Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Microwave Approach for High Frequency MOS Analog Designers

o Today analog products reach X and upper bands and integrated-circuit designers face new typical radio- frequency problems, especially when considering passive com- ponents. This paper choose to focus on inductor design and lay- out. After studying different kinds of layout, it is pointed out that the classical integrated solution cannot always meets cir- cuit requirements and industrial constraints. Discussion about the alternative hyper frequency choice is done and a design o w method is provided.
A case study for NASCAR driver sponsors: Making greatest use of the character traits fans like and dislike in a driver

The use of celebrities and athletes as product endorsers has long been the subject of examination by advertising and marketing professionals. The popularity of NASCAR in today’s culture has broadened the scope of celebrity athletes to include NASCAR drivers. As marketing and advertising ties to drivers increase, an analysis of the opportunities that exist for sponsors to develop a meaningful promotional campaign that produces the right mix of product and celebrity endorser becomes increasingly important. This case paper reviews the results of an exploratory study which examined the various characteristics fans associate with some of the top NASCAR drivers. The purpose is to investigate more closely the characteristics fans like – and even dislike—in their favorite drivers. The paper offers benefits to marketing and sponsorship practitioners looking to identify the personality traits which may help create the synergy between product and endorser in the development of persuasive promotional campaigns.
Learning Assessment of Accuracy of Learning between Musicians and Nonmusicians

The relationship between music and brain physiological changes have been explored extensively (Fields, 2011; François, Grau-Sánchez, Duarte, & Rodriguez-Fornells, 2015). Research has identified how music has played a positive role in recovery from traumatic brain injury (Baker, Wigram, & Gold, 2005; Francois, & Schon, 2011), learning different languages (Creech 2008), and refining skills (Creech 2008). However, there has been a lack of research regarding the relationship between music and the accuracy of learning. In this study, we have performed an assessment of learning comparing five college-age musicians and five college-age nonmusicians. We did not find a significant difference between groups, perhaps due to the small sample size, the lack of specificity in type of instrumentation, or specific musical experience characteristics. Results are discussed with regard to the literature on musical training, sight reading ability, instrument specific literature and learning ability.
Evaluation of Compaction Index to Achieve Sustainable Urban Development Using AHP: Two Case Studies

The search for an ideal city, which can express both technological advantages and healthy spirit of rural life based on enlightening ideas of social justice, has long been the major concern of most philosophers, social reformers, writers, architects and urban planners. Urban form is known as a source of environmental problems. The emergence of "sustainable development" as a common term has raised many discussions on urban forms. Different types of urban forms (corridor, compact, marginal and edge) have been evaluated for sustainable urban development. It is revealed that compact city is more sustainable than other forms. There is disagreement on potential effects of compaction. Using archival studies, surveys and questionnaires, the author evaluates the environmental sustainability of Yousefabad as a dense neighborhood, compared to Garnet Hill, by AHP to prove that compaction alone cannot bring the expected advantages. To achieve advantages of compaction in urban design, the author emphasizes that four basic criteria of compact city, density, sustainable transportation, mixed land-use and diversity, should be interrelated.
HYBRID MODEL FOR THE COUPLING OF AN ASYMPTOTIC PRESERVING SCHEME WITH THE ASYMPTOTIC LIMIT MODEL: THE ONE DIMENSIONAL CASE.

In this paper a strategy is investigated for the spatial coupling of an asymptotic preserving scheme with the asymptotic limit model, associated to a singularly perturbed, highly anisotropic, ellip-tic problem. This coupling strategy appears to be very advantageous as compared with the numerical discretization of the initial singular perturbation model or the purely asymptotic preserving scheme introduced in previous works [3, 5]. The model problem addressed in this paper is well suited for the simulation of a plasma in the presence of a magnetic field, whose intensity may vary considerably within the simulation domain.
Distribution of Heavy Metals in Water and Sediment along Abonnema Shoreline, Nigeria

The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb in water and sediment collected along Abonnema shoreline were determined using GBC Avanta flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer version 2.02. The metal concentrations in water ranged from 0.05). The shoreline was considered critically contaminated as the concentrations of Cr, Zn and Cu exceeded permissible limits set by Rivers State ministry of environment, Federal Envi- ronmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization and therefore pose serious environmental concern. Low pH, high commercial activities, wastes, tidal and wave actions influenced the concentrations of metals in the area. Regular monitoring and evaluation of the water, sediment and sea foods were recommended.
Semiparametric Marginal Models for Binary Longitudinal Data

