Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large system analysis of C-RAN downlink transmission in the presence of phase noise

In this paper, we analyze the effect of phase noise on the downlink ergodic sum-rate of a cloud radio access network. The system comprises of one baseband processing unit (BBU) on the cloud server which coordinates M multi-antenna remote radio heads (RRHs) serving K single-antenna users using regularized zero-forcing precoding. We assume the BBU has all users' data and imperfect channel state information and communicate with RRHs via optical fibers which are referred to as fronthaul links. The effect of phase noise both at RRHs and users is also taken into consideration. A deterministic approximation of downlink ergodic sum-rate is derived based on large dimensional random matrix theory when the numbers of antennas at RRHs and users are asymptotically large with a fixed ratio. From simulation results, it is confirmed that the deterministic approximation is accurate and the effect of phase noise is shown to result in a significant reduction in system performance.
Viral Vectors in Neurobiology: Therapeutic and Research Applications

Fig. 1. Virus. (A) Structure. Simplified scheme of virus structure, with a lipid envelope that can be present or not; a protein-composed capsid and the genetic material, that can be DNA or RNA, double or single strand. (B) Life cycle. Example of the course of adeno-associated virus (AAV) productive infection. Scheme showing the eight steps of AAV transduction of host cells: (1) viral binding to a membrane receptor/co-receptor; (2) endocytosis of the virus by the host cell; (3) virus intracellular trafficking through the endosomal compartment; (4) escape of the virus from the endosome; (5) virion uncoating; (6) entry into the nucleus; (7) viral genome conversion from a single-stranded to a double-stranded genome; and (8) integration into the host genome or permanence of an episomal form capable of expressing an encoded gene (from Coura and Nardi, 2008).
Inactivity/sleep in two wild free-roaming African elephant matriarchs – Does large body size make elephants the shortest mammalian sleepers?

The current study provides details of sleep (or inactivity) in two wild, free-roaming African elephant matriarchs studied in their natural habitat with remote monitoring using an actiwatch subcutaneously implanted in the trunk, a standard elephant collar equipped with a GPS system and gyroscope, and a portable weather station. We found that these two elephants were polyphasic sleepers, had an average daily total sleep time of 2 h, mostly between 02:00 and 06:00, and displayed the shortest daily sleep time of any mammal recorded to date. Moreover, these two elephants exhibited both standing and recumbent sleep, but only exhibited recumbent sleep every third or fourth day, potentially limiting their ability to enter REM sleep on a daily basis. In addition, we observed on five occasions that the elephants went without sleep for up to 46 h and traversed around 30 km in 10 h, possibly due to disturbances such as potential predation or poaching events, or a bull elephant in musth. They exhibited no form of sleep rebound following a night without sleep. Environmental conditions, especially ambient air temperature and relative humidity, analysed as wet-bulb globe temperature, reliably predict sleep onset and offset times. The elephants selected novel sleep sites each night and the amount of activity between sleep periods did not affect the amount of sleep. A number of similarities and differences to studies of elephant sleep in captivity are noted, and specific factors shaping sleep architecture in elephants, on various temporal scales, are discussed.
Effect of the unidirectional drawing on the thermal and mechanical properties of PLA films with different L‐isomer content

This work simulates the thermoforming process of two different L-isomer content PLA grades (95.6 and 98%), studying the influence on the induced morphology and the variation in the thermal and tensile properties. The thermoforming process was simulated with uniaxial tensile tests performed at different temperatures and strain rates, reporting the tensile behavior before, dur-ing, and after the test. The resulting structural changes were analyzed by wide-angle X-ray scattering and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Thermal characterization was carried out with differential scanning calorimetry and dynamomechanical thermal analy-sis. The results showed that, regardless the L-isomer content, drawing at 70 C produced a stable mesomorphic phase that showed greater tensile properties than the original films. This mesomorphic phase, indeed, could be reordered into a crystalline structure under mild annealing conditions (5 min/75C), if compared with those needed for similar amorphous PLA specimens (60 min/120C), thus providing a processing opportunity for obtaining thermally stable PLA products at temperatures above 100C.
Efficient Gene Silencing Mediated by Tobacco Rattle Virus in an Emerging Model Plant Physalis

