Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
La turbo-égalisation et son application aux communications radiomobiles

Cette these est consacree a l'etude d'un nouveau type de recepteur, baptise turbo-egaliseur, permettant de traiter efficacement l'interference entre symboles (ies) que l'on rencontre sur les canaux selectifs en frequence. Le turbo-egaliseur peut etre utilise dans toute chaine de communication numerique possedant a l'emission une fonction de codage correcteur d'erreurs et une fonction d'entrelacement des donnees. Ce recepteur est principalement compose d'un detecteur de viterbi permettant de traiter l'ies et d'un decodeur de canal pour corriger les erreurs de transmission. Ces deux elements sont separes par un desentrelaceur qui permet de disperser d'eventuels paquets d'erreurs en sortie du detecteur. Un systeme de contre-reaction inspire de celui des turbo-codes permet de reduire considerablement le taux d'erreur binaire en iterant le processus de detection-decodage. Les resultats obtenus ont montre que dans de nombreux cas, le turbo-egaliseur est capable de s'affranchir entierement de l'ies. Ce systeme peut etre utilise efficacement dans le systeme de telephonie mobile gsm
Synthesis of wide-band bandpass filters with quarter-wavelength resonators

This paper presents a synthesis method for the design of wide-band quarter-wavelength-resonator bandpass filters without global optimization. In this method, the improved K-inverter and J-inverter models with the exponent-weighted turns ratio and extra transmission lines are proposed in order to incorporate the frequency dependence of inverters. The proposed synthesis method is applied to the design of a rectangular coaxial wide-band bandpass filters. As a design example, a four-pole rectangular coaxial bandpass filter is designed for 63% fractional bandwidth. The measurement results agree well with the simulation results and show good equal ripple performance. The proposed method is expected to find more applications in the design wide-band bandpass filters.
Studying the relationship between corporate governance, financial management decisions and firm’s financial performance.

Corporate governance is one of the critical issues that lead to improving the business environment. Corporate governance not only values firm managers interested in knowing the quality level and corporate governance structure and its adjustment with the best methods and regulations but also is attractive for participants in the market who are interested in knowing governance risk in firms. On the other hand, the major role of financial reporting is to transfer data to outsiders in an organization efficiently. Any business unit works within a field through which the result of performances could be studied and assessed and measured through different methods. Also, the main goal of most firms is to create value for shareholders and to maximize it by using managerial decisions. Methodology: The present study is going to investigate the relationship between corporate governance, financial management decisions, and the financial performance of firms. The statistical sample used in the present research includes 76 enlisted in the Tehran Stock Exchange during the time period between 2010 and 2014. The dependent variable in this research is firm performance. The independent variables whose effect on firm performance is going to be investigated include corporate governance elements (ownership percentage of institutional investors, ownership concentration, the board size, the proportion of not in charge board members), financial management decisions (over-investment, sub-optimal investment). Results: The intended data were collected and were categorized in an axel file as data references. Also testing the hypotheses was carried out by using multiple variable regressions based on pooled data techniques by using Eviews economic measurement software. Conclusion: Research findings showed that there has been a negative and meaningful relationship between ownership percentage of institutional investors and financial performance with a probability of %95. Also, there has not been a meaningful relationship between board size, the proportion of not in charge board members (independence of board), and financial performance. On the other hand, there has not been a meaningful relationship between over-investment and financial performance. But there has been a positive and meaningful relationship between sub-optimal investment and a firm’s financial performance.
Exploring plain language guidelines

Based on the last National Assessment of Adult Literacy survey (2003) conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Educational Statistics, an estimated 43% (93 million) of the U.S. adults age 16 and older has below or basic literacy skills . Many government agencies adopt a policy of using plain language guidelines when preparing documents for the public. This study used the Delphi Technique to explore how government health communication professionals (n =11) define “plain language” and what they consider to be the main guidelines for writing in “plain language. ” Participants agreed on only six plain language items throughout the study: (1) Write for audience's level of understanding of the subject matter, (2) Write for the literacy level of the target population, (3) Present information in a logical order, (4) Use simple sentence structure, (5) Define unfamiliar concepts, and (6) Use correct grammar and sentence structure. No standard exists on how to write in plain language for health care documents, which may be why health communicators have varied ideas on what plain language means and what guidelines should be followed.
Destination image mechanisms in transitional economies

The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze a model explaining image formation in such destinations as Croatia which did not fully commercialize their potential as a tourist destination. Based on literature review, we tested model of destination image formation factors on the sample of 663 tourists visiting a holiday destination. Results show that in such situation, cognitive aspects exhibit limited impact on overall image. Moreover, sponsored communication has negative impact on cognitive evaluations. Results from this study can be used for strategic image management of transitional countries.
Who Can Predict Their Own Demise? Accuracy of Longevity Expectations by Education and Cognition

