Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overlapping Coalition Formation Game for Resource Allocation in Network Coding Aided D2D Communications

Due to spectrum sharing, device-to-device (D2D) communications underlaying cellular networks enhance system capacity significantly that benefits services of local area. On the other hand, network coding enables highly efficient cooperation, which increases the system capacity through code-and-forward mechanism. It is a challenging problem that how to allocate resource in the network coding aided cooperative D2D communications. In this paper, we first design a network coding aided cooperative diversity scheme for D2D communication, and derive the system transmission rate with the consideration of interference. Then, we formulate the problem of joint spectrum resource allocation and relay selection as an overlapping coalition formation game, where one relay is able to serve multiple coalitions to increase the system capacity. For each coalition, maximum bipartite graph matching model is established to select the optimal relay to achieve the maximum transmission rate. Finally, to solve the formulated game problem, we propose a distributed algorithm based on switch operations with low computation complexity. Extensive numerical results demonstrate that our solution increases the system transmission rate by about 30-40 percent without bringing extra computation complexity, compared with other state-of-the-art schemes.
The ACE2-Ang (–)-Mas receptor axis attenuates cardiac remodeling and fibrosis in post-myocardial infarction

Myocardial remodeling serves an important role in the pathophysiology of coronary heart disease. The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)2-angiotensin-(1–7) [Ang (1–7)]-Mas receptor (MasR) axis is a key regulator in myocardial remodeling and development of heart failure. To investigate how ACE2-Ang-(1–7)-MasR axis function on myocardial remodeling and cardiac fibrosis in post-myocardial infarction (MI), male Sprague-Dawley rats (weight, 200±20 g) were used to establish the model of myocardial infarction by ligating the left coronary artery. The present study suggests that telmisartan (Tel) and olmesartan (Olm) (5 mg/kg/d) can inhibit myocardial remodeling of post-myocardial infarction through the ACE2-Ang (1–7)-MasR pathway. Administration of Tel or Olm was demonstrated to significantly inhibit collagen deposition using Masson staining. In addition, telmisartan and olmesartan was indicated to antagonize angiotensin II (Ang II) and upregulate ACE2, MasR, Ang (1–7) expression in myocardial tissue using immunoassay and ELISA test, and the effect of Olm was more marked than that of Tel at the same dosage. Simultaneously, compared with the MI or Sham group, the mRNA and protein expression of ACE2, Ang II and MasR in myocardial tissue demonstrated a remarkable increase in the Olm group, when compared with the Tel group. Taken together, our data demonstrated that ACE2-Ang (1–7)-MasR axis may present a potential protective role in the development of myocardial remodeling and may provide a new target for drug development of cardiac fibrosis. In conclusion, Olm is superior to Tel in inhibiting myocardial local Ang II level reducing myocardial collagen deposition and improving myocardial remodeling by upregulating the expression of ACE2, Ang (1–7) and MasR.
Bus Access Optimization for Predictable Implementation of Real-Time Applications on Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip

In multiprocessor systems, the traffic on the bus does not solely originate from data transfers due to data dependencies between tasks, but is also affected by memory transfers as result of cache misses. This has a huge impact on worst-case execution time (WCET) analysis and, in general, on the predictability of real-time applications implemented on such systems. As opposed to the WCET analysis performed for a single processor system, where the cache miss penalty is considered constant, in a multiprocessor system each cache miss has a variable penalty, depending on the bus contention. This affects the tasks' WCET which, however, is needed in order to perform system scheduling. At the same time, the WCET depends on the system schedule due to the bus interference. In this paper we present an approach to worst-case execution time analysis and system scheduling for real-time applications implemented on multiprocessor SoC architectures. The emphasis of this paper is on the bus scheduling policy and its optimization, which is of huge importance for the performance of such a predictable multiprocessor application.
Medical emergency team activation: performance of conventional dichotomised criteria versus national early warning score

