Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noise Optimization of Charge Amplifiers With MOS Input Transistors Operating in Moderate Inversion Region for Short Peaking Times

The noise of a fast charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) with an input MOS transistor operating in the moderate inversion region is discussed. The MOS transistor operation in the moderate inversion region becomes especially important in multichannel readout systems where limited power dissipation is required. The ENC of a CSA followed by a fast shaper is usually dominated by the voltage noise of the input MOS transistor. We carried out noise minimization for such a CSA, searching for an optimum input transistor width. The analyses were made using a simplified EKV model and were compared to HSPICE simulations using a BSIM3v3 model. We considered several CMOS technology generations with minimum transistor gate length ranging from 0.13 mum to 0.8 mum. We studied the sensitivity of ENC to the input transistor width, and propose a simple formula to estimate the optimum transistor width, which is valid in a wide current density range.
Optimal Syllabic Rates and Processing Units in Perceiving Mandarin Spoken Sentences

This paper presents our investigations on the syllable-related processing during human perception of Mandarin spoken sentences. Two behavioral perception experiments were conducted employing a signal synthesis method in a previous study [1]. We found (1) a clear relationship between speech intelligibility and syllabic rates of spoken sentences and (2) significantly higher speech intelligibility of sentences acoustically segmented at sub-syllable and syllable levels than at the level beyond one syllable. We therefore revealed the optimal syllabic rates and processing units in perceiving Mandarin continuous speech and further discussed the association between our results and the possible underlying neural mechanisms in the human brain.
ANALYSIS OF TEST RESULTS FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The aim of the study was to determine any possible differences in reading skill achievement with regard to the number of English lessons per week, fi nal school grade in English, learning English outside school, learning other foreign languages and using the Internet. Reading comprehension was tested in the eighth grade of primary school (on a sample of 1254 learners) and in the fourth grade of secondary school (on a sample of 656 learners). Results have shown that the number of English lessons per week has a positive infl uence on the reading skill achievement scores for secondary school learners, while no such trend is observable for primary school learners. There was a mild to moderate correlation between the overall English grade and the achievement on the reading comprehension test. Learning English outside school had a positive infl uence on the reading comprehension achievement score in primary school, which was not the case for secondary school learners. Finally, using the Internet was positively correlated with the reading skill in primary school learners.
A compact multi-band reconfigurable base-station antenna for next generation mobile communication base-station applications

This paper presents a commercial multi-band base-station antenna for next generation mobile communications. This antenna is composed of 3 types of the dipole linear array that are aligned in parallel with compact size and the frequency control is realized by MEMS switches with an external antenna control unit. It was confirmed that the antenna meets the required base-station antenna specification in Korea by indoor performance test using a communication simulator.
Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and cross-sectional associations with obesity and urinary biomarkers of diet among New York City adults: the heart follow-up study

Objective To determine whether neighbourhood socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and biomarkers of diet (urinary sodium and potassium excretion). Design A cross-sectional study. Setting The data reported were from the 2010 Heart Follow-up Study, a population-based representative survey of 1645 adults. Participants Community-dwelling diverse residents of New York City nested within 128 neighbourhoods (zip codes). Primary and secondary outcome measures BMI (kg/m2) and WC (inches) were measured during in-home visits, and 24-hour urine sample was collected to measure biomarkers of diet: sodium (mg/day) and potassium (mg/day), with high sodium and low potassium indicative of worse diet quality. Results After adjusting for individual-level characteristics using multilevel linear regressions, low versus high neighbourhood SES tertile was associated with 1.83 kg/m2 higher BMI (95% CI 0.41 to 3.98) and 251 mg/day lower potassium excretion (95% CI −409 to 93) among women only, with no associations among men (P values for neighbourhood SES by sex interactions <0.05). Conclusion Our results suggest that women may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhood. Future neighbourhood research should explore sex differences, as these can inform tailored interventions. Trial registration number NCT01889589; Results.
Deliberate practice and the modifiability of body and mind: Toward a science of the structure and acquisition of expert and elite performance.

