Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of adaptive MC-CDMA detectors in rapidly fading Rayleigh channels

Multicarrier code-division multiple access (MC-CDMA) combines multicarrier transmission with direct sequence spread spectrum. Different approaches have been adopted which do not assume a perfectly known channel. We examine the forward-link performance of decision-directed adaptive detection schemes, with and without explicit channel estimation, for MC-CDMA systems operating in fast fading channels. We analyze theoretically the impact of channel estimation errors by first considering a simpler system employing a threshold orthogonality restoring combining (TORC) detector with a Kalman channel estimator. We show that the performance deteriorates significantly as the channel fading rate increases and that the fading rate affects the selection of system parameters. We examine the performance of more realistic schemes based on the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion using least mean square (LMS) and recursive least square (RLS) adaptation. We present a discussion which compares the decision-directed and pilot-aided approaches and explores the tradeoffs between channel estimation overhead and performance. We find that there is a fading rate range where each method provides a good tradeoff between performance and overhead. We conclude that the MMSE per carrier decision-directed detector with RLS estimation combines good performance in low to moderate fading rates, robustness in parameter variations, and relatively low complexity and overhead. For higher fading rates, however, only pilot-symbol-aided detectors are appropriate.
[Mortality risk of cardiovascular diseases for occupationally exposed workers].

Results of the risk analysis of mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) in the cohort of Mayak nuclear workers (18763 individuals) first employed in 1948-1972, with follow-up to 31.12. 2005, were summarized. The mortality risk of IHD in the cohort of Mayak workers depended on the non-radiation factors such as gender, age, calendar period, smoking, alcohol consumption, arterial hypertension, body mass index. There was no statistically significant relationship between mortality from 1HD and total external dose. The risk of mortality from IHD was significantly higher for workers exposed to the total absorbed dose to liver > 0.025 Gy from internal alpha-radiation. There was a significantly increasing trend (ERR/Gy) of the IHD mortality with the total absorbed dose to liver from internal alpha-radiation due to incorporated plutonium. However, there was a decreasing trend of ERR/Gy with restriction of the follow-up to Ozyorsk and adjustment for the external dose.
Molecular detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii using polymerase chain reaction in immunocompromised patients with pulmonary disorders in northeast of Iran

Background and Purpose: Pneumocystis pneumonia, caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii, is a fatal disease threatening patients with AIDS or immunosuppression. Assessment of colonization in these patients is of great significance, since it can lead to severe pulmonary disorders. Considering the scarcity of published reports on Pneumocystis jirovecii isolates from patients in Mashhad, Iran, we aimed to evaluate pneumocystis colonization in individuals with different pulmonary disorders. Materials and Methods: We used nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to amplify mitochondrial large subunit-ribosomal ribonucleic acid (mtLSU-rRNA) gene in 60 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples, obtained from patients, referring to the Department of Internal Medicine (Pulmonary Diseases Section) at Imam Reza Hospital, affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Results: DNA of Pneumocystis jirovecii was detected in 10 out of 60 BAL samples (16.66%) via nested PCR method. Conclusion: According to the present findings, the colonization rate of Pneumocystis jirovecii was similar to the rates reported in other similar studies in Iran.
Role of Connexin43 in Osteoblast Response to Physical Load

Abstract: Gap junctions are hexameric transmembrane channels formed by connexins, and are responsible for direct cell‐to‐cell communication. The most abundant gap junction protein in bone is connexin43 (Cx43), although connexin45 (Cx45) is also expressed. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that bone cell responses to mechanical stimulation are dependent on the type of gap junction communication provided by Cx43 in vitro and in an in vivo model of physical load. Application of cyclic stretch to calvaria osteoblasts results in a modest but detectable increase in PGE2 levels, and the amount of PGE2 produced was lower in cells isolated from Cx43 null mice. Mice with an osteoblast‐specific deletion of the Cx43 gene were subjected to an in vivo four‐point bending protocol on the tibia. This resulted in fast and exuberant formation of woven bone at the region directly below the loading fulcrum in both osteoblast Cx43‐deleted and wild‐type mice. However, indirect measurement of endosteal bone apposition suggested a less pronounced effect of physical load in Cx43‐deficient than in wild‐type mice. Taken together, these results indicate that deficiency of Cx43 in osteoblasts attenuates but does not abolish anabolic responses to mechanical strain.
Cultural Web sites Adaptation of Global Brands : A Cross Comparison of Indonesia and Taiwan

This study analyzed the Indonesia and Taiwan’s Web sites of top 100 most powerful brands by MilwardBrown Optimor. Content analysis was used in this study to investigate the culture value in the Web sites. The finding revealed that between Indonesia and Taiwan’s Web sites is significant difference on the all of cultural dimension. The second finding is that among four brands category, information technologies and financial services showed significant difference between two countries. This study provides insight into globalization trends across countries and industries to determine the appropriateness of culture value in which country, and in what brand category should focus on online globalization.
WireGuard: Next Generation Kernel Network Tunnel

