Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spectral analysis of multibit VCO-ADCs and PFM-ADCs with sinusoidal inputs

The analytical formulation of the output DFT of an oversampled converter based on a VCO has been recently disclosed for the single-bit case. However, most practical VCO-ADCs are constructed with a multibit configuration using a multiphase ring oscillator architecture. This paper shows that the spectral properties of a single-bit VCO-ADC are retained in the multibit case if an equivalent model is employed. This means that similar equations used to study the performance of single-bit ring oscillator can also be applied to the multibit case. Also, a multibit PFM-ADC has been proposed as an alternative to a conventional VCO-ADC, showing differences in the output spectrum respect to the VCO-ADCs based on ring oscillators. This paper describes these differences and how to apply the previous equations to study the PFM-ADC architecture.
Pulsed THz sensing of dielectric thin films using cascaded filter arrays

The on-chip detection of nanolitre volumes of dielectric material is demonstrated using terahertz (THz) pulses. Simultaneous analysis at different frequencies on separate, lithographically defined locations is shown to be possible using THz band-stop filter elements connected by a microstrip line. Integrated thin film low-temperature-grown GaAs photoconductive switches are used for THz pulse generation within the microstrip interconnect. This technique is expected to be useful in sensing organic films such as DNA, and other biomolecular materials, in an on-chip environment.
The impact of the Single Farm Payments on the expenditure on fertilizers and crop protection inputs: a comparative study of the Italian agriculture

Abstract The Mid Term Review (MTR) of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2003 sped up the process of policy reforms toward decoupled payments in order to urge agricultural production to respond to market signals. However, since the elimination of coupled subsidies could produce a shift in commodity relative prices and decoupled payments could generate “coupled” effects on production, it remains questionable how Single Farm Payment (SFP) alters agricultural intensification. Therefore, through a comparative statistical analysis applied on Italian FADN regional data, this article aims at evaluating whether the MTR had positive impacts on the aggregate expenditure on fertilizers and crop protection inputs. From the results, it is observed that the expansion of profitable crops like vegetables, flowers, and vineyards, along with the receipt of SFP increased the expenditure of fertilizers and crop protection inputs. Such findings suggest that the MTR has been so far effective in terms of aligning agricultural production to markets' signals, but with the unintended consequence of higher intensification. We deduce that farmers may allocate higher proportions of SFP to purchase fertilizers and crop protection inputs whenever the opportunity for higher profits is found in those cropping activities requiring a higher intensive use of production' factors. The results indirectly highlight the need to improve the environmental cross-compliance controls and to allocate more CAP funds to agro-environmental measures in order to create the right incentive to farmers for reducing input use and mitigating agricultural intensification.
Transmission of fiscal policy shocks into Romania's economy

In this paper I use a medium scale open economy DSGE model developed by Baksa, Benk and Jakab (2010) for the Hungarian economy. This model provides a notable degree of disaggregation both on the government revenue and expenditure side, being able to capture the shocks that come from fiscal policy decisions. My contributions can be summed up in the following three actions. First of all, I estimated the model for the Romanian economy, using Bayesian techniques. Secondly, I determined the parameters of fiscal feedback rules in order to establish if the automatic stabilizers work properly. And thirdly, I tried to analyze the impulse response functions in order to assess the effects of different fiscal policy measures on the most important macroeconomic variables.
Financial Statement Fraud Detection: An Analysis of Statistical and Machine Learning Algorithms

SUMMARY This study compares the performance of six popular statistical and machine learning models in detecting financial statement fraud under different assumptions of misclassification costs and ratios of fraud firms to nonfraud firms. The results show, somewhat surprisingly, that logistic regression and support vector machines perform well relative to an artificial neural network, bagging, C4.5, and stacking. The results also reveal some diversity in predictors used across the classification algorithms. Out of 42 predictors examined, only six are consistently selected and used by different classification algorithms: auditor turnover, total discretionary accruals, Big 4 auditor, accounts receivable, meeting or beating analyst forecasts, and unexpected employee productivity. These findings extend financial statement fraud research and can be used by practitioners and regulators to improve fraud risk models. Data Availability: A list of fraud companies used in this study is available from the author upon .
Students' Perceptions on Corporate Social Responsibility at the Academic Level. Case Study: The Faculty of Administration and Business, University of Bucharest

During the last decades, the social responsibility of institutions, public as well as private, has been subject to intense debates, activities and academic research. The aims of the paper are to highlight in short the importance of the social responsibility of institutions, and to analyze the results of a research regarding students’ perceptions on corporate social responsibility activities of a Romanian university. By using primary data obtained from a survey based on a questionnaire a set of three hypotheses was tested during our research. The information was processed by using the SPSS software. The results of our research emphasize that students attach importance to the corporate social responsibility at academic level, a fact indicated through their involvement degree in the specific activities of this concept.
A split-body, randomized, blinded study to evaluate the efficacy of a topical spray composed of essential oils and essential fatty acids from plant extracts with antimicrobial properties.

