Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electrically switchable multiport matching network for 2-Port MIMO antennas

Typically, symmetric 2-port Multiple Input - Multiple Output (MIMO) antennas for LTE-enabled small mobile wireless devices feature radiation modes with significantly different radiation quality factors. Due to the high modal radiation quality factors it is difficult to match both radiation modes over the desired broad frequency range. In order to solve this problem, a solution for electrical switching between different frequency bands is of interest. The solution, reported in the present paper, uses electrically switchable multiport matching network. The differential mode is switched between two frequency bands by means of a single high performance RF-PIN diode while the common mode is matched over a broad frequency range. Overall, the electrically switchable multiport matching network realizes high total multiport return loss for both switching states.
Practical Aspects of Autonomous Exploration with a Kinect2 sensor

Exploration of an unknown environment by a mobile robot is a complex task involving solution of many fundamental problems from data processing, localization to high-level planning and decision making. The exploration framework we developed is based on processing of RGBD data provided by a MS Kinect2 sensor, which allows to take advantage of state-of-the-art SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithms and to autonomously build a realistic 3D map of the environment with projected visual information about the scene. In this paper, we describe practical issues that appeared during deployment of the framework in real indoor and outdoor environments and discuss especially properties of SLAM algorithms processing MS Kinect2 data on an embedded computer.
Comparison of Multilocus Sequence Typing and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis as Tools for Typing Staphylococcus aureus Isolates in a Microepidemiological Setting

ABSTRACT Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of Staphylococcus aureus is well suited to the study of global or long-term epidemiology, but its role in local epidemiology has not been defined. The present study has compared MLST with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) by using S. aureus isolates associated with carriage and disease in a busy regional renal unit. One hundred forty-four patients were prospectively recruited, of whom 103 were receiving hemodialysis and 41 were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Three nasal swab specimens were obtained 1 month apart on entering the study. A nasal swab was positive for S. aureus on at least one occasion in 50 patients (35%). Typing of the 104 carriage isolates demonstrated 21 PFGE types and 21 sequence types (STs). Thirty-one carriers had two or more positive nasal swabs; of these, the isolates in all swabs from a given carrier had identical PFGE types for 29 carriers; the isolates in all of the same 29 swabs had identical STs. The carriage strain in two patients changed both PFGE type and STs during the period of swabbing. Eight patients (6%) had an episode of S. aureus bacteremia during the 12-month study period, and two of these were nasal carriers. One of these invasive isolates had the same PFGE type and ST as the carriage isolate. There were no differences between Simpson's index of diversity for PFGE and Simpson's index of diversity for MLST for both invasive and carriage isolates, suggesting that the two methods have very similar discriminatory abilities. We conclude that PFGE and MLST performed equally in this study.
A multilevel analysis of the effects of a reproductive health programme that encouraged informed choice of contraceptive method rather than use of officially preferred methods, China 2003–2005

Historically, the Chinese government's family planning (FP) policy has emphasized post-partum IUD use after first birth and sterilization after subsequent births. Was the influence of this policy-driven programme on women's contraceptive choices weakened by a reproductive health intervention programme based on the idea of enabling and encouraging clients to make an informed choice? Multilevel analyses of cross-sectional data from baseline (2003) and endline (2005) surveys conducted as part of the evaluation of a large-scale UNFPA RH/FP programme show significant reductions in the uptake of methods emphasized by official policy between the two surveys. But county-level effects are highly significant, suggesting the continuation of a strong exogenous influence on women's choices. The results suggest that, while the intervention had the effect of weakening the top-down approach towards promoting methods, family planning workers continued to be influential in promoting sterilization for women at higher parities.
Demography, range use, and behavior in black lemurs (Eulemur macaco macaco) at Ampasikely, northwest Madagascar

