Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The cutting behavior of bandsaws

A model of a bandsaw, subjected to lateral cutting forces on the teeth and restrained by the sawn surfaces of the wood, has been developed. The blade model includes the effects of blade dimensions, bandmill strain, in-plane stresses, tooth (gullet) depth, tooth bending stiffness, blade speed, strain system parameters, and the span between the guides. The lateral cutting forces along the length of the cut were found to have dominant low frequency components and are modelled by functions having spectra that are inversely proportional to the frequency. The results of the model simulation show that when there is little or no contact between the body of the blade and the sawn surfaces, the sawing accuracy is governed by the tooth-tip stiffness and the magnitude of the lateral cutting forces. When the clearance gap is small compared to the blade deflection, the contact forces dominate and poor cutting accuracy results because the blade cannot recover quickly from disturbances. The clearance gap between the blade and a sawn surface is shown to be less than the side clearance of the teeth because of sawdust spillage and surface roughness. A formula is developed that defines how blade stiffness, the clearance gap, and the cutting forces affect sawing deviation. It is found that the tooth-tip stiffness is the blade parameter that most significantly affects cutting accuracy. An example of determining the optimal side clearance and some practical implications of the results are presented. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . ^ . TABLE OF CONTENTS^ iii LIST OF FIGURES . LIST OF TABLES . ^ vii NOMENCLATURE . viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS^ xii
The acquisition and utilization of market information in new venture development and the contingent nature of new venture organizing activities

Using data from the Second Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, this study analyzes the role of information acquisition and utilization in new venture development. We employ competing risk analysis to make use of the longitudinal data structure in PSED II. Our results highlight the contingent nature of information acquisition in assisting the nascent entrepreneur in carrying out organizing activities. Our results show that marketing and business planning activities only create value when entrepreneurs also engage in information acquisition with potential customers. We empirically disentangle a contingent structure among organizing activities in new venture creation and highlight the interdependencies.
Scene Change Aware Intra-Frame Rate Control for H.264/AVC

Most of rate-control research focuses on inter-coded frames, instead of intra-coded frames which are more possible to cause the problem of buffer overflow. This letter presents a rate control algorithm for intra-frame coding. We propose a Taylor series-based rate-QS model and a scene-change aware rate-QS model to determine quantization parameters for general intra frames and scene-change frames, respectively. Simulation results show that compared to competed approaches, the proposed method achieves better and stable quality with low buffer fullness.
Molecular Balance between the Regulatory and Catalytic Subunits of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Regulates Cell Signaling and Survival

ABSTRACT Class Ia phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase is a central component in growth factor signaling and is comprised of a p110 catalytic subunit and a regulatory subunit, the most common family of which is derived from the p85α gene (Pik3r1). Optimal signaling through the PI 3-kinase pathway depends on a critical molecular balance between the regulatory and catalytic subunits. In wild-type cells, the p85 subunit is more abundant than p110, leading to competition between the p85 monomer and the p85-p110 dimer and ineffective signaling. Heterozygous disruption of Pik3r1 results in increased Akt activity and decreased apoptosis by insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) through up-regulated phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-triphosphate production. Complete depletion of p85α, on the other hand, results in significantly increased apoptosis due to reduced PI 3-kinase-dependent signaling. Thus, a reduction in p85α represents a novel therapeutic target for enhancing IGF-1/insulin signaling, prolongation of cell survival, and protection against apoptosis.
Progesterone Stimulates the Activity of the Promoters of Peripheral Myelin Protein‐22 and Protein Zero Genes in Schwann Cells

Abstract: To understand better the mechanisms by which progesterone (PROG) promotes myelination in the PNS, cultured rat Schwann cells were transiently transfected with reporter constructs in which luciferase expression was controlled by the promoter region of either the peripheral myelin protein‐22 (PMP22) or the protein zero (P0) genes. PROG stimulated the P0 promoter and promoter 1, but not promoter 2, of PMP22. The effect of PROG was specific, as estradiol and testosterone only weakly activated promoters. Dose‐response curves for stimulation of both promoter constructs by PROG were biphasic. RU486, a PROG antagonist, did not abolish the effect of PROG, but stimulated promoter activities by itself. In the human carcinoma cell line T47D expressing high levels of PROG receptor, PROG did not stimulate the P0 and PMP22 promoters, whereas the promoter region of the mouse mammary tumor virus was fully activated. Thus, the activation by PROG of promoter activity of two peripheral myelin protein genes is Schwann‐cell specific.
Unemployment, Education and Skills Constraints in Post-Apartheid South Africa

