Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
User selection and power schedule for downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system

As a promising multiple access techniques for 5th generation (5G) wireless systems, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) has received many attentions recently. In this paper, we study the NOMA based downlink multi-user beamforming system, where the base station (BS) tries to transmit information to multiple user clusters and each beam serves one user cluster compromising of two users simultaneously. User selection algorithm is proposed to reduce the interference and improve the system information rate. Moreover, we also provide the user power schedule scheme to guarantee the advantage of the proposed NOMA downlink multi-user beamforming system. Simulation results show that the proposed user selection algorithm and the power schedule scheme can improve the sum-rate of NOMA based downlink multi-user system.
An Empirical Study of Price Dispersion in Homogenous Goods Markets

This paper presents the results of an empirical study of price dispersion in homogeneous goods markets. Modern economic theory suggests that inevitable asymmetries of information in markets lead to an equilibrium in which price dispersion is present even when goods are perfectly homogenous. In this paper we present an empirical analysis in which we employ both cross-sectional and time-series data gathered directly from Pricegrabber.com, one of the most popular and comprehensive online shopping/price-comparison sites on the Internet. In particular our analysis focuses on (i) the effect that the number of firms offering a good has on price dispersion, (ii) the informational value to the consumer of using the Pricegrabber website, and (iii) the persistency of price dispersion over time.
The Number of Subtrees of Trees with Given Degree Sequence

This article investigates some properties of the number of subtrees of a tree with given degree sequence. These results are used to characterize trees with the given degree sequence that have the largest number of subtrees, which generalize the recent results of Kirk and Wang (SIAM J Discrete Math 22 (2008), 985–995). These trees coincide with those which were proven by Wang and independently Zhang et al. (2008) to minimize the Wiener index. We also provide a partial ordering of the extremal trees with different degree sequences, some extremal results follow as corollaries.
Effects of physiotherapy in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome: a systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE To critically summarize the effectiveness of physio-therapy in patients presenting clinical signs of shoulder impingement syndrome. DESIGN Systematic review. METHODS Randomized controlled trials were searched electronically and manually from 1966 to December 2007. Study quality was independently assessed by 2 reviewers using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. If possible, relative risks and weighted mean differences were calculated for individual studies, and relative risks or standardized mean differences for pooled data, otherwise results were summarized in a best evidence synthesis. RESULTS Sixteen studies were included, with a mean quality score of 6.8 points out of 10. Many different diagnostic criteria for shoulder impingement syndrome were applied. Physio-therapist-led exercises and surgery were equally effective treatments for shoulder impingement syndrome in the long term. Also, home-based exercises were as effective as combined physiotherapy interventions. Adding manual therapy to exercise programmes may have an additional benefit on pain at 3 weeks follow-up. Moderate evidence exists that passive treatments are not effective and cannot be justified. CONCLUSION This review shows an equal effectiveness of physiotherapist-led exercises compared with surgery in the long term and of home-based exercises compared with combined physiotherapy interventions in patients with shoulder impingement syndrome in the short and long term; passive treatments cannot be recommended for shoulder impingement syndrome. However, in general, the samples were small, and different diagnostic criteria were applied, which makes a firm conclusion difficult. More high-quality trials with longer follow-ups are recommended.
Elevated choroidal blood flow velocity during systemic corticosteroid therapy in Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease

Purpose: Laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) can be used to non‐invasively visualize the haemodynamics of choroidal circulation and the vascular pattern. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of LSFG to quantitatively evaluate blood flow velocity at the macula in patients with Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease before and after systemic corticosteroid therapy.
Active control of microbubbles stream in multi-bifurcated flow by using 2D phased array ultrasound transducer

We have previously reported our attempt to propel microbbles in flow by a primary Bjerknes force, which is a physical phenomenon where an acoustic wave pushes an obstacle along its direction of propagation. However, when ultrasound was emitted from surface of the body, controlling bubbles in against flow was needed. It is unpractical to use multiple transducers to produce the same number of focal points because single element transducer cannot produce more than two focal points. In this study, we introduced a complex artificial blood vessel according to a capillary model and a 2D array transducer to produce multiple focal points for active control of microbubbles in against flow. Furthermore, we investigated bubble control in viscous fluid. As the results, we confirmed clearly path selection of MBs in viscous fluid as well as in water.
Becoming pure: identifying generational classes of admixed individuals within lesser and greater scaup populations

