Mourre et al. (p. 659), show that tools from Blombos Cave, dating to about 75,000 years ago, have grooves and patterns resembling production by heat treatment followed by pressure flaking. Replication experiments were performed using similar source material followed by microscopic study of the tools. Despite the evidence for an early innovation, it seems that pressure flaking was not used widely elsewhere until much later; thus, such early innovations may have been sporadic ephemeral. Tools dating to ~75,000 years ago show evidence of pressure flaking, long before the technique became widespread. Pressure flaking has been considered to be an Upper Paleolithic innovation dating to ~20,000 years ago (20 ka). Replication experiments show that pressure flaking best explains the morphology of lithic artifacts recovered from the ~75-ka Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. The technique was used during the final shaping of Still Bay bifacial points made on heat‐treated silcrete. Application of this innovative technique allowed for a high degree of control during the detachment of individual flakes, resulting in thinner, narrower, and sharper tips on bifacial points. This technology may have been first invented and used sporadically in Africa before its later widespread adoption.
Functional analysis of novel TBX5 T-box mutations associated with Holt-Oram syndrome.

AIMS Holt-Oram syndrome (HOS) is a heart/hand syndrome clinically characterized by upper limb and cardiac malformations. Mutations in T-box transcription factor 5 (TBX5) underlie this syndrome, the majority of which lead to premature stops. In this study, we present our functional analyses of five (novel) missense TBX5 mutations identified in HOS patients, most of whom presented with severe cardiac malformations. METHODS AND RESULTS Functional characterization of mutant proteins shows a dramatic loss of DNA-binding capacity, as well as diminished binding to known cardiac interaction partners NKX2-5 and GATA4. The disturbance of these interactions leads to a loss of function, as measured by the reduced activation of Nppa and FGF10 in rat heart derived cells, although with variable severity. Two out of the five mutations are peculiar: one, p.H220del, is associated with additional extra-cardiac defects, perhaps by interfering with other T-box dependant pathways, and another, p.I106V, leads to limb defects only, which is supported by its normal interaction with cardiac-specific interaction partners. CONCLUSION Overall, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that these novel missense mutations in TBX5 lead to functional haploinsufficiency and result in a reduced transcriptional activation of target genes, which is likely central to the pathogenesis of HOS.
Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio--not an independent prognostic factor in patients with the myelodysplastic syndrome.

PURPOSE Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was evaluated as a potential prognostic factor in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). MATERIALS AND METHODS Between December 2009 and April 2014, 14 female (35%) and 26 male (65%) MDS patients who were followed up in our hematology clinic were included in the study for NLR during diagnosis. Division was into two groups according to the NLR, and the correlation with mortality was evaluated. The prognostic significance of NLR regarding treatment outcome was also evaluated with adjustment for known confounding risk factors. RESULTS The mortality rate of the patient group was 55%, and median survival was 18 months. There was no significant correlation between mortality and NLR at a median value of 1.8 (p=0.75). Thrombocytopenia was observed to increase mortality (p=0.027), and there was a significant correlation between mortality and pancytopenia (p=0.017). CONCLUSIONS This first study of NLR and mortality did not show any significant correlation . In centres with limited access to genetic evaluation for the presence of pancytopenia and/or thrombocytopenia at the time of diagnosis, a platelet level less than 50? 109/l may be poor prognostic markers in MDS patients.
A 9/spl mu/W 50MHz 32b adder using a self-adjusted forward body bias in SoCs

This 32b adder in a 0.13/spl mu/m CMOS process consumes 9/spl mu/W at 50MHz and 0.3V and operates at 500MHz at 0.6V. Forward body biases are self-adjusted to minimize the threshold voltage and reduce PVT dependence. The power of the SoC can be reduced to 1/4 that of standard CMOS by gating the forward body bias in the IP blocks.
Project Mapyen: A network analysis tool to identify anomalous host behaviours

