Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Investigation of Major League Soccer Attendance

An Investigation of Major League Soccer Attendance While there is much literature on the drivers of attendance at major American professional sports leagues as well as major European soccer leagues, there has been little evaluation of the now 20-year-old Major League Soccer (MLS). Initially, America's top-division soccer league was primary played in cavernous suburban National Football League stadiums but that has changed to primarily soccer-specific facilities. MLS also focused its early marketing efforts towards so-called " soccer moms, " but that has also changed in most markets. The current analysis has shown preliminary indications of what appears to be a potent mix for MLS attendance success: urban stadiums in cities with large affluent, young and male populations. While the league continues to struggle to gain a foothold among the nation's Hispanic population, there are correlations between a team's success at the gate and the location of its stadium and underlying demographics of its metropolitan area. This paper explores the strengths of those correlations and others, such as the signing of star players, stadium construction costs, and competition from other professional sports teams.
SYNTHESIS AND RAMAN CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTIWALLED CARBON NANOTUBES BY CATALYTIC CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION

Catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CCVD) was used to synthesize CNTs, on silica substrate using xylene as carbon precursor and ferrocene as catalyst source. The carbon nanotubes are multiwall nanotubes which have been found to grow in bundles with CNTs within the bundles growing in one direction in a zig zag manner. The inner diameter of the tubes is found to decrease with total (outer) diameter of the CNTs. These CNTs have been characterized using SEM, XRD, TEM and Raman spectroscopy. The results obtained from these techniques have been interrelated.
An Optimal Two-Stage Path Planne

RM) planner applied to the robot with multiple degrees of freedom moving th static obstacles is proved to be efficient. But it is clumsy to environment ed path is usually not optimal and not smooth enough. In order to make the re flexible, this paper integrates the PRM planner with simulated annealing -stage path planner: at first a path is generated by PRM planner, then this ed by SA. If the original path becomes infeasible because of environment can also be obtained from the original path by SA. The simulations are efficiency of the proposed planner. g; Probabilistic Roadmap; Simulated Annealing basic and long standing problem of robotics, which is required to seek for a brings the robot from its initial configuration to the specified goal ce, a robot may have many degrees of freedom (DOF), which is a great th planning. Many deterministic path planners especially the complete pplied for robot with many DOF are short of efficiency if not infeasible at tation resource. Therefore the researchers turn to the probabilistic complete such successful planners are the randomized path planner (RPP) and r (PPP) [21]. The former is actually a potential field planner, which escapes rforming random walks [2]. The latter finds the required path according to a that is constructed by randomly selecting configurations from the free space) and interconnecting certain pairs by simple local powerful planners. e roadmap can be a graph [10] or a tree [15]. Two popular PPPs are PRM lanner [13,15]. The theoretic analysis of PRM is present in [11,14], and it is nner is probabilistic complete. by NSFC Projects (No. 60334020, 60440420130, 60475030, and 60575047), MOST Projects (No. 100), and the Outstanding Overseas Chinese Scholars Fund of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.
Two-Step Assembly Dynamics of the Bacillussubtilis Divisome

ABSTRACT Cell division in bacteria is carried out by about a dozen proteins which assemble at midcell and form a complex known as the divisome. To study the dynamics and temporal hierarchy of divisome assembly in Bacillus subtilis, we have examined the in vivo localization pattern of a set of division proteins fused to green fluorescent protein in germinating spores and vegetative cells. Using time series and time-lapse microscopy, we show that the FtsZ ring assembles early and concomitantly with FtsA, ZapA, and EzrA. After a time delay of at least 20% of the cell cycle, a second set of division proteins, including GpsB, FtsL, DivIB, FtsW, Pbp2B, and DivIVA, are recruited to midcell. Together, our data provide in vivo evidence for two-step assembly of the divisome. Interestingly, overproduction of FtsZ advances the temporal assembly of EzrA but not of DivIVA, suggesting that a signal different from that of FtsZ polymerization drives the assembly of late divisome proteins. Microarray analysis shows that FtsZ depletion or overexpression does not significantly alter the transcription of division genes, supporting the hypothesis that cell division in B. subtilis is mainly regulated at the posttranscriptional level.
Early Repolarization in an Ambulatory Clinical Population

