Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Broadband interconnects between coplanar waveguide and substrate integrated waveguide for dense packaging and integration

Two new interconnects between coplanar waveguide (CPW) and substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) are introduced and studied. Contrary to previously published interconnects, the new ones are shorter and require less space on the printed-circuit board. Thus they are ideally suited for dense packaging and integration. The first one is a regular interconnect that runs the slots of the CPW directly into the SIW. It is straightforwardly designed and achieves 26 dB return loss over a 10 GHz bandwidth centered at 23 GHz. The second interconnect is of the inverted type. It is 43 percent shorter than the first one over the same frequency range and at the same return loss level. Experimental results conducted at back-to-back transitions agree well with theoretical predictions. The shortest inverted interconnect achieves a measured back-to-back return loss of better than 18.5 dB over the entire frequency range with a maximum insertion loss of 1.28 dB. The comparative values of the regular back-to-back CPW-to-SIW prototype are 23 dB and 1.0 dB, respectively.
Hand Vein Biometric Verification Prototype: A Testing Performance and Patterns Similarity

The shape of the subcutaneous vascular tree of back of hand contains information that is capable of authenticating the identity of an individual. In this paper a hand vein verification system was prototyped and statistical performance measures were analyzed. In order to evaluate the system testing performance, a dataset of 500 persons of different ages above 16 and of different gender, each has 10 images per person was acquired at different intervals, 5 images for left hand and 5 images for right hand. Different Biometrics performance measures such as Efficiency, Sensitivity, Specificity, FAR, FRR, EER, and ROC were calculated. Maximum efficiency for the testing set was reported as 99.888 % at threshold equal 78. At this threshold, Sensitivity, Specificity, FAR, FRR were reported as 92.16%, 99.966%, 0.03%, and 7.84%. Finally, we verified that no similarity exists between right and left hand vein patterns for the same person. The physical shape of the subcutaneous vascular tree of the back of the hand contains information that is capable of authenticating the identity of an individual [1-4] to a reasonable result which is comparable to our work proposed in this paper. The shape of the finger vein patterns and its use for identification was proposed by [5]. The major goal of our work is to use the combined image processing and pattern recognition knowledge in implementing the Hand Vein Verification System (HVVS) as a comparison between a person's hand vein image and the claimed identity hand vein image based on image matching in order to get a comparable or higher accuracies than those reported in the literature for hand vein verification. The hand vein biometrics principle is a non-invasive, computerized comparison of subcutaneous blood vessel structures (veins) in the back of a hand to verify the identity of individuals for biometric applications. Vein check measures are the shape and size of veins in the back of the hand (or front of the wrist). The vein pattern is best defined when the skin on the back of the hand is taut – when the fist is clenched. The skeleton of the hand then holds the vein " tree " rigid. Non-harmful, near infrared lighting is employed. The vein " tree " pattern is picked up by CCD video camera with an infrared filter installed on its objective lens to prevent the visible light from reaching its sensor array to construct a pure infrared image …
Unruly Muslim Women and Threats to Liberal Culture

In the five years since September 11, 2001, Muslim men have been subjected to remarkably cruel treatment in the name of stopping terrorist activity, whereas Muslim women have been considered victims of Islam and patriarchy, and consequently, escaped state scrutiny. Of late, Muslim women are now increasingly under suspicion as potential terrorists and similarly persecuted. One example occurred in March 2005, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) detained two female Muslim teenagers from Queens, New York, on suspicion of being potential “suicide bombers. ” Initially detained for different reasons, the girls encountered each other for the first time while being escorted to immigration facilities in Manhattan. Both were pious Muslims and wore either the hijab or full purdah.
Psoriatic Arthritis

Abstract Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory arthropathy that affects approximately 6% to 48% of patients with psoriasis. Arthritis is not correlated with the extent of skin disease. Classic radiographic findings of the involved joint include erosion, ankylosis, and fluffy periostitis. Site‐specific characteristic deformities such as pencil‐in‐cup deformity of the phalanges also may be present. The disease typically follows a moderate course, but up to 47% of cases develop into destructive arthritis in which the inflammatory process leads to bony erosion and loss of joint architecture. The mainstay of treatment is biologic therapy (eg, tumor necrosis factor‐&agr; lllinhibitors) in conjunction with disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs. Patients with end‐stage joint destruction may require surgery to alleviate pain and restore function. Orthopaedic surgeons should be cognizant of the risk factors (eg, increased risk of cardiovascular disease) and potential complications (eg, poor wound healing and increased risk of infection) associated with psoriatic arthritis.
The challenges of transformational learning at a distance: a year in the life of an Open University learning unit on the environment

