Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imaging time series for internet of things radio frequency fingerprinting

The concept of Radio Frequency (RF) fingerprinting is that electronic devices can be identified and authenticated through their radio frequency emissions, which contain intrinsic features of the device itself. RF fingerprinting can be used to enhance the security of wireless networks because the fingerprints provide a form of authentication. In previous research papers, the RF fingerprints have typically been obtained by extracting statistical features from the time series generated by the analog-to-digital conversion of the RF emissions. In this paper, we investigate a novel approach to the RF fingerprinting of Internet of Things (IOT) devices, where the time series are converted into images, out of which image processing features are extracted. The performance of this approach is experimentally evaluated by applying different machine learning algorithms on different types of conversions of time series to images. Our analysis shows that the proposed approach provides a better identification accuracy as compared to the accuracy achieved by conventional sets of statistical features used in the literature. Even if relatively small (around 1%), this accuracy improvement is statistically significant when classification is repeated over different folds of the training and test data. Yet, this enhanced accuracy is obtained at the cost of the longer time taken to process the images.
Front-Line Work in Employment Services after Ten Years of New Public Management Reform: Governance and Activation in Australia, the Netherlands and the UK

This study examines the impact of adminstrative reforms upon the work of frontline staff in the employment services of three refrom-oriented countries – Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. These changes have involved greater use of private agents, more detailed performance contracts, clearer expectations about outcomes for job-seekers, and increased competition between agencies seeking government work. The study compares the work characteristics and strategies of front-line staff in agencies in the three systems in 2008 and a decade earlier, using surveys. The results show that there are substantial differences in the level of tailoring and investment in these countries. There are three relatively stable modes of governance in these cases and the most stable of these types across countries and across time is what we term the corporate-market mode – more generally labelled New Public Management (NPM). Despite the expectations of theorists and of reformers, the role of network governance proves neither as stable nor as generalised as expected.
Investigating Clinically Adequate Concentrations of Oseltamivir Carboxylate in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis Using a Population Pharmacokinetic Approach

ABSTRACT End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) are at heightened risk for influenza, but the optimal oseltamivir dosage regimen for treating or preventing influenza in this high-risk population is still uncertain. Pharmacokinetic data for 24 adults with ESRD were pooled from a single-dose and a multiple-dose study to develop a population pharmacokinetic model using nonlinear mixed-effects modeling. The final model comprised five compartments, two each to describe the systemic pharmacokinetics of oseltamivir phosphate and its metabolite, oseltamivir carboxylate (OC), and a delay compartment to describe oseltamivir metabolism. Estimated OC clearance in the model was markedly faster during HD sessions (7.43 liters/min) than at other times (0.19 liter/min). Model simulations showed that 30 mg oseltamivir given after every HD session is the most suitable regimen for influenza treatment, producing trough OC concentrations above the median value achieved with the 75-mg twice-daily regimen in patients with normal renal function and peak concentrations below the highest oseltamivir exposures known to be well tolerated (median exposures after twice-daily dosing of 450 mg). Administration of the first dose following diagnosis of influenza need not wait until after the next HD session: addition of a single 30-mg dose during the 12 h before the next HD session raises OC exposures quickly without posing any safety risk. Further simulation showed that 30 mg oseltamivir given after every other HD session is the most suitable regimen for influenza prophylaxis.
A longitudinal pre-pregnancy to post-delivery comparison of genetic and gestational surrogate and intended mothers: Confidence and genealogy

For women opting to use surrogacy to overcome subfertility, a choice can be made to have a genetically related or unrelated baby. Similarly, women opting to become surrogate mothers also have to choose to gestate and relinquish a genetically related or unrelated baby. This study explored the cognitions behind the initial choices made and determined the strength of those cognitions six months post-delivery of the surrogate baby. Surrogate and Intended mothers (N=81) undergoing Artificial Insemination (AI, genetic) or Embryo Transfer (ET, gestational) were studied separately (four groups) at the start of their surrogate arrangement and those with a positive outcome (n=34) were re-interviewed at six months post-relinquishment. There were significant differences between surrogate and intended mothers in their confidence about the arrangement. Beliefs about the importance of a genetic link were predictors of ET arrangements. Responses were consistent over a one and a half-year study period. The ethical and clinical implications of the results are discussed in relation to appropriate self-selection and confidence with the surrogate process and the importance of genetic offspring.
Environmental Strategy and Competitive Advantage: The Role of Small- and Medium-Sized enterprises' Dynamic Capabilities

