Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IIR filtering for acoustic echo cancellation

Acoustic echo cancellation is based on the identification of an acoustic coupling channel by an adaptive filter. The response length of the channel induces a very high complexity, while its rapid variations require fast processing. The few attempts found in the literature, using infinite impulse response (IIR) filters to reduce the complexity, show poor performance as compared to those of the finite impulse response (FIR) filters. The fundamental question of whether the poor performance stems from a sub-optimality of the updating procedures or from an irrelevancy of the pole-zero structure itself is investigated. These two points are treated in terms of a wave equation in a closed space and Hankel-norm approximation theory. <<ETX>>
Low-frequency fluctuations of a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser operating at cryogenic temperatures

This work demonstrates that mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers operating under external optical feedback can output a chaotic dynamics through low-frequency fluctuations close to 77 K. Results also show that the birth of chaotic dynamics is not limited to near-threshold pumping levels. In addition, when the semiconductor material is cooled down from room temperature to 77 K, it is found that laser destabilization takes place at a lower feedback ratio, proving that quantum cascade lasers are sensitive to temperature, likely due to changes in the upper state lifetime. These investigations are meaningful for the chaotic operation of quantum cascade lasers in secure atmospheric transmission lines and optical countermeasure systems.
Geochemical Evaluation of Fenghuoshan Group Lacustrine Carbonates, North‐Central Tibet: Implications for the Paleoaltimetry of the Eocene Tibetan Plateau

A sedimentologic, petrologic, and geochemical evaluation of lacustrine carbonates from the Eocene‐Oligocene Fenghuoshan Group of north‐central Tibet provides insight into the paleoenvironmental and paleolimnological setting of the Hoh Xil basin during the mid‐Tertiary. Fenghuoshan lacustrine rocks consist primarily of carbonate mudstones and wackestones. These carbonates are generally less than 3 m in thickness and are intercalated with siliciclastic lacustrine and fluvial/alluvial plain deposits. Individual limestone beds coarsen and contain increasing amounts of siliciclastic material upward. Fenghuoshan carbonates also contain abundant ostracode, bivalve, and charaphyte fossils. Sedimentologic evidence suggests that carbonate deposition occurred in shallow, relatively short‐lived lacustrine systems that were subsequently filled by alluvial deposits of coeval fluvial systems. Stable C and O isotopic analysis of Fenghuoshan carbonates show δ18O values ranging from −11.7‰ to −10.3‰ (Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite [VPDB]) and δ13C values between −7.1‰ and −2.2‰ (VPDB). The lack of correlation between the two isotopic systems supports the sedimentological interpretation of a shallow, hydrologically open lacustrine setting during the time of carbonate deposition. This interpretation is reinforced by the mineralogy and Mg/Ca molar ratios from Fenghuoshan lacustrine carbonates that indicate fresh water conditions. In addition, petrographic analysis and the δ18O composition of samples suggest that Fenghuoshan lacustrine rocks have not undergone significant diagenetic alteration. Collectively, these data indicate that the isotopic composition of Fenghuoshan Group carbonates may be used to infer the oxygen isotopic composition of meteoric water feeding these lacustrine basins at the time of deposition, from which we derive estimates of the paleoaltimetry of north‐central Tibet during Middle Eocene time. Model results using the isotopic data from Fenghuoshan carbonates indicate that the hypsometric mean elevation of the drainage basins feeding Hoh Xil lakes was ≲2 km. Together with estimates of the Eocene paleoaltimetry from the Lunpola basin to the south, these results provide the first direct evidence for the differential uplift of the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.
Artificial defects in CFRP composite structure for thermography and shearography nondestructive inspection

Locating defects in CFRP composite materials is a hot topic in nondestructive inspection (NDI). Beside classical NDI technique, such as ultrasound testing (UT), contactless techniques are actively studied. Generally manufacturers of CFRP structure incorporate artificial defects in the bulk, with different extents and depths, in order to study the performance of a specific NDI technique to detect the defect. One of the most common defects in CFRP is delamination between two layers. This is simulated by inserting teflon sheets which, like air, acts as ultrasound blocker in UT. When such reference part is used to assess NDI performance of thermography or shearography, we only observe respectively the thermal or mechanical response of teflon with respect to external loading used with these techniques. In this work, we assess other possibilities for artificial defects in CFRP matrix. For that a CFRP structure was developed and which incorporates teflon, flat-bottom holes and delamination obtained by the pull-out method. We experimentally studied the signals and we discuss the difference between the various artificial defects methods.
DETERMINANTS OF THE PROFITABILITY OF SHARED-CUSTOMER VERSUS SHARED-RESOURCE SCOPE ADVANTAGES

