Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Status Attainment and Status Maintenance: A Study of Stratification in Old Age

While sociologists have been interested in the stratification process at ages when members of a cohort experience many changes, attention has been focused most on the beginnings of the socioeconomic career. Though many changes also occur later in life, relatively little attention has been given to them. In this paper, the effect of aging on the relation of status variables to income is analyzed through a comparison of status attainment models for a cohort before and after most of its members have retired. Data for the earlier period are from the 1962 OCG survey and, for the later period, are from the combined 1973, 1974 and 1975 NORC General Social Survey. The analysis shows little change in the pattern of effects. Within the restricted age range, age has trivial effects. Respondent's education, occupation and marital status have direct effects on income. Overall, the analysis suggests a great deal of continuity in the determinants of income. Despite the potentially disruptive effects of changes at this age, the relation of status variables to income remains almost untouched in old age.
Determining the three-dimensional phase center of an antenna

A method for determining the best-fit phase center of an antenna is presented. Electrically small antennas with simple patterns and linear polarizations can have well-defined phase centers, but this is not the case for antennas with more sophisticated patterns, including those with circular polarization. In general, the phase center is sensitive to the angular range of interest, the weighting over that angular range, and of course the frequency. The formulation is developed here for finding the physical location on an antenna which corresponds to a minimum variance for an antenna's angularly weighed phase pattern. Examples using measurements of specialist precision GPS antennas are used to give a feel for the results. A brute-force search is used, but the relatively small nature of the problem means that the solution is quick when using a standard personal computer.
Energy rebound as a potential threat to a low-carbon future: findings from a new exergy-based national-level rebound approach

150 years ago, Stanley Jevons introduced the concept of energy rebound: that anticipated energy efficiency savings may be “taken back” by behavioural responses. This is an important issue today because, if energy rebound is significant, this would hamper the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies aimed at reducing energy use and associated carbon emissions. However, empirical studies which estimate national energy rebound are rare and, perhaps as a result, rebound is largely ignored in energy-economy models and associated policy. A significant difficulty lies in the components of energy rebound assessed in empirical studies: most examine direct and indirect rebound in the static economy, excluding potentially significant rebound of the longer term structural response of the national economy. In response, we develop a novel exergy-based approach to estimate national energy rebound for the UK and US (1980–2010) and China (1981–2010). Exergy—as “available energy”—allows a consistent, thermodynamic-based metric for national-level energy efficiency. We find large energy rebound in China, suggesting that improvements in China’s energy efficiency may be associated with increased energy consumption (“backfire”). Conversely, we find much lower (partial) energy rebound for the case of the UK and US. These findings support the hypothesis that producer-sided economies (such as China) may exhibit large energy rebound, reducing the effectiveness of energy efficiency, unless other policy measures (e.g., carbon taxes) are implemented. It also raises the prospect we need to deploy renewable energy sources faster than currently planned, if (due to rebound) energy efficiency policies cannot deliver the scale of energy reduction envisaged to meet climate targets.
Analytical model for the design of multispan DWDM transmission systems

We present a novel analytical model to characterize the nonlinear impairments in dispersion-managed amplitude-modulated dense wavelength-division-multiplexing systems. Though this top-down approach is less accurate than numerical simulations, it enables the definition of general rules for the design of transmission lines, which are modulation format and bit-rate independent.
Health Disparity Still Exists in an Economically Well-Developed Society in Asia

Background The socioeconomic inequalities in child health continue to widen despite improved economy. Objective To investigate the correlation between socio-economic factors and health risk behaviors and psychosocial well-being of children in Hong Kong. Hypothesis The null hypothesis is that for this particular developed region, there exists little or no correlation between social-economic factors and health risk behaviors and psychosocial well-being of children. Design Cross sectional territory wide survey. Participants Caregivers of 7,000 children in kindergartens in Hong Kong. Measuring tools Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance questionnaire, health-related knowledge and hygienic practice questionnaire, and Children Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results Children were less likely to have somatic complaints and anxiety/depression as reflected by CBCL scores coming from families of higher income, not being recipients of social assistance, with fathers in employment, and with higher parental education. Children with only mother or father as caretakers had lower odds ratios (ORs) 0.71 (95% CI 0.58-0.89) and 0.53 (95% CI 0.33-0.84) respectively to have the habit of eating breakfast, whilst parental education at post-secondary level and higher family income had higher ORs 1.91 (95% CI 1.31-2.78), and 1.63 (95% CI 1.11-2.39). Fathers unemployed, relatives as main caretakers and living in districts with low median household inome incurred higher ORs, as 1.46 (95% CI 1.10-1.94),1.52 (95% CI 1.27-1.83) and 1.17 (95% CI 1.02-1.34) respectively, of watching television over two hours daily, whilst children with parental education at secondary level or above incurred lower OR 0.33 (95% CI 0.24-0.45). Children with parental education at post-secondary level and higher family income had lower ORs of 0.32 (95% CI 0.48-0.97) and 0.52 (95% CI 0.34-0.79) respectively, with regard to exposing to passive smoking, and reversed for those living in districts with lower median household income, lower family income and recipient of CSSA with ORs 1.24 (95% CI 1.06-1.44) and 1.6 (95% CI 1.09-2.37) respectively. Conclusion Null hypothesis was not supported. A strong gradient was still found to exist among different socio-economic groups for various health-related behaviors in developed society like Hong Kong.
Parameter estimation of incoherently distributed source based on block sparse Bayesian learning

