Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Microstrip Quasi Yagi Array Antenna With Annular Sector Directors

A novel directional microstrip quasi Yagi array antenna is proposed to achieve a wide bandwidth with a low profile and a compact structure. The array is composed of a driven circular sector and annular sector directors. Arrays with both a single director and a dual director have been studied. Measured results show that the proposed antenna provides a stable high gain in a wide bandwidth with a low profile of 1.5 mm (0.03λ0 at 5.8 GHz). For an array using a single annular sector director, an impedance bandwidth of 13.6% (5.10-5.85 GHz) is achieved with a peak gain of 8.2 dBi. With two annular sector directors, the bandwidth is improved to 17.6% (5.05-6.02 GHz), and the peak gain is 10 dBi.
Insulin Resistance Is Associated With Decreased Quadriceps Muscle Strength in Nondiabetic Adults Aged ≥70 Years

OBJECTIVE Lower-limb muscle strength is reduced in many people with diabetes. In this study, we examined whether quadriceps muscle strength is reduced in relation to insulin resistance in well-functioning ambulatory nondiabetic individuals. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Participants (age ≥70 years) underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanning to ascertain muscle and fat mass, tests of quadriceps strength, computed tomography scanning of the quadriceps to gauge muscle lipid content, and fasting insulin and glucose level measurements from which homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was derived. RESULTS In regression analysis, quadriceps strength per kilogram of muscle mass was negatively associated (P < 0.0001) with HOMA-IR independent of other factors negatively associated with strength such as increased age, female sex, low-physical activity, impaired fasting glucose, and increased total body fat. Muscle lipid content was not associated with strength. CONCLUSIONS A small decrease in quadriceps muscle force is associated with increased HOMA-IR in well-functioning nondiabetic adults, suggesting that diminished quadriceps muscle strength begins before diabetes.
Research into language education at The Research Centre for Language Education and Acquisition in Multilingual Societies (RCLEAMS) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, China

The Research Centre for Language Education and Acquisition in Multilingual Societies (RCLEAMS) is one of four Institute-level Research Centres at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd). The principal aim of RCLEAMS is to study multilingual acquisition, language contact and the respective roles of different languages of education in contexts where the languages are not cognate (and where the scripts are often different), in order to be able to better understand the processes and issues involved and to inform governments and language policy-makers. Our particular focus is on Asian languages, including, of course, Chinese, and English. Further details about RCLEAMS, including our specific objectives and international partners, can be found at the website (www.ied.edu.hk/rcleams/). While RCLEAMS itself is relatively small, with only four full-time researchers, we conduct collaborative research with colleagues from the Institute itself, other universities in Hong Kong and with a number of international partners. There are also some thirty doctoral students in the field of language education who work closely with the Centre. We invite anyone who might be interested in working collaboratively with us to get in touch. This report will summarise current and recently completed research projects.
Automatic Blastomere Recognition from a Single Embryo Image

The number of blastomeres of human day 3 embryos is one of the most important criteria for evaluating embryo viability. However, due to the transparency and overlap of blastomeres, it is a challenge to recognize blastomeres automatically using a single embryo image. This study proposes an approach based on least square curve fitting (LSCF) for automatic blastomere recognition from a single image. First, combining edge detection, deletion of multiple connected points, and dilation and erosion, an effective preprocessing method was designed to obtain part of blastomere edges that were singly connected. Next, an automatic recognition method for blastomeres was proposed using least square circle fitting. This algorithm was tested on 381 embryo microscopic images obtained from the eight-cell period, and the results were compared with those provided by experts. Embryos were recognized with a 0 error rate occupancy of 21.59%, and the ratio of embryos in which the false recognition number was less than or equal to 2 was 83.16%. This experiment demonstrated that our method could efficiently and rapidly recognize the number of blastomeres from a single embryo image without the need to reconstruct the three-dimensional model of the blastomeres first; this method is simple and efficient.
CISCO networking academy program

Changing the Way People Learn. The Cisco Networking Academy Program is a comprehensive e-learning program, which provides students with the Internet technology skills essential in a global economy. The Networking Academy program delivers Web-based content, online assessment, student performance tracking, hands-on-labs, instructor training and support, and preparation for industry standard certifications.
Inhibition of Akt inhibits growth of glioblastoma and glioblastoma stem-like cells

