Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic guard bandwidth scheme for wireless broadband networks

In future wireless broadband networks, bandwidth demands could fluctuate abruptly due to movement of high data rate users. Dynamic bandwidth reservation plays a key rule in ensuring that mobile calls are not disrupted after they are admitted into the network. We propose a dynamic guard bandwidth scheme that adapts the amount of guard bandwidth in both wired and wireless links according to real-time handoff predictions made by individual mobile terminals, leveraged by the expected widespread availability of GPS-capable wireless devices in the near future. We describe procedures for approximating irregular handoff-request boundary, and for estimating a mobile's remaining time to handoff and target handoff cell. Guard bandwidth is adjusted on the fly only when a handoff is anticipated to occur shortly. The scheme is robust against modifications in handoff parameters, as well as changes in terrain and manmade features that could affect radio propagation. It also caters for heterogeneous bandwidth requirements. Admission control algorithms for both new calls and handoff calls are provided. Simulation results show that our scheme is able to meet specified forced termination probability under high offered load, and that resources are not reserved unnecessarily.
Adaptive Tuning of Numerical Weather Prediction Models: Simultaneous Estimation of Weighting, Smoothing, and Physical Parameters

Abstract In Wahba et al. it was shown how the randomized trace method could be used to adaptively tune numerical weather prediction models via generalized cross validation (GCV) and related methods. In this paper a “toy” four-dimensional data assimilation model is developed (actually one space and one time variable), consisting of an equivalent barotropic vorticity equation on a latitude circle, and used to demonstrate how this technique may be used to simultaneously tune weighting, smoothing, and physical parameters. Analyses both with the model as a strong constraint (corresponding to the usual 4D-Var approach) and as a weak constraint (corresponding theoretically to a fixed-interval Kalman smoother) are carried out. The conclusions are limited to the particular toy problem considered, but it can be seen how more elaborate experiments could be carried out, as well as how the method might be applied in practice. The authors have considered five adjustable parameters, two related to a distributed coeffici.
Absolute or relative effects? Arm‐based synthesis of trial data

We congratulate Hwanhee Hong and colleagues on another fascinating paper (Hong et al., 2015a) arguing the case for arm-based models for meta-analysis. The standard approach to meta-analysis is the contrast-based model where the information that is pooled over trials is the information of the trial-specific relative treatment effect, expressed for example as a log relative risk, log odds ratio, or as a mean treatment difference. In an arm-based model, it is the absolute log risk, log odds, or mean outcome on each arm that are pooled. There is no doubt that arm-based models are an intriguing alternative to the accepted understanding of metaanalysis, and that they provide a very elegant alternative approach to network meta-analysis (NMA). However, readers of Research Synthesis Methods (RSM) will have no difficulty in recognising that arm-based models represent a radical – even revolutionary – departure from current meta-analytic practice. In this commentary, we begin by outlining the key differences between armand contrast-based meta-analysis to make clear the true extent of the implications of the claims being made. We then argue that contrast based models are to be preferred on both theoretical and practical grounds. Hong and colleagues present a number of arguments about the core assumptions of contrast-based models, both in their RSM paper (Hong et al., 2015a) and previously (Zhang et al., 2014, Ohlssen et al., 2014, Zhang et al., 2015, Hong et al., 2015b), which we believe are mistaken. We offer some counter-arguments and comment on the simulation study presented by Hong et al. (2015a).
Endangered Species Research Endang Species Res Human Dimensions of Bycatch Reduction Technology: Current Assumptions and Directions for Future Research

INTRODUCTION In this paper, we present results of a literature review that examines efforts to reduce some of the ecological impacts of fisheries through design and implementation of bycatch reduction technology (BRT) in fishing gear. As social scientists interested in fisheries, but with no primary research experience with BRT, we are interested in learning under what conditions fish-ers are encouraged or discouraged from implementing BRT. Fisher cooperation is increasingly seen as critical to improving fisheries management in general, particularly in light of widespread failures of states to manage fisheries thorough predominantly command and While most research has focused on fisher cooperation with and attitudes towards overall management approaches — for example Individual Transferable Quotas (McCay et al. 1998) or co-management (Wilson & McCay 1998) — there is no reason to expect that the introduction and uptake of BRT will somehow be less dependent on fishers' willingness to cooperate. The impacts of technical modifications to fishing gear will be limited if fishers lack incentives for implementing BRTs or cannot be compelled to do so. Over the past several years, a 'degradation narrative' (Robbins 2004) of fisheries decline (and hypothesized ABSTRACT: Bycatch reduction technology (BRT) modifies fishing gear to increase selectivity and avoid capture of non-target species, or to facilitate their non-lethal release. As a solution to fisheries-related mortality of non-target species, BRT is an attractive option; effectively implemented, BRT presents a technical 'fix' that can reduce pressure for politically contentious and economically detrimental interventions, such as fisheries closures. While a number of factors might contribute to effective implementation, our review of BRT literature finds that research has focused on technical design and experimental performance of individual technologies. In contrast, and with a few notable exceptions, research on the human and institutional context of BRT, and more specifically on how fishers respond to BRT, is limited. This is not to say that fisher attitudes are ignored or overlooked, but that incentives for fisher uptake of BRT are usually assumed rather than assessed or demonstrated. Three assumptions about fisher incentives dominate: (1) economic incentives will generate acceptance of BRT; (2) enforcement will generate compliance with BRT; and (3) 'participation' by fishers will increase acceptance and compliance, and overall support for BRT. In this paper, we explore evidence for and against these assumptions and situate our analysis in the wider social science literature on fisheries. Our goal is to highlight the need and suggest …
Student Perceptions of the Development of Work Readiness in Australian Undergraduate Programs