Estimating the frequency of hybridization is important to understand its evolutionary consequences and its effects on conservation efforts. In this study, we examined the extent of hybridization in two sister species of ducks that hybridize. We used mitochondrial control region sequences and 3589 double‐digest restriction‐associated DNA sequences (ddRADseq) to identify admixture between wild lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) and greater scaup (A. marila). Among 111 individuals, we found one introgressed mitochondrial DNA haplotype in lesser scaup and four in greater scaup. Likewise, based on the site‐frequency spectrum from autosomal DNA, gene flow was asymmetrical, with higher rates from lesser into greater scaup. However, using ddRADseq nuclear DNA, all individuals were assigned to their respective species with >0.95 posterior assignment probability. To examine the power for detecting admixture, we simulated a breeding experiment in which empirical data were used to create F1 hybrids and nine generations (F2–F10) of backcrossing. F1 hybrids and F2, F3 and most F4 backcrosses were clearly distinguishable from pure individuals, but evidence of admixed histories was effectively lost after the fourth generation. Thus, we conclude that low interspecific assignment probabilities (0.011–0.043) for two lesser and nineteen greater scaup were consistent with admixed histories beyond the F3 generation. These results indicate that the propensity of these species to hybridize in the wild is low and largely asymmetric. When applied to species‐specific cases, our approach offers powerful utility for examining concerns of hybridization in conservation efforts, especially for determining the generational time until admixed histories are effectively lost through backcrossing.
Sex Differences in Self-Efficacy and Attributions: Influence of Performance Feedback

This study explored the hypothesis that explicit performance feedback would moderate sex differences in performance expectations (self-efficacy) and attributions. Within this context, this study investigated whether achievement cognitions differed as a function of grade level. Male and female students in grades six and eight judged their self-efficacy for learning a novel mathematical task (residues), after which they individually completed a written packet that provided instruction and practice opportunities. Students received performance feedback by checking answers to alternate problems. Following training, attributions and self-efficacy for solving residue problems were assessed. Although girls initially judged self-efficacy lower than boys, no sex differences were obtained on any measure following training. Sixth graders made higher effort attributions and demonstrated lower residue skill than eighth-grade students. Implications for teaching are discussed.
New roads leading to Ca2+ sensitization.

Gprotein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) activated by a wide variety of agonists can switch on myosin light chain phosphorylation and force in smooth muscle. The extent of myosin light chain phosphorylation reflects activity of both the Ca2+/calmodulin–dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and the myosin light chain phosphatase. Thus, at constant Ca2+ and MLCK activity, processes that inhibit myosin phosphatase activity cause a leftward shift of the Ca2+ force-response curve, a physiological relevant phenomenon known as Ca2+ sensitization.1,2⇓ There are two well-described myosin phosphatase inhibitory pathways. The first is through the small GTPase RhoA, in which GTP-bound RhoA translocates to the membrane and activates Rho-kinase that either directly or indirectly acts on the regulatory phosphatase subunit (MYPT-1) to inhibit phosphatase activity. The second signaling pathway, which is present in only some smooth muscles, is through phosphorylation of a phosphatase inhibitor, CPI-17 that, when phosphorylated, potently inhibits the catalytic subunit of myosin phosphatase.3 Crosstalk between the two pathways has been implicated from experiments using the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632.4 A new signaling messenger of Ca2+ sensitization, which converges on the RhoA pathway at the level of Rho-kinase, is presented by Kobayashi and colleagues5 in this issue of Circulation Research : they demonstrate that sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC), a product of sphingomyelin deacylation, leads to an increase in force in the absence of an increase in the fura 2 Ca2+ signal. This force is inhibited by a …
Development and Validation of the Minnesota Borderline Personality Disorder Scale

Although large epidemiological data sets can inform research on the etiology and development of borderline personality disorder (BPD), they rarely include BPD measures. In some cases, however, proxy measures can be constructed using instruments already in these data sets. In this study, the authors developed and validated a self-report measure of BPD from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Items for the new instrument—the Minnesota BPD scale (MBPD) —were identified and refined using three large samples: undergraduates, community adolescent twins, and urban substance users. The authors determined the construct validity of the MBPD scale by examining its association with (a) diagnosed BPD, (b) questionnaire-reported BPD symptoms, and (c) clinical variables associated with BPD: suicidality, trauma, disinhibition, internalizing distress, and substance use. The authors also tested the MBPD scale in two prison inmate samples. Across samples, the MBPD scores correlated with BPD indices and external criteria and showed incremental validity above measures of negative affect, thus supporting its construct validity as a measure of BPD.
Correction: Nicotinamide Impairs Entry into and Exit from Meiosis I in Mouse Oocytes

