Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spectrum Assignment and Sharing for Delay Minimization in Multi-Hop Multi-Flow Cognitive Radio Networks

This paper investigates the problem of spectrum assignment and sharing to minimize the total delay of multiple concurrent flows in multi-hop cognitive radio networks. We first analyze the expected per-hop delay, which consists of the sensing delay and the transmission delay characterizing the PU activities and spectrum capacities. Then we formulate a minimum delay optimization programming with interference constraints, and propose an approximate algorithm named MCC to solve the problem. According to our theoretical analysis, MCC has a bounded performance ratio and a low computational complexity. We also exploit the minimum potential delay fairness in spectrum sharing to mitigate the inter-flow contentions. Finally, extensive simulation study has been performed to validate our design and to compare the performance of our algorithms with that of the state-of-the-art.
Bipartite Recognition of DNA by TCF/Pangolin Is Remarkably Flexible and Contributes to Transcriptional Responsiveness and Tissue Specificity of Wingless Signaling

The T-cell factor (TCF) family of transcription factors are major mediators of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in metazoans. All TCFs contain a High Mobility Group (HMG) domain that possesses specific DNA binding activity. In addition, many TCFs contain a second DNA binding domain, the C-clamp, which binds to DNA motifs referred to as Helper sites. While HMG and Helper sites are both important for the activation of several Wnt dependent cis-regulatory modules (W-CRMs), the rules of what constitutes a functional HMG-Helper site pair are unknown. In this report, we employed a combination of in vitro binding, reporter gene analysis and bioinformatics to address this question, using the Drosophila family member TCF/Pangolin (TCF/Pan) as a model. We found that while there were constraints for the orientation and spacing of HMG-Helper pairs, the presence of a Helper site near a HMG site in any orientation increased binding and transcriptional response, with some orientations displaying tissue-specific patterns. We found that altering an HMG-Helper site pair from a sub-optimal to optimal orientation/spacing dramatically increased the responsiveness of a W-CRM in several fly tissues. In addition, we used the knowledge gained to bioinformatically identify two novel W-CRMs, one that was activated by Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the prothoracic gland, a tissue not previously connected to this pathway. In sum, this work extends the importance of Helper sites in fly W-CRMs and suggests that the type of HMG-Helper pair is a major factor in setting the threshold for Wnt activation and tissue-responsiveness.
La industria editorial española ante los mercados americanos del libro 1892-1936

The article analyses the book trade with Latin American from the end of the nineteenth century until the civil war. It addresses the condition of trade with the various Latin American republics, the problems affecting book production, distribution and sale; and, finally, the strategies adopted by Spanish editors and booksellers to increase exports. The Spanish book industry was necessarily oriented towards exports because of the economic and cultural limitations of the national market, and because of new and high demand from twenty Spanish-speaking countries. Although it was always profitable, the publishers had to face foreign competition in Spanish-language book production, clandestine publication in Latin American countries, the difficulties derived from producing expensive books in limited editions, the weakness of financial support, ineffective transport and poor publicity. This article also studies the role of the state in the diffusion of Spanish book, emphasising the importance of protectionism, which proved very damaging to the publishing industry.
Research on LDPC codes based on VCDS

For the realization of a safe train traffic environment, a wireless communication system which makes an information network between ground and vehicles has been needed. Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes have been widely considered as error-correcting codes for next generation communication systems. In this paper, Vehicle Condition Detect System (VCDS) channel coding methods were given according to [3]. Then some reduced complexity decoding algorithms (BP-based, TSP, TDMP) are compared with the original BP algorithm. We find the optimum algorithms which are improvement in coding gain and suitable for VCDS credible information transmission. In the aspect of the hardware design, We analysis a highly efficient scalable decoder architecture for LDPC codes. This architecture adjusts the parallel processing factor based on the serial frame to increase decode speed.
A linear model based noise evaluation of a capacitive servo-accelerometer fabricated by MEMS

The noise characterization of a capacitive servo-accelerometer using a linear model is presented in this paper. The input reference noise of electronic circuit is expressed as a capacitive variation and it is introduced to a linear model for frequency response, separately with the thermal mechanical noise. The simulated noise was generally found to conform to the measured noise in the experiment, suggesting that the model can be effectively used for noise evaluation of accelerometers fabricated in a similar fashion.
When Does Retargeting Work? Information Specificity in Online Advertising