Abstract:I explored the perceived effectiveness of Australian undergraduate degree programs in preparing students for contemporary work. I examined student perceptions of program development of work-related knowledge and skills in Australia between 2013 and 2016 using national (N = 215,161) and institutional (N = 4,934) data. Variations in perceptions were investigated by discipline and for individual characteristics, including the completion of work-integrated learning (WIL). Findings suggest students perceive particular program aspects as reasonably successful for aiding workplace preparation. Reported variations for individual characteristics and by discipline question whether work readiness interventions are suitable for all students. WIL was identified as an important platform for preparing students for work.
Death Be Not Proud—Cell Death Control in Plant Fungal Interactions

While the concept of programmed cell death (PCD) or its morphological equivalent, apoptosis, was recognized in pockets of research prior to the 1970s, it was not until 1972 that Kerr, Wyllie, and Currie [1] first promulgated the phenomenon. It took nearly 20 years for the original idea to gain acceptance, thanks in large part to seminal studies conducted with Caenorhabditus elegans, which provided a solid genetic basis for these observations [2]. These studies also brought forth the idea that cell suicide is central to the life and well-being of multicellular organisms, and is neither uncommon nor normally detrimental to the organism. Despite the simplicity and finality of the concept of death, the manifold processes by which cells die are not necessarily equivalent. While the role of cell death is firmly established in mammalian disease, it has not been as deeply characterized in other systems. In this Pearl article, we highlight several major ways in which cells die in the context of the high-stakes arms race between fungal pathogens and their plant hosts (Fig. 1). Figure 1 Cell death outcomes following fungal pathogen attack.
A Collision Detection System for a Mobile Robot Inspired by the Locust Visual System

The lobula giant movement detector (LGMD) is an identified neuron in the locust brain that responds most strongly to the image of an approaching object such as a predator. A computational neural network model based on the structure of the LGMD and its afferent inputs is also able to detect approaching objects. In order for the LGMD network to be used as a robust collision detector for robotic applications, we proposed a new mechanism to enhance the feature of colliding objects before the excitations are gathered by LGMD cell. The new model favours grouped excitation but tends to ignore isolated excitation with selective passing coefficients. Experiments with a Khepera robot showed the proposed collision detector worked in real time in an arena surrounded with blocks.
Efficient matrix inversion architecture for linear detection in massive MIMO systems

Resulted by the hundreds of antennas at the base-station (BS) side, the dimension of matrices involved in linear detection for massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) uplink systems increases drastically. Being an indispensable part of linear detection, the matrix inversion suffers a lot from the huge matrix size of massive MIMO, and therefore becomes inefficient for realization. By achieving good tradeoff between complexity and performance, approximate matrix inversion via Neumann series now boosts one promising solution for linear detection of massive MIMO systems. In this paper, an efficient hardware architecture for approximate matrix inversion is proposed. This architecture is hardware efficient and suitable for various applications with different approximation precisions. FPGA implementation results of matrix inversion for 4 × 32 massive MIMO system have shown that the proposed architecture can achieve 56.7% higher frequency with only 58.9% hardware resources of its existing counterparts. Look-ahead transformations which can make the proposed architecture more suitable for high speed applications are also mentioned.
Interrelation of uric acid and ethanol metabolism in man.

