Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality based HSDPA access algorithms

A new quality based HSDPA access algorithm is derived, which only admits new users provided that the specified QoS requirements can be fulfilled. The proposed algorithm is designed so that it takes both priority and minimum bit rate requirements into account in the decision process. As a case study, the quality based HSDPA access algorithm is tested by means of dynamic network simulations with streaming traffic on HSDPA. For a maximum allowable unsatisfied user probability of 5% it is found that the proposed algorithm results in up to 30% cell capacity gain, as compared to not having admission control. I. INTRODUCTION
Detection of BOLD changes by means of a frequency‐sensitive trueFISP technique: preliminary results

A new method is introduced to detect magnetic field modulation arising from brain activation‐induced BOLD effects. This approach uses a two‐dimensional high‐bandwidth, high‐resolution conventional gradient‐echo steady‐state imaging sequence known as TrueFISP. The ability to visualize changes in oxygen saturation comes from the fact that the method is sensitive to the local field. As is well known, as the oxygen saturation changes so does the local field associated with the venous blood. We demonstrate that it is possible to visualize not only venous blood with this approach on a macroscopic level for major veins, but also to measure conventional oscillatory like signal changes during activated and resting states. Unfortunately, the method has two major drawbacks. First, a long TR is needed to maximize signal changes and, second, the field must be very well shimmed or numerous experiments need to be run to find the activation, as the signal response is sensitive to the starting frequency in the resting state. Nevertheless, these images can be compared directly with anatomical images collected with the same method without the need for distortion correction. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Targeted delivery of anti-angiogenic agent TNP-470 using water-soluble polymer in the treatment of choroidal neovascularization.

PURPOSE The conjugation of drugs with water-soluble polymers such as poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) tends to prolong the half-life of drugs and facilitate the accumulation of drugs in tissues involving neovascularization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of TNP-470-PVA conjugate on the proliferation of endothelial cells in vitro and on experimental choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in vivo. METHODS TNP-470 was conjugated in PVA by a dimethylaminopyridine-catalyzed reaction. The effects of TNP-470-PVA and free TNP-470 on the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and bovine retinal pigment epithelial cells (BRPECs) were evaluated by the tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay (XTT assay). Experimental CNV was induced by subretinal injection of gelatin microspheres containing basic fibroblast growth factor, into rabbits. Thirty rabbits were intravenously treated either with TNP-470-PVA (n = 8), free TNP470 (n = 5), free PVA (n = 5), or saline (n = 12) daily for 3 days, 2 weeks after implantation of gelatin microspheres. Fluorescein angiography was performed to detect the area with CNV, and the evaluation was made by computerized measurement of digital images. These eyes were also examined histologically. To observe the accumulation of conjugate, 3 rabbits with CNV received rhodamine B isothiocyanate-binding PVA (RITC-PVA), and the lesion was studied 24 hours later by fluorescein microscopy. RESULTS The TNP-470-PVA inhibited the growth of HUVECs, similar to that of free TNP-470. The BRPECs were less sensitive to TNP-470-PVA than were the HUVECs. TNP-470-PVA significantly inhibited the progression of CNV in rabbits (P = 0.001). Histologic studies at 4 weeks after treatment demonstrated that the degree of vascular formation and the number of vascular endothelial cells in the subretinal membrane of the eyes treated with TNP-470-PVA were less than those of the control eyes. RITC-PVA remained in the area with CNV 24 hours after administration. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that TNP-470-PVA inhibited the proliferation of HUVECs more sensitively than that of BRPECs, and the targeted delivery of TNP-470-PVA may have potential as a treatment modality for CNV.
Cooperative tracking control and obstacles avoidance for single-integrator dynamics

In this paper, we present a unified cooperative tracking control with obstacle avoidance of multiple autonomous robots modeled by single integrator dynamics. The construction of the control law relies on a combination of optimal control theory and graph theory, and mainly based on the minimization of a Hamiltonian function in which the quadratic function consists of a consensus tracking cost function and an effort cost function and the Lyapunov function associated with the Hamiltonian contains an optimal cost to go function and an obstacle avoidance potential function. The control law proposed is simulated for four robots in two scenarios, in the first one, they should track a time-varying circular reference and in the second one, they should maintain a diamante formation while tracking a diamante virtual structure moving in a circular shape, in the two scenarios the robots are required to avoid obstacles which my appear in their detection regions, these simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of our control law.
Validation d'un modele objectif de la qualite acoustique dans un ensemble de salles de concerts et d'operas

