Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precoder Design for Correlated Multi-Antenna Cooperative Systems with Partial Decode and Forward Protocol and MMSE-SIC Receivers

Cooperative communication is an important technology in next generation wireless networks. Partial decode-and-forward provides an alternative solution for the conventional amplify-and-forward as well as decode-and-forward relay protocols. However, there are several important issues to be addressed regarding the application of partial decode-and-forward protocol. In this paper, we address the practical issues by proposing a joint MIMO precoder design for the multi-antenna cooperative system with correlated MIMO fading and partial decode-and-forward relay protocol. In addition, the MIMO precoders at both the source and the relay are matched to the MMSE-SIC receivers at the destination. We find that under similar system settings, joint MIMO precoder design with partial decode-and-forward relay protocol and MMSE-SIC receivers achieves substantial performance enhancement and has important practical significance.
International Conference on Knowledge Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems , KES 2017 , 6-8 September 2017 , Marseille , France Enhancing assessment of Personalized Multi-Agent System through ConvLSTM

Personalized system represents nowadays a key factor to attract user and to guide special end users concerns. All systems that include interaction with end users are seeking to improve this factor, particularly, Personalized systems that use Multi-Agent System (PMAS), characterized by agents collaboration and parallel execution of tasks, as a tool to implement the personalization. However, assessing this kind of personalized system is complicated and generally restrained to empirical assessment. In this context, our purpose is to process the assessment of PMAS through the confrontation between the system to be evaluated and a referential one. In this paper, we deal with the web environment. We describe first our referential system, then, we focus on the prediction layer of this system. We demonstrate the use of Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory (ConvLSTM), a machine learning approach, to treat the semantic reasoning of the end users. c 2017 he uthors. Published by Elsevier B.
Expression of phosphorylated histone H2AX in cultured cell lines following exposure to X‐rays

Purpose: Exposure to ionizing radiation results in phosphorylation of histone H2AX (γH2AX) at sites of DNA double‐strand breaks. To determine the relationship between γH2AX formation and radiosensitivity, the rate of formation and loss of γH2AX were examined in several cultured cell lines following exposure to 250 kV X‐rays. Materials and methods: Flow and image cytometry were both performed using a mouse monoclonal antibody against γH2AX. Immunoblotting was used to confirm cell line‐dependent differences in antibody staining. Cell lines examined included V79 and CHO‐K1 hamster cells, the human tumour cell lines SiHa, WiDr, DU145, WIL‐2NS, HT144, HCC1937 and U87, and the normal cell strain HFL1. Radiosensitivity was measured using a standard clonogenic assay. Results: Using flow cytometry, γH2AX formation was detected 1 h after doses as low as 20 cGy. Peak levels of γH2AX were observed within 15–30 min after irradiation and both the rate of radiation‐induced γH2AX formation and loss were cell type dependent. Maximum levels of γH2AX formation were lower for HT144 cells mutant for the ataxia telangiectasia gene. Half‐times of loss after irradiation ranged from 1.6 to 7.2 h and were associated with a decrease in the total number of foci per cell. The half‐time of loss of γH2AX was correlated with clonogenic survival for 10 cell lines (r2=0.66). Conclusions: γH2AX can be detected with excellent sensitivity using both flow and image analysis. The rate of γH2AX loss may be an important factor in the response of cells to ionizing radiation, with more rapid loss and less retention associated with more radioresistant cell lines.
Effect of Twisting and Stretching on Magneto Resistance and Spin Filtration in CNTs

