Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal feedback updating period for Coordinated Multi-Point transmission schemes

This work concerns a limited feedback scheme taking into account the channel time-correlation during the feedback design in slow fading environment. We consider the Coordinated MultiPoint (COMP) system model with other-cell interference (OCI). We determine the feedback updating period which is triggered by the transmitters to enable the receiver to send the CSI. This updating period is function of the channel temporal correlation, available feedback bits, and the number of transmit antennas. An optimal updating period is derived such that it guarantees that the average signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) is greater than or equal to that of the conventional feedback scheme that does not adapt its feedback period to the temporal correlation. The numerical results show performance improvement in terms of overall capacity and feedback overhead reduction when comparing the proposed adaptive scheme with conventional feedback approaches.
Occupational lifting of heavy loads and preterm birth: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort

Objectives To examine the association between occupational lifting during pregnancy and preterm birth. The risk of preterm birth was estimated for total burden lifted per day and number of medium and heavy loads lifted per day. Methods In a study population of 62 803 pregnant women enrolled to the Danish National Birth Cohort from 1996 to 2002, the association between self-reported occupational lifting in the first part of pregnancy and preterm birth was analysed using logistic regression models with adjustment for age, parity, cervical cone biopsy, assisted reproduction and smoking. Associations between lifting and extremely (before 28 weeks), very (28–32 weeks) and moderately (33–37 weeks) preterm birth were analysed using Cox regression models. Results We found a dose–response relation between total daily burden lifted and preterm birth with an OR of 1.50 (95% CI 1.03 to 2.19) with loads over 1000 kg/day. No threshold value was found. The associations were strongest for extremely and very preterm birth with HRs (95% CIs) of 4.3 (1.4 to 13.8) and 1.7 (0.7 to 4.0), respectively. Lifting heavy loads (>20 kg) more than10 times/day was associated with preterm birth up to an OR of 2.03 (95% CI 1.14 to 3.62). Conclusion In a society with social welfare and a highly regulated working environment, occupational lifting was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth.
Effect of Fuel Treatments on Fuels and Potential Fire Behavior in California, USA, National Forests

In many parts of California, past timber harvesting, livestock grazing practices, and fire exclusion have changed the fire regime from low to mixed severity to a high severity regime with an increase in active crown fire. Land managers responded by implementing hazardous fuel treatment projects to reduce the risk of such uncharacteristic stand-replacing crown fires. Various fuel treatments have been implemented using either mechanical methods or prescribed fire in forested ecosystems across 14 national forests in California, USA. Mechanical treatments significantly altered forest structure (tree density, 75th percentile quadratic mean diameter, canopy cover, canopy base height, and canopy bulk density) and generally increased surface fuel loads as compared to pre-treatment conditions. Prescribed fire significantly reduced ground and surface fuel loads and increased canopy base height, but did not appreciably alter other forest structure metrics. The changes in forest and fuel structures from prescribed fire reduced predicted fire behavior metrics (fire type, flame length, fireline intensity, and rate of spread); mechanical methods showed mixed effects on resulting fire behavior metrics. Modeled fire type, in addition to predicted flame length, fireline intensity, and rate of spread, is an essential metric for managers when choosing where to implement fuel treatments and for assessing the effectiveness of completed treatments. Under 90th percentile windspeed, out of the five forest treatment combinations, three exhibited some passive crown fire before treatment and only one exhibited passive crown fire after treatment. Using gusting windspeed, four of the five combinations maintain the potential for crown fire (passive or conditional) after treatment. If reducing the potential for uncharacteristic crown fire is the main priority for fuel treatments, it might be beneficial to prioritize areas with elevated risk and to combine both mechanical methods and prescribed fire in order to achieve desired fire behavior under more extreme conditions.
Ultrasonic backscatter from cancellous bone: the apparent backscatter transfer function

