Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Governance and Meta-Bureaucracy? Perspectives of local governance ‘partnership’ in England and Scotland

This paper assess e the nature of partnerships through the research site of local governance in England and Scotland, engaging a range of debates and literature around governance and meta-governance. The research used secondary data of local authority partnership working in England and Scotland as well as primary qualitative data from participant observation and interviews with senior officials of local authorities and partner organisations. There is little to suggest English and Scottish practices are significantly at variance and the paper advanc es an argument of meta-bureaucracy to descri be partnerships‟ activities: that is to say, partnerships do not represent a growth of autonomous networks and governance arrangements but rather an extension of bureaucratic controls. State actors remain pre-eminent within increasingly formalised systems of „partnership‟.
Recent Trends in Metallopolymer Design: Redox-Controlled Surfaces, Porous Membranes, and Switchable Optical Materials Using Ferrocene-Containing Polymers.

Metallopolymers with metal functionalities are a unique class of functional materials. Their redox-mediated optoelectronic and catalytic switching capabilities, their outstanding structure formation and separation capabilities have been reported recently. Within this Minireview, the scope and limitations of intriguing ferrocene-containing systems will be discussed. In the first section recent advances in metallopolymer design will be given leading to a plethora of novel metallopolymer architectures. Discussed synthetic pathways comprise controlled and living polymerization protocols as well as surface immobilization strategies. In the following sections, we focus on recent advances and new applications for side-chain and main-chain ferrocene-containing polymers as (i) remote-switchable materials, (ii) smart surfaces, (iii) redox-responsive membranes, and some recent trends in (iv) photonic structures and (v) other optical applications.
Pneumatic Rehabilitation Robot: Modeling and Control

In this paper, a pneumatic robot system for PNF based rehabilitation is presented. The contents of this paper is focused on the actuation system used in this robot. Especially robots intended to cooperate with humans, the case of rehabilitation robotic devices, requires drives compliant and safe. By virtue of the compressibility of air, a pneumatic actuator offers compliant actuation system. The paper presents the modeling and identification of the pneumatic actuation system of the designed robot. Finally, the promising results of a controller computed using these models are summarized.
Infant and Child Mortality in India in the Last Two Decades: A Geospatial Analysis

Background Studies examining the intricate interplay between poverty, female literacy, child malnutrition, and child mortality are rare in demographic literature. Given the recent focus on Millennium Development Goals 4 (child survival) and 5 (maternal health), we explored whether the geographic regions that were underprivileged in terms of wealth, female literacy, child nutrition, or safe delivery were also grappling with the elevated risk of child mortality; whether there were any spatial outliers; whether these relationships have undergone any significant change over historical time periods. Methodology The present paper attempted to investigate these critical questions using data from household surveys like NFHS 1992–1993, NFHS 1998–1999 and DLHS 2002–2004. For the first time, we employed geo-spatial techniques like Moran's-I, univariate LISA, bivariate LISA, spatial error regression, and spatiotemporal regression to address the research problem. For carrying out the geospatial analysis, we classified India into 76 natural regions based on the agro-climatic scheme proposed by Bhat and Zavier (1999) following the Census of India Study and all estimates were generated for each of the geographic regions. Result/Conclusions This study brings out the stark intra-state and inter-regional disparities in infant and under-five mortality in India over the past two decades. It further reveals, for the first time, that geographic regions that were underprivileged in child nutrition or wealth or female literacy were also likely to be disadvantaged in terms of infant and child survival irrespective of the state to which they belong. While the role of economic status in explaining child malnutrition and child survival has weakened, the effect of mother's education has actually become stronger over time.
Declining exposures to lead and cadmium contribute to explaining the reduction of cardiovascular mortality in the US population, 1988-2004.

