Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dissipativity Analysis for T–S Fuzzy System Under Memory Sampled-Data Control

The dissipative stability problem for a class of Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy systems with variable sampling control is the focus of this paper. The controller signals are assumed to transmit with a constant delay. Our aim is to design the sampled-data controller such that the T–S fuzzy system is globally asymptotically stable with a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$(\mathcal {Q},\mathcal {S},\mathcal {R})$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\gamma $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-dissipative performance index. The stability is analyzed by using a novel piecewise Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF) together with a looped-functional and free-matrix-based (FMB) inequality method. First, several useful linear matrix inequality (LMI) conditions are derived to verify the dissipative stability of the T–S fuzzy system and then the controller gains matrices are expressed by resorting the LMI approach with the maximal-allowable upper bound (MAUB) of sampling periods. The proposed LMI conditions can be easily solved by using the MATLAB tool box. Finally, the numerical example of a truck–trailer system is considered and analyzed by the proposed scheme to illustrate the benefit and superiority.
Detailed regional predictions of N 2 O and NO emissions from a tropical highland rainforest

Tropical forest soils are a significant source for the greenhouse gas N 2 O as well as for NO, a precursor of tropospheric ozone. However, current estimates are uncertain due to the limited number of field measurements. Furthermore, there is considerable spatial and temporal variability of N 2 O and NO emissions due to the variation of environmental conditions such as soil properties, vegetation characteristics and meteorology. In this study we used a process-based model (ForestDNDC-tropica) to estimate N 2 O and NO emissions from tropical highland forest (Nyungwe) soils in southwestern Rwanda. To extend the model inputs to regional scale, ForestDNDC-tropica was linked to an exceptionally large legacy soil dataset. There was agreement between N 2 O and NO measurements and the model predictions though the ForestDNDC-tropica resulted in considerable lower emissions for few sites. Low similarity was specifically found for acidic soil with high clay content and reduced metals, indicating that chemo-denitrification processes on acidic soils might be under-represented in the current ForestDNDC-tropica model. The results showed that soil bulk density and pH are the most influential factors driving spatial variations in soil N 2 O and NO emissions for tropical forest soils. The area investigated (1113 km 2 ) was estimated to emit ca. 439 p 50 t N 2 O-N yr −1 (2.8–5.5 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 yr −1 ) and 244 p 16 t NO-N yr −1 (0.8–5.1 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ). Consistent with less detailed studies, we confirm that tropical highland rainforest soils are a major source of atmospheric N 2 O and NO.
Mitochondrial absorption of short wavelength light drives primate blue retinal cones into glycolysis which may increase their pace of aging

Abstract Photoreceptors have high energy demands and densely packed mitochondria through which light passes before phototransduction. Old world primates including humans have three cone photoreceptor types mediating color vision with short (S blue), medium (M green), and long (L red) wavelength sensitivities. However, S-cones are enigmatic. They comprise <10% of the total cone population, their responses saturate early, and they are susceptible in aging and disease. Here, we show that primate S-cones actually have few mitochondria and are fueled by glycolysis, not by mitochondrial respiration. Glycolysis has a limited ability to sustain activity, potentially explaining early S-cone saturation. Mitochondria act as optical filters showing reduced light transmission at 400–450 nm where S-cones are most sensitive (420 nm). This absorbance is likely to arise in a mitochondrial porphyrin that absorbs strongly in the Soret band. Hence, reducing mitochondria will improve S-cone sensitivity but result in increased glycolysis as an alternative energy source, potentially increasing diabetic vulnerability due to restricted glucose access. Further, glycolysis carries a price resulting in premature functional decline as seen in aged S-cones. Soret band absorption may also impact on mitochondrial rich M and L cones by reducing sensitivity at the lower end of their spectral sensitivity range resulting in increased differentiation from S-cone responses. These data add to the list of unique characteristic of S-cones and may also explain aspects of their vulnerability.
Management Entrenchment, Agency Problem and Audit Fees

This study examines the association between audit fees and management entrenchment, which is proxied by Bebchuk et al. (2005) entrenchment index. The results show that audit fees are significantly positively correlated with Bebchuk et al. (2005) entrenchment index controlling for other factors. Further results show that the positive relation between audit fees and the entrenchment index exists only in firm with low growth opportunity and high free cash flow (i.e. firms with severe Jensen agency problem). These results indicate that firms’ agency problems moderate the association between audit fees and management entrenchment.
Hyperprolactinaemia associated with giant uterine myoma, description of a case and review of literature

