Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The quest for the best graphic equalizer

The design of graphic equalizers has been investigated for decades, but only recently fitting the magnitude response closely enough to the control points has become possible. This paper reviews the development of graphic equalizer design and discusses how to define the target response. Furthermore, it investigates how to find the hardest target gain settings, the definition of the bandwidth of band filters, the estimation of the interaction between the bands, and how the number of iterations improves the design. The main focus is on a recent design principle for the cascade graphic equalizer. This paper extends the design method for the case of third-octave bands, showing how to choose the parameters to obtain good accuracy. The main advantages of the proposed approach are that it keeps the approximation error below 1 dB using only a single second-order IIR filter section per band, and that its design is fast. The remaining challenge is to simplify the design phase so that sufficient accuracy can be obtained without iterations.
2 S 100 A 4 Elevation Q 1 Empowers Expression of Q 2 3 Metastasis Effector Molecules in Human Breast 4 Cancer 5

8 Many human glandular cancers metastasize along nerve tracts, 9 but the mechanisms involved are generally poorly understood. 10 The calcium-binding protein S100A4 is expressed at elevated 11 levels in human cancers where it has been linked to increased 12 invasion and metastasis. Here we report genetic studies in a 13 Drosophilamodel todefine S100A4 effector functions thatmediate 14 metastatic dissemination of mutant Ras-induced tumors in 15 the developing nervous system. In flies overexpressing mutant 16 Ras and S100A4, there was a significant increase in activation 17 of the stress kinase JNK and production of the matrix metallo18 proteinase MMP1. Genetic or chemical blockades of JNK and 19 MMP1 suppressed metastatic dissemination associated with 21 S100A4 elevation, defining required signaling pathway(s) for 22 S100A4 in this setting. In clinical specimens of human breast 23 cancer, elevated levels of themammalian paralogsMMP2,MMP9, 24 and MMP13 are associated with a 4to 9-fold relative decrease in 25 patient survival. In individual tumors, levels of MMP2 and 26 MMP13 correlated more closely with levels of S100A4, whereas 27 MMP9 levels correlated more closely with the S100 family 28 member S100P. Overall, our results suggest the existence of 29 evolutionarily conserved pathways used by S100A4 to promote 30 metastatic dissemination, with potential prognostic and thera31 peutic implications for metastasis by cancers that preferentially 32 exploit nerve tract migration routes. Cancer Res; 1–12. 2016 AACR. 33
Pond aquaculture effluents traced along back-reef waters by standard water quality parameters, δ15N in suspended matter and phytoplankton bioassays

Despite the enormous growth in aquaculture in recent years, little is known of the impact of effluents from large-scale pond agglomerations on tropical coastal ecosystems. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the dispersal and ecological impact of effluents from fish and shrimp ponds along 3 seagrass-covered back-reef areas on Hainan Island, tropical China, with pond areas in their hinterland differing in extent (Yelin: 0.04 km2; Qingge: 2.4 km2; Changqi: 8.7 km2). Concentrations of dissolved and particulate nitrogen, chlorophyll a (chl a) and stable nitrogen isotopes of ammonium (δN-NH4), nitrate (δN-NO3) and suspended matter (δ15NTSM) were used to trace pond effluents along transects perpendicular to the shore. Additionally, δ15N-TSM and chl a samples were taken from a phytoplankton bioassay experiment, during which offshore surface water was incubated in dialysis bags at stations along these transects. High nutrient concentrations, particularly ammonium, in combination with high chl a (~10 μg l−1) and elevated chl a levels in the bioassays after incubation indicate eutrophication of the effluent-exposed back-reef areas Qingge and Changqi, with decreasing intensity in the offshore direction. We report the first δN-NH4 of pond effluents which were as high as 17‰. Consequently, elevated δ15N values in TSM (5 to 12‰) and a δ15N increase from <7 up to 14‰ over time in the phyto plankton bioassays specified pond effluents as the predominant nutrient source. The effluents affect the entire back-reef areas over a distance of at least 2.5 km from shore. Our results show that analysis of δ15N in phytoplankton bioassays is a powerful bioindicator for tracing pondderived nutrient dispersal and eutrophication effects.
Thickness and low-temperature conductivity of DNA molecules

We argue that interaction between molecules and substrate is a key parameter which determines the conducting or insulating behavior of DNA molecules. In this letter, we show that strongly deformed DNA molecules deposited on a substrate, whose thickness is less than half the native thickness of the molecule, are insulating, whereas molecules keeping their native thickness are conducting down to very low temperature with a non-ohmic behavior characteristic of a 1D conductor with repulsive electron–electron interactions.
Accountants, Accounting and Environmental Reporting: Review of Accountants'Attitudes on Environmental Reporting in Sri Lanka

