Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Pilots in Training-Based Downlink OFDMA Systems

In this paper, power allocation between pilots and data symbols is investigated to maximize energy efficiency (EE) for downlink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks. We first derive an EE function considering channel estimation error, which depends on large-scale channel gains of multiple users, allocated power to pilots and data symbols, and circuit power consumption. Then an optimization problem is formulated to maximize the EE under overall transmit power constraint. Exploiting the quasiconcavity property of the EE function, we propose an alternating optimization method in the low transmit power region and reformulate a joint quasiconcave problem in the high transmit power region. Analysis and simulation results show that the power ratio for pilots decreases with the circuit power. When the circuit power is small, the optimal overall transmit power increases with the circuit power. Otherwise, the optimal transmit power does not depend on it. Transmitting more data symbols to the users with higher channel gains improves the EE but at a cost of sacrificing the fairness among multiple users. Simulation results also demonstrate that compared with spectral efficiency (SE)-oriented design, the EE-oriented design can improve the EE performance significantly with a relatively small SE loss.
Taxonomy of Public Key Schemes based on the problem of Multivariate Quadratic equations

Multivariate quadratic systems can be used to construct both secure and e‐cient public key schemes. In this article, we introduce the necessary mathematical tools to deal with multivariate quadratic systems, present an overview of important schemes known so far and outline how they flt into a taxonomy of only four basic schemes and some generic modiflers. Moreover, we suggest new constructions not previously considered. In this context, we propose some open problems and new research directions in the fleld of multivariate quadratic schemes.
Query processing on smart SSDs: opportunities and challenges

Data storage devices are getting "smarter. " Smart Flash storage devices (a.k.a. "Smart SSD") are on the horizon and will package CPU processing and DRAM storage inside a Smart SSD, and make that available to run user programs inside a Smart SSD. The focus of this paper is on exploring the opportunities and challenges associated with exploiting this functionality of Smart SSDs for relational analytic query processing. We have implemented an initial prototype of Microsoft SQL Server running on a Samsung Smart SSD. Our results demonstrate that significant performance and energy gains can be achieved by pushing selected query processing components inside the Smart SSDs. We also identify various changes that SSD device manufacturers can make to increase the benefits of using Smart SSDs for data processing applications, and also suggest possible research opportunities for the database community.
Mentoring and Professional Development in Rural Head Start Classrooms

The objective of this project was to develop and pilot a small-scale professional development program that incorporated substantial group and one-on-one mentoring aimed at preparing rurally based preschool teacher assistants to earn the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Using a framework that emphasized the relational, developmental, and contextual elements of mentoring, this qualitative case study examined both the participants’ and mentors’ perceptions of the program. Results of this study revealed overlapping themes across teacher assistants and their mentors, including readiness for the CDA credentialing process, mentoring support/relationship-building, and mutual respect.
Fostering transformational leadership among young adults: a basic psychological needs approach

Abstract Scholars have noted the constructive effects of transformational leadership on groups and organisations. Key predictors of transformational leadership include aspects of personality, self-concept, as well as social context. The purpose of this research was to support and extend past work by exploring the links between a supportive social context, leadership traits, self-efficacy and transformational leadership on a sample of university students (Study 1, n = 397) and testing the replicability of the findings (Study 2, n = 392) while controlling for intelligence. Results from both studies supported the hypothesis that the experience of basic psychological need satisfaction plays a moderating role in the relation between a leader’s personality, self-efficacy and transformational leadership. Discussion emphasises keys findings and highlights implications for theory, research and practice.
Learning words in a new language: Orthography doesn't always help*

Previous studies have shown that orthography is activated during speech processing and that it may have positive and negative effects for non-native listeners. The present study examines whether the effect of orthography on non-native word learning depends on the relationship between the grapheme–phoneme correspondences across the native and non-native orthographic systems. Specifically, congruence between grapheme–phoneme correspondences across the listeners’ languages is predicted to aid word recognition, while incongruence is predicted to hinder it. Native Spanish listeners who were Dutch learners or naïve listeners (with no exposure to Dutch) were taught Dutch pseudowords and their visual referents. They were trained with only auditory forms or with auditory and orthographic forms. During testing, non-native listeners were less accurate when the target and distractor pseudowords formed a minimal pair (differing in only one vowel) than when they formed a non-minimal pair, and performed better on perceptually easy than on perceptually difficult minimal pairs. For perceptually difficult minimal pairs, Dutch learners performed better than naïve listeners and Dutch proficiency predicted learners’ word recognition accuracy. Most importantly and as predicted, exposure to orthographic forms during training aided performance on minimal pairs with congruent orthography, while it hindered performance on minimal pairs with incongruent orthography.
One-Year Entecavir or Lamivudine Therapy Results in Reduction of Hepatitis B Virus Intrahepatic Covalently Closed Circular DNA Levels

