Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Acquaintances and Friends Make Us Learn? Social Capital and Lifelong Learning in Germany

This paper examines the relationship between social capital and adult learning. We test this association empirically using measures of various types of social capital and adult learning based on the German Socioeconomic Panel. We use predetermined measures of social capital to exclude social skills or friends encountered during the adult education class. Fixed effects for latent underlying factors such as deep personality traits and instrumental variables account for changing personality traits. We find that most of our social capital measures have a signi ficant and positive impact on the probabilities for investing in various types of adult learning. The size of the effect varies across the different measures between increasing the probability of participating in adult learning by 0.04% to increasing the probability by 17%. We find evidence that acquaintances are more likely to increase participation in adult learning than friends.
Reduction of Mutual Coupling in Planar Multiple Antenna by Using 1-D EBG and SRR Structures

One-dimensional electromagnetic bandgap (1-D EBG) and split ring resonator (SRR) structures were inserted between two closely located monopole antennas to suppress mutual coupling. The 1-D EBG and SRR structures in these planar multiple antennas function as a reflector and wave trap, respectively. With the effect of these two structures, the mutual coupling between the two antennas is reduced by more than 42 dB and the back lobes are reduced by 6 dB. Thereby, the radiation efficiency of the antenna is also improved. The two fabricated antennas with 0. 19λ0 spacing exhibit mutual coupling (S21, S12) of less than -30 dB from 2.43 to 2.54 GHz. A minimum correlation coefficient of 0.002 and maximum radiation efficiency of 82% are also demonstrated.
The effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing handwashing in healthcare workers - a systematic review.

Handwashing is widely accepted as being key to the prevention of hospital-acquired infection but the frequency of handwashing by healthcare workers has been found to be low. A systematic critical literature review was conducted to establish the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing compliance with handwashing in healthcare workers. The results showed that one-off educational interventions have a very short-term influence on handwashing behaviour. Use of strategically placed reminders, or asking patients to remind staff of the need to conduct handwashing can have a modest but more sustained effect. Feedback of performance can increase levels of handwashing but if feedback is not repeated regularly, then this effect is not maintained over long periods. Automated sinks increase the quality of handwashing but healthcare workers can be discouraged from using these because of the additional time involved. Provision of moisturized soaps appears to make little difference to handwashing behaviour but providing 'dry' hand rubs near patient beds may lead to a minimal increase in the frequency with which staff decontaminate their hands. Multifaceted approaches which combine education with written material, reminders and continued feedback of performance can have an important effect on handwashing compliance and rates of hospital-acquired infection.
Trafficking of lysosomal enzymes 1

The targeting of lysosomal enzymes from their site of synthesis in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) to their final destination in lysosomes is directed by a series of protein and carbohydrate recognition signals on the enzymes. Lysosomal enzymes, along with secretory and plasma membrane proteins, contain aminoterminal signal sequences that direct the vectorial discharge of the nascent proteins into the lumen of the RER. The three classes of proteins also share a common peptide signal for asparagine glycosylation. The next signal is unique to lysosomal enzymes and permits their high‐affinity binding to a specific phosphotransferase that catalyzes the formation of the mannose 6‐phosphate recognition marker. This carbohydrate determinant allows binding to specific receptors that translocate the lysosomal enzymes from the Golgi complex to an acidified prelysosomal compartment. There the lysosomal enzymes are discharged for final packaging into lysosomes. Two distinct mannose 6‐phosphate receptors have been identified, and cDNAs encoding their entire sequences have been cloned. An analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences of the receptors shows that each is composed of four structural domains: a signal sequence, an extracytoplasmic amino‐terminal domain, a hydrophobic membrane‐spanning region, and a cytoplasmic domain. The entire extracytoplasmic region of the small receptor is homologous to the 15 repeating domains that constitute the extracytoplasmic portion of the large receptor. — Kornfeld, S. Trafficking of lysosomal enzymes. FASEB J. 1: 462‐468; 1987.
A 1 C variability predicts incident cardiovascular events , microalbuminuria , and overt diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 1 diabetes

This is an uncopyedited electronic version of an article accepted for publication in Diabetes Care. The American Diabetes Association, publisher of Diabetes Care, is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it by third parties. The definitive publisherauthenticated version will be available in a future issue of Diabetes Care in print and online at http://care.diabetesjournals. org. Diabetes Publish Ahead of Print, published online August 3, 2009
Toward hardware-driven simulation of underwater acoustic propagation and communication with Arctic ice, wind waves, and currents

