Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On precoding for constant K-User MIMO Gaussian interference channel with finite constellation inputs

This paper considers linear precoding for constant channel-coefficient K-User MIMO Gaussian Interference Channel (K-MIMO GIC) where each transmitter-i (Tx-i) requires to send di independent complex symbols per channel use that take values from fixed finite constellations with uniform distribution to receiver-i (Rx-i), for i = 1, 2, . , K. The maximum rate achieved by Tx-i as the signal to noise ratio (SNR) tends to infinity, using any linear precoder, when the interference channel-coefficients are zero is termed as Constellation Constrained Saturation Capacity (CCSC) for Tx-i. In this paper, we derive a high SNR approximation for the rate achieved by Tx-i when interference is treated as noise, which is given by the mutual information between Tx-i and Rx-i, denoted by I[Xi;Yi] where, Xi denotes the symbols generated at Tx-i before precoding and Yi denotes the symbols received at the antennas of Rx-i. Based on this high SNR approximation, we derive a set of necessary and sufficient conditions on the precoders under which I[Xi;Yi] tends to CCSC for Tx-i. Interestingly, the precoders that achieve interference alignment (IA) satisfy these necessary and sufficient conditions. However, finding precoders that achieve IA is known to be NP-hard in general whereas, the precoders that satisfy the derived necessary and sufficient conditions are easy to find for any given channel-coefficients. Further, we propose a gradient-ascent based algorithm to optimize the sum-rate achieved by precoding with finite constellation inputs and treating interference as noise. Simulation study for a 3-MIMO GIC with di = 1, for all i, equipped with two antennas at each node and QPSK inputs shows an improvement of 1.07 bits/sec/Hz in the ergodic sum-rate using the precoders obtained from the proposed algorithm over the precoders that achieve IA, at SNR = -2 dB.
Improved Search for Socially Annotated Data

Social annotation is an intuitive, on-line, collaborative process through which each element of a collection of resources (e.g., URLs, pictures, videos, etc.) is associated with a group of descriptive keywords, widely known as tags. Each such group is a concise and accurate summary of the relevant resource's content and is obtained via aggregating the opinion of individual users, as expressed in the form of short tag sequences. The availability of this information gives rise to a new searching paradigm where resources are retrieved and ranked based on the similarity of a keyword query to their accompanying tags. In this paper, we present a principled and efficient search and resource ranking methodology that utilizes exclusively the user-assigned tag sequences. Ranking is based on solid probabilistic foundations and our growing understanding of the dynamics and structure of the social annotation process, which we capture by employing powerful interpolated n-gram models on the tag sequences. The efficiency and applicability of the proposed solution to large data sets is guaranteed through the introduction of a novel and highly scalable constrained optimization framework, employed both for training and incrementally maintaining the n-gram models. We experimentally validate the efficiency and effectiveness of our solutions compared to other applicable approaches. Our evaluation is based on a large crawl of del.icio. us, numbering hundreds of thousands of users and millions of resources, thus demonstrating the applicability of our solutions to real-life, large scale systems. In particular, we demonstrate that the use of interpolated n-grams for modeling tag sequences results in superior ranking effectiveness, while the proposed optimization framework is superior in terms of performance both for obtaining ranking parameters and incrementally maintaining them.
Indonesian Store Loyalty Factors for Modern Retailing Market

Modern retailers such as hypermarket/supermarket need to be more customer-oriented in order to survive in today’s competitive business world. As a result, the investigation of determinant factors of store loyalty becomes important issue for modern retailing players. This study suggests that consumers’ store loyalty in the modern retailing market (hypermarkets and supermarkets) is influenced by environmental factors (such as store image, store personnel). Using a model of stimulus-organismresponse (S-O-R), this research examines S-R relationship of store loyalty. S-O-R framework is derived from the existence literature and tested empirically based on Indonesian consumers’ experience. The stimuli for this study are store image, store personnel, satisfaction and culture factors. Affect, or the consumers’ liking to modern retailing stores, mediates the chosen environmental factors on consumer’s store loyalty. The findings showed that store image, store satisfaction and culture have significant positive relationship to store loyalty via affect. Keywords—Affect, Culture, Store Image, Store Loyalty, Store Personnel, Store Satisfaction
A Flexible Object-of-Interest Annotation Framework for Online Video Portals