We studied a black lemur population over a 2‐year period (1992–1993) and 8 years later (2000) in a 50‐ha secondary forest in northwest Madagascar. All of the animals were marked to investigate population dynamics and seasonal variation in ranging and behavior, and new data on black lemurs were obtained. Our data on demographic characteristics were expanded to include other forest sites and contrasted with those collected in other Eulemur macaco macaco field studies, in relation to human activity and the presence of introduced and cultivated plant species. Density is affected by deforestation and hunting. Group size and home range depend on the composition of the forest and probably food patches. Sex ratio at birth varies according to the number of females per group, a result that fits the local resource competition model. Groups are multimale‐multifemale, and adult females form the core of the groups. Reproductive parameters indicate sharply defined seasonal breeding, a high female reproductive rate, and birth synchrony. Changes in group composition reveal male and female juvenile dispersal, male transfer between groups at the time of mating, and adult female transfer and group fission when groups exceed a critical size. At mating and birth, intergroup agonistic encounters occurred at home‐range boundaries, and larger groups were dominant over smaller groups. Patterns of intragroup interactions suggest that males compete for access to groups of females during the mating season, and that females may compete for food resources during the birth season. Our study also reports female social dominance and lack of sexual weight dimorphism in this species. Am. J. Primatol. 67:299–312, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Integration of a Machine Translation System into the Editorial Process Flow of a Daily Newspaper

The paper describes the integration process of Lucy Software’s machine translation system into the editorial process flow of La Vanguardia newspaper, where it is used on a daily basis as a help tool in order to produce bilingual editions of the daily newspaper in Catalan and Spanish every day. The integration process includes both technical and linguistic adaptations, as well as a final post-edition process.
Reduced-rank channel estimation and tracking in time-slotted CDMA systems

This paper investigates the estimation and tracking of time varying propagation channels in the uplink of a time slotted CDMA system. An antenna array is adopted at the base station. Both the estimation and tracking are performed by exploiting the low-rank nature of the channel matrix. The accuracy of the estimate is improved by using a multi-slot approach: the slowly varying component of the low-rank channel is estimated from the observation of successive midambles (inter-slot tracking), while the fast varying component is updated over the burst interval in decision-directed mode (intra-slot tracking).
Analytical model of plug flow in microchannels

Plug flow in microchannels is of great importance in microfluidics as it offers many advantages over continuous-flow microfluidics for various applications of lab-on-a-chip platforms. By confining fluids in small plugs of nanoliter scale, recirculation is formed. To increases our understanding of the flow pattern within liquid plugs, an analytical model of liquid plugs moving in microchannels is presented in this paper. The flow field is obtained by solving partial differential equations with corresponding boundary conditions in the microchannel. The comparison with experimental results from micro particle image velocimetry shows reasonable agreement. The model presented in this paper can be used to predict the flow pattern within liquid plugs, and it is helpful for vortex pattern manipulation in various applications of droplet-based microfluidics.
Soft-error detection using control flow assertions

Over the last few years, an increasing number of safety-critical tasks have been demanded of computer systems. In this paper, a software-based approach for developing safety-critical applications is analyzed. The technique is based on the introduction of additional executable assertions to check the correct execution of the program control flow. By applying the proposed technique, several benchmark applications have been hardened against transient errors. Fault injection campaigns have been performed to evaluate the fault detection capability of the proposed technique in comparison with state-of-the-art alternative assertion-based methods. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is far more effective than the other considered techniques in terms of fault detection capability, at the cost of a limited increase in memory requirements and in performance overhead.
A cognitive model for schizophrenia and its possible neural basis

It is proposed that the basic disturbance in schizophrenia corresponds to a disruption of the normal relationship between stored material and current sensory input. The link between information processing disturbances and their biological bases may be facilitated by the use of paradigms derived from animal learning theory. A model for the emergence of schizophrenic symptoms is presented. The core cognitive abnormality may result from a disturbance at any point in the neural circuit involved in the prediction of subsequent sensory input.
Depth boundary reconstruction based on similarity of adjacent pixels for efficient 3-D video coding

