Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parametric resonance in tunable superconducting cavities

We develop a theory of parametric resonance in tunable superconducting cavities. The nonlinearity introduced by the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) attached to the cavity and damping due to connection of the cavity to a transmission line are taken into consideration. We study in detail the nonlinear classical dynamics of the cavity field below and above the parametric threshold for the degenerate parametric resonance, featuring regimes of multistability and parametric radiation. We investigate the phase-sensitive amplification of external signals on resonance, as well as amplification of detuned signals, and relate the amplifier performance to that of linear parametric amplifiers. We also discuss applications of the device for dispersive qubit readout. Beyond the classical response of the cavity, we investigate small quantum fluctuations around the amplified classical signals. We evaluate the noise power spectrum both for the internal field in the cavity and the output field. Other quantum-statistical properties of the noise are addressed such as squeezing spectra, second-order coherence, and two-mode entanglement.
Tumors Metastatic to the Orbit

A review of 35 consecutive cases of tumors metastatic to the orbit revealed that the primary tumor site was breast in 18 cases (51%), prostate in 6 cases (17%), lung in 2 cases (6%), gastrointestinal tract in 2 cases (6%), kidney in 1 case (3%), cutaneous melanoma in 1 case (3%), contralateral choroidal melanoma in 1 case (3%), and unknown in 4 cases (11%). The most common presenting signs and symptoms included diplopia with noncomitant strabismus, proptosis, and a palpable mass. In nine cases (26%), the orbital metastasis was detected in patients with no prior history of cancer. The average patient survival after the diagnosis of orbital metastasis was 13 months. Orbital metastasis from lung carcinoma carried the worst prognosis, with an average survival time of only 4 months. A summary of the clinical features of these 35 cases and a review of the literature on orbital metastatic disease will be presented.
Factors Influencing Small Medium Enterprises (SMES) in Obtaining Loan

Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) are the backbone of all economies and a key source of economic growth. The important contribution of SMEs in Malaysia’s economy, employment and industrialization has been well documented. Although their role in the economy is substantial, many SMEs are facing difficulties to access to financing, human capital, technology and market. Given that there are an issue to finance this is one of the main reasons for the inability of SMEs to sustain their business. Henceforth, it is important that this challenge is to be explored in depth. One of the main reasons why banking and financial institutions are reluctant to disburse funds to the SMEs is due to lack of collateral and good track record of the company. With this scenario in place, they are left with limited financing choices. The objective of the study is to examine as to whether the character (or management’s knowledge of business) of having collateral and also the capacity of borrowing by the SMEs, which is measured by default in loan shown by CCRIS report (Central Credit Reference Information System), will have an influence on the loan approved by the bank officers. A 2 x 2 x 3 experimental within subject design was used in the study. This resulted in 12 cases to be answered by each respondent. Questionnaires were sent to bank managers and officers located in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia (with centralized business centers) for respective loan applications. 63 bank officers participated in the study. Findings showed that all the three variables had significant effect on the likelihood of the loan approval by the financial institutions from the perspective of credit officers. SMEs should be better prepared when applying for loan with getting the collateral, good relationship with financial institution and having a good financial record. On the other hand government agencies assisting SMEs should educate them to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge to prepare the required documentations required by the financial institutions.
The distribution problem in economic evaluation: income and the valuation of costs and consequences of health care programmes.

To date, a common view in the health economics literature is that the applicability of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is limited, due to the distribution problem which underlies its main method of valuation (e.g. willingness to pay). One view is that cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) overcomes these problems. We show that the same distributional concerns apply to non-monetary valuations of health consequences, to measurement of costs and to the decision rules of CEA. Hence adopting CEA over CBA cannot be justified on the basis of "avoiding" distributional considerations. The implications of our results are discussed, including alternative strategies for the use of "income-based" research findings in social decision-making.
A 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS 10-Gb/s Dual-Mode 10-PAM Serial Link Transceiver