Prolactin was first identified as a lactation hormone, but subsequent studies revealed its complex effects in the maintenance of homeostasis (Riddle and Dykshorn 1933). Pituitary lactotroph cells are the primary source of prolactin, but there are other organs, tissues and cells in which prolactin is expressed and/or released and it is involved in various regulatory processes (extra-pituitary prolactin: ePRL) (Marano and Ben-Jonathan 2014). In mammals, the uterus is a well-known site of ePRL secretion (Bao et al. 2007; Marano and Ben-Jonathan 2014). Hyperprolactinaemia has various physiological, pathological and pharmacological causes (Melmed et al. 2011). Regarding pathological causes, several neoplasms of varying origin can give rise to hyperprolactinaemia through multiple different mechanisms. Among these neoplasms, prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas are the most common, but other neoplasms derived from extrapituitary prolactin expression sites can cause neoplasia associated hyperprolactinaemia. Here, we present a female patient who has hyperprolactinaemia associated with uterine myoma unresponsive to medical treatment.
The Role of Marketing Resources in Radical Innovation Activity: Antecedents and Payoffs†

While radical product innovations represent significant engines of firm growth, questions remain over whether marketing helps or hurts (1) a firm's radical product innovation activity and (2) its rewards from radical product innovation activity. By attaching an attention-based view of the firm to a market-based assets view of marketing, this paper examines the role of three marketing resources—market knowledge, reputation, and relational resources—on radical innovation activity. Our conceptual framework posits differentiated effects among marketing resources as antecedents of radical innovation activity and as moderators of its impact on firms' financial performance. Using a survey of a broad set of high-tech business-to-business (B2B) firms to test hypotheses, it is found that firms with strong relational resources enjoy a higher propensity for, and stronger financial rewards from, radical innovation activity. Reputational resources come with a trade-off as they hurt the incidence of radical innovation but enhance its financial rewards. However, market knowledge resources appear to hurt both radical innovation activity and its financial rewards. Our results point to the multifaceted role of marketing in radical innovation activity, which is unlikely to come with a single benefit or liability as prior work often posits. Rather, our research heightens the alertness of managers to assess their firms' marketing strength as a bundle of stocks of several marketing resources. Managers must understand the distinct benefits and drawbacks of each resource in developing and launching radical innovations. Our research underscores the differentiated value of marketing in radical innovation activity in B2B high-tech contrary to the entrenched idea of a limited or even stifling role of marketing in this context.
The Relationship Between Foreign Aid and Growth: A Comparative Analysis of Low Income, Lower-Middle Income and Upper-Middle-Income African Countries

The research is financed from Humanities and Social Science Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of China （ 13YJCZH133 ） Abstract Our paper studies 53 African economies by segregating them into 27 Africa low-income economies (ALICs), 18 Africa lower-middle-income economies (ALMICs) and 8 Africa upper-middle-income (AUMICs) economies according to United Nations (UN) income threshold categorization. The paper uses panel data of aid and GDP (economic growth) with control variables from 1990 to 2015 to investigate the direction and causal linkage between aid and economic growth in a quest to fill the void created by previous empirical literature in generating inconclusive results on the effects of foreign aid on economic growth through aggregate countries studies. Our study addresses this gap by employing Pedroni (1999) panel cointegration method to test the cointegration relationship between the series and the granger causality is investigated by the pooled mean group estimator (PMGE). Then, we investigate whether or not a strong relationship between aid and economic growth holds by using Pedroni (2001) method of Panel FMOLS and DOLS estimates. The results established the existence of cointegration relationship between aid and growth in all the three income sub-groups. There is also evidence of bidirectional granger causality between aid and economic growth in low- income and lower-middle income sub-groups. The results however record unidirectional causality in the case of African upper-income sub-group. There are mixed panel FMOLS and DOLS findings for the groups. The panel results indicate a strong relationship between aid and growth for the lower and upper-middle-income economies and no strong relationship for the low-income countries. The issues of strong aid-growth relationship in the individual country case analysis present a new perspective to policy makers to understand by taking into consideration the specific degree of GDP growth in each country in order to formulate effective aid-based policies to propel growth. Keywords: foreign aid, economic growth, Africa, disaggregated aid, Causality Analysis
PATTERN OF NEWS MEDIA CONSUMPTION AND NEWS DISCUSSION AMONG YOUTH: A TEST OF AGENDA SETTING THEORY

