Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integer-N PLLs Verification Methodology: Large Signal Steady State and Noise Analysis

The need for accurate and fast verification of the phase locked loop (PLL) circuits is a designers' important concern before the chip tape-out. This paper covers two major PLL characteristics for circuit verification: steady-state response and phase noise. A new simulation methodology is proposed and comprehensively described. It is general purpose and can be implemented within the framework of all commercial radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) simulation tools. By using the new algorithm, we succeed in predicting integer-N PLL's characteristics with the same precision as the conventional brute-force transistor-level simulation while spending much less time and computer memory. It is composed of two stages, a hierarchical analysis algorithm for the steady state response calculation and a bottom-up behavioral modeling strategy for the phase noise analysis that accurately accounts for the non-idealities in all PLL blocks.
A Study of Authenticity in Traditional Korean Folk Villages

The purpose of this study is to examine the structural relations among tourist motivation, the perception of authenticity, and tourist satisfaction. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis was performed to the study model. It is confirmed that study concepts have significant relations through multiple regression analysis (MRA). The suggestions of this study are as follows. First, the authenticity is perceived through the direct tour activities consisting of the tourist's experiences on the basis of the results of the preceding studies, and it is an important factor of cultural tourism activities. Second, cultural tourism sites including traditional folk villages are to choose city dwellers, club members who like adventure and exploration, and student groups as target markets. Third, tourists are to be made to have various historical and cultural experiences by realistic and lively compositions of traditional culture.
Design of a Normal Stress Electromagnetic Fast Linear Actuator

This paper describes the design of a normal stress electromagnetic linear actuator for fast tool servos during nonrotationally symmetric diamond turning. By using the permanent magnet as the biasing flux generator and the total armature pole surface for force generation, the actuator is designed to achieve both linear operation characteristics and high acceleration. A design methodology is presented, which is based on analytical and finite element method magnetic circuit analysis. For design optimization, a new criterion, high actuating force density, is introduced. Based on the optimized structural parameters and the strategy of design for manufacturing, a novel axisymmetric fast linear actuator is developed that has a stroke of 100 ¿m and 500 G acceleration. The linearity of the actuating force versus both the excitation current and the armature displacement is experimentally demonstrated. It is shown that the experimental and calculated results agree well with each other.
Robustness of the inference procedures for the global minimum variance portfolio weights in a skew-normal model†

In this paper, we study the influence of skewness on the distributional properties of the estimated weights of optimal portfolios and on the corresponding inference procedures derived for the optimal portfolio weights assuming that the asset returns are normally distributed. It is shown that even a simple form of skewness in the asset returns can dramatically influence the performance of the test on the structure of the global minimum variance portfolio. The results obtained can be applied in the small sample case as well. Moreover, we introduce an estimation procedure for the parameters of the skew-normal distribution that is based on the modified method of moments. A goodness-of-fit test for the matrix variate closed skew-normal distribution has also been derived. In the empirical study, we apply our results to real data of several stocks included in the Dow Jones index.
Stability Of Money Multipliers: Evidence From Turkey

This paper investigates whether the money multiplier process in the Turkish economy is stable and can be forecasted. Research results show that the processes which convert the base money supply into the final monetary aggregates are unstable and decrease the effectiveness of monetary policies pursued by the CBRT. In addition, the sub-components of the money multiplier do not support a stable money multiplier process, indicating that traditional monetarist prescriptions for the conduct of economic policy are not appropriate for the Turkish economy.
Optimization techniques for the selection of members and attributes in ensemble systems

Although ensemble systems have been proved to be efficient for pattern recognition tasks, its elaboration and design is not an easy task. Some aspects such as the choice of its individual classifiers and the use of feature selection methods are very difficult to define. In addition, these aspects can have a strong effect in the accuracy of these systems, leading, for instance, to cases where the produced ensembles have no performance improvement. In order to avoid this situation, there is a great deal of research to select individual classifiers or distribute attributes to the individual classifiers of ensemble systems. In most of these works, however, only one aspect is tackled (either member selection or feature selection). In this paper, we present an analysis of two well-known optimization techniques to choose the ensemble members and to select attributes for these individual classifiers. In order to do this analysis, we use accuracy as well as two recently proposed diversity measures as parameters, in a multi-objective optimization problem.
Estimation of a Cox process for credit spreads with semi‐stochastic intensity