Traditionally, the drinking of large amounts of alcoholic beverages has been considered a common predisposing or precipitating cause of gout (1). Thus far, however, the possibility of a relationship between ethanol and urate metabolism does not seem to have been investigated. In an attempt to evaluate a possible effect of ethanol on uric acid metabolism, we have studied serum uric acid levels in patients intoxicated with ethanol. Having observed that ethanol leads to an elevation of serum uric acid concentration, we investigated the mechanisms of this effect. None had gout or any known cause of secondary hyperuricemia. Renal function was normal as judged by blood urea concentration and urinary sediment, there was no major hematological abnormality, and all except Subject 8 were afebrile. Although all except Subject 14 admitted considerable ethanol intake in the past, at the time of the study none showed clinical or laboratory evidence of liver disease except Subjects 1, 4, and 8, who had compensated hepatic cirrhosis. Subject 14 suffered from chronic idiopathic adrenal insufficiency and was being treated with desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) at the time of the study. Studies in intoxicated patients. Sixteen patients were studied when admitted to the hospital acutely intoxicated with various alcoholic beverages. Venous blood was drawn for chemical determinations at the time of admission and at intervals thereafter. In each patient, the final serum uric acid concentration was compared with the initial value. The mean of the individual differences was calculated and its degree of significance tested by the t test (2). Metabolic Ward before, during, and after ethanol administration. The amount of ethanol administered is indicated individually with the results observed in each of these patients. A. Intravenous infusions. In three subjects, 13, 14, and 15, ethanol was given after an overnight fast as a continuous infusion of a 15 per cent by volume solution in isotonic saline. In Subject 15, this was preceded by a 2½-hour control period during which saline solution was administered. In Subject 13, a control test with isotonic saline solution alone was done on another day. B. Oral tests. After an overnight fast, Subjects 4, 16, 17, and 22 were studied for a 2½-hour control period during which water flavored with grapefruit juice was administered orally to compensate for urinary water losses. Thereafter, in addition to the water, the patients were given ethanol in concentrations varying from 10 to 35 per cent by volume. …
Factors Predicting Poor Response to Initial Therapy in Benign Childhood Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes (BCECTS)

Background and Purpose: Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS) is the most common pediatric focal epilepsy syndrome and typically has positive clinical outcomes. However, a few patients experience recurrent seizures, and therefore, require treatment with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with poor response to initial AED therapy in BCECTS patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the files of 57 patients who were diagnosed with BCECTS between January 2008 and September 2013. Patients not being treated with AEDs have been excluded. We placed the patients into two groups: (1) patients using 1 AED, and (2) patients using 2 AEDs. Clinical characteristics were then collected from the medical records. Results: Of the 57 patients, 41 (72%) were successfully treated with 1 AED, and 16 (28%) required 2 AEDs to control seizures. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that seizure onset prior to age 5 (odds ratio [OR]: 5.65, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.41–22.68) and history of febrile seizures (OR: 4.97, 95% CI: 1.06–23.36) were independent risk factors for poor response to initial therapy (p<0.05). Response to AEDs was not associated with the presence of focal slowing or generalized epileptiform discharges on EEG, abnormalities on MRI of the brain, frequency of afebrile seizures before drug therapy, or family history of febrile seizures or epilepsy. Conclusions: This study revealed that 28% of patients with BCECTS experienced poor responses to initial AED therapy. Factors predicting poor response to the initial AED included onset of seizures prior to age 5 and history of febrile seizures.
Non-intrusive induction motor speed detection

This paper presents an algorithm that enables estimation of the speed of a single induction motor in an aggregate current signal supplying several motors from a common utility feed. This algorithm maintains accuracy of speed estimation while using shorter lengths of data, and can distinguish the activation of individual motors in the aggregate signal. The ability to separate and track distinct motor harmonics in an aggregate current signal opens the door to non-intrusive energy scorekeeping and diagnostics for systems like air conditioning that operate under closed-loop control. New experimental results demonstrate the approach for these air-conditioning components in real buildings.
Incentive-Enhancing Preferences: Personality, Behavior, and Earnings

Suppose there is a principal-agent relationship between employer and employee in which effort is not contractible, but is elicited through employer incentive mechanisms. We term preferences that allow the employer to elicit effort at lower cost incentive enhancing. We analyze how such preferences affect earnings, and then provide evidence that one of the relevant behavioral traits, efficacy, as well as other psychological aspects of individuals, are signifiant influences on earnings. We conclude that measures of cognitive performance are not sufficient indicators of the effectiveness of schools in promoting student labor market success, incentive enhancing preferences are irreducibly heterogeneous, incentive enhancing preferences help explain the persistence of poverty over generations within families and, unlike cognitive skills, incentive-enhancing traits need not be welfare increasing for their bearers.
Response to Comment on "The Spatial Extent of 20th-Century Warmth in the Context of the Past 1200 Years"

Reconsidering the basis for selecting proxy records according to their correlation with local temperature has no substantive influence on the statistical significance of 20th-century warming that we reported, provided that the degree of selectivity is correctly estimated. The conclusion that recent warming is unusually widespread compared with the past 1200 years therefore remains valid.
Does Board Size Really Matter? Evidence from Australia

