Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A slotted multiband antenna with wide-bandwidth operation at lower band for WLAN/WiMAX applications

A compact planar slotted multiband antenna for WLAN and WiMAX applications is presented in this research. The antenna consists of a trapezoidal shaped slot as the radiating patch, and rectangular and U-shaped slots as the ground plane. These slots changes the surface current distributions of the antenna, resulting in the increase in current path length, thereby making the antenna operate at multiband. The antenna has an electrical dimension of 0.21 λ<inf>0</inf> × 0.23 λ<inf>0</inf>×0. 01λ<inf>0</inf> at a lower frequency of 2.4 GHz, and is analyzed on FR4 substrate using HFSS v.13. 0 simulator. The antenna has a wide-bandwidth operation at the lower resonance with S11<−10 dB bandwidth of about 50% (2.1–3.5 GHz). At higher resonance, antenna has narrow-bandwidth operation with S<inf>11</inf><−10 dB bandwidth of about 3.3% (5.8–6 GHz). Good impedance matching and stable radiation characteristics are observed across the operational bandwidth of the proposed antenna configuration.
Using Lock Servers to Scale Real-Time Locking Protocols: Chasing Ever-Increasing Core Counts

During the past decade, parallelism-related issues have been at the forefront of real-time systems research due to the advent of multicore technologies. In the coming years, such issues will loom ever larger due to increasing core counts. Having more cores means a greater potential exists for platform capacity loss when the available parallelism cannot be fully exploited. In this work, such capacity loss is considered in the context of real-time locking protocols. In this context, lock nesting becomes a key concern as it can result in transitive blocking chains that force tasks to execute sequentially unnecessarily. Such chains can be quite long on a larger machine. Contention-sensitive real-time locking protocols have been proposed as a means of ``breaking'' transitive blocking chains, but such protocols tend to have high overhead due to more complicated lock/unlock logic. To ease such overhead, the usage of lock servers is considered herein. In particular, four specific lock-server paradigms are proposed and many nuances concerning their deployment are explored. Experiments are presented that show that, by executing cache hot, lock servers can enable reductions in lock/unlock overhead of up to 86\%. Such reductions make contention-sensitive protocols a viable approach in practice. This artifact contains the implementation of two contention-sensitive locking protocol variants implemented with four proposed lock-server paradigms, as well as the experiments with which they were evaluated.
MicroRNA-424 expression predicts tumor recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following liver transplantation

MicroRNA-424 (miR-424) has previously been described as a biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, the clinical significance of miR-424 expression in predicting the rate of tumor recurrence in patients with HCC following liver transplantation (LT) was evaluated. miR-424 expression in HCC samples from 121 patients undergoing LT was examined, and the associations between clinical parameters and patient tumor recurrence were evaluated. The miR-424 expression level in cancer tissues was low compared with that in adjacent noncancerous tissues. Multivariate analyses revealed that low miR-424 expression was an independent prognostic factor for tumor recurrence in patients with HCC following liver transplantation. Patients who no longer met the Milan criteria and had decreased miR-424 expression levels exhibited earlier tumor recurrence following LT. In addition, the upregulation of miR-424 expression significantly reduced the migration, invasion and proliferation of HCC cells. Similarly, the downregulation of miR-424 in HCC cells significantly promoted the migration, invasion and proliferation of HCC cells.
Market Timing of Seasoned Equity Offerings with Long Regulative Process

A long regulative process exists between the initial announcement and execution of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) in China. Although the initial announcement of an SEO is associated with a significant reduction in the stock price, the regulator (China Securities Regulatory Commission) finally approves it after a significant run up in the price of the stock. Chinese managers execute SEOs after additional stock price increases. As a result, the stock price at issuance is not significantly different from the price on announcement, and is significantly higher than the price three months before the announcement. We also find stock prices decline following the execution. These results suggest that regulative screenings for market stabilization are beneficial for SEO market timing, and that Chinese managers successfully time the market, even with a prolonged regulative process.
Geographic Analysis of Domestic Violence Incident Locations and Neighborhood Level Influences

Domestic violence is an important public health issue, and there is limited research to date that examines community-level influences on this serious form of violence. This article investigates the neighborhood characteristics of domestic violence incidents in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. US Census block group boundaries and corresponding tables were used as proxies for neighborhoods. The article addresses an important gap in domestic violence research by combining geographic and statistical analyses at the block group level. Geographic data were analyzed using an Optimized Hot Spot Analysis (OHA) along with features selected by penalized Poisson regression model. The OHA was used to identify spatial clusters of high and low values while the penalized Poisson regression model was used to select the important variables from over 7000 candidates. The results of high-dimensional analysis produced six categories and 20 variables that were used to examine the characteristics of spatial clusters.
Character Based Language Modeling and Applications in Speech Recognition

