Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the figures of merit of graphene-based adiabatic Pass-XNOR Logic (PXL) circuits

In this work we quantify the figures of merit of p-n junction based adiabatic graphene circuits implemented through a new logic design style, the Adiabatic Pass-XNOR Logic style (Adiabatic-PXL). First we show how graphene p-n junctions naturally implement transmission gates with embedded XNOR functionality (the Pass-XNOR gate); second, we present a dedicated logic synthesis flow for integrating those gates into adiabatic logic circuits with ultra low-power features. Simulation results have shown that Adiabatic-PXL circuits are 4.2X to 5.5X more energy efficient than non-adiabatic counterparts, still with significant amount of area savings (67% less devices on average).
Internet Adoption and Firm Exports in Developing Countries

This paper investigates the effect of Internet technology on how firms access export markets directly or via intermediaries. Empirical evidence suggests that technology diffusion is geographically localised, with knowledge spillovers from neighbouring adopters decaying quickly over short distances. To address the potential endogeneity of Internet adoption, I construct an instrument that captures these local spillover effects, using the real-world locations of IP addresses to measure the number of Internet connections in the firm’s neighbourhood. Using a cross-section of firms in 18 developing countries I find that Internet access magnifies direct trade with no discernible effect on intermediated trade. Adopting the Internet because of local knowledge spillovers increases direct exports as a proportion of firm sales by 32-36%. The analysis is robust to consideration of a wide range of potentially omitted variables. JEL classification: F12; F14; D22; L22; O33
Can intravenous steroid administration reduce postoperative pain scores following total knee arthroplasty?

Background: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was to evaluate whether intravenous steroids would result in reduced acute pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) among patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: Electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, were searched to identify articles published from database inception to July 2016. RCTs that compared the effects of intravenous steroids with the effects of placebo among patients undergoing TKA were included in this meta-analysis. The primary outcomes were visual analogue scale (VAS) scores after 12, 24, and 48 hours of rest and PONV incidence. The secondary outcomes were blood glucose levels and incidence of infection. We calculated the risk ratio (RR) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for dichotomous outcomes and the mean difference (MD) with its corresponding 95% CI for continuous outcomes. Results: Seven clinical trials involving 434 patients were included in the final meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated that intravenous steroids were associated with decreased VAS scores after 24 hours (MD = −10.21, 95%CI = −18.80 to −1.63, P = .020) and 48 hours (MD = −2.60, 95%CI = −4.70 to −0.50, P = .015) of rest. Moreover, intravenous steroids were also associated with decreased risk of nausea (RR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.44–0.77, P = .000) and vomiting (RR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.24–0.88, P = .019). However, intravenous steroids were also associated with increased blood glucose levels. No significant difference in the risk of infection was identified between the 2 groups. Conclusion: Intravenous steroids may be associated with decreased pain intensity and decreased risk of nausea and vomiting during the early period following TKA. However, evidence supporting its use is limited by the low quality of and variations in dosing regimens between the included RCTs. Thus, more high-quality RCTs are needed to identify the optimal drug administration intervals for maximal pain control.
Spatial Distribution of Biochemical Parameters Indicating Biomass and Community Composition of Microbial Assemblies In Estuarine Mud Flat Sediments

The spatial distribution of communities was examined in estuarine mud flat sediments by the biochemical analysis of the lipids and lipid components extracted from the sediments. Total phospholipid was used as a measure of total biomass, and fatty acids were used as indicators of community composition. Comparisons were made among 2- by 2-m (location) and 0.2- by 0.2-m (cluster) sampling plots by using a nested analysis of variance to design an optimal sampling strategy to define the microbial content of a large, relatively homogenous area. At two of the three stations, a 2- by 2-m plot was representative of the station, but 0.2- by 0.2-m areas were in no case representative of the station. The biomass measured by the extractable phospholipid and the total lipid palmitic acid showed excellent correlation with the fatty acid “signatures” characteristic of bacteria, but showed a lower correlation with the long-chain polyenoic fatty acids characteristic of the microfauna.
Immunosuppression by hydroxystilbamidine isethionate, a lysosome-stabilizing, anti-proteolytic, antifungal drug

Hydroxystilbamidine (HSB) is a potent suppressor of the plaque-forming cell response of mice injected with heterologous erythrocytes. HSB, given in varying doses and injection schedules, suppressed both the primary and secondary immune responses to bovine serum albumin. Apparently the effect is not simply a toxic effect on spleen cells, because there was no appreciable difference in cell numbers between control and HSB-treated mice. The effect of HSB was most apparent in the early phase of the immune respone.
The green eProcurement infrastructure in the Indonesian public sector: Its antecedents and impacts on the triple bottom line