Background Lead and cadmium exposures have markedly declined in the USA following the implementation of large-scale public health policies and could have contributed to the unexplained decline in cardiovascular mortality in US adults. We evaluated the potential contribution of lead and cadmium exposure reductions to explain decreasing cardiovascular mortality trends occurring in the USA from 1988-94 to 1999-2004. Methods Prospective study in 15 421 adults ≥40 years old who had participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-94 or 1999-2004. We estimated the amount of change in cardiovascular mortality over time that can be independently attributed to the intermediate pathway of changes in blood lead and urine cadmium concentrations. Results There was a 42.0% decrease in blood lead and a 31.0% decrease in urine cadmium concentrations. The cardiovascular mortality rate ratio [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] associated with a doubling of metal levels was 1.19 (1.07, 1.31) for blood lead and 1.20 (1.09, 1.32) for urine cadmium. The absolute reduction in cardiovascular deaths comparing 1999-2004 to 1988-94 was 230.7 deaths/100 000 person-years, in models adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Among these avoided deaths, 52.0 (95% CI 8.4, 96.7) and 19.4 (4.3, 36.4) deaths/100 000 person-years were attributable to changes in lead and cadmium, respectively. Conclusions Environmental declines in lead and cadmium exposures were associated with reductions in cardiovascular mortality in US adults. Given the fact that lead and cadmium remain associated with cardiovascular disease at relatively low levels of exposure, prevention strategies that further minimize exposure to lead and cadmium may be needed.
Vitamin D in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection: Influence on Immunity and Disease

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection typically have hypovitaminosis D, which is linked to a large number of pathologies, including immune disorders and infectious diseases. Vitamin D (VitD) is a key regulator of host defense against infections by activating genes and pathways that enhance innate and adaptive immunity. VitD mediates its biological effects by binding to the Vitamin D receptor (VDR), and activating and regulating multiple cellular pathways. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes from those pathways have been associated with protection from HIV-1 infection. High levels of VitD and VDR expression are also associated with natural resistance to HIV-1 infection. Conversely, VitD deficiency is linked to more inflammation and immune activation, low peripheral blood CD4+ T-cells, faster progression of HIV disease, and shorter survival time in HIV-infected patients. VitD supplementation and restoration to normal values in HIV-infected patients may improve immunologic recovery during combination antiretroviral therapy, reduce levels of inflammation and immune activation, and increase immunity against pathogens. Additionally, VitD may protect against the development of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome events, pulmonary tuberculosis, and mortality among HIV-infected patients. In summary, this review suggests that VitD deficiency may contribute to the pathogenesis of HIV infection. Also, VitD supplementation seems to reverse some alterations of the immune system, supporting the use of VitD supplementation as prophylaxis, especially in individuals with more severe VitD deficiency.
Patent Citation Analysis with Google 1

Citations from patents to scientific publications provide useful evidence about the commercial impact of academic research but automatically searchable databases are needed to exploit this connection for large scale patent citation evaluations. Google covers multiple different international patent office databases but does not index patent citations or allow automatic searches. In response, this article introduces a semi-automatic indirect method via Bing to extract and filter patent citations from Google to academic papers with an overall precision of 98%. The method was evaluated with 322,192 science and engineering Scopus articles from every second year during 1996-2012. Although manual Google Patent searches give more results, especially for articles with many patent citations, the difference is not large enough to be a major problem. Within Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, and Pharmacology & Pharmaceutics, 7%-10% of Scopus articles had at least one patent citation but other fields had far fewer so patent citation analysis is only relevant for a minority of publications. Low but positive correlations between Google Patent citations and Scopus citations across all fields suggests that traditional citation counts cannot substitute for patent citations when evaluating research, however.
A comparison of subspace analysis for face recognition

We report the results of a comparative study on subspace analysis methods for face recognition. In particular, we have studied four different subspace representations and their 'kernelized' versions if available. They include both unsupervised methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) and independent component analysis (ICA), and supervised methods such as Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) and probabilistic PCA (PPCA) used in a discriminative manner. The 'kernelized' versions of these methods provide subspaces of high-dimensional feature spaces induced by non-linear mappings. To test the effectiveness of these subspace representations, we experiment on two databases with three typical variations of face images, i.e., pose, illumination and facial expression changes. The comparison of these methods applied to different variations in face images offers a comprehensive view of all the subspace methods currently used in face recognition.
Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility Assay (MODS) for Early Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children

