Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visible Light Communications Based on CDMA Technology

VLC can perform the functions of communications and lighting simultaneously, which is expected to be an important part of next-generation wireless communications. Compared to traditional RF wireless communications, VLC offers many salient features, such as its operation on unlicensed visible light spectra, its support of high communication rates, and its immunity against electromagnetic interferences. In this article, we focus on code division multiple access techniques used in VLC systems and discuss different application scenarios for VLC-CDMA technologies. In particular, two types of VLC-CDMA systems will be identified, i.e., unipolar codes and bipolar codes based VLC-CDMA systems, whose performances will be analyzed and compared explicitly.
What do we mean when we talk about business angels? Some reflections on definitions and sampling

Early research on business angels recognized a couple of methodological obstacles that significantly have hindered knowledge accumulation about the phenomenon. In this article we will reflect upon these methodological obstacles with focus on definitional issues and sampling techniques. The purpose is to provide a framework that systemizes and inter-relates the variety of definitions within the field as well as to critically review the sampling techniques currently applied in the research field. We maintain that researchers need to make conscious definitional choices when conducting studies of informal investors and business angels, and argue that changing the unit of analysis from investor level to deal level can help to avoid definitional inconsistencies. Further, we suggest two alternative ways of creating high quality samples of business angels and informal investors – the random sample approach and the multi-sample approach. Both procedures reduce the sample bias and allow for longitudinal analysis which is argued to be essential in future research.
American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Horses from Endemic Areas in the North‐Central Mesoregion of Paraná State, Brazil

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is an endemic disease in the north‐west of Paraná state, Brazil, where it occurs in humans and dogs. Few studies have been undertaken on the occurrence of the disease in other domestic animals and horses. In this study we investigated the infection of horses by Leishmania in ACL‐endemic rural areas. Direct agglutination test (DAT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were employed. Fifty‐five horses from rural areas in the municipalities of Doutor Camargo, Ourizona, São Jorge do Ivaí, Ivatuba and Santa Fé (Água do Ó) were analysed. DAT‐detected antibody titres varied from 10 to 640, and 42 (76.3%) animals presented titres ≥20. PCR analyses led to the detection of Leishmania (Viannia) DNA in the blood samples of three (7.1%) of 42 animals. The presence of anti‐L. (V.) braziliensis antibodies and Leishmania (Viannia) DNA in horses from endemic areas suggests their participation in the ACL transmission cycle.
Understanding BGP Anomalies : Detection , Analysis , and Prevention 15-744 Class Project Report

The Border Gateway Protocol is the de-facto interdomain routing protocol in the Internet. Previous studies and various incidents have shown the vulnerability of the BGP infrastructure to a number of failures. In this paper we address a subset of the problem of BGP vulnerabilities we refer to as BGP anomalies, which can arise both as a result of mistakes by network operators and as a result of malicious attacks. Such incidents include routing loops, policy violations, incorrect export of routes between neighboring ASes, origin violations and address space hijacks, false announcements claiming non-existent connectivity, private AS announcements etc. We discuss a set of techniques for identifying these anomalies building on the existing work from [7], [17], and [4]. We present some results quantifying the occurrences of such anomalies in a recent dataset obtained from the RouteViews server, proving that the threat of routing failure due to anomalies still exists. We also discuss proposed solutions for prevention of such anomalies and outline a set of desirable properties for the inter-domain routing framework. The set of anomalies we present is by no means comprehensive, and it is also likely that most of them are likely to be harmless. However the problem of detecting, analyzing, and preventing these anomalies is non-trivial, and we believe such a framework is necessary to prevent routing failures in the future. We hope that our observations and suggestions are useful towards achieving long-term goals of secure and robust inter-domain routing.
The Role of Education for the Economic Growth of Bulgaria

The paper presents results of a study which estimates the impact of human capital on growth in Bulgaria over the period 2000-12. The empirical models are based on the extended Cobb-Douglas production with three inputs ─ labor, physical capital and human capital. Export and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) are included as well. The quantity of human capital is measured by the share of people in the labor force aged 25-64 having completed at least upper secondary education. The outcome suggests that the share of people with upper secondary education enters insignificantly the regression model. Moreover, its short-run accumulation is related negatively to real output per capita. When tertiary education is considered, the result is positive and statistically significant. In general, the study cannot fully support the hypothesis that education fosters growth because people with upper secondary education twice outnumber those with tertiary education. The results also imply that the upward trend of real output is attributed mainly to FDI, physical capital accumulation and export. A reasonable explanation of the non-significant role of secondary education is that the quality of human capital is a crucial factor for growth especially in countries where the average educational level is relatively high. According to the results of a partial correlation analysis foreign language proficiency explains a large part of the variation in output per capita across Europe.
Validation of a Risk Index Model for Predicting Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus Transmission to Horses in Florida