Entecavir and lamivudine are potent nucleoside analogues that can suppress hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. However, the effects of these two antiviral agents on intrahepatic total HBV DNA and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) are not known. In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of 48 weeks of entecavir/lamivudine therapy on intrahepatic total HBV DNA and cccDNA levels. Forty chronic hepatitis B patients, participating in two Phase III entecavir trials at our centre, were randomized to receive 48 weeks of either 0.5 mg once daily of entecavir (n=21) or 100 mg once daily of lamivudine (n=19). Their serological, virological and biochemical responses, as well as intrahepatic HBV DNA levels were monitored. There was no significant difference between entecavir and lamivudine therapy in terms of post-treatment serological, virological and biochemical responses. Both nucleoside analogues reduced serum viral load, intrahepatic total HBV DNA, and cccDNA by about 4.8 logs, 2 logs, and 1 log respectively. An increase in the proportion of intrahepatic HBV DNA in the form of cccDNA was seen after 48 weeks of therapy. In conclusion, both entecavir and lamivudine can successfully reduce intrahepatic HBV DNA and cccDNA. CccDNA becomes the dominant form of HBV DNA during viral suppression and is possibly responsible for viral rebound after short-term antiviral therapy.
MARK4 Is a Novel Microtubule-associated Proteins/Microtubule Affinity-regulating Kinase That Binds to the Cellular Microtubule Network and to Centrosomes*

The MARK protein kinases were originally identified by their ability to phosphorylate a serine motif in the microtubule-binding domain of tau that is critical for microtubule binding. Here, we report the cloning and expression of a novel human paralog, MARK4, which shares 75% overall homology with MARK1-3 and is predominantly expressed in brain. Homology is most pronounced in the catalytic domain (90%), and MARK4 readily phosphorylates tau and the related microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and MAP4. In contrast to the three paralogs that all exhibit uniform cytoplasmic localization, MARK4 colocalizes with the centrosome and with microtubules in cultured cells. Overexpression of MARK4 causes thinning out of the microtubule network, concomitant with a reorganization of microtubules into bundles. In line with these findings, we show that a tandem affinity-purified MARK4 protein complex contains α-, β-, and γ-tubulin. In differentiated neuroblastoma cells, MARK4 is localized prominently at the tips of neurite-like processes. We suggest that although the four MARK/PAR-1 kinases might play multiple cellular roles in concert with different targets, MARK4 is likely to be directly involved in microtubule organization in neuronal cells and may contribute to the pathological phosphorylation of tau in Alzheimer's disease.
Student Teachers’ Self-Appraised Problem-Solving Ability and Willingness to Engage in Troubleshooting Activities

The purpose of this research was to determine the extent of student teachers’ willingness to engage in troubleshooting activities and their technological problem-solving self-appraised ability. The study used a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design to collect data from 310 purposively random sampled students from three universities in Northern Nigeria. Results of data analyses indicated that student teachers from the universities surveyed reported a moderate willingness to engage in troubleshooting activities as well as a moderately positive self-appraisal of their problem-solving ability. The student teachers’ willingness to engage in troubleshooting activities was also significantly related to the pattern of their self-appraised problem-solving ability. It was therefore concluded that the findings from this research do not support the pedestrian view that students from Nigerian universities are reluctant to engage in problem-solving activities.
Lowermost mantle anisotropy and deformation along the boundary of the African LLSVP

Shear wave splitting of SK(K)S phases is often used to examine upper mantle anisotropy. In specific cases, however, splitting of these phases may reflect anisotropy in the lowermost mantle. Here we present SKS and SKKS splitting measurements for 233 event‐station pairs at 34 seismic stations that sample D″ beneath Africa. Of these, 36 pairs show significantly different splitting between the two phases, which likely reflects a contribution from lowermost mantle anisotropy. The vast majority of discrepant pairs sample the boundary of the African large low shear velocity province (LLSVP), which dominates the lower mantle structure beneath this region. In general, we observe little or no splitting of phases that have passed through the LLSVP itself and significant splitting for phases that have sampled the boundary of the LLSVP. We infer that the D″ region just outside the LLSVP boundary is strongly deformed, while its interior remains undeformed (or weakly deformed).
THE PROTECTIVE ACTION OF TYPE I ANTIPNEUMOCOCCUS SERUM IN MICE

