Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Framework for Training-Based Estimation in Arbitrarily Correlated Rician MIMO Channels With Rician Disturbance

In this paper, we create a framework for training-based channel estimation under different channel and interference statistics. The minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimator for channel matrix estimation in Rician fading multi-antenna systems is analyzed, and especially the design of mean square error (MSE) minimizing training sequences. By considering Kronecker-structured systems with a combination of noise and interference and arbitrary training sequence length, we collect and generalize several previous results in the framework. We clarify the conditions for achieving the optimal training sequence structure and show when the spatial training power allocation can be solved explicitly. We also prove that spatial correlation improves the estimation performance and establish how it determines the optimal training sequence length. The analytic results for Kronecker-structured systems are used to derive a heuristic training sequence under general unstructured statistics. The MMSE estimator of the squared Frobenius norm of the channel matrix is also derived and shown to provide far better gain estimates than other approaches. It is shown under which conditions training sequences that minimize the non-convex MSE can be derived explicitly or with low complexity. Numerical examples are used to evaluate the performance of the two estimators for different training sequences and system statistics. We also illustrate how the optimal length of the training sequence often can be shorter than the number of transmit antennas.
Aquaporin 4 is a Ubiquitously Expressed Isoform in the Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) Shark

The dogfish ortholog of aquaporin 4 (AQP4) was amplified from cDNA using degenerate PCR followed by cloning and sequencing. The complete coding region was then obtained using 5′ and 3′ RACE techniques. Alignment of the sequence with AQP4 amino acid sequences from other species showed that dogfish AQP4 has high levels (up to 65.3%) of homology with higher vertebrate sequences but lower levels of homology to Agnathan (38.2%) or teleost (57.5%) fish sequences. Northern blotting indicated that the dogfish mRNA was approximately 3.2 kb and was highly expressed in the rectal gland (a shark fluid secretory organ). Semi-quantitative PCR further indicates that AQP4 is ubiquitous, being expressed in all tissues measured but at low levels in certain tissues, where the level in liver > gill > intestine. Manipulation of the external environmental salinity of groups of dogfish showed that when fish were acclimated in stages to 120% seawater (SW) or 75% SW, there was no change in AQP4 mRNA expression in either rectal gland, kidney, or esophagus/cardiac stomach. Whereas quantitative PCR experiments using the RNA samples from the same experiment, showed a significant 63.1% lower abundance of gill AQP4 mRNA expression in 120% SW-acclimated dogfish. The function of dogfish AQP4 was also determined by measuring the effect of the AQP4 expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Dogfish AQP4 expressing-oocytes, exhibited significantly increased osmotic water permeability (Pf) compared to controls, and this was invariant with pH. Permeability was not significantly reduced by treatment of oocytes with mercury chloride, as is also the case with AQP4 in other species. Similarly AQP4 expressing-oocytes did not exhibit enhanced urea or glycerol permeability, which is also consistent with the water-selective property of AQP4 in other species.
Nitroglycerin Tolerance in Human Vessels: Evidence for Impaired Nitroglycerin Bioconversion

Background—The basis for progressive attenuation of the effects of organic nitrates during long-term therapy (nitrate tolerance) remains controversial; proposed mechanisms include impaired nitrate bioconversion resulting in decreased release of nitric oxide (NO) from nitrates and/or increased NO clearance through a reaction with incrementally generated superoxide (O2–). Methods and Results—Patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass were randomized to receive 24 hours of intravenously infused nitroglycerin (NTG; nitrate group) or no nitrate therapy (control group). Discarded segments of the internal mammary artery and saphenous vein were used to examine (1) vascular responsiveness to NTG, sodium nitroprusside, and the calcium ionophore A23187; (2) bioconversion of NTG to 1,2- and 1,3-glyceryl dinitrate; and (3) the generation of O2–. Responses to NTG were reduced 3- to 5-fold in vessels from the nitrate group compared with control vessels (P <0.01 for both types of segments), whereas responses to sodium nitroprusside and A23187 were unchanged. Tissue content of 1,2-glyceryl dinitrate was lower (P =0.012) in the saphenous veins from the nitrate group than in those from the control group. O2– generation was greater (P <0.01) in internal mammary artery samples from the nitrate group than in those from the control group. However, incremental O2– generation induced by an inhibitor of superoxide dismutase did not affect NTG responses. Conclusions—NTG tolerance in patients with coronary artery disease is nitrate-specific and is associated with evidence of impaired NTG bioconversion. Tolerance was associated with incremental O2– generation, but short-term elevation of O2– did not affect NTG responsiveness, suggesting increased NO clearance by O2– has a minimal contribution to tolerance.
Consumer Confidence and Consumer Spending