Le but de cette these est de verifier, en conditions reelles de concert, un modele objectif de la perception de la qualite acoustique issu d'une serie de tests en laboratoire. Apres une etude bibliographique des differents facteurs qui influencent notre perception de la qualite acoustique, le modele, etabli a l'ircam, est decrit en detail. Des mesures acoustiques objectives et des tests d'ecoute ont ete effectues, a des positions identiques, dans une dizaine de salles de concerts et d'operas. Pour les mesures objectives, le nombre d'emplacements des sources et des recepteurs, ainsi que leurs directivites, a ete multiplie. Pour les tests d'ecoute, une dizaine d'auditeurs experimentes remplissait des questionnaires, lors de deux concerts et en changeant de place aux entractes. Il a ete revele que les reponses au questionnaire ne dependent pas uniquement de la qualite acoustique. D'autres facteurs influencant les reponses ont pu etre identifies: le sujet, l'uvre musicale et un effet d'interaction entre l'acoustique et l'uvre musicale. Une methode a ete etablie permettant, dans la mesure du possible, de separer les differentes influences, et de mener a des correspondances plus fiables et plus stables entre les reponses a chaque question et la caracterisation objective de la salle. Grace a cette methode, il a ete par ailleurs possible de quantifier l'incertitude des reponses subjectives. Une analyse statistique a permis d'isoler, au sein du questionnaire, un jeu de questions independantes. Une etude systematique a ete consacree a la correspondance entre les reponses et des criteres acoustiques, aboutissant a un critere objectif optimise pour chaque question. Les tests d'ecoute effectues en situation reelle de concert ont donc permis la formulation d'un nouveau modele de la perception de la qualite acoustique. Ce dernier est tres proche de celui etabli a partir des tests en laboratoire, ce qui permet d'accorder une confiance tres grande dans le modele perceptif resultant de leur confrontation
Neuronal Nitric Oxide Contributes to Neuroplasticity-Associated Protein Expression through cGMP, Protein Kinase G, and Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase

Nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) has long been implicated in brain plasticity. However, it is unclear how this short-lived mediator contributes to the long-term molecular changes underlying neuroplasticity, which typically require activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway and gene expression. To address this issue, we used a neuroplasticity model based on treatment of neuronal cultures with bicuculline and a model of experience-dependent plasticity in the barrel cortex. In neuronal cultures, NOS inhibition attenuated the bicuculline-induced activation of ERK and the expression of c-Fos, Egr-1, Arc, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), proteins essential for neuroplasticity. Furthermore, inhibition of the NO target soluble guanylyl cyclase or of the cGMP effector kinase protein kinase G (PKG) reduced both ERK activation and plasticity-related protein expression. NOS inhibition did not affect phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), a well-established ERK nuclear target, but it attenuated the nuclear accumulation of the CREB coactivator TORC1 and suppressed the activation of Elk-1, another transcription factor target of ERK. Consistent with these in vitro observations, induction of c-Fos, Egr-1, and BDNF was attenuated in the D1 cortical barrel of nNOS−/− mice subjected to single whisker experience. These results establish nNOS-derived NO as a key factor in the expression of proteins involved in neuroplasticity, an effect mediated through cGMP, PKG, and ERK signaling. These actions of NO do not depend on CREB phosphorylation but may involve TORC1 and Elk-1. Our data unveil a previously unrecognized link between neuronal NO and the molecular machinery responsible for the sustained synaptic changes underlying neuroplasticity.
The effects of stride technique and pitch location on slo-pitch batting

In slo-pitch softball, the ball is delivered in an arc trajectory with a moderate velocity; hence, batters have time to adjust their stride technique based on the pitched ball location. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of stride technique and pitched ball location on the mechanics of slo-pitch batting. A two-way ANOVA of two locations of pitch (inside and outside) × three strides (open, parallel, and closed) repeated measure study was conducted in this study. The results showed that the stride technique and pitched ball location did not have a consistent impact on the participants across different batting conditions, so the study recommends slo-pitch batters to explore different stride techniques when striking the ball. Further, to better understand the generalizability of the findings, the results indicated that participants were quite homogeneous as a group. Hence, coaches and educators may apply the findings from this study to other players with similar skill level.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion / deletion polymorphism is associated with increased risk of arthritis : a meta-analysis

