Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Re-consideration of Kirchhoff's Current Law for electromagnetic cloaking and invisibility with plasmonic materials or impedance metasurfaces

In the present paper, the Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL) is re-considered as a cloaking condition for structures based on dielectric-plasmonic materials (Plasmonic Cloaking) and devices made up of metallic-dielectric metasurfaces (Mantle Cloaking). Consistently with Devaney-Wolf Theorem III on non-scattering sources, the KCL is derived by imposing zeros on scattered near-fields in the quasi-static limit: beyond the quasi-static regime, the KCL can represent a local condition on each unit cell of impedance metasurfaces. The aim of this paper is to introduce a unified physical-mathematical framework for invisibility and cloaking devices from a novel perspective based on contrast and impedance concepts.
Analysis and comparison of methods and algorithms for data mining

In this report we review and compare data mining methods and algorithms. After a short introduction on the general concepts of data mining we focus on four speci c topics, metaquerying, data clustering, similarity queries and visualization, and go deeper, analyzing the various approaches and proposals known in the literature and, where applicable, in the market. In particular, in each of the four parts an e ort is made to nd out a commonmodel to compare results and applicability.
Stacked-ring oscillator with reduced phase noise

We designed an inverter-based ring oscillator with reduced phase noise for low-power wireless sensor networks. The proposed structure is based on two stacked oscillating rings reusing the same current, and improves the phase noise performance without increasing total power dissipation. Theoretical analysis shows that a maximum phase noise reduction of 50% can be achieved. Simulations based on a 0.18 -mum CMOS technology confirm our analysis.
Genetic theories and the validation of psychiatric diagnoses: implications for the study of children of schizophrenics.

The success of prospective methods for studying the development of schizophrenia in those few offspring of schizophrenics who also become schizophrenic (high-risk method) depends on using valid diagnostic criteria for selecting the parent probands. Data from a high-risk study in which the affected parents were diagnosed by five clinicians are used to illustrate the impact different diagnostic standards may have on the composition of high-risk samples and control samples of children of other psychiatric patients. Publicly reporting careful assessments of affected parents will also facilitate comparisons among different high-risk samples and will allow estimates of the risks for individuals within each high-risk sample. Genetic theory and empirical data suggest that children with severely affected parents and children with many affected relatives will have the highest risks, while samples of children with only one mildly affected parent may have risks that approach the population base rates. Genetic theory further suggests that some children of validly diagnosed schizophrenics will have no genetic risk for schizophrenia, and some of those who do have the genetic predisposition will enjoy a lifetime of adequate mental health even without intervention, thus confounding the effort of high-risk research to validate indicators of the high-risk genotype with follow-up status. High-risk researchers are cautioned against premature implementation of intervention strategies based on unvalidated indicators of the risks to individuals.
Selection Under Domestication: Evidence for a Sweep in the Rice Waxy Genomic Region

Rice (Oryza sativa) was cultivated by Asian Neolithic farmers >11,000 years ago, and different cultures have selected for divergent starch qualities in the rice grain during and after the domestication process. An intron 1 splice donor site mutation of the Waxy gene is responsible for the absence of amylose in glutinous rice varieties. This mutation appears to have also played an important role in the origin of low amylose, nonglutinous temperate japonica rice varieties, which form a primary component of Northeast Asian cuisines. Waxy DNA sequence analyses indicate that the splice donor mutation is prevalent in temperate japonica rice varieties, but rare or absent in tropical japonica, indica, aus, and aromatic varieties. Sequence analysis across a 500-kb genomic region centered on Waxy reveals patterns consistent with a selective sweep in the temperate japonicas associated with the mutation. The size of the selective sweep (>250 kb) indicates very strong selection in this region, with an inferred selection coefficient that is higher than similar estimates from maize domestication genes or wild species. These findings demonstrate that selection pressures associated with crop domestication regimes can exceed by one to two orders of magnitude those observed for genes under even strong selection in natural systems.
Difficult behaviour and dementia in nursing homes: five cases of psychosocial intervention

Psychosocial interventions in five people, who presented with uncooperative and difficult behaviour at mealtimes and during assistance with self-care tasks, are described. In four cases, a single case experimental design was used. The results are discussed in the context of ‘rementia’ and a broadly defined functional analytic perspective to assessment and intervention. In contrast to the standard neurogenic-disease paradigm, a person-centred holistic model of dementia is proposed for the understanding and amelioration of distress in people with dementia who are seen as difficult or ‘challenging’. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of microalbuminuria with hs-CRP and low density lipoprotein levels in nondiabetic, nonhypertensive myocardial infarction patients

