Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
2-dimensional minimum fast-searching design approach of LDPC decoder architecture for IEEE 802.11n/ac/ax applications

This work proposes a systematic design approach to perform minimum and second minimum fast-searching in 2-dimensional xy-planes. This fast-searching approach can extremely improve the calculating timing in LDPC decoder architecture, especially for high row weights defined in IEEE 802.11n/ac/ax SPEC. In a design example with row weight of 22, our developed approach only requires about 42.9% of critical-path timing under 12.2% hardware overhead with respect to often-used binary-tree approach. This approach also extends to other various high row weights for enhancing critical-path timing performance.
Restoration of Directional Overcurrent Relay Coordination in Distributed Generation Systems Utilizing Fault Current Limiter

A new approach is proposed to solve the directional overcurrent relay coordination problem, which arises from installing distributed generation (DG) in looped power delivery systems (PDS). This approach involves the implementation of a fault current limiter (FCL) to locally limit the DG fault current, and thus restore the original relay coordination. The proposed restoration approach is carried out without altering the original relay settings or disconnecting DGs from PDSs during fault. Therefore, it is applicable to both the current practice of disconnecting DGs from PDSs, and the emergent trend of keeping DGs in PDSs during fault. The process of selecting FCL impedance type (inductive or resistive) and its minimum value is illustrated. Three scenarios are discussed: no DG, the implementation of DG with FCL and without FCL. Various simulations are carried out for both single- and multi-DG existence, and different DG and fault locations. The obtained results are reported and discussed.
Examining urban expansion using multi-temporal landsat imagery: A case study of montreal census metropolitan area

Greater Montreal is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec, and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In the 1970s, the economic center of Canada shifted from Montreal to Toronto. Since some previous studies have focused on the urbanization process in the Greater Toronto Area, it is important to conduct research on its counterpart. This study uses Landsat images as the data source, combined with census data to detect urban changes in the Montreal census metropolitan area (CMA) from 1975 to 2015. We analyzed spatial patterns and annual urban growth rate by applying four supervised classification algorithms. Also, we mapped temporal land cover categories and evaluated major driving forces that contribute to the urban changes. Our results show that Montreal CMA has experienced a rapid development over the past 40 years, with 442 km2 urban growth. Urban expansion in Montreal CMA mainly has two modes: radiated and ribbon.
Detecting blood–brain barrier disruption within minimal hemorrhage following transcranial focused ultrasound: A correlation study with contrast‐enhanced MRI

Focused ultrasound combined with an intravascular ultrasound contrast agent can induce transient disruption of the blood–brain barrier, and the blood–brain barrier disruption can be detected by contrast‐enhanced MRI. There is, however, no study investigating the ability of various MR methods to detect focused ultrasound–induced blood–brain barrier disruption within minimal hemorrhage. Sonication was applied to 15 rat brains with four different doses of ultrasound contrast agent (0, 10, 30, or 50 μL/kg), and contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted spin echo, gradient echo images, and longitudinal relaxation rate mapping along with effective transverse relaxation time–weighted and susceptibility‐weighted images were acquired. Volume‐of‐interest–based and threshold‐based analyses were performed to quantify the contrast enhancement, which was then correlated with the ultrasound contrast agent dose and with the amount of Evans blue extravasation. Both effective transverse relaxation time–weighted and susceptibility‐weighted images did not detect histology‐proved intracranial hemorrhage at 10 μL/kg, but MRI failed to detect mild intracranial hemorrhage at 30 μL/kg. All tested sequences showed detectable contrast enhancement increasing with ultrasound contrast agent dose. In correlating with Evans blue extravasation, the gradient echo sequence was slightly better than the spin echo sequence and was comparable to longitudinal relaxation rate mapping. In conclusion, both gradient echo and spin echo sequences were all reliable in indicating the degree of focused ultrasound–induced blood–brain barrier disruption within minimal hemorrhage. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Longitudinal study evaluating a seating system using a sacral pad and kneeblock for children with cerebral palsy

Purpose. Adaptive seating systems using sacral pads and kneeblocks are commonly used throughout the UK with children with complex motor disorders to improve their posture and stability in sitting. We sought to evaluate how effective these systems are for a group of children with cerebral palsy. Method. A six-visit trial was performed to examine whether this combination controls pelvic and hip positioning. Twenty-three children with cerebral palsy aged 7 – 14 years participated (11 females and 12 males). The kneeblocks (active intervention) were removed for a period in the middle of the trial. Force exerted through the kneeblock, pressure exerted on the sacral pad and postural alignment was measured for change. Results. Statistically significant differences before and after kneeblock removal were found for force at the kneeblock, but no difference was found in pressure at the sacral pad. No statistically significant correlations between force and pressure or posture were found. Conclusion. The results indicate that seating systems using a sacral pad and kneeblock may not improve overall posture but may improve hip position in children with cerebral palsy.
Instantaneous Frequency Estimators as Voltage Disturbance Detectors