The teaching of systems at the Open University has extensive experience of enabling transformative learning and provides a long history of challenging the predominantly reductionist and mechanistic teaching provision. The Open University has been providing courses in systems thinking and practice since its inception and the course Understanding Systems: making sense of complexity (T214) is the latest offering for level 2 students. This course was presented for the first time in 2008 and is taught from February to October (eight months of part-time study at a distance). This case study focuses on the second study unit (Block 2) of T214 – titled Understanding the Environment: natural systems – which involves eight weeks of study and the submission of two tutor marked assignments (TMAs). The primary aim of this unit is to encourage the shift away from reductionist anthropocentrism towards a holistic and eco-centric worldview. The transformational learning that is sought is primarily about expanding students’ values and consciousness beyond role specialisation, short-termism, the confines of socio-economic systems and the perception of a limitless capacity for economic growth.
Static and dynamic adaptation of transactional consistency

Consistency criteria adopted for the management of persistent replicated objects in a distributed system define the degree of concurrency allowed among operations accessing objects. Several notions of consistency are known from the literature; among them are causal consistency, causal serializability, and serializability. We propose a generalizing algorithm for concurrency control in a transaction system that exhibits a clean separation between policy and mechanism. A consistency criterion selected is manifested as a set of rules forming the policy. The mechanism however, remains unchanged regardless of the currently used policy. It implements causally consistent message delivery and uses tokens and quorums of tokens to enforce access operation ordering according to the specified consistency criterion. An example of an application exploiting the advantages of dynamically switching among various consistency criteria concludes the paper.
A decade of change gender trends in university enrollment: Implications for career counseling Cinsiyetlere göre üniversitelerdeki onbir yıllık eğilim: Kariyer danışmanlığı için doğurgular

As the global labor market continues to evolve the need for a highly educated labor force has never been more important. The growth in university enrollment observed in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries has occurred in Turkey, as well. Based upon data from the Evaluation, Selection and Placement Center (OSYM) from 2002 to 2012 the total number of students enrolled in university programs has shown remarkable growth. The purpose of this research article was to consider this decade of remarkable growth and change and to attempt to identify, in a more specific fashion, the gender related trends in career selection areas as identified by International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) system. Data were examined from the past decade in an attempt to determine gender related trends particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) areas. Over the past decade female enrollment at all academic areas has continued to rise but the enrollment patterns in STEM areas, while not dramatically higher, has demonstrated some rather interesting changes. These changes in enrollment patterns for all eight ISCED areas were discussed in terms of their impact on vocational guidance/career counseling activities. Ozet Kuresel ekonominin iyi egitilmis isgucune giderek daha fazla gerek duymasinin da bir sonucu olarak Ekomik Kalkinma ve Isbirligi Orgutune (OECD) bagli ulkelerde ve Amerika Birlesik Devletleri’nde oldugu gibi Turkiyede’de yuksekogretime yonelmede bir artis egilimi gozlenmektedir. Bu calismada yuksekogretimdeki kiz ve erkek ogrencilerin, Uluslararasi Standart Egitim Siniflamasi’na (ISCED) gore yapilan siniflamaya gore sekiz tane olan temel egitim alanindan, ayrica Bilim, Teknoloji, Muhendislik ve Matematik (BTMM) alanlarindan hangilerine yoneldikleri arastirilmistir. Olcme Secme ve Yerlestirme Merkezi’nin 2002-2012 yillari arasindaki yayinlandigi istatistiklerden yola cikarak yapilan calismada kiz ogrencilerin oranlarinin her alanda arttigi, ancak bu artisa ragmen muhendislik, bilgisayar gibi bazi BTMM alanlarinda kiz ogrencilerin cok az oldugu gorulmustur. Kizlarda saglik ve sosyal hizmetler, egitim ve insani bilimler ve sanat alanlari baskinken erkeklerde muhendislik ve yapi, hizmetler, ziraat, ormancilik alanlari baskin gorunmektedir. BTMM alanlari icindeki musbet ve dogal bilimlerde genelde cinsiyetler arasindaki fark kapanmis gorunmektedir. Genel olarak bakildiginda kiz ogrencilerin sayilarinin her alanda artis gosterdigi izlenmektedir.
Estimating the Economic Impacts of Seven Regular Sport Tourism Events

Published studies regarding sport tourism economic impacts tend to estimate the effects of one sport event, offering little opportunity to compare diverse events that cater to different audiences. The purpose of this study was to estimate and compare the economic impacts of visitor expenditures at seven regular, participant-based sport tourism events. All chosen events took place, at least in part, in the state of South Carolina, USA. Primary data collection of expenditure profiles was used in conjunction with input–output analysis to determine economic impact estimates. The results of this study present trends regarding sport tourism event attendance, expenditure rankings and the need for complementary activities that can be of use to sport tourism event planners and government officials interested in maximizing the effectiveness of sport initiatives.
Tainting is not pointless