A 0.18-μm CMOS 10-Gb/s serial link transceiver is presented. For the power-efficiency, the transceiver employs a dual-mode 10-level pulse amplitude modulation (10-PAM) technique enabling to transmit 4-bit per symbol. Since the operating frequency of the internal circuits is reduced by 4, the power dissipation of the transceiver is much reduced. In addition, compared with a standard 16-PAM technique, the dual-mode 10-PAM technique can reduce power dissipation by 62.5%. The transmitter including a pseudo random bit sequence (PRBS) generator, multiplexers, an encoder, and an output driver achieves 10-Gb/s data-rate with 235-mW power dissipation such that the figure of merit (FOM) of the transmitter part is 23.5 mW/(Gb/s). The receiver including a flash type analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a decoder, and output drivers achieves 10-Gb/s data-rate and 10-12 BER with 190-mW power dissipation such that FOM of the receiver part is 19 mW/(Gb/s). The proposed 10-PAM transceiver was implemented in a 0.18-μm standard CMOS technology with 0.3 × 0.8-mm2 active area.
Perfil del cliente gastronómico del Cantón Mocha

Conocer los gustos y preferencias de los clientes permite a las empresas ofertar servicios y productos que realmente satisfagan sus necesidades. El presente articulo tiene como objetivo realizar la caracterizacion del perfil del cliente que demanda los servicios gastronomicos en el canton Mocha, de la provincia Tungurahua, para lo cual se tomo una muestra de 282 clientes nacionales proveniente de varias provincias del pais. La base metodologica se sustenta en la investigacion descriptiva, la instrumentacion del metodo cientifico y analitico, lo que permite el desarrollo de la investigacion, y por otra parte, analizar la naturaleza, peculiaridades y la relacion que existe entre los diferentes elementos que componen el area objeto de estudio. Entre los principales resultados se logra caracterizar el cliente gastronomico, ademas, de la identificacion de las principales problematicas en las prestacion de este servicio, aspectos que mediante la estructuracion de un adecuado plan de mejora y la dinamizacion de proyectos turisticos de inversion publico-privado, contribuiran a la satisfaccion de las necesidades y motivaciones gastronomicas de los clientes y visitantes.
The Effects of HIV Mortality on Saving and Investment in Asia

This paper examines the effects of HIV/AIDS mortality on saving and investment in Asia. Annual data for years 1990-2015 from 43 Asian countries. The empirical model also allows for potential gender differences in AIDS mortality to vary the effect on savings and investment. Our research shows that there are gender and wealth differences in how this disease affects the macro economy. An increase in the AIDS mortality rate of either gender reduces saving and investment in low-income countries. In regards to savings, an increase in male AIDS mortality is shown to increase savings. On the other hand, an increase in female AIDS mortality is expected to decrease savings. In terms of investment we find the opposite effects across genders: increasing male AIDS mortality causes decrease in investment (though not statistically significant) and increasing female AIDS mortality increases investment. For low-income countries, we find a negative relationship between AIDS mortality of either gender on saving or investment.
Role of Micronutrients on Dyeing Wastewater Treatment in Activated Sludge Process

Adequate individual supplements of Zn, Co and Mo increased chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and specific oxygen uptake rates during activated sludge treatment of dyeing wastewater, while overdoses of micronutrients can decrease metabolic rates. The effects of combing Zn, Co, and Mo at different doses were investigated using response surface methodology, with a second order polynomial equation: Y = 78.19+ 0.17X1 + 37.33 X2 + 20.20X3 – 5.58X1X2 − 63.05 X2X3, where Y means COD removal rate (%), X1 means Co concentration, X2 means Zn concentration, X3 means Mo concentration. The maximum COD removal efficiency of 89.41% was achieved with doses of 0.02 mg/L Co, 0.24 mg/L Zn and 0.45 mg/L Mo. Both the combinations of Zn‐Co and Zn‐Mo acted antagonistically for COD removal efficiency, and the combination of Co‐Mo was negligible to COD removal efficiency. Doses of micronutrients, particularly Zn, Co and Mo, were beneficial for microbial shift towards Planctomyces and Bacteroidetes.
Linkage Disequilibrium and Demographic History of Wild and Domestic Canids

