Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MIMO Transmit Beamforming Under Uniform Elemental Power Constraint

We consider multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmit beamforming under the uniform elemental power constraint. This is a nonconvex optimization problem, and it is usually difficult to find the optimal transmit beamformer. First, we show that for the multi-input single-output (MISO) case, the optimal solution has a closed-form expression. Then we propose a cyclic algorithm for the MIMO case which uses the closed-form MISO optimal solution iteratively. The cyclic algorithm has a low computational complexity and is locally convergent under mild conditions. Moreover, we consider finite-rate feedback methods needed for transmit beamforming. We propose a simple scalar quantization method, as well as a novel vector quantization method. For the latter method, the codebook is constructed under the uniform elemental power constraint and the method is referred as VQ-UEP. We analyze VQ-UEP performance for the MISO case. Specifically, we obtain an approximate expression for the average degradation of the receive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) caused by VQ-UEP. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed transmit beamformer designs and the finite-rate feedback techniques.
Reduced Switching Connectivity for Energy-Efﬁcient Large Scale Antenna Selection

—In this paper, we explore reduced-connectivity radio frequency (RF) switching networks for reducing the analog hardware complexity and switching power losses in antenna selection (AS) systems. In particular, we analyze different hardware architectures for implementing the RF switching matrices required in AS designs with a reduced number of RF chains. We explicitly show that fully-ﬂexible switching matrices, which facilitate the selection of any possible subset of antennas and attain the maximum theoretical sum rates of AS, present numerous drawbacks such as the introduction of signiﬁcant insertion losses, particularly pronounced in massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Since these disadvantages make fully-ﬂexible switching suboptimal in the energy efﬁciency sense, we further consider partially-connected switching networks as an alternative switching architecture with reduced hardware complexity, which we characterize in this work. In this context, we also analyze the impact of reduced switching connectivity on the analog hardware and digital signal processing of AS schemes that rely on channel power information. Overall, the analytical and simulation results shown in this paper demonstrate that partially-connected switching maximizes the energy efﬁciency of massive MIMO systems for a reduced number of RF chains, while fully-ﬂexible switching offers sub-optimal energy efﬁciency beneﬁts due to its signiﬁcant switching power losses.
An Efficient Distributed Group Key Management Using Hierarchical Approach with Elliptic Curve Cryptography

Secure and reliable group communication is an active area of research. Its popularity is fuelled by the growing importance of group-oriented and collaborative properties. The central research challenge is secure and efficient group key management. In this paper, we propose an efficient many-to-many group key management protocol in distributed group communication. This protocol is based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography and decrease the key length while providing securities at the same level as that of other cryptosystems provides. The main issue in secure group communication is group dynamics and key management. A scalable secure group communication model ensures that whenever there is a membership change, a new group key is computed and distributed to the group members with minimal communication and computation cost. This paper explores the use of batching of group membership changes to reduce the time and key re-distribution operations. The features of ECC protocol are that, no keys are exchanged between existing members at join, and only one key, the group key, is delivered to remaining members at leave. In the security analysis, our proposed algorithm takes less time when users join or leave the group in comparison to existing one. In ECC, there is only 1 key generation and key encryption overhead at join and leave operation. At join the communication overhead is key size of a node and at leave operation is 2 log2 n -- 2 × key size of a node.
Improved method of classification algorithms for crime prediction

The growing availability of information technologies has enabled law enforcement agencies to collect detailed data about various crimes. Classification is the procedure of finding a model (or function) that depicts and distinguishes data classes or notions, with the end goal of having the ability to utilize the model to predict the crime labels. In this research classification is applied to crime dataset to predict the “crime category” for diverse states of the United States of America (USA). The crime data set utilized within this research is real in nature, it was gathered from socio-economic data from 1990 US census. Law enforcement data from 1990 US LEMAS survey, and from the 1995 FBI UCR. This paper compares two different classification algorithms namely - Naïve Bayesian and Back Propagation (BP) for predicting “Crime Category” for distinctive states in USA. The result from the analysis demonstrated that Naïve Bayesian calculation out performed BP calculation and attained the accuracy of 90.2207% for group 1 and 94.0822% for group 2. This clearly indicates that Naïve Bayesian calculation is supportive for prediction in diverse states in USA.
Differences in Plasma Cytokine Levels between Elite Kayakers and Nonathletes

