Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
28 GHz 5G Dual-Polarized End-fire Antenna with Electrically-Small Profile

This paper describes a novel dual-polarized end-fire antenna for millimeter-wave frequencies. The proposed LTCC AiP features a height profile of less than 0.08 λ 0 can be integrated within substrates with relative ease. The antenna consists of a horizontally polarized mesh-grid patch antenna and a vertically polarized folded slot antenna. By changing the state of the DPDT switch, the specific polarization mode can potentially be selected. To verify the proposed dual-polarized antenna, the optimized design is fabricated using multi-layer LTCC technology. The proposed antenna achieves impedance bandwidth of approximately 850 MHz with a center frequency of 28 GHz. The measured gain of the horizontally and vertically polarized antenna is confirmed to feature 3.19 dBi and 2.95 dBi respectively. The co- and cross-polarized radiation intensity difference is more than 10 dB in all directions of interest.
In-plane crushing of a novel sinusoid-curved honeycomb under static and dynamic loadings

Abstract The in-plane crushing response of a novel honeycomb consisting of sinusoid-curved ligaments is comparatively analyzed under quasi-static and dynamic loadings using numerical and theoretical methods. The finite element models for ABAQUS/Explicit are validated against the experimental results obtained from the quasi-static tests on the additively manufactured translational-sinusoid honeycomb (TSH) and symmetrical-sinusoid honeycomb (SSH). Quantitatively, the effect of impact velocity and relative density on the deformation mode is revealed by summarizing the deformation maps of SSH and TSH. It implies that the critical velocities at which the transformation of deformation mode happens are larger for SSH than those for TSH. Cells of TSH prefer to be tightly stacked together due to the chirality-liked configuration, whereas the symmetrical configuration strengthens the buckling resistance of SSH cells and the provisional and full densification states would sequentially experience in the crushing process. Investigation on the crushing performance further revealed that the crushing strength and the energy absorption capacity of SSH are slightly higher than those of TSH. In contrast, the densification strain of TSH is larger than that of SSH for a wide range of impact velocity. Regarding the deformation mechanism of representative units, theoretical models are proposed to evaluate the crushing strength of the sinusoid-curved honeycombs. Good agreement between theoretical predictions and numerical results is obtained under both quasi-static and dynamic loadings. Moreover, the effect of the cell topology on the mechanical performance of sinusoidal-curved honeycomb is discussed.
Relationship between Environmental Pollution, Environmental Regulation and Resident Health in the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River, China: Spatial Effect and Regulating Effect

The Healthy China 2030 Initiative is closely related to the coordinated development between national health, economy, and society. This major move demonstrates China’s active engagement in global health governance and in the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs). Based on Grossman’s health production function, this paper introduces key factors such as environmental pollution and environmental regulation to empirically investigate the regulating effect of environmental regulation, as well as the spatial spillover of environmental pollution and environmental regulation acting on resident health. We examine these effects by using the panel data of 28 cities of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMYRY) between 2009 and 2019. The results show that: (1) Environmental pollution brings a loss to resident health. Among the urban agglomerations, the circum-Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan urban agglomeration (CCZXUA) and the Poyang Lake urban agglomeration (PLUA) have a much lower health effect of environmental pollution than the Wuhan urban agglomeration (WUA). (2) With the growing intensity of environmental regulation, the negative effect of environmental pollution on resident health will gradually decrease. Regionally, the environmental regulation in the CCZXUA has the best effect on residents’ health, followed by the WUA and the PLUA, which have the worst. (3) As a whole, the spatial spillover of environmental regulation and pollution has a significant impact on residents’ health, and the spatial spillover effect between urban agglomerations is stronger than that between cities in each urban agglomeration. The conclusions remain robust with various tests such as replacing control variables, introducing lagged explanatory variables, and considering endogeneity. Based on robust empirical evidence, several specific region policy suggestions, including rolling out proper environmental regulation policies, and establishing a linking mechanism of environmental management, were put forward to improve the environmental pollution state and resident health level of the UAMYRY.
Study on factors affecting audit fees and audit quality through auditors’ perceptions: Evidence from an emerging economy

Audit fees and audit quality have received the attention of stakeholders, clients, audit firms, and third parties. Each subject has its own opinion on determining influencing factors and their relationship. This study aims to investigate the determining factors of audit fees and audit quality in Vietnam. Using random data collection, a questionnaire was created on Google forms and sent to auditors from the 4th quarter of 2020 to the end of the 1st quarter of 2021. 267 valid auditors’ responses in 28 audit firms were used for data analysis. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to determine relationships between observed variables and factors. The measurement model and recommended hypotheses were confirmed by structural equation modeling (SEM) using SPSS 26 and AMOS 26. The study results show that contract types and audit complexity, audit firms’ reputation, size, and risk significantly impact audit fees and audit quality. In addition, the specialization of the audit firms does not have a positive effect on audit quality but on audit fees. The audit tenure has no statistical impact on audit fees and audit quality. Notably, audit fees statistically affected audit quality. Several implications can be applied, such as increasing the firm size, performing the procedures in response to audit risk, separating audit contract types, and determining the complexity of audit projects and specialties.
Empirical Methods for Evaluating Dialog Systems

