Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Underwater Acoustic Implementation of DFT-Spread OFDM

This paper presents a design of DFT-spread OFDM system applied to an underwater acoustic channel. It does not only combine all the advantages of a conventional OFDM system but also reduces the peak-to-average power ratio of the transmit signal. Besides, the scheme spreads the information over several subcarriers as a result of the application of an additional DFT operation and leads to a diversity gain in a frequency-selective fading channel, which is one of the many challenges of communicating data through an underwater acoustic channel. Simulation results show that our proposal possesses good bit-error-rate performance. The system has been tested in a real underwater acoustic channel—the experimental pool in Xiamen University. The experimental results show that the DFT-spread OFDM system can achieve better results than a simple OFDM system in a benign underwater channel.
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI): TREC-3 Report

This paper reports on recent developments of the Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) retrieval method for TREC-3. LSI uses a reduced-dimension vector space to represent words and documents. An important aspect of this representation is that the association between terms is automatically captured, explicitly represented, and used to improve retrieval. We used LSI for both TREC-3 routing and adhoc tasks. For the routing tasks an LSI space was constructed using the training documents. We compared profiles constructed using just the topic words (no training) with profiles constructed using the average of relevant documents (no use of the topic words). Not surprisingly, the centroid of the relevant documents was 30% better than the topic words. This simple feedback method was quite good compared to the routing performance of other systems. Various combinations of information from the topic words and relevant documents provide small additional improvements in performance. For the adhoc task we compared LSI to keyword vector matching (i.e. using no dimension reduction). Small advantages were obtained for LSI even with the long TREC topic statements.
Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Polymorphisms in Iron Homeostasis Genes: New Insights from a Case-Control Study

Background. Even if various pathophysiological events have been proposed as explanations, the putative cause of sudden hearing loss remains unclear. Objectives. To investigate and to reveal associations (if any) between the main iron-related gene variants and idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Study Design. Case-control study. Materials and Methods. A total of 200 sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients (median age 63.65 years; range 10–92) were compared with 400 healthy control subjects. The following genetic variants were investigated: the polymorphism c. −8CG in the promoter of the ferroportin gene (FPN1; SLC40A1), the two isoforms C1 and C2 (p.P570S) of the transferrin protein (TF), the amino acidic substitutions p.H63D and p.C282Y in the hereditary hemochromatosis protein (HFE), and the polymorphism c. –582AG in the promoter of the HEPC gene, which encodes the protein hepcidin (HAMP). Results. The homozygous genotype c. −8GG of the SLC40A1 gene revealed an OR for ISSNHL risk of 4.27 (CI 95%, 2.65–6.89; P = 0.001), being overrepresented among cases. Conclusions. Our study indicates that the homozygous genotype FPN1 −8GG was significantly associated with increased risk of developing sudden hearing loss. These findings suggest new research should be conducted in the field of iron homeostasis in the inner ear.
Gc-globulin: Roles in Response to Injury

Background: Gc-globulin (vitamin D– binding protein) appears to have important functions in addition to its role as a carrier of vitamin D. Approach: We reviewed recent studies focusing on the pathophysiologic functions and clinical significance of Gc-globulin. Results: Serum concentrations of Gc-globulin, as determined by immunoassay techniques, are decreased in severe injury. The extent of the decrease may have prognostic significance for patient outcomes. Clinical studies and animal models have shown that Gc-globu-lin has an important role in the clearance of procoagu-lant actin from the circulation after its release during cell necrosis and tissue injury. Gc-globulin has other potential roles in responses to acute tissue injury through conversion to a macrophage-activating factor, neutrophil chemotactic activity, and enhancement of C5a-mediated signaling. Conclusion: Considering the important physiologic roles of Gc-globulin in responses to tissue injury, such as clearance of actin, measurement of Gc-globulin may have value in directing the care of patients in many clinical disorders.
Improving hands-free menu selection using eyegaze glances and fixations

