Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Information-Reduced Carrier Synchronization of BPSK and QPSK Using Soft Decision Feedback

Abstract : This paper addresses the carrier-phase estimation problem under low SNR conditions as are typical of turbo- and LDPC-coded applications. In closed-loop carrier synchronization schemes for error-correction coded BPSK and QPSK modulation were proposed that were based on feeding back hard data decisions at the input of the loop, the purpose being to remove the modulation prior to attempting to track the carrier phase as opposed to the more conventional decision-feedback schemes that incorporate such feedback inside the loop. In this paper, we consider an alternative approach wherein the soft information from the iterative decoder of turbo or LDPC codes is instead used as the feedback.
Effects of White Rice, Brown Rice and Germinated Brown Rice on Antioxidant Status of Type 2 Diabetic Rats

Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications, and can be increased by diet like white rice (WR). Though brown rice (BR) and germinated brown rice (GBR) have high antioxidant potentials as a result of their bioactive compounds, reports of their effects on oxidative stress-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes are lacking. We hypothesized therefore that if BR and GBR were to improve antioxidant status, they would be better for rice consuming populations instead of the commonly consumed WR that is known to promote oxidative stress. This will then provide further reasons why less consumption of WR should be encouraged. We studied the effects of GBR on antioxidant status in type 2 diabetic rats, induced using a high-fat diet and streptozotocin injection, and also evaluated the effects of WR, BR and GBR on catalase and superoxide dismutase genes. As dietary components, BR and GBR improved glycemia and kidney hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, and prevented the deterioration of total antioxidant status in type 2 diabetic rats. Similarly, GBR preserved liver enzymes, as well as serum creatinine. There seem to be evidence that upregulation of superoxide dismutase gene may likely be an underlying mechanism for antioxidant effects of BR and GBR. Our results provide insight into the effects of different rice types on antioxidant status in type 2 diabetes. The results also suggest that WR consumption, contrary to BR and GBR, may worsen antioxidant status that may lead to more damage by free radicals. From the data so far, the antioxidant effects of BR and GBR are worth studying further especially on a long term to determine their effects on development of oxidative stress-related problems, which WR consumption predisposes to.
Marginal and mindful: deviants in social interactions.

Master status people's behavior, physical appearance, or life circumstance is statistically unusual and centrally defining (e.g., the physically attractive, the obese, the intellectually gifted, the facially scarred, the talented, the athletic, Blacks, gays, the wealthy, rape and incest victims). These individuals were paired with people without such conditions. Each pair was left alone on a pretext and covertly videotaped. Pairs were then separated; each member spontaneously recalled information about her partner and the experimental room and provided a record of her thoughts and feelings during the interaction. As hypothesized, all master status Ss were particularly likely to be mindful in social interactions; they recalled detailed information about the situation and often took their partner's perspective during the interaction. The positive or negative connotations of the master status conditions were irrelevant in predicting Ss cognitions (mindfulness) but were critical in determining Ss behaviors (interaction strategies).
Engineered anti-CD70 antibody-drug conjugate with increased therapeutic index