The mouse protection test for the evaluation of type specific antipneumococcus serum has been studied with reference to the quantitative relationships between the amount of antibody and the number of injected bacteria. By varying both these factors through wide limits certain definite characteristics of the protection test have been defined. These are the Schwellenwert, the prozone, and the limiting titer zone. The modifications produced in the manifestations of these characteristics by changes in the technic of performing the test and also by certain non-specific reagents are described. The dependence of the outcome of the test upon variable factors intrinsic to the host is discussed.
Visual Feedback, Distribution of Practice, and Intermanual Transfer of Prism Aftereffects

These experiments tested the hypothesis that intermanual transfer of prism aftereffects depends on both the type of visual feedback provided to the observer and the distribution of practice during the antecedent prism-wearing session. In Exp. I, 8 Ss reached for a visible target that they viewed through prisms. They responded for 60 trials at rates of 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 times per minute, viewing the reaching hand only after each trial was completed (terminal visual feedback). Measures of coordination were taken both before and after exposure, and shifts in coordination were used as measures of the aftereffects. With increased rates of responding, the magnitude of intermanual transfer significantly decreased, but the magnitude of the aftereffects in the reaching hand remained unchanged. In Exp. II, 9 Ss responded for 60 trials at rates of 6, 12, and 24 times per minute, viewing the reaching hand through the prisms at all times (continuous visual feedback). Although aftereffects were obtained with the reaching hand, no significant transfer resulted. Results suggest prism-adapted Ss attain different end-states, depending on the specific antecedent exposure conditions, and any description of the mechanism underlying prism aftereffects must be restricted to the particular conditions under which the aftereffects were generated.
Monetary policy in developing countries: lessons from Kenya

We estimate and then simulate a model of Kenyan economic development from 1965 to 1997 with two objectives in mind. The first is to demonstrate the degree of volatility of cyclical shocks that developing countries experience and to calculate the domestic nominal adjustments required by these shocks under both irrevocably fixed and free exchange rates.A comparison of these counterfactual nominal adjustments identifies the short-run implications for an economy of the choice of exchange rate regime. The second objective is to provide an estimate of the consequences for the economic development of Kenya of the lack of a coherent monetary order (excessive domestic credit expansion and overvalued exchange rate) throughout most of the period since 1965.A neoclassical convergence growth model based on Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1992) is employed and calibrated to represent the long-run growth path of real GDP in Kenya. A short-run four-sector CGE model is constructed that allows for cyclical movements of real GDP about the convergence growth path. The cyclical model focuses on the adjustment of the relative price of non-traded goods that is required to ensure short-run equilibrium in the non-traded goods sector. Given that terms of trade shocks dominated the macro environment of Kenya over the sample period, we find that a free exchange rate regime would have insulated the economy to a greater degree than an irrevocably fixed regime. In the growth decomposition exercise, we estimate that the two largest (and negative) influences on Kenyan economic growth were the decline in the external terms of trade from 100 in 1965 to an average of 79.5 over the 32-year time period, and the overvalued Kenyan shilling represented by a premium on the parallel market for foreign exchange. Overall, we estimate that the overvalued exchange rate reduced economic growth by an average of 0.47 per cent per annum over the 32 years.
Comparison between fascicular and whole sural nerve biopsy

Sural nerve regeneration and sensation were evaluated in 16 subjects five or more years after fascicular or whole nerve biopsy. Conduction studies demonstrated successful nerve regeneration in all subjects who had whole nerve biopsy. Postbiopsy interrogation revealed no long‐term pain or paresthesias but a high incidence of tactile‐induced dysesthesias. No significant difference was seen when areas of sural sensory loss were compared in fascicular and whole nerve biopsy groups. We conclude that whole nerve biopsy should be recommended in preference to fascicular biopsy since it is simpler, has greater diagnostic potential, and allows for a more complete morphological evaluation.
Earlier Web Usage Statistics as Predictors of Later Citation Impact

Abstract: The use of citation counts to assess the impact of research articles is well established. However, the citation impact of an article can only be measured several years after it has been published. As research articles are increasingly accessed through the Web, the number of times an article is downloaded can be instantly recorded and counted. One would expect the number of times an article is read to be related both to the number of times it is cited and to how old the article is. This paper analyses how short-term Web usage impact predicts medium-term citation impact. The physics e-print archive -- arXiv.org -- is used to test this.
The Possible Unemployment Cost of Average Inflation Below a Credible Target

