Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of frequency-domain MIMO equalization for cyclic-prefixed single-carrier spatial multiplexing

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) signal processing combined with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a widely accepted solution to achieve the high bit rates that new communication standards require in frequency-selective wireless channels. In recent years, a new Frequency-Domain Equalized (FDE) Cyclic-Prefixed Single-Carrier (CPSC) block transmission system has been proven to achieve similar performance to OFDM for coded systems with the same overall complexity, avoiding its main drawbacks and becoming a candidate for future wireless standards. In this paper, a FDE CPSC spatial multiplexing system is analyzed and compared to OFDM. The applicability of different frequency-domain MIMO equalization and detection schemes is evaluated. Simulation-based performance results prove the potential of these techniques and highlight that FDE CPSC can equal or outperform OFDM in uncoded and high coding rate spatial multiplexing systems, as it has been shown in the literature for the SISO case.
Mitochondria and Parkinson ’ s disease : genetic contributions to understanding the pathogenic process

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a major role in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Studies on monogenic forms of parkinsonism have significantly contributed to understanding this process. We reviewed our understanding of the role of these genes in mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease.
Bisphenol A Binds to the Local Anesthetic Receptor Site to Block the Human Cardiac Sodium Channel

Bisphenol A (BPA) has attracted considerable public attention as it leaches from plastic used in food containers, is detectable in human fluids and recent epidemiologic studies link BPA exposure with diseases including cardiovascular disorders. As heart-toxicity may derive from modified cardiac electrophysiology, we investigated the interaction between BPA and hNav1.5, the predominant voltage-gated sodium channel subtype expressed in the human heart. Electrophysiology studies of heterologously-expressed hNav1.5 determined that BPA blocks the channel with a Kd of 25.4±1.3 µM. By comparing the effects of BPA and the local anesthetic mexiletine on wild type hNav1.5 and the F1760A mutant, we demonstrate that both compounds share an overlapping binding site. With a key binding determinant thus identified, an homology model of hNav1.5 was generated based on the recently-reported crystal structure of the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel NavAb. Docking predictions position both ligands in a cavity delimited by F1760 and contiguous with the DIII–IV pore fenestration. Steered molecular dynamics simulations used to assess routes of ligand ingress indicate that the DIII–IV pore fenestration is a viable access pathway. Therefore BPA block of the human heart sodium channel involves the local anesthetic receptor and both BPA and mexiletine may enter the closed-state pore via membrane-located side fenestrations.
Coaches of elite athletes with disability: senior sports administrators’ reported factors affecting coaches’ recruitment and retention

ABSTRACT Sport for elite athletes with disability is gaining recognition comparable to its non-disabled counterpart, with Paralympians considered among the world’s elite athletes. The value of sports coaching to the development, training and success of athletes with disability is similarly recognised. This research explored the views and experiences of administrators and policymakers working at a senior level in Australian organisations with oversight of coaches of elite athletes with physical disability, focussing on factors influencing their recruitment and retention. Semi-structured interviews were held with 10 participants working in organisations with responsibility for a range of sports including athletics, swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, equestrian sport, triathlon, cycling, rowing, goal ball, boccia, football and power lifting. Results identified that there were barriers to recruiting coaches to work with athletes with disability, primarily due to preconceptions of stigma, and the perceived need for disability-specific knowledge. However, the coaches’ retention rates were substantially higher than that of coaches in general, with reported factors including personal satisfaction, richer interpersonal relationships and enhanced career progression.
Perinatal Exposure to a High-Fat Diet Is Associated with Reduced Hepatic Sympathetic Innervation in One-Year Old Male Japanese Macaques

Our group recently demonstrated that maternal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, increased apoptosis, and changes in gluconeogenic gene expression and chromatin structure in fetal nonhuman primate (NHP) liver. However, little is known about the long-term effects that a HFD has on hepatic nervous system development in offspring, a system that plays an important role in regulating hepatic metabolism. Utilizing immunohistochemistry and Real-Time PCR, we quantified sympathetic nerve fiber density, apoptosis, inflammation, and other autonomic components in the livers of fetal and one-year old Japanese macaques chronically exposed to a HFD. We found that HFD exposure in-utero and throughout the postnatal period (HFD/HFD), when compared to animals receiving a CTR diet for the same developmental period (CTR/CTR), is associated with a 1.7 fold decrease in periportal sympathetic innervation, a 5 fold decrease in parenchymal sympathetic innervation, and a 2.5 fold increase in hepatic apoptosis in the livers of one-year old male animals. Additionally, we observed an increase in hepatic inflammation and a decrease in a key component of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in one-year old HFD/HFD offspring. Taken together, these findings reinforce the impact that continuous exposure to a HFD has in the development of long-term hepatic pathologies in offspring and highlights a potential neuroanatomical basis for hepatic metabolic dysfunction.
THE STRENGTH OF R&D NETWORK TIES IN HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIES - A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF TIE STRENGTH ON TECHNOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE

* MERIT and Department of Organization and Strategy, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands, Tel: (31) 43-3883823, Fax: (31) 43-3884893, e-mail: j.hagedoorn@os.unimaas. nl, d.cloodt@os.unimaas. nl ** Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9108, 9500 HK Nijmegen The Netherlands, Tel: (31) 24-3612382, Fax: (31) 24-3611933, e-mail: h.vankranenburg@fm.ru. nl
Properties of Convergent Thalamocortical and Intracortical Synaptic Potentials in Single Neurons of Neocortex

We explored differences in the properties of convergent afferent inputs to single neurons in the barrel area of the neocortex. Thalamocortical slices were prepared from mature mice. Recordings were made from neurons in layer V, and either thalamocortical afferents or horizontal intracortical axons were stimulated. Monosynaptic EPSPs from both sources had latencies shorter than 1.8 msec and low shape variance. Disynaptic thalamocortical IPSPs had latencies longer than 1.8 msec. All neuronal types, as defined by intrinsic firing patterns, received both thalamocortical and intracortical monosynaptic input. The shape parameters (rate of rise and half-width) of monosynaptic EPSPs from the two inputs did not differ significantly. The rate of rise of EPSPs varied considerably across cells, but the rates of rise of thalamocortical and intracortical EPSPs onto single cells were strongly correlated. The relative thresholds for activation of synaptic excitation and inhibition were strikingly different between the two tracts: thalamocortical stimulation induced GABAA-dependent IPSPs at stimulus intensities equal to or less than those required for evoking EPSPs in 35% (24 of 68) of the cells. In contrast, the threshold response to intracortical stimulation was always an EPSP, and only stronger stimuli could generate di- or polysynaptic IPSPs. We suggest that postsynaptic factors may tend to equalize the waveforms of EPSPs from thalamocortical and intracortical synapses onto single neurons. A major difference between the two convergent tracts is that the thalamocortical pathway much more effectively activates feedforward inhibitory circuits than does the horizontal intracortical pathway.
The Contemporary Career: A Work–Home Perspective

This article proposes a perspective on careers that recognizes the interdependencies between work and home over the life course and is particularly suitable to contemporary careers. We first discuss the meaning of a work–home (WH) perspective and elaborate on the economic, organizational, and workforce changes that have affected contemporary careers. We then illustrate the implications of adopting a WH perspective for four streams of scholarship relevant to contemporary careers (career self-management, career success, global careers, and sustainable careers), suggest directions for future research in each area, and discuss the practical implications of adopting a WH perspective. We conclude that contemporary careers can be better understood by considering how employees’ home lives influence and are influenced by career processes and that the adoption of a WH perspective requires understanding the role of gender norms in prescribing and sanctioning women’s and men’s participation in the work and home domai.
On the Rate of Quantum Ergodicity in Euclidean Billiards

For a large class of quantized ergodic ows the quantum ergodicity theorem due to Shnirelman, Zelditch, Colin de Verdi ere and others states that almost all eigenfunctions become equidistributed in the semiclassical limit. In this work we rst give a short introduction to the formulation of the quantum ergodicity theorem for general observables in terms of pseudodiierential operators and show that it is equivalent to the semiclassical eigenfunction hypothesis for the Wigner function in the case of ergodic systems. Of great importance is the rate by which the quantum mechanical expectation values of an observable tend to their mean value. This is studied numerically for three Euclidean billiards (stadium, cosine and cardioid billiard) using up to 6000 eigenfunctions. We nd that in connguration space the rate of quantum ergodicity is strongly innuenced by localized eigenfunctions like bouncing ball modes or scarred eigenfunctions. We give a detailed discussion and explanation of these eeects using a simple but powerful model. For the rate of quantum ergodicity in momentum space we observe a slower decay. We also study the suitably normalized uctuations of the expectation values around their mean, and nd good agreement with a Gaussian distribution. y
Plasma cortisol levels in gilts treated with Parapoxvirus ovis-based immunostimulator in the late phase of gravidity

