Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discovery of the Double Exponential Transformation and Its Developments

This article is mainly concerned how the double exponential formula for numerical integration was discovered and how it has been developed thereafter. For evaluation of I = 1 −1 f (x)dx H. Takahasi and M. Mori took advantage of the optimality of the trapezoidal formula over (−∞, ∞) with an equal mesh size and proposed in 1974 x = φ(t) = tanh( π 2 sinh t) as an optimal choice of variable transformation which transforms the original integral to I = ∞ −∞ f (φ(t))φ � (t)dt. If the trapezoidal formula is applied to the transformed integral and the resulting infinite summation is properly truncated a quadrature formula I ≈ h n=−n f (φ(kh))φ � (kh) is obtained. Its error is expressed as O(exp(−CN/log N )) as a function of the number N (= 2n +1 ) of function evaluations. Since the integrand decays double exponentially after the transformation it is called the double exponential (DE) formula. It is also shown that the formula is optimal in the sense that there is no quadrature formula obtained by variable transformation whose error decays faster than O(exp(−CN/log N )) as N becomes large. Since the paper by Takahasi and Mori was published the DE formula has gradually come to be used widely in various fields of science and engineering. In fact we can find papers in which the DE formula is successfully used in the fields of molecular physics, fluid dynamics, statistics, civil engineering, financial engineering, in particular in the field of the boundary element method, and so on. The DE transformation has turned out to be also useful for evaluation of indefinite integrals, for solution of integral equations and for solution of ordinary differential equations, so that the scope of its applications is expected to spread also in the future.
Demodulation Pixel Based on Static Drift Fields

A novel pixel architecture for two-dimensional pixel parallel demodulation of modulated light waves is introduced, enabling real-time three-dimensional (3-D) imaging. Applications for such methods can be found in the field of surveillance, robotics, automotive, and industry security applications. The pixel architecture is based on large areas of static drift fields and relatively small demodulation regions. The large area of static drift field forms the basic photodetection region. The constant drift field enables the very fast transport of photo-generated charges to the sampling region where demodulation of the light signal is performed. The main advantages compared to recently used demodulation pixels are lower power consumption and higher optical fill factor or sensitivity. The first implementation is a pixel of 40times40 mum 2 size with 25% optical fill factor. Measurements prove the concept of transporting photo-generated charges within less than 1 ns to the demodulation node. The applicability of the pixel in 3-D imaging applications is highlighted by distance measurements achieving millimeter distance resolution
Larvicidal activity of Nerium oleander L. (Apocynaceae) flower extracts against Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae)

Culex quinquefasciatus is the vector responsible for serious disease filariasis among human beings. Plant derived products have received increased attention from scientists as they serve as a rich source for novel natural substances possessing insecticidal properties which are safe to human and ecosystem. During the last decade, various studies on natural plant products against vector mosquito indicate them as possible alternatives to chemical and synthetic insecticides for mosquito control. In the present study, the crude hexane and aqueous extract of Nerium oleander flowers were reported for larvicidal activity against the filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus. Mortality was observed for 24 and 48 hours. Hexane flower extract exhibited highest larvicidal activity with a LC50 value of 102.54 ppm and 61.11ppm after 24 and 48 hours respectively. Further investigations are needed to elucidate this activity against a wide range of all stages of mosquito species and also the active ingredient(s) of the extract responsible for larvicidal activity should be identified.
Brand Preference of Branded Coconut Oil Consumer in Coimbatore City – An Analytical Study

India is the largest producer of coconut in the world with the distinction of having the highest productivity. Southern states account for more than 80 per cent of coconut production. impact of organizational culture and employee commitment. In the present study brand preference is defined as consumers preferring a particular brand of coconut oil over other brands and in the case of non availability substituting it with another brand of coconut oil.The study is designed in descriptive nature and the sample size is 140 consumers. Primary data collection was done with the help of structured questionnaire/interview schedule and secondary data was collected through books, journals, web sites. To analyze the collected data the following the relevant statistical tools were applied like Percentage analysis, Rank Based Quotient and Logit model. Product features preferred by the branded coconut oil users were purity, keeping quality, aroma, stickiness and colour. These attributes must be kept in mind while designing new products. Coconut oil is purchased as a part of groceries in departmental stores so, the firm can promote their advertisement through posters in such retail outlets. Majority of the household purchased their branded coconut oil from departmental stores. The firm should arrange frequent and timely supply to such stores.
Family Interventions to Prevent Maltreatment of Children With Disabilities