If inflation expectations become firmly anchored at the inflation target even when average inflation deviates from the target, the long-run Phillips curve becomes non-vertical. During 1997-2011, average inflation expectations in Sweden have been close to the inflation target of 2 percent, whereas average inflation has fallen short of the target by 0.6 percentage points. The estimates reported suggest that the slope of the long-run Phillips curve is about 0.75. Then the average unemployment rate has been about 0.8 percentage points higher than if average inflation had been on target. This is a large unemployment cost of undershooting the inflation target.
The mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between job training satisfaction and turnover intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship among job training satisfaction (JTS), job satisfaction (JS) and turnover intention (TI) and moreover, the role of JS in the relationship between the JTS and TI. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was used in this study for a sample size of 115. The principal component analysis was carried out to examine the factors in JTS and JS. The regression and mediation analyses were applied to assess the relationship among the JTS, JS and TI. Findings – A significantly negative relationship between JTS and TI was found and mediated by JS. The paper also suggests that JS is positively related to JTS but is negatively related to TI, which is in accordance with what have been reported in the earlier studies. Practical implications – This study reinforced the significance of job training in human resource management practices. The employees’ satisfaction with job training that would lead to higher JS and lower TIs was emphasized. Therefore, it becom.
Activation of a Ca2+−Mg2+‐dependent endonuclease as an early event in castration‐induced prostatic cell death

Previous studies have demonstrated that castration‐induced androgen withdrawal results in the fragmentation of prostatic DNA into nucleosomal oligomers, and this process comprises an early event in the activation of programed cell death in the rat ventral prostate. This DNA fragmentation could be due to changes in the chromatin conformation increasing its sensitivity to preexisting nucleases and/or to increases in the activity of the nucleases themselves. However, comparative kinetic analysis of in vitro DNA fragmentation induced by exogenous nucleases did not reveal any differences in the sensitivity of prostatic chromatin between intact and castrated rats. In contrast to these negative findings, using [3H] DNA as an exogenous substrate, it was shown that within the first day following castration there was a twofold increase in a Ca2+‐Mg2+‐dependent nuclease activity without a concomitant increase in other nuclear nucleases. This Ca2+‐M2+‐dependent nuclease activation occurred coincidental with the initial increase in nuclear DNA fragmentation following castration and preceded the enhanced appearance of morphological changes characteristic of dying cells (i.e., apoptosis), as well as the major increase in prostatic DNA loss. These results suggest that castration‐induced androgen deprivation leads to a sequential activation of a Ca2+‐Mg2+‐dependent nuclease leading to the fragmentation of the genome into discrete nucleosomal‐sized fragments of DNA, subsequently followed by the fragmentation of the nucleus itself (i.e., apoptosis) and eventually with the complete digestion of the nucleosomal oligomers into component nucleotides (i.e., DNA loss).
A Classroom Investigation: Can Video Improve Intermediate‐Level French Language Students’ Ability to Learn about a Foreign Culture?

This study examines the effects of video on cultural knowledge at the intermediate level. Fifty-one intermediate-level French students viewed 8 videos. A pretest/posttest design assessed long-term gains in cultural knowledge and in the learning of cultural practices and cultural products from exposure to a curriculum with a video component. Eight postvideo tests measured the students’ ability to retain information and to make inferences. A questionnaire assessed perceptions of cultural learning. Results indicated a significant gain in cultural knowledge with posttest scores significantly higher than pretest scores. On the short-answer and free-recall portions of the 8 postvideo tests, the students’ ability to make inferences or retain information did not improve significantly in either an advance organizer (AO) or a non-AO condition. For free recall, scores were significantly higher for mentions of cultural practices than for products. The students believed that they learned more cultural practices than products. The results support using video to enhance cultural knowledge.
THE EFFECT OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES ON IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS' PRONUNCIATION ACCURACY AT INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

The present study investigated the effect of Multiple Intelligences Theory on Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were selected based on their results in an OPT exam. This study tried to determine the extent to which multiple intelligences theory affects the pronunciation ability of Intermediate learners. To answer this question, 40 intermediate learners of Kish Institute of Science and Technology in Rasht whose score fell between 1SD below and above the mean were randomly assigned to two groups of control and experimental. At the beginning of the study Mackenzie’s MI inventory (1999) was run in order to determine learners’ intelligence type, then a pre-test was run and the results of the groups were compared. The results did not show any specific difference between the groups. The experimental group received treatment by implementing Multiple Intelligences theory for teaching pronunciation. The control group received placebo which means no treatment has been done and learners received a normal routine of the semester as they always did. At the end of the study a pronunciation posttest was run and the result of the independent sample t-test showed a significant difference between the control and experimental group. The findings of the study indicated that implementing Multiple Intelligences theory can be an effective way to improve pronunciation of EFL learners.