Environmental reporting is becoming more and more common in business since most companies are aware ofthat environment as a business issue and it makes good business sense and positive public relations. Thus, companies are voluntarily motivated to produce environmental reporting. Sri Lanka as a developing country which has less physical and natural resources it is very important to make proper management over these resources in order to achieve a sustainable development in the country irrespective the controllership of resources. Tlierefore, accountants' contribution as an information provider is very important to make proper management over environmental issues of the firm. However, recent research on environmental reporting says that environmental reporting in Sri Lanka and contribution of accountantsfor successful environmental management is inadequate. Thus, this study attempts to examine accountant s attitudes on environmental reporting in Sri Lanka. A survey and inten'iews are used in data collection. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (IACS) circulated sur\>ey instruments among its members in late 2004. Finally, 48 useful responses were received. A dditionally ten members of the LA CS were randomly selected and inten'iewed them to get their feedback on environmental reporting. Study found that although, accountants ha\e understood the significance of environmental disclosures their contribution for implement to disclosures of such information is low. Because of environmental reporting in Sri Lanka is still a voluntary requirement.
Into a box interiors: clutch size variation and resource allocation in the European pond turtle

In order to highlight the temporal dynamics of different stages of follicula distribution on reproductive output, we analysed the female size and the reproductive frequency of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis , using 191 ultrasonographic and 67 x-ray images (collected from 2000 to 2011 in two different localities of a coastal plain area of NorthWestern Italy). To compare digital image results we also used anatomical topography of autopsied females. Although reproductive females were significantly longer in one locality and larger in the second one, clutch size did not differ between localities. Two main clutches were produced during a year, with occasionally a third one. Shelled eggs were frequent in May, June and July, while follicula were present till August, with a decrease in follicular size especially in July and August. Despite the presence of a number of follicles in late summer and in autumn, a third expected clutch was only an exceptional event, differently from what happens in other sites of the species’ distribution range. The permanence of follicles after the last deposition is interpreted as a possible extra energy source during the very hot and dry summers of coastal central Italy and for the hibernating phase.
ETHICS AS AN INTERNATIONAL VALUE-ADDING STRATEGY OF COLORED COTTON IN BRAZIL

The issue of this research is based on the role of ethics in the international development strategies of enterprises. Here, within the context of the Brazilian State of Paraiba, a region long characterized by highly archaic structures of production and social relations. It is in this setting that we are interested in highlighting a recent and very promising experience: the cultivation and the valorization/creation of additional value of, colored cotton. At the same time, it reflects a possible evolution of the value systems of certain local leaders/decision-makers, the coordinated actions of certain stakeholders such as research centers, agricultural and production cooperatives, local associations. and the practice of original strategies of product differentiation and valorization both in the national and international markets. In this context, the purpose of the present study is simply to show that an ethical strategy that combines the dimensions of sustainable development and social responsibility is viable under certain conditions and even when it is not exclusive. In particular, it represents a solution in terms of adding value to the natural products from the Sertao (a semi-arid region in the northeast of Brazil), bearing in mind that this strategy will have to face those of other enterprises established in the same market and that have opted for price policies based on the exploitation of the local labor force. Thematic field: Development strategy
DOES HIGHER EDUCATION AFFECT TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY IN NEPAL? AN EXPLORATION THROUGH THE LENS OF ARDL BOUNDS TEST

Education-centered human capital is one of the variables extensively used to model growth equations with the resurgence of growth theories in the 1980s primarily with the publication of Romer’s 1986 and Lucas’ 1988 seminal papers. Education contributes growth through its direct benefits to the individual and positive externality to the society. Theory claims that education enhances economic growth by working as an input of production and by being an agent of technological innovation, dissemination, and imitation. Previous empirical evidence on the effect of education on growth is mixed. This paper empirically examines the effect of higher education on total factor productivity in the aggregate level of the economy of Nepal employing time series data of the period 1975-2011 applying the ARDL method of cointegration. The findings are not encouraging on the issue. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ejdi.v15i1-2.11869 Economic Journal of Development Issues Vol. 15 & 16 No. 1-2, pp. 76-102
Challenges in cross-border real estate investments – Finnish perspective

