Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient non-data-aided carrier and clock recovery for satellite DVB at very low signal-to-noise ratios

This paper deals with the analysis and design of efficient non-data-aided clock and carrier (frequency/phase) synchronization algorithms intended for use in satellite digital video broadcasting systems employing turbo-coding techniques to enhance the power efficiency. The above issue appears quite challenging in view of both the extremely low signal-to-noise ratio, typical of turbo-codes operation, and the very short time allocated to the acquisition of synchronization parameters. These constraints rule out most conventional clock/carrier recovery schemes and demand a careful search for specific, highly efficient algorithms. We propose and analyze a clock/carrier synchronization scheme capable of operating at values of E/sub b//N/sub o/ as low as 1 dB with lock-in delay not exceeding 50 ms.
The JCMT Nearby Galaxies Legacy Survey – V. The CO( J = 3–2) distribution and molecular outflow in NGC 4631

We have made the first map of CO(J=3-2) emission covering the disk of the edge-on galaxy, NGC 4631, which is known for its spectacular gaseous halo. The strongest emission, which we model with a Gaussian ring, occurs within a radius of 5 kpc. Weaker disk emission is detected out to radii of 12 kpc, the most extensive molecular component yet seen in this galaxy. From comparisons with infrared data, we find that CO(J=3-2) emission more closely follows the hot dust component, rather than the cold dust, consistent with it being a good tracer of star formation. The first maps of R3−2/1−0, H2 mass surface density and SFE have been made for the inner 2.4 kpc radius region. Only 20% of the SF occurs in this region and excitation conditions are typical of galaxy disks, rather than of central starbursts. The SFE suggests long gas consumption timescales (> 10 9 yr). The velocity field is dominated by a steeply rising rotation curve in the region of the central molecular ring followed by a flatter curve in the disk. A very steep gradient in the rotation curve is observed at the nucleus, providing the first evidence · � �
Morphological awareness and reading achievement in university students

Abstract We examined morphological awareness and reading achievement in university students in two ways. First, students with and without a self-reported history of reading difficulties were compared on word reading and text reading achievement, and on the reading-related skills of morphological awareness, orthographic processing, and phonological processing. Second, the unique contribution of morphological awareness to reading achievement was examined for a larger sample of first-year university students. Students with a self-reported history of reading difficulties (n = 54) showed moderate to large gaps in each area of reading achievement, and timed reading comprehension appeared more severely impaired than word-reading efficiency. These students had a deficit in morphological awareness that persisted even when (a) phonological awareness and orthographic processing skills, or (b) word-reading accuracy were statistically controlled. In the larger first-year sample (N = 211), morphological awareness contributed to variance in word reading beyond that accounted for by phonological awareness and orthographic processing. Furthermore, of the reading-related skills, only morphological awareness made a unique contribution to reading comprehension beyond variance accounted for by word reading. Taken together, these results demonstrate that morphological awareness makes unique contributions to university students’ reading achievement and is an additional difficulty for students with a self-reported history of reading difficulties.
SEMI-GLOBAL MATCHING : AN ALTERNATIVE TO LIDAR FOR DSM GENERATION ?

Airborne LiDAR has become the main technology to provide data for Digital Surface Models (DSM) and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) for various purposes, including orthorectification. At the same time, digital line scanners such as the ADS provide multiple stereo coverage, which can be used for image-based DSM/DEM derivation. Besides saving the LiDAR acquisition cost, such data provide several advantages over LiDAR results, especially since orthoimage generation can be based on the same data set. In that regard, North West Geomatics and Leica Geosystems have developed a DSM generation tool for ADS data. The underlying approach is Semi-Global Matching (SGM), which is suited for high-performance and high-resolution DSM computation. This paper presents the SGM approach for ADS and compares the results against LiDAR – in terms of data processing as well as DSM/DEM resolution and accuracy. The SGM and LiDAR properties are compared and exemplarily illustrated based on a sub-urban area in Romanshorn, Switzerland. It is shown that SGM can be used as an alternative to LiDAR. For certain applications such as high resolution DSM generation or orthoimage production in general – where it saves the additional flight costs – SGM is even considered the preferred choice.
Heart rate variability in Parkinson’s disease unaffected by deep brain stimulation

Trachani E, Constantoyannis C, Sakellaropoulos GC, Stavrinou ML, Nikiforidis G, Chroni E. Heart rate variability in Parkinson’s disease unaffected by deep brain stimulation. Acta Neurol Scand: 2012: 126: 56–61. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, United States, 1993–2009

