Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capacity of Wireless Networks within o(log(SNR)) - the Impact of Relays, Feedback, Cooperation and Full-Duplex Operation

Recent work has characterized the sum capacity of time-varying/frequency-selective wireless interference networks and $X$ networks within $o(\log({SNR}))$, i.e., with an accuracy approaching 100% at high SNR (signal to noise power ratio). In this paper, we seek similar capacity characterizations for wireless networks with relays, feedback, full duplex operation, and transmitter/receiver cooperation through noisy channels. First, we consider a network with $S$ source nodes, $R$ relay nodes and $D$ destination nodes with random time-varying/frequency-selective channel coefficients and global channel knowledge at all nodes. We allow full-duplex operation at all nodes, as well as causal noise-free feedback of all received signals to all source and relay nodes. The sum capacity of this network is characterized as $\frac{SD}{S+D-1}\log({SNR})+o(\log({SNR}))$. The implication of the result is that the capacity benefits of relays, causal feedback, transmitter/receiver cooperation through physical channels and full duplex operation become a negligible fraction of the network capacity at high SNR. Some exceptions to this result are also pointed out in the paper. Second, we consider a network with $K$ full duplex nodes with an independent message from every node to every other node in the network. We find that the sum capacity of this network is bounded below by $\frac{K(K-1)}{2K-2}+o(\log({SNR}))$ and bounded above by $\frac{K(K-1)}{2K-3}+o(\log({SNR}))$.
K-complex identification in sleep EEG using MELM-GRBF classifier

K-complexes like spindles are hallmark patterns of stage 2 sleep. Due to correlation between these patterns and some diseases, it is necessary to develop algorithms to detect them. In this study, a new method is used to detect K-complexes automatically. 10 time-series and chaotic features were used in order to extract the K-complex waves from stage 2 sleep. To use the most effective features, feature space dimension is reduced with Sequential Forward Selection method. The reduced feature space is classified using Generalized Radial Basis Function Extreme Learning Machine (MELM-GRBF) algorithm. GRBFs make the modification of the RBF possible by adjusting a new parameter τ. We're applied this methodology to K-complex classification for the first time. The classifier gives noticeably better results compared to ELM-RBF method for sensitivity and accuracy 61.00 ± 6.6 and 96.15 ± 3.7, respectively.
Effect of Ca Level on the Formation of Silicon Phases during Solidification of Hypereutectic Al-Si Alloys

In this paper the effect of Ca on the formation of Si phases during solidification of commercial purity Al-15Si alloy was studied. The Ca impurity level of the commercial purity alloy was 200 ppm which was sufficient to lead to a modified Al-Si eutectic. After the addition of K2SiF6 flux the Ca impurity level was 20 ppm which was insufficient to modify the eutectic Si, but primary Si was refined from 48 µm to 20 µm. The refinement of primary Si in Al-15Si alloy fluxed with K2SiF6, suggests that when Ca level is reduced to less than 20 ppm the impurity level of P (≈20 ppm) in commercial purity hypereutectic Al-Si alloys is sufficient to refine the primary Si without any deliberate addition of P. In the case of adding 0.5 wt. % Ca to the Al-15Si alloy, the eutectic Si was highly modified and the primary Si was coarse and irregular in morphology (unrefined). The addition of such a high level of Ca led to enhanced quantities of entrained oxide inclusions/bifilms. The first phase to solidify was Al2CaSi2 which nucleated on the oxide bifilms. Primary Si then formed by nucleation and growth on the Al2CaSi2 particles.
Automatic speech recognition system channel modeling

In this paper, we present a systems approach for channel modeling of an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system. This can have implications in improving speech recognition components, such as through discriminative language modeling. We simulate the ASR corruption using a phrase-based machine translation system trained between the reference phoneme and output phoneme sequences of a real ASR. We demonstrate that local optimization on the quality of phoneme-to-phoneme mappings does not directly translate to overall improvement of the entire model. However, we are still able to capitalize on contextual information of the phonemes which a simple acoustic distance model is not able to accomplish. Hence we show that the use of longer context results in a significantly improved model of the ASR channel.
E2F4 Program Is Predictive of Progression and Intravesical Immunotherapy Efficacy in Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer is a common malignant disease, with non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) representing the majority of tumors. This cancer subtype is typically treated by transurethral resection. In spite of treatment, up to 70% of patients show local recurrences. Intravesical BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) immunotherapy has been widely used to treat NMIBC, but it fails to suppress recurrence of bladder tumors in up to 40% of patients. Therefore, the development of prognostic markers is needed to predict the progression of bladder cancer and the efficacy of intravesical BCG treatment. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of an E2F4 signature for prognostic prediction of bladder cancer. E2F4 scores for each sample in a bladder cancer expression dataset were calculated by summarizing the relative expression levels of E2F4 target genes identified by ChIP-seq, and then the scores were used to stratify patients into good- and poor-outcome groups. The molecular signature was investigated in a single bladder cancer dataset and then its effectiveness was confirmed in two meta-bladder datasets consisting of specimens from multiple independent studies. These results were consistent in different datasets and demonstrate that the E2F4 score is predictive of clinical outcomes in bladder cancer, with patients whose tumors exhibit an E2F4 score >0 having significantly shorter survival times than those with an E2F4 score <0, in both non–muscle-invasive, and muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Furthermore, although intravesical BCG immunotherapy can significantly improve the clinical outcome of NMIBC patients with positive E2F4 scores (E2F4>0 group), it does not show significant treatment effect for those with negative scores (E2F4<0 group). Implications: The E2F4 signature can be applied to predict the progression/recurrence and the responsiveness of patients to intravesical BCG immunotherapy in bladder cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 13(9); 1316–24. ©2015 AACR.
General practitioners' perceptions of the tolerability of antidepressant drugs: a comparison of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants

Abstract Objective: To examine inceptions and discontinuations of antidepressants in general practice. Design: An observational study analysing data from an ongoing cross sectional postal survey. Every three months a representative sample of 250 doctors recorded prescribing activity for four weeks. This provided 4000 general practitioner weeks of recording per year. Setting: A representative panel of general practitioners in England, Wales, and Scotland. Subjects: Patients who began a new course of an antidepressant or had their treatment stopped or changed by the general practitioner between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 1995. Main outcome measures: Numbers of patients prescribed a new course of antidepressant; numbers discontinuing treatment; the ratio of antidepressant discontinuations to antidepressant inceptions; reasons for discontinuation; proportion of switches to another antidepressant. Results: There were 13 619 inceptions and 3934 discontinuations of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants during the study. The number of newly prescribed courses of antidepressants increased by 116%, mostly due to an increase in prescribing of serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The ratio of total discontinuations to inceptions was significantly lower for serotonin reuptake inhibitors (22%) than for tricyclic antidepressants (33%). Differences persisted when controlled for age and sex of patients and severity of depression. However, there was more switching away from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors when they failed (72%) than from tricyclic antidepressants (58%). Conclusions: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are less likely than tricyclic antidepressants to be discontinued. A prospective study is needed in general practice to assess the implications of differences in discontinuation rates and switches on clinical and economic outcomes. Key messages The number of new prescriptions for antidepressants increased by 116% between 1990 and 1995, mostly due to increased prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors In an observational study in general practice the ratio of antidepressant discontinuations to antidepressant inceptions was lower for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors than for tricyclic antidepressants Data suggest that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are tolerated better in the general practice setting than tricyclic antidepressants However, there may be more switching away from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors when they fail (72% in this series) than from tricyclic antidepressants (58%) Prospective studies are required in general practice to evaluate the implications of differences in discontinuation rates and switching on clinical and economic outcomes
Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Modeling CNS Dysfunction

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is the most common monogenic disorder in which individuals manifest CNS abnormalities. Affected individuals develop glial neoplasms (optic gliomas, malignant astrocytomas) and neuronal dysfunction (learning disabilities, attention deficits). Nf1 genetically engineered mouse models have revealed the molecular and cellular underpinnings of gliomagenesis, attention deficit, and learning problems with relevance to basic neurobiology. Using NF1 as a model system, these studies have revealed critical roles for the NF1 gene in non-neoplastic cells in the tumor microenvironment, the importance of brain region heterogeneity, novel mechanisms of glial growth regulation, the neurochemical bases for attention deficit and learning abnormalities, and new insights into neural stem cell function. Here we review recent studies, presented at a symposium at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, that highlight unexpected cell biology insights into RAS and cAMP pathway effects on neural progenitor signaling, neuronal function, and oligodendrocyte lineage differentiation.
Psychometric properties of the IPAQ: a validation study in a sample of northern Franco-Ontarians.