Maritime Way Scientific Ltd (MWS) in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Canada, Atlantic Research Centre (DRDC-Atlantic) is developing a hardware-in-the-loop acoustic simulator for studying underwater acoustic propagation and the reliability of underwater communications signals. While the simulator can be used to model a wide variety of physical environments, most of the effort has been in adapting existing open source software (i.e. BELLHOP and VirTEX) to handle Arctic seas which may be either partially or fully covered with sea ice, using realistic keel morphology. As the project is still underway this paper presents the overall design, present capability, and some preliminary results. Areas for further improvement are also described.
Endosialin-Expressing Pericytes Promote

Metastasis is a multistep process that is critically dependent on the interaction of metastasizing tumor cells with cells in the local microenvironment. Within this tumor stroma, vesselassociated pericytes and myofibroblasts share a number of traits, including the upregulated expression of the transmembrane receptor endosialin (CD248). Comparative experiments in wild-type and endosialin-deficient mice revealed that stromal endosialin does not affect primary tumor growth but strongly promotes spontaneous metastasis. Mechanistically, endosialin-expressing pericytes in the primary tumor facilitate distant site metastasis by promoting tumor cell intravasation in a cell contact–dependent manner, resulting in elevated numbers of circulating tumor cells. Corresponding to these preclinical experiments, in independent cohorts of primary human breast cancers, upregulated endosialin expression significantly correlates with increased metastasis and poorer patient survival. Together, the data demonstrate a critical role for endosialin-expressing primary tumor pericytes in mediating metastatic dissemination and identify endosialin as a promising therapeutic target in breast cancer. Cancer Res; 76(18); 5313–25. 2016 AACR.
Data-based fuzzy modelling of dynamic systems by means of evolution strategies

The paper presents a hybrid approach (combining fuzzy rule-based systems and evolution strategies) to modelling of complex dynamic systems and processes using data that describe their behaviour. The application of the proposed approach to modelling and prediction of the Mackey-Glass chaotic time series is also presented in the paper. This time series - of complex dynamics - describes various physiological and technical control systems.
Attitudes toward assisted suicide and euthanasia among physicians in Washington State.

BACKGROUND Despite considerable public interest in legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, little is known about physicians' attitudes toward these practices. METHODS We sent questionnaires to 1355 randomly selected physicians in the state of Washington, including all hematologists and oncologists and a disproportionately high number of internists, family practitioners, psychiatrists, and general surgeons. To avoid ambiguity in our survey, instead of "physician-assisted suicide," we used the phrase "prescription of medication [e.g., narcotics or barbiturates] or the counseling of an ill patient so he or she may use an overdose to end his or her own life. " Instead of "euthanasia," we used the phrase "deliberate administration of an overdose of medication to an ill patient at his or her request with the primary intent to end his or her life. " RESULTS Of the 1355 eligible physicians who received our questionnaire, 938 (69 percent) responded. Forty-eight percent of the respondents agreed with the statement that euthanasia is never ethically justified, and 42 percent disagreed. Fifty-four percent thought euthanasia should be legal in some situations, but only 33 percent stated that they would be willing to perform euthanasia. Thirty-nine percent of respondents agreed with the statement that physician-assisted suicide is never ethically justified, and 50 percent disagreed. Fifty-three percent thought assisted suicide should be legal in some situations, but only 40 percent stated that they would be willing to assist a patient in committing suicide. Of the groups surveyed, hematologists and oncologists were most likely to oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide, and psychiatrists were most likely to support these practices. CONCLUSIONS The attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia of physicians in Washington State are polarized. A slight majority favors legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in at least some situations, but most would be unwilling to participate in these practices themselves.
I'd like to pay with your Visa Card : an illustration of illicit online trading activity in the underground economy

With the growing use and financial importance of the Internet, cyber criminals increasingly perceive computer systems, network architectures, and databases storing transaction- and personal-related data as assets and profitable targets. As illicit activities have become more organized and monetary-driven, a digital underground economy for hacking-related goods and services has evolved. In this paper, we outline the infrastructure and modes of operation of said economy with the help of real world samples captured in a communication channel on an IRC network. Thereby, we are able to gain a better understanding of the dynamics and interactions on this market.
Callosal and prefrontal associational projecting cell populations in area 7A of the macaque monkey: A study using retrogradely transported fluorescent dyes

The spatial interrelationship of neurons in area 7a in the inferior parietal lobule that project through the corpus callosum to the corresponding field in the contralateral hemisphere or to the ipsilateral prefrontal cortex has been analyzed in macaque monkeys by using double‐labeling procedures with retrogradely transported fluorescent dyes. The populations of callosal and associational projecting neurons have similar laminar distributions and are topographically intermingled. Less than 1% of the neurons were double‐labeled, thus suggesting that the two populations are largely separate. Two‐dimensional reconstructions of the distribution of labeled cells made on flattened reconstructions of the inferior parietal lobule revealed that the areal distribution of the two cortico‐cortical output arrays is complex. Although each pattern of labeling showed some discontinuities in density, there was no obvious periodicity within or between the spatial distributions of the two projecting populations. It was consistently observed that the cortex of the lateral wall of the intraparietal sulcus, adjacent to area 7a, projects more heavily to the prefrontal cortex than does area 7a itself.
OpenCache: a content delivery platform for the modern Internet

