Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint rate and fragment size adaptation in IEEE 802.11n wireless LANs

For high-speed 802.11n WLANs, we propose a joint rate and fragment size adaptation scheme incorporated into the aggregation scheme, AFR (Aggregation with Fragment Retransmission), in which multiple packets are f rstly fragmented and then aggregated into in a single large frame. We investigate how to control the frame and fragment size as well as the transmission rate in dynamic channel condition. In the proposed scheme, the transmitter estimates the fragment error probability in the MAC layer, which can characterize channel quality, and uses simple look-up table of thresholds which are obtained from the perfow throughput equation for various PHY modes and fragment sizes. Through extensive simulations, we show that the proposed scheme has comparable throughput performance with the ideal performance which is obtained under the assumption that perfect channel information can be available at the transmitter as well as has higher throughput than the existing open-loop rate adaptation scheme.
A review on the polymeric laminates reinforced with natural fibers

The use of composites in industries has become inevitable due to the enhancement in properties, reduction in the manufacturing cost and suitability to several applications. Among the different classifications, polymeric composites are majorly focused for their use as structural components. In a polymeric composite, the selection and composition of reinforcement play a vital role in deciding the characteristics of the composite. Although composites are developed with man-made reinforcement in the beginning stage, in the present scenario, natural reinforcements have proved consummate results in terms of properties. Hence, present day researches are mainly focused on the use of different natural fibers in different forms as reinforcements in polymeric composite. The present study gives a clear picture of various available natural fibers and how they are made in the form of reinforcement for composites. The study also explains the diverse pre-treatment methods used by the researchers for the enhancement of fiber quality. In addition, this review also gives a detailed insight of how the natural fibers are used in the hybrid form for the improvement of composite property.
The development and use of a decadal climate prediction 2 system at GFDL 3 4

22 In this paper we describe the development and application of the GFDL decadal climate prediction 23 system. This system consists of the GFDL CM2.1 global coupled climate model, an ensemble coupled 24 assimilation system for producing initial conditions as well as a reanalysis, and estimates of past and 25 future radiative forcing changes. 26 We assess the skill in this decadal prediction system through conducting and analyzing suites of 27 prediction experiments initialized over the period 1961-2012. For each of the 52 years, there is a ten 28 member ensemble of ten year experiments starting from observed initial conditions. Each of the 29 hindcasts is also forced with time-varying estimates of radiative forcing changes. This experimental 30 protocol is consistent with the near term prediction experiments of the Coupled Model Intercomparison 31 Project Phase 5, and these experiments have been made available for assessment in the fifth 32 Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change. 33 The most notable predictable signal on decadal timescales is the warming trend in response to the 34 external radiative forcing. However, a consistent predictive signal in the North Atlantic associated with 35 Atlantic Multidecadal Variability emerges. The fact that this internal variability signal emerges over 36 the external forcing and has predictive skill from the initialization is encouraging to the prospects of the 37 nascent decadal prediction activity. 38 A decadal prediction starting in January 2012 and ending in 2021 is presented. Consistent with the 39 uninitialized projections there is increased warming over the decade with greater warming over land. 40 However, the initialized 2012 predictions are overall cooler than the uninitialized projections especially 41 in the Southern Ocean. 42
The CIPIC HRTF database

This paper describes a public-domain database of high-spatial-resolution head-related transfer functions measured at the UC Davis CIPIC Interface Laboratory and the methods used to collect the data. Release 1.0 (see http://interface.cipic.ucdavis.edu) includes head-related impulse responses for 45 subjects at 25 different azimuths and 50 different elevations (1250 directions) at approximately 5/spl deg/ angular increments. In addition, the database contains anthropometric measurements for each subject. Statistics of anthropometric parameters and correlations between anthropometry and some temporal and spectral features of the HRTFs are reported.
A mixed formulation of Boussinesq equations: Analysis of nonsingular solutions

This paper is concerned with the mixed formulation of the Boussinesq equations in two-dimensional domains and its numerical approximation. The paper deals first with existence and uniqueness results, as well as the description of the regularity of any solution. The problem is then approximated by a mixed finite element method, where the gradient of the velocity and the gradient of the temperature, quantities of practical importance, are introduced as new unknowns. An existence result for the finite element solution and convergence results are proved near a nonsingular solution. Quasi-optimal error estimates are finally presented.
A High-Voltage-Gain DC–DC Converter Based on Modified Dickson Charge Pump Voltage Multiplier