Firms can now offer personalized recommendations to consumers who return to their website, using consumers' previous browsing history on that website. In addition, online advertising has greatly improved in its use of external browsing data to target Internet ads. Dynamic retargeting integrates these two advances by using information from the browsing history on the firm's website to improve advertising content on external websites. When surfing the Internet, consumers who previously viewed products on the firm's website are shown ads with images of those same products. To examine whether this is more effective than simply showing generic brand ads, the authors use data from a field experiment conducted by an online travel firm. Surprisingly, the data suggest that dynamic retargeted ads are, on average, less effective than their generic equivalents. However, when consumers exhibit browsing behavior that suggests their product preferences have evolved (e.g., visiting review websites), dynamic retargeted ads no longer underperform. One explanation for this finding is that when consumers begin a product search, their preferences are initially construed at a high level. As a result, they respond best to higher-level product information. Only when they have narrowly construed preferences do they respond positively to ads that display detailed product information. This finding suggests that in evaluating how best to reach consumers through ads, managers should be aware of the multistage nature of consumers' decision processes and vary advertising content along these stages.
Visual Attention and Distributed Processing of Visual Information for the Control of Humanoid Robots

The function of visual attention is to identify interesting areas in the visual scene so that limited computational resources of a human or an artificial machine can be dedicated to the processing of regions with potentially interesting objects. Already early computational models of visual attention (Koch and Ullmann, 1985) suggested that attention consists of two functionally independent stages: • in the preattentive stage features are processed rapidly and in parallel over the entire visual field until the focus of attention has been identified, which triggers the eye movement towards the target area; • in the second phase, the computational resources are dedicated towards the processing of information in the identified area while ignoring the irrelevant or distracting percepts. Visual attention selectivity can be either overt to drive and guide eye movements or covert, internally shifting the focus of attention from one image region to another without eye movements (Sun and Fisher, 2003). Here we are interested in visual attention that involves eye movements and how to implement it on a humanoid robot. Overt shifts of attention from one selected area to another were demonstrated for example in face recognition experiments (Yarbus, 1967). Although the subjects perceived faces as a whole in these experiments, their eye movements showed that their attention was shifted from one point to another while processing a face. The analysis of fixation points revealed that the subjects performed saccadic eye movements, which are very fast ballistic movements, to acquire data from the most informative areas of the image. Since high velocities disrupt vision and also because the signal that the target had been reached would arrive long after the movement had overshot, saccadic eye movements are not visually guided. The input to the motor system is the desired eye position, which is continuously compared to an efference copy of the internal representation of the eye position. Many computational models of preattentive processing have been influenced by the feature integration theory (Treisman and Gelade, 1980), which resulted in several technical implementations, e. g. (Itti et al., 1998), including some implementations on humanoid robots (Driscoll et al., 1998; Breazeal and Scasselatti, 1999; Stasse et al., 2000; Vijayakumar et
At once liberating and exclusionary? A Lefebvrean analysis of Gilda’s Club of Toronto

This study uses a Lefebvrean analysis to explore the ways social relations are negotiated and contested in the production of a quasi-recreational space called Gilda’s Club of Greater Toronto, a venue that provides complementary care and support to people living with cancer. It does so by asking how Gilda’s Club, as a social space, resists and/or reproduces the conflicts and challenges of care for people living with cancer. Drawing on the work of Henri Lefebvre to guide the analysis, qualitative data collected from 26 club members were used to examine the production of the club as a conceived, perceived and lived space. The findings underscore the insurgent and transformative possibilities of a social space like Gilda’s Club for people living with cancer, while also exposing the club as a site of discriminatory practices wherein marginalisation was produced and enforced. The complex tension between these contrasting practices is explored.
A toolbox for robust PID controller tuning using convex optimization

A robust PID controller design toolbox for Matlab is presented in this paper. The design is based on linearizing or convexifying the conventional non-convex constraints on the classical robustness margins or H∞ constraints. Then the existing optimization solvers can be used to compute the controller parameters. The software can be used in a wide range of controller design problems, including multi-model systems and gain-scheduled controllers. The models can be parametric or non-parametric while the software is compatible with the output data of the identification toolbox of Matlab. Three illustrative examples exhibit convenience of working with the developed commands.
Reacting to Change: Critical Media Literacy for United States Reading Teachers?

