Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Radio science issues - contribution to disaster management

Radio science activities covered by URSI (International Radio Science Union) are briefly reviewed. They encompasses the knowledge and study of all aspects of electromagnetic fields and waves in a wide frequency range running from micropulsation frequencies (i.e. from ~1 mHz) to Terahertz. The topics include: electromagnetic measurements and standards, electromagnetic theory and applications, radio-communication systems and signal processing, electronics and Photonics, electromagnetic environment and interference, wave propagation and remote sensing, ionospheric radio and propagation, waves in plasmas, radio astronomy, and electromagnetics in biology and medicine. A very preliminary analysis of potential radio science contribution to natural disaster management is presented. It is focussed on problems raised by radio communication and observation systems: before, during and after disasters. It points out the importance of a close collaboration between geoscience and engineering science: both to interpret observational data and to design new instruments. More elaborated analyses are needed to identify other challenges and collaborations. A call for collaborations between Scientific Unions as well as Research and Application organisms is launched.
Directional Singularity-Robust Torque Control for Gyroscopic Actuators

Gyroscopic actuation is appealing for wearable applications due to its ability to impart free moments on a body without exoskeletal structures on the joints. We recently proposed an unobtrusive balancing aid consisting of multiple parallel-mounted control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) contained within a backpack-like orthopedic corset. Using conventional CMG control techniques, geometric singularities result in a number of performance issues, including either unintended oscillations or freezing of the gimbals at certain alignments, which are typically mitigated by the addition of redundant actuators or by allowing errors in the generated moment; however, because of the minimalistic design of the proposed device and focus on accurate moment tracking, a new methodology is required. In this paper, a control scheme is proposed for nonredundant CMG systems in which oscillations at saturated states are avoided and all remaining singularities are efficiently escaped by exploiting the system geometry; due to its use of classification-specific singularity proximity measures that account for the command moment orientation, it is named the directional singularity-robust control law. The performance of this control law is assessed in both simulations and hardware testing. The proposed method is suitable for a wide range of CMG systems, including both balancing and aerospace applications.
Stimulation of angiogenesis as an explanation of matrigel‐enhanced tumorigenicity

Matrigel, a reconstituted extract of basement membrane, enhances the growth of different human cancer cell lines when transplanted into nude mice. Here that stimulation was confirmed in the BALB/c murine mammary‐tumor cell line M3MC, as well as in human colon (SW948) and mammary (MDA‐MB‐468) carcinoma cell lines transplanted in nude and SCID mice, respectively. Subcutaneous and intra‐mammary fat‐pad inoculations of Matrigel alone generated an angiogenic response which was macroscopically evident by day 9. Histological analysis of the local host reaction occurring at the site of injection revealed an early peripheral fibroblast response, followed by mononuclear cell infiltration, solid and hollow fibroblast cords projections from the edge to the center of the Matrigel plug, and finally capillary ingrowths. Conditioned media obtained from the gels generated in vivo, acted as very strong chemoattractants for mouse lung capillary endothelial cells, stimulating their motility between 38 and 82 times with respect to the control. Our results suggest an important role of host cells recruited by Matrigel, which could favor angiogenesis of the area and thus facilitate the growth of tumor cells co‐inoculated with the basement membrane extract.
Development of Islet‐Like Cell Clusters After Pancreas Transplantation in the Spontaneously Diabetic Torri Rat

Pancreas transplantation (PTx) has evolved as a clinical therapy to achieve sustained euglycemia. However, it remains unclear if naive diseased islets of the pancreas benefit from the avoidance of glucose toxicity by PTx. In the present study, using an animal model of type 2 diabetes, the Spontaneously Diabetic Torii (SDT; RT1a) rat, we syngeneically transplanted nondiabetic 10‐week‐old pancreaticduodenal grafts into diabetic 25‐week‐old recipients. In the control SDT rats that received no treatment, hyperglycemia developed with a mean onset time of 25 ± 3.9 weeks of age. Few normal islet cells were found from 25 weeks and none at 40 weeks. However, in the PTx rats, the onset age (graft age) of diabetes was significantly prolonged (47 ± 18.2 weeks). Moreover, we found that the β‐cell mass was significantly increased in the naive pancreases of 40‐week‐old PTx recipients (PTx40‐naive). Interestingly, islet‐like cell clusters of varying size were found close to ductal structures of PTx40‐naive pancreases, suggesting that these cells are derived from ductal cells. Furthermore, pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor‐1 (PDX‐1) was more clearly expressed in the nuclei of PTx40‐naive pancreatic islet‐like cell clusters. Our results demonstrate the development of duct‐derived β cells in the pancreas of type 2 diabetic recipients after PTx.
Putting people first for organizational success