Spin-dependent quantum transport properties in twisted carbon nanotube and stretched carbon nanotube are calculated using density functional theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium green’s function (NEGF) formulation. Twisting and stretching have no effect on spin transport in CNTs at low bias voltages. However, at high bias voltages the effects are significant. Stretching restricts any spin-up current in antiparallel configuration (APC), which results in higher magneto resistance (MR). Twisting allows spin-up current almost equivalent to the pristine CNT case, resulting in lower MR. High spin filtration is observed in PC and APC for pristine, stretched and twisted structures at all applied voltages. In APC, at low voltages spin filtration in stretched CNT is higher than in pristine and twisted ones, with pristine giving a higher spin filtration than twisted CNT.
Arterial input function placement for accurate CT perfusion map construction in acute stroke.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of varying arterial input function (AIF) placement on the qualitative and quantitative CT perfusion parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective analysis of CT perfusion data was performed on 14 acute stroke patients with a proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA) clot. Cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), and mean transit time (MTT) maps were constructed using a systematic method by varying only the AIF placement in four positions relative to the MCA clot including proximal and distal to the clot in the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres. Two postprocessing software programs were used to evaluate the effect of AIF placement on perfusion parameters using a delay-insensitive deconvolution method compared with a standard deconvolution method. RESULTS One hundred sixty-eight CT perfusion maps were constructed for each software package. Both software programs generated a mean CBF at the infarct core of < 12 mL/100 g/min and a mean CBV of < 2 mL/100 g for AIF placement proximal to the clot in the ipsilateral hemisphere and proximal and distal to the clot in the contralateral hemisphere. For AIF placement distal to the clot in the ipsilateral hemisphere, the mean CBF significantly increased to 17.3 mL/100 g/min with delay-insensitive software and to 19.4 mL/100 g/min with standard software (p < 0.05). The mean MTT was significantly decreased for this AIF position. Furthermore, this AIF position yielded qualitatively different parametric maps, being most pronounced with MTT and CBF. Overall, CBV was least affected by AIF location. CONCLUSION For postprocessing of accurate quantitative CT perfusion maps, laterality of the AIF location is less important than avoiding AIF placement distal to the clot as detected on CT angiography. This pitfall is less severe with deconvolution-based software programs using a delay-insensitive technique than with those using a standard deconvolution method.
Investigating Microinteractions for People with Visual Impairments and the Potential Role of On-Body Interaction

For screenreader users who are blind or visually impaired (VI), today's mobile devices, while reasonably accessible, are not necessarily efficient. This inefficiency may be especially problematic for microinteractions, which are brief but high-frequency interactions that take only a few seconds for sighted users to complete (e.g., checking the weather or for new messages). One potential solution to support efficient non-visual microinteractions is on-body input, which appropriates the user's own body as the interaction medium. In this paper, we address two related research questions: How well are microinteractions currently supported for VI users' How should on-body interaction be designed to best support microinteractions for this user group? We conducted two studies: (1) an online survey to compare current microinteraction use between VI and sighted users (N=117); and (2) an in-person study where 12 VI screenreader users qualitatively evaluated a real-time on-body interaction system that provided three contrasting input designs. Our findings suggest that efficient microinteractions are not currently well-supported for VI users, at least using manual input, which highlights the need for new interaction approaches. On-body input offers this potential and the qualitative evaluation revealed tradeoffs with different on-body interaction techniques in terms of perceived efficiency, learnability, social acceptability, and ability to use on the go.
Does the Relation between Volunteering and Well-Being Vary with Health and Age?

Previous studies have established a positive association between organizational volunteering and well-being. In the current study, we examined whether the relations between organizational volunteering and positive affect, negative affect, and resilience are modified by respondents' age and number of chronic health conditions. This study used cross-sectional data from the 2008 Arizona Health Survey of residents 18 years old and older (N = 4,161). Multiple regression analyses provided no support for the hypothesis that age moderates the association between volunteer status and positive affect, negative affect, and resilience. In contrast, there was a significant (p < .05) interaction between volunteer status and chronic health conditions on positive affect and resilience. Consistent with the compensatory hypothesis, as number of chronic health conditions increased, the relations between volunteering and positive affect and resilience scores increased. Implications of these findings for increasing volunteering among adults with multiple chronic health conditions are discussed.
Gambling with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Should We Worry about the QALY?

Gastroenterologists mainly deal with chronic organic and functional illnesses that are not life threatening but can be expensive to treat. How this compares with the management of other diseases that cause significant mortality is an important question to answer if health-care resources are to be allocated appropriately. Comparing health care in terms of cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained is one approach to this problem although there are concerns about whose values should be elicited and how QALYs are measured.
Pharmacological therapy of osteoarthritis.