A high-voltage-gain dc–dc converter is introduced in this paper. The proposed converter resembles a two-phase interleaved boost converter on its input side while having a Dickson-charge-pump-based voltage multiplier (VM) on its output side. This converter offers continuous input current, which makes it more appealing for the integration of renewable sources like solar panels to a 400-V dc bus. Also, the proposed converter is capable of drawing power from either a single source or two independent sources. Furthermore, the VM used offers low voltage ratings for capacitors that potentially leads to size reduction. The converter design and component selection have been discussed in detail with supporting simulation results. A hardware prototype of the proposed converter with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\rm{in}}= \rm{ 20}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\rm{out}}= \rm{ 400}$</tex-math></inline-formula> V has been developed to validate the analytical results.
STUDIES IN SOME FOLIOSE RED ALGAE OF THE PACIFIC COAST. III. DUMONTIACEAE, WEEKSIACEAE, KALLYMENIACEAE 1

The female reproductive structures and their development, and the vegetative structure are studied in 17 species of red algae in the Cryptonemiales (Rhodophyceae). Three genera, Weeksia, Constantinea, and the type species of Leptocladia, are removed from the Dumontiaceae to a newly created family, the Weeksiaceae, because of differing postfertilization events leading to the development of the gonimoblast from a cell of the carpogonial branch. Three genera of Dumontiaceae are studied: Pikea, including P. californica, the type species, and Pikea robusta a newly described species; Dilsea californica, and a newly described species of Neodilsea, a genus heretofore known only from the northwestern Pacific. Two transfers are made from the genus Leptocladia, 1 to Farlowia, as F. conferta, and 1 to Rhodophyllis (Gigartinales) as R. peruviana. Three species in the Kallymeniaceae are redescribed: Kallymenia pacifica, a rare and nearly unknown species from southern California and adjacent Pacific Mexico; K. norrisii from central California; and K. oblongifructa from Washington, Oregon, and northern California.
H4 Histamine Receptors Mediate Cell Cycle Arrest in Growth Factor-Induced Murine and Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

The most recently characterized H4 histamine receptor (H4R) is expressed preferentially in the bone marrow, raising the question of its role during hematopoiesis. Here we show that both murine and human progenitor cell populations express this receptor subtype on transcriptional and protein levels and respond to its agonists by reduced growth factor-induced cell cycle progression that leads to decreased myeloid, erythroid and lymphoid colony formation. H4R activation prevents the induction of cell cycle genes through a cAMP/PKA-dependent pathway that is not associated with apoptosis. It is mediated specifically through H4R signaling since gene silencing or treatment with selective antagonists restores normal cell cycle progression. The arrest of growth factor-induced G1/S transition protects murine and human progenitor cells from the toxicity of the cell cycle-dependent anticancer drug Ara-C in vitro and reduces aplasia in a murine model of chemotherapy. This first evidence for functional H4R expression in hematopoietic progenitors opens new therapeutic perspectives for alleviating hematotoxic side effects of antineoplastic drugs.
High accuracy determination of skin friction differences in an air channel flow based on pressure drop measurements

The present work delivers a versatile, accurate and reliable wind tunnel facility that is employed to test different flow control techniques for drag reduction in precisely adjustable test conditions. A blower wind tunnel with a channel flow test section is developed, capable of resolving changes in the skin friction drag as small as 0.4% thanks to the accurate measurement of both pressure drop throughout the channel and volumetric flow rate. This high accuracy is verified through a detailed uncertainty analysis and is proven by means of thoroughly conducted measurements of the smooth reference test section. A comprehensive comparison with literature data reveals the correctness of the measurements under laminar and turbulent flow conditions. The capabilities of the experimental set-up are exploited to quantify the potential skin friction reduction achievable by passive riblets and micro grooved surfaces, as well as by active spanwise oscillating walls, each of which have been applied in the present work. The influence of different measurement strategies on the measurement accuracy is elaborated in detail and extensively discussed. The results of the riblet experiments are in excellent agreement with literature, where the high accuracy of measurements allowed to prove the drag reduction over riblet surfaces to be independent of the streamwise length. Remarkably, the present work is the first experimental contribution in air with comparable accuracy to that of the most accurate studies in liquids. In contrast to existing literature, a careful analysis of the micro groove experiments uncovered that no effect on turbulent drag is achievable with such devices. This contradiction demonstrates the sensitivity of measurement accuracy and uncertainty estimation to the drawn conclusions. Furthermore, the capabilities of the present facility made possible to accurately quantify the small turbulent drag reduction obtained by spanwise wall oscillations implemented with Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEA). Finally, a new correction factor is proposed in so as to account for three dimensional effects, such as finite channel width and corresponding flow
Differentiating the cellular and humoral components of neuromuscular blocking agent-induced anaphylactic reactions in patients undergoing anaesthesia.