In practical array signal processing applications, the performance of DOA (direction-of-arrival) estimation methods is known to degrade severely in the presence of angular spread. In this paper, a new approach of estimating parameter via block sparse Bayesian learning is proposed for multiple incoherently distributed sources. Unlike traditional subspace based methods, the new technique makes use of a sparse representation of the received data with a perturbed overcomplete dictionary. Specifically, after using the temporal correlation between snapshots, the central DOA is estimated by using a Bayesian learning algorithm. The new method is able to mitigate the influence of angular spread, and its performance is demonstrated from numerical simulations.
Generation of binocular object movies from monocular object movies

Object movie (OM) is a popular technique for producing interactive 3D artifacts because of its simplicity in production and it photo-realistic ability to present the artifacts. At the same time, many stereoscopic vision techniques are developed for a variety of applications. However, the traditional approach for generating binocular object movies require duplicate effort compared with monocular ones both in the process of acquisition and image processing. Therefore, we propose a framework to generate stereo OMs from monocular ones with the help of an automatically constructed 3D model from the monocular OM. Here, a new representation of the 3D model, named billboard clusters, is proposed for efficient generating binocular views. In order to obtain better results, a novel approach to extract view-independent texture is developed in this work. Besides, billboard clusters can be used to compress the storage capacity of OMs, and to perform relighting so that the binocular OMs can be well augmented into virtual environments with different lighting conditions. This paper describes the methods in detail and reports on its wide applications.
Mitigation of Azimuth Ambiguities in SAR Images Using Restoration Techniques

A framework is proposed for mitigating azimuth ambiguities in spacebornestripmap synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The azimuth ambiguities in SAR images are localized by using a local mean SAR image, SAR system parameters and a defined metric derived from azimuth antenna pattern. The defined metric helps isolate targets lying at locations of ambiguities. The mechanism for restoration of ambiguity region is selected on the basis of size of ambiguity regions. A compressive imaging technique is employed to restore isolated ambiguity regions (smaller regions of interconnected pixels), whereas clustered regions (relatively bigger regions of interconnected pixels) are filled by using exemplar-based inpainting. The simulation results on a real TerraSAR-X data set demonstrated that the proposed scheme can effectively remove azimuth ambiguities and enhance SAR image quality.
Yellow Pygmy Rice Rat (Oligoryzomys flavescens) and Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in Uruguay

During 5,230 trapping nights, 672 small mammals were trapped in the areas where most hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) cases occur in Uruguay. Yellow pygmy rice rats (Oligoryzomys flavescens) were the only rodents that showed evidence of antibodies to hantavirus, with a seroprevalence of 2.6%. The rodents were trapped in all the explored environments, and most of the seropositive rodents were found in habitats frequented by humans. Nucleotide sequences were obtained from four HPS case-patients and four yellow pygmy rice rats of the M genome segment. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis showed that rodent-borne viruses and viruses from three HPS case-patients form a well-supported clade and share a 96.4% identity with the previously characterized Central Plata hantavirus. These results suggest that yellow pygmy rice rat (O. flavescens) may be the host for Central Plata, a hantavirus associated with HPS in the southern area of Uruguay. [
Effects of portal vein clamping time on rat liver microcirculation following extended cold preservation and transplantation