A real-time eyegaze selection interface was implemented using a Tobii eyegaze tracking monitor. A hierarchical button menu was displayed on the screen and specified selections were made by eyegaze fixations and glances on the menu widgets. The initial version tested three different spatial layouts of the menu widgets and employed a dwell + glance method of selection. Results from the pilot interface led to usability improvements in the second version of the interface. Selections were activated using a glance + dwell method. The usability of the second study interface received a positive response from all 8 participants. Each selection gained more than a 100% speed increase using the revised interface. A more intuitive selection interface in the second study allowed us to test users selection accuracy at faster dwell selection thresholds. Users quickly learned to achieve accurate selections in 180 ms, but made errors when selections occurred in 150 ms.
Would Greater Awareness of Social Security Survivor Benefits Affect Claiming Decisions?

Most Americans enter retirement as married couples, and one spouse, typically the wife, outlives the other. Many widows lack the income needed to maintain the standard of living they had when their husbands were alive. Widows would generally have more adequate incomes if their husbands, who are typically the higher earner in the couple, delayed claiming Social Security. This project uses the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to test the extent to which husbands consider their wives’ well-being as widows when making claiming decisions. It then uses an online experiment to determine whether raising a husband’s awareness of the risks that his widow faces, and how delayed claiming can reduce those risks, affect his claiming behavior.
Regulation and Internet Use in Developing Countries

Concerns about a worsening “digital divide” between rich and poor countries parallel the hope that information technology (IT) could increase economic growth in developing countries. Little research, however, has explored the role of public policies, and of regulation in particular, in IT growth. I use data from a unique new survey of telecommunications regulators and other sources to measure the effects of regulation on Internet development. Controlling for income and other factors that affect demand, I find that countries requiring formal regulatory approval for Internet service providers (ISPs) to operate have fewer Internet users and hosts than countries that do not require such approval. Moreover, countries that regulate ISP prices have higher Internet access prices than countries without such regulations. These results suggest that developing countries’ own regulatory policies can have large impacts on IT penetration.
C-reactive protein and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide as biomarkers in acute exacerbations of COPD leading to hospitalizations

There are currently no accepted and validated blood tests available for diagnosing acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). In this study, we sought to determine the discriminatory power of blood C-reactive protein (CRP) and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in the diagnosis of AECOPD requiring hospitalizations. The study cohort consisted of 468 patients recruited in the COPD Rapid Transition Program who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of AECOPD, and 110 stable COPD patients who served as controls. Logistic regression was used to build a classification model to separate AECOPD from convalescent or stable COPD patients. Performance was assessed using an independent validation set of patients who were not included in the discovery set. Serum CRP and whole blood NT-proBNP concentrations were highest at the time of hospitalization and progressively decreased over time. Of the 3 classification models, the one with both CRP and NT-proBNP had the highest AUC in discriminating AECOPD (cross-validated AUC of 0.80). These data were replicated in a validation cohort with an AUC of 0.88. A combination of CRP and NT-proBNP can reasonably discriminate AECOPD requiring hospitalization versus clinical stability and can be used to rapidly diagnose patients requiring hospitalization for AECOPD.
Selective hybrid RSS/AOA weighting algorithm for NLOS intra cell localization

In this paper, we present a selective hybrid weighting approach to intra cell locate a mobile station (MS) when both the range and the angle measurements are corrupted and Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) are not identified from Line-of-Sight (LOS) measurements. The NLOS effects are minimized by means of proper range scaling use and AOA to the base station correction. The MS location is estimated using weighted ranges and angular beam which produce special points, called potential points. The performance comparisons of the proposed method to other hybrid location methods are investigated in the NLOS environment. It is found that the proposed method can deal with NLOS error effectively making it attractive for location estimation in cellular networks.
Alzheimer's disease-affected brain: Presence of oligomeric Aβ ligands (ADDLs) suggests a molecular basis for reversible memory loss