Background— The significance of early repolarization, particularly regarding the morphology of the R-wave downslope, has come under question. Methods and Results— We evaluated 29 281 resting ambulatory ECGs from the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. With PR interval as the isoelectric line and amplitude criteria ≥0.1 mV, ST-segment elevation is defined at the end of the QRS, J wave as an upward deflection, and slur as a conduction delay on the QRS downstroke. Associations of ST-segment elevation patterns, J waves, and slurs with cardiovascular mortality were analyzed with Cox analysis. With a median follow-up of 7.6 years, there were 1995 cardiac deaths. Of 29 281 subjects, 87% were male (55±14 years) and 13% were female (56±17 years); 13% were black, 6% were Hispanic, and 81% were white or other. Six hundred sixty-four (2.3%) had inferior or lateral ST-segment elevation: 185 (0.6%) in inferior leads and 479 (1.6%) in lateral leads, 163 (0.6%) in both, and 0.4% had global elevation. A total of 4041 ECGs were analyzed with enhanced display, and 583 (14%) had J waves or slurring, which were more prevalent in those with than in those without ST-segment elevation (61% versus 13%; P<0.001). ST-segment elevation occurred more in those with than in those without J waves or slurs (12% versus 1.3%; P<0.001). Except when involving only inferior leads, all components of early repolarization were more common in young individuals, male subjects, blacks, and those with bradycardia. All patterns and components of early repolarization were associated with decreased cardiovascular mortality, but this was not significant after adjustment for age. Conclusions— We found no significant association between any components of early repolarization and cardiac mortality.
The construct validity of servant leadership in Nigerian public utility organizations

Servant leadership could be seen as one of the humane way of leadership in organizations and has important positive emotional, psychological, and behavioral consequences for organizations. Despite the importance of servant leadership construct in the life and activities of organizations, studies about it validity across contexts and setting remain highly neglected. This study validated the Liden, Wayne, Zhao, and Henderson’s (2008) seven dimensional servant leadership construct in three specific Nigerian public utility organizations, namely Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Telecommunications Company Limited (NITEL) and Water Board (KSWB). Specifically, the results demonstrated that five servant leadership constructs including emotional healing, creating value for the community, conceptual skills, helping subordinates grow and succeed, as well as putting subordinates first are valid and acceptable measures of their respective constructs based on their parameter estimates are valid and acceptable based on their parameter estimates. All validity indicators including items’ loadings, composite reliability, average variance extracted (AVE), and square roots of the AVE have demonstrated high coefficients. Hence, findings demonstrated that the Liden et al. (2008) servant leader behavior constructs could be used for future studies in Nigerian context. Using the PLS technique, this study provides significant contribution to knowledge by validating the Liden et al’s. (2008) five servant leader behaviors constructs in newer context and settings.
Are ring galaxies the ancestors of giant low surface brightness galaxies?

