Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Work-Family Conflict Self-Efficacy: A Scale Validation Study

The Work/Family Confli ct Self -Efficacy Scale (WFC -SES) (Cinamon, 2003) was designed to measure an individual’s beliefs in her or his ability to manage work -family and family -work conflict. The current study examines the factor structure, reliability, and validity estimates for the WFC -SES. In a sample of 159 working mothers, results showed evidence of satisfactory estimates of internal and external validity. Exploratory analysis suggests that work/family confl ict self -efficacy may mediate the relationship between work/family conflict and outcomes such as work and family satisfaction and work stress. The WFC -SES may be used to better understand the role that self -efficacy can play in the relationship between conflict and negative outcomes.
Universal Compression of Memoryless Sources over Large Alphabets via Independent Component Analysis

Many applications of universal compression involve sources such as text, speech and image, whose alphabet is extremely large. In this work we propose a conceptual framework in which a large alphabet memory less source is decomposed into multiple 'as independent as possible' sources whose alphabet is much smaller. This way we slightly increase the average codeword length as the compressed symbols are no longer perfectly independent, but at the same time significantly reduce the overhead redundancy resulted by the large alphabet of the observed source. Our proposed algorithm, based on a generalization of the Binary Independent Component Analysis, shows to efficiently find the ideal trade-off so that the overall compression size is minimal. We demonstrate our framework on memory less draws from a variety of natural languages and show that the redundancy we achieve is remarkably smaller than most commonly used methods.
Preparation, in vitro release, and pharmacokinetics in rabbits of lyophilized injection of sorafenib solid lipid nanoparticles

Sorafenib solid lipid nanoparticles (S-SLN) were prepared by emulsion evaporation–solidification at low temperature. Morphology was examined by transmission electron microscope. Particle size and zeta potential were determined by laser granularity equipment. Encapsulation efficiency (EE) was detected by Sephadex gel chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The in vitro release profile of S-SLN was studied with dialysis technology. The lyophilized injection of S-SLN was prepared by freeze drying and analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry. The plasma concentration of sorafenib in blood was determined by HPLC. The solid lipid nanoparticles assumed a spherical shape with an even distribution of diameter and particle size 108.23 ± 7.01 nm (n = 3). The polydispersity index, zeta potential, and EE were determined to be 0.25 ± 0.02, −16.37 ± 0.65 mV, and 93.49% ± 1.87%, respectively (n = 3). The in vitro release accorded with the Weibull distribution model. An equal volume of 15% (w/v) mannitol performed better as the protective agent for a lyophilized injection of S-SLN with a new material phase formation. The pharmacokinetic processes of sorafenib solution and lyophilized injection of S-SLN in vivo were in accordance with the two-compartment and one-compartment models, respectively. S-SLN nanoparticles are thus considered a promising drug-delivery system.
EFFECT OF TEMPORARY CALF REMOVAL NUMBERS IN TIMED ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION PROTOCOLS ON WEANING WEIGHT FROM NELORE CALVES

Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos causados pelo numero de remocoes temporarias de bezerros (RTB) Nelore durante o protocolo de inseminacao artificial em tempo fixo (IATF) sobre o peso a desmama, alem do efeito do mes de nascimento e da interacao entre eles. Vacas (n = 271) com mais de 30 dias pos-parto foram sincronizadas com o seguinte protocolo de IATF: Dia 0: insercao de dispositivo intravaginal de progesterona + 2,0 mg de benzoato de estradiol; Dia 7: aplicacao de 12,5 mg de dinoprost-trometamina; Dia 9: remocao do dispositivo de progesterona + 1,0 mg de cipionato de estradiol + RTB; Dia 11: IATF + retorno dos bezerros as vacas. Os bezerros cujas maes emprenharam apos a primeira IATF foram submetidos a RTB apenas uma vez, ja aquelas encontradas vazias apos 30 dias foram ressincronizadas e seus bezerros foram submetidos a RTB pela segunda vez. O peso a desmama foi ajustado para 210 dias. A analise de estatistica foi realizada pelo programa SAS. Nao houve efeito do numero de remocoes temporarias no peso ao desmame (P > 0,05), porem, o mes de nascimento afetou esta variavel (P <0,05). Concluiu-se que, o numero de RTB em protocolos de IATF durante a estacao de monta nao afetou o peso a desmama dos bezerros. No entanto, o mes de nascimento afetou o peso a desmama de bezerros de corte, uma vez que aqueles que nasceram no inicio da estacao de nascimento foram mais pesados.
Use of air displacement plethysmography for estimating body fat in a four-component model.