Abstract Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) is the most pathogenic arbovirus endemic to the United States. EEEV primarily infects birds but can be fatal to humans, horses, and some other mammals. Although EEEV transmission occurs in the Northeastern, Southeastern, and Midwestern United States, the largest number of horse and human cases have been reported in Florida, the only state where transmission occurs year round. Currently, a GIS-based risk index (RI) model is used to map EEE transmission risk to horses in Florida. This study validates that RI model using a 5-yr dataset of horse cases in Florida. RI values were similar between summer (N = 152, x = 0.59) and winter (N = 25, x = 0.66) cases, suggesting the model is effective for mapping risk during both transmission seasons.These risk values were larger and remained similar when a 100-m buffer was applied to the case locations to account for modest spatial errors in case reporting (summer x = 0.73, winter x = 0.77). In both comparisons, RI values for summer and winter cases were higher than expected at random in the Panhandle, North, and Central regions of the state, although the analysis was inconclusive in the South, where only two cases were observed.This suggests the RI map could be used to target EEEV surveillance, prevention, and control efforts in both transmission seasons in Florida.
Family-Owned Businesses: A Thing of the Past or a Model for the Future?

Asindividuals widely identified with family businesses, we often are asked questions by those unfamiliar with family businesses' role in our society and economy Executives in large corporations, dealers in corporate finance and securities, our colleagues on business school faculties, journalists, and elected or appointed government officials often seem bemused by our passionate commitment to family businesses. To them, family businesses are quaint relics. Others regard the family business as an ideological icon, a mostly rhetorical symbol that combines motherhood and apple pie with entrepreneurial drive. Recently, Dr. Francis W Rushing, a highly respected economist and economics educator who holds the Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise at Georgia State University, challenged us to deal with the question of whether familyowned businesses are a thing of the past or a model for the future. We felt that the question was eminently worthy of our thoughtful attention and have attempted a modest answer here. Our belief, of course, is that family business is both of the past and for the future-and that it is just this capacity to transcend time that is its greatest strength. What was the fulfillment of "The American Dream" for a past or current generation can be conceptualized as the fulfillment of "The Next Chapter of the American Dream" as successive generations build on the entrepreneurial accomplishments of their parents. We have learned by knowing family businesses throughout the world, that the American dream is not uniquely American. Indeed, the family almost universally appears to be societys fundamental economic unit. Its connection with business is therefore obvious and unsurprising if we think of business as the ownership and management of productive assets residing in the family In post-World War II America, the large, publicly owned corporation, with separation of ownership and management, became perceived as the norm. Only in that context does family business seem quaint or unusual. Indeed, much of the latest thinking in such areas as agency theory, executive compensation, corporate governance, and organizational design stresses the desirability of shrinking the management/ownership chasm. Relationship management,
3D object recognition using ISAR image

We propose a 3D object recognition method using inverse synthetic aperture radar images, which doesn't need any aspect information. It employs a simple support vector machine of linear kernel. Numerical experiments clarified that when the movements of the targets are ideally or practically compensated, it recognizes cones with up to 90% accuracy and cylinders with up to 100% accuracy.
Ovarian cancer and gonadotropins in vitro: new evidence in favor of independence.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate whether newly established epithelial ovarian carcinoma cell lines secrete inhibins, and whether their proliferative and secretory activity can be regulated by gonadotropins. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three recently characterized human epithelial ovarian carcinoma cell lines were exposed to human choriongonadotropin hCG and follicle stimulating hormone FSH. Cell proliferation was determined by counting. Secretory activity of the cell lines was studied by analyzing inhibin A, inhibin B, inhibin pro-aC, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and CA 125 concentrations from the medium. The expression of gonadotropin receptors was studied by RT-PCR. RESULTS None of the cell lines were found to secrete any of the inhibins, progesterone or testosterone. Only UT-OC-4 cells secreted low levels of estradiol. Gonadotropin receptors were not expressed by any of the cell lines, and accordingly neither FSH nor hCG stimulated the growth of these cells. However, hCG had some dose dependent growth inhibitory effect on UT-OC-3. Passage 42 cells of UT-OC-3 secreted significantly more CA 125 than passages 8 cells (P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS The present results suggest that the carcinomatous epithelial cells of the ovary do not secrete inhibins. The serum inhibin levels previously detected in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma may therefore reflect an ovarian stromal response to carcinoma. The findings are also in favor of an independence of ovarian cancer of gonadotropins.
Has the Rise in Globalization Reduced U.S. Inflation in the 1990s

This article investigates whether increased globalization of the U.S. economy has helped hold down inflation in the 1990s. Based on several measures, we find that globalization has increased. Further, we find that import prices exert a greater impact on prices of products in industries faced with greater import penetration. High foreign excess capacity accounts for much of the recent decline in U.S. inflation. Our results suggest that the decline in inflation is explained by the interaction of increased globalization and high excess foreign capacity. Globalization by itself does not lead to less inflation, just greater sensitivity to foreign economic conditions.
Asian and Pacific Islander childhood vaccination coverage: National Immunization Survey, 2002-2004.