In this paper, we propose and explore a semiparametric approach to analyzing longitudinal binary data often observed in clinical studies. We applied second-order GEE approach to analyze longitudinal binary responses based on a partially linear single-index model. We use a local polynomial smoothing technique to estimate the single-index. We study the empirical properties of the proposed estimators using simulations. The empirical results demonstrate that if the true underlying model is partially linear, then our proposed method generally provides unbiased and efficient estimators. The proposed method is also applied to some real data sets obtained from longitudinal studies.
A super frequency-shifter: enhancing the capabilities of acousto-optic modulators

[ANGLES] We put forward a new scheme to enhance the capabilities of currently available acousto-optic frequency shifters (AOFS) by making use of the idea of weak value amplification. The key result of our approach is that the spectrum of a pulse of light can be shifted in frequency by an amount considerable larger that the original AOFS can in principle allow. For instance, a pulse with central wavelength at 1550 nm (193.5 THz), and pulse duration of 0.5 ps, can be shifted in frequency by more than 50 GHz (0.4 nm), by making use of just a 100 MHz AOFS in a single pass configuration. More remarkably, by using a similar configuration, and replacing the AOFS by a delay line, a frequency shift can also be obtained, even without making use of any frequency shifter.
Economic Valuation Models for Insurers

Recently much attention has been given to the approaches insurers undertake in valuing their liabilities and assets. For example, in 1994 the American Academy of Actuaries created a Fair Valuation of Liabilities Task Force to address the issue. In 1997, the Academy established a Valuation Law Task Force and a Valuation Tools Working Group to investigate the various valuation approaches extant and to make recommendations on which models are best suited to the task. Much of the published work has focused on attributes of the various models, their strengths and shortcomings. Some of the work has addressed the larger questions, but in our view, it is useful and necessary to provide a taxonomy of approaches and evaluate them in a systematic way in accordance with how well they achieve their aims. In this paper we focus primarily on the economic valuation of insurance liabilities, although we do address some valuation issues for assets. We begin in Section I by defining insurance liabilities. Next, in Section II, we discuss the criteria for a good economic valuation model. This is followed by a taxonomy of valuation models in Section III. In Section IV, we examine insurance liabilities in the context of this taxonomy and identify the minimum requirements of an economic valuation approach that purports to value them adequately. An illustration of the application of a modern valuation model is given in Section V. We conclude in Section VI by discussing some limitations of our analysis, and offer some recommendations for implementation.
PCA Encrypted Short Acoustic Data Inculcated in Digital Color Images

We propose develop a generalized algorithm for hiding audio signal using image steganography. The authors suggest transmitting short audio messages camouflaged in digital images using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as an encryption technique. The quantum of principal components required to represent the audio signal by removing the redundancies is a measure of the magnitude of the Eigen values. The aforementioned technique follows a dual task of encryption and in turn also compresses the audio data, sufficient enough to be buried in the image. A 57Kb audio signal is decipher from the Stego image with a high PSNR of 47.49 and a correspondingly low mse of 3.3266 × 10􀀀^(-6) with an equalized high quality audio output. The consistent and comparable experimental results on application of the proposed method across a series of images demonstrate that PCA based encryption can be adapted as an universal rule for a specific payload and the desired compression ratio.
The Use of Capital Budgeting Techniques in Businesses: A Perspective from the Western Cape

Capital budgeting is one of the most important areas of financial management. There are several techniques commonly used to evaluate capital budgeting projects namely the payback period, accounting rate of return, present value and internal rate of return and profitability index. Recent studies highlight that financial managers worldwide favor methods such as the internal rate of return (IRR) or non-discounted payback period (PP) models over the net present value (NPV), which is the model academics consider superior. In particular this research focused on small, medium and large businesses and investigated a number of variables and associations relating to capital budgeting practices in businesses in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The results revealed that payback period, followed by net present value, appears to be the most used method across the different sizes and sectors of business. It was also found that 64% of businesses surveyed used only one technique, while 32% of the respondents used between two to three different types of techniques to evaluate capital budgeting decisions. The findings show that the more complicated methods such as IRR and NPV are most favored by the large businesses as compared to the small businesses. The majority of the respondents believed that project definition was the most important stage in the capital budgeting process. Implementation stage appeared to be the most difficult stage for the manufacturing sector whereas Project definition, Analysis and selection and Implementation were generally rated as being the difficult stages by the retail sector. Project definition and Analysis and selection were found to be the most difficult stages by the service sector. Most businesses used the cost of bank loan as a basis in capital budgeting and more than two thirds of respondents used non-quantitative techniques to consider risk when making a decision on investing in fixed assets.
Diffusion of unethical actions of Brazilian political parties and reactions of Facebook users