PURPOSE To compare measurements of body density (D(b)) obtained from air displacement plethysmography (AP) and hydrostatic weighing (HW) and to determine the accuracy of substituting D(b) via AP (D(b)-AP) for D(b) via HW (D(b)-HW) in estimating body fatness (%Fat(4C)) and the composition and density of the fat-free mass (Dffm) from a four-component model (fat, mineral, water, and protein). METHODS D(b) was measured in 50 young adults using AP and HW. Total body water via deuterium dilution, bone mineral content via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and D(b) were used to estimate %Fat(4C). RESULTS D(b)-AP and D(b)-HW were highly correlated (r = 0.89, SEE = 0.008 g x mL(-1)), but D(b)-AP (1.065 +/- 0.003 g x mL(-1)) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than D(b)-HW (1.058 +/- 0.003 g x mL(-1)), resulting in a mean difference of 2.8%fat. Differences between %Fat(4C-AP) (17.8 +/- 1.2%) and %Fat(4C-HW) (19.3 +/- 1.2%) were significant (P < 0.05), but the SD of the differences (2.3%) was low. When D(b)-AP was used in a four-component model in place of D(b)-HW, the calculated Dffm was significantly higher (1.109 +/- 0.002 vs 1.105 +/- 0.002 g x mL(-1)) based on a higher (P < 0.05) protein fraction (22.0 +/- 0.4% vs 20.6 +/- 0.4%) and lower (P < 0.05) water (71.1 +/- 0.4% vs 72.4 +/- 0.4%) and mineral fractions (7.0 +/- 0.1% vs 7.1 +/- 0.1%). CONCLUSIONS AP yields a higher D(b) than HW and may not be a valid method for measuring D(b) or estimating %fat using densitometry. However, due to relatively small bias and low individual error, D(b)-AP is an acceptable substitute for D(b)-HW when estimating %fat with a four-component model in young adults.
Hierarchical Approximate Policy Iteration With Binary-Tree State Space Decomposition

In recent years, approximate policy iteration (API) has attracted increasing attention in reinforcement learning (RL), e.g., least-squares policy iteration (LSPI) and its kernelized version, the kernel-based LSPI algorithm. However, it remains difficult for API algorithms to obtain near-optimal policies for Markov decision processes (MDPs) with large or continuous state spaces. To address this problem, this paper presents a hierarchical API (HAPI) method with binary-tree state space decomposition for RL in a class of absorbing MDPs, which can be formulated as time-optimal learning control tasks. In the proposed method, after collecting samples adaptively in the state space of the original MDP, a learning-based decomposition strategy of sample sets was designed to implement the binary-tree state space decomposition process. Then, API algorithms were used on the sample subsets to approximate local optimal policies of sub-MDPs. The original MDP was decomposed into a binary-tree structure of absorbing sub-MDPs, constructed during the learning process, thus, local near-optimal policies were approximated by API algorithms with reduced complexity and higher precision. Furthermore, because of the improved quality of local policies, the combined global policy performed better than the near-optimal policy obtained by a single API algorithm in the original MDP. Three learning control problems, including path-tracking control of a real mobile robot, were studied to evaluate the performance of the HAPI method. With the same setting for basis function selection and sample collection, the proposed HAPI obtained better near-optimal policies than previous API methods such as LSPI and KLSPI.
Design of Area and Power Efficient 5 : 2 Compressor for High Speed Multipliers

