Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Informational Analysis for Compressive Sampling in Radar Imaging

Compressive sampling or compressed sensing (CS) works on the assumption of the sparsity or compressibility of the underlying signal, relies on the trans-informational capability of the measurement matrix employed and the resultant measurements, operates with optimization-based algorithms for signal reconstruction and is thus able to complete data compression, while acquiring data, leading to sub-Nyquist sampling strategies that promote efficiency in data acquisition, while ensuring certain accuracy criteria. Information theory provides a framework complementary to classic CS theory for analyzing information mechanisms and for determining the necessary number of measurements in a CS environment, such as CS-radar, a radar sensor conceptualized or designed with CS principles and techniques. Despite increasing awareness of information-theoretic perspectives on CS-radar, reported research has been rare. This paper seeks to bridge the gap in the interdisciplinary area of CS, radar and information theory by analyzing information flows in CS-radar from sparse scenes to measurements and determining sub-Nyquist sampling rates necessary for scene reconstruction within certain distortion thresholds, given differing scene sparsity and average per-sample signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Simulated studies were performed to complement and validate the information-theoretic analysis. The combined strategy proposed in this paper is valuable for information-theoretic orientated CS-radar system analysis and performance evaluation.
Downregulation of IL-12 Production in Healthy Non-Responder Neonates to Recombinant Hepatitis B Vaccine

A proportion of healthy neonates and adults fail to develop a protective antibody response to recombinant hepatitis B (HB) vaccine. Unresponsiveness to vaccination could be attributed to defect in a number of immunological regulatory mechanisms. In this study, IL-12 was quantitated in culture supernatant following in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from a group of responder and nonresponder neonates. Our results indicate significantly decreased production of HBsAg-induced IL-12 in nonresponder subjects compared to responders (P<0.01). Since IL-12 is produced mainly by antigen presenting cells (APC) and is considered to be crucial for initiation and polarization of CD4+ T-cell function, therefore, our findings could be interpreted to imply APC dysfunction in non-responder vaccinees. Iran. Biomed. J. 8 (1): 41-45, 2004
Effects of confinement on models of intracellular macromolecular dynamics

Significance We use Brownian and Stokesian dynamics simulations to explore diffusion processes within an idealized biological cell. Although most studies assume processes occurring in an infinite medium, we focus on the effect that confinement within a cellular membrane may have on intracellular dynamics. One finding is that model proteins near the membrane tend to diffuse along the membrane; this may give additional time for signal transduction across the membrane to occur. We also observe more strongly correlated motions near the membrane than in the cell’s interior, potentially facilitating interactions between proteins there. Finally, we find that deep in the interior of the model cell, the confining effects of the finite size of a cell on the dynamics can be neglected. The motions of particles in a viscous fluid confined within a spherical cell have been simulated using Brownian and Stokesian dynamics simulations. High volume fractions mimicking the crowded interior of biological cells were used. Importantly, although confinement yields an overall slowdown in motion, the qualitative effects of motion in the interior of the cell can be effectively modeled as if the system were an infinite periodic system. However, we observe layering of particles at the cell wall due to steric interactions in the confined space. Motions of nearby particles are also strongly correlated at the cell wall, and these correlations increase when hydrodynamic interactions are modeled. Further, particles near the cell wall have a tendency to remain near the cell wall. A consequence of these effects is that the mean contact time between particles is longer at the cell wall than in the interior of the cell. These findings identify a specific way that confinement affects the interactions between particles and points to a previously unidentified mechanism that may play a role in signal transduction and other processes near the membrane of biological cells.
Acamprosate and Baclofen were Not Effective in the Treatment of Pathological Gambling: Preliminary Blind Rater Comparison Study

Objectives: Pathological gambling (PG) is a highly prevalent and disabling impulse control disorder. A range of psychopharmacological options are available for the treatment of PG, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, opioid receptor antagonists, anti-addiction drugs, and mood stabilizers. In our preliminary study, we examined the efficacy of two anti-addiction drugs, baclofen and acamprosate, in the treatment of PG. Materials and Methods: Seventeen male gamblers were randomly divided into two groups. Each group received one of the two drugs without being blind to treatment. All patients underwent a comprehensive psychiatric diagnostic evaluation and completed a series of semi-structured interviews. During the 6-months of study, monthly evaluations were carried out to assess improvement and relapses. Relapse was defined as recurrent gambling behavior. Results: None of the 17 patients reached the 6-months abstinence. One patient receiving baclofen sustained abstinence for 4 months. Fourteen patients succeeded in sustaining abstinence for 1–3 months. Two patients stopped attending monthly evaluations. Conclusion: Baclofen and acamprosate did not prove efficient in treating pathological gamblers.
A multiplicative multifractal model for TCP traffic

previous studies have shown that TCP traffic displays strong multifractal scaling. However a physical explanation of why such a behavior occurs is still elusive. We propose a cascade model that is based on the retransmission and congestion avoidance mechanisms of TCP. At the same time, it relates to the physical, tree-like organization of networks. This model allows one to relate the most salient multifractal features with basic traffic parameters as the round trip time (RTT) and the loss probability. Numerical experiments confirm that such a parsimonious model is able to give a satisfactory explanation for a number of features pertaining to multifractality, including the range of scales where it is observed. We believe these results open the way to a more profound understanding of the small time scale properties of TCP traffic.
Investigating Physicians ' Compliance with Drug Prescription Notifications