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a severe respiratory illness identified in 1993. Since its identification, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has obtained standardized information about and maintained a registry of all laboratory-confirmed HPS cases in the United States. During 1993-2009, a total of 510 HPS cases were identified. Case counts have varied from 11 to 48 per year (case-fatality rate 35%). However, there were no trends suggesting increasing or decreasing case counts or fatality rates. Although cases were reported in 30 states, most cases occurred in the western half of the country; annual case counts varied most in the southwestern United States. Increased hematocrits, leukocyte counts, and creatinine levels were more common in HPS case-patients who died. HPS is a severe disease with a high case-fatality rate, and cases continue to occur. The greatest potential for high annual HPS incidence exists in the southwestern United States.
Long-Acting β2-Agonists Increase Fluticasone Propionate-Induced Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Phosphatase 1 (MKP-1) in Airway Smooth Muscle Cells

Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 (MKP-1) represses MAPK-driven signalling and plays an important anti-inflammatory role in asthma and airway remodelling. Although MKP-1 is corticosteroid-responsive and increased by cAMP-mediated signalling, the upregulation of this critical anti-inflammatory protein by long-acting β2-agonists and clinically-used corticosteroids has been incompletely examined to date. To address this, we investigated MKP-1 gene expression and protein upregulation induced by two long-acting β2-agonists (salmeterol and formoterol), alone or in combination with the corticosteroid fluticasone propionate (abbreviated as fluticasone) in primary human airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells in vitro. β2-agonists increased MKP-1 protein in a rapid but transient manner, while fluticasone induced sustained upregulation. Together, long-acting β2-agonists increased fluticasone-induced MKP-1 and modulated ASM synthetic function (measured by interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) secretion). As IL-6 expression (like MKP-1) is cAMP/adenylate cyclase-mediated, the long-acting β2-agonist formoterol increased IL-6 mRNA expression and secretion. Nevertheless, when added in combination with fluticasone, β2-agonists significantly repressed IL-6 secretion induced by tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα). Conversely, as IL-8 is not cAMP-responsive, β2-agonists significantly inhibited TNFα-induced IL-8 in combination with fluticasone, where fluticasone alone was without repressive effect. In summary, long-acting β2-agonists increase fluticasone-induced MKP-1 in ASM cells and repress synthetic function of this immunomodulatory airway cell type.
On the origin of the drifting subpulses in radio pulsars

We present a model for the main observational characteristics of the radio emission of pulsars with well-organized drifting subpulses. We propose that drifting subpulses result from the modulation of the radio emission mechanism due to long-wavelength drift waves in the magnetosphere. The drift waves are generated at shorter wavelengths, and their non-linear evolution favours accumulation in a specific azimuthal eigenmode with an integral number, m, of nodes encircling the magnetic pole. The electric field of the drift waves is along the magnetic field lines, and this modulates the distribution for particles and hence the radio emission mechanism. The ratio of the frequency of the eigenmode to the rotation frequency of the star is insensitive to the magnetic field strength and the period of rotation, and is of order unity. The period, P3 ,o fthe drifting subpulses is attributed to the mismatch between this frequency and the nearest harmonic of the rotation frequency of the star. Ke yw ords: polarization ‐ radiation mechanisms: non-thermal ‐ pulsars: general.
How to Take a Good Selfie?

Selfies are now a global phenomenon. This massive number of self-portrait images taken and shared on social media is revolutionizing the way people introduce themselves and the circle of their friends to the world. While taking photos of oneself can be seen simply as recording personal memories, the urge to share them with other people adds an exclusive sensation to the selfies. Due to the Big Data nature of selfies, it is nearly impossible to analyze them manually. In this paper, we provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first selfie dataset for research purposes with more than 46,000 images. We address interesting questions about selfies, including how appearance of certain objects, concepts and attributes influences the popularity of selfies. We also study the correlation between popularity and sentiment in selfie images. In a nutshell, from a large scale dataset, we automatically infer what makes a selfie a good selfie. We believe that this research creates new opportunities for social, psychological and behavioral scientists to study selfies from a large scale point of view, a perspective that best fits the nature of the selfie phenomenon.
Cosmic shear statistics and cosmology

We report a measurement of cosmic shear correlations using an eective area of 6.5 deg 2 of the VIRMOS deep imaging survey in progress at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. We measured various shear correlation functions, the aperture mass statistic and the top-hat smoothed variance of the shear with a detection signicance exceeding 12 . We present results on angular scales from 3 arcsec to half a degree. The lensing origin of the signal is conrmed through tests that rely on the scalar nature of the gravitational potential. The dierent statistical measures give consistent results over the full range of angular scales. These important tests of the measurements demonstrate that the measured correlations could provide accurate constraints on cosmological parameters, subject to the systematic uncertainty in the source redshift distribution. The measurement over more than two decades of scale allows one to evaluate the eect of the shape of the power spectrum on cosmological parameter estimation. The degeneracy on 8 0 can be broken if priors on the shape of the linear power spectrum (parameterized by ) are assumed. For instance, with = 0 :21 and at the 95% condence level, we obtain 0:65 0: 7a nd0 < 0:4 for flat (-CDM) models. We discuss how these results would scale if the assumed source redshift distribution needed to be modied with forthcoming measurements of photometric redshifts. From the tangential/radial mode decomposition we can set an upper limit on the intrinsic shape alignment, which has recently been suggested as a possible contribution to the lensing signal. Within the error bars, there is no detection of intrinsic shape alignment for scales larger than 1 0 .
Likelihood of succession and farmers' attitudes towards their future behaviour: evidence from a survey in Germany, the United Kingdom and Portugal.