A commonly activated signaling cascade in many human malignancies, including glioblastoma multiforme, is the Akt pathway. This pathway can be activated via numerous upstream alterations including genomic amplification of epidermal growth factor receptor, PTEN deletion, or PIK3CA mutations. In this study, we screened phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt small-molecule inhibitors in an isogenic cell culture system with an activated Akt pathway secondary to a PIK3CA mutation. One small molecule, A-443654, showed the greatest selective inhibition of cells with the mutant phenotype. Based on these findings, this inhibitor was screened in vitro against a panel of glioblastoma multiforme cell lines. All cell lines tested were sensitive to A-443654 with a mean IC50 of ∼150 nmol/L. An analogue of A-443654, methylated at a region that blocks Akt binding, was on average 36-fold less active. Caspase assays and dual flow cytometric analysis showed an apoptotic mechanism of cell death. A-443654 was further tested in a rat intracranial model of glioblastoma multiforme. Animals treated intracranially with polymers containing A-443654 had significantly extended survival compared with control animals; animals survived 79% and 43% longer than controls when A-443654-containing polymers were implanted simultaneously or in a delayed fashion, respectively. This small molecule also inhibited glioblastoma multiforme stem-like cells with similar efficacy compared with traditionally cultured glioblastoma multiforme cell lines. These results suggest that local delivery of an Akt small-molecule inhibitor is effective against experimental intracranial glioma, with no observed resistance to glioblastoma multiforme cells grown in stem cell conditions. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(2):386–93]
Immunization against malaria with a recombinant protein

We have expressed in bacteria the C‐terminal part of Plasmodium yoelii merozoite surface protein‐1 (MSP1) containing the two epidermal growth factor‐like domains. The protein, either alone or fused to glutathione Stransferase, was highly effective as a vaccine and protected mice against challenge infection. Reduction and alkylation abolished the protection obtained with the protein. This shows for the first time the absolute requirement of the disulphide‐bonded conformation for immunogenicity. In a short term experiment, mice were protected against a massive challenge. The immunity was effective at the time of merozoite release/reinvasion. Recombinant protein based on this part of MSP1 may be suitable as a vaccine against malaria.
Distributing Leadership to Make Schools Smarter: Taking the Ego Out of the System

In this study, we inquired about patterns of leadership distribution, as well as which leadership functions were performed by whom, the characteristics of nonadministrative leaders, and the factors promoting and inhibiting the distribution of leadership functions. We consider our account of distributed leadership in this district to be a probable example of “best practice” at the present time—not perfect, but likely more mature than average by a significant degree. The most noteworthy detail to emerge from our study was the critical part played by formal school and district leaders in helping to foster apparently productive forms of distributed leadership.
Seasonal variation of effect of air pollution on blood pressure

Background: Many studies have shown a consistent association between ambient air pollution and an increase in death due to cardiovascular causes. An increase in blood pressure is a common risk factor for a variety of cardiovascular diseases. However, the association between air pollution and blood pressure has not been evaluated extensively. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we measured blood pressure in 10 459 subjects who had a health examination from 2001 to 2003, and calculated individual’s exposure to ambient levels of air pollutants. To evaluate the relationship between exposure to air pollutants and blood pressure with respect to season, we performed a multiple regression analysis, separately, according to season, controlling for individual characteristics and meteorological variables. Results: In the warm-weather season (July–September), particulate air pollutant of <10 μm (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations were significantly associated with measures of blood pressure. During cold weather (October–December), blood pressure was significantly associated with sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations. The significant association between PM10 or NO2 and blood pressure disappeared during the cold-weather season. Conclusion: We found a seasonal variation for the association between ambient air-pollutant concentrations and blood pressure.
VLSI Characterization of the Cryptographic Hash Function BLAKE

Cryptographic hash functions are used to protect information integrity and authenticity in a wide range of applications. After the discovery of weaknesses in the current deployed standards, the U.S. Institute of Standards and Technology started a public competition to develop the future standard SHA-3, which will be implemented in a multitude of environments, after its selection in 2012. In this paper, we investigate high-speed and low-area hardware architectures of one of the 14 “second-round” candidates in this competition: BLAKE. VLSI performance results of the proposed high-speed designs indicate a throughput improvement between 16% and 36% compared to the current standard SHA-2. Additionally, we propose a compact implementation of BLAKE with memory optimization that fits in 0.127 mm2 of a 0.18 μ m CMOS. Measurements reveal a minimal power dissipation of 9.59 μW/MHz at 0.65 V, which suggests that BLAKE is suitable for resource-limited systems.
Associations of Gestational Weight Gain With Offspring Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure at 21 Years of Age: Evidence From a Birth Cohort Study