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism has been reported to be associated with the susceptibility to several kinds of arthritis by a number of association studies; however, the results from individual studies remain conflicting and inconclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of the association between the ACE gene I/D polymorphism and arthritis risk, a comprehensive meta-analysis was performed. The eligible studies retrieved from electronic databases were included after a systematical search. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the strength of the association. A total of 16 case-control studies from 15 articles involving 1745 cases and 2311 controls were ultimately included in the metaanalysis. Overall, the ACE gene I/D polymorphism was found to be associated with a significantly elevated risk of arthritis (D vs. I: OR=1.38, 95% CI=1.05-1.79; DD vs. II: OR=1.75, 95% CI=1.10-2.80; DD vs. ID+II: OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.12-2.05). The subgroup analyses by ethnicity showed that this polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of arthritis in Turkish population (DD+ID vs. II: OR=2.84, 95% CI=1.49-5.44; D vs. I: OR=1.83, 95% CI=1.08-3.08; DD vs. II: OR=3.31, 95% CI=1.40-7.85; ID vs. II: OR=2.78, 95% CI=2.03-3.82). Our study suggested that ACE gene I/D polymorphism might be associated with the susceptibility to arthritis, especially in Turkish population. More well-designed studies with larger sample sizes in populations with different ethnicities are warranted to verify these findings in the future.
Naturalness and interestingness of test images for visual quality evaluation

Balanced and representative test images are needed to study perceived visual quality in various application domains. This study investigates naturalness and interestingness as image quality attributes in the context of test images. Taking a top-down approach we aim to find the dimensions which constitute naturalness and interestingness in test images and the relationship between these high-level quality attributes. We compare existing collections of test images (e.g. Sony sRGB images, ISO 12640 images, Kodak images, Nokia images and test images developed within our group) in an experiment combining quality sorting and structured interviews. Based on the data gathered we analyze the viewer-supplied criteria for naturalness and interestingness across image types, quality levels and judges. This study advances our understanding of subjective image quality criteria and enables the validation of current test images, furthering their development.
Adrenomedullin in the central nervous system

Adrenomedullin (AM) is a novel vasodilator peptide first purified from human pheochromocytoma by tracing its capacity to stimulate cAMP production in platelets. AM immunoreactivity is widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) and in the rat has been demonstrated by immunohistochemical techniques to be present in many neurons throughout the brain and spinal cord, as well as in some vascular endothelial cells and perivascular glial cells. Electron microscopy shows that the immunoreactivity is located mainly in the neuronal cytoplasm, but also occurs in the cell nucleus in some cells of the caudate putamen and olfactory tubercle. Biochemical analyses suggest that higher molecular forms, presumably precursor forms, may predominate over fully processed AM in some brain areas. The expression of AM immunoreactivity is increased in cortical neurons, endothelial cells, and perivascular processes after a simulation of ischemia by oxygen and glucose deprivation. Immunohistochemical, electrophysiological, and pharmacological studies suggest that AM in the CNS can act as a neurotransmitter, neuromodulator, or neurohormone, or as a cytoprotective factor in ischemic/hypoxic conditions, in addition to its vasodilator role. Microsc. Res. Tech. 57:76–90, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Number : WUCSE-2008-1 2008-0101 Modeling Timed Component-Based Real-time Systems

Component based middleware helps to facilitate software reuse by separating application-specific concerns into modular components that are shielded from the concerns of other components and from the common concerns addressed by underlying middleware services. In real-time systems, concerns such as invocation rates, execution latencies, deadlines, and concurrency semantics cross-cut multiple component and middleware abstractions. Thus, the verification of these systems must consider features of the application components (e.g., their execution latencies and relative invocation rates) and of the supporting middleware (e.g., concurrency and scheduling) together. However, existing approaches only address a sub-set of the features that must be modeled in component based real-time systems, and a new more comprehensive approach is needed. To address that need, this paper offers three main contributions to the state of the art in the verification of component based real-time systems: (1) it introduces a formal model called component automata that combines new input/output rate specifications with input/output actions and timed internal actions from the existing interface automata and timed automata models respectively; (2) it presents new component composition operations for single-threaded and cooperative Notes: This research was supported in part by NSF grant CCF-0448562 titled CAREER: Time and Event Based System Software Construction. Type of Report: Other Department of Computer Science & Engineering Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1045 St. Louis, MO 63130 ph: (314) 935-6160 Modeling Timed Component-Based Real-time Systems∗ Huang-Ming Huang and Christopher Gill Department of Computer Science and Engineering Washington University, St.Louis, MO, USA {hh1, cdgill}@cse.wustl. edu
New antenna with supercondutor at critical temperature of 212 K

A new planar superconducting rectangular microstrip antenna array, using the Sn5InBa4Ca2Cu10Oy material, at use in the high critical temperature (Tc) of 212 K, is presented. In the analysis is used the concise full wave Transverse Transmission Line, (TTL) method. New results of the resonant frequency as functions of the temperature, for various antenna parameters, are presented.
3D Pointing with Everyday Devices: Speed, Occlusion, Fatigue