Despite the widespread attention given to surveys of consumer confidence, the mechanisms by which household attitudes influence the real economy are less well understood. This paper begins with an overview of how consumer confidence is measured and reported. It then evaluates the relationship between consumer attitudes and the real economy. The evidence suggests that popular survey measures contain some information about future aggregate consumer expenditure growth. However, much of that information is found in other economic and financial indicators, and the independent information provided by consumer confidence predicts a relatively modest amount of additional variation in future consumer spending.
Antioxidant, antioedema and analgesic activities of Andrographis paniculata extracts and their active constituent andrographolide

Andrographis paniculata (AP), a popular ingredient of Oriental folk medicine, is commonly used for treating infection, inflammation, fever and diarrhoea. In this study, extracts prepared from cultivated AP and their active constituent andrographolide were evaluated for antioxidant, antioedema and analgesic activities. The results showed that the aqueous AP extract (AP‐H2O) exhibited a greater antioxidant activity than the ethanol AP extract (AP‐EtOH) in all model systems tested. At a concentration of 50 µg/mL, the free radical scavenging, xanthine oxidase inhibition and antilipid peroxidation activities for AP‐H2O were 66.8%, 57.3% and 65.3%, respectively, and for AP‐EtOH were 57.8%, 52.6% and 34.2%, respectively. At a dosage of 100 mg/kg, AP‐H2O and andrographolide, but not AP‐EtOH, showed antioedema and analgesic activities. In phytochemical analysis, AP‐H2O showed a higher concentration of total flavanoid but a lower phenol content than AP‐EtOH. In conclusion, AP‐H2O was more potent than AP‐EtOH in antioxidant activities. Furthermore, compared with andrographolide, AP‐H2O as an extract also appears to possess potent antioedema and analgesic activities. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Specific amino acid substitutions are not required for transformation by v-myb of avian myeloblastosis virus

The protein product of the v-myb oncogene of avian myeloblastosis virus, p48v-myb, differs structurally in several ways from its normal cellular homolog, p75c-myb. We demonstrated that the 11 specific amino acid substitutions found in two independent molecular clones of this virus were not required for the transformation of myeloblasts by v-myb.
Enhanced Moisture Stability of Cesium‐Containing Compositional Perovskites by a Feasible Interfacial Engineering

The compositional perovskites have attracted broad attention due to the improved photovoltaic performance and enhanced stability compared with the single cation perovskite, such as methylammonium lead iodide and formamidinium lead iodide. In this study, the moisture stability of the widely used cesium and bromide‐containing mixed perovskites is carefully studied by characterizing the morphology, crystallization, and device performance before and after the exposure to moisture. Though the mixed perovskites possess strong resistance to moisture in the ambient air, a rapid degradation is observed when the perovskites are exposed to a high relative humidity (RH) up to 70%. The degradation is evidenced by the obvious appearance of CsPbI3 phase along with needle‐like morphology after several hours' storage in 70% RH. Moreover, to suppress the erosion of perovskites by the high‐level moisture, an interfacial engineering is introduced with phenylethylammonium iodide (PEAI). The PEAI passivation not only shows a retarded degradation but also delivers an enhanced photovoltaic performance from 13% to >17% with much improved stability under high‐level moisture. The results imply the efficacy of interfacial engineering in fabricating high‐efficiency and stable perovskite solar cells.
The Effects of Visual Stimulation and Selective Visual Attention on Rhythmic Neuronal Synchronization in Macaque Area V4

