Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A low-frequency low-noise transceiver for human body channel communication

This paper presents a low power, highly integrated wireless transceiver ASIC designated for peer-to-peer wearable and portable data communication apparatus. The transceiver utilized a novel implementation of energy-efficient wideband impulse communication that uses the human body as the transmission medium, provides high communication data rate, low power consumption, high reception sensitivity and wide operation frequencies. The transceiver frequency was measured to be in the range of 0.3–15MHz. The data rate was approximately 5Mbps at a total power consumption of 5mW. The ASIC was fabricated with a standard 0.18-μιη CMOS process.
Identification of novel osteochondrosis— Associated genes

During the early stages of articular osteochondrosis, cartilage is retained in subchondral bone, but the pathophysiology of this condition of growing humans and domestic animals is poorly understood. A subtractive hybridization study was undertaken to compare gene expression between the cartilage of early experimentally induced equine osteochondrosis lesions and control cartilage. Of the many putative differentially expressed genes identified, eight were confirmed by quantitative PCR analysis as differentially expressed, in addition to those already known to be associated with early lesions. Genes encoding vacuolar H+‐ATPase V0 subunit d2 (ATP6V0D2), cathepsin K, integrin‐binding sialoprotein, integrin αV, low density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein 4, lumican, osteopontin, and thymosin β4 (TMSB4) were expressed at higher levels in lesions than in control cartilage. These genes included 34 genes not previously identified in cartilage. Some genes identified as associated with early lesions are known chondrocyte hypertrophy‐associated genes, and in transmission electron microscopy studies normal hypertrophic chondrocytes were observed in lesions. Differential expression of ATP6V0D2 and TMSB4 in the cartilage of early naturally occurring osteochondrosis lesions was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. These results identify novel osteochondrosis‐associated genes and provide evidence that articular osteochondrosis does not necessarily result from failure of chondrocytes to undergo hypertrophy. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:404–411, 2016.
It’s All about 'I': Implementing 'Integration' into a WIL Program

In recent years concerns have been raised about a gap emerging between graduate attributes and what industry requires (Yap, 1997; Albrecht and Sack, 2000). This is often referred to as a lack of 'employment readiness' of students and the need to engage industry with students and the curriculum. Such a concern was highlighted in the 2007 report titled 'Graduate Employability Skills' prepared for the Business, Industry and Higher Education Collaboration Council. While work integrated learning attempts to address this issue, it is questionable how successful this is if students are not adequately prepared prior to their placement. In an attempt to address this concern a Professional Development Program (the 'PDP') was developed. The PDP is integrated into the degree program and is designed to systematically develop students’ learning, employment and generic skills and supplements their theoretical studies. It is argued that this integration of the PDP permeating the Degree enhances students' employment readiness. In addition, the PDP created other tangential benefits to the students and the university in terms of student engagement and motivation. This paper details the procedures that have been developed, and provides preliminary evidence on the impact of the first part of the PDP. It will be argued by the authors that to attain the possible benefits of a WIL program it is critical that practices and support mechanisms are adopted to emphases the 'I' - that is, the integration of work and learning.
Private Speech Characterization with Secure Multiparty Computation

Deep learning in audio signal processing, such as human voice audio signal classification, is a rich application area of machine learning. Legitimate use cases include voice authentication, gunfire detection, and emotion recognition. While there are clear advantages to automated human speech classification, application developers can gain knowledge beyond the professed scope from unprotected audio signal processing. In this paper we propose the first privacy-preserving solution for deep learning-based audio classification that is provably secure. Our approach, which is based on Secure Multiparty Computation, allows to classify a speech signal of one party (Alice) with a deep neural network of another party (Bob) without Bob ever seeing Alice's speech signal in an unencrypted manner. As threat models, we consider both passive security, i.e. with semi-honest parties who follow the instructions of the cryptographic protocols, as well as active security, i.e. with malicious parties who deviate from the protocols. We evaluate the efficiency-security-accuracy trade-off of the proposed solution in a use case for privacy-preserving emotion detection from speech with a convolutional neural network. In the semi-honest case we can classify a speech signal in under 0.3 sec; in the malicious case it takes $\sim$1.6 sec. In both cases there is no leakage of information, and we achieve classification accuracies that are the same as when computations are done on unencrypted data.
Historical dynamics in ecosystem service bundles

