Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-Complexity Energy-Efficient Joint Resource Allocation for Two-Hop MIMO-AF Systems

Energy efficiency (EE) is becoming an important system design criterion to ensure that the next generation of communication networks is sustainable. Equally, cooperative communication and resource allocation are well-known techniques for improving the performance of communication systems. In this paper, we propose a low-complexity energy-efficient joint resource allocation method for the two-hop multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) amplify-and-forward (AF) system. We derive explicit formulations of the near-optimal energy-per-bit consumption, subchannels' power and rate for the unconstrained, total transmit power and sum-rate constrained EE optimization problems as well as detail how to solve these problems in a low-complexity manner. We then use our novel method for comparing the performances of two-hop MIMO-AF and MIMO systems in terms of EE. Our results indicate that the usage of a relay is only energy efficient when the quality of the direct link is very poor. We also show that the extra fixed power consumption induced by transmitting over two hops can seriously disadvantage MIMO-AF in terms of EE, but on the other hand, the usage of relay can be useful for downsizing the donor cell, which in turn provides EE gain.
Use of hydrocolloids to improve the quality of vacuum fried jackfruit chips.

The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of hydrocolloid pre-treatment, i.e. pectin, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), gum arabic and sodium alginate on the quality of vacuum fried jackfruit (JF) chips. The control JF samples (no hydrocolloid treatment) showed higher absorption of oil whereas the oil absorption was less in the hydrocolloid pre-treated samples. The retention of moisture in samples was found to increase with increase in the concentration of hydrocolloids. However, gum Arabic showed maximum moisture retention followed by sodium alginate, pectin and CMC. All the hydrocolloids except gum Arabic were found to increase the L* value of the JF chips compared to the control sample. Color L* value increased up to 10, 6.5 and 8% in fried chips pre-treated with 2% pectin, CMC and sodium alginate, respectively. The color b* value was also found to increase with increase in concentration of hydrocolloids, whereas color a value was found to decrease. Hydrocolloid pre-treatment increased the force required to break the JF chips. Increase in the concentration of pectin and CMC in pre-treatment showed increase in sensory color attribute of the chips.
Effective and scalable solutions for mixed and split citation problems in digital libraries

In this paper, we consider two important problems that commonly occur in bibliographic digital libraries, which seriously degrade their data qualities: Mixed Citation (MC) problem (i.e., citations of different scholars with their names being homonyms are mixed together) and Split Citation (SC) problem (i.e., citations of the same author appear under different name variants). In particular, we investigate an effective yet scalable solution since citations in such digital libraries tend to be large-scale. After formally defining the problems and accompanying challenges, we present an effective solution that is based on the state-of-the-art sampling-based approximate join algorithm. Our claim is verified through preliminary experimental results.
Nonparametric statistics on manifolds with applications to shape spaces

This article presents certain recent methodologies and some new results for the statistical analysis of probability distributions on manifolds. An important example considered in some detail here is the 2-D shape space of k-ads, comprising all configurations of k planar landmarks (k > 2)-modulo translation, scaling and rotation.
On-line genetic algorithm-based fuzzy-neural sliding mode controller using improved adaptive bound reduced-form genetic algorithm

In this article, a novel on-line genetic algorithm-based fuzzy-neural sliding mode controller trained by an improved adaptive bound reduced-form genetic algorithm is developed to guarantee robust stability and good tracking performance for a robot manipulator with uncertainties and external disturbances. A general sliding manifold, which can be non-linear or time varying, is used to construct a sliding surface and reduce control law chattering. In this article, the sliding surface is used to derive a genetic algorithm-based fuzzy-neural sliding mode controller. To identify structured system dynamics, a B-spline membership function fuzzy-neural network, which is trained by the improved genetic algorithm, is used to approximate the regressor of the robot manipulator. The sliding mode control with a general sliding surface plays the role of a compensator when the fuzzy-neural network does not approximate the dynamics regressor of the robot manipulator well in the transient period. The adjustable parameters of the fuzzy-neural network are tuned by the improved genetic algorithm, which, with the use of the sequential-search-based crossover point method and the single gene crossover, converges quickly to near-optimal parameter values. Simulation results show that the proposed genetic algorithm-based fuzzy-neural sliding mode controller is effective and yields superior tracking performance for robot manipulators.
The Posture of Putting One’s Palms Together Modulates Visual Motion Event Perception