The fruit of Physalis has a berry and a novelty called inflated calyx syndrome (ICS, also named the ‘Chinese lantern’). Elucidation of the underlying developmental mechanisms of fruit diversity demands an efficient gene functional inference platform. Here, we tested the application of the tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-mediated gene-silencing system in Physalis floridana. First, we characterized the putative gene of a phytoene desaturase in P. floridana (PfPDS). Infecting the leaves of the Physalis seedlings with the PfPDS-TRV vector resulted in a bleached plant, including the developing leaves, floral organs, ICS, berry, and seed. These results indicated that a local VIGS treatment can efficiently induce a systemic mutated phenotype. qRT-PCR analyses revealed that the bleaching extent correlated to the mRNA reduction of the endogenous PfPDS. Detailed comparisons of multiple infiltration and growth protocols allowed us to determine the optimal methodologies for VIGS manipulation in Physalis. We subsequently utilized this optimized VIGS methodology to downregulate the expression of two MADS-box genes, MPF2 and MPF3, and compared the resulting effects with gene-downregulation mediated by RNA interference (RNAi) methods. The VIGS-mediated gene knockdown plants were found to resemble the mutated phenotypes of floral calyx, fruiting calyx and pollen maturation of the RNAi transgenic plants for both MPF2 and MPF3. Moreover, the two MADS-box genes were appeared to have a novel role in the pedicel development in P. floridana. The major advantage of VIGS-based gene knockdown lies in practical aspects of saving time and easy manipulation as compared to the RNAi. Despite the lack of heritability and mosaic mutation phenotypes observed in some organs, the TRV-mediated gene silencing system provides an alternative efficient way to infer gene function in various developmental processes in Physalis, thus facilitating understanding of the genetic basis of the evolution and development of the morphological diversities within the Solanaceae.
Germination and ultrastructural studies of seeds produced by a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree: implications for its domestication and seed storage

The inner layers of the seed coat that remain attached to the cotyledons probably play a role in seed dormancy of Moringa oleifera. Cotyledons of seeds stored for one year showed no sign of deterioration. In some cells of the three-year-old cotyledons, the membranes of the protein bodies were deteriorated. Cell deterioration was also marked by the collapse of the cell wall adjacent to the intercellular cavity. The decrease in seed viability during storage is associated with the loss in membrane integrity as confirmed by the increase in electrolyte leakage. The longevity of seeds can be extended if they are stored within their fruits under favourable conditions.
Novel cellulose based foam-formed products : applications and numerical studies

A novel methodology using cellulose fibres in foam laid media is proposed in order to produce biodegradable, low-density porous materials called foam-paper. Foam-forming is a process in which paper-making fibres are located among the bubbles created by aqueous solution of surfactant. Finally, the suspension is de-watered and a 3D structure of fibre-network is made. Due to the 3D porous structure, high specific volume and capability of cellulose to participate in chemical reactions, these new products can be applied in heat insulation, sound absorption and aerosol filtration. Simplicity of production, biodegradability and being economically affordable are the most noticeable factors which prefer foam-papers to the other products with similar applications. In the current work, the first set of experiments is done on morphological characteristics of foam-papers. The effect of manufacturing condition (foam air-content) and fibre morphology such as fibre length and coarseness on the characteristics of the final product is studied. The influence of fibre specific surface (by adding valley beaten fibres), fibrillation (by using PFI refined fibres) and different pulp types is also investigated on tensile-index and specific volume (bulk) of the final products. The second set of experiments is run to specify the novel applications of foam-papers in sub-micron aerosol filtration, heat insulation and sound absorption. In order to perceive the physics of the flow though the grossly disordered geometry of foam-papers and also for providing insight into the structure of these novel products, numerical simulations based on Lattice-Boltzmann technique are carried out. For this purpose, 2D micro X-ray tomographic images are taken from the cross-section of some foam-paper samples to reconstruct their 3D structure. Finally, a model based on random cylinders and the frequency distribution of fibres in the thickness of the samples is proposed to reduce the huge amount of memory and large amount of CPU time.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Pain Impact Functioning and Disability After Major Burn Injury

This study sought to clarify the prospective and concurrent associations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain with functioning and disability after burn injury. The sample was composed of consecutive patients admitted to a regional burn center with major burn injuries (N = 171) who were followed at 1, 6, 12, and 24 months postdischarge. The predictor measures were the McGill Pain Questionnaire and Davidson Trauma Scale, and the outcome measures were Short Form-36 Health Survey subscales administered at 6, 12, and 24 months after discharge. Linear mixed-effects analyses were conducted to evaluate pain and PTSD as predictors of functional outcomes. Higher PTSD symptom severity soon after hospital discharge was prospectively related to poorer physical and social functioning and greater psychosocial disability (P < .001). However, significant PTSD-by-time interactions also predicted future physical functioning and disability, indicating that the deleterious effects of early PTSD were ameliorated by time. In addition, at each follow-up, PTSD symptoms were concurrently related to greater physical and psychosocial disability, poorer social functioning, and less vitality (P < .001). More severe pain at each follow-up, but not PTSD, was correlated with poorer concurrent physical functioning (P < .002). Significant interaction terms indicated that the concurrent effect of PTSD on psychosocial disability, social functioning, and vitality attenuated during the 24-month recovery period. These findings suggest that assessing PTSD and pain following burn injury may aid in predicting future functioning. Future work should confirm this and evaluate whether aggressively treating both PTSD and pain helps improve functioning after major burn injury.
Stellar masses of SDSS-III/BOSS galaxies at z ∼ 0.5 and constraints to galaxy formation models

