Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed Differential Space-Time Spreading for the Asynchronous Relay Aided Interference-Free Cooperative CDMA Uplink

In this paper, we propose a differential Space-Time Coding (STC) scheme designed for asynchronous cooperative networks, where neither channel estimation nor symbol-level synchronization is required at the cooperating nodes. More specifically, our system employs differential encoding during the broadcast phase and a Space-Time Spreading (STS)-based amplify-and-forward scheme during the cooperative phase in conjunction with interference rejection Direct Sequence (DS) spreading codes, namely Loosely Synchronized (LS) codes. The LS codes exhibit a so-called Interference Free Window (IFW), where both the autocorrelation and cross-correlation values of the codes become zero. The IFW allows us to eliminate both the Multi-User Interference (MUI) as well as the potential dispersion-induced orthogonality degradation of the cooperative space-time codeword and the interference imposed by the asynchronous transmissions of the relay nodes. Furthermore, the destination node can beneficially combine both the directly transmitted and the relayed symbols using low-complexity correlation operations combined with a hard-decision detector. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed Cooperative Differential STS (CDSTS) scheme is capable of combating the effects of asynchronous uplink transmissions without any Channel State Information (CSI), provided that the maximum synchronization delay of the relay nodes is within the width of IFW. It will be demonstrated that in the frequency-selective environment considered our CDSTS arrangement is capable of exploiting both space-time diversity and multi-path diversity with the aid of a RAKE combiner.
Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Promotes Cardiac Remodeling, Contractile Failure, and Translocation of Apoptosis-Inducing Factor in a Murine Experimental Model of Aortic Banding and Heart Failure

Oxidant stress-induced activation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) plays a role in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases. We have now investigated the role of PARP in the process of cardiac remodeling and heart failure in a mouse model of heart failure induced by transverse aortic constriction (banding). The catalytic activity of PARP was inhibited by the potent isoindolinone-based PARP inhibitor INO-1001 or by PARP-1 genetic deficiency. PARP inhibition prevented the pressure overload-induced decrease in cardiac contractile function, despite the pressure gradient between both carotid arteries being comparable in the two experimental groups. The development of hypertrophy, the formation of collagen in the hearts, and the mitochondrial-to-nuclear translocation of the cell death factor apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) were attenuated by PARP inhibition. The ability of the inhibitor to block the catalytic activity of PARP was confirmed by immunohistochemical detection of poly(ADP-ribose), the product of the enzyme in the heart. Plasma levels of INO-1001, as measured at the end of the experiments, were in the concentration range sufficient to block the oxidant-mediated activation of PARP in murine cardiac myocytes in vitro. Myocardial hypertrophy and AIF translocation was also reduced in PARP-1-deficient mice undergoing aortic banding, compared with their wild-type counterparts. Overall, the current results demonstrate the importance of poly(ADP-ribos)ylation in the pathogenesis of banding-induced heart failure.
Atlas: a case study in building a web-based learning environment using aspect-oriented programming

The Advanced Teaching and Learning Academic Server (Atlas) is a software system that supports web-based learning. Students can register for courses, and can navigate through personalized views of course material. Atlas has been built according to Sun Microsystem's Java#8482; Servlet specification using Xerox PARC's aspect-oriented programming support called Aspect#8482;. Since aspect-oriented programming is still in its infancy, little experience with employing this paradigm is currently available. In this paper, we start filling this gap by describing the aspects we used in Atlas and by discussing the effect of aspects on our object-oriented development practices. We describe some rules and policies that we employed to achieve our goals of maintainability and modifiability, and introduce a straightforward notation to express the design of aspects. Although we faced some obstacles along the way, this combination of technology helped us build a fast, well-structured system in a reasonable amount of time.
Rule condition testing and action execution in Ariel

This paper describes testing of rule conditions and execution of rule actions in Ariel active DBMS. The Ariel rule system is tightly coupled with query and update processing. Ariel rules can have conditions based on a mix of patterns, events, and transitions. For testing rule conditions, Ariel makes use of a discrimination network composed of a special data structure for testing single-relation selection conditions efficiently, and a modified version of the TREAT algorithm, called A-TREAT, for testing join conditions. The key modification to TREAT (which could also be used in the Rete algorithm) is the use of virtual α-memory nodes which save storage since they contain only the predicate associated with the memory node instead of copies of data matching the predicate. The rule-action executor in Ariel binds the data matching a rule's condition to the action of the rule at rule fire time, and executes the rule action using the query processor.
Do Workfare Participants Recover Quickly from Retrenchment