Executive Overview There's a disturbing disconnect in organizational management. Research, experience, and common sense all increasingly point to a direct relationship between a company's financial success and its commitment to management practices that treat people as assets. Yet trends in management practice are actually moving away from these very principles. Why is common sense so remarkably uncommon when it comes to managing people? Why do organizations habitually overlook readily available opportunities to boost their financial performance? Drawing on extensive empirical research, an irrefutable business case can be made that the culture and capabilities of an organization—derived from the way it manages its people—are the real and enduring sources of competitive advantage. Managers today must begin to take seriously the often heard, yet frequently ignored, adage that “people are our most important asset”
Efficacy of the 1992 Small Business Incentive Act

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test the fundamental purpose of the 1992 Small Business Incentive Act (SBIA) to reduce the regulatory burden for small firms to raise public equity capital. Design/methodology/approach - Our research compares initial public offerings (IPOs) that filed with the newer SB-2 program to benchmark firms that filed using the traditional S-1 filing. The authors use three proxies to measure success, hypothesizing that, if the regulatory burden has indeed been reduced for small firms, all three variables should be smaller for SB-2 IPOs. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Findings - With regards to easing regulatory costs, it is found that the program has not been effective. On average, SB-2 IPOs experience larger-scaled offering expenses, and pay higher underwriter gross spreads compared to S-1 IPOs of similar size. SB-2 IPOs, however, take fewer days to complete the registration process, when controlling for other relevant factors. In the burden of time, the SBIA has been effective. Practical implications - The paper is of value to managers of firms desiring to conduct an IPO. These managers, if they meet the size requirements dictated by the SEC, can elect to use an SB-2 or an S-1 document. The paper shows that if cost is the primary concern, the S-1 program should be preferred. If time is the primary consideration, then the SB-2 program is preferred. Originality/value - To the authors' knowledge, they are the first to test the efficacy of the SBIA program.
Design guidelines for opportunistic routing in underwater networks

The unique characteristics of the underwater acoustic channel impose many challenges that limit the utilization of underwater sensor networks. In this context, opportunistic routing, which has been extensively investigated in terrestrial wireless ad hoc network scenarios, has greater potential for mitigating drawbacks from underwater acoustic communication and improving network performance. In this work, we discuss the two main building blocks for the design of opportunistic routing protocols for underwater sensor networks: candidate set selection and candidate coordination procedures. We propose classifying candidate set selection procedures into sender-side, receiver-side, and hybrid approaches, and candidate coordination procedures into timer-based and control-packet-based approaches. Based on this classification, we discuss particular characteristics of each approach and how they relate to underwater acoustic communication. Furthermore, we argue that those characteristics should be considered during the design of opportunistic routing protocols for different scenarios in underwater sensor networks.
Evaluating Educational Output: An Estimation Method Based on Cross-Section Data

One of the ways to evaluate educational output rests on its consideration as an investment. A part of the returns can be identified as the differential earnings obtained by individuals with a higher education level. The most common information on the earnings obtained by individuals comes in the form of cross-section data.These must be transformed in order to obtain a life-cycle earnings series from which the effects of education must be isolated. This paper defines a model adapted to the use of cross-section data, which allows us to both rank and respond to the different information problems that successively appear, as well as to propose a classification for the adjustments by which the earnings must be corrected, on the basis of the reasons that justify such adjustments and their order of application.The empirical application of the methodology is directed towards estimating the value of university education in Spain on the basis of the criteria discussed earlier in the paper.
Emerging Market Local Currency Bond Yields and Foreign Holdings in the Post-Lehman Period: A Fortune or Misfortune?

The paper shows that foreign holdings of local currency government bonds in emergingmarket countries (EMs) have reduced bond yields but have somewhat increased yieldvolatility in the post-Lehman period. Econometric analyses conducted from a sample of12 EMs demonstrate that these results are robust and causal. We use an identificationstrategy exploiting the geography-based measure of EMs financial remoteness vis-a-vismajor offshore financial centers as an instrumental variable for the foreign holdingsvariable.The results also show that, in countries with weak fiscal and external positions,foreign holdings are greatly associated with increased yield volatility. A case study usingPoland data elaborates on the cross country findings.
Postintervention Effect of Nicotine Replacement Therapy for Smoking Reduction: A Randomized Trial With a 5-Year Follow-Up