This study examines United States masters students' perceptions of a course in critical media literacy education. Using the Women's Ways of Knowing (1997) framework, we first lay out different epistemological understandings of critical media literacy. Then, using qualitative methods, we show how 55 students enrolled in a required media literacy course for their master's degree in reading display varied understandings of the course concepts corresponding with the Women's Ways of Knowing (1997) framework. Additional contextual issues contribute to the challenges of moving towards a constructed way of knowing critical media literacy.
The Brunel Music Rating Inventory-2 is a reliable and valid instrument for older cardiac rehabilitation patients selecting music for exercise

Music with motivating qualities might support exercise adherence in older adults with cardiac disease. The Brunel Music Rating Inventory-2 (BMRI-2), a 6-item scale with motivational quotients ranging from 6 to 42 developed to facilitate music selection for exercise, has been validated with young adults. However, the suitability of the BMRI-2 for older adults is unknown. We tested reliability (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measurement error) and validity (content and construct) of the BMRI-2 with older adults in cardiac rehabilitation. Eleven men and 9 women (M age = 71.6 years, SD = 8.9) selected two pieces of music and used the BMRI-2 to rate the motivational quality of these for a walking task. BMRI-2 ratings demonstrated high internal consistency. Test-retest reliability and levels of measurement error were acceptable. Content was evaluated as relevant and comprehensive. There was convergence with flow scales, and discrimination between music selections with differing motivational quotients (p < .01). The BMRI-2 demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties for older adult cardiac rehabilitation patients.
GRU: Efficient reachability answering for large graphs using united interval labeling

The issue in reachability problem of graph G = (V, E) is whether there is a path between two given nodes or not. This problem plays a key role in areas such as Bioinformatics, Semantic Web, Computer Networks and Social Networks, which have very large graph-structured data. Also, the reachability problem is employed considerably in the graph management and graph algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel labeling approach for large directed graphs. Our presented method is called GRU (Graph Reachability indexing using United intervals), that can answer reachability queries in constant time even for large graphs. The significant point in this approach is that all the reachability information is computed after indexing time. In addition, this computation is performed only with one time DFS (post-order) traverse and labels are calculated precisely and stored in an efficient way. Analytical and experimental results reveal that effectiveness of our method is more than other interval labeling methods. Furthermore, our approach results show improvement in query time in comparison with GRAIL, which is only a scalable index for reachability queries.
Word order and morphophonological factors in the development of sentence understanding in Hungarian

This paper presents a summary of several sentence-understanding experiments done with Hungarian preschool children. The experiments were aimed at clarifying the presence of order-related sentence-interpretation strategies and the structural reasons for these strategies in a language with basically free word order. According to the results, Hungarian children do indeed use a supplementary order-based strategy in sentence interpretation. This strategy is overextended in preschool-age children even to cases where it is contradicted by the dominant and clearly grammaticalizedfactor determining interpretation:
Modeling Agricultural Change through Logistic Regression and Cellular Automata: A Case Study on Shifting Cultivation

Agricultural expansion is one of the prime driving forces of global land cover change. Despite the increasing attention to the factors that cause it, the patterns and processes associated with indigenous cultivation systems are not well understood. This study analyzes agricultural change associated with subsistence-based indigenous production systems in the lower Pastaza River Basin in the Ecuadorian Amazon through a spatially explicit dynamic model. The model integrates multiple logistic regression and cellular automata to simulate agricultural expansion at a resolution consistent with small scale agriculture and deal with inherently spatial processes. Data on land use and cultivation practices were collected through remote sensing and field visits, and processed within a geographic information system framework. Results show that the probability of an area of becoming agriculture increases with population pressure, in the vicinity of existing cultivation plots, and proximity to the center of human settlements. The positive association between proximity to cultivation areas and the probability of the presence of agriculture clearly shows the spillover effect and spatial inertia carried by shifting cultivation practices. The model depicts an ideal shifting cultivation system, with a complete cropping-fallow-cropping cycle that shows how agricultural areas expand and contract across space and over time. The model produced relatively accurate spatial outputs, as shown by the results of a spatial comparison between the simulated landscapes and the actual one. The study helped understand local landscape dynamics associated with shifting cultivation systems and their implications for land management.
Professional Issues: Common Stressors Among International College Students: Research and Counseling Implications

International college students studying in North America endure substantial psychological stress in their daily lives. The nature and function of stressors in the context of international college students' subjective appraisal are discussed and analyzed using Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) concept of stress. Recommendations for future research are outlined, and counseling implications are provided.
Gender Bias in Lebanese Language Classes

Abstract Gender bias, though often implicit and unnoticed, exists in many forms and in different situations. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether gender bias exists in Lebanese language classrooms. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and nonparticipant observational techniques were used for data collection. Results reveal discrepancies and similarities between participants’ responses to questionnaires, interviewees’ standpoints, and researchers’ observation reports. Results show that, though gender bias exists in Lebanese language classrooms, it is hidden and inconspicuous.
Molecular and Functional Characterization of Odorant-Binding Protein Genes in an Invasive Vector Mosquito, Aedes albopictus