BACKGROUND The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) has received significant attention since the late 1990s. As it currently stands, its long version has been translated in English, German, Icelandic, Korean, Polish, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese. However no data originating from the self-administered long version (last 7 days) of the IPAQ (IPAQ-SALV) is available for French Canadians. This study developed a self-administered long version (last 7 days) of the IPAQ in Canadian French (IPAQ-SALVCF) and assessed its psychometric properties. METHODS The original IPAQ-SALV was linguistically translated, back-translated, and then reviewed in a focus group to ensure its meaning had been retained. Data were collected on a sample of 34 Francophones from Northern Ontario, and the results compared with step counts assessed by 7-day pedometer recording. Test-retest reliability was examined with a 24-hour delay between questionnaire completion on day 8 and day 9 of the protocol. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing IPAQ-SALVCF (last 7 days) results to average step counts over a 7-day period. RESULTS Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) revealed that the IPAQ-SALVCF results were stable between days. The ICC for total activity scores was highest at 0.93 (CI: 0.86 to 0.97). Total activity scores were also significantly related to pedometer step counts (Pearson r = .66 P < .01). These results confirm those obtained in prior research. CONCLUSION The IPAQ-SALVCF is a reliable and valid measure of physical activity for French Canadians.
PKC-dependent Phosphorylation of the H1 Histamine Receptor Modulates TRPC6 Activity

Transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6) is a cation selective, DAG-regulated, Ca2+-permeable channel activated by the agonists of Gq-protein-coupled heptahelical receptors. Dysfunctions of TRPC6 are implicated in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular and kidney conditions such as vasospasm and glomerulosclerosis. When stimulated by agonists of the histamine H1 receptor (H1R), TRPC6 activity decays to the baseline despite the continuous presence of the agonist. In this study, we examined whether H1R desensitization contributes to regulating the decay rate of TRPC6 activity upon receptor stimulation. We employed the HEK expression system and a biosensor allowing us to simultaneously detect the changes in intracellular diacylglycerol (DAG) and Ca2+ concentrations. We found that the histamine-induced DAG response was biphasic, in which a transient peak was followed by maintained elevated plateau, suggesting that desensitization of H1R takes place in the presence of histamine. The application of PKC inhibitor Gö6983 slowed the decay rate of intracellular DAG concentration. Activation of the mouse H1R mutant lacking a putative PKC phosphorylation site, Ser399, responsible for the receptor desensitization, resulted in a prolonged intracellular DAG increase and greater Mn2+ influx through the TRPC6 channel. Thus, our data support the hypothesis that PKC-dependent H1R phosphorylation leads to a reduced production of intracellular DAG that contributes to TRPC6 activity regulation.
Dissecting the regulation of pollen tube growth by modeling the interplay of hydrodynamics, cell wall and ion dynamics

Hydrodynamics, cell wall and ion dynamics are all important properties that regulate pollen tube growth. Currently, the two main pollen tube growth models, the cell wall model and the hydrodynamic model do not appear to be reconcilable. Here we develop an integrative model for pollen tube growth and show that our model reproduces key experimental observations: (1) that the hypertonic condition leads to a much longer oscillatory period and that the hypotonic condition halves the oscillatory period; (2) that oscillations in turgor are experimentally undetectable; (3) that increasing the extracellular calcium concentration or decreasing the pH decreases the growth oscillatory amplitude; (4) that knockout of Raba4d, a member of the Rab family of small GTPase proteins, decreases pollen tube length after germination for 24 h. Using the model generated here, we reveal that (1) when cell wall extensibility is large, pollen tube may sustain growth at different volume changes and maintain relatively stable turgor; (2) turgor increases if cell wall extensibility decreases; (3) increasing turgor due to decrease in osmolarity in the media, although very small, increases volume change. However, increasing turgor due to decrease in cell wall extensibility decreases volume change. In this way regulation of pollen tube growth by turgor is context dependent. By changing the osmolarity in the media, the main regulatory points are extracellular osmolarity for water flow and turgor for the volume encompassed by the cell wall. However, if the viscosity of cell wall changes, the main regulatory points are turgor for water flow and wall extensibility for the volume encompassed by the cell wall. The novel methodology developed here reveals the underlying context-dependent regulatory principle of pollen tube growth.
Protection against a malaria challenge by sporozoite inoculation.

BACKGROUND An effective vaccine for malaria is urgently needed. Naturally acquired immunity to malaria develops slowly, and induction of protection in humans can be achieved artificially by the inoculation of radiation-attenuated sporozoites by means of more than 1000 infective mosquito bites. METHODS We exposed 15 healthy volunteers--with 10 assigned to a vaccine group and 5 assigned to a control group--to bites of mosquitoes once a month for 3 months while they were receiving a prophylactic regimen of chloroquine. The vaccine group was exposed to mosquitoes that were infected with Plasmodium falciparum, and the control group was exposed to mosquitoes that were not infected with the malaria parasite. One month after the discontinuation of chloroquine, protection was assessed by homologous challenge with five mosquitoes infected with P. falciparum. We assessed humoral and cellular responses before vaccination and before the challenge to investigate correlates of protection. RESULTS All 10 subjects in the vaccine group were protected against a malaria challenge with the infected mosquitoes. In contrast, patent parasitemia (i.e., parasites found in the blood on microscopical examination) developed in all five control subjects. Adverse events were mainly reported by vaccinees after the first immunization and by control subjects after the challenge; no serious adverse events occurred. In this model, we identified the induction of parasite-specific pluripotent effector memory T cells producing interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-2 as a promising immunologic marker of protection. CONCLUSIONS Protection against a homologous malaria challenge can be induced by the inoculation of intact sporozoites. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00442377.)
Mutational fitness effects in RNA and single-stranded DNA viruses: common patterns revealed by site-directed mutagenesis studies

