Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiband antenna using stacked series array for Ka-Band application

In this paper, a multiband stack series array antenna is designed in order to attain solutions for the future 28 GHz Ka-band application. Double layer substrate Technology is utilized to accomplish multiple resonant frequencies with higher data transfer capacities due to high bandwidth. The designed antenna is dependent on twofold layer consisting patches and resonators in different layers stacked together. The designed multiband antennas can resonate at single band of (28 GHz), dual band of (28 and 30 GHz) and triple band of (24.18, 26 and 28.453). The results achieved in the simulation are later fabricated and tested. The test result illustrates that the antennas have wide bandwidth, high gain and even higher efficiencies. All the proposed antenna configurations have demonstrated a decent possibility for 5G millimeter wave (mmwave) application.
Reviewing the effect of reflexology on the pain and certain features and outcomes of the labor on the primiparous women

BACKGROUND: Reflexology is one of the non-pharmacological pain relief methods, and since it is a non-invasive, inexpensive and applicable technique, it can be used by a skilled and trained midwife. This study aimed to review the effect of reflexology on the pain and outcomes of the labor. METHODS: In this quasi-experimental study, 88 primiparous mothers referred to selected hospitals of Isfahan for vaginal delivery were selected using simple random sampling method and then randomized in two groups. Data collection tools were the demographic data questionnaire, profile and outcomes of the labor and the short-form of the McGill Questionnaire for Pain Rating Index (PRI) assessment. The intervention was general and specific reflexology in the active phase of labor. PRI was assessed before the intervention and four times after the intervention (3-5 cm, 6-8 cm and 9-10 cm dilatations and second stage of labor. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between groups before intervention. In the reflexology group, there was a significant difference between the PRI before and after the 4 stages intervention (p < 0.001). PRI was different significantly between studied groups after intervention (p < 0.001). The length of active phase of labor was different significantly between the two groups; but this difference was not significant during the second (p = 0.29), and the third (p = 0.27) stages. The difference between the 1st minute and the 5th minute Apgar score (p < 0.001) and rate of hemorrhage between the two groups were different significantly (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Reflexology can lead to decrease in the labor pain. Therefore, regarding to the safety of this technique, it can be replaced as an alternative for pharmacological methods.
Why Do CEOS Reciprocally Sit on Each Other's Boards?

The reciprocal interlocking of chief executive officers (CEOs) is a non-trivial phenomenon of the composition of boards of directors and of corporate governance: among large companies in 1991, about one company in seven was part of a relationship whereby the CEO of one company sat on a second company's board and the second company's CEO sat on the first company's board. We are aware of no previous efforts to explain these reciprocal relationships. We hypothesize that reciprocal CEO interlocks are (a) more likely when a board has more outside directorships, (b) less likely when a CEO has more of his total annual compensation paid in the form of stock options, (c) less likely when a company's board is more active and holds more meetings, (d) less likely when a CEO has a larger ownership share of his company, and (e) more likely when there are more CEOs from other companies as outside directors on a CEO's board. Using a sizable sample of large companies in 1991, we employ simple probit and step probit models to test these hypotheses, with the use of control variables that encompass other company, board, and CEO characteristics. These multivariate analyses support our first three conjectures but do not support the remaining two. Since there is considerable academic and policy debate concerning board composition and the effectiveness of interlocking directorships in general, investigations focusing on reciprocal CEO interlocks, which link the highest ranked executives of two different firms, represent a significant contribution to the knowledge base in this field.
Enhanced coronary vasoconstriction in the Syrian myopathic hamster supports the microvascular spasm hypothesis.

OBJECTIVE The heart of the young Syrian cardiomyopathic hamster (CMH) displays discrete patches of active myocytolytic necrosis and it has been hypothesised that these lesions are triggered by arteriolar spasm. Accordingly, we tested the theory that the coronary vasoconstrictor response to arginine vasopressin (AVP) infusion is more vigorous in the actively necrotising young (2-3 month old) CMH than in age matched normal hamsters, 5-6 month old CMHs in the histologically quiescent phase of the disease, or 5-6 month old normal hamsters. METHODS An isovolumetric isolated heart preparation was used in which the coronary arteries were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer at constant flow by a syringe pump. Coronary vascular resistance was determined by the ratio of measured perfusion pressure to flow rate during extended diastoles. RESULTS There were no significant differences in baseline coronary vascular resistance among the four groups. The increase in resistance with AVP infusion (0.54 pressor units.min-1) was significantly greater (p < 0.01) in the young CMH [6.66(SEM 4.75) mm Hg.ml-1.min-1] than in the old CMH [1.66(0.78)], the young normal [1.10(1.07)], and the old normal [2.72(1.86)] groups. CONCLUSIONS There is increased vasoconstrictive responsiveness in the young CMH coronary vasculature. The results suggest a broader coronary abnormality in this myopathic model and are consistent with the microvascular spasm hypothesis of myocytolytic lesion formation.
Educational psychology research on children with developmental disabilities using expensive ICT devices

