Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Study of Transmit Antenna Selection With Switch-and-Examine Combining Over Rayleigh Fading

In this paper, we propose a diversity combining system with transmit antenna selection at the transmitter and switch-and-examine combining (TAS/SEC) at the receiver. This system has lower processing complexity as compared with the existing TAS systems such as TAS/maximum-ratio combining (TAS/MRC) and TAS/selection combining (TAS/SC). The performance of the TAS/SEC system with different modulation schemes over an independent and nonidentically distributed (i.n.d.) Rayleigh fading channel is investigated. The expressions of the outage probability, average output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and symbol error rate (SER) are derived and validated by simulation results. The performance of TAS/SEC is compared with TAS/SC in terms of the SER and the average number of branches to be estimated. It is shown that, as compared with TAS/SC, the TAS/SEC system is able to achieve a lower SER with fewer branches to be estimated.
Affiliation Moderates the Effects of Social Threat on Stress-Related Cardiovascular Responses: Boundary Conditions for a Laboratory Model of Social Support

The authors tested the hypothesis that the response-attenuating effects of affiliation under stress are limited to conditions that involve high social threat. Ninety-six young adult women were exposed to standardized psychological challenges in one of four conditions that involved two levels of social affiliation (alone or accompanied by a close friend) and two levels of social threat (variations in the social behavior and perceived status of the experimenter). Social affiliation was associated with attenuated blood pressure responses to the challenges but only under conditions of high social threat. Affiliation was not associated with differences in self-reported emotional response to the challenges nor with alterations in cognitive task appraisal. Exploratory analyses suggested that some of these effects were stronger in hostile or socially avoidant individuals. Implications of these findings for interpreting the literature on social support and cardiovascular reactivity, and for understanding the potential role of social support in reducing stress-related disease pathogenesis, are discussed.
Electric performance of AlGaN/GaN heterojunction devices: A full-quantum study

In this contribution a full-quantum simulation of the electron transport in the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) of a AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is carried out using the non-equilibrium Green function (NEGF) approach. Even if electrical and mechanical properties of a AlGaN/GaN heterojunction are now well understood, a host of techniques like thinning of layers as in gate recess, use of advance materials like high-k dielectrics, introduction of back-barriers or channel interfaces, are considerably intricating the physical modeling of the heterojunction and precise simulations that correctly take into account for physical effects at the nano-scale are deemed necessary. In this study the quantum-mechanical effects in the electron transport layer properties are accounted for both in the quantization and in the transport direction. First, we focus in particular to a comparative study of the threshold voltage formation. We then we address the gate scaling, identifying the channel length at which short-channel-effects may be nonnegligible any more.
Quasar Feedback: The Missing Link in Structure Formation

We consider the impact of quasar outflows on structure formation. Such outflows are potentially more important than galactic winds, which appear insufficient to produce the level of preheating inferred from X-ray observations of galaxy clusters. At late times, energetic material from the densest objects in the centers of galaxies makes its way into the intergalactic medium (IGM), impacting structures on many scales, much as supernovae impact structures on many scales within the interstellar medium. Using a simple analytical model for the distribution of quasars with redshift, coupled with a one-dimensional Sedov-Taylor model for outflows, we are able to make robust statements about these interactions. As large regions of the IGM are heated above a critical entropy of Scrit ≈ 100 keV cm2, cooling becomes impossible within them, regardless of changes in density. On quasar scales, this has the effect of inhibiting further formation, resulting in their observed falloff in number densities below z ≈ 2. On galaxy scales, quasar feedback fixes the turnover scale in the galaxy luminosity function (L*) as the nonlinear scale at the redshift of strong feedback. The galaxy luminosity function then remains largely fixed after this epoch, consistent with recent observations and in contrast to the strong evolution predicted in more standard galaxy-formation models. Finally, strong quasar feedback explains why the intracluster medium is observed to have been preheated to entropy levels just above Scrit, the minimum excess that would not have been erased by cooling. The presence of such outflows is completely consistent with the observed properties of the Lyα forest at z ~ 2 but is expected to have a substantial and detectable impact on Compton distortions observed in the microwave background and the multiphase properties of the "warm-hot" (z = 0) circumgalactic medium.
The Complexity of Factors of Multivariate Polynomials