Selective attention lends relevant sensory input priority access to higher-level brain areas and ultimately to behavior. Recent studies have suggested that those neurons in visual areas that are activated by an attended stimulus engage in enhanced gamma-band (30–70 Hz) synchronization compared with neurons activated by a distracter. Such precise synchronization could enhance the postsynaptic impact of cells carrying behaviorally relevant information. Previous studies have used the local field potential (LFP) power spectrum or spike-LFP coherence (SFC) to indirectly estimate spike synchronization. Here, we directly demonstrate zero-phase gamma-band coherence among spike trains of V4 neurons. This synchronization was particularly evident during visual stimulation and enhanced by selective attention, thus confirming the pattern inferred from LFP power and SFC. We therefore investigated the time course of LFP gamma-band power and found rapid dynamics consistent with interactions of top-down spatial and feature attention with bottom-up saliency. In addition to the modulation of synchronization during visual stimulation, selective attention significantly changed the prestimulus pattern of synchronization. Attention inside the receptive field of the recorded neuronal population enhanced gamma-band synchronization and strongly reduced α-band (9–11 Hz) synchronization in the prestimulus period. These results lend further support for a functional role of rhythmic neuronal synchronization in attentional stimulus selection.
The pulmonary physician in critical care • 5: Acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome: definitions and epidemiology

An understanding of the epidemiology of ALI/ARDS and the effects of treatment have been hampered by the lack of a uniform definition of the syndrome. Various definitions have been proposed, and these are reviewed with particular attention to how changes in definition have affected our understanding of the natural history and treatment options for the condition.
The Anoikis Effector Bit1 Displays Tumor Suppressive Function in Lung Cancer Cells

The mitochondrial Bit1 (Bcl-2 inhibitor of transcription 1) protein is a part of an apoptotic pathway that is uniquely regulated by integrin-mediated attachment. As an anoikis effector, Bit1 is released into the cytoplasm following loss of cell attachment and induces a caspase-independent form of apoptosis. Considering that anoikis resistance is a critical determinant of transformation, we hypothesized that cancer cells may circumvent the Bit1 apoptotic pathway to attain anchorage-independence and tumorigenic potential. Here, we provide the first evidence of the tumor suppressive effect of Bit1 through a mechanism involving anoikis induction in human lung adenocarcinoma derived A549 cells. Restitution of Bit1 in anoikis resistant A549 cells is sufficient to induce detachment induced-apoptosis despite defect in caspase activation and impairs their anchorage-independent growth. Conversely, stable downregulation of Bit1 in these cells significantly enhances their anoikis resistance and anchorage-independent growth. The Bit1 knockdown cells exhibit significantly enhanced tumorigenecity in vivo. It has been previously shown that the nuclear TLE1 corepressor is a putative oncogene in lung cancer, and we show here that TLE1 blocks Bit1 mediated anoikis in part by sequestering the pro-apoptotic partner of Bit1, the Amino-terminal Enhancer of Split (AES) protein, in the nucleus. Taken together, these findings suggest a tumor suppressive role of the caspase-independent anoikis effector Bit1 in lung cancer. Consistent with its role as a tumor suppressor, we have found that Bit1 is downregulated in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues.
Recent advances in X-ray microtomography applied to materials