A molecular basis for memory failure in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been recently hypothesized, in which a significant role is attributed to small, soluble oligomers of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ). Aβ oligomeric ligands (also known as ADDLs) are known to be potent inhibitors of hippocampal long-term potentiation, which is a paradigm for synaptic plasticity, and have been linked to synapse loss and reversible memory failure in transgenic mouse AD models. If such oligomers were to build up in human brain, their neurological impact could provide the missing link that accounts for the poor correlation between AD dementia and amyloid plaques. This article, using antibodies raised against synthetic Aβ oligomers, verifies the predicted accumulation of soluble oligomers in AD frontal cortex. Oligomers in AD reach levels up to 70-fold over control brains. Brain-derived and synthetic oligomers show structural equivalence with respect to mass, isoelectric point, and recognition by conformation-sensitive antibodies. Both oligomers, moreover, exhibit the same striking patterns of attachment to cultured hippocampal neurons, binding on dendrite surfaces in small clusters with ligand-like specificity. Binding assays using solubilized membranes show oligomers to be high-affinity ligands for a small number of nonabundant proteins. Current results confirm the prediction that soluble oligomeric Aβ ligands are intrinsic to AD pathology, and validate their use in new approaches to therapeutic AD drugs and vaccines.
' s response to reviews : Re : 1698583998899158-Absenteeism amongst health workers-developing a typology to support empiric work in low-income countries and characterizing reported causes

Word Count: Abstract 205 Main Text 4064 Additional file: A summary of studies included in the review. Abstract The contribution of inadequate health worker numbers and emigration have been highlighted in the international literature, but relatively little attention has been paid to absenteeism as a factor that undermines health care delivery in low income countries. We therefore aimed to review literature on absenteeism to inform needed work on this topic. Specifically we aimed to develop a typology of definitions that might be useful to classify different forms of absenteeism and identify factors associated with absenteeism. Sixty nine studies were reviewed, only four were from sub-Saharan Africa where the human resources for health crisis is most acute. Forms of absenteeism studied and methods used vary widely. No previous attempt to develop an overarching approach to classifying forms of absenteeism was identified. A typology based on three key characteristics is proposed to fill this gap and considers absenteeism as defined by three key attributes, whether it is: planned / unplanned, sanctioned / unsanctioned and voluntary / involuntary. Factors reported to influence rates of absenteeism may be broadly classified into three thematic categories; work place and content, personal and organizational and cultural factors. Literature presents an inconsistent picture of the effects of specific factors within these themes perhaps related to true contextual differences or inconsistent definitions of absenteeism.
Single‐channel analysis of an NMDA receptor possessing a mutation in the region of the glutamate binding site

1 Recombinant NR1a/NR2A(T671A) N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor‐channels, which carry a point mutation in the putative glutamate binding site that reduces glutamate potency by around 1000‐fold, have been expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and their single‐channel properties examined using patch‐clamp recording techniques. 2 Shut time distributions of channel activity were fitted with a mixture of five exponential components. The first three components in each distribution were considered to occur within a channel activation as they exhibited little or no dependence on agonist concentration. 3 Bursts of single‐channel openings were defined by a critical gap length with a mean of 5.65 ± 0.37 ms. Shut intervals with a duration longer than this value were considered to occur between separate bursts of channel openings. Distributions of the lengths of bursts of openings were fitted with a mixture of four exponential components. The longest two components carried the majority of the charge transfer in the channel recordings and had means of 7.71 ± 1.1 and 37.7 ± 4.3 ms. The overall probability of a channel being open during a burst was high (mean 0.92 ± 0.01). 4 Brief concentration jumps (1 ms) of 10 mm glutamate were applied to outside‐out patches so that a comparison between the macroscopic current relaxation and steady‐state single‐channel activity evoked by glutamate could be made. The decay of such macroscopic currents was fitted with a single exponential component with a mean of 32.0 ± 3.53 ms. 5 The good agreement between macroscopic current decay following brief agonist exposure and the value for the slowest component of the burst length distribution suggests that the bursts of openings that we identified in steady‐state recordings represent individual activations of recombinant NR1a/NR2A(T671A) NMDA receptor‐channels. 6 A new way of displaying geometric distributions is suggested, and the utility of a modified definition of the ‘probability of being open within a burst’ is discussed. 7 The single‐channel data that we present in this paper support further the idea that the point mutation T671A in the NR2A NMDA receptor subunit affects mainly the ability of glutamate to remain bound to these channels.
Brain atrophy in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: fractional volumetric analysis of gray matter and white matter.