Purpose – The paper aims to present a framework for modeling defaultable securities and credit derivatives which allows for dependence between market risk factors and credit risk.Design/methodology/approach – The default event is modeled using the Cox process when the stochastic intensity represents the credit spread. A method of one‐sided risk approach is used in that default is modeled through a random intensity of the default time.Findings – The paper proposes a modified Cox model for defaultable interest rate term structure when the forward rate volatilities functions depend on time to maturity, on the instantaneous defaultable spot rate and on the entire forward curve. The Cox process describes the default event and its intensity denotes the credit spread.Research limitations/implications – A method of one‐sided risk approach sacrifices some generality. Recursive models are better to reach the latter.Practical implications – The main feature of the framework is that it reduces the technical issues of.
Dynamic Hedging with Foreign Currency Futures in the Presence of Jumps

A dynamic hedging strategy based on a bivariate GARCH-jump model augmented with autoregressive jump intensity is proposed to manage currency risk. The GARCH-jump model, capable of capturing volatility clustering and leptokurtosis, provides a comprehensive description of the joint dynamics of the currency spot rate and the futures basis. We find significant common jump components in the currency spot rate and futures basis with jump sizes response asymmetrical to futures basis changes. Our out-of-sample hedging exercises show optimal hedge ratios incorporating information from common jump dynamics substantially reduce the portfolio risk of foreign currencies.
Britain in the European Union Today

Preface to the Third edition Glossary of terms and abbreviations Introduction Part. History and structure of the European Union 1. 1945-1985: The origins and growth of the European Community 2. 1985-2004: From the single market to the present day 3. The institutions of the European Union in 2004 Part II. The impact of Europe on the British political system 4. Sovereignty and constitutional change 5. Policy and the decision-making process 6. EU policies and their impact on Britain Part III. Participation 7. Representation: Elections to the European Parliament 8. British political parties and Europe 9. British pressure groups and Europe Part IV. Concluding thoughts 10. Britain and the European Union: The past, present and future Glossary of terms and abbreviations Further information about the European Union
High Performance Vertical Transition from DC to 70 GHz for System-on-Package Applications

High performance vertical transition from DC to 70 GHz was proposed for system-on-package (SoP) applications. The trough line, slab line and shielded multilayer coplanar waveguides were employed to minimize the radiation loss, crosstalk and discontinuity of a conventional via vertical transition. The half square via pad was used in order to prevent unwanted coupling between the transmission lines of the vertical transition. The proposed vertical transition was made using a LTCC process. The manufactured single vertical transition showed a low insertion loss less than 0.7 dB and a reflection loss below -13 dB in the frequency range of DC to 70 GHz.
Autonomic Remodeling: How Atrial Fibrillation Begets Atrial Fibrillation in the First 24 Hours

Background: The mechanism(s) of how atrial fibrillation (AF) sustains itself in the first 24 hours is not well understood. Objective: We sought to investigate the role of autonomic remodeling in the first 24 hours of AF simulated by rapid atrial pacing (RAP). Methods: Forty-eight rabbits were divided into 6 groups. One group (n = 8) was euthanized after baseline recordings. Another group (n = 8) did not receive RAP during the 24-hour period to serve as controls. In the other 4 groups, rabbits were euthanized after RAP for 4, 8, 12, or 24 hours (n = 8 for each). Before and after designated hours of RAP, atrial effective refractory period, heart rate variability, and left vagal and sympathetic nerve activity (VNA and SNA, respectively) were determined. The right and left atrial tissues were obtained for immunocytochemical analysis for growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). Results: RAP resulted in progressively shortened atrial effective refractory period and slower heart rate. In the first 12 hours of RAP, both SNA and VNA progressively increased. Then, VNA remained stably elevated but SNA began to attenuate. The high-frequency component and low-frequency/high-frequency ratio of heart rate variability followed the trend of VNA and SNA, respectively. The density of GAP43-positive, ChAT-positive, and TH-positive neural elements in the right and left atria was progressively higher with RAP. Conclusions: AF resulted in progressive autonomic remodeling, manifesting as nerve sprouting, sympathetic and vagal hyperinnervation. Autonomic remodeling may play an important role in sustaining AF in the first 24 hours.
CORNEAL ENDOTHELIAL INJURY THRESHOLDS FOR EXPOSURES TO 1.54 &mgr;m RADIATION

The endothelial injury threshold was determined in rabbit for an 11-s exposure to 1.54 &mgr;m radiation from an Erbium fiber laser. The beam was Gaussian with a 1/e diameter of 7 mm. Cell damage was detected with a wet staining technique. The threshold dose for these conditions is 4.4 × 105 J m−2 (44 J cm−2) and is only 9% greater than the threshold for epithelial damage for the same exposure conditions. Exposures just above the threshold caused substantial endothelial damage, including loss of cells. The calculated endothelial temperature increase at the threshold is similar to that calculated for the epithelium at its injury threshold for the same exposure conditions. The results suggest that endothelial damage can be correlated with a critical temperature damage model with a critical temperature increase near 40°C. The results also suggest that if a person were to receive an exposure only slightly above the epithelial injury threshold from a beam having a diameter of 7 mm (which is the diameter of the exit pupil of 7 × 50 binoculars) he or she would risk sustaining substantial endothelial damage.
The macroeconomic effects of legislated tax changes in Germany