Special Issue Tsipi Heart Ben-Gurion University of the Negev heart@bgu.ac. il Yisrael Parmet Ben-Gurion University of the Negev iparmet@bgu.ac. il Nava Pliskin Ben-Gurion University of the Negev pliskinn@bgu.ac. il The objective of this study was to investigate physicians' compliance with recommendations for drug substitutes embedded within an electronic medical record, to assess factors affecting compliance, and to evaluate associated cost savings. An exploratory study of all physicians in all clinics operated by a large health maintenance organization (HMO) was conducted using a transparent computerized agent that collected 1.21 million prescriptions prescribed by 647 physicians. Compliance with HMO recommendations for substitute drugs reached a 70 percent rate. Substitute type, whether generic or therapeutic, was found to be the most significant factor affecting compliance, with physician workload and age second and third in effect magnitude, respectively. Compliance was found to be non-automatic and selective, following a thoughtful cognitive process. The HMO realized at least a 4 percent reduction in costs for prescribed drugs as a result of compliance with substitute recommendations. The results can be interpreted via the lens of Organizational Justice Theory, assuming that the broad compliance with generic substitutes was driven by perception of just procedures, whereas there was no such perception in the case of therapeutic substitutes. While more research is warranted for investigating the motivations driving physicians' compliance, we strongly feel that the results can be generalized to other HMOs and healthcare settings.
HIC1 Tumor Suppressor Loss Potentiates TLR2/NF-κB Signaling and Promotes Tissue Damage–Associated Tumorigenesis

Hypermethylated in cancer 1 (HIC1) represents a prototypic tumor suppressor gene frequently inactivated by DNA methylation in many types of solid tumors. The gene encodes a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor controlling expression of several genes involved in cell cycle or stress control. In this study, a Hic1 allele was conditionally deleted, using a Cre/loxP system, to identify genes influenced by the loss of Hic1. One of the transcripts upregulated upon Hic1 ablation is the toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Tlr2 expression levels increased in Hic1-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) and cultured intestinal organoids or in human cells upon HIC1 knockdown. In addition, HIC1 associated with the TLR2 gene regulatory elements, as detected by chromatin immunoprecipitation, indicating that Tlr2 indeed represents a direct Hic1 target. The Tlr2 receptor senses “danger” signals of microbial or endogenous origin to trigger multiple signaling pathways, including NF-κB signaling. Interestingly, Hic1 deficiency promoted NF-κB pathway activity not only in cells stimulated with Tlr2 ligand, but also in cells treated with NF-κB activators that stimulate different surface receptors. In the intestine, Hic1 is mainly expressed in differentiated epithelial cells and its ablation leads to increased Tlr2 production. Finally, in a chemical-induced mouse model of carcinogenesis, Hic1 absence resulted in larger Tlr2-positive colonic tumors that showed increased proportion of proliferating cells. Implications: The tumor-suppressive function of Hic1 in colon is related to its inhibitory action on proproliferative signaling mediated by the Tlr2 receptor present on tumor cells. Mol Cancer Res; 13(7); 1139–48. ©2015 AACR.
Benefit of Oral Anticoagulant Over Antiplatelet Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation Depends on the Quality of International Normalized Ratio Control Achieved by Centers and Countries as Measured by Time in Therapeutic Range

