Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation of a Flexible LDPC Decoder

Low-density parity-check codes (LDPC) are among the most powerful error correcting tools today available. For this reason they became very popular in several applications such as the digital satellite broadcasting system (DVB-S2), wireless local area network (IEEE 802.11n) and metropolitan area network (802.16e). Whereas several code-specific decoders have been proposed in the literature, the implementation of a high performance yet flexible LDPC decoder still is a challenging topic. This work presents a novel formulation of the decoding algorithm that strongly simplifies internal communication requirements and enables the development of decoders supporting generally defined LDPC codes. The resulting architecture is tailored to decode both IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.16e LDPC codes, as well as any other code of comparable complexity. The implementation cost deriving from the full flexibility offered by the proposed approach is also evaluated.
Association of the Aromatase Gene Alleles With BMD:Epidemiological and Functional Evidence

BMD has a strong heritable component. Estrogen activity depends on the aromatization of androgenic precursors in nongonadal tissues both in postmenopausal women and men. Therefore, aromatase is an appealing candidate gene to explain, in part, the genetic component of BMD. In fact, an association between aromatase polymorphisms and BMD has been previously reported in some relatively small groups. In this study, we explored the relationship between several SNPs in the aromatase region and hip BMD in 1163 postmenopausal women. We found significant differences across genotypes, particularly in older women. The BMD differences between homozygous women with opposing genotypes were 4.2% in the whole group and 7.3% in women >67 yr of age. Body weight was significantly associated with BMD also, but there was no evidence for a statistically significant interaction between body weight and aromatase polymorphisms. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays suggested the binding of the CEBPβ transcription factor to the C/G rs1062033 locus, located ∼12 kb upstream of the translation start site. Experiments of transient transfection of osteoblastic cells with luciferase reporters showed differences in the transcriptional activity of alleles C and G at this locus, with different responses to the co‐transfection of a CEBPβ expression vector. Furthermore, evidence for differential allelic expression was found in bone tissue samples. In conclusion, polymorphisms in a 12‐kb region of the aromatase gene are associated with BMD in postmenopausal women, particularly during the late postmenopausal period. In vitro functional studies point to rs1062033 as a true regulatory polymorphism.
Problems with capnography at high altitude *

The aim of this study was to investigate why capnographs malfunction at high altitude, in order to suggest ways of improving instrument reliability. Four machines were decompressed to simulated high altitude and measurements taken. The study showed that the reduced air density at altitude has effects upon the pump, causing difficulty in entraining gas, and that high altitude has additional effects upon calibration of the instruments.
Osmotic induction of the periplasmic trehalase in Escherichia coli K12: characterization of the treA gene promoter

The Escherichia coli treA gene encodes an osmotically inducible periplasmic trehalase. A strain carrying a treA–lacZ transcriptional fusion was constructed. The β‐galactosidase activity produced in this strain growing exponentially in a medium of high osmotic pressure was 10‐fold higher than that produced in a medium of low osmotic pressure, demonstrating that treA transcription is osmotically inducible. treA transcriptional induction depends neither on the presence of trehalase itself nor on the synthesis of cytoplasmic trehalose which occurs in response to osmotic stress in wild‐type E. coli strains. The treA promoter was identified by S1 nuclease protection. Deletion analysis demonstrated that sequences sufficient for the osmotic induction lie downstream from nucleotide –40 with respect to the transcription start. Transcription initiation at treAp required the presence of a functional σ70 subunit of RNA polymerase. treA expression was increased in the presence of a mutation in osmZ, which was previously identified as leading to a partially constitutive expression of the osmotically inducible proU operon.
High-Throughput and Energy-Efficient Belief Propagation Polar Code Decoder

Owing to their capacity-achieving performance and low encoding and decoding complexity, polar codes have received significant attention recently. Successive cancellation decoding (SCD) and belief propagation decoding (BPD) are two popular approaches for decoding polar codes. SCD, despite having less computational complexity when compared with BPD, suffers from long latency due to the serial nature of the SC algorithm. BPD, on the other hand, is parallel in nature and is more attractive for low-latency applications. However, due to the iterative nature of BPD, the required latency and energy dissipation increase linearly with the number of iterations. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme based on subfactor-graph freezing to reduce the average number of computations as well as the average number of iterations required by BPD, which directly translates into lower latency and energy dissipation. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme has no performance degradation and achieves significant reduction in computation complexity over the existing methods. Moreover, the hardware architecture for the proposed scheme is developed and compared with the state-of-the-art BPD implementations for (1024, 512) polar codes. A decoding throughput of 13.9 Gb/s is achieved along with a 60%–73% improvement in energy reduction and two times increase in hardware efficiency when compared with the existing BPD implementations.
Solid State Characterization of Domperidone: Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex

The purpose of the present study was to prepare inclusion complex of domperidone with hydroxylpropyl-β-cyclodextrin in order improved the solubility and hence to increase dissolution of domperidone. An effect of concentration of hydroxylpropyl-β-cyclodextrin on the aqueous solubility of domperidone was determined by phase-solubility method. The aqueous solubility of domperidone increased as a function of hydroxylpropyl-β-cyclodextrin concentration, showing AL type diagram. Solid domperidone/hydroxylpropyl-β-cyclodextrin complex was prepared in ratio 1:1 by ultrasonication and kneading method. Solid state inclusion complex was characterized by FTIR, powder X-ray diffraction and differential-scanning calorimetry techniques. FTIR studies showed intactness of drug in complex whereas powder diffraction studies showed that hydroxylpropyl-β-cyclodextrin complex was amorphous. Solubility studies showed that complexation increased domperidone solubility as compared to pure drug in 0.1M hydrochloric acid and distilled water. Drug content confirms that ultrasonication is one of the efficient methods to prepare inclusion complex. Dissolution data of inclusion complexes also indicated that there is 1.4 folds increase in dissolution as compared to pure drug and was observed in case of inclusion complexes prepared by ultrasonication.
Galectins bind to the multivalent glycoprotein asialofetuin with enhanced affinities and a gradient of decreasing binding constants.

Our previous isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC) studies of the binding of synthetic multivalent carbohydrates to the Man/Glc-specific lectins concanavalin A (ConA) and Dioclea grandiflora lectin (DGL) showed negative binding cooperativity that was due to the carbohydrate ligands and not the proteins [Dam, T. K. , et al. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 1351-1358]. The negative cooperativity was associated with the decreasing functional valence of the carbohydrates upon progressive binding of their epitopes. The present study also shows negative cooperativity in the ITC binding data of asialofetuin (ASF), a glycoprotein that possesses nine LacNAc epitopes, to galectin-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, and -7, and truncated, monomer versions of galectin-3 and -5, which are members of a family of animal lectins. Although the observed K(a) values for binding of ASF to the galectins and two truncated forms are only 50-80-fold greater than that of LacNAc, analysis of the data in terms of the relationship between the observed macroscopic free energy of binding and the decreasing microscopic free energies of binding of the epitopes shows that the first LacNAc epitope of ASF binds with approximately 6000-fold higher affinity than the last epitope. Thus, the microscopic binding constants of the galectins for the first epitope(s) of ASF are in the nanomolar range, with a gradient of decreasing binding constants of the remaining epitopes. The results indicate that the above galectins bind with fractional, high affinities to multivalent glycoproteins such as ASF, independent of the quaternary structures of the galectins. These findings have important implications for the binding of galectins to multivalent carbohydrate receptors.
Subjective ratings of prospective memory deficits in MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users

Chronic use of MDMA (3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine), or ‘ecstasy’, is associated with significant cognitive impairments, particularly in laboratory and field tests of memory for previously encoded material. Less is known about the effects of a history of MDMA use on aspects of everyday cognitive functioning–of which prospective memory (typically characterised as ‘remembering to do something at some future point’) is an important aspect. Self‐ratings of prospective memory among 30 regular ecstasy users (taking the drug 10 or more times per month) and 31 ecstasy‐free controls were compared. Each participant completed the Prospective Memory Questionnaire, which measures self‐rated error frequencies relating to three aspects of prospective memory (short‐term habitual, long‐term episodic and internally cued); the scale also records the use of strategies to aid remembering. Compared with non‐users, ecstasy users reported significantly more self‐rated errors in prospective memory, an effect which was evident after co‐varying levels of other drug use. There were no significant differences in the use of strategies to aid memory. These findings provide new insights into prospective memory dysfunction in recreational drug users. Prospective memory deficits may be related to the reported serotonergic and frontal lobe deficits in chronic MDMA users. It is necessary to use more objective tasks to assess putative prospective memory deficits in ecstasy users. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
What Can Shocks to Life Expectancy Reveal About Bequest Motives