To activate the hospital's medical emergency team (MET), either conventional dichotomised activation criteria or an early warning scoring system may be used. The relative performance of these different activation patterns to discriminate high risk patients in a heterogenic general ward population after adjustment for multiple confounding factors has not been evaluated. We aimed to evaluate the dichotomised activation criteria used at our institution and the recently published national early warning score (NEWS, United Kingdom).
SPEAKER VERIFICATION USING LASSO BASED SPARSE TOTAL VARIABILITY SUPERVECTOR AND PROBABILISTIC LINEAR DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

In this paper, we propose a Lasso based framework to generate the sparse total variability supervectors (s-vectors). Rather than the factor analysis framework, which uses a low dimensional Eigenvoice subspace to represent the mean supervector, the proposed Lasso approach utilizes the l norm regularized least square estimation to project the mean supervector on a pre-defined dictionary. The number of samples in this dictionary is appreciably larger than the typical Eigenvoice rank but the l norm of the Lasso solution vector is constrained. Only a small number of samples in the dictionary are selected for representing the mean supervector, and most of the dictionary coefficients in the Lasso solution are 0. We denote these sparse dictionary coefficient vectors in the Lasso solutions as the s-vectors and model them using probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA) for speaker verification. The proposed approach generates comparable results to the conventional cosine distance scoring based i-vector system and improvement is achieved by fusing the proposed method with either the i-vector system or the joint factor analysis (JFA) system. Experiments results are reported on the female part of the NIST SRE 2010 task with common condition 5 using equal error rate (EER), norm old minDCF and norm new minDCF values. The norm new minDCF cost was reduced by 7.5% and 9.6% relative when fusing the proposed approach with the baseline JFA and i-vector systems, respectively. Similarly, 8.3% and 10.7% relative norm old minDCF cost reduction was observed in the fusion.
Hippocampal and neocortical cell assemblies encode memory processes for different types of stimuli in the rat

The objective of this study was to determine whether each of several different memory processes is encoded exclusively by specific single neurons (single-neuron coding) or by overlapped groups of neurons (population coding by cell assembly). Single neuronal activity was recorded from the rat hippocampal formation (CA1, CA3, dentate gyrus) and temporal cortex during the performance of simple auditory, simple visual, and configural auditory-visual discrimination tasks. All the tasks employed the identical apparatus and time parameters and differed only in the type of stimuli to be processed for correct performance. Single neurons showing significantly differential activity among the discriminative stimuli in each task were judged to be task-related and involved in the memory process of the task. Of the total number of neurons recorded from the hippocampal formation and temporal cortex, 21– 26% of the neurons showed task-related activity in only one task, in two tasks, or in all three tasks. This result indicates some overlapping among the neurons involved in each of teh different memory processes. A cross-correlation analysis tested activity correlations among the neurons recorded simultaneously. Most pairs of the hippocampal neurons related to the same tasks (same memory processes) showed correlations during performance of the related tasks. This result showing coactivation of the same types of task-related neurons, together with the result showing the overlapping of task-related neurons, supports the concept of population coding by cell assemblies specifically in the hippocampal formation during memory processing.
Preliminary Characterization of SWOT Hydrology Error Budget and Global Capabilities

River discharge and lake water storage are critical elements of land surface hydrology, but are poorly observed globally. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will provide high-resolution measurements of water surface elevations with global coverage. Feasibility studies have been undertaken to help define the orbit inclination and repeat period. Preliminary error budgets have been computed for estimating instantaneous and monthly river discharge from SWOT measurements (errors are assumed uncorrelated). Errors on monthly discharge due to SWOT temporal sampling were estimated using gauges and their observation times for two SWOT orbits with different inclinations (78° and 74°). These errors have then been extrapolated to rivers globally. The 78° and 74° orbital inclinations allow a good sampling frequency, avoid tidal aliasing and cover almost all the continental surface. For a 22-day repeat orbit, a single point at 72°N is sampled 11 and 16 times during one repeat period for the 78° and 74° inclination orbit, respectively. Errors in instantaneous discharge are below 25% for rivers wider than 50 m (48% of all rivers). Errors in monthly discharge are below 20% for rivers with drainage areas larger than 7000 km2 (34% of all rivers). A rough estimate of global lake storage change has been computed. Currently, available satellite nadir altimetry data can only monitor 15% of the global lake volume variation, whereas from 50% to more than 65% of this variation will be observed by SWOT, thus providing a significant increase in our knowledge of lake hydrology.
Revising the master production schedule in sequence dependent processes

