Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of a microstrip reflectarray antenna for microspacecraft applications

A microstrip reflectarray is a flat reflector antenna that can be mounted conformally onto a spacecraft's outside structure without consuming a significant amount of spacecraft volume and mass. For large apertures (2 m or larger), the antenna's reflecting surface, being flat, can be more easily and reliably deployed than a curved parabolic reflector. This article presents the study results on a microstrip reflect-array with circular polarization. Its efficiency and bandwidth characteristics are analyzed. Numerous advantages of this antenna system are discussed. Three new concepts using this microstrip reflectarray are also proposed.
Energy Beamforming Design and User Cooperation for Wireless Powered Communication Networks

We investigate user cooperation (UC) for wireless powered communication networks, where two single-antenna users are first wirelessly powered by a multi-antenna hybrid access point (H-AP), and then cooperatively transmit information signals to this H-AP via the harvested energy. To incorporate user fairness in the system performance, we formulate the weighted sum-rate maximization problem for both users to jointly optimize the energy beamforming vector, time allocation, and power allocation. Due to the non-convexity of this problem, we propose two UC schemes by employing a series of efficient variable substitutions and semidefinite programming relaxation to solve this problem. In addition, we show that the solution of the proposed schemes can achieve the global optimum by exploiting the rank-one characteristic of the energy beamforming matrix. Finally, numerical results are provided to validate our proposed schemes, which quantifies the impact of UC schemes by comparing them with the non-cooperative scheme.
Predictors of non-adherence to methadone maintenance treatment in opioid-dependent individuals: implications for clinicians.

BACKGROUND Although methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is recognized as the treatment of reference for opioid dependence, little information is available regarding the dynamic adherence to methadone and its determinants. With data from the Methaville trial we investigated the evolution of non-adherence to methadone and the effect of pre-treatment and in-treatment factors on longterm non-adherence to methadone. METHODS We selected 145 patients to study adherence to methadone at 3, 6 and 12 months (M3, M6 and M12, respectively) using a multidimensional questionnaire and a 3-level variable "adherent"/"non adherent"/"highly nonadherent". We then identified the pre-treatment and in-treatment variables associated with long-term non-adherence to methadone at the M12 visit using a univariate logistic regression and two different multivariate models: the first incorporating only the pre-treatment variables, the second adding the in-treatment variables to the pre-treatment ones. RESULTS At the M12 visit, 35.2% of the participants remained adherent, 55.9% and 9% were non-adherent and highly non-adherent, respectively. The multivariate analysis of long-term non-adherence to methadone showed 4 pre-treatment predictors and 1 in-treatment predictor as follows: being female, not having stable housing, alcohol consumption, cocaine use and perceiving methadone dose as inadequate. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight that pretreatment predictors are important to consider when starting maintenance treatment for opioid dependence, such as cocaine use and problematic alcohol consumption but also low socio-economic levels. In addition, during maintenance treatment, in-treatment predictors such as methadone dose adequacy is a crucial issue to achieve good adherence to MMT.
Genetic and physiological characterization of ciprofloxacin resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO

Spontaneous ciprofloxacin-resistant mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO2 were isolated on ML agar containing 0.5 microgram of ciprofloxacin per ml (2 times the MIC). The mutants were 8- to 64-fold more resistant to ciprofloxacin and showed complete cross resistance to nalidixic acid, ofloxacin, enoxacin, and norfloxacin. Two chromosomal resistance genes, cfxA and cfxB, were mapped between eda-9001 and phe-2 and near pyrB52 distal to proC130, respectively. The cfxB mutation was identical to a nalB mutation and conferred cross resistance to novobiocin, tetracycline, carbenicillin, and chloramphenicol, suggesting that there is an effect on permeability. DNA gyrase A and B subunits were purified from strain PAO2 (wild type), PAO236 nalA2, PAO4704 cfxA2, and PAO4700 cfxA1 cfxB1. Inhibition of gyrase-mediated DNA supercoiling by ciprofloxacin or nalidixic acid was greatly reduced in preparations derived from each of the mutants. Inhibition studies on reconstituted heterologous gyrase subunits showed that decreased inhibition was dependent on the mutant gyrase A subunit. We conclude that ciprofloxacin resistance in P. aeruginosa PAO2 can occur by mutation in the nalB gene or the gene for DNA gyrase A (formerly nalA).
Sensors' decision fusion algorithm based on the learning strategy