The goal of these investigations was to check if two-time treatment of gilts by Baypamun before transferring from the pre-farrowing to farrowing unit can activate natural killer cells, stimulate leukocyte production and lymphocyte proliferation, and decrease the rise in plasma cortisol caused by stress. The investigation comprised 30 one-year-old Swedish Landrace gilts in the late phase of gravidity, which were divided into three groups. Group 1 formed a control group, from blood which was taken in the the pre-farrowing unit in order to enable comparison of the results of plasma cortisol with results obtained in the other two groups. In group 2, Baypamun in a dose of 2 ml i/m at days 7 and 5 was applied, and in group 3 at days 3 and 1 prior to transferral from the pre-farrowing to farrowing unit. After gilts in groups 2 and 3 had been transferred four days prior to farrowing, blood was taken from them at days 1, 3 and 5 of their stay in the farrowing unit. Plasma cortisol was analyzed by the radioimmunochemical (RIA) method. The obtained results by groups were compared with each other using one-way analysis of variance. According to the obtained results an average level of plasma cortisol of the gilts in groups 2 and 3 throughout the research was higher than in control group 1. A significant statistical difference (P < 0.05) appeared between control group 1 and group 3 at day 1 of the stay of gilts in the farrowing unit. Therefore, an anti-stress effect of Baypamun occurred between days 1 and 3 of the stay in the farrowing unit, i.e. by the day of farrowing, when the level of plasma cortisol again began to rise due to stress caused by partus.
No Advantage of Quadruple- or Triple-Class Antiretroviral Therapy as Initial Treatment in Patients with Very High Viraemia

Background We assessed whether quadruple or triple-class therapy for the initial treatment of HIV-1 infection provides a virological benefit over standard triple therapy in patients with very high plasma viraemia. The assessment was made based on a national observational HIV cohort in the Netherlands. Methods Inclusion criteria were age ≥18 years, treatment-naive, plasma viral load (pVL) ≥500,000 copies/ml and initiation of quadruple or triple therapy between 2001 and 2011. Time to viral suppression, defined as pVL<50 copies/ ml, was compared between the two groups using Kaplan– Meier plots and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results A total of 675 patients were included: 125 (19%) initiated quadruple and 550 (81%) triple therapy. Median pVL was 5.9 (IQR 5.8–6.1) log10 copies/ml in both groups (P=0.49). 22 (18%) patients on quadruple and 63 (12%) on triple therapy interrupted the treatment regimen because of drug-related toxicity (P=0.06). Median time to viral suppression was 5.8 (IQR 4.6–7.9) and 6.0 (4.0–9.4) months in the patients on quadruple and triple therapy, respectively (log-rank, P=0.42). In the adjusted Cox analysis, quadruple therapy was not associated with time to viral suppression (HR 1.07 [95% CI 0.86, 1.33], P=0.53). Similar results were seen when comparing triple- versus dual-class therapy (n=72 versus n=601, respectively). Conclusions Initial quadruple- or triple-class therapy was equally effective as standard triple therapy in the suppression of HIV-1 in treatment-naive patients with very high viraemia and did not result in faster pVL decreases, but did expose patients to additional toxicity.
Manipulative Waiters with Probabilistic Intuition

For positive integers n and q and a monotone graph property $\mathcal{A}$ , we consider the two-player, perfect information game WC(n, q, $\mathcal{A}$ ), which is defined as follows. The game proceeds in rounds. In each round, the first player, called Waiter, offers the second player, called Client, q + 1 edges of the complete graph Kn which have not been offered previously. Client then chooses one of these edges which he keeps and the remaining q edges go back to Waiter. If, at the end of the game, the graph which consists of the edges chosen by Client satisfies the property $\mathcal{A}$ , then Waiter is declared the winner; otherwise Client wins the game. In this paper we study such games (also known as Picker–Chooser games) for a variety of natural graph-theoretic parameters, such as the size of a largest component or the length of a longest cycle. In particular, we describe a phase transition type phenomenon which occurs when the parameter q is close to n and is reminiscent of phase transition phenomena in random graphs. Namely, we prove that if q ⩾ (1 + ϵ)n, then Client can avoid components of order cϵ−2 ln n for some absolute constant c > 0, whereas for q ⩽ (1 − ϵ)n, Waiter can force a giant, linearly sized component in Client's graph. In the second part of the paper, we prove that Waiter can force Client's graph to be pancyclic for every q ⩽ cn, where c > 0 is an appropriate constant. Note that this behaviour is in stark contrast to the threshold for pancyclicity and Hamiltonicity of random graphs.
Severe respiratory disease concurrent with the circulation of H1N1 influenza.