This study aims to identify the factors that affect the implementation process of the eProcurement infrastructure in the Indonesian public sector, and its impacts. The concept of green information systems (IS) decision-making and the concept of the triple bottom line of sustainability were used as lenses. The notion of green IS was extended by incorporating the concept of sustainability. Using an interpretive stance, the study found that legal, technological, and managerial factors affected the implementation of the green infrastructure. The impacts of the green II was well captured by the concepts of the triple bottom line of sustainability: planet (such as reduced use of paper, and less frequent trips/less CO2 emission), people (such as a more transparent procurement process and the inclusion of small- and medium-sized enterprises), and profit (such as cost reduction and faster procurement processes).
Wireless multicarrier digital transmission via weyl-heisenberg frames over time-frequency dispersive channels

The issue of multicarrier transmission with high spectral efficiency and low interference over time-frequency (TF) dispersive channels is addressed in this paper. Specifically, we propose a digital signal transmission scheme employing overcomplete Weyl-Heisenberg (W-H) frames as modulation pulses. The proposed W-H frame transmission scheme, which relaxes the conventional orthogonality/biorthogonality constraints for perfect transmultiplexing, can be viewed as a generalization of the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and nonorthogonal (biorthogonal) frequency division multiplexing (NOFDM). With this new transmission scheme, one can not only achieve higher spectral efficiency effectively but also design the pulse shape more flexibly to combat the impact of the propagation channel. In order to optimally mitigate the intersymbol interference (ISI) and interchannel interference (ICI) caused by the wireless channel, the selections of the Gaussian pulse shape and T-F grid parameters are addressed jointly from the viewpoint of minimum energy perturbation for several typical channel scattering functions. Simulation results are presented to study the performance of the proposed system. It is shown that the proposed overcomplete W-H frame transmission system with a lower-order constellation is more robust against the TF dispersive channels than the incomplete Riesz basis system employing a higher-order constellation with the same spectral efficiency.
The neural activation in human brain for object perception in wide field

The present study examined the coding of retinal eccentricity spatial position in object selective cortex. Using a wide-view (about 120°) visual presentation system developed for vision research and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the subject were presented with object, which were presented at a range of viewpoints in 6 level of eccentricity degree. We investigated the BLOD response to stimuli in two regions in the ventral visual cortex (V1) and Lateral Occipital Complex (LOC). The analysis further revealed the weaker BLOD response in the bigger eccentricity in both V1 and LOC areas. However, the activation to objects were quiet different in the cortex region. The V1 areas had flatter decreasing response as eccentricity increasing. However, V1 had bigger response in 11° eccentricity. And the LOC areas had neural activities decreasing sharply as eccentricity increasing. The result suggests reflected the neural response character influenced by eccentricity and stimuli cartage.
High permeability dialysis membrane allows effective removal of myoglobin in acute kidney injury resulting from rhabdomyolysis

Objective:The objective of this study was to test the ability of myoglobin removal of a novel, high-permeability polysulphone dialyzer in acute kidney injury as a result of rhabdomyolysis. Setting:Intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital. Patients:Six patients (one female; aged 24, 36, 41, 55, 63, and 65 yrs) with oligoanuric acute kidney injury resulting from rhabdomyolysis. Interventions:Extended dialysis was performed using a single-pass batch dialysis system and a novel polysulphone high-flux dialyzer (effective surface area 1.8 m2; inner lumen 220 &mgr;m; wall thickness 35 &mgr;m; allowing elimination of substances with a molecular weight of up to 30 kDa). Measurements and Main Results:Samples were collected at prefilter and postfilter sites as well as from the collected spent dialysate. The dialyzer clearance was calculated from concentrations before and directly after the dialysis membrane, the blood flow, and the ultrafiltration rate. The total amount of the myoglobin removed was measured directly as the whole dialysate was preserved. A median myoglobin clearance of 90.5 mL/min (range, 52.4–126.3 mL/min) was achieved, resulting in a median myoglobin removal per treatment hour of 0.54 g (range, 0.15–2.21 g). Conclusions:Extended dialysis with a high-flux, high-permeability membrane allowed effective elimination of myoglobin with a clearance of myoglobin that surpassed all previously reported dialysis techniques. This membrane may be advantageous in preventing acute kidney injury or avoiding complete loss of kidney function in patients with rhabdomyolysis. Further studies are needed to determine whether improving renal recovery or mortality in patients with acute kidney injury resulting from rhabdomyolysis is possible.
Auditability of Software: A Survey of Techniques and Costs

Numerous techniques have been identified to assist EDP auditors in accomplishing audit objectives. Within this realm a major issue of interest is identifying methodologies to monitor the reliability and integrity of production software. This article presents a number of available techniques to audit software, and evaluates each on the basis of development cost, operational cost, appropriate timing of usage and effectiveness.
The Coal Fire Land Surface Temperature Abnormal Information Extraction from ASTER Satellite Image: Take Yangxia Coal Fire Area in Luntai County, Xinjiang, China as an Example