In the target detection of radar and sonar systems,it's difficult to give prior probability of the target's appearance and the cost of system's wrong decision. In some practical applications,the probability of target's appearance will continually change. It is difficult for the existing distributed system's decision fusion algorithm to solve the decision fusion problem of unknown and variable targets.In this paper learning strategies is used to estimate target probability in real-time and to achieve adaptive decision fusion.Analysis shows that,in the detection of unknown and variable targets, this algorithm can adaptively modify related parameters according to the detected objects.The detection performance has good convergence with the increase of study time and the algorithm performance is better than NP and Bayes algorithm.
Staphylococcus aureus agr Genotypes with Enterotoxin Production Capabilities Can Resist Neutrophil Bactericidal Activity

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity is mainly due to the production of a number of secreted and cell surface-associated proteins under the regulation of the agr gene. A region of the agr gene was used to subgroup S. aureusstrains according to restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Additionally, strains were subtyped according to the coagulase gene in order to strengthen discriminatory power. Virulence capabilities ofagr genotype subgroups were evaluated using an in vitro neutrophil bactericidal assay, which showed that prevalent genotypes were significantly better at evading this primary host defense. Multiplex PCR was then used to detect enterotoxin genes among the genotype subgroups in order to determine possible virulence candidates that enable strains to combat neutrophil killing. The prevalent genotype strains were found to possess higher production capabilities for enterotoxin A than did low-prevalence strains. The significance of enterotoxin A production capabilities in affecting pathogenicity ofS. aureus strains was evaluated and found to have a profound effect on neutrophil killing abilities. The use of a large epidemiological database as a tool for subgrouping strains with varying degrees of pathogenicity has allowed the identification of relevant and previously undefined virulence factors that affect a pathogen's capability to overcome host immune defenses.
Reserpine in hospitalized psychotics; a controlled study on chronically disturbed women.

A voluminous literature has accumulated on the efficacy of reserpine in mental disorders, particularly in psychoses accompanied by uncontrolled behavior. As yet few reports have included double-blind controls with a published breakdown of the specific areas of clinical change. Hollister * found the dosage to be the most influential factor in a series of studies using varied doses, with the results expressed in terms of hospital adjustment. Hoffman and Konchegul, 3 Campden-Main and Wegielski, 4 and, more recently, Sommerness, 5 Forster, 6 and Cowden 7 reported similar studies. The present study was intended primarily to determine an effective dosage of reserpine in chronic disturbed schizophrenic women, using a double-blind technique, for comparison with the effect of administering placebos and of giving no medication at all. It was hypothesized that in adequate dosage reserpine will effect tranquilization of chronically disturbed psychotic women. In order to test this, it was necessary (1) to
Induction of Vascular Permeability by the Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor–2 (S1P2R) and its Downstream Effectors ROCK and PTEN

Objectives—S1P acts via the S1PR family of G protein–coupled receptors to regulate a variety of physiological responses. Whereas S1P1R activates Gi- and PI-3-kinase–dependent signals to inhibit vascular permeability, the related S1P2R inhibits the PI-3-kinase pathway by coupling to the Rho-dependent activation of the PTEN phosphatase. However, cellular consequences of S1P2R signaling in the vascular cells are not well understood. Methods and Results—Selective signaling of the S1P2R was achieved by adenoviral-mediated expression in endothelial cells. Secondly, endogenously expressed S1P2R was blocked by the specific pharmacological antagonist JTE013. Activation of S1P2R in endothelial cells resulted in Rho-ROCK– and PTEN-dependent disruption of adherens junctions, stimulation of stress fibers, and increased paracellular permeability. JTE013 treatment of naive endothelial cells potentiated the S1P1R-dependent effects such as formation of cortical actin, blockade of stress fibers, stimulation of adherens junction assembly, and improved barrier integrity. This observation was extended to the in vivo model of vascular permeability in the rat lung: the S1P2R antagonist JTE013 significantly inhibited H2O2-induced permeability in the rat lung perfused model. Conclusions—S1P2R activation in endothelial cells increases vascular permeability. The balance of S1P1 and S1P2 receptors in the endothelium may determine the regulation of vascular permeability by S1P.
Study on the Relationship between Executive Compensation and Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper is aimed to research the relationship between executive compensation and corporate social responsibility, and based on the public companies’ financial information from 2011 to 2015. The conclusion is that the executive compensation is positive correlated to corporate social responsibility, as the improvement of executive compensation would improve the corporate social responsibility, and the corporate social responsibility in state-owned enterprises is better than in non -state-owned enterprises.
Mikako Sato Sensitivity to different types of linguistic information in L 2 sentence processing : Evidence from Speeded Grammaticality Judgements

