Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On channel assignment, distributed antennas and network load distribution in dense IEEE 802.11 infrastructure networks

During the last few years, there has been a tremendous increase in the deployment of IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. However, a possible drawback is the proliferation of dense WiFi deployments leading to mutual interference among WiFi nodes were users will experience low QoS levels. The contribution of this work is to present an architecture for dense WiFi networks that combines Rf channel assignment, distributed antennas and network load distribution to enhance QoS. Simulation results showed that channel assignment and distributed antenna are complementary. The former one increases the capacity of the network by adding additional spectrum and decreasing co-channel interference. The latter one helps to decrease the packet error rate especially of weak links, which also results in higher network capacity. In addition, by balancing the network load among several Access Points the capacity of the uplink of the wired broadband connection (e.g. DSL) can be more efficiently utilized. Simulations show that the proposed method increases the average throughput by up to 14% in infrastructure networks where the wireless capacity is the limiting factor. In scenarios where the backbone is the limiting factor, the average throughput can be increased by up to 56% by using distributed antennas and network load distribution.
REMOVAL OF IMPULSE NOISE IN IMAGES USING DECISION BASED IMAGE DENOISING

The main objective of this project is to design an efficient architecture for removal of random-valued impulse noise from captured image. A good image de-noising model property is that, it will remove noise while preserving edges. The decision-tree-based denoising method (DTBDM) is the proposed methodology for this project. It consists of decision tree based impulse detector, to detect the noisy pixel and employs an effective design and to locate the edge by an edge preserving filter to reconstruct the intensity values of noisy pixels. The proposed technique can obtain better performance in terms of both qualitative and visual quality than the previous low complexity denoising methods. Further, this project is enhanced using carry select adder in order to improve execution time. Here, serial adder is replaced with CSA to reduce computational time.
Measurement of Wave Near-Bed Velocity and Bottom Shear Stress by Ferrofluids

A novel direct measurement strategy of wave near-bed velocity and bottom shear stress based on the use of ferrofluids is presented. The proposed methodology is aimed at overcoming some of the limits of state-of-the-art instruments, for use in presence of both surface waves and sediments. An inductive readout strategy is proposed to sense displacements of the ferrofluid spike over the inductive circuit due to the flow. Experimental tests have been performed in a wave tank both in hydrostatic conditions and in the presence of regular linear waves corresponding to deep and intermediate water depth cases. Obtained results indicate the applicability of the proposed strategy also in the presence of suspended load (either moderate or intense) and of a moderate bed load transport.
Evaluation of Algebraic Reconstruction Technique algorithm for microwave imaging

Cancer is one of the leading cause of death worldwide, and an early detected cancer is likely to get better treatment. Widely used modalities for scanning the presence of cancer such as Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging still have problems related to the cost, size and equipment complexity. Microwave imaging is considered as an alternative modality due to its low health risk, low cost, ease of use, and portability. It exploits dielectric characteristics differences of various types of body tissue and uses tomography for image reconstruction. Tomography refers to collecting transmission or reflection data by illuminating an object from different directions to obtain its cross-sectional image. There are two major categories for image reconstruction methods, analytical reconstruction and iterative reconstruction. A widely used analytical reconstruction method, Filtered Back-Projection (FBP), has efficient computation and numerical stability. However, iterative reconstruction method such as Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (ART) efficiently improves the quality of reconstructed images, in particular when the projected data is noisy or in a limited amount. In this project, a microwave imaging system for scanning the presence of cancer in the body is designed. For obtaining the projected data, the system uses a pair of dipole antennas as a transmitter and a receiver at frequency of 3 GHz with translation of the receiver antenna, and rotation of the antenna pair (Tx-Rx) during the scanning process. Two types of numerical phantom are examined for validating the Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (ART) algorithm of the image reconstruction system. The first phantom is a 180 × 180 pixels of Shepp-Logan phantom generated from Matlab, and the second phantom is a two-layer cylindrical phantom. The cylindrical phantom has a diameter of 18 cm for the outer layer with relative permittivity is set by 4.3, representing normal tissue, and a diameter of 7.5 cm for the inner layer with the relative permittivity is set by 10.2, representing benign or malignant tissue. The simulation on quantitative parameters such as mean-squared error and structural similarity index of the reconstructed image show converging trends within 100 iterations. The value of the mean-squared error at 100th iteration is 45.16% for the Shepp-Logan phantom and 36.56% for the cylindrical phantom. The second quantitative parameter evaluated is the structural similarity index, which reaches 0.04 for the Shepp-Logan phantom and 0.008 for the cylindrical phantom.
Excess monetary liquidity and asset prices in China: An empirical investigation

