Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A fog computing framework for scalable RFID systems in global supply chain management

With the rapid proliferation of RFID systems in global supply chain management, tracking every object at the individual item level has led to the generation of enormous amount of data that will have to be stored and accessed quickly to make real time decisions. This is especially critical for perishable goods supply chain such as fruits and pharmaceuticals which have enormous value tied up in assets and may become worthless if they are not kept in precisely controlled and cool environments. While Cloud-based RFID solutions are deployed to monitor and track the products from manufacturer to retailer, we argue that Fog Computing is needed to bring efficiency and reduce the wastage experienced in the perishable produce supply chain. This paper investigates in-depth: (i) the application of Fog Computing in perishable produce supply chain management using blackberry fruit as a case study; (ii) the data, computations and storage requirements for the fog nodes at each stage of the supply chain; (iii) the adaptation of the architecture to the general perishable goods supply chain; and (iv) the benefits of the proposed fog nodes with respect to monitoring and actuation in the blackberry supply chain.
Age dependence of cerebrospinal pressure-volume compensation in patients with hydrocephalus.

OBJECT The dynamics of both drainage and storage capacity become altered during the sequential pathological processes that lead to hydrocephalus. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) formation and drainage rate have been reported to be age dependent. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CSF compensatory parameters are dependent on age in patients who have symptoms of hydrocephalus and apparently normal intracranial pressure (ICP). METHODS Forty-six patients who presented with ventriculomegaly, the clinical symptoms of hydrocephalus, and normal ICPs underwent a computerized CSF infusion test. Parameters used to describe CSF compensation were calculated and correlated with the age of each patient. The mean ICPs were found to be independent of the age of the patient. Resistance to CSF outflow (Rcsf), however, demonstrated a nonlinear increase with advancing age (r = -0.57; p < 0.0001) and was associated with a decrease in the CSF production rate, which also occurred with increasing age (r = 0.49; p < 0.002). Both the pulse amplitude of the ICP waveform and the slope of the amplitude-ICP regression line increased significantly with advancing age (r = 0.39; p < 0.01 and r = 0.43, p < 0.004, respectively). The nonlinear increase in the elastance coefficient indicated increasing brain stiffness, which acompanies older ages (r = -0.31; p < 0.04). CONCLUSIONS In a study of patients with symptoms of hydrocephalus, but normal ICPs, the increase in Rcsf and decrease in CSF production were most pronounced in patients who were older than 56 years of age. This relationship was more significant than previously suggested.
A Review of National Television PSA Campaigns for Preventing Alcohol-Impaired Driving, 1987–1992

We present a content analysis of 137 public service announcements (PSAs) focused on alcohol-impaired driving that aired nationally on U.S. television between 1987 and 1992. Our findings include the following: 1) Most PSAs were intended to reach an undifferentiated general audience, not necessarily those who are at greatest risk for driving after drinking. 2) Most PSAs were designed to create awareness of the problem of alcohol-impaired driving or to promote individual behavior change. 3) More PSAs were developed on the use of designated drivers than on any other subject. 4) About two-thirds of the PSAs included one or more celebrities who speak directly to the audience. Past media campaigns have tended to ignore the fact that people's behavior is profoundly shaped by their environment, which in turn is shaped by public policy. We recommend that future mass media campaigns against alcohol-impaired driving focus on building support for changes in institutional structures, public policy or law that will motivate, support, and sustain the efforts of individuals to alter their behavior. Television PSAs can play an important but somewhat limited role in support of this effort. Greater emphasis will need to be given instead to media advocacy strategies, including paid radio advertising. We further recommend that the principal organizations concerned about alcohol-impaired driving share their plans and develop a common communications strategy that will advance the public policy agenda proposed by the Surgeon General's Workshop on Drunk Driving.
Phenomenology: Between Essentialism and Transcendental Philosophy