In order to detect the land surface temperature abnormal area caused by the under ground coal fire, we used the thermal infrared remote sensing method. On the basis of discussing the way to inversion land surface temperature from ASTER satellite image, we get the land surface temperature image from the ASTER thermal infrared band. Then make threshold segmentation to get the thermal abnormal information caused by the coal fire and compared with the coal fire distribution map get by in situ measurement. The experimentation result shows that the temperature abnormal area extracting from the ASTER thermal infrared band have a good corresponding relationship with the coal fire distribution getting from on the spot measurement. This provides the technical support to detect coal fire area from the satellite thermal infrared remote sensing. The author also put forward a set of technical workflow to extract coal fire temperature abnormal information form satellite thermal infrared data based on the ENVI remote sensing image processing software.
Experimental verification of single-phase PLL with novel two-phase generator for grid-connected converters

For proper work of grid-connected converters it is important to have accurate detection of phase angle, frequency and amplitude of grid voltage. Estimation of these grid parameters can be achieved using PLL (phase locked loop) based on SRF (synchronous reference frame) theory. This PLL should have robustness against noise and offset introduced by measurement and data conversion. This paper proposes an improved PLL algorithm that has excellent noise and offset rejection property. The main part of proposed PLL is a novel two-phase generator which is used to obtain two quadrature signals for SRF block and PI regulator in closed control loop. Performances of proposed PLL are verified through experimental results given in this paper.
DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF LIQUID CRYSTAL FILM IN A SLIDE BEARING UNDER ELECTRIC FIELD

This paper describes the viscosity variation of a liquid crystal under electric field, and its application to a controllable sliding bearing. Liquid crystal is known as a homogeneous organic liquid characterized by the long-range order of its molecular orientation. When an electric field is applied to a liquid crystal film as lubricant, the orientational order of molecules become parallel to the applied field, whch causes apparent viscosity variation. In this paper, a controllable slinding bearing system was constructed and its dynamic characteristics were studied. When step load or sinusoidal load was applied to the bearing pad, the film thickness was successfully controlled by a conventional PID controller. The response frequency was also studied in the experiment.
Analytical Interpretation and Quantification of Rotational Losses in Stator Cores of Induction Motors

We propose an approach to allocate and delimit a region in which the rotational losses are of most importance in the stator core of induction motors. The delimitation is based on the analysis of points at which the minimum flux density is not null. The analysis of flux paths and values of flux density over a number of motors allows a model of flux density to be proposed for the chosen rotational region. We conducted the process by post-processing finite-element results. A comparison with bench test results shows that the approach can confine the effects of rotational losses within a region allocated in the tooth roots without significant loss of accuracy. We give analytical expressions based on geometrical data. The approach provides a quick method to evaluate the rotational losses by analytical means, bypassing the use of numerical methods at those design stages at which is preferable to reduce the accuracy in favor of computational speed.
Throwing Light on Dark Energy

Supernova observations show that the expansion of the universe has been speeding up. This unexpected acceleration is ascribed to a dark energy that pervades space. Supernova data, combined with other observations, indicate that the universe is about 14 billion years old and is composed of about 30%matter and 70%dark energy. New observational programs can trace the history of cosmic expansion more precisely and over a larger span of time than has been done to date to learn whether the dark energy is a modern version of Einstein's cosmological constant or another form of dark energy that changes with time. Either conclusion is an enigma that points to gaps in our fundamental understanding of gravity.
Factors Influencing Physical Activity Behaviors in Colorectal Cancer Survivors

Purpose. To elucidate factors that impact intention (INT) to be active as well as actual physical activity (PA) behavior in colorectal cancer survivors (CRC-S) using the theory of planned behavior (TpB). Planning for PA was explored as a mediator of the INT-behavior relationship. Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and fatigue were also explored. Design. A cross-sectional quantitative mailed survey was used. Setting. The study was conducted among community-dwelling adults living in Pennsylvania when diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC). Subjects. Subjects comprised 843 CRC-S diagnosed with CRC in Pennsylvania in 2009. Measures. The survey included questions about planning for PA, TpB constructs, medical and social variables, and PA as measured by a modified Godin Leisure Time Questionnaire. Analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. A mediation analysis was used to determine if planning mediated the relationship between INT and actual PA behavior. A stepwise regression was used to determine predictors of INT and PA. Results. Ninety-six CRC-S responded, with 25% meeting PA recommendations for health promotion, suggesting that CRC-S are insufficiently active. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) and social norm (SN) accounted for 43% of the variance in INT, whereas 30% of the variance in PA was explained by PBC and age. Neuropathy negatively impacted PA behavior (p = .008). Both action and coping planning partially mediated the INT-behavior relationship (β = 20.08, p = .007; β = 22.85, p = .001, respectively). Conclusion. Survivors at risk for inactivity are those with low PBC, low SN, and neuropathy, and those who are older.
Isolation of DNA fragments from polyacrylamide gels by the crush and soak method.

