Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Androgens coordinate neurotransmitter‐related gene expression in male whiptail lizards

Sex steroid hormones coordinate neurotransmitter systems in the male brain to facilitate sexual behavior. Although neurotransmitter release in the male brain has been well documented, little is known about how androgens orchestrate changes in gene expression of neurotransmitter receptors. We used male whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus inornatus) to investigate how androgens alter neurotransmitter‐related gene expression in brain regions involved in social decision making. We focused on three neurotransmitter systems involved in male‐typical sexual behavior, including the N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor, nitric oxide and dopamine receptors. Here, we show that in androgen‐treated males, there are coordinated changes in neurotransmitter‐related gene expression. In androgen‐implanted castrates compared with blank‐implanted castrates (control group), we found associated increases in neuronal nitric oxide synthase gene expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), preoptic area and ventromedial hypothalamus, a decrease of NR1 gene expression (obligate subunit of NMDA receptors) in the medial amygdaloid area and NAcc and a decrease in D1 and D2 dopamine receptor gene expression in the NAcc. Our results support and expand the current model of androgen‐mediated gene expression changes of neurotransmitter‐related systems that facilitate sexual behavior in males. This also suggests that the proposed evolutionarily ancient reward system that reinforces sexual behavior in amniote vertebrates extends to reptiles.
Unsupervised Clustering Method for the Capacited Vehicle Routing Problem

In this paper an unsupervised clustering method for the Capacited Vehicle Routing Problem is proposed. Advantages and disadvantages of the proposed algorithm are weighed, and comparisons are made to some clustering algorithms commonly used in the literature to tackle routing problems. Experimental tests were performed using Solomon and Hering/Homberger benchmarks applied to different distributions. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated as effective for the attempted problem, with the ability to improve upon weaknesses in some of the clustering algorithms in the literature.
Monolithic transformers for silicon RF IC design

A comprehensive review of the electrical performance of passive transformers fabricated in silicon IC technology is presented. Two types of transformer construction are considered in detail, and the characteristics of two-port (1:1 and 1:n turns ratio) and multiport transformers (i.e., baluns) are presented from both computer simulation and experimental measurements. The effects of parasitics and imperfect coupling between transformer windings are outlined from the circuit point of view. Resonant tuning is shown to reduce the losses between input and output at the expense of operating bandwidth. A procedure for estimating the size of a monolithic transformer to meet a given specification is outlined, and circuit examples are used to illustrate the applications of the monolithic transformer in RF ICs.
On the interpretation of the redshift in a static gravitational field

The classical phenomenon of the redshift of light in a static gravitational potential, usually called the gravitational redshift, is described in the literature essentially in two ways: On the one hand, the phenomenon is explained through the behavior of clocks which run faster the higher they are located in the potential, whereas the energy and frequency of the propagating photon do not change with height. The light thus appears to be redshifted relative to the frequency of the clock. On the other hand, the phenomenon is alternatively discussed ~even in some authoritative texts ! in terms of an energy loss of a photon as it overcomes the gravitational attraction of the massive body. This second approach operates with notions such as the ‘‘gravitational mass’’ or the ‘‘potential energy’’ of a photon and we assert that it is misleading. We do not claim to present any original ideas or to give a comprehensive review of the subject, our goal being essentially a pedagogical one. © 2000
Association of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter A1 (ABCA1)-565 C/T Gene Polymorphism with Hypoalphalipoproteinemia and Serum Lipids, IL-6 and CRP Levels

Background: ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) is a membrane integral protein which plays a vital role in High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism and exerts a protective effect against Hypoalphalipoproteinemia (HA) by mediation of rate-limiting step in HDL biogenesis. In addition, this protein possesses anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the production of some inflammatory cytokines in macrophages. This study investigated the association of ABCA1-565 C/T gene polymorphism with HA and serum lipids, IL-6 and CRP levels. Methods: A population which consisted of 101 HA and 95 normal subjects were genotyped for ABCA1-565C/T polymorphism by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The serum concentrations of lipids, IL-6 and high sensitive-CRP (hs-CRP) were measured by the relevant methods. Results: The frequency of T allele was significantly higher in the HA group than the controls (31.7 vs. 19.5%, p=0.002). Thus, carriers of the T allele (CT and TT genotypes) had a higher risk for HA (p=0.016, OR=2.04, 95% CI=1.14–3.63). T allele carriers demonstrated decreased HDL-C and increased triglyceride, IL-6 and CRP levels than those with the CC genotype. Conclusion: This study suggests that the-565 C/T polymorphism of ABCA1 gene is associated with an increased risk of HA, decreased HDL-C and increased TG, IL-6 and CRP.
Sacred time: Ensuring the provision of excellent supervision