Significance Most approaches to quantifying and mapping ecosystem services (ES) focus on a single point in time. This static approach cannot provide insight into whether and how the provision of ES changes through time. We examined spatiotemporal ES dynamics by reconstructing the regional provision of nine ES over 35 y. Our approach demonstrated that individual services, ES bundles, and interactions among ES changed across both time and space. We also identified trajectories of ES bundle change and explained how these changes were driven by policy, biophysical, and socioeconomic characteristics. Our study demonstrates the limitations of assuming stationarity in ES and their relationships, and emphasizes the importance of taking into account both time and space in the assessment of multiple ES. Managing multiple ecosystem services (ES), including addressing trade-offs between services and preventing ecological surprises, is among the most pressing areas for sustainability research. These challenges require ES research to go beyond the currently common approach of snapshot studies limited to one or two services at a single point in time. We used a spatiotemporal approach to examine changes in nine ES and their relationships from 1971 to 2006 across 131 municipalities in a mixed-use landscape in Quebec, Canada. We show how an approach that incorporates time and space can improve our understanding of ES dynamics. We found an increase in the provision of most services through time; however, provision of ES was not uniformly enhanced at all locations. Instead, each municipality specialized in providing a bundle (set of positively correlated ES) dominated by just a few services. The trajectory of bundle formation was related to changes in agricultural policy and global trends; local biophysical and socioeconomic characteristics explained the bundles’ increasing spatial clustering. Relationships between services varied through time, with some provisioning and cultural services shifting from a trade-off or no relationship in 1971 to an apparent synergistic relationship by 2006. By implementing a spatiotemporal perspective on multiple services, we provide clear evidence of the dynamic nature of ES interactions and contribute to identifying processes and drivers behind these changing relationships. Our study raises questions about using snapshots of ES provision at a single point in time to build our understanding of ES relationships in complex and dynamic social-ecological systems.
Moloney virus (M‐MuLV) leukemogenesis: Virus spread, antibody production and antigenic expression in neonatally virus‐inoculated young mice

(A × C57BL) and (A × C57L)F1, hybrid mice were inoculated neonatally with M‐MuLV. Virus spread, antigenic expression and antibody production were followed during the preleukemic period. M‐MuLV was first detectable in the spleen and later in the thymus. Virus spread was faster and the level of viremia higher in A × C57L than in A × C57BL mice. Also, A × C57L mice had no or only low titers of virus neutralizing antibodies, whereas A × C57BL mice had high titers. Anti‐MCSA antibodies, reacting with the surface of syngeneic M‐MuLV‐induced lymphoma cells, were present in a minority of the mice, but disappeared ultimately in all mice. The two groups of mice differed with regard to the length of the preleukemic latency period. High virus load and a low level of virus neutralizing and anti‐MCSA antibodies were correlated with an earlier onset of leukemia.
A Cross-sectional Study of QOL of Diabetic Patients at Tertiary Care Hospitals in Delhi

Background: According to WHO estimates India will be the global capital of diabetes by 2025, accounting for 57.2 million diabetics. Worsening the situation is the fact that diabetes affects the economically productive age-group (45-65 years) in developing countries. Objective: To measure quality of life (QOL) and study the clinical profiles and associated sociodemographic factors affecting diabetic patients aged 20 years and above. Materials and Methods: We conducted a hospital-based cross-sectional study using a generic instrument, Short-Form 36 (SF-36 of the Medical Outcome Study Group) to measure QOL of diabetic subjects aged ≥20 years. Two hundred and sixty diabetics, including 91 males and 169 females, were selected from the clinics of SSK Hospital and Dr RML Hospital of New Delhi. Data was analysed using SPSS for Windows, version 12. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 49.7 years, with 80% of respondents being in the age-group of 40-69 years. The majority (52.1%) of female respondents were illiterate and 91.1% were economically dependent. Of the male respondents, 65.9% were skilled workers. Substance abuse was present among 41.8% male subjects. Type 2 diabetes was the commonest, with 94.6% of the subjects having this form. The mean duration of diabetes was 6.96 ± 6.08 years. Oral hypoglycemic agents were being taken by 70.77% of the respondents. Among the diabetics the most common comorbidity was hypertension (30.8%) and the commonest complication was neuropathy (26.2%). We calculated the body mass index (BMI) of all subjects and found that, 46.2% of the male and 59.8% of the female respondents were either overweight or obese. As predicted by the waist/hip ratio (WHR), 53.8% of the male and 66.9% of the female respondents had high risk for CHD. Regular physical activity was undertaken by less than half of the subjects (46.5%). Out of eight domains of QOL in the SF-36, the two most affected were ‘General Health’ and ‘Vitality. ’ Overall, males had higher QOL scores; this was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.0001). SF-36 and its eight domain scores had significant association with socioeconomic status, education, and habitual physical activity. Conclusion: Diabetes had an adverse effect on the QOL of these study subjects. Females had a significantly poorer QOL than males. The domains most affected were ‘General Health’ and ‘Vitality. ’ Poor scores in the QOL domains were significantly associated with lower socioeconomic status, lesser education, and lesser habitual physical activity.
Predictors of sleep-disordered breathing in community-dwelling adults: the Sleep Heart Health Study.