BACKGROUND Bacterial pyoderma is a frequent presentation in dogs. Despite the widespread availability of effective systemic and topical antimicrobial products, good clinical practice currently recommends avoidance of long-term use to mitigate the development of bacterial resistance. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To evaluate the speed of resolution of clinical signs of bacterial pyoderma in dogs treated with a systemic antimicrobial agent with or without the use of an adjunctive spray with antimicrobial properties. ANIMALS Twelve dogs with superficial bacterial pyoderma. METHODS In this controlled and blinded study, all dogs were treated with oral cefalexin and a topical spray (PYOClean Spray) for 4 weeks. The spray was applied to one half of each dog's body, whereas a placebo spray was applied to the other half. RESULTS Twelve dogs completed the study. Mean clinical scores were significantly reduced on spray-treated sites, for test product and placebo (respectively), by 47% and 34% at Week 1, 83% and 60% at Week 2, 95% and 82% at Week 3, and 100% and 96% at Week 4. Fifty percent of treated sites were considered clinically and cytologically cured at Week 2, 83% at Week 3, and 100% at Week 4 compared to 8%, 50% and 83% for the placebo sites, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE These results demonstrate that use of a topical spray which contains plant-derived essential oils and fatty acids, and compounds with antimicrobial properties (Manuka oil and N-acetyl cysteine) may help to speed resolution of pyoderma and may allow for shorter antimicrobial treatment time.
Designing Benefit Rules for Flexible Retirement with or Without Redistribution

The traditional approach to flexible retirement (e.g. NDC) neglects the impact of asymmetric information on actuarial fairness (neutrality). The mechanism design approach (e.g. Diamond, 2003) gives up the requirement of neutrality and looks for a redistributive second-best benefit-retirement-age schedule. Trying to combine the two approaches, the present paper determines the neutral (redistribution-free) second-best solution. This neutral solution is, however, often Pareto-dominated by the redistributive one.
Humane Design for Hospital Landscapes: A Case Study in Landscape Architecture of a Healing Garden for Nurses

Objective: The overall goal of this study was to design a beautiful garden to provide a spatial experience of renewal for hospital nursing staff and for their ecologically- and culturally-specific healing. The first objective of this study was to identify the physical, social, and spiritual attributes of an existing courtyard to determine which features encouraged or discouraged use. A site-specific design concept and user-specific survey instrument were developed to gather data directly from the nursing staff on campus. Background: There has been growing evidence that landscapes for renewal have measurable characteristics. Physical, social, and spiritual characteristics of the landscape interrelate to determine the appropriateness of a landscape for a particular health outcome. Increasingly, evidence demonstrates that contact with the living world around us is an important part of healing and recovery. This design project created a natural opportunity to research the effect of landscape improvements on renewal. Methods: The method combined standard landscape architecture ecological site design process with a qualitative empirical study of staff characteristics and landscape preferences. The transparency of the landscape design process provided the basis for a post-occupancy evaluation in the future. Results: Sixty-one nurses participated in the qualitative phase of the design process. Preferences for contact with nature and privacy were significant among the staff. The spatial structure of the concepts was revised to include private table-and-chair places for one or two people and features that would encourage a contemplative pedestrian walk along existing shortcuts. To encourage the benefits of the typical staff's very short exposure to the garden, archetypal landscape features—thresholds, contemplative paths, garden benches, a symbolic creek, and sacred springs—were arranged to shift the spiritual dimension of the place from that of an exposed, dry gulley ravine to a green, fertile oasis. Conclusions: The courtyard was designed based on survey results. The final design was reviewed and found to satisfy the preferences of the nursing staff. Currently, the design is being detailed for construction, and a post-occupancy evaluation is being developed to ascertain the quality of the outcome for the nurses.
Identification and characterisation of transcript and protein of a new short N‐terminal utrophin isoform