We tested whether a reduction of cigarette consumption obtained after 6 months of nicotine replacement therapy was maintained 5 years after the end of this treatment. Heavy smokers (mean = 30 cigarettes per day) who had no intention of quitting smoking were randomly assigned to a 6-month treatment of nicotine (15-mg patch, 4-mg gum, and/or 10-mg inhaler, n = 265), placebo (n = 269), or no intervention (n = 389). Products were sent by mail, and education was limited to a booklet. Of 923 participants, 879 (95%) were followed after 6 months and 671 (73%) after 5 years. After 6 months, smoking reduction was larger for nicotine (−10.9 cigarettes per day) than for placebo (−8.7) and no treatment (−4.9, all P ≤ 0.022). After 5 years, cigarette consumption (20 cigarettes per day, all P ≥ 0.2) and smoking cessation rates (17% to 21%, all P > 0.2) were similar in all groups. In smokers, 5-year continuous abstinence was higher in those who had reduced their cigarette consumption by at least 50% between baseline and 6 months than in those who did not reduce (11.9% vs 5.6%; P = 0.011; odds ratio, 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-4.2). Thus, the initial effect of the treatment on smoking reduction was not maintained after 5 years. However, reducing cigarette consumption was associated with a higher chance of subsequently quitting smoking. Nicotine replacement therapy in unmotivated smokers had no deleterious effect on dependence levels and smoking behavior.
Xenon Does Not Affect γ-Aminobutyric Acid Type A Receptor Binding in Humans

BACKGROUND:The noble gas xenon acts as an anesthetic with favorable hemodynamic and neuroprotective properties. Based on animal and in vitro data, it is thought to exert its anesthetic effects by inhibiting glutamatergic signaling, but effects on γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors also have been reported. The mechanism of anesthetic action of xenon in the living human brain still remains to be determined. METHODS:We used the specific GABAA receptor benzodiazepine-site ligand 11C-flumazenil and positron emission tomography to study the GABAergic effects of xenon in eight healthy male volunteers. Each subject underwent two dynamic 60-min positron emission tomography studies awake and during approximately one minimum alveolar concentration of xenon (65%). Bispectral index was recorded. Cortical and subcortical gray matter regions were analyzed using both automated regions-of-interest analysis and voxel-based analysis. RESULTS:During anesthesia, the mean ± sd bispectral index was 23 ± 7, and there were no significant changes in heart rate or mean arterial blood pressure. Xenon did not significantly affect 11C-flumazenil binding in any brain region. CONCLUSIONS:Xenon did not affect 11C-flumazenil binding in the living human brain, indicating that the anesthetic effect of xenon is not mediated via the GABAA receptor system.
Discovering Structure in the Universe of Attribute Names

Recently, search engines have invested significant effort to answering entity--attribute queries from structured data, but have focused mostly on queries for frequent attributes. In parallel, several research efforts have demonstrated that there is a long tail of attributes, often thousands per class of entities, that are of interest to users. Researchers are beginning to leverage these new collections of attributes to expand the ontologies that power search engines and to recognize entity--attribute queries. Because of the sheer number of potential attributes, such tasks require us to impose some structure on this long and heavy tail of attributes. This paper introduces the problem of organizing the attributes by expressing the compositional structure of their names as a rule-based grammar. These rules offer a compact and rich semantic interpretation of multi-word attributes, while generalizing from the observed attributes to new unseen ones. The paper describes an unsupervised learning method to generate such a grammar automatically from a large set of attribute names. Experiments show that our method can discover a precise grammar over 100,000 attributes of {\sc Countries} while providing a 40-fold compaction over the attribute names. Furthermore, our grammar enables us to increase the precision of attributes from 47\% to more than 90\% with only a minimal curation effort. Thus, our approach provides an efficient and scalable way to expand ontologies with attributes of user interest.
Identification of Transcriptionally Active Open Reading Frames within the RD1 Genomic Segment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Objective: To identify transcriptionally active open reading frames (ORFs), predicted by bioinformatics, within RD1 genomic segment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Materials and Methods:M. tuberculosis H37Rv was grown in Middlebrook 7H9 medium for 8 weeks and total RNA was isolated using standard procedures. The cDNA was synthesized using first-strand cDNA synthesis kit and general primers provided in the kit [pd (N)6, and/or Not I-d(T)18] as well as forward primers specific for each predicted RD1 ORF. Specific forward and reverse primers in PCR were used to amplify ORF-specific cDNA. The amplified products were identified on the basis of size using agarose gel electrophoresis, and their identity was confirmed by DNA sequencing. Results: RT-PCR demonstrated expression of 13 of the 14 bioinformatics-predicted ORFs within RD1 genomic segment of M. tuberculosis. However, cDNA synthesis and PCR amplifications of specific products varied with respect to primer requirement and reaction conditions, respectively. All ORFs of <1.5 kb were amplified in standard RT-PCR, whereas several large-size ORFs (>1.5 kb) required internal primers for amplification in semi-nested RT-PCR. The sequencing of RT-PCR-amplified products of ORFs confirmed their identity. Conclusion: Bioinformatics analysis of DNA can accurately predict ORFs within M. tuberculosis-specific genomic regions, and RT-PCR is a suitable technique to confirm their expression in bacteria.
ELW pricing kernel and empirical risk aversion