There have been many studies in the media consumption habits among youth. Previous studies reported that youth preferred news on online media compared to other news media. This study tries to explore the pattern of news media consumption and interpersonal news discussions. The specific objectives of the study are (1) to determine the level of perceived news media credibility, (2) to find out the level of news media consumption, (3) to find out the extent of interpersonal news discussions, (4) to analyze the relationship between perceived media credibility and news media consumption with interpersonal news discussions, and (5) to differentiate between selected demographic characteristic with news media consumption and interpersonal news discussions. The study made use of survey research design method. The data were collected using a set ofself-administered questionnaire. A sample of 1363 was randomly selected usingstratified random sample. Malaysian youth aged 15-25 years old were gathered for the study. The data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 16.0. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used for the study.
Effects of HRM Practices on Chinese Firms’ Organizational Performance: The Moderating Effect of CEO Support

There has been growing interest in the relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance, but few studies have provided evidence supporting this relationship by considering the moderating effect of CEO support. Therefore, this study intends to examine the effects of various HRM practices on organizational performance and the moderating effect of CEO support on the relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance through a survey on 215 Chinese firms. The results indicate a positive relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance and verify the moderating effect of CEO support on this relationship. This study is the first one on demonstrating the moderating effect of CEO support on the relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance in the context of Chinese firms. These findings may help adding knowledge to the Chinese firms’ CEOs while considering about making HR policies and HRM activities which are mainly decided by their attitudes and participations.
PRE-SERVICE SECONDARY SCIENCE TEACHERS’ IMAGES ABOUT THEMSELVES AS SCIENCE TEACHERS

The purpose of this study is to explore pre-service secondary science teachers’ images of themselves as science teachers. Also, the association between instructional style, and domains was explored. 130 secondary science teachers (biology, chemistry and physics) from 26 public universities participated in the data collection for this study. The Draw a Science Teacher Test Checklist (DASTT-C) was used as a data collection instrument. The results of study showed that pre-service science teachers’ images is 24.62% student-centred, 53.85% between student and teacher-centred, and 21.4% teacher-centred teaching style approaches. A significant association was found between domain and instructional style. Pre-service chemistry teachers were more willing to use student-centred teaching style rather than pre-service biology and pre-service physics teachers. Key words: DASTT-C, pre-service science teacher, secondary science education.
Fibrocyte accumulation in the airway walls of COPD patients

The remodelling mechanism and cellular players causing persistent airflow limitation in COPD remain largely elusive. We have recently demonstrated that circulating fibrocytes, a rare population of fibroblast-like cells produced by the bone marrow stroma, are increased in COPD patients during an exacerbation. We aimed to quantify fibrocyte density in situ in bronchial specimens from both control subjects and COPD patients, to define associations with relevant clinical, functional and computed tomography (CT) parameters, and to investigate the effect of the epithelial microenvironment on fibrocyte survival in vitro (“Fibrochir” study). A total of 17 COPD patients and 25 control subjects, all requiring thoracic surgery, were recruited. Using co-immunostaining and image analysis, we identified CD45+ FSP1+ cells as tissue fibrocytes, and quantified their density in distal and proximal bronchial specimens. Fibrocytes, cultured from the blood samples of six COPD patients, were exposed to primary bronchial epithelial cell secretions from control subjects or COPD patients. We demonstrate that fibrocytes are increased in both distal and proximal tissue specimens of COPD patients. The density of fibrocytes is negatively correlated with lung function parameters and positively correlated with bronchial wall thickness as assessed by CT scan. A high density of distal bronchial fibrocytes predicts the presence of COPD with a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 70%. Exposure of fibrocytes to COPD epithelial cell supernatant favours cell survival. Our results thus demonstrate an increased density of fibrocytes within the bronchi of COPD patients, which may be promoted by epithelial-derived survival-mediating factors. A high density of tissue fibrocytes is associated with reduced lung function and an increase in airway wall thickness bit.ly/2JO71Dq
Novel polymorphic microsatellite loci in Anisakis pegreffii and A. simplex (s. s.) (Nematoda: Anisakidae): implications for species recognition and population genetic analysis

Abstract The species of Anisakis constitute one of the most widespread groups of ascaridoid nematodes in the marine ecosystem. Three closely related taxa are recognised in the A. simplex (s. l.) complex, i.e. A. pegreffii, A. simplex (s. s.) and A. berlandi. They are distributed in populations of their intermediate/paratenic (fish and squids) and definitive (cetaceans) hosts. A panel of seven microsatellite loci (Anisl 05784, Anisl 08059, Anisl 00875, Anisl 07132, Anisl 00314, Anisl 10535 and Anisl 00185), were developed and validated on a total of N = 943 specimens of A. pegreffii and A. simplex (s. s.), collected in fish and cetacean hosts from allopatric areas within the range of distribution of these parasite species. In addition, the locus Anisl 7, previously detected in those Anisakis spp. , was investigated. The parasites were first identified by sequence analysis of the EF1 α-1 nDNA. The panel of the microsatellites loci here developed have allowed to: (i) detect diagnostic microsatellite loci between the two species; (ii) identify specimens of the two species A. pegreffii, A. simplex (s. s.) in a multi-marker nuclear genotyping approach; (iii) discover two sex-linked loci in both Anisakis species and (iv) estimate levels of genetic differentiation at both the inter- and intra-specific level.
From Group-Level Statistics to Single-Subject Prediction: Machine Learning Detection of Concussion in Retired Athletes

