Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extrinsic and intrinsic motivations for tax compliance: evidence from a field experiment in Germany

We study extrinsic and intrinsic motivations for tax compliance in the context of a local church tax in Germany. This tax system has historically relied on zero deterrence so that any compliance at baseline is intrinsically motivated. Starting from this zero deterrence baseline, we implement a field experiment that incentivized compliance through deterrence or rewards. Using administrative records of taxes paid and true tax liabilities, we use these treatments to document that intrinsically motivated compliance is substantial, that a significant fraction of it may be driven by duty-to-comply preferences, and that there is no crowd-out between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations.
Leisure sports habits in Spanish adults: gender and social differences

The aim of this study was to analyse sports habits in Spanish adults according to the temporal aspects of the activities, gender and social class. The research followed a cross-sectional quantitative methodology. The sample was made up of 3.463 people, 1.732 men (46.6 ± 9.7 years) and 1.731 women (44.5 ± 9.6 years). Twostep cluster and classification tree (Exhaustive-Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection) multivariate models were used to identify the best predictor variables on the temporal aspects of the sports activities. The results show that women and older people have fewer sports habits.
Parallel Pre-processing for XML mining using Graphic Processor

With the advent of ever increasing data availability on internet, mining and converting the information into knowledge is becoming extremely important and challenging task for researchers in data mining community. Mining of association rules is considered as an important research direction of data mining. XML is being extensively and pre-dominantly used as a markup language on web and thus makes it an interesting source for data extraction from large data sets. There is a growing demand for modern tools and technologies which can efficiently handle such large data. This paper proposes a collaborative approach to extract association rules from structured XML data with the help of cost effective, easily affordable and energy efficient Graphic Processors. Parallelism is applied at two levels in our proposed framework. First the deserialization of XML data is done using a parallel approach. Secondly the in-built multithreaded structure of GPU sorts the converted XML data in the pre-processing stage to make the dataset favorable for mining. Using a parallel framework in form of inbuilt hardware based GPU; we try to handle the scalability issue upto a large extent.
Performance Comparison of OTDM and OBS Scheduling for Agile All-Photonic Network

The Agile All Photonic Network (AAPN) is a high speed transparent agile optical transport network. A key issue in these all photonic networks is the distributed scheduling method employed at the edge nodes and the manner of co-ordination with the core switching state. In this paper we compare several classes of resource sharing methods. Optical Burst Switching (OBS) and two classes of Optical Time Division Multiplexing (OTDM) referred to as statistical Slot by Slot and deterministic frame based OTDM are investigated. Performance results obtained by simulation show that the OTDM schemes compare favourably with OBS in terms of packet loss and bandwidth utilization while keeping packet delay sufficiently low to meet real time QoS requirements. Slot by Slot scheduling is suitable for MANs while frame based TDM schemes with signalling is appropriate for either WAN or MAN applications.
A practical approach to harmonic compensation in power systems-series connection of passive and active filters

A combined system consisting of a passive filter and a small-rated active filter that are connected in series is discussed as a method of overcoming power system harmonic interferences caused by harmonic-producing loads such as diode or thyristor converters and cycloconverters. The system features filtering characteristics independent of the source impedance, parallel and series resonance between the source and the passive filter that is dumped by the active filter, and a required rating of the active filter which is much smaller than that of a conventional active filter. Experimental results obtained from a prototype model are shown to verify the developed theory. <<ETX>>
Standard surface-reflectance model and illuminant estimation

In the standard reflectance model for inhomogeneous materials it is assumed that light is reflected by two independent mechanisms. One component is reflected at the interface of the material and air. Light reflected by this mechanism does not interact with surface colorant, and its spectral composition is assumed to equal that of the incident light. The second component is reflected after entering and interacting with the subsurface structure of the material. This interaction substantially changes the spectral composition of the reflected light. We adopt a vector analysis technique for testing the standard reflectance model. Further, we develop a computational method to determine the components of the observed spectra, and we obtain an estimate of the illuminant without using a reference white standard. Finally, we evaluate the accuracy of the standard model and the feasibility of the illuminant spectral estimation by using several test objectives.
Spot-on for Timed instances: Striking a Balance between Spot and On-demand Instances

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers currently have no knowledge of the time frame customers intend to lease resources. However, scheduling in the absence of lease time information leads to wasted resources in times of decreasing demand. We explore how IaaS providers can use lease times to optimize resource allocation. We present two virtual machine scheduling algorithms to optimize the virtual-to-physical machine mapping taking lease time into account. Through simulation with synthetic and real-world workloads we evaluate the algorithms' potential to reduce the number of powered-up physical machines. Depending on data center size and request distribution the cumulative machine uptime is reduced by 28.4% to 51.5% when compared to round robin scheduling and by 3.3% to 16.7% when compared to first fit. Using a real-world workload from Google we achieve savings of 36.7% and 9.9% compared against round robin and first fit, respectively.
Notice of Violation of IEEE Publication Principles9.953-12.5GHz 0.13μm CMOS LC VCO using a high resolution calibration and a constant gain varactor

