Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Phase Noise Estimation and Iterative Detection of Faster-than-Nyquist Signaling Based on Factor Graph

Modern wireless communication raise the demand for higher spectral efficiency, faster-than-Nyquist (FTN) signaling is able to increase transmission rate without expanding signaling bandwidth. In this paper, we develop a graph-based iterative FTN detector in the presence of phase noise (PHN). Wiener process is employed to model the time evolution of nonstationary channel phase. The colored noise imposed by sampling of FTN signaling is approximated by autoregressive model. Based on the factor graph constructed, messages are derived on the two subgraphs, i.e., PHN estimation subgraph, and the FTN symbol detection subgraph. We propose a combined sum-product and variational message passing (SP-VMP) method to update the messages between subgraphs, which enables low- complexity parametric message passing and provides closed-form expressions for parameters updating. Simulation results show the superior performance of the proposed algorithm compared with the existing methods and verify the advantage of FTN signaling compared with the Nyquist counterpart.
Research on Switching Behavior of Mobile Communication Services

In the mobile communications market, the homogeneity phenomenon of product's service appears. The paper combines the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Switching Cost Theory to construct the Convert Selection Model about the mobile communication services for users, which mainly analyzed from five dimensions: perceived switching costs, differences in perceived usefulness, differences in perceived ease of use, perceived difference between the cost of services and network externalities. All the data material was collected through the questionnaire survey, and the following analysis, which is mainly from dimensions of reliability and validity of the scale, was mainly based on the statistical software SPSS 17.0. Then countermeasures and suggestions will be putted forward according to the analysis above.
A Preliminary System Framework for 'SilGam' Book

‘Sil-Gam’ Book is a book that can provide readers with realistic or abstract experiences of contents through the virtual or augmented reality technology while he/she reads an analog book. In order to listen to or touch the realistic contents in ‘Sil-Gam’ Book, we propose a preliminary system framework of hardware and software systems for ‘Sil-Gam’ Book through which users can haptically interact with virtual contents. In this framework, we define a ‘Sil-Gam’ Book and design a hardware configuration and software architecture. In addition, we present two exemplary scenarios for using this book in science education.
Effects of endogenous agonists, glycine and D‐serine, on in vivo specific binding of [11C]L‐703,717, a PET radioligand for the glycine‐binding site of NMDA receptors

A positron‐emitter (carbon‐11) labeled antagonist for the glycine‐binding site of NMDA receptors, [11C]L‐703,717, has a unique in vivo binding characteristic, in which it preferentially binds to cerebellar‐specific NMDA receptors consisting of a GluRϵ3 subunit and eventually accumulates in rodent cerebellum under in vivo conditions, but not under in vitro conditions. In order to understand the in vivo‐specific site and subunit localization of this radioligand, we examined the effect of the endogenous glycine site agonists, glycine and D‐serine, on in vivo [11C]L‐703,717 binding. An increase in extracellular glycine concentration by treatment with a glycine transporter 1 (GlyT1)‐selective inhibitor, NFPS ethyl ester, significantly decreased the cerebellar localization of [11C]L‐703,717 in rats. D‐serine is known to be concentrated in mammalian forebrain regions. The lack of D‐serine detection in the cerebellum may be due to the fact that it has the highest enzymatic activity of D‐amino acid oxidase (DAO). It was found that the cerebellar localization of [11C]L‐703,717 is greatly diminished in mutant mice lacking DAO, in which D‐serine content in the cerebellum is drastically increased from a nondetectable level in normal mice. These studies indicate that [11C]L‐703,717 is susceptible to inhibition by glycine site agonists in its in vivo binding, and suggest that regional differences in inhibitions by endogenous agonists may be a crucial factor in the site‐ and subunit‐specific binding of this glycine‐site antagonist. Synapse 50:130–136, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reduced Susceptibility of Haemophilus influenzae to the Peptide Deformylase Inhibitor LBM415 Can Result from Target Protein Overexpression Due to Amplified Chromosomal def Gene Copy Number

ABSTRACT Previous genetic analysis of Haemophilus influenzae revealed two mechanisms associated with decreased susceptibility to the novel peptide deformylase inhibitor LBM415: AcrAB-TolC-mediated efflux and Fmt bypass, resulting from mutations in the pump repressor gene acrR and in the fmt gene, respectively. We have isolated an additional mutant, CDS23 (LBM415 MIC, 64 μg/ml versus 4 μg/ml against the parent strain NB65044) that lacks mutations in the acrR or fmt structural genes or in the gene encoding Def, the intracellular target of LBM415. Western immunoblot analysis, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and tryptic digestion combined with mass spectrometric identification showed that the Def protein was highly overexpressed in the mutant strain. Consistent with this, real-time reverse transcription-PCR revealed a significant increase in def transcript titer. No mutations were found in the region upstream of def that might account for altered expression; however, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis suggested that a genetic rearrangement of the region containing def had occurred. Using a combination of PCR, sequencing, and Southern blot analyses, it was determined that the def gene had undergone copy number amplification, explaining the high level of target protein expression. Inactivation of the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump in this mutant increased susceptibility 16-fold, highlighting the role of efflux in exacerbating the overall reduced susceptibility resulting from target overexpression.
Alignment of serially acquired slices using a global energy function

