Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Broadband Slotted Coaxial Broadcast Antenna Technology

Slotted coaxial antennas have many advantages over traditional broadband panel antennas including much smaller size and wind load, higher reliability and a greater degree of azimuth and elevation pattern flexibility. The one disadvantage of slotted coaxial antennas is their inherently narrow bandwidth. In most applications their usage is only considered for single channel operation, approximately 1% bandwidth for UHF. This paper deals with various methods to increase the bandwidth of slotted coaxial antennas. The cumulative effect can boost the bandwidth to over 10% allowing for broadband operation of at least 10 channels in the UHF band.
Comparison of simulated contrast performance of different Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph configurations

We compare the broadband contrast performances of several Phase Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph configurations through modeling and simulations. The basic optical design of the PIAA coronagraph is the same as NASA’s High Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) setup at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Using a deformable mirror and a broadband wavefront sensing and control algorithm, we create a 'dark hole' in the broadband point-spread function (PSF) with an inner working angle (IWA) of 2(fλ/D)sky. We evaluate two systems in parallel. One is a perfect system having a design PIAA output amplitude and not having any wavefront error at its exit-pupil. The other is a realistic system having a design PIAA output amplitude and the measured residual wavefront error. We also investigate the effect of Lyot stops of various sizes when a postapodizer is and is not present. For the configurations simulated here with the first-generation PIAA mirrors, the best 7.5% broadband contrast value was ~1.5×10-8.
Serotonin : A New Approach for Hypocalcemia

Serotonin is synthesized in numerous tissues throughout the body and is incapable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. Serotonin is synthesized from the amino acid L-tryptophan in a two-step process. The first step is production of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) via the rate-limiting enzyme, tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH). The second step is the conversion of 5-HTP to serotonin by aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (Wang et al., 2002). TPH1 is the rate-limiting enzyme for serotonin production in non-neuronal tissues, while TPH2 is used to produce serotonin in neuronal tissues. Our laboratory and others have shown that serotonin regulates milk protein gene expression, as well as the disassembly of tight junctions that occurs during the involution process (Matsuda et al., 2004; Stull et al., 2007; Hernandez et al., 2008; Pai and Horseman, 2008). Furthermore, we have shown that the mammary gland expresses a unique pattern of serotonin receptors in rodent, bovine, and human mammary epithelium (Hernandez et al., 2009; Pai et al., 2009). The bovine mammary gland epithelium expresses at least five serotonin receptor isoforms (5-HT1B, 2A, 2B, 4 and 7; Hernandez et al., 2009). Our lab determined that the 5-HT2B receptor subtype modulates serotonin’s regulation of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) production within the mammary gland in a rodent model (Hernandez et al., 2012; Laporta et al., 2013a; Laporta et al., 2014a,b). Furthermore, we showed that serotonin activates expression of various calcium (Ca) pumps and transporters in the mammary gland to stimulate transport of Ca from blood to milk during mouse lactation (Laporta et al., 2014a). Ca transport into the mammary gland is thought to occur through the Ca 2+ influx channel (ORAI1) and subsequent pumping into the milk by the apical plasma membrane Ca 2+
Overexpression of the voltage-dependent anion channel 2 (VDAC2) gene induces drought resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abiotic stresses, especially drought, trigger abscisic acid (ABA) signal conduction in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms are not well understood. We investigated the role of the voltage-dependent anion channel 2 gene (AtVDAC2) in drought resistance of Arabidopsis through ABA signalling. Some characteristics such as seed germination, root elongation, drought resistance, ABA related genes expressing, etc. were studied in plant transgenic lines. The AtVDAC2 overexpressing plants displayed an ABA-hypersensitive phenotype with higher seed germination and root elongation, while plants with AtVDAC2 knockdown (AtVDAC2-Dn) exhibited an ABA-insensitive phenotype. Additionally, AtVDAC2-OE plants showed enhanced resistance (about 40%) to drought than wide-type and AtVDAC2-Dn plants. In AtVDAC2 transgenic plants, some downstream targets in the ABA and/or drought-signalling pathways were altered at various levels, suggesting the involvement of AtVDAC2 in ABA-dependent drought resistance in Arabidopsis. Moreover, AtVDAC2-OE plants exhibited increased 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase 3 (NECD3) gene expression and generation of the reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide, suggesting that functional AtVDAC2 may be involved in ABA and H2O2 production process. The overexpression of the AtVDAC2 gene can confer drought resistance in Arabidopsis.
Kelvin Helmholtz Instability at the Equatorial Magnetotail Boundary: Mhd Simulation and Comparison with Geotail Observations