This collection of essays traces the themes of essentialism and transcendentalism as they have appeared in the development of phenomenology from Husserl to Derrida. Beginning with Husserl's major phenomenological themes - essence, meaning, transcendental subjectivity, and life-world - the work examines the tensions within phenomenology in general and within Husserl's phenomenology in particular. The essays are written in an accessible style, and include consideration of lesser-known phenomenologists, such as Ingarden, Scheler and Hartmann.
Effects of demand response program and energy storage system on optimal stochastic short-term generation scheduling of grid-connected microgrid

In this paper, effects of demand response program (DRP) and energy storage system (ESS) on optimal stochastic short-term generation scheduling of grid-connected microgrid (MG) have been investigated considering uncertainties. The options of purchasing power include micro-turbines (MTs) as local dispatchable units, and renewable energy sources (RESs) (photovoltaic (PV) systems and wind-turbines (WT)) and charge/discharge of ESS as well as upstream grid (UG). In optimal operation of microgrid (MG), ESS and DRP have been used to reduce the expected operation cost. Meanwhile, the proposed stochastic model considers the uncertainty models of upstream grid price, load and RES output powers by allocating proper amount of spinning reserve and by using a scenario stochastic model instead of classical deterministic model. Finally, in optimal operation of MG, the effects of ESS and DRP have been investigated. To show the capability of presented stochastic framework, four case studies have been studied and the results are compared with each other.
Elderly People Daily Life Monitoring Based on GPS Trajectory with Non-uniform Sampling

Trajectory monitoring based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) is the premise of providing all kinds of the personalized services based on the users' positions on the smart phones. GPS trajectory monitoring could be used to solve the elderly life monitoring which is a serious social problem in China. Owing to smart phones' energy consumption and computing resource constraints, this paper proposes a kind of GPS non-uniform sampling algorithm which is applied to the elderly daily behavior monitoring system based on the Android platform. The experimental results showed that the algorithm can significantly reduce the sampling points and the power consumption of GPS positioning module.
Environmental regulation of Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 gene expression

The enteric pathogen Salmonella typhimurium co‐ordinates the expression of virulence determinants in response to environmental cues from the host organism. S. typhimurium possesses Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI2), a large virulence locus encoding a type III secretion system for virulence determinants required for systemic infections and accumulation inside host cells. We have generated transcriptional fusions to SPI2 genes to analyse expression and used antibodies against recombinant SPI2 proteins to monitor levels of SPI2 proteins under various conditions. Here, we demonstrate that SPI2 gene expression is induced by Mg2+ deprivation and phosphate starvation. These conditions are likely to represent the environmental cues encountered by S. typhimurium inside the phagosome of infected host cells. The induction of SPI2 gene expression is modulated by the global regulatory system PhoPQ and is dependent on SsrAB, a two‐component regulatory system encoded by SPI2.
Interplay between ecological and economic resilience and sustainability and the role of institutions: evidence from two resource-based communities in the Swiss Alps

Abstract Alpine communities often rely heavily upon a few resource-dependent sectors, such as tourism, construction, agriculture and energy. This makes them vulnerable not only to external and internal shocks but also to resource exploitation and ecological distress. The danger of exploitation rises with the opportunities for economic benefit in these regions. This paper contributes to the discussion on economic and ecological resilience and sustainability in resource-dependent communities in the Swiss Alps. While human agency and institutions are proposed to be the key for change and regional development, only a limited number of studies have been conducted to investigate these micro-processes in more detail. The case study shows that collective agency in adaptation processes is most likely to occur on the basis of active participation in affected actors and on the establishment of flexible institutions that frame these processes and counterbalance (economic and ecological) interests. Moreover, organisational capabilities of community officials and adequate resource allocation seem to play a major role.
Improving IC power efficiency by implementing charge recycling in Dickson charge pumps with multiple pumping branches