This paper investigates how a shock to life expectancy, resulting from a cancer diagnosis, impacts consumption and saving decisions. I infer bequest motives by using a unique data set containing individual cancer diagnoses and wealth of all citizens in Norway. Cancer diagnoses are useful instruments for identifying bequest motives because they provide new information about life expectancy, which affects a personâ€™s consumption plan differently depending on the relative strength of bequest and classical life-cycle-savings motives. My empirical estimates show strong evidence for bequest motives. A spouse creates a direct bequest motive; couples tend to respond to a cancer diagnosis by saving more. This result holds both across the wealth distribution and over the life-cycle. In contrast to couples, singles respond to a cancer diagnosis by spending more. However, a large part of the decrease in financial wealth among singles with children reflects transfers of wealth during a personâ€™s lifetime, so-called inter vivos transfers.
Investigation of DAZ and RBMY1 Gene Expression in Human Testis by Quantitative Real-Time PCR

This study developed quantitative real-time PCR assays for the DAZ and RBMY1 genes to determine the copy number of RNA extracted from testicular biopsies from a cohort of normospermic controls (n = 6) and azoospermic males (n = 17) including two males with Y-chromosome microdeletions (AZFc and AZFb + c). All patients underwent testicular sperm extraction (TESE) for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Forty percent of the azoospermic cohort showed a significant reduction in the copies of at least one of the genes (DAZ P = 0.003; RBMY1 P = 0.009). The histopathology of these patients ranged from Sertoli cell only (SCO) to severe hypospermatogenesis with interstitial fibrosis. The patient with the AZFb + c deletion lacked expression of DAZ and RBMY1 and had a histopathology of SCO. The patient with the AZFc deletion had reduced expression of RBMY1 and no DAZ expression with a histopathology of spermatocyte arrest. The quantitative real-time PCR assays for DAZ and RBMY1 gave positive predictive values of 78% and 70%, respectively for the recovery of sperm from testicular biopsy.
Walkthrough—a dynamic graphics system for simulating virtual buildings

As part of our graphics research into virtual worlds, we are building a tool for an architect and his client to use for rapid prototyping of buildings by visually “walking through” them in order to refine specifications. Our first prototype simulated the new UNC Computer Science building with some 8000 polygons. BSP-tree software on the Adage Ikonas gave a colored, shaded perspective view every 3-5 seconds while the user moved a cursor in real-time over floorplans shown on the Vector-General 3300. The current (third) version uses Pixel-Planes to generate 9 updates/second, view images shown 4' x 6' by projector. Active short- and long-term research questions include speed-up, stereo, a 6-DoF interface with eye-level defaults, and an interactive model-building, model-changing system.
Robust Shape-Feature-Vector-Based Face Recognition System

This paper presents a feature-based approach for fast face recognition. A novel shape-based automatic reference control point and feature extraction technique is proposed for face representation, whereby the difference between two faces is measured by a set of extracted features, and 3-D features from a set of 2-D images are used for face template registration. Unlike holistic face recognition algorithms, the feature-based algorithm is relatively robust to variations of face expressions, illumination, and pose, due to invariance of its facial feature vector. The theoretical performance analysis of the proposed technique was provided by a probabilistic and statistical approach. The proposed approach is shown to achieve promising performance for face recognition using several subsets of face recognition databases.
CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells That Secrete TGFβ and IL-10 Are Preferentially Induced by a Vaccine Vector

CD4+CD25+ T cells generated in a vaccine scenario can play a critical role in limiting antitumor therapy, thus having widespread implications for the immunotherapy-based treatment of cancer. The authors previously used Listeria monocytogenes to develop two vaccine constructs that express HPV-16 E7 protein and induce strong cellular immunity to HPV-E7-expressing tumors. Immunization of mice bearing established E7-expressing tumors with Lm-LLO-E7 induced regression of the tumors, whereas Lm-E7 showed little or no tumor regression. To investigate the possibility that regulatory CD4+CD25+ T-cell populations may be responsible for the differences in tumor regression, the authors characterized the role of these cells generated by the two vaccine systems. The authors compared the prevalence of CD4+CD25+ T cells in tumor-bearing vaccinated mice and demonstrate that Lm-E7-vaccinated mice have significantly increased numbers of CD4+CD25+ T cells in both the spleen and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes compared with Lm-LLO-E7-vaccinated mice. The authors confirm that these increased numbers of CD4+CD25+ T cells are indeed suppressor in function by in vitro suppression assays and that the mechanism of action of the tumor-infiltrating cells involves the production of suppressor cytokines interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor beta. These results show that it is possible for a tumor vaccine system to generate tumor-infiltrating CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells that critically affect tumor regression and the overall success of vaccine therapy.
On using games for practicing entrepreneurial mindset