Abstract Orthotopic rat liver transplantation (ORLT) following extended cold preservation in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution has been shown to induce alterations of the hepatic microcirculation, mainly characterized by areas of no-reflow. The present study was performed to determine whether these alterations were related to the portal vein clamping time (PVCT), shown to be the main determinant of survival after ORLT. The hepatic microcirculation was evaluated using the multiple-indicator dilution curve (MIDC) technique after ORLT following 24-hour cold ischemia in UW solution. Two groups of rats were studied: one with PVCTs of less than 14 min (survival conditions) and one with PVCTs of more than 18 min (nonsurvival conditions). Four hours after ORLT, only long PVCTs were associated with small, but significant, nonperfused areas, about 10 % of the liver not being perfused by water; however, in both survival and nonsurvival conditions, the sinusoidal sieving function was well-maintained in perfused areas. In addition, liver viability parameters and hepatocyte function were similarly and minimally altered. The hepatic microcirculation is minimally altered 4 h after ORLT following extended cold preservation in UW solution, whatever the survival condition. Although only found after long PVCTs, the low magnitude of areas of no-reflow should not be associated with lethal injury of the transplanted liver, a finding further supporting the concept that survival after ORLT following 24-hour cold preservation in UW solution is mainly influenced by extrahepatic factors.
Histological responses of the periodontium to MTA: a systematic review.

AIM The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate whether a mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) restoration of an endodontic-periodontal communication leads to regeneration of the adjacent periodontal tissues. METHODOLOGY The databases MEDLINE-PubMed, Cochrane-CENTRAL, and EMBASE were searched, up to July 2012. In vivo studies that reported on the histological response of the periodontium to MTA were selected. RESULTS The screening of 98 title-abstracts, full-text reading, and hand searches in literature lists yielded 24 papers. All of them involved animals. There were no studies reporting on human histology. Study protocols presented heterogeneity regarding treated lesions, intervention, and reported outcomes. The histological results of the animal studies showed minimal inflammatory reactions, bone healing, periodontal ligament presence, and consistent cementum formation. Time lapse after mixing, bacterial contamination, root canal disinfection, and inflammation influenced MTA's cementoconductive properties. CONCLUSIONS Within the limitations of the selected papers concerning inhomogeneous study protocols and low methodological quality scores, their findings were consistent with regard to MTA's biocompatibility and cementogenic ability. Experimental animal studies show that MTA can promote healing towards regeneration. There is now a distinct need to examine the clinical performance of MTA in well-controlled prospective human cohort studies.
The role of knowledge sharing in enhancing innovation: a comparative study of public and private higher education institutions in Iraq

Abstract This paper reports on an examination of the impact of knowledge sharing on product and process innovation. In it we try to identify the similarities and differences between these impacts in public and private Higher Education (HE) Institutions in Iraq. A mixed methods approach was conducted using 486 valid responses to test the causal relationships between knowledge sharing, and innovation. Then a qualitative approach was used to give more insight of the findings from the quantitative stage regarding the differences in the effect of the studied relationships. Employing structural equation modelling, the research found that knowledge sharing plays a pivotal role in enhancing innovation in both sectors. The multi-group SEM and the interviews revealed differences between Iraqi public and private HEIs. Guidelines are developed for researchers as well as leaders, and evidence support using knowledge sharing to enhance innovation within HE in developing countries. The findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Large Display Interaction via Multiple Acceleration Curves and Multifinger Pointer Control

Large high-resolution displays combine high pixel density with ample physical dimensions. The combination of these factors creates a multiscale workspace where interactive targeting of on-screen objects requires both high speed for distant targets and high accuracy for small targets. Modern operating systems support implicit dynamic control-display gain adjustment (i.e., a pointer acceleration curve) that helps to maintain both speed and accuracy. However, large high-resolution displays require a broader range of control-display gains than a single acceleration curve can usably enable. Some interaction techniques attempt to solve the problem by utilizing multiple explicit modes of interaction, where different modes provide different levels of pointer precision. Here, we investigate the alternative hypothesis of using a single mode of interaction for continuous pointing that enables both (1) standard implicit granularity control via an acceleration curve and (2) explicit switching between multiple acceleration curves in an efficient and dynamic way. We evaluate a sample solution that augments standard touchpad accelerated pointer manipulation with multitouch capability, where the choice of acceleration curve dynamically changes depending on the number of fingers in contact with the touchpad. Specifically, users can dynamically switch among three different acceleration curves by using one, two, or three fingers on the touchpad.
An FPGA-Based Gain-Scheduled Controller for Resonant Converters Applied to Induction Cooktops

Domestic induction heating appliances have become popular due to their advantages such as efficiency, fast heating, cleanliness, and safety. In order to achieve high efficiency, induction cooktops usually features resonant converters in which the inductor-vessel system is a part of the resonant tank. Thus, the inductor-vessel system impedance sets the point of operation of the power converter. Due to the variability of the load with multiple parameters such as temperature, geometry, and material, the resonant converter has to work with highly varying operating conditions. When designing a classical controller, the controller gain is selected to assure the system stability in the whole range of operation and for a large amount of vessels. This study proposes an FPGA-based gain scheduled controller which makes use of the information of the modulation parameters and an online impedance identification system. As a result, the proposed controller significantly improves the converter dynamic response, improving the performance and safety operation of the power converter. The proposed control algorithm has been experimentally verified using a domestic induction heating prototype, proving the feasibility of this proposal.
High current efficiency class-AB OTA with high open loop gain and enhanced bandwidth

