Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis and Efficient Evaluation of the BER of OSTBCs With Imperfect Channel Estimation in Arbitrarily Correlated Fading Channels

An analysis of the exact bit error rate (BER) performance of orthogonal space-time block codes (OSTBCs) with maximum-likelihood detection in the presence of channel estimation errors is presented. The possibly correlated coefficients of the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) propagation channel are assumed to be affected by flat block fading and the transmitted symbols belong to a pulse amplitude modulation or quadrature amplitude modulation signal constellation. For both square and nonsquare OSTBCs, we derive approximate and exact BER expressions, irrespective of the distribution of the fading. It is also shown how the exact expressions can be efficiently and accurately evaluated using numerical integration techniques. Their application to the arbitrarily correlated Nakagami-m fading channel is presented and an efficient importance sampling technique is derived. As the high diversity order resulting from the application of OSTBCs gives rise to small BER values, the numerical evaluation of the presented BER expressions is much faster than straightforward Monte Carlo simulations. BER results have shown the impact of both imperfect channel estimation and antenna correlation on the performance of MIMO OSTBC systems. It is also shown that under highly correlated conditions, antenna correlation is the major source of BER degradation.
Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester and Its Amide Analogue Are Potent Inhibitors of Leukotriene Biosynthesis in Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes

Background 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) catalyses the transformation of arachidonic acid (AA) into leukotrienes (LTs), which are important lipid mediators of inflammation. LTs have been directly implicated in inflammatory diseases like asthma, atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis; therefore inhibition of LT biosynthesis is a strategy for the treatment of these chronic diseases. Methodology/Principal Findings Analogues of caffeic acid, including the naturally-occurring caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), were synthesized and evaluated for their capacity to inhibit 5-LO and LTs biosynthesis in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) and whole blood. Anti-free radical and anti-oxidant activities of the compounds were also measured. Caffeic acid did not inhibit 5-LO activity or LT biosynthesis at concentrations up to 10 µM. CAPE inhibited 5-LO activity (IC50 0.13 µM, 95% CI 0.08–0.23 µM) more effectively than the clinically-approved 5-LO inhibitor zileuton (IC50 3.5 µM, 95% CI 2.3–5.4 µM). CAPE was also more effective than zileuton for the inhibition of LT biosynthesis in PMNL but the compounds were equipotent in whole blood. The activity of the amide analogue of CAPE was similar to that of zileuton. Inhibition of LT biosynthesis by CAPE was the result of the inhibition of 5-LO and of AA release. Caffeic acid, CAPE and its amide analog were free radical scavengers and antioxidants with IC50 values in the low µM range; however, the phenethyl moiety of CAPE was required for effective inhibition of 5-LO and LT biosynthesis. Conclusions CAPE is a potent LT biosynthesis inhibitor that blocks 5-LO activity and AA release. The CAPE structure can be used as a framework for the rational design of stable and potent inhibitors of LT biosynthesis.
Gene‐by‐Diet Interactions Influence Calcium Absorption and Bone Density in Mice

