Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Face image super-resolution via weighted patches regression

Recently sparse representation has gained great success in face image super-resolution. The conventional sparsity-based methods enforce sparse coding on face image patches and the representation fidelity is measured by ℓ2-norm. Such a sparse coding model regularizes all facial patches equally, which however ignores the natures of facial patches, where the facial patches in the different regions (patch positions) of human face may have distinct contributions to face image reconstruction. In this paper, we propose to weight facial patches based on their discriminative abilities in regression for robust face hallucination reconstruction. Specifically, we learn the weights for facial patches according to the information entropy in each face region, so as to highlight higher frequency details in face images and the facial discriminability can be well retrieved. Furthermore, the weighted sparse coding can reasonable represent the less sparse nature of noisy images and thus remarkably boosts noise robust performance in face image super-resolution. Various experimental results on standard face databased show that our proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of both objective metrics and visual quality.
Attaining Legitimacy in Temporary Business: The Case of New Entrepreneurs in the Television Industry

This work seeks to identify behavioral processes that new entrepreneurs can adopt to construct legitimacy in frequently changing temporary business environments. Focusing on independent television content production in the UK, the study finds that new entrepreneurs exploit the varying roles that their projects can play and then sequence these in order to tailor the legitimacy they need to build their business. This research draws on a 5‐year inductive study of 81 projects won by entrepreneurs of five new independent television production companies.
Finite-time consensus of networked nonlinear systems under directed graph

In this paper, we study the finite-time consensus problem of networked nonlinear systems under directed fixed graph. A nonlinear system is considered as a controlled first-order differential equation with/without drift term commonly used to model autonomous systems. For multi-system formation under directed fixed graph, a protocol is proposed to solve consensus problems in finite time. Guided by finite-time stability techniques and the graph theory, our protocol is applied for multi-system in interaction with different nonlinear models. As illustrative examples, under the proposed protocols, a networked unicycles and second-order dynamics achieve consensus in finite time.
[The nutritional status among children under 60 months year-old after one year of the Earthquake in Wenchuan].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of Wenchuan Earthquake on the nutritional status, growth, and the prevalence nutritional anemia, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and vitamin D deficiency among children under 60 months old living in the disaster areas. METHODS A nutritional survey was conducted in April 2009. The survey recruited 466 under 60 months old children, including 162 children aged 0 months old and 304 children aged 24 - 59 months old. The children's growth status, prevalence of anemia, and the iron deficiency prevalence, vitamin A, D, B(12), folic acid status were measured. The study findings were compared to the results from 2002 Chinese Nutritional and Health Survey. RESULTS The exclusive breast milk feeding rate among infants under 6-months was 58.8% (30/51). Among the 0 - 23 months old children, only 10.7% (16/150) got breast feeding within one hour after delivery. Ninety-two per cent (149/162) 0 - 23 months old children never received any nutrient supplements. The average cereals and roots intakes of the 24 - 59 months old children living in the disaster area were (267.2 ± 154.3) g/d, higher than the result of rural children average (178.75 g/d) of 2002 National Nutrition and Health Survey (u = 9.995, P < 0.01). The average intakes of vegetables, aquatic products, meat and poultries were (63.6 ± 56.7), (2.6 ± 7.9), (19.4 ± 24.0) g/d, respectively, significantly lower than 2002 results 135.05, 8.82 and 32.23 g/d (u = 21.971, 13.728 and 9.321, P < 0.01). Fruits, dairy products and legumes intakes were (102.2 ± 110.8), (65.2 ± 123.8) and (20.5 ± 29.0) g/d, respectively, higher than 2002 results (32.81, 2.87 and 6.50 g/d; u = 10.919, 8.778 and 8.417, P < 0.01). The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency and marginal deficiency was 15.4% (29/188) and 30.3% (57/188), respectively. The sum of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was 92.0% (183/199). The prevalence of anemia of the 0-months old children and 24 - 59 months old children was 47.5% (77/162) and 21.5% (60/279), respectively. The prevalence of iron and zinc deficiencies was 45.7% (86/188) and 65.5% (127/197). The prevalence of stunt was 13.6% (38/279) among the 24 - 59 months old children. CONCLUSION The results indicated that the dietary structure of the children living in the disaster area was not ideal. Although, the intakes of energy and protein supporting foods could meet the requirements, but the dietary lacks of meats, poultries, dairy products, legume products, aquatic products and vegetables. The vitamin A, vitamin D deficiency, iron and zinc deficiencies are of a high prevalence in the disaster area.
Asymptotic Studies for the Impact of Antenna Selection on Secure Two-Way Relaying Communications with Artificial Noise