The paper proposes architectures of 5:3 compressor designs for low power multiplication purposes. The architecture explores the essence of two transistor multiplexer design and novel two transistor XOR gates for the proposed topology with least number of transistors for logic level implementation. The modified and proposed compressor designs reduce the stage delays, transistor count, PDP (power delay product), EDP (energy delay product) and area by utilizing the combinations of XORXNOR gates, MUX circuits and transistor level implementation contrasted with the conventional designs. Simulation studies have been carried out in 65nm, 90nm, 130nm technologies in
Total creatine in muscle: imaging and quantification with proton MR spectroscopy.

PURPOSE To provide a noninvasive method of imaging and quantifying total creatine (phosphorylated plus unphosphorylated) in human muscle with proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Water-suppressed, long echo time, stimulated-echo hydrogen-1 chemical shift imaging and short echo time unsuppressed chemical shift imaging were performed on the lower legs of 10 healthy volunteers at rest. Spatial resolution was 4.5-8.0 cm3. Water signals in unsuppressed data sets were quantified and used as chemical shift and concentration references. Images of the integrated N-CH3 resonance assigned to total creatine were extracted from the water-suppressed chemical shift image data. Correlations between the total creatine, lipid, and water signals from the same voxels were tested. The concentration of total creatine in skeletal muscle was calculated from the ratio of the relaxation-corrected N-CH3 and water signals from the same voxels. RESULTS Total creatine was localized to muscle bundles. Lipid signals contributed less than 6% to the variance of total creatine signal on images and in measurements and did not correlate with total creatine in the same voxels (P > .1). Total creatine and unsuppressed water signals were positively correlated (P < .0001). MR spectroscopy yielded a total creatine value of 36.2 mmol/kg wet weight +/- 5.0, consistent with prior biopsy data. CONCLUSION H-1 MR spectroscopy can be used to image and noninvasively quantify total creatine in human muscle. Its use could improve the understanding of the role of altered creatine metabolism in muscle disease and aid quantification of the response to creatine therapies.
The Influence of Travel Motivations and Social Factors on Travel Web Site Usage among Malaysian Travellers

In this study the framework is developed based on the theory of reasoned action. This paper seeks to examine the influences of travel motivations and social factors on future intention to use travel web sites. Data was collected using multistage cluster sampling among employees in selected organisations in the Klang Valley of Malaysia. A total of 679 questionnaires were returned and analysed. The results showed that the travel motivation of entertainment and sports activities have positive influences on hedonicbased future intention to use travel web sites. On the other hand, travel motivation of familiar destination has negative influences on the similar criterion. The social factor of human interaction was not only more important than media exposure but also the strongest predictor of both hedonicbased and utilitarian-based future intention to use travel web sites. Based on these findings, the paper highlights its theoretical, marketing and managerial contributions.
A Function of Forgiveness

Over the past two decades, researchers have described many facets of forgiveness. Presently, we explore the mood regulatory properties of forgiveness. The mental and physical health benefits associated with forgiveness are well documented, and it has been suggested that these benefits may be due to the negative affect regulating properties of forgiveness. However, the relationship between forgiveness and negative affect has not been studied experimentally. We conducted three studies designed to explore the relationship between mood and forgiveness. Results showed that participants induced with a negative mood were more likely to forgive a hypothetical transgression than those in a neutral mood, a moderate level of negativity was associated with a greater likelihood of forgiveness, and participants who forgave a hypothetical transgression experienced less negative affect than participants who did not forgive. Implications of the present results and directions for future research are discussed.
Robust Contrast Enhancement for Digital Mammography

