Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 14 bit 200 MS/s DAC With SFDR >78 dBc, IM3 < -83 dBc and NSD <-163 dBm/Hz Across the Whole Nyquist Band Enabled by Dynamic-Mismatch Mapping

This paper presents a 14 bit 200 MS/s current-steering DAC with a novel digital calibration technique called dynamic-mismatch mapping (DMM). By optimizing the switching sequence of current cells to reduce the dynamic integral nonlinearity in an I-Q domain, the DMM technique digitally calibrates all mismatch errors so that both the DAC static and dynamic performance can be significantly improved in a wide frequency range. Compared to traditional current source calibration techniques and static-mismatch mapping, DMM can reduce the distortion caused by both amplitude and timing mismatch errors. Compared to dynamic element matching, DMM does not increase the noise floor since the distortion is reduced, not randomized. The DMM DAC was implemented in a 0.14 μm CMOS technology and achieves a state-of-the-art performance of SFDR >; 78 dBc, IM3 <; -83 dBc and NSD <; -163 dBm/Hz in the whole 100 MHz Nyquist band.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TCP RENO AND TCP VEGAS IN A DIFFERENTIATED SERVICES NETWORK

In this paper, we present some simulation results carried out to study the behavior of the Differentiated Services architecture (DiffServ) together with TCP Vegas algorithm in relation to TCP Reno algorithm. We focus on the evaluation of the impact α and β parameters in TCP Vegas and RIO parameters have on fairness in this environment. In particular, this paper examines the feasibly of some values not yet used for adjusting α and β, in a DiffServ network. The results show that much of conclusions concerning TCP Vegas achieved in previous researches, in which only a traditional network was examined, are found in a DiffServ domain too. Besides, they show that the studied parameters are able to minimize the unfairness of TCP Vegas in that environment in some extent, but improvements are still fundamental.
Environmental risk assessment for the small tortoiseshell Aglais urticae and a stacked Bt‐maize with combined resistances against Lepidoptera and Chrysomelidae in central European agrarian landscapes

The cultivation of Lepidoptera‐resistant Bt‐maize may affect nontarget butterflies. We assessed the risk posed by event MON89034 × MON88017 (expressing Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2 against corn borers) to nontarget Lepidoptera. Using the small tortoiseshell Aglais urticae, a butterfly species common in central Europe, as a test organism we (i) assessed the toxicity of Bt‐maize pollen on butterfly larvae; (ii) measured pollen deposition on leaves of the host plant Urtica dioica; (iii) mapped the occurrence and distribution of host plants and larvae in two arable landscapes in Germany during maize anthesis; and (iv) described the temporal occurrence of a 1‐year population of A. urticae. (i) Larvae‐fed 200 Bt‐maize pollen grains/cm2 had a reduced feeding activity. Significant differences in developmental time existed at pollen densities of 300 Bt‐maize pollen grains/cm2 and in survival at 400 grains/cm2. (ii) The highest pollen amount found was 212 grains/cm2 at the field margin. Mean densities were much lower. (iii) In one region, over 50% of A. urticae nests were located within 5 m of a maize field, while in the other, all nests were found in more than 25 m distance to a maize field. (iv) The percentage of larvae developing during maize anthesis was 19% in the study area. The amount of pollen from maize MON89034 × MON88017 found on host plants is unlikely to adversely affect a significant proportion of larvae of A. urticae. This paper concludes that the risk of event MON89034 × MON88017 to populations of this species is negligible.
Citizenship in diverse societies