This paper studies the short-term macroeconomic effects of legislated tax changes in Germany using a five-variable vector autoregression (VAR) framework. Identification of the tax shock follows a recently proposed narrative approach. Based on a historical account of German tax legislation, the timing, size, and motivation of legislated tax changes are assessed and a time series of exogenous tax shocks is constructed. The VAR results indicate a substantial and statistically significant reaction of output following implementation of a tax change. In response to a one percentage point increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio, we observe a maximum output reduction of 2.4%. These results suggest that previous estimates of the effects of tax changes on output in Germany are downward biased.
AT-SPEED TEST IS NOT NECESSARILY AN AC TEST

In many circles at-speed test is synonymous to AC test. The object of this paper is to root out this misconception. In order to achieve an effective AC test special attention must be paid to the way the patterns are generated. The AC strength is a measure that allows assessing how well a pattern generator can serve in applying AC test vectors to the logic. Generators with high AC strengths tend to perform better than generators with low AC strengths.
The Bridge over the Racial Divide: Rising Inequality and Coalition Politics

In a work that will significantly influence the political discussion with respect to race and class politics, one of the country's most influential sociologists focuses on the rising inequality in American society and the need for a progressive, multiracial political coalition to combat it. The culmination of decades of distinguished scholarship, "The Bridge over the Racial Divide" brilliantly demonstrates how political power is disproportionately concentrated among the most advantaged segments of society and how the monetary, trade, and tax policies of recent years have deepened this power imbalance. Developing his earlier views on race in contemporary society, William Julius Wilson gives a simple, straightforward, and crucially important diagnosis of the problem of rising social inequality in the United States and details a set of recommendations for dealing with it. Wilson argues that as long as middle- and working-class groups are fragmented along racial lines, they will fail to see how their combined efforts could change the political imbalance and thus promote policies that reflect their interests. He shows how a vision of American society that highlights racial differences rather than commonalities makes it difficult for Americans to see the need and appreciate the potential for mutual political support across racial lines. Multiracial political cooperation could be enhanced if we can persuade groups to focus more on the interests they hold in common, including overcoming stagnating and declining real incomes that relate to changes in the global economy, Wilson argues. He advocates a cross-race, class-based alliance of working-and middle-class Americans to pursue policies that will deal with the eroding strength of the nation's equalizing institutions, including public education, unions, and political structures that promote the interests of ordinary families. He also advocates a reconstructed 'affirmative opportunity' program that benefits African Americans without antagonizing whites. Using theoretical arguments and case studies, Wilson examines how a broad-based political constituency can be created, sustained, and energized. Bold, provocative, and thoughtful, "The Bridge over the Racial Divide" is an essential resource in considering some of the most pressing issues facing the American public today. This book is a copublication with the Russell Sage Foundation.
The Human Gut Microbiome as a Transporter of Antibiotic Resistance Genes between Continents

ABSTRACT Previous studies of antibiotic resistance dissemination by travel have, by targeting only a select number of cultivable bacterial species, omitted most of the human microbiome. Here, we used explorative shotgun metagenomic sequencing to address the abundance of >300 antibiotic resistance genes in fecal specimens from 35 Swedish students taken before and after exchange programs on the Indian peninsula or in Central Africa. All specimens were additionally cultured for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing enterobacteria, and the isolates obtained were genome sequenced. The overall taxonomic diversity and composition of the gut microbiome remained stable before and after travel, but there was an increasing abundance of Proteobacteria in 25/35 students. The relative abundance of antibiotic resistance genes increased, most prominently for genes encoding resistance to sulfonamide (2.6-fold increase), trimethoprim (7.7-fold), and beta-lactams (2.6-fold). Importantly, the increase observed occurred without any antibiotic intake. Of 18 students visiting the Indian peninsula, 12 acquired ESBL-producing Escherichia coli, while none returning from Africa were positive. Despite deep sequencing efforts, the sensitivity of metagenomics was not sufficient to detect acquisition of the low-abundant genes responsible for the observed ESBL phenotype. In conclusion, metagenomic sequencing of the intestinal microbiome of Swedish students returning from exchange programs in Central Africa or the Indian peninsula showed increased abundance of genes encoding resistance to widely used antibiotics.
Extracting regular mobility patterns from sparse CDR data without a priori assumptions