Following exit from meiosis I, mammalian oocytes immediately enter meiosis II without an intervening interphase, accompanied by rapid reassembly of a bipolar spindle that maintains condensed chromosomes in a metaphase configuration (metaphase II arrest). Here we study the effect of nicotinamide (NAM), a non-competitive pan-sirtuin inhibitor, during meiotic maturation in mouse oocytes. Sirtuins are a family of seven NAD-dependent deacetylases (Sirt1-7), which are involved in multiple cellular processes and are emerging as important regulators in oocytes and embryos. We found that NAM significantly delayed entry into meiosis I associated with delayed accumulation of the Cdk1 co-activator, cyclin B1. GVBD was also inhibited by the Sirt2-specific inhibitor, AGK2, and in a very similar pattern to NAM, supporting the notion that as in somatic cells, NAM inhibits sirtuins in oocytes. NAM did not affect subsequent spindle assembly, chromosome alignment or the timing of first polar body extrusion (PBE). Unexpectedly, however, in the majority of oocytes with a polar body, chromatin was decondensed and a nuclear structure was present. An identical phenotype was observed when flavopiridol was used to induce Cdk1 inactivation during late meiosis I prior to PBE, but not if Cdk1 was inactivated after PBE when metaphase II arrest was already established, altogether indicating that NAM impaired establishment rather than maintenance of metaphase II arrest. During meiosis I exit in NAM-treated medium, we found that cyclin B1 levels were lower and inhibitory Cdk1 phosphorylation was increased compared with controls. Although activation of the anaphase-promoting complex-Cdc20 (APC-Cdc20) occurred on-time in NAM-treated oocytes, Cdc20 levels were higher in very late meiosis I, pointing to exaggerated APC-Cdc20-mediated proteolysis as a reason for lower cyclin B1 levels. Collectively, therefore, our data indicate that by disrupting Cdk1 regulation, NAM impairs entry into meiosis I and the establishment of metaphase II arrest.
Obesity and Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors (eg, hypertension, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and dyslipidemia). We studied 50 obese patients (body mass index [BMI]: 43.5 ± 9.2 kg/m2) and 36 normal weight participants (BMI: 22.6 ± 1.9 kg/m2). The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L) was 88% among obese patients and 31% among nonobese individuals; 25(OH)D levels were lower in the obese group (27.3 ± 13.7 vs 64.6 ± 21.3 nmol/L; P < .001). There was a negative correlation between vitamin D level and anthropometric indicators of obesity: BMI (r = −0.64; P < .001), waist circumference (r = −0.59; P < .001), and body fat percentage (r = −0.64; P < .001) as well as with fasting plasma insulin (r = −0.35; P < .001) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (r = −0.35; P < .001). In conclusion, we observed a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among obese participants and this was associated with a proatherogenic cardiometabolic risk profile.
Prey capture efficiency in brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) is influenced by sex and corpus callosum morphology

The diet of capuchin monkeys consists largely of fruits, but these monkeys commonly prey upon insects and other invertebrates as well as vertebrates such as lizards, birds, and fish. Capturing small fast‐moving prey requires the ability to process complex visuospatial information such as motion detection, shape, and pursuit. Here we report the results of an experimental investigation into whether capuchins display sex differences in prey capture efficiency, and whether these differences are associated with the morphology of regions of the corpus callosum (CC) involved in visuospatial ability. We examined the prey capture behavior of seven capuchin subjects (four female, three male) in the laboratory by providing subjects opportunities to fish. Additionally, we obtained structural magnetic resonance images from these subjects to determine if spatial‐ability was related to CC anatomy. Over 30 fishing trials, we recorded the number of prey capture attempts, success rate in capturing fish, and hand techniques used in these attempts. Males were significantly faster and more successful than females at capturing prey. In addition, males had smaller total CC:brain ratios than females. Males displayed a left hand bias, as well as significant unimanual usage, whereas females displayed no significant preference for hand usage. Individual capture times were correlated with total CC:brain ratio. Taken together, our results suggest a relationship between prey capture efficiency, sex, and the degree of brain lateralization. Am. J. Primatol. 72:502–508, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Facial Reanimation with Gracilis Muscle Transfer Neurotized to Cross-Facial Nerve Graft versus Masseteric Nerve: A Comparative Study Using the FACIAL CLIMA Evaluating System

Background: Longstanding unilateral facial paralysis is best addressed with microneurovascular muscle transplantation. Neurotization can be obtained from the cross-facial or the masseter nerve. The authors present a quantitative comparison of both procedures using the FACIAL CLIMA system. Methods: Forty-seven patients with complete unilateral facial paralysis underwent reanimation with a free gracilis transplant neurotized to either a cross-facial nerve graft (group I, n = 20) or to the ipsilateral masseteric nerve (group II, n = 27). Commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity were measured using the FACIAL CLIMA system. Postoperative intragroup commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity means of the reanimated versus the normal side were first compared using the independent samples t test. Mean percentage of recovery of both parameters were compared between the groups using the independent samples t test. Results: Significant differences of mean commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity between the reanimated side and the normal side were observed in group I (p = 0.001 and p = 0.014, respectively) but not in group II. Intergroup comparisons showed that both commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity were higher in group II, with significant differences for commissural displacement (p = 0.048). Mean percentage of recovery of both parameters was higher in group II, with significant differences for commissural displacement (p = 0.042). Conclusions: Free gracilis muscle transfer neurotized by the masseteric nerve is a reliable technique for reanimation of longstanding facial paralysis. Compared with cross-facial nerve graft neurotization, this technique provides better symmetry and a higher degree of recovery. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.
Superconformal vortex strings