A multi-standard LC oscillator for 10Gb/s SERDES applications was realized in a 0.13μm CMOS process. The phase noise was reduced by using a high quality factor bond wire inductor in conjunction with a high resolution calibration network that brings the oscillating frequency to within 0.1% of the target value, reducing thus the oscillator gain below 110MHz/V. A low gain ripple varactor was realized with multiple parallel connected accumulation MOS capacitors having the bias voltages offset such that their peak gain points are uniformly distributed over the control voltage range. The supply pushing was minimized by cancelling the gate capacitance positive voltage coefficient with the negative coefficient of an appropriately sized drain diffusion capacitance. A dual regulator architecture was used to ensure the low noise and high PSRR requirements.
Customer Familiarity and its Effects on Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction

The main finding in this paper is that customer familiarity (i.e. the number of product-related experiences accumulated by the customer) affects customer satisfaction in an asymmetric way. Data from customers in the airline industry suggest that it is more difficult to obtain a high level of satisfaction among high familiarity customers compared to low familiarity customers, given a high performance level. On the other hand, given a low performance level, high familiarity and low familiarity customers do not seem to be subject to different levels of dissatisfaction.
Evaluation of the effect of different ferrule designs on the fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary central incisors incorporating fiber posts, composite cores and crown restorations.

AIM The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary central incisors restored with quartz fiber posts, composite cores, and crowns when different types of ferrule designs were incorporated. METHODS AND MATERIALS Sixty maxillary incisors were divided into six groups: Group 1 (control): teeth with root canal treatments having a full crown prosthesis; Group 2: teeth with a 2 mm circumferential ferrule; Group 3: teeth with a 2 mm ferrule only in the vestibular region; Group 4: teeth with a 2 mm ferrule only in the palatal region; Group 5: teeth with a 2 mm ferrule in the vestibular and palatal region, having cavities in both proximal areas; and Group 6: teeth with no ferrule. The teeth in the experimental groups were restored with quartz fiber posts-composite cores and full metallic crowns. All experimental teeth were subjected to an increasing compressive force with a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min, until fracture occurred. RESULTS The median fracture values of groups were as follows: Group 1: 574.4 N, Group 2: 472.4 N, Group 3: 474.3 N, Group 4: 480.7 N, Group 5: 463.1 N, and Group 6: 297.9 N. A statistically significant difference was found between Group 1 and Group 6 (p< 0.01). CONCLUSION It was concluded different ferrule designs did not have any influence on the fracture resistance of teeth with fiber posts. The results of this study indicate fiber posts can safely be used for their reinforcing properties. Furthermore, there is no significant change in the resistance of teeth with fiber posts regardless of which ferrule design is incorporated. The property of these types of posts is an additional advantage in clinical practice.
Battery-driven dynamic power management of portable systems

Battery life-time extension is a primary design objective for portable systems. Traditionally, battery life-time has been prolonged mainly by reducing average power consumption of system components. A careful analysis of discharge characteristics and the adoption of accurate high-level battery models in system-level design open new opportunities for life-time extension. We introduce dynamic power management (DPM) policies specifically tailored to battery-powered systems. Battery-driven DPM strives to enhance life-time by automatically adapting discharge rate and current profiles to battery state-of-charge. The distinctive feature of these policies is the control of system operation based on the observation of battery output voltage. The effectiveness of the proposed policies and, more in general, of the idea of accounting for battery behavior during system design, is proved by the experiments carried out on a realistic case study, namely, an MP3 audio player.
Focusing, Power Tunneling and Rejection from Chiral and/or Chiral Nihility/Nihility Metamaterials Layers

Focusing of electromagnetic plane wave from a large size paraboloidal reflector, composed of layers of chiral and/or chiral nihility metamaterials, has been studied us- ing Maslov's method. First, the transmission and reflection of electromagnetic plane wave from two parallel layers of chiral and/or chiral nihility metamaterials are cal- culated using transfer matrix method. The effects of change of angle of incidence, chirality parameters and impedances of layers are noted and discussed. Special cases by taking very large and small values of permittivity of second layer, while assuming value of corresponding chirality equal to zero, are also treated. These special cases are equivalent to reflection from a perfect electric conductor backed chiral layer and nihility backed chiral layer, respectively. Results of reflection from parallel layers have been utilized to study focusing from a large size paraboloidal reflector. The present study, on focusing from a paraboloidal re{\deg}ector, not only unifies several published works conducted by different researchers but also provides better understanding of new cases.
Approved health claims for amino acids in/as food supplements