OBJECTIVE Public health data on Asian/Pacific Islanders are most often collected and reported as one aggregated group. This aggregation of data can mask potential differences among the many ethnic/national/cultural groups classified as Asian/Pacific Islanders. We used data from the National Immunization Survey (NIS) to examine immunization status for all US children and four mutually exclusive groups: Asian only, Native Hawaiian only, Pacific Islander only, and other. METHODS We included information from 64,718 US children 19-35 months of age who had adequate vaccination histories from provider(s) for 2002 to 2004; among these, 2673 (4.3%) were Asian only, Native Hawaiian only, or Pacific Islander only. The sample sizes reported are unweighted, while results are based on weighted analyses. RESULTS Vaccination coverage estimates for children in the Native Hawaiian only group were consistently higher than estimates for all US children, whereas those in the Asian only group were nearly the same. Children in the Pacific Islander only group had vaccination coverage estimates that were lower than estimates for all US children. CONCLUSION The results of this study indicated that although overall the Asian/Pacific Islander group had similar childhood vaccination coverage to all US children, the group does not have homogeneous coverage, with Pacific Islanders having lower coverage. Public health researchers should, whenever possible, examine individual groups of Asian/Pacific Islanders to more accurately measure the health status of this growing population.
Exchange Rate Policy Options for Post-Crisis Southeast Asia: Is There a Case for Currency Baskets?

Following the recent financial crises in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, the perennial issue of the exchange rate policy options for small and open developing countries has resurfaced. There seems to be an emerging consensus that the frequency with which 'soft pegs' have been susceptible to speculative attacks in this era of escalating global capital flows has increased pressure for developing countries to adopt 'corner' exchange rate regimes. This paper takes issue with this popular -'one-size-fits-all' - prescription of exchange rate arrangements for developing countries and explores exchange rate policy options for post-crisis Southeast Asia. The principal purpose of this paper is to discuss the case for currency baskets as a general regime in its own right for Southeast Asia as opposed to being a compromise between the two corner solutions. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2002.
Do Husbands and Wives Pool Their Resources?

This paper replicates results of an article showing that families with children increased expenditures on women’s clothing (relative to men’s) after implementation of a policy that shifted a child subsidy “payment” from the father to the mother. These results were interpreted as evidence that families do not pool their income but allocate consumption based on income source. However, the current paper also finds an increase in relative spending on women’s clothing among childless couples, a sample the policy change did not impact. Alternative explanations are explored for observing these patterns, but none can rule out either bargaining or income pooling.
Housing Supply, Housing Demand, and Affordability

The affordability of housing is a major policy issue that has increasingly become a concern for UK government as house prices have risen dramatically in recent years. This is partly because of the importance of affordability for the recruitment and retention of key workers, many of whom are on national pay scales and earning salaries that do not fully reflect the differences in prices that exist, in particular between London and the South East and the rest of Great Britain. Government policy is to increase the supply of housing in order to improve affordability in the greater South East. However, assuming that this expansion in housing supply is also to be accompanied by an expansion in employment, the outcome is that there will be both an increase in supply and in demand for housing, with the counter-intuitive result that, under one of the scenarios set out in this paper, in some areas affordability will worsen rather than improve.
Postoperative Confusion Preceded by Decreased Frontal Lobe Haemoglobin Oxygen Saturation

We describe a 58-year-old male patient with confusion and prolonged recovery after liver transplantation. A cause was not apparent for the confusion, but during surgery, monitoring of the frontal lobe cerebral haemoglobin oxygen saturation by near-infrared spectrophotometry showed cerebral hypo-oxygenation despite optimization of conventional cardiovascular parameters. It is possible that intraoperative cerebral ischaemia is the cause of post-surgical confusion and with near-infrared spectrophotometry this hypothesis may be tested clinically.
Optimized Taylor rules with domestic bond yields in emerging market economies