This article examines the long run relationship between M2-to-GDP ratio, the indictor of excess liquidity, and asset prices for China through cointegration estimation procedure. It also implements the Vector Error Correction Models (VECM) to explore simultaneously the short- and long-run causation in the modeling process. Results from the cointegration tests reveal that excess liquidity, asset prices, and the growth rate of household deposit share long run equilibrium relationship, while the results from the VECM indicate the absence of short run causality between excess liquidity and asset prices, but in the long run asset price and the growth rate of household deposit have casual influence on excess liquidity. In addition, the study finds that there is unidirectional causality from the growth rate of household deposit to the stock price in the short run but not vice versa.
Maritime, air traffics and economic growth in Togo [Trafics maritime, aérien et croissance économique au Togo]

The objective of this study is to empirically evaluate the impacts of maritime traffic of goods and passenger air traffic on Togo's long-run economic growth. The empirical methodology used is based on the Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) approach proposed by Stock and Watson (1993), based on two log-quadratic models and based on cointegration techniques. The estimates use annual data for the periods 1960-2014 and 1970-2001, respectively. The empirical findings reveal two fundamental conclusions: the impact of maritime freight traffic is negative while that of air passenger traffic is positive on economic growth, all weak and significant in the long-run; furthermore the impact of maritime freight traffic is not suitable for a national level and the destination Togo is not very attractive. Such results raise the question of operational efficiency, the management of port and airport infrastructures as well as the level of Togo's exports, which are inextricably linked to economic policy.
Geometry-independent inclusion of basal myocardium yields improved cardiac magnetic resonance agreement with echocardiography and necropsy quantified left-ventricular mass

Objectives: Left-ventricular mass (LVM) is widely used to guide clinical decision-making. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) quantifies LVM by planimetry of contiguous short-axis images, an approach dependent on reader-selection of images to be contoured. Established methods have applied different binary cut-offs using circumferential extent of left-ventricular myocardium to define the basal left ventricle (LV), omitting images containing lesser fractions of left-ventricular myocardium. This study tested impact of basal slice variability on LVM quantification. Methods: CMR was performed in patients and laboratory animals. LVM was quantified with full inclusion of left-ventricular myocardium, and by established methods that use different cut-offs to define the left-ventricular basal-most slice: 50% circumferential myocardium at end diastole alone (ED50), 50% circumferential myocardium throughout both end diastole and end systole (EDS50). Results: One hundred and fifty patients and 10 lab animals were studied. Among patients, fully inclusive LVM (172.6 ± 42.3 g) was higher vs. ED50 (167.2 ± 41.8 g) and EDS50 (150.6 ± 41.1 g; both P < 0.001). Methodological differences yielded discrepancies regarding proportion of patients meeting established criteria for left-ventricular hypertrophy and chamber dilation (P < 0.05). Fully inclusive LVM yielded smaller differences with echocardiography (&Dgr; = 11.0 ± 28.8 g) than did ED50 (&Dgr; = 16.4 ± 29.1 g) and EDS50 (&Dgr; = 33.2 ± 28.7 g; both P < 0.001). Among lab animals, ex-vivo left-ventricular weight (69.8 ± 13.2 g) was similar to LVM calculated using fully inclusive (70.1 ± 13.5 g, P = 0.67) and ED50 (69.4 ± 13.9 g; P = 0.70) methods, whereas EDS50 differed significantly (67.9 ± 14.9 g; P = 0.04). Conclusion: Established CMR methods that discordantly define the basal-most LV produce significant differences in calculated LVM. Fully inclusive quantification, rather than binary cut-offs that omit basal left-ventricular myocardium, yields smallest CMR discrepancy with echocardiography-measured LVM and non-significant differences with necropsy-measured left-ventricular weight.
Using Deep learning methods for generation of a personalized list of shuffled songs