In addition to the challenges inherent to physical and cognitive impairments, children with disabilities are at high risk of exhibiting behavioral and emotional problems. Consequently, their parents are under undo stress, which in some instances may lead to child abuse. Specifically, children with disabilities are 3 to 4 times more likely to be abused than are their normally developing peers. This alarming statistic is a consequence of a set of interrelated factors that include the child, the disability, the family, and the socioeconomic environment where they live. In this installment of Ethical Crossroads, Murphy examines those factors. She ends her commentary by emphasizing the importance of recognizing the caregivers' needs. In her mind, patient-focused rehabilitation interventions fall short of the mark. Instead, providing support to the family unit is a more fitting approach to the multidisciplinary care of a child with disabilities.
Pulse pressure as a risk factor for cardiovascular events in the MRC Mild Hypertension Trial.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine whether pulse pressure is a risk factor for coronary artery disease using data from the MRC trial of treatment of mild hypertension, and whether the effect of anti-hypertensive drug therapy on pulse pressure may be a determinant of outcome in treated patients. METHODS Logistic regression and Cox regression analyses were used to compare systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure and mean blood pressure as predictors of coronary events and stroke in the MRC Mild Hypertension Trial. The effects of anti-hypertensive drug treatment with bendrofluazide and propranolol on pulse pressure were assessed using 1-year follow-up data. Event rates in the placebo-treated group and responses to anti-hypertensive treatment were measured in quartiles of age-adjusted entry pulse pressure. A 'four-corners' analysis was performed, with subjects divided into the upper and lower halves of the distributions of systolic and diastolic blood pressure at entry. RESULTS Pulse pressure was a stronger predictor of coronary events than systolic, diastolic or mean blood pressure in males by logistic regression. Pulse pressure was similar to systolic pressure as a coronary event predictor on Cox regression. Stroke was predicted most strongly by mean blood pressure. Fatal and non-fatal coronary event rates increased progressively in ascending quartiles of age-adjusted pulse pressure, but there was also a strong correlation with systolic blood pressure. The values of partial logistic regression coefficients in models containing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure also supported a role for pulse pressure in predicting coronary events and for mean blood pressure in predicting stroke. Coronary risk, but not stroke, was inversely related to diastolic blood pressure in the four-corners analysis. In a Cox model, regressions of coronary event probability on systolic blood pressure at entry were significantly and inversely related to diastolic blood pressure categorized in quartiles. Bendrofluazide but not propranolol decreased pulse pressure significantly and was associated with a reduction in cardiovascular events overall, but no definite relationship between the effect of drugs on pulse pressure and specific responses to treatment was seen. CONCLUSION Pulse pressure is a strong risk factor for coronary events in untreated hypertensive male subjects in the MRC Mild Hypertension Trial, whereas stroke is best predicted by mean blood pressure. Bendrofluazide and propranolol have different effects on pulse pressure which may be related to their relative efficacy in the treatment of hypertension, but this possibility requires further study in more suitable populations.
No reference image quality assessment

The implementation of algorithm for no reference image quality assessment is presented. Aim of the project is to implement an image quality assessment algorithm which will assess the quality of the test image without any reference and predict the quality score for the test image. No Reference (blind) quality assessment problem is important as well as technically difficult. The algorithm used is a Natural Scene Statistics (NSS) model of discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients. NSS model based features are extracted. A regression model of SVM is used to predict image quality scores from certain extracted features. The features are based on an NSS model of the image DCT coefficients. The estimated parameters of the model are utilized to extract features that are indicative of perceptual quality.
Constructing boundary-consistent population time series for the municipalities of the Netherlands, 1988–2011

Frequent spatial reorganization of administrative units is common in many countries. It may comprise the merging or division of spatial units, or boundary changes between units. These reorganizations prevent the effective assessment of longer-term population dynamics at a detailed spatial level. To deal with this problem in the Netherlands, we developed a new temporal correction method for the populations of municipalities. Rather than estimating the affected population, we used existing data on the number of persons affected by each spatial change. We assumed that before any boundary changes took place, population development was spatially uniform within a municipality. Systematically transferring proportions of the population from original to newly defined target municipalities back in time provided a corrected time series for 1988–2011, based on the 2011 municipal boundaries. Overall, our results correspond well with a detailed reconstruction for 1999–2009 based on data for individual households. Our procedure may be applicable in other countries with effective population registration systems.
Empirical Models with Self-Assessment Capabilities for On-Line Industrial Applications

Self-assessment capabilities are critical for the longevity of online empirical models in industrial settings. A generic structure of an on-line model supervisor, consisting of within-the-range indicator, confidence of prediction, performance indicator, novelty/outlier detector, and model fault detector, is proposed in the paper. Several methods for confidence limits calculations, such as ensembles of analytic neural networks and symbolic regression models generated by genetic programming, linearized models based on transforms, derived by genetic programming, and a strangeness measure, based on support vector machines for regression, have been explored and their performance was compared in a case study for emission estimation on-line model. Some of the self-assessment capabilities for detection of unacceptable on-line performance and model and process faults are illustrated with industrial applications in the chemical industry.
Product Life Cycle Risk Management