1. Citizenship in Diverse Societies: an introduction PART I: CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY 2. Discrimination and Religious Schooling 3. Extending Diversity: Religion in Public and Private Education PART II: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND GROUP REPRESENTATION 4. What Does a Representative Do? Descriptive Representation in Communicative Settings of Distrust, Uncrystallized Interests, and Historically Denigrated Status 5. The Uneasy Alliance of Deliberative Democracy and Group Representation PART III: IMMIGRATION, IDENTITY AND MULTICULTURALISM 6. Cultural Identity and Civic Responsibility 7. Anti-Essentialism, Multiculturalism and the Recognition of Religious Groups PART IV: GENDER AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 8. Should Church and State be Joined at the Altar: Women's Rights and the Multicultural Dilemma 9. Female Autonomy and Cultural Imperative: Two Hearts Beating Together PART V: LANGUAGE RIGHTS 10. Official Language Rights: Intrinsic Value and the Protection of Difference 11. Citizenship and Official Bilingualism in Canada PART VI: THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 12. Three Modes of Incorporating Indigenous Law 13. Landed Citizenship: Narratives of Aboriginal Political Participation PART VII: FEDERALISM AND NATIONALISM 14. Sustainable Federalism, Democratisation and Distributive Justice 15. Why Stay Together: A Pluralist Approach to Secession and Federation
The Economic and Sustainability Future of Cellular Networks

Global data traffic is expected to grow exponentially in the next few years with video and smartphone applications driving data growth. Many mobile network providers in the UK have either deployed or planning to deploy 4th generation Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) mobile technology as the solution to meet capacity demands. This study evaluates the technological improvements in 4G LTE in comparison to 3G High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and further conducts a techno-economic analysis using primary researched tariff data to determine network operator profitability and mobile tariff strategy to meet user demand. To ensure holistic analysis, the study also considers the environmental impacts of LTE by determining the annual carbon emission for a network operator. The study results shows LTE will prove profitable; however a trade-off has to be made by network operators between meeting consumer tariff demands or increasing profitability. Analysis also shows a 63% reduced in carbon emissions is possible with migration to 4G services with implication of further financial benefits for network operators as a result.
Post-Prandial Responses to Different Bread Products Based on Wheat, Barley and Fenugreek or Ginger or Both in Healthy Volunteers and Their Effect on the Glycemic Index of Such Products

Background: Consumption of a diet with a low glycemic index (GI) rich in dietary fiber can help for the management of postprandial blood glucose (PBG) level in normal subjects. Incorporation of whole grain barley rich in â-glucan, fenugreek and ginger as part of a balanced diet offers a variety of health benefits. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the effect of bread products containing wheat, barley and fenugreek or ginger or both on postprandial blood glucose in healthy subjects, and to determine their Glycemic index values. All bread products were evaluated for their acceptance value. Results: All bread products induced significantly lower PBG responses (p<0.05) than did the reference bread, suggesting that the naturally occurring soluble dietary fiber in these blends had an impact on glucose tolerance with glycemic indices ranging from 38 to 52. Conclusion: The present study suggests that barley wheat fenugreek ginger bread (BWFGb) could be a replacement food of white wheat bread since it provides a healthy and easily digestible carbohydrate diet that can help to maintain PBG level within a normal range in healthy and diabetic patients. (Journal of American Science. 2010;6(10):89-96). (ISSN: 1545-1003).
Fingerprint Image Recognition Using Walidlet Transform

The choice of an object representation is crucial for the effective performance of cognitive tasks such as fingerprint image (FPI) recognition, this is because how robustly and efficiently recognition tasks can be performed depends on the choice f the feature representation.This paper introduces Walidlet transform (WLT) coefficients as an effective and efficient FPI representation. The WLT represent FPI with sets of weighted coefficients that are specially chosen to reflect the properties of the represent FPI.The WLT parameters are chosen according to a specific discrete scheme that is based on the discrete Multiwvelet transform. The optimized parameter choice of the WLT allows the representation to be very sparse and specific to the represented FPI. It has been shown that the specificity of the parameters can be exploited for the recognition of FPI & the recognition rates are shown to be as high as 97%.
Inhibition of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B-Induced Lymphocyte Proliferation and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Secretion by MAb5, an Anti-Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin 1 Monoclonal Antibody

