Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Providing Flow Transparent Mobility Support for IPv6-based Wireless Real-time Services

With the natural convergence of wireless communications and Internet technology, mobile real-time services such as wireless mobile Internet telephony will be ubiquitous. Since the emerging Third Generation (3G) wireless networks will adopt Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), simultaneous Quality of Service (QoS) and mobility support in IPv6 is becoming an imperative need. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) and Mobile IPv6 to provide IPv6 QoS and mobility support, respectively. However, an integrated and e cient interworking of these two mechanisms is still not present. In this paper, we identify a problem with the existing RSVP and Mobile IPv6 interworking model and consequently de ne a Flow Transparency concept to solve this problem. We show that a ow transparent mobility scheme is essential in a desired IPv6 QoS with mobility support model. We examine this desired model and illustrate how it overcomes the problem with the existing approach and achieves a more e cient RSVP and Mobile IPv6 integration. Solutions to accomplish the desired model based on the existing infrastructure, as well as their implementation considerations, will also be presented.
A sparse Bayesian approach for joint SAR imaging and phase error correction

SAR image formation algorithms have implicit or explicit dependence on the mathematical model of the image observation process. Inaccuracies in the image model will bring phase error, which may cause various quality degradations in the reconstructed images, especially in the millimeter-wave or terahertz-waves radar. In this paper, we propose a sparse Bayesian approach for joint SAR imaging and phase error correction. It uses an iterative algorithm, which cycles through steps of target reconstruction and phase error estimation. A sparse Bayesian recovering method, which named the expansion-compression variance-component based method (ExCoV), is used for image reconstruction. The proposed method can significantly improve the quality of the reconstructed image, and the phase errors can be estimated accurately. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Facile mechanical shaking method is an improved isolation approach for islet preparation and transplantation

Successful islet isolation is crucial for islet transplantation and cell treatment for type 1 diabetes. Current isolation methods are able to obtain 500–1,000 islets per rat, which results in a waste of ≥50% of total islets. In the present study, a facile mechanical shaking method for improving islet yield (up to 1,500 per rat) was developed and summarized, which was demonstrated to be more effective than the existing well-established stationary method. The present results showed that isolated islets have a maximum yield of 1,326±152 when shaking for 15 min for the fully-cannulated pancreas. For both fully-cannulated and half-cannulated pancreas in the presence of rat DNAse inhibitor, the optimal shaking time was amended to 20 min with a further increased yield of 1,344±134 and 1,286±124 islets, respectively. Furthermore, the majority of the isolated islets were morphologically intact with a well-defined surface and almost no central necrotic zone, which suggested that the condition of islets obtained via the mechanical shaking method was consistent with the stationary method. Islet size distribution was also calculated and it was demonstrated that islets from the stationary method exhibited the same size distribution as the non-cannulated group, which had more larger islets than the fully-cannulated and half-cannulated groups isolated via the shaking method. In addition, the results of glucose challenge showed that the refraction index of each group was >2.5, which indicated the well-preserved function of isolated islets. Furthermore, the transplanted islets exhibited a therapeutic effect after 1 day of transplantation; however, they failed to control blood glucose levels after ~7 days of transplantation. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that the facile mechanical shaking method may markedly improve the yield of rat islet isolation, and in vitro and in vivo investigation demonstrated the well-preserved function of isolated islets in the control of blood glucose. Therefore, the facile mechanical shaking method may be an alternative improved procedure to obtain higher islet yield for islet preparation and transplantation in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
Free Symmetric and Unitary Pairs in Division Rings with Involution

Let D be a division ring with an involution and characteristic different from 2. Then, up to a few exceptions, D contains a pair of symmetric elements freely generating a free subgroup of its multiplicative group provided that (a) it is finite-dimensional and the center has a finite sufficiently large transcendence degree over the prime field, or (b) the center is uncountable, but not algebraically closed in D. Under conditions (a), if the involution is of the first kind, it is also shown that the unitary subgroup of the multiplicative group of D contains a free subgroup, with one exception. The methods developed are also used to exhibit free subgroups in the multiplicative group of a finite-dimensional division ring provided the center has a sufficiently large transcendence degree over its prime field.
Double Time? Examining Extended Testing Time Accommodations (ETTA) in Postsecondary Settings.