Introduction: Microalbuminuria (MA), defined as urine albumin to urine creatinine ratio (UACR) of 30 to 300 mg/G of creatinine, is an established risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and for end-stage renal disease in individuals with an adverse cardiovascular risk profile such as those with hypertension or/and diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: Thirty five patients were included in the study and equal number of age- and sex-matched controls were also included. 2 ml of venous blood was collected for hs-CRP determination and early morning mid stream urine sample was collected under strict aseptic precautions. The lipid profile was estimated in cobas autoanalyzer. Results: There was significant increase in levels of Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, microalbumin, and hs-CRP (P< 0.001) in patients with myocardial infarction compared to healthy controls. Conclusion: Therefore, MA and hsCRP evaluation may have potential role in improving cardiovascular risk prediction, when used along with traditional lipid profiles.
Neuromodulation to the Rescue: Compensation of Temperature-Induced Breakdown of Rhythmic Motor Patterns via Extrinsic Neuromodulatory Input

Stable rhythmic neural activity depends on the well-coordinated interplay of synaptic and cell-intrinsic conductances. Since all biophysical processes are temperature dependent, this interplay is challenged during temperature fluctuations. How the nervous system remains functional during temperature perturbations remains mostly unknown. We present a hitherto unknown mechanism of how temperature-induced changes in neural networks are compensated by changing their neuromodulatory state: activation of neuromodulatory pathways establishes a dynamic coregulation of synaptic and intrinsic conductances with opposing effects on neuronal activity when temperature changes, hence rescuing neuronal activity. Using the well-studied gastric mill pattern generator of the crab, we show that modest temperature increase can abolish rhythmic activity in isolated neural circuits due to increased leak currents in rhythm-generating neurons. Dynamic clamp-mediated addition of leak currents was sufficient to stop neuronal oscillations at low temperatures, and subtraction of additional leak currents at elevated temperatures was sufficient to rescue the rhythm. Despite the apparent sensitivity of the isolated nervous system to temperature fluctuations, the rhythm could be stabilized by activating extrinsic neuromodulatory inputs from descending projection neurons, a strategy that we indeed found to be implemented in intact animals. In the isolated nervous system, temperature compensation was achieved by stronger extrinsic neuromodulatory input from projection neurons or by augmenting projection neuron influence via bath application of the peptide cotransmitter Cancer borealis tachykinin-related peptide Ia (CabTRP Ia). CabTRP Ia activates the modulator-induced current IMI (a nonlinear voltage-gated inward current) that effectively acted as a negative leak current and counterbalanced the temperature-induced leak to rescue neuronal oscillations. Computational modelling revealed the ability of IMI to reduce detrimental leak-current influences on neuronal networks over a broad conductance range and indicated that leak and IMI are closely coregulated in the biological system to enable stable motor patterns. In conclusion, these results show that temperature compensation does not need to be implemented within the network itself but can be conditionally provided by extrinsic neuromodulatory input that counterbalances temperature-induced modifications of circuit-intrinsic properties.
A Real-Time Data-Driven Algorithm for Health Diagnosis and Prognosis of a Circuit Breaker Trip Assembly

With ongoing efforts to make the power grid smarter, there is a large emphasis on the automation and data analytics. Substation automation is a key enabling technology for online monitoring, diagnosis, and prediction for the health condition of the substation assets. Circuit breakers (CBs) are one of the most vital components in a substation for the tripping action required during fault occurrence, line isolation, and other similar actions. It is critical to ensure that the CB is in healthy state and can operate as expected. Enhanced automation and availability of various CB measurements make it possible to continuously monitor the health of all the components within a CB, including the trip coil assembly (TCA). This paper presents the development of a new real-time diagnosis algorithm that runs at a substation and continuously monitors the health condition of a CB TCA and suggests maintenance actions, if necessary. The developed algorithm detects the abnormalities, finds their root causes, and predicts the possibility of potential health problems for the CB TCA. Additionally, the monitoring architecture also allows remote access of data for engineering access. Finally, the results obtained by the online implementation of the proposed algorithm using industry-grade CB and substation data have been presented.
Was it better before ? Automated Quotation Detection in Ancient Texts

This work evaluates quotation finding approaches in the context of ancient Greek documents. We explore the notion of quotation as relevant to the first centuries of our era, and we discuss the efficiency and usability of unsupervised approaches, both statistical and semantic, used in more modern cases. We also discuss some characteristics of our corpus relatively to performance metrics.
A Novel Visual Perceptual Model with An Application to Hi-Fidelity Image Annotation