On March 24, 1995, the Geotail spacecraft observed large fluctuations of the magnetic field and plasma properties in the low-latitude boundary layer about 15 RE tailward of the dusk meridian. Although the magnetospheric and magnetosheath magnetic fields were strongly northward, the Bz component showed strong short-duration fluctuations in which Bz could even reach negative values. We have used two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations with magnetospheric and magnetosheath input parameters specifically chosen for this Geotail event to identify the processes which cause the observed boundary properties. It is shown that these fluctuations can be explained by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability if the k vector of the instability has a component along the magnetic field direction. The simulation results show many of the characteristic properties of the Geotail observations. In particular, the quasi-periodic strong fluctuations are well explained by satellite crossings through the Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices. It is illustrated how the interior structure of the Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices leads to the rapid fluctuations in the Geotail observations. Our results suggest an average Kelvin-Helmholtz wavelength of about 5 RE, with a vortex size of close to 2 RE for an average repetition time of 2.5 min. The growth time for these waves implies a source region of about 10–16 RE upstream from the location of the Geotail spacecraft (i.e., near the dusk meridian). The results also indicate a considerable mass transport of magnetosheath material into the magnetosphere by magnetic reconnection in the Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices.
Time-domain Impedance Boundary Conditions for Computational Acoustics and Aeroacoustics

This paper reviews the short history, motivation, numerical and theoretical issues, and development of methods for treating a boundary as a reflective/absorptive surface for the time-domain computation of waves in general and acoustic waves in particular. It begins with the extension and implementation of the frequency-domain impedance to a time-domain impedance-equivalent boundary condition (TDIBC), and illustrates how the theoretical, numerical, and implementation issues are addressed and resolved for acoustic/aeroacoustic applications. Comments are also made on the extendibility and applicability of the concept and TDIBC to other fields and types of problems.
B Behavior Modeling in Social Networks

CF Collaborative filtering LDA Latent Dirichlet Allocation: an effective topic model OSNs Online social networks Power law A functional relationship between two quantities where a relative change in one quantity results in a proportional relative change in the other quantity: one quantity varies as a power of another RSs Recommender systems SBD Suspicious behavior detection: detecting fake reviews, fake social accounts, spammers, fake relationships, and fraudsters Social context Contextual factors that determine users’ behaviors in social environments such as influence, trust, and preference UGC User-generated content
Combined Hormonal Contraception and Women's Sexual Function: a Cross-sectional Pilot Study in a Cohort of Danish Women

Objective: To investigate the relationship between combined hormonal contraception (CHC) and women’s sexual function with special emphasis on the type of progestin in the CHC Methods: A community sample of 252 healthy, sexually active women aged 18 to 35 completed a questionnaire including the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS), and questions about contraception use. Participants were divided into 151 users of CHC, also subdivided into progestin-type subgroups, and 101 users of non-hormonal or no contraception (non-HC). Results: Significantly fewer women using CHC reported sexual distress (p=0.038) compared to non-HC users, but the number reporting sexual problems did not differ (p=0.081). In subgroup analyses, significantly fewer women in the ‘other progestin’-CHC group reported sexual problems (p<0.001) and sexual distress (p=0.008) compared to women in the anti-androgenic progestin-CHC group. Significantly, fewer women in the ‘other progestin’-CHC group reported sexual problems (p=0.003) and sexual distress (p=0.006) versus women in the non-HC group. Results remained significant after controlling for age, relationship, children living at home, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Conclusions: Women using CHC containing anti-androgenic progestins more often reported sexual problems and sexual distress than women using CHC with other types of progestins.
Merger Announcements and Market Efficiency: Do Markets Predict Synergetic Gains from Mergers Properly?