We investigated the effect of an observer’s hand postures on visual motion perception using the stream/bounce display. When two identical visual objects move across collinear horizontal trajectories toward each other in a two-dimensional display, observers perceive them as either streaming or bouncing. In our previous study, we found that when observers put their palms together just below the coincidence point of the two objects, the percentage of bouncing responses increased, mainly depending on the proprioceptive information from their own hands. However, it remains unclear if the tactile or haptic (force) information produced by the postures mostly influences the stream/bounce perception. We solved this problem by changing the tactile and haptic information on the palms of the hands. Experiment 1 showed that the promotion of bouncing perception was observed only when the posture of directly putting one’s palms together was used, while there was no effect when a brick was sandwiched between the participant’s palms. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the strength of force used when putting the palms together had no effect on increasing bounce perception. Our findings indicate that the hands-induced bounce effect derives from the tactile information produced by the direct contact between both palms.
Antibacterial Analysis of a Zinc-based Glass Polyalkenoate Cement

Infection following surgery can result in significant pain and morbidity for patients undergoing vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty, and often results in revision surgery. This study focuses on the development of Al-free glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs) based on 0.04SrO—0.12CaO—0.36ZnO—0.48SiO 2 glass, with the intent of optimizing their antibacterial efficacy by incorporating low—molecular-weight polyacrylic acids (PAA) and trisodium citrate (TSC), and evaluating the resultant GPCs against bacteria relevant to spinal infections, P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Ion-release profiles were determined for the GPC formulation containing E6 PAA (Cement A) and E7 PAA (Cement B), and Zn, Na, and Sr release was recorded over 1, 7, and 30 days. Inhibition was found in E. coli at each time period (0—30 days) and this generally decreased with exposure time in water. The largest GPC inhibition zones were produced by Cement A (6 mm); however the control material Simplex P + tobramycin produced much higher inhibition zones (11 mm). When testing the GPC against P. aeruginosa, inhibition was only present at the 0-day time period. Simplex P + tobramycin was found to produce inhibition at each time frame. Analysis of the agar from the inhibition zone of the E. coli test revealed that there is a significant change in Zn concentration as compared to a control agar specimen, which suggests that Zn release is responsible for the antibacterial effect of the GPCs.
Studies on the isothermal crystallization kinetics and crystal morphology of PTT/SGF composites

The kinetics of isothermal crystallization and crystal morphology of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/short glass fibers (PTT/SGF) composites were investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). DSC data was analyzed by the Avrami equation and Hoffman-Lauritzen theory. The results show that SGF plays a role as the nucleating agent, which largely accelerates the crystallization rate of PTT. SGF below 20% will increase the crystallinity of the composites but 30% SGF will decrease the crystallinity, which is also verified by the crystallinity results calculated from the wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD) experiments. The crystal morphology of the composites exhibits so much microcrystallites because of the fast crystallization rate and the strong interaction between SGF and polymers, which is consistent with the results analysized by the Avrami theory. The nuclei exponent Kg is increased sharply as the SGF added into polymer, and SGF makes PTT easier to crystallize during isothermal crystallization process. POLYM. COMPOS. , 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers
Effects of sample width and inclined angle on flame spread across expanded polystyrene surface in plateau and plain environments

To study the effect of sample width and inclined angle on flame spread across expanded polystyrene (EPS) surface, a series of laboratory-scale experiments were conducted in the Lhasa plateau and the Hefei plain. Surface flame height, flame spread rate and preheating zone length were obtained. The dimensionless surface flame height varied as the −n power of the sample width and 0.7 < n < 0.9. As angle of incline increased, the surface flame height first rose and then dropped. The surface flame height difference between maximum and minimum width became smaller with the increase in angle of incline. With an increase in sample width, the flame spread rate first dropped and then rose where the angle of incline was small, while the trend was reverse for samples with larger angle of incline. For EPS at 15°and 30°, the trend of flame spread rate versus sample width in Lhasa was inverse, compared with the results obtained in Hefei. The variation trend of preheating zone length with sample width and inclined angle was different from the flame spread rate trend. However, a linear relationship of vf /w and δph /w was found in Lhasa plateau. The surface flame height, flame spread rate and preheating zone length in Hefei plain were larger than the results obtained in Lhasa plateau. The experimental results agreed well with theoretical analysis.
Evidence on the impact of T-shaped tether variations on Q factor of bulk-mode square-plate resonators

This paper reports evidence from measurements that anchor design has no obvious impact on the quality factor (Q) of a square-plate resonator vibrating in the Lamé mode. This observation is attributed to uniquely locating the anchors at the nodes positioned conveniently at the corners. The measured Q and eigenfrequency show no dependence on variations in the length of the T-shaped tethers. In contrast, the same variations were shown to significantly affect both Q and eigenfrequency when the resonator was excited in the square-extensional (SE) mode. These trends were consistently observed between measurements on two different fabricated SOI dies. For further validation, the measured correlation between the eigenfrequency and tether length for both eigenmodes agree well with those predicted by finite-element (FE) simulations in COMSOL.
Punica granatum (Pomegranate) Extract Is Active Against Dental Plaque