WireGuard is a secure network tunnel, operating at layer 3, implemented as a kernel virtual network interface for Linux, which aims to replace both IPsec for most use cases, as well as popular user space and/or TLS-based solutions like OpenVPN, while being more secure, more performant, and easier to use. The virtual tunnel interface is based on a proposed fundamental principle of secure tunnels: an association between a peer public key and a tunnel source IP address. It uses a single round trip key exchange, based on NoiseIK, and handles all session creation transparently to the user using a novel timer state machine mechanism. Short pre-shared static keys—Curve25519 points—are used for mutual authentication in the style of OpenSSH. The protocol provides strong perfect forward secrecy in addition to a high degree of identity hiding. Transport speed is accomplished using ChaCha20Poly1305 authenticated-encryption for encapsulation of packets in UDP. An improved take on IP-binding cookies is used for mitigating denial of service attacks, improving greatly on IKEv2 and DTLS’s cookie mechanisms to add encryption and authentication. The overall design allows for allocating no resources in response to received packets, and from a systems perspective, there are multiple interesting Linux implementation techniques for queues and parallelism. Finally, WireGuard can be simply implemented for Linux in less than 4,000 lines of code, making it easily audited and veriﬁed.
The Effect of Dynamic Assessment in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication on Iranian EFL Learners' Listening Comprehension Ability at Upper-Intermediate Level

The present paper concentrates on a web-based inquiry in the synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) via Web 2.0 technologies of Talk and Write and Skype. It investigates EFL learners’ socio-cognitive progress through dynamic assessment (DA), which follows Vygotsky’s inclination for supportive interchange in the zone of proximal development. Sixty adult EFL learners at upper-intermediate level were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups. The participants in the experimental group were involved in dynamic assessment in synchronous computer-mediated communication for seven weeks. The results reveal that, through interactions in the ZPD, DA in synchronous computer-mediated communication lets us explore not only the actual level of learners’ listening ability but also to diagnose and assess the potential level of their listening development.
Interleukin-13 Induces Tissue Fibrosis by Selectively Stimulating and Activating Transforming Growth Factor β1

Interleukin (IL)-13 is a key mediator of tissue fibrosis caused by T helper cell type 2 inflammation. We hypothesized that the fibrogenic effects of IL-13 are mediated by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. To test this hypothesis we compared the regulation of TGF-β in lungs from wild-type mice and CC10-IL-13 mice in which IL-13 overexpression causes pulmonary fibrosis. IL-13 selectively stimulated TGF-β1 production in transgenic animals and macrophages were the major site of TGF-β1 production and deposition in these tissues. IL-13 also activated TGF-β1 in vivo. This activation was associated with decreased levels of mRNA encoding latent TGF-β–binding protein-1 and increased mRNA encoding urinary plasminogen activator, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, and CD44. TGF-β1 activation was abrogated by the plasmin/serine protease antagonist aprotinin. It was also decreased in progeny of crosses of CC10-IL-13 mice and MMP-9 null mice but was not altered in crosses with CD44 null animals. IL-13–induced fibrosis was also significantly ameliorated by treatment with the TGF-β antagonist soluble TGFβR-Fc (sTGFβR-Fc). These studies demonstrate that IL-13 is a potent stimulator and activator of TGF-β1 in vivo. They also demonstrate that this activation is mediated by a plasmin/serine protease- and MMP-9–dependent and CD44-independent mechanism(s) and that the fibrogenic effects of IL-13 are mediated, in great extent, by this TGF-β pathway.
2009 IOM guidelines for gestational weight gain: how well do they predict outcomes across ethnic groups?