In this paper, we consider a two-way relaying scenario with one pair of source nodes, one relay and one eavesdropper. All nodes are equipped with multiple antennas, and we study the impact of antenna selection on such a secure communication scenario. Three transmission schemes with different tradeoff between secure performance and complexity are investigated respectively. Particularly, when antenna selection is implemented at the relay and no artificial noise is introduced, the condition to realize secure transmissions is established. Then by allowing the sources to inject artificial noise into the system, the secure performance is evaluated by focusing on different eavesdropping strategies. When both the relay and the sources send artificial noise, a low complexity strategy of antenna selection is proposed to efficiently utilize the antennas at the sources and the relay. The developed asymptotic results demonstrate that, by adding more artificial noise and performing joint antenna selection, a better secure performance, such as a larger secrecy rate and a lower outage probability, can be realized at a price of imposing more complexity on the system. Simulation results are also provided to demonstrate the accuracy of the developed analytical results.
The impact of heterogeneity of discount factors and asset returns on inequality

ABSTRACT We investigate the effect of differential access to financial markets, discount factor and wealth endowment on poverty and inequality. We construct a model of educational and savings choice with heterogeneous agents. Motivated by empirical evidence, in this economy the return on savings is a non-decreasing function of the amount saved. As expected, more patient households tend to become wealthier and more educated. The heterogeneity on portfolio returns is shown to be key to our main result: the model closely fits the data on income and wealth inequalities, being able to explain the existing Brazil’s inequality patterns. The model was also calibrated to the US, with similar fit. We then evaluate two types of public policies based on cash transfer schemes (CTSs), that aim to reduce poverty and inequality. We find that the CTS version in which receiving the benefit is conditional on educating the household’s youngster outperforms its unconditional version in almost all dimensions analysed.
Feasibility on multiplexing antenna system based on rectangular-coordinate orthogonality by using two-dimensional 180-degree hybrid

For mode multiplexing transmission using two-dimensional orthogonal field distribution, a beam switching circuit is designed and transmission between Tx and Rx antenna systems are calculated. Generation of orthogonal four modes by the beam switching circuit is presented in this paper. The simulated isolations between the orthogonal modes are over 20 dB at the center frequency.
Patients with problematic opioid use can be weaned from codeine without pain escalation

Background: Brief treatments for chronic non‐malignant pain patients with problematic opioid use are warranted. The aims of the present study were to investigate (1) whether it is possible to withdraw codeine use in such patients with a brief cognitive‐behavioural therapy (CBT), (2) whether this could be done without pain escalation and reduction in quality of life and (3) to explore the effects of codeine reduction on neurocognitive functioning.
A Planar Antenna With Voltage-Controlled Frequency Tuning Based on Few-Layer Graphene

This letter presents a voltage-controlled tunable planar antenna based on few-layer graphene flakes. The antenna consists of a rectangular patch with a shorted microstrip stub connected to the radiating edge, and a graphene pad located at the input of the stub. The proposed design exploits the variation of the graphene resistance by an applied bias voltage. Without any bias voltage, the graphene pad behaves almost as an open circuit, not allowing any current passing and, thus, voiding the impact of the stub. Increasing the bias voltage reduces the graphene resistance, thus increasing the current passing through the pad into the stub. This results in the patch antenna radiating at a different frequency. A prototype operating at the frequency of 5 GHz has been designed and tested, demonstrating a frequency tunability larger than 10% with a limited gain degradation.
Related Party Transactions and Firm Value in the Business Groups in the Indonesia Stock Exchange

Related party transactions are the most common corporate actions occurring in the business groups in the Indonesia Stock Exchange that can influence firm value. The market capitalization proportion of the business groups is more than 50 percent of all the market capitalization of the issuers listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange. This study aimed to analyze the determinants of related party transactions affecting the values of the companies in the business groups in the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The determinants were the types of related party transactions, companyâ€™s size, debt to equity ratio, and period of crisis. This study used panel data with quarterly time period from 2006 to 2013. Samples were determined by purposive sampling that focused on the typology of the companies, namely the companies in the three business groups representing the three layers of market capitalization. In total were 704 observations. The result showed that related party transactions of sales and incomes as well as purchases and expenses significantly have positive effect on firm value. Debt to equity ratio insignificantly has positive effect on firm value. The related party transactions of loans, receivables, asset tunneling, companyâ€™s size and period of crisis significantly have negative effect on firm value.JEL classification numbers: G11, G32Keywords: related party transactions, firm value, business groups, Indonesia, propping and tunneling
Target hazard quotient evaluation of cadmium and lead in fish from Caspian Sea