In the present work, we studied the effect of the hydro-alcoholic extract (HAE) from Punica granatum (pomegranate) fruits on dental plaque microorganisms. The study was conducted on 60 healthy patients (33 females and 27 males, with age ranging from 9 to 25 years) using fixed orthodontic appliances, and randomly distributed into 3 groups of 20 patients each. The first group (control) used distilled water, while the second and third groups used chlorhexidine (standard) and HAE as mouth-rinses, respectively. The dental plaque material was collected from each patient, before and after a 1-min mouth-rinse with 15 ml of either distilled water, chlorhexidine or HAE. In both dental plaque collections, the material was removed from patients without oral hygiene, for 24 h (no tooth brushing). Dental plaque samples were diluted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) plated on Mueller-Hinton agar, and incubated for 48 h, at 37°C. Results, expressed as the number of colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL), show that the HAE was very effective against dental plaque microorganisms, decreasing the CFU/ml by 84% (CFU X105, before mouth-rinse: 154.0 ±41.18; after mouth-rinse: 25.4 ±7.76). While similar values were observed with chlorhexidine, used as standard and positive control (79% inhibition), only an 11% inhibition of CFU/ml was demonstrated in the distilled water group, negative control (CFUX 105, before mouth-rinse: chlorhexidine, 208.7 ±58.81and distilled water, 81.1 ±10.12; after mouth-rinse: chlorhexidine, 44.0 ±15.85 and distilled water, 71.9 ±8.68). The HAE presented also an antibacterial activity against selected microorganisms, and may be a possible alternative for the treatment of dental plaque bacteria.
The Effect of Bulk Depth and Irradiation Time on the Surface Hardness and Degree of Cure of Bulk-Fill Composites

Statement of Problem: For many years, application of the composite restoration with a thickness less than 2 mm for achieving the minimum polymerization contraction and stress has been accepted as a principle. But through the recent development in dental material a group of resin based composites (RBCs) called Bulk Fill is introduced whose producers claim the possibility of achieving a good restoration in bulks with depths of 4 or even 5 mm. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of irradiation times and bulk depths on the degree of cure (DC) of a bulk fill composite and compare it with the universal type. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on two groups of dental RBCs including Tetric N Ceram Bulk Fill and Tetric N Ceram Universal. The composite samples were prepared in Teflon moulds with a diameter of 5 mm and height of 2, 4 and 6 mm. Then, half of the samples in each depth were cured from the upper side of the mould for 20s by LED light curing unit. The irradiation time for other specimens was 40s. After 24 hours of storage in distilled water, the microhardness of the top and bottom of the samples was measured using a Future Tech (Japan- Model FM 700) Vickers hardness testing machine. Data were analyzed statistically using the one and multi way ANOVAand Tukey’s test (p = 0.050). Results: The DC of Tetric N Ceram Bulk Fill in defined irradiation time and bulk depth was significantly more than the universal type (p < 0.001). Also, the DC of both composites studied was significantly (p < 0.001) reduced by increasing the bulk depths. Increasing the curing time from 20 to 40 seconds had a marginally significant effect (p ≤ 0.040) on the DC of both bulk fill and universal studied RBC samples. Conclusions: The DC of the investigated bulk fill composite was better than the universal type in all the irradiation times and bulk depths. The studied universal and bulk fill RBCs had an appropriate DC at the 2 and 4 mm bulk depths respectively and using the recommended curing time of 40s can led to the slightly better value of DC in both composites.
Ultrastructural Evidence of Kisspeptin‐Gonadotrophin‐Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Interaction in the Median Eminence of Female Rats: Implication of Axo‐Axonal Regulation of GnRH Release

The present study was conducted to determine the morphological and functional interaction between kisspeptin and gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) neuronal elements at the median eminence in female rats to clarify a possibility that kisspeptin directly stimulates GnRH release at the nerve end. A dual immunoelectron microscopic study of kisspeptin and GnRH showed that the kisspeptin‐immunoreactive nerve element directly abutted the GnRH‐immunoreactive nerve element, although no obvious synaptic structure was found between kisspeptin and GnRH neurones in the median eminence. The current retrograde tracing study with FluoroGold (FG) indicates that kisspeptin neurones are not in contact with fenestrated capillaries because no FG signal was found in kisspeptin neurones when the FG was injected peripherally. This peripheral FG injection revealed the neuroendocrine neurones projecting to the median eminence because FG‐positive GnRH neuronal cell bodies were found in the preoptic area. Synthetic rat kisspeptin (1‐52)‐amide stimulated GnRH release from the median eminence tissues in a dose‐dependent manner. Thus, the present results suggest that kisspeptin at least partly exerts stimulatory effects on GnRH release from the neuronal terminals of GnRH neurones by axo‐axonal nonsynaptic interaction in the median eminence.
Percolation on Networks with Conditional Dependence Group