In this work, we address the use of object recognition techniques to annotate what is shown where in online video collections. These annotations are suitable to retrieve specific video scenes for object related text queries which is not possible with the manually generated metadata that is used by current portals. We are not the first to present object annotations that are generated with content-based analysis methods. However, the proposed framework possesses some outstanding features that offer good prospects for its application in real video portals. Firstly, it can be easily used as background module in any video environment. Secondly, it is not based on a fixed analysis chain but on an extensive recognition infrastructure that can be used with all kinds of visual features, matching and machine learning techniques. New recognition approaches can be integrated into this infrastructure with low development costs and a configuration of the used recognition approaches can be performed even on a running system. Thus, this framework might also benefit from future advances in computer vision. Thirdly, we present an automatic selection approach to support the use of different recognition strategies for different objects. Last but not least, visual analysis can be performed efficiently on distributed, multi-processor environments and a database schema is presented to store the resulting video annotations as well as the off-line generated low-level features in a compact form. We achieve promising results in an annotation case study and the instance search task of the TRECVID 2011 challenge.
Efficient Database Updates with Independent Schemes

The weak instance model is a framework for considering the relations in a database as a whole, regardless of the way attributes are grouped in the individual relations. Queries and updates can be performed for any set of attributes. The management of updates is based on a lattice structure on the set of legal states, and inconsistencies and ambiguities can arise. In the general case, the test for consistency and determinism may involve the whole database. In this paper it is shown how, for the highly significant class of independent schemes, updates can be handled efficiently, considering only the relevant portion of the database.
Application specific performance indicators for quantitative evaluation of the timing behavior for embedded real-time systems

In the design and development of embedded real-time systems the aspect of timing behavior plays a central role. Especially, the evaluation of different scheduling approaches, algorithms and configurations is one of the elementary preconditions for creating not only reliable but also efficient systems - a key for success in industrial mass production. This is becoming even more important as multi-core systems are more and more penetrating the world of embedded systems together with the large (and growing) variety of scheduling policies available for such systems. In this work simple mathematical concepts are used to define performance indicators allowing to quantify the benefit of different solutions of the scheduling challenge for a given application. As a sample application some aspects of analyzing the dynamic behavior of an combustion engine management system for the automotive domain are shown. However, the described approach is flexible in order to support the specific optimization needs arising from the timing requirements defined by the application domain and can be used with simulation data as well as target system measurements.
Reliability and validity of the Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS--short form) and the Adolescent Leisure Interest Profile (ALIP).

This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS short form) and the Adolescent Leisure Interest Profile (ALIP). The LSS and the ALIP are instruments that occupational therapists can use to evaluate the leisure activities that clients enjoy. Evaluation of leisure interest and participation will assist in creating goals for therapy to maximize a client's ability to participate in leisure activities. This study examined the test retest reliability and concurrent validity of the LSS and the ALIP using a sample of 37 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 with no known impairments. The assessments were administered individually or in small groups 7 to 17 days apart. Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the internal consistency. Pearson product moment correlations were calculated to examine the test retest reliability of the 60 subscales and the six question totals of the ALIP, as well as for the 6 subscales and total score of the LSS. Concurrent validity was evaluated between the 'How often? ' question of the ALIP and the LSS (short form). Based on the study results, the ALIP and the LSS seem to have good test retest reliability levels when used with adolescents with no known physical or mental impairments. The concurrent validity between the two instruments was not supported, with many of the scores indicating only weak or no association to each of the subscales, suggesting that the assessments differ in some fundamental way. However, the evidence of some relationships between subscales may indicate some areas where the ALIP and the LSS are similar.
Thioreductase-Containing Epitopes Inhibit the Development of Type 1 Diabetes in the NOD Mouse Model

Autoreactive CD4+ T cells recognizing islet-derived antigens play a primary role in type 1 diabetes. Specific suppression of such cells therefore represents a strategic target for the cure of the disease. We have developed a methodology by which CD4+ T cells acquire apoptosis-inducing properties on antigen-presenting cells after cognate recognition of natural sequence epitopes. We describe here that inclusion of a thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase (thioreductase) motif within the flanking residues of a single MHC class II-restricted GAD65 epitope induces GAD65-specific cytolytic CD4+ T cells (cCD4+ T). The latter, obtained either in vitro or by active immunization, acquire an effector memory phenotype and lyse APCs by a Fas–FasL interaction. Furthermore, cCD4+ T cells eliminate by apoptosis activated bystander CD4+ T cells recognizing alternative epitopes processed by the same APC. Active immunization with a GAD65 class II-restricted thioreductase-containing T cell epitope protects mice from diabetes and abrogates insulitis. Passive transfer of in vitro-elicited cCD4+ T cells establishes that such cells are efficient in suppressing autoimmunity. These findings provide strong evidence for a new vaccination strategy to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Design and Specification of the CoreASM Execution Engine