Food supplements in the European Union (EU) were initially regulated by Directive 2002/46/EC, whereas in 2006, EU adopted the new Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on food – Regulation 1924/2006. Meanwhile, in the United States of America (USA), dietary supplement is defined by the congress of Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA, 1994). Food supplements can be beneficial to the health of consumers, but scientific reviews of the existing data should be made by competent authorities. In Europe, a scientific review is made by European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA), the Panel of Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA Panel). Amino-acids have been the object of many scientific studies, with many of them showing their implication in health. Amino-acids carry out a big role in many body functions, cells structure, transport and storage of nutrition, leading us to the main aim of this article that is providing data related to amino-acids implication in health benefits, specifically health claims of Arginine (Erection, vascular system, muscle integrity and hematopoesis immune system function, spermatogenesis), Glutamine (intestinal health, supporting glycogen replenishment, increasing cell swelling, immune health, abundance in the body, muscle function), Lysine (cardiovascular system, increase metabolism, bones, body tissue, immune system function). Nevertheless, they don`t take their credit yet and are not properly recognized in medical sciences in Europe, since the health claims of food containing amino-acids are still considered to be not established in terms of cause and effect relationship.
Evaluation of the effects of zinc supplementation on the symptoms and duration of the disease in acute viral gastroenteritis

Introduction: Acute viral gastroenteritis is the second most common cause of high morbidity and mortality in childhood. Viral gastroenteritis is the most common cause of severe diarrhea and associated hospitalizations especially in toddlers. It has been shown that the administration of 20 mg of zinc daily during acute diarrhea reduces the duration of watery diarrhea by 25% and it has been reported to have protective and therapeutic effects in the acute period. The aim of this study is to retrospectively determine the beneficial effects of oral zinc supplementation on the severity and duration of complaints of toddlers who were treated in our clinic with the diagnosis of acute viral gastroenteritis.Methods: Toddlers who were hospitalized in the Department of Pediatrics for acute viral gastroenteritis between October 2016 and March 2018 were included in the study. The study was retrospective and the data of the patients were obtained from the patient files. The diagnosis of acute viral gastroenteritis was made by detecting the adenovirus-rotavirus antigen in the fresh stool specimens. The patients were divided into two groups. Group 1: patients who received zinc supplementation in addition to support treatment. Group 2: patients who received only supportive therapy.Results: The mean number of vomiting was 3.60 / day and watery diarrhea was 5.20 / day in group-1 while number of vomiting was 6.1 / day and watery diarrhea was 8.9 / day in group-2 in the 36th hour during treatment. The tolerability of oral feeding at 36 th hour was 49.39% ( 41) in group-1 and 45.07% (32) in group-2. The mean number of vomiting and watery diarrhea in group-1 cases at 72th hours was 1.2 / day and 4.30 / day, while in group-2 cases, 3.90 / day and 7.20 / day. Conclusions: Although the physiopathology of the effects of zinc on gastroenteritis is not yet fully understood, diarrhea is seen both as a cause and as a result of zinc deficiency. The fact that patients with gastroenteritis benefit from zinc support suggests that zinc enhances this effect by increasing intestinal immunity.
The Type IV Leader Peptidase/ N -Methyltransferase ofVibrio vulnificus Controls Factors Required for Adherence to HEp-2 Cells and Virulence in Iron-Overloaded Mice

ABSTRACT Vibrio vulnificus expresses a number of potential virulence determinants that may contribute to its ability to cause a severe and rapidly disseminating septicemia in susceptible hosts. We have cloned and characterized two genes encoding products related to components of the type IV pilus biogenesis and general secretory (type II) pathways by complementation of a type IV peptidase/ N -methyltransferase (PilD) mutant ofPseudomonas aeruginosa with a V. vulnificusgenomic library. One of the genes (vvpD) encodes a protein homologous to PilD and other members of the type IV peptidase family that completely restores this activity in a P. aeruginosa mutant deficient in the expression of PilD. The other gene (vvpC) encodes a homolog of PilC fromP. aeruginosa, where it is essential for assembly of type IV pili. Phenotypic characterization of a V. vulnificus vvpD mutant, constructed by allelic exchange, showed that VvpD is required for the expression of surface pili, suggesting that the pili observed on V. vulnificus are of the type IV class. This mutant was also unable to secrete at least three extracellular degradative enzymes, and the localization of one of these (the cytolysin/hemolysin) to the periplasmic space indicates that these proteins are normally exported via the type II secretion pathway. Loss of VvpD resulted in significant decreases in CHO cell cytotoxicity, adherence to HEp-2 cells, and virulence in a mouse model. Capsule formation and serum resistance were not affected in the vvpD mutant, indicating that in addition to capsule, virulence of V. vulnificusrequires type IV pili and/or extracellular secretion of several exoenzymes.
A qualitative investigation of risk and protective factors for interpersonal violence in adults on the autism spectrum