We simulate the collisional formation of a ring galaxy and we integrate its evolution up to 1.5 Gyr after the interaction. About 100-200 Myr after the collision, the simulated galaxy is very similar to observed ring galaxies (e.g. Cartwheel). After this stage, the ring keeps expanding and fades. Approximately 0.5-1 Gyr after the interaction, the disc becomes very large (similar to 100kpc) and flat. Such extended discs have been observed only in giant low surface brightness galaxies (GLSBs). We compare various properties of our simulated galaxies (surface brightness profile, morphology, H I spectrum and rotation curve) with the observations of four well-known GLSBs (UGC 6614, Malin 1, Malin 2 and NGC 75 89). The simulations match quite well the observations, suggesting that ring galaxies could be the progenitors of GLSBs. This result is crucial for the cold dark matter (CDM) model, as it was very difficult, so far, to explain the formation of GLSBs within the CDM scenario.
A Micro RNA Processing Defect in Rapidly Progressing Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis exhibits differential progression from the time of diagnosis but the molecular basis for varying progression rates is poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether differential miRNA expression might provide one explanation for rapidly versus slowly progressing forms of IPF. Methodology and Principal Findings miRNA and mRNA were isolated from surgical lung biopsies from IPF patients with a clinically documented rapid or slow course of disease over the first year after diagnosis. A quantitative PCR miRNA array containing 88 of the most abundant miRNA in the human genome was used to profile lung biopsies from 9 patients with rapidly progressing IPF, 6 patients with slowly progressing IPF, and 10 normal lung biopsies. Using this approach, 11 miRNA were significantly increased and 36 were significantly decreased in rapid biopsies compared with normal biopsies. Slowly progressive biopsies exhibited 4 significantly increased miRNA and 36 significantly decreased miRNA compared with normal lung. Among the miRNA present in IPF with validated mRNA targets were those with regulatory effects on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Five miRNA (miR-302c, miR-423-5p, miR-210, miR-376c, and miR-185) were significantly increased in rapid compared with slow IPF lung biopsies. Additional analyses of rapid biopsies and fibroblasts grown from the same biopsies revealed that the expression of AGO1 and AGO2 (essential components of the miRNA processing RISC complex) were lower compared with either slow or normal lung biopsies and fibroblasts. Conclusion These findings suggest that the development and/or clinical progression of IPF might be the consequence of aberrant miRNA processing.
Optimal Redundancy Allocation in Hierarchical Series-Parallel Systems Using Mixed Integer Programming

Reliability optimization plays an important role in design, operation and management of the industrial systems. System reliability can be easily enhanced by improving the reliability of unreliable components and/or by using redundant configuration with subsystems/components in parallel. Redundancy Allocation Problem (RAP) was studied in this research. A mixed integer programming model was proposed to solve the problem, which considers simultaneously two objectives under several resource constraints. The model is only for the hierarchical series-parallel systems in which the elements of any subset of subsystems or components are connected in series or parallel and constitute a larger subsystem or total system. At the end of the study, the performance of the proposed approach was evaluated by a numerical example.
Onyx: A Prototype Phase Change Memory Storage Array

We describe a prototype high-performance solid-state drive based on first-generation phase-change memory (PCM) devices called Onyx. Onyx has a capacity of 10 GB and connects to the host system via PCIe. We describe the internal architecture of Onyx including the PCM memory modules we constructed and the FPGA-based controller that manages them. Onyx can perform a 4 KB random read in 38 µs and sustain 191K 4 KB read IO operations per second. A 4 KB write requires 179 µs. We describe our experience tuning the Onyx system to reduce the cost of wear-leveling and increase performance. We find that Onyx out-performs a state-of-the-art flash-based SSD for small writes (< 2 KB) by between 72 and 120% and for reads of all sizes. In addition, Onyx incurs 20-51% less CPU overhead per IOP for small requests. Combined, our results demonstrate that even first-generation PCM SSDs can outperform flash-based arrays for the irregular (and frequently read-dominated) access patterns that define many of today's "killer" storage applications. Next generation PCM devices will widen the performance gap further and set the stage for PCM becoming a serious flash competitor in many applications.
Analysis and simulation of the left ventricular response to autonomic nervous activity.