Ultrasonic backscatter techniques are being developed to detect changes in cancellous bone caused by osteoporosis. Many techniques are based on measurements of the apparent backscatter transfer function (ABTF), which represents the backscattered power from bone corrected for the frequency response of the measurement system. The ABTF is determined from a portion of the backscatter signal selected by an analysis gate of width τw delayed by an amount τd from the start of the signal. The goal of this study was to characterize the ABTF for a wide range of gate delays (1 μs ≤ τ<sub>d</sub> ≤ 6 μs) and gate widths (1 μs ≤ τw ≤ 6 μs). Measurements were performed on 29 specimens of human cancellous bone in the frequency range 1.5 to 6.0 MHz using a broadband 5-MHz transducer. The ABTF was found to be an approximately linear function of frequency for most choices of τd and τw. Changes in τd and τw caused the frequency-averaged ABTF [quantified by apparent integrated backscatter (AIB)] and the frequency dependence of the ABTF [quantified by frequency slope of apparent backscatter (FSAB)] to change by as much as 24.6 dB and 6.7 dB/MHz, respectively. τd strongly influenced the measured values of AIB and FSAB and the correlation of AIB with bone density (-0.95 ≤ R ≤ +0.68). The correlation of FSAB with bone density was influenced less strongly by τ<sub>d</sub> (-0.97 ≤ R ≤ -0.87). τ<sub>w</sub> had a weaker influence than τd on the measured values of AIB and FSAB and the correlation of these parameters with bone density.
Negative regulation of retinal-neurite extension by β-catenin signaling pathway

Although there have been many studies on the regulation of neurite extension in mouse brain, such a mechanism in neural retina has remained to be clarified. To delineate the role of Wnt signaling in retinal development, we used a retrovirus-vector-mediated expression system to express various mutants forms of Wnt signaling members in E17.5 mouse retinal explant cultures, which are an excellent system to examine retinal development in vitro. Expression of constitutively active β-catenin or Lef-1 in the retinal cells resulted in failure of neurite extension, suggesting that β-catenin negatively regulates neurite extension in the retina through Lef-1 transcriptional activity. However, proliferation and differentiation of retinal cells into mature retinal cells such as rod-photoreceptor cells and Muller glia cells were not affected by perturbation of the Wnt-Lef-1 pathway. As in retinal cells, activation of β-catenin-Lef-1 signaling inhibited NGF-induced neurite extension in PC12 cells without affecting their proliferation. Interestingly, the Wnt-Lef-1 signaling pathway suppressed neurite extension without affecting Mek-1 signal activity, which is known to promote neurite extension. We found that MAPK was activated in retinal explant cultures, but that perturbation of MAPK signals did not affect neurite extension. Taken together, our data suggest that the Wnt pathway functions in proper neurite extension by opposing positive signals for promotion of neurite extension that are distinct from those of the MAPK pathway.
The Moderating Effects of Work Control and Leisure Control on the Recovery-Strain Relationship

The Moderating Effects of Work Control and Leisure Control On the Recovery-Strain Relationship Jaber, Jason N. , M.A. Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2012 The purpose of the current study is to improve understanding of the process of recovery from work related stress by examining work and leisure control as moderating variables of the recovery-strain relationship. This study examines the relationships between control (work/leisure), recovery experiences (mastery/detachment), and strain outcomes (need for recovery/psychological distress). Moderation multiple regression analyses (N= 233) reveal that work control moderates the relationship between mastery and psychological distress, mastery and need for recovery, as well as the relationship between psychological detachment and need for recovery. It appears that among individuals high in work control, mastery is related to lower psychological distress and need for recovery than those with low work control. Results also indicate that at low levels of work control, the negative relationship between psychological detachment and need for recovery is stronger than at high levels of work control. Thus, it appears that engaging in psychological detachment is more important for employees with low levels of work control than those with high levels of work control. Important implications for organizations and its employees can be drawn from this research. CONTROL AND THE RECOVERY-STRAIN RELATIONSHIP 4
Relative toxicity of beta blockers in overdose.