Over eight thousand test administrations across two universities were examined to determine whether students with disabilities were being given the necessary extended testing time accommodations and whether their use of extended time decreased over the course of their programs. Findings revealed that commonly accepted recommendations about appropriate durations of accommodations were not suitable in meeting individual students’ needs and that students used more time on these types of accommodations as they moved through their first three years of their postsecondary programs. Recommendations are provided.
Zubin Master

Tek/Tie-2 is an endothelial cell (EC)-speci®c receptor tyrosine kinase that plays a critical role in angiogen-esis via its regulation by the angiopoietin family of growth factor ligands. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) can promote EC migration; however, the signaling mechanisms underlying this process remain elusive. Here we demonstrate that Dok-R/Dok-2 can associate with Tek in ECs following Ang1 stimulation, resulting in tyro-sine phosphorylation of Dok-R and the subsequent recruitment of Nck and the p21-activating kinase (Pak/Pak1) to the activated receptor. Ang1-mediated migration is increased upon Dok-R overexpression and this requires a functional Nck binding site on Dok-R. Localization of this Dok-R±Nck±Pak complex to the activated Tek receptor at the cellular membrane is coincident with activation of Pak kinase. The ability of Dok-R to bind Nck is required for maximal activation of Pak and overexpression of Pak results in increased Ang1-mediated cell motility. Our study outlines a novel signaling pathway underlying Ang1-driven cell migration that involves Dok-R and its recruitment of Nck and the subsequent activation of Pak.
Angle‐Analyzer: A Triangle‐Quad Mesh Codec

We present Angle‐Analyzer, a new single‐rate compression algorithm for triangle‐quad hybrid meshes. Using a carefully‐designed geometry‐driven mesh traversal and an efficient encoding of intrinsic mesh properties, Angle‐Analyzer produces compression ratios 40% better in connectivity and 20% better in geometry than the leading Touma and Gotsman technique for the same level of geometric distortion. The simplicity and performance of this new technique is demonstrated, and we provide extensive comparative tests to contrast our results with the current state‐of‐the‐art techniques.
Therapeutic Effects of Umbilical Cord Blood Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Conditioned Medium on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Rats

Background: Human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) may have multiple therapeutic applications for cell based therapy including the treatment of pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH). As low survival rates and potential tumorigenicity of implanted cells could undermine the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) cell-based therapy, we chose to investigate the use of conditioned medium (CM) from a culture of MSC cells as a feasible alternative. Methods: CM was prepared by culturing hUCB-MSCs in three-dimensional spheroids. In a rat model of PAH induced by monocrotaline, we infused CM or the control unconditioned culture media via the tail-vein of 6-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Results: Compared with the control unconditioned media, CM infusion reduced the ventricular pressure, the right ventricle/(left ventricle+interventricular septum) ratio, and maintained respiratory function in the treated animals. Also, the number of interleukin 1α (IL-1α), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL5), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1)–positive cells increased in lung samples and the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling technique (TUNEL)–positive cells decreased significantly in the CM treated animals. Conclusions: From our in vivo data in the rat model, the observed decreases in the TUNEL staining suggest a potential therapeutic benefit of the CM in ameliorating PAH-mediated lung tissue damage. Increased IL-1α, CCL5, and TIMP-1 levels may play important roles in this regard.
Image Enlargement by Applying Coordinate Rotation and Kernel Stretching to Interpolation Kernels