We calculate stellar masses for ∼400 000 massive luminous galaxies at redshift ∼0.2–0.7 using the first two years of data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). Stellar masses are obtained by fitting model spectral energy distributions to u, g, r, i, z magnitudes, and simulations with mock galaxies are used to understand how well the templates recover the stellar mass. Accurate BOSS spectroscopic redshifts are used to constrain the fits. We find that the distribution of stellar masses in BOSS is narrow (Δlog M ∼ 0.5 dex) and peaks at about log M/M⊙ ∼ 11.3 (for a Kroupa initial stellar mass function), and that the mass sampling is uniform over the redshift range 0.2–0.6, in agreement with the intended BOSS target selection. The galaxy masses probed by BOSS extend over ∼1012 M⊙, providing unprecedented measurements of the high-mass end of the galaxy mass function. We find that the galaxy number density above ∼2.5 × 1011 M⊙ agrees with previous determinations. We perform a comparison with semi-analytic galaxy formation models tailored to the BOSS target selection and volume, in order to contain incompleteness. The abundance of massive galaxies in the models compare fairly well with the BOSS data, but the models lack galaxies at the massive end. Moreover, no evolution with redshift is detected from ∼0.6 to 0.4 in the data, whereas the abundance of massive galaxies in the models increases to redshift zero. Additionally, BOSS data display colour–magnitude (mass) relations similar to those found in the local Universe, where the most massive galaxies are the reddest. On the other hand, the model colours do not display a dependence on stellar mass, span a narrower range and are typically bluer than the observations. We argue that the lack of a colour–mass relation for massive galaxies in the models is mostly due to metallicity, which is too low in the models.
Analysis of behaviour for hollow/solid concrete-filled CHS steel beams

) Abstract. Interaction between the external thin-walled steel tube and the internal concrete core significantly increases the bending resistance of composite beams and beam-columns in comparison with the steel or concrete members. There is presented a developed method for design of hollow and solid concrete-filled steel tubular beams based on test data, which gives better agreement with test results than EC4 because its limitation to take an increase in strength of concrete caused by confinement contradicts the recommendation of 6.7. 2(4) that full composite action up to failure may be assumed between steel and concrete components of the member. Good agreement between the results of carried out experimental, numerical and theoretical investigations allows recommending the proposed method to use in design
Initial Reconstruction of Sustained Neck and Facial Burns

Approximately 50% of burn injuries involve the neck and head region. Because both appearance and function must be taken into account with burns of this area, several consecutive reconstructions will be performed. With a focus on improving outcome after burn injury, we underline the method of grafting as a very important element in primary surgery. With our special excision and grafting technique, we aim to achieve a reconstruction that deals with mobility and aesthetics. Consequently, necessary reconstructive procedures may be fewer and of less magnitude. We describe this surgical technique in detail. In this study we surgically treated 39 patients with sustained facial and neck burns. For 22 patients this surgical treatment circumvented the need to perform any secondary reconstructions. The proposed treatment involves a special grafting technique after pretreatment with a topical agent in combination with early pressure therapy.
Hierarchical Context Modeling for Video Event Recognition

Current video event recognition research remains largely target-centered. For real-world surveillance videos, targetcentered event recognition faces great challenges due to large intra-class target variation, limited image resolution, and poor detection and tracking results. To mitigate these challenges, we introduced a context-augmented video event recognition approach. Specifically, we explicitly capture different types of contexts from three levels including image level, semantic level, and prior level. At the image level, we introduce two types of contextual features including the appearance context features and interaction context features to capture the appearance of context objects and their interactions with the target objects. At the semantic level, we propose a deep model based on deep Boltzmann machine to learn event object representations and their interactions. At the prior level, we utilize two types of prior-level contexts including scene priming and dynamic cueing. Finally, we introduce a hierarchical context model that systematically integrates the contextual information at different levels. Through the hierarchical context model, contexts at different levels jointly contribute to the event recognition. We evaluate the hierarchical context model for event recognition on benchmark surveillance video datasets. Results show that incorporating contexts in each level can improve event recognition performance, and jointly integrating three levels of contexts through our hierarchical model achieves the best performance.
A systematic review of randomized trials on the effectiveness of computer-tailored education on physical activity and dietary behaviors