ABSTRACT Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is primarily caused by toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) and staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). These toxins belong to a family of pyrogenic toxin superantigens (PTSAgs) produced by Staphylococcus aureus and exhibit several shared biological properties, including the induction of massive cytokine release and Vβ-specific T-cell proliferation. The crystal structures of most PTSAgs are now published, and they demonstrate a striking similarity in conformational architecture even though their primary protein sequences are different. Despite these structural and immunobiological similarities, no cross-reactivity between TSST-1 and other PTSAgs has been demonstrated in serological or neutralization assays. Our laboratory has developed a neutralizing murine anti-TSST-1 monoclonal antibody (MAb5) which displayed cross-reactivity with SEB by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether MAb5 can also cross-neutralize SEB-induced superantigenic activities in vitro. MAb5 was found to partially inhibit SEB-induced T-cell mitogenesis (63%) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) secretion (70%) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in a dose-dependent manner, while an isotypic anti-TSST-1 monoclonal antibody showed no effect. Epitope mapping revealed that MAb5 bound to TSST-1 residues 47 to 56 (47FPSPYYSPAF56) and to SEB residues 83 to 92 (83DVFGANYYYQ92), sequences that located in different regions of these toxins and are structurally dissimilar. SEB peptide 83DVFGANYYYQ92 was synthesized and found to also inhibit SEB-induced mitogenesis and TNF-α secretion in human PBMC. Our results demonstrate for the first time that MAb5 binds to different epitopes on TSST-1 and SEB that appear functionally important in inducing T-cell mitogenesis and TNF-α secretion in vitro.
Exploring the Political Blogosphere: Perceptions of Political Bloggers About Their Sphere

This study examines the relationship between news media and bloggers from the perspective of political bloggers. Working from the theoretical frameworks of media accountability systems (Bertrand, 2000) and Brosius and Weimann's (1996) models of agenda-setting and two-step flow, the article proposes a new model that includes political bloggers. Via an online questionnaire, the study examines the demographics of political bloggers, how they view the blogosphere, and how they perceive their relationships with the mainstream media. Results suggest that bloggers do tend to define their role in the blogosphere as an extension of traditional media, sharing similar norms and values such as accuracy, responsibility, and independence, and at the same time believe that they have an impact on politics and news and serve as an accurate source of political information and analysis for their readers. It seems hopeless. How can the newspaper industry survive the Internet? On the one hand, newspapers are expected to supply their content free on the Web. On the other hand, their most profitable advertising—classifieds—is being lost to sites like Craigslist. And display advertising is close behind. Meanwhile, there is the blog terror: people are getting their understanding of the world from random lunatics riffing in their underwear, rather than professional journalists with standards and passports. (Kinsley, 2006, ¶1)
Impact of a Content Selection Framework on Portfolio Assessment at the Classroom Level

Among the various alternative approaches to student evaluation, portfolio assessment has been shown to have considerable potential in terms of its use in the evaluation of higher-order, cross-curricular skills. Despite this favourable outlook, it may nevertheless remain a passing fad due to the lack of a conceptual content selection framework and difficulties surrounding its implementation within the classroom setting. The present study reports on the conceptual issues that arose when a generic content framework was used to guide the selection of entries for assessment purposes. The framework proposed the systematic collection of evidence of the cognitive, affective, behavioural, metacognitive and developmental dimensions of students' mastery of a specific competency. Data were drawn from 11 case-studies of portfolio applications by teachers from eastern Ontario, Canada. It was found that the effective integration of the portfolio into teaching and assessment practices depended largely on the flexibility of the framework and, to some extent, on the type of training or support provided to the teachers.
Fluctuating selection: the perpetual renewal of adaptation in variable environments