For some time now, there has been much debate on the mechanisms by which morphologically complex words are processed. The Dual Mechanism Model (Pinker, 1999), posits that there is a dissociation between rule-based forms which are decomposed, such as regular inflections, and associative forms which are stored fully in the lexicon, such as irregular inflections. This model has been based on various studies in L1 showing dissociation between regular and productive processes on the one hand and irregular and unproductive processes on the other. In light of this, Stanners et al. (1979) found that the reaction time to a target word can be facilitated by the presentation of a prime word earlier and specifically that in inflections, regular forms produce full priming while irregulars do not. Furthermore, in terms of derivation, Clahsen (2004) found that morphologically complex adjectives in German with the productive prefix (un-) showed a full priming effect, while only a partial priming effect was found for the unproductive prefix (in-).
Competitive Interaction of Amiloride and Verapamil with α1 Adrenoceptors in Vascular Smooth Muscle

Summary: We have characterized [3H]prazosin binding to purified plasma membranes isolated from bovine carotid arteries and studied the effects of Na+ and Ca2+ channel blockers on [3H]prazosin binding to α1 adrenoceptors. Amiloride and verapamil competitively inhibited the specific binding of [3H]prazosin to purified plasma membranes isolated from bovine carotid artery in a dose dependent manner. The Ki values of verapamil and amiloride for α1 adrenergic receptor were 1.04 ± 0.037 μM and 32.6 ± 0.59 μM, respectively. Verapamil (10 μM) and amiloride (100 μM) caused a 6 fold and 2.7 fold decrease in affinity of [3H]prazosin binding, respectively, with no change in the number of binding sites. The inhibition of [3H]prazosin binding by amiloride and verapamil could be reversed after the membranes were washed. Another Ca2+channel blocker, nifedipine, and a Na+ channel blocker, furosemide, did not significantly inhibit [3H]prazosin binding up to 0.1 mM concentrations. Our results suggest that amiloride and verapamil may produce vascular smooth muscle relaxation by modulating α1 adrenoceptor affinity in addition to blocking Na+ and Ca2+ channels, respectively.
Retroperitoneal Liposarcomas: A Representative Literature Review Occasioned by a Rare Case of Laterelapse Abdominal Liposarcoma

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare and heterogeneous tumours representing approximately 0.7%-1% of all adult tumours. In the adults and among the retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS), Liposarcoma (LS) is the most common variant accounting for 12% −20% of all sarcomas and up to 45% of sarcomas at retroperitoneal localization. A rare case of LS relapsed after 15 years is giving the occasion to review the published literature and emphasise the followings concepts: 1) Despite extensive surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for localized STS at present, anatomical complexity and occult localization result in local recurrence in the majority of patients; 2) The role of imaging and tumour markers is still limited; 3) Indefinite prolonged surveillance is a key point of treatment; 4) Referral to tertiary centres with dedicated Retroperitonal Surgeons and Oncology expertise is mandatory.
The Timing of Rating Changes