This study examines the pricing kernel and empirical risk aversion implied by Korea’s equity-linked warrants (ELWs). The estimated pricing kernel is clearly time-varying and exhibits a monotonic decrease with the underlying return state, which is consistent with mainstream economic theories on marginal utility. The movement of empirical risk aversion captures the economic conditions reflecting the recent global and liquidity crises. Particularly, empirical risk aversion has a highly significant relationship with the overall stock market return and credit spread change.
Training Design for BICM-MIMO Systems in Block-Fading Channels

In order to improve bandwidth efficiency and bit error rate (BER) performance, a new training scheme is proposed for bit-interleaved coded modulation in multiple-input multiple-output (BICM-MIMO) systems. Typically, in a block fading channel, the training overhead used for obtaining channel knowledge is proportional to a power of two of the number of transmit antennas. However, this overhead can be reduced by embedding pilot symbols within data symbols before precoding. The values and positions of pilot symbols are theoretically found by minimizing the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) on channel estimation error. Computer simulations are presented to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed scheme over other training methods, in terms of both the mean square error (MSE) of the channel estimation and the system's BER.
Globalization and its consequences: Malaysian managerial perspectives and implications

With the aid of a multi-disciplinary literature review and a sample of 165 managers and professionals, this study investigated the perception of the impact of globalization in Malaysia. The study revealed that a significant percentage of the respondents subscribe to the hegemonic view of globalization as a system that is closed to other political, economic and value systems. However, they also see the benefits of globalization in terms of the transfer of good business practices as well as the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI). The views of respondents vary between ethnic groups, with the Chinese tending to be more enthusiastic about the positive impact of globalization while the Malays tend to be more concerned about its negative impact. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.
Light-Sensing in Roots

Light gradients in the soil have largely been overlooked in understanding plant responses to the environment. However, roots contain photoreceptors that may receive ambient light through the soil or piped light through the vascular cylinder. In recent experiments we demonstrated linkages between phototropin-1 photoreceptor production, root growth efficiency, and drought tolerance, suggesting that root plasticity in response to light signals contributes to the ecological niche of A. thaliana. However, the availability of light cues in natural soil environments is poorly understood, raising questions about the relevance of light-mediated root growth for fitness in nature. Additionally, photoreceptor expression is characterized by pleiotropy so unique functions cannot be clearly ascribed to root vs. shoot sensory mechanisms. These considerations show that challenges exist for resolving the contribution of light-sensing by roots to plant adaptation. We suggest that blue-light sensing in roots of A. thaliana provides a model system for addressing these challenges. By calibrating blue light gradients in soils of diverse A. thaliana habitats and comparing fitness of phot1 mutant and wild-type controls when grown in presence or absence of soil light cues, it should be possible to elucidate the ecological significance of light-mediated plasticity in roots.
MALE CONTEST COMPETITION AND THE COEVOLUTION OF WEAPONRY AND TESTES IN PINNIPEDS

Male reproductive success is influenced by competitive interactions during precopulatory and postcopulatory selective episodes. Consequently, males can gain reproductive advantages during precopulatory contest competition by investing in weaponry and during postcopulatory sperm competition by investing in ejaculates. However, recent theory predicts male expenditure on weaponry and ejaculates should be subject to a trade‐off, and should vary under increasing risk and intensity of sperm competition. Here, we provide the first comparative analysis of the prediction that expenditure on weaponry should be negatively associated with expenditure on testes mass. Specifically, we assess how sexual selection influences the evolution of primary and secondary sexual traits among pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses). Using recently developed comparative methods, we demonstrate that sexual selection promotes rapid divergence in body mass, sexual size dimorphism (SSD), and genital morphology. We then show that genital length appears to be positively associated with the strength of postcopulatory sexual selection. However, subsequent analyses reveal that both genital length and testes mass are negatively associated with investment in precopulatory weaponry. Thus, our results are congruent with recent theoretical predictions of contest‐based sperm competition models. We discuss the possible role of trade‐offs and allometry in influencing patterns of reproductive trait evolution in pinnipeds.