Every new product coming to the market usually brings with a certain amount of doubt concerning the likelihood of its success. In particular, hidden problems and risks which might appear later in the product’s service life could cause producers’ difficulties, cost - ing them a lot of money. This might even result in product phaseout and a consequent loss of the company’s reputation. Hence, it is necessary to manage all product risks. Unfortunately, no comprehensive methodology, managing the entire product life cycle, has been developed so far. This paper presents a new risk management methodology that covers the entire product life cycle. The product life cycle and its management have become a present standard and an important element of the information structure of mod- ern enterprises. A product life cycle comprises several phases; this helps make risk management easier because it is feasible to manage risk for each phase separately. Generally, this phase structure creates a closed and unceasing rotation of risk management tasks and is an important element in universal process improvement. The methodology is focused on prioritizing risks according to the customer’s needs and requirements. It can be applied to a large number of different products and industries.
A fraction normalized subband adaptive filter algorithm

In this paper, we use the fractional derivative theory to improve the traditional normalized subband filtering algorithm. On this basis, we propose a new fractional order normalized subband filtering algorithm (FNSAF). Then we apply this algorithm to the simulation analysis of typical system identification. We compare this algorithm and the standard normalized subband filtering algorithm in the case of the same step and the same length weight of filter. The simulation results show that the designed gorithm has faster convergence than the conventional NSAF algorithm.
Men, Women, and Careers in the German Police

Police organizations across Europe are still male dominated. In Germany, starting in the 1960s, criminal investigation departments employed female police officers. However, until the end of the 1970s, women were only allowed to work in newly created female criminal investigation departments (“Weibliche Kriminalpolizei”) and not allowed to change to “male” police departments. Starting in the 1980s, women could apply to all kinds of police departments. Since then, the percentage of women police officers is increasing constantly, up to almost 50% at entry level right now. Accordingly, police is successfully striving to reach gender equality at the entry level. A steadily growing number of women is reaching (top) management positions, but the number of women actual obtaining these positions is still smaller than the number of women with the potential to. Thus women are still underrepresented at (top) management positions in the police. The project “Women in Leading Positions” aimed at comparing how external (e.g., organizational resources, leadership support) and internal (e.g., career motivation, human capital) factors drive careers of men and women in the police.
The Impact of Leadership Style on Critical Access Hospital Outcomes

Critical access hospitals (CAHs) are a unique category of rural hospitals with flat organizational structures. Prior research has shown that leadership style can affect organizational outcomes, but little research has been conducted to determine if this relationship exists in CAHs specifically. This thesis will attempt to address this gap in the literature and determine if leadership style has a significant impact on financial and quality measures in CAHs. This study analyzes the leadership styles of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) at the 13 CAHs in Pennsylvania over a six year period (2007-2012) to determine if leadership style influences operating margin, days cash on hand, net days in accounts receivable, and readmission rates. Leadership styles were categorized using Bartell & Bartell, Ltd.’s DiSC Assessment. Data for the four measures of interest were collected from The Flex Monitoring Team’s reports on the Sheps Center website and the PA Health Care Cost Containment Council’s (PHC4) publicly available Hospital Performance Report. Once the data was collected and analyzed, I sought secondary validity by interviewing 3 key informants with varying levels of health care experience. The results showed no clear influence of leadership style over the four measures analyzed. Key informants attributed this lack of visible influence to the small size of CAHs, the limited availability of providers, and their tight-knit communities.
Chain‐terminating mutations in the APC gene lead to alterations in APC RNA and protein concentration

APC mutations introduce premature stop codons into the open reading frame of the gene, leading to the formation of truncated tumor suppressor proteins. Both RNA and protein levels are likely to be profoundly altered by such nonsense mutations. To test this hypothesis, Western blotting and RT‐PCR strategies were used to characterize mutant and normal APC protein and APC RNA concentrations in lymphoblastoid cell lines from 22 unrelated polyposis patients carrying different APC mutations. Variable levels of truncated APC peptides were observed in 14 of 14 cell lines with APC mutations within exon 15. No truncated APC protein was detected in six of eight cell lines with APC mutations located 5′ of exon 15. Mutations located in exon 15 showed mutant RNA underrepresentation in four of eight cell lines, whereas mutations located 5′ of exon 15 showed RNA reduction in five of six cell lines. These findings indicate that a two‐ to threefold decrease in RNA concentration is common when APC alleles carry chain‐terminating mutations. They also suggest that the severe decrease of truncated APC protein observed in some cell lines is due to mechanisms acting at the protein level. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 22:278–286, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The DNA replication priming protein, PriA, is required for homologous recombination and double-strand break repair