Dietary calcium (Ca) intake is needed to attain peak bone mineral density (BMD). Habitual low Ca intake increases intestinal Ca absorption efficiency to protect bone mass, but the mechanism controlling, and the impact of genetics on, this adaptive response is not clear. We fed 11 genetically diverse inbred mouse lines a normal (0.5%) or low (0.25%) Ca diet from 4 to 12 weeks of age (n = 8 per diet per line) and studied the independent and interacting effects of diet and genetics on Ca and bone metabolism. Significant genetic variation was observed in all bone, renal, and intestinal phenotypes measured including Ca absorption. Also, adaptation of Ca absorption and bone parameters to low dietary Ca was significantly different among the lines. Ca absorption was positively correlated to femur BMD (r = 0.17, p = 0.02), and distal femur bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV) (r = 0.34, p < 0.0001). Although Ca absorption was correlated to 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) (r = 0.35, p < 0.0001), the adaptation of Ca absorption to low Ca intake did not correlate to diet‐induced adaptation of 1,25(OH)2D across the 11 lines. Several intestinal proteins have been proposed to mediate Ca absorption: claudins 2 and 12, voltage gated Ca channel v1.3 (Cav1.3), plasma membrane Ca ATPase 1b (PMCA1b), transient receptor potential vanilloid member 6 (TRPV6), and calbindin D9k (CaBPD9k). Only the mRNA levels for TRPV6, CaBPD9k, and PMCA1b were related to Ca absorption (r = 0.42, 0.43, and 0.21, respectively). However, a significant amount of the variation in Ca absorption is not explained by the current model and suggests that novel mechanisms remain to be determined. These observations lay the groundwork for discovery‐focused initiatives to identify novel genetic factors controlling gene‐by‐diet interactions affecting Ca/bone metabolism. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Periodontal pathogens and respiratory diseases- evaluating their potential association: a clinical and microbiological study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether any potential association exists between respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and periodontal health status clinically and or microbiologically. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty patients of COPD (test group) and 50 Patients without COPD (control group) were recruited for the study with more than 20 years of age with at least six natural teeth. All the patients were nonsmokers. Periodontal health was assessed by measuring clinical attachment loss (CAL) and gingival bleeding by using William's graduated periodontal probe. Microbiological evaluation was done by collecting sputum samples of the subjects with respiratory diseases to find out any periodontal pathogen in the lung fluid. RESULT AND CONCLUSION The results showed that the subjects with COPD had significantly more bleeding sites (i.e. >20%) and had more of the clinical mean attachment loss (2.84 ± 0.66) than those without COPD. On the basis of the observed results of the study, we can hypothesize that the risk for COPD appeared to be significantly elevated when attachment loss was found to be severe. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE It is conceivable that oral interventions that improve oral health status may prove to lower the severity of lung infection in susceptible populations.
Production of a Standard Closed Fracture in the Rat Tibia

In order to develop a technique for producing a standard closed transverse fracture in the rat tibia, the method of Bonnarens and Einhorn was modified and tested on 176 tibiae. A 0.9-mm Kirschner wire was inserted percutaneously near the tibial tuberosity into the intramedullary canal, and a tibial fracture was created at the junction of the middle and distal third of the tibia with a blunt guillotine driven by a dropped weight. Radiographs confirmed the production of a highly reproducible transverse mid-shaft tibia fracture in 90% of the fractures. Minimal comminution of the fracture or angulation of the Kirschner wires resulted. The Kirschner wires were removed without difficulty after the rats were put to death and did not disturb the fracture site. Mechanical testing and histological studies showed that a standard fracture healing process was obtained by using this method. The results indicate that this modified method creates a standard, reproducible transverse closed fracture of rat tibia.
Comparison of Plasma Lidocaine Concentrations After Injection of a Fixed Small Volume in the Stellate Ganglion, the Lumbar Epidural Space, or a Single Intercostal Nerve

We measured the plasma lidocaine concentrations after stellate ganglion block (SGB) and compared them with those after intercostal nerve block (ICNB) and epidural block (EB) using identical doses of lidocaine.Thirty patients undergoing SGB (n = 10), ICNB (n = 10), or EB (n = 10) in our pain clinic participated in this study. Six milliliters of 1% lidocaine was used for all nerve blocks. SGB was performed at the C6 transverse process, ICNB was performed on a single intercostal nerve, and epidural lidocaine was injected through the lumbar epidural catheter. After drug administration, venous blood samples were taken from an indwelling catheter in the arm every minute for the first 10 min and 15, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min thereafter. Plasma lidocaine concentrations were measured by using an enzyme immunoassay method. The SGB group showed significantly higher peak plasma lidocaine concentrations than other groups (SGB 1.65 +/- 0.21 [micro sign]g/mL, ICNB 0.89 +/- 0.12 [micro sign]g/mL, EB 0.91 +/- 0.19 [micro sign]g/mL; P < 0.01). The SGB group reached peak levels significantly faster than the other groups (SGB 3.4 +/- 1.0 min, ICNB 7.9 +/- 1.5 min, EB 6.9 +/- 0.7 min; P < 0.01). We conclude that the plasma lidocaine concentrations after SGB were higher than those after ICNB and EB when using small, equal doses of lidocaine. The high and rapid peak plasma lidocaine concentrations after SGB are probably related to the high vascularity of the injection site. Implications: Higher plasma concentrations of local anesthetics are reportedly obtained after multiple intercostal nerves blocks compared with those after other types of nerve blocks. Our results, however, showed that the peak plasma concentrations after stellate ganglion block were higher and faster than those after a single intercostal nerve block. (Anesth Analg 1998;87:112-5)
Effect of AWGN & Fading (Raleigh & Rician) channels on BER performance of a WiMAX communication System

