Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Switched-mode BLAST technique for MIMO communications

MIMO Space-Time Coding (STC) could enhance the data rate or improve the BER by adding diversity in the presence of a channel fading. The V-BLAST and D-BLAST techniques are designed to improve the data rate. The performance of these techniques is highly dependent on the MIMO channel environment. The high SNR environment with spatially uncorrelated fading is well conditioned to V-BLAST. While, the low SNR or the fading is spatially correlated, is conditioned for the D-BLAST. This paper proposes a switched layered space-time (LST) technique, namely; switched-mode BLAST (SM-BLAST). The simulation results show that the proposed technique is to be able to adapt to a wide range of MIMO channel environments, providing a compromise performance improvement over the conventional non-adaptive BLAST techniques.
Mast Cell Infiltration in Human Brain Metastases Modulates the Microenvironment and Contributes to the Metastatic Potential

Metastatic brain tumors continue to be a clinical problem, despite new therapeutic advances in cancer treatment. Brain metastases (BMs) are among the most common mass lesions in the brain that are resistant to chemotherapies, have a very poor prognosis, and currently lack any efficient diagnostic tests. Predictions estimate that about 40% of lung and breast cancer patients will develop BM. Despite this, very little is known about the immunological and genetic aberrations that drive tumorigenesis in BM. In this study, we demonstrate the infiltration of mast cells (MCs) in a large cohort of human BM samples with different tissues of origin for primary cancer. We applied patient-derived BM cell models to the study of BM cell–MC interactions. BM cells when cocultured with MCs demonstrate enhanced growth and self-renewal capacity. Gene set enrichment analyses indicate increased expression of signal transduction and transmembrane proteins related genes in the cocultured BM cells. MCs exert their effect by release of mediators such as IL-8, IL-10, matrix metalloprotease 2, and vascular endothelial growth factor, thereby permitting metastasis. In conclusion, we provide evidence for a role of MCs in BM. Our findings indicate MCs’ capability of modulating gene expression in BM cells and suggest that MCs can serve as a new target for drug development against metastases in the brain.
Fundamental frequency smoothing for nonstationary multi-harmonic signals

A new estimator of the instantaneous fundamental frequency of a signal with multiple harmonic components is described. The proposed algorithm is a three-step procedure. First, the fundamental frequency is estimated using a bank of frequency tracking algorithms set for different signal harmonics. Then the smoothed estimates are evaluated by means of backward-time filtering of the results of tracking. Finally, the estimate of the instantaneous fundamental frequency is computed as a weighted sum of partial estimates. It is shown that the smoothing and weighting steps significantly increase both accuracy and robustness of frequency estimation.
Hierarchical Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for RFID Network Planning Optimization

This paper presents a novel optimization algorithm, namely, hierarchical artificial bee colony optimization, called HABC, to tackle the radio frequency identification network planning (RNP) problem. In the proposed multilevel model, the higher-level species can be aggregated by the subpopulations from lower level. In the bottom level, each subpopulation employing the canonical ABC method searches the part-dimensional optimum in parallel, which can be constructed into a complete solution for the upper level. At the same time, the comprehensive learning method with crossover and mutation operators is applied to enhance the global search ability between species. Experiments are conducted on a set of 10 benchmark optimization problems. The results demonstrate that the proposed HABC obtains remarkable performance on most chosen benchmark functions when compared to several successful swarm intelligence and evolutionary algorithms. Then HABC is used for solving the real-world RNP problem on two instances with different scales. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is superior for solving RNP, in terms of optimization accuracy and computation robustness.
Analytical Expression for Average SNR of Correlated Dual Selection Diversity System

We use a recently developed expression for the bivariate Rayleigh cumulative distribution function (CDF) to derive a novel analytical for- mula for the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the correlated dual selection combining (SC) system under slow Rayleigh fading. We relate the average SNR diversity gain to spatial correlation as well as to antenna separation. Furthermore, we also develop a more practical channel model in which multipath scatters are from more than one incident angle, each with a certain beamwidth. For any scattering eld from our model, the av- erage SNR diversity gain can be easily related to the antenna separation. Finally, we corroborate our theory with a simulation study. In this paper, we rst report the recently determined expression for the bivariate Rayleigh CDF (5). Then, with a new CDF expression developed in this paper, we derive a novel analytical formula for the average SNR of the correlated dual SC system. The average SNR diversity gain is then related to spatial correlation. Moreover, we develop a more practical channel model in which multi- path scatters are from more than one incident angle, each with a certain beamwidth. For the diuse scattering eld and a particular scattering eld from our model, the av- erage SNR diversity gain is plotted against the antenna separation. At the end of the paper, we corroborate the analytical results with simulations.
Deletion or Overexpression of Mitochondrial NAD+ Carriers in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Alters Cellular NAD and ATP Contents and Affects Mitochondrial Metabolism and the Rate of Glycolysis