In this paper we introduce a novel visual perception model that aims to quantify the localized tolerance to noise for arbitrary imagery. The model is built by mixing the outputs from entropy and a differential localized standard deviation filter. The mixture is then low-pass filtered and normalized to provide a model that produces substantially better perceptual hi-fidelity than existing tools of similar complexity. Although there exist numerous applications for the new model, from compression to medical imaging and denoising, we demonstrate its efficacy using an image annotation application. The objective is to embed 32 bits of meta-data into a single image in a way that is robust to aggressive JPEG compression and cropping. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the novel model as well as the developed annotation technology using a database of high-challenge images
Unpackaging academic discourse

Studies of the social contexts of literacy learning in school contexts suggest that literacy development cannot be understood apart from the context in which it occurs. By studying the classroom contexts for literacy learning, the various ways in which students are socialized to use language and to “doing being student” are made evident. Some learning environments provide differential access to literacy activities in which using and participating in meaningful discourse is both the process and the product. This article argues that students must have opportunities to develop academic discourse, that is, both linguistic and sociocultural knowledge about what it means to be a member of a particular classroom community, in order to achieve academic competence. Students who participate in academic activities that provide few opportunities to co‐construct elaborated and meaningful oral and written texts and, instead, participate in activities whose knowledge exchange system is defined and directed by teachers w.
The TNF- α Gene NcoI Polymorphism at Position –308 of the Promoter Influences Insulin Resistance, and Increases Serum Triglycerides after Postprandial Lipaemia in Familiar Obesity

Abstract Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), acting as a modulator of gene expression in adipocytes, has been linked to the development of insulin resistance and obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the A/G variation at position −308 in the TNFα promoter influences the body weight, insulin resistance, and postprandial lipaemia in Polish Caucasians. One hundred twenty one subjects, 38 men and 83 women, representing 40 obese families, were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). TNF-1 (GG) and TNF-2 (GA and AA) allele carriers were compared with respect to body mass index, fat/lean body mass composition, waist-to-hip ratio, as well as fasting lipids, glucose, leptin, and insulin fasting, and during the oral glucose tolerance test (4 points within 2 hours) and oral lipid tolerance test (OLTT; 5 points within 8 hours). The insulin sensitivity indices HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), ISI-COMP (whole body insulin sensitivity index), ISI-HOMA (hepatic insulin sensitivity), and DELTA (early secretory response to an oral glucose load) were calculated. We detected 64 GG, 56 GA, and 1 AA genotypes. Significant increases of insulin resistance parameters in obese female TNF-2 allele carriers were observed (significantly increased HOMA-IR and decreased ISI-HOMA, ISI-composite). The male TNF-2 carriers were characterised by significantly increased levels of triglyceride and free fatty acids during OLTT as well as fasting glucose. The A/G variation at position −308 in the promoter region of the TNF-α gene could be an important genetic factor predisposing to insulin resistance in obese women and increased levels of glucose, triglyceride, and free fatty acids in men.
Characterization and Complete Genome Sequence of a Novel Coronavirus, Coronavirus HKU1, from Patients with Pneumonia

ABSTRACT Despite extensive laboratory investigations in patients with respiratory tract infections, no microbiological cause can be identified in a significant proportion of patients. In the past 3 years, several novel respiratory viruses, including human metapneumovirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV), and human coronavirus NL63, were discovered. Here we report the discovery of another novel coronavirus, coronavirus HKU1 (CoV-HKU1), from a 71-year-old man with pneumonia who had just returned from Shenzhen, China. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR showed that the amount of CoV-HKU1 RNA was 8.5 to 9.6 × 106 copies per ml in his nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) during the first week of the illness and dropped progressively to undetectable levels in subsequent weeks. He developed increasing serum levels of specific antibodies against the recombinant nucleocapsid protein of CoV-HKU1, with immunoglobulin M (IgM) titers of 1:20, 1:40, and 1:80 and IgG titers of <1:1,000, 1:2,000, and 1:8,000 in the first, second and fourth weeks of the illness, respectively. Isolation of the virus by using various cell lines, mixed neuron-glia culture, and intracerebral inoculation of suckling mice was unsuccessful. The complete genome sequence of CoV-HKU1 is a 29,926-nucleotide, polyadenylated RNA, with G+C content of 32%, the lowest among all known coronaviruses with available genome sequence. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that CoV-HKU1 is a new group 2 coronavirus. Screening of 400 NPAs, negative for SARS-CoV, from patients with respiratory illness during the SARS period identified the presence of CoV-HKU1 RNA in an additional specimen, with a viral load of 1.13 × 106 copies per ml, from a 35-year-old woman with pneumonia. Our data support the existence of a novel group 2 coronavirus associated with pneumonia in humans.
Childbearing impeded education more than education impeded childbearing among Norwegian women