PURPOSE To determine the fractional brain tissue volume changes in the gray matter and white matter of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) and to correlate these measurements with clinical disability and total lesion load. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 25 healthy control subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Fractional brain tissue volumes (tissue volume relative to total intracranial volume) were obtained from the total segmented gray matter and white matter in each group and were analyzed. RESULTS The fractional volume of white matter versus that of gray matter was significantly lower (-6.4%) in patients with MS (P <.0001) than in control subjects. Neither gray matter nor white matter fractional volume measurements correlated with clinical disability in the patients with MS. CONCLUSION Loss of brain parenchymal volume in patients with relapsing-remitting MS is predominantly confined to white matter. Analysis of fractional brain tissue volumes provides additional information useful in characterizing MS and may have potential in evaluating treatment strategies.
Zebra pattern in rocks as a function of grain growth affected by second-phase particles

In this communication we present a simple microdynamic model which can explain the beginning of the zebra pattern formation in rocks. The two dimensional model consists of two main processes, mineral replacement along a reaction front, and grain boundary migration affected by impurities. In the numerical model we assume that an initial distribution of second-phase particles is present due to sedimentary layering. The reaction front percolates the model and redistributes second-phase particles by shifting them until the front is saturated and drops the particles again. This produces and enhances initial layering. Grain growth is hindered in layers with high second-phase particle concentrations whereas layers with low concentrations coarsen. Due to the grain growth activity in layers with low second-phase particle concentrations these impurities are collected at grain boundaries and the crystals become very clean. Therefore the white layers in the pattern contain large grains with low concentration of second-phase particles, whereas the dark layers contain small grains with a large second-phase particle concentration.
Generating the mapping class group of a punctured surface by involutions

Let $\Sigma_{g,b}$ denote a closed orientable surface of genus $g$ with $b$ punctures and let $\rm Mod(\Sigma_{\textit{g,b}})$ denote its mapping class group. In [Luo] Luo proved that if the genus is at least 3, $\rm Mod(\Sigma_{\textit{g,b}})$ is generated by involutions. He also asked if there exists a universal upper bound, independent of genus and the number of punctures, for the number of torsion elements/involutions needed to generate $\rm Mod(\Sigma_{\textit{g,b}})$. Brendle and Farb [BF] gave an answer in the case of $g\geq 3, b=0$ and $g\geq 4, b=1$, by describing a generating set consisting of 6 involutions. Kassabov showed that for every $b$ $\rm Mod(\Sigma_{\textit{g,b}})$ can be generated by 4 involutions if $g\geq 8$, 5 involutions if $g\geq 6$ and 6 involutions if $g\geq 4$. We proved that for every $b$ $\rm Mod(\Sigma_{\textit{g,b}})$ can be generated by 4 involutions if $g\geq 7$ and 5 involutions if $g\geq 5$.
Spatial and Temporal Clustering of Chikungunya Virus Transmission in Dominica