Revising the master production schedule (MPS) in a rolling planning horizon environment to improve plant performance is critical in process industries with sequence dependent changeovers. Plant performance is defined in terms of process changeover time, total shortages, and finished goods inventory. Two heuristics for revising the MPS are introduced and tested against a rolling horizon MPS that does not take sequence dependent changeovers into consideration. These two heuristics represent two different approaches to heuristic design: local interchange (SWAP) and global interchange (3OPT). Simulation experiments are reported that test the performance of the two different approaches to revising the MPS in process industries with sequence dependent changeovers. The MPS designs were tested under plant conditions that are frequently encountered in process industries. The results indicate that revising the MPS in process industries significantly improves plant performance. In addition, 3OPT provides a major improvement in changeover time, while SWAP provides improvement in total shortages.
Characterization in a Wide Frequency Range (40 MHz–67 GHz) of a KTa0.65Nb0.35O3 Thin Film for Tunable Applications

A (100) oriented KTa0.65Nb0. 35O3 400 nm-thin film has been deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition on MgO substrate. Microwave measurements, performed on InterDigitated Capacitors, show a paraelectric phase at room temperature with a tunability for the devices of 64% under an electric field of 400 kV/cm. Then, using a specific de-embedding method, the complex permittivity of the KTN thin film has been extracted from 40 MHz up to 67 GHz on coplanar waveguides. As promising applications are pointed out at 60 GHz, such as indoor communications, material characterizations are expected in this spectrum.
A Small Molecule Ubiquitination Inhibitor Blocks NF-κB-dependent Cytokine Expression in Cells and Rats*

A small molecule inhibitor of NF-κB-dependent cytokine expression was discovered that blocked tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α-induced IκBα degradation in MM6 cells but not the degradation of β-catenin in Jurkat cells. Ro106-9920 blocked lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-dependent expression of TNFα, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 in fresh human peripheral blood mononuclear cells with IC50 values below 1 μm. Ro106-9920 also blocked TNFα production in a dose-dependent manner following oral administration in two acute models of inflammation (air pouch and LPS challenge). Ro106-9920 was observed to inhibit an ubiquitination activity that does not require βTRCP but associates with IκBα and will ubiquitinate IκBα S32E,S36E (IκBαee) specifically at lysine 21 or 22. Ro106-9920 was identified in a cell-free system as a time-dependent inhibitor of IκBαee ubiquitination with an IC50 value of 2.3 ± 0.09 μm. The ubiquitin E3 ligase activity is inhibited by cysteine-alkylating reagents, supported by E2UBCH7, and requires cIAP2 or a cIAP2-associated protein for activity. These activities are inconsistent with what has been reported for SCFβTRCP, the putative E3 for IκBα ubiquitination. Ro106-9920 was observed to be selective for IκBαee ubiquitination over the ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), E2UBCH7, nonspecific ubiquitination of cellular proteins, and 97 other molecular targets. We propose that Ro106-9920 selectively inhibits an uncharacterized but essential ubiquitination activity associated with LPS- and TNFα-induced IκBα degradation and NF-κB activation.
Translocator Protein (18 kDa): A Promising Therapeutic Target and Diagnostic Tool for Cardiovascular Diseases