An anti-CD70 antibody conjugated to monomethylauristatin F (MMAF) via a valine-citrulline dipeptide containing linker has been shown previously to have potent antitumor activity in renal cell cancer xenograft studies. Here, we generated a panel of humanized anti-CD70 antibody IgG variants and conjugated them to MMAF to study the effect of isotype (IgG1, IgG2, and IgG4) and Fcγ receptor binding on antibody-drug conjugate properties. All IgG variants bound CD70+ 786-O cells with an apparent affinity of ∼1 nmol/L, and drug conjugation did not impair antigen binding. The parent anti-CD70 IgG1 bound to human FcγRI and FcγRIIIA V158 and mouse FcγRIV and this binding was not impaired by drug conjugation. In contrast, binding to these Fcγ receptors was greatly reduced or abolished in the variant, IgG1v1, containing the previously described mutations, E233P:L234V:L235A. All conjugates had potent cytotoxic activity against six different antigen-positive cancer cell lines in vitro with IC50 values of 30 to 540 pmol/L. The IgGv1 conjugate with MMAF displayed improved antitumor activity compared with other conjugates in 786-O and UMRC3 models of renal cell cancer and in the DBTRG05-MG glioblastoma model. All conjugates were tolerated to ≥40 mg/kg in mice. Thus, the IgG1v1 MMAF conjugate has an increased therapeutic index compared with the parent IgG1 conjugate. The improved antitumor activity of the IgG1v1 auristatin conjugates may relate to increased exposure as suggested by pharmacokinetic analysis. The strategy used here for enhancing the therapeutic index of antibody-drug conjugates is independent of the antigen-binding variable domains and potentially applicable to other antibodies. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(9):2913–23]
Sport and physical education across the secure estate: an exploration of policy and practice

Despite widespread recognition of the importance of sport in diverting people from criminal behaviour in community settings (Nichols, 2007) the potential benefits of sport in prison settings have only recently become the focus of academic attention (see Lewis and Meek, 2012). In the UK, current policy stipulates a statutory requirement that all prisoners across the secure estate have the opportunity to participate in a minimum of one hour (or two hours on average for those under 21) of physical education per week. The Prison Service's Physical Education Instruction advocates sporting activities that also fulfil wider resettlement policy agendas, incorporating education, training and employment and attitudes, thinking and behaviour. In spite of such ambitious objectives and the routine delivery of physical education in prisons, there has been no exploration to date of whether participation is equitable across diverse offender populations, or the extent to which current practices are congruent with existing.
Social-Emotional Factors Affecting Achievement Outcomes Among Disadvantaged Students: Closing the Achievement Gap

Despite concentrated efforts at improving inferior academic outcomes among disadvantaged students, a substantial achievement gap between the test scores of these students and others remains (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; National Center for Education Statistics, 2000a, 2000b; Valencia & Suzuki, 2000). Existing research used ecological models to document social-emotional factors at multiple levels of influence that undermine academic performance. This article integrates ideas from various perspectives in a comprehensive and interdisciplinary model that will inform policy makers, administrators, and schools about the social-emotional factors that act as both risk and protective factors for disadvantaged students' learning and opportunities for academic success. Four critical social-emotional components that influence achievement performance (academic and school attachment, teacher support, peer values, and mental health) are reviewed.
The Therapeutic Process and Outcome during Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children with Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Author(s): Van Dyke, Marilyn | Advisor(s): Wood, Jeffrey J | Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the therapeutic process and outcomes of cognitive behavioral therapy used to treat anxiety disorders in twenty-two elementary school-aged children (7- to 11-year-olds) who had autism spectrum disorder, by using child and parent verbalizations and behavior collected during a randomized controlled trial, and to develop a valid and reliable instrument for use in autism spectrum disorders treatment research. Transcripts of audiotaped recordings taken from child and parent discourse during treatment sessions were analyzed using mixed methods research, specifically, thematic analysis and repeated measures ANOVAs after data was collected during the original randomized controlled trial. The original randomized controlled trial, previously published, showed favorable quantitative results based upon parent-report measures, but it is possible that results may have been inflated due to the expectation of success. Child and parent discourse and behaviors across treatment sessions during the RCT study were analyzed in this dissertation using mixed methods research. Results indicated statistically significant improvement in anxiety reduction, statistically significant improvement in social communication, statistically significant improvement in child self-concept, and statistically significant improvement in positive parental verbal interactions with their child. Thematic content analyses revealed an increase in the sense of belonging, pride, bravery, and parental encouragement by the end of therapy, week 15.
Monocular visual-inertial fusion with online initialization and camera-IMU calibration