Using geo-referenced case data, we present spatial and spatio-temporal cluster analyses of the early spread of the 2013–2015 chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Dominica, an island in the Caribbean. Spatial coordinates of the locations of the first 417 reported cases observed between December 15th, 2013 and March 11th, 2014, were captured using the Global Positioning System (GPS). We observed a preponderance of female cases, which has been reported for CHIKV outbreaks in other regions. We also noted statistically significant spatial and spatio-temporal clusters in highly populated areas and observed major clusters prior to implementation of intensive vector control programs suggesting early vector control measures, and education had an impact on the spread of the CHIKV epidemic in Dominica. A dynamical identification of clusters can lead to local assessment of risk and provide opportunities for targeted control efforts for nations experiencing CHIKV outbreaks.
Stock Price Informativeness and Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivity

Durnev, Morck and Yeung(2004a) show that more informative stock prices facilitate more efficient corporate investment. I first show how stock prices informativeness affect firm’s investment-cash flow sensitivity. Using China’s listed companies from manufacturing industry between 2001 and 2008, I find strong negative relations between stock prices informativeness and investment-cash flow sensitivity, the investment-cash flow sensitivity decreases significantly with increasing stock price informativeness. The empirical results also strongly support the point that more informative stock price facilitate more efficient capital allocation.
Hepatoprotective Effect of Terminalia chebula against t-BHP-Induced Acute Liver Injury in C57/BL6 Mice

We aimed to identify the hepatoprotective effects of Terminalia chebula water extract (TCW) and its corresponding pharmacological actions using C57/BL6 mice model of tert-butylhydroperoxide-(t-BHP-) induced acute liver injury. Mice were orally administered with TCW (0, 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg) or gallic acid (100 mg/kg) for 5 days before t-BHP (2.5 mM/kg) injection. Liver enzymes, histopathology, oxidative stress parameters, antioxidant components, and inflammatory cytokines were examined 18 h after t-BHP injection. t-BHP injection caused dramatic elevation of serum AST, ALT, and LDH level, while TCW pretreatment notably attenuated these elevations. Inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were notably increased in hepatic tissues, and then these were efficiently attenuated by TCW pretreatment. t-BHP injection notably increased malondialdehyde, total reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide in the liver tissue, while it markedly dropped the antioxidant activities including total antioxidant capacity, total glutathione contents, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. TCW pretreatment remarkably ameliorated these alterations, and these effects were relevant to gene expressions. Histopathological examinations supported the above findings. Collectively, these findings well prove that TCW beneficially prevents acute and severe liver injury and clarify its corresponding mechanisms involved in the inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines.
Salivary Soluble CD44: A Potential Molecular Marker for Head and Neck Cancer

Objective: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a debilitating disease which is cured only 50% of the time. If diagnosed early, survival rates could reach 80%, but there is currently no practical method for early detection. CD44 comprises a family of isoforms that, in certain tumors, are alternatively spliced and overexpressed in tissues and circulation. Here we examine salivary soluble CD44 (solCD44) expression in HNSCC patients and normal controls to determine its potential as a screening tool. Method: We did a solCD44 ELISA on saliva from 26 HNSCC patients, 10 normal volunteers, conditioned media (CM) of 4 HNSCC cell lines, and 1 CD44-negative cell line (COS-7). Western blot was done on CM from 2 HNSCC cell lines (UMSS11B and FaDu), COS-7, 3 HNSCC, and 2 normal saliva specimens to verify ELISA antibody specificity. SolCD44 levels were significantly elevated in HNSCC patients compared with normal controls (7.85 ng/mL for HNSCC patients and 1.09 ng/mL for normal controls, P < 0.001). Results: The test detected 79% of mucosally invasive HNSCC using preliminary cutoff points. SolCD44 levels did not vary significantly with tumor size, stage, recurrence, history of radiation treatment, or tobacco and alcohol risk factors. A 65 to 75 kDa band, corresponding to solCD44, was detected in all of the HNSCC cell line CM and saliva whereas normal samples showed a fainter band or were undetectable. Conclusion: In this preliminary analysis, the salivary solCD44 ELISA seems to effectively detect HNSCC at all stages. Further study is indicated because early detection is clearly important in this disease.