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine whether the Institute Of Medicine's (IOM) 2009 guidelines for weight-gain during pregnancy are predictive of maternal and infant outcomes in ethnic minority populations. Methods: We designed a population-based study using administrative data on 181,948 women who delivered live singleton births in Washington State between 2006–2008. We examined risks of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia/eclampsia, cesarean delivery, and extended hospital stay in White, Black, Native-American, East-Asian, Hispanic, South-Asian and Hawaiian/Pacific islander women according to whether they gained more or less weight during pregnancy than recommended by IOM guidelines. We also examined risks of neonatal outcomes including Apgar score <7 at 5 min, admission to NICU, requirement for ventilation, and a diagnosis of small or large for gestational age at birth. Results: Gaining too much weight was associated with increased odds for gestational hypertension (adjusted OR (aOR) ranged between 1.53–2.22), preeclampsia/eclampsia (aOR 1.44–1.81), cesarean delivery (aOR 1.07–1.38) and extended hospital stay (aOR 1.06–1.28) in all ethnic groups. Gaining too little weight was associated with decreased odds for gestational hypertension and delivery by cesarean section in Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. Gaining less weight or more weight than recommended was associated with increased odds for small for gestational age and large for gestational age infants respectively, in all ethnic groups. Conclusions: Adherence to the 2009 IOM guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy reduces risk for various adverse maternal outcomes in all ethnic groups studied. However, the guidelines were less predictive of infant outcomes with the exception of small and large for gestational age. Abbreviations: GWG: Gestational weight gain; IOM/NRC; Institute of Medicine and National Research Council; NICU: Neonatal intensive care need for ventilation; SGA: Small for gestational age; LGA: Large for gestational age; BERD: Birth Events Records Database; CHARS: Comprehensive Hospital Discharge Abstract Reporting System; ICD: International Classification of Disease; LMP: Last menstrual period; OR: Odds ratio
Global transcription profiling of estrogen activity: estrogen receptor alpha regulates gene expression in the kidney.

Estrogen receptors (ERs) are expressed in numerous organs, although only a few organs are considered classical targets for estrogens. We have completed a systematic survey of estrogen regulation of approximately 10,000 genes in 13 tissues from wild-type and ERbetaKO mice treated sc with vehicle or 17beta-estradiol (E2) for 6 wk. The uterus and pituitary had the greatest number of genes regulated by E2, whereas the kidney had the third largest number of regulated genes. In situ hybridizations localized E2 regulation in the kidney to the juxtamedullary region of the cortex in both the mouse and rat. The ED(50) for gene inductions in the kidney was 3 micro g/kg.d, comparable with the 2.4 micro g/kg.d ED(50) for c-fos induction in the uterus. E2 regulations in the kidney were intact in ERbetaKO mice, and the ERalpha-selective agonist propylpyrazole triol acted similarly to E2, together suggesting an ERalpha-mediated mechanism. Several genes were induced within 2 h of E2 treatment, suggesting a direct activity of ERalpha within the kidney. Finally, the combination of the activation function (AF)1-selective agonist tamoxifen plus ERalphaKO(CH) mice expressing an AF1-deleted version of ERalpha allowed delineation of genes with differing requirements for AF1 or AF2 activity in the kidney.
Organization and Information: Firms’ Governance Choices in Rational-Expectations Equilibrium*

We analyze a rational-expectations model of price formation in an intermediate-good market under uncertainty. There is a continuum of firms, each consisting of a party who can reduce production cost and a party who can discover information about demand. Both parties can make specific investments at private cost, and there is a machine that either party can control. As in incomplete-contracting models, different governance structures (i.e., different allocations of control of the machine) create different incentives for the parties' investments. As in rational-expectations models, some parties may invest in acquiring information, which is then incorporated into the market-clearing price of the intermediate good by these parties' production decisions. The informativeness of the price mechanism affects the returns to specific investments and hence the optimal governance structure for individual firms; meanwhile, the governance choices by individual firms affect the informativeness of the price mechanism. In equilibrium, the informativeness of the price mechanism can induce ex ante homogeneous firms to choose heterogeneous governance structures. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.
A three‐level mixed‐effects location scale model with an application to ecological momentary assessment data

In studies using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), or other intensive longitudinal data collection methods, interest frequently centers on changes in the variances, both within‐subjects and between‐subjects. For this, Hedeker et al. (Biometrics 2008; 64: 627–634) developed an extended two‐level mixed‐effects model that treats observations as being nested within subjects and allows covariates to influence both the within‐subjects and between‐subjects variance, beyond their influence on means. However, in EMA studies, subjects often provide many responses within and across days. To account for the possible systematic day‐to‐day variation, we developed a more flexible three‐level mixed‐effects location scale model that treats observations within days within subjects, and allows covariates to influence the variance at the subject, day, and observation level (over and above their usual effects on means) using a log‐linear representation throughout. We provide details of a maximum likelihood solution and demonstrate how SAS PROC NLMIXED can be used to achieve maximum likelihood estimates in an alternative parameterization of our proposed three‐level model. The accuracy of this approach using NLMIXED was verified by a series of simulation studies. Data from an adolescent mood study using EMA were analyzed to demonstrate this approach. The analyses clearly show the benefit of the proposed three‐level model over the existing two‐level approach. The proposed model has useful applications in many studies with three‐level structures where interest centers on the joint modeling of the mean and variance structure. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Detection and characterization of respiratory viruses causing acute respiratory illness and asthma exacerbation in children during three different seasons (2011–2014) in Mexico City