The power efficiency and performance of fully integrated charge pumps are highly dependent on the types of capacitors used in the pumping stages. A sample but not so well-known circuit technique that can minimize power losses is charge recycling applied to the parasitic capacitors always allocated with the useful capacitors at the core of every pumping stage. This paper discusses the possibility of applying the charge recycling mechanism to Dickson charge pumps using two pumping chains (branches) working in anti-phase. The requirement of choosing an even number of pumping stages during the charge pump design phase is no more necessary so that the technique is applicable to charge pumps having an odd number of stages as well.
Autophagy activators rescue and alleviate pathogenesis of a mouse model with proteinopathies of the TAR DNA-binding protein 43

TDP-43 is a multifunctional DNA/RNA-binding protein that has been identified as the major component of the cytoplasmic ubiquitin (+) inclusions (UBIs) in diseased cells of frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD-U) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Unfortunately, effective drugs for these neurodegenerative diseases are yet to be developed. We have tested the therapeutic potential of rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and three other autophagy activators (spermidine, carbamazepine, and tamoxifen) in a FTLD-U mouse model with TDP-43 proteinopathies. Rapamycin treatment has been reported to be beneficial in some animal models of neurodegenerative diseases but not others. Furthermore, the effects of rapamycin treatment in FTLD-U have not been investigated. We show that rapamycin treatment effectively rescues the learning/memory impairment of these mice at 3 mo of age, and it significantly slows down the age-dependent loss of their motor function. These behavioral improvements upon rapamycin treatment are accompanied by a decreased level of caspase-3 and a reduction of neuron loss in the forebrain of FTLD-U mice. Furthermore, the number of cells with cytosolic TDP-43 (+) inclusions and the amounts of full-length TDP-43 as well as its cleavage products (35 kDa and 25 kDa) in the urea-soluble fraction of the cellular extract are significantly decreased upon rapamycin treatment. These changes in TDP-43 metabolism are accompanied by rapamycin-induced decreases in mTOR-regulated phospho-p70 S6 kinase (P-p70) and the p62 protein, as well as increases in the autophagic marker LC3. Finally, rapamycin as well as spermidine, carbamazepine, and tamoxifen could also rescue the motor dysfunction of 7-mo-old FTLD-U mice. These data suggest that autophagy activation is a potentially useful route for the therapy of neurodegenerative diseases with TDP-43 proteinopathies.
BEHAVIOR DISORDERS OF CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL DYSRHYTHMIAS; SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF SUBCONVULSIVE DYSRHYTHMIA WITH ANTICONVULSANTS.

For many decades, after psychoanalytic investigations revealed the important effects of early environmental influences on the personality development of children, there has been a tendency to assume that behavior problems in children stem primarily from parental mishandling, and treatment has been directed to psychotherapy for the child, or parents, or both. The success of this approach has tended to obscure the importance of another kind of environmental influence, namely the internal milieu of the central nervous system. With the advent of the electroencephalogram (EEG) as a new diagnostic tool, there has been increased interest in the general relationship of organic brain disease and behavior disorders. In 1955, Ounsted,1in discussing epileptic children, listed the following signs manifested in the behavior of "brain-injured children. " 1. Distractibility 2. Short attention span 3. Wide scatter on the test results when given formal intelligence tests 4. Fluctuation
An unequal dual-band Wilkinson power divider with slow wave structure

An analytically-based approach for the design of a miniaturized unequal dual-band Wilkinson power divider is proposed. The significant size reduction results from using slow wave structures in place of conventional transmission lines. The slow wave structures are realized by periodically loaded lines. Theoretically, closed-form equations for the design are derived based on transmission line theory. The S-parameters of the experimental results are similar to the transmission line simulations and the area reduction of 28.4% is achieved with this technique.
Constructions geometriques sous contraintes en modelisation a base topologique