Dystrophin and utrophin are known to link the intracellular cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix via a transmembraneous glycoprotein complex. Four short C‐terminal isoforms (Dp71, Dp116, Dp140, and Dp260) are described for dystrophin and three for utrophin (Up71, Up113, and Up140). We describe here for the first time the existence of a 3.7‐kb transcript and a 62‐kDa protein in C6 glioma cells representing a short N‐terminal isoform unique for utrophin (N‐utrophin). More than 20 clones covering the entire coding region of utrophin were isolated from a rat C6 glioma cell cDNA library. Two clones were found to code for a protein with 539 amino acids. Its sequence is identical to that of the full‐length utrophin, except for the last residue where Cys is replaced by Val. This isoform contains the actin binding domain (consisting of two calponin homology subdomains), followed by two spectrin‐like repeats. A recombinant fragment corresponding to N‐utrophin binds to F‐actin in vitro with an equilibrium constant (affinity) K of 4.5 × 105 M−1 and a stoichiometry of one fragment per around five actin monomers. Immunocytochemical staining of C6 glioma cells with antisera specific for different utrophin regions localised full‐length utrophin in the submembraneous cortical actin layer as revealed by confocal microscopy. A distinct staining pattern for the N‐utrophin was not detectable, although it was expected to localise at the actin stress fibers. It is assumed that it co‐localises via the two spectrin‐like repeats with the full‐length utrophin at the cell membrane. J. Cell. Biochem. 77:418–431, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The impact of government and foreign affiliate influence on corporate social reporting: The case of Malaysia

Purpose - This paper seeks to investigate the influence of government and foreign affiliates, particularly; multinational companies on corporate social reporting (CSR) development in an economy, where CSR awareness is low coupled with weak pressure group activism. Design/methodology/approach - This is a cross sectional study that focuses on the information contained in the annual reports for year 2002/2003. This research uses content analysis as method to measure the extent CSR. Findings - Based on regression analysis, the study evidences on the impact of government influence. However, the impact of foreign affiliation variables is not evident. Institutionalisation of the government's aspirations and commitment to CSR is perhaps the most appropriate description for Malaysian CSR practice. Research limitations/implications - There are two main limitations of this study. Firstly, this study examines the annual reports for one year. Secondly, this study is annual reports centric. It does not examine any other stand alone reports that the respondents might have produced on the subject of society and the environment. Practical implications - This study provides justification for government's role in promoting CSR practice. The impact is evidenced although there are no direct concerted efforts at that time by the government in respect of CSR policy implementation. The significant role is attributed to the unique Malaysian socio economic structure. Originality/value - This study contributes to the CSR literature particularly in the context of economies where governments play a significant role in promoting economic development. It provides empirical evidence of the influence of government and foreign affiliates. It also adds to the literature by explaining the phenomenon from the Institutional perspective and its relevance to a developing economy.
The Effect of Organizational Culture on Entrepreneurial Orientation: A Comparison between Germany and Thailand

Prior research has emphasized the positive impact of a firm's entrepreneurial orientation on its performance. An unanswered question concerns what organizational antecedents and drivers foster entrepreneurial orientation. Based on a sample of 643 German and Thai companies, this study analyzes how organizational culture influences a firm's entrepreneurial orientation and how this relationship is influenced by national culture. Results show that an organizational culture that is an adhocracy is most effective in advancing entrepreneurial orientation, especially in national cultures that are characterized by strong individualism and low power distance, whereas a hierarchical organizational culture is generally a barrier to entrepreneurial orientation.
Identification of Bacteriocin-Like Inhibitors from Rumen Streptococcus spp. and Isolation and Characterization of Bovicin 255

ABSTRACT Streptococci obtained from rumen sources were tested for the production of antibacterial compounds using a deferred-antagonism plating assay. Of 35 isolates tested, 7 were identified that inhibited the growth of other streptococci. None of the inhibitory activity was due to bacteriophage. Three isolates, LRC0253, LRC0255, and LRC0476, were selected for further characterization. Analysis of 16S ribosomal DNA indicated that LRC0476 was a strain of Streptococcus bovis, while isolates LRC0253 and LRC0255 are likely strains ofStreptococcus gallolyticus. The antibacterial compounds produced by these bacteria were protease sensitive, remained active in a pH range from 1 to 12, and did not lose activity after heating at 100°C for 15 min. The inhibitory peptide from strain LRC0255 was purified using pH-dependent adsorption and desorption to bacterial cells, followed by ammonium sulfate precipitation and reversed-phase chromatography and gel filtration. The peptide was 6 kDa, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. An oligonucleotide probe based on the N-terminal sequence of the purified peptide was used to identify the gene encoding the inhibitory peptide. The antibacterial peptide has characteristics that are very similar to those described for class II bacteriocins of gram-positive bacteria.
Action recognition by silhouette fusion

Vision based human activity or action recognition is an important application of video surveillance, human computer interaction, logistic support, location based services and many more. In this paper, an intelligent system is proposed that recognizes human actions from videos and classifies them using the technique of silhouette frame fusion. For a given video sequence, background is subtracted from each frame and human silhouette is obtained. All the silhouettes from the extracted frames are fused and Local Phase Quantization (LPQ) features are extracted from them. SVM proves to be the best classifier to solve this multiclass problem, categorizing each defined activity, by giving 91.6 % accuracy. This two fold contribution towards the action recognition techniques is unique and simple yet powerful for identifying activities from a video without compromising the computational time. This novel and robust system works even if complete silhouette is not extracted- thus making it a practical approach that can be used in real time activity recognition.
A new echocardiographic approach for the detection of non-ischaemic fibrosis in hypertrophic myocardium.