MODS is a novel liquid culture based technique that has been shown to be effective and rapid for early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). We evaluated the MODS assay for diagnosis of TB in children in Viet Nam. 217 consecutive samples including sputum (n = 132), gastric fluid (n = 50), CSF (n = 32) and pleural fluid (n = 3) collected from 96 children with suspected TB, were tested by smear, MODS and MGIT. When test results were aggregated by patient, the sensitivity and specificity of smear, MGIT and MODS against “clinical diagnosis” (confirmed and probable groups) as the gold standard were 28.2% and 100%, 42.3% and 100%, 39.7% and 94.4%, respectively. The sensitivity of MGIT and MODS was not significantly different in this analysis (P = 0.5), but MGIT was more sensitive than MODS when analysed on the sample level using a marginal model (P = 0.03). The median time to detection of MODS and MGIT were 8 days and 13 days, respectively, and the time to detection was significantly shorter for MODS in samples where both tests were positive (P<0.001). An analysis of time-dependent sensitivity showed that the detection rates were significantly higher for MODS than for MGIT by day 7 or day 14 (P<0.001 and P = 0.04), respectively. MODS is a rapid and sensitive alternative method for the isolation of M.tuberculosis from children.
The skeletal muscle VEGF mRNA response to acute exercise in patients with chronic heart failure

In seven patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and six controls, we examined (a) resting and post-exercise muscle vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA levels and (b) their relationship with muscle structure and function. Muscle biopsies were taken after 30 min of single-leg knee-extensor exercise at 50% of maximum work rate (50% WRmax) from both the exercised and rested legs. Muscle blood flow and O2 uptake were measured during exercise. Resting VEGF mRNA levels were not different between patients and controls and both groups upregulated VEGF mRNA equally in response to acute exercise. Patients had lower , , and mitochondrial density but similar capillarity and fiber area. These findings reveal a normal basal level of muscle VEGF mRNA, its appropriate upregulation in response to acute exercise and, despite increased vascular resistance during exercise, a normal skeletal muscle vascular structure in patients with CHF.
Design of an IEEE 802.15.3c baseband processor in FPGA

This paper presents the implementation of the OFDM demodulator and the Viterbi decoder, proposed as part of a wireless High Definition video receiver to be integrated in an FPGA. These blocks were implemented in a Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA. The complete system was previously modeled and simulated using Matlab/Simulink to extract important hardware characteristics for the FPGA implementation.
Tracking abruptly changing channels in mmWave systems using overlaid data and training

Millimeter-wave (mmWave) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) links are sensitive to abrupt changes in the channel due to blockage and node mobility. We propose to estimate the channel by overlaying pilot and data transmissions. The data transmission is performed over the signal subspace of the channel matrix, while the training, for estimating the parameters of newly appearing paths, is performed over the null-space of the channel matrix. A sparse Bayesian learning-based approach is employed for jointly estimating the channel and data at the receiver. Simulations are used to validate the performance of the proposed method in abruptly changing channel scenarios.
An Extended Photoelectrothermal Theory for LED Systems: A Tutorial From Device Characteristic to System Design for General Lighting

LED technology is a multidisciplinary subject that involves semiconductor physics, photometry, electric power, heat, and chromaticity. It has been demonstrated that operating the LED load at its rated power does not necessarily guarantee optimal luminous performance unless the LED system is properly designed. This paper presents a tutorial of LED system theory that links the device characteristics to optimal system designs. Based on recent works on the photoelectrothermal theory and its extensions, this paper aims at providing a comprehensive LED system theory with physical explanations for electronics engineers and researchers working in LED system designs, with the emphasis on general and public lighting applications. The physical meanings of essential parameters are explained. Practical test procedures for extracting parameters not readily available in data sheets are included. It is envisaged that this LED system theory will form the basic design guidelines for future LED system designs. This tutorial paper is written not only for educational purpose, but it also highlights important parameters that LED device manufacturers should include in LED data sheets.
Phylogeography of Bivalve Cyclina sinensis: Testing the Historical Glaciations and Changjiang River Outflow Hypotheses in Northwestern Pacific