In the last decades, globalisation has effected strongly on the real estate market. Real estate investors all over the world have extended their area of operations beyond their own local markets. Foreign investors came to the Finnish real estate market in the early 21st century. The highest peak of foreign investors in the Finnish real estate market was reached in 2007. In 2008, the Finnish real estate market started to quiet down. From 2009, the share of foreign investors started growing again and in 2015 the share was already 46 per cent of the real estate transaction volume in Finland. The goal of this thesis is to find out what are the challenges foreign investors face when investing in Finnish real estate. This thesis includes a literature review which aims to find out current research concerning cross-border investments and its challenges, first in general and after that from the perspective of the Finnish real estate market. The literature review also answers the question why do investors invest in cross-border investments in the first place. The research’s empirical part is done by a survey study, which was sent to 75 foreign investors active in the Finnish real estate market. 25 responses were received, which amounts to 33 per cent response rate. The goal of the empirical research is to find out what challenges, of those identified in the literature review, does foreign investors highlight in the Finnish property market. The challenge groups covered in the thesis include: transaction costs, information disadvantages, political risks, economical risks, currency risk, liquidity, execution risks and other challenges. The main conclusions of the thesis are that the most challenging factors for foreign investors in Finland are liquidity, which is strongly linked to market size. Economical risk was also experienced as a notable challenge when investing in the Finnish real estate market. The least challenging factors where currency risks and political risk. In addition, it was discovered that foreign investors that do not have employees in Finland face more challenges than the foreign investors that do have employees in Finland.
From R2 gravity to no-scale supergravity

We show that $R^2$ gravity coupled conformally to scalar fields is equivalent to the real bosonic sector of SU(N,1)/SU(N)$\times$U(1) no-scale supergravity, where the conformal factor can be identified with the K\"ahler potential, and we review the construction of Starobinsky-like models of inflation within this framework.
MPPT Technique Based on Current and Temperature Measurements

This paper presents a new maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method based on the measurement of temperature and short-circuit current, in a simple and efficient approach. These measurements, which can precisely define the maximum power point (MPP), have not been used together in other existing techniques. The temperature is measured with a low cost sensor and the solar irradiance is estimated through the relationship of the measured short-circuit current and its reference. Fast tracking speed and stable steady-state operation are advantages of this technique, which presents higher performance when compared to other well-known techniques.
A Biophysical Approach to the Environmental Services by Land-Use Systems Assessment; Functional Biodiversity in Tropical Agroforestry Systems (The Case of Tomé-Acú Community, Northern Brazil)

Currently, the environmental services concept and i ts assessment seems the most appropriate approach t o estimate, evaluate, conserve and in general make en vironmental use sustainable. The most well known environmental services are water purification and c arbon sequestration. However, there are knowledge gaps. In the case of biodiversity, for example, evaluatio n has mostly been based on quantitative or qualitat ive studies of individuals and functional groups. We suggest functional biodiversity as an indicator of the sustainability of land-use systems, as it is closely related to the variability, resilience and dynamics of ecosystems. The application of the Criteria & Indicators (CI data processing is supported by multi-criteria protocols : work-shops at different levels of target groups a nd specialized software (CIMAT2.0). The results will be used to develop a model of the agroforestry syste ms for deeper understanding and to support decision making by the farmers.
Antibodies reacting with human immunoglobulin in sera from autoimmune thyroid disease patients as a risk factor for false positive results in IgA assessment

Autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATD) are organ-specific autoimmune disorders namely, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves’ disease, characterized by the production of antibodies against the thyroid peroxidase and thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor in the thyroid gland. The purpose of this study was to optimize the ELISA tests for quantifying serum immunoglobulins in ATD patients by minimizing the interference of anti-goat immunoglobulin and to evaluate the prevalence effect on the measurement of the humoral immune response. Anti-immunoglobulin antibodies were defined using goat immunoglobulins as a target to characterize distinct changes in patterns of immunoglobulin levels in ATD patients. Concentrations of serum immunoglobulin A, G and M in thirty five patients with ATD with positive anti-thyroid antibodies and thirty five matched normal healthy adult individuals were tested by ELISA. The effect of anti-goat immunoglobulin antibodies leads to an overestimation of serum IgA level in ATD and is different for each serum sample tested. Initial results obtained before purification from the interfering anti-goat immunoglobulin antibodies suggested that ATD patients had increased levels of IgA in their sera. It was found that normal individuals had mean IgA, IgG and IgM levels of 2.75 mg/ml, 9.67 mg/ml and 1.81 mg/ml, respectively while individuals suffering from ATD had mean levels of 5.01 mg/ml, 10.17 mg/ml and 1.92 mg/ml (p<0.0004, p<0.20 and p<0.34). However, the mean level of IgA in ATD sera treated from anti-goat immunoglobulins was determined to be 2.81 mg/ml. Therefore, there was no significant difference in IgA level in patients with ATD compared to normal individuals (p<0.63) after removal of anti-goat immunoglobulin antibodies. Visualization of IgA by immunoblotting confirms that anti-goat immunoglobulins antibodies, which were unrelated to antigen, were co-precipitated with the antigen-antibody complex. A circulating immunoglobulin reacting with other immunoglobulins is thus present at increased levels in adult subjects with ATD and may well play a part in the complex immunopathogenetic interactions.
Growth Performance and Field Evaluation of Herbicide-Resistant Transgenic Creeping Bentgrass