The shuffle mode, where songs are played in a randomized order that is decided upon for all tracks at once, is widely found and known to exist in music player systems. There are only few music enthusiasts who use this mode since it either is too random to suit their mood or it keeps on repeating the same list every time. In this paper, we propose to build a convolutional deep belief network(CDBN) that is trained to perform genre recognition based on audio features retrieved from the records of the Million Song Dataset. The learned parameters shall be used to initialize a multi-layer perceptron which takes extracted features of user's playlist as input alongside the metadata to classify to various categories. These categories will be shuffled retrospectively based on the metadata to autonomously provide with a list that is efficacious in playing songs that are desired by humans in normal conditions.
Measurement of levels of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) and RT activity-blocking antibody in human serum by a new standardized colorimetric assay

Standardization and calibration of a new colorimetric assay for detection of reverse transcriptase (RT) was carried out for optimal detection of RT activity-blocking antibody (RTb-Ab) in serum. A total of 99 of 100 Swedish and 54 of 54 African human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) antibody-positive individuals had RTb-Ab. The one RTb-Ab-negative HIV-1 serum sample from a Swedish individual was obtained early during seroconversion. Five of 615 HIV-1-negative sera from tumor patients, pregnant women, patients undergoing routine viral diagnostics, and blood donors gave false-positive results. In addition, 3 of 126 HIV-1-negative African serum samples and 2 of 91 serum samples selected because of false reactivity in other commercially available HIV antibody assays were positive for RTb-Ab. RT activity and RTb-Ab were measured in sera from newly HIV-1-infected individuals during seroconversion. Peak RT activity was usually detected between days 8 and 13 after the onset of symptoms of primary infection. In addition, HIV-1 RTb-Ab was detected in the same recently infected individuals in most cases within 1 month and in some cases as early as 10 to 12 days after the onset of symptoms. A cross-reactivity study involving HIV-1 and HIV-2 RTb-Abs and their homologous RT showed HIV-1 RTb-Ab to be highly type specific. None of 10 serum samples from HIV-1-infected individuals showed cross-reacting RTb-Ab toward HIV-2 RT, whereas 4 of 10 serum samples from HIV-2-infected patients showed cross-reactivity toward HIV-1 RT; however, the cross-reactivity toward HIV-1 RT was 3,000 times lower than that toward its homologous RT. Future uses for the assay with reference to the recent World Health Organization proposal for other methods instead of Western blotting (immunoblotting) for confirming HIV-1 infection and for methods for the diagnosis of infection as follow-up in vaccine trials are also discussed.
Balancing Conservation and Livelihoods: A Study of Forest-dependent Communities in the Philippines

Forest-dependent communities in the tropics typically rank lower in socioeconomic status than agricultural and urban communities, and improving livelihood choices while protecting forest resources can be a difficult task. Conflicts can arise where biodiversity conservation objectives restrict resource access to forest communities. In this study, we investigate how land cover, land use, and protected area management affects communities around a forest reserve in the Philippines. We conduct a socioeconomic analysis at two scales: a municipal-level analysis relating land use to socioeconomic status, and a community-level analysis contrasting villages that are close to and distant from a protected forest area. While forest-dependent communities generally had fewer amenities and infrastructure than agricultural and urban communities, community-level analysis showed that socioeconomic status was higher in areas close to protected areas. The study provides a counter-example to other findings by showing that access to resources improves socioeconomic status for local communities while maintaining environmental protections. We conclude that incorporating local livelihoods into forest conservation strategies, such as collection of non-timber forest product, results in a measure of sustainability, which in turn has a significant positive impact on the socioeconomic well-being of communities near the protected area.
Comparing Outcomes of Genetic Counseling Options in Breast and Ovarian Cancer: An Integrative Review .