Assessing the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) in natural populations of a nonmodel species has been difficult due to the lack of available genomic markers. However, with advances in genotyping and genome sequencing, genomic characterization of natural populations has become feasible. Using sequence data and SNP genotypes, we measured LD and modeled the demographic history of wild canid populations and domestic dog breeds. In 11 gray wolf populations and one coyote population, we find that the extent of LD as measured by the distance at which r2 = 0.2 extends <10 kb in outbred populations to >1.7 Mb in populations that have experienced significant founder events and bottlenecks. This large range in the extent of LD parallels that observed in 18 dog breeds where the r2 value varies from ∼20 kb to >5 Mb. Furthermore, in modeling demographic history under a composite-likelihood framework, we find that two of five wild canid populations exhibit evidence of a historical population contraction. Five domestic dog breeds display evidence for a minor population contraction during domestication and a more severe contraction during breed formation. Only a 5% reduction in nucleotide diversity was observed as a result of domestication, whereas the loss of nucleotide diversity with breed formation averaged 35%.
Adaptation and Evolutionary Rescue in Metapopulations Experiencing Environmental Deterioration

Dispersal and previous exposure to stress help yeast adapt to highly stressful environments. It is not known whether evolution will usually be rapid enough to allow a species to adapt and persist in a deteriorating environment. We tracked the eco-evolutionary dynamics of metapopulations with a laboratory model system of yeast exposed to salt stress. Metapopulations experienced environmental deterioration at three different rates and their component populations were either unconnected or connected by local dispersal or by global dispersal. We found that adaptation was favored by gradual deterioration and local dispersal. After further abrupt deterioration, the frequency of evolutionary rescue depended on both the prior rate of deterioration and the rate of dispersal. Adaptation was surprisingly frequent and rapid in small peripheral populations. Thus, evolutionary dynamics affect both the persistence and the range of a species after environmental deterioration.
Error-prone meiotic division and subfertility in mice with oocyte-conditional knockdown of pericentrin

ABSTRACT Mouse oocytes lack canonical centrosomes and instead contain unique acentriolar microtubule-organizing centers (aMTOCs). To test the function of these distinct aMTOCs in meiotic spindle formation, pericentrin (Pcnt), an essential centrosome/MTOC protein, was knocked down exclusively in oocytes by using a transgenic RNAi approach. Here, we provide evidence that disruption of aMTOC function in oocytes promotes spindle instability and severe meiotic errors that lead to pronounced female subfertility. Pcnt-depleted oocytes from transgenic (Tg) mice were ovulated at the metaphase-II stage, but show significant chromosome misalignment, aneuploidy and premature sister chromatid separation. These defects were associated with loss of key Pcnt-interacting proteins (γ-tubulin, Nedd1 and Cep215) from meiotic spindle poles, altered spindle structure and chromosome–microtubule attachment errors. Live-cell imaging revealed disruptions in the dynamics of spindle assembly and organization, together with chromosome attachment and congression defects. Notably, spindle formation was dependent on Ran GTPase activity in Pcnt-deficient oocytes. Our findings establish that meiotic division is highly error-prone in the absence of Pcnt and disrupted aMTOCs, similar to what reportedly occurs in human oocytes. Moreover, these data underscore crucial differences between MTOC-dependent and -independent meiotic spindle assembly. Summary: A unique transgenic mouse model was used to demonstrate that loss of maternal Pericentrin (Pcnt) leads to highly error-prone meiotic division and severely reduced female fertility, with spindle formation becoming reliant on Ran GTPase activity.
Multiple Processes Underlying Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance: A Developmental Electrophysiological Investigation