What happens to participants in a workfare program--a program that imposes work requirements on welfare recipients--when that program is cut? The authors compare the incomes of workfare participants in Argentina to those of nonparticipants and past participants after a severe contraction in aggregate outlays on the program. The authors find evidence of partial income replacement, such that those who left the program were able to make up one quarter of the gross workfare wage within six months. This rises to half in 12 months. The estimates are unbiased in the presence of time-invariant errors from mismatching in the selection of the comparison group. Fully removing selection bias would probably yield even lower income replacement. Test results based on a second follow-up survey that valid inferences can be drawn about program impacts from the authors' measures of income replacement.
Syntactic and Lexical Complexity in Italian Noncanonical Structures

In this paper we will be dealing with different levels of complexity in the processing of Italian, a Romance language inheriting many properties from Latin which make it an almost free word order language . The paper is concerned with syntactic complexity as measurable on the basis of the cognitive parser that incrementally builds up a syntactic representation to be used by the semantic component. The theory behind will be LFG and parsing preferences will be used to justify one choice both from a principled and a processing point of view. LFG is a transformationless theory in which there is no deep structure separate from surface syntactic structure. This is partially in accordance with constructional theories in which noncanonical structures containing non-argument functions FOCUS/TOPIC are treated as multifunctional constituents. Complexity is computed on a processing basis following suggestions made by Blache and demonstrated by Kluender and Chesi
Enhanced personal contact with HIV patients improves retention in primary care: a randomized trial in 6 US HIV clinics.

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to determine whether enhanced personal contact with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients across time improves retention in care compared with existing standard of care (SOC) practices, and whether brief skills training improves retention beyond enhanced contact. METHODS The study, conducted at 6 HIV clinics in the United States, included 1838 patients with a recent history of inconsistent clinic attendance, and new patients. Each clinic randomized participants to 1 of 3 arms and continued to provide SOC practices to all enrollees: enhanced contact with interventionist (EC) (brief face-to-face meeting upon returning for care visit, interim visit call, appointment reminder calls, missed visit call); EC + skills (organization, problem solving, and communication skills); or SOC only. The intervention was delivered by project staff for 12 months following randomization. The outcomes during that 12-month period were (1) percentage of participants attending at least 1 primary care visit in 3 consecutive 4-month intervals (visit constancy), and (2) proportion of kept/scheduled primary care visits (visit adherence). RESULTS Log-binomial risk ratios comparing intervention arms against the SOC arm demonstrated better outcomes in both the EC and EC + skills arms (visit constancy: risk ratio [RR], 1.22 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.09-1.36] and 1.22 [95% CI, 1.09-1.36], respectively; visit adherence: RR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.05-1.11] and 1.06 [95% CI, 1.02-1.09], respectively; all Ps < .01). Intervention effects were observed in numerous patient subgroups, although they were lower in patients reporting unmet needs or illicit drug use. CONCLUSIONS Enhanced contact with patients improved retention in HIV primary care compared with existing SOC practices. A brief patient skill-building component did not improve retention further. Additional intervention elements may be needed for patients reporting illicit drug use or who have unmet needs. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION CDCHRSA9272007.
Direct estradiol and diethylstilbestrol actions on early‐ versus late‐stage prostate cancer cells

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and other pharmaceutical estrogens have been used at ≥ µM concentrations to treat advanced prostate tumors, with successes primarily attributed to indirect hypothalamic‐pituitary‐testicular axis control mechanisms. However, estrogens also directly affect tumor cells, though the mechanisms involved are not well understood.
Adaptive Web Sampling

Summary A flexible class of adaptive sampling designs is introduced for sampling in network and spatial settings. In the designs, selections are made sequentially with a mixture distribution based on an active set that changes as the sampling progresses, using network or spatial relationships as well as sample values. The new designs have certain advantages compared with previously existing adaptive and link‐tracing designs, including control over sample sizes and of the proportion of effort allocated to adaptive selections. Efficient inference involves averaging over sample paths consistent with the minimal sufficient statistic. A Markov chain resampling method makes the inference computationally feasible. The designs are evaluated in network and spatial settings using two empirical populations: a hidden human population at high risk for HIV/AIDS and an unevenly distributed bird population.
halcogenide glass e-beam and photoresists for ltrathin grayscale patterning