AIMS Regional myocardial fibrosis detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using late enhancement (LE) indicates an unfavorable prognosis. We investigated in a prospective study whether regional non-ischaemic fibrosis in hypertrophic myocardium can also be detected by ultrasonic strain-rate imaging based on specific visual features of the myocardial deformation traces. METHODS AND RESULTS This diagnostic study aimed to define left ventricular fibrotic segments in 30 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n = 10), severe aortic valve stenosis (n = 10), Fabry disease cardiomyopathy (n = 10), and 10 healthy controls. MRI and strain-rate imaging (=deformation imaging) was performed in all patients and controls to detect LE. In total, 42 segments showed LE according to MRI criteria. Using strain-rate imaging, all LE positive segments displayed a characteristic pattern consisting of a first peak in early systole followed by a rapid fall in strain rate close to zero and a second peak during isovolumetric relaxation. This 'double peak sign' was never seen in segments of healthy controls. However, it was detected in 10 segments without LE. These 'false-positive' segments belonged to Fabry patients who often develop a fast progressing fibrosis. In a follow-up MRI study after 2 years (available for 6/10 segments), all these segments had developed LE. CONCLUSION The 'double peak sign' in strain-rate imaging tracings seems to be a reliable tool to diagnose regional fibrosis.
Literacy Learning in the 21st Century: An Observational Study of a Resource Rich Grade 1 Class

This observational study examines teacher pedagogy and student literacy practices in a 21st century resource rich Grade 1 classroom in order to gain insight into the forms, functions, tools, topics and contexts involved in students’ literacy experiences for boys of access and privilege. Teacher’s pedagogical choices were examined to understand how the teacher created learning opportunities based on her beliefs about texts and student identities and how her pedagogical choices were influenced by the curriculum, parents and the nature of schooling. Case study methodology was used in order to examine these complex relationships. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed in the form of reading and writing profiles, collection of assessment data and artefacts, classroom observations, parent questionnaires, interviews with teacher and students and data related to the texts used in the classroom. This study is significant because it demonstrates that, in a school of access and privilege, literacy is taught in both traditional and new ways and the layering of these beliefs about literacy create meaningful learning experiences for the boys. Teacher pedagogy draws on teacher and student beliefs, knowledge and identities but is also influenced by traditional assumptions about “what the boys need to learn” in Grade 1. Theoretical frameworks that inform analysis in this research include multiliteracies (New London Group [NLG], 1996), multimodality (Kress, 2000), literacy as social practice (Barton & Hamilton, 2000) and social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978). These frameworks support an understanding of students’ literacy practices and the rationale behind the pedagogical choices made by the teacher as the students and teacher collaborate, communicate and engage in literacy practices around multimodal texts. Implications include shaping future teacher practice, goals for 21st century curriculum development and new conceptions around literacy learning practices that influence how young students contribute to and experience literacy in 21st century classrooms.
Non‐amyloid and amyloid prion protein deposits in prion‐infected mice differ in blockage of interstitial brain fluid

Prion diseases are characterized by brain deposits of misfolded aggregated protease‐resistant prion protein (PrP), termed PrPres. In humans and animals, PrPres is found as either disorganized non‐amyloid aggregates or organized amyloid fibrils. Both PrPres forms are found in extracellular spaces of the brain. Thus, both might block drainage of brain interstitial fluid (ISF). The present experiments studied whether ISF blockage occurred during amyloid and/or non‐amyloid prion diseases.
Challenges in software development for multicore System-on-Chip development

Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoC)-based platforms are becoming more common in the embedded domain. Such systems are a significant deviation from the homogeneous, uniprocessor architectures that have been traditionally employed by embedded designers, thereby making the software development process to effectively target the platform more challenging. Low-resource embedded systems rely on efficient implementations that are not well supported by traditional solutions based on architecture virtualisation or middleware. Within this paper we examine these challenges and discuss ways in which they can be mitigated. In particular, we focus on the contributions made by two recent approaches based on Model-Driven Engineering (MDE). We also discuss challenges for future research.
Tricho‐rhino‐phalangeal syndrome without exostoses, with an interstitial deletion of 8q23

We report on a patient with the Tricho‐Rhino‐Phalangeal syndrome (TRPS) with normal mentation, without exostoses and with a partial microdeletion of 8q23. Although she had the phenotypic characteristics of TRPS Type I, karyotypic analysis demonstrated the 8q‐microdeletion usually associated with TRPS Type II, in which exostoses are present. Our patient represents the second reported instance of this phenotypic chromosomal association and provides further evidence for homogeneity of the TRPS.