Nowadays, mammography is currently considered as the most efficient way for the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer at early stages. In many case, due to the subtleness of the difference between normal features and cancerous ones and the bad imaging conditions, cancer is not easily detected with visual interpretation. Thus, image-enhancement technology is often used in screaming mammograms. In this paper, we develop a method based on Shock Filter to enhance the contrast of image and help radiologists. In the proposed method, the Shock Filter is applied for preprocessing, in order to improve the contrast, remove the noisy fluctuations and to enhance the edges containing useful information. Experiments show the efficiency of the proposed method. General Terms Mammography, Enhancement
Does Personality Matter in Politics? Personality Factors as Determinants of Parliamentary Recruitment and Policy Preferences

[Abstract This article inquires into the impact of personality factors on the selection and self-selection of parliamentary elites. I compare personality profiles of German MPs and the German population obtained through survey research, and for some comparisons I utilize elite and mass samples matched for education, gender, and age. I ask further if MPs’ personalities have an impact on their preferences for expansionist or restricted government budgets and welfare state benefits, the extension or limitation of civic rights, and several other policies. Party affiliations of MPs are used as a control variable. I find that MPs’ personality traits differ strikingly from those of the German population and from those of followers in most of the parties with which MPs are affiliated. , AbstractThis article inquires into the impact of personality factors on the selection and self-selection of parliamentary elites. I compare personality profiles of German MPs and the German population obtained through survey research, and for some comparisons I utilize elite and mass samples matched for education, gender, and age. I ask further if MPs’ personalities have an impact on their preferences for expansionist or restricted government budgets and welfare state benefits, the extension or limitation of civic rights, and several other policies. Party affiliations of MPs are used as a control variable. I find that MPs’ personality traits differ strikingly from those of the German population and from those of followers in most of the parties with which MPs are affiliated. ]
Context-Centric Target Localization with Optimal Anchor Deployments

Localization proves to be a promising application of wireless sensor networks. Although a considerable number of algorithms have been designed for low-overhead and high-accuracy localization, problems remain to be tackled such as the way to use anchor-deploying. In this paper, we present a mechanism for range-free localization called Enhanced Map Segmentation (EMS) to deploy and segment the map where precise indoor localization is required. Despite the limits of environmental noise, sensing irregularity, received signal strength (RSS) variation and other unavoidable factors, EMS can be reliable by improving the quality of map segmentation. This paper will present and analyze the enhancing method by a series of simulations. In addition, to deal with ambiguous context positions that confounds the localization, this paper ameliorates the segmentation with context conception mentioned in [1] by statistical methods. In fact, a well-organized deployment and a context-based decision mechanism can make such a layer of abstraction more reliable and compatible.
Measuring Party Linkage across Districts

In this article we suggest improved measures of ‘party linkage’ across districts. The degree of party linkage, defined as the extent to which parties are uniformly successful in winning votes across districts, is an important but neglected issue in the party politics literature. It is particularly important in understanding the nature of national-level party system formation. Our suggested indices build on the measure of party linkage introduced by Cox (1999), which he named the party system ‘inflation index’ since it measures the inflation from the district-level to the national-level party system size that occurs in the process of party system aggregation. Our measures improve on Cox by making it more intuitive, introducing an appropriate weighting scheme, and suggesting a subnational-level measurement of party linkage. We examine the properties and the usefulness of our measures by numerical simulation and by empirical application to data from Italy, India, Germany, and the United States.
The neural correlates of two forms of spiritual love: an EEG study