Conventional image interpolation methods such as the bilinear and bicubic algorithms determine the weights of the reference pixels based on the special distance between the supplementary pixel and the reference pixels. They suffer from some problems such as blurring and jagging around the edges since the edge structure is not considered in interpolation. In this paper, a coordinate rotation and kernel stretch strategy combined with the bilinear or bicubic algorithm is proposed to tackle these problems. For the edge regions, the spatial coordinate axes are rotated to the edge direction and the edge normal to calculate the distances between the supplementary pixel and the original reference pixels. The kernel function is also stretched along the estimated edge direction so that the weights of the reference pixels along the edge direction would be higher than the others to smooth the edge and prevent the jagging artifacts. An edge enhancement method is also proposed to further reduce the interpolation error and sharpen the edge. The experiment results demonstrate that conventional bilinear and bicubic image interpolation methods combined with the proposed strategy can greatly improve the quantitative and qualitative performance for image enlargement.
The effects of climate changes on aquifer storage and river baseflow

Abstract The effects of changes in climate on aquifer storage and groundwater flow to rivers have been investigated using an idealized representation of the aquifer/river system. The generalized aquifer/river model can incorporate spatial variability in aquifer transmissivity and is applied with parameters characteristic of Chalk and Triassic sandstone aquifers in the United Kingdom, and is also applicable to other aquifers elsewhere. The model is run using historical time series of recharge, estimated from observed rainfall and potential evaporation data, and with climate inputs perturbed according to a number of climate change scenarios. Simulations of baseflow suggest large proportional reductions at low flows from Chalk under high evaporation change scenarios. Simulated baseflow from the slower responding Triassic sandstone aquifer shows more uniform and less severe reductions. The change in hydrological regime is less extreme for the low evaporation change scenario, but remains significant for the Ch.
Long range order and two-fluid behavior in heavy electron materials

The heavy electron Kondo liquid is an emergent state of condensed matter that displays universal behavior independent of material details. Properties of the heavy electron liquid are best probed by NMR Knight shift measurements, which provide a direct measure of the behavior of the heavy electron liquid that emerges below the Kondo lattice coherence temperature as the lattice of local moments hybridizes with the background conduction electrons. Because the transfer of spectral weight between the localized and itinerant electronic degrees of freedom is gradual, the Kondo liquid typically coexists with the local moment component until the material orders at low temperatures. The two-fluid formula captures this behavior in a broad range of materials in the paramagnetic state. In order to investigate two-fluid behavior and the onset and physical origin of different long range ordered ground states in heavy electron materials, we have extended Knight shift measurements to URu2Si2, CeIrIn5, and CeRhIn5. In CeRhIn5 we find that the antiferromagnetic order is preceded by a relocalization of the Kondo liquid, providing independent evidence for a local moment origin of antiferromagnetism. In URu2Si2 the hidden order is shown to emerge directly from the Kondo liquid and so is not associated with local moment physics. Our results imply that the nature of the ground state is strongly coupled with the hybridization in the Kondo lattice in agreement with phase diagram proposed by Yang and Pines.
Human Body as Antenna and its Effect on Human Body Communications

Human body communication (HBC) is a promising wireless technology that uses the human body as part of the communication channel. HBC operates in the near-fleld of the high frequency (HF) band and in the lower frequencies of the very high frequency (VHF) band, where the electromagnetic fleld has the tendency to be conflned inside the human body. Electromagnetic interference poses a serious reliability issue in HBC; consequently, it has been given increasing attention in regard to adapting techniques to curtail its degrading efiect. Nevertheless, there is a gap in knowledge on the mechanism of HBC interference that is prompted when the human body is exposed to electromagnetic flelds as well as the efiect of the human body as an antenna on HBC. This paper narrows the gap by introducing the mechanisms of HBC interference caused by electromagnetic fleld exposure of human body. We derived analytic expressions for induced total axial current in the body and associated flelds in the vicinity of the body when an imperfectly conducting cylindrical antenna model of the human body is illuminated by a vertically polarized plane wave within the 1{200MHz frequency range. Also, flelds in the vicinity of the human body model from an on-body HBC transmitter are calculated. Furthermore, conducted electromagnetic interference on externally embedded HBC receivers is also addressed. The results show that the maximum HBC gain near 50MHz is due to whole-body resonance, and the maximum at 80MHz is due to the resonance of the arm. Similarly, the results also suggest that the magnitude of induced axial current in the body due to electromagnetic fleld exposure of human body is higher near 50MHz.
Stringy Hodge numbers of strictly canonical nondegenerate singularities