Some expensive ICT devices, such as iPods and iPads, have been shown to have developmental and educational benefits when used in the right environment and with the right software. The resulting expansion of research in educational psychology that uses expensive ICT devices with children, and particularly children with developmental disabilities, raises an important ethical issue: it seems negligent and unfair to withdraw an expensive ICT device from a child with a developmental disability at the end of the study if the child has made considerable progress with the device and wouldn’t be supplied with a replacement from elsewhere. We discuss an example of this issue and provide several recommendations for sourcing ICT devices for participants after the study as well as planning mechanisms so as to avoid the predicament in the first place. The research context of the study The research evaluated the effectiveness of new information and communication technologies (such as iPods and iPads) to enhance the social and communicative functioning of children with various developmental disabilities. Specifically, the research compared the effectiveness of teaching several children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who had little or no spoken language, to use three alternative communication systems for functional communication skills (such as requesting preferred items). The three systems included: (1) no-tech sign language (Makaton New Zealand/Aotearoa, 1998-99), (2) low-tech picture exchange communication systems (Frost & Bondy, 2002), and (3) high-tech iPod-/iPad-based speech-generating devices
A quantitative model for the in vivo assessment of drug binding sites with positron emission tomography

We propose an in vivo method for use with positron emission tomography (PET) that results in a quantitative characterization of neuroleptic binding sites using radiolabeled spiperone. The data are analyzed using a mathematical model that describes transport, nonspecific binding, in the brain. The model demonstrates that the receptor quantities Bmax (i.e., the number of binding sites) and KD−1 (i.e., the binding affinity) are not separably ascertainable with tracer methodology in human subjects. We have, therefore, introduced a new term, the binding potential, equivalent to the product BmaxKD−1, which reflects the capacity of a given tissue, or region of a tissue, for ligand‐binding site interaction. The procedure for obtaining these measurements is illustrated with data from sequential PET scans of baboons after intravenous injection of carrier‐added [18F]spiperone. From these data we estimate the brain tissue nonspecific binding of spiperone to be in the range of 94.2 to 95.3%, and the regional brain spiperone permeability (measured as the permeability–surface area product) to be in the range of 0.025 to 0.036 cm3/(s·ml). The binding potential of the striatum ranged from 17.4 to 21.6; these in vivo estimates compare favourably to in vitro values in the literature. To our knowledge this represents the first direct evidence that PET can be used to characterize quantitatively, locally and in vivo, drug binding sites in brain. The ability to make such measurements with PET should permit the detailed investigation of diseases thought to result from disorders of receptor function.
Communication Architectures for Distribution Networks within the Smart Grid Initiative

A critical piece of the Smart Grid (SG) infrastructure is the supporting Communication Networks that facilitate data gathering, monitoring and control of the electric grid. Over the years, electric utilities built robust communication networks for their transmission and distribution systems, but stopped short of the “last mile” connections to the end user. A primary goal of the SG is to expand the communications network throughout and beyond the Distribution Network (DN); thus, enabling a holistic management and control of the electric grid from generation to consumption. For the realization of the Smart Grid goals, two-way communication capabilities must extend beyond the Distribution Network to the end user, allowing two-way data flow, e.g., real-time energy pricing as well as real-time demand data back to the utility operators. Selecting an appropriate communications architecture is the first and most important decision in designing a communications network since it will have lasting effects on the efficiency, reliability and cost of the network. This paper presents and evaluates various communication architectures for deployment of the SG within the DN and to the end users.
One new indolocarbazole alkaloid from the Streptomyces sp. A22

Abstract One new indolocarbazole alkaloid, 12-N-methyl-k252c, together with eight known indolocarbazoles were isolated from the rice solid fermentation of the marine-derived Streptomyces sp. A22. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods (UV, IR, HRESITOF MS, 1D NMR and 2D NMR). All of these compounds were evaluated for bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) inhibitory activities and cytotoxic activity assay, respectively. Compounds 4 and 5 showed moderate cytotoxic activity with an IC50 value of 3.52 and 3.93 μM, respectively. Additionally, compound 1 also was tested for enzyme inhibition activities of protein kinases and showed moderate activity with IC50 values of 0.91–1.84 μM.
Purchasing the Web : an Agent based E-retail System with Multilingual Knowledge