Cognitive flexibility follows a protracted developmental trajectory [Morton, J. B. Understanding genetic, neurophysiological, and experiential influences on the development of executive functioning: The need for developmental models. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2010]. For example, performance and patterns of brain activity associated with the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) show continued age-related changes into early adolescence. According to many theoretical accounts, the DCCS places demands on a single underlying executive process. In the present study, we investigated the possibility that multiple processes unfold within the timeframe of a single DCCS trial through the use of ERPs. Children (n = 40), adolescents (n = 20), and adults (n = 20) performed a modified version of the DCCS with distinct instruction cue- and stimulus-related periods. On any particular trial, the sorting rule either changed (i.e., switch trials) or remained the same (i.e., repeat trials), and the imperative stimulus either embodied conflict (i.e., bivalent stimuli) or did not (i.e., univalent stimuli). Findings were consistent with the hypothesis that multiple distinct executive processes unfold within a single trial. First, for all age groups, rule switching and conflict processing made additive contributions to variability in RT. Second, ERPs time-locked to the instruction cue revealed a late frontal negativity whose amplitude was greater for switch trials relative to repeat trials and that was associated with the magnitude of the behavioral switch cost, whereas ERPs time-locked to the imperative stimulus revealed a fronto-central N2 whose amplitude was greater for bivalent than univalent stimuli and that was associated with the magnitude of the behavioral conflict cost. Finally, switch and conflict-related processes showed distinct developmental trajectories. Taken together, the findings suggest that multiple executive processes underlie DCCS performance and its development. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Risk of Tuberculous Infection Among Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Ankara, Turkey

Abstract Objective: To determine risk factors for tuberculin skin test (TST) positivity among healthcare workers (HCWs). Design: Two-step TST was performed in 2002. Setting: Tertiary-care hospital in Ankara, Turkey. Participants: A sample of 491 hospital HCWs were included. Information related to demographics, profession, work duration, department, and individual and family history of tuberculosis (TB) was obtained by a structured questionnaire. Results: Four hundred eight (83%) had two-step TST positivity. On multivariate analysis, male physicians (relative risk [RR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI95], 1.23–1.69; P = .001), nurses (RR, 1.5; CI95, 1.29–1.66; P = .005), radiology technicians (RR, 1.7; CI95, 1.35–1.73; P = .002), laboratory technicians (RR, 1.6; CI95, 1.3–1.74; P = .007), and male housekeepers (RR, 1.6; CI95, 1.38–1.7; P < .001) had a higher risk than did female physicians. Among laboratory technicians, radiology technicians had the highest TST positivity (85%). HCWs working for less than 1 year (RR, 0.8; CI95, 0.72–0.98; P = .027) had a lower risk of infection. The HCWs having bacille Calmette–Guérin vaccination (RR, 1.12; CI95, 1.08–1.45) had higher TST positivity. Conclusion: Male physicians, nurses, and laboratory technicians had increased risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in this setting, but community exposure likely accounted for most infections.
Nurses' Perspectives on the Distinctive Aspects of Providing Nursing Care in a Congregational Setting

As the number of parish nurses grow, it is important to understand the unique attributes of providing nursing care in a congregation. Through a focus group and interviews, this qualitative research study¹ explored this question with 17 parish nurses participating in a hospital-sponsored, volunteer health ministry program. Content analysis revealed the nurses felt they had the greatest impact through health promotion and prevention, advocacy, health education, and health counseling, including psychosocial support and spiritual care. The nurses appreciated the unique opportunities afforded by the congregational setting including integrating faith and health in nursing practice, the more relaxed environment, the opportunity for long-term rela-tionships, and the level of professional autonomy. Challenges were experienced from the client's autonomy, the impact of religious beliefs, the nurse's worship experience, and time constraints. This study demonstrates that parish nurses can provide a valuable adjunct to the traditional care system as they practically and conceptually integrate faith and health.
TEI-NoC: Optimizing Ultralow Power NoCs Exploiting the Temperature Effect Inversion