Pointer tainting is a form of Dynamic Information Flow Tracking used primarily to prevent software security attacks such as buffer overflows. Researchers have also applied pointer tainting to malware and virus analysis. A recent paper by Slowinska and Bos has criticized pointer tainting as a security mechanism, arguing that it is has serious, inherent false positive and false negative defects. We present a rebuttal that addresses the confusion due to the two uses of pointer tainting in security literature. We clarify that many of the arguments against pointer tainting apply only to its use as a malware and virus analysis platform, but do not apply to the application of pointer tainting to memory corruption protection. Hence, we argue that pointer tainting remains a useful and promising technique for robust protection against memory corruption attacks.
Lignin-Degrading Enzyme from the Hymenomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium Burds

The extracellular fluid of ligninolytic cultures of the wood-decomposing basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium Burds. contains an enzyme that degrades lignin substructure model compounds as well as spruce and birch lignins. It has a molecular size of 42,000 daltons and requires hydrogen peroxide for activity.
Optimal Selection of Limited Vocabulary Speech Corpora

We address the problem of finding a subset of a large speech data corpus that is useful for accurately and rapidly prototyping novel and computationally expensive speech recognition architectures. To solve this problem, we express it as an optimization problem over submodular functions. Quantities such as vocabulary size (or quality) of a set of utterances, or quality of a bundle of word types are submodular functions which make finding the optimal solutions possible. We, moreover, are able to express our approach using graph cuts leading to a very fast implementation even on large initial corpora. We show results on the Switchboard-I corpus, demonstrating improved results over previous techniques for this purpose. We also demonstrate the variety of the resulting corpora that may be produced using our method.
Mammographic breast density and subsequent risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women according to tumor characteristics.

BACKGROUND Few studies that investigated the associations between breast density and subsequent breast cancer according to tumor characteristics have produced inconclusive findings. We aimed to determine whether the associations between breast density and subsequent breast cancer varied by tumor characteristics. METHODS We included 1042 postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer between June 1, 1989, and June 30, 2004, and 1794 matched control subjects from the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study of 121 701 registered female nurses across the United States. Breast density was estimated from digitized images using computerized techniques. Information on breast cancer risk factors was obtained prospectively from biennial questionnaires before the date of cancer diagnosis for case subjects and matched control subjects. Polychotomous logistic regression was used to assess associations of breast density with tumor subtypes based on invasiveness, histology, size, grade, receptor status, and involvement of lymph nodes. All tests of statistical significance were two-sided. RESULTS The risk of breast cancer increased progressively with increase in percent breast density (P(trend) < . 001). Women with higher breast density (≥50%) showed a 3.39-fold (odds ratio = 3.39, 95% confidence interval = 2.46 to 4.68) increased risk of breast cancer compared with women with lower breast density (<10%). The associations between breast density and breast cancer risk were stronger for in situ compared with invasive tumors (P(heterogeneity) < . 01), high-grade compared with low-grade tumors (P(heterogeneity) = . 02), larger (>2 cm) compared with smaller (≤2 cm) tumors (P(heterogeneity) < . 01), and estrogen receptor-negative compared with estrogen receptor-positive tumors (P(heterogeneity) = . 04). There were no differences in associations by tumor histology, involvement of lymph nodes, and progesterone receptor and HER2 status (P(heterogeneity) > . 05). CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that higher mammographic density is associated with more aggressive tumor characteristics and also with in situ tumors.
Novel, Rapid, and Inexpensive Cell-Based Quantification of Antimalarial Drug Efficacy

ABSTRACT We report on the development of a new SYBR Green I-based plate assay for analyzing the activities of antimalarial drugs against intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum. This assay is considerably faster, less labor-intensive, and less expensive than conventional radiotracer (e.g., [3H]hypoxanthine and [3H]ethanolamine)-based assays or P. falciparum lactate dehydrogenase activity-based assays. The assay significantly improves the pace at which antimalarial drug discovery efforts may proceed.
Leptin‐mediated neovascularization is a prerequisite for progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in rats

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) may cause fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the exact mechanism of disease progression is not fully understood. Angiogenesis has been shown to play an important role in the progression of chronic liver disease. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of angiogenesis in the development of liver fibrosis and hepatocarcinogenesis in NASH. Zucker rats, which naturally develop leptin receptor mutations, and their lean littermate rats were fed a choline‐deficient, amino acid–defined diet. Both Zucker and littermate rats showed marked steatohepatitis and elevation of oxidative stress markers (e.g., thiobarbital acid reactive substances and 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine). In sharp contrast, liver fibrosis, glutathione‐S‐transferase placental form (GST‐P)‐positive preneoplastic lesions, and HCC developed in littermate rats but not in Zucker rats. Hepatic neovascularization and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent angiogenic factor, only increased in littermate rats, almost in parallel with fibrogenesis and carcinogenesis. The CD31‐immunopositive neovessels were mainly localized either along the fibrotic septa or in the GST‐P–positive lesions. Our in vitro study revealed that leptin exerted a proangiogenic activity in the presence of VEGF. In conclusion, these results suggest that leptin‐mediated neovascularization coordinated with VEGF plays an important role in the development of liver fibrosis and hepatocarcinogenesis in NASH. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;44:983–991.)
Traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation in children.