There has been increased effort to understand the neurophysiological effects of concussion aimed to move diagnosis and identification beyond current subjective behavioral assessments that suffer from poor sensitivity. Recent evidence suggests that event-related potentials (ERPs) measured with electroencephalography (EEG) are persistent neurophysiological markers of past concussions. However, as such evidence is limited to group-level analyzes, the extent to which they enable concussion detection at the individual-level is unclear. One promising avenue of research is the use of machine learning to create quantitative predictive models that can detect prior concussions in individuals. In this paper, we translate the recent group-level findings from ERP studies of concussed individuals into a machine learning framework for performing single-subject prediction of past concussion. We found that a combination of statistics of single-subject ERPs and wavelet features yielded a classification accuracy of 81% with a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 80%, improving on current practice. Notably, the model was able to detect concussion effects in individuals who sustained their last injury as much as 30 years earlier. However, failure to detect past concussions in a subset of individuals suggests that the clear effects found in group-level analyses may not provide us with a full picture of the neurophysiological effects of concussion.
Identification of potential diagnostic biomarkers for Parkinson's disease

The identification of biomarkers for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) prior to the onset of symptoms may improve the effectiveness of therapy. To identify potential biomarkers, we downloaded microarray datasets of PD from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PD and normal control (NC) groups were obtained, and the feature selection procedure and classification model were used to identify optimal diagnostic gene biomarkers for PD. A total of 1229 genes (640 up‐regulated and 589 down‐regulated) were obtained for PD, and nine DEGs (PTGDS, GPX3, SLC25A20, CACNA1D, LRRN3, POLR1D, ARHGAP26, TNFSF14 and VPS11) were selected as optimal PD biomarkers with great diagnostic value. These nine DEGs were significantly enriched in regulation of circadian sleep/wake cycle, sleep and gonadotropin‐releasing hormone signaling pathway. Finally, we examined the expression of GPX3, SLC25A20, LRRN3 and POLR1D in blood samples of patients with PD by qRT‐PCR. GPX3, LRRN3 and POLR1D exhibited the same expression pattern as in our analysis. In conclusion, this study identified nine DEGs that may serve as potential biomarkers of PD.
Analytic approach to understanding the impact of mask errors on optical lithography

The characterization of the MEEF for a variety of feature types under a variety of processing conditions is presented. Analytic expressions for the aerial image MEEF under simple incoherent and coherent illumination conditions are derived, including the effect of defocus. Eros in processing, such as focus and exposure errors, also affect the value of the MEEF. Thus, another approach to evaluating the impact of mask errors is to look at the reduction in the process window caused by these errors. Using simulation, a study of the impact of mask CD errors on the overlapping process windows is presented and used as the basis for realistic mask CD specifications.
Robust abundance estimate for endangered river dolphin subspecies in South Asia

Robust estimates of absolute abundance are vital for management of threatened spe- cies, but these have rarely been generated for endangered South Asian river dolphins due to methodological challenges. An estimate of abundance for the Indus River dolphin in 2006 was gen- erated by conducting tandem vessel-based direct counts; conditional likelihood capture-recapture models were then used to correct for missed animals. Group size and sighting conditions were in- cluded as covariates, and abundances of the 3 largest subpopulations were estimated as 101 (coef- ficient of variation, CV = 44.1%) between Chashma and Taunsa barrages, 52 (CV = 14.9%) be- tween Taunsa barrage and Ghazi Ghat, and 1289 (CV = 33.4%) between Guddu and Sukkur barrages. A total of 75.3% of groups were seen by both independent survey teams, and single ani- mals were almost 5 times more likely to be missed than groups of 3 or more. Providing groups can be matched with minimal error, this survey method shows good potential for abundance estimation of dolphins in confined habitat and the shallow rivers of South Asia. Dolphin encounter rates within the Guddu-Sukkur subpopulation (10.35 km −1 ) are the highest reported for any river dolphin. Direct counts conducted over a 35 yr period, suggest that this subpopulation may have been in- creasing in abundance, probably due to the cessation of hunting and possible immigration from other subpopulations. The future of South Asian river dolphins is intimately tied to water security in the region, and escalating and competing demands for freshwater mean that the long-term future of South Asia's river dolphins is uncertain.