The evolution of the cyber threat landscape drives companies towards state-of-the-art security monitoring techniques. Adyen, a payment service provider company, has both legal and moral obligations to perform security monitoring within the company to remain an ethical and sustainable business. The challenge is to uncover a well-founded solution to detect real-time incidents using lightweight network traffic metadata. This research identifies an optimal clustering solution to perform anomaly detection on the logged network metadata and enhances the analysis using individual probability-based network profiles for each host. The proof of concept implemented for this research is called Mapyen, and it is validated against three different attack scenarios, namely port scans, malware infection simulations, and data exfiltration scenarios. Despite the low precision and recall scores of the initial Mapyen system, it shows great potential for future security research and development.
Procedural sedation: A review of sedative agents, monitoring, and management of complications

Given the continued increase in the complexity of invasive and noninvasive procedures, healthcare practitioners are faced with a larger number of patients requiring procedural sedation. Effective sedation and analgesia during procedures not only provides relief of suffering, but also frequently facilitates the successful and timely completion of the procedure. However, any of the agents used for sedation and/or analgesia may result in adverse effects. These adverse effects most often affect upper airway patency, ventilatory function or the cardiovascular system. This manuscript reviews the pharmacology of the most commonly used agents for sedation and outlines their primary effects on respiratory and cardiovascular function. Suggested guidelines for the avoidance of adverse effects through appropriate pre-sedation evaluation, early identification of changes in respiratory and cardiovascular function, and their treatment are outlined.
Optimality Results in Inventory-Pricing Control : An Alternate Approach

We study a stationary, single-stage inventory system, under periodic review, with fixed ordering costs and multiple sales levers (such as pricing, advertising, etc.). We show the optimality of (s, S)-type policies in these settings under both the backordering and lost-sales assumptions. Our proof is novel, more direct and easier to understand than earlier ones. ∗Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. huh@ieor.columbia. edu. †Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA. gjanakir@stern.nyu. edu. 1
Optimal reconfiguration of radial distribution systems to maximize loadability

This paper presents a new method for optimal reconfiguration of radial distribution systems (RDS). Optimal reconfiguration involves selection of the best set of branches to be opened, one each from each loop, such that the resulting RDS has the desired performance. Amongst the several performance criteria considered for optimal network reconfiguration, maximizing loadability is an important one. Owing to the discrete nature of the solution space, a fuzzy adaptation of the evolutionary programming algorithm for optimal reconfiguration of RDS to maximize loadability is proposed in this paper. This method maximizes a fuzzy index developed using a maximum loadability index. A 33-bus RDS is optimally reconfigured by the proposed method and the results are presented.
Translating Using RE-AIM of a Falls Behavior Change Program Among an Assisted Living Population

A Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader model is an evidence-based program to change behavior to adopt falls prevention strategies. The purpose was to translate this program to assisted living communities. A single-arm intervention study was designed to assess for falls-related and physical performance measures. Forty-one residents, with a mean age of 87 years, were eligible for participation. The Falls Management Scale (P = .02) and the Physical Component Summary Score (P = .01) significantly improved from baseline to 8 weeks. Gait speed (P = .059) was borderline significant from baseline to 6 months. We showed evidence for successful translation within the assisted living communities sampled.
Linezolid: effectiveness and safety for approved and off-label indications

Multi-drug resistant Gram-positive cocci have emerged as significant pathogens of community- and hospital-acquired infections. Several antimicrobial agents that can be used for the treatment of these infections are presently available. However, the most appropriate treatment for each infection has not been established. Linezolid seems to be a promising choice. Linezolid is bactericidal against Streptococci and bacteriostatic against Enterococci and Staphylococci. It has excellent pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles, which allow early change from intravenous to oral administration. In addition, its effectiveness for the treatment of Gram-positive infections in immunocompetent and immunodeficient patients have been studied in several randomized controlled trials. In this review, the authors summarize all the available evidence regarding the effectiveness and safety of linezolid compared with other antimicrobial agents for its approved and off-label indications.
Social and Environmental Reporting and the Co-creation of Corporate Legitimacy