The translocator protein (18 kDa) (TSPO) is a five transmembrane domain protein in mitochondria, abundantly expressed in a variety of organs and tissues. TSPO contributes to a wide range of biological processes, including cholesterol transportation, mitochondrial membrane potential and respiratory chain regulation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Recent studies have demonstrated that TSPO might also be involved in the physiological regulation of cardiac chronotropy and inotropy. Accordingly, TSPO ligands play significant roles in protecting the cardiovascular systems under pathological conditions through cardiac electrical activity retention, intracellular calcium maintenance, mitochondrial energy provision, mitochondrial membrane potential equilibrium, and reactive oxygen species inhibition. This paper focuses on the physiological and pathological characteristics of TSPO in the cardiovascular systems and also summarizes the properties of TSPO ligands. TSPO represents a potential therapeutic target and diagnostic tool for cardiovascular diseases including arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, myocarditis, and large vessel vasculitis.
Prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms in children in a low socio-economic status area of Nigeria.

SETTING Warri and environs in the Niger Delta, in the Southern region of Nigeria. OBJECTIVE To investigate the burden of respiratory illness in children in the Niger Delta. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey of 1397 schoolchildren aged 7-14 years in areas of low socio-economic status (SES), using written questionnaires in English based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire, with explanation of symptoms. RESULTS The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma was 0.9% (95%CI 0.4-1.3), and wheeze in the last 12 months was 5.4% (95%CI 4.3-6.6). The prevalence of other respiratory symptoms was high, in particular night cough 23.3% (95%CI 21.1-25.5), rhinitis 19.2% (95%CI 17.1-21.3) and phlegm production 16.6% (95%CI 14.7-18.6). Risk of wheeze in the younger age groups was twice (OR 2.09, 95%CI 1.29-3.39) that of older ages after controlling for sex and geographical area. Risk of asthma in urban children was reduced (OR 0.15, 95%CI 0.05-0.50) compared to rural children after controlling for age and sex. Urban children also had a lower risk of rhinitis, exercise limitations and absenteeism due to respiratory illness than rural children. CONCLUSION The prevalence of symptoms of allergic disease was lower than in the African centres in the ISAAC surveys conducted in urban centres. Doctor-diagnosed asthma is likely to be a poor indicator of asthma in low SES areas of developing countries due to health care access issues.
Research Review: Evaluating and reformulating the developmental taxonomic theory of antisocial behaviour

BackgroundThe developmental taxonomic theory proposes that there are two subtypes of antisocial behaviour. The first is a neurodevelopmental disorder which emerges in early childhood and follows a life-course persistent course, whereas the second emerges in adolescence, remits in early adulthood and reflects peer processes such as mimicry of antisocial peers. The aim of this review was to evaluate the developmental taxonomic theory in the light of recent empirical research. MethodsWe conducted a comprehensive literature review comparing these subtypes of antisocial behaviour based on searches on PubMed and other scientific databases covering the period from 1993 to 2013. We focused on research encompassing psychiatric epidemiology, personality assessment, neuropsychology, neuroendocrinology, genetics, and structural and functional neuroimaging. Sixty one empirical studies were identified that investigated one of these forms of antisocial behaviour separately or explicitly compared childhood-onset and adolescence-onset forms of antisocial behaviour. ResultsEmpirical research provides support for the hypothesis that life-course persistent antisocial behaviour is a neurodevelopmental disorder which emerges in the transactions between individual vulnerabilities and environmental adversity. In contrast to the developmental taxonomic theory, however, empirical findings suggest that severe antisocial behaviour that emerges in adolescence frequently has a negative prognosis and is rarely limited to the adolescent period. In addition, both forms of antisocial behaviour are associated with emotion processing deficits, changes in brain structure and function, alterations in cortisol secretion, and atypical personality traits (such as increased callous-unemotional traits). ConclusionsWe conclude that the developmental taxonomic theory is in need of revision, as differences between life-course persistent and adolescence-onset forms of antisocial behaviour appear to be quantitative, rather than qualitative, in nature. In addition, evidence is accumulating that adolescence-onset antisocial behaviour may also be a neurodevelopmental disorder. To account for the similarities between these groups, despite the differences in their age-of-onset, we propose that the quality of the child's early environment moderates the relationship between individual vulnerabilities and the age-of-onset of antisocial behaviour.
NASH is an Inflammatory Disorder: Pathogenic, Prognostic and Therapeutic Implications