Heavy metals are being increasingly released into the natural waters from geological and anthropogenic sources. The distributions of several heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) were investigated in muscle and liver of three different fish species seasonally collected from Caspian Sea (autumn 2011–summer 2012). The concentrations of all metals were lower in flesh than those recorded in liver due to their physiological roles. The target hazard quotient (THQ) index for fish was calculated. Estimation of THQ calculations for the contaminated fish consumption was calculated to evaluate the effect of pollution on health. Total metal THQ values of Pb and Cd for adults were 0.05 and 0.04 in Anzali and Noshahr, respectively, and for children were 0.08 and 0.05 in Anzali and Noshahr, respectively.
RhoB Alteration Is Necessary for Apoptotic and Antineoplastic Responses to Farnesyltransferase Inhibitors

ABSTRACT Farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) are in clinical trials, but how they selectively inhibit malignant cell growth remains uncertain. One important player in this process appears to be RhoB, an endosomal Rho protein that regulates receptor trafficking. FTI treatment elicits a gain of the geranylgeranylated RhoB isoform (RhoB-GG) that occurs due to modification of RhoB by geranylgeranyltransferase I in drug-treated cells. Notably, this event is sufficient to mediate antineoplastic effects in murine models and human carcinoma cells. To further assess this gain-of-function mechanism and determine whether RhoB-GG has a necessary role in drug action, we examined the FTI response of murine fibroblasts that cannot express RhoB-GG due to homozygous deletion of the rhoB gene. Nullizygous (−/−) cells were susceptible to cotransformation by adenovirus E1A plus activated H-Ras but defective in their FTI response, despite complete inhibition of H-Ras prenylation. Actin cytoskeletal and phenotypic events were disrupted in −/− cells, implicating RhoB-GG in these effects. Interestingly, −/− cells were resistant to FTI-induced growth inhibition under anchorage-dependent but not anchorage-independent conditions, indicating that, while RhoB-GG is sufficient, it is not necessary for growth inhibition under all conditions. In contrast, −/− cells were resistant to FTI-induced apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Significantly, the apoptotic defect of −/− cells compromised the antitumor efficacy of FTI in xenograft assays. This study offers genetic proof of the hypothesis that RhoB-GG is a crucial mediator of the antineoplastic effects of FTIs.
The Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale. Development and testing of a new instrument.

BACKGROUND Spirituality is receiving greater attention in the medical literature, especially in the family practice journals. A widely applicable instrument to assess spirituality has been lacking, however, and this has hampered research on the relationship between spirituality and health in the clinical setting. METHODS A new instrument, called the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale, was designed to be widely applicable across religious traditions, to assess actions as well as beliefs to address key components not assessed in other available measures, and to be easily administered and scored. The instrument is a questionnaire containing 26 items in a modified Likert-type format. Following careful pretesting, the instrument was administered to 50 family practice patients and 33 family practice educators. The validity and reliability of the instrument were then evaluated. RESULTS By several measures, instrument reliability and validity are very good, with high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .92); strong test-retest reliability (r = .92); a clear four-factor structure; and a high correlation (r = .80) with another established measure of spirituality, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. CONCLUSIONS The Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS) appears to have good reliability and validity. Compared with other instruments that assess spirituality, the SIBS has several theoretical advantages, including broader scope, use of terms that avoid cultural-religious bias, and assessment of both beliefs and actions. More testing is underway to further assess its usefulness.
12.5 An error-based controlled single-inductor 10-output DC-DC buck converter with high efficiency at light load using adaptive pulse modulation

Reducing the number of large external components, especially inductors, is a very important issue for Power-Management ICs (PMICs). Single-Inductor Multiple-Output (SIMO) converters are excellent candidates to meet this requirement [1-3]. However, there are several issues with SIMO converters, such as cross regulation, instability and inefficiency at light load. Under normal load conditions, comparator-based controlled SIMO converters [1,2] show good cross regulation performance due to the fast response of the comparator. However, the switching loss remains constant and degrades light load efficiency due to the fixed switching frequency of output switches. The low-efficiency characteristic when any output is under light load condition is a critical issue that must be solved because a SIMO converter is very suitable for light load applications. In addition, the cross regulation issue appears again when any output is under no load because the output receives energy from the inductor every cycle despite the load condition. To solve these issues, a SIMO converter was previously reported to support Pulse Frequency Modulation (PFM) mode [3]. However, the mode change control method increases the complexity of the control loop, which makes it unsuitable for a multi-output SIMO converter. In this paper, an Error Based Controlled (EBC) SIMO converter is presented to resolve the problems raised above using load-dependent Adaptive Pulse Modulation (APM). A hybrid topology composed of a switching converter and a linear regulator is also presented to minimize the cross regulation issue. To highlight the advantages, a 10-output SIMO converter is designed.
Ice Hockey Players Using a Weighted Implement When Training on the Ice