Statistical experimental design techniques and a hybrid computer simulation have been used to quantitate the left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) response to simultaneous stimulation of both autonomic divisions in the isolated, isovolumic heart. A quadratic regression response surface was derived which clearly indicates the extent of the vagal–sympathetic amplitude interaction. Dynamically, the vagal-LVSP response is essentially first order for increasing and decreasing nervous activity; the sympathetic-LVSP response is well represented by parallel first and second order components for increasing activity, and parallel first order components for decreasing activity.
A Fifteen Year Record of Global Natural Gas Flaring Derived from Satellite Data

We have produced annual estimates of national and global gas flaring and gas flaring efficiency from 1994 through 2008 using low light imaging data acquired by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). Gas flaring is a widely used practice for the disposal of associated gas in oil production and processing facilities where there is insufficient infrastructure for utilization of the gas (primarily methane). Improved utilization of the gas is key to reducing global carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The DMSP estimates of flared gas volume are based on a calibration developed with a pooled set of reported national gas flaring volumes and data from individual flares. Flaring efficiency was calculated as the volume of flared gas per barrel of crude oil produced. Global gas flaring has remained largely stable over the past fifteen years, in the range of 140 to 170 billion cubic meters (BCM). Global flaring efficiency was in the seven to eight cubic meters per barrel from 1994 to 2005 and declined to 5.6 m 3 per barrel by 2008. The 2008 gas flaring estimate of 139 BCM represents 21% of the natural gas consumption of the USA with a potential retail market value of $68 billion. The 2008 flaring added more than 278 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) into the atmosphere. The DMSP estimated gas flaring volumes indicate that global gas flaring has declined by 19% since 2005, led by gas flaring reductions in Russia and Nigeria, the two countries with the highest gas flaring levels. The flaring efficiency of both Russia and Nigeria improved from 2005 to 2008, suggesting that the reductions in gas flaring are likely the result of either improved utilization of the gas, reinjection, or direct venting of gas into the atmosphere, although the effect of uncertainties in the satellite data cannot be ruled out. It is anticipated that the capability to estimate gas flaring volumes based on satellite data will spur improved utilization of gas that was simply burnt as waste in previous years.
Modulation of Trophism and Fiber Type Expression of Dener- vated Muscle by Different Patterns of Electrical Stimulation

After fifty years of basic research on electrostimulation-induced muscle plasticity, in recent years a few studies have employed long impulse biphasic electrical stimulation as a treatment for human denervated muscle. Tissue trophism and muscle power are improved to a level sufficient to restore some functions by Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). These treatments usually start late after denervation due to clinical constrains and the past wrong believe that electrical stimulation may interfere with eventual myofiber reinnervation. Effects of denervation per se, of spontaneous or induced aneural myogenesis, and of longterm electrical stimulation starting either early or late after denervation are here described. Interrelations of these aspects are remarkable, and relevant to trophic and functional recovery from severe atrophy/dystrophy of long-term denervated muscle. If myogenesis could be modulated, we should be able to substantially abbreviate the time needed to achieve functional recovery of long term denervated human muscle by FES.
JAXA Space Plant Research on the ISS with European Modular Cultivation System

The European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) installed within the US laboratory module, Destiny, and/or the European experiment module, Columbus, onboard the International Space Station (ISS), is an ESA facility available for plant research and biological experiments. The EMCS facility uses standard experiment containers (ECs) mounted on centrifuges and provides life support such as water and gas supply systems as well as observation systems. The experiment-specific hardware such as the plant cultivation chamber, root phototropism observation chamber, and plant root gravitropism observation chamber is integrated into the EC. JAXA has five themes concerning space plant research, of which two-Cell Wall and Resist Wall-will include conducting space experiments using the EMCS facility; according to the present shuttle flight schedule, they are due to be launched in mid February 2007. The objectives of the Cell Wall / Resist Wall experiment include in-orbit growth of 10-cm-long inflorescence stems of Arabidopsis and subsequent, post-flight morphology, biological, gene expression, and cell-wall properties analyses on the ground. In this article, we describe the EMCS facility, the plant cultivation and onboard chemical fixation system. Furthermore, we also discuss the verification experiments conducted by JAXA.
From Community-Based Pilot Testing to Region-Wide Systems Change: Lessons from a Local Quality Improvement Collaborative