An accurate, computationally efficient and fully-automated algorithm for the alignment of 2D serially acquired sections forming a 3D volume is presented. The method accounts for the main shortcomings of 3D image alignment: corrupted data (cuts and tears), dissimilarities or discontinuities between slices, non parallel or missing slices. The approach relies on the optimization of a global energy function, based on the object shape, measuring the similarity between a slice and its neighborhood in the 3D volume. Slice similarity is computed using the distance transform measure in both directions. No particular direction is privileged in the method avoiding global offsets, biases in the estimation and error propagation. The method was evaluated on real images (medical and biological 3D data) and the experimental results demonstrated the method's accuracy as reconstruction errors are less than 1 degree in rotation and less than 1 pixel in translation.
Evaluation framework of hierarchical clustering methods for binary data

The article aims to evaluate hierarchical clustering methods according to their performance for binary data type. We explore the accuracy of ten hierarchical clustering methods by experimenting with ten different distance measures. The three types of well, poorly and very poorly separated clusters of binary data sets are generated by selecting the appropriate parameters for binomial distribution and Monte Carlo method. In order to evaluate the precision of clustering methods the binary data sets are transformed to distance matrices. The error level each method is explored in relationship to distance measures, cluster types and data distributions. The Complete linkage, Flexible-beta and Ward's methods have best clustering performance for the case of two well separated clusters of binary data.
Learning from Parenthetical Sentences for Term Translation in Machine Translation

Terms extensively exist in specific domains, and term translation plays a critical role in domain-specific machine translation (MT) tasks. However, it’s a challenging task to translate them correctly for the huge number of pre-existing terms and the endless new terms. To achieve better term translation quality, it is necessary to inject external term knowledge into the underlying MT system. Fortunately, there are plenty of term translation knowledge in parenthetical sentences on the Internet. In this paper, we propose a simple, straightforward and effective framework to improve term translation by learning from parenthetical sentences. This framework includes: (1) a focused web crawler; (2) a parenthetical sentence filter, acquiring parenthetical sentences including bilingual term pairs; (3) a term translation knowledge extractor, extracting bilingual term translation candidates; (4) a probability learner, generating the term translation table for MT decoders. The extensive experiments demonstrate that our proposed framework significantly improves the translation quality of terms and sentences.
Sequence error (SE) minimization training of neural network for voice conversion

Neural network (NN) based voice conversion, which employs a nonlinear function to map the features from a source to a target speaker, has been shown to outperform GMM-based voice conversion approach [4-7]. However, there are still limitations to be overcome in NN-based voice conversion, e.g. NN is trained on a Frame Error (FE) minimization criterion and the corresponding weights are adjusted to minimize the error squares over the whole source-target, stereo training data set. In this paper, we use the idea of sentence optimization based, minimum generation error (MGE) training in HMM-based TTS synthesis, and modify the FE minimization to Sequence Error (SE) minimization in NN training for voice conversion. The conversion error over a training sentence from a source speaker to a target speaker is minimized via a gradient descent-based, back propagation (BP) procedure. Experimental results show that the speech converted by the NN, which is first trained with frame error minimization and then refined with sequence error minimization, sounds subjectively better than the converted speech by NN trained with frame error minimization only. Scores on both naturalness and similarity to the target speaker are improved. Index Terms: voice conversion, neural network, pre-training, sequence error minimization
Burnout, Job Characteristics, and Intent to Leave: Does Work Experience Have Any Effect

Recent changes in employment conditions due to globalization, innovation, and economic crisis have made many employees vulnerable to job burnout. The literature shows that innovation can have both positive and negative impacts on employees' well-being. The implementation of new technology may increase job demand, employees feeling of emotional exhaustion, and intentions of leaving. This study examines if the number of years of work experience may moderate the level of burnout felt by employees (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment), their perceptions of job characteristics (i.e., job demand, decisional latitude, and social support) and their intent to leave. Data are collected among agents and advisors working at a Canadian high education institution, a few months after the implementation of Banner, an information system used to manage and query students' data. The results show no significant effect of work experience on burnout and job characteristics, but a positive significant effect on intent to leave. Experienced employees are not more prepared than their less experienced colleagues. The findings suggest that employers should increase job resources (e.g., training, feedback, and social support at work) during the implementation of new technology.
The negative impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on bone in a mouse model