This paper examines whether market evaluates merger announcements in a reasonable way based on their effect on fundamental value using a sample of 37 mergers from U.S. industries completed within 1992-1997. For this purpose, the post-merger performance measures were regressed by abnormal returns at the announcement period. The research findings provide partial support to market efficiency hypothesis. Full sample analysis shows that bidder abnormal stock return at the merger announcement is a good predictor of the post-merger cash flow changes, whereas subsample analyses yield varying results that cast doubt to market efficiency. The variation of the findings across subsamples suggests that the market sticks to its dynamic cliches in the evaluating merger’s future success in the environment of asymmetric information and these cliches sometimes incorporate misleading information content.
Effect of Film Thickness on Structural and Electrical Properties of Sputter-Deposited Nickel Oxide Films

This work studies dependences of resistivity, carrier concentration, mobility and structural properties on the thickness of nickel oxide (NiO) films deposited onto glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering in a pure oxygen atmosphere at an RF power 200 W. The electrical properties were measured by Hall Effect measurements. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analyses of nickel oxide films indicates that these films are polycrystalline when the samples are prepared with an unheated substrate (Ts ¼ 303 K) and using a substrate at a higher substrate temperature (Ts ¼ 673 K). The thickness of the films varied in the range from 50 to 300 nm. The variations of the microstructural parameters, such as crystallite size (L), dislocation density (� ), stacking fault probability (� ), strain (") and density (D), with film thickness and substrate temperature were investigated. The results show the crystallite sizes increaser as the thickness of the film increases. The variation of the dislocation density and the stacking fault probabilities and strain decrease as the thickness increases. The resistivity of NiO film is increased with an increase in film thickness, which is related to the decrease of carrier concentration with film thickness. The NiO film with a thickness of 200 nm has a minimum resistivity of 0:69 � 10 � 2 � m when deposited at substrate temperature of 303 K.
Use of Dietary Pelargonium sidoides Extract to Improve Growth and Body Composition of Narrow-Clawed Crayfish Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823 Juveniles

The effects of the Pelargonium sidoides extract on survival, growth, and body composition of juvenile freshwater crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) were investigated. Newly hatched third instars of A. leptodactylus were fed with experimental diets prepared by using supplementation of P. sidoides extract (0, 0.5, 1 and 2 ml 100 g -1 ) for 105 days. Growth rate was increased significantly in crayfish fed with 2 ml P. sidoides extract 100 g -1 diet in comparison to the control groups (P<0.05). Feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio and apparent net protein utilization were also significantly improved in group fed diet with 2 ml 100 g -1 P. sidoides extract than that with control and the other groups. After 105 days of rearing the survival rate was found highest in 2 ml P. sidoides extract 100 g -1 diet supplemented group (80.0%). Protein content (16.5%) of the 2 ml 100 g -1 P. sidoides extract-supplemented group was significantly higher than the control and other dietary groups (P<0.05). The lipid contents were decreased in P. sidoides extract-supplementation. These results indicated that the P. sidoides extract is useful to improve growth, feed utilization and survival rate in freshwater crayfish, juvenile diets.
Fiscal Decentralisation and Economic Development in Selected Unitary European Countries