Some researchers in sports attribute elite performance to genetic talent. However, they do not offer complete genetic accounts that specify the causal processes involved in the activation and expression of the dormant genes in DNA during practice in the athletes' development that lead to the emergence of the distinctive physiological and anatomical attributes (innate talent). This article argues that it is possible to account for the development of elite performance among healthy children without recourse to unique talent (genetic endowment) — excepting the innate determinants of body size. This account based on the expert-performance approach shows that the distinctive characteristics of elite performers are adaptations to extended and intense practice activities that selectively activate dormant genes that all healthy children's DNA contain. The expert-performance approach has provided accounts for elite performance in several domains of expertise, such as music, ballet, chess, and medicine. This article shows how the superior performance of athletes can be captured and reproduced under laboratory conditions to discover the mechanisms mediating superior performance. The discovered mechanisms have, so far, been shown to reflect predominantly complex skills and physiological adaptations acquired over years and decades as a result of high daily levels of activities, which were specially designed to improve performance (deliberate practice). The second part of this article describes the development of expert performance in sports as an extended series of stable states of adaptation with associated physiological mechanisms that mediate performance. One section describes how frequent intense engagement in certain types of practice activities is shown to induce physiological strain which cause biochemical changes that stimulate growth and transformation of cells, which in turn leads to associated improved adaptations of physiological systems and the brain. A careful review of the published evidence on the heritability of acquisition of elite sports achievement failed to reveal reproducible evidence for any genetic constraints for attaining elite levels by healthy individuals (excluding, of course, the evidence on body size). The theoretical framework of expert performance explains individual differences in attained performance by the factors that influence the engagement in sustained extended deliberate practice, such as motivation, parental support, and access to the best training environments and teachers. Consequently, the development of expert performance will be primarily constrained, by individuals engagement in deliberate practice and the quality of the available training resources.
Chemical composition and droplet size distribution of cloud at the summit of Mount

Chemical composition of 39 cloud samples and droplet size distribution in 24 cloud events were investigated 15 at the summit of Mt. Tai from July to October 2014. Inorganic ions, organic acids, metals, HCHO, H2O2, sulfur(IV), organic carbon, element carbon as well as pH and electrical conductivity were analyzed. The acidity of the cloud water significantly decreased from a reported value of pH 3.86 in 2007–2008 (Guo et al., 2012) to pH 5.87 in the present study. The concentrations of nitrate and ammonium were both increased since 2007-2008, but the overcompensation of ammonium led to the increase of the mean pH value. The microphysical properties showed that cloud droplets were smaller than 26.0 μm and the most were 20 in the range of 6.0–9.0 μm at Mount Tai. The maximum droplet number concentration (Nd) was associated with droplet size of 7.0 μm. High LWC values could facilitate the formation of larger cloud droplets and broadened the droplet size spectra. Cloud droplets exhibited a strong interaction with atmospheric aerosols. Higher PM2.5 level resulted in higher concentrations of water soluble ions and smaller sizes with more numbers of cloud droplets. The lower pH values were likely to occur at higher PM2.5 concentrations. Cloud was an important sink of soluble materials in the atmosphere. The dilution effect of cloud 25 water should be considered when estimating concentrations of soluble components in the cloud phase.
Knowledge Modeling in Electromagnetic Applications [EM Programmer's Notebook]

Ontologies are becoming central to allowing knowledge sharing and reuse, and to promoting cooperation in many research areas. Up to now, the use of ontologies has been experimented with (and its advantages proven) in diverse areas, ranging from medicine and biology to geography, astronomy, and defense. Less use has been made in the electromagnetic (EM) research area. This paper highlights the advantages of ontologies for electromagnetics, and initiates the EM researcher into ontological modeling by reporting some experiences in the area of antenna-array design.
Tailored Functional Recipe (TFR) Approach to Delay the Progression of HIV to AIDS among People Living with HIV (PLWH) in Abuja, Nigeria

Background: HIV/AIDS is a pandemic disease and its scourge has had a devastating impact on health, nutrition, food security and overall socioeconomic development in affected countries. Moreover, intervention programmes, which simply employ antiretroviral drugs, have been found to lack effectiveness particularly when the patient is under-nourished. Aim and Purpose: This presented pilot intervention provides evidence that suggests use of local resources as therapeutic nutrition. This can act as a fundamental part of the comprehensive package of care at the country level. Methodology: Local ingredients, which were known for their availability, accessibility, micro and macro-nutrient strengths were selected and optimised into a nutritional functional meal (Amtewa). Daily consumption was ascertained to assess its effects on nutritional status and biomedical indices of the study participants (n = 100) who were/were not taking Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy (HAART). Findings: Mean CD4 count for ART-Test group at baseline and sixth months increased by 40.8 cells/mm3 while the ART-Control group decreased 18.12 cells/mm3. This positive outcome qualified Amtewa meal to the next phase of intervention (400 participants) to ascertain its effectiveness on health status of HIV infected subjects and appraise its position within the National Health Services framework as innovative approach to attenuate the progression of HIV to AIDS in Nigeria. Conclusion: Amtewa-based approach in HIV management is innovative, culturally relevant, reliable and requiring low technology in order to assure compliance, sustainability and cost effectiveness. Although the achieved results take the form of specific technology, it suggests that a prolong consumption of the intervention meal (Amtewa) will be suitable to sustain the gained improvements in MUAC and CD4 cell counts thereby slowing the progression of the disease.
The thermal and orbital evolution of Enceladus : observational constraints and models