Abstract Introduction: While it is well established that the brain produces hypothalamic hormones and neuropeptides that influence skeletal metabolism, the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on bone is unknown. Based on the recognition from clinical studies that there is an association between TBI and long-term hypothalamic pituitary dysfunction, it was hypothesized that TBI exerts a negative impact on skeletal growth and maintenance. Methods: To test the hypothesis, this study employed a repetitive weight drop model for TBI. Four impacts were applied for four consecutive days on 5-week old female C57BL/6 J mice. Bone measurements were taken 2 weeks after the first impact. Results: Bone mineral content (BMC), bone area (B area) and bone mineral density (BMD) in the total body were reduced by 14.5%, 9.8% and 5.2%, respectively, in the impacted vs. control mice. There was a 17.1% reduction in total volumetric BMD (vBMD) and a 4.0% reduction in material vBMD in cortical bone. In trabecular bone, there was a 44.0% reduction in BV/TV. Although there was no change in the cross-sectional bone size, the tibial growth plate and the tibia itself were shortened. Conclusion: The repetitive animal TBI model produced an immediate, strong negative impact on bone mass acquisition in young mice.
Sex hormones in postmenopausal women with breast cancer on tamoxifen.

In 42 postmenopausal women with breast cancer aged 48-85 (mean age 62.4) years, the blood sex hormone levels were measured before and after 6 months of tamoxifen administration (20 mg daily). Follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels decreased after tamoxifen administration (p < 0.001), but remained in the postmenopausal range, oestradiol levels increased (p < 0.05), sex hormone binding globulin levels increased (p < 0.001), testosterone levels remained stable (p > 0.1), free testosterone levels decreased (p < 0.001), delta4-androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels remained unchanged (p > 0.1), and basal prolactin levels and their response to thyrotrophin-releasing hormone injection decreased significantly (p < 0.001) after tamoxifen therapy. It is concluded that tamoxifen has many and diverse effects on sex hormone levels, and its adverse effects do not affect the biological status of the patient, except perhaps for oestradiol, that increases in some cases, whose possible effect must be studied.
Regulation of Elg1 activity by phosphorylation

ELG1 is a conserved gene with important roles in the maintenance of genome stability. Elg1's activity prevents gross chromosomal rearrangements, maintains proper telomere length regulation, helps repairing DNA damage created by a number of genotoxins and participates in sister chromatid cohesion. Elg1 is evolutionarily conserved, and its Fanconi Anemia-related mammalian ortholog (also known as ATAD5) is embryonic lethal when lost in mice and acts as a tumor suppressor in mice and humans. Elg1 encodes a protein that forms an RFC-like complex that unloads the replicative clamp, PCNA, from DNA, mainly in its SUMOylated form. We have identified 2 different regions in yeast Elg1 that undergo phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of one of them, S112, is dependent on the ATR yeast ortholog, Mec1, and probably is a direct target of this kinase. We show that phosphorylation of Elg1 is important for its role at telomeres. Mutants unable to undergo phosphorylation suppress the DNA damage sensitivity of Δrad5 mutants, defective for an error-free post-replicational bypass pathway. This indicates a role of phosphorylation in the regulation of DNA repair. Our results open the way to investigate the mechanisms by which the activity of Elg1 is regulated during DNA replication and in response to DNA damage.
Plasma brain natriuretic peptide in takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a reversible left ventricular dysfunction with symptoms resembling acute myocardial infarction, but without coronary lesions. Patients have wall motion abnormalities (apical akinesis and basal hyperkinesis), and characteristic left ventricular morphology. AIM To investigate plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentrations in takotsubo cardiomyopathy. METHODS Ten consecutive patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy underwent cardiac catheterization on their first hospital day, and blood was collected to measure BNP. To evaluate acute basal hyperkinesis, the difference in diameter between systole and diastole was measured at 10 mm below the aortic valve (the deltaBase value). RESULTS Coronary angiography revealed no significant stenosis in any patient. Initial ejection fraction was 42.2 +/- 7.3%, cardiac index was 1.90 +/- 0.39 l/min/m(2), and plasma BNP was 522.5 +/- 632.9 pg/ml. Ventricular contraction and the ejection fraction were normalized on echocardiography after 17.9 +/- 6.3 days. BNP was significantly correlated with deltaBase, but not with other cardiac parameters. DISCUSSION Initial deltaBase value seems to be a good indicator of the severity of basal hyperkinesis in patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy. In contrast to other diagnoses, a high BNP concentration is not associated with a poor prognosis in this condition.
Relationship between subtypes and symptoms of ADHD, insomnia, and nightmares in connection with quality of life in children