Through interactivity, community formation and ideological influence, social media have become a unique space for political participation. Thus, this article aims to analyze the relationship between the dissemination of information about unethical policy on social media and the reactions of their users. Through category analysis and descriptive statistics were analyzed 2,517 comments in 57 posts of five Brazilian political parties with the largest number of followers on Facebook. The results indicate the existence of five post categories and 20 post subcategories of political parties. The comments showed three important elements: ideological reasons, aggression and mood. It was observed that there is no reciprocity in the interaction between political parties and users and that the use of Facebook is just a tool used for sending messages.
Regional governance and regional development: Implications of the Action Programme for Effective Local Government

Abstract Since the 1980s, regional development policy in advanced economies has emphasised the promotion of endogenous development potentials within regions, with local/regional government playing a leading role in the creation of effective governance structures for mobilising these potentials. A key feature of this approach is the adoption of the city-region as the organising unit for pursuing local/regional development. Ireland has not followed this lead, continuing to rely on external investment as the main engine of economic growth and failing to devolve highly centralised functions which could give local/regional government a more effective developmental role. This article argues that the 2012 Action Programme for Effective Local Government proposes a regional structure which is meaningless in terms of city-region development and fails to address the governance weaknesses which inhibit development at the regional and local levels. The action programme therefore ignores international best practice regarding how effective regional development should be pursued.
PCR detection of Coxiella burnetii in fetal abomasal contents of ruminants.

This study was carried out on abomasal contents of aborted fetuses of 102 cattles, 45 sheep and 5 goats sent to the laboratory from Central Anatolia, and Black Sea Region of Turkey to investigate the presence Coxiella burnetii (C. burnetii) by trans-PCR. Out of 152 abomasal contents, 11 (7.23%) were detected to contain C. burnetii DNA. Four (3.92%) out of 102 cattle, 5 (11.11%) out of 45 sheep, and 2 (40%) out of 5 goat abomasal contents harbored C. burnetii DNA. As a result, PCR detection of C. burnetii DNA in fetal abomasum contents is a significant finding of a possible C. burnetii related abortion.
Management Learning and the Greening of SMEs: Moving beyond Problem-Solving

Win-win and eco-efficiency approaches to environmental management that focus on cost benefits from environmental improvement in business have been widely promoted in recent years. However they have been criticized because they are of limited appeal to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and because they do not promote a broader programme of learning and change. Based on qualitative interviews with SMEs in the UK that have participated in a resource efficiency project, the paper aims to identify the conditions under which management learning is occurring, that triggers a process of on—going environmental improvement. The main indicators of management learning identified that lead to a process of learning and change were: cognitive and behaviour change; an approach that went beyond problem-solving; a culture of leadership and participation; a discontinuity that made resource efficiency a priority; a networked, open-minded leader.
Reactivity of 1-Isothiocyanato Six MemberedSilatrane towards Lewis Acids

This manuscript deal with the reaction of the 1-Isothiocyanato six membered silatrane with different Lewis acids. The adducts 1, 2, 3 and 4 so formed were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, 1H, 13C, 29Si NMR spectroscopy. η1-S and η1-N bonding pattern were observed the coordination modes of the isothiocyanato group
Combined Effects of Temperature and Reynolds Number on Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Cationic Surfactant Solution

The heat transfer characteristics of a dilute cationic surfactant solution, CTAC/NaSal aqueous solution, were experimentally investigated in a fully developed two-dimensional water channel flow at different temperatures ranging from 15°C to 60°C and at different mass concentrations, namely, 75, 100, and 200 ppm. The magnitudes of the maximum achievable heat transfer reduction (HTR) at the above three different surfactant concentrations are all about 90%. The cationic surfactant solution showed a great heat transfer reduction phenomenon, which was greatly affected by concentration, temperature, and Reynolds number. It was supposed that temperature and shear stress are two kinds of energy applied on the surfactant microstructure, which can be helpful to the surfactant network formation or dissociation depending on their values.
Induction of Herbicide resistance via seed-derived rice (Oryza sativa) Calli

