Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time-varying narrowband channel estimation: Exploiting low-rank and sparsity via bilinear representation

In this paper, the estimation of a narrowband time-varying channel under the practical assumptions of finite block length and finite transmission bandwidth is investigated. It is shown that the signal, after passing through a time-varying narrowband channel reveals a particular parametric low-rank structure that can be represented as a bilinear form. To estimate the channel, we propose two structured methods. The first method exploits the low-rank bilinear structure of the channel via a non-convex strategy based on alternating direction optimization between delay and Doppler directions. Due to the non-convex nature of this approach, it is sensitive to local minima. Motivated by this issue, a novel convex approach based on the minimization of the atomic norm using measurements of signal at time domain is proposed. Numerical results show that the performance of proposed algorithm is independent of the leakage effect and the new methods can achieve moe than 5 dB improvement in average compared to ℓ1-based sparse approximation method.
Salivary Cystatin SN Binds to Phytic Acid In Vitro and Is a Predictor of Nonheme Iron Bioavailability with Phytic Acid Supplementation in a Proof of Concept Pilot Study

ABSTRACT Background Acute phytic acid intake has been found to decrease iron bioavailability; however, repeated phytic acid consumption leads to iron absorption adaptation. Salivary proline-rich proteins (PRPs) have been shown to inhibit iron chelation to tannins and may mediate similar iron absorption adaptation with phytic acid intake. Objectives The objectives of this study were to determine whether salivary proteins bind to phytic acid in vitro, and to explore a proof of concept in a pilot study that examined the impact of 4-wk, daily phytic acid supplementation on individuals’ iron status, bioavailability, and salivary PRP concentrations. Methods High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time of flight were used to characterize in vitro salivary protein–phytic acid interactions. Nonanemic women (n = 7) consumed 350 mg phytic acid supplements 3 times daily for 4 wk, and meal challenges were employed to determine iron bioavailability, iron status, and salivary protein concentrations before and after supplementation periods. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis of purified protein fractions and participant saliva identified proteins bound to phytic acid. Results In vitro salivary protein–phytic acid interaction identified cystatin SN, a non–proline rich salivary protein, as the specific bound protein to phytic acid. Iron bioavailability (P = 0.32), hemoglobin (P = 0.72), and serum ferritin (P = 0.08) concentrations were not reduced from week 0 to week 4 after phytic acid supplementation. Basic PRPs and cystatin SN concentrations were positively correlated with iron bioavailability at week 4. Conclusions Overall, results suggest that phytic acid binds to the non-PRP cystatin SN and that salivary protein production may improve iron bioavailability with phytic acid consumption.
Problems Using Boundary-Scan for Memory Cluster Tests

Boundary-scan testing is used to overcome many of the testability issues facing today's higher density designs. In the past, boundary-scan has been used successfully to perform interconnect testing between boundary-scan supporting devices. There has been an increased use of testing clusters of non-boundary-scan devices that are surrounded by boundary-scan access at the edge of the circuit both in manufacturing and system test. Boundary-scan is also being used to perform cluster testing of memory devices that do not support boundary-scan directly. These specialized boundary-scan tests are written to emulate a functional test pattern flow which requires a relatively precise control of the timing constraints in a synchronous clock window for synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). New interface architectures are also stressing the timing constraints available from a boundary-scan based test. This paper discusses the issues impeding boundary-scan based memory testing and suggests some alternative methods for testing these memory devices when boundary-scan testing is unattainable.
Thyroid hormone regulates adhesion, migration and matrix metalloproteinase 9 activity via αvβ3 integrin in myeloma cells

Thyroid hormone (3,5,3′-triiodothyronine, T3; L-thyroxine, T4) enhances cancer cell proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis via a discrete receptor located near the RGD recognition site on αvβ3 integrin. Tetraiodothyroacetic acid (tetrac) and its nanoparticulate formulation interfere with binding of T3/T4 to the integrin. This integrin is overexpressed in multiple myeloma (MM) and other cancers. MM cells interact with αvβ3 integrin to support growth and invasion. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of enzymes active in tissue remodeling and cancer. The association between integrins and MMPs secretion and action is well established. In the current study, we examined the effects of thyroid hormone on myeloma cell adhesion, migration and MMP activity. We show that T3 and T4 increased myeloma adhesion to fibronectin and induced αvβ3 clustering. In addition, the hormones induced MMP-9 expression and activation via αvβ3 and MAPK induction. Bortezomib, a standard myeloma treatment, caused a decrease in activity/quantity of MMPs and thyroid hormone opposed this effect. RGD peptide and tetrac impaired the production of MMP-9 in cell lines and in primary BM cells from myeloma patients. In conclusion, thyroid hormone-dependent regulation via αvβ3 of myeloma cell adhesion and MMP-9 production may play a role in myeloma migration and progression.
A Semantic Web Approach to Represent and Retrieve Information in a Corporate Memory