This study examines the impact of board size of Australian firms on Tobin’s Q. Agency theory suggests that there is an inverse relationship between board size and Tobin’s Q (Yermack 1996; Eisenberg et al. 1998). The resource dependence argument, however, hypothesizes that larger boards can lead to higher performance as the CEO’s need for advice is a function of the complexity of the organization (Pfeffer 1972; Klein 1998). Analyzing a panel data of 1,530 firm-year observations using random effects technique, this study finds a positive relationship between board size and Tobin’s Q. The random effects regression results also reveal that the positive relationship between board size and Tobin’s Q is driven by firm size as this positive relationship is only found in larger firm sample but not in the smaller firm sample. The overall results support the resource dependence argument.
Turnover of rod photoreceptor outer segments. II. Membrane addition and loss in relationship to light

The rate of disk addition to rod outer segments (ROS) varies widely in Xenopus laevis tadpoles kept in cyclic light (12L:12D). When measured as radioactive band (3H-band) displacement during the 2nd day after injection of [3H]leucine, 75% of the daily increment of displacement occurred during the first 8 h of light. During the same interval, the number of open disks at the ROS base increased more than threefold. During the last 8 h of darkness, 3H-band displacement was undetectable and the number of open disks was reduced. These observations suggest the possibility that disk addition may occur discontinuously. During the 3rd and 4th days after injection of [3H]leucine, maximal displacement of the 3H-band occurred later in the day than on the 2nd day, its movement no longer corresponding to the increase in open disks. This delay in 3H-band displacement may reflect a time delay as a result of propagation of compressive stress in an elastic ROS system. Maximal disk loss from ROS as reflected in counts of phagosomes in the pigment epithelium occurred within 1 h of light exposure, and phagosome counts remained high for 4 h before declining to a low level in darkness. Modified lighting regimes affected the daily rhythms of shedding and disk addition differently, suggesting that control mechanisms for the two processes are not directly coupled. During 3 days in darkness, disk addition was reduced 50% compared to controls (12L:12D), whereas shedding was reduced by about 40%. Although reduced in level, shedding occurred as a free-running circadian rhythm. There was no evidence of rhythmicity of disk addition in darkness. In constant light, the rate of disk addition was not different from controls, but shedding was reduced by about 80% after the 1st day. This resulted in a 21% increase in ROS length. Among animals kept on a 2.5L:21.5D cycle, the rate of disk addition was reduced by 40% while shedding was maintained near control levels, resulting in a slight decrease in ROS length. These observations indicate that normal shedding requires alternating light and darkness, and that the daily rhythm of disk addition is due primarily to daily stimulation by light.
The Construct Validity and Reliability of an Assessment Tool for Competency in Cochlear Implant Surgery

Introduction. We introduce a rating tool that objectively evaluates the skills of surgical trainees performing cochlear implant surgery. Methods. Seven residents and seven experts performed cochlear implant surgery sessions from mastoidectomy to cochleostomy on a standardized virtual reality temporal bone. A total of twenty-eight assessment videos were recorded and two consultant otolaryngologists evaluated the performance of each participant using these videos. Results. Interrater reliability was calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient for both the global and checklist components of the assessment instrument. The overall agreement was high. The construct validity of this instrument was strongly supported by the significantly higher scores in the expert group for both components. Conclusion. Our results indicate that the proposed assessment tool for cochlear implant surgery is reliable, accurate, and easy to use. This instrument can thus be used to provide objective feedback on overall and task-specific competency in cochlear implantation.
Colorimetric TMPRSS2-ERG Gene Fusion Detection in Prostate Cancer Urinary Samples via Recombinase Polymerase Amplification

TMPRSS2 (Exon 1)-ERG (Exon 4) is the most frequent gene fusion event in prostate cancer (PC), and is highly PC-specific unlike the current serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) biomarker. However, TMPRSS2-ERG levels are currently measured with quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) which is time-consuming and requires costly equipment, thus limiting its use in clinical diagnostics. Herein, we report a novel rapid, cost-efficient and minimal-equipment assay named “FusBLU” for detecting TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusions from urine. TMPRSS2-ERG mRNA was amplified by isothermal reverse transcription-recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA), magnetically-isolated, and detected through horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-catalyzed colorimetric reaction. FusBLU was specific for TMPRSS2-ERG mRNA with a low visual detection limit of 105 copies. We also demonstrated assay readout versatility on 3 potentially useful platforms. The colorimetric readout was detectable by naked eye for a quick yes/no evaluation of gene fusion presence. On the other hand, a more quantitative TMPRSS2-ERG detection was achievable by absorbance/electrochemical measurements. FusBLU was successfully applied to 12 urinary samples and results were validated by gold-standard RT-qPCR. We also showed that sediment RNA was likely the main source of TMPRSS2-ERG mRNA in urinary samples. We believe that our assay is a potential clinical screening tool for PC and could also have wide applications for other disease-related fusion genes.