Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal noncoherent detector for HS-GNSS receivers

This paper addresses the problem of optimal signal detection in the context of high-sensitivity (HS) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. Contrary to the traditional belief that second-order statistics are optimal for signal detection/estimation under the Gaussian assumption, this paper shows that optimal signal detection turns out to be based on the absolute moments of the input signal. This result opens the door for the introduction of fractional lower-order statistics (FLOS), a wider family of statistics with links to algebraic-tailed processes such as the ones affected by abnornals or outliers. In that sense, the proposed detection strategy and its extension to FLOS seems to be the best candidate for application onto harsh working scenarios such as the ones involved in HS-GNSS receivers.
The Zero Lower Bound, the Dual Mandate, and Unconventional Dynamics

This paper examines monetary policy when it is constrained by the zero lower bound (ZLB) on the nominal interest rate. Our analysis uses a nonlinear New Keynesian model with technology and discount factor shocks. Specifically, we investigate why technology shocks may have unconventional effects at the ZLB, what factors affect the likelihood of hitting the ZLB, and the implications of alternative monetary policy rules. We initially focus on a New Keynesian model without capital (Model 1) and then study that model with capital (Model 2). The advantage of including capital is that it introduces another mechanism for intertemporal substitution that strengthens the expectational effects of the ZLB. Four main findings emerge: (1) In Model 1, the choice of output target in the Taylor rule may reverse the effects of technology shocks when the ZLB binds; (2) When the central bank targets steady-state output in Model 2, a positive technology shock at the ZLB leads to more pronounced unconventional dynamics than in Model 1; (3) The presence of capital changes the qualitative effects of demand shocks and alters the impact of a monetary policy rule that emphasizes output stability; and (4) In Model 1, the constrained linear solution is a decent approximation of the nonlinear solution, but meaningful differences exist between the solutions in Model 2.
HM015k, a Novel Silybin Derivative, Multi-Targets Metastatic Ovarian Cancer Cells and Is Safe in Zebrafish Toxicity Studies

This study was designed to determine the in vitro mechanisms by which the novel silybin derivative, (E)-3-(3-(benzyloxy) phenyl)-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (HM015k or 15k), produces its anticancer efficacy in ovarian cancer cells. Compound 15k induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells in a time-dependent manner by significantly upregulating the expression of Bax and Bak and downregulating the expression of Bcl-2. Interestingly, 15k induced the cleavage of Bax p21 into its more efficacious cleaved form, Bax p18. In addition, caspase 3 and caspase 9 were cleaved to their active forms, inducing the cleavage of poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) and β-catenin. Furthermore, in OV2008 cells, 15k induced significant cleavage in nuclear β-catenin to primarily inactive fragments of lower molecular weight. Furthermore, 15k reversed the metastatic potential of OV2008 cells by inhibiting their migration and invasiveness. The mesenchymal phenotype in OV2008 was reversed by 15k, causing cells to be rounder with epithelial—like phenotypes. The 15k-induced reversal was further confirmed by significant upregulation of the E-cadherin expression, an epithelial marker, while N-cadherin, a mesenchymal marker, was downregulated in OV2008 cells. Compound 15k inhibited the expression of the oncogenic c-Myc protein, downregulated proteins DVL3 and DVL2 and significantly upregulated cyclin B1. Also, 15k significantly downregulated the expression levels of ABCG2 and ABCB1 transporters in resistant ABCG2 overexpressing H460/MX20 and resistant ABCB1 overexpressing MDCK/MDR1 cells, respectively. Finally, 15k was safe in zebrafish in vivo model at concentrations up to 10 μM and induced no major toxicities in cardiac, morphology and swimming position parameters. Overall, 15k is a multi-targeted inhibitor with efficacy against metastatic and resistant ovarian cancer. Future in vivo studies will be conducted to determine the efficacy of 15k in tumor-bearing animals.
Phosphorylation of caldesmon by myosin light chain kinase increases its binding affinity for phosphorylated myosin filaments