Imaging apparatus are used in a toroid cavity detector for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis to hold samples relative to a principal detector element which is a flat metal conductor, the plane of which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the toroid cavity. A sample is held adjacent to or in contact with the principal detector element so that the sample can be subjected to NMR analysis when a static main homogeneous magnetic field (B0) produced by a NMR magnetic device is applied to the toroid cavity and an RF excitation signal pulse is supplied from a potentiostat to the principal detector element so that an alternately energized and de-energized magnetic field (B1) is produced in the sample and through the toroid cavity. The sample may be components of a coin cell battery which are mounted within the toroid cavity relative to the principal detector element by an non-conductive coin cell battery imager or a press assembly so that the components are hermetically sealed together and so that a direct current potential can be applied to the components. Alternately, a sample is positioned within an O-ring maintained relative to the principal detector element by a pair of glass plates that are disposed on opposite sides of the principal detector element and are compressed toward each other so that NMR analysis can be used to analyze light transmitted through the sample or to analyze a sample separated from the principal detector element by semi-permeable membranes.
Optimal coordination of directional overcurrent relays: A genetic algorithm approach

In this paper, the optimization of coordination of directional overcurrent relays in an interconnected power system is presented. The objective of protective relay coordination is to achieve selectivity without sacrificing sensitivity and quick fault clearance time. The calculation of the time dial setting (TDS) and the pickup current (Ip) setting of the relays is the core of the coordination study. The inequality constraints guarantee the coordination margin for each primary/backup relay pair having a fault very close to the primary relay. Using this formulation, the size of the optimization problem is significantly reduced. Genetic algorithm is the algorithm being applied to minimize the operating times of the relays. In this paper both linear and non linear equations are framed for the test bus system used and optimized using the genetic algorithm.
Diet choice of a predator in the wild: overabundance of prey and missed opportunities along the prey capture sequence

Optimal diet theory (ODT) postulates that predators adjust their foraging decisions by calculating a prey value from the potential biomass gain, handling time, prey vulnerability and encounter rate. Tests of ODT have however so far mainly been restricted to laboratory settings. By video surveillance, we gathered a large data set of more than 2000 field observations of crab spider (Misumena vatia) encounters with potential prey. We then tested whether the complex ODT or two simpler models (prey identity and prey traits) best explain foraging decisions. Insect prey were killed with an average chance of 3.5% when alighting on an inflorescence harboring a spider. Spiders refused to attack suitable prey in 46–79% of encounters when prey was in attack range, indicating an over-abundance of prey relative to the needs of the spiders. Reduction of opportunities to capture prey along the prey capture sequence differed among pollinator groups, with syrphids and solitary bees showing strong avoidance of spiders early in the sequence and bumblebees resisting the final strike. Simple prey traits explained foraging decisions better than ODT, which was not supported. In the absence of food limitation, optimality decisions may be less stringent. The over-abundance of prey indicates that, in contrast to current theory, prey encounter rates are not the most important factor driving predator foraging decisions. Our results are highly coherent with those obtained in earlier field studies on patch leaving strategies and predator-prey encounters. Prey over-abundance and non-optimal predator behavior are apparently not uncommon in nature, and we highlight some of the implications for predator-prey theory.
Manus Track Preservation Bias as a Key Factor for Assessing Trackmaker Identity and Quadrupedalism in Basal Ornithopods

Background The Las Cerradicas site (Tithonian–Berriasian), Teruel, Spain, preserves at least seventeen dinosaur trackways, some of them formerly attributed to quadrupedal ornithopods, sauropods and theropods. The exposure of new track evidence allows a more detailed interpretation of the controversial tridactyl trackways as well as the modes of locomotion and taxonomic affinities of the trackmakers. Methodology/Principal Findings Detailed stratigraphic analysis reveals four different levels where footprints have been preserved in different modes. Within the tridactyl trackways, manus tracks are mainly present in a specific horizon relative to surface tracks. The presence of manus tracks is interpreted as evidence of an ornithopod trackmaker. Cross-sections produced from photogrammetric digital models show different depths of the pes and manus, suggesting covariance in loading between the forelimbs and the hindlimbs. Conclusions/Significance Several features (digital pads, length/width ratio, claw marks) of some ornithopod pes tracks from Las Cerradicas are reminiscent of theropod pedal morphology. This morphological convergence, combined with the shallow nature of the manus tracks, which reduces preservation potential, opens a new window into the interpretation of these tridactyl tracks. Thus, trackmaker assignations during the Jurassic–Cretaceous interval of purported theropod trackways may potentially represent ornithopods. Moreover, the Las Cerradicas trackways are further evidence for quadrupedalism among some basal small- to medium-sized ornithopods from this time interval.
Performance of secret key generation in non stationary channels