There have been increasing demands in developing micro aerial vehicles with vision-based autonomy for search and rescue missions in complex environments. In particular, the monocular visual-inertial system (VINS), which consists of only an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a camera, forms a great lightweight sensor suite due to its low weight and small footprint. In this work, we address two challenges for rapid deployment of monocular VINS - the initialization problem and the calibration problem. We propose a methodology that is able to initialize velocity, gravity, visual scale, and camera-IMU extrinsic calibration on-the-fly. Our approach does not require any prior knowledge about the mechanical configuration of the system. It is a significant step towards plug-and-play and highly customizable visual navigation for mobile robots. We show through online experiment that our method leads to accurate calibration of camera-IMU transformation with errors of 0.02 m in position and 2 degrees in rotation.
PconsFold: improved contact predictions improve protein models

Motivation: Recently it has been shown that the quality of protein contact prediction from evolutionary information can be improved significantly if direct and indirect information is separated. Given sufficiently large protein families, the contact predictions contain sufficient information to predict the structure of many protein families. However, since the first studies contact prediction methods have improved. Here, we ask how much the final models are improved if improved contact predictions are used. Results: In a small benchmark of 15 proteins, we show that the TM-scores of top-ranked models are improved by on average 33% using PconsFold compared with the original version of EVfold. In a larger benchmark, we find that the quality is improved with 15–30% when using PconsC in comparison with earlier contact prediction methods. Further, using Rosetta instead of CNS does not significantly improve global model accuracy, but the chemistry of models generated with Rosetta is improved. Availability: PconsFold is a fully automated pipeline for ab initio protein structure prediction based on evolutionary information. PconsFold is based on PconsC contact prediction and uses the Rosetta folding protocol. Due to its modularity, the contact prediction tool can be easily exchanged. The source code of PconsFold is available on GitHub at https://www.github. com/ElofssonLab/pcons-fold under the MIT license. PconsC is available from http://c.pcons. net/. Contact: arne@bioinfo.se Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Use of Bioglass for Orbital Volume Augmentation in Enophthalmos: A Rabbit Model (Oryctolagus Cuniculus)

Purpose To investigate the clinical and histologic response of Novabone-C/M as an osteoproductive alloplastic implant for volume augmentation in the orbit in the treatment of enophthalmos and to compare its outcome alone versus its use in combination with autogenous bone or Medpor granules. Methods Novabone-C/M, a bioactive silicone glass material, was implanted in the subperiosteal space of the left orbit of 12 New Zealand White rabbits. The animals were divided into 3 groups, each with 4 animals, based on the material implanted in the orbit: group 1, Novabone alone; group 2, Novabone plus Medpor granules; and group 3, Novabone plus autogenous bone fragments. All rabbits were studied clinically, radiographically, and histologically at 1-, 3-, and 6-month intervals. Animals underwent preoperative and postoperative computed tomography (CT) with 3-dimensional reconstruction, proptosis measurements, and volumetric analysis. Orbit specimens were studied histologically with mineralized bone stain (MIBS) to look for bone formation, reactivity, infection, implant resorption, and migration. Results There were no signs of significant inflammation or infection. Subcutaneous migration of the implant was seen radiographically but not clinically in groups 1 and 3. Induced proptosis averaged 2.5 mm (at 1 month) and showed regression in all groups over a 6-month period but was not statistically significant. Implant volume was markedly reduced in all groups, averaging 69% in group 1, 37% in group 2, and 59% in group 3 at 6 months. New bone formation and bone remodeling was present in all 3 groups at 3 months and only in group 2 at 6 months. The rate and amount of implant remodeling and bone formation was greatest in the Novabone/Medpor group (group 2). Conclusions Bioglass particulate is biocompatible, easy to use in the orbit, and stimulates bone growth. Bioglass is associated with volume loss and migration over 6 months and may not provide adequate volume augmentation in the orbit when used alone for the treatment of enophthalmos. The duration and amount of bone formation may be enhanced when Novabone is used in conjunction with Medpor.
Low-Polydispersity Glucose Polymers as Osmotic Agents for Peritoneal Dialysis