In 2000, both the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League of Associations of Rheumatology (EULAR) published recommendations for the use of pharmacological therapy in the treatment of patients with lower limb osteoarthritis. These recommendations are based on the level of evidence observed in systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses of published randomized controlled trials as well as expert opinion. Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is considered as first-line oral therapy for symptomatic lower limb osteoarthritis with mild to moderate pain because it is more efficacious than placebo and is generally considered to be safe and well tolerated. Data obtained in recent trials and the results of a meta-analysis, however, show that acetaminophen is not as efficacious as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain at rest and pain on motion. Furthermore, data from a recent epidemiological study suggest that use of high-dose acetaminophen (>2 g/day) may convey the same magnitude of increased risk for serious upper gastrointestinal adverse events as NSAIDs.NSAIDs have demonstrated efficacy superior to placebo in patients with osteoarthritis. The newer cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2-specific inhibitors (coxibs) have comparable efficacy to traditional dual inhibitor NSAIDs and have demonstrated a better gastrointestinal safety profile. Thus, for patients who have severe pain and/or signs of inflammation or who have failed to respond to acetaminophen, the use of a coxib should be considered, especially if the patient is at increased risk for serious upper gastrointestinal adverse events from a traditional NSAID.Compounds different from pure analgesics and NSAIDs are also used for the management of patients with osteoarthritis. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated statistically significant efficacy of such compounds (e.g. chondroitin sulphate, diacerhein, glucosamine sulphate) with the following characteristics: (1) the effect size seems to be of slightly lower magnitude than that seen for NSAIDs; (2) the onset of action is delayed for approximately 4 to 6 weeks; and (3) the symptomatic effect is maintained after stopping the treatment for periods of 4 to 8 weeks.The methodology for evaluating the possible structure-modifying effect of drugs has dramatically improved during the past decade. Two agents have demonstrated a beneficial structural effect: glucosamine sulphate in osteoarthritis of the knee, and diacerhein in osteoarthritis of the hip. The clinical relevance of such an effect needs to be further evaluated in long-term outcome studies.
Quasi-Z-source modular cascaded converter for high-power photovoltaic system

A quasi-Z-source modular cascaded converter (qZS-MCC) for high-power photovoltaic (PV) system is proposed. The qZS-MCC comprises front-end isolated qZS half-bridge (HB) dc-dc converter submodules (SMs). The post-stage qZS-HB handles the stochastic PV voltage and power variations, also interfaces with dc collection grid at series-output side; while a unified duty cycle is applied to the front-end isolation converter of all SMs, without control. Thus, the qZS-MCC PV system accomplishes the modular topology, at scalable voltage and power, with high reliability and easily implemented control. Configuration, operation, and control method of the proposed system are presented. Simulation results are carried out on 60-kW SM based qZS-MCC to demonstrate the validity of the proposed system.
A Robust Active Damping Control Strategy for an $LCL$ -Based Grid-Connected DG Unit

The connection of a distributed generation (DG) unit to a weak power system is challenging due to stability issues resulted from dynamic interactions between the DG unit and the grid. An LCL-based DG unit is a particularly challenging case due to the presence of a high resonant peak in its frequency response. This paper proposes a robust control strategy to overcome the stability issues of an LCL-based DG unit connected to a weak grid. The main advantage of the proposed control strategy is that it guarantees stability and satisfactory transient performance against the variations of grid impedance. Moreover, it is able to decouple the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$d$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$q$</tex-math></inline-formula> channels of the control system, which enables independent regulation of the real and reactive output power of the DG unit. Real-time simulations and experimental tests illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in terms of improved transient performance, robust stability, and satisfactory controller set-point tracking.
Unusual properties of a bent-core liquid-crystalline fluid

In our investigations of a family of achiral bent-core bis-(phenyl)oxadiazole derivatives, we observed some unusual properties of the nematic phase. These include evidence of segregation into domains of opposite handedness and the formation of clusters, nematic phase biaxiality, and a strongly kinetically governed phase behaviour, which leads to the display of unique filament structures at the onset of new order. We suggest that the combination of a deviant calamitic molecular shape with a considerable transverse dipole leads to an unusual strength and combination of molecular interactions, and as a consequence these nematic materials need to be considered as fluctuating and dynamically changing, multi-hierarchical fluids.
The Acute Parathyroid Hormone Response to Changes in Ionized Calcium during Phosphate Infusions in the Cow

Abstract. The concentration of plasma immunoreactive parathyroid hormone ([IPTH]) increased within one minute after the plasma ionized calcium concentration ([Ca++]) had been lowered by phosphate infusions in 8 cows. The decrease in [Ca++] could be accounted for by a rise in nonultrafiltrable calcium. The plasma total calcium concentration ([CaTot]) remained unchanged during the first 4 minutes of the phosphate infusion. Until this time [IPTH] was inversely related to [Ca++] and directly related to plasma phosphorus concentrations, but not to [CaTot]. Peak levels of [IPTH] were attained at 4 minutes, before the nadir of [Ca++] was reached and prior to a significant fall in [CaTot]. The data suggest that initial decreases in ionized but not in total calcium stimulate parathyroid hormone secretion. They provide evidence for a model of parathyroid hormone secretion which includes a small storage pool available for immediate release in response to a lowering of the [Ca++]. Between 4 and 12 minutes [IPTH] remained approximately constant in association with a continued fall in [Ca^], whereas between 13 and 16 minutes (the end of the phosphate infusions) [IPTH] was decreasing in association with still falling [Ca++]. It can be speculated that the synthesis of PTH is insufficient to account for a sustained increase in [IPTH], or that abrupt decreases of [Ca++] inside the parathyroid cells inhibit the secretion coupling mechanisms. Finally after 16 minutes [IPTH] continued decreasing in relation to the rising [Ca++].
Handling end-to-end QoS in mobile heterogeneous networking environments