Most authors have referred to the likelihood of having an identified successor in the family as an influential factor affecting several family farm management decisions. Here, we investigate this relationship for a selection of such decisions: the timing of farmers’ retirement; the willingness of farmers to change their current mix of activities; their readiness to adopt new farm activities; and their attitude towards intensifying production. The categorical data analysed, mostly Likert scales, came from a postal survey carried out in 2001–2002 of a sample of 13 516 German, British and Portuguese farmers, with just over 4,600 valid responses. Statistical association between the variables was examined by computing the χ2 statistic and testing for the null hypothesis of no association between the various pairs of variables. The main conclusions are that the likelihood of having a successor was positively related to the planned length of active farmers’ lives, to farmers’ adoption of new activities, and to farmers’ willingness to intensify production in the future. The likelihood of having a successor was also found to be negatively related to the intention of leaving farm land idle. However, no empirical evidence was found of a statistically significant relationship between the likelihood of succession and farmers’ readiness to change the mix of their future farm activities.
Pharmacologic Basis for the Enhanced Efficacy of Dutasteride against Prostatic Cancers

Purpose: Prostatic dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentration is regulated by precursors from systemic circulation and prostatic enzymes of androgen metabolism, particularly 5α-reductases (i.e., SRD5A1 and SRD5A2). Therefore, the levels of expression SRD5A1 and SRD5A2 and the antiprostatic cancer growth response to finasteride, a selective SRD5A2 inhibitor, versus the dual SRD5A1 and SRD5A2 inhibitor, dutasteride, were compared. Experimental Design: Real-time PCR and enzymatic assays were used to determine the levels of SRD5A1 and SRD5A2 in normal versus malignant rat and human prostatic tissues. Rats bearing the Dunning R-3327H rat prostate cancer and nude mice bearing LNCaP or PC-3 human prostate cancer xenografts were used as model systems. Tissue levels of testosterone and DHT were determined using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: Prostate cancer cells express undetectable to low levels of SRD5A2 but elevated levels of SRD5A1 activity compared with nonmalignant prostatic tissue. Daily oral treatment of rats with the SRD5A2 selective inhibitor, finasteride, reduces prostate weight and DHT content but did not inhibit R-3327H rat prostate cancer growth or DHT content in intact (i.e., noncastrated) male rats. In contrast, daily oral treatment with even a low 1 mg/kg/d dose of the dual SRD5A1 and SRD5A2 inhibitor, dutasteride, reduces both normal prostate and H tumor DHT content and weight in intact rats while elevating tissue testosterone. Daily oral treatment with finasteride significantly (P < 0.05) inhibits growth of LNCaP human prostate cancer xenografts in intact male nude mice, but this inhibition is not as great as that by equimolar oral dosing with dutasteride. This anticancer efficacy is not equivalent, however, to that produced by castration. Only combination of dutasteride and castration produces a greater tumor inhibition (P < 0.05) than castration monotherapy against androgen-responsive LNCaP cancers. In contrast, no response was induced by dutasteride in nude mice bearing androgen-independent PC-3 human prostatic cancer xenografts. Conclusions: These results document that testosterone is not as potent as DHT but does stimulate prostate cancer growth, thus combining castration with dutasteride enhances therapeutic efficacy.
Discovering Implicit Entity Relation with the Gene-Citation-Gene Network

In this paper, we apply the entitymetrics model to our constructed Gene-Citation-Gene (GCG) network. Based on the premise there is a hidden, but plausible, relationship between an entity in one article and an entity in its citing article, we constructed a GCG network of gene pairs implicitly connected through citation. We compare the performance of this GCG network to a gene-gene (GG) network constructed over the same corpus but which uses gene pairs explicitly connected through traditional co-occurrence. Using 331,411 MEDLINE abstracts collected from 18,323 seed articles and their references, we identify 25 gene pairs. A comparison of these pairs with interactions found in BioGRID reveal that 96% of the gene pairs in the GCG network have known interactions. We measure network performance using degree, weighted degree, closeness, betweenness centrality and PageRank. Combining all measures, we find the GCG network has more gene pairs, but a lower matching rate than the GG network. However, combining top ranked genes in both networks produces a matching rate of 35.53%. By visualizing both the GG and GCG networks, we find that cancer is the most dominant disease associated with the genes in both networks. Overall, the study indicates that the GCG network can be useful for detecting gene interaction in an implicit manner.
Dividend Policy Inside the Multinational Firm