Today, innovation and entrepreneurship are key words for many universities, as it constitutes an important part of most universities’ public and scientific outreach task. Universities are striving to increase the number of innovations and entrepreneurs generated by the university. Teaching and learning entrepreneurship is therefore of importance and schools, colleges and universities can play an important role by including entrepreneurship and innovation in their curricula (Sidhu et al., 2015a). Some of the most crucial elements of entrepreneurship at the level of individuals are attitudes, skills and actions (Wennekers, 2005), i.e. the entrepreneurial mindset of the individual. This is an element that is seldom included in traditional classes at schools, colleges and universities. Creating entrepreneurial mindsets in students also calls for the use of innovative models and contents in teaching. As part of the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship (BMoE) research project, the entrepreneurial mindset has been studied and ten behaviors have been identified (Sidhu et al., 2015b). These are behaviors that are frequently found with successful entrepreneurs in the highly innovative and entrepreneurial area of Silicon Valley, California. Another part of the same research project has been to identify and design various games that can be used with the entrepreneurship students and that has the intension to advance the individual’s entrepreneurial mindset (Sidhu et al., 2015a). This paper describes two BMoE-games (Story-telling and Collaboration) and discusses experiences of using them for teaching and learning entrepreneurship in higher education. Reflections from both teachers and students are provided. (Less)
The Black–Litterman model and views from a reverse optimization procedure: an out-of-sample performance evaluation

The Black–Litterman (BL) model has been proposed as a valid solution to the problem of the estimation error in the mean–variance (MV) model. However, very little research has been done in order to empirically test the performance of the model. The paper contributes to the existing literature by empirically examining the out-of-sample performance of the BL model with respect to other asset allocation strategies. As another contribution of the paper, we suggest a novel approach to specify the investor’s views in the BL model. Overall our results suggest that the BL model is a valid asset allocation strategy.
Building Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa's Fragile States

This paper analyzes the persistence of fragility in some sub-Saharan African states and the multiple dimensions of state weakness that are simultaneously at play. This study also provides an overview of the analytics of fragility, conflict, and international engagement with fragile states before turning to an assessment of the current state of affairs and the areas in which there has been progress in building resilience. The paper also looks at the role of fiscal policies and institutions and analyzes growth accelerations and decelerations. Seven country case studies help identify more concretely some key factors at play, and the diversity of paths followed, with an emphasis on the sequencing of reforms. The paper concludes with a summary of the main findings and policy implications.
Oil Price Volatility And Sectoral Returns Uncertainties: Evidence From A Threshold Based Approach For The Australian Equity Market

ABSTRACT:This paper examines the existence of a non-linear relationship between oil price volatility and equity market uncertainty. The study specifically analyses the pattern of effects of oil price volatility on the broader equity market as well as the sectoral equity returns volatility within Australian Economy. We use a logistic transition based autoregressive model (LSTR) developed by Terasvirta and Anderson (1992) and Terasvirta, (1994). We find that the hypothesis of linearity between oil price volatility and equity market uncertainty is rejected for six out of 10 sectors of the Australian economy. The retention of LSTR model suggests that the oil return volatility has high and low regimes that affect equity markets differently across the sectors. The transition functions suggest that switching of oil price volatility from low to high regime is abrupt for consumer discretion, financial and material sectors while such transition is smooth for consumer staple, energy, and industrial sectors. The results also show that some sectors are quicker in responding to heightened volatility. From the VAR framework, the impulse response functions show that a one period increase or a shock in oil price volatility raises volatility of equity in consumer discretion, consumer staple, finance, industry, telecom and consumer staple sectors. Of these, equity volatility in industries and financial sectors seem to exhibit a prolonged positive response following the oil price volatility shock. Also, equity volatility of industries seems to rise by much larger proportion compared to the equity volatility response of other sectors. These findings are helpful as a guide for sectoral rotation strategies. In view of the increased volatility of oil prices due to a negative impact of oil price shock and the resultant surge of uncertainty, Australian firms could formulate their short and long run investment plans based on volatility threshold level. Firms in consumer discretion, financial and industrial sector could consider postponement of investment if the volatility in oil price exceeds certain threshold. Also, firms in the consumer staple, energy and materials industry need to make prudent business decisions in situations where oil price volatility falls within the threshold range as identified by the LSTR2 models. Based on the findings, there is a need for public policy formulation to reduce the adverse impacts of increased oil price uncertainties on the Australian economy during periods of unforeseen random events including depressions and crises.