Biased longevity expectations will lead to suboptimal decisions regarding saving, retirement, annuitization and health, with consequences for wellbeing in old age. Systematic differences in the accuracy of longevity expectations may partly explain heterogeneity in economic behaviour by education and cognitive functioning. Analysis of eight waves of the US Health and Retirement Study reveals that individuals with lower levels of education and cognitive functioning report survival probabilities that are less accurate in predicting their in-sample mortality. There is little evidence that the gradients in the veracity of expectations are due to the less educated and cognitively able responding less to changes in objective mortality risks. However, high school dropouts and the least cognitively able report survival probabilities that are less stable and display greater un explained variability. These disadvantaged groups appear to be less confident in their longevity beliefs, which is justified given that their expectations are less accurate.
Fitness computer game with a bodily user interface

The experience players get from playing a computer game depends on how well the story and the action can capture players attention. Sometimes people immerse to the game environment so strongly that they forget their actual physical surroundings and feel as they are part of the game environment. In the Virku (Virtual Fitness Centre) research project we developed a fitness computer game which aims at making the exercise session more motivating and rich in experiences. The user is exercising while he is exploring new surroundings or playing a fitness game in VE. In Virku the VE is generated from map information. The bodily user interface was selected because it seems that it can add to users sense of presence and it is suitable for exercising purposes. The Virku interface is a combination of an exercise bicycle, a computer and a screen. Nine users pilot-tested the fitness game.
L' impédance d'entrée pour l'aide à la facture des instruments de musique à vent : mesures, modèles et lien avec les fréquences de jeu

Ce travail porte sur l'evaluation et le choix de descripteurs objectifs pertinents du point de vue de la qualite des instruments de musique a vent. Il s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un projet collaboratif de developpement d'une plate-forme d'aide a la facture instrumentale. Le travail s'appuie essentiellement sur la notion d'impedance d'entree. Une etude comparative de diff erentes methodes de calcul d'impedance d'entree de pavillons sont confrontees a l'experience. Les resultats montrent que les methodes utilisant la theorie des lignes en abscisse curviligne et un modele de rayonnement adapte, permettent d'obtenir les frequences de resonance avec une precision de l'ordre de 8 cents. Au-dela de la frequence de coupure, les methodes numeriques sont plus proches de la mesure mais les hautes frequences ont une influence mineure sur les frequences de jeu. Par ailleurs une etude sur les "resonateurs" de tampons de saxophone revele que ceux-ci doivent etre consideres comme des "raidisseurs". A partir d'enregistrements en situation de jeu, il apparait que la presence ou non de "resonateurs", causant une difference visible sur l'impedance d'entree, est aussi perceptible par le musicien. Enfin, une analyse comparative entre frequences de resonance et frequences de jeu d'une trompette a branche d'embouchure parametrable a ete conduite avec plusieurs musiciens. Apres analyse statistique des resultats, il apparait que la frequence de jeu est controlee par la frequence de resonance, a 8 cents pres, valeur de l'ordre de grandeur de la repetabilite des musiciens. Pour les trompettes, les frequences de resonance semblent donc etre des descripteurs pertinents de l'intonation de l'instrument.
Anatomical variations of the origin of the segment 4 hepatic artery and their clinical implications

The threat of ischemic complications following massive resection, especially in living donor hepatectomy or split liver transplantation, has been haunting surgeons for many years. Postmortem dissections of 62 livers were performed to investigate anatomical variations of the principal artery for segment 4 (A4). The origin of A4 was examined separately in the liver with (n = 46) or without (n = 16) an aberrant left hepatic artery (abLHA). A4s were found to be extrahepatic or intrahepatic branches of the right hepatic artery (RHA), left hepatic artery, or proper hepatic artery and were categorized into 4 different types according to their origins. The RHA type, originating from the RHA or right anterior hepatic artery (RAHA), was the most common pattern in our series. The A4 roots had a strong tendency of stemming from the RHA (n = 12) even in the livers with abLHA (n = 16). Among the RHA‐type A4s, the A4 arising from RAHA (n = 2) is supposed to be the most dangerous variant because it can cause an ischemic change in the remaining part of the liver after right hepatectomy. In conclusion, in the era of living donor liver transplantation, paying particular attention to the point of origin of A4 is a prerequisite, especially when the lateral section is relatively small. Arterial injuries to A4 during split liver transplantation may also increase the risk of hepatic artery thrombosis and ischemic cholangiopathy. Liver Transpl 14:1180–1184, 2008. © 2008 AASLD.
Managing the quality of higher education in apprenticeships