An efficient class-AB OTA with enhanced output current, slew rate, open loop gain, and gain bandwidth is presented. The circuit is based on a class-AB input stage with adaptive biasing, and an output stage with dynamically biased cascode transistors. It can deliver output currents 100 times larger than the bias current with a total quiescent power dissipation of 72 μW. Measurement results of a 180 nm CMOS test chip prototype show slew rate, gain bandwidth, and open loop gain enhancement.
UAMCLyR at RepLab 2013: Profiling Task

This paper describes the participation of the Language and Reasoning Group of UAM at RepLab 2013 Profiling evaluation lab. We adopted Distributional Term Representations (DTR) for facing the following problems: i) filtering tweets that are related to an entity, and ii) identifying positive or negative implications for the entity’s reputation, i.e., polarity for reputation. Distributional Term Representations help to overcome, to some extent, the small-length/high-sparsity issues. DTRs are a way to represent terms by means of contextual information, given by term co-occurrence statistics. In order to evaluate our approach, we compared the proposed approach against the traditional Bag-of-Words representation. Obtained results indicate that by means of DTRs it is possible to increase the reliability score of a profiling system.
Real-time expression profiling of microRNA precursors in human cancer cell lines

Our previous study described a real-time PCR method to quantify microRNA (miRNA) precursors using SYBR green detection [T. D. Schmittgen, J. Jiang, Q. Liu and L. Yang (2004) Nucleic Acids Res., 32, e43]. The present study adapted the assay to a 384-well format and expanded it to include primers to 222 human miRNA precursors. TaqMan minor groove binder probes were used to discriminate nearly identical members of the let-7 family of miRNA isoforms. The miRNA precursor expression was profiled in 32 human cell lines from lung, breast, colorectal, hematologic, prostate, pancreatic, and head and neck cancers. Some miRNA precursors were expressed at similar levels in many of the cell lines, while others were differentially expressed. Clustering analysis of the miRNA precursor expression data revealed that most of the cell lines clustered into their respective tissues from which each cell line was ostensibly derived. miRNA precursor expression by PCR paralleled the mature miRNA expression by northern blotting for most of the conditions studied. Our study provides PCR primer sequences to all of the known human miRNA precursors as of December 2004 and provides a database of the miRNA precursor expression in many commonly used human cancer cell lines.
Psychiatrische Begutachtungen im Strafrecht

Der juristische Krankheitsbegriff unterscheidet sich grundsätzlich vom medizinischen Krankheitsbegriff, obwohl der Gesetzgeber wiederholt versucht hat, sich der medizinischen Terminologie anzunähern. Beim juristischen Krankheitsbegriff geht es unabhängig von der Ursache und der Therapierbarkeit einer Störung vorwiegend um die Ausprägung. Krankheit ist somit im juristischen Sinne vor allem abhängig vom Überschreiten einer bestimmten, u.U. sogar normativ gesetzten Schwelle. Insofern kommt es vor allen Dingen auf das Ausmaß der Funktionseinschränkungen an. Dieses Ausmaßmuss demGericht verdeutlicht werden, damit es die Zuordnung einer Störung unter einen juristischen Krankheitsbegriff nachvollziehen kann.
Energy-based adaptive focusing: Optimal ultrasonic focusing using magnetic resonance guidance

Adaptive focusing of ultrasonic waves is performed under the guidance of a Magnetic Resonance (MR) system. The technique is based on the maximization of the ultrasonic wave intensity at a target point. The wave intensity is indirectly estimated from the local tissue motion induced at the chosen focus by the acoustic radiation force of the ultrasonic beam. A motion sensitive MR sequence is used to measure the resulting local tissue displacements. Based on the transmission of a set of spatially coded ultrasonic waves, a non iterative inversion process is used to estimate the phase aberrations induced by the propagation medium and to maximize the acoustical intensity at the target. Both programmable and physical aberrating layers introducing strong distortions (up to 2π radians) are recovered within acceptable errors (≪0.8 rad). This non invasive technique is shown to accurately correct the phase aberrations in a phantom gel with negligible heat deposition and limited acquisition time. These refocusing performances demonstrate a major potential in the field of MR-Guided Ultrasound Therapy in particular for transcranial brain HIFU.