Character based approaches have recently attracted a lot of interest for language modeling tasks as they remove some of the drawbacks of word based models. They do not make use of a fixed size vocabulary and it is thus straight forward to deal with an arbitrary text stream without any changes in the design of the model. Furthermore, downstream application like speech recognition and machine translation can apply their information already at the character level. The length of character sequences is in general a lot longer than the length of a word sequence, which is a challenge for the underlying character based model. Variants of recurrent neural networks like the Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) are commonly used to tackle variable length inputs like character sequences. However, LSTMs still have problems to backpropagate the error over long input sequences and thus do not provide the perfect solution to learn long term dependencies. We analyze the source of these drawbacks and design an architecture for recurrent neural networks. We evaluate this architecture on a popular data set for character based language modeling consisting of Wikipedia articles. Our architecture was able to outperform stacked Gated Recurrent Units as well as results of stacked LSTM networks reported in the literature. We additionally apply character based language models to a speech recognition system. The acoustic component of the system is implemented by the Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC), as this offers the possibility to directly predict the probabilities of character sequences. We combine the information of the acoustic component and the language model in a search to find the most reasonable character sequence. Since no component of this setup uses a vocabulary, we are able to perform open vocabulary speech recognition. This system is evaluated on the Switchboard Telephone Speech Corpus. During testing our model we are able to correctly recognize words which did not appear in the training data. This confirms that the system is not only able to learn the words included in the training text, but also generalizes to previously unseen words. We are additionally able to improve the state of the art on the Switchboard corpus for character based, open vocabulary CTC speech recognition system.
Online threats to youth: solicitation, harassment, and problematic content (draft version)

The following is an early draft of the Literature Review produced by the Research Advisory Board (RAB) for the Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF). The Internet Safety Technical Task Force was formed to consider the extent to which technologies can play a role in enhancing youth safety in online spaces. The Task Force was collaborative effort among a wide array of Internet service providers, social network sites, academics, educators, and technology vendors.
The Bright Side of Political Uncertainty: The Case of R&D

We examine the relationship between political uncertainty and R&D investment by exploiting the timing of U.S. gubernatorial elections as a source of plausibly exogenous variation in uncertainty. In contrast to the literature documenting negative effects of political uncertainty on real investment, we find that uncertainty over government policy encourages firm-level R&D. Firms increase R&D investments by an average of 4.6% in election years relative to non-election years. The uncertainty effect is stronger in hotly contested elections, in politically sensitive and hard-to-innovate industries, and in firms subject to higher growth options and greater product market competition. Our findings suggest that, as predicted by models of investment under uncertainty, the real effects of political uncertainty depend on the properties of the investment and the degree of product market competition and therefore the total effect of political uncertainty on the long-run growth of an economy is unclear.
Multi-parametric functional hemodynamic optimization improves postsurgical outcome after intermediate risk open gastrointestinal surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Perioperative goal directed therapy (pGDT) using flow monitoring has been associated with improved outcomes. However, its protocols are often based on stroke volume only: as a target for fluid loading, inotropic support and vasopressors (via mathematical coupling of systemic vascular resistance). In this trial, we have tested the multi-parametric pGDT protocol based on esophageal Doppler variables (corrected flow time, peak velocity) in intermediate-to-high risk patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. METHODS Intermediate-to-high risk patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery were randomized to standard care (control) or multi-parametric pGDT (intervention). Postoperative complications and death rate as well as hospital length of stay were assessed as primary and secondary outcomes. RESULTS Overall, 140 patients (intervention, N.=71, and control, N.=69) were included and randomized out of 197 eligible. Higher vasoactive/inotropic drug use and lower fluid balance were observed in the intervention group leading to favorable hemodynamic profile. The pGDT intervention was associated with improved primary outcome (28 days mortality and morbidity defined as occurrence of any defined complication) - 20 patients (28.2%) versus 32 (46.4%) in the control group (P=0.036); RR 0.61 (95% CI: 0.39-0.95), P=0.03. No differences in mortality and hospital length of stay were observed between groups. CONCLUSIONS In this monocentric trial the multi-parametric pGDT protocol based on domain specific functional hemodynamic parameters was associated with lower rate of postoperative complications in intermediate-to-high risk patients undergoing scheduled gastrointestinal procedures.
Combining a Multi-document Summarization System with a Genetic Algorithm