This review highlights recent advances in X-ray microcomputed tomography (microCT) as applied to materials, specifically advances made since the first materials microCT review appeared in International Materials Reviews. Improvements in instrumentation are covered, and one focus is microCT using phase (as opposed to absorption) contrast. Instead of grouping studies by disciplines, the reviewed reports are organised by type of application, specifically the study of the spatial distribution of phases, of cellular solids (including static and temporally evolving structures, fibrous network solids, mineralised tissues and biomedical applications), of channel structures, of deformation, fatigue and fracture, of processing and of corrosion and environmental interactions. Metrology applications are covered briefly, and several applications where microCT is combined with position resolved X-ray scattering are described in more detail. The accuracy of microCT reconstructions is discussed before data handling challenges are outlined. The review closes with speculations on the future directions of materials microCT.
Fitting Coupled Geometric Objects for Metric Vision

A new approach to fitting coupled geometric objects, such as concentric circles, is presented. The objects can be coupled via common Grassmannian coefficients or through a correlation constraint on their coefficients. The implicit partitioning and partial block diagonal structure of the design matrix enables an efficient orthogonal residualization based on a generalized Eckart-Young-Mirsky matrix approximation. The residualization prior to eigenor singular-value decomposition improves the numerical efficiency and makes the result invariant to the residuals of the independent portions. Analysis is performed for the generalized case of coupled implicit equations and examples of parallel lines, concentric circles and coupled conics are given. Furthermore, numerical tests and applications in image processing are presented.
Diffusion Weighted Imaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, and T2* Mapping of Lumbar Intervertebral Disc in Young Healthy Adults

Background: Although conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could provide excellent detection of morphological changes in the diagnosis of lumbar disc degeneration (LDD), it has some difficulties in discriminating minimal changes associated with early LDD before morphological or clinical alterations. Therefore, newer MRI techniques have emerged for investigation of early LDD. Objectives: The aim of this study was to use diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and T2* mapping to detect lumbar discs in healthy young adults, to evaluate if they could depict the microstructural changes of early LDD. Patients and Methods: Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), and T2* images of the lumbar discs were obtained for 40 asymptomatic young subjects (19 males and 21 females; mean age of 24.3 years), using DWI, DTI and T2* mapping with a 1.5-T MRI scanner. ADC, FA, and T2* values were measured to compare five regions of interest (ROI) selected in each nucleus pulposus (NP) of the images. Results: The ADC, FA, and T2* values were different (P < 0.05) among different ROIs within the same disc or among corresponding ROIs in different level discs. While the average values of ADC increased regularly with the lowering of the anatomical location (P < 0.05), the average FA and T2* values also associated with the anatomic locations, showed an increase in L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs (P < 0.05). Conclusion: ADC, FA, and T2* values may quantitatively reflect the microstructural characteristics of NP, therefore they could be used to detect the minimal changes of early LDD.
Comparative study of embedded-atom methods applied to the reactivity in the Ni–Al system

Structural, thermodynamic, atomic and thermal transport properties of solid and liquid phases of the Ni–Al system were studied by means of MD simulations using three embedded-atom method (EAM) potentials developed by Mishin and colleagues (Mishin et al 2002 Phys. Rev. B 65 224114; Mishin 2004 Acta Mater. 52 145167; Purja Pun and Mishin 2009 Phil. Mag. 89 32453267). The extracted properties (lattice parameter, enthalpy, heat capacity, mass diffusivity and thermal conductivity) were compared with experimental data. The limitations of EAM potentials for studying different aspects of reactivity were assessed for each potential separately.
Wound healing trajectories as predictors of effectiveness of therapeutic agents.

