Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular insights into androgen actions in male and female reproductive function from androgen receptor knockout models.

BACKGROUND Androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) have well known roles in male reproduction, and recent genetic mouse models inactivating the Ar gene have conclusively defined a role for androgens in female reproduction. In males, AR gene inactivation severely disrupts spermatogenesis by interrupting completion of meiosis, thereby eliminating production of mature sperm leading to male sterility. These effects have overshadowed the study of additional post-meiotic androgen effects required for the production of fully functional spermatozoa, as well as the production of females with complete androgen insensitivity which cannot be produced by natural breeding. However, these limitations have been overcome by the creation of global and cell-specific AR knockout (ARKO) mouse models using Cre-LoxP genetic engineering. METHODS Pubmed searches were carried out using the following search terms: androgen receptor, knockout mouse and fertility. Articles published before the end of November 2009 were included. RESULTS These experimental models have identified cell-specific AR-mediated androgen actions in testis and androgen actions in sex accessory glands independent of testicular effects which are crucial for sperm maturation, motion and fertilizing ability. The ability to produce homozygous ARKO females has revealed that AR-mediated androgen actions are important for normal female fertility. AR function is required for full functionality in follicle health, development and ovulation through both intra-ovarian and neuroendocrine mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS ARKO mouse models provide valuable tools to unravel novel roles of AR-mediated actions in male and female reproductive function, and new insights into the role of androgens in human reproductive function.
Accreditation and Educational Quality: Are Students in Accredited Programs More Academically Engaged?

Abstract There has been a great deal of debate regarding the value of program accreditation. Two research questions guided this study: 1) are students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and leisure programs more academically engaged than students enrolled in non-accredited programs, and 2) do students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and leisure programs report higher gains regarding academic learning, practical competence, and satisfaction than students in non-accredited programs? This study found students in accredited programs were significantly more engaged in educationally relevant behaviors than students in non-accredited programs. In addition, results indicated students in accredited programs reported higher gains in practical competence and satisfaction. NRPA's new direction for the accreditation process is to focus on student learning outcomes, which may lead to greater differences in the quality of education provided by accredited versus non-accredited programs.
The Comparative Study of Facial Emotion Recognition Ability in ADHD individuals and individuals with High Functioning Autism / Asperger syndrome

This study describes and compares the facial emotion recognition abilities and specific recognition profiles of ADHD individuals and HFA/AS individuals in review- related articles selected from the last 10 years. It is concluded that, in facial emotional recognition tasks, individuals from the HFA/AS groups out-perform those from the ADHD groups. HFA/AS groups showed impairments only for complex tasks which required the detection of subtle facial expressions. ADHD groups showed deficits for more simple facial labeling tasks. Directions calling for further study are pointed out.
Finding Relevant Subspaces in Neural Network Learning

Consider a layered neural network with many inputsbut only a small number of nodes k in its hidden layer(the layer immediately above the inputs if there is morethan one). In such a network, hidden node i com-putes the dot product of an example x with a vectorof weights wi and then applies some function such as asigmoid or threshold to that quantity; the final resultgets sent on to the layer above. An implication of thisstructure is that the output of the network on some ex-ample x depends only on the values x. wl,. ¯ ¯, x- wk,and not on any other information about x. One way oflooking at this fact is that even though the examplesmay lie in a high dimensional input space, there existssome low-dimensional "relevant subspace", namely thespan of the vectors wl,. ¯ ¯, wk, such that the networkoutput depends only on the projection of examples intothat space.Algorithms such as Backpropagation, when appliedto a network of the form described above, work by di-rectly searching for good vectors Wl,. , wk. We con-sider here a somewhat different approach. Suppose thefunction we are trying to learn can be represented bya layered neural network with only a small number ofhidden nodes. (The fact that neural networks of thisform have been quite successful in many situations im-plies that at least many interesting functions can beapproximated well by such a representation.) In thatcase, we know there exists (somewhere) a relevant sub-space of low dimension as described above. So, insteadof searching for the exact vectors wi right away, whynot relax our goal and just look for some set of vec-tors whose span is (approximately) the relevant space:even a slightly larger space would do. This might bean easier task than finding the weight vectors. And,if we could accomplish it, we would be able to sig-nificantly simplify the learning problem since we couldthen project all our examples onto this low-dimensionalspace and learn inside that space. ¯ This material is based upon work supported under NSFNational Young Investigator grant CCR-9357793 and a Na-tional Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. Au-thors’ email addresses: {avrim,kannan}@cs.cmu. eduA common technique for searching for relevant sub-spaces is that of "principal component analysis". Ourmain result is a proof that under an interesting set ofconditions, a variation on this approach will find atleast one vector (nearly) in the space we are lookingfor. A recursive approach can then be used to get ad-ditional such vectors. All proofs of theorems describedhere appear in [Blum and Kannan, 1993].
A Catalog of Background Stars Reddened by Dust in the Taurus Dark Clouds