Background— Oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy is effective in atrial fibrillation but requires vigilance to maintain the international normalized ratio in the therapeutic range. This report examines how differences in time in therapeutic range (TTR) between centers and between countries affect the outcomes of OAC therapy. Methods and Results— In a posthoc analysis, the TTRs of patients on OAC in a randomized trial of OAC versus clopidogrel plus aspirin (Atrial Fibrillation Clopidogrel Trial With Irbesartan for Prevention of Vascular Events [ACTIVE W]) were used to calculate the mean TTR for each of 526 centers and 15 countries. Proportional-hazards analysis, with and without adjustment for baseline variables, was performed, with patients stratified by TTR quartile and country. A wide variation in TTRs was found between centers, with mean TTRs for centers in the 4 quartiles of 44%, 60%, 69%, and 78%. For patients at centers below the median TTR (65%), no treatment benefit was demonstrated as measured by relative risk for vascular events of clopidogrel plus aspirin versus OAC (relative risk, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.70 to 1.24; P=0.61). However, for patients at centers with a TTR above the study median, OAC had a marked benefit, reducing vascular events by >2-fold (relative risk, 2.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.61 to 2.85; P<0.0001). Mean TTR also varied between countries from 46% to 78%; relative risk (clopidogrel plus aspirin versus OAC) varied from 0.6 to 3.6 (a 5-fold difference). A population-average model predicted that a TTR of 58% would be needed to be confident that patients would benefit from being on OAC. Conclusions— A wide variation exists in international normalized ratio control, as measured by TTR, between clinical centers and between countries, which has a major impact on the treatment benefit of OAC therapy. For centers and countries, a target threshold TTR exists (estimated between 58% and 65%) below which there appears to be little benefit of OAC over antiplatelet therapy.
Effect of Intensive Training With a pring-Assisted Hand Orthosis on Movement Smoothness in Upper Extremity Following Stroke: A Pilot Clinical Trial

Abstract Background: A commercial splinting system is designed to permit quick training in opening and closing the affected hand in order to overcome the disadvantages of previous approaches. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of intensive training using a spring-assisted hand orthosis on upper extremity in individuals with chronic hemiparetic stroke. Design: Five participants for the experimental group and 5 for the control group were recruited from a local rehabilitation hospital. Subjects in the experimental group participated in 4 weeks of training using a SaeboFlex orthosis for 1 hour per day, 5 times per week. Each subject in the control group wore the same orthosis for 1 hour per day without participating in upper extremity training. Outcome measures included the Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Box and Block Test, and Action Research Arm Test; kinematic parameters were collected using a 3-D motion analysis system. Results: The Fugl-Meyer assessment and the Box and Block Test score were increased significantly in the experimental group after the intervention. The resultant velocity of the wrist joint for the reach-to-grasp task decreased significantly, and the resultant velocity of the shoulder joint while performing a reach-to-grasp task at acromion height decreased significantly in the experimental group. Conclusion: A pilot clinical study of spring-assisted dynamic hand orthosis training is feasible in recovering the movement of the hemiparetic upper extremity.
Performing Replacement in Modem Pools

We examine a policy for managing modem pools that disconnects users only if not enough modems are available for other users to connect. Managing the modem pool then becomes a replacement problem, similar to buffer cache management (e.g., in virtual memory systems). When a new connection request is received, the system needs to find a user to "replace". In this paper we examine such demand-disconnect schemes using extensive activity data from actual ISPs. We discuss various replacement policies and propose CIRG: a novel replacement algorithm that is well suited for modem pools. In general, the choice of algorithm is significant. A naive algorithm (e.g., one that randomly replaces any user who has been inactive for a while) incurs many tens of percent more "faults" (i.e., disconnections of users who are likely to want to be active again soon) than the LRU algorithm, which, in turn, incurs 10% more faults than CIRG. For good replacement algorithms, the impact can be significant in terms of resource requirements. We show that the same standards of service as a system that does not disconnect idle users can be achieved with up to 13% fewer modems.
Role of interfacial layer thickness on high-κ dielectric-based MOS devices

An attempt has been made to investigate the role of interfacial layer (IL) and its thickness on HfO2-based high-κ metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices. The capacitance–voltage (C–V) and current–voltage (I–V) characteristics have been simulated using Sentaurus TCAD software for two different IL thicknesses and at different substrate temperatures and doping concentrations. The device performance is found to be improved for an IL thickness of 1 nm at higher temperature but deteriorates with further increase in IL thickness. The capacitance value decreases with the increase in IL thickness and a flatband voltage shift (Vfb) due to the presence of interfacial charges at IL of higher thickness is observed. The analysis of I–V curve further shows that the leakage current change is more prominent at lower temperature for different IL thickness. The temperature dependence C–V curves show that the presence of 1 nm IL makes the device more reliable at elevated temperature.
Effects of Vibration Fatigue on Compression Strength of Corrugated Fiberboard Containers for Packaging of Fruits during Transport

Purpose: The compression strength of corrugated fiberboard containers used to package agricultural products rapidly decreases owing to various environmental factors encountered during the distribution of unitized products. The main factors affecting compression strength are moisture absorption, long-term top load, and fatigue caused by shock and vibration during transport. This study characterized the durability of corrugated fiberboard containers for packaging fruits and vegetables under simulated transportation conditions. Methods: Compression tests were done after corrugated fiberboard containers containing fruit were vibrated by an electro-dynamic vibration test system using the power spectral density of routes typically traveled to transport fruits and vegetables in South Korea. Results: To predict loss of compression strength owing to vibration fatigue, a multiple nonlinear regression equation ($r^2
Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control: Network-Aware Analysis of String Stability