♦ Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions containing icodextrin as the osmotic agent have advantages during long dwells. The glucose polymers that constitute icodextrin are a heterogeneous mix of molecules with a polydispersity [ratio of weight-average to number-average molecular weight (Mw/Mn)] of approximately 2.6. The present study evaluates whether modifications in the polydispersity and concentration of glucose polymers can improve ultrafiltration (UF) without an associated increase in carbohydrate absorption (CA). ♦ Methods: Computer simulations using a three-pore model of peritoneal transport during a long dwell in PD patients predict that, in general, compared with 7.5% icodextrin, glucose polymers with a Mw greater than or equal to 7.5 kDa, a polydispersity less than 2.6, and concentrations greater than 7% could achieve higher UF without higher CA. Based on the simulations, we hypothesized that, compared with 7.5% icodextrin, glucose polymers with a Mw of 18 – 19 kDa and a polydispersity of 2.0 at 11% concentration could achieve higher UF without a higher CA. We tested this hypothesis in experimental studies using 8-hour dwells in New Zealand White rabbits. In those studies, UF was measured by complete fluid collection, and CA was measured by subtracting the total carbohydrate in the collected fluid from the carbohydrate initially infused. ♦ Results: The UF was higher with 11% 19 kDa glucose polymer than with 7.5% icodextrin (mean ± standard deviation: 89 ± 31 mL vs 49 ± 15 mL; p = 0.004) without higher CA (5.2 ± 0.9 g vs 5.0 ± 0.9 g, p = 0.7). Similar results were seen with the 11% 18 kDa glucose polymer, which, compared with 7.5% icodextrin, resulted in higher UF (mean ± standard deviation: 96 ± 18 mL vs 66 ± 17 mL; p < 0.001) without higher CA (4.8 ± 0.7 g vs 5.2 ± 0.6 g, p = 0.2). ♦ Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that, compared with 7.5% icodextrin solution, long-dwell PD solutions containing 11% glucose polymers with a Mw of 18–19 kDa and a polydispersity of 2.0 can provide higher UF without higher CA.
Identifying relevant phrases to summarize decisions in spoken meetings

We address the problem of identifying words and phrases that accurately capture, or contribute to, the semantic gist of decisions made in multi-party human-human meetings. We first describe our approach to modelling decision discussions in spoken meetings and then compare two approaches to extracting information from these discussions. The first one uses an opendomain semantic parser that identifies candidate phrases for decision summaries and then employs machine learning techniques to select from those candidate phrases. The second one uses categorical and sequential classifiers that exploit simple syntactic and semantic features to identify words and phrases relevant for decision summarization.
The use of case management for community‐dwelling older people: the effects on loneliness, symptoms of depression and life satisfaction in a randomised controlled trial

AIM To investigate the effects of a case management intervention for community-dwelling frail older people, with functional dependency and repeated contacts with the healthcare services, focusing on loneliness, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. DESIGN A two-armed, nonblinded, randomised control trial with repeated follow-ups, of N = 153 participants at baseline allocated to an intervention (n = 80) and control (n = 73) group. METHOD Inclusion criteria were the following: ≥65 years of age, living in ordinary housing, in need of assistance in two or more self-reported activities of daily living, having at least two hospital admissions or at least four visits in outpatient care 12 months prior to enrolment. Case managers (nurses and physiotherapists) provided an intervention of general case management, general information, specific information and continuity and safety. The intervention ranged over 12 months with one or more home visit(s) being conducted per month. An intention-to-treat analysis was applied for the primary outcomes of loneliness, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction, along with complete case and sensitivity analyses. RESULTS During the trial period n = 12 died and n = 33 dropped out. No significant difference was found between the groups at baseline regarding sociodemographic characteristics, subjective health or primary outcomes. The intention-to-treat analysis did not result in any significant effects for the primary outcomes at any of the follow-ups (6 and 12 months). The complete case analysis resulted in a significant difference in favour of the intervention regarding loneliness (RR = 0.49, p = 0.028) and life satisfaction (ES = 0.41, p = 0.028) at 6 months and for depressive symptoms (ES = 0.47, p = 0.035) at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS The use of case management for frail older people did not result in clear favourable effects for the primary outcomes. However, the study indicates that case management may be beneficial in terms of these outcomes. Due to the complexity of the outcomes, an elaboration of the components and assessments is suggested.
Leukoplakia, Oral Cavity Cancer Risk, and Cancer Survival in the U.S. Elderly