ABSTRACT In this study, the authors explore the beliefs and attitudes regarding what constitutes “excellent supervision” from the perspectives of frontline workers and supervisors employed by one voluntary services organization in Northern Ireland. Several themes emerged from focus group narratives, regardless of participants’ agency position, and a concept map provides an understanding of the relationships of the identified themes. This study reflects the important role of organizational context and culture in relation to staff’s ability to provide excellent supervision, as well as in sustaining organizational change efforts regardless of organizational setting. The potential of peer and/or group supervision to address improving staff support with limited resources is also suggested.
Performance Analysis of Ad Hoc Dispersed Spectrum Cognitive Radio Networks over Fading Channels

Cognitive radio systems can utilize dispersed spectrum, and thus such approach is known as dispersed spectrum cognitive radio systems. In this paper, we first provide the performance analysis of such systems over fading channels. We derive the average symbol error probability of dispersed spectrum cognitive radio systems for two cases, where the channel for each frequency diversity band experiences independent and dependent Nakagami- fading. In addition, the derivation is extended to include the effects of modulation type and order by considering M-ary phase-shift keying (-PSK) and M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation -QAM) schemes. We then consider the deployment of such cognitive radio systems in an ad hoc fashion. We consider an ad hoc dispersed spectrum cognitive radio network, where the nodes are assumed to be distributed in three dimension (3D). We derive the effective transport capacity considering a cubic grid distribution. Numerical results are presented to verify the theoretical analysis and show the performance of such networks.
Data gathering in vehicular networks: The VESPA experience

The interest of intelligent transportation systems and vehicular networks is on the rise. In this paper, we present an overview of the development of VESPA, a system that we are developing for vehicles to share information (e.g., information about available parking spaces, accidents or obstacles in the road, emergency brakings, emergency vehicles asking the right of way, etc.) in inter-vehicle ad hoc networks. We summarize the research challenges that we have considered so far and the difficulties that still lie ahead. This includes the basic push-based approach used in VESPA, the resource allocation policy proposed to avoid competition in the access to scarce resources (such as parking spaces), and the development of data aggregation techniques for knowledge extraction. Besides, we also analyze our current and future work, which focuses on the exploitation of different data sources and pull-based query processing, the management of multimedia information, and the routing of query results.
Dynamic base station repositioning to improve spectral efficiency of drone small cells

With recent advancements in drone technology, researchers are now considering the possibility of deploying small cells served by base stations mounted on flying drones. A major advantage of such drone small cells is that the operators can quickly provide cellular services in areas of urgent demand without having to pre-install any infrastructure. Since the base station is attached to the drone, technically it is feasible for the base station to dynamic reposition itself in response to the changing locations of users for reducing the communication distance, decreasing the probability of signal blocking, and ultimately increasing the spectral efficiency. In this paper, we first propose distributed algorithms for autonomous control of drone movements, and then model and analyse the spectral efficiency performance of a drone small cell to shed new light on the fundamental benefits of dynamic repositioning. We show that, with dynamic repositioning, the spectral efficiency of drone small cells can be increased by nearly 100% for realistic drone speed, height, and user traffic model and without incurring any major increase in drone energy consumption.
A Multiband Study of the Optically Dark GRB 051028

Observations were made of the optical afterglow of GRB 051028 with the Lulin observatory's 1.0 m telescope and the WIDGET robotic telescope system. R band photometric data points were obtained on 2005 October 28 (UT), or 0.095-0.180 days after the burst. There is a possible plateau in the optical light curve around 0.1 days after the burst; the light curve resembles optically bright afterglows (e.g. GRB 041006, GRB 050319, GRB060605) in shape of the light curve but not in brightness. The brightness of the GRB 051028 afterglow is 3 magnitudes fainter than that of one of the dark events, GRB 020124. Optically dark GRBs have been attributed to dust extinction within the host galaxy or high redshift. However, the spectrum analysis of the X-rays implies that there is no significant absorption by the host galaxy. Furthermore, according to the model theoretical calculation of the Ly$\alpha$ absorption to find the limit of GRB 051028's redshift, the expected $R$ band absorption is not high enough to explain the darkness of the afterglow. While the present results disfavor either the high-redshift hypothesis or the high extinction scenario for optically dark bursts, they are consistent with the possibility that the brightness of the optical afterglow, intrinsically dark.
Fine-grained Semantic Typing of Emerging Entities