We examine what purpose a dialog metric serves and then propose empirical methods for evaluating systems that meet that purpose. The methods include a protocol for conducting a wizard-of-oz experiment and a basic set of descriptive statistics for substantiating performance claims using the data collected from the experiment as an ideal benchmark or “gold standard” for comparative judgments. The methods also provide a practical means of optimizing the system through component analysis and cost valuation
Quality and Auditing in TESOL: A Comparative Case Study

The researcher was influenced by best English language teaching standards in England to find TESOL best practices. The study was carried out in three reputable elementary schools where English as a second language was taught. The research was conducted at three prominent primary schools in Birmingham, England, where the majority of the kids were from ethnic minorities. The fieldwork resulted in the refining and validation of an audit that was initially based on literature. Following that, fieldwork was conducted in a developing nation using the same methodology as in the United Kingdom. This step entails conducting a TESOL audit in order to determine the strengths and limitations of TESOL services in Malaysian and international TESOL institutions. This article describes the technique and methods used to build and validate the audit tool, which is particularly useful for codifying and identifying TESOL best practices. The method begins with a brief description of quality and the two types of quality measurements that are employed, benchmarking and auditing. The grounded, iterative approach to the creation and implementation of research instruments was then discussed.
Factors Contributing to the Retention of Senior 4-H Members: From the Youth Perspective

Of the almost six million youth reported as 4-H members in 2014, only 610,161 were listed as students in grades 9–12, compared to 1,941,406 in grades 4–8. This great disparity has been a long-held concern of 4-H professionals. Identifying both barriers to and contributing factors for continued 4-H membership is critical in understanding membership trends. This study employed the theoretical framework of Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to uncover such barriers and contributing factors. Qualitative analysis showed that a desire to terminate 4-H membership during the middle school grades was common, yet perceived behavioral control among 4-H members had the largest impact on whether or not a 4-H member continued involvement. These findings suggest that parents have a large impact on whether a youth continues 4-H membership. Thus, parental education programs related to the importance of 4-H dosage and duration as it relates to positive youth development are key to retaining 4-H members. The researchers conclude with recommendations for putting the findings of this study into action to increase 4-H member retention.
Chronic Hypergravity Induces a Modification of Histone H3 Lysine 27 Trimethylation at TCRβ Locus in Murine Thymocytes

Gravity changes are major stressors encountered during spaceflight that affect the immune system. We previously evidenced that hypergravity exposure during gestation affects the TCRβ repertoire of newborn pups. To identify the mechanisms underlying this observation, we studied post-translational histone modifications. We first showed that among the four studied post-translational histone H3 modifications, only lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) is downregulated in the thymus of mice exposed to 2× g for 21 days. We then asked whether the TCRβ locus chromatin structure is altered by hypergravity exposure. ChIP studies performed on four Vβ segments of the murine double-negative SCIET27 thymic cell line, which corresponds to the last maturation stage before V(D)J recombination, revealed increases in H3K27me3 after 2× g exposure. Finally, we evaluated the implication for the EZH2 methyltransferase in the regulation of the H3K27me3 level at these Vβ segments by treating SCIET27 cells with the GSK126-specific inhibitor. These experiments showed that the downregulation of H3K27me3 contributes to the regulation of the Vβ germline transcript expression that precedes V(D)J recombination. These data show that modifications of H3K27me3 at the TCRβ locus likely contribute to an explanation of why the TCR repertoire is affected by gravity changes and imply, for the first time, EZH2 in the regulation of the TCRβ locus chromatin structure.
Regulation of Neural Circuitry under General Anesthesia: New Methods and Findings

General anesthesia has been widely utilized since the 1840s, but its underlying neural circuits remain to be completely understood. Since both general anesthesia and sleep are reversible losses of consciousness, studies on the neural-circuit mechanisms affected by general anesthesia have mainly focused on the neural nuclei or the pathways known to regulate sleep. Three advanced technologies commonly used in neuroscience, in vivo calcium imaging, chemogenetics, and optogenetics, are used to record and modulate the activity of specific neurons or neural circuits in the brain areas of interest. Recently, they have successfully been used to study the neural nuclei and pathways of general anesthesia. This article reviews these three techniques and their applications in the brain nuclei or pathways affected by general anesthesia, to serve as a reference for further and more accurate exploration of other neural circuits under general anesthesia and to contribute to other research fields in the future.
Acute and Chronic Effects of Fin Amputation on Behavior Performance of Adult Zebrafish in 3D Locomotion Test Assessed with Fractal Dimension and Entropy Analyses and Their Relationship to Fin Regeneration