This paper analyzes dividend remittances by a large panel of foreign affiliates of U.S. multinational firms. The dividend policies of foreign affiliates, which convey no signals to public capital markets, nevertheless resemble those used by publicly held companies in paying dividends to diffuse common shareholders. Robustness checks verify that dividend policies of foreign affiliates are little affected by the dividend policies of their parent companies or parent company exposure to public capital markets. Systematic differences in the payout behavior of affiliates that differ in organizational form, and those that face differing tax costs of paying dividends, reveal the importance of tax factors; nevertheless, dividend policies are not solely determined by tax considerations. The absence of capital market considerations and the incompleteness of tax explanations together suggest that dividend policies are largely driven by the need to control managers of foreign affiliates. Parent firms are more willing to incur tax penalties by simultaneously investing funds while receiving dividends and to regularize dividend payments when their foreign affiliates are partially owned, located far from the United States, or in jurisdictions with inefficient judicial systems, all of which are implied by control theories of dividends.
Metal enrichment and reionization constraints on early star formation

The epoch of reionization and formation of first stars are int er-linked topics that are of considerable interest. We use a simplified approach for studyin g formation of stars in collapsed haloes, and the resulting ionization of the inter-galactic medium (IGM). We consider a set of �CDM models allowed by observations of CMB temperature and polarization anisotropies for this study. We constrain parameters related to star formation with the help of observations. We constrain subsets of these parameters independently by using the observed metallicity of the inter-galactic medium at z � 5 and the requirement that the Thomson scattering optical depth due to an ionized IGM as determined for the model from CMB observations be reproduced. We consider a range of initial metalicities for star f orming gas, and some variations of the initial mass function of stars. We find that a “normal” i nitial mass function (IMF) may satisfy these two constraints with a raised efficiency of sta r formation as compared to that seen in the local universe. Observations require a significa nt fraction of metals to escape from haloes to the IGM. We can also place constraints on the ratio of escape fraction for metals and ionizing photons, we find that this ratio is of order unity for most models. This highlights the importance of using the constraints arising from enrichment of the inter-galactic medium. Ultra-high mass stars or AGNs may not simplify models of reionization in that these may produce more ionizing photons but these do not contribute to production of metals and hence these help in reducing only the escape fraction for ionizing photons. However, suppression of very low mass stars is helpful in that it increases the produc tion of metals as well as ionizing photons and hence leads to a reduction in both escape fractions. Such a change is also warranted by observations of metal poor halo stars in the Galaxy. We also discuss correlations in parameters like the efficiency of star formation and the two e scape fractions with cosmological parameters.
' s personal copy An accumulator model of semantic interference Action editor :

To explain latency effects in picture-word interference tasks, cognitive models need to account for both interference and stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) effects. As opposed to most models of picture-word interference, which model the time course during the task in a ballistic manner, the RACE model (retrieval by accumulating evidence) presented in this paper accounts for semantic interference during the interval between the retrieval onset and the actual retrieval. RACE is implemented as an extension to the ACT-R architecture of cognition. By modeling the retrieval process, RACE offers a more precise account of semantic memory retrieval latencies in different interference and SOA conditions than other ACT-R models. In this paper, we discuss the architectural assumptions underlying RACE and simulations of a picture-word interference experiment [Glaser, W. R. , & Düngelhoff, F. J. (1984). The time course of picture-word interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10(5), pp. 640–654. ]. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
DIVERGENCE-FREE KERNEL METHODS FOR APPROXIMATING THE STOKES PROBLEM

We develop a new discretization scheme for the Stokes equations using analytically divergence-free approximation spaces. Our scheme is based upon a meshfree method using matrixvalued kernels. The scheme works in arbitrary space dimension and can produce arbitrarily smooth and hence high order approximations. After deriving the scheme, we analyze the discretization error in Sobolev spaces and give a numerical example.
Prediction of binding hot spot residues by using structural and evolutionary parameters

In this work, we present a method for predicting hot spot residues by using a set of structural and evolutionary parameters. Unlike previous studies, we use a set of parameters which do not depend on the structure of the protein in complex, so that the predictor can also be used when the interface region is unknown. Despite the fact that no information concerning proteins in complex is used for prediction, the application of the method to a compiled dataset described in the literature achieved a performance of 60.4%, as measured by F-Measure, corresponding to a recall of 78.1% and a precision of 49.5%. This result is higher than those reported by previous studies using the same data set.