ABSTRACT The modification of enzyme cofactor concentrations can be used as a method for both studying and engineering metabolism. We varied Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial NAD levels by altering expression of its specific mitochondrial carriers. Changes in mitochondrial NAD levels affected the overall cellular concentration of this coenzyme and the cellular metabolism. In batch culture, a strain with a severe NAD depletion in mitochondria succeeded in growing, albeit at a low rate, on fully respiratory media. Although the strain increased the efficiency of its oxidative phosphorylation, the ATP concentration was low. Under the same growth conditions, a strain with a mitochondrial NAD concentration higher than that of the wild type similarly displayed a low cellular ATP level, but its growth rate was not affected. In chemostat cultures, when cellular metabolism was fully respiratory, both mutants showed low biomass yields, indicative of impaired energetic efficiency. The two mutants increased their glycolytic fluxes, and as a consequence, the Crabtree effect was triggered at lower dilution rates. Strikingly, the mutants switched from a fully respiratory metabolism to a respirofermentative one at the same specific glucose flux as that of the wild type. This result seems to indicate that the specific glucose uptake rate and/or glycolytic flux should be considered one of the most important independent variables for establishing the long-term Crabtree effect. In cells growing under oxidative conditions, bioenergetic efficiency was affected by both low and high mitochondrial NAD availability, which suggests the existence of a critical mitochondrial NAD concentration in order to achieve optimal mitochondrial functionality.
Adaptive gain control for high dynamic range image display

Realistic display of high dynamic range images without introducing any artifact is a hard problem. In this paper we address this problem using a detail preserving local gain control approach. Unlike many other local gain control methods available in the literature, our method is simple, and does not introduce ugly "halo" artifacts around the high dynamic range edges. We demonstrate the usefulness of this method by showing several examples.
Invited Editorial: Why Micro-Foundations for Resource-Based Theory Are Needed and What They May Look Like

One of the important events in the development of resource-based theory (RBT) over the past decade has been the call for establishing micro-foundations for RBT. However, the micro-foundations project is still largely an unfulfilled promise. This article clarifies the nature of the micro-foundations project, discusses what it may add in terms of additional explanatory leverage, and specifically addresses micro-foundations in the context of knowledge-based value creation, a key theme in RBT.
Towards zero latency photonic switching in shared memory networks

Optical networks on chip based on silicon photonics have been proposed to reduce latency and power consumption in future chip multiprocessors. However, high performance chip multiprocessors use a shared memory model, which generates large numbers of short messages, creating high arbitration latency overhead for photonic switching networks. In this paper, we explore techniques that intelligently use information from the memory hierarchy to predict communication in order to setup photonic circuits with reduced or eliminated arbitration latency. Firstly, we present a switch scheduling algorithm, which arbitrates on a per memory transaction basis and holds open photonic circuits to exploit temporal locality. We show that this can reduce the average arbitration latency overhead by 60% and eliminate arbitration latency altogether for up to 70% of memory transactions. We then demonstrate that this switch scheduling algorithm operating with a central photonic crossbar or Clos switch has significant energy efficiency benefits over arbitration‐free photonic networks such as single writer multiple reader networks. Finally, we demonstrate that cache miss prediction can be used to predict 86% of more complex memory transactions involving multiple nodes or main memory. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multi-View Clustering Based on Belief Propagation

The availability of many heterogeneous but related views of data has arisen in numerous clustering problems. Different views encode distinct representations of the same data, which often admit the same underlying cluster structure. The goal of multi-view clustering is to properly combine information from multiple views so as to generate high quality clustering results that are consistent across different views. Based on max-product belief propagation, we propose a novel multi-view clustering algorithm termed multi-view affinity propagation (MVAP). The basic idea is to establish a multi-view clustering model consisting of two components, which measure the within-view clustering quality and the explicit clustering consistency across different views, respectively. Solving this model is NP-hard, and a multi-view affinity propagation is proposed, which works by passing messages both within individual views and across different views. However, the exemplar consistency constraint makes the optimization almost impossible. To this end, by using some previously designed mathematical techniques, the messages as well as the cluster assignment vector computations are simplified to get simple yet functionally equivalent computations. Experimental results on several real-world multi-view datasets show that MVAP outperforms existing multi-view clustering algorithms. It is especially suitable for clustering more than two views.
Repositioning biliteracy as capital for learning: lessons from teacher preparation at the US–Mexico border

This study explores biliteracy as understood and practiced in school and community contexts in a particular region of the US–Mexico borderlands, the Rio Grande Valley of southeast Texas. Drawing on capital theory, we contrast the ambivalent perceptions of Spanish/English biliteracy held by local pre-service and in-service educators with biliterate practices that are highly visible in the border communities where they live and teach. One objective of the study is to describe the diglossic nature of bilingualism and biliteracy in the Valley as a context for learning and teaching. We highlight patterns of overlap and difference in the ways that biliteracy is positioned in and out of school in this remarkably bilingual region, and we apply theories of human capital to interpret these patterns. A second objective is to share pedagogies for repositioning biliteracy through teacher education and to suggest directions for further research.
Interleukin-10 promoter polymorphism in psoriasis.