While non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent (15% to 45%) in modern societies, only 10% to 25% of cases develop hepatic fibrosis leading to cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma. Apart from pre-existing fibrosis, the strongest predictor of fibrotic progression in NAFLD is steatohepatitis or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The critical features other than steatosis are hepatocellular degeneration (ballooning, Mallory hyaline) and mixed inflammatory cell infiltration. While much is understood about the relationship of steatosis to metabolic factors (over-nutrition, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, metabolic syndrome, hypoadiponectinemia), less is known about inflammatory recruitment, despite its importance for the perpetuation of liver injury and fibrogenesis. In this review, we present evidence that liver inflammation has prognostic significance in NAFLD. We then consider the origins and components of liver inflammation in NASH. Hepatocytes injured by toxic lipid molecules (lipotoxicity) play a central role in the recruitment of innate immunity involving Toll-like receptors (TLRs), Kupffer cells (KCs), lymphocytes and neutrophils and possibly inflammasome. The key pro-inflammatory signaling pathways in NASH are nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). The downstream effectors include adhesion molecules, chemokines, cytokines and the activation of cell death pathways leading to apoptosis. The upstream activators of NF-κB and JNK are more contentious and may depend on the experimental model used. TLRs are strong contenders. It remains possible that inflammation in NASH originates outside the liver and in the gut microbiota that prime KC/TLR responses, inflamed adipose tissue and circulating inflammatory cells. We briefly review these mechanistic considerations and project their implications for the effective treatment of NASH.
Traditional Chinese medicine, Fuzheng Kang-Ai decoction, inhibits metastasis of lung cancer cells through the STAT3/MMP9 pathway

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide, including in developing countries such as China. Traditional Chinese medicine may provide a novel insight for the treatment of patients with lung cancer. The present study aimed to uncover the mechanism by which the Chinese herbal medicine, Fuzheng Kang-Ai (FZKA), functions on lung cancer cell metastasis. The results demonstrated that treatment with FZKA markedly inhibited cell viability, migration and invasion of lung cancer cells, as determined by cell viability and Transwell assays. Notably, the activity and expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) was significantly inhibited by FZKA treatment on lung cancer cells, as determined by an MMP9 activity assay and western blot analysis. Furthermore, FZKA markedly inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lung cancer cells by inhibiting the expression of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and vimentin. In addition, activation of the oncoprotein signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was suppressed following treatment with FZKA. Conversely, overexpression of STAT3 was able to rescue MMP9 activity following FZKA treatment. The present study indicated that FZKA may inhibit lung cancer metastasis via the STAT3/MMP9 pathway and EMT, suggesting that FZKA may serve as a novel promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients with late stage lung cancer.
The Use of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III with Clinical Populations: A Preliminary Exploration

ABSTRACT In response to concerns that the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III (BSIDIII) underestimate delay in clinical populations, this study explores developmental quotient scores as an alternative to composite scores for these children. One hundred and twenty-two children aged ≤42 months, referred for diagnosis of developmental disability from January 2007 to May 2010, were assessed, and their composite and developmental quotient scores on each scale were compared. Composite scores identified only 22% (cognitive), 27% (motor), and 47.5% (language) of children as having a developmental disability. Developmental quotient scores were significantly lower than composite scores, giving rates of developmental disability of 56.6% (cognitive), 48.4% (motor), and 74.6% (language) and more closely matching both clinical impressions of delay and the proportions of those children who were also delayed on standardized tests of adaptive function.