Parmi les operations de haut niveau des logiciels de cao actuels, la possibilite de manipuler un objet graphique defini par sa cotation suscite un interet croissant. L'approche que nous preconisons pour realiser cette operation consiste a resoudre formellement le probleme de construction geometrique induit par le systeme de cotes 2d donne par l'utilisateur. Depuis quelques annees, des chercheurs ont developpe de nouvelles methodes procedant par decomposition pour resoudre de tels systemes de contraintes geometriques. Nous avons montre dans notre these que toutes ces approches par decomposition avaient la meme semantique et reposaient sur l'invariance par deplacement de ces systemes de contraintes. Ceci nous a permis de developper une methode de construction formelle tres generale permettant de federer toutes les autres methodes de construction. Concretement, nous avons mis en oeuvre ces idees dans un solveur geometrique formel, nomme yams, associe au modeleur 3d topofil developpe a strasbourg. Ce solveur a la forme d'un systeme multi-agents avec tableau noir : les agents sont des solveurs locaux independants cherchant a resoudre une partie du systeme de contraintes, le tableau noir contient, entre autres, le resultat de toutes les constructions locales. Ce systeme multi-agents triangularise le systeme de contraintes initial sous la forme d'un plan de construction qui est la solution formelle du probleme de construction. Ce plan peut ensuite etre interprete avec des valeurs reelles pour produire des solutions numeriques et graphiques. Cette association entre un modeleur 3d et le solveur a ete facilite par l'utilisation du modele des g-cartes, sur lequel est base le modeleur, qui separe nettement topologie et plongement geometrique. Elle permet en outre de realiser des operations de haut niveau mettant en jeu une parametrisation poussee des objets. Parmi ces operations, on peut citer l'extrusion parametree et l'animation par modification dynamique de parametres.
Edge flame dynamics in a turbulent lifted jet flame

A turbulent lifted slot-jet flame is studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). A one-step chemistry model is employed with a mixture-fraction-dependent activation energy which can reproduce qualitatively the dependence of laminar burning rate on equivalence ratio that is typical of hydrocarbon fuels. After first describing the overall flame structure, the statistics of flow and relative edge-flame propagation velocity components conditioned on the leading-edge locations are examined. The results show that, on average, the streamwise flame propagation and streamwise flow balance, thus demonstrating that edge-flame propagation is the basic stabilization mechanism. Fluctuations of the edge locations and net edge velocities are, however, significant. It is demonstrated that the edges tend to move in an essentially Two-Dimensional elliptical pattern (starting from a downstream location, laterally outwards towards the oxidizer, then upstream, then inwards towards the fuel, then downstream again). It is proposed that this is due to the passage of large eddies, which is mostly consistent with the picture outlined in Su et al. (2006).
Impact of Performance Appraisal on Employee Performance: A Critical Case Study of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited

Today, almost in all large/medium-sized organizations, performance appraisal is adopted in one form or the other for administrative purposes, retention/layoff decisions, as well as for developmental purposes. Keeping in view wide-scale efficacy of the performance appraisal as a management tool, the researcher chose Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), a public sector autonomous body to study its practical implications. The researcher wanted to determine whether the appraisal program used in the company is merely a useless bureaucratic attempt as part of the company’s requirement. Further, if the company constructively employs appraisal system then this paper addressed the various facets of the performance appraisal exercise and the effect these aspects have on the performance of employees working at SSGC. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used as main sources of collecting the primary data from the employees of SSGC and the sampling method chosen by the researcher was Stratified Sampling. This study successfully reached the conclusion that although the organization formally focuses on the performance appraisal process, it has not been able to utilize it owing to ineffective evaluation techniques used and a wide communication gap between the managers and the employees in terms of performance management.
The Efficacy of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Major Depressive Disorder Relapsed or Unresponsive to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Pregnancy: Three Case Studies