Spiritual practices are gaining an increasingly wider audience as a means to enhance positive affect in healthy individuals and to treat neurological disorders such as anxiety and depression. The current study aimed to examine the neural correlates of two different forms of love generated by spiritual practices using EEG; love generated during a loving kindness meditation performed by Buddhist meditators, and love generated during prayer, in a separate group of participants from a Christian-based faith. The loving kindness meditation was associated with significant increases in delta, alpha 1, alpha 2 and beta power compared to baseline, while prayer induced significant increases in power of alpha 1 and gamma oscillations, together with an increase in the gamma: theta ratio. An increase in delta activity occurred during the loving kindness meditation but not during prayer. In contrast increases in theta, alpha 1, alpha 2, beta and gamma power were observed when comparing both types of practice to baseline, suggesting that increases in these frequency bands are the neural correlates of spiritual love, independent of the type of practice used to attain the state of this type of love. These findings show that both spiritual love practices are associated with widespread changes in neural activity across the brain, in particular at frequency ranges that have been implicated in positive emotional experience, integration of distributed neural activity, and changes in short-term and longterm neural circuitry.
An Approach for ECG Feature Extraction using Daubechies 4 (DB4) Wavelet

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal describes the electrical activity of the heart recorded by electrodes placed on the surface of human body. It summarizes an important electrical activity used for the primary diagnosis of heart abnormalities such as Tachycardia, Bradycardia, Normalcy, Regularity and Heart Rate Variation. The most clinically useful information of the ECG signal is found in the time intervals between its consecutive waves and amplitudes defined by its features. In this paper, an ECG feature extraction algorithm based on Daubechies Wavelet Transform is presented. DB4 Wavelet is selected due to the similarity of its scaling function to the shape of the ECG signal. R peaks detection is the core of this algorithm's feature extraction. All other primary peaks are extracted with respect to the location of R peaks through creating windows proportional to their normal intervals. The proposed extraction algorithm is evaluated on MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database. Experimental results indicate that the algorithm can successfully detect and extract all the primary features with a deviation error of less than 10%.
Methods for Reliable Teleportation

Recent experimental results and proposals towards implementation of quantum teleportation are discussed. It is proved that reliable (theoretically, 100% probability of success) teleportation cannot be achieved using the methods applied in recent experiments, i.e., without quantum systems interacting with one another. Teleportation proposals involving atoms and electromagnetic cavities are reviewed and the most feasible methods are described. In particular, the language of nonlocal measurements has been applied; this language has also been used for presenting a method for teleportation of quantum states of systems with continuous variables.
MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry: an emerging technology for microbial identification and diagnosis

Currently microorganisms are best identified using 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA gene sequencing. However, in recent years matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as a potential tool for microbial identification and diagnosis. During the MALDI-TOF MS process, microbes are identified using either intact cells or cell extracts. The process is rapid, sensitive, and economical in terms of both labor and costs involved. The technology has been readily imbibed by microbiologists who have reported usage of MALDI-TOF MS for a number of purposes like, microbial identification and strain typing, epidemiological studies, detection of biological warfare agents, detection of water- and food-borne pathogens, detection of antibiotic resistance and detection of blood and urinary tract pathogens etc. The limitation of the technology is that identification of new isolates is possible only if the spectral database contains peptide mass fingerprints of the type strains of specific genera/species/subspecies/strains. This review provides an overview of the status and recent applications of mass spectrometry for microbial identification. It also explores the usefulness of this exciting new technology for diagnosis of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Temperature-Compensated $\beta$ -Multiplier Current Reference Circuit

This brief presents the new simple schematic for the temperature stable current references based on the well-known <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol {\beta }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-multiplier circuit. The proposed reference utilizes only four MOS transistors and two lateral PNP transistors, which are usually available in standard CMOS technologies along with one well resistor. The temperature-compensation technique has a low process dependence and needs no trimming. However, resistor trimming can be used to precisely set the output current value. The circuit implementation of the proposed technique was fabricated in a standard 0.35-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mu }\text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> CMOS process to source a 16-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\mu }\text{A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> current. The digital calibration circuit allows setting of the output current in 32 100 nA-steps. The proposed current reference achieves the supply sensitivity of several %/V without the use of the external bandgap voltage reference for the supply regulation. The measured temperature coefficient is 105 ppm/°C over the temperature range from 0 to 110 °C.