This paper investigates the relationship between education and unemployment in Post-Apartheid South Africa, and probes the argument that employment growth has been inhibited particularly by skills constraints. We use probit regression analysis to show that higher education protected against unemployment in both 1995 and 2003, and that overall, the relative benefits to tertiary education rose over the period. We show also that these aggregate trends mask substantial variation among race groups and within race groups, among men and women. However, after taking into account changes in the survey instruments used to measure employment, we find only modest evidence of skills-intensive employment growth. Rather, the increase in formally qualified labour was considerably larger than the increase in demand for skilled and semi-skilled labour over the period, and so unemployment rates even among graduates increased over the period.
Transmitting and Receiving Strategies for Throughput Enhancement in Large-Scale Wireless Networks

In this thesis, we study some transmitting and receiving strategies for enhancing network performance such as success transmission probability and ergodic link rate in wireless ad hoc networks. We observe the phenomenon that channel randomness can benefit mean signalto-interference power ratio (SIR) and some methods are proposed to exploit the channel randomness. To increase the SIR, we can either enhance received signal power or suppress the interference. In the view of interference suppression, we come up with an idea to cancel the first K strongest interfering transmitters to improve the SIR. The general expressions of the success probability and ergodic link rate are derived and their tight bounds are also found in this thesis. Using scheduling schemes is also an effective strategy to make sure each transmission is of good quality. In addition, distributed opportunistic scheduling, which is a channel-aware scheduling scheme with two dynamic intensity-based thresholds to refrain the transmissions from the transmitters with weak communication channel gains and/or strong interfering impacts, is proposed in this thesis. The strategies proposed in this thesis significantly improve the success probability and ergodic link rate and their performance is validated by simulation results.
Alterations in lectin binding to guinea pig spermatozoa accompanying in vitro capacitation and the acrosome reaction.

The distribution of surface carbohydrates during in vitro capacitation of guinea pig (Cavia porcella) spermatozoa was probed by labeling membrane polysaccharides with fluorescent conjugates of the plant lectins. concanavalin A (Con A), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and soybean agglutinin (SBA). Lectin distributions over the surface of cauda epididymal cells were characteristic of each lectin studied. Labeling of live and prefixed cells during various temperature regimens indicated that no significant redistribution of lectin binding sites oocurs over the sperm head due either to lectin-induced or intrinsic membrane mobility changes. Spermatozoa exposed to lectins at prescribed intervals during capacitating incubations revealed few alterations in Con A and/or WGA labeling patterns; however, an increase in SBA binding over the surface of the flagellum was observed. Some cells exhibited a diminished fluorescence over the equatorial region with Con A or
Conservative surgery for borderline ovarian tumors--emphasis on fertility preservation. A review.

BACKGROUND Borderline ovarian tumors account for 15-20% of all ovarian epithelial tumors. Since their original description in 1929, our knowledge of their natural history and molecular pathology has advanced most dramatically over the last two decades. This improved knowledge of BOT has permitted to drastically decrease the therapeutics of these tumors, which remains mostly surgical. METHOD We studied the available literature on surgical management of BOT accentuating the most important aspects on this topic: radical vs. conservative treatment, fertility preservation. RESULTS Although there are conflicting reports about some of the aspects of surgical management of these tumors, since BOTs commonly affect women of reproductive age, who have not completed childbearing, have an excellent overall prognosis and the majority of them (approximately 50% to 85%) are stage I at diagnosis, conservative surgery (unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy or cystectomy) can be safely performed after comprehensive surgical staging, in order to preserve fertility. CONCLUSION Conservative surgery could be safely performed in young patients treated for BOT, provided that they are carefully followed-up.
Vietnamese higher education in the context of globalization: Qualitative or quantitative targets?

The adoption of a more market-oriented economy has paved the way for the Vietnamese education system to undergo continuous change for more than twenty years. This paper sets out: (1) to examine the impacts of globalization and liberalization on the education sector in developing countries, with a main focus on Vietnam, and (2) to determine how the education sector in Vietnam is adapting to globalization and liberalization by examining key reforms implemented in the higher education sector. This paper argues that to adapt to liberalization, the Vietnamese higher education sector needs to adopt a holistic approach to reforming the sector, such as reforms to curricula, access, research and development, and capacity building, rather than focusing mainly on achieving quantitative targets as is outlined in the Vietnam’s Higher Education Reform Agenda.
Increased shortening reaction in Parkinson's disease reflects a difficulty in modulating long loop reflexes