We study optimized Taylor rules with the appropriate lag structure, which has been little done for emerging market economies. Setting the policy interest rate in response to movements in domestic long-term bond yields, in addition to the output gap, the inflation gap and the exchange rate, can make monetary policy more effective. But a more complex rule can reduce monetary policy effectiveness, notably in the presence of uncertainty about the effects of capital flows on domestic monetary conditions.
A development planning application of relational epistemology

Purpose – Aims to conceptualise a relational epistemology of development planning emanating from the episteme of oneness of Allah as the worldview of unity of knowledge and to make it empirically viable by combining statistical quantification and real-time simulation in the spatial dimension. Design/methodology/approach – These two estimation approaches and the empirical results are sequentially interconnected; showing how statistical results that are always static in nature can be dynamically represented by real-time graphical simulation in spatial representation. Findings – The policy implication underlying the normative issues interconnecting the statistical results and the spatial dimension real-time simulation results by vivid simulation is pointed out. Originality/value – The results are impressive for guiding policy in cases where there are negative partial elasticity coefficients between sectoral gross domestic product and total employment. The same model can be extended in much broader contexts of development planning in inter-sectoral, national, regional, and global perspectives.
Toxicity of internalized laser generated pure silver nanoparticles to the isolated rat hippocampus cells

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are the most commonly used nanoparticles (NPs) in medicine, industry and cosmetics. They are generally considered as biocompatible. However, contradictory reports on their biosafety render them difficult to accept as ‘safe’. In this study, we evaluated the neurotoxicity of direct AgNP treatment in rat hippocampal slices. We produced pure uncoated AgNPs by a pulsed laser ablation method. NP characterization was performed by Ultraviolet (UV) visible spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Rat hippocampal slices were treated with AgNPs for an hour. AgNP exposure of hippocampal tissue resulted in a significant decrease in cell survival in a dose-dependent manner. Our TEM results showed that AgNPs were distributed in the extracellular matrix and were taken into the cytoplasm of the neurons. Moreover, we found that only larger AgNPs were taken into the neurons via phagocytosis. This study showed that the pure AgNPs produced by laser ablation are toxic to the neural tissue. We also found that neurons internalized only the large NPs by phagocytosis which seems to be the major mechanism in AgNP neurotoxicity.
A role for extra macrochaetae downstream of Notch in follicle cell differentiation

The Drosophila ovary provides a model system for studying the mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of somatic stem cells into specific cell types. Ovarian somatic stem cells produce follicle cells, which undergo a binary choice during early differentiation. They can become either epithelial cells that surround the germline to form an egg chamber (`main body cells') or a specialized cell lineage found at the poles of egg chambers. This lineage goes on to make two cell types: polar cells and stalk cells. To better understand how this choice is made, we carried out a screen for genes that affect follicle cell fate specification or differentiation. We identified extra macrochaetae (emc), which encodes a helix-loop-helix protein, as a downstream effector of Notch signaling in the ovary. EMC is expressed in proliferating cells in the germarium, as well as in the main body follicle cells. EMC expression in the main body cells is Notch dependent, and emc mutant cells located on the main body failed to differentiate. EMC expression is reduced in the precursors of the polar and stalk cells, and overexpression of EMC caused dramatic egg chamber fusions, indicating that EMC is a negative regulator of polar and/or stalk cells. EMC and Notch were both required in the main body cells for expression of Eyes Absent (EYA), a negative regulator of polar and stalk cell fate. We propose that EMC functions downstream of Notch and upstream of EYA to regulate main body cell fate specification and differentiation.
Combining nutrient intake from food/beverages and vitamin/mineral supplements.

BACKGROUND To calculate total intake of a nutrient and estimate inadequate intake for a population, the amounts derived from food/beverages and from vitamin/mineral supplements must be combined. The two methods Statistics Canada has suggested present problems of interpretation. DATA AND METHODS Data collected from 34,386 respondents to the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition were used to compare four methods of combining nutrient intake from food/beverages and vitamin/mineral supplements: adding average intake from supplements to the 24-hour food/beverage recall and estimating the usual distribution in the population (Method 1); estimating usual individual intake from food? beverages and adding intake from supplements (Method 2); and dividing the population into supplement users and non-users and applying Method 1 or Method 2 and combining the estimates based on the percentages of users and non-users (Methods 3 and 4). RESULTS Interpretation problems arise with Methods 1 and 2; for example, the percentage of the population with inadequate intake of vitamin C and folate equivalents falls outside the expected minimum-maximum range. These interpretation problems are not observed with Methods 3 and 4. INTERPRETATION Interpretation problems that may arise in combining food and supplement intake of a given nutrient are overcome if the population is divided into supplement users and non-users before Method 1 or Method 2 is applied.