BACKGROUND Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common, but largely undiagnosed in the general population. Information on demographic patterns of SDB occurrence and its predictive factors in the general population is needed to target high-risk groups that may benefit from diagnosis. METHODS The sample comprised 5615 community-dwelling men and women aged between 40 and 98 years who were enrolled in the Sleep Heart Health Study. Data were collected by questionnaire, clinical examinations, and in-home polysomnography. Sleep-disordered breathing status was based on the average number of apnea and hypopnea episodes per hour of sleep (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI]). We used multiple logistic regression modeling to estimate cross-sectional associations of selected participant characteristics with SDB defined by an AHI of 15 or greater. RESULTS Male sex, age, body mass index, neck girth, snoring, and repeated breathing pause frequency were independent, significant correlates of an AHI of 15 or greater. People reporting habitual snoring, loud snoring, and frequent breathing pauses were 3 to 4 times more likely to have an AHI of 15 or greater vs an AHI less than 15, but there were weaker associations for other factors with an AHI of 15 or greater. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for an AHI of 15 or greater vs an AHI less than 15 were 1.6 and 1.5, respectively, for 1-SD increments in body mass index and neck girth. As age increased, the magnitude of associations for SDB and body habitus, snoring, and breathing pauses decreased. CONCLUSIONS A significant proportion of occult SDB in the general population would be missed if screening or case finding were based solely on increased body habitus or male sex. Breathing pauses and obesity may be particularly insensitive for identifying SDB in older people. A better understanding of predictive factors for SDB, particularly in older adults, is needed.
Essays on Value Creation and Risk Assessment in Private Equity-Sponsored Buyouts

This dissertation discusses two overarching research topics. Firstly, a detailed analysis of the importance of different value creation drivers in private equity transactions and its determinants is presented. Secondly, transactions-specific risks are investigated. Portfolio company and private equity sponsor characteristics, as well as market effects, have a strong influence on the relative importance of various value creation drivers. The empirical analysis also shows that up to a debt-to-total-capital ratio of about 90 percent, more highly leveraged capital structures increase equity returns. It is also seen that, generally speaking, private equity sponsors accept higher risks during times of economic boom periods. On the other hand, however, more reputed private equity sponsors have a distinctively lower risk appetite.
Broad-scale redistribution of mRNA abundance and transcriptional machinery in response to growth rate in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

We have investigated the connection between the four-dimensional architecture of the bacterial nucleoid and the organism's global gene expression programme. By localizing the transcription machinery and the transcriptional outputs across the genome of the model bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium at different stages of the growth cycle, a surprising disconnection between gene dosage and transcriptional output was revealed. During exponential growth, gene output occurred chiefly in the Ori (origin), Ter (terminus) and NSL (non-structured left) domains, whereas the Left macrodomain remained transcriptionally quiescent at all stages of growth. The apparently high transcriptional output in Ter was correlated with an enhanced stability of the RNA expressed there during exponential growth, suggesting that longer mRNA half-lives compensate for low gene dosage. During exponential growth, RNA polymerase (RNAP) was detected everywhere, whereas in stationary phase cells, RNAP was concentrated in the Ter macrodomain. The alternative sigma factors RpoE, RpoH and RpoN were not required to drive transcription in these growth conditions, consistent with their observed binding to regions away from RNAP and regions of active transcription. Specifically, these alternative sigma factors were found in the Ter macrodomain during exponential growth, whereas they were localized at the Ori macrodomain in stationary phase.
Search for Large-scale Anisotropy on Arrival Directions of Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays Observed with the Telescope Array Experiment

Motivated by the detection of a significant dipole structure in the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays above 8 EeV reported by the Pierre Auger Observatory (Auger), we search for a large-scale anisotropy using data collected with the surface detector array of the Telescope Array Experiment (TA). With 11 yr of TA data, a dipole structure in a projection of the R.A. is fitted with an amplitude of 3.3% ± 1.9% and a phase of 131° ± 33°. The corresponding 99% confidence-level upper limit on the amplitude is 7.3%. At the current level of statistics, the fitted result is compatible with both an isotropic distribution and the dipole structure reported by Auger.
Expression of MSH2 and MSH6 on a tissue microarray in patients with osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND/AIM Reliable prognostic factors for the outcome of patients with osteosarcoma (OS) remain elusive. We analyzed the relationship between immunohistochemical expression of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, MutS protein homolog 2 (MSH2) and MSH6 using a tissue microarray (TMA) with respect to OS patient demographics and survival time. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrieved tumor tissue specimens from bone tissue originating from surgical primary tumor specimens of OS patients to generate a TMA and stained sections with antibodies against MSH2 and MSH6. RESULTS Tumor resections of 67 patients with a mean follow-up of 98 months were evaluated. MSH2 was expressed in nine (13%), MSH6 in ten (15%) and combined MSH2 and MSH6 (MSH2/6) in six (9%) patients. Significantly shorter survival times were associated with expression of MSH6, MSH2/6, as well as simultaneous non-response to chemotherapy and presence of metastasis. CONCLUSION The survival time of patients with OS may be predicted by local expression of MSH6 and MSH2/6 in surgical primary tumor resections. This study shows the prognostic value of the local expression of DNA MMR proteins, as markers for poor prognosis of OS patients.
Governance of IT outsourcing in SMEs : capabilities for successfully managing external IT resources