In this paper, we present a combination of a multi-document summarization system with a genetic algorithm. We first introduce a novel approach for automatic summarization. CBSEAS, the system which implements this approach, integrates a new method to detect redundancy at its very core in order to produce summaries with a good informational diversity. However, the evaluation of our system at TAC 2008 --Text Analysis Conference-- revealed that system adaptation to a specific domain is fundamental to obtain summaries of an acceptable quality. The second part of this paper is dedicated to a genetic algorithm which aims to adapt our system to specific domains. We present its evaluation by TAC 2009 on a newswire articles summarization task and show that this optimization is having a great influence on both human and automatic evaluations.
From Science to Law to Politics: An Historical View of the Ecosystem Idea and Its Effect on Resource Management

Introduction . 631 I. Emergence of an Ecosystem Research Vision . 636 II. Applying the Vision: The Post-War California Current Project . 640 III. Interdisciplinary Environmental Study and the California Coastal Zone Concept . 645 IV. Conclusion: Dilemmas and Conundrums . 648
Staphylococcus Aureus Surface Protein G is An Immunodominant Protein and a Possible Target in An Anti-Biofilm Drug Development

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterium that causes severe illnesses in the human population. The capacity of S. aureus strains to form biofilms on biotic and abiotic surfaces creates serious problems for treatment of hospital infections and has stimulated efforts to develop new means of specific protection or immunotherapy. Material and Methods: We found that rabbit serum raised against crude concentrated S. aureus liquid culture significantly decreased the development of staphylococcal biofilm in vitro. To discover the corresponding staphylococcal antigen, we used mass-spectrometry and molecular cloning and identified three major immunodominant proteins. They included α-haemolysin, serine proteinase SplB and S. aureus surface protein G, known as adhesin SasG. Results: Although according to literature data, all these proteins represent virulence factors of S. aureus and play diverse and important roles in the pathogenesis of staphylococcal diseases, only SasG can be directly implicated into the biofilm formation because of its surface location on a staphylococcal cell. Indeed, rabbit serum directed against purified recombinant SasG, similar to serum against crude staphylococcal liquid culture, prevented the formation of a biofilm. Conclusion: SasG can be considered as a target in an anti-biofilm drug development and a component of the vaccine or immunotherapeutic preparations directed against staphylococcal infections in humans.
Schematic and topical cafegories in news story reconstruction

A lot of attention has been paid of late to the assumption that discourse types have a more or less fixed schematic organization. A genre-specific news Schema (superstructure) was postulated äs an additional Organizer in news narrations. An interaction between the superstructure of news and its macrostructure (global meaning) is a prerequisite for the present discussion. The paper reports on an empirical study in the evaluation ofnews Schema. A news story was submitted to 69 Polish, British and American readers for reconstruction of its linear paragraph structure. The main purpose of the study was to get some insights into how people handle the high segmentation of news texts and the underlying topical discontinuities. In analyzing the reconstructed narrations I looked for dominant patterns in paragraph organization, and then explicated them in terms of preferred coherence strategies. My ßndings indicate that, while reconstructing news narrations, people strive at some kind of canonical organization of the contents. They also do 'repair work' on the original news text: minimize discontinuities by opting for paragraph düster s and thus for more integrated domains of meanings. A strong biasfor natural narration was also noted. Finally, there was some Variation in scoring among the three groups of subjects: The American readers exercised more liberty in positioning the paragraphs and in effect produced more 'news-like' narrations. An evaluation of news Schemata appears then in pari a matter of Immersion in culture and exposure to — not necessarily identical — newswriting conventions.
Urea Amperometric Biosensors Based on Nanostructured Polypyrrole and Poly Ortho-Phenylenediamine

Urea Amperometric biosensor was obtained on the base of nanostructured polypyrrole (PPy) and poly ortho- phenylenediamine (POPDA). The optimal conditions for monomer electropolymerization were determined. The effect of supporting electrolyte and number of deposition cycles on the OPDA and Py electropolymerization were studied. It was proved that POPDA and PPy were affected by pH changes and responded to the ammonium, product of urease catalyzed reaction. SEM images of the modified Pt/PPy electrode were presented. The cycle voltammograms and chrono amperometric curves of Pt/POPDA/urease and Pt/PPy/urease electrodes were studied. A good linear relationship was observed for Pt/POPDA/urease electrode in a concentration range from 6.7 to 54 mMurea. For Pt/PPy/urease electrode the linear relation in the range from 0.02 to0.16 mMurea was determined. The entrapped carbon nanotubes (CNT) in PPy film and the bipolymer layers were prepared for construction of Pt/PPy/CNT/urease, Pt/POPDA/PPy/urease and Pt/PPy/POPDA/urease biosensors. Obviously, the addition of POPDA to the composition of the two biosensors (Pt/PPy/POPDA/urease and Pt/POPDA/PPy/urease) reduced their sensitivity to urea. Pt/РPy/CNT/urease and Pt/РPy/ urease biosensors were 173 and 138 times more sensitive to urea than biosensor without PPy (Pt/POPDA/urease biosensor). It was found, that the performance of Pt/PPy/CNT/urease electrode was the best from the five obtained biosensors: linear range of urea concentrations—from 0.02 to0.16 mM; sensitivity—15.22 μA/mM and detection limit— 0.005 mM urea.
The Benefits of Mentoring for Female Lawyers