The instantaneous frequency gives a frequency value at a time instance. Thus, it is natural to use the instantaneous frequency for detecting disturbances of voltage signal in power line. Various instantaneous frequency estimators are introduced. By applying to different types of disturbed signals, we show the estimators' ability to classify flickers. Also, the computational costs are compared between different instantaneous frequency estimators. The Prony's method (PRONY) and the modified covariance method (MCOV) need relatively smaller amount of calculation than the Teager-Kaiser energy operator based estimator (DESA II). For an AM-FM modulated signal, the tracking performance of different instantaneous frequency estimators is also compared. Through simulation, it is shown that MCOV produces less variant frequency estimation values than DESA II and PRONY method
Genetic Traceability of Cinta Senese Pig (Sus scrofa domesticus L.): A Study of the Meat and Processed Products by Microsatellite Markers

Traceability based on DNA analysis is attracting increasing interest due to the crisis of confidence that consumers show towards the products of animal origin. The present work discusses a genetic traceability system of meat and processed products from an historical Tuscan native pig breed, the Cinta Senese. The study is based on a panel of 8 ISAG (International Society for Animal Genetics) DNA microsatellite markers usage done both on pigs and derived products. The SSRs panel allowed us to obtain a unique fingerprint of the individuals to be used as a tracer “downstream” in the processed products. The molecular method used proved that the hams, analyzed just before commercialization, were obtained from Cinta Senese pigs and that the analyzed meat products derived from the Cinta Senese were produced at least with 95% of Cinta Senese meat. In perspective, the molecular testing could be introduced as a voluntarily adopted method for proving intrinsic quality of many regional food products.
Modulation of Ceramide Content and Lack of Apoptosis in the Chronically Hypoxic Neonatal Rat Heart

To assess the effect of chronic hypoxia on cardiomyocyte apoptosis, we used an animal model that mimics cyanotic heart disease. Rats were placed in a hypoxic environment at birth, and oxygen levels were maintained at 10% in an air-tight Plexiglas chamber. Controls remained in room air. Animals were killed, and the hearts were harvested at 1 and 4 wk. Significant polycythemia developed in the hypoxic rats at 1 and 4 wk. Right ventricular mass in the hypoxic rats was 192% and 278% that of controls, and hypoxic left ventricular mass was 140% and 178% that of the controls at 1 and 4 wk, respectively. The increase in cardiac mass was paralleled by only mild hypertrophy (10 to 20%). Contrary to previous reports showing increased apoptosis in response to hypoxia in cultured cardiomyocytes, there was no difference in the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes between the chronically hypoxic rats and controls, as assayed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling and Hoechst staining. We then examined the role of the sphingolipid ceramide because of its reported role in the stress response, growth suppression, and apoptosis. We found that the right ventricular ceramide content was significantly decreased in the hypoxic rats to 73% of control levels at the age of 4 wk. We suggest that the decrease in the ceramide content in the hypoxic right ventricular rat heart may be an adaptive response to chronic hypoxia and pulmonary hypertension. Lower ceramide levels may help suppress apoptosis and allow compensatory right ventricular cardiomyocyte proliferation.
Correlates of medication knowledge and adherence: findings from the residency research network of South Texas.

BACKGROUND Medication adherence is a complex phenomenon, influenced by a variety of factors. Most adherence research focuses on one medicine and does not represent the realities of clinical family medicine. This analysis examined factors associated with medication knowledge and adherence in family medicine patients with chronic conditions. METHODS The Residency Research Network of South Texas (RRNeST) enrolled 150 patients with chronic disease who "sometimes have trouble taking medicines. " Seventy-five percent were Latinos. This cross-sectional analysis used baseline survey data from an intervention study. Investigators correlated medication knowledge and adherence with known predictors--patient, health, medication, economic, and physician factors. New variables related to patients' motivation to change treatment behaviors ("importance" and "confidence") were also included. RESULTS Linear regression analysis demonstrated that patient satisfaction, education level, and confidence were associated with better medication knowledge. Higher confidence, Spanish language, better functional and health status, and more prescription medicines were correlated with medication adherence. CONCLUSIONS We recommend that family physicians enhance medication adherence by providing good information about treatment and counseling strategies to build patients' confidence. Our findings suggest that poor health status can be a barrier to, rather than a motivator for, treatment adherence.
Color-based traffic sign detection

According to the characteristic of traffic signs, several color components are used to extract several kinds of traffic signs, which improved the detection efficiency in pre-processing. Then the regions of interest (ROI) are set not only to save process time but also to increase the accuracy of road recognition. Meanwhile the geometric characters of the road signs are represented by morphological skeleton based on which the decision tree is designed to classify road signs. The presented methods are tested on some complex traffic images which are captured under different weather conditions.
Proximity-coupled Ti/TiN multilayers for use in kinetic inductance detectors