This paper proposes an efficient technique to improve 3-D video coding performance by taking into account coding artifacts and spatial resolution. Although a conventional video coding standard is used to compress the 3-D video such as multi-view plus depth data, it often introduces serious coding artifacts around object boundaries where signal abruptly changes in color and depth images. In this paper, to suppress the coding artifacts around object boundaries in compressed depth map, a depth boundary reconstruction method is proposed by using the similarity between a target pixel and its adjacent pixels. Since the proposed method provides the improved quality of synthesized view, it is used as in-loop for improving 3-D video coding performance. In addition, the depth down/up-sampling coding approaches are used to further reduce the bit-rates. To verify the excellence of the proposed method, it was applied to compress the multi-view plus depth data which is well-known as an efficient data format for representing the 3-D video. Experimental results show that the proposed method is helpful for improving the 3-D video coding performance and obtaining the quality of synthesized view in terms of both objective and subjective measures.
Inadequate Cerebral Oxygen Delivery and Central Fatigue during Strenuous Exercise

Under resting conditions, the brain is protected against hypoxia because cerebral blood flow increases when the arterial oxygen tension becomes low. However, during strenuous exercise, hyperventilation lowers the arterial carbon dioxide tension and blunts the increase in cerebral blood flow, which can lead to an inadequate oxygen delivery to the brain and contribute to the development of fatigue.
A Preliminary Report on the Role of Emotional Factors in Idiopathic Celiac Disease

OINCE Gee's classic description (10) of "the coeliac affection" in 1888, much has been learned about the etiological background of a large proportion of the cases of chronic nutritional failure now grouped under the heading of "celiac syndrome. " Chronic infection, cystic fibrosis of the pancreas, malrotation of the cecum, giardiasis, and other less common clinical entities have gradually been identified as causative factors in all but the still puzzling group of cases classed as "idiopathic celiac disease. " Characteristically, this illness has its onset during the sixth to eighteenth month of life. Like the others, these children become wasted and depressed, fail to grow or develop adequately during the ravages of the disease, and exhibit rriarked weakness, a protuberant abdomen, striking fluctuations in weight from day to day, the passage of large, foul, pale stools containing unsplit fat and starch, and a capricious appetite. Extensive metabolic studies have gradually made more certain the indictment of the absorptive mechanism in the small intestine and the metabolic handling by the organism of fats and carbohydrates as the physiological sources of this nutritional fail-
Clinical and immunohistochemical performance of lyophilized platelet‐rich fibrin (Ly‐PRF) on tissue regeneration

BACKGROUND Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) has been widely used in oral implantology and other fields, but benefits of the fresh PRF (FPRF (fresh platelet-rich fibrin)) were consequently limited because of its short-term application. Thus, a protocol for the combination of PRF and lyophilization comes up in the present study to address the issue of PRF storage and delayed clinical application, which has little been reported in this field at home and abroad by now. PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to evaluate the applicability of lyophilized platelet-rich fibrin (Ly-PRF) used as the scaffold material for craniofacial tissue regeneration and to compare its biochemical properties with commonly used fresh PRF. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two volunteers with both genders were selected as the source of PRF and Ly-PRF samples. Macro- and micro-scopic appearance evaluation as well as immunohistochemical comparison were performed on PRF samples before and after freeze-drying at -196°C. The second experimental phase was to observe clinical performance when fresh and lyophilized PRF were applied in guided bone regeneration (GBR) operations in 39 patients losing teeth in the anterior maxillary region who required an oral implantation followed by labial bone grafting. RESULTS The conventional histological and transmission electron microscopy images showed the microstructure of Ly-PRF, which resembled a mesh containing apparently irregularly shaped platelets with less alpha-granule than fresh PRF in micro and a translucent membrane with less elasticity than fresh PRF in macro. Simultaneous immunohistological staining results showed positive expression of PDGF-BB, IL-1, IL-4, TNF, TGF-β1 in both fresh and lyophilized PRF, while the expression of PDGF-BB, IL-1, TNF, TGF-β1 has no statistical difference between them (P > .05) but that of IL-4 in Ly-PRF is statistically higher than in fresh PRF (P < .05). When applied in GBR operations, there were no significant differences between Ly-PRF and FPRF in factors of histological and clinical evaluations (i.e., color, swelling, bleeding of the mucosa, pain leveland, and remodeling of hard tissue) performed 3 days, 7 days, and 4 months after the surgery (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS This study strongly supports that lyophilization at -196°C does not largely influence the expression of bioactive factors, the microstructure of fibrinogen or the clinical effects of PRF.
Desarrollo de sistemas difractivos avanzados para la generación de vórtices ópticos y haces de polarización estructurada