This study examines whether and how a major credit rating agency, S&P, strategically times the release of rating changes in an intraday setting. We find that the proportion of downgrades announced after regular trading hours is higher than upgrades. We find that credit rating agencies are more likely to announce downgrades after hours when they have relatively larger consequences and are unexpected. Specifically, rating agencies are more likely to announce downgrades after hours for financial firms, whose business model depends on high ratings, and downgrades for firms not previously on the watch-list. We also find that agencies are more likely to announce downgrades after hours when they occur on days with many rating changes. Overall, our results support the idea that S&P announces downgrades after hours to facilitate information dissemination but not to hide bad news.
Banking and Marriage Markets: Evidence from India's Branch Licensing Policy

This paper estimates the effect of access to credit on the probability of marriage of women and men in rural India. In societies where dowry payments are customary, an increase in access to credit can potentially increase the probability of marriage of girls either through an increase in income or consumption smoothing. Using a formal bank branch expansion in rural India and an instrumental variables approach, I find the following: First, the probability of marriage increases for girls but does not change for boys in response to an increase in formal banking; Second, the effect of formal bank branch expansion on the probability of marriage of daughters is concentrated during the years that households do not experience a positive agricultural income shock; Third, consistent with this result of a tighter "marriage squeeze", that is, there are more potential brides in the marriage market than potential grooms, an increase in per capita rural bank branches also leads to an increase in dowry payments and women’s distance of marriage migration. The marriage market results are further supported by the following findings: (a) An increase in per capita rural bank branches only increases school enrollment of young girls, and therefore, fails to delay the marriage of girls who are at the highest risk of marriage; (b) An increase in per capita rural bank branches decreases labor participation of women, and therefore, fails to increase the value of labor of unmarried women in a household. *Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economics, University of Washington. Email: jagori@uw.edu. I sincerely thank my advisor, Rachel M. Heath, for her guidance and support. I am grateful for valuable suggestions and feedback from Chris Anderson, James D. Long and Xu Tan. I also thank the participants at the UW Labor and Development Brownbags for helpful comments and feedback. All errors are my own.
Statistical and probabilistic methods for data stream mining

Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit ist es, zentrale Probleme und wichtige Aspekte im Datastream-Mining zu veranschaulichen und mogliche Losungen zu diskutierten Problemen vorzustellen. Da die Anzahl der Daten bei Datastreams potenziell unendlich ist und die statistischen Eigenschaften der Daten sich mit der Zeit andern konnen, lassen sich klassische Data-Mining- und Statistikmethoden nicht auf Data Streams direkt anwenden. Aus diesem Grund werden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit bereits existierende Ansatze an die Datastream-Problematik angepasst und neue Methoden entwickelt. Zum Beispiel werden inkrementelle oder rekursive Berechnungen statistischer Parameter und statistischer Tests vorgestellt, die notig sind, um Berechnungen online und auf Hardware wie Steuergeraten mit teilweise recht begrenzter Rechen und Speicherkapazitat ausfuhren zu konnen. Ein wesentliches Problem stellt die Unterscheidung zwischen zufalligen Schwankungen im Sinne von Rauschen und echten Anderungen in Datastreams dar. Es bietet sich an, Hypothesentests mit inkrementeller Berechnung fur dieses Problem der Change Detection einzusetzen. In dieser Arbeit werden inkrementelle und auf Fenstertechnik basierende statistische Tests fur Change Detection vorgestellt. Die Mehrzahl der existierenden Algorithmen zum Datastream-Mining verwenden keine expliziten Methoden zur Change Detection, sondern benutzen fur die Vorhersage gleitende Fenster fester Breite. Nur wenige dieser Methoden beschaftigen sich mit der Frage wie die Fenstergrose ausgewahlt werden soll und welche Effekte Veranderungen in den Daten auf die Vorhersagequalitat haben. Hierzu wird eine theoretische Analyse fur die optimale Fensterbreite fur zwei Datenmodelle durchgefuhrt und gezeigt, dass eine suboptimale Fenstergrose zur drastischen Senkung der Vorhersagequalitat fuhren kann. Auserdem konnen die vorgestellten Datenmodelle als Benchmark Tests fur fensterbasierte Ansatze verwendet werden. Dies kann einen Eindruck vermitteln, wie stark ein sich an Datastreams automatisch anpassendes "Evolving System" durch Rauschen in den Daten negativ beeinflusst wird.
Accounting Information and Corporate Risk-Taking

