Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Investigation of Space‐Time Block Coded Multicarrier DS‐CDMA in Time‐Varying Channels

In this letter, we evaluate the system performance of a space‐time block coded (STBC) multicarrier (MC) DS‐CDMA system over a time selective fading channel, with imperfect channel knowledge. The average bit error rate impairment due to imperfect channel information is investigated by taking into account the effect of the STBC position. We consider two schemes: STBC after spreading and STBC before spreading in the MC DS‐CDMA system. In the scheme with STBC after spreading, STBC is performed at the chip level; in the scheme with STBC before spreading, STBC is performed at the symbol level. We found that these two schemes have various channel estimation errors, and that the system with STBC before spreading is more sensitive to channel estimation than the system with STBC after spreading. Furthermore, derived results prove that a high spreading factor (SF) in the MC DS‐CDMA system with STBC before spreading leads to high channel estimation error, whereas for a system with STBC after spreading this statement is not true.
Pharmacocinétique de la dexaméthasone par voie orale chez le sujet obèse

: Dexamethasone pharmacokinetics was studied after oral administration of two Decadron tablets in six healthy controls and in eight obese patients whose weight was at least 20% above that of the ideal body weight. The absorption (0.30 +/- 0.09 h and 0.29 +/- 0.08 h) and elimination (4.52 +/- 0.57 h and 3.71 +/- 1.05 h) half-lives were not significantly different. Maximum plasma concentrations were similar (11.95 +/- 1.00 micrograms/l and 10.93 +/- 0.94 micrograms/l) but the lag-time was significantly higher in the obese patients (0.49 +/- 0.12 h and 0.13 +/- 0.04 h). A positive correlation was observed between the AUC and the total body weight (r = 0.738, p less than 0.01). Mean predexamethasone cortisol level was significantly lower in the obese patients (189.20 +/- 52.7 micrograms/l and 256.90 +/- 58 micrograms/l). The pharmacokinetics modifications were not sufficient to explain the increased false positive frequency in the dexamethasone suppression test of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in obesity.
The Influence of Semantic Number Representations on Arithmetic Fact Retrieval

This dissertation explores how arithmetic facts such as 6 x 7 = 42 are stored and retrieved in memory. The present work examines the existing literature on retrieval of arithmetic facts, identifying the major findings from studies of normal arithmetic, acquired deficits after brain damage, and artificial arithmetic operations. Several theories of arithmetic fact retrieval are summarized, each of which either attempts to account for arithmetic fact retrieval performance, or the form in which arithmetic facts are stored. Each theory is evaluated in terms of how well it accounts for the observed phenomena, and issues which remain to be resolved are identified. Two theoretical positions are considered viable and testable: one suggests that arithmetic facts are stored in a phonological form. This theory is evaluated using the performance of a brain-damaged patient. The patient's pattern of performance is found to be incompatible with this phonological storage hypothesis. The second viable theoretical position proposes that arithmetic facts are stored in an abstract semantic form. This notion is incorporated into a new theory of arithmetic fact retrieval which suggests that arithmetic facts are retrieved from a network of facts using a magnitude representation of the problem operands. This Semantic Network Retrieval Theory is described in detail and simulated using a distributed network representation, demonstrating that the theory is able to account for the major arithmetic phenomena. According to this theory, the main source of competition during retrieval are answers with operands which are close in magnitude to the correct operands. An experimental evaluation of this hypothesis using an artificial arithmetic operation revealed performance benefits when the number of facts with operands close in magnitude to the actual operands was
Using Cognitive Tools to Represent Problems

Abstract The premise of this paper is that the key to problem solving is adequately representing the problem to be solved. Most research has focused on how problems are (re)presented to learners. The assumption that those external representations naturally map onto learners’ internal representations of problems has not been confirmed. New research has examined the role of tools for externalizing learners’ internal representations. Descriptions of how three kinds of cognitive tools—semantic networks, expert systems, and systems modeling tools—can be used to externalize learner’s internal representations are provided. Research is needed to study the efficacy of these tools for supporting problem solving.
Formulaicity in an agglutinating language: the case of Turkish