The emergence of WIMAX has attracted significant interests from all fields of wireless communications including students, researchers, system engineers and operators. The WIMAX can also be considered to be the main technology in the implementation of other networks like wireless sensor networks. Developing an understanding of the WIMAX system can be achieved by looking at the model of the WIMAX system. This paper discusses the model building of the WIMAX physical layer using computer MATLAB 7.5 versions. This model is a useful tool for BER (Bit error rate) performance evaluation for the real data communication by the WIMAX physical layer under different communication channels AWGN and fading channel (Rayleigh and Rician), different channel encoding rates and digital modulation schemes which is described in this paper. This paper investigates the effect of communication channels of IEEE 802.16 OFDM based WIMAX Physical Layer. The performance measures we presented in this paper are: the bit error rate (BER) versus the ratio of bit energy to noise power spectral density (Eb/No). The system parameters used in this paper are based on IEEE 802.16 standards. The simulation model built for this research work, demonstrates that AWGN channel has better performance than Rayleigh and Rician fading channels. Synthetic data is used to simulate this research work.
Justifiable Group Choice

We study the judgment aggregation problem from the perspective of justifying a particular collective decision by a corresponding aggregation on the criteria. In particular, we characterize the logical relations between the decision and the criteria that enable justification of a majority decision through a proposition-wise aggregation rule with no veto power on the criteria. While the well-studied "doctrinal paradox" provides a negative example in which no such justification exists, we show that genuine possibility results emerge if there is a gap between the necessary and the sufficient conditions for the decision. This happens, for instance, if there is only a partial consensus about the appropriate criteria for the decision, if only a subset of these criteria can be elicited, or if the judgment on criteria is based on probabilistic acceptance thresholds.
Exploiting Quasiperiodicity in Motion Correction of Free-Breathing Myocardial Perfusion MRI

Free-breathing image acquisition is desirable in first-pass gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but the breathing movements hinder the direct automatic analysis of the myocardial perfusion and qualitative readout by visual tracking. Nonrigid registration can be used to compensate for these movements but needs to deal with local contrast and intensity changes with time. We propose an automatic registration scheme that exploits the quasiperiodicity of free breathing to decouple movement from intensity change. First, we identify and register a subset of the images corresponding to the same phase of the breathing cycle. This registration step deals with small differences caused by movement but maintains the full range of intensity change. The remaining images are then registered to synthetic references that are created as a linear combination of images belonging to the already registered subset. Because of the quasiperiodic respiratory movement, the subset images are distributed evenly over time and, therefore, the synthetic references exhibit intensities similar to their corresponding unregistered images. Thus, this second registration step needs to account only for the movement. Validation experiments were performed on data obtained from six patients, three slices per patient, and the automatically obtained perfusion profiles were compared with profiles obtained by manually segmenting the myocardium. The results show that our automatic approach is well suited to compensate for the free-breathing movement and that it achieves a significant improvement in the average Pearson correlation coefficient between manually and automatically obtained perfusion profiles before ( 0.87 ±0.18) and after (0.96 ±0.09) registration.
Hyperspectral Sharpening using Scene-adapted Gaussian Mixture Priors