Abstract The objectives of this study were twofold: to determine the effect mentoring has on a set of career and emotional outcomes for female lawyers and to determine whether female lawyers benefit more from having had a male or female mentor. All of these assessments were conducted while controlling for a set of demographic, human capital, work context, and personality disposition variables. Having a mentor appears instrumental for the career success of female proteges in terms of earnings, promotional opportunities, procedural justice, and social integration. In addition, in terms of the emotional outcomes, proteges report greater career satisfaction than nonproteges and indicate that their expectations are met to a greater degree. While female proteges with male mentors earn significantly more than those with female mentors, those mentored by women report more career satisfaction, more intent to continue practicing law, professional expectations that were met to a greater degree, and less work–nonwork conflict than those women who were mentored by men.
Amount of Weight-Bearing During Tilt Table Inclination, With Neutral and Unilateral Knee Flexion Postures

Objective To analyze the amount of weight-bearing during tilt table increments, with a review of neutral and unilateral knee flexion postures. Methods There were 17 healthy participants enrolled in this study. The subjects were tilted from 10° to 90°, and their body weight was measured at each 10° increment. In the first test, both plantar pressures, with the subjects in neutral posture, were recorded. During the second and third tests, the angle of inclination was thus recorded and increased, with the subjects in unilateral knee flexion posture; flexion was maintained at 25° by attaching a cylindrical support to the tilt table at the level of the popliteal fossa. Results The study was divided into two types of postures: neutral and unilateral knee flexion. The percentage of body weight (%BW) between each leg during neutral posture was noted as not being statistically significant. The %BW of one side during tilt table inclination was significantly different between the two postures at 10° to 80° (p<0.05). The weight during unilateral knee flexion posture was lower as analyzed, regardless of tilt table inclination compared with that in neutral posture. We note that fifty percent of the ratio of %BW was noted at 33.12° and 38.76° in neutral and flexion postures, respectively. Conclusion The unilateral knee flexion could induce the effect of decreased body weight compared with non-flexion side. The results of this study will help in setting a safe and quantitative percentage of weight-bearing on the lower extremity during tilt training.
From Foe to Friend

The relationship between multinational corporations (MNCs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on social and environmental issues sometimes evolves from being antagonistic to cooperative. To explore how MNCs and NGOs are able to cooperate as friends rather than remain foes, this conceptual research drawing on complexity theory examines a proposed process of mutual adaptation occurring through more flexible semi-structures that support the evolution of (a) joint strategic responses enabled by future gazing, (b) communication systems that facilitate joint strategic responses, and (c) coordinated, timed-based change that supports joint strategic responses. The article provides illustrations from MNC–NGO collaborations. Conclusions are that mutual adaptation and cooperative resolutions are more likely when organizations either share these capabilities or compensate for each other’s shortcomings, and make trade-offs that align with joint strategic objectives. This article contributes to complexity theory and the NGO–MNC literature by exploring how interorganizational cooperative behavior incorporates mutual adaptation so that more sustainable practices are implemented and continuously improved upon by MNCs.
Effects of Integrating a Situated Gaming Mechanism Into an Issue-Quest Flipped Learning Approach on Undergraduate Students' Learning Achievement and Motivation in Chinese Character Course

Teaching the development and evolution of Chinese characters as well as Chinese culture is regarded as an important issue. In this study, a situated gaming mechanism integrated into an issue quest-based flipped learning approach is developed to improve students learning achievement; moreover, the variety of these issues proposed by the students and the depth of their report were evaluated. A total of 57 undergraduate students from Chinese language department participated in this study. The students were asked to learn the basic knowledge of Chinese characters before the class via watching video lectures made by the teacher and experienced the issue-quest learning activities in the flipped in-class stage. Students in the experimental group were asked to raise the issues individually after the situated gaming process and collaboratively to finish the issue-quest flipped learning activity; on the other hand, those in the control group learned in a flipped learning plus conventional issue-quest learning activity that situated students in a pure web information searching environment. The results showed that proposed approach not only promoted the students creativity and imagination of those issues about Chinese characters, but also their learning achievement; moreover, it was found that the approach significant lower the mental effort of the students in the experimental group than those in the control group.