Purpose Traditionally, apprenticeships have been the domain of further education and skills training providers, predominately at pre-higher education levels where management, organisation, inspection and funding have little in common with those familiar to higher education. Higher level and degree apprenticeships have brought together different cultures and methods of designing, delivering and assessing knowledge, skills and behaviours, funding learners and learning providers, data reporting, quality management and its review or inspection. The purpose of this paper is to establish the primary concerns about managing quality in degree apprenticeships, the challenges the variances bring, how the challenges are being resolved and future work that may be required. Design/methodology/approach A review of a range of guidance and organisations involved in managing the quality of higher education in apprenticeships was undertaken. The primary focus is on the advice and guidance provided through the Quality Code and associated documentation, which are key to managing and assuring standards and quality in UK higher education. In addition, requirements and guidance provided through other bodies is considered along with the cross-sector groups charged with developing quality assurance processes for apprenticeships at all levels. Findings The paper shows a range of detailed guidance available to those entering the higher and degree apprenticeships arena and how the organisations involved in quality assurance of apprenticeships are working together to remove or mitigate concerns to ensure that quality is embedded and successfully managed. Originality/value Designing and delivering higher level and degree apprenticeships is a relatively new addition to UK higher education providers. There are long established practices to assure the quality and standards of UK higher education wherever and, however, it is delivered, in the UK, overseas and through online models. Apprenticeships across the UK have changed significantly over recent years, and new models, organisations and methods of working and funding have been introduced. This paper brings together key activity by the Quality Assurance Agency and other stakeholders to show how standards and quality can be managed and assured.
Comparison of five time series EMG features extractions using Myo Armband

Feature extraction is meant to get representation and information that embedded in the signals, this is necessary to minimize complexity of implementation and reduce the cost of information processing. Recently, there are many methods for features extraction. This research is comparing five feature extractions from eight channels electromyography (EMG) signals that obtained from Myo Armband located on forearm muscles in order to get significant differences when hand do some movements. The time series features extraction that evaluated are Mean Absolute Value (MAV), Variance (VAR), Willison Amplitude (WAMP), Waveform Length (WL), and Zero Crossing (ZC). The variety of hand movement are fist, rest, half-fist, gun-point, and mid-finger fold. Moreover, the result shows that the rank of evaluated features extraction always showhs same results in four experiment, MAV is always giving the best performance WL. From this finding, MAV and WL are two recommendation for time series features extraction. This rank of time series features extraction gives worthiness when process information in future development research.
Promoting Public Health or Underlying Business Interests? The Effectiveness (or Ineffectiveness) of Responsible Drinking Social Causes by the Alcohol Industry Versus Non-Profits

ABSTRACT This study examined differences in the effectiveness of responsible drinking campaigns in promoting public health or facilitating underlying interests between the alcohol industry and non-profit organizations. We examined college students' perception of advertisers' motives and evaluation of sponsors' credibility and explored the effects of this perception on multiple strategic goals established by alcohol responsibility campaigns. The results showed that participants perceived industry-sponsored campaigns as self-serving, and this affected sponsor credibility, which influenced attitudes toward sponsors and campaign messages in both sponsor types. These attitudes were significantly associated with intention. The effects of sponsor credibility on attitudes toward drinking differed according to sponsor types. Positive perception of sponsor credibility following exposure to an industry-sponsored campaign enhanced positive attitudes toward drinking, which strengthened intention to drink. When exposed to a non-profit organization's message, positive perception of credibility led to negative attitudes toward drinking and weaker intention to drink.
Biogeochemical processes and microbial characteristics across groundwater-surface water boundaries of the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.

Biogeochemical processes within riverbed hyporheic zones (HZ) can potentially impact the fate and transport of contaminants. We evaluated a modified freeze core technique for the collection of intact cobble-bed samples from the Columbia River HZ along a stretch of the Hanford Reach in Washington State and investigated microbiological and geochemical parameters of corresponding frozen and unfrozen samples. During three sampling periods (March, May, and November 2000), relatively high numbers of viable aerobic heterotrophic bacteria were recovered from both unfrozen (10(6)-10(7) cfu/g) and frozen samples (10(5)-10(6) cfu/g). Relatively large populations of sulfate-, nitrate-, and iron-reducing bacteria were present, and significant concentrations of acid-volatile sulfide were measured in some samples, indicating that anoxic regions exist within this zone. Cr(VI), a priority groundwater pollutant on adjacent U.S. Department of Energy lands, was probably removed from solution in HZ samples by a combination of microbial activity and chemical reduction, presumably via products of anaerobic microbial metabolism. These results suggest that biogeochemical processes in the Columbia River HZ may contribute to the natural attenuation of Cr(VI). Although freezing modestly diminished recovery of viable bacteria, freeze core techniques proved reliable for the collection of intact hyporheic sediments.
Cell‐specific abnormal prenylation of Rab proteins in platelets and melanocytes of the gunmetal mouse