Abstract In this work we present two methods that can extract habitual movement patterns and reconstruct the underlying movement of users from their call detail records (CDR) in a way that works for users with only moderate numbers of CDRs and that does not make any prior assumptions on the behaviour of the users. The methods allow for a more comprehensive user base in large-scale studies due to the fact that users that might otherwise have to be discarded can also be analysed. The first one is computationally not overly intense and is based on association mining. The second one, which we named DAMOCLES, is based on extracting idiosyncratic daily patterns from clustered daily activities. The methods are evaluated on real data of 140 users over an average of 200 days against benchmarks using assumptions commonly found in the literature such as a work week from Monday to Friday on GPS ground truth. Both methods clearly outperform the benchmarks and for many users retrieve similar regularities. Additionally a simulation study is performed that allows to evaluate the methods in a more controlled environment.
Riding the yield curve: a spanning analysis

The average return on long-term bonds exceeds the return on short-term bills by a large amount over short investment horizons. A riding-the-yield-curve investment strategy takes advantage of the higher returns on longer term bonds. This strategy involves the purchase of bonds with maturities longer than the investment horizon and the sale of these bonds, before they mature, at the end of the investment horizon. Most of the literature that evaluates this strategy compares only ex post average returns or Sharpe ratios. In this paper, we use spanning tests to provide formal statistical evidence on the benefits of investing in long bonds when the investment horizon is short. The results for both the United States and Canada indicate that an investor with a short horizon is better off investing in short-term debt instruments than long-term bonds.
Molecular characterization of Rifr mutations in Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium

Abstract Mutation rate is an important factor affecting the appearance and spread of acquired antibiotic resistance. The frequencies and types of enterococci mutations were determined in this study. The MICs of rifampicin in enterococci and their rifampicin-resistant mutants were determined by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) agar dilution method. The Enterococcus faecalis isolates A15 and 18165 showed no significant differences in mutation frequencies or mutation rates. In Enterococcus faecium, the mutation frequency and mutation rate were both 6·4-fold lower than in E. faecalis. The spectrum of mutations characterized in E. faecium B42 differed significantly from that of E. faecalis. The types and rate of mutations indicated that E. faecalis had a higher potential to develop linezolid resistance. Rifampicin resistance was associated with mutations in the rpoB gene. Rifampicin MICs for the E. faecalis mutant were 2048 mg/l, but rifampicin MICs for E. faecium mutants ranged from 64 to 1024 mg/l.
Perceptual measures of speech from individuals with Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis: intelligibility and beyond.

PURPOSE The primary purpose of this study was to compare percent correct word and sentence intelligibility scores for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease (PD) with scaled estimates of speech severity obtained for a reading passage. METHOD Speech samples for 78 talkers were judged, including 30 speakers with MS, 16 speakers with PD, and 32 healthy control speakers. Fifty-two naive listeners performed forced-choice word identification, sentence transcription, or visual analog scaling of speech severity for the Grandfather Passage (Duffy, 2005). Three expert listeners also scaled speech severity for the Grandfather Passage. RESULTS Percent correct word and sentence intelligibility scores did not cleanly differentiate speakers with MS, PD, or control speakers. In contrast, both naive and expert listener groups judged reading passages produced by speakers with MS and PD to be more severely impaired than reading passages produced by control talkers. CONCLUSION Scaled estimates of speech severity appear to be sensitive to aspects of speech impairment in MS and PD not captured by word or sentence intelligibility scores. One implication is that scaled estimates of speech severity might prove useful for documenting speech changes related to disease progression or even treatment for individuals with MS and PD with minimal reduction in intelligibility.
Structural principles of leucine‐rich repeat (LRR) proteins

LRR‐containing proteins are present in over 2000 proteins from viruses to eukaryotes. Most LRRs are 20–30 amino acids long, and the repeat number ranges from 2 to 42. The known structures of 14 LRR proteins, each containing 4–17 repeats, have revealed that the LRR domains fold into a horseshoe (or arc) shape with a parallel β‐sheet on the concave face and with various secondary structures, including α‐helix, 310‐helix, and pII helix on the convex face. We developed simple methods to charactere quantitatively the arc shape of LRR and then applied them to all known LRR proteins. A quantity of 2Rsin(φ/2), in which R and φ are the radii of the LRR arc and the rotation angle about the central axis per repeating unit, respectively, is highly conserved in all the LRR proteins regardless of a large variety of repeat number and the radius of the LRR arc. The radii of the LRR arc with β‐α structural units are smaller than those with β‐310 or β‐pII units. The concave face of the LRR β‐sheet forms a surface analogous to a part of a Möbius strip. Proteins 2004;54:000–000. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.