The BRAIN (broadband radio access for IP based networks) project has been proposed to study a system that combines different wireless access network technologies. We present mechanisms to manage end-to-end QoS, including mobile end-systems and IP based wireless access networks (i.e. the BRAIN access network, BAN) in the transmission path. This includes the possible impact of mobility on QoS issues. Supporting QoS in mobile environments is hard to achieve because of potential handovers (horizontal and vertical) and error rate patterns of wireless links in contrast to fixed networks. To solve this issue, QoS signalling and adaptation mechanisms are required. We propose to build upon the BRAIN QoS framework and the BRain ENd Terminal Architecture (BRENTA), which provides the end-system functionality to manage QoS end-to-end from the users and applications point of view. We also show how admission control is embedded in the overall scenario and draft several protocol variants for an end-to-end negotiation of QoS that integrates local resource management and adaptation path strategies derived from users' QoS requirements.
Micro-Integrated External Cavity Diode Laser With 1.4-W Narrowband Emission at 445 nm

A compact external cavity diode laser module with 1.4-W narrowband emission at 445 nm is presented. A commercially available broad-area GaN-based laser diode is used as gain medium and a volume Bragg grating is integrated for wavelength stabilization. The laser module is realized on a conduction cooled package with a footprint of 25 mm × 25 mm. The spectral width is smaller than 50 pm over the whole operating range. A suppression of the amplified spontaneous emission with more than 50 dB is measured. The laser module is suitable for subsequent nonlinear frequency conversion into the deep ultraviolet spectral range.
Applying web-based co-regulated learning to develop students' learning and involvement in a blended computing course

This research investigated, via quasi-experiments, the effects of web-based co-regulated learning (CRL) on developing students' computing skills. Two classes of 68 undergraduates in a one-semester course titled “Applied Information Technology: Data Processing” were chosen for this research. The first class (CRL group, n = 38) received the intervention of web-based CRL teaching methods, while the second one (control group, n = 30) received a traditional teaching method for computing education. The results in this study show that students who received the web-based CRL attained significantly better computing skills than those who received the traditional teaching method. This study provides a design and illustration of web-based CRL for teachers, educators, and schools which place importance on improving students' computing skills and pay attention to development of online courses.
Improving Product Development Performance Through Iteration Front-Loading

Iteration is a central issue in the management of product development (PD) projects. Iteration is often recognized as a major cause of increased PD lead time and cost, a key driver of schedule risk, and a primary source of uncertainties in the commitment of resources. However, iteration, when planned and managed effectively, can also be used to overcome the uncertainties inherent in interdependent development activities, and to thereby improve and accelerate PD projects. In this paper, we present a methodology that engineering managers can use to identify process architectures which may provide more effectively structured iterations. The methodology determines the suggested process architecture by first eliminating any unbeneficial iterative loops, if they exist, through the application of existing design structure matrix methods, and, then, by front-loading iterations in organizing the other loops through the application of a group formation algorithm. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we compare its performance with that of other partitioning and sequencing algorithms also concerned with the ordering of activities within iterative blocks, and also evaluate its performance when used in conjunction with these other algorithms. Specifically, we apply these methods to four examples and use simulation modeling to evaluate the performance of the process architectures suggested by the different methods. Based on the four initial examples, it does appear that our methodology has significant potential to improve the management of PD projects with uncertain iterations by supporting systematic loop pattern explorations and front-loading. Study limitations and areas for future research are also discussed.
Information Transmission between Large and Small Stocks in the Korean Stock Market

Little attention has been paid to information transmission between the portfolios of large stocks and small stocks in the Korean stock market. This study investigates the return and volatility transmission mechanisms between large and small stocks in the Korea Exchange (KRX). This study also explores whether bad news in the large stock market leads to a volatility of the small stock market that is larger than the good news volatility of the large stock market. By employing the Granger causality test, we found unidirectional return transmissions from the large stocks to medium and small stocks. This evidence indicates that pat information about the large stocks has a better ability to predict the returns of the medium and small stocks in the Korean stock market. Moreover, by using the asymmetric GARCH-BEKK model, we observed the unidirectional relationship of asymmetric volatility transmission from large stocks to the medium and small stocks. This finding suggests that volatility in the medium and small stocks following a negative shock in the large stocks is larger than that following a positive shock in the large stocks. Keywords—Asymmetric GARCH-BEKK model, Asymmetric volatility transmission, Causality, Korean stock market, Spillover effect