Background— Maternal weight gain in pregnancy is positively associated with offspring body mass index (BMI) and obesity risk in childhood, but whether this increased risk extends into adulthood or results in increases in other cardiovascular risk factors such as elevated blood pressure (BP) is unclear. Methods and Results— We used a population-based birth cohort of 2432 individuals (50% male) born in Brisbane, Australia, between 1981 and 1983 to prospectively examine the association between maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) and offspring BMI and BP at 21 years. On average, each mother gained 14.8 kg (SD, 5.1 kg) during her pregnancy. At 21 years of age, offspring mean BMI, systolic BP, and diastolic BP were 24.2 kg/m2 (SD, 4.9 kg/m2), 116.4 mm Hg (SD, 14.5 mm Hg), and 67.7 mm Hg (SD, 8.5 mm Hg), respectively. Offspring BMI was on average 0.3 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval, 0.1 to 0.4 kg/m2) higher for each 0.1-kg/wk greater GWG after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Systolic BP also was greater (0.2 mm Hg per 0.1 kg; 95% confidence interval, −0.2 to 0.6) in offspring whose mothers had higher GWG. Although this association was not statistically significant, it was consistent in magnitude with the association of maternal GWG with offspring BMI and of offspring BMI with BP. Conclusions— Our findings show that greater GWG is associated with greater offspring BMI into early adulthood and that this may translate into higher systolic BP in offspring. Further large studies are required to confirm an effect of GWG on a range of offspring cardiovascular risk factors.
Effect of Distributed Generators on the Optimal Operation of Distribution Networks

— This paper presents an approach for daily optimal operation of distribution networks considering Distributed Generators (DGs). Due to private ownership of DGs, a cost based compensation method is used to encourage DGs in active and reactive power generation. The objective function is summation of electrical energy generated by DGs and substation bus (main bus) in the next day. A genetic algorithm is used to solve the optimal operation problem. The approach is tested on an IEEE34 buses distribution feeder.
Congestion-Aware DNS for Integrated Cellular and Wi-Fi Networks

Intelligent network selection plays an important role in achieving an effective data offloading in the integrated cellular and Wi-Fi networks. However, previously proposed network selection schemes mainly focused on offloading as much data traffic to Wi-Fi as possible, without systematically considering the Wi-Fi network congestion and the ping-pong effect, both of which may lead to a poor overall user quality of experience. Thus, in this paper, we study a more practical network selection problem by considering both the impacts of the network congestion and switching penalties. More specifically, we formulate the users’ interactions as a Bayesian network selection game (NSG) under the incomplete information of the users’ mobilities. We prove that it is a Bayesian potential game and show the existence of a pure Bayesian–Nash equilibrium that can be easily reached. We then propose a distributed network selection (DNS) algorithm based on the network congestion statistics obtained from the operator. Furthermore, we show that computing the optimal centralized network allocation is an NP-hard problem, which further justifies our distributed approach. Simulation results show that the DNS algorithm achieves the highest user utility and a good fairness among users, as compared with the on-the-spot offloading and cellular-only benchmark schemes.
Dynamic Ontology Evolution in Open Environments

Changes in an ontology may have a disruptive impact on any system using it. This impact may depend on structural changes such as name changes or relations between concepts, or it may be related to a change in the expected performance of the reasoning tasks. As the number of systems using ontologies is expected to increase this problem is likely to occur more frequently, and, given the open nature of the Semantic Web, new ontologies and modifications to existing ones are to be expected. Dynamically handling these changes, without requiring human intervention, is a key requirement for successful applications. This paper presents a system that isolates groups of related axioms in an OWL ontology, so that a change in one or more axioms can be automatically localised to a part of the ontology. In addition, we report the results on evaluating the effectiveness of our approach on large ontologies.
How Good Men of the Union Justify Inequality

This article draws on ethnographic data to illuminate the problematic position of organized labor in terms of race and gender in the building trades. It argues that construction unions today are caught between the larger legal and moral mandates for equal opportunity and the reproduction of white and male privilege that benefit the majority of the union members. Unions are seen as needing to be highly responsive to matters of discrimination and harassment and thus less able to support and protect the traditional white male worker. On the other hand, union representatives are likely to be drawn from the workplace and thus previously socialized into the industry's distinct workplace cultures. These cultures, as demonstrated, simultaneously promote and make invisible patterns of racism and sexism. When these patterns are made invisible, union representatives are unlikely to intervene in much that occurs. As a result, unions satisfy neither constituency. Implications of this for the construction workplace and the larger labor movement are discussed.
Spirituality in an Undergraduate Social Work Curriculum: Reflective Assignments at the Beginning and the End of a Programme

This paper proposes that it is extremely important to integrate issues of spirituality into the undergraduate social work curriculum. It outlines an experiential/liberatory/freedom-seeking/narrative pedagogy and shows how reflective assignments that are compatible with this pedagogy can assist students to encounter the spirituality that might inform their social work practice. Two assignments are described. The first assignment encourages second year undergraduate students to explore, understand, and develop the “soul” of their practice as well as the knowledge, and skills that they will need, and also the emotions that will be evoked through their social work. An evaluation of this assignment is provided. The author then describes an assignment that is given at the end of the programme. This second assignment requires students to outline a personal “credo” of social work and then devise methods of monitoring and evaluating their success in staying true to their beliefs while practicing in agencies that do not always cherish the soul of social work or its practitioners. The paper ends by providing an evaluation of the credo by eight social workers of during their first few months of professional practice.
Biochemical studies on sphingolipids of Artemia franciscana: novel neutral glycosphingolipids[S]