Abstract This study examines the extent to which complex inflectional patterns found in Turkish, a language with a rich agglutinating morphology, can be described as formulaic. It is found that many prototypically formulaic phenomena previously attested at the multi-word level in English – frequent co-occurrence of specific elements, fixed ‘bundles’ of elements, and associations between lexis and grammar – also play an important role at the morphological level in Turkish. It is argued that current psycholinguistic models of agglutinative morphology need to be complexified to incorporate such patterns. Conclusions are also drawn for the practice of Turkish as a Foreign Language teaching and for the methodology of Turkish corpus linguistics.
Effect of Timing of Umbilical Cord Clamping at Birth of Term Infants on Mother and Baby Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Policies for timing of cord clamping vary, with early cord clamping generally carried out in the first 60 seconds after birth, whereas later cord clamping usually involves clamping the umbilical cord greater than one minute after the birth or when cord pulsation has ceased. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects of different policies of timing of cord clamping at delivery of the placenta on maternal and neonatal outcomes. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Child birth Group's Trials Register (December 2007). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials comparing early and late cord clamping. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed trial eligibility and quality and extracted data. MAIN RESULTS: We included 11 trials of 2989 mothers and their babies. No significant differences between early and late cord clamping were seen for postpartum hemorrhage or severe postpartum hemorrhage in any of the five trials (2236 women) which measured this outcome (relativerisk (RR) for postpartum hemorrhage 500 mls or more 1.22, 95% (CI) 0.96 to 1.55). For neonatal outcomes, our review showed both benefits and harms for late cord clamping. Following birth, there was a significant increase in infants needing phototherapy for jaundice (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.92; five trials of 1762 infants) in the late compared with early clamping group. This was accompanied by significant increases in newborn hemoglobin levels in the late cord clamping group compared with early cord clamping (weighted mean difference 2.17 g/dL; 95% CI 0.28 to 4.06; three trials of 671 infants), although this effect did not persist past six months. Infant ferritin levels remained higher in the late clamping group than the early clamping group at six months. AUTHORS' CONCLUSION: One definition of active management includes directions to administer an uterotonic with birth of the anterior shoulder of the baby and to clamp the umbilical cord within 30–60 seconds of birth of the baby (which is not always feasible in practice). In this review delaying clamping of the cord for at least two to three minutes seems not to increase the risk of postpartum hemorrhage. In addition, late cord clamping can be advantageous for the infant by improving iron status which may be of clinical value particularly in infants where access to good nutrition is poor, although delaying clamping increases the risk of jaundice requiring phototherapy. McDonald SJ, Middleton P. Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping of term infants on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD004074. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004074. pub2. Copyright the Cochrane Collaboration, reproduced with permission.
Effects of the menstrual cycle on selected responses to short constant‐load exercise

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were differences in blood lactate (La), pulmonary ventilation (V E), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), volume of carbon dioxide expired (VCO 2 ), oxygen consumption (VO2) and heart rate (HR) among four phases of the menstrual cycle during short constant‐load exercise. The subjects of this investigation were 21 female physical education students at Springfield College. After determination of maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2 max) on the bicycle ergometer, subjects exercised at intensities designed to elicit 70 and 90% VO 2 max in each of four phases of the menstrual cycle : menses, follicular (F), luteal (L) and premenses (PM). Phases were identified by menstrual history and variation in basal morning oral temperatures. For purposes of description the variation in body weight was analysed by a one‐factor ANOVA across the four phases of the menstrual cycle. Post hoc comparisons revealed that body weight was higher (P <0.05) in PM when compar.
Association of Menopausal Status with Pathological Features of Tumor in Stage I to III A Breast Cancer Patients Treated With Upfront Modified Radical Mastectomy

Introduction: Breast cancer is the commonest malignancy diagnosed among women worldwide. In Pakistan around 90,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Lymphnode involvement, tumor size, receptor status, tumor grade, presence of LVI, age and ethnicity are well recognized prognostic factors for breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of menopausal status with pathological and prognostic features of tumor in patients with stage I to III A breast cancer treated upfront with modified radical mastectomy. Material and Methods: This was a single institute observational retrospective study conducted at Nuclear Medicine Oncology and Radiotherapy Institute (NORI) Islamabad. A total of 381 patients with histopathologically proven diagnosis of Invasive ductal carcinoma after modified radical mastectomy were included from January 2009 to December 2013. Age, menopausal status, tumor site, tumor size, grade, lymphnode involvement, receptor status and presence of LVI were recorded on a particularly composed proforma. Statistical analysis for determining the association between menopausal status and pathologic features of tumor was performed using Chi-square test. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The minimum age of study population was 24 years and maximum age was 80 years with a mean age +/- SD of 48.5 +/- 11.1 years. There was a statistically significant association between menopausal status and grade of tumor, lymphovascular invasion and HER2/neuoverexpression (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Grade of tumor, lymphovascular invasion and HER2/neu over expression in stage I to IIIA breast cancer has statistically significant association with menopausal status.
An error decoder for the Compact Disc player as an example of VLSI programming