Screening for oral leukoplakia, an oral cavity cancer (OCC) precursor, could lead to earlier detection of OCC. However, the progression rate from leukoplakia to OCC and the benefits of leukoplakia screening for improving OCC outcomes are currently unclear. We conducted a case–cohort study of U.S. adults ages ≥65 years in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linkage. We identified leukoplakia diagnoses through Medicare claims, and OCC diagnoses through SEER cancer registries. Weighted Cox regression was used to estimate leukoplakia associations with OCC incidence, and the absolute OCC risk following leukoplakia diagnosis was calculated. Among OCC cases, we compared OCC stage and OCC survival between cases with a prior leukoplakia diagnosis versus those without prior leukoplakia. Among 470,266 individuals in the SEER-Medicare subcohort, 1,526 (0.3%) had a leukoplakia diagnosis. Among people with leukoplakia, the cumulative OCC incidence was 0.7% at 3 months and 2.5% at 5 years. OCC risk was most increased <3 months after leukoplakia diagnosis (HR, 115), likely representing the diagnosis of prevalent cancers. Nonetheless, risk remained substantially increased in subsequent follow-up [HR ≥ 3 months, 24; 95% confidence interval (CI), 22–27; HR ≥ 12 months, 22, 95% CI, 20–25]. Among OCC cases (N = 8,927), those with prior leukoplakia were less likely to be diagnosed at regional/distant stage (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.30–0.43), and had lower mortality (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.65–0.84) when compared with OCC cases without a prior leukoplakia. Individuals with leukoplakia have substantially elevated risk of OCC. Lower stage and better survival after OCC diagnosis suggest that leukoplakia identification can lead to earlier OCC detection and reduced mortality. Cancer Prev Res; 8(9); 857–63. ©2015 AACR.
Fast‐folding protein kinetics, hidden intermediates, and the sequential stabilization model

Do two‐state proteins fold by pathways or funnels? Native‐state hydrogen exchange experiments show discrete nonnative structures in equilibrium with the native state. These could be called hidden intermediates (HI) because their populations are small at equilibrium, and they are not detected in kinetic experiments. HIs have been invoked as disproof of funnel models, because funnel pictures appear to indicate (1) no specific sequences of events in folding; (2) a continuum, rather than a discrete ladder, of structures; and (3) smooth landscapes. In the present study, we solve the exact dynamics of a simple model. We find, instead, that the present microscopic model is indeed consistent with HIs and transition states, but such states occur in parallel, rather than along the single pathway predicted by the sequential stabilization model. At the microscopic level, we observe a huge multiplicity of trajectories. But at the macroscopic level, we observe two pathways of specific sequences of events that are relatively traditional except that they are in parallel, so there is not a single reaction coordinate. Using singular value decomposition, we show an accurate representation of the shapes of the model energy landscapes. They are highly complex funnels.
Sensitivity of OFDM and MC-CDMA to carrier phase errors

In this contribution, we investigate the effect of carrier phase errors on the performance of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and multicarrier code-division multiple access (MC-CDMA). We show that OFDM and MC-CDMA have essentially the same sensitivities to carrier phase errors. A constant carrier phase offset yields no degradation of the system performance. We show that OFDM and MC-CDMA are quite sensitive to a carrier frequency offset : the degradation caused by this impairment is an increasing function of the number of carriers. Carrier phase jitter on the other hand gives rise to a degradation that is independent of the number of carriers, but only depends on the jitter variance.