Abstract The existence of string functions, which are not polynomial time computable, but whose graph is checkable in polynomial time, is a basic assumption in cryptography. We prove that in the framework of algebraic complexity, there are no such families of polynomial functions of polynomially bounded degree over fields of characteristic zero. The proof relies on a polynomial upper bound on the approximative complexity of a factor g of a polynomial f in terms of the (approximative) complexity of f and the degree of the factor g. This extends a result by Kaltofen. The concept of approximative complexity allows us to cope with the case that a factor has an exponential multiplicity, by using a perturbation argument. Our result extends to randomized (two-sided error) decision complexity.
Fas/APO‐1 (CD95)‐mediated cytotoxicity is responsible for the apoptotic cell death of leukaemic cells induced by interleukin‐2‐activated T cells

Apoptotic cell death is induced by the cross‐linking of Fas/APO‐1 receptor (CD95) in acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) cells. Since CD95 ligand (CD95L) is expressed on interleukin‐2 (IL‐2)‐activated T cells, we investigated the involvement of CD95‐CD95L pathway in T cell‐mediated cytotoxicity against AML cells. Activated CD8+ T cells could efficiently kill a parental CD95‐sensitive AML cell line, MML‐1 and, to a lesser extent, a CD95‐resistant clone, MML‐1R. Neither MML‐1 nor MML‐1R cells were killed by activated CD4+ T cells. The blocking monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against CD95, ZB4, caused a significant inhibition of T‐cell‐mediated cytotoxicity against MML‐1 cells, but not against MML‐1R cells. Interestingly, MML‐1 cells underwent the classic nuclear morphologic changes and DNA fragmentation characteristic of apoptosis when cultured with activated T cells. Enumeration of apoptotic and necrotic nuclei showed that both apoptosis and necrosis were induced in MML‐1 cells, whereas necrosis was exclusively observed in MML‐1R cells. Apoptosis of MML‐1 cells was completely blocked in the presence of ZB4 MoAb. Similarly, blocking by ZB4 MoAb significantly inhibited T‐cell‐mediated lysis of fresh AML cells in a CD95‐sensitive group, but not in a CD95‐refractory group. In addition CD8+ T cells expressed CD95L mRNA more abundantly than CD4+ T cells upon activation by IL‐2. These findings suggest that T‐cell‐mediated cytotoxicity against AML cells requires participation of CD95‐CD95L pathway for cytotoxic signal transduction leading to target apoptosis.
A study of pavement roughness measurement system based on laser ranger finder

This paper analyzes the errors caused by the present laser ranger finder in the measurement of various kinds of pavement and presents a new laser ranger finder with a symmetric and reverse structure. A new pavement roughness measurement method is then proposed based on the principle of non-inertial reference transfer. To be specific, five laser ranger finders are placed on the measuring bar, thus forming large and small step lengths with a bisymmetric structure. In this way, the equation of the height of the longitudinal pavement profile will be obtained. The results of comparison tests on various kinds of pavement with precision level indicate that the newly-invented pavement roughness measurement method can obtain accurate measurement results, unrestricted by the driving speed of the vehicle.
Long‐term absence of porcine endogenous retrovirus infection in chronically immunosuppressed patients after treatment with the porcine cell–based Academic Medical Center bioartificial liver

Di Nicuolo G, D’Alessandro A, Andria B, Scuderi V, Scognamiglio M, Tammaro A, Mancini A, Cozzolino S, Di Florio E, Bracco A, Calise F, Chamuleau RAFM. Long‐term absence of porcine endogenous retrovirus infection in chronically immunosuppressed patients after treatment with the porcine cell–based Academic Medical Center bioartificial liver. Xenotransplantation 2010; 17: 431–439. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Assessing estuaries as stopover habitats for juvenile Pacific salmon