Short and medium latency electromyographic (EMG) responses to stretch of the triceps surae muscle and long latency EMG responses (LL) in the anterior tibial muscle (TA) were evoked by toe‐up tilt of a movable plat‐form while standing or sitting, in normal subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease. With the stimulus parameters used (amplitude 4°, velocity 50°/s), LL in TA were absent in normals while sitting, but were present in 11 of the 12 patients with Parkinson's disease. In patients, LL latencies were identical in both positions. The results indicate that patients with Parkinson's disease have difficulty modulating long latency responses according to functional demands. Long latency responses in TA in the sitting position may correspond to the shortening reaction observed by other when much stronger stimuli were used.
Self-management levels of diet and metabolic risk factors according to disease duration in patients with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Metabolic risk factors should be managed effectively in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to prevent or delay diabetic complications. This study aimed to compare the self-management levels of diet and metabolic risk factors in patients with T2DM, according to the duration of illness, and to examine the trends in self-management levels during the recent decades. SUBJECTS/METHODS Data were collected from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES, 1998–2014). In our analysis, 4,148 patients with T2DM, aged ≥ 30 years, were categorized according to the duration of their illness (< 5 years, 5–9 years, and ≥ 10 years). Demographic and lifestyle information was assessed through self-administered questionnaires, and biomarker levels (e.g., fasting glucose level, blood pressure, or lipid level) were obtained from a health examination. Dietary intake was assessed by a 24-recall, and adherence level to dietary guidelines (meal patterns and intake levels of calories, carbohydrates, vegetable/seaweed, sodium, and alcohol) were assessed. Multivariable generalized linear regression and unconditional logistic regression models were used to compare the prevalence rates of hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension according to the duration of patients' illness, accounting for the complex survey design of the KNHANES. RESULTS In the multivariable adjusted models, patients with a longer duration (≥ 10 years) of T2DM had a higher prevalence of hyperglycemia than those with a shorter duration of T2DM (< 5 years) (odds ratio 2.20, 95% confidence interval 1.61–3.01, P for trend < 0.001). We did not observe any associations of disease duration with the prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia. In addition, the adherence levels to dietary recommendations did not significantly differ according to disease duration, except adherence to moderate alcohol consumption. There were significant decreasing trends in the prevalence of hyperglycemia in patients with a duration of illness ≥ 10 years (P for trend = 0.004). CONCLUSION Although the proportion of patients with adequate control of glucose levels has improved in recent decades, poorer self-management has been found in those with a longer disease duration. These findings suggest the need for well-planned and individualized patient education programs to improve self-management levels and quality of life by preventing or delaying diabetic complications.
The theory and practice of user‐initiated innovation

User‐initiated product innovation occurs when a firm that has invented a novel device first invests in its internal application as a process innovation and second seeks returns from its general marketing. The paper defines the nature and scope of user‐initiated innovation (UII), presents summaries of detailed case histories of its instance, and discusses its explanation and managerial implications. Three modes of user‐initiated product innovation and users’ roles in them are distinguished and three explanations of the functional locus of innovation are critically considered in terms of their explication of empirically‐derived strategies of innovation: the appropriability of benefit, appropriability regimes, and transaction costs theories.
GAINING TRUST AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

In any business environment trust should never be taken for granted. Lack of trust in people, organizations, and government is one of the many reasons innovations and growth is stifled. To be sure, the global financial crisis was a much needed tragedy to reveal the true nature of organizations and management performance. This paper aims to examine the impact of the financial crisis on the banking sector of Nigeria at a macro level by prescribing a new regulatory framework, promoting regulatory neutrality, eliminating information asymmetry, reinforcing good corporate governance practice in the financial system and finally providing a guideline in regaining the public’s trust at a micro level.
Achieving agility in supply chains with the help of IT

Agility can be defined as an ability of an organisation to respond rapidly to changes in business environment. Given that today's markets are characterised by constant change and unpredictability, organisational agility is gaining more and more importance as an essential prerequisite for sustainable competitive advantage. This paper discusses a role of Information Technology (IT) in achieving agility in supply chains and presents Agile Supply-Demand Networks (ASDN) software that helps to improve supply chain agility. An example provided to illustrate ASDN functionality shows that it is a powerful decision-support tool with diverse features for analysing supply-demand networks and, furthermore, allows the information spread along different functional departments and organisations in a meaningful way.
An RF power harvesting system with input-tuning for long-range RFID tags

In this paper, an RF power harvesting system with automatic input tuning for long-range RFID tags is described. The system uses a high quality factor LC-matching network to boost the voltage of the received RF signal. Then a new high-efficiency voltage rectifier is used to extract DC voltage from the signal. In order to maximize the voltage gain of the matching circuit, a tuning loop automatically adjusts the center frequency of the input matching network to achieve the optimum output DC voltage. The loop uses a low-power up/down counter. The power of the counter is optimized by minimizing the number of unnecessary internal transitions. A proof-of-concept system is designed and simulated in a 0. 13μm CMOS. It achieves an efficiency of 50% which compares favourably with that of current state-of-the-art RF power harvesting systems.
The Genetic Foundations of Attitude Formation: The Case of Left-Right Political Orientations