BACKGROUND The significance of IgE antibodies to neuromuscular blocking agent (NMBA)-induced anaphylactic reactions during anaesthesia is unclear. We investigated the relevance of IgE to rocuronium using an in vitro technique. METHODS Serum samples from 61 patients with anaphylactic reactions during anaesthesia were investigated. On the basis of clinical history, allergy to NMBA was considered likely in 48 patients, further assessed using intradermal skin tests for several commonly used NMBAs, including rocuronium, vecuronium, and succinylcholine. To determine the presence of rocuronium IgE in human serum, a rocuronium-human serum albumin (rocHSA) conjugate was coupled to a solid phase and a radioallergosorbent test performed. The biological effects of patient serum NMBA-IgE on histamine release were investigated using in vitro sensitized basophils from healthy blood donors. RESULTS IgE to rocuronium was found in 23 of 48 serum samples (48%) with NMBA allergy, although only two of these were able to sensitize basophils to release histamine in response to rocHSA. IgE-responsiveness in the basophil test was only observed with conjugated rocHSA and not with unconjugated rocuronium or the other NMBAs evaluated. However, unconjugated rocuronium inhibited the histamine release induced by rocHSA. Correlation between skin-test reactivity to rocuronium and IgE to rocHSA was low (P>0.1). In contrast, striking correlation between IgE to rocuronium and skin-test reactivity to succinylcholine was found (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that NMBA-related anaphylaxis requires not only IgE NMBA reactivity, but also altered cellular reactivity in the patient. The latter may be demonstrable by testing basophils from the patient, a skin test with (steroidal) NMBA, or both.
QR Factorization on a Multicore Node Enhanced with Multiple GPU Accelerators

One of the major trends in the design of exascale architectures is the use of multicore nodes enhanced with GPU accelerators. Exploiting all resources of a hybrid accelerators-based node at their maximum potential is thus a fundamental step towards exascale computing. In this article, we present the design of a highly efficient QR factorization for such a node. Our method is in three steps. The first step consists of expressing the QR factorization as a sequence of tasks of well chosen granularity that will aim at being executed on a CPU core or a GPU. We show that we can efficiently adapt high-level algorithms from the literature that were initially designed for homogeneous multicore architectures. The second step consists of designing the kernels that implement each individual task. We use CPU kernels from previous work and present new kernels for GPUs that complement kernels already available in the MAGMA library. We show the impact on performance of these GPU kernels. In particular, we present the benefits of new hybrid CPU/GPU kernels. The last step consists of scheduling these tasks on the computational units. We present two alternative approaches, respectively based on static and dynamic scheduling. In the case of static scheduling, we exploit the a priori knowledge of the schedule to perform successive optimizations leading to very high performance. We, however, highlight the lack of portability of this approach and its limitations to relatively simple algorithms on relatively homogeneous nodes. Alternatively, by relying on an efficient runtime system, Star PU, in charge of ensuring data availability and coherency, we can schedule more complex algorithms on complex heterogeneous nodes with much higher productivity. In this latter case, we show that we can achieve high performance in a portable way thanks to a fine interaction between the application and the runtime system. We demonstrate that the obtained performance is very close to the theoretical upper bounds that we obtained using Linear Programming.
Psychological characteristics of Japanese gynecologic cancer patients after learning the diagnosis according to the hospital anxiety and depression scale

Aim: Anxiety and depression are common in cancer patients, because diagnosis of cancer raises the fear of death. Although mental problems are often overlooked in cancer patients, it is important to control psychological distress, improve the quality of life, encourage patients to express requests about cancer therapy appropriately, and reduce the burden on family members.
Nanoarchitecture of MOF-derived nanoporous functional composites for hybrid supercapacitors

A new nanoarchitecture approach based on metal–organic frameworks (MOF) is reported that can achieve high electrochemical energy storage via utilizing both electric double-layer supercapacitive and pseudocapacitive properties within a single nanoporous composite particle. Herein, a predesigned Co2+-excess bimetallic hybrid Co/Zn zeolitic imidazole framework was used to fabricate a composite containing N-doped nanoporous carbon with a rich carbon nanotube (CNT) content on particle surfaces without H2, with the carbon coexisting with Co nanoparticles (NPs) and Co3O4, through controlled carbonization at 800 °C and subsequent oxidation at 250–300 °C. Optimized nanoporous carbon composites were obtained by tracking the formation of Co3O4 and destruction of N-doped nanoporous carbon (NPC) via detailed X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The resulting material showed a high surface area of ∼202 m2 g−1 and included coexisting micro- and mesoporous N-doped carbon, CNTs, Co NPs, and Co3O4 (15 nm in size) after a thermal oxidation process in air at 250 °C for 5 h. Surprisingly, the as-prepared MOF-derived nanoarchitecture exhibited superior electrochemical storage performance, with a capacitance of 545 F g−1 within a wide potential window, achieving up to 320% enhanced capacitance compared to that of pristine nanoporous carbon, which is higher than those of most MOF-derived carbons reported so far. Our strategic nanoarchitecture design for MOFs offers a new opportunity for future applications in high performance energy storage systems.
Analysis and review of state-of-the-art automatic parking assist system