OBJECTIVE To compare the toxicity of beta blockers in overdose and to identify clinical features predictive of serious toxicity. DESIGN Comparison of clinical data collected prospectively on a relational database of subjects presenting to hospital with self-poisoning, coroner's data and prescription data. SETTING Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Australia, 1987-1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Death, seizure, cardiovascular collapse, hypoglycemia, coma and respiratory depression. SUBJECTS Fifty-eight self-poisonings with beta blockers and two deaths investigated by the coroner with evidence of propranolol poisoning. RESULTS All patients who developed toxicity did so within six hours of ingestion. The use of ipecac was temporally associated with cardiorespiratory arrest in one patient. Propranolol was the only beta blocker associated with seizure; of those who ingested more than 2 g of propranolol, two thirds had a seizure. There was a significant association between a QRS duration of > 100 ms and risk of seizures. Propranolol was over represented in beta blocker poisoning when prescription data were also examined. Propranolol was the only beta blocker associated with death. Propranolol was taken by a younger age group. CONCLUSIONS Propranolol should be avoided in patients at risk of self-poisoning. Propranolol poisonings should be observed closely for the first six hours post ingestion. Syrup of ipecac should not be used to decontaminate the gastrointestinal tract after beta blocker overdose.
Prevalence and Survival of Myelodysplastic Syndrome of the Refractory Anemia Type in Hospitalized Cognitively Different Geriatric Patients

Background: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is predominantly a disease of old age. The number of MDS cases diagnosed over the last 20 years has risen substantially due to increased awareness and improved geriatric care. Although MDS is increasingly diagnosed, the prevalence and prognosis of early-stage affected elderly are not completely known. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence, characteristics and prognosis of newly diagnosed MDS patients hospitalized in an acute and subacute geriatric department. Methods: Between 1993 and 1996, 3,275 patients hospitalized in the geriatric department of a teaching hospital for acute care or short-term rehabilitation were investigated for unexplained hematological abnormalities. Demographic, chronic comorbidities, cause of hospitalization, functional and cognitive status, hematological and other laboratory parameters were collected. Results: Two hundred and forty-five (7.5%) patients had unexplained cytopenia, macrocytosis or monocytosis, of whom 37 (15%) were diagnosed as having MDS. Only 9 patients were hospitalized for evaluation of anemia, 28 for infections, cardiac, cerebrovascular events and other causes. Thirty-four patients had refractory anemia (RA), two had RA with ringed sideroblasts and 1 had RA with an excess of blasts (RAEB). The follow-up period was up to 70 months. No differences were found between demented and cognitively normal patients in age, sex, comorbidities or laboratory parameters. Comparison of survival curves (excluding the RAEB case) according to demographic, clinical and hematological parameters has shown that only dementia adversely affects survival, compared to cognitively normal patients (p = 0.024). Conclusions: MDS of the RA type is a common and incidental finding in older hospitalized patients. It is a frequent cause of anemia and other hematological abnormalities but has less significance on survival rates than dementia, although its full impact remains to be determined.
Ultrasound Stimulates Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression and Increases Bone Formation through Integrin, Focal Adhesion Kinase, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase, and Akt Pathway in Osteoblasts

It has been shown that ultrasound (US) stimulation accelerates fracture healing in animal models and in clinical studies. Here we found that US stimulation transiently increased the surface expression of α2, α5, β1, and β3 integrins in cultured osteoblasts, as shown by flow cytometric analysis and immunofluorescence staining. US stimulation increased prostaglandin E2 formation and the protein and mRNA levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). At the mechanistic level, anti-integrin α5β1 and αvβ3 antibodies or rhodostomin, a snake venom disintegrin, attenuated the US-induced COX-2 expression. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors 2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-1(4H)-benzopyran-4-one hydrochloride (LY294002) and wortmannin also inhibited the potentiating action of US. US stimulation increased the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), p85 subunit of PI3K, and serine 473 of Akt. COX-2 promoter activity was enhanced by US stimulation in cells transfected with pCOX2-Luc. Cotransfection with dominant-negative mutant of FAK(Y397F), p85(Δp85), Akt(K179A), or ERK2(K52R) inhibited the potentiating action of US on COX-2 promoter activity. Expression of mineralized nodule was lower in dominant-negative mutants of FAK, p85, and Akt-transfected clones than in vector-transfected control cells. Taken together, our results provide evidence that US stimulation increases COX-2 expression and promotes bone formation in osteoblasts via the integrin/FAK/PI3K/Akt and ERK signaling pathway.
Landmark-based pronunciation error identification on Chinese learning