Summary. The mutant gunmetal mouse exhibits reduced rates of platelet synthesis, abnormalities of platelet alpha and dense granules and hypopigmentation. Several of these features resemble those of human alpha/delta platelet storage pool disease, grey platelet syndrome and Hermansky–Pudlak syndrome. Gunmetal mice have reduced levels of Rab geranylgeranyltransferase (RabGGTase), which adds lipophilic prenyl groups to the carboxyl terminus of Rab proteins. The degree of prenylation and the subcellular distribution of several Rab proteins were evaluated in mutant platelets, melanocytes and other tissues. Significant deficits in prenylation and membrane binding of most Rabs were observed in platelets and melanocytes. In contrast, minimal alterations in Rab prenylation were apparent in several other gunmetal tissues despite the fact that RabGGTase activity was equally diminished in these tissues. The mutant tissue‐specific effects are probably due to increased concentrations of Rab proteins in platelets and melanocytes. These experiments show that Rab proteins are differentially sensitive to levels of RabGGTase activity and that normal platelet synthesis, platelet organelle function and normal pigmentation are highly sensitive to the degree of prenylation and membrane association of Rab proteins. Further, the tissue‐specific effects of the gunmetal mutation suggest that RabGGTase is a potential target for therapy of thrombocytosis.
Early acquisition of verbs in Korean: a cross-linguistic study

ABSTRACT This cross-linguistic study investigates children's early lexical development in English and Korean, and compares caregivers' linguistic input in the two languages. In Study 1, the lexical development of nine Korean children was followed from 1;2 to 1;10 by monthly visits and maternal reports. These Korean data were compared to previously collected English longitudinal data. We find that: (1) Korean children as young as 1;3 use verbs productively with appropriate inflections. (2) Seven of the nine children show a verb spurt at around 1;7; for six of these children the verb spurt occurs before the noun spurt. No such early verb spurt is found in the English data. Unlike in English, both verbs and nouns in Korean are dominant categories from the single-word stage. (3) Korean children express language-specific distinctions of locative actions with verbs. Study 2, a crosslinguistic study of caregivers' input in English and Korean, shows that Korean mothers provide more action verbs but fewer object nouns than American mothers. Also, Korean mothers engage in activity-oriented discourse significantly more than American mothers. Our study suggests that verbs are accessible to children from the beginning, and that they may be acquired early in children who are encouraged to do so by their language-specific grammar and input.
Development of a Genetic System for the Chemolithoautotrophic Bacterium Thiobacillus denitrificans

ABSTRACT Thiobacillus denitrificans is a widespread, chemolithoautotrophic bacterium with an unusual and environmentally relevant metabolic repertoire, which includes its ability to couple denitrification to sulfur compound oxidation; to catalyze anaerobic, nitrate-dependent oxidation of Fe(II) and U(IV); and to oxidize mineral electron donors. Recent analysis of its genome sequence also revealed the presence of genes encoding two [NiFe]hydrogenases, whose role in metabolism is unclear, as the sequenced strain does not appear to be able to grow on hydrogen as a sole electron donor under denitrifying conditions. In this study, we report the development of a genetic system for T. denitrificans, with which insertion mutations can be introduced by homologous recombination and complemented in trans. The antibiotic sensitivity of T. denitrificans was characterized, and a procedure for transformation with foreign DNA by electroporation was established. Insertion mutations were generated by in vitro transposition, the mutated genes were amplified by the PCR, and the amplicons were introduced into T. denitrificans by electroporation. The IncP plasmid pRR10 was found to be a useful vector for complementation. The effectiveness of the genetic system was demonstrated with the hynL gene, which encodes the large subunit of a [NiFe]hydrogenase. Interruption of hynL in a hynL::kan mutant resulted in a 75% decrease in specific hydrogenase activity relative to the wild type, whereas complementation of the hynL mutation resulted in activity that was 50% greater than that of the wild type. The availability of a genetic system in T. denitrificans will facilitate our understanding of the genetics and biochemistry underlying its unusual metabolism.
Future system-on-silicon LSI chips

The development of system-on-silicon large-scale integration (LSI) devices has significantly influenced the demand for higher wiring connectivity within LSI chips. Currently, increasing the number of metal layers in a multilevel metallization as the device size decreases increases wiring connectivity. In the future, however, designers will have difficulty catching up with the rising demand for higher wiring connectivity by merely increasing the number of metal layers. We propose a new three-dimensional integration technology to overcome future wiring connectivity crises. In our solution, several vertically stacked chip layers in 3D LSI chips or 3D multichip modules (MCMs) are fabricated using our new integration technology. More than 10/sup 5/ interconnections per chip form in a vertical direction in these 3D LSI chips or 3D MCMs. Consequently, we can dramatically increase wiring connectivity while reducing the number of long interconnections.