Recently, the dependence group has been proposed to study the robustness of networks with interdependent nodes. A dependence group means that a failed node in the group can lead to the failures of the whole group. Considering the situation of real networks that one failed node may not always break the functionality of a dependence group, we study a cascading failure model that a dependence group fails only when more than a fraction β of nodes of the group fail. We find that the network becomes more robust with the increasing of the parameter β. However, the type of percolation transition is always first order unless the model reduces to the classical network percolation model, which is independent of the degree distribution of the network. Furthermore, we find that a larger dependence group size does not always make the networks more fragile. We also present exact solutions to the size of the giant component and the critical point, which are in agreement with the simulations well.
Neural Correlates of Recognition Memory in Children with Febrile Seizures: Evidence from Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Febrile seizures (FS) are assumed to not have adverse long-term effects on cognitive development. Nevertheless, FS are often associated with hippocampal sclerosis which can imply episodic memory deficits. This interrelation has hardly been studied so far. In the current study 13 children who had suffered from FS during infancy and 14 control children (7 to 9-years-old) were examined for episodic and semantic memory with standardized neuropsychological tests. Furthermore, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we studied neuronal activation while the children performed a continuous recognition memory task. The analysis of the behavioral data of the neuropsychological tests and the recognition memory experiment did not reveal any between-group differences in memory performance. Consistent with other studies fMRI revealed repetition enhancement effects for both groups in a variety of brain regions (e.g., right middle frontal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus) and a repetition suppression effect in the right superior temporal gyrus. Different neural activation patterns between both groups were obtained selectively within the right supramarginal gyrus (BA 40). In the control group correct rejections of new items were associated with stronger activation than correctly identified old items (HITs) whereas in the FS group no difference occurred. On the background that the right supramarginal gyrus is assumed to mediate a top-down process to internally direct attention toward recollected information, the results could indicate that control children used strategic recollection in order to reject new items (recall-to-reject). In contrast, the missing effect in the FS group could reflect a lack of strategy use, possibly due to impaired recollective processing. This study demonstrates that FS, even with mainly benign courses, can be accompanied by selective modifications in the neural structures underlying recognition memory.
MAP Kinase and Protein Kinase A–Dependent Mobilization of Triacylglycerol and Glycogen during Appressorium Turgor Generation by Magnaporthe grisea

Magnaporthe grisea produces an infection structure called an appressorium, which is used to breach the plant cuticle by mechanical force. Appressoria generate hydrostatic turgor by accumulating molar concentrations of glycerol. To investigate the genetic control and biochemical mechanism for turgor generation, we assayed glycerol biosynthetic enzymes during appressorium development, and the movement of storage reserves was monitored in developmental mutants. Enzymatic activities for glycerol generation from carbohydrate sources were present in appressoria but did not increase during development. In contrast, triacylglycerol lipase activity increased during appressorium maturation. Rapid glycogen degradation occurred during conidial germination, followed by accumulation in incipient appressoria and dissolution before turgor generation. Lipid droplets also moved to the incipient appressorium and coalesced into a central vacuole before degrading at the onset of turgor generation. Glycogen and lipid mobilization did not occur in a Δpmk1 mutant, which lacked the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) required for appressorium differentiation, and was retarded markedly in a ΔcpkA mutant, which lacks the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). Glycogen and lipid degradation were very rapid in a Δmac1 sum1-99 mutant, which carries a mutation in the regulatory subunit of PKA, occurring before appressorium morphogenesis was complete. Mass transfer of storage carbohydrate and lipid reserves to the appressorium therefore occurs under control of the PMK1 MAPK pathway. Turgor generation then proceeds by compartmentalization and rapid degradation of lipid and glycogen reserves under control of the CPKA/SUM1-encoded PKA holoenzyme.
Modeling of Large Pharmacokinetic Data Using Nonlinear Mixed‐Effects: A Paradigm Shift in Veterinary Pharmacology. A Case Study With Robenacoxib in Cats

The objective of this study was to model the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of robenacoxib in cats using a nonlinear mixed‐effects (NLME) approach, leveraging all available information collected from cats receiving robenacoxib s.c. and/or i.v. : 47 densely sampled laboratory cats and 36 clinical cats sparsely sampled preoperatively. Data from both routes were modeled sequentially using Monolix 4.3. 2. Influence of parameter correlations and available covariates (age, gender, bodyweight, and anesthesia) on population parameter estimates were evaluated by using multiple samples from the posterior distribution of the random effects. A bicompartmental disposition model with simultaneous zero and first‐order absorption best described robenacoxib PKs in blood. Clearance was 0.502 L/kg/h and the bioavailability was high (78%). The absorption constant point estimate (Ka = 0.68 h−1) was lower than beta (median, 1.08 h−1), unveiling flip‐flop kinetics. No dosing adjustment based on available covariates information is advocated. This modeling work constitutes the first application of NLME in a large feline population.