We describe a class of isolated nondegenerate hypersurface singularities that give a polynomial contribution to Batyrev's stringy E-function. These singularities are obtained by imposing a natural condition on the facets of the Newton polyhedron, and they are strictly canonical. We prove that Batyrev's conjecture concerning the nonnegativity of stringy Hodge numbers is true for complete varieties with such singularities, under some additional hypotheses on the defining polynomials (e.g. convenient or weighted homogeneous). The proof uses combinatorics on lattice polytopes. The results form a strong generalisation of previously obtained results for Brieskorn singularities.
Spectroscopic Target Selection in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: The Quasar Sample

We describe the algorithm for selecting quasar candidates for optical spectroscopy in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Quasar candidates are selected via their nonstellar colors in ugriz broadband photometry and by matching unresolved sources to the FIRST radio catalogs. The automated algorithm is sensitive to quasars at all redshifts lower than z ∼ 5.8. Extended sources are also targeted as low-redshift quasar candidates in order to investigate the evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at the faint end of the luminosity function. Nearly 95% of previously known quasars are recovered (based on 1540 quasars in 446 deg2). The overall completeness, estimated from simulated quasars, is expected to be over 90%, whereas the overall efficiency (quasars/quasar candidates) is better than 65%. The selection algorithm targets ultraviolet excess quasars to i* = 19.1 and higher redshift (z ≳ 3) quasars to i* = 20.2, yielding approximately 18 candidates deg-2. In addition to selecting "normal" quasars, the design of the algorithm makes it sensitive to atypical AGNs such as broad absorption line quasars and heavily reddened quasars.
Clinical, electrophysiologic and pathologic findings in 10 patients with myotonic dystrophy 2.

BACKGROUND Myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) is an autosomal dominant, multisystem disorder caused by a CCTG tetranucleotide repeat expansion located in intron 1 of the zinc finger protein 9 gene (ZNF9 gene) on chromosome 3q 21.3. OBJECTIVES To describe the clinical, electrophysiologic and pathologic findings in patients with myotonic dystrophy 2. METHODS We evaluated 10 patients genetically, clinically and electrophysiologically during the years 2007 to 2008. RESULTS All patients were of Jewish European ancestry. Among affected individuals, eight patients had symptoms of proximal muscle weakness, two had muscle pain, and two exhibited myotonia. On physical examination six patients had severe weakness of hip flexor muscles. Seven individuals underwent cataract surgery, and cardiac involvement was seen in one case. On the initial electromyographic (EMG) examination five patients demonstrated myotonic discharges; repeated studies showed these discharges in nine cases. Six muscle biopsies showed non-specific pathological changes. Seven patients had an affected first-degree relative with either a diagnosed or an undiagnosed muscular disorder consistent with an autosomal dominant trait. CONCLUSIONS DM2 may often present with proximal muscle weakness without myotonia. EMG may initially fail to show myotonic discharges, but these discharges may eventually show in most cases on repeated EMG. Thus, DM2 may be underdiagnosed and should be included in the differential diagnosis of adult patients of Jewish European ancestry presenting with proximal lower limb weakness.
Explore the dynamic alternation of gene PLAC4 mRNA expression levels in maternal plasma in second trimester for nonivasive detection of trisomy 21