BACKGROUND One goal of wound healing research is to discover agents to accelerate healing. Regulatory agencies have suggested stringent criteria to determine efficacy, that of 100% wound closure. Data analysis at a single point such as 100% closure does not provide detailed information about agent effectiveness over the entire span of healing. HYPOTHESIS Wound healing trajectories can provide such information and can be used to demonstrate utility as alternative end points for wound healing trials. DESIGN Data from 160 patients in 11 clinical trials of diabetic foot ulcers conducted at 2 centers were evaluated. Wound healing trajectories were constructed for patients whose wounds healed (100% closure) and those whose did not (<100% closure) over a 20-week period. The percentage of patients achieving total healing vs time of treatment was plotted and divided into patients receiving a test agent or placebo. RESULTS The healing trajectories were almost identical for patients achieving complete healing at the 2 centers, as were the trajectories for patients with less than 100% closure. However, the trajectories of patients achieving total healing were significantly different from those not achieving 100% closure. Fifty-two percent of all patients achieved 100% healing by 20 weeks; 61% of patients receiving an experimental agent had total healing compared with 39% of placebo-treated patients. Linear regression suggested that all patients would achieve total healing by 37 weeks. CONCLUSIONS Since wound healing trajectories for diabetic foot ulcers treated at 2 centers so closely mimic one another, trajectories might be useful efficacy end points, and used to compare significant points along a continuum rather than a single static end point. Shifting of the wound healing trajectory from an impaired to a more ideal course may be considered when determining efficacy of new wound treatments.
Constraining the Phrase-Based, Joint Probability Statistical Translation Model

The joint probability model proposed by Marcu and Wong (2002) provides a strong probabilistic framework for phrase-based statistical machine translation (SMT). The model's usefulness is, however, limited by the computational complexity of estimating parameters at the phrase level. We present the first model to use word alignments for constraining the space of phrasal alignments searched during Expectation Maximization (EM) training. Constraining the joint model improves performance, showing results that are very close to state-of-the-art phrase-based models. It also allows it to scale up to larger corpora and therefore be more widely applicable.
Use of a clinical decision rule in combination with D-dimer concentration in diagnostic workup of patients with suspected pulmonary embolism: a prospective management study.

BACKGROUND We designed a diagnostic strategy, based on clinical probability and D-dimer concentration, to select patients who were unlikely to have pulmonary embolism (PE), before further diagnostic workup was performed. The utility and safety of this strategy were evaluated in a prospective management study. METHODS Consecutive patients with suspected PE had D-dimer testing and clinical probability assessment with a clinical decision rule. Patients with a low probability and a normal D-dimer concentration (<500 ng/mL) were considered not to have PE, and further diagnostic testing and anticoagulant therapy were withheld. In patients with a low probability and elevated D-dimer level or with a moderate or high probability, bilateral compression ultrasonography of the legs was performed. If deep venous thrombosis was detected, venous thromboembolism was diagnosed. If compression ultrasonography was normal, pulmonary angiography was performed. All patients were followed up for 3 months. RESULTS Of the 234 consecutive patients, 26% had the combination of a low probability and normal D-dimer level. During the follow-up period, none of these patients died and 3 patients had recurrent complaints of PE. In these 3 patients, PE was excluded by objective testing. The 3-month thromboembolic risk was therefore 0% (95% confidence interval, 0%-6%). The prevalence of PE in the entire population was 22%. CONCLUSIONS The combination of a low clinical probability and a normal D-dimer concentration appears to be a safe method to exclude PE, with a high clinical utility, and is readily accepted by clinicians.
A concurrent dynamic analysis framework for multicore hardware

Software has spent the bounty of Moore's law by solving harder problems and exploiting abstractions, such as high-level languages, virtual machine technology, binary rewriting, and dynamic analysis. Abstractions make programmers more productive and programs more portable, but usually slow them down. Since Moore's law is now delivering multiple cores instead of faster processors, future systems must either bear a relatively higher cost for abstractions or use some cores to help tolerate abstraction costs. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel concurrent, configurable dynamic analysis framework that efficiently utilizes multicore cache architectures. It introduces Cache-friendly Asymmetric Buffering (CAB), a lock-free ring-buffer that implements efficient communication between application and analysis threads. We guide the design and implementation of our framework with a model of dynamic analysis overheads. The framework implements exhaustive and sampling event processing and is analysis-neutral. We evaluate the framework with five popular and diverse analyses, and show performance improvements even for lightweight, low-overhead analyses. Efficient inter-core communication is central to high performance parallel systems and we believe the CAB design gives insight into the subtleties and difficulties of attaining it for dynamic analysis and other parallel software.