illiam R. Heffner imanshu Jain ehigh University nternational Materials Institute for New Functionality in Glass Asa Drive ethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015 Abstract. The advantages and applications of chalcogenide glass ChG thin film photoresists for grayscale lithography are demonstrated. It is shown that the ChG films can be used to make ultrathin 600 nm , high-resolution grayscale patterns, which can find their application, for example, in IR optics. Unlike polymer photoresists, the IR transparent ChG patterns can be useful as such on the surface or can be used to transfer the etched pattern into silicon or other substrates. Even if the ChG is used as an etch mask for the silicon substrate, its greater hardness can achieve a greater etch selectivity than that obtained with organic photoresists. The suitability of ChG photoresists is demonstrated with inexpensive and reliable fabrication of ultrathin Fresnel lenses that are transparent in the visible as well as in the IR region. The optical functionality of the Fresnel lenses is confirmed. Application of silver photodissolution in grayscale lithography for microelectromechanical systems MEMS applications is also shown. A substrate to ChG/silver thickness etching ratio of 10 is obtained for the transfer of patterns into silicon using reactive ion etching RIE , more than a fivefold increase compared to traditional polymer photoresist. © 2009 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. DOI: 10.1117/1.3273966
Modeling the three‐dimensional upper ocean heat budget and subduction rate during the Subduction Experiment

A global three-dimensional primitive equation general circulation model is used to estimate the upper ocean heat budget and subduction rates in the eastern North Atlantic during the period of the Subduction Experiment, June 1991 through July 1993. The seasonal cycle is dominated by one-dimensional processes throughout the subtropical gyre, i.e., a local balance between the net heat flux into the ocean through the surface and a vertical redistribution due to vertical mixing. However, closure of the heat budget on long timescales involves redistribution by Ekman transports (both horizonal and vertical), geostrophic advection, and vertical diffusion. Subgridscale parameterizations of eddy processes weakly restratify the upper ocean. The annual rate at which waters are subducted from the mixed layer into the permanent thermocline is estimated using both kinematic and thermodynamic methods. These subduction rates and patterns are generally consistent with each other and also with previous estimates of the large-scale subduction rate based on climatologies and models. Consideration of a finite thickness Ekman layer is shown to reduce the thermodynamic estimate of the subduction rate at low latitudes by O(50%), in much better agreement with the kinematic method. The effects of convergent eddy fluxes in the mixed layer and a diabatic thermocline on the subduction rate are also calculated and found to be small but not negligible. The seasonal and interannual evolution of the sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth in the model compare well with in situ measurements at five mooring locations taken as part of the Subduction Experiment. These results demonstrate that a global, low-resolution general circulation model forced with surface fluxes of heat and freshwater can accurately reproduce the evolution of the upper ocean thermal structure and provide a useful tool for the analysis of air-sea interaction and climate variability on seasonal to interannual timescales.
Lateral asymmetry in saccadic eye movements during face processing: The role of individual differences in schizotypy

Healthy individuals with high as compared to low levels of schizotypal personality traits make more first saccades to the left side of faces, suggesting increased right hemisphere (RH) dominance for face processing. Patients with schizophrenia, however, show attenuated or reversed RH dominance for face processing. It is unclear whether the increased RH dominance found in high schizotypes is specific to face processing or whether it is also observable for other stimuli matched in terms of low-level visual properties. We measured gaze to faces and symmetrical fractal patterns and found higher Magical Ideation (MI) is associated with an increased left-side bias for initial saccade landing points and dwell times when free-viewing faces. These laterality biases were unaffected by facial emotion. Schizotypy scores were not related to laterality biases when viewing fractals. Our results provide further evidence that high schizotypy is associated with an increase in RH dominance for face processing.
Efficient soft demodulation of MIMO QPSK via semidefinite relaxation

We develop a computationally efficient and memory efficient approach to (near) maximum a posteriori probability demodulation for MIMO systems with QPSK signalling, based on semidefinite relaxation. Existing approaches to this problem require either storage of a large list of candidate bit-vectors, or the solution of multiple binary quadratic problems. In contrast, the proposed demodulator does not require the storage of a candidate list, and involves the solution of a single (efficiently solvable) semidefmite program per channel use. Our simulation results show that the resulting computational and memory efficiencies are obtained without incurring a significant degradation in performance.
Extended Huygens-Fresnel principle and optical waves propagation in turbulence: discussion.

Extended Huygens-Fresnel principle (EHF) currently is the most common technique used in theoretical studies of the optical propagation in turbulence. A recent review paper [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A31, 2038 (2014)JOAOD60740-323210.1364/JOSAA.31. 002038] cites several dozens of papers that are exclusively based on the EHF principle. We revisit the foundations of the EHF, and show that it is burdened by very restrictive assumptions that make it valid only under weak scintillation conditions. We compare the EHF to the less-restrictive Markov approximation and show that both theories deliver identical results for the second moment of the field, rendering the EHF essentially worthless. For the fourth moment of the field, the EHF principle is accurate under weak scintillation conditions, but is known to provide erroneous results for strong scintillation conditions. In addition, since the EHF does not obey the energy conservation principle, its results cannot be accurate for scintillations of partially coherent beam waves.
Detecting Positive Correlations in a Multivariate Sample