In this report we introduce a new research effort in making abstract state machines executable. The aim is to specify and implement an execution engine for a language that is as close as possible to the mathematical definition of pure ASM. We present the general architecture of the engine, together with a high-level description of the extensibility mechanisms that are used by the engine to accommodate arbitrary backgrounds, scheduling policies, and new rule forms.
Percutaneous absorption of the sunscreen benzophenone‐3 after repeated whole‐body applications, with and without ultraviolet irradiation

Background Benzophenone‐3 (BZ‐3; 2‐hydroxy‐4‐methoxybenzophenone, oxybenzone) is commonly used to absorb ultraviolet (UV) radiation. BZ‐3 penetrates the skin and can be found in the urine. The amount varies between 0·4% and 2%. This seems to be the main metabolic pathway in rats.
Cystatin C, albuminuria, and 5-year all-cause mortality in HIV-infected persons.

BACKGROUND Compared with controls, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons have a greater prevalence of kidney disease, assessed according to high cystatin C level and albuminuria, but not according to creatinine level. However, the clinical importance of increased cystatin C level and albuminuria in the HIV-infected population has not been studied. STUDY DESIGN We conducted an observational cohort study to determine the association of kidney disease (measured according to albuminuria, cystatin C, and serum creatinine) with mortality. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 922 HIV-infected persons enrolled in the FRAM (Fat Redistribution and Metabolic Change in HIV Infection) Study. PREDICTOR Serum cystatin C and serum creatinine levels were used to estimate glomerular filtration rates (eGFR(SCysC) and eGFR(SCr), respectively). Albuminuria was defined as a positive urine dipstick result (≥ 1+) or urine albumin-creatinine ratio >30 mg/g. OUTCOME 5-Year mortality. RESULTS At baseline, decreased kidney function (eGFR(SCysC) <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) or albuminuria was present in 28% of participants. After 5 years of follow-up, mortality was 48% in those with both eGFR(SCysC) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria, 23% in those with eGFR(SCysC) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) alone, 20% in those with albuminuria alone, and 9% in those with neither condition. After multivariable adjustment for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, HIV-related factors, and inflammatory marker levels, eGFR(SCysC) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria were associated with a nearly 2-fold increase in mortality, whereas eGFR(SCr) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) did not appear to have a substantial association with mortality. Together, eGFR(SCysC) <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria accounted for 17% of the population-level attributable risk of mortality. LIMITATIONS Vital status was unknown in 261 participants from the original cohort. CONCLUSIONS Kidney disease marked by albuminuria or increased cystatin C level appears to be an important risk factor for mortality in HIV-infected individuals. A substantial proportion of this risk may be unrecognized because of the current reliance on serum creatinine to estimate kidney function in clinical practice.
Majorisation-Minimisation Based Optimisation of the Composite Autoregressive System with Application to Glottal Inverse Filtering

The composite autoregressive system can be used to estimate a speech source-filter decomposition in a rigorous manner, thus having potential use in glottal inverse filtering. By introducing a suitable prior, spectral tilt can be introduced into the source component estimation to better correspond to human voice production. However, the current expectationmaximisation based composite autoregressive model optimisation leaves room for improvement in terms of speed. Inspired by majorisation-minimisation techniques used for nonnegative matrix factorisation, this work derives new update rules for the model, resulting in faster convergence compared to the original approach. Additionally, we present a new glottal inverse filtering method based on the composite autoregressive system and compare it with inverse filtering methods currently used in glottal excitation modelling for parametric speech synthesis. These initial results show that the proposed method performs comparatively well, sometimes outperforming the reference methods.
On the disjointess of sources in music using different time-frequency representations

This paper studies the disjointness of the time-frequency representations of simultaneously playing musical instruments. As a measure of disjointness, we use the approximate W-disjoint orthogonality as proposed by Yilmaz and Rickard [1], which (loosely speaking) measures the degree of overlap of different sources in the time-frequency domain. The motivation for this study is to find a maximally disjoint representation in order to facilitate the separation and recognition of musical instruments in mixture signals. The transforms investigated in this paper include the short-time Fourier transform (STFT), constant-Q transform, modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT), and pitch-synchronous lapped orthogonal transforms. Simulation results are reported for a database of polyphonic music where the multitrack data (instrument signals before mixing) were available. Absolute performance varies depending on the instrument source in question, but on the average MDCT with 93 ms frame size performed best.
Approaches to Tinnitus Management and Treatment