In most societies, women at age 39 with higher levels of education have fewer children. To understand this association, we investigated the effects of childbearing on educational attainment and the effects of education on fertility in the 1964 birth cohort of Norwegian women. Using detailed annual data from ages 17 to 39, we estimated the probabilities of an additional birth, a change in educational level, and enrollment in the coming year, conditional on fertility history, educational level, and enrollment history at the beginning of each year. A simple model reproduced a declining gradient of children ever born with increasing educational level at age 39. When a counterfactual simulation assumed no effects of childbearing on educational progression or enrollment (without changing the estimated effects of education on childbearing), the simulated number of children ever born decreased very little with increasing completed educational level, contrary to data. However, when another counterfactual simulation assumed no effects of current educational level and enrollment on childbearing (without changing the estimated effects of childbearing on education), the simulated number of children ever born decreased with increasing completed educational level nearly as much as the decrease in the data. In summary, in these Norwegian data, childbearing impeded education much more than education impeded childbearing. These results suggest that women with advanced degrees have lower completed fertility on the average principally because women who have one or more children early are more likely to leave or not enter long educational tracks and never attain a high educational level.
A fuzzy approach to partitioning continuous attributes for classification

Classification is an important topic in data mining research. To better handle continuous data, fuzzy sets are used to represent interval events in the domains of continuous attributes, allowing continuous data lying on the interval boundaries to partially belong to multiple intervals. Since the membership functions of fuzzy sets can profoundly affect the performance of the models or rules discovered, the determination of membership functions or fuzzy partitioning is crucial. In this paper, we present a new method to determine the membership functions of fuzzy sets directly from data to maximize the class-attribute interdependence and, hence, improve the classification results. In other words, it forms a fuzzy partition of the input space automatically, using an information-theoretic measure to evaluate the interdependence between the class membership and an attribute as the objective function for fuzzy partitioning. To find the optimum of the measure, it employs fractional programming. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, several real-world data sets are used in our experiments. The experimental results show that this method outperforms other well-known discretization and fuzzy partitioning approaches.
Is it necessary to perform appendicectomy in the middle of the night in children?

Early appendicectomy has been the treatment of choice for acute appendicitis. The report of a confidential inquiry into perioperative deaths (CEPOD) in the United Kingdom has shown that there is increased reluctance to involve senior members of the staff in the night, resulting in a lower standard of care which is reflected by inappropriate preoperative management, inappropriate operation, and deaths related to surgery. ' It is generally accepted that delay in appendicectomy is associated with increased risk of perforation, complications, and prolonged hospitalisation. Advances in preoperative fluid and electrolyte management, anaesthesia, and antimicrobial prophylaxis, especially against anaerobes, have resulted in decreased morbidity in appendicitis.2 It is increasingly realised that sleep deprivation in surgical and anaesthetic junior hospital staff causes significant reduction in performance of mental and physical skills.3 With these factors in mind we compared the outcome in children with appendicitis who underwent early appendicectomy with that in those whose operation was delayed overnight.
When Do Movements Matter? The Politics of Contingency and the Equal Rights Amendment

Data on the state-level ERA ratification process are used here to address leading theoretical debates about the role of social movements, public opinion, and political climate on policy outcomes, the goal being to test the claim that these factors depend on each other. Social movement organizations, public opinion, and political party support all influenced the ratification process. But the effects are modified when the interactive nature of public opinion and electoral competition, and political party support and movement organizational strength, are tested. In particular, the effect of social movement organizations on ratification was amplified in the presence of elite allies, and legislators responded most to favorable public opinion under conditions of low electoral competition. These findings are used to suggest a more integrated theory of policy outcomes that considers interactive and contingent effects of movements, public opinion, and political climate.
Transient life: collecting and sharing personal information

Millions of people post personal information on the internet, yet the actual information varies greatly. Some pieces are extremely brief, others are highly detailed. Some focus on the moment to moment changes of one's state and thoughts, others describe stable and long-lasting traits. To handle this diversity, we created Transient Life: a system that lets a person gather personal 'transient' information tidbits on the fly and share this collected information with others. Transient Life is designed as a modular sidebar located on the display's periphery. A person uses its modules to: update momentary personal state (feelings, location, happenings, and thoughts), record activity milestones done over the day as well as a 'to do' list of things left to do, collect interesting URLs and photos seen, and compose text essays of whatever has captured their interest. A person can selectively post this information as a 'today message' to one's community, and the essay to one's personal blog. Information is kept in a History Calendar, which allows one to view the information recorded on a past date.