Normal field stars located behind dense clouds are a valuable resource in interstellar astrophysics, as they provide continua in which to study phenomena such as gas-phase and solid-state absorption features, interstellar extinction, and polarization. This paper reports the results of a search for highly reddened stars behind the Taurus Dark Cloud complex. We use the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) Point Source Catalog to survey a ~50 deg2 area of the cloud to a limiting magnitude of Ks = 10.0. Photometry in the 1.2-2.2 μm passbands from 2MASS is combined with photometry at longer infrared wavelengths (3.6-12 μm) from the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite to provide effective discrimination between reddened field stars and young stellar objects (YSOs) embedded in the cloud. Our final catalog contains 248 confirmed or probable background field stars, together with estimates of their total visual extinctions, which span the range 2 < AV < 29 mag. We also identify the 2MASS source J04292083+2742074 (IRAS 04262+2735) as a previously unrecognized candidate YSO, based on the presence of infrared emission greatly in excess of that predicted for a normal reddened photosphere at wavelengths >5 μm.
The control interface design of 3D balance-ball game using paper incline identification

In this paper, we use the Quest3D package to design a three dimensional virtual game associated with paper incline detection as the control interface to replace the mouse and keyboard. In image preprocessing, we map the color image from the RGB into YIQ planes, and select the IQ planes for image processing because the Y plane is easily inferred by luminance. For paper incline detection, the image formation principle and Euclidean distance are used to achieve our goal. While playing the game, the user holds the paper to control the flow of the balance-ball. This action induces an unfilled corner problem when detecting the paper from image. To solve the problem, we first find out the four outside corner points and rebuild the rectangular shape of the paper. The paper incline orientation is then passed into the Quest3D package by USB port. Thus, the balance-ball game by paper control interface is complete. The experimental results demonstrate that our scheme is an effective method for using paper incline control interface to replace keyboard and mouse.
Adaptive single-tone waveform design for target recognition in Cognitive Radar

Cognitive radar is a recently proposed system concept, one of whose most important characteristics is the closed-loop operation. The feedback structure from the receiver to the transmitter enables the optimization of transmission waveforms based on the latest knowledge about targets and environments. In this paper, we propose an improved waveform design method for target recognition in cognitive radar by restricting the waveforms to be single-tone with constant envelope which are commonly used in practical transmitters. Comparing with a previously proposed method using arbitrary waveforms, our method provides almost the same performance with highly reduced computational cost in sequential transmissions. (4 pages)
Carboxymethyl Ethers of Cellulose and Starch – A Review

This review article deals with the technically important carboxymethyl ethers of cellulose and starch. Recent developments of synthesis, characterization, and application are presented considering adequately own research work in this field. In particular, the structure characterization by means of chromatographic (HPLC) and NMR-spectroscopic techniques as well as commercially important synthesis paths and alternative methods are described.
Failure of Antithrombotic Therapy and Risk of Stroke in Patients With Symptomatic Intracranial Stenosis

Background and Purpose— We sought to determine if patients with intracranial stenosis who have a transient ischemic attack or stroke on antithrombotic therapy are at particularly high risk for recurrent stroke. Methods— We compared baseline features and the rates of stroke or vascular death and stroke in the territory of the symptomatic artery between patients ON (n=299) versus OFF (n=269) antithrombotics at the time of their qualifying event for the Warfarin-Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease (WASID) trial. Results— In univariate analyses, there was no difference in the rates of stroke or vascular death (21% versus 23%; hazard ratio [ON/OFF], 0.91; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.29; P=0.59) or stroke in territory (13% versus 14%; hazard ratio [ON/OFF], 0.90; 95% CI, 0.57 to 1.39; P=0.61) between patients ON versus OFF antithrombotics at the time of their qualifying event. A multivariable analysis adjusted for the difference in risk factors between patients ON and OFF antithrombotic therapy also showed no significant differences in the combined end point of stroke or vascular death (hazard ratio [ON/OFF], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.55 to 1.34; P=0.51) or stroke in territory (hazard ratio [ON/OFF], 1.01; 95% CI, 0.58 to 1.77; P=0.97) between patients ON versus OFF antithrombotic therapy at the time of the qualifying event. Conclusions— Patients with intracranial stenosis who fail antithrombotic therapy are not at higher risk of stroke than those who do not fail antithrombotic therapy. Given our finding that patients ON and OFF antithrombotic therapy are both at high risk for stroke in the territory, intracranial stenting trials should not be limited to just those who fail antithrombotic therapy.
An Analysis and Classification of Problems in Small Business