This paper tackles a hyperspectral data fusion problem, using the so-called plug-and-play approach, which combines an ADMM algorithm with a denoiser based on a Gaussian mixture prior. We build upon the concept of scene-adapted prior where, as the name suggests, we learn a model that is targeted to the specific scene being imaged, and show state-of-the-art results on several hyperspectral sharpening experiments. Additionally, we prove that the algorithm is guaranteed to converge.
COMBINING SELECTIVE EPISODES TO ESTIMATE LIFETIME NONLINEAR SELECTION

Studies measuring natural selection acting via different components of fitness may provide insight into such central questions in evolutionary biology as the evolution of life histories and sexual dimorphism. It is often desirable to combine estimates of selection at different episodes to understand how they interact to produce total lifetime selection. When selective episodes are sequential, total directional selection may be calculated by summing directional selection across episodes. However, it is unclear whether lifetime nonlinear (e.g., stabilizing, disruptive, or correlational) selection may be similarly calculated using estimates of quadratic selection from sequential episodes. Here, I show that lifetime quadratic selection depends not only upon the sum total of quadratic selection across episodes but also upon the pattern of directional selection across episodes. In certain cases, the effects of directional selection across episodes may cancel one another, leading to no net directional selection but strong stabilizing selection. This result suggests that true stabilizing selection may be more common than previously thought, especially when the entire life cycle is considered. The equations derived here are easily applicable to empirical data, as is illustrated both with a simulated dataset and with a reanalysis of a study of quadratic selection in dark‐eyed juncos.
High-dimensional structure estimation in Ising models: Local separation criterion

We consider the problem of high-dimensional Ising (graphical) model selection. We propose a simple algorithm for structure estimation based on the thresholding of the empirical conditional variation distances. We introduce a novel criterion for tractable graph families, where this method is efficient, based on the presence of sparse local separators between node pairs in the underlying graph. For such graphs, the proposed algorithm has a sample complexity of $n=\Omega(J_{\min}^{-2}\log p)$, where $p$ is the number of variables, and $J_{\min}$ is the minimum (absolute) edge potential in the model. We also establish nonasymptotic necessary and sufficient conditions for structure estimation.
Efficient Cost Models for Spatial Queries Using R-Trees

Selection and join queries are fundamental operations in database management systems (DBMS). Support for nontraditional data, including spatial objects, in an efficient manner is of ongoing interest in database research. Toward this goal, access methods and cost models for spatial queries are necessary tools for spatial query processing and optimization. We present analytical models that estimate the cost (in terms of node and disk accesses) of selection and join queries using R-tree-based structures. The proposed formulae need no knowledge of the underlying R-tree structure(s) and are applicable to uniform-like and nonuniform data distributions. In addition, experimental results are presented which show the accuracy of the analytical estimations when compared to actual runs on both synthetic and real data sets.
Regulation of intracellular pH during anoxia in rice coleoptiles in acidic and near neutral conditions