Drawing on the resource-based theory and institutional theory, we develop a framework to explain the processes by which the environmental strategy of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contributes to their competitive advantage. We test our assumption using data collected from 214 UK-based SMEs in the technology sector. We find that the effects of environmental strategy can lead to the development of their marketing competence, as well as research and development (R&D) competence, which ultimately contributes to superior financial performance. We also find that a reciprocal causal relationship exists between SMEs’ marketing and R&D competences. Combined, we reveal that the presence of a serial multiple mediation relationship between SMEs’ environmental strategy and financial performance mediates through marketing competence and then R&D competence, or vice versa. Our study offers important academic and managerial implications, and also points out future research directions
Risk factors for acute adverse events during ultrasound-guided central venous cannulation in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND Ultrasound (US) greatly facilitates cannulation of the internal jugular vein. Despite the ability to visualize the needle and anatomy, adverse events still occur. The authors hypothesized that the technique has limitations among certain patients and clinical scenarios. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of adverse events surrounding US-guided central venous cannulation (CVC). METHODS The authors assembled a prospective observational cohort of emergency department (ED) patients undergoing consecutive internal jugular CVC with US. The primary outcome of interest was a composite of acute mechanical adverse events including hematoma, arterial cannulation, pneumothorax, and unsuccessful placement. Physicians performing the CVC recorded anatomical site, reason for insertion, and acute complications. The patients with catheters were followed until the catheters were removed based on radiographic evidence or hospital nursing records. ED charts and pharmacy records contributed variables of interest. A self-reported online survey provided physician experience information. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds of an adverse outcome. RESULTS Physicians attempted 289 CVCs on 282 patients. An adverse outcome occurred in 57 attempts (19.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 15.5 to 24.7), the most common being 31 unsuccessful placements (11%, 95% CI = 7.7 to 14.8). Patients with a history of end-stage renal disease (odds ratio [OR] = 3.54, 95% CI = 1.59 to 7.89), and central lines placed by operators with intermediate experience (OR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.19 to 4.32), were most likely to encounter adverse events. Previously cited predictors such as body mass index (BMI), coagulopathy, and pulmonary hyperinflation were not significant in our final model. CONCLUSIONS Acute adverse events occurred in approximately one-fifth of US-guided internal jugular central line attempts. The study identified both patient (history of end-stage renal disease) and physician (intermediate experience level) factors that are associated with acute adverse events.
Immune killing of newborn Trichinella larvae by human leucocytes

The capacity of human leucocytes from normal donors to kill the newborn larvae of the nematode Trichinella spiralis in vitro, in the presence of serum from infected individuals, was studied using newborn larvae (NBL) less than 2 h of age or NBL that had been maintained in culture at 37°C for 20 h. Neutrophils and monocytes attached to newborn Trichinella larvae and killed them, regardless of their age. When eosinophils were used, 20 h old NBL were killed whereas 2 hold NBL were not. Complement was essential in the cytotoxic effect of leucocytes. These results indicate that host defence against T. spiralis in humans may be a complex mechanism in which different cell types can be involved. They also show that the age of maturation of the NBL is of paramount importance in the antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity reaction.
Complementarities in innovation strategy: do intangibles play a role in enhancing firm performance?

This article assesses the role of investments in intangible capital and their potential complementarities as a way to improve firm productivity. We focus on the three intangible resources that, according to the literature, have the greatest strategic importance: research and development (R&D), advertising, and human capital. To test our hypotheses, we use a large sample of Spanish manufacturing firms and consider estimates of total factor productivity through a generalized method of moments approach. Our results show evidence of complementarities between R&D and advertising investments and between advertising and human capital. However, they are not conclusive in the case of R&D and human capital.
Anti-inflammatory strategies for the treatment of sepsis

Sepsis leads to an overwhelming inflammatory response of the host and is usually accompanied by well-known clinical symptoms (fever, tachycardia, leukocytosis, and so on) and the accompanying systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Accordingly, most efforts to develop treatment strategies for sepsis have focused on those designed to counteract overactivation of the inflammatory system. Despite intensive research into identifying targets in sepsis, most of the resulting clinical trials have been based on experimental data and have resulted in no beneficial effects (i.e., survival). Recombinant activated protein C (APC) represents the first treatment that has led to restricted approval for use in sepsis in the USA and worldwide. This article reviews approaches to anti-inflammatory treatment in sepsis and provides an outlook into ongoing clinical trials as well as new treatments that have not yet been evaluated in the clinical setting.
Caulobacter profunda sp. nov., isolated from deep freshwater sediment.

The Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, motile, with a single polar flagellum, or non-motile (stalked) and rod-shaped bacteria, DS48-5-2(T) and DS48-6-3, were isolated from a sediment sample collected from a depth of 48 m taken from Daechung Reservoir, Republic of Korea. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence studies showed that the two isolates had clear affiliation with Alphaproteobacteria and the closest relatedness to Caulobacter mirabilis FWC 38(T), Caulobacter fusiformis ATCC 15257(T) and Caulobacter daechungensis H-E3-2(T) showing 98.5%, 97.3% and 97.3% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, respectively, and 96.1-96.7% similarity to all other species of the genus Caulobacter. The two isolates shared 100 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. The predominant ubiquinone was Q-10. The major fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω6c and/or C18 : 1ω7c), C16:0, C18:0ω7c 11-methyl and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c). The G+C contents of the genomic DNA of strains DS48-5-2(T) and DS48-6-3 were 66.7 mol% and 66.2 mol%, respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization values of strains DS48-5-2(T) and DS48-6-3 with C. mirabilis FWC 38(T), C. fusiformis ATCC 15257(T) and C. daechungensis H-E3-2(T) were 19.3 %-24.4 %. Thus, based on the evidence from polyphasic studies, it is proposed that strains DS48-5-2(T) and DS48-6-3 are representatives of a novel species in the genus Caulobacter, for which the name Caulobacter profunda sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DS48-5-2(T) ( = KCTC 32480(T) = JCM 19440(T)).
Nature Centers in Local Communities: Perceived Values, Support Factors, and Visitation Constraints

This dissertation examines three relationships between nature centers and their local communities. First, what are the values provided by local centers as perceived by community members? Second, what factors lead community members to support local centers? And third, what are the constraints to visiting local centers as perceived by community members? We surveyed random samples of community members living around 16 diverse nature centers across the United States and conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses to address these questions. Chapter one introduces the study and provides a literature review of theories and empirical research related to the research questions. Chapter two reports the results of an exploratory factor analysis on the level of importance communities assign to fourteen nature center services. The factor analysis revealed four underlying values: environmental connection, leisure provision, civic engagement, and community resilience. Chapter three tests sixteen hypothesized predictors of community support for nature centers. All these variables were significant, suggesting people volunteer at, donate to, or respond to threats at nature centers for a range of reasons. These include those related to supporting nature center missions (e.g. environmental connection significance and commitment to nature) but also other reasons such as friends’ and family’s perceptions of nature centers and assessments of the center staff members. Chapter four explores constraints that emerge during different stages of the decision-making process people go through when considering whether or not to visit a local nature center. The greatest constraints emerge in early stages (e.g. center awareness) and late stages (e.g. limited finances, transportation, and time) of decision-making. Chapter five discusses the study’s implications to theory, including ecosystem service and educational leisure setting valuation, environmentally significant and charitable support behavior, and leisure constraints, as well as nature center practice. Centers that consider these implications might better serve their local communities and achieve their missions.
VCO Design With On-Chip Calibration System

This paper presents a low-supply voltage integrated CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with an on-chip digital VCO calibration control system. The VCO utilizes various state-of-the-art design methods to achieve low phase noise. The calibration system includes a novel high-speed digital divide by two circuit and a counter running on 1-GHz input to enable on-chip frequency measurement. An arithmetic unit and algorithms to perform the calibration are implemented using on-chip logic. Two different types of calibration methods have been implemented and measured in order to compare the proposed VCO gain optimization method with more conventional type of VCO calibration. The measurements show that the VCO design has phase noise from -120.5 dBc/Hz to -118.7 dBc/Hz @ 400-kHz offset, measured over the frequency range from 1.67 to 1.93 GHz. The proposed VCO gain optimization method is capable of reducing the KVCO peak-to-peak variation of the presented VCO design from 54.4% to 29.8% in DCS1800 and PCS1900 GSM transmission bands when compared to the conventional type of calibration method
A wideband power divider for microwave applications

A wideband power divider on single layer microstrip technology is proposed, analyzed and fabricated. The proposed divider is designed by using two-section impedance transformers with an input and two symmetrical output extension lines. The analysis of the power divider is performed by applying transmission line theory. Better return loss and isolation factor is demonstrated over 50% impedance bandwidth by applying -15 dB bandwidth criterion. The prototype of the proposed power divider is fabricated and tested to verify the design and it has been noticed that the simulated results are in agreement with the measured data.
Three‐dimensional spiral technique for high‐resolution functional MRI