In recent years, display technology has evolved to the point where displays can be both nonstereoscopic and stereoscopic, and 3D environments can be rendered realistically on many types of displays. From movie theatres and shopping malls to conference rooms and research labs, 3D information can be deployed seamlessly. Yet, while 3D environments are commonly displayed in desktop settings, there are virtually no examples of interactive 3D environments deployed within ubiquitous environments, with the exception of console gaming. At the same time, immersive 3D environments remain – in users’ minds – associated with professional work settings and virtual reality laboratories. An excellent opportunity for 3D interactive engagements is being missed not because of economic factors, but due to the lack of interaction techniques that are easy to use in ubiquitous, everyday environments. In my dissertation, I address the lack of support for interaction with 3D environments in ubiquitous settings by designing, implementing, and evaluating 3D pointing techniques that leverage a smartphone or a smartwatch as an input device. I show that mobile and wearable devices may be especially beneficial as input devices for casual use scenarios, where specialized 3D interaction hardware may be impractical, too expensive or unavailable. Such scenarios include interactions with home theatres, intelligent homes, in workplaces and classrooms, with movie theatre screens, in shopping malls, at airports, during conference presentations and countless other places and situations. Another contribution of my research is to increase the potential of mobile and wearable devices for efficient interaction at a distance. I do so by showing that such interactions are feasible when realized with the support of a modern smartphone or smartwatch. I also show how multimodality, when realized with everyday devices, expands and supports 3D pointing. In particular, I show how multimodality helps to address the challenges of 3D interaction: performance issues related to the limitations of the human motor system, interaction with occluded objects and related problem of perception of depth on non-stereoscopic screens, and user subjective fatigue, measured with NASA TLX as perceived workload, that results from providing spatial input for a prolonged time. I deliver these contributions by designing three novel 3D pointing techniques that support casual, “walk-up-and-use” interaction at a distance and are fully realizable using off-the-shelf mobile and wearable devices available today. The contributions provide evidence that democratization of 3D interaction can be realized by leveraging the pervasiveness of a device that users already carry with them: a smartphone or a smartwatch.
Local gap threshold for frustration-free spin systems

We improve Knabe's spectral gap bound for frustration-free translation-invariant local Hamiltonians in 1D. The bound is based on a relationship between global and local gaps. The global gap is the spectral gap of a size-$m$ chain with periodic boundary conditions, while the local gap is that of a subchain of size $n 2$, then the global gap is lower bounded by a positive constant in the thermodynamic limit $m\rightarrow \infty$. Here we improve the threshold to $\frac{6}{n(n+1)}$, which is better (smaller) for all $n>3$ and which is asymptotically optimal. As a corollary we establish a surprising fact about 1D translation-invariant frustration-free systems that are gapless in the thermodynamic limit: for any such system the spectral gap of a size-$n$ chain with open boundary conditions is upper bounded as $O(n^{-2})$. This contrasts with gapless frustrated systems where the gap can be $\Theta(n^{-1})$. It also limits the extent to which the area law is violated in these frustration-free systems, since it implies that the half-chain entanglement entropy is $O(1/\sqrt{\epsilon})$ as a function of spectral gap $\epsilon$. We extend our results to frustration-free systems on a 2D square lattice.
Earlier famine warning possible using remote sensing and models

Remote sensing allows scientists to detect slowly evolving natural hazards such as agricultural drought. Famine early warning systems transform these data into actionable policy information, enabling humanitarian organizations to respond in a timely and appropriate manner. These life-saving responses are increasingly important: In 2006, one out of eight people did not have enough food to eat and 22 million more people became sufficiently undernourished to require intervention, prompting 22 countries to provide $6.5 billion in food aid. Since their inception in the mid-1980s, the combination of monitoring and mitigation systems has dramatically reduced the number of famines caused by biophysical hazards, such as floods, drought, and pests, that destroy food crops [Murphy and McAfee, 2005]. Yet despite this notable achievement, many countries, mostly in Africa, face chronic and increasing food insecurity.
Voice expression conversion with factorised HMM-TTS models

This paper proposes a method to modify the expression or emotion in a sample of speech without altering the speaker’s identity. The method exploits a statistical speech model that factorises the speaker identity from expressions using linear transforms. For this approach, the set of transforms that best fit the speaker and expression of the input speech sample are learned. They are then combined with the expression transforms of the desired expression taken from another speaker. Since the combined expression transform is factorised and contains information about expression only, it may be applied to the original speech sample to modify its expression to the desired one without altering the identity of the speaker. Notably, this method may be applied universally to any voice without the need for a parallel training corpus.
Novel stability analysis for delay Markovian jump systems

This paper investigates stability analysis for linear systems with Markovian jumping parameters and state delays. Based on delay subinterval decomposition approach, a new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional is proposed to develop the delay-dependent stochastic stability conditions for both nominal and uncertain time-delay Markovian systems. The results are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which can be easily solved by standard convex optimization algorithm. A numerical example is provided to show the effectiveness of the method.