Using a programming language for VLSI design, called Tangram, they design a fast and simple VLSI circuit for error decoding in the Compact Disc player. The derivation of the design is straightforward and the result is succinctly expressed in less than one page of Tangram text. All design decisions are based merely on algorithmic and architectural considerations. No particular VLSI knowledge is needed and, therefore, the exercise demonstrates that Tangram allows system designers to design VLSI circuits. The exercise also shows that in a VLSI programming language special language constructs are essential to obtain efficient designs. <<ETX>>
Structure and meaning in the verb lexicon: Input for a syntax-aided verb learning procedure

Abstract How might children learn the meanings of new verbs? Well-known problems with unconstrained induction of word meanings from world observations suggest that additional sources of information are required. This paper presents an investigation of the availability of syntactic cues to verb meaning. If there exist strong and reliable parallels between verbs' structural and semantic properties, then each verb's linguistic context could provide valuable evidence about its meaning. In Experiments 1–3, adult subjects' judgements of verbs' semantic similarity were compared with other adults' judgements about the syntactic properties of the same verbs. In Experiment 4, subjects paraphrased sentences formed by pairing verbs with unaccustomed sentence frames (e.g. John thought the book to Mary). The findings from these investigations provide new and detailed support for the view that the syntax of verbs is a regular projection from their semantics, and therefore that there is considerable information about a v.
Minimizing makespan on a single batch processing machine with dynamic job arrivals

We consider the problem of minimizing makespan Cmax on a single batch processing machine in the presence of dynamic job arrivals. The batch processing machine can process up to B jobs simultaneously. The processing time of a batch is given by the processing time of the longest job in the batch. We present polynomial and pseudopolynomial-time algorithms for several special cases, develop efficient heuristics for the general problem and evaluate their performance through extensive computational experiments. Our results indicate that several of the heuristics have an excellent average performance with a modest computational burden.
Novel top‐gate zinc oxide thin‐film transistors (ZnO TFTs) for AMLCDs

Abstract— High‐performance top‐gate thin‐film transistors (TFTs) with a transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) channel have been developed. ZnO thin films used as active channels were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering. The electrical properties and thermal stability of the ZnO films are controlled by the deposition conditions. A gate insulator made of silicon nitride (SiNx) was deposited on the ZnO films by conventional P‐CVD. A novel ZnO‐TFT process based on photolithography is proposed for AMLCDs. AMLCDs having an aperture ratio and pixel density comparable to those of a‐Si:H TFT‐LCDs are driven by ZnO TFTs using the same driving scheme of conventional AMLCDs.
BRAM: The Broadcast Recognizing Access Method

In this paper, we first present the broadcast recognizing access method (BRAM), an access protocol suitable for regulating internode communication in either a radio or (coaxial or fiber) cable based communication system. The method avoids collisions, imposes negligible computational requirements on the nodes attempting to transmit, and is fair in the sense that no node will be indefinitely prevented from transmitting. Next we introduce parametric BRAM which attempts to balance the length of inserted channel idle periods, resulting from scheduling effects, against the probability of allowed message collisions. We show that parametric BRAM can be used to realize a method which balances inserted channel idle time against the probability of message collision to yield enhanced performance. For high message loads, parametric BRAM converges to BRAM, while for low and medium loadings it yields throughputs in excess of BRAM, and other methods. Both BRAM and parametric BRAM are discussed under the assumption of homogeneous message arrival rates at the nodes. We conclude by showing how the parametric BRAM can be applied when the nodes operate with heterogeneous or mixed message arrival rates.
Automatic sex identification from short segments of speech

The performance of a sex identification system working on 16 ms segments of speech is discussed. Consideration is given to: the effectiveness of individual cepstral coefficients and frame-to-frame differences of those coefficients for sex identification; performance of the Gaussian classifier as a function of the amount of training data; the results of simplifications to the Gaussian classifier; performance when training and testing are done by phoneme, by phoneme-class, and on all speech; effects of training on one phoneme and testing on speech from different phonemes; and distribution of sex identification errors by speaker. It is concluded that, if the speech signal is of high quality, it should not be difficult to build a practical system which uses successive outputs from the single-frame Gaussian classifier to accurately classify a speaker as being male or female. Additional testing needs to be done on data which are not of such high quality. <<ETX>>
Making E-business pay: eight key drivers for operational success