The article provides direct empirical evidence on fiscal decentralisation and economic development in selected European countries in a period 1995-2012. The research (based on data taken from OECD Fiscal Decentralisation Database and OECD) is performed on a panel, which contains 17 unitary countries. Explanatory variables are not examined in individual regressions, but study newly uses Generalized Method of Moments. For a model specification, Dynamic Panel Data Model Wizard is applied. Results of dynamic panel analysis suggest positive and statistically significant impact of expenditure decentralisation and stronger but negative effect of revenue decentralisation on economic development. Effect of tax decentralisation seems to be negative but statistically insignificant. These findings are enormously interesting as the relationship between the different decentralisation measures and economic performance evolves in opposite directions and countries tend to increase revenue fiscal decentralisation over the last years.
Using Machine Translation Evaluation Techniques to Evaluate Text Simplification Systems

In this paper, we discuss our approaches to find out ways to evaluate automated text simplification systems, based on the grammaticality and simplicity of their output, as well as the meaning preserved from the input, and the overall quality of simplification of the system. In this paper, we discuss existing techniques currently used in the area of machine translation, as well as a novel technique for text complexity analysis, to assess the quality of the text simplification system.
SOMs for Machine Learning

In this chapter we offer a survey of self-organizing feature maps with emphasis on recent advances, and more specifically, on growing architectures. Several of the methods are developed by the authors and offer unique combination of theoretical fundamentals and neural network architectures. Included in this survey of dynamic architectures, will also be examples of application domains, usage and resources for learners and researchers alike, to pursue their interest in SOMs. The primary reason for pursuing this branch of machine learning, is that these techniques are unsupervised – requiring no a priori knowledge or trainer. As such, SOMs lend themselves readily to difficult problem domains in machine learning, such as clustering, pattern identification and recognition and feature extraction. SOMs utilize competitive neural network learning algorithms introduced by Kohonen in the early 1980’s. SOMs maintain the features (in terms of vectors) of the input space the network is observing. This chapter, as work emphasizing dynamic architectures, will be incomplete without presenting the significant achievements in SOMs including the work of Fritzke and his growing architectures. To exemplify more modern approaches we present state-of-the art developments in SOMs. These approaches include parallelization (ParaSOM – as developed by the authors), incremental learning (ESOINN), connection reorganization (TurSOM – as developed by the authors), and function space organization (mnSOM). Additionally, we introduce some methods of analyzing SOMs. These include methods for measuring the quality of SOMs with respect to input, neighbors and map size. We also present techniques of posterior recognition, clustering and input feature significance. In summary, this chapter presents a modern gamut of self-organizing neural networks, and measurement and analysis techniques.
Anti-tumor effects of Gecko ethanol extract on human cervical cancer SiHa cells

Gecko has been applied as an anti-tumor agent in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. Gecko ethanol extract (GEE) which was extracted from the powder of whole Gecko, has shown the obvious antitumor activity. It is still unclear the effect of GEE on human cervical cancer cells. In this study we investigated the antitumor effect of GEE on human cervical cancer SiHa cells and its potential molecular mechanism. The growth inhibitory effect of GEE on SiHa cells were assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and colony forming assay in vitro. The results showed that GEE significantly inhibited proliferation of SiHa cells in a doseand timedependent manners. The typical morphological changes of apoptosis were observed in SiHa cells, such as chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation and reduction of cell volume. The effects of GEE on proteins expression of SiHa cells were detected by Western blot assay. The protein expression levels of Bcl-2 and VEGF were down-regulated, whereas Bax, cytochrome c (Cyt c), caspase-9 and caspase-3 protein were up-regulated after treatment of GEE in vitro. In a word, these results suggested that GEE play an antineoplastic role on SiHa cells, which may be concerned with the effect of anti-proliferation, anti-angiogenesis and apoptosis-induction.
Creating a new environmental business: Early struggles and the creation of a self-sustaining entity