Rice coleoptiles, renowned for anoxia tolerance, were hypoxically pretreated, excised, ‘healed’, and then exposed to a combination of anoxia and pH 3.5. The putative acid load was confirmed by net effluxes of K+ to the medium, with concurrent net decreases of H+ in the medium, presumably mainly due to H+ influx. Yet the coleoptiles survived the combination of anoxia and pH 3.5 for at least 90 h, and even for at least 40 h when the energy crisis, inherent to anoxia, had been aggravated by supplying the coleoptiles with 2.5 mM rather than 50 mM glucose. Even in the case of coleoptiles with 2.5 mM glucose, an accumulation ratio of 6 for Cl– was attained at 4 h after the start of re-aeration, implying plasma membrane integrity was either maintained during anoxia, or rapidly restored after a return to aerated conditions. Cytoplasmic pH and vacuolar pH were measured using in vivo 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with 50 mM glucose in the basal perfusion medium. After 60 h in anoxia, external pH was suddenly decreased from 6.5 to 3.5, but cytoplasmic pH only decreased from 7.35 to 7.2 during the first 2 h and then remained steady for the next 16 h. During the first 3 h at pH 3.5, vacuolar pH decreased from 5.7 to 5.25 and then stabilized. After 18 h at pH 3.5, the initial values of cytoplasmic pH and vacuolar pH were rapidly restored, both upon a return to pH 6.5 while maintaining anoxia and after subsequent return to aerated solution. Summing up, rice coleoptiles exposed to a combination of anoxia and pH 3.5 retained pH regulation and cellular compartmentation, demonstrating tolerance to anoxia even during the acid load imposed by exposure to pH 3.5.
The A1166C polymorphism of the angiotensin II type-1 receptor in acute myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE To assess the association of the A1166C polymorphism of the angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1R) gene with acute myocardial infarction and also with the severity of coronary artery disease. METHODS A prospective, cross-sectional study was carried out with 110 patients with acute myocardial infarction, who, on coronary angiography, had significant lesions (> 50%) assessed according to 3 criteria of severity: number of vessels affected, morphology of the atherosclerotic plaque, and coronary risk score. The control group comprised 104 individuals with no coronary lesions. The A1166C polymorphism of AT1R gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction in the DNA of leukocytes in peripheral blood. The classic coronary risk factors were analyzed in all individuals. RESULTS When stratifying the genotypes in regard to risk factors, only smoking predominated in the AC heterozygous patients (P = 0.02). The genotypic frequency in the infarcted patients was as follows: AA = 54.5%; AC = 35.5%; and CC = 10%, which was similar and nonsignificant in regard to that in the control group (P = 0.83). No risk increase occurred for acute myocardial infarction when comparing the genotypes as follows: CC vs AA (OR = 1.35; 95% CI = 0.50 - 3.59); AC vs AA (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.58 - 1.84); and AA+AC vs AA (OR = 1.33; 95% CI = 0.51 - 3.45). None of the severity criteria showed a significant correlation with the genotypes. CONCLUSION According to our results, no correlation exists between the A1166C polymorphism of the angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1R) gene and acute myocardial infarction or the severity of coronary artery disease.
Further Characterization of a Myelin‐Associated Neuraminidase: Properties and Substrate Specificity

Abstract: A neuraminidase activity in myelin isolated from adult rat brains was examined. The enzyme activity in myelin was first compared with that in microsomes using N‐acetylneuramin(α2 → 3)lactitol (NL) as a substrate. In contrast to the microsomal neuraminidase which exhibited a sharp pH dependency for its activity, the myelin enzyme gave a very shallow pH activity curve over a range between 3.6 and 5.9. The myelin enzyme was more stable to heat denaturation (65°C) than the microsomal enzyme. Inhibition studies with a competitive inhibitor, 2,3‐dehydro‐2‐deoxy‐N‐acetylneuraminic acid, showed the Ki value for the myelin neuraminidase to be about one‐fifth of that for the microsomal enzyme (1.3 × 10−6M versus 6.3 × 10−6M). The apparent Km values for the myelin and the microsomal enzyme were 1.3 × 10−4M and 4.3 × 10−4M, respectively. An enzyme preparation that was practically devoid of myelin lipids was then prepared and its substrate specificity examined. The “delipidated enzyme” could hydrolyze fetuin, NL, and ganglioside substrates, including GM1, and GM2. When the delipidated enzyme was exposed to high temperature (55°C) or low pH (pH 2.54), the neuraminidase activities toward NL and GM3 decreased at nearly the same rate. Both fetuin and 2,3‐dehydro‐2‐deoxy‐N‐acetylneuraminic acid inhibited NL and GM3 hydrolysis. With 2,3‐dehydro −2‐deoxy‐N‐acetylneuraminic acid, inhibition of NL was greater than that of GM3; however, the Ki values for each substrate were almost identical. GM3 and GM1, also competitively inhibited the hydrolysis of NL and NL similarly inhibited GM3 hydrolysis by the enzyme. These results indicate that rat brain myelin has intrinsic neuraminidase activities toward nonganglioside as well as ganglioside substrates, and that these two enzyme activities are likely catalyzed by a single enzyme entity.