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Genetic counseling is vital in helping people at high risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) make informed decisions to undergo BRCA testing. Many people, particularly those in rural locations, lack access to these services. This review examines evidence to determine if remotely delivered genetic counseling via telephone or telemedicine is an effective alternative to in-person counseling for people who are at high risk for HBOC. LITERATURE SEARCH A literature review was completed by searching PubMed, SCOPUS, and CINAHL® databases. DATA EVALUATION 151 articles were identified from the search, and 7 were included in the review. SYNTHESIS Patients' BRCA knowledge acquisition, cancer-specific distress, anxiety, depression, and satisfaction with mode of counseling delivery were equivalent between in-person and remotely delivered counseling groups. Genetic testing rates were significantly higher in participants receiving in-person counseling. Remotely delivered genetic counseling was more convenient and less expensive. Mixed outcomes existed regarding counselor-patient communication. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE The demand for genetic counseling will grow as advances in cancer genomics reveal genes that may contribute to cancer predisposition. Innovative delivery models are necessary to ensure that all people have access to care.
Lateral mobility of individual integrin nanoclusters orchestrates the onset for leukocyte adhesion

Integrins are cell membrane adhesion receptors involved in morphogenesis, immunity, tissue healing, and metastasis. A central, yet unresolved question regarding the function of integrins is how these receptors regulate both their conformation and dynamic nanoscale organization on the membrane to generate adhesion-competent microclusters upon ligand binding. Here we exploit the high spatial (nanometer) accuracy and temporal resolution of single-dye tracking to dissect the relationship between conformational state, lateral mobility, and microclustering of the integrin receptor lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) expressed on immune cells. We recently showed that in quiescent monocytes, LFA-1 preorganizes in nanoclusters proximal to nanoscale raft components. We now show that these nanoclusters are primarily mobile on the cell surface with a small (ca. 5%) subset of conformational-active LFA-1 nanoclusters preanchored to the cytoskeleton. Lateral mobility resulted crucial for the formation of microclusters upon ligand binding and for stable adhesion under shear flow. Activation of high-affinity LFA-1 by extracellular Ca2+ resulted in an eightfold increase on the percentage of immobile nanoclusters and cytoskeleton anchorage. Although having the ability to bind to their ligands, these active nanoclusters failed to support firm adhesion in static and low shear-flow conditions because mobility and clustering capacity were highly compromised. Altogether, our work demonstrates an intricate coupling between conformation and lateral diffusion of LFA-1 and further underscores the crucial role of mobility for the onset of LFA-1 mediated leukocyte adhesion.
Engaging Faculty across the Community Engagement Continuum.

There currently exists an incompatibility between the demands of university administrators for increased community engagement and the realities facing faculty who want to integrate it into their academic coursework, research, and professional service. This article provides insight on the complex challenges preventing faculty from becoming involved in reciprocal community engagement endeavors. It explores four factors to consider when recruiting faculty: where they are on their career track, access to resources, control over their teaching and research activities, and their interest and preparation. This article suggests that rather than viewing community engagement as a binary state where a faculty member is integrally engaged or not, faculty engagement can be viewed along a continuum where they are engaged in a variety of ways with different degrees of engagement and commitment. Finally, this article provides several examples of the multi-tier approach that Penn State has successfully championed to involve more faculty in communityengaged work by understanding their perspectives and meeting them where they are.
Simvastatin inhibits tissue factor and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with primary nephrotic syndrome.