Beneficial effects of interleukin-10 therapy and lower endogenous interleukin-10 formation compared with atopic dermatitis and cutaneous T cell lymphomas indicated that interleukin-10 is a key cytokine in psoriasis. The interleukin-10 promoter is highly polymorphic, with two informative microsatellites, interleukin-10.G and interleukin-10.R. In order to understand whether interleukin-10 itself is a predisposing gene for the psoriasis susceptibility we analyzed interleukin-10 promotor polymorphism in patients. The distribution of interleukin-10.G and interleukin10.R microsatellite alleles did not vary between patients (n = 78) and healthy controls (n = 80). In addition, when the psoriasis patients were stratified according to age of onset (younger than 40 y of age, or age 40 and older), no difference in allele distribution was observed; however, a clear differential distribution was revealed at the interleukin10.G locus when patients were stratified according to whether they had a positive family history of psoriasis (p = 0.04). This difference was due to an over-representation of the interleukin10.G13 allele in those patients with familial disease (40.4% vs 19.6%, Chi-square = 7.292, p = 0.007). The positive association of allele interleukin10.G13 with familial psoriasis was especially true when patients with an early onset (< 40 y of age) of the disease were compared with those patients with early onset against a nonfamilial background (39.6% vs 14.5%, Chi-square = 8.959, p = 0.003). Patients with age-of-onset of less than 40 were 4-fold [odds ratio = 3.85 (1.55--9.62)] more likely to have a psoriatic family background if they carried this interleukin10.G13 allele. These data suggest that the interleukin-10 locus contributes to the heritability of psoriasis susceptibility.
An Algorithm for Efficiently Generating Summary Paragraphs Using Tree-Adjoining Grammar

We present an algorithm which improves the efficiency of a search for the optimally aggregated paragraph which summarises a flat structured input specification. We model the space of possible paraphrases of possible paragraphs as the space of sequences of compositions of a set of tree-adjoining grammar (TAG) elementary trees. Our algorithm transforms this to a set with equivalent paraphrasing power but better computational properties. Also, it identifies an explicit mapping between input propositions and their possible surface realisations.
Infant-holding biases in mothers and affective symptoms during pregnancy and after delivery

Several authors have reported that participants have a leftward bias when holding a newborn or young infant. Our study of mothers met before and after their infant's birth sought to ascertain whether particular combinations of affective symptoms (depression, anxiety) and holding positions (horizontal versus vertical) were related to holding-side biases. Our results showed that (a) mothers displayed a significant leftward (71%) holding bias, (b) mothers with affective symptoms held their newborn on the right side and more frequently in the vertical position, and (c) hemispheric specialization for perceiving visual emotions had no significant effect on the holding-side biases of new mothers. These results suggest that maternal affective symptoms have a dominant effect on the determination of holding-side preferences, when associated with a particular holding position. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
First language paradigms in conflict: Hidden dialogue in Swedish curricula 1962–2011

Seven successive curricula for Swedish in the Swedish primary school are investigated using a linguistic method that traces its origin to the Russian literary theorist, Michail Bakhtin. The amount of dialogicity, viewed as the room given to different paradigms to argue against each other, is shown to decrease from the earlier curricula to the later ones. The few dialogues in the later curricula are also shown to be vague in character, making it difficult to attribute the voices to different paradigms. It is argued that this vagueness is in keeping with the tradition of corporatism in Sweden, where consensus is reached at the cost of less clarity and concretion. It is rather the clarity of the earlier curricula that demands explanation and some explanations are tested. In the most recent development, politicians have lost their interest in the wordings of the curriculum and concentrate on formulating goals for different grades. By doing so, they steer the subject of Swedish in the direction of the Swedish as Skills paradigm, with the suppression of Swedish as Personal Growth or Swedish as Critical Literacy, very much imitating the corresponding New Labour programme in England.
Principles of brain single-photon emission computed tomography imaging

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the l icence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Medicine Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy). Subscriber: Habib Zaidi; date: 27 November 2015 Publisher: Oxford University Press Print Publication Date: Oct 2015 Print ISBN-13: 9780199664092 Published online: Oct 2015 DOI: 10.1093/med/9780199664092.001. 0001
BTB protein, dKLHL18/CG3571, serves as an adaptor subunit for a dCul3 ubiquitin ligase complex