The more than enthusiastic success obtained by e-commerce and the continuous growth of the WWW has radically changed the way people look for and purchase commercial products. E-retail stores offer any sort of goods through evermore appealing web pages, sometimes even including their own search-engines to help customers find their loved products. With all this great mass of information available, people often get confused or simply do not want to spend time browsing the internet, loosing themselves into myriads of available eshops and trying to compare their offers. E-retail systems are the natural solution to this problem: they place at people’s disposal user-friendly interfaces, helping the customers in finding products from different e-shops that match their desires and comparing these offers for them. Inside CROSSMARC, (a project funded by the Information Society Technologies Programme of the European Union: IST 2000-25366) different techniques coming from the worlds of NLP, Machine Learning-based Information Extraction and Knowledge Representation have been considered and conjoined to give life to an agent-based system for information extraction (IE) from web pages, which operates in a wide range of situations involving different languages and domains. In this paper we describe the main components that realize the CROSSMARC architecture, together with their specific role in the process of extracting information from the web and presenting them to the user in a uniform and coherent way.
Genetically structured models forlac promoter–operator function in the Escherichia coli chromosome and in multicopy plasmids: Lac operator function

A mathematical model based on known molecular interactions has been formulated to describe quantitatively regulation of expression of the lactose (lac) operon in the Escherichia coli chromosome and in multicopy plasmids. This model is genetically structured such that a nucleotide sequence change affecting transcription initiation at the lac promoter–operator influences one or very few directly corresponding model parameters. The model simulates chromosomal lac operon function in good agreement with previous experimental measurements for many lacl and lacO mutant systems as well as for diploid cells which carry F'lac episomes. Simulation results clearly show the loss of cloned lac operator regulation as the plasmid copy number increases, in agreement with experimental trends. The importance of this class of models in designing DNAs, organisms, and reactors for precise regulation of cloned gene expression is discussed.
The impact of software architecture on the cost of design, implementation and verification of reliable embedded systems

The concern of this thesis is the development of software for systems utilising embedded processors. In many cases, the safety of users of “embedded systems” (and other people in the immediate vicinity) depends on the correct operation of this software. This project explores the ways in which the cost of designing, implementing and verifying the behaviour of systems that include embedded software can be reduced. More specifically, the goal is to determine the extent to which the use of a timetriggered (TT) architecture as opposed to an equivalent “event triggered” (ET) architecture could offer benefits to the developers of reliable embedded systems. To evaluate this, a method of software architecture evaluation was developed and is described. The work detailed in this thesis involved an extensive empirical study of the costs involved in testing TT systems, with and without task pre-emption. Factors considered in this comparison included: [i] implementation costs, including code size, overhead, memory and CPU utilisation of a scheduler; [ii] testing costs, including the ease of obtaining timing data for isolated and in-situ tasks; and [iii] design costs, including execution time, lines of code and number of inputs required to perform a test of schedulability on the task set. The results from empirical studies suggested the use of TT architectures (compared with equivalent designs based on ET architectures) would require greater efforts at the design phase, but lower efforts during the testing phases. The results also suggested systems based on TT designs are likely to have lower implementation costs than equivalent systems based on ET designs. Taken together, the results point to a lower overall cost for TT systems. Execution of the method is described through the presentation of experimental case studies. Throughout these activities, the method has been shown to be a capable tool for software architecture evaluation. [302 words] ! Al-hamdu Lillahi rabbil 'alamin. This thesis is dedicated to my husband, Zaime Kharis, my daughters, Noorhanis Zaiyana and Noorhani Zaiyani, my parents, Hjh Khadijah, Hj Zainuddin and Hjh Khatijah, and my family for their unfailing love, belief, understanding and encouragement
SKILL LEVEL AND PARTICIPATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN RECREATIONAL SPORT

This study investigated the relationship between throwing skill level and the engagement of college students in sports involving an element of throwing. There is a lack of knowledge about the throwing level of typical college students, and how this skill level influences students’ participation in physical activity. 54 undergraduate students were qualitatively analysed performing the overarm throw and the volleyball serve, and completed questionnaires detailing their engagement in sports involving an element of throwing. Results indicated that college students are not proficient at throwing and that a higher throwing skill level is correlated with better serve form. Throwing skill level was not related to engagement in sports involving an element of throwing.
ANALYSIS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT AT WORK AND SOCIAL COMPETENCIES ON EXPERIENCE OF INCIVILITY BEHAVIOR BASED ON STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between interpersonal conflict at work and social competencies (political skill, emotional intelligence, self-monitoring) on experience of incivility behavior based on structural equation modeling. The research method was correlational. The research population consisted of all female teachers of female high schools in Isfahan city in the academic year 2010-11 (1390-91s.c.). From among them 358 were selected via cluster random sampling. Participants filled in Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale (Spector & Jex's, 1998), Political Skill Inventory (Ferris et al., 2005), Emotional Intelligence Scale (Brackett et al., 2006), Self-monitoring Scale (Snyder and Gangestad, 1986), and Workplace Incivility Questionnaire (Ottinot, 2008). The results indicated that there was a positive significant relationship between conflict and experience of incivility behavior (P≤0.05); however there was a negative significant relationship between social competencies and experience of incivility behavior (P≤0.05). The results from structural equation modeling showed that emotional intelligence and political skill were the mediators of the relationship between self-monitoring and conflict with experience of incivility behavior, Overall, this model enjoyed a fairly suitable fit.
PTMap—A sequence alignment software for unrestricted, accurate, and full-spectrum identification of post-translational modification sites