This paper explores a novel approach of identifying pronunciation errors for the second language (L2) learners based on the landmark theory of human speech perception. Earlier works on the selection method of distinctive features and the likelihood-based “goodness of pronunciation” (GOP) measurement have gained progress in several L2 languages, e.g. Dutch and English. However, the improvement of performance is limited due to error-prone automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems and less distinguishable features. Landmark theory posits the existence of quantal nonlinearities in the articulatory-acoustic relationship, and provides a basis of selecting landmark positions that are suitable for identifying pronunciation errors. By leveraging this English acoustic landmark theory, we pro-pose to select Mandarin Chinese salient phonetic landmarks for the Top-16 frequently mispronounced phonemes by Japanese (L1) learners, and extract features at those landmarks including mel-frequency cepstral coefﬁcients (MFCC) and formants. Both cross validation and evaluation are performed for individual phonemes using support vector machine with linear kernel. Experiments illustrate that our landmark-based approaches achieve higher micro-average f1 score signiﬁcantly than GOP-based methods.
The Effect of Language Learning Strategies on Proficiency, Attitudes and School Achievement

This study examines language learning strategy (LLS) use in connexion with foreign language attitude, proficiency and general school achievement among lower secondary students in Years 5 and 8 (n = 868) in Hungary. An adapted version of the Strategies Inventory for Language Learning questionnaire was used for data collection. The results showed that Hungarian students mainly engage in metacognitive strategies in both years. Differences between more and less proficient language learners’ strategy use have also been found. With regard to the effect of LLS on foreign language attitude, the foreign language mark and school achievement, path analysis indicated a good fit in both years. The metacognitive, social and memory strategies primarily influenced foreign language attitudes and marks in Year 5. The metacognitive strategies had a slight impact on school achievement as well as on foreign language marks. We demonstrated the dominant effect of metacognitive strategies and the low effect of memory strategies in Year 8. In addition, metacognitive strategies also influenced foreign language marks. The effect of foreign language marks on school achievement was also remarkable. There was a strong impact on the children’s attitudes through these variables.
Efficient Clearance of Aspergillus fumigatus in Murine Lungs by an Ultrashort Antimicrobial Lipopeptide, Palmitoyl-Lys-Ala-dAla-Lys

ABSTRACT Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised individuals. The inefficiency of antifungal agents and high mortality rate resulting from invasive aspergillosis remain major clinical concerns. Recently, we reported on a new family of ultrashort cationic lipopeptides active in vitro against fungi. Mode of action studies supported a membranolytic or a detergent-like effect. Here, we screened several lipopeptides in vitro for their anti-A. fumigatus activity. To investigate the therapeutic properties of the selected peptides in vivo, we challenged immunosuppressed C57BL/6 wild-type mice intranasally with DsRed-labeled A. fumigatus conidia and subsequently treated the animals locally with the lipopeptides. Confocal microscopic analysis revealed the degradation of DsRed-labeled hyphal forms and residual conidia in the lungs of the mice. The most efficient peptide was tested further using a survival assay and was found to significantly prolong the life of the treated animals, whereas no mice survived with the current standard antifungal treatment with amphotericin B. Moreover, as opposed to the drug-treated lungs, the peptide-treated lungs did not display any toxicity of the peptide. Our results highlight the potential of this family of lipopeptides for the treatment of pulmonary invasive aspergillosis.
Repellent Activities of Essential Oils of Some Plants Used Traditionally to Control the Brown Ear Tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus

Essential oils of eight plants, selected after an ethnobotanical survey conducted in Bukusu community in Bungoma County, western Kenya (Tagetes minuta, Tithonia diversifolia, Juniperus procera, Solanecio mannii, Senna didymobotrya, Lantana camara, Securidaca longepedunculata, and Hoslundia opposita), were initially screened (at two doses) for their repellence against brown ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, using a dual-choice climbing assay. The oils of T. minuta and T. diversifolia were then selected for more detailed study. Dose-response evaluations of these oils showed that T. minuta oil was more repellent (RD50 = 0.0021 mg) than that of T. diversifolia (RD50 = 0.263 mg). Gas chromatography-linked mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analyses showed different compositions of the two oils. T. minuta oil is comprised mainly of cis-ocimene (43.78%), dihydrotagetone (16.71%), piperitenone (10.15%), trans-tagetone (8.67%), 3,9-epoxy-p-mentha-1,8(10)diene (6.47%), β-ocimene (3.25%), and cis-tagetone (1.95%), whereas T. diversifolia oil is comprised mainly of α-pinene (63.64%), β-pinene (15.00%), isocaryophyllene (7.62%), nerolidol (3.70%), 1-tridecanol (1.75%), limonene (1.52%), and sabinene (1.00%). The results provide scientific rationale for traditional use of raw products of these plants in controlling livestock ticks by the Bukusu community and lay down some groundwork for exploiting partially refined products such as essential oils of these plants in protecting cattle against infestations with R. appendiculatus.
SOLVING THE TRAVELLING SALESMAN PROBLEM WITH A HOPFIELD-TYPE NEURAL NETWORK

In this paper a modification of the Hopfield neural network solving the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) is proposed. Two strategies employed to achieve the solution and results of the computer simulations are presented. The network exhibits good performance in escaping from local minima of the energy surface of the problem. With a judicious choice of network internal parameters nearly 100% convergence to valid tours is achieved. Extensive simulations indicate that the quality of results is independent on the initial state of
Constraints to Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Negotiation Strategies in Turkish Women

Abstract With the changing roles of women in Turkey, opportunities for leisure-time physical activity experiences appear to be increasing. Focus groups and individual interviews with active Turkish women were analyzed as part of a larger project aimed to examine cultural and social factors that influence Turkish women's participation in LTPA. These women experienced several constraints such as family responsibilities, ethic of care, time, social approval and economics. The study also revealed nuances of these constraints reflecting the tension between the traditional and contemporary Turkish society and, in particular, related to perceptions surrounding cultural and religious ideologies. Socioeconomic status coupled with stricter adherence to Islam seemed to underline the differences between these women and Western women studied in previous research.
Activity of Trifluoperazine against Replicating, Non-Replicating and Drug Resistant M. tuberculosis

Trifluoperazine, a knowm calmodulin antagonist, belongs to a class of phenothiazine compounds that have multiple sites of action in mycobacteria including lipid synthesis, DNA processes, protein synthesis and respiration. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of TFP to be used as a lead molecule for development of novel TB drugs by showing its efficacy on multiple drug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) and non-replicating dormant M.tb. Wild type and MDR M.tb were treated with TFP under different growth conditions of stress like low pH, starvation, presence of nitric oxide and in THP-1 infection model. Perturbation in growth kinetics of bacilli at different concentrations of TFP was checked to determine the MIC of TFP for active as well as dormant bacilli. Results show that TFP is able to significantly reduce the actively replicating as well as non-replicating bacillary load. It has also shown inhibitory effect on the growth of MDR M.tb. TFP has shown enhanced activity against intracellular bacilli, presumably because phenothiazines are known to get accumulated in macrophages. This concentration was, otherwise, found to be non-toxic to macrophage in vitro. Our results show that TFP has the potential to be an effective killer of both actively growing and non-replicating bacilli including MDR TB. Further evaluation and in vivo studies with Trifluoperazine can finally help us know the feasibility of this compound to be used as either a lead compound for development of new TB drugs or as an adjunct in the current TB chemotherapy.