This phenomenological research is an exploration of the initial years of the new venture creation process of environmental entrepreneurs. The objective of this research was to explore the retrospective understanding of these scientists-turnedentrepreneurs as they experienced the transition from scientist to businessperson and employee to entrepreneur. Twenty environmental entrepreneurs answered the research question: What is their retrospective assessment of the early struggles and lived experiences leading to firm establishment as they engaged in the new venture creation process? This study determined that the experience of starting a new venture is distinct from the establishment of self-sustaining new venture. Each experience displays a discrete essence as the scientist navigates the new venture creation process. International Journal of Engineering, Science and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 7, 2010, pp. 44-55
The Mean Corpuscular Volume and Hydroxyurea in Brazilian Patients with Sickle Cell Anemia: A Surrogate Marker of Compliance

The suppression of erythropoiesis by Hydroxyurea (HU) therapy is associated with increase in mean corpuscular volume, in addition to the increase in Hb F. Monitoring the mean corpuscular volume values and the presence of macrocytosis are effective tools of adherence to the treatment with HU in patients with sickle cell anemia. The aim of this study is to monitor the mean corpuscular volume values after starting treatment with HU to determine if macrocytosis can be used as a surrogate marker of compliance with therapy. We conducted a prospective cohort study over one year with measurements of blood counts and mean corpuscular volume after starting therapy with HU in 95 patients with sickle cell anemia who were regularly followed in our ambulatory outpatient unit. In one-year of successful use of HU the mean value of the mean corpuscular volume increased significantly. The Andersen and Gill model demonstrated that the increase of one unit of MCV implies a 5% reduction in the risk of visiting the emergency room. Monitoring mean corpuscular volume values after prescribing HU alerts the provider of noncompliance in order to counsel the patient in question for better adherence to the use of HU that could improve the quality of care and to reduce morbidity and the frequency of acute pain crises and associated healthcare costs.
Algorithms for More Efficient Network Virtualization and Resource Utilization

Virtualization has proven to be a must-have technology for server platforms, enabling rapid innovation, on demand computing, and flexible resource allocation. The networking world is embracing these ideas as it adopts virtualization technologies and software-defined networking (SDN). This paper examines two different, but complementary approaches to better make use of the limited resources inherent in infrastructure networks. In the first paper, an opportunistic embedding scheme for virtual networks is proposed. In the second paper, a new approximation algorithm to maximize the effective transmission rate of virtual machine (VM) migrations is proposed. While the focus of the first paper is on optimal placement of virtual network components, the second paper complements this idea by offering a novel means of effectively moving computing resources around the network.
Colorectal Cancer Prevention and Risk Counseling

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world. Many risk factors have been identified in the development of colorectal cancer. It is necessary to carry out activities related to risk factors in order to implement effective CRC early diagnosis and screening programs and achieve positive outcomes. International screening guidelines have been created and these are being implemented by individual countries according to their own health policies. Colorectal cancer prevention and early training in terms of disease identification, counseling against negative disease perceptions, and changing false beliefs will reduce the fear of CRC and ensure the development of positive health behaviors and acceptance of screening. Among recent developments in cancer prevention, “cancer risk counseling” has become quite prominent. Individual-specific colorectal cancer risk counseling programs are developed through the assessment of individual risk factors by focusing on a genetic assessment and the development of a risk management plan. This chapter will examine and define colorectal cancer prevention and risk counseling strategies in relation with the relative literature.
Effective Coulomb interaction in transition metals from constrained random-phase approximation

The effective on-site Coulomb interaction (Hubbard $U$) between localized \textit{d} electrons in 3\textit{d}, 4\textit{d}, and 5\textit{d} transition metals is calculated employing a new parameter-free realization of the constrained random-phase approximation using Wannier functions within the full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave method. The $U$ values lie between 1.5 and 5.7 eV and depend on the crystal structure, spin polarization, \textit{d} electron number, and \textit{d} orbital filling. On the basis of the calculated $U$ parameters, we discuss the strength of the electronic correlations and the instability of the paramagnetic state towards the ferromagnetic one for 3\textit{d} metals.