Abstract Tinnitus continues to challenge patients from all walks of life and clinicians from a variety of disciplines. The lack of an evidence base to support a specific treatment confounds efforts to provide consistent benefit to patients and in many instances creates in the patient the impression that nothing can be done to improve their situation. Part of the problem is that although patients rarely experience complete elimination of a tinnitus signal, they often experience relief when receiving effective counseling, specific coping strategies, and sound therapy. Although in most clinical activities the tinnitus remains (i.e., it is not cured), its influence may wane as the patient learns to manage their environment, activities, and ultimately their response to tinnitus. At the same time, several medical interventions target reduction of the tinnitus sound, an approach more consistent with what patients expect as a cure. Therefore, the majority of clinical activity directed at care for patients with tinnitus typically targets either elimination of the tinnitus sound (tinnitus treatment) or modification of the patient's response to the sound (tinnitus management). This review distinguishes and offers examples of both treatment and management programs employed clinically for patients with tinnitus.
Space-limited Ranked Query Evaluation Using Adaptive Pruning

Evaluation of ranked queries on large text collections can be costly in terms of processing time and memory space. Dynamic pruning techniques allow both costs to be reduced, at the potential risk of decreased retrieval effectiveness. In this paper we describe an improved query pruning mechanism that offers a more resilient tradeoff between query evaluation costs and retrieval effectiveness than do previous pruning approaches.
Preliminary Version Information , Diversification , and Cost of Capital ∗ †

Information, Diversification, and Cost of Capital We study the pricing implications of information in a noisy rational expectations model with a factor structure for multi-asset payoffs. There are two classes of price taking investors in our model; informed investors who receive private signals on asset payoffs, and uninformed investors who draw imperfect inferences about those signals from prices. We solve the equilibrium explicitly. We show that only information about systematic factors matters in determining asset risk premiums when the number of the risky assets is large. Idiosyncratic risk as well as the asymmetric information risk associated with idiosyncratic factors is fully diversifiable.
The Random Coding Bound Is Tight for the Average Linear Code or Lattice

In 1973, Gallager proved that the random-coding bound is exponentially tight for the random code ensemble at all rates, even below expurgation. This result explained that the random-coding exponent does not achieve the expurgation exponent due to the properties of the random ensemble, irrespective of the utilized bounding technique. It has been conjectured that this same behavior holds true for a random ensemble of linear codes. This conjecture is proved in this paper. In addition, it is shown that this property extends to Poltyrev's random-coding exponent for a random ensemble of lattices.
UniFI: leveraging non-volatile memories for a unified fault tolerance and idle power management technique

Continued technology scaling presents new challenges for system-level fault tolerance and power management. Decreasing device sizes increases the likelihood of both transient and permanent faults. Increasing device count, together with the end of Dennard scaling, makes power a critical design constraint. Techniques that seek to improve system reliability frequently use more power. Similarly, many techniques that reduce power hurt system reliability. Ideally system designers should seek out techniques that mutually benefit both fault tolerance and power management. In this paper, we develop a unified technique, called UniFI, for fault tolerance and idle power management in shared memory multi-core systems. UniFI leverages emerging non-volatile memory technologies to provide an energy-efficient lightweight checkpointing technique. In addition to tolerating a large class of faults, UniFI's frequent checkpoints permit near-instant transition to a deep sleep mode to reduce idle power. UniFI incurs very low performance and energy overheads during fault-free execution--less than 2%--while taking checkpoints every 0.1ms. For typical server workloads (such as DNS), UniFI reduces average power by 82% by shutting off during idle periods.
Functional Interaction between Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 and Dopamine D2 Receptor

The ability of dopamine receptors to interact with other receptor subtypes may provide mechanisms for modulating dopamine-related functions and behaviors. In particular, there is evidence suggesting that the trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) affects the dopaminergic system by regulating the firing rate of dopaminergic neurons or by altering dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) responsiveness to ligands. TAAR1 is a Gαs protein-coupled receptor that is activated by biogenic amines, “trace amines,” such as β-phenylethylamine (β-PEA) and tyramine that are normally found at low concentrations in the mammalian brain. In the present study, we investigated the biochemical mechanism of interaction between TAAR1 and D2R and the role this interaction plays in D2R-related signaling and behaviors. Using a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer biosensor for cAMP, we demonstrated that the D2R antagonists haloperidol, raclopride, and amisulpride were able to enhance selectively a TAAR1-mediated β-PEA increase of cAMP. Moreover, TAAR1 and D2R were able to form heterodimers when coexpressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, and this direct interaction was disrupted in the presence of haloperidol. In addition, in mice lacking TAAR1, haloperidol-induced striatal c-Fos expression and catalepsy were significantly reduced. Taken together, these data suggest that TAAR1 and D2R have functional and physical interactions that could be critical for the modulation of the dopaminergic system by TAAR1 in vivo.