BACKGROUND In the spring of 2009, an outbreak of severe pneumonia was reported in conjunction with the concurrent isolation of a novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV), widely known as swine flu, in Mexico. Influenza A (H1N1) subtype viruses have rarely predominated since the 1957 pandemic. The analysis of epidemic pneumonia in the absence of routine diagnostic tests can provide information about risk factors for severe disease from this virus and prospects for its control. METHODS From March 24 to April 29, 2009, a total of 2155 cases of severe pneumonia, involving 821 hospitalizations and 100 deaths, were reported to the Mexican Ministry of Health. During this period, of the 8817 nasopharyngeal specimens that were submitted to the National Epidemiological Reference Laboratory, 2582 were positive for S-OIV. We compared the age distribution of patients who were reported to have severe pneumonia with that during recent influenza epidemics to document an age shift in rates of death and illness. RESULTS During the study period, 87% of deaths and 71% of cases of severe pneumonia involved patients between the ages of 5 and 59 years, as compared with average rates of 17% and 32%, respectively, in that age group during the referent periods. Features of this epidemic were similar to those of past influenza pandemics in that circulation of the new influenza virus was associated with an off-season wave of disease affecting a younger population. CONCLUSIONS During the early phase of this influenza pandemic, there was a sudden increase in the rate of severe pneumonia and a shift in the age distribution of patients with such illness, which was reminiscent of past pandemics and suggested relative protection for persons who were exposed to H1N1 strains during childhood before the 1957 pandemic. If resources or vaccine supplies are limited, these findings suggest a rationale for focusing prevention efforts on younger populations.
Extracting Features of Entertainment Products: A Guided Latent Dirichlet Allocation Approach Informed by the Psychology of Media Consumption

The authors propose a quantitative approach for describing entertainment products, in a way that allows for improving the predictive performance of consumer choice models for these products. Their approach is based on the media psychology literature, which suggests that people’s consumption of entertainment products is influenced by the psychological themes featured in these products. They classify psychological themes on the basis of the “character strengths” taxonomy from the positive psychology literature (Peterson and Seligman 2004). They develop a natural language processing tool, guided latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), that automatically extracts a set of features of entertainment products from their descriptions. Guided LDA is flexible enough to allow features to be informed by psychological themes while allowing other relevant dimensions to emerge. The authors apply this tool to movies and show that guided LDA features help better predict movie-watching behavior at the individual level. They find this result with both award-winning movies and blockbuster movies. They illustrate the potential of the proposed approach in pure content-based predictive models of consumer behavior, as well as in hybrid predictive models that combine content-based models with collaborative filtering. They also show that guided LDA can improve the performance of models that predict aggregate outcomes.
An Electrothermal Model for GaInP/GaAs Power HBTs with Enhanced Convergence Capabilities

A new model for GaInP/GaAs power heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) is proposed. This non-linear electrothermal and fully scalable model was designed with closed-form equations in order to reduce simulation times in complex circuits like high power amplifiers (HPA) and to have good convergence capabilities at high compression levels. This paper presents model topology and shows parameters extraction from pulsed I-V, pulsed [S]-parameters measurements. Simulations performed on a two-stage HPA with 20 HBTs devices have demonstrated the good convergence properties as well as a good correlation with measurements
Nonparametric Reconstruction of Abell 2218 from Combined Weak and Strong Lensing

We apply a new nonparametric technique to reconstruct, with uncertainties, the projected mass distribution of the inner region of Abell 2218 using combined strong and weak lensing constraints from multiple-image systems and arclets with known redshifts. The reconstructed mass map broadly resembles previous, less detailed parametric models, but when examined in detail it shows several substructures not necessarily associated with light but strongly required by the lensing data. In particular, the highest mass peak is offset by ∼30 h kpc from the main light peak, and projected mass-to-light ratio in the directions of different cluster galaxies varies by at least a factor of 10. On comparison with mass estimates from models of the X-ray emitting gas, we find that the X-ray models underpredict the enclosed mass profile by at least a factor of 2.5; the discrepancy gets worse if we assume that mass traces light to the extent allowed by the lensing constraints.
Time evolution of the fine structure constant

We present a short review of the current quasar (QSO) absorption line constraints on possible variation of the fine structure constant, alpha = e^2/(hbar*c). Particular attention is paid to recent optical Keck/HIRES spectra of 49 absorption systems which indicate a smaller alpha in the past (Murphy et al. 2001, Webb et al. 2001). Here we present new preliminary results from 128 absorption systems: da/a = (-0.57 +/- 0.10) x 10^{-5} over the redshift range 0.2 < z < 3.7, in agreement with the previous results. Known potential systematic errors cannot explain these results. We compare them with strong `local' constraints and discuss other (radio and millimetre-wave) QSO absorption line constraints on variations in alpha^2 * g_p and alpha^2 * g_p * m_e/m_p (g_p is the proton g-factor and m_e/m_p is the electron/proton mass ratio). Finally, we discuss future efforts to rule out or confirm the current 5.7 sigma optical detection.