The PriA protein, a component of the phiX174-type primosome, was previously shown to be essential for damage-inducible DNA replication in Escherichia coli, termed inducible stable DNA replication. Here, we show that priA::kan null mutants are defective in transductional and conjugational homologous recombination and are hypersensitive to mitomycin C and gamma rays, which cause double-strand breaks. The introduction of a plasmid carrying the priA300 allele, which encodes a mutant PriA protein capable of catalyzing the assembly of an active primosome but which is missing the n'-pas-dependent ATPase, helicase, and translocase activities associated with PriA, alleviates the defects of priA::kan mutants in homologous recombination, double-strand break repair, and inducible stable DNA replication. Furthermore, spa-47, which was isolated as a suppressor of the broth sensitivity of priA::kan mutants, suppresses the Rec- and mitomycin C sensitivity phenotypes of priA::kan mutants. The spa-47 suppressor mutation maps within or very near dnaC. These results suggest that PriA-dependent primosome assembly is crucial for both homologous recombination and double-strand break repair and support the proposal that these processes in E. coli involve extensive DNA replication.
Simple visual assay for determination of Pasteurella haemolytica cytotoxin neutralizing antibody titers in cattle sera

A simple visual assay is described for determining the capacity of bovine serum to neutralize the cytotoxin produced by Pasteurella haemolytica serotype 1. The test was reproducible from day to day with different target cell populations and cytotoxin preparations. Cytotoxin neutralization titers obtained by the visual assay were comparable to those determined by the trypan blue exclusion and 51Cr-release methods. The visual assay was used to measure neutralization titers of bovine sera obtained from vaccination experiments and fractions of purified serum obtained by gel filtration. The major advantages of the visual assay over other assays are that it is rapid, inexpensive, and does not use radioisotopes. It also does not require specialized equipment, making it adaptable to most laboratories.
Suavizado de autómatas y traductores finitos estocásticos

Una parte fundamental de los sitemas de reconocimiento del habla es el modelo de lenguaje, Este tiene la tarea de decidir los aceptable que es una frase. En reconocimiento del habla, los modelos de lenguaje mas habituales son los modelos de n-gramas, por tres razones: pueden aprederse automaticamente a partir de ejemplos, existen multitud de tecnicas de suavizado que resuelven (al menos parcialmente) el problema de disponer de un numero insuficiente de muestras, y ademas, como modelos de estados finitos que son, se integran facilmente en un sistema de reconocimiento. Actualmente, se conocen varias tecnicas para aprender automaticamente modelos de estados finitos mas generales que los n-gramas. Sin embargo, debido a la falta de tecnicas de suavizado, estos modelos se han relegado aplicaciones muy especificas y con vocabularios pequenos. En esta tesis nos planteamos el problema del suvizado de modelos de estados finitos (automatas y traductores). La aproximacion adoptada consiste en extender las tecnicas de suavizado de n-grmas. Para ello, en primer lugar formalizamos el modelo de n-gramas suavizados como un automata finito determinista estocastico (esta formalizacion nos permite obtener un nuevo tipo de suvizado de n-gramas). A continuacion, presentamos dos algoritmos para el suavizado de automatas: uno para suavizar con un n-grama y el otro para suavizar con otro automata. Finalmente, extendemos los dos algoritmos anteriores para suavizar traductores tanto con modelos de n-grmas como con otros traductores.
The Sinorhizobium meliloti fur Gene Regulates, with Dependence on Mn(II), Transcription of the sitABCD Operon, Encoding a Metal-Type Transporter

ABSTRACT Sinorhizobium meliloti is an alpha-proteobacterium able to induce nitrogen-fixing nodules on roots of specific legumes. In order to propagate in the soil and for successful symbiotic interaction the bacterium needs to sequester metals like iron and manganese from its environment. The metal uptake has to be in turn tightly regulated to avoid toxic effects. In this report we describe the characterization of a chromosomal region of S. meliloti encoding the sitABCD operon and the putative regulatory fur gene. It is generally assumed that the sitABCD operon encodes a metal-type transporter and that the fur gene is involved in iron ion uptake regulation. A constructed S. meliloti sitA deletion mutant was found to be growth dependent on Mn(II) and to a lesser degree on Fe(II). The sitA promoter was strongly repressed by Mn(II), with dependence on Fur, and moderately by Fe(II). Applying a genome-wide S. meliloti microarray it was shown that in the fur deletion mutant 23 genes were up-regulated and 10 genes were down-regulated when compared to the wild-type strain. Among the up-regulated genes only the sitABCD operon could be associated with metal uptake. On the other hand, the complete rhbABCDEF operon, which is involved in siderophore synthesis, was identified among the down-regulated genes. Thus, in S. meliloti Fur is not a global repressor of iron uptake. Under symbiotic conditions the sitA promoter was strongly expressed and the S. meliloti sitA mutant exhibited an attenuated nitrogen fixation activity resulting in a decreased fresh weight of the host plant Medicago sativa.