Viral infections play a significant role in causing acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and exacerbations of chronic diseases. Acute respiratory infections are now the leading cause of mortality in children worldwide, especially in developing countries. Recently, human rhinovirus (HRV) infection has been emerged as an important cause of pneumonia and asthma exacerbation.
Feedback Regulation of SIN by Etd1 and Rho1 in Fission Yeast

In fission yeast, the septation initiation network (SIN) is thought to promote cytokinesis by downstream activation of Rho1, a conserved GTPase that controls cell growth and division. Here we show that Etd1 and PP2A-Pab1, antagonistic regulators of SIN, are Rho1 regulators. Our genetic and biochemical studies indicate that a C-terminal region of Etd1 may activate Rho1 by directly binding it, whereas an N-terminal domain confers its ability to localize at the growing tips and the division site where Rho1 functions. In opposition to Etd1, our results indicate that PP2A-Pab1 inhibits Rho1. The SIN cascade is upstream-regulated by the Spg1 GTPase. In the absence of Etd1, activity of Spg1 drops down prematurely, thereby inactivating SIN. Interestingly, we find that ectopic activation of Rho1 restores Spg1 activity in Etd1-depleted cells. By using a cytokinesis block strategy, we show that Rho1 is essential to feedback-activate Spg1 during actomyosin ring constriction. Therefore, activation of Spg1 by Rho1, which in turn is regulated by Etd1, uncovers a novel feedback loop mechanism that ensures SIN activity while cytokinesis is progressing.
Influence of Preoperative Left Ventricular Contractile Reserve on Postoperative Ejection Fraction in Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis

Background— Dobutamine stress hemodynamics (DSH) has the potential to stratify operative risk in low-gradient aortic stenosis (AS), but little is known about the relation between left ventricle contractile reserve and postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We sought to assess the value of DSH to predict postoperative improvement in LVEF. Methods and Results— Sixty-six consecutive patients with symptomatic severe AS (aortic valve area ≤1 cm2), LVEF ≤40%, and mean pressure gradient ≤40 mm Hg prospectively enrolled in the French multicenter study on low-gradient AS and who survived to aortic valvular replacement (AVR) were included. Preoperative contractile reserve was present in 46 patients (group I; 70%) and absent in 20 patients (group II; 30%). In the overall sample, 58% of patients improved by 2 New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes after AVR. Mean LVEF improved from 29±6% to 47±11% (P<0.0001). LVEF improved by ≥10 EF units in 38 patients (83%) in group I and in 13 patients (65%) in group II. Mean LVEF improvement was similar in the 2 groups (19±10% versus 17±11%; P=0.54). On multivariable analysis, multivessel coronary artery disease (P=0.05) and baseline mean transaortic pressure gradient (P=0.01) were related to LVEF improvement, whereas contractile reserve was not. Conclusions— LVEF increases in the majority of patients with low-gradient AS who survive after AVR. Although the absence of contractile reserve on DSH is related to high operative mortality, it does not predict the absence of LVEF recovery in patients surviving to AVR. These data further support the concept that surgery should not be contraindicated on the basis of absence of contractile reserve alone.
Dual Three-Winding Transformer Equivalent Circuit Matching Leakage Measurements

An equivalent circuit for the leakage inductance of three-winding transformers is presented. The model is derived from the principle of duality (between electric and magnetic circuits) and matches terminal-leakage inductance measurements. The circuit consists of a set of mutually coupled inductances and does not contain negative inductances. Each inductance can be computed from both: the geometrical information of the windings and from terminal-leakage measurements taking two windings at a time. The new model is suitable for steady state, electromechanical transients, and electromagnetic transient studies. The circuit can be assembled in any circuit simulation program, such as EMTP, PSPICE, etc. programs, using standard mutually coupled inductances.
Secure partial repair in wireless caching networks with broadcast channels

We study security in partial repair in wireless caching networks where parts of the stored packets in the caching nodes are susceptible to be erased. Let us denote a caching node that has lost parts of its stored packets as a sick caching node and a caching node that has not lost any packet as a healthy caching node. In partial repair, a set of caching nodes (among sick and healthy caching nodes) broadcast information to other sick caching nodes to recover the erased packets. The broadcast information from a caching node is assumed to be received without any error by all other caching nodes. All the sick caching nodes then are able to recover their erased packets, while using the broadcast information and the nonerased packets in their storage as side information. In this setting, if an eavesdropper overhears the broadcast channels, it might obtain some information about the stored file. We thus study secure partial repair in the senses of information-theoretically strong and weak security. In both senses, we investigate the secrecy caching capacity, namely, the maximum amount of information which can be stored in the caching network such that there is no leakage of information during a partial repair process. We then deduce the strong and weak secrecy caching capacities, and also derive the sufficient finite field sizes for achieving the capacities. Finally, we propose optimal secure codes for exact partial repair, in which the recovered packets are exactly the same as erased packets.