How does a company achieve high levels of operational performance in e-business? It invests in e-business drivers, key factors to maximize e-business value, related to technology, business processes, and readiness of customers and suppliers to achieve operational excellence. At the Center for Research in Electronic Commerce, University of Texas at Austin, we conducted a large-scale study to assess e-business value in small, medium, and large companies across the US and Europe. This study, sponsored by Dell Computer, identifies the critical links between e-business drivers, financial indicators, and operational excellence measures. The extensive survey of manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and wholesalers reveals that investing in e-business drivers pays off.
9. A Mathematical Approach to Categorization and Labeling of Qualitative Data: The Latent Categorization Method

As text databases increasingly become available to researchers, the limits to human cognition are rapidly reached. Focusing on examining objective realities, this paper introduces the latent categorization method, a novel new research method for analysis of large and midsize data sets. This method clusters text artifacts and extracts the words that were most important in creating the clusters. Further, it demonstrates a set of techniques for extracting knowledge from a representative data set involving 6135 abstracts from a variety of business-related journals.
Experimental studies of flowchart use at different stages of program debugging

Two experimental studies are described of the effect on performance of alternative program representations in different components of program debugging tasks. The use of diagrammatic notation provides useful information when the debugging task is mainly concerned with tracing execution flow in a program. In more complex tasks involving the identification of procedures commonly used under fault conditions, the use of flowcharts still increases the speed with which faults are identified, and reduces irrelevant testing, but does not reduce the incidence of errors likely to lead to inaccurate fault identification.
Sonographers' Complex Communication during the Obstetric Sonogram Exam: An Interview Study

A study of the oral communication experiences and training of obstetric sonographers can provide insight into the complex expectations these medical professionals face as they complete their technical tasks and communicate with patients. Unlike other diagnostic medical professionals, obstetric sonographers are expected to provide detailed information to patients during the exam, a practice not typically found in the work of other types of medical diagnostic professionals. This study presents the results of interviews with 23 obstetric sonographers who described their communication experiences and their views on sonographer training in communication. Results suggest that sonographers experience complex communication challenges in the workplace that are not typically addressed in their education, nor are they officially recognized in the official discourse of their profession.
Designing for innovation around OER

This paper argues that designing collections of ‘closed’ educational resources (content and technologies) for use by specific student cohorts and collections of open educational resources for use by any ‘learner’ require different design approaches. Learning design for formal courses has been a research topic for over 10 years as the ever growing range of digital content and technologies has potentially offered new opportunities for constructing effective learning experiences, primarily through greater sharing and re-use of such content and technologies. While progress in adopting learning design by teaching practitioners has appeared slow so far, the advent of open educational resources (OER) has provided a substantive boost to such sharing activity and a subsequent need for employing learning design in practice. Nevertheless there appears to be a paradox in that learning design assumes a reasonably well known and well defined student audience with presumed learning needs and mediating technologies while OER are exposed to a multitude of potential learners, both formal and informal, with unknown learning needs and using diverse technologies. It can be argued that innovative designs for formal courses involve creating structured pathways through a mixture of existing and new content and activities using a mixture of media and technologies in the process. This type of ‘configurational’ design that blends together given items to meet a particular need, rather than designing something fully de novo is typical in many areas of work and not just teaching. Such designs work very well when there is a small set of users of the innovation or their use of the innovation is narrow. However many innovations in information, communication and computing technologies often have multiple types of users and many more layers of complexity. In these cases, rather than heavily pre-define an innovative solution just to meet certain user requirements, it is necessary to design for greater flexibility so as to allow the users to adapt their use of the innovative solution for their own requirements once it has been deployed. The use of such an ‘innofusion’ approach for OER is highlighted using the case study of OpenLearn ( www.open.ac.uk/openlearn) .
Thai Distance English Learners and Learner Autonomy

The study reported here represents an attempt to explore learner autonomy in a distance education setting in Thailand. Autonomy is a key element in learning a language at a distance and is reflected in the number and quality of learning strategies students employ. Data for this study were collected using a questionnaire sent to students country-wide, ThinkAloud protocols and interviews. Using a number of criteria which emerged from the study, students were grouped into two kinds of language learner: self sufficient language learners, who were able to follow the course but displayed a limited degree of learner autonomy, and dynamic distance language learners, who were more proactive in their approach to learning. The outcomes from this study were used to draw conclusions about recommendations for future distance language course development and to develop theoretical work by the author relating to autonomous learning of languages at a distance