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for improving hockey players' performance using a weighted implement on the ice. Forty-eight players were tested using a grip strength dynamometer. They also were assessed on their abilities to stick-handle. The participants were randomly placed into a control or research group. The conditioning drills were performed for 10–15 min 3 days/week for 6 weeks. Use of the weighted implement resulted in a significantly enhanced grip strength endurance and stick-handling ability (p < .05). Using weighted implements prior to a regular ice hockey training session may be of benefit to young hockey players to enhance their grip strength endurance and stick-handling abilities.
Innovative Strategies for Transforming Internal Medicine Residency Training in Resource-Limited Settings: The Mozambique Experience

With approximately 4 physicians per 100,000 inhabitants, Mozambique faces one of the most severe health care provider shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of sufficient well-trained medical school faculty is one of Mozambique’s major barrier to producing new physicians annually. A partnership between the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and the University of California, San Diego, has addressed this challenge with support from the Medical Education Partnership Initiative. After an initial needs assessment involving questionnaires and focus groups of residents, and working with key members from the Ministry of Health, the Medical Council, and Maputo Central Hospital, a set of interventions was designed. The hospital’s internal medicine residency program was chosen as the focus for the plan. Interventions included curriculum design, new teaching methodologies, investment in an informatics infrastructure for access to digital references, building capacity to support clinical research, and providing financial incentives to retain junior faculty. The number of candidates entering the internal medicine residency program has increased, and detailed monitoring and evaluation is measuring the impact of these changes on the quality of training. These changes are expected to improve the long-term quality of postgraduate training in general through dissemination to other departments. They also have the potential to facilitate equitable distribution of specialists nationwide by expanding postgraduate training to other hospitals and universities.
Spore Appendages and Taxonomy of Clostridium sordellii

Twenty-five strains of Clostridium sordellii were divided into two groups on the basis of spore fine structure. Sixteen strains formed spores with smooth tubular appendages, and nine strains formed spores which lacked appendages. The other properties of the 25 strains were relatively constant. Since the minor strain variability which was encountered did not correlate with spore appendage status, fragmentation of this species on the basis of spore appendage status is not advocated.
Evaluating conformational changes in protein structures binding RNA

Many protein–RNA recognition events are known to exhibit conformational changes from qualitative observations of individual complexes. However, a quantitative estimation of conformational changes is required if protein–RNA docking and template‐based methods for RNA binding site prediction are to be developed. This study presents the first quantitive evaluation of conformational changes that occur when proteins bind RNA. The analysis of twelve RNA‐binding proteins in the bound and unbound states using error‐scaled difference distance matrices is presented. The binding site residues are mapped to each structure, and the conformational changes that affect these residues are evaluated. Of the twelve proteins four exhibit greater movements in nonbinding site residues, and a further four show the greatest movements in binding site residues. The remaining four proteins display no significant conformational change. When interface residues are found to be in conformationally variable regions of the protein they are typically seen to move less than 2 Å between the bound and unbound conformations. The current data indicate that conformational changes in the binding site residues of RNA binding proteins may not be as significant as previously suggested, but a larger data set is required before wider conclusions may be drawn. The implications of the observed conformational changes for protein function prediction are discussed. Proteins 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The short-term impact of structural reforms on productivity growth: beyond direct effects

In recent years, literature has linked structural reforms with productivity growth. Considering Portugal’s recent comprehensive reform agenda, this topic acquires particular relevance. Using data for Portuguese firms for the period 2006-2014, this paper assesses the impact of structural reforms on firm’s productivity in the short-run. In line with existing literature, the analysis reveals that some reforms produce positive effects already in the short-run. There are, however, important differences across reform areas and firms, namely when comparing those at the technological frontier and the others. In particular, frontier firms are better equipped to materialize the gains of improved framework conditions and to deal with competitive pressures, grasping more often short-term gains. In any case, gains for those at the frontier are also beneficial for laggards via spillover effects, as both diffusion and catching-up mechanisms are, in general, positive for Portuguese firms. Finally, our analysis shows that, in the short-run, these spillovers may be potentiated or curbed by reforms, which therefore impact the economy also through indirect effects. Indeed, while pass-through is, in most cases, hampered by reforms, the effects on catching-up mechanisms are mixed; they improve with some reforms but are deteriorated with others.