The fitness effects of mutations are central to evolution, yet have begun to be characterized in detail only recently. Site-directed mutagenesis is a powerful tool for achieving this goal, which is particularly suited for viruses because of their small genomes. Here, I discuss the evolutionary relevance of mutational fitness effects and critically review previous site-directed mutagenesis studies. The effects of single-nucleotide substitutions are standardized and compared for five RNA or single-stranded DNA viruses infecting bacteria, plants or animals. All viruses examined show very low tolerance to mutation when compared with cellular organisms. Moreover, for non-lethal mutations, the mean fitness reduction caused by single mutations is remarkably constant (0.10–0.13), whereas the fraction of lethals varies only modestly (0.20–0.41). Other summary statistics are provided. These generalizations about the distribution of mutational fitness effects can help us to better understand the evolution of RNA and single-stranded DNA viruses.
SSA-based mobile code: Implementation and empirical evaluation

Although one might expect transportation formats based on static single-assignment form (SSA) to yield faster just-in-time compilation times than those based on stack-based virtual machines, this claim has not previously been validated, in practice. We attempt to quantify the effect of using an SSA-based mobile code representation by integrating support for a verifiable SSA-based IR into Jikes RVM. Performance results, measured with various optimizations and on both the IA32 and PowerPC, show improvements in both compilation time and code quality.
Using FB-LTAG Derivation Trees to Generate Transformation-Based Grammar Exercises

Using a Feature-Based Lexicalised Tree Adjoining Grammar (FB-LTAG), we present an approach for generating pairs of sentences that are related by a syntactic transformation and we apply this approach to create language learning exercises. We argue that the derivation trees of an FB-LTAG provide a good level of representation for capturing syntactic transformations. We relate our approach to previous work on sentence reformulation, question generation and grammar exercise generation. We evaluate precision and linguistic coverage. And we demonstrate the genericity of the proposal by applying it to a range of transformations including the Passive/Active transformation, the pronominalisation of an NP, the assertion / yes-no question relation and the assertion / wh-question transformation.
Interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based control of mechanical systems with underactuation degree one

We consider the problem of (asymptotic) stabilization of mechanical systems with underactuation degree one. A state-feedback design is derived applying the interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based control methodology. Its application relies on the possibility of solving a set of partial differential equations that identify the energy functions that can be assigned to the closed-loop. The following results are established: 1) identification - in terms of some algebraic inequalities - of a subclass of these systems for which the partial differential equations are trivially solved; 2) characterization of all systems which are feedback-equivalent to this subclass; and 3) introduction of a suitable parametrization of the assignable energy functions that provides the designer with a handle to address transient performance and robustness issues. An additional feature of our developments is that the open-loop system need not be described by a port-controlled Hamiltonian (or Lagrangian) model, a situation that arises often in applications due to model reductions or preliminary feedbacks that destroy the structure. The new result is applied to obtain an (almost) globally stabilizing controller for the inertia wheel pendulum, a controller for the chariot with pendulum system that can swing-up the pendulum from any position in the upper half plane and stop the chariot at any desired location, and an (almost) globally stabilizing scheme for the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with strong input coupling. In all cases we obtain very simple and intuitive solutions that do not rely on, rather unnatural and technique-driven, linearization or decoupling procedures but instead endows the closed-loop system with a Hamiltonian structure with desired potential and kinetic energy functions.
Positive Mood as a Mediator of the Relations among Musical Preference, Postconsumption Product Evaluation, and Consumer Satisfaction

This study of how positive mood mediates the influences of musical preference and postconsumption product evaluation on consumer satisfaction focuses specifically on a model in which positive mood fully mediates the influences. The proposed model is compared with two competing models, and a structural equation model is used to test and compare the three theory-driven models. This study sampled 247 students majoring in management at a single university. They had mean age of 23 yr. (SD = 2.5). This study used questionnaires to measure subjects' evaluations of a cup of coffee, preference for the music broadcast in the coffee shop, positive mood, and satisfaction after they had the coffee. Analysis indicated that the proposed model outperformed the two competing models in describing the data using chi-square difference tests. Positive mood was identified as a full mediator of the relationship between musical preference and consumer satisfaction. Moreover, the results demonstrate for service managers the importance of creating positive consumer mood.