Regular moderate exercise has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects that help prevent several chronic diseases. However, the effects of chronic training an elite athletes have not been the focus of much research. This study aimed to determine whether there were differences in cytokine levels (IL-1β, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, IFN-γ, and TNF-α) in circulating peripheral blood (PB) between elite kayakers and nonathletes. Subjects were 13 elite male kayakers, aged 20.0 ± 3 years, with average body mass of 75.0 ± 7.9 kg and 177.3 ± 7.1 cm height and with a VO2max of 58.3 ± 7.8 mL·kg−1·min−1. The nonathletes were 7 men, aged 18.2 ± 1.1 years, body mass of 81.3 ± 13.8 kg, and 171.9 ± 4.5 cm height. Blood samples were collected after six weeks of offtraining and before the start of a new training season. PB leukocyte populations were determined by flow cytometry. Cytokine levels were quantified by ELISA. When nonathletes were compared with the kayakers, the latter exhibited lower plasma concentrations of IL-1β, IL-18, and IFN-γ as well as a lower concentration of IL-1ra. Positive correlations between IL-18 and B cells in the athletes were also found. These results seem to reinforce the anti-inflammatory role of regular training.
Epistemic responsibility without epistemic agency

This article discusses the arguments against associating epistemic responsibility with the ordinary notion of agency. I examine the various ‘Kantian’ views which lead to a distinctive conception of epistemic agency and epistemic responsibility. I try to explain why we can be held responsible for our beliefs in the sense of obeying norms which regulate them without being epistemic agents.
Relationships between families’ use of Sure Start Children’s Centres, changes in home learning environments, and preschool behavioural disorders

ABSTRACT UK Sure Start Children’s Centres (SSCCs) aim to lessen behavioural disorders yet we lack evidence concerning how this is achieved. This study evaluates one possible mechanism: improved home learning environments (HLEs). Data come from a longitudinal study of 2568 families and children recruited at a mean age of 14 months from 117 SSCCs in England in 2012. Behavioural disorders were measured at 38 months via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. HLEs were measured at 14 and 38 months via parental interview. Families’ use of SSCCs was measured via parental interview at 14, 22, and 38 months. This study suggests that the use of SSCCs is associated with fewer preschool behavioural disorders via intermediate changes to the quality of HLE’s. Implications are discussed for social policies and for early years’ professionals.
Mechanical properties of normal and diseased cerebrovascular system.

BACKGROUND Blood vessel mechanics has traditionally been of interest to researchers and clinicians. Changes in mechanical properties of arteries have been associated with various diseases. OBJECTIVE To provide a comprehensive review directed towards understanding the basic biomechanical properties of cerebral arteries under normal and diseased conditions. METHODS Literature review supplemented by personal knowledge. RESULTS The mechanical properties of vascular tissue may depend on several factors including macromolecular volume fraction, molecular orientation, and volume or number of cells such as smooth muscle cells. Mechanical properties of a blood vessel have been characterized using different methods such as in vitro tensile testing, non-invasive ultrasound examination, and mathematical models. Experiments are complicated by the variation in properties and content of materials that make up the vessel wall and more challenging as the size of the vessel of interest decreases. Therapeutic interventions aiming to alter the mechanical response are either pharmaceutical: including calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), and β-blockers; or, mechanical interventions such as angioplasty, stent placement, mechanical thrombectomy, or embolization procedures. CONCLUSION It is apparent from the literature that macromolecular and cellular mechanics of blood vessels are not fully understood. Therefore, further studies are necessary to better understand contribution of these mechanisms to the overall mechanics of the vascular tissue.
Trends in Percutaneous Coronary Interventions in New South Wales, Australia

This is the first detailed study on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Hospital data for PCIs carried out between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 2002 are analysed. The study explores trends in PCI rates by selected socio-demographic factors, the utilisation of angioplasties vis-a-vis stents, emergency admissions, and selected coexisting conditions which determine the disease status of PCI patients. Logistic regression models are used to study the medical conditions that require both PCI and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The PCI rate has grown rapidly at 12.1% per annum, with a particularly rapid increase for persons aged 75+. The rate of multiple stent utilisation increased at 4.6% per annum. Pacific-born and Middle-Eastern-born patients are more than twice as likely as the Australian-born to have diabetes. Factors affecting failure of PCI requiring CABG include perforation and multi-vessel disease. PCI services in public hospitals need to be increased to facilitate the availability of these procedures to all segments of the population, as do targeted community-level programmes to educate high-risk groups in the control of heart diseases.
Probabilistic alignment of motifs with sequences