Since its inception, the World Wide Web has revolutionised the way we share information, keep in touch with each other and consume content. In the latter case, it is now used by thousands of simultaneous users to consume video, surpassing physical media as the primary means of distribution. With the rise of on-demand services and more recently, high-definition media, this popularity has not waned. To support this consumption, the underlying infrastructure has been forced to evolve at a rapid pace. This includes the technology and mechanisms to facilitate the transmission of video, which are now offered at varying levels of quality and resolution. Content delivery networks are often deployed in order to scale the distribution provision. These vary in nature and design; from third-party providers running entirely as a service to others, to in-house solutions owned by the content service providers themselves. However, recent innovations in networking and virtualisation, namely Software Defined Networking and Network Function Virtualisation, have paved the way for new content delivery infrastructure designs. In this thesis, we discuss the motivation behind OpenCache, a next-generation content delivery platform. We examine how we can leverage these emerging technologies to provide a more flexible and scalable solution to content delivery. This includes analysing the feasibility of novel redirection techniques, and how these compare to existing means. We also investigate the creation of a unified interface from which a platform can be precisely controlled, allowing new applications to be created that operate in harmony with the infrastructure provision. Developments in distributed virtualisation platforms also enables functionality to be spread throughout a network, influencing the design of OpenCache. Through a prototype implementation, we evaluate each of these facets in a number of different scenarios, made possible through deployment on large-scale testbeds.
Association of different EGFR methods, calcium metabolism and anemia in diabetic chronic kidney disease: an Indian perspective (experience).

SUMMARY The aim was to evaluate performance of Cockcroft Gault (CG), modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) formula in the prediction of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as compared to 51 Cr-EDTA GFR (isotope GFR) in diabetic chronic kidney disease (dCKD) and their relation with calcium and iron metabolism parameters. One hundred ambulatory patients with diabetes without nephrotic syndrome, renal replacement, renal transplantation or any severe coexisting illness underwent clinical assessment, blood collection after overnight fast and isotope GFR estimation using Cr 51 -EDTA. Advanced CKD (GFR <30 mL/min/1.73m 2 ) was found in 42.5% of patients. Compared to isotope GFR, CG formula and MDRD equation overestimated and underestimated GFR, respectively, with CG having a lower diagnostic accuracy. Correlation between parathormone and isotope GFR was maximal in CKD stage 4. The odds ratio for anemia for GFR <30mL/min/1.73m 2 was 2.21. In conclusion, MDRD is a better predictor of renal function as compared to CG in Indian dCKD patients.
Voting Sharing: An Approach to Reducing Computation Time for Fault Diagnosis in Time-Triggered Systems

We propose a lightweight scheme for fault diagnosis in time-triggered (TT) systems. An existing scheme is preferable in its capability but incurs computation time that can be prohibitively large for some real-time systems, such as automotive control systems. Our proposed scheme, which we call voting sharing, can substantially reduce the computation time by sharing the diagnosis result obtained by each node with all nodes in the system. We clarify the properties of the voting sharing scheme with respect to fault tolerance and show some experimental results. key words: time-triggered systems, faults, membership
Computed-Torque Control of an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot

The path-tracking problem of a wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot is addressed in this work. Instead of the classical kinematics model based control commonly considered, the analysis of the problem is based on the dynamic model of the vehicle. Borrowed from the rigid robot manipulator literature, the well known computed torque control strategy is applied to the case of a mobile robot of the type (3,0). It is shown that the considered strategy solves the problem assuring the closed loop stability of the system when the state is available for measurement, allowing in this way the convergence of the tracking errors. The performance of the tracking strategy is evaluated by simulation, showing an acceptable performance.
Merit function for the evaluation of color uniformity in the far field of LED spot lights

The scope of the present paper is the derivation of a merit function which predicts the visual perception of LED spot lights. The color uniformity level Usl is described by a linear regression function of the spatial color distribution in the far field. Hereby, the function is derived from four basic functions. They describe the color uniformity of spot lights through different features. The result is a reliable prediction for the perceived color uniformity in spot lights. A human factor experiment was performed to evaluate the visual preferences for colors and patterns. A perceived rank order was derived from the subjects’ answers and compared with the four basic functions. The correlation between the perceived rank order and the basic functions was calculated resulting in the definition of the merit function Usl. The application of this function is shown by a comparison of visual evaluations and measurements of LED retrofit spot lamps. The results enable a prediction of color uniformity levels of simulations and measurements concerning the visual perception. The function provides a possibility to evaluate the far field of spot lights without individual subjective judgment.
Validation of QO design tool for analysing aberration caused by FSS