Background: Although computer-tailored promotion of dietary change and physical activity has been identified as a promising intervention strategy, there is a need for a more systematic evaluation of the evidence.Purpose: This study systematically reviews the scientific literature on computer-tailored physical activity and nutrition education.Methods: Intervention studies published from 1965 up to September 2004 were identified through a structured search in PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science and an examination of reference lists of relevant publications. Studies were included that applied a pretest-post-test randomized-controlled trial design, were aimed at primary prevention among adults, used computer-tailored interventions to change physical activity and dietary behaviors, and were published in English. The search resulted in 30 publications— 11 on physical activity behaviors and 26 on nutrition behaviors, some studies investigated multiple behaviors.Results: Three of 11 of the physical activity studies and 20 of 26 of the nutrition studies found significant effects of the tailored interventions. The evidence was most consistent for tailored interventions on fat reduction.Conclusions: Overall, there seems to be potential for the application of computer tailoring for promoting healthy diets, but more research is needed to test computer-tailored interventions against other state-of-the-art intervention techniques and to identify the mechanisms underlying successful computer tailoring.
High Salt Intake Is Associated with Atrophic Gastritis with Intestinal Metaplasia

Background: Although several studies have investigated excessive salt intake as a risk factor for gastric precancerous lesions, such as atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia, the evidence is insufficient to make a conclusion. We evaluated the association between gastric precancerous lesions and salt intake. Methods: From 2008 to 2015, the medical records of 728 subjects who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and sodium excretion in 24-hour urine tests were retrospectively reviewed. Sixty-six subjects were excluded due to diuretics use (n = 55), diagnosis with a gastric neoplasm (n = 4), or the cases of intestinal metaplasia in the absence of atrophy (n = 7), so 662 subjects were included. Atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia were diagnosed by endoscopic findings. The subjects were grouped into three levels by tertiles of 24-hour urine sodium excretion. Results: A total of 192 (29.0%) had atrophic gastritis without intestinal metaplasia and 112 (16.9%) had atrophic gastritis with intestinal metaplasia. A total of 276 subjects (61.5%) were infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). In multivariate analyses, H. pylori infection [OR = 14.17; 95% confidence interval (CI), 7.12–28.22) was associated with atrophic gastritis without intestinal metaplasia. Highest levels of sodium excretion (OR = 2.870; 95% CI, 1.34–6.14), heavy smoking (≥20 pack-years) (OR = 2.75; 95% CI, 1.02–7.39), and H. pylori infection (OR = 3.96; 95% CI, 2.02–7.76) were associated with atrophic gastritis with intestinal metaplasia. Conclusions: Our endoscopy-based study suggested that high salt intake could be associated with an increased risk of atrophic gastritis with intestinal metaplasia. Impact: Low salt diet might be helpful to prevent gastric carcinogenesis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(7); 1133–8. ©2017 AACR.
Simple Efficient Smart Finite Elements for the Analysis ofSmart Composite Beams

This paper is concerned with the development of new simple 4-noded locking-alleviated smart finite elements for modeling the smart composite beams. The exact solutions for the static responses of the overall smart composite beams are also derived for authenticating the new smart finite elements. The overall smart composite beam is composed of a laminated substrate conventional composite beam, and a piezoelectric layer attached at the top surface of the substrate beam. The piezoelectric layer acts as the actuator layer of the smart beam. Alternate finite element models of the beams, based on an “equivalent single layer high order shear deformation theory”, and a “layer-wise high order shear deformation theory”, are also derived for the purpose of investigating the required number of elements across the thickness of the overall smart composite beams. Several cross-ply substrate beams are considered for presenting the results. The responses computed by the present new “smart finite element model” excellently match with those obtained by the exact solutions. The new smart finite elements developed here reveal that the development of finite element models of smart composite beams does not require the use of conventional first order or high order or layer-wise shear deformation theories of beams. Instead, the use of the presently developed locking-free 4-node elements based on conventional linear piezo-elasticity is sufficient.
Square-root relations between main saccadic parameters.

PURPOSE To derive and evaluate two equations in which saccade duration and peak velocity are proportional to the square root of saccade amplitude. METHODS A population of horizontal visually guided saccades in a range of amplitudes from 1.5 degrees to 30 degrees was recorded by means of electro-oculography in eight normal adult subjects. The peak velocity-amplitude data of this population were fitted to four models: inverse linear, exponential, power law, and square root. To approximate the duration-amplitude relation, the square root was tested against the linear and power law models. For each model, the best-fit values of its parameters were estimated by the method of least squares. RESULTS When the entire population was used, all tested models displayed comparable goodness of fit, but when different subranges of this population were used, only the square root equations appeared to be robust and acceptably accurate. CONCLUSIONS In a restricted range of saccade amplitudes from 1.5 degrees to 30 degrees, the square root model has some advantages over the others commonly used: to express peak velocity and duration as functions of amplitude, it requires the estimation of only two parameters, whereas the others require four. Because of its robustness, this model can be used to evaluate populations of saccadic eye movements with different ranges of amplitudes. The two parameters of the model equations allow a simple and clear physical interpretation.