Abstract Phosphorylation of myosin by myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) is essential for smooth muscle contraction. In this study we show that caldesmon (CaD) is also phosphorylated in vitro by MLCK. The phosphorylation is calcium- and calmodulin (CaM)-dependent and requires a MLCK concentration close to that found in vivo. On average, approximately 2 mol P i per mol of CaD are incorporated at Thr-626 and Thr-693, with additional partial phosphorylation at Ser-658 and Ser-702. The phosphorylation rate for CaD is 20- to 50-fold slower than that for filamentous myosin; faster relative rates were obtained with CaD added to purified actomyosin or myosin preparations containing endogenous MLCK/CaM complex. Addition of CaM also augmented CaD phosphorylation. We further demonstrate that [32P] labeled CaD binds much more readily to phosphorylated filamentous myosin than to unphosphorylated myosin. For actomyosin, CaD binding affinity doubles after myosin phosphorylation, without a significant change in binding stoichiometry (approx. one CaD per myosin molecule). Unphosphorylated CaD is ineffective in competing with the phosphorylated protein for the binding site(s) on myosin filaments. The ATPase activity of reconstituted actomyosin is inhibited by unphosphorylated CaD, and this inhibition was removed by CaD phosphorylation. Our results suggest that CaD phosphorylation plays a role in modifying actomyosin interaction in vivo, particularly during prolonged muscle activation.
Disgust Sensitivity and Public Demand for Protection

We contribute to the growing literature on emotions and politics by focusing on the political relevance of disgust, a basic emotion characterized by visceral aversion to a potentially offensive stimulus. We offer a conceptual clarification of disgust’s potential connection to politics, arguing that individual differences in sensitivity to feeling disgusted inform public demand for policies designed to protect citizens from physical, moral, or imaginary contamination. We show that disgust sensitivity operates independently of political ideology and informs a wide array of protectionist policy preferences across the ideological spectrum, even controlling for other relevant predispositions. Our analyses suggest that disgust sensitivity is distinct from simple out-group hostility, and the relationship between disgust sensitivity and opinion on policies regarding out-groups depends on the content of those policies. Finally, survey experimental results suggest that political communication can activate disgust sensitivity in public opinion.
Dual-Wavelength InAlGaAs–InP Laterally Coupled Distributed Feedback Laser

The design and operation of a novel dual-wavelength laterally coupled (LC) distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor laser are reported. The laser has two different grating periods, one on each sidewall. Stable dual-mode emission, with low threshold currents and good extinction ratio approaching 30 dB, has been demonstrated. Generation of millimeter-wave signals by photomixing has been performed, and the linewidths of each of the individual modes and of the beat mode have been measured as a function of the injection current. It is observed that while the linewidth of the separate modes has a modest dependence on the injection level, the linewidth of the beat mode experiences a strong decrease as the injected current increases
Insect Population Dynamics, Pesticide Use, and Farmworker Health

We address the impacts of regulations designed to reduce pesticide poisoning of farmers and farm laborers. Attention is concentratedon pre-harvest interval regulations that impose a time interval between pesticide application and harvest. The incidence of poisoning is determined by aggregate pesticide use, worker exposure, and toxicity. A dynamic, stochastic model of insect population growth is developed and used to measure the incentives for pesticide use. Increasing the pre-harvest interval has an ambiguous effect on the number of harvest worker poisonings. Pesticide taxation unambiguously reduces the number of worker poisonings. Theoretical results are quantified in a case study of mevinphos application on leaf lettuce in California's Salinas Valley. Copyright 2000, Oxford University Press.
Heroin, Hashish, and Hallelujah: The Search for Meaning

This article examines the concept of meaning, or purpose in life, as an operating variable in a religiously oriented drug rehabilitation program (Teen Challenge) in selected countries. This concept was operationalized by use of the Crumbaugh "Purpose-in-Life Test. " Findings are based upon research conducted during the summer of 1975 in India, Holland, Germany, France, Guam, and Hawaii. Subjects perceived increased meaning orpurpose in life as they progressed through this three-phase, one-year program. In all countries studied, this variable was low in subjects at the inception of the program, and increased significantly throughout the one-year period until it reached a high level in the third and final phase.
Estimation of elbow motion intension under varing weight in lifting movement using an EMG-Angle neural network model

An EMG (electromyogram)-angle neural network was built to estimate elbow movement in a lifting task from sEMG signals in this study. The movement conditions vary with 6 different weights and no load. Subsequently the predicted angle could be utilized as the control signal of a 2DOF powered exoskeleton. Sixteen-channel EMG raw data sets were acquired from two commercial wearable MYO gesture armbands. The signals were then segmented, rectified and filtered with FIR filter to extract features of EMG signals. Afterward a three-layered BPNN (back propagation neural network) was trained to predict the elbow joint angle. Finally experiments were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the developed architecture.
The route of infection determines Wolbachia antibacterial protection in Drosophila