For high‐resolution functional MRI (fMRI) studies, signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) plays an important role. Any method that results in an improvement in SNR will be able to improve the quality of activation maps. Three‐dimensional (3D) acquisition methods in general can provide higher SNR than that of 2D methods due to volume excitation. To demonstrate the superiority of 3D methods for high‐resolution fMRI scans, a comparison study between 3D and 2D spiral methods was performed using a contrast‐reversing checkerboard visual stimulus. A 3‐inch surface coil was used to limit the in‐plane FOV to 14 cm × 14 cm so that 32 1‐mm slices with an in‐plane voxel size of 1.1 mm × 1.1 mm could be acquired within 5.76 seconds. Results showed that average numbers of activated voxels were 407 and 841 for 2D and 3D methods, respectively (P < 0.01). Therefore, the 3D technique may be a useful alternative to the conventional 2D method for high resolution fMRI studies. Magn Reson Med 58:947–951, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Low loss multilayer frequency selective surface NIMs for the Mid-IR: Modeling, synthesis and characterization

Over the last few years there has been increasing interest in metamaterials research because of the exciting applications made possible by refractive index engineering. Negative index materials (NIMs) were first theorized in 1968 by Veselago [1], who predicted that a material possessing simultaneously negative permittivity ε and permeability μ would exhibit novel properties, including backward-propagating waves, near-field focusing, and a modified Snell's law. Pendry's more recent recognition that a flat slab of material with n = −1 could be used as a “perfect lens” [2], started a drive to experimentally demonstrate NIMs from the RF regime through optical wavelengths [3]. However, many NIM experiments have suffered from high absorption and impedance mismatch losses, and most optical NIMs have been very thin with respect to the wavelength, reducing their utility in practical devices. We have previously reported our use of a flexible architecture based on periodic arrays of sub-wavelength metallo-dielectric structures coupled with genetic algorithm (GA) optimization [4] to minimize the losses inherent in NIMs [5]. We have also investigated optimizing larger metallo-dielectric stacks in order to realize practical, volumetric NIMs [6]. In this paper, we describe our progress in modeling the response of two-layer metallo-dielectric NIMs as well as designing, fabricating and characterizing two-layer metallo-dielectric NIMs for the mid-IR.
Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Induces Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Production in Skeletal Muscle and Promotes Tumor Angiogenesis1

Although M-CSF has been used for myelosuppression due to chemotherapy in patients with solid tumors, the effect of exogenous M-CSF on tumor angiogenesis has not been studied. In this study we showed that M-CSF has the ability to accelerate solid tumor growth by enhancing angiogenesis with a novel mechanism. M-CSF accelerated intratumoral vessel density in tumors inoculated into mice, although it did not accelerate the proliferation of malignant cells and cultured endothelial cells in vitro. In both the absence and the presence of tumors, M-CSF significantly increased the circulating cells that displayed phenotypic characteristics of endothelial progenitor cells in mice. Moreover, M-CSF treatment induced the systemic elevation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGFR-2 kinase inhibitor significantly impaired the effect of M-CSF on tumor growth. In vivo, M-CSF increased VEGF mRNA expression in skeletal muscles. Even after treatment with carageenan and anti-CD11b mAb in mice, M-CSF increased VEGF production in skeletal muscles, suggesting that systemic VEGF elevation was attributed to skeletal muscle VEGF production. In vitro, M-CSF increased VEGF production and activated the Akt signaling pathway in C2C12 myotubes. These results suggest that M-CSF promotes tumor growth by increasing endothelial progenitor cells and activating angiogenesis, and the effects of M-CSF are largely based on the induction of systemic VEGF from skeletal muscles.
The structure of the tetratricopeptide repeats of protein phosphatase 5: implications for TPR‐mediated protein–protein interactions

The tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) is a degenerate 34 amino acid sequence identified in a wide variety of proteins, present in tandem arrays of 3–16 motifs, which form scaffolds to mediate protein–protein interactions and often the assembly of multiprotein complexes. TPR‐containing proteins include the anaphase promoting complex (APC) subunits cdc16, cdc23 and cdc27, the NADPH oxidase subunit p67 phox, hsp90‐binding immunophilins, transcription factors, the PKR protein kinase inhibitor, and peroxisomal and mitochondrial import proteins. Here, we report the crystal structure of the TPR domain of a protein phosphatase, PP5. Each of the three TPR motifs of this domain consist of a pair of antiparallel α‐helices of equivalent length. Adjacent TPR motifs are packed together in a parallel arrangement such that a tandem TPR motif structure is composed of a regular series of antiparallel α‐helices. The uniform angular and spatial arrangement of neighbouring α‐helices defines a helical structure and creates an amphipathic groove. Multiple‐TPR motif proteins would fold into a right‐handed super‐helical structure with a continuous helical groove suitable for the recognition of target proteins, hence defining a novel mechanism for protein recognition. The spatial arrangement of α‐helices in the PP5–TPR domain is similar to those within 14‐3‐3 proteins.