Information technology (IT) is in many cases business critical for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). IT outsourcing is an already common practice for SMEs and their IT outsourcing projects are often similar in size and demands with those of large corporations. This thesis aims to provide an answer to the following research question: "What are capabilities that facilitate the governance of IT outsourcing and lead to the successful management of external IT resources in SMEs? " The findings may be used to draw one or more hypotheses or propositions about IT outsourcing capabilities of SMEs. The study follows a positivistic qualitative approach and applies inductive analytical strategies and procedures to address the research question. The author presents multiple-case study research on SMEs in Austria and Germany and, based on a conceptual model from the literature, identifies capabilities that facilitate the governance of IT outsourcing in SMEs. This study explores these capabilities based on five IT governance domains (i.e. strategic alignment, value delivery, risk management, resource management, and performance measurement), which are commonly known in the professional IT management and cover most processes and aspects of the IT operations of a company. The outcome of this research is a model of ten capabilities that are expected to facilitate the governance of IT outsourcing in SMEs: (1) Relationship building, (2) business-IT linkage, (3) communication (4), knowledge management, (5) contract facilitation and monitoring, (6) informed buying, (7) process management, (8) quality management, (9) project management, and (10) IT goals planning and measurement. The conclusions provide suggestions for executive managers of SMEs on how to grow and develop IT outsourcing capabilities. Following these suggestions can substantially influence the IT outsourcing experience of SMEs and improve the benefits achieved through IT outsourcing.
Arts'Codes: generation of parallel-automata real-time systems, using a unifying diagrammatic component oriented design methodology

We present a new method for real-time embedded applications development. The method includes graphic design (Codes), and an execution platform based on parallel automata (Arts). The design method and the execution platform cooperate, so to win clarity in design and robustness in execution. We place our emphasize on the design stage. We introduce new ideas in graphic design to create a framework for the developer in order to arrange his/her thought. The graphic design was influenced by diagrammatic reasoning researches, and their conclusions. The design is component oriented; it is hierarchically homothetic and uses a minimum number of elements in order to minimize cognitive efforts. It unifies in one sort of diagram, the architectural view and the behavioral view of the system to build. A case study is presented in order to picture the method, and to compare the Arts'Codes method to other related ones.
Causes of mortality and associated modifiable health care factors for children (< 5-years) admitted at Onandjokwe Hospital, Namibia

Introduction: Many countries, especially those from sub-Saharan Africa, are unlikely to reach the Millennium Development Goal for under-5 mortality reduction by 2015. This study aimed to identify the causes of mortality and associated modifiable health care factors for under-5 year-old children admitted to Onandjokwe Hospital, Namibia. Method: A descriptive retrospective review of the medical records of all children under five years who died in the hospital for the period of 12 months during 2013, using two different structured questionnaires targeting perinatal deaths and post-perinatal deaths respectively. Results: The top five causes of 125 perinatal deaths were prematurity 22 (17.6%), birth asphyxia 19 (15.2%), congenital anomalies 16 (12.8%), unknown 13 (10.4%) and abruptio placenta 11 (8.8%). The top five causes of 60 post-perinatal deaths were bacterial pneumonia 21 (35%), gastroenteritis 12 (20%), severe malnutrition 6 (10%), septicaemia 6 (10%), and tuberculosis 4 (6.7%). Sixty-nine (55%) perinatal deaths and 42 (70%) post-perinatal deaths were potentially avoidable. The modifiable factors were: late presentation to a health care facility, antenatal clinics not screening for danger signs, long distance referral, district hospitals not providing emergency obstetric care, poor monitoring of labour and admitted children in the wards, lack of screening for malnutrition, failure to repeat an HIV test in pregnant women in the third trimester or during breastfeeding, and a lack of review of the urgent results of critically ill children. Conclusion: A significant number of deaths in children under 5-years of age could be avoided by paying attention to the modifiable factors identified in this study.