Bacterial symbionts are widespread among metazoans and provide a range of beneficial functions. Wolbachia-mediated protection against viral infection has been extensively demonstrated in Drosophila. In mosquitoes that are artificially transinfected with Drosophila melanogaster Wolbachia (wMel), protection from both viral and bacterial infections has been demonstrated. However, no evidence for Wolbachia-mediated antibacterial protection has been demonstrated in Drosophila to date. Here, we show that the route of infection is key for Wolbachia-mediated antibacterial protection. Drosophila melanogaster carrying Wolbachia showed reduced mortality during enteric—but not systemic—infection with the opportunist pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Wolbachia-mediated protection was more pronounced in male flies and is associated with increased early expression of the antimicrobial peptide Attacin A, and also increased expression of a reactive oxygen species detoxification gene (Gst D8). These results highlight that the route of infection is important for symbiont-mediated protection from infection, that Wolbachia can protect hosts by eliciting a combination of resistance and disease tolerance mechanisms, and that these effects are sexually dimorphic. We discuss the importance of using ecologically relevant routes of infection to gain a better understanding of symbiont-mediated protection.
Space-Time Codes from Spectral Norm: A Fresh Look

Current research proposes a natural environment for the space-time codes and in this context it is obtained a new design criterion for space-time codes in multi-antenna communication channels. The objective of this criterion is to minimize the pairwise error probability of the maximum likelihood decoder, endowed with the matrix spectrum norm. The random matrix theory is used and an approximation function for the probability density function is obtained for the largest eigenvalue of a Wishart Matrix.
Applicability of simulated annealing methods to real-time scheduling and jitter control

This paper presents a non-conventional scheduling approach for distributed static systems where tasks are periodic and have arbitrary deadlines, precedence, and exclusion constraints. The solution presented in this work not only creates feasible schedules, but also minimizes jitter for periodic tasks. The problem of scheduling real-time tasks with minimum jitter is particularly important in many control applications, nevertheless, it has been rarely studied in the scientific literature. We present a general framework consisting of an abstract architecture model and a general programming model. We show how to design a surprisingly simple and flexible scheduling method based on simulated annealing and present some experimental results.
Towards a Set Oriented Calculus for Logic Programming 1

This paper presents SOCLP (Set Oriented Calculus for Logic Programming), a proof calculus for pure Prolog programs with negation. The main dierence of this calculus w.r. t. other related approaches is that it deals with the answer set of a goal as a whole, instead of considering each single answer separately. We prove that SOCLP is well defined, in the sense that, at most, one answer set can be derived from a goal, and that the derived set is correct and complete w.r. t. the logical meaning of the program. However, not all the answer sets admit a proof in SOCLP. For this reason, the paper also introduces another calculus, SOCLP! , which allows to prove finite approximations of (possibly infinite) answer sets. SOCLP! is coupled, through the inference rule for dealing with negation, with a third calculus SOCLPˆ, which proves whether a set is a superset of the answer set of a given goal. The paper also shows how the three calculi are related and their main properties.
Frequency domain multiuser detection for impulse radio systems

This paper deals with channel estimation, and detection in ultra wide band (UWB) bi-phase impulse modulated systems. We consider a multiuser scenario assuming a direct sequence spreading code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) scheme. The channel estimation and detection approach operates in the frequency domain and includes the capability of canceling the multiple access interference through the exploitation of its frequency domain correlation. The approach can be extended to time-hopped impulse radio systems.
An effective power allocation scheme for MMSE MIMO channel estimation with MMSE detection

For multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication system with minimum mean square error (MMSE) detection, power allocation between pilot and data symbols is investigated under MMSE channel estimation in this paper. We first propose a novel soft-output MMSE MIMO detector by taking the channel estimation error into consideration. Then, by random matrix theorem, we propose an effective power allocation scheme between pilot and data symbols to maximize the average lower bound of minimum post-processing signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) for the MIMO system, which has equal number of transmitter and receiver antennas. Simulation results validate our power allocation scheme.
AN EFFICIENT PARALLEL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPACETIME DISCONTINUOUS GALERKIN METHOD USING CHARM++

We present an efficient parallel implementation of the Spacetime Discontinuous Galerkin method for hyperbolic problems. In particular, we are interested in parallel implementations of direct element-by-element or patch-by-patch solution techniques that are possible on spacetime meshes that conform to an appropriate causality cone constraint [1]. We consider applications to linearized elastodynamics [2] as well as to nonlinear conservation laws. Our implementation is based on the Charm++ [3] Finite Element Method (FEM) framework [4].
Microbial Community Structure of Three Traditional Zambian Fermented Products: Mabisi, Chibwantu and Munkoyo