The BTB domain is a highly conserved protein–protein interaction motif and functions in diverse cellular processes, including transcriptional regulation, ion channel assembly, cytoskeleton dynamics and apoptosis. Recently, it was reported that some BTB domain‐containing proteins associate with Cullin‐3 (Cul3), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, and act as an adaptor for Cul3 recognition of its substrate. However, the target substrates for the Cul3/BTB protein E3 ubiquitin ligase complex are largely unknown. Here, we report the characterization of a novel Drosophila BTB protein, dKLHL18/CG3571. By purification of a dKLHL18‐associated complex, we identified CG10324, CG5808, l(2)37Cb and dCul3/guftagu. Indeed, the physical association of dKLHL18 with these proteins was observed in insect S2 cells, and genetic interactions among the identified factors were also observed in thorax development. Moreover, transient overexpression of dKLHL18 increased the ubiquitinated protein levels of CG10324 and CG5808. These findings suggest that dKLHL18 is an adaptor for a dCul3 E3 ubiquitin ligase to accommodate CG10324, CG5808 and l(2)37Cb proteins for ubiquitination.
A Linear-Programming Approach to The Design of LDPC Codes for Non-Uniform Channels

We propose a linear-programming approach to the design of low-density parity-check codes for non-uniform channels, i.e., when different bits of the codeword experience different channel parameters. Non-uniform channels are encountered in many communication systems, e.g., in a network that different packets are sent through parallel routes; in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, where the codeword bits are modulated in different frequency bins with different SNR; also in multi-input multi-output systems, where different channel pairs have different parameters. We formulate the problem of optimizing the rate of an irregular low-density parity-check code, with guaranteed convergence over such a channel, as an iterative linear-programming. The number of design-parameters for code-design over non-uniform channels is much greater than the number of design-parameters in conventional channels. Therefore, search-based optimization methods are impractical. As a result, a linear-programming approach is significantly more efficient. The methodology of this paper is directly applicable to all decoding algorithms for which an exact or accurate-enough one-dimensional analysis is possible. For other decoding algorithms, we show that the method can still be applied after minor modifications.
Recall enhancement with gaze guiding: Performance support and error reduction in dual tasks

Past studies found that skill acquisition benefits from visual support techniques such as gaze guiding. Research on fixed sequences has already demonstrated the positive effect of gaze guiding for recalling learned skills after a period of non-use. Cued recall with gaze guiding proved to be a promising way to support skills that may be recalled incompletely or seem to be forgotten. The present study investigates whether gaze guiding can also support a parallel-sequence task. 40 participants were trained to perform a parallel-sequence task that combined complex cognitive skills (week 1). After two weeks of non-use, the skill had to be recalled with the help of gaze guiding (Gaze-Guiding group) or without any help (Control group). The results showed that gaze guiding supported skill retention in the parallel-sequence task effectively compared to the Control group. This indicates that gaze guiding is a promising approach to support parallel-sequence task performance after a retention interval.
Female infertility in mice deficient in midkine and pleiotrophin, which form a distinct family of growth factors

Midkine and pleiotrophin form a family of growth factors. Mice deficient in one of the genes show few abnormalities on reproduction and development. To understand their roles in these processes, we produced mice deficient in both genes; the double deficient mice were born in only one third the number expected by Mendelian segregation and 4 weeks after birth weighed about half as much as wild‐type mice. Most of the female double deficient mice were infertile. In these mice, the numbers of mature follicles and of ova at ovulation were reduced compared to numbers in wild‐type mice. Both midkine and pleiotrophin were expressed in the follicular epithelium and granulosa cells of the ovary. The expression of these factors in the uterus was dramatically altered during the estrous cycle. The diestrus and proestrus periods were long and the estrus period was short in the double deficient mice, indicating the role of the factors in the estrous cycle. Furthermore, vaginal abnormality was found in about half of the double deficient mice. These abnormalities in combination resulted in female infertility. Therefore, midkine and pleiotrophin, together with their signaling receptors, play important roles in the female reproductive system.
Movable Party: A bicycle-powered system for interactive musical performance

Movable Party is a mobile, real-time interactive music system where audience-participants pedal stationary bicycles to generate power and perform interactive music. Inspired by nakashi Taiwanese street performance culture, Movable Party creates a bustling public and streetside vibrancy in the decentralized metropolis of Los Angeles. The system consists of three stationary bicycles, each equipped with rear wheel hub motors that generate enough energy to power a medium-sized public address system. The bicycles are also equipped with sensors to track rear wheel speed as well as rider position, transforming them into interactive musical instruments in two different modes: Interactive DJ and Step Sequencer. The Interactive DJ mode enables a laptop performer to create and mix music with data from the three bicycles. The Step Sequencer mode enables rider-participants to directly control a three-voice, eight-step sequencer. Sonic mappings are focused on representation of rear wheel speed, which translates directly to power generation.