DR. ZUELI HUANG AND DR. ALAN BROWN are research fellow and associate professor respectively at the Small and Medium Enterprise Research Centre at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia An understanding of the problems faced by small businesses is of practical importance for those involved in and promoting small businesses. Although there have been studies which have classified problems encountered by business managers, they have largely focused on large or fast growing businesses. There has been little systematic research into the types of problems encountered by small businesses. This paper investigates the tyes of problems that small businesses face and the relative significance of these problems through analysing a database of 973 small firms contained in the contact log of the manager of a small business support programme over a period of two years. Results show that the most frequently occurring problem areas are: marketing, human resource management, and general management. Specific types of problems in these areas are discussed along with the implications from these results.
A dual-band outphasing transmitter using broadband class E power amplifiers

In this paper, a dual-band outphasing transmitter (able of operating either at 770 MHz or 960 MHz frequency bands) is presented. Two broadband RF power amplifiers (PAs) have been designed over packaged GaN HEMT devices, switching close to the nominal zero-voltage and zero-voltage-derivative class E conditions. A reactive combiner, using transmission lines of appropriate electrical lengths at both bands, together with compensating reactances, allows positioning the drain impedance loci to produce high efficiency and good dynamic range profiles. Average drain efficiency figures over 68% and 38% have been measured for WCDMA signals with a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of 5.1 dB and 8.4 dB, respectively.
Power Management for Main Memory with Access Latency Control

Main memory, as an essential component of modern computer systems, has increased its power consumption significantly over the last 10 to 20 years. Energy consumed by memory can account for as much as 40% of an entire computer system. To address this challenge, major memory manufactures have developed memory chips with multiple power states. Putting memory chips into low power modes when they are not (or less frequently) being used is an effective way to save power. As a tradeoff, the time the chip needs to respond to an access may increase. It is therefore crucial to choose optimal timing for power mode switching depending on the current workload. In this paper, we present a power management algorithm to save power while guaranteeing the desired memory access latency. Our algorithm is designed based on feedback control theory to achieve theoretical analysis and guarantees. By performing extensive simulations based on a practical memory model, we demonstrate that our algorithm can improve memory power efficiency up to 19.3%. The stability of the designed controller has also been examined in our simulations.
Comparison of video telephony: A case study of LINE and Tango over 3G in Bangkok

Based on Quality-of-Experience (QoE), this paper presents a comparison of video telephony quality of two applications, LINE and Tango, using Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) measurements over the 3G mobile networks. The PSNR values have been obtained using the video processing application, called the MSU video quality measurement tool. Then, the PSNR values were statistically analyzed using t-test to prove the hypothesis that the PSNR values are significantly different or not. From this study, it has been found that LINE tends to provide better video quality than Tango with significant difference. This result is consistent with the result from one study about voice quality from these two applications, which found significant difference.
Conditionally Linear Mixed-Effects Models With Latent Variable Covariates

A version of the nonlinear mixed-effects model is presented that allows random effects only on the linear coefficients. Nonlinear parameters are not stochastic. In nonlinear regression, this kind of model has been called conditionally linear. As a mixed-effects model, this structure is more flexible than the popular linear mixed-effects model, while being nearly as straightforward to estimate. In addition to the structure for the repeated measures, a latent variable model (Browne, 1993) is specified for a distinct set of covariates that are related to the random effects in the second level. Unbalanced data are allowed on the repeated measures, and data that are missing at random are allowed on the repeated measures or on the observed variables of the factor analysis sub-model. Features of the model are illustrated by two examples.
Automatic Design of Color Filter Arrays in the Frequency Domain