Around the world, raw materials are converted into fermented food products through microbial and enzymatic activity. Products are typically produced using a process known as batch culture, where small volumes of an old culture are used to initiate a fresh culture. Repeated over many years, and provided samples are not shared among producers, batch culture techniques allow for the natural evolution of independent microbial ecosystems. While these products form an important part of the diets of many people because of their nutritional, organoleptic and food safety properties, for many traditional African fermented products the microbial communities responsible for fermentation are largely unknown. Here we describe the microbial composition of three traditional fermented non-alcoholic beverages that are widely consumed across Zambia: the milk based product Mabisi and the cereal based products Munkoyo and Chibwantu. Using culture and non-culture based techniques, we found that six to eight lactic acid bacteria predominate in all products. We then used this data to investigate in more detail the factors affecting community structure. We found that products made from similar raw materials do not harbor microbial communities that are more similar to each other than those made from different raw materials. We also found that samples from the same product taken at the same location were as different from each other in terms of microbial community structure and composition, as those from geographically very distant locations. These results suggest that microbial community structure in these products is neither a simple consequence of the raw materials used, nor the particular suite of microbes available in the environment but that anthropogenic variables (e.g., competition among sellers or organoleptic preferences by different tribes) are important in shaping the microbial community structures.
The role of targeted agents in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of targeted agents (TAs) in the treatment of elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Databases from PubMed, Web of Science and abstracts presented at ASCO meeting up to December 31, 2015 were searched to identify relevant studies. Eligible studies included prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating therapies with or without TAs in elderly patients with AGC. The endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Statistical analyses were conducted by using Comprehensive Meta Analysis software (Version 2.0). RESULTS A total of 1,759 elderly patients with AGC from ten RCTs were included for analysis. The pooled results demonstrated that the addition of TAs to therapies in elderly patients significantly improved OS (HR 0.88, 95% CI: 0.79-0.99, p = 0.032), but not for PFS (HR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.66-1.06, p = 0.13) when compared to controls. Subgroup analysis according to targeted agents indicated that survival benefit was observed for anti-HER-2 agents (HR 0.71, 95% CI: 0.55-0.91, p = 0.006) and angiogenesis inhibitors (AIs) (HR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.62-0.99, p = 0.04) in terms of OS. Conversely, no survival benefit was found for anti-EGFR agents in terms of OS (HR 1.12, 95% CI: 0.93-1.36, p = 0.24) and PFS (HR 1.35, 95% CI: 0.88-2.07, p = 0.17). No publication bias was detected by Begg's and Egger's tests for OS. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study suggest that the addition of TAs to therapies in elderly patients with AGC offers an improved OS, which can be ascribed to AIs and ant-HER2 agents. With available evidence, anti-EGFR agents could not be recommended for use in elderly AGC patients.
Tendinopathy and statin use: the role of matrix metalloproteinases or eicosanoids? Comment on the letter by Beri and Khattri and the article by Marie et al.

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Neural correlates of inhibitory control and visual processing in youths with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a counting Stroop functional MRI study

Background Despite evidence of inhibitory control and visual processing impairment in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), knowledge about its corresponding alterations in the brain is still evolving. The current study used counting Stroop functional MRI and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to investigate if brain activation of inhibitory control and visual processing would differ in youths with ADHD relative to neurotypical youths. Method We assessed 25 youths with ADHD [mean age 10.9 (s.d. = 2.2) years] and 23 age-, gender- and IQ-matched neurotypical youths [mean age 11.2 (s.d. = 2.9) years]. The participants were assessed by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, third edition, and two tests from the CANTAB: rapid visual information processing (RVP) and pattern recognition memory (PRM) outside the scanner. Results Youths with ADHD showed more activation than neurotypical youths in the right inferior frontal gyrus [Brodmann area (BA) 45] and anterior cingulate cortex, which were correlated with poorer performance on the RVP test in the CANTAB. In contrast, youths with ADHD showed less activation than neurotypical youths in the left superior parietal lobule (BA 5/7), which was correlated with the percentage of correct responses on the PRM test in the CANTAB. Conclusions Our findings suggest that youths with ADHD might need more inhibitory control to suppress interference between number and meaning and may involve less visual processing to process the numbers in the counting Stroop task than neurotypical youths.