We consider the problem of testing whether a correlation matrix of a multivariate normal population is the identity matrix. We focus on sparse classes of alternatives where only a few entries are nonzero and, in fact, positive. We derive a general lower bound applicable to various classes and study the performance of some near-optimal tests. We pay special attention to computational feasibility and construct near-optimal tests that can be computed efficiently. Finally, we apply our results to prove new lower bounds for the clique number of high-dimensional random geometric graphs.
Relationship between smell identification testing and the neuropsychological assessment of dementia in community-dwelling adults

ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) with neuropsychological tests and identify the utility of the UPSIT in detecting cognitive impairment. This research was an archival study of neuropsychological test results obtained from 70 clients (30 male/40 female) of a community-based memory clinic. The sample had an average age of 69.7 (SD = 9.7) and education of 14.6 (SD = 2.8) years. Hypotheses were tested using correlations, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and logistic regression. The UPSIT showed significant, weak to moderate correlations with neuropsychological tests. The UPSIT raw score correlated significantly with all but one cognitive ability domain. The UPSIT T-score was significantly correlated with all cognitive domains. Obtained areas under the ROC curve (AUC) for the UPSIT ranged from . 60 to . 87. The AUCs of the UPSIT did not differ significantly from verbal semantic fluency tests, but the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Total Scale and Delayed Memory index tended to produce larger AUCs than the UPSIT. Results from step-wise logistic regressions suggest that the UPSIT raw score provides unique information beyond its relationship to age. Olfaction relates broadly to cognitive ability and may be sensitive to early symptoms of cognitive decline. Further research is needed to explore the relationships between smell identification tests and neuropsychological assessment.
Short-Time Creep, Fatigue and Mechanical Properties of 42CrMo4 - Low Alloy Structural Steel

The proper selection of materials for the intended use of the structural member is of particular interest. The paper deals with determining both the mechanical properties at different temperatures and the behavior in tensile creep as well as fatigue testing of tensile stressed specimens made of low alloy 42CrMo4 steel delivered as annealed and cold drawn. This steel is usually used in engineering practice in design of statically and dynamically stressed components. Displayed engineering stress - strain diagrams indicate the mechanical properties, creep curves indicate the material creep behavior while experimental investigations of fatigue may ensure the fatigue limit determination for considered stress ratio. Also, hardness testing provides an insight into material resistance to plastic deformation. Experimentally obtained results regarding material properties were: tensile strength (735 MPa / 20°C, 105 MPa / 680°C), yield strength (593 MPa / 20°C, 76 MPa /680°C). Fatigue limit in the amount of 532.26 MPa, as maximum stress at stress ratio R = 0.25 at ambient temperature was calculated on the basis of experimentally obtained results. Regarding the creep resistance it is visible that this steel can be treated as creep resistant at high temperatures (including 5800C) when applied stress is of low level (till 0.2 of yield stress).
A Fast-Response Sliding-Mode Controller for Boost-Type Converters With a Wide Range of Operating Conditions

This paper proposes a fast-response sliding-mode controller for controlling boost-type converters requiring a fast dynamical response over a wide range of operating conditions. The various aspects of the controller, which include the method of generating the reference-current profile, the choice of sliding surface, the existence and stability properties, and the selection of the control parameters, are discussed. Experimental results are presented to validate the theoretical design and to illustrate the strength of the proposed controller. It is demonstrated that, with the proposed controller, the boost converter has a faster response and a lower voltage overshoot over a wide range of operating conditions as compared to that under the widely used peak current-mode controller. Moreover, it is easily realized with simple analog circuitries.
p53 regulates the transcription of the anti-inflammatory molecule developmental endothelial locus-1 (Del-1)

Developmental endothelial locus-1 (Del-1) is an endothelium-derived anti-inflammatory molecule that is downregulated by inflammatory stimuli. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which Del-1 transcription is regulated. In the present study, a DNA sequence upstream of the Del-1 gene was analyzed and putative p53 response elements (p53REs) were identified. An approximately 2 kb fragment upstream of the translation start site displayed the highest Del-1 transcriptional activity, and the transcriptional activity of this fragment was enhanced by overexpression of p53. Chemical activation of endogenous p53 elevated the levels of Del-1 mRNA. Site-directed mutagenesis of CATG in the consensus sequences of the 2 kb fragment to TATA significantly reduced the transcription of Del-1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed recruitment of p53 to the p53REs of the Del-1 promoter, resulting in increased Del-1 transcription. Finally, primary endothelial cells isolated from mice with reduced levels of p53 showed a decrease in Del-1 mRNA compared to wild-type endothelial cells. Moreover, Del-1 reciprocally enhanced p53 expression in primary endothelial cells. Thus, these findings suggest that Del-1 is a novel transcriptional target gene of p53.