Darwin insisted that evolutionary change occurs very slowly over long periods of time, and this gradualist view was accepted by his supporters and incorporated into the infinitesimal model of quantitative genetics developed by R. A. Fisher and others. It dominated the first century of evolutionary biology, but has been challenged in more recent years both by field surveys demonstrating strong selection in natural populations and by quantitative trait loci and genomic studies, indicating that adaptation is often attributable to mutations in a few genes. The prevalence of strong selection seems inconsistent, however, with the high heritability often observed in natural populations, and with the claim that the amount of morphological change in contemporary and fossil lineages is independent of elapsed time. I argue that these discrepancies are resolved by realistic accounts of environmental and evolutionary changes. First, the physical and biotic environment varies on all time-scales, leading to an indefinite increase in environmental variance over time. Secondly, the intensity and direction of natural selection are also likely to fluctuate over time, leading to an indefinite increase in phenotypic variance in any given evolving lineage. Finally, detailed long-term studies of selection in natural populations demonstrate that selection often changes in direction. I conclude that the traditional gradualist scheme of weak selection acting on polygenic variation should be supplemented by the view that adaptation is often based on oligogenic variation exposed to commonplace, strong, fluctuating natural selection.
Medication overuse headache

Medication overuse headache (MOH) has developed into the third most common type of headache after tension-type headache and migraine. The prevalence of MOH is ∼ 1% of the world’s population and it shows an increasing trend as recent studies reveal a common involvement throughout the ages, even starting in childhood. All antiheadache drugs, such as triptans, analgesics, ergots and opioids, along with the common combination substances currently on the pharmacological market are capable of inducing MOH. New data on specific clinical features and mean critical monthly dosages and mean critical monthly intake frequencies are now available. The only effective treatment concept is consequent withdrawal therapy. Data of prospective studies on relapse rates and predictors of relapse after successful withdrawal therapy are presented.
VSI loss evaluation of DFIM drives for electrical naval propulsion

In this paper, the authors suggest a new design of propulsion system mainly based on a Doubly Fed Induction Machine (DFIM), operating in motor mode and supplied by two Voltage Source Inverters (VSIs). The modeling of the marine propeller is reported and the equations defining its behavior are established. A Stator Flux Oriented Control (SFOC) and Sliding Mode Control (SMC) are developed and associated to different modulators (PWM) to control the system. These control methods are applied considering taking into considerations a real naval propulsion operating cycle. In order to choose the optimal law to control the system described, these laws are evaluated with regard to switching loss during a cruise cycle.
Native American Stereotypes, TV Portrayals, and Personal Contact

This study tests hypotheses derived from extremity-complexity and stage theories of stereotyping which predict that frequency of contact with a minority group leads to knowledge which then leads to positive group evaluations. We also test hypotheses from learning theories of behavior which predict that evaluations of contact with minority groups determine group evaluations. The hypotheses are tested for direct personal contact and vicarious contact via television. We administered questionnaires to white college students to measure the contact variables and stereotypes of Native Americans. Results show strong support for the learning hypotheses, but not for extremity-complexity theories of stereotyping. Evaluations of first contact as pleasant or unpleasant, frequency of contact, and evaluations of TV portrayals as negative or positive predict stereotyping. Implications for stereotyping theories are discussed.
Brief report: the association between peer victimization, prosocial support, and treatment adherence in children and adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between peer victimization, prosocial support, and treatment adherence in children and adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). METHOD Thirty-eight children diagnosed with IBD, between the ages of 7-19 years, and their parents were recruited from an outpatient Gastroenterology Clinic. Each child completed the Social Experience Questionnaire. The child, parent, and treating physician completed a one-item measure of child medication adherence. RESULTS Child reported positive social interactions moderated the relationship between child reported peer victimization and self-reported medication adherence (t = -2.09; p = .045). These relationships held when parent report of child adherence was substituted for child reported adherence in this model (t = -2.37; p = .024). CONCLUSIONS The findings from this pilot study suggest that prosocial support may buffer children with IBD from experiencing the more negative effects of peer victimization on treatment adherence and highlight the importance of social interactions in youth with IBD. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Multiple Feedback Successive Interference Cancellation Detection for Multiuser MIMO Systems