Abstract Individuals on the autism spectrum are at an increased risk of experiencing violence. This study sought to understand the opinions of adults on the spectrum regarding potential risk and protective factors for interpersonal violence. Twenty-two adults (12 men; 18 to 53 years of age) participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed. The results of the qualitative analysis identified individual and contextual risk and protective factors. Protective themes focused on individual needs (awareness of the self and the environment, interpersonal knowledge/skills, skill building strategies) and supportive contexts (benefits of a trusted person, advocates, fostering acceptance and inclusion). There is a need for strategies to decrease the vulnerability to, and the impact of, interpersonal violence. Individuals on the spectrum have the capacity to provide important information regarding safety promotion and risk factors for interpersonal violence, and their expertise should play a role in guiding efforts that promote safety.
Handling Aperiodic Tasks and Overload in Distributed Off-line Scheduled Real-Time Systems

System designers face many choices when designing a real-time system. They have to decide how to deal with the original requirements imposed on the system, which operating system (OS), OS functionality, and scheduling algorithm. Ideally designers have a lot of freedom when choosing the most suitable configuration for the system. Unfortunately this is not the case in most present day situations. Real-time applications impose complex constraints, such as precedence, endto-end deadlines, jitter, and distribution, in addition to non-complex constraints, such as periods and deadlines. There might also be a need to handle on-line activities, such as aperiodic or sporadic tasks, or even to anticipate overload during run-time. On-line scheduling provide flexibility and supports overload handling, but handling complex constraints can be costly or even intractable. On the other hand, off-line scheduling resolves complex constraints and provides determinism at the cost of flexibility. This disparity between scheduling paradigms forces designers to choose either flexibility or determinism. OS kernels are usually monolithic, meaning that kernel functionality, dispatcher, and scheduling algorithms are usually intertwined to achieve higher performance, at the cost of limiting the designers choice. In this thesis we provide designers with some methods to alleviate these problems. We increase the flexibility in off-line scheduled systems by using the total bandwidth server (TBS) for aperiodic task handling. Furthermore we provide overload handling in off-line scheduled systems, which is handled in such a way that the original constraints are still met. Tasks can also be migrated from overloaded nodes to provide load balancing. We also propose a plug-in scheduling architecture where we disentangle the scheduling algorithm from the kernel routines providing for easy replacement of algorithm, as opposed to the monolithic kernels. This gives designers more flexibility in choosing the appropriate scheduling algorithm independently from the OS.
Intracellular Staphylococcus aureusEscapes the Endosome and Induces Apoptosis in Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT We examined the invasion of an established bovine mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T) by a Staphylococcus aureusmastitis isolate to study the potential role of intracellular survival in the persistence of staphylococcal infections. S. aureuscells displayed dose-dependent invasion of MAC-T cells and intracellular survival. An electron microscopic examination of infected cells indicated that the bacteria induced internalization via a mechanism involving membrane pseudopod formation and then escaped into the cytoplasm following lysis of the endosomal membrane. Two hours after the internalization of S. aureus, MAC-T cells exhibited detachment from the matrix, rounding, a mottled cell membrane, and vacuolization of the cytoplasm, all of which are indicative of cells undergoing programmed cell death (apoptosis). By 18 h, the majority of the MAC-T cell population exhibited an apoptotic morphology. Other evidence for apoptosis was the generation of MAC-T cell DNA fragments differing in size by increments of approximately 180 bp and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling of the fragmented nuclear DNA of the infected host cells. These results demonstrate that after internalizationS. aureus escapes the endosome and induces apoptosis in nonprofessional phagocytes.
Evolution of size and pattern in the social amoebas

A fundamental goal of biology is to understand how novel phenotypes evolved through changes in existing genes. The Dictyostelia or social amoebas represent a simple form of multicellularity, where starving cells aggregate to build fruiting structures. This review summarizes efforts to provide a framework for investigating the genetic changes that generated novel morphologies in the Dictyostelia. The foundation is a recently constructed molecular phylogeny of the Dictyostelia, which was used to examine trends in the evolution of novel forms and in the divergence of genes that shape these forms. There is a major trend towards the formation of large unbranched fruiting bodies, which is correlated with the use of cyclic AMP (cAMP) as a secreted signal to coordinate cell aggregation. The role of cAMP in aggregation arose through co‐option of a pathway that originally acted to coordinate fruiting body formation. The genotypic changes that caused this innovation and the role of dynamic cAMP signaling in defining fruiting body size and pattern throughout social amoeba evolution are discussed. BioEssays 29:635–644, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.