Objectives This study examined the links between sleep disorders and subtypes of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD-inattention, ADHD-combined, ADHD-hyperactive/impulsive) in childhood. We set up a hypothetical model linking different symptoms of both disorders to construct the underlying and shared pathways. By examining a sample of children with ADHD we firstly tested parts of the model. Methods A total of 72 children with symptoms of ADHD (aged 6–13 years; 79.2% boys) were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition and the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, third edition in regards to ADHD and sleep disorders via standardized parent-rated questionnaires. Additionally, quality of life (QoL) was assessed. Overall, 46 children fulfilled the criteria of ADHD and were medication-naive. Results On average, the whole sample had clinically elevated total scores of the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire in the validated German version (CSHQ-DE), indicating an increased prevalence of sleep disorders in children with ADHD. In accordance to our hypothetical model, children with primarily hyperactive–impulsive ADHD showed the highest CSHQ-DE scores. Moreover, we found a high impact for insomnia in this subgroup and a high comorbid load for the mutual occurrence of insomnia and nightmares. Furthermore, QoL was reduced in our whole sample, and again intensified in children with comorbid insomnia and nightmares. Conclusion We verified an elevated occurrence of sleep disorders in children with ADHD and were able to link them to specific subtypes of ADHD. These results were in line with our hypothetical model. Moreover, we found a clinically reduced QoL in mean for the whole sample, indicating the strong impact of ADHD in the lives of affected children, even intensified if children exhibited comorbid insomnia and nightmares. These results should be kept in mind regarding the treatment and therapy of this subgroup of children. Specific treatment strategies should be considered for these children.
Routine Use of PCR–Reverse Cross-Blot Hybridization Assay for Rapid Identification ofMycobacterium Species Growing in Liquid Media

ABSTRACT A PCR–reverse cross-blot hybridization assay procedure that is able to rapidly identify 13 species of clinically relevant mycobacteria was evaluated for routine use in the identification of acid-fast isolates growing in BACTEC 460 TB (12B and 13A) and BACTEC 9000 MB (Myco/F) liquid media. Eight of the probes used were already described by Kox et al. (L. F. F. Kox et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 33:3225–3233, 1995). In addition, we used six other probes specific for M. chelonae, M. malmoense orM. szulgai, M. genavense,M. gordonae, M. terrae, andM. marinum/M. ulcerans that we designed ourselves. This procedure allowed us to identify 459 mycobacterial species directly from broth cultures of 5,466 clinical samples collected over 1 year and processed with the radiometric or nonradiometric BACTEC system. Our results were in agreement with those obtained by conventional identification methods and also with those obtained by mycolic acid analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography. This assay seems to be a reliable procedure for the routine identification of mycobacteria, providing an accurate identification of mycobacterial isolates more rapidly than conventional tests, with remarkable implications for an efficacious specific antimycobacterial therapy.
La reconversion d’un espace productif au cœur d’une métropole : l’exemple de la Friche de la Belle de Mai à Marseille

Depuis une vingtaine d’annees, la Friche de la Belle-de-Mai a Marseille fait parler d’elle. Nee en 1990 de la volonte d’une poignee d’operateurs culturels soutenus par le politique, « la Friche », comme on la surnomme, est devenue en 2010 un acteur culturel incontournable de la cite phoceenne. Connue, reconnue au plan international, elle a joue un role non negligeable dans l’obtention par Marseille et sa region du label « capitale europeenne de la culture en 2013 ». Pour autant, la transformation d’un site productif (l’ancienne manufacture des tabacs de la SEITA) en equipement culturel et artistique n’est pas chose aisee. Aux contraintes physiques et architecturales du lieu s’ajoutent les difficultes d’insertion dans un quartier socialement defavorise et au tissu urbain degrade. Vingt ans apres sa fondation, a l’heure de sa transformation en Societe cooperative d’interet collectif (SCIC), la friche Belle de Mai semble etre a la croisee des chemins.
Validation of a microdose probe drug cocktail for clinical drug interaction assessments for drug transporters and CYP3A

A microdose cocktail containing midazolam, dabigatran etexilate, pitavastatin, rosuvastatin, and atorvastatin has been established to allow simultaneous assessment of a perpetrator impact on the most common drug metabolizing enzyme, cytochrome P450 (CYP)3A, and the major transporters organic anion‐transporting polypeptides (OATP)1B, breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and MDR1 P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp). The clinical utility of these microdose cocktail probe substrates was qualified by conducting clinical drug interaction studies with three inhibitors with different in vitro inhibitory profiles (rifampin, itraconazole, and clarithromycin). Generally, the pharmacokinetic profiles of the probe substrates, in the absence and presence of the inhibitors, were comparable to their reported corresponding pharmacological doses, and/or in agreement with theoretical expectations. The exception was dabigatran, which resulted in an approximately twofold higher magnitude for microdose compared to conventional dosing, and, thus, can be used to flag a worst‐case scenario for P‐gp. Broader application of the microdose cocktail will facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the roles of drug transporters in drug disposition and drug interactions.