105 words) Scope-based competitive advantages are among the central explanations of firms’ choice of scope, yet differences in the performance implications of different types of scope advantages have remained under-theorized. We develop economic models to compare the profitability of sharedresource versus shared-customer scope advantages, and find three key differences. Unlike the shared-resource case, the profitability of deploying a shared-customer scope advantage: (1) depends on whether customers in the market are intrinsically loyal or disloyal to companies across their products, (2) differs according to whether the advantage is cost-decreasing or increasing customer willingness-to-pay, and (3) can sometimes be negative due to provoking a highly aggressive response from rivals.
Adjunctive Treatment in Insulin Therapy in Autoimmune-Mediated Diabetes (Type 1 and Type LADA Diabetes)

Tightening of the diabetes control criteria in the last few years induces searches for adjunctive drugs to reinforce the basic treatment typical for the specific type of the disease. Disorders of glucose homeostasis may be the result of a deficiency of insulin resulting from the destruction of β cells. Formerly it was thought that this is the only factor in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes. Currently, it is already known that insulin resistance is also present in these forms of diabetes, as well as impaired secretion and the action of other hormones. This diversity of mechanisms leading to the manifestation of diabetes causes that in addition to the drugs considered to be basic for a specific type of diabetes, supplementary drugs are needed to improve metabolic disorders. Metformin is traditionally used among these medicines. Currently, however, more modern drug groups are being used more and more often. There are many indications that they have a beneficial effect not only as drugs that reduce insulin resistance, but also may play a role in immunization processes and promote the protective function of β cells. Among these new drug groups, GLP-1R receptor agonists stimulate the growth and differentiation of β cells, and also affect the process of differentiation of young pancreatic cells and can participate in the reproduction of β-cells of the pancreas. Experimental studies also indicate that GLP-1 may be used in gene therapy of diabetes and in the culture of β cells for their use in transplantation. Role dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors in autoimmune diabetes require further research. In the group of patients with LADA-type diabetes improved glycemic control was observed. The beneficial effect of DPP-4 inhibitors in combination with vitamin D3 observed in new-onset type 1 diabetes and in LADA in preserving the residual function of β cells.
Politically connected boards and top executive pay in Chinese listed firms

type="main" xml:id="smj2253-abs-0001"> Drawing on social comparison theory, this study examines the relationship between politically connected boards and top executive pay. Moreover, given the socialist orientation of China, tests are also carried out to establish the relationship between politically connected directors and pay dispersion across the firm. We find a negative association between politically connected boards and top executive pay. We also find that politically connected boards are negatively associated with pay dispersion, i.e., the higher the number of political directors on the board the smaller the gap between top executive pay and average employee pay. Finally, our study shows that politically connected directors weaken the pay-performance link. These findings have important theoretical, policy, and managerial implications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A New Approach to the Classification of Periodontal Diseases

For the past decade, our research group at the Division of Periodontics, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, has focused on the study of gene expression signatures in gingival tissues, having as overall aims to (1) gain a better understanding of the pathobiology of periodontal diseases, and (2) provide the foundation for the development of a new classification of periodontitis based on pathobiology rather than on clinical symptomatology.
Policy Rules , Regime Switches , and Trend In ation : An Empirical Investigation for the U . S . Efrem Castelnuovo

This paper estimates Taylor rules featuring instabilities in policy parameters, switches in policy shocksvolatility, and time-varying trend ination using post-WWII U.S. data. The model embedding the stochastic target performs better in terms of data- t and identi cation of the changes in the FOMCs chairmanships. Policy breaks are found not to be synchronized with variations in policy shocksvolatilities. Finally, we detect a negative correlation between systematic monetary policy aggressiveness and ination gap persistence. First draft: June 2008. We thank Gianni Amisano, Francesco Bianchi, Giacomo Carboni, Matteo Ciccarelli, Patrick Crowley, Troy Davig, Esa Jokivuolle, David Mayes, Jouko Vilmunen, Paolo Zagaglia as well as participants at presentations held at University of Padua, CEF 2008 (Paris), Bank of Finland, ICEEE 2009 (Ancona), SNDE 2009 (Atlanta), and RES 2009 (Guildford) for useful comments and suggestions. The opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reect those of the Bank of Finland. All remaining errors are ours. Authorse-mail accounts: efrem.castelnuovo@unipd.it, luciano.greco@unipd.it, davide.raggi@unibo.it . Keywords: Policy switches, heteroskedasticity, trend ination, ination gap persistence, Markov-Switching models. JEL Classi cation: E52, E61, E62.
Comparative study of children with calciopaenic and phosphopaenic rickets seen at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital

Introduction: The majority of causes of rickets can be divided into two large pathogenic groups, namely calciopaenic and phosphopaenic. Few studies have compared the clinical and biochemical presentations of the two forms of rickets. The aim of this study was to compare the demographic, clinical and biochemical presentations and response to therapy of children with calciopaenic and phosphopaenic rickets. Methodology: The study is a retrospective chart review of children diagnosed with rickets at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) in Johannesburg, South Africa, between 2006 and 2012. The radiological response to therapy was evaluated using the Thacher scoring system to assess the severity of rickets. Results: The study comprises 112 patients from 2 months to 18 years of age diagnosed with rickets (53% with calciopaenic rickets and 47% with phosphopaenic rickets). The calciopaenic group was younger than the phosphopaenic group (20 [7–26] vs 36 [24–51] months; p<0.001), but the phosphopaenic group was more severely stunted than the calciopaenic group at presentation (HAZ scores −3.3 [−4.5 to −2.1] vs −2 [−3.4 to 0.7]; p<0.001). Following treatment, 75% of patients in the calciopaenic group had biomarkers that had normalised completely within a median of 13 (9–18) weeks while only 10% in the phosphopaenic group had normalised within a median of 17 (17–50) weeks. Radiological healing in response to treatment was better in the calciopaenic group compared to the phosphopaenic group (67.5% vs 18%; p-value <0.01). Conclusion: Calciopaenic rickets (mainly vitamin D deficiency) presented at a younger age and response to therapy was better compared to phosphopaenic rickets (mainly X-linked hypophosphataemic rickets). This study highlights the significant differences between calciopaenic and phosphopaenic rickets, which may be helpful to attending orthopaedic surgeons and paediatricians in differentiating between these two groups of rickets and in the management thereof. Summary of abstract: This study highlights the differences between calciopaenic and phosphopaenic rickets, which may be of assistance to attending orthopaedic surgeons and paediatricians in the management of rickets. The study shows that in children with calciopaenic rickets, the majority are vitamin D deficient, and present at a younger age with craniotabes and less severe lower limb deformities compared to children with phosphopaenic rickets who mainly have X-linked hypophosphataemic rickets and are severely short in stature and have genu valgum deformities. The medical management of the two types of rickets differs and response to medical therapy is better in the calciopaenic compared to the phosphopaenic group.
Hindsight Bias And The Evaluation Of Strategic Performance

This article reviews the literature on hindsight bias and applies it to the context of strategic performance evaluation. Hindsight bias, the tendency for people to view an event as more foreseeable after the event than prior to the event, is a well-documented cognitive bias. In evaluating the quality of the processes by which strategic decisions are made, evaluators are aware of the outcomes of these decisions and, therefore, are subject to the distorting effects of hindsight bias. Preventative measures are reviewed and recommendations for further research suggested.
INTERACTION OF LASER-INDUCED STRESS WAVES WITH METALS

The effect of high intensity laser induced stress waves on the hardness and tensile strength of 2024 and 7075 aluminum and on the fatigue properties of 7075 aluminum were investigated. Laser shocking of these alloys increases the hardness of the underaged 2024-T351 but has little or no effect on the peak aged 2024-T851 and 7075-T651 or the over-aged 7075-T73. The largest increases in tensile strength were observed in 7075-T73, lesser increases in 2024-T351 and none in 2024-T851 or 7075-T651. The fretting fatigue life of fastener joints of 7075-T6 was increased by orders of magnitude by laser shocking the region around the fastener hole before drilling and assembling. Also the fatigue crack propa gation rates were significantly decreased by laser shocking.
Spitzer Power-Law Active Galactic Nucleus Candidates in the Chandra Deep Field-North

We define a sample of 62 galaxies in the Chandra Deep Field-North whose Spitzer IRAC SEDs exhibit the characteristic power-law emission expected of luminous AGNs. We study the multiwavelength properties of this sample and compare the AGNs selected in this way to those selected via other Spitzer color-color criteria. Only 55% of the power-law galaxies are detected in the X-ray catalog at exposures of >0.5 Ms, although a search for faint emission results in the detection of 85% of the power-law galaxies at the ≥2.5 σ detection level. Most of the remaining galaxies are likely to host AGNs that are heavily obscured in the X-ray. Because the power-law selection requires the AGNs to be energetically dominant in the near- and mid-infrared, the power-law galaxies comprise a significant fraction of the Spitzer-detected AGN population at high luminosities and redshifts. The high 24 μm detection fraction also points to a luminous population. The power-law galaxies comprise a subset of color-selected AGN candidates. A comparison with various mid-infrared color selection criteria demonstrates that while the color-selected samples contain a larger fraction of the X-ray-luminous AGNs, there is evidence that these selection techniques also suffer from a higher degree of contamination by star-forming galaxies in the deepest exposures. Considering only those power-law galaxies detected in the X-ray catalog, we derive an obscured fraction of 68% (2 : 1). Including all of the power-law galaxies suggests an obscured fraction of <81% (4 : 1).
Hierarchical adaptive polynomial chaos expansions