Aedes albopictus is a major vector of dengue and Chikungunya viruses. Olfaction plays a vital role in guiding mosquito behaviors and contributes to their ability to transmit pathogens. Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are abundant in insect olfactory tissues and involved in the first step of odorant reception. While comprehensive descriptions are available of OBPs from Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae, only a few genes from Ae. albopictus have been reported. In this study, twenty-one putative AalbOBP genes were cloned using their homologues in Ae. aegypti to query an Ae. albopictus partial genome sequence. Two antenna-specific OBPs, AalbOBP37 and AalbOBP39, display a remarkable similarity in their overall folding and binding pockets, according to molecular modeling. Binding affinity assays indicated that AalbOBP37 and AalbOBP39 had overlapping ligand affinities and are affected in different pH condition. Electroantennagrams (EAG) and behavioral tests show that these two genes were involved in olfactory reception. An improved understanding of the Ae. albopictus OBPs is expected to contribute to the development of more efficient and environmentally-friendly mosquito control strategies.
Cautionary tales: Drug-facilitated sexual assault in the British media

This article explores the cultural construction of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) in the British media. We consider the relationship between media reporting and belief in routine DFSA, and look at the ways in which DFSA is presented and received as a legitimate, plausible, and credible threat. As a media story, DFSA shares certain characteristics of the ‘crime legend’ and the ‘moral panic’, although it is, this article suggests, more appropriately conceived of as a ‘cautionary tale’. The final part of the article outlines the ‘cautionary tale’ as a paradigm for understanding media coverage. It is the victim and potential victim’s behaviour (as opposed to that of a folk devil) that is marginalised in the ‘cautionary tale’, and the threat is frequently represented as both external and internal to the individual, as resulting from an opportunistic attacker and/or one’s own negligent behaviour.
Real-time PCR for quantitation of bovine viral diarrhea virus RNA using SYBR Green I fluorimetry

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was developed for the detection and quantification of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in clinical samples from persistently infected cattle. qRT-PCR was optimized to quantify the number of BVD virus copies using Light Cycler ® detection system and intercalation fluorogenic dye SYBR Green I. A universal set of primers was selected from a highly conserved 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) to detect BVDV type I and II simultaneously. Quantification of BVDV cDNA was accomplished using a calibration curve generated from 10-fold serial dilutions of standard plasmid DNA in the range 1-10 8 copies/µl. Analysis of 290 bp amplicons enabled monitoring of the viral RNA/BVDV level in a total of five BVDV strains (BVD-NADL, A03/3004, DB03/2943, KA04/3124, KV05/3412) and sixteen bulk milk samples, and in bovine sera of persistent carriers originating from Czech farms, as well as in a batch of calf serum for cell culture. Melting temperatures of amplicons (Tm) of BVDV strains of the same genotype group I as the NADL reference strain showed variability of the thermal points, however significant differences were observed in Tm values between the representatives of genotype group I and II. Low concentrations of BVD virus in bulk milk samples were also qualitatively identified by conventional RT-PCR. Highly reproducible data were obtained as the coefficients of variation of threshold cycles values in intra-assay and inter-assay were less than 0.85% and 2.76%, respectively. The results give enough evidence of suitability of qRT-PCR assay for quantitative analysis of BVDV in clinical samples.
Platform Design for Health-Care Monitoring Applications

Advances in technology have led to development of various sensing, computing and communication devices that can be woven into the physical environment of our daily lives. Such systems enable on-body and mobile health-care monitoring, can integrate information from different sources, and can initiate actions or trigger alarms when needed. In this paper, we describe the general characteristics of medical monitoring applications and use physical movement monitoring as the pilot application. Furthermore, we elaborate several important design techniques that can be tightly coupled with real-time signal processing, and may enhance the system performance. Finally, we present our preliminary results on the movement monitoring application and demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed design techniques.
Link to the Future: Web Page Design in a Psychology Careers Course

Students in a careers in psychology course created Web pages describing career options. Student responses to a questionnaire indicated that they believed that the project reflected principles of good practice in undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) and also increased their knowledge of careers, Web page construction, and ways of integrating and presenting information. A 2nd group of participants from a different class navigated the Web pages and rated them as an effective and enjoyable method for learning about careers in psychology. Web page construction may be a useful pedagogical tool for a careers course because of the emphasis on current information and availability of resources on the Internet.