Esta Tesis Doctoral presenta en la modalidad de compendio de articulos el desarrollo de diferentes sistemas opticos para la realizacion de optica difractiva avanzada con control del estado de polarizacion. El primer sistema emplea un modulador espacial de luz nematico con giro (TN-SLM), que es previamente calibrado siguiendo una propuesta basada en la determinacion precisa de sus parametros fisicos. Con esta calibracion se pueden identificar estados elipticos de polarizacion para operar el dispositivo en dos regimenes de modulacion pura de fase, un regimen binario y un regimen continuo basado en un perfil de fase triplicador. Los resultados permitieron generar redes de difraccion, lentes difractivas y vortices opticos. El segundo sistema optico desarrollado esta basado en dos moduladores de cristal liquido sobre silicio (LCoS-SLM) dispuestos un montaje optico que denominamos “en Z”. Este sistema permite controlar de forma independiente dos componentes de la polarizacion lineales ortogonales, y es util para generar elementos difractivos con variacion espacial de la polarizacion. La primera aplicacion de este sistema es el desarrollo de un polarimetro completo, puntual e instantaneo, basado en redes de difraccion de polarizacion. Estas redes de polarizacion se generan mediante dos redes puras de fase que se implementan en cada modulador. Su combinacion crea diferentes ordenes de difraccion que actuan como analizadores de la polarizacion. La segunda aplicacion del sistema en Z es la generacion de haces vectoriales y elementos de luz estructurada. Empleando lentes de multifocalizacion implementadas en los moduladores espaciales de luz y un analizador es posible elegir distintos patrones de focalizacion. Ademas, combinando una focalizacion anular con fases espirales se obtuvieron haces vectoriales. Finalmente, se ha desarrollado un tercer sistema basado en una lente de fase geometrica y laminas-q. Estos son novedosos elementos opticos de fase geometrica que se emplearon para realizar un divisor longitudinal de polarizacion circular. Este sistema nos ha permitido visualizar facilmente vortices opticos y haces vectoriales y determinar sus caracteristicas. En conjunto, estas cuatro publicaciones constituyen un avance en la investigacion en los metodos para generar o detectar haces de luz con control estructurado del estado de polarizacion.
Cross‐bridge interaction kinetics in rat myocardium are accelerated by strong binding of myosin to the thin filament

1 To determine the ability of strong‐binding myosin cross‐bridges to activate the myocardial thin filament, we examined the Ca2+ dependence of force and cross‐bridge interaction kinetics at 15°C in the absence and presence of a strong‐binding, non‐force‐generating derivative of myosin subfragment‐1 (NEM‐S1) in chemically skinned myocardium from adult rats. 2 Relative to control conditions, application of 6 μM NEM‐S1 significantly increased Ca2+‐independent tension, measured at pCa 9.0, from 0.8 ± 0.3 to 3.7 ± 0.8 mN mm−2. Furthermore, NEM‐S1 potentiated submaximal Ca2+‐activated forces and thereby increased the Ca2+ sensitivity of force, i.e. the [Ca2+] required for half‐maximal activation (pCa50) increased from pCa 5.85 ± 0.05 to 5.95 ± 0.04 (change in pCa50 (ΔpCa50) = 0.11 ± 0.02). The augmentation of submaximal force by NEM‐S1 was accompanied by a marked reduction in the steepness of the force‐pCa relationship for forces less than 0.50 Po (maximum Ca2+‐activated force), i.e. the Hill coefficient (n2) decreased from 4.72 ± 0.38 to 1.54 ± 0.07. 3 In the absence of NEM‐S1, the rate of force redevelopment (ktr) was found to increase from 1.11 ± 0.21 s−1 at submaximal [Ca2+] (pCa 6.0) to 9.28 ± 0.41 s−1 during maximal Ca2+ activation (pCa 4.5). Addition of NEM‐S1 reduced the Ca2+ dependence of ktr by eliciting maximal values at low levels of Ca2+, i.e. ktr was 9.38 ± 0.30 s−1 at pCa 6.6 compared to 9.23 ± 0.27 s−1 at pCa 4.5. At intermediate levels of Ca2+, ktr was less than maximal but was still greater than values obtained at the same pCa in the absence of NEM‐S1. 4 NEM‐S1 dramatically reduced both the extent and rate of relaxation from steady‐state submaximal force following flash photolysis of the caged Ca2+ chelator diazo‐2. 5 These data demonstrate that strongly bound myosin cross‐bridges increase the level of thin filament activation in myocardium, which is manifested by an increase in the rate of cross‐bridge attachment, potentiation of force at low levels of free Ca2+, and slowed rates of relaxation.
Platelet-derived growth factor induces multisite phosphorylation of pp60c-src and increases its protein-tyrosine kinase activity