In digital color imaging, the raw image is typically obtained through a single sensor covered by a color filter array (CFA), which allows only one color component to be measured at each pixel. The procedure to reconstruct a full color image from the raw image is known as demosaicking. Since the CFA may cause irreversible visual artifacts, the CFA and the demosaicking algorithm are crucial to the quality of demosaicked images. Fortunately, the design of CFAs in the frequency domain provides a theoretical approach to handling this issue. However, almost all the existing design methods in the frequency domain involve considerable human effort. In this paper, we present a new method to automatically design CFAs in the frequency domain. Our method is based on the frequency structure representation of mosaicked images. We utilize a multi-objective optimization approach to propose frequency structure candidates, in which the overlap among the frequency components of images mosaicked with the CFA is minimized. Then, we optimize parameters for each candidate, which is formulated as a constrained optimization problem. We use the alternating direction method to solve it. Our parameter optimization method is applicable to arbitrary frequency structures, including those with conjugate replicas of chrominance components. Experiments on benchmark images confirm the advantage of the proposed method.
Germany's Unification Strategy and Korea's Unification Perspectives

The Korean separation and possible unification remains at the centre of the South Korean political agenda and is influencing International Relations on a global scale as well. Consequentially, the debate focuses mainly on security issues from an IR perspective. The question, however, how a Korean unification could actually be achieved in practical terms is underexposed. Economic and even more so social questions are usually ignored. This article highlights critically several social and economic aspects of the German unification and draws inferences to the Korean case. It will be shown that the German strategy, focussing on a quick political unification, while achieving social and economic unity later, is not feasible for the Koreas. In contrast, it is argued that South Korea needs to develop strategies to maintain North Korea’s stability and to pursue social and economic harmonization first, before a political unification actually becomes a possibility.
Anomaly detection in embedded systems using simultaneous power and temperature monitoring

Embedded systems were traditionally considered impenetrable against security violations for a long duration. The recently discovered security attacks like W32.Stuxnet and the Duqu worm changed this almost established belief. Further, usual methods of anomaly detection cannot simply be employed in embedded systems since they are usually resource-constrained and the detection methods might interfere with performance of the main system tasks. However, behavior of applications running in embedded systems is relatively known, and profiling the correct behavior and comparing it with the runtime behavior is accounted as an effective approach for anomaly detection with no such interferences. In this paper, we consider the inter-effects of processor temperature and power consumption of embedded systems, and present a novel technique to detect malicious activities with minor delays with respect to the occurrences. This is done through analyzing the simultaneously observed power and temperature of the processor. The efficacy of the proposed method is evaluated by using the power and temperature traces of a real processor obtained through detailed simulations.
Celecoxib coupled to dextran via a glutamic acid linker yields a polymeric prodrug suitable for colonic delivery

Celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, is potentially useful for the treatment of colonic diseases such as colorectal cancer and colitis. However, the cardiovascular toxicity of celecoxib limits its routine use in the clinic. Generally, colon-specific delivery of a drug both increases the therapeutic availability in the large intestine and decreases the systemic absorption of the drug, most likely resulting in enhanced therapeutic effects against colonic diseases such as colitis and reduced systemic side effects. To develop a colon-specific prodrug of celecoxib that could reduce its cardiovascular toxicity and improve its therapeutic activity, dextran–glutamic acid–celecoxib conjugate (glutam-1-yl celecoxib-dextran ester [G1CD]) was prepared and evaluated. While stable in pH 1.2 and 6.8 buffer solutions and small-intestinal contents, G1CD efficiently released celecoxib in cecal contents. Oral administration of G1CD to rats delivered a larger amount of celecoxib to the large intestine than free celecoxib. G1CD prevented the systemic absorption of celecoxib and did not decrease the serum level of 6-ketoprostaglandin F1α, an inverse indicator of cardiovascular toxicity of celecoxib. Collectively, G1CD may be a polymeric colon-specific celecoxib prodrug with therapeutic and toxicological advantages.
Logic Duality, Conformity, and Survival in the French Film Industry, 1987-2008

This dissertation explores how logic duality, that is the coexistence of two institutional logics in an industry, affects firm strategic behaviors, and how in return firm strategic behaviors contribute (or not) to maintain logics segregated. Theoretically, I investigate the liability firms face when entering industries governed by a different logic, the wayincumbent organizations respond to the conformity demands of logic foreigners, and the determinants of firm-level institutional capital. Empirically, I study investment funds, filmmaking organizations and production firms in the French film industry (1987-2008), and find strong support for the proposed theory. By revealing strategies available to firms in dual-logicsettings and highlighting sources of institutional capital, this study contributes to the strategic management literature. The result is also a contribution to our understanding of why industries resist the “inexorable push towards homogenization” predicted by new institutional theory. By shedding light on the positive and negative effects of logic duality for firms, this work has also implications for practice.