In this paper, we consider a Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) system, which regulates intervehicle distances in a vehicle string, for achieving improved traffic flow stability and throughput. Improved performance can be achieved by utilizing information exchange between vehicles through wireless communication in addition to local sensor measurements. However, wireless communication introduces network-induced imperfections, such as transmission delays, due to the limited bandwidth of the network and the fact that multiple nodes are sharing the same medium. Therefore, we approach the design of a CACC system from a Networked Control System (NCS) perspective and present an NCS modeling framework that incorporates the effect of sampling, hold, and network delays that occur due to wireless communication and sampled-data implementation of the CACC controller over this wireless link. Based on this network-aware modeling approach, we develop a technique to study the so-called string stability property of the string, in which vehicles are interconnected by a vehicle following control law and a constant time headway spacing policy. This analysis technique can be used to investigate tradeoffs between CACC performance (string stability) and network specifications (such as delays), which are essential in the multidisciplinary design of CACC controllers. Finally, we demonstrate the validity of the presented framework in practice by experiments performed with CACC-equipped prototype vehicles.
In vivo 3D human vocal fold imaging with polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography and a MEMS scanning catheter

We present in-vivo 3D human vocal fold images with polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). Characterizing the extent and location of vocal fold lesions provides useful information in guiding surgeons during phonomicrosurgery. Previous studies showed that PS-OCT imaging can distinguish vocal fold lesions from normal tissue, but these studies were limited to 2D cross-sectional imaging and were susceptible to sampling error. In-vivo 3D endoscopic imaging was performed by using a recently developed 2-axis MEMS scanning catheter and a spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT), running at 18.5 frames/s. Imaging was performed in the operating room with patients under general anesthesia and 3D images were acquired either by 2D scanning of the scanner on the sites of interest or by combining 1D scanning and manual sliding to capture whole length of the vocal fold. Vocal fold scar, polyps, nodules, papilloma and malignant lesions were imaged and characteristics of individual lesions were analyzed in terms of spatial distribution and variation of tissue structure and birefringence. The 3D large sectional PS-OCT imaging showed that the spatial extent of vocal fold lesions can be found non-invasively with good contrast from normal tissue.
Dependence of Curie temperature on the thickness of an ultrathin ferroelectric film

The thickness dependency of the Curie temperature in stress-free $\text{Pb}({\text{Zr}}_{0.5}{\text{Ti}}_{0.5}){\text{O}}_{3}$ ultrathin films under open-circuit conditions is revealed from the computation of some nontrivial statistical quantities (such as fourth-order cumulants), via a first-principles-based technique. For thicknesses above $16\text{ }\text{\AA{}}$, this dependency follows the usual finite-size scaling law with a critical exponent that is consistent with the one associated with the three-dimensional-random-Ising universality class. On the other hand, the Curie temperature-versus-film's thickness curve deviates from this scaling law below $12\text{ }\text{\AA{}}$ while being rather well described by an empirical equation down to $8\text{ }\text{\AA{}}$.
Impact of an endurance training program on exercise-induced cardiac biomarker release endurance training exercise-induced

We evaluated the influence of a 14 week endurance running programme on the exercise-induced release of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). Fifty-eight untrained participants were randomised to supervised endurance exercise (14 weeks, 3-4 days/week, 120-240 min/week, 65-85% of maximum heart rate) or a control group. At baseline and after the training programme hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP were assessed before and 5 min, 1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h after a 60 min maximal running test. Before training hs-cTnT was significantly elevated in both groups with acute exercise ( P < 0.0001) with no between group differences. There was considerable heterogeneity in peak hs-cTnT concentration with the upper reference limit exceeded in 71% of the exercise tests. After training both baseline and post-exercise hs-cTnT were significantly higher compared to pre-training and the response of the control group ( P = 0.008). Acute exercise led to a small but significant increase in NT-proBNP but this was not mediated by training ( P = 0.121). In summary, a controlled endurance training intervention resulted in higher pre- and post-exercise values of hs-cTnT with no changes in NT-proBNP.
Trade and Sectoral Productivity

Even though differences in sectoral total factor productivity are at the heart of Ricardian trade theory and many models of growth and development, very little is known about their size and their form. In this paper we try to fill this gap by using a Hybrid-Ricardo-Heckscher-Ohlin trade model and bilateral sectoral trade data to overcome the data problem that has limited previous studies, which have used input and output data to back out productivities, to a small number of OECD economies. We provide a comparable set of sectoral productivities for 24 manufacturing sectors and more than sixty countries at all stages of development. Our results show that TFP differences in manufacturing sectors between rich and poor countries are substantial and far more pronounced in skill and R&D intensive sectors. We also apply our productivity estimates to test theories on development that have implications for the patterns of sectoral productivities across countries.