We have shown previously that pp60c-src is a substrate for protein kinase C in vivo and that the target of protein kinase C phosphorylation in mammalian pp60c-src is serine 12. We now demonstrate that in addition to tumor promoters, all activators of phosphatidylinositol turnover that we have tested in fibroblasts (platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, serum, vasopressin, sodium orthovanadate, and prostaglandin F2 alpha) lead to the phosphorylation of pp60c-src at serine 12. In addition to stimulating serine 12 phosphorylation in pp60c-src, platelet-derived growth factor treatment of quiescent fibroblasts induces phosphorylation of one or two additional serine residues and one tyrosine residue within the N-terminal 16 kilodaltons of the enzyme and activates its immune complex protein-tyrosine kinase activity.
SYSTEMS OVER DUAL SELECTIVE FADING CHANNELS

In this paper, we investigate the multiuser performance in a 2-D spreading orthogonal frequency coded division multiplexing (OFCDM) communication system over frequency and time selective fading channels. To compromise between the diversity gain and the multiple access interference (MAI), we propose an adaptive fuzzy logic to infer adequate 2-D spreading codes and to assign the OVSF codes to active users for OFCDM mobile communication systems. Moreover, we develop a look-up table to simplify the complexity. Simulation results show that the proposed both fuzzy logic code allocator (FLCA) and look-up table can not only suppress the MAIs induced by the non-orthogonality but also exploit the diversity gain over dual (time and frequency) selective fading channels.
Interpolation distortion in Large-Scale Parameter maps for wireless system simulation

Spatial Channel Models (SCM) used in wireless system simulations are determined by Large-Scale Parameters (LSP). LSPs include delay spread, shadow fading, angle of arrival and departure spread, and Rice K for line-of-sight channels. LSPs are modeled as a spatially correlated random field over the geometry of the network scenario being simulated. The general method is to generate an LSP map on a discrete lattice (or grid) and induce spatial correlation via spatial filtering as determined by the LSP's correlation distance. This step represents a large part of the simulator's computation load, which leads to the use of a coarsely spaced lattice and interpolation from nearest lattice points to arbitrary UE locations on the x-y plane. We investigate the computation vs. fidelity trade associated with LSP generation. We will show that when a coarse grid is employed, there can be significant nonstationary distortion of the LSP correlation due to the interpolation step. We investigate three different interpolators having varying correlation fidelity and computation load.
Pragmatic Assessment in Autism Spectrum Disorders

The purpose of this study was to investigate the concurrent validity of subtests on the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) by comparing them with the assessment of communication and social skills on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland). The participants were 35 children and adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who had received both the CASL and the Vineland. Results of the study suggest that the Pragmatic Judgment and Inferences subtests of the CASL appeared to document the difficulties that individuals with ASD had in adaptive use of language for communication.