High accuracy measurement is needed for ability to understand and control source of error caused by aberration effects of planar quasi optical (QO) components used in remote sensing system. This paper demonstrates a tool for modelling an FSS among a train of reflectors constituting a typical QO feed system. Such a capability facilitates later studies of aberration introduced specifically by the FSS.
L1‐CAM‐targeted antibody therapy and 177Lu‐radioimmunotherapy of disseminated ovarian cancer

The L1‐cell adhesion molecule (L1‐CAM) is highly expressed in various cancer types including ovarian carcinoma but is absent from most normal tissue. A chimeric monoclonal antibody, chCE7, specifically binds to human L1‐CAM and exhibits anti‐proliferative effects on L1‐CAM‐expressing tumor cells. The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a novel 177Lu‐chCE7 radioimmunotherapeutic agent and to compare it to a treatment protocol with unlabeled, growth‐inhibiting chCE7 in a mouse xenograft model of disseminated ovarian cancer. chCE7agl, an aglycosylated IgG1 variant with improved pharmacokinetics, was conjugated with 1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐N‐N′‐N′‐N‴‐tetraacetic acid (DOTA) and labeled with the low‐energy β‐emitter 177Lu. Tumor growth and survival were assessed after a single i.v. dose of 8 MBq (60 μg) radioimmunoconjugate in nude mice bearing either subcutaneous or intraperitoneal SKOV3.ip1 human ovarian cancer tumors. Therapeutic efficacy was compared with three times weekly i.p. administration of 10 mg/kg unconjugated chCE7. In vivo analysis of 177Lu‐chCE7agl biodistribution demonstrated high and specific accumulation of radioactivity at the tumor site with maximal tumor uptake of up to 48.0 ± 8.1% ID/g at 168 h postinjection. A single treatment with 177Lu‐DOTA‐chCE7agl caused significant retardation of tumor growth and prolonged median survival from 33 to 71 days, while administration of a nontargeted 177Lu‐immunoconjugate had no beneficial effect. Three times weekly i.p. application of unlabeled chCE7 10 mg/kg similarly increased survival from 44 to 72 days. We conclude that a single dose of 177Lu‐DOTA‐chCE7agl is as effective as repeated administration of nonradioactive chCE7 for treatment of small intraperitoneal tumors expressing L1‐CAM.
Relationship between radiographic classification and arthroscopic findings of articular cartilage lesions in osteoarthritis of the knee.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between radiographic abnormalities and arthroscopic findings of the cartilage lesions in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. METHODS Arthroscopy was performed in 190 patients with primary medial compartment (MC) OA of the knee to assess the severity of the cartilage lesion. Standing radiographs of all patients were graded according to the joint space narrowing (JSN) and Kellgren-Lawrence (K/L) scales. In addition to evaluating the correlation between arthroscopic articular cartilage lesions and the radiographic scale, multiple regression analysis was used to identify the arthroscopic findings and clinical factors that influenced the cartilage lesions. RESULTS The positive predictive values of the JSN and K/L scales of the MC for the presence of essentially abnormal articular cartilage in the MC by arthroscopy were high (0.98, 0.96, respectively). The sensitivity and specificity of the JSN scale and the sensitivity and negative predictive value of the K/L scale were also high in the MC. In contrast, the positive predictive values of these radiographic scales for the presence of arthroscopic lesions in the lateral compartment (LC) were poor (0.20 and 0.19). In this study population with severe OA, there were more patients with a high K/L score than with a high JSN score in the MC. CONCLUSION In MC-OA of the knee, the JSN and K/L scores for the MC correlated highly with cartilage lesions of the MC by arthroscopy. However, the cartilage lesion of the LC correlated poorly with both of these radiographic scales.
Crisp and fuzzy evaluations and DP algorithms for dealing with extra ink in cursive handwriting recognition

In segmentation-by-recognition methods, words are recognised by searching for the aggregation of basic segments (strokes) that best matches one of the sequences of letters allowed by the lexicon. The presence of spurious strokes ("extra ink") impairs recognition, since they have to be associated anyway with some letter of the word. The paper describes how we solved this problem by properly defining initial crisp evaluations to filter out unambiguous extra ink strokes, and then, for ambiguous strokes, by defining a fuzzy measure that evaluates the plausibility with which they can be associated to a class of extra ink instead of to a letter class, and finally by devising search algorithms that allow extra ink strokes to be "consumed" without associating them to letters: it is the matching algorithm that decides if it is less costly to consider a hypothesis as extra ink or to associate it to some letter.