Habitats along migratory routes may provide key resources for migratory species (e.g. stopover habitat). For example, migratory juvenile salmon transit through estuaries on their way from freshwaters out to the ocean, but they may also reside and feed in these habitats. Here we examined the amount of time that juvenile salmon feed and reside in the estuary of the Skeena River (British Columbia, Canada), the second-largest salmon-bearing watershed in Canada. We implemented a novel application of stable isotopes of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen as clocks to estimate the days since estuary entry. Salmon estuary residency varied across species; 25% of individuals spent at least 33, 22, 30, and 5 d in the estuary for Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, coho O. kisutch, pink O. gorbuscha, and sockeye salmon O. nerka, respectively. Larger pink and Chinook salmon resided in the estuary for longer durations, growing at an estimated 0.2 and 0.5 mm d−1, respectively, evidence that estuary residency provides growth opportunities. A negative relationship between size and estuary residency in coho salmon suggests the potential existence of an estuary fry life history. Genetic stock assignment indicated that different populations of sockeye salmon may reside in the estuary for different amounts of time. Collectively, these results reveal that estuaries can represent stopover habitats for salmon, and that the extent varies across salmon species and populations. These data address a knowledge gap in assessment of environmental risks of proposed industrial developments. This study indicates the importance of considering the fundamental nature of habitats through which migratory species move.
Energy Harvesting WSNs for Accurately Estimating the Maximum Sensor Reading: Trade-Offs and Optimal Design

Computing the maximum of sensor readings arises in several environmental, health, and industrial monitoring applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We characterize the several novel design trade-offs that arise when green energy harvesting (EH) WSNs, which promise perpetual lifetimes, are deployed for this purpose. The nodes harvest renewable energy from the environment for communicating their readings to a fusion node, which then periodically estimates the maximum. For a randomized transmission schedule in which a pre-specified number of randomly selected nodes transmit in a sensor data collection round, we analyze the mean absolute error (MAE), which is defined as the mean of the absolute difference between the maximum and that estimated by the fusion node in each round. We optimize the transmit power and the number of scheduled nodes to minimize the MAE, both when the nodes have channel state information (CSI) and when they do not. Our results highlight how the optimal system operation depends on the EH rate, availability and cost of acquiring CSI, quantization, and size of the scheduled subset. Our analysis applies to a general class of sensor reading and EH random processes.
Human Recognition and Economic Development: An Introduction and Theoretical Model

This paper introduces the concept of human recognition, defined as the extent to which an individual is acknowledged by others to be of inherent value by virtue of being a fellow human being. Following a qualitative exposition of human recognition, a formal model is presented that describes provision and receipt of human recognition, its contribution to utility, its effects on health, and its role in development programs. Key predictions from the model are that human recognition receipt has a positive, causal relationship with utility and health outcomes; that multiple equilibria for human recognition can exist; and that only accounting for human recognition’s instrumental effects on material outcomes while ignoring its direct, psychic effects on utility leads to suboptimal programs. By defining and formally modelling human recognition and its role in economic development for the first time, the paper identifies a new component of economic development and offers an example of how such intangible components can be formally modelled.
Complicated and Uncomplicated Peptic Ulcers in a Danish County 1993–2002: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Peptic ulcer epidemiology changes as the proportion of Helicobacter pylori infected people decreases, use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) increases, and the proportion of elderly persons increases.OBJECTIVES:To describe incidence and prognosis of uncomplicated and complicated peptic ulcer patients in Funen County 1993–2002.METHODS:Data on endoscopies, gastric and duodenal operations, and related peptic ulcer diagnoses were extracted from four population-based databases covering a period from 1974 to 2002. All citizens of Funen County (population 470,000) who between 1993 and 2002 had a peptic ulcer diagnosed for the first time were identified.RESULTS:Between 1993 and 2002 the incidence of uncomplicated duodenal ulcer decreased from 0.55/1,000 person-years (95% CI 0.49–0.62) to 0.37 (0.31–0.43), uncomplicated gastric ulcer decreased from 0.56 (0.49–0.63) to 0.40 (0.34–0.46), and perforated ulcer decreased from 0.14 (0.11–0.18) to 0.08 (0.06–0.11). The incidence of bleeding peptic ulcer was stable with 0.55 (0.49–0.62) in 1993 and 0.57 (0.51–0.64) in 2002. The proportion of possible NSAID-related incident peptic ulcers increased from 320/827 (39%) in 1993 to 363/686 (53%) in 2002 (p < 0.01). A total of 3,233 patients with incident complicated peptic ulcer (9,927 person-years) and 4,421 patients with incident uncomplicated peptic ulcer (17,773 person-years) was followed for up to 10 yr. The first month following newly diagnosed complicated ulcer the standardized mortality rate was 37.1 (33.4–41.1) during the next 11 months it was 5.1 (4.6–5.6), and in the following years it was 2.6 (2.4–2.8). The corresponding figures for incident uncomplicated peptic ulcer was 11.6 (9.6–13.9), 4.0 (3.6–4.4), and 2.5 (2.3–2.7). CONCLUSION: During the period, incidence of peptic ulcers decreased and an increasing proportion was related to NSAID. Mortality is high.
Behavior-Based Tracer to Monitor Malicious Features of Unknown Executable File