Enceladus possesses a global subsurface ocean beneath an ice shell a few tens of km thick, and is observed to be losing heat at a rate of ∼10 GW from its south polar region. Two major puzzles are the source of the observed heat, and how the ocean could have been maintained. Tidal dissipation in Enceladus is ultimately controlled by the rate of dissipation within Saturn, parameterized by the factor Qp. A Qp of about 2,000 is indicated by astrometric measurements and generates an equilibrium heating rate at Enceladus sufficient to explain the observed heat and maintain an ocean indefinitely if the ice shell is conductive. If constant, this Qp would indicate an age for Enceladus much less than that of the solar system. An alternative, however, termed the “resonance-locking” scenario, is that the effective Qp is time-variable such that the heating rate is almost constant over geological time. This scenario can explain the long-term survival of the ocean and the present-day heat flux without requiring Enceladus to have formed recently.
Plasticity within the ab þ CD 4 þ T-cell lineage : when , how and what for ?

1. Summary Following thymic output, abþCD4þ T cells become activated in the periphery when they encounter peptide–major histocompatibility complex. A combination of cytokine and co-stimulatory signals instructs the differentiation of T cells into various lineages and subsequent expansion and contraction during an appropriate and protective immune response. Our understanding of the events leading to Tcell lineage commitment has been dominated by a single fate model describing the commitment of T cells to one of several helper (TH), follicular helper (TFH) or regulatory (TREG) phenotypes. Although a single lineage-committed and dedicated T cell may best execute a single function, the view of a single fate for T cells has recently been challenged. A relatively new paradigm in abþCD4þ T-cell biology indicates that T cells are much more flexible than previously appreciated, with the ability to change between helper phenotypes, between helper and follicular helper, or, most extremely, between helper and regulatory functions. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recent literature identifying when TH or TREG cell plasticity occurs, provide potential mechanisms of plasticity and ask if T-cell plasticity is beneficial or detrimental to immunity.
Multicast Beamforming Capabilities of LTE MBSFN for V2X Communications

In this paper, we investigate multicast transmit beamforming for vehicle to everything (V2X) communication employing LTE's multimedia broadcast single-frequency network (MBSFN) capabilities. LTE-MBSFN enables to broadcast/ multicast information in 4G networks, which can be utilized for efficient dissemination of road traffic related information to vehicles on highways/motorways. MBSFN is currently restricted to single antenna transmission within the LTE standard; this paper aims to present performance benefits obtained with the introduction of multiple transmit antennas. We propose an efficient multi-cell multicast beamforming technique that leads to significant SINR improvements, which enhances reliability, reduces transmission latency and facilitates achieving 5G requirements for vehicular communications.
Lightning protection for the Holy Mosque and the Jamarat Bridge in Makkah

The city of Makkah is located in a high keraunic area of the western Arabian peninsula. With the increasing number of pilgrims visiting the Holy Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Haram) in the city for the annual Hajj ritual, their safety and those of the other worshippers at the mosque during a thunderstorm is a major concern. This brief paper suggests an economical and effective method of protecting the open air prayer zone in the mosque and the Jamarat Bridge in order to prevent any casualties to the pilgrims and worshippers.
Decrease in Activities of Selected Rat Liver Enzymes following Consumption of Chemical Effluent

The effects of the chemical effluent from Soap and Detergent Industry on some rat liver enzymes were investigated. Chemical analyses of both the effluent and tap water which served as the control were carried out before various concentrations of the effluent (5%v/v, 25%v/v, 50%v/v and 100%v/v) were made. The effluent as collected from source represents 100%v/v. Four groups of five (5) rats each were placed on the four concentrations of the effluent prepared as the only source of water for thirty (30) days. The rats in the fifth group which served as the control were placed on tap water for the same period of time. All the rats were maintained on commercial rat chow for the duration of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed and blood samples were collected. The effect of the chemical effluent on rat liver was monitored by conducting standard enzyme assays for alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the liver and serum of experimental animals. Relative to the control, significant (p<0.05) decrease in the activity of the liver enzymes and significant (p<0.05) increase in the activity of the serum enzymes studied were observed in all the test rats with the effect most significant in the 100%v/v group of rats. On the whole, chemical effluent from Soaps and Detergent Industry may impair liver function and could pollute any river that serves as a recipient to it.
Screening for Antifungal Endophytic Fungi Against Six Plant Pathogenic Fungi