Objective Noninvasive prenatal detection of trisomy 21 (T21) has been achieved by measuring the ratio of two alleles of a single nucleotide polymorphism in circulating placenta specific 4 (PLAC4) mRNA in maternal plasma with a few assays in recent years. Our research is to explore the variations of PLAC4 mRNA expression level in maternal plasma with normal pregnancies in second trimester, which can provide pregnant women deeper insights with suitable detection period for the non-invasive prenatal detection of T21. Methods We measured a serial plasma PLAC4 mRNA concentrations weekly from the same 25 singleton normal pregnant women. We recruited maternal plasma samples from 45 singleton pregnant women, comprising of 25 euploid pregnancies (control group; range, 17 to 21 weeks) and 20 T21 pregnancies (T21 group; range, 19 to 24 weeks). With the application of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we achieved an insight of PLAC4 mRNA expression levels in maternal plasma during second trimester with euploid pregnancies. Results Among the control group, the levels of PLAC4 mRNA expression in the gestation of 17 to 18 weeks were significantly less than those in the gestation of 18 to 21 weeks (P<0.05). The average PLAC4 mRNA concentration of the normal pregnant women was not higher than that of the T21 group (P>0.05). Conclusion The PLAC4 mRNA showed a higher level of expression in the gestation of 18 to 21 weeks with an euploid pregnancy of pregnant women. We also found that there was no significant difference in plasma PLAC4 mRNA concentration between the normal and the T21 pregnancies in second trimester.
Functional Ability, Physical Activity and Self-rated Health in Old Age A Cross Sectional Population-based Study in Norway

Functional ability (FA) is here defined as having no limitations in five questions related to the ICF dimensions "Activity" and "Participation" (ICF=International Classification of Functioning). The aim was to explore how individual and contextual factors were associated with FA in each gender, and to explore to what extent physical activity (PA) and this measure of FA used in large multipurpose health surveys seem to measure different constructs, and how close the as- sociation between PA and FA was, and whether it differed within self-rated health (SRH), lifestyle and contextual factors. Methods: All men and women aged 75-77 (N=11684) in five counties in Norway were invited to health surveys in 2000- 2003. 49% participated (2626 men, 3146 women) with answers on the five questions on FA. Data were analysed using lo- gistic regression, factor analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results: Good SRH, no serious pain or stiff- ness in muscles and joints, interest from others, no psychological distress and no weekly use of analgesics, hypnotics, tranquilisers or antidepressants showed the highest positive associations with FA for both men and women. The SEM- estimated correlation of FA and PA items was lowest in healthy elderly (r=0.19 (0.11-0.24)) compared to those with poor health (r=0.40 (0.35-0.45)). FA and PA measured different constructs. Conclusion: According to low correlation between FA and PA in healthy men and women, we suggest that FA and PA did not measure the same construct, and impairments in functional ability did not necessarily mean low level of physical activity if SRH was good.
Deficits in radial arm maze performance in kindled rats: evidence for long-lasting memory dysfunction induced by repeated brief seizures

Repeated activation of neural pathways by kindling induces brief seizures, permanent increases in seizure susceptibility, neuronal loss in the hippocampus, and mossy fiber sprouting in the dentate gyrus. Because kindling induces permanent cellular alterations in hippocampal pathways that have been implicated in memory, it was of interest to determine if kindling also induces long-lasting impairments in a spatial memory task in rats. In this study, the effects of kindling on memory were investigated by assessing kindled rats in a radial arm maze behavior that is impaired by hippocampal damage. Kindled rats studied at 1 month after the last of 30–134 evoked generalized tonic-clonic seizures acquired competence in the performance of the radial arm maze task at a rate that was indistinguishable from age-matched normal controls, but demonstrated a deficit in the ability to repeat the task on consecutive days. The repetition deficit was not observed in rats that experienced three afterdischarges or three generalized tonic- clonic seizures, and the severity of the deficit varied directly with the number of evoked kindled seizures. Repeated brief seizures evoked by kindling induced a long-lasting deficit in a radial arm maze task that is a rodent model of memory. The observation of a long-lasting deficit in radial arm maze performance in kindled rats suggests that the cellular alterations induced in the hippocampus by seizures could contribute to the memory dysfunction in human epilepsy.