Methods for information extraction (IE) and knowledge base (KB) construction have been intensively studied. However, a largely under-explored case is tapping into highly dynamic sources like news streams and social media, where new entities are continuously emerging. In this paper, we present a method for discovering and semantically typing newly emerging out-ofKB entities, thus improving the freshness and recall of ontology-based IE and improving the precision and semantic rigor of open IE. Our method is based on a probabilistic model that feeds weights into integer linear programs that leverage type signatures of relational phrases and type correlation or disjointness constraints. Our experimental evaluation, based on crowdsourced user studies, show our method performing significantly better than prior work.
A and target rms ' performance : are cross-border M & A di erent ? Some Evidence from French rm-level data

This paper investigates the repercussion of M&A on the performance of target rms over the period 1993-2001. Based on French manufacturing rm-level data, we wonder how their pro t and their productive e ciency, measured by the total factor productivity (TFP), vary. We distinguish domestic M&A from cross-border operations. The growth of cross-border M&A was one of the most striking feature of the last M&A wave. We implement appropriate di erence-in-di erence estimation techniques associated to a matching propensity score procedure. We nd that M&A do not increase the pro tability of French companies, but raise their TFP. It suggests that rms probably redistribute e ciency gains at the upstream and/or downstream level. Interestingly, the consequences of domestic M&A partly di er from those of cross-border M&A. E ciency gains are stronger for cross-border M&A. In addition, it appears that only domestic M&A could improve the pro tability of target rms, likely because of a more important increase in market power. The implications in term of public policy are discussed.
Small bowel imaging - still a radiologic approach?

BACKGROUND In recent years, there has been renewed interest in small bowel imaging using a variety of radiologic or endoscopic techniques. This article gives an overview and comparison of old and new techniques used in small bowel imaging. New imaging methods as computed tomography (CT), CT enteroclysis (CTEc), CT enterography (CTEg), ultrasound (US), contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), US enteroclysis, US enterography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MR enteroclysis (MREc) and MR enterography (MREg) are compared with the older techniques such as small- bowel follow- through (SBFT), conventional enteroclysis (CE) and endoscopic techniques including push enteroscopy, ezofagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), sonde enteroscopy, ileocolonoscopy, double-balloon enteroscopy, intraoperative enteroscopy and wireless capsule enteroscopy (WCE). METHODS Systematic scan of Pubmed, Medline, Ovid, Elsevier search engines was used. Additional information was found through the bibliographical review of relevant articles. RESULTS SBFT has only secondary role in small bowel imaging. US is still the method of choice in imaging for pediatric populations. US and CEUS are also accepted as a method of choice especially in inflammatory cases. CE has been replaced by new cross - sectional imaging techniques (CTEc/CTEg or MREc/MREg). CTEc combines the advantages of CT and CE. MREc combines the advantages of MRI and CE. Some authors prefer CTEg or MREg with peroral bowel preparation and they strictly avoid nasojejunal intubation under fluoroscopic control. MREc has better soft tissue contrast, showing it to be more sensitive in detecting mucosal lesions than CTEc in inflammatory diseases. CTEg/MREg are techniques preferred for patients in follow-up of the inflammatory diseases. The radiologic community is not unanimous however about their role in the imaging process. CTEc/MREc as well as CTEg/MREg are superior to endoscopic methods in the investigation of small-bowel tumors. WCE gives unparalleled imaging of the mucosal surface of the small bowel especially in the event of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and inflammatory diseases. CONCLUSIONS In a comparison of endoscopic and radiologic approaches, radiologic techniques are less invasive for patients, they take less time to investigate and allow imaging the entire small bowel. Some do not involve radiation exposure (US, MR). Endoscopic methods are more expensive, more invasive, need longer examination time and technical special skills but without radiation exposure. The greatest advantage of some endoscopic methods is the possibility of mucosal biopsy in one step with diagnostic examination (EGD, push enteroscopy, intraoperative enteroscopy, ileocolonoscopy).
Grammar-based Natural Language Understanding

This chapter describes the grammar-based natural language understanding (NLU) component of the OVIS system. The NLU component receives its input from the speech recognizer and passes the result of linguistic analysis on to the pragmatic interpretation component. The output of the speech recognizer is a word graph, which represents all different hypotheses for the spoken input from the user. Linguistic analysis of such a structure is more complicated than analysis for a single input sentence (cf. linguistic analysis for written input), as we will show later. The interface between the NLU component and the Dialogue Manager is defined by a special interface language, called the Update Language, described elsewhere. In the design of the NLU component, the following problems must be addressed. Firstly, a NLU component will be faced with ambiguity. The combination of lexical and structural ambiguities often leads to an enormous amount of possible readings for an input utterance. In ovis this problem is even more acute because of the use of word graphs. Techniques must be available to be able to deal with large numbers of analyses, and to be able to choose the most appropriate reading from such a set of candidate analyses. While the system must somehow deal with large numbers of analyses, many of which may eventually turn out to be useless, another requirement is that the system should be robust, i.e. it should do something useful even if something happens that the system didn’t expect, or if something goes wrong. For example, the input utterance may contain disfluencies or ungrammaticalities. Or the speech recognition component may have failed to recognize part of the user utterance. In such cases, a linguistic analysis component might proceed by computing a partial analysis of the input. NLU needs to be robust for three reasons. Firstly, it is quite difficult to anticipate in the grammar all linguistic constructions that might occur. This is one of the traditional problems for grammar-based NLU. Secondly, spoken language is full of hesitations, corrections, false starts etc. which are not always easy to detect. The third reason is that the utterance that was actually spoken is not guaranteed to be a path in the word graph, due to limitations of state-ofthe-art speech recognition, as well as external factors such as background noise, etc.
The Assessment of Patient Morale by the Use of an Attitude Scale