ABSTRACT This study examined the growth performance and field evaluation of the dual herbicide-resistant transgenic creeping bentgrass plants. The effect of glyphosate treatment on the herbicide resistance of the transgenic creeping bentgrass plants was determined, and the non-transgenic control plant withered at the concentration 11μg/mL or higher whereas the transgenic creeping bentgrass plants survived the treatment at the concentration of 3,000μg/mL, and the increase of the plant length was repressed as the glyphosate treatment concentration was increased. At field evaluation, glufosinate-ammonium and glyphosate were simultaneously treated to investigate the weed control effect. The results showed that more than 90% of the weeds withered four week after herbicide treatment, while the transgenic creeping bentgrass plants continued to grow normally. Therefore, the dual herbicide- resistant creeping bentgrass plants may be able to greatly contribute to the efficiency of weed control and to the economic feasibility of mowing in places such as golf courses. (
Clinical practice guidelines for the management of central venous catheter for critically ill patients

The objective of this article is to provide a guideline for the management of central venous catheter for critically ill patients. Electronic databases of CENTRAL, CINAHL, EMBASE, four Chinese databases (CBM, WANFANG DATA, CAJD, VIP Database) and Google Scholar were searched from inception to August 2017. The reviewers assessed each included study for the risk of bias under the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. The GRADE evidence profile tables were added to each important clinical outcome. The guideline will be updated in a 5-year interval by incorporating new evidence. The guideline panel provided 11 statements on the management of central venous catheter for critically ill patients. Overall, there were 4 strong recommendations, and 7 weak recommendations. They were as follows: (I) we commend the use of catheter impregnation to prevent catheter-related blood stream infection (1A); (II) we suggest the use of real-time ultrasound guidance for subclavian or femoral vein insertion (2B), and recommend that for internal jugular vein (1A); (III) we suggest the use of real-time color Doppler ultrasound guidance on central venous catheterization for adult and pediatric patients (2C); (IV) we suggest not to use heparin for the maintenance of CVC patency (2A); (V) we suggest the use contrast-enhanced ultrasound for the confirmation of central venous catheter placement (2B); (VI) we recommend the use of bedside ultrasound together with agitated or non-agitated normal saline to confirm CVC position (1C); (VII) we suggest to use subclavian site for CVC insertion (2C); (VIII) we suggest not to use heparin-bonded catheters or warfarin to prevent CVC-related deep vein thrombosis in children (2D); (IX) we recommend the implementation of central-line bundles to reduce the risk of CRBSI for adult, pediatric and neonatal ICUs (1B); (X) we suggest skin antisepsis with chlorhexidine throughout in-dwelling period for reducing CVC-related infections (2D); (XI) we recommend a differential time to positivity (DTP) of blood cultures from CVC and peripheral vein of 120 minutes to diagnose CRBSI (1B). Substantial agreement exists among experts for issuing strong recommendations for the management of central venous catheter. Although a significant number of aspects of care have relatively weak support, evidence-based recommendations regarding the management of central venous catheter are the foundation of improved outcomes for critically ill patients.
Title Correlations between the Broad Autism Phenotype and Social Cognition among Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

) Takei, Y. , Terasaki , M. , & Noyori , N. (2010). Screening tools for assessing the social development of toddlers with pervasive developmental d isorders ―Differences in assessment cri teria and approach between parents and professionals―. Kawasaki Medical Welfare Journal , 20, 179-187. (In Japanese with Engl ish abstract .) Wakamatsu, A. (2003). Recognition of the facial expressions of surprise from moving displays by people with autistic disorder. School for Educational Studies , 9 , 89-96. (In Japanese with English abstract .)
Framing the Egyptian Uprising by Pan Arab News Networks: Tracing the Protest Paradigm in Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya’s coverage of Egyptian Protests from June 2013 to June 2014

The study explores the use of the protest paradigm indicating frames in the coverage of the Egyptian uprising between June 2013 and June, 2014 by Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya news networks. It also examines the shifts and variations in the way protests are framed in the news coverage of the websites of both networks. A structured content analysis is used to examine the shifts in adherence to the protest paradigm in the light of regime change and underlying ideological inclinations. Findings reveal that the extent to which hypothesized frames were used differed remarkably between and within both news websites indicating the use of and significant shifts in adherence to the protest paradigm.