Neutral glycosphingolipids containing one to six sugars in their oligosaccharide chains have been isolated from cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana. The structures of these glycolipids were identified by methylation analysis, partial acid hydrolysis, gas-liquid chromatography, combined gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to be Glcβ1-Cer, Manβ1-4Glcβ1-Cer, Fucα1-3Manβ1-4Glcβ1-Cer, GlcNAcβ1-3Manβ1-4Glcβ1-Cer, GlcNAcα1-2Fucα1-3Manβ1-4Glcβ1-Cer, GalNAcβ1-4GlcNAcβ1-3Manβ1-4Glcβ1-Cer, GalNAcβ1-4(Fucα1-3)GlcNAcβ1-3Manβ1-4Glcβ1-Cer (CPS), and GalNAcβ1-4(GlcNAcα1-2Fucα1-3)GlcNAcβ1-3Manβ1-4Glcβ1-Cer (CHS). Two glycosphingolipids, CPS and CHS, were characterized as novel structures. Because Artemia contains a certain series of glycosphingolipids (-Fucα3Manβ4GlcβCer), which differ from the core sugar sequences reported thus far, we tentatively designated the glycosphingolipids characterized as nonarthro-series ones. Furthermore, CHS exhibited a hybrid structure of arthro-series and nonarthro-series sugar chain. Two novel glycosphingolipids were characterized from the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana; one was composed of arthrotetraose and a branching fucose attached to N-acetylglucosamine residue, and the other was composed of CPS with an additional N-acetylglucosamine residue attached to the branching fucose.
Correlation of Patient Satisfaction with Symptom Severity and Walking Ability after Surgical Treatment for Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Study Design. Prospective follow-up of 83 patients who had decompressive laminotomy with or without fusion for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis between September 1992 and September 1998. Objective. To evaluate the significance of the correlation between patient satisfaction and both the severity of postoperative symptoms and walking ability. Summary of Background Data. In clinical studies of surgery for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis, patient satisfaction often is an item in the outcome questionnaire. However, little is known about the relationship of patient satisfaction to postoperative symptoms or functioning. Methods. Patients completed standardized preoperative and follow-up questionnaires about symptom severity, walking ability, and their satisfaction with the results of surgical treatment. The significance of the correlation of patient satisfaction with the severity of postoperative symptoms and walking ability was evaluated. Results. The mean length of follow-up was 39 months (range 12–84 months). The final questionnaire of a series was answered by 77 patients (93% of the cohort). By univariate analysis, the correlations of patient satisfaction with postoperative back pain, leg pain, numbness, subjective difficulty in walking, and walking ability were statistically significant (Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient: 0.58, 0.57, 0.53, 0.64, and 0.43, respectively). Postoperative walking ability was a weaker correlate of patient satisfaction than the severity of postoperative symptoms. By multivariate regression analysis, the only independent correlate was subjective difficulty in walking. Conclusions. In the evaluation of patient satisfaction as an outcome in patients operated on for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis, we should keep in mind that postoperative functioning is a weak correlate of satisfaction.
Motivated Cognitive Control: Reward Incentives Modulate Preparatory Neural Activity during Task-Switching

It is increasingly appreciated that executive control processes need to be understood in terms of motivational as well as cognitive mechanisms. The current study examined the impact of performance-contingent reward incentives (monetary bonuses) on neural activity dynamics during cued task-switching performance. Behavioral measures indicated that performance was improved and task-switch costs selectively reduced on incentive trials. Trial-by-trial fluctuations in incentive value were associated with activation in reward-related brain regions (dopaminergic midbrain, paracingulate cortex) and also modulated the dynamics of switch-selective activation in the brain cognitive control network. Within lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), both additive (inferior frontal junction) and interactive [dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC)] incentive effects were observed. In DLPFC, incentive modulation of activation predicted task-switching behavioral performance, but with hemispherically dissociable effects. Furthermore, in left DLPFC, incentive modulation specifically enhanced task–cue-related activation, and this activation in turn predicted that the trial would be subsequently rewarded (because of optimal performance). The results suggest that motivational incentives have a selective effect on brain regions that subserve cognitive control processes during task-switching and, moreover, that one mechanism of effect might be the enhancement of cue-related task preparation within left DLPFC.