This paper extends the legitimacy theory by empirically investigating the extent and context of social, environmental and total voluntary non-financial disclosures across industries. The study uses 312 annual reports of publicly listed Indian companies for the accounting years 2006, 2012 and 2014. We follow a Multivariate Ordinary Least Squares (MOLS) modelling framework to test the hypotheses. Our empirical results indicate that the decision to provide voluntary non-financial disclosure is positively related to a firm’s age, profitability, industrial category and leverage. Our results further indicate that, contrary to legitimacy theory, the decision to provide social and environmental non-financial disclosures by sampled publicly listed companies is found to correlate negatively with consumer proximity, leverage and industrial transport industry membership. Our results add new empirical evidence to support the view that non-financial disclosure by companies is influenced by country-specific characteristics within which the firm operates. Future research could extend the study to other emerging countries and include data from unlisted companies to validate our findings. To cite this document: Asit Bhattacharyya and Frank Wogbe Agbola, "Social and Environmental Reporting and the Co-creation of Corporate Legitimacy", Contemporary Management Research, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 191-223, 2018. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi. org/10.7903/cmr.18247
Randomised controlled trial of colloid or crystalloid in hypotensive preterm infants

AIM To compare the efficacy of a colloid (5% albumin) and a crystalloid (isotonic saline) solution for treating hypotension in mechanically ventilated preterm infants. METHODS Sixty three preterm infants weighing 540 to 1950 g at birth and with gestational ages of 23 to 34 weeks, who developed hypotension (mean arterial pressure < 25, 30, and 35 mm Hg for infants with birthweight <1, 1-1.49, and 1.5-1.99 kg, respectively) within the first 2 hours of life, were randomly allocated to receive intravenous infusions at 10 ml/kg of either 5% albumin (group 1, n=32) or isotonic (0.9%) saline (group 2, n=31). Inotropic support with dopamine infusion was given if the infants remained hypotensive after a total of three infusions (30 ml/kg). Subsequent extra doses of volume expander in the form of 5% albumin was given, depending on the infant’s blood pressure. RESULTS There was no difference in the volume of the test solutions required between the two groups. Outcome, as assessed by the number of infants requiring inotropic support and death or chronic lung disease, did not differ between the groups. After inotropic support, however, group 1 required significantly more volume expander to maintain normal blood pressure (median: 27.5 ml/kgvs 10 ml/kg; P=0.0187) and had a higher mean (SEM) percentage weight gain within the first 48 hours of life (at 24 hours: 6.3(1.3)% vs 3.3(0.8)%; P=0.049; at 48 hours: 5.9(1.9)%vs 0.9(1.7)%; P=0.045). The difference in weight gain was significant at 48 hours even when only those infants not requiring inotropic support or extra 5% albumin were compared (group 1: 1.5(1.5)%, group 2: -4.2(1.1)%; P = 0.027). CONCLUSIONS Isotonic saline is as effective as 5% albumin for treating hypotension in preterm infants, and it has the additional advantage of causing less fluid retention in the first 48 hours.
Bias and Efficiency in Structural Equation Modeling: Maximum Likelihood Versus Robust Methods

In the structural equation modeling literature, the normal-distribution-based maximum likelihood (ML) method is most widely used, partly because the resulting estimator is claimed to be asymptotically unbiased and most efficient. However, this may not hold when data deviate from normal distribution. Outlying cases or nonnormally distributed data, in practice, can make the ML estimator (MLE) biased and inefficient. In addition to ML, robust methods have also been developed, which are designed to minimize the effects of outlying cases. But the properties of robust estimates and their standard errors (SEs) have never been systematically studied. This article studies two robust methods and compares them against the ML method with respect to bias and efficiency using a confirmatory factor model. Simulation results show that robust methods lead to results comparable with ML when data are normally distributed. When data have heavy tails or outlying cases, robust methods lead to less biased and more efficient estimators than MLEs. A formula to obtain consistent SEs for one of the robust methods is also developed. The formula-based SEs for both robust estimators match the empirical SEs very well with medium-size samples. A sample of the Cross Racial Identity Scale with a 6-factor model is used for illustration. Results also confirm conclusions of the simulation study.