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact ecommons@luc.edu. he worked as a psychology department assistant, psychology intern and psychologist, respectively, at Farview State Hospital, Way-mart, Pennsylvania. Farview State Hospital is a maximum security hospital for mentally ill criminals. In October, 1962, he became a trainee in the Veterans Administration Psychology Training Pro-Clinical Training, for his interest and constructive criticism of the present study. Appreciation is also expressed for the encouragement and interest shown by Dr. Kobler while the writer ~as one of his advisees. Acknowledgment is also made to Fred E.
Evaluation of sparsifying algorithms for speech signals

Sparse representations of signals have been used in many areas of signal and image processing. It has also played an important role in compressive sensing algorithms since it performs well in sparse signals. A sparse representation is one in which small number of coefficients contain large proportion of the energy. Sparsity is important also in speech compression and coding, where the signal can be compressed in pre-processing stages. It leads to efficient and robust methods for compression, detection denoising and signal separation. The objective of this paper is to evaluate several transforms which is used to sparsify the speech signals. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) will be compared and evaluated based on Gini Index. Sparsity properties and measures will be reviewed in this paper. Finally, sparse applications in speech compression and compressive sensing will be discussed.
Accurate simulation of non-isotropic fading channels with arbitrary temporal correlation

The accurate simulation of wireless channels is important since it permits the realistic and repeatable performance measurement of wireless systems. A new technique is proposed for simulating Rayleigh fading channels with isotropic or non-isotropic scattering and with arbitrary temporal correlation. Fading samples are generated by passing Gaussian samples through a spectrum shaping filter. A new iterative algorithm is then presented for designing stable complex infinite impulse response (IIR) filters with quantised coefficients. The algorithm utilises a least-squares cost function augmented with a barrier function to ensure filter stability and to reduce quantisation noise. The performance of the proposed filter design algorithm is verified with 18-bit fixed-point simulations of different fading channel scenarios including isotropic and non-isotropic scattering and the IEEE 802.11 n model F fading spectrum.
Fair and optimal resource allocation for LTE multicast (eMBMS): Group partitioning and dynamics

With recent standardization and deployment of LTE eMBMS, cellular multicast is gaining traction as a method of efficiently using wireless spectrum to deliver large amounts of multimedia data to multiple cell sites. Cellular operators still seek methods of performing optimal resource allocation in eMBMS based on a complete understanding of the complex interactions among a number of mechanisms: the multicast coding scheme, the resources allocated to unicast users and their scheduling at the base stations, the resources allocated to a multicast group to satisfy the user experience of its members, and the number of groups and their membership, all of which we consider in this work. We determine the optimal allocation of wireless resources for users to maximize proportional fair utility. To handle the heterogeneity of user channel conditions, we efficiently and optimally partition multicast users into groups so that users with good signal strength do not suffer by being grouped together with users of poor signal strength. Numerical simulations are performed to compare our scheme to practical heuristics and state-of-the-art schemes. We demonstrate the tradeoff between improving unicast user rates and improving spectrum efficiency through multicast. Finally, we analyze the interaction between the globally fair solution and individual user's desire to maximize its rate. We show that even if the user deviates from the global solution in a number of scenarios, we can bound the number of selfish users that will choose to deviate.
Heterogeneous Preferences and Asset Pricing

In this paper , we present an equilibrium model of asset pricing. The basic model considers a production economy of two classes of investors with habits formations: one class have "internal habit" which habit depends on an agent's own consumption and the agent takes account of this when choosing how much to consume; the other class have "external habit", which habit depends on aggregate consumption that is unaffected by any one agent's decisions. We use the model to examine the effect of preference heterogeneity on asset pricing. We find that in generally , internal habit increase the equity premium while external habit effect on equity premium dependent on the correlation between habits level and risk assets.