We present sequence alignment software, called PTMap, for the accurate identification of full-spectrum protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) and polymorphisms. The software incorporates several features to improve searching speed and accuracy, including peak selection, adjustment of inaccurate mass shifts, and precise localization of PTM sites. PTMap also automates rules, based mainly on unmatched peaks, for manual verification of identified peptides. To evaluate the quality of sequence alignment, we developed a scoring system that takes into account both matched and unmatched peaks in the mass spectrum. Incorporation of these features dramatically increased both accuracy and sensitivity of the peptide- and PTM-identifications. To our knowledge, PTMap is the first algorithm that emphasizes unmatched peaks to eliminate false positives. The superior performance and reliability of PTMap were demonstrated by confident identification of PTMs on 156 peptides from four proteins and validated by MS/MS of the synthetic peptides. Our results demonstrate that PTMap is a powerful algorithm capable of identification of all possible protein PTMs with high confidence.
European reference equations for CO and NO lung transfer

The aim of the present study was to calculate reference equations for carbon monoxide and nitric oxide transfer, measured in two distinct populations. The transfer factor of the lung for nitric oxide (TL,NO) and carbon monoxide (TL,CO) were measured in 303 people aged 18–94 yrs. Measurements were similarly made in two distant cities, using the single-breath technique. Capillary lung volume (Vc) and membrane conductance, the diffusing capacity of the membrane (Dm), for carbon monoxide (Dm,CO) were derived. The transfer of both gases appeared to depend upon age, height, sex and localisation. The rate of decrease in both transfers increased after the age of 59 yrs. TL,NO/alveolar volume (VA) and TL,CO/VA were only age-dependent. The mean TL,NO/TL,CO was 4.75 and the mean Dm/Vc was 6.17 min−1·kPa−1; these parameters were independent of any covariate. Vc and Dm,CO calculations depend upon the choice of coefficients included in the Roughton–Forster equation. Values of 1.97 for Dm,NO/Dm,CO ratio and 12.86 min·kPa−1 for 1/red cell CO conductance are recommended. The scatter of transfer reference values in the literature, including the current study, is wide. The present results suggest that differences might be due to the populations themselves and not the methods alone.
Psoriasin: A Novel Marker Linked Obesity with Psoriasis

To evaluate the role of psoriasin, koebnerisin, interleukn (IL)-12 and IL-23 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and their relations to Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) and obesity. Thirty patients had chronic plaque psoriasis and 30 healthy subjects matched in age and sex were enrolled in this study. Serum from all subjects were used for determination of psoriasin, koebnerisin, IL-12 and IL-23 by ELISA kits. IL-23 and psoriasin were significantly higher in skin psoriasis compared to controls and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). There was a correlation between psoriasin and both PASI and obesity. On the other hand, IL-12 was significantly increased in PsA compared to skin psoriasis (p = 0.000) and controls. Its sensitivity and specificity were 87%, 93%; respectively. To our knowledge, psoriasin is the first biomarker confirm the link between obesity and psoriasis. The risk of developing psoriasis is directly related to higher BMI.
Nurses’ Perception of Managers’ Leadership Styles and Its Associated Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine leadership styles, factors, and outcomes perceived by. Cross sectional descript correlational design utilized to collect data from 272 nurses in two major government-owned, tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Data collected in regards to nurses’ perception of their supervisors’ leadership styles and outcome factors. Nurses had a perception that their supervisors are more frequently using transformation and transactional than laissez-faire leadership styles. There was positive correlation between outcome factors (effectiveness, extra efforts and satisfaction) and transformational (r = .77, .74, .74; p < .001) and transactional leadership styles (.39, .42, .34; p < .001) and negative with laissez-faire leadership style (-.25, -.13, -.29, p < .05). that there were significant differences between male and female nurses in regards to using transactional leadership style (t = 2.74, p < .001) and laissez-faire leadership style (t = 3.35, p < .001) with male nurses mean score higher than female nurses mean score in both styles (transactional style: male = 2.60, female 2.31; laissez-faire leadership style: male = 2.04, female = 1.41). Findings provide supporting evidence that a combination of leadership styles to attain desired goals and further studies are suggested to explore leadership best practices.