MOTIVATION Motif detection is an important component of the classification and annotation of protein sequences. A method for aligning motifs with an amino acid sequence is introduced. The motifs can be described by the secondary (i.e. functional, biophysical, etc.) characteristics of a signal or pattern to be detected. The results produced are based on the statistical relevance of the alignment. The method was targeted to avoid the problems (i.e. over-fitting, biological interpretation and mathematical soundness) encountered in other methods currently available. RESULTS The method was tested on lipoprotein signals in B. subtilis yielding stable results. The results of signal prediction were consistent with other methods where literature was available. AVAILABILITY An implementation of the motif alignment, refining and bootstrapping is available for public use online at http://www.expasy. org/tools/patoseq/
A comparative study on gasoline demand, using cointegration and vector error correction

Die jungsten Preissprunge haben die okonomische Bedeutung von Benzin einmal mehr aufgezeigt. Die Reaktion der Konsumenten auf solche Turbulenzen hat wichtige Implikationen fur die Wirtschaftspolitik. Nicht nur aus okologischen Grunden, sondern auch die okonomische Abhangigkeit von Benzin scheint von Interesse. Es gibt eine ganze Fulle an Studien die sich mit Benzinnachfrage beschaftigen. Die meisten aber betrachten die Periode Ende der 70er Jahre. In dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir, ob es eine Veranderung bezuglich der Benzinpreiselastizitat gegeben hat. Wir vergleichen die Perioden 1975 - 1981 und 2001 - 2007 fur die U.S.A. Im Zweiten Teil dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir Unterschiede zwischen drei europaischen Landern Osterreich, Deutschland und Gros Britannien. Die hierzu angewandte Methode ist Kointegration und Vektor-Fehler-Korrektur.
A protective effect of breastfeeding on the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of liver disease characterised by accumulation of large-droplet fat in hepatocytes with possible progression to inflammation and fibrosis. Breastfeeding has benefits for child health, both during infancy and later in life, reducing the risk of manifestations of the metabolic syndrome. Here we investigated the association between early type of feeding (breastfed versus formula-fed and duration of breastfeeding) and later NAFLD development. Study design: We investigated 191 young Caucasian children (3–18 years old) with NAFLD consecutively enrolled between January 2003 and September 2007 in our centre. 48% of these children (n = 91) had been breastfed for a median (interquartile range) time of 8 (7) months. Results: After correction for age, waist circumference, gestational age and neonatal weight, the odds of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (OR 0.04, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.10) and fibrosis (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.65) were lower in breastfed versus not breastfed infants. Moreover, the odds of NASH (OR 0.70, exact 95% CI 0.001 to 0.87) and fibrosis (OR 0.86, exact 95% CI 0.75 to 0.98) decreased for every month of breastfeeding. Conclusions: This observational study suggests that earlier feeding habits might affect the clinical expression of NASH from 3 to 18 years later, with an apparent drug-like preventive effect of breastfeeding.
Bioorganic Fertilizer Enhances Soil Suppressive Capacity against Bacterial Wilt of Tomato

Tomato bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the most destructive soil-borne diseases. Many strategies have been taken to improve soil suppressiveness against this destructive disease, but limited success has been achieved. In this study, a novel bioorganic fertilizer revealed a higher suppressive ability against bacterial wilt compared with several soil management methods in the field over four growing seasons from March 2011 to July 2013. The application of the bioorganic fertilizer significantly (P<0.05) reduced disease incidence of tomato and increased fruit yields in four independent trials. The association among the level of disease incidence, soil physicochemical and biological properties was investigated. The soil treated with the bioorganic fertilizer increased soil pH value, electric conductivity, organic carbon, NH4 +-N, NO3 --N and available K content, microbial activities and microbial biomass carbon content, which were positively related with soil suppressiveness. Bacterial and actinomycete populations assessed using classical plate counts were highest, whereas R. solanacearum and fungal populations were lowest in soil applied with the bioorganic fertilizer. Microbial community diversity and richness were assessed using denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis profile analysis. The soil treated with the bioorganic fertilizer exhibited higher bacterial community diversity but lower fungal community diversity. Redundancy analysis showed that bacterial community diversity and richness negatively related with bacterial wilt suppressiveness, while fungal community richness positively correlated with R. solanacearum population. We concluded that the alteration of soil physicochemical and biological properties in soil treated with the bioorganic fertilizer induced the soil suppressiveness against tomato bacterial wilt.
Minimization of decision trees is hard to approximate

Decision trees are representations of discrete functions with widespread applications in, e.g., complexity theory and data mining and exploration. In these areas it is important to obtain decision trees of small size. The minimization problem for decision trees is known to be NP-hard. The problem is even hard to approximate up to any constant factor.
Measuring the Climate for Immigrants: A State-by-State Analysis