The standard method to recover fragments of DNA from polyacrylamide gels is the "crush and soak" technique. The eluted DNA is generally free of contaminants that inhibit enzymes or that are toxic to transfected or microinjected cells. The method requires time but little labor and results in recovery of <30%-90%, depending on the size of the DNA fragment. It can be used to isolate both double-stranded and single-stranded DNAs from neutral and denaturing polyacrylamide gels, respectively. The method is widely used to isolate synthetic oligonucleotides from denaturing polyacrylamide gels. DNA recovered from polyacrylamide gels by crushing and soaking is generally suitable for use as a hybridization probe, as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer, and as a substrate in enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
Towards an Ontology to Identify Barriers to Physical Activityfor Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most serious chronic diseases which can be managed by medication and lifestyle changes. Regular physical activity is an example of lifestyle modification that can help in managing and preventing complications of the disease. However, a number of barriers to physical activity of different origin and type (e.g. health, personal, and psychological barriers) can prevent patients from achieving their goals. Various studies have attempted to categories the different barriers, but there is no unified model representing the different barriers and the possible interactions between them and the patient's activities. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model to identify and classify the barriers to physical activity for type 2 diabetes that is intended lay the foundations for the development of an ontology, i.e. a formal model of barriers and their relationships with diseases and patient's activities. The proposed model relies on identifying and classifying the barriers to physical activity according to their signs or factors, and reuses existing formal models of diabetes and other open source specialised resources.
Shilling Attack Detection - A New Approach for a Trustworthy Recommender System

Recommender systems rely on the opinions of many users to predict the preferences of potential customers. These systems have been broadly used to make quality recommendations to increase sales. However, recommender systems are vulnerable to even small data inputs of malicious information. Inappropriate products can be offered to users by injecting a few unscrupulous “shilling” profiles into the recommender system. This research proposes to identify a cluster of profiles by focusing on “filler” ratings. We examine a number of properties of such profiles, followed by empirical evidence and detailed analysis of various characteristics of the shilling attacks. We then propose a hybrid two-phase procedure for shilling attack detection. First, a multidimensional scaling approach is adopted to identify distinct behaviors that help to detect and secure the recommendation activities. Clustering-based methods are subsequently proposed to discriminate attack users. Experimental studies are conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
RESTORAN HİZMETLERİNDE MÜŞTERİ ŞİKÂYET DAVRANIŞLARI: SİVAS İLİNDE BİR UYGULAMA

Bu calisma Sivas ilinde verilen restoran hizmetlerindeki musteri sikayet davranislarini incelemektedir. Calismanin ana amaclari arasinda musterinin sikâyet davranislariyla yas, cinsiyet ve egitim durumlari gibi demografik ozellikleri arasindaki iliskileri ortaya koymak ve soz konusu iliskilerle baglantili sikâyet konularini vurgulamak bulunmaktadir. Arastirma 110 restoran musterisi uzerinde yapilmistir. Arastirma sonuclarina gore, musterilerin cogu restorana bir daha gitmemek ve agizdan agiza olumsuz iletisim gibi sikâyet davranislari gostermislerdir. Gerceklesmis musteri sikâyeti literaturdeki orneklerine gore daha azdir. Diger bir ifadeyle musterilerin restoran yoneticileriyle memnuniyetsizlik konusundaki iletisimleri pasiftir. Yoneticiler arastirma sonuclari isiginda sikâyet stratejilerini gozden gecirmeli ve mevcut musteri geri donus sistemini gelistirmelidir.
ADHD and Mental Health Status in Brazilian School-Age Children

Objective: To assess the prevalence of ADHD, mental health status, and risk factors in a sample of Brazilian children. Method: Target sample consisted of all children from 5 to 13 years registered in the public elementary school. Children with ADHD were compared with those without ADHD for sociodemographic, risk factors, and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) symptom dimensions. Multivariate models estimated determinants of ADHD diagnosis. Results: Of the target sample, consents and complete information were obtained from 1,830 children (91.8%). The prevalence rate of ADHD was 5.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [4.2, 6.2]). In contrast to controls, children with ADHD presented higher levels of symptoms in the CBCL dimensions. In multivariate analyses, the diagnosis of ADHD was significantly influenced by maternal educational status (p = .019), income class (p = .012), and prenatal exposure to tobacco (p = .032). Conclusion: Prevalence and demographic features of ADHD in Brazil are similar to what has been reported worldwide.