Since the pioneering work of Eaves and Eysenck (1974) appeared in Nature some 40 years ago,psychologists, sociologists, political scientists, and behavioral geneticists have investigated the effects of nature and nurture on the formation of social attitudes. It has consistently been found that manifestations of social attitudes (i.e., preferences, values, and beliefs pertaining to things like politics, religion, the treatment of ingroups and outgroups, etc.) are genetically influenced. More recently, researchers have focused their efforts on the psycho-physiological pathways between gene activity and attitudes. In particular, a broad body of research examines how personality traits may be a link between genetic factors and political orientations. The latter are typically treated as either a single left-right dimension or divided into two core aspects: resistance to change/authoritarian conservatism and acceptance of inequality/social dominance orientation. In this article, we provide an overview of this research, present some findings from our recent international behavioral genetic study on the topic, and identify key issues for future research. We suggest that future studies treat attitude formation as a complex process in which genetic factors and the psycho-physiological phenomena that stem from them are affected by the surrounding social environment and culture. Such research will require: (1) international study designs capturing individual and cultural levels of variation; and: (2) interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists and researchers in various fields of study such as genetics, psychology, sociology, political science, neuroscience, and human biology.
Journalism : A profession under pressure?

This article explores how the changing nature of journalistic work and organization are affecting the profession, the way it is perceived by personnel, the roles played by journalists, and autonomy of journalists. It finds that the technical and economic changes are disrupting the established professional status, roles, and practices of journalists, removing professional control that previously existed.
Clinical diagnosis of long QT syndrome: back to the caliper.

In the last 10 years, the management of cardiac arrhythmias has evolved to an impressive pace, thanks to the development of highly sophisticated technologies for diagnosis and treatment. Mapping of the site of origin of arrhythmias, ablation, and implant of defibrillators have reduced the importance of the traditional approaches based on electrocardiographic reading and prescription of drugs. In this context, inherited arrhythmogenic diseases such as long QT syndrome (LQTS), catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, short QT syndrome, and Brugada syndrome represent the exception in which the ECG has remained the pivotal diagnostic tool. When approaching the diagnosis of one of these diseases, the cardiologist has to leave fancy computer screens and go back to the ‘ruler and caliper’ to measure the duration of an ‘interval’ or the elevation of an electrocardiographic ‘segment’. This apparently simple diagnosis, however, is far from being easy and even ‘experts’ in the field may face substantial diagnostic dilemma. The diagnosis of the LQTS, for example, ‘simply’ requires the measurement of QT interval duration on a standard ECG recording and the correction of the duration for ‘heart rate’ using the Bazett's formula. In real-life, however, the diagnosis is far from being straightforward and it is often more elusive than anticipated for a variety of reasons that encompass the difficulty to define the ‘end’ of the T-wave, the lack of linear behaviour of the Bazett's formula at slower and faster heart rates, and the arbitrary definition of the gender-based diagnostic cut off values that define an abnormally prolonged QTc (QTc >440 for males and QTc >460 for females). 1 A large body of literature has been dedicated to the discussion of limitations of manual and automatic QT interval measurement2,3 thus promoting the … *Corresponding author. fax: +39 0382 592059. E-mail address : spriori{at}fsm.it
Fixation Techniques in Lower Extremity Syndesmotic Injuries

In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of syndesmotic injuries. Injury recognition is crucial, especially in athletes where it has been shown to be associated with long-term ankle dysfunction, missed time from sports, and the need for operative stabilization. However, the physical and radiographic examinations can be deceiving, and accurate diagnosis can be difficult despite improved diagnostic modalities. Additionally, there is controversy regarding criteria for operative intervention and, when indicated, which implants are optimal. Our objective is to present an evidence-based review of current techniques and implants for syndesmotic fixation.
A Mini Review of the Chinese Market: From 1978 to 2010

The Chinese economic reform, starting from 1978, facilitated the emergence and development of the capital markets. This paper provides a brief review of the Chinese stock market from various perspectives, such as the regulation, issuance of shares, shareholding structure and financial reporting of listed firms, and future development. It is expected that our paper could offer readers and researchers who are interested in the Chinese capital market, particularly in the area of accounting and finance, a general understanding of the market.
Exceptional points of non-Hermitian operators

Exceptional points associated with non-Hermitian operators, i.e. operators being non-Hermitian for real parameter values, are investigated. The specific characteristics of the eigenfunctions at the exceptional point are worked out. Within the domain of real parameters the exceptional points are the points where eigenvalues switch from real to complex values. These and other results are exemplified by a classical problem leading to exceptional points of a non-Hermitian matrix.