About 5-10% of women experience depression during pregnancy. The potentially adverse effects of pharmacological treatment (e.g. teratogenicity, toxicity, foetal developmental abnormalities and withdrawal symptoms) on both the mother and the foetus mean that psychopharmacological treatments have limited application for pregnant women. In these cases treatment needs to be tailored to the individual patient and non-pharmacological options may be appropriate. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) may be viable alternatives for these patients. We report on three patients in their first trimester of pregnancy suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD). All three were initially treated with TMS and psychotherapy because of the reduced risk of side effects. Two patients failed to respond adequately to treatment and were switched to ECT. The third patient displayed an adequate response to TMS but failed to maintain the improvement. This patient had to receive ECT in the post-partum period due to on-going depressive symptoms. Subsequently this patient responded adequately to ECT. Further studies of novel, non-pharmacological treatment methods for MDD during pregnancy (such as TMS and ECT) and detailed investigations of the factors associated with treatment responses in such patients are needed. Our cases demonstrate the need to evaluate the effectiveness of TMS in larger samples of pregnant patients diagnosed with MDD.
Evidence that modulation of glucose transporter intrinsic activity is the mechanism involved in the allose‐mediated depression of hexose transport in mammalian cells

In serum starved V79 Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cells, replacement of D‐glucose with D‐allose resulted in a significant 38 ± 18% (P < 0.05) reduction of 2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (2‐DG) transport. Similarly, in a respiration‐deficient mutant cell line (V79‐G14), which has elevated 2‐DG transport activity, D‐allose reduced 2‐DG transport by 59 ± 18% (P < 0.05). [3H]D‐allose uptake by V79 cells occurred slowly and was not inhibited by cytochalasin B, suggesting diffusion as the mode of D‐allose entry. Western blot analysis using a rabbit polyclonal antibody to the human erythrocyte glucose transporter (GT) demonstrated that, in both cell lines, GT content and GT subcellular distribution were not significantly different in D‐glucose vs. D‐allose‐treated cells. δ‐Antibody, which has been shown to bind to exofacial epitopes of the GT (Harrison et al., 1990, J. Biol. Chem., 265:5793‐‐5801), did not demonstrate any differences in surface binding to D‐glucose vs. D‐allose‐treated intact V79 cells. D‐allose treatment of 3T3 fibroblasts resulted in a similar decrease (72%) of 2‐DG transport, however D‐allose had no apparent effect on basal sugar transport in 3T3 adipocytes. These results suggest that D‐allose reduces sugar transport through a modulation of the intrinsic activity of the GT, and that D‐allose may act in a tissue‐specific manner. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Is there a profit premium for market-oriented firms? A panel data investigation

ABSTRACT This paper provides an empirical investigation of the impact of market orientation on firms' economic performance during the period 1998–2012 using a panel of Italian manufacturing firms. We introduce a dynamic concept of market orientation, in that we define a market-oriented firm as one that persistently undertakes product and marketing innovation, while at the same time introducing organizational changes and training efforts to manage and improve its knowledge assets over the long term. This notion of market orientation is therefore crucially related to the so-called dynamic capability approach. The related empirical model shows that being a market-oriented firm significantly affects profitability, in a framework in which this latter is simultaneously estimated with productivity, thus allowing for more precise estimates of the profit premium which is earned accordingly.
A vendor–buyer distribution channel with coordination mechanisms under inventory dependent demand

ABSTRACT As confirmed by marketing studies, customer demand sometimes increases with the amount of inventory available, depending on the nature of goods. This paper analyzes a two-tier supply chain under such inventory-dependent demand (IDD). The analysis of the paper for the supply chain is in two modes, as a vendor-leading Stackelberg game and as its integrated counterpart, followed by the profit-sharing or the holding cost-sharing mechanism to further improve the vendor’s profit from the vendor-leading mode. The analysis procedure is complicated by non-zero fixed costs in the system such that the profit functions are non-concave. The analysis is complete such that the optimal quantities and their sensitivities, the optimal ordering quantities, the optimal wholesale prices, etc., are given under IDD. The tradeoff between the profit-sharing and the holding cost-sharing mechanisms are given under the influence of the zero and non-zero fixed costs in the system.