We apply the superconducting proximity effect in TiN/Ti multi-layer films to tune the critical temperature, T_C, to within 10 mK with high uniformity (less than 15 mK spread) across a 75 mm wafer. Reproducible T_C’s are obtained from 0.8 to 2.5 K. These films had high resistivities, > 100 µΩ cm, and internal quality factors for resonators in the GHz range, on the order of 100 k and higher. Trilayers of both TiN/Ti/TiN and thicker superlattice films were prepared, demonstrating a well controlled process for films over a wide thickness range. Detectors were fabricated and shown to have single photon resolution at 1550 nm. The high uniformity and controllability coupled with the high quality factor, kinetic inductance, and inertness of TiN make these films ideal for use in frequency multiplexed kinetic inductance detectors and potentially other applications such as nanowire detectors, transition edge sensors, and associated quantum information applications.
Evaluation of Renal Function Guidelines. 1. Use of serum creatinine concentration to assess level of kidney function

(Suggestions are based on Level III and IV sources) • Serum creatinine alone should not be used as a measure of kidney function as it is particularly insensitive for identifying chronic kidney disease (CKD) in its early-to-middle stages and in certain patient groups (e.g. small body size, females, elderly) when populationbased decision points are used. (Level III evidence, multiple large cohort studies in community and institutional settings, clinically relevant outcomes, strong effects) • For minor changes in renal function, changes in serum creatinine compared to the patient’s previous results are the best available tool where assay precision and within-person biological variation can be used to determine the Critical Change at a desired certainty. • The use of age- and gender-specific cut-points (upper limits of normal) of serum creatinine level or the reciprocal of serum creatinine concentration do not sufficiently improve the sensitivity and specificity of the serum creatinine measurement for CKD detection to obviate the need for additionally calculating or measuring glomerular filtration rate (GFR). (Level III evidence, multiple large cohort studies in community and institutional settings, clinically relevant outcomes, strong effects) • In vitro diagnostic manufacturers and clinical laboratories should calibrate serum creatinine assays to give results equivalent to the international reference method (Isotope dilution mass spectrometry). Where assay non-specificity is significant (e.g. the effect of noncreatinine chromogens on the Jaffe reaction), the assay standardisation should correct for this effect in individuals with otherwise normal serum biochemistry. (Level III evidence, multiple Out of date
Stop using the Ashworth Scale for the assessment of spasticity

Aim: Many studies have been performed on the methodological qualities of the (modified) Ashworth Scale but overall these studies seem inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the construct validity and inter-rater reliability of the Ashworth Scale (AS) for the assessment of spasticity in the upper and lower extremities. Method: A cross-sectional study on spasticity in the elbow flexors (part 1) and knee extensors (part 2) was carried out. In both parts AS was assessed while muscle activity and resistance were recorded simultaneously in patients with upper motor neuron syndrome. Each patient was measured by three raters. Results: 30 patients participated, 19 in each part of the study. For elbow flexor muscles, AS was not significantly associated with electromyographic parameters, except for rater 2 (rho = 0.66, p<0.01). A significant moderate association was found with resistance (0.54⩽ rho ⩽0.61, p<0.05). For knee extensors, AS scores were moderately associated with muscle activity (0.56⩽ rho ⩽0.66, p<0.05) and also with resistance (0.55⩽ rho ⩽0.87, p<0.05). The intraclass correlation coefficient for absolute agreement was 0.58 for elbow flexors and 0.63 for knee extensors. In linear mixed model analysis, the factor rater appeared to be highly associated with AS. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the AS is insufficient to be used as a measure of spasticity.
Normal Ultrasonographic Renal Length In Relation to Age , Sex , BMI and Serum Creatinine Level Among Students in University Malaysia Sabah

Variation in kidney size occurs in many renal diseases and considered as important indicator in evaluation of these problems. Our study aims to set a normal range of kidney lengths among healthy young adult University students in Uinversiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) by using cross-sectional prospective study design. UMS students, 321 numbers from different programs participated in this study after obtaining informed consent. The age ranged from 19 to 25 year. Both male (34%) and female (66%) were included. The Chinese 32.7%, Malay 24%, Kadazan 10.9 %, Indian 3.7% were in this study. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of 320 students is 21.35 ± S.D 3.58. Ultrasonographic renal measurements revealed the mean length of kidneys of the students, the right was 9.81±0.75 cm and the left was 9.85±0.58 cm respectively. This study will act as an input for further research to establish a normal range in people in Sabah states. It will also exclude kidney pathology detected by ultrasonography despite the normal findings of physical examination and laboratory function tests.Thus it will improve awareness of possibilities in kidney diseases which can be present in apparently normal healthy adults.
A proposed meta‐model for formalizing systems engineering knowledge, based on functional architectural patterns