In this paper, a low-complexity multiple feedback successive interference cancellation (MF-SIC) strategy is proposed for the uplink of multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) systems. In the proposed MF-SIC algorithm with shadow area constraints (SAC), an enhanced interference cancellation is achieved by introducing {constellation points as the candidates} to combat the error propagation in decision feedback loops. We also combine the MF-SIC with multi-branch (MB) processing, which achieves a higher detection diversity order. For coded systems, a low-complexity soft-input soft-output (SISO) iterative (turbo) detector is proposed based on the MF and the MB-MF interference suppression techniques. The computational complexity of the MF-SIC is comparable to the conventional SIC algorithm since very little additional complexity is required. Simulation results show that the algorithms significantly outperform the conventional SIC scheme and approach the optimal detector.
Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) in iron‐ and vitamin B12 deficiency

Abstract. Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was measured in 10 patients with iron deficiency anaemia, 10 patients with vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia and 10 healthy controls. Initially there were no significant differences between the groups (P > 0.4), but after treatment with iron and vitamin B12 for 3 and 6 weeks, the glycosylated haemoglobin concentration decreased significantly (P < 0.01). It was concluded that glycosylated haemoglobin is a sensitive marker of the changes in the erythrocyte population that are observed when predominantly immature erythrocytes are being produced.
Evaluation of the business operation performance of the listing companies by applying TOPSIS method

This research is targeted at the ten listing companies in the Taiwan stock market as the main investigation counter parties, which their business style are producing the notebook computers, by using the inventory turnover, net income ratio, earnings per share and current ratio these four financial ratios as the evaluation standards, hereafter apply entropy method to work out the objective weights for each evaluation standard, and finally by using the TOPSIS method to compute the relative performance index of each project and sort the results. We can offer the sorting results for the investors as effective information, to serve as reference for selection of the target stock shares, investment financial programs and help doing the investment strategic analysis.
Germinal bed condition in a polyautochronic single-clutched lizard, Bassiana duperreyi (Scincidae)

In lizards, the eggs are produced within small regions of the ovary known as germinal beds (GBs); previous literature suggests that the number of GBs per ovary may be linked to life-history traits such as clutch size and breeding frequency. In the oviparous montane Australian skink Bassiana duperreyi , females produce a single clutch of 3 to 11 eggs each year. Our histological examination of ovaries of this species revealed a single GB per ovary. In combination with previous studies, our results suggest that scincid lizards may offer ideal model systems to explore the functional link between ovarian morphology and life-history traits in lizards.
A Bayesian Model of Voting in Juries

We take a game-theoretic approach to the analysis of juries by modelling voting as a game of incomplete information. Rather than the usual assumption of two possible signals (one indicating guilt, the other innocence), we allow jurors to perceive a full spectrum of signals. Given any voting rule requiring a fixed fraction of votes to convict, we characterize the unique symmetric equilibrium of the game, and we consider the possibility of asymmetric equilibria: we give a condition under which no asymmetric equilibria exist and show that, without under which no asymmetric equilibria exist and show that, without it, asymmetric equilibria may exist. We offer a condition under which unanimity rule exhibits a bias toward convicting the innocent, regardless of the size of the jury, and we exhibit an example showing this bias can be reversed. And we prove a "jury theorem" for our general model: as the size of the jury increases, the probability of a mistaken judgment goes to zero for every voting rule, except unanimity rule; for unanimity rule, we give a condition under which the probability of a mistake is bounded strictly above zero, and we show that, without this condition, the probability of a mistake may go to zero.
PARADOX: MYTH AND REALITY OF WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT IN THE US

The paradox is identified of the few women who attain high managerial positions compared with public perceptions of extensive occupational progress on the part of women entering the labourforce. In accounting for this paradox the status of research and theory on women in management in the US is described, gaps in this knowledge identified, explanations offered for the current state of development, and prospects for the future are considered.