Simple Summary Fin amputation is a routinely conducted procedure for various experiments, especially in zebrafish. However, no study compares the acute and chronic effects of the amputation of each fin on their behaviors. In addition, although some analgesics have been applied after the fin amputation procedure, the long-term effects of these drugs in have not been evaluated yet. In this study, we found that amputation in the caudal fin resulted in the most pronounced behavior alterations and their behavior was fully recovered before the caudal fin was fully regenerated, indicating that these behavioral changes came from pain elicited from the fin amputation. Finally, while lidocaine treatment could ameliorate the behavioral effects after the amputation procedure, it did not accelerate the behavior recovery process; instead, it caused the fish to display some slight side effects. Abstract The fin is known to play an important role in swimming for many adult fish, including zebrafish. Zebrafish fins consist of paired pectoral and pelvic with unpaired dorsal, anal, and caudal tail fins with specific functions in fish locomotion. However, there was no study comparing the behavior effects caused by the absence of each fin. We amputated each fin of zebrafish and evaluated their behavior performance in the 3D locomotion test using fractal dimension and entropy analyses. Afterward, the behavior recovery after the tail fin amputation was also evaluated, together with the fin regeneration process to study their relationship. Finally, we conducted a further study to confirm whether the observed behavior alterations were from pain elicited by fin amputation procedure or not by using lidocaine, a pain-relieving drug. Amputation in the caudal fin resulted in the most pronounced behavior alterations, especially in their movement complexity. Furthermore, we also found that their behavior was fully recovered before the caudal fin was fully regenerated, indicating that these behavioral changes were not majorly due to a mechanical change in tail length; instead, they may come from pain elicited from the fin amputation, since treatment with lidocaine could ameliorate the behavioral effects after the amputation procedure. However, lidocaine did not accelerate the behavior recovery process; instead, it caused the fishes to display some slight side effects. This study highlights the potential moderate severity of fin amputation in zebrafish and the importance of analgesia usage. However, side effects may occur and need to be considered since fin amputation is routinely conducted for various research, especially genomic screening.
Computational complexity of real valued recursive functions and analog circuits

The theory of analog computation, where the internal states of a computer are continuous rather than discrete, has enjoyed a recent resurgence of interest. Here, we explore recursion theory on the reals, the analog counterpart of recursive function theory. There, the discrete operations, such as primitive recursion or bounded sums and products, are replaced by operations on continuous functions, such as integration or linear integration. We define recursive classes of real valued functions similarly to the classical approach in recursion theory and we study those classes to understand the computational power of operators that map real valued functions into real valued functions. We prove both upper and lower bounds for several continuous-time analog systems, which lie inside the primitive recursive functions and can be, therefore, characterized in terms of standard computational complexity classes. We also propose a theory of analog circuits. We prove upper and lower computational bounds for these circuits, depending on the kind of processing units they contain and on the topology of their underlying graphs. Namely, we show that circuits with units that solve differential equations, simple units that add and multiply functions, and units that sense inequalities in a differentiable way, can compute sets of functions that range from the functions computable in linear space to the primitive recursive functions. Key-words: Analog computation, recursive functions, differential equations, dynamical systems, Grzegorczyk hierarchy, Ritchie hierarchy.
CAMEL Evaluation of the Banks in Bulgaria

The financial stability of banks and the overall banking system is among the most important and at the same time most vulnerable to turmoil sectors of any economy. This is why the object of this study are commercial banks and an assessment of the effects of the restructuring and consolidation of commercial banks in Bulgaria using the CAMEL approach. The aim of the present study is to identify the effects of the restructuring and consolidation of commercial banks in Bulgaria. The study is based on a framework of tools for monitoring the financial stability of the banks operating in Bulgaria and assessing their strengths and weaknesses, including key measures of their capital adequacy, asset quality, management, efficiency and liquidity. The results of the study reveal the main effects of the restructuring and consolidation of commercial banks in Bulgaria. The results of an Ex-post analysis of the financial position of banks and the banking system, which measures their capital adequacy, asset quality, management, efficiency and liquidity since Bulgaria’s accession to the EU reveal a successful integration of European practices to encourage the competition among banks in the country. This ranks Bulgaria amon
Learning Shape: Optimal Models for Analysing Natural Variability