In computing environments, the core of various security threats is malicious executable files. Conventional signature-based security systems are difficult to detect, at run-time, the unknowns among malicious executable files. For the reason, the static and dynamic analysis methods that the signatures are not required have been actively researched for run-time detection of the unknowns. In particular, the behavior-based dynamic analysis methods which monitor the action statuses, after the actual running of malicious executable file, have made a worthy contribution for the accuracy enhancement of analysis result. However, the analysis information which is offered by most behavior-based methods is not sufficient for applying the results to the methods which finally decide the malignancy of executable file because each behavior-based methods offer only the results of a few action or non-sequential analysis. In this paper, we classified the activities that may be occurred during the execution of malicious executable files and described the implementation of prototype program which can monitor the activities. Additionally, based on operation results of the prototype program, we discussed some important issues which are occurred due to the differences of real and virtual experimental environments.
Effects of age, sex and smoking on ankle-brachial index in a Finnish population at risk for cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND Smoking is a well-known risk factor for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Data regarding differences in the prevalence of PAD between sexes are somewhat controversial. In addition, most studies indicate that the prevalence of PAD increases with age in both sexes. In the present study, the effects of sex, age and smoking on the ankle-brachial index (ABI) in a Finnish cardiovascular risk population were investigated. OBJECTIVES To investigate the relationship between the ankle-brachial index, and age, sex and smoking in a Finnish population at risk for cardiovascular disease. METHODS All men and women between 45 and 70 years of age living in a rural town (Harjavalta, Finland; total population 7700) were invited to participate in a population survey (Harmonica study). Patients with previously diagnosed diabetes or vascular disease were excluded. In total, 2856 patients were invited to participate in the study. From these subjects, a cardiovascular risk population was screened. Complete data were available from 1028 persons. ABI (the ratio between the posterior tibial or dorsalis pedis artery and brachial artery pressures) was measured, and questionnaires were used to detect smoking status and relevant medical history. Only current smoking status was taken into account. RESULTS The mean ABI for the entire study population was 1.10 (range 0.56 to 1.64). Current smokers had a lower mean ABI (1.06; P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in ABI values among age groups, although the majority of patients with ABI values below 0.9 were older than 60 years of age. There was no statistically significant difference in ABI between sexes. CONCLUSION As previously reported, the present study shows the significant effect of smoking in the development of PAD. No statistically significant difference was found among age groups, but the tendency was toward lower ABIs in the oldest age groups. Sex had a minimal effect on the ABI.
INDEPENDENT COMPONENT ANALYSIS FOR EEG SOURCE LOCALIZATION IN REALISTIC HEAD MODELS