Polynomial chaos expansions (PCE) are widely used in the framework of uncertainty quantification. However, when dealing with high dimensional complex problems, challenging issues need to be faced. For instance, high-order polynomials may be required, which leads to a large polynomial basis whereas usually only a few of the basis functions are in fact significant. Taking into account the sparse structure of the model, advanced techniques such as sparse PCE (SPCE), have been recently proposed to alleviate the computational issue. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to SPCE, which allows one to exploit the model's hierarchical structure. The proposed approach is based on the adaptive enrichment of the polynomial basis using the so-called principle of heredity. As a result, one can reduce the computational burden related to a large pre-defined candidate set while obtaining higher accuracy with the same computational budget.
Reparação Cirúrgica de Fratura de Olécrano em Eqüino

As fraturas de olecrano ocorrem frequentemente em equinos, especialmente em potros jovens. A causa mais comum da fratura relaciona-se ao trauma externo originado, principalmente, por coices ou quedas. Modalidades distintas de tratamento incluindo o repouso prolongado ou a reparacao cirurgica dos variados tipos de fratura tem sido executadas com diferentes resultados. Este trabalho tem por objetivo a descricao de um caso de fratura de olecrano em um equino adulto reparada cirurgicamente por meio de placa e parafusos ortopedicos. O animal apresentou recuperacao plena da funcao locomotora desempenhando normalmente suas funcoes por mais 7 anos. Informacoes relativas ao historico, sinais clinicos, diagnostico, tratamento cirurgico e prognostico sao discutidas e comparadas com a literatura.
Electromagnetic fluctuations of the whistler‐cyclotron and firehose instabilities in a Maxwellian and Tsallis‐kappa‐like plasma

Observed electron velocity distributions in the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind exhibit a variety of nonthermal features which deviate from thermal equilibrium, for example, in the form of temperature anisotropies, suprathermal tail extensions, and field‐aligned beams. The state close to thermal equilibrium and its departure from it provides a source for spontaneous emissions of electromagnetic fluctuations, such as the whistler. Here we present a comparative analysis of the electron whistler‐cyclotron and firehose fluctuations based upon anisotropic plasma modeled with Maxwellian and Tsallis‐kappa‐like particle distributions, to explain the correspondence relationship of the magnetic fluctuations as a function of the electron temperature and thermal anisotropy in the solar wind and magnetosphere plasmas. The analysis presented here considers correlation theory of the fluctuation‐dissipation theorem and the dispersion relation of transverse fluctuations, with wave vectors parallel to the uniform background magnetic field, in a finite temperature anisotropic thermal bi‐Maxwellian and nonthermal Tsallis‐kappa‐like magnetized electron‐proton plasma. Dispersion analysis and stability thresholds are derived for these thermal and nonthermal distributions using plasma and field parameters relevant to the solar wind and magnetosphere environments. Our results indicate that there is an enhancement of the fluctuations level in the case of nonthermal distributions due to the effective higher temperature and the excess of suprathermal particles. These results suggest that a comparison of the electromagnetic fluctuations due to thermal and nonthermal distributions provides a diagnostic signature by which inferences about the nature of the particle velocity distribution function can be ascertained without in situ particle measurements.
Indoor Environmrnt Of A Classroom In A Passive School Building With Displacement Ventilation

Indoor air quality and thermal comfort of the passive school buildings should be particularly paid more attentions due to those new passive school buildings adopted highly airtight building envelopes. In this study indoor environment of a very densely occupied classroom with displacement ventilation has been investigated. In order to appropriately model the classroom, all the simulation parameters are based on a typical real classroom structure, its air tightness and infiltration rate were measured. CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations were then performed for a typical summer day in Munich in the accordingly modelled classroom. Representative thermal comfort parameters e.g. vertical temperature difference between ankle and head, and percentage of dissatisfied etc. have been analyzed and evaluated. The results obtained show that the displacement ventilation in the present work could provide generally favourable human thermal comfort and at the same time guarantee high indoor air quality indicated by the CO2 concentration in the occupant regions. Numerical results demonstrate that promotion of mechanical ventilation rate can simultaneously enhance the dilution of indoor air pollutants and the non-uniformity of indoor pollutant distributions. Moreover, those results derived from the spatially and temporally resolved 3D distributions of the indoor air temperature and CO2 concentration, respectively, can help find the appropriate locations in the classroom for a single temperature and CO2 sensor inside the classroom to representatively measure the indoor air temperature and CO2 concentration in a long running term.