The phenomenon of subfederal immigration regulation, in which state and local governments enact laws regulating immigrants within their jurisdictions, has proven its staying power. Based on five years of empirical data (2005-2009), we observe that states have created widely divergent climates for immigrants with subfederal regulations. To measure climates, we construct an Immigrants' Climate Index (ICI) for each state based on state, city, and county government laws enacted in that jurisdiction. This index accounts for both negative laws (such as those that direct subfederal police to enforce federal immigration laws or limit access to employment based on immigration status) and positive laws (such as those that provide special benefits for immigrants or explicitly do not limit benefits based on immigration status). Based on these index scores, we note that states with faster growing unauthorized populations tend to enact more restrictive subfederal laws, creating negative climates for immigrants. Furthermore, states with larger unauthorized populations are more active in enacting immigration laws but interestingly, some of these states choose to create a positive climate for immigrants, while others choose to create a negative climate. Specifically, Arizona, Missouri and Virginia have the most restrictive immigration regulations while Illinois and California have the least restrictive.
Activity-Dependent Regulation of Mitochondrial Motility by Calcium and Na/K-ATPase at Nodes of Ranvier of Myelinated Nerves

The node of Ranvier is a tiny segment of a myelinated fiber with various types of specializations adapted for generation of high-speed nerve impulses. It is ionically specialized with respect to ion channel segregation and ionic fluxes, and metabolically specialized in ionic pump expression and mitochondrial density augmentation. This report examines the interplay of three important parameters (calcium fluxes, Na pumps, mitochondrial motility) at nodes of Ranvier in frog during normal nerve activity. First, we used calcium dyes to resolve a highly localized elevation in axonal calcium at a node of Ranvier during action potentials, and showed that this calcium elevation retards mitochondrial motility during nerve impulses. Second, we found, surprisingly, that physiologic activation of the Na pumps retards mitochondrial motility. Blocking Na pumps alone greatly prevents action potentials from retarding mitochondrial motility, which reveals that mitochondrial motility is coupled to Na/K-ATPase. In conclusion, we suggest that during normal nerve activity, Ca elevation and activation of Na/K-ATPase act, possibly in a synergistic manner, to recruit mitochondria to a node of Ranvier to match metabolic needs.
Burnout among Community Corrections Officers: Do Supervisor and Coworker Support Matter?

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors that predict burnout among community corrections staff, with a particular focus on the impact of supervisor and coworker support. Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, we evaluated the impact of supervisor and coworker support, individual attributes, job characteristics, and workplace perceptions on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment among our sample of nearly 300 probation/parole and residential officers. Additionally, we assessed which set of variables (support, individual/job characteristics, or workplace perceptions) had the greatest impact on each measure of burnout. Our results indicated that supervisor support negatively impacted emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but that coworker support was not significant for any of the three burnout measures. Additionally, models predicting emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were somewhat similar, whereas the personal accomplishment model was significantly different. Lastly, workplace perception variables had a stronger influence than individual/job characteristics or social support variables on all three burnout components. However, social support had a greater impact than individual/job characteristics for depersonalization and personal accomplishment.
Measuring Sense of Community in Groups that Use Social Networking Sites to Promote Collaboration

This paper describes a scale for measuring "sense of community" efficiently and effectively in order to explore the relationship between online social networking group activities and sense of community. Scales developed to measure sense of community in prior research are usually lengthy and community specific. They are therefore not suitable or directly applicable to the context of our study in which we plan to use a virtual community to promote inter-disciplinary research collaboration at a university. Our scale is relatively short, and exhibits good internal consistency at both the departmental level and the campus level. At the departmental level, this scale correlates with the number of tenure track faculty members that individuals are likely to list as friends or research colleagues. We discuss the use of our scale in future research.
Software Development Process From Natural Language Specification

A process to derive incrementally a formal specification from an informal specification written in natural-language is presented. This process consists of two major activities, "design" and "elaborate". Through the design activity, the structure of software modules based on an object oriented model is interactively extracted from the informal English description. Each word such as nouns and verbs in the natural-language sentences is associated with a software concept, e.g. class, attribute, and method. Especially we concentrate on types of verb patterns occurring in the sentences to increase applicability to dynamic systems. The elaborate activity is one to refine and rewrite the informal specification more precisely based on the derived mod- ule design document. We can complete the formal specification through the elaborate - design activity cycle. Each document created in our process is called product. The integration man- agement of the various kinds of the products are supported by a hypertext system. Furthermore we discuss the whole of soft- ware development process in which the design process and the elaborate one are embedded.