Background The marginal seas of northwestern Pacific are characterized by unique topography and intricate hydrology. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain genetic patterns of marine species inhabiting the region: the historical glaciations hypothesis suggests population genetic divergence between sea basins, whereas the Changjiang River outflow hypothesis suggests genetic break in line with the Changjiang Estuary. Here the phylogeography of bivalve Cyclina sinensis was investigated to test the validity of these two hypotheses for intertidal species in three marginal seas—the East China Sea (ECS), the South China Sea (SCS), and the Japan Sea (JPS). Methodology/Principal Findings Fragments of two markers (mitochondrial COI and nuclear ITS-1) were sequenced for 335 individuals collected from 21 populations. Significant pairwise ΦST were observed between different marginal sea populations. Network analyses illustrated restricted distribution of haplogroups/sub-haplogroups to sea basins, with a narrow secondary contact zone between the ECS and SCS. Demographic expansion was inferred for ECS and SCS lineages using mismatch distributions, neutral tests, and extended Bayesian Skyline Plots. Based on a molecular clock method, the divergence times among COI lineages were estimated dating from the Pleistocene. Conclusions The phylogeographical break revealed for C. sinensis populations is congruent with the historical isolation of sea basins rather than the putative Changjiang River outflow barrier. The large land bridges extending between seas during glaciation allowed accumulation of mutations and subsequently gave rise to deep divergent lineages. The low-dispersal capacity of the clam and coastal oceanography may facilitate the maintenance of the historical patterns as barriers shift. Our study supports the historical glaciations hypothesis for interpreting present-day phylogeographical patterns of C. sinensis, and highlights the importance of historical glaciations for generating genetic structure of marine coastal species especially those with low-dispersal abilities in northwestern Pacific.
Predicting Clinical Deterioration of Outpatients Using Multimodal Data Collected by Wearables

Hospital readmission rate is high for heart failure patients. Early detection of deterioration will help doctors prevent readmissions, thus reducing health care cost and providing patients with just-in-time intervention. Wearable devices (e.g., wristbands and smart watches) provide a convenient technology for continuous outpatient monitoring. In the paper, we explore the feasibility of monitoring outpatients using Fitbit Charge HR wristbands and the potential of machine learning models to predicting clinical deterioration (readmissions and death) among outpatients discharged from the hospital. We developed and piloted a data collection system in a clinical study which involved 25 heart failure patients recently discharged from a hospital. The results from the clinical study demonstrated the feasibility of continuously monitoring outpatients using wristbands. We observed high levels of patient compliance in wearing the wristbands regularly and satisfactory yield, latency and reliability of data collection from the wristbands to a cloud-based database. Finally, we explored a set of machine learning models to predict readmissions based on the Fitbit data. Through leave-one-out (LOO) cross validation logistic regression achieved the highest LOO accuracy of 0.92. We show that machine learning models based on multimodal data (step, sleep and heart rate) significantly outperformed the traditional clinical approach based on LACE index and earlier machine learning models based on step data only.
Kinship Shapes Affiliative Social Networks but Not Aggression in Ring-Tailed Coatis

Animal groups typically contain individuals with varying degrees of genetic relatedness, and this variation in kinship has a major influence on patterns of aggression and affiliative behaviors. This link between kinship and social behavior underlies socioecological models which have been developed to explain how and why different types of animal societies evolve. We tested if kinship and age-sex class homophily in two groups of ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua) predicted the network structure of three different social behaviors: 1) association, 2) grooming, and 3) aggression. Each group was studied during two consecutive years, resulting in four group-years available for analysis (total of 65 individuals). Association patterns were heavily influenced by agonistic interactions which typically occurred during feeding competition. Grooming networks were shaped by mother-offspring bonds, female-female social relationships, and a strong social attraction to adult males. Mother-offspring pairs were more likely to associate and groom each other, but relatedness had no effect on patterns of aggressive behavior. Additionally, kinship had little to no effect on coalitionary support during agonistic interactions. Adult females commonly came to the aid of juveniles during fights with other group members, but females often supported juveniles who were not their offspring (57% of coalitionary interactions). These patterns did not conform to predictions from socioecological models.
Assessment of Low-Dose Tablets by Near-Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been used in the analytical world since the early 1960s, and it is today a valuable technique for qualitative and quantitative analysis in the pharmaceutical industry. A major drawback of this technique when compared to traditional analytical techniques is its relatively low sensitivity, due to broad spectral overlap in spectra. Raman spectroscopy has in recent years, due to instrumental developments as compact and stable lasers in addition to more efficient sampling techniques, become a most promising tool for chemical analysis. In this thesis, a comparison between NIR and Raman spectroscopy for quantitative analysis has been carried out. Measurements were made on pharmaceutical tablets designed for this project, with a weight percent concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) ranging from 0.1% up to 10%. To allow comparison of the spectroscopic techniques, both analyses used the same set of tablets. The data was evaluated using multivariate techniques and UV absorbance spectroscopy was used as a reference method. The multivariate calibrations showed that both techniques are able to accurately predict the amount of active substance in tablets with concentrations as low as 1 %. The models based on Raman spectra indicated that accurate predictions may be obtained below concentrations of 0.5%. Models based on Raman were also more robust than those based on NIR spectra.