Statistical shape models have wide application in biomedical image analysis – both for image segmentation and morphometry. This thesis addresses an important issue in shape modelling, that of establishing correspondence between a set of shapes. Current methods involve either manual annotation of the data (the current ‘gold standard’) or establishing correspondences in an essentially arbitrary manner. The thesis establishes a principled framework for establishing correspondences completely automatically by treating this as part of the learning process. Ideas from information theory are used to develop an objective function that measures the utility of a model, based on the minimum description length principle. Model-building can then be posed as the problem of finding the set of correspondences that optimise the objective function. Efficientmethods are presented for manipulating correspondences via re-parameterisation and for optimising the objective function. Practical results are presented for both 2D and 3D training sets of shapes from medical images. A quantitative evaluation shows that the resulting models have better compactness, generalisation ability and specificity than those obtained using existing methods. A 3D model is used in a practical application to explore the possibility of using 3Dmagnetic resonance images to detect differences in shape between the hippocampi of schizophrenic patients and normal controls. A more significant effect is demonstrated using the newmethod than that obtained using the best previous approach.
Immigration, ethnic fractionalization, and the fiscal burden in the OECD

This study considers the impact of immigration and ethnic diversity on government spending in 31 OECD countries over 25 years and compares the marginal effects for expenditures and revenues to approximate the fiscal burden. Results suggest that ethnic fractionalization, not immigration itself, has a negative impact on spending in the OECD. On the whole, immigrants tend to contribute more in taxes than they cause in expenditures, at least relative to the averages for the population as a whole, but this effect is reversed for immigrants from poorer countries.
A Fast PARAFAC Algorithm for Parameter Estimation in Monostatic FDA-MIMO Radar

This paper studies the joint range and angle estimation of monostatic frequency diverse array multiple-input multiple-output (FDA-MIMO) radar and proposes a joint estimation algorithm. First, the transmit direction matrix is converted into real values by unitary transformation, and the Vandermonde-like matrix structure is used to construct an augmented output that doubles the aperture of the receive array. Then the augmented output is combined into a third-order tensor. Next, the factor matrices are initially estimated. Finally, the direction matrices are estimated utilizing parallel factor (PARAFAC) decomposition, and the range and angle are calculated by employing least square fitting. As contrasted with the classic PARAFAC method, the proposed method can estimate more targets and provide better estimation performance, and requires less computational complexity. The availability and excellence of the proposed method are reflected by numerical simulations and complexity analysis.
Molecular Identification and Analysis on Differential Pathogenicity of Cylindrocarpon Species Associated With Ginseng Root Rust Rot in Northeastern China

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer is one of the most important medicinal herbs in China. It is known for its high medicinal value and economic value. The ginseng root rust rot (RRR) has always been one of the important diseases troubling the ginseng industry. The yield reduction rate of RRR is ~30%. To understand why the Cylindrocarpon species bring about the ginseng RRR in Northeastern China, this study isolates 45 strains from samples collected in Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang provinces. The rDNA-internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence was analyzed to identify the pathogenic species. The morphological characteristics of colonies and conidia of each strain on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium were observed, and the pathogenicity difference between different pathogenic species was analyzed by pricking method and determining the cell wall degrading enzyme activity. The BLAST alignment analysis shows that the homology of rDNA-ITS between 45 strains and Cylindrocarpon is more than 99%, among which 28 are identified as Cylindrocarpon destructans, three are identified as C. destructans var. destructans, and 14 are identified as Ilyonectria robusta. The colony diameters of all 45 isolated range from 4.21 ± 0.16a to 7.78 ± 0.25c cm after several days of incubation. Among all the species, I. robusta has the fastest growth rate, and C. destructans var. destructans has the slowest growth rate. Pathogenicity test results show that the pathogenicity of C. destructans var. destructans is the strongest, followed by C. destructans. I. robusta has relatively weak pathogenicity.
Observations and Parametrization of the Turbulent Energy Dissipation Beneath Non-Breaking Waves

Here, for non-breaking short surface waves, we have experimentally determined the value of the turbulent eddy viscosity νT or its ratio νT*≡νT/ν, where ν is the water kinematic viscosity. The non-breaking wave-generated turbulent eddy viscosity νT was found to depend on the ratio of the wave period, T, to the microscale Kolmogorov time scale, τη. Our observations were consistent with νT*=1.46·(T/τη)−2.6 when (T/τη)<0.9. That implied that the νT*∝ϵ−1.3, where ϵ is the background turbulent energy dissipation rate. The near-surface turbulent flow associated with non-breaking waves was characterized by a short inertial subrange. The background turbulence appears to modulate the amount of energy the non-breaking waves dissipate locally and, consequently, the wave’s decay rate. Our results imply that the background turbulent flow acts as a lubricant, permitting waves to propagate further when traveling over a more energetic turbulent background flow. Our results have implications for the modeling of oceanic wave propagation or the air–sea exchange processes.