Secret key generation from the randomness provided by random channels is currently considered as one way to improve security in wireless communications at the physical layer level. However, the relation between the performance of SKG schemes and the characteristics of the radio channel has been moderately investigated. In this work, we evaluate the security performance through a simple channel model based on scatterers distributed around the terminals, which enables going beyond the common assumption of spatial stationarity between the legitimate terminal and the eavesdropper. This performance is assessed both from information theory metrics and from a practical key extraction algorithm.
Building Local Features from Pattern-Based Approximations of Patches: Discussion on Moments and Hough Transform

The paper overviews the concept of using circular patches as local features for image description, matching, and retrieval. The contents of scanning circular windows are approximated by predefined patterns. Characteristics of the approximations are used as feature descriptors. The main advantage of the approach is that the features are categorized at the detection level, and the subsequent matching or retrieval operations are, thus, tailored to the image contents and more efficient. Even though the method is not claimed to be scale invariant, it can handle (as explained in the paper) image rescaling within relatively wide ranges of scales. The paper summarizes and compares various aspects of results presented in previous publications. In particular, three issues are discussed in detail: visual accuracy, feature localization, and robustness against "visual intrusions. " The compared methods are based on relatively simple tools, that is, area moments and modified Hough transform, so that the computational complexity is rather low.
Time Domain Spherical Harmonic Analysis for Adaptive Noise Cancellation over a Spatial Region

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is a well researched topic for minimizing unwanted acoustic noise, and spatial ANC is a recently introduced concept that focuses on continuous spatial regions. Adaptive filter designing for spatial ANC is often based on frequency-domain spherical harmonic decomposition method, which has a major limitation due to the increased system latency. In this paper, we develop a time-domain spherical harmonic based signal decomposition method and use it to develop two time-space domain feed-forward adaptive filters for spatial ANC. Through simulations we show that the proposed methods can achieve higher noise reduction performance over the control region with microphones located on the surface of the region compared to the conventional time-domain adaptive filter.
Mode Pursuing Sampling Method for Discrete Variable Optimization on Expensive Black-Box Functions

Based on previously developed Mode Pursuing Sampling (MPS) approach for continuous variables, a variation of MPS for discrete variable global optimization problems on expensive black-box functions is developed in this paper. The proposed method, namely, the discrete variable MPS (D-MPS) method, differs from its continuous variable version not only on sampling in a discrete space, but moreover, on a novel double-sphere strategy. The double-sphere strategy features two hyperspheres whose radii are dynamically enlarged or shrunk in control of, respectively, the degree of “exploration” and “exploitation” in the search of the optimum. Through testing and application to design problems, the proposed D-MPS method demonstrates excellent efficiency and accuracy as compared to the best results in literature on the test problems. The proposed method is believed a promising global optimization strategy for expensive black-box functions with discrete variables. The double-sphere strategy provides an original search control mechanism and has potential to be used in other search algorithms. DOI: 10.1115/1.2803251
Comparison of amplitude‐mode ultrasound versus air displacement plethysmography for assessing body composition changes following participation in a structured weight‐loss programme in women

The purpose of this study was to compare body composition changes as measured by A‐mode ultrasound (US) versus a criterion densitometry‐based measure, air displacement plethysmography (ADP), over a 4‐week weight‐loss protocol in healthy, non‐obese young women. Twenty healthy, young female volunteers were provided with customized dietary plans for the length of the study intended to facilitate a 500 calorie‐a‐day deficit. Subjects also performed 3 h a week of supervised aerobic exercise. Per cent fat mass and lean body mass were obtained via ADP and US both pre‐ and postintervention. Pretesting, post‐testing and delta data for %fat resulted in no significant differences in mean values along with a slope of the regression line no different than one and a y‐intercept no different than zero (P<0·05). Similar to %fat values, pretesting, post‐testing and delta data for fat‐free mass resulted in no significant differences in mean values along with a slope of the regression line no different than one and a y‐intercept no different than zero (P<0·05) with the exception of the delta for slope (0·39, P = 0·04). The current findings indicate that US can provide a similar degree of accuracy for tracking group‐based fat loss in women compared to ADP. Given the low‐cost relative to DXA and ADP, researchers and practitioners therefore can consider US as a viable option for monitoring group‐based changes in body fat over time.
The Design of PRESTO: A Framework For Architecture Level Power Estimation (2003年並列/分散/協調処理に関する『松江』サマー・ワークショップ(SWoPP松江2003)研究会・連続同時開催)