BACKGROUND Tissue factor (TF) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activity and/or expression are upregulated in nephrotic syndrome. Despite extensive research on antithrombotic effect of statins, little is known about their effects on TF and PAI-1 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with primary nephrotic syndrome(PNS). METHODS PBMCs were isolated by gradient centrifugation from 25 individuals with PNS and 25 healthy subjects. TF and PAI-1 mRNA were detected by RT-PCR. The activities of TF and PAI-1 were determined with ELISA and chromogenic substrate method, respectively. The patients with PNS were then treated with simvastatin 40 mg/day for 2 weeks. The activities of TF, PAI-1 and TF, PAI-1 mRNA of PBMCs were also measured. RESULTS Compared with controls, patients with PNS had increased TF, PAI-1 secretion by PBMCs at baseline (70.4 +/- 15.6 ng/l vs. 32.7 +/- 8.2 ng/l; 15.9 +/- 2.4 (x10(3) AU/l) vs. 3.9 +/- 1.5(x10(3) AU/l), P<0.01) and after stimulated by LPS (10 ng/mL) (89.2 +/- 13.4 ng/l vs. 49.5 +/- 10.3 ng/l; 23.8 +/- 3.3 (x10(3) AU/l) vs. 8.1 +/- 2.1, P<0.01). The simvastatin treatment resulted in a significant effect in decreasing TF and PAI-1 (69.1 +/- 14.6 ng/l vs. 89.2 +/- 13.4 ng/l; 16.5 +/- 4.8 (x10(3) AU/l) vs. 23.8 +/- 3.3 (x10(3) AU/l), P<0.05) secretion in PBMCs. Increased TF and PAI-1 mRNA expression in PBMCs from PNS (1.034 +/- 0.043 and 0.982 +/- 0.056, respectively) as compared to the control (0.221 +/- 0.015 and 0.221 +/- 0.015, respectively) (p<0.01). two-week simvastatin treatment resulted in significant decrease of TF (0.535 +/- 0.028, p<0.01) and PAI-1 mRNA (0.602 +/- 0.037, p<0.01). CONCLUSION TF and PAI-1 mRNA expression and activities in PBMCs were increased in PNS. Simvastatin reduced TF and PAI-1 expression and activity in PBMCs. These effects may partially be relevant to the clinical benefits of statins in the treatment of PNS.
Evaluating Volatility Forecasts with Ultra-High-Frequency Data—Evidence from the Australian Equity Market

Due to the unobserved nature of the true return variation process, one of the most challenging problems in evaluation of volatility forecasts is to find an accurate benchmark proxy for ex-post volatility. This paper uses the Australian equity market ultra-high-frequency data to construct an unbiased ex-post volatility estimator and then use it as a benchmark to evaluate various practical volatility forecasting strategies (GARCH class model based). These forecasting strategies allow for the skewed distribution of innovations and use various estimation windows in addition to the standard GARCH volatility models. In out-of-sample tests, we find that forecasting errors across all model specifications are systematically reduced if using the unbiased ex-post volatility estimator compared with those using the realized volatility based on sparsely sampled intra-day data. In particular, we show that the three benchmark forecasting models outperform most of the modified strategies with different distribution of returns and estimation windows. Comparing the three standard GARCH class models, we find that the asymmetric power ARCH (APARCH) model exhibits the best forecasting power in both normal and financial turmoil periods, which indicates the ability of APARCH model to capture the leptokurtic returns and stylized features of volatility in the Australian stock market.
Temporal features of articulation from childhood to adolescence: An electropalatographic investigation

This study was designed to investigate the development of articulatory timing from mid‐childhood to late adolescence. Productions of sentences containing /t/, /l/, /s/, and /k/ were produced by 48 children and adults (aged 6‐38 years) and captured using the Reading Electropalatography3 (EPG3) system. Mean duration of the sentences and the approach, closure/stable constriction, and release phases of consonant articulation were calculated. In addition, temporal coordination of lingual gestures and the intra‐subject articulatory timing variation were investigated across the ages. Results reveal some distinct differences in duration and temporal coordination of lingual gestures between 6‐ to 7‐year‐olds and mature speakers, with continual refinement of articulatory control indicated into late adolescence. Differences in articulatory stability, in contrast, were not significant. The present findings may form a platform for development of a more descriptive model of motor speech development.