We study the low-energy dynamics of semi-classical vortex strings living above Argyres-Douglas superconformal field theories. The worldsheet theory of the string is shown to be a deformation of the CPN model which flows in the infra-red to a superconformal minimal model. The scaling dimensions of chiral primary operators are determined and the dimensions of the associated relevant perturbations on the worldsheet and in the four dimensional bulk are found to agree. The vortex string thereby provides a map between the A-series of N=2 superconformal theories in two and four dimensions.
CD44v7 interferes with activation‐induced cell death by up‐regulation of anti‐apoptotic gene expression

Blockade of CD44v7 was described to cure trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid‐induced colitis, a disease not developed by mice with targeted deletion of the CD44v7 exon. There was evidence for a reduction in activation‐induced cell death on lamina propria lymphocytes of control as compared with CD44v7‐deficient mice. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the relative apoptosis resistance of CD44v7‐competent as compared with CD44v7‐deficient lymphocytes, T cell activation and induction of apoptosis were analyzed on mesenteric lymph node cells and Peyer’s patch lymphocytes of CD44v7‐deficient and CD44v4‐v7‐transgenic mice, which overexpress rat CD44v4‐v7 on T lymphocytes. CD44v7 deficiency was characterized by an increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells after stimulation, increased numbers of CD95L‐ and CD152‐positive cells, low levels of the anti‐apoptotic proteins Bcl‐2 and Bcl‐Xl, and decreased phosphorylation of the pro‐apoptotic protein BAD. Also, lymphocytes from CD44v4‐v7‐transgenic mice displayed reduced levels of CD95L, low numbers of apoptotic cells, and constitutively elevated levels of Bcl‐Xl. When stimulating lymphocytes by CD3 cross‐linking, CD44v7 was not recruited toward the immunological synapse and preferentially associated with the cytoskeletal‐linker protein ezrin. Thus, as opposed to the CD44 standard isoform, CD44v7 does not function as an accessory molecule; instead, it supports survival of activated T cells by interfering with activation‐induced cell death.
Effect of subacute exposure to silver nanoparticle on some hematological and plasma biochemical indices in silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

The use of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) is rapidly increasing, but there are limited data on their effects on the aquatic environment. The present study aimed to determine the acute toxicity and evaluate the effect of subacute concentrations of Ag-NPs (Nanocid®: average particle size of 61 nm) on hematological and plasma biochemical indices of silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, after 3, 7 and 14 days. The 24-, 48-, 72- and 96-h median lethal concentration (LC50) values of Nanocid for silver carp were estimated at 0.810, 0.648, 0.383 and 0.202 mg/L, respectively; 20% and 10% of the 96-h LC50 values (0.04 and 0.02 mg/L) were selected for subacute study. Red blood cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb) count and hematocrit (Hct) level were significantly reduced at both concentrations tested (p < 0.05). White blood cell (WBC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), cortisol and glucose levels in Nanocid-treated groups were significantly higher than the controlled group at experimental periods (p < 0.05). In conclusion, Ag-NPs intoxication resulted in erythrocyte reduction, hematological disturbances, leucocytosis and stress response in silver carp and offered a simple tool to evaluate toxicity-derived alterations.
Relations among quantum processes: bisimilarity and congruence

Full formal descriptions of algorithms making use of quantum principles must take into account both quantum and classical computing components, as well as communications between these components. Moreover, to model concurrent and distributed quantum computations and quantum communication protocols, communications over quantum channels that move qubits physically from one place to another must also be taken into account. Inspired by classical process algebras, which provide a framework for modelling cooperating computations, a process algebraic notation is defined. This notation provides a homogeneous style for formal descriptions of concurrent and distributed computations comprising both quantum and classical parts. Based upon an operational semantics that makes sure that quantum objects, operations and communications operate according to the postulates of quantum mechanics, an equivalence is defined among process states considered as having the same behaviour. This equivalence is a probabilistic branching bisimulation. From this relation, an equivalence on processes is defined. However, it is not a congruence because it is not preserved by parallel composition.