This paper presents PRESTO, a framework for architecture level power estimation. To enable flexible adaptation to various hardware designs, PRESTO separates power model of a hardware structure into three different layers: technology layer, circuit layer and dynamic behavior layer. Furthermore, to increase software reusability, circuit models are built using a hierarchical approach. This paper explains the design of PRESTO and presents validation results of analytical power models for logic gates and SRAM structure. A case study in which PRESTO is used to evaluate an architecture level power reduction technique for caches is also described.
Self-explaining in the Classroom: Learning Curve Evidence

Research conducted in the laboratory and classroom has repeatedly found that self-explaining is a useful, self-directed learning strategy. Although the self-explanation effect has been replicated several times, the sources for its effectiveness are still under investigation. The present study attempts to address the question: Why does self-explaining work? Two alternative proposals are contrasted. The content account proposes that self-explaining is effective because of the additional information to which the learner is exposed. Alternatively, the generation account suggests that it is the activity of producing an explanation that is effective. The evidence, taken from learning curves collected in the classroom, predominantly supports the generation account of self-explanation, which highlights the benefit of actively processing the learning material, instead of simply attending to it.
An Evaluation Protocol for Picture Archiving and Communication System: a Systematic Review

Introduction: Picture archiving and communication system (PACS) serves to store, transmit, communicate and manage medical images. A logical evaluation protocol assists to determine whether the system is technically, structurally and operationally fit. The purpose of this systematic review was to propose a logical evaluation protocol for PACS, particularly useful for new hospitals and other healthcare institutions in developing countries. Methods and Materials: We systematically reviewed 25 out of 267 full-length articles, published between 2000 and 2017, retrieved from four sources: Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar. The extracted data were tabulated and reviewed successively by three independent panels of experts that oversaw the design of this study and the process by which the PACS evaluation protocol was systematically developed. Results: The outcome data were ranked by expert panels and analyzed statistically, with the reliability established at 0.82 based on the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The essential components and the best options to establish an optimal PACS were organized under nine main sections: system configuration; system network; data storage; data compression; image input; image characteristics; image presentation; communication link; and system security, with a total of 20 components, each of which capable of working optimally with one or more program options. Conclusions: This systematic review presents an objective protocol that is an ideal tool for the evaluation of new or existing PACS at healthcare institutions, particularly in developing countries. Despite the significant advantages, the protocol may face minor limitations, largely due to lack of appropriate technical resources in various clinical settings and the host countries.
Smoothing NDCG metrics using tied scores

One of promising directions in research on learning to rank concerns the problem of appropriate choice of the objective function to maximize by means of machine learning algorithms. We describe a novel technique of smoothing an arbitrary ranking metric and demonstrate how to utilize it to maximize the retrieval quality in terms of the $NDCG$ metric. The idea behind our listwise ranking model called TieRank is artificial probabilistic tying of predicted relevance scores at each iteration of learning process, which defines a distribution on the set of all permutations of retrieved documents. Such distribution provides a desired smoothed version of the target retrieval quality metric. This smooth function is possible to maximize using a gradient descent method. Experiments on LETOR collections show that TieRank outperforms most of the existing learning to rank algorithms.
O2O service composition with social collaboration

In Online-to-Offline (O2O) commerce, customer services may need to be composed from online and offline services. Such composition is challenging, as it requires effective selection of appropriate services that, in turn, support optimal combination of both online and offline services. In this paper, we address this challenge by proposing an approach to O2O service composition which combines offline route planning and social collaboration to optimize service selection. We frame general O2O service composition problems using timed automata and propose an optimization procedure that incorporates: (1) a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm to stochastically select a concrete composite service, and (2) a model checking approach to searching for an optimal collaboration plan with the lowest cost given certain time constraint. Our procedure has been evaluated using the simulation of a rich scenario on effectiveness and scalability.
Principles of Sustainable Development in Highway Engineering

The objective of the proposed paper is to gain new knowledge and to verify the existing general knowledge from the area of sustainable development in the bridge and road engineering. The attention is mainly focused on mapping the localities of selected constructions before their commencement or the use of the existing information about these localities, monitoring the selected constructions during their construction and for the relevant period after they are completed. The paper will also describe creation and verification of a model of social acceptability of the construction and performance of economic assessment of the use of natural resources, potential demolition and land reclamation. The connected analyses will concern with the modification of technological procedures of construction to ensure the minimum impact on the surrounding environment.