BACKGROUND Traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation in children and adolescents is a rare and often fatal injury. Although historically most reported cases have been fatal, the advent of modern prehospital care has led to an increase in survival following this injury. As a consequence, some patients may achieve or maintain satisfactory neurologic function following early intervention, stabilization, and definitive management. We analyzed the data on children and adolescents in whom traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation had been treated with modern resuscitation techniques at our institution. METHODS Atlanto-occipital dislocation is defined as disruption of the ligaments and other supporting soft tissues as indicated by displacement in either a transverse or vertical direction. With use of the Trauma Registry database at our institution, we identified sixteen such injuries that had occurred between 1986 and 2003. The hospital charts, clinic notes, and radiographs were reviewed. A careful neurological evaluation was performed for all of the survivors at the time of the latest follow-up. RESULTS The mean age of the sixteen patients at the time of the injury was 7.6 years. The mechanisms of injury were diverse. The mean Glasgow Coma Scale score was 7.4 points. Eleven of the sixteen patients underwent intubation in the field, two were intubated in the emergency department, and three were not intubated. Eight of the sixteen patients were declared dead on arrival in the emergency department. The eight surviving patients initially were immobilized with either a halo vest or another orthosis. All patients except one received intravenous steroids in the emergency department. Three of the patients who survived the initial injury subsequently died while undergoing neurosurgical procedures for the treatment of extensive intracranial injuries. Four of the remaining five survivors underwent occiput-C2 fusion, and one was managed with a Minerva cast. At the time of the final follow-up, at a mean of 4.2 years after the injury, one patient was neurologically normal, three had mild spastic hemiparesis and were very functional, and one had spastic quadriplegia and was ventilator-dependent. CONCLUSIONS Prompt recognition and treatment of traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation in children and adolescents can result in improved survival. Early diagnosis, prompt intubation, early and adequate immobilization of the head and neck, and the use of intravenous steroids appear to facilitate survival. We recommend arthrodesis from the occiput to C2 (or the nearest adjacent intact and stable vertebra caudad to C2) for all children who survive a traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation, particularly those with an incomplete spinal cord injury.
An Induction Program for Special Education Teachers

Regardless of the quality of their preservice preparation programs, new teachers often leave the teaching profession; special education teachers are almost twice as likely to leave as general education teachers and more likely to leave within the first five years of employment (Claycomb, 2000; Crutchfield, 1997). Induction programs typically provide an array of supports to facilitate the transition into teaching (White & Mason, 2003). Teachers who participate in induction programs are more committed and satisfied with their jobs and more likely to remain in the profession (Whitaker, 2000). However, induction programs often do not focus on the unique responsibilities and challenges of special education teachers (Boyer & Gillespie, 2000). The California Department of Education (CDE) established an induction program in 1992, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Program. California State University, Northridge (CSUN) has offered a BTSA program in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) since BTSA’s inception, to serve general and special education teachers in the local LAUSD districts closest to the university. The CDE provides financial support, and conducts state and regional meetings each year for BTSA directors to coordinate program goals and training objectives. To address the unique needs of special education personnel, BTSA for Special Educators (BTSA-SE) was established in 1999 to serve first and second year special education teachers as part of the larger BTSA program at CSUN.
Regeneration of the heart

The death of cardiac myocytes diminishes the heart's pump function and is a major cause of heart failure, one of the dominant causes of death worldwide. Other than transplantation, there are no therapies that directly address the loss of cardiac myocytes, which explains the current excitement in cardiac regeneration. The field is evolving in two important directions. First, although endogenous mammalian cardiac regeneration clearly seems to decline rapidly after birth, it may still persist in adulthood. The careful elucidation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of endogenous heart regeneration may therefore provide an opportunity for developing therapeutic interventions that amplify this process. Second, recent breakthroughs have enabled reprogramming of cells that were apparently terminally differentiated, either by dedifferentiation into pluripotent stem cells or by transdifferentiation into cardiac myocytes. These achievements challenge our conceptions of what is possible in terms of heart regeneration. In this review, we discuss the current status of research on cardiac regeneration, with a focus on the challenges that hold back therapeutic development.