A total of 187 endophytic fungi were isolated from 11 plant species, which were collected from 11 locations in Korea. Their antifungal activities were screened in vivo by antifungal bioassays after they were cultured in potato dextrose broth and rice solid media. Antifungal activity against plant pathogenic fungi such as Magnaporthe grisea (rice blast), Corticium sasaki (rice sheath blight), Botrytis cinerea (tomato gray mold), Phytophthora infestans (tomato late blight), Puccinia recondita (wheat leaf rust), and Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (barley powdery mildew) was determined in vivo by observing the inhibition of plant disease development. Twenty (11.7%) endophytic fungi fermentation broths were able to control, by more than 90%, at least one of the six plant diseases tested. Among 187 liquid broths, the F0010 strain isolated from Abies holophylla had the most potent disease control activity; it showed control values of more than 90% against live plant diseases, except for tomato late blight. On the other hand, fourteen (7.5%) solid culture extracts exhibited potent disease control values of more than 90% against one of six plant diseases. The screening results of this study strongly suggested that metabolites of plant endophytic fungi could be good potential sources for screening programs of bioactive natural products.
Translating Sustainable Values : An exploration in interdisciplinary immersive art and digital media Prepared for : The School of Sustainability at Arizona State

The composition of this project can be described as half responsive digital media composition and half social experiment. It is built for the seven-screen display of the Decision Theater and utilizes a combination of digital media and creative software tools along with sensor technology to create a media environment that responds to real time physical feedback from participants. The experience uses different desired interactions or “levels” to examine the tension between Shalom Schwartz’ three sets of bipolar cultural values represented in his theory on cultural value orientation. Cultural values are significant drivers of human behavior that change throughout time, however rarely does society name and define these dominant forces outright. This project aims to expose people to consider these forces through interactive discovery and game play. The installation’s primary user input is based on movement and physical interaction and includes visual rewards for desired forms of cooperative engagement. Sustainability science and research often cites education and communication initiatives as the next actionable steps towards a sustainable solution. Art and design are two fields that are uniquely suited for completing this next step, because both of them regularly examine, critique, create, and comment as a part of shaping culture and encourage reflexive thinking about our norms and values. The design process included interdisciplinary engagement, which is detailed alongside project outcomes, theoretical ties to sustainability, symbolic representations, and observations of user experiences. It may be considered a pilot test of the potential for creative and interactive digital art platforms to allow for the exploration of cultural values and connections to sustainability. This ability to reflect and consider the assumptions that may be engrained within cultural value orientation is fundamentally important to the wider recognition of the cultural shifts needed to create a sustainable future. CULMINATING EXPERIENCE BRITTANY NIXON
Market-Driven Management, Competitive Markets and Performance Metrics

Metrics are performance indicators used to indicate, measure or record values of a particular magnitude. Metrics, seen as overall indicators of corporate performance, are one of the fundamental tools used to monitor and orient corporate management. They can be classified by: financial-non-financial; quantitative-qualitative; accounting-non-accounting; internal and external; process and end result. Metrics can serve a dual purpose: to provide elements for assessment, inside the company environment; to provide evaluation parameters outside the company.
Simulation of the effects of cochlear implant electrode insertion depth for tonotopically-mapped speech processors

It has been claimed that speech recognition with a cochlear implant is strongly dependent on the frequency alignment of analysis bands in the speech processor with characteristic frequencies (CFs) at electrode locations. However implanted electrode arrays often have the most apical electrode at positions with CFs of 1 kHz or more. The use of filters aligned in frequency with arrays in relatively basal locations inevitably leads to the loss of lower frequency speech information. This study simulates the effects on speech recognition of array insertion depth for a frequencyaligned speech processor in order to assess the significance of this information loss. Noise-excited vocoders were used to simulate a Continuous Interleaved Sampling (CIS) processor driving eight electrodes 2mm apart. Analysis filters always had centre frequencies matching the CFs of the simulated stimulation sites. The simulated position of the most apical stimulation site relative to the cochlear base was varied in 2mm steps between 24.9 mm (CF = 502 Hz) and 16.9 mm (CF = 1851 Hz). Identification of consonants, vowels and key words in sentences was measured in each condition. Each measure showed a significant decline in performance between each of the three more basal simulated electrode configurations. The results suggest that if implant processors were to use analysis filters frequency-aligned to electrode CFs, patients whose most apical electrode is 19 mm or less from the cochlear base are likely to suffer a significant loss of speech information.