The era of the Internet of Things (IoT) is upon us. In this era, minimizing power consumption becomes a primary concern of system-on-chip designers. Ultralow power (ULP) very large-scale integration circuits have been receiving considerable interest from both academia and industry as the best-suited techniques for IoT devices, which can take full advantage of power-saving that voltage scaling potentially achieves. Consequently, research on ULP designs has begun to yield tangible outcomes, namely ULP circuits. However, little attention has been paid to ULP network-on-chip (NoC), although the NoC is an essential of the ULP chips, and its power consumption accounts for a significant portion of the total power. This paper focuses on ULP NoCs, and presents a new power management method that exploits delay versus temperature characteristics of ULP circuits. Recent studies on ULP circuits show that delay versus temperature characteristics are fundamentally different from normal circuits, i.e., the delay of the ULP circuits implemented in state-of-the-art bulk CMOS operating at low supply voltages or in FinFET technologies decreases with increasing temperature, a phenomenon known as the temperature effect inversion (TEI). Starting with an intuition that at a certain temperature point, power savings without performance penalty can be achieved by increasing the router frequency to create the opportunity to turn off some routers in ULP NoCs, or by decreasing the NoC supply voltage level, an optimization method is presented to maximize the power savings with minor performance penalty. To validate the proposed method, a concrete ULP NoC simulator, TEI-Noxim, has been developed. Experimental results demonstrate that TEI-aware NoC achieves an average of 36.0% power reduction over 21 applications.
Landscape predictors of pathogen prevalence and range contractions in US bumblebees

Several species of bumblebees have recently experienced range contractions and possible extinctions. While threats to bees are numerous, few analyses have attempted to understand the relative importance of multiple stressors. Such analyses are critical for prioritizing conservation strategies. Here, we describe a landscape analysis of factors predicted to cause bumblebee declines in the USA. We quantified 24 habitat, land-use and pesticide usage variables across 284 sampling locations, assessing which variables predicted pathogen prevalence and range contractions via machine learning model selection techniques. We found that greater usage of the fungicide chlorothalonil was the best predictor of pathogen (Nosema bombi) prevalence in four declining species of bumblebees. Nosema bombi has previously been found in greater prevalence in some declining US bumblebee species compared to stable species. Greater usage of total fungicides was the strongest predictor of range contractions in declining species, with bumblebees in the northern USA experiencing greater likelihood of loss from previously occupied areas. These results extend several recent laboratory and semi-field studies that have found surprising links between fungicide exposure and bee health. Specifically, our data suggest landscape-scale connections between fungicide usage, pathogen prevalence and declines of threatened and endangered bumblebees.
Impact of anticoagulation on ionic and nonionic contrast media effect on thrombogenesis and fibrinolysis: The PEPCIT study

Objectives: The effect of ionic low osmolar contrast media (ICM) and nonionic iso‐osmolar CM (NICM) on acute thrombotic complications of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is subject to controversies possibly related to a potential interaction with anticoagulation regimens. We sought to compare physical and morphological properties of fibrin clots made in the presence of ioxaglate (ICM), iodixanol (NICM) versus control and to evaluate the effect of four anticoagulants used in PCI. Methods and Results: Maximum platelet aggregation (MPA%), maximum elastic modulus (EM, dyne/cm2) fiber density (n/10−5/μm2), and lysis front velocity (nm/sec) of fibrin rich clot (FRC) were measured simultaneously using peripheral blood from 12 patients undergoing elective PCI. We compared the effects of adding iodixanol or ioxaglate or saline (control) to blood with enoxaparin, unfractionated heparin, fondaparinux, and bivalirudin. Iodixanol and ioxaglate led to nonsignificant reduction in MPA compared to control (33.6% ± 16.9%, 28.2% ± 18.9%, and 40.7% ± 13.9%, respectively, P = ns). Fibrin formed with iodixanol was stiffer (42.7 ± 41.9, 18.7 ± 3.7, and 15.9 ± 9 dyne/cm2, P < 0.01) and displayed more fibrin fibers (1089 ± 175, 260 ± 108, and 456 ± 131 n/10−5/μm2, respectively, P < 0.01) than with ioxaglate or control. This resulted in a profound reduction in the lysis front velocity (191 ± 95, 261 ± 112, and 360 ± 153 nm/sec). None of the four anticoagulants displayed any significant interaction on the effect of contrast media. Conclusions: The prothrombogenic effect of iodixanol is related primarily to an increase in fibrin stiffness with subsequent delayed fibrinolysis, something not seen with ioxaglate. Anticoagulation does not appear to have any impact on this fibrin clot abnormalities. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.