Design patterns and architecture patterns have been considerably promoted by software engineering. The software oriented tools and methods have been adapted for systems engineering, conforming to the model driven engineering paradigm proposed by the Object Management Group. However, designers of complex sociotechnical systems have specific concerns, which differ from those of software designers. We propose a method of pattern implementation for systems engineering, based on a functional approach and relying on formal conceptual foundations in the form of a meta‐model, which can be used for the management, application, and cataloguing of patterns specific to the field of systems engineering. A pattern instance in the field of control systems is proposed as an example application: © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng
An IQC Approach to Robust Stability of Aperiodic Sampled-Data Systems

Conditions for robust stability of sampled-data systems with non-uniform sampling patterns and structural uncertainties are derived. The problem is tackled under the integral quadratic constraint (IQC) framework, where the “aperiodic sampling operation” is modelled by an “delay-integration” operator. Characterization based on integral quadratic constrains (IQC) is identified for this operator and the IQC theory is applied to derive convex stability criteria. Compared to the dominating Lyapunov approach where the candidate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals or looped functionals need to be tailored for the systems under consideration and therefore the stability conditions need to be re-derived whenever additional uncertainties are considered, the proposed approach has the advantage of avoiding such endeavor. Numerical examples are given to illustrate this main point and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Analysis of the distribution of glycine and GABA in amacrine cells of the developing rabbit retina: A comparison with the ontogeny of a functional GABA transport system in retinal neurons

Abstract The objectives of this study were to (1) determine whether the glycinergic and GABAergic amacrine cells in the developing rabbit retina were neurochemically distinct at birth, (2) determine if the ratio of GABAergic to glycinergic amacrine cells was constant during development, (3) determine whether the capacity to take up a GABA analogue was restricted to GABAergic neurons, and (4) whether initiation of GABA transport into GABAergic neurons preceded the presence of a content of GABA in these neurons. We have used a novel strategy to immunolocalize a non-endogenous GABA analogue, γ-vinyl GABA, which is taken up into neurons by a GABA transporter. Examination of serial semithin resin-embedded sections of neonatal rabbit retinae that had been immunolabelled for glycine, GABA or γ-vinyl GABA revealed that at 1 day postnatum, 60% of amacrine cells contain glycine but not GABA and did not accumulate γ-vinyl GABA, which is similar to the percentage of glycinergic amacrine cells in the adult retina. The vast majority of the remaining amacrine cells contained GABA and many also transported γ-vinyl GABA; however, a significant number of GABA-containing cells failed to accumulate γ-vinyl GABA suggesting that possession of a content of GABA did not have to be preceded by, or be concomitant with, the presence of a GABA transport system. By 10 days postnatum, over 99% of GABA-containing amacrine cells also transported γ-vinyl GABA indicating their functional maturity. Analysis of the horizontal cells revealed no evidence for uptake of γ-vinyl GABA, but another GABA analogue, diaminobutyric acid, which is a substrate both for the neuron-associated GABA transporter and the glial GABA transporter, was accumulated into some horizontal cells at 21 days postnatum, a time point when these cells also contain endogenous GABA. We conclude that amacrine cells are committed to being GABAergic or glycinergic at, or prior to birth, and that in some amacrine cells, expression of a content of GABA may occur prior to the capacity to transport GABA. Conversely, in some ganglion cells transport of γ-vinyl GABA may precede a content of GABA.
SD2: a sound and complete diagrammatic reasoning system

SD2 is a system of Venn-type diagrams that can be used to reason diagrammatically about sets, their cardinalities and their relationships. They augment the systems of Venn-Peirce diagrams investigated by Shin (1994) to include lower and upper bounds for the cardinalities of the sets represented by regions of diagrams. We summarise their syntax and semantics and introduce inference rules for reasoning with the system. We discuss the soundness of the system and develop a proof strategy for completeness simpler than that adopted by Shin. We expect this strategy to extend to other, richer spider diagram systems and to constraint diagrams, the visual notation that has been used in conjunction with object-oriented modelling notations such as the Unified Modelling Language.
Millimeter-wave 4∶1 Transformer-based balun design for CMOS RF IC's

This paper presents a compact 4:1 ratio transformer-based balun design in 65-nm CMOS process. The insertion loss is lower than 1.5 dB from 56 GHz to 64 GHz. The balun also serves as a matching network between the output of mixer and chip output terminal. By choosing appropriate inductance ratio and mutual coupling coefficient, the impedance transforms from (52.9+j85.8) Ω to (29.1+j4.7) Ω. Cascade ABCD parameter de-embedding technique is applied to remove the connection parasitic effects in the testing structure.