The emerging advanced technology, automatic parking assist, makes it possible to free drivers' hands from bored parking maneuvers and offers the possibility of reducing driver stress. Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle unveiled in 2003 is the first automobile equipped with automatic parking assist system(APAS), the research and development in APAS has become a growing trend spread from automobile enterprises to vehicle research centers of institutions and universities over ten years. APAS consists of four parts - environment recognition module, path planning generation module, path tracking controller subsystem and improved actuators like active steering/breaking subsystem. This paper mainly dealt with the new progress of APAS, on the basis of brief introduction of system with nonholonomic constraints. Firstly, the basic structures and operating principles of APAS were elaborated, and meanwhile, two methodologies applied for analyzing APAS from the vehicle engineers and robot scientists were taken into consideration respectively. Then, the products and hot topics of APAS were categorized and demonstrated, in terms of environment recognition (including vehicular position perception and obstacles detection using ultrasonic radars and vision-based sensors), path planning generation algorithms involved with continuous-curvature path using clothoid curves, different trajectory tracing control strategies based on fuzzy logic controller and fractional order controller, so as to present a detailed state-of-the-art research situation. Last but not the least, based on the current research situation, some urgent problems and development trends were discussed.
Microtubule-associated Protein/Microtubule Affinity-regulating Kinase (p110mark)

Aberrant phosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau is one of the pathological features of neuronal degeneration in Alzheimer's disease. The phosphorylation of Ser-262 within the microtubule binding region of tau is of particular interest because so far it is observed only in Alzheimer's disease (Hasegawa, M., Morishima-Kawashima, M., Takio, K., Suzuki, M., Titani, K., and Ihara, Y.(1992) J. Biol. Chem. 26, 17047-17054) and because phosphorylation of this site alone dramatically reduces the affinity for microtubules in vitro (Biernat, J., Gustke, N., Drewes, G., Mandelkow, E.-M., and Mandelkow, E.(1993) Neuron 11, 153-163). Here we describe the purification and characterization of a protein-serine kinase from brain tissue with an apparent molecular mass of 110 kDa on SDS gels. This kinase specifically phosphorylates tau on its KIGS or KCGS motifs in the repeat domain, whereas no significant phosphorylation outside this region was detected. Phosphorylation occurs mainly on Ser-262 located in the first repeat. This largely abolishes tau's binding to microtubules and makes them dynamically unstable, in contrast to other protein kinases that phosphorylate tau at or near the repeat domain. The data suggest a role for this novel kinase in cellular events involving rearrangement of the microtubule-associated proteins/microtubule arrays and their pathological degeneration in Alzheimer's disease.
Elicitor-Induced Biochemical and Molecular Manifestations to Improve Drought Tolerance in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) through Seed-Priming

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the major grain cereals of the Indian subcontinent which face water-deficit stress for their cultivation. Seed-priming has been reported to be a useful approach to complement stress responses in plants. In the present study, seed-priming with hormonal or chemical elicitor [viz. methyl jasmonate (MJ), salicylic acid (SA), paclobutrazol (PB)] showed significant increase in total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and expression of Rice Drought-responsive (RD1 and RD2) genes (of AP2/ERF family) in contrasting rice genotypes (Nagina-22, drought-tolerant and Pusa Sugandh-5, drought-sensitive) under drought stress. However, decrease in lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation was observed not only under the stress but also under control condition in the plants raised from primed seeds. Expression analyses of RD1 and RD2 genes showed upregulated expression in the plants raised from primed seeds under drought stress. Moreover, the RD2 gene and the drought-sensitive genotype showed better response than that of the RD1 gene and the drought-tolerant genotype in combating the effects of drought stress. Among the elicitors, MJ was found to be the most effective for seed-priming, followed by PB and SA. Growth and development of the plants raised from primed seeds were found to be better under control and drought stress conditions compared to that of the plants raised from unprimed seeds under the stress. The present study suggests that seed-priming could be one of the useful approaches to be explored toward the development of simple, cost-effective and farmer-friendly technology to enhance rice yield in rainfed areas.
With a Little Help from My Friends: Group Orientation by Larvae of a Coral Reef Fish

Theory and some empirical evidence suggest that groups of animals orient better than isolated individuals. We present the first test of this hypothesis for pelagic marine larvae, at the stage of settlement, when orientation is critical to find a habitat. We compare the in situ behaviour of individuals and groups of 10–12 Chromis atripectoralis (reef fish of the family Pomacentridae), off Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. Larvae are observed by divers or with a drifting image recording device. With both methods, groups orient cardinally while isolated individuals do not display significant orientation. Groups also swim on a 15% straighter course (i.e. are better at keeping a bearing) and 7% faster than individuals. A body of observations collected in this study suggest that enhanced group orientation emerges from simple group dynamics rather than from the presence of more skilful leaders.