Estimating the location and distribution of electric current sources within the brain from electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings is an ill-posed inverse problem. The ill-posed nature of the inverse EEG problem is due, in part, to the lack of a unique solution such that different configurations of sources can generate identical external electric fields. Additionally, the existence of a small number of scalp measurements increases the underdetermined nature of this problem such that the solution does not depend continuously on the data. In this paper we consider a spatio-temporal model, taking advantage of the entire EEG time series to reduce the extent of the configuration space we must evaluate. We apply the recently derived infomax algorithm for performing Independent Component Analysis (ICA) on the time-dependent EEG data. This algorithm separates multichannel EEG data into activation maps due to temporally independent stationary sources. For every activation map we perform a source localization procedure, looking only for a single dipole per map, thus dramatically reducing the search complexity. An added benefit of our ICA preprocessing step is that we obtain an a priori estimation of the number of independent sources producing the measured signal.
Personal Smart Spaces as a Basis for Identifying Users in Pervasive Systems

The notion of a Personal Smart Space (PSS) offers a new and flexible solution to the problem of implementing pervasive systems. Its attractiveness lies not only in the way in which it bridges the gap between conventional fixed smart spaces and mobile ubiquitous systems, but also in the new functionality it can provide to enhance the user experience. The use of PSSs to realize pervasive systems is currently being investigated in the Persist project, which has developed a pervasive system platform through which these ideas are being explored. This paper considers one of the features of PSSs, namely that of identifying users through the interaction of their respective PSSs, and the problems that arise when dealing with multiple Personal Smart Spaces. Some scenarios are presented to illustrate how this might be utilized in novel services. The problems surrounding implementation are discussed and a solution based on the Persist architecture is presented.
MAPK15 mediates BCR-ABL1-induced autophagy and regulates oncogene-dependent cell proliferation and tumor formation

A reciprocal translocation of the ABL1 gene to the BCR gene results in the expression of the oncogenic BCR-ABL1 fusion protein, which characterizes human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a myeloproliferative disorder considered invariably fatal until the introduction of the imatinib family of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). Nonetheless, insensitivity of CML stem cells to TKI treatment and intrinsic or acquired resistance are still frequent causes for disease persistence and blastic phase progression experienced in patients after initial successful therapies. Here, we investigated a possible role for the MAPK15/ERK8 kinase in BCR-ABL1-dependent autophagy, a key process for oncogene-induced leukemogenesis. In this context, we showed the ability of MAPK15 to physically recruit the oncogene to autophagic vesicles, confirming our hypothesis of a biologically relevant role for this MAP kinase in signal transduction by this oncogene. Indeed, by modeling BCR-ABL1 signaling in HeLa cells and taking advantage of a physiologically relevant model for human CML, i.e. K562 cells, we demonstrated that BCR-ABL1-induced autophagy is mediated by MAPK15 through its ability to interact with LC3-family proteins, in a LIR-dependent manner. Interestingly, we were also able to interfere with BCR-ABL1-induced autophagy by a pharmacological approach aimed at inhibiting MAPK15, opening the possibility of acting on this kinase to affect autophagy and diseases depending on this cellular function. Indeed, to support the feasibility of this approach, we demonstrated that depletion of endogenous MAPK15 expression inhibited BCR-ABL1-dependent cell proliferation, in vitro, and tumor formation, in vivo, therefore providing a novel “druggable” link between BCR-ABL1 and human CML.
The case for a versatile storage system

Storage systems in emerging large-scale (a.k.a. peta-scale) computing systems often introduce a performance or scalability bottleneck. To deal with these limitations we propose a new operational approach: versatile storage, an application-optimized and highly configurable storage system that harnesses node-local resources, is configured and deployed at application deployment time, and has a lifetime dependent on the application lifetime. Our prototype evaluation, using synthetic and application-level benchmarks, on a small cluster as well as on a 96K processor machine, provides evidence that the versatile storage approach can bring valuable benefits to large scale deployments in terms of storage system performance and scalability.