We examine how accounting information influences corporate risk-taking. We predict that transparent accounting disclosure can influence corporate risk-taking by enabling managers to better evaluate risks and by enabling investors to better monitor managers' risk appetite. We test this prediction by orchestrating the mandatory adoption of IFRS around the world, enforcement reforms around the world, and the introduction of quarterly reporting in the European Union as exogenous shocks to firms’ accounting information environment, which made disclosure more relevant and comparable, reliable as well as more timely. Our findings provide evidence that these changes in the accounting information environment are associated with a decline in corporate risk-taking. For firms subject to enforcement reforms this effect is unconditional. For firms’ adoption of IFRS or quarterly reporting, this effect is conditional upon whether these reforms are strongly enforced. We also document that the decline in risk-taking after the changes in the accounting information environment is associated with an increase in total shareholder return.
An introduction to approximate computing

Approximate computing is a research area where we investigate a wide spectrum of techniques to trade off computation accuracy for better performance or energy consumption. In this work, we provide a general introduction to approximate computing. Also, we propose a taxonomy to make it easier to discuss the merits of different approximation techniques. Our taxonomy emphasizes the expected cost of tackling approximate computing across the entire system stack. We conclude by discussing the unique opportunities as well as challenges of nondeterministic approximate computing.
cGMP modulation of Ca 2 1 sensitivity in airway smooth muscle

Jones, Keith A. , Gilbert Y. Wong, Christopher J. Jankowski, Masaki Akao, and David O. Warner. cGMP modulation of Ca21 sensitivity in airway smooth muscle. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 20): L35–L40, 1999. —A b-escin-permeabilized canine tracheal smooth muscle preparation was used to test the hypothesis that cGMP decreases Ca21 sensitivity in airway smooth muscle primarily by inhibiting the membrane receptor-coupled mechanisms that regulate Ca21 sensitivity and not by inhibiting Ca21/calmodulin activation of the contractile proteins. 8-Bromo-cGMP (100 μM) had no effect on the free Ca21 concentration-response curves generated in the absence of muscarinic receptor stimulation. In the presence of 100 μM ACh plus 10 μM GTP, 8-bromo-cGMP (100 μM) caused a rightward shift of the free Ca21 concentration-response curve, significantly increasing the EC50 for free Ca21 from 0.35 6 0.03 to 0.75 6 0.06 μM; this effect of 8-bromo-cGMP was concentration dependent from 1 to 100 μM. 8-Bromo-cGMP (100 μM) decreased the level of regulatory myosin light chain (rMLC) phosphorylation for a given cytosolic Ca21 concentration but had no effect on the amount of isometric force produced for a given level of rMLC phosphorylation. These findings suggest that cGMP decreases Ca21 sensitivity in canine tracheal smooth muscle primarily by inhibiting the membrane receptor-coupled mechanisms that modulate the relationship between cytosolic Ca21 concentration and rMLC phosphorylation.
Treatment of idiopathic CD4 T lymphocytopenia with IL‐2

Idiopathic CD4 T lymphocytopenia (ICL) is an unusual immune defect in which there is an unexplained deficit of CD4 T cells, leading to fungal, parasitic or other serious opportunistic infections. Current treatment efforts are directed at eliminating infections. Here we describe the use of a novel treatment, subcutaneous polyethylene glycol (PEG)–IL‐2 injections, in a woman with this disorder, who had chronic severe mycobacterial disease which led to repeated hospitalizations, and advancing respiratory insufficiency. For this patient, PEG–IL‐2, 50 000 U/m2, has been given by weekly subcutaneous injections for 5.5 years. This treatment has resulted in marked (and still continuing) long‐term immunological improvement with normalized T cell functions and increased CD4 cell numbers. She has had substantial clinical improvement with clearing of mycobacterial disease, reducing hospitalizations and improved lung functions. The improvement seen in this patient suggests that low‐dose IL‐2 is a safe and practical therapy, which might be useful in other subjects with this potentially serious immune defect.