Herbicide resistant (HR) rice improves efficiency of weed management and HR varieties can develop through induced mutagenesis. The present investigation was focused on mutagenic response of seed-derived rice calli to different EMS concentrations and evaluation for HR. Seed-derived calli were obtained from glyphosate-susceptible rice variety (Bg250) and exposed to varying concentrations of EMS (0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% and 0.4%). EMS treated calli were exposed to glyphosate (0.2%) and Tetrazolium test (1% TTC) was applied to identify cell viability in calli. Fluorescent AFLP analysis was performed on EMS treated calli. Results indicated that mutation of calli was higher at EMS concentration range of 0.1 – 0.2%. Bg250 calli demonstrated resistance to glyphosate at 0.2%. FAFLP analysis revealed E11M32 marker was found to be a specific marker to identify the induced HR in rice. The results of the study revealed that in vitro application of EMS on callus has ability to develop HR rice calli.
Some special types of developable ruled surface

In this study we consider the focal curve C of a space curve and its focal curvatures. We characterize some special types of ruled surface, choosing one of the base curves or director curves as the focal curve of the space curve . Finally we construct new types of ruled surface and calculate their distinguished parameters. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for these types of ruled surface to become developable.
QCD corrections to Upsilon production via color-octet states at the Tevatron and LHC

The NLO QCD corrections to Upsilon production via S-wave color-octet states Upsilon(^1S_0^8,^3S_1^8) at the Tevatron and LHC is calculated. The K factors of total cross section (ratio of NLO to LO) are 1.313 and 1.379 for Upsilon(^1S_0^8) and Upsilon(^3S_1^8) at the Tevatron, while at the LHC they are 1.044 and 1.182, respectively. By fitting the experimental data from the D0, the matrix elements for S-wave color-octet states are obtained. And new predictions for Upsilon production are presented. The prediction for the polarization of inclusive Upsilon contains large uncertainty rising from the polarization of Upsilon from feed-down of chi_b. To further clarify the situation, new measurements on the production and polarization for direct Upsilon are expected.
The GRIP method for collaborative roadmapping workshops

Technology roadmapping is a well-known tool for technology management, but practical advice for facilitating collaborative roadmapping workshops is relatively scarce. To cater for this need, we have designed a method for collaborative roadmapping, dubbed the GRIP method, for facilitating group work in TRM workshops. The design is based on establish best practices in facilitation and our experiences with the method suggest it is a feasible tool for technology managers. The benefits of the method are that it enables engaging a diverse group of individuals to the roadmapping process effectively even during a short workshop session and facilitates shared understanding on the technology management issues.
Understanding and optimizing microstrip patch antenna cross polarization radiation on element level for demanding phased array antennas in weather radar applications

Abstract. The antenna cross polarization suppression (CPS) is of significant importance for the accurate calculation of polarimetric weather radar moments. State-of-the-art reflector antennas fulfill these requirements, but phased array antennas are changing their CPS during the main beam shift, off-broadside direction. Since the cross polarization (x-pol) of the array pattern is affected by the x-pol element factor, the single antenna element should be designed for maximum CPS, not only at broadside, but also for the complete angular electronic scan (e-scan) range of the phased array antenna main beam positions. Different methods for reducing the x-pol radiation from microstrip patch antenna elements, available from literature sources, are discussed and summarized. The potential x-pol sources from probe fed microstrip patch antennas are investigated. Due to the lack of literature references, circular and square shaped X-Band radiators are compared in their x-pol performance and the microstrip patch antenna size variation was analyzed for improved x-pol pattern. Furthermore, the most promising technique for the reduction of x-pol radiation, namely "differential feeding with two RF signals 180° out of phase", is compared to single fed patch antennas and thoroughly investigated for phased array applications with simulation results from CST MICROWAVE STUDIO (CST MWS). A new explanation for the excellent port isolation of dual linear polarized and differential fed patch antennas is given graphically. The antenna radiation pattern from single fed and differential fed microstrip patch antennas are analyzed and the shapes of the x-pol patterns are discussed with the well-known cavity model. Moreover, two new visual based electromagnetic approaches for the explanation of the x-pol generation will be given: the field line approach and the surface current distribution approach provide new insight in understanding the generation of x-pol component in microstrip patch antenna radiation patterns.