Background: A community-based collaborative conducted a 2-year pilot study to inform efforts for improving maternal and child health care practice and policy in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Objectives: (1) To test whether three small-scale versions of an evidence-based, systems improvement approach would be workable in local community settings and (2) to identify specific policy/infrastructure reforms for sustaining improvements. Methods: A mixed methods approach was used, including quantitative performance measurement supplemented with qualitative data about factors related to outcomes of interest, as well as key stakeholder interviews and a literature review/Internet search. Results: Quantitative performance results varied; qualitative data revealed critical factors for the success and failure of the practices tested. Policy/infrastructure recommendations were developed to address specific practice barriers. This information was important for designing a region-wide quality improvement initiative focused on maternal depression. Conclusion: The processes and outcomes provide valuable insights for other communities interested in conducting similar quality improvement initiatives.
Memristor hybrid model for nonlinear analog circuit design

In this work we present the realization of a hybrid model (hardware-software) for memristors based on the nonlinear dopant model for three window functions: Strukov, Joglekar and Prodromakis. Proposing a methodology that allows us to design nonlinear analog circuits with memristors in an easier and faster way using the tools of Simulink, Simscape and System Generator. In addition, we tested the functionality of our hybrid model through the design of an oscillator without reactance, also verifying the effectiveness and scope of our proposed methodology.
Disrupting Privileged and Oppressed Spaces: Reflecting Ethically on my Arabness through Feminist Autoethnography

This essay urges for the need to explore one’s privileges and oppressions through Feminist Arabness. Through intersectionality, the author brings forth various experiences as a woman of color. By exploring privileges and oppressions, the goal is to bring contestations of domination into conversation with neoliberalism, reflexivity and ethical communication. Thus, this study is a call to highlight the need for an integrated approach that combines theory, and Autoethnography in order to reflect a richer intersectional analysis that combines both privileges and oppressions as identities. It is also a call towards an intersectional feminist ethic that can in turn identify the connections between one’s privileges and disadvantages and how it relates to ethics and reflexivity.
Cardiovascular System Effects of Marijuana

Marijuana and Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) increase heart rate, slightly increase supine blood pressure, and on occasion produce marked orthostatic hypotension. Cardiovascular effects in animals are different, with bradycardia and hypotension the most typical response. Cardiac output increases, and peripheral vascular resistance and maximum exercise performance decrease. Tolerance to most of the initial cardiovascular effects appears rapidly. With repeated exposure, supine blood pressure decreases slightly, orthostatic hypotension disappears, blood volume increases, heart rate slows, and circulatory responses to exercise and Valsalva maneuver are diminished, consistent with centrally mediated, reduced sympathetic, and enhanced parasympathetic activity. Receptor‐mediated and probably nonneuronal sites of action account for cannabinoid effects. The endocannabinoid system appears important in the modulation of many vascular functions. Marijuana's cardiovascular effects are not associated with serious health problems for most young, healthy users, although occasional myocardial infarction, stroke, and other adverse cardiovascular events are reported. Marijuana smoking by people with cardiovascular disease poses health risks because of the consequences of the resulting increased cardiac work, increased catecholamine levels, carboxyhemoglobin, and postural hypotension.
FPGA-based multi-frequency excitation and modulation technology in EIT system

In order to obtain more bioelectrical impedance information at different frequencies simultaneously, a multi-frequency excitation source and a multi-frequency demodulation module are developed using FPGA. The source can provide both sweep frequency and multi-frequency excitation signal. The range of frequency is 0∼16.67 MHz, phase and amplitude of the generator can be changed conveniently. Result shows that the source has many advantages, such as high precision, good stability and convenient adjustment. Multi-frequency digital quadrature demodulation is also accomplished by FPGA, since the excitation signal and the reference signal are generated at the same time, error caused by the difference of frequency between the two signals is avoided effectively. It can meet the need for data acquisition system in multi-frequency electrical impedance tomography very wel1.