Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the required tap-weight precision for digitally implemented, adaptive, mean-squared equalizers

An analysis is made of the degree of precision required in a digitally implemented adaptive equalizer to achieve a satisfactory level of performance. Considering both the conventional synchronously spaced equalizer and the newer fractionally spaced equalizer, insight is provided into the relationship between the tap-weight precision and the steady-state, mean-squared error. It is demonstrated why the number of adaptive tap weights should be kept to a minimum (consistent with acceptable steady-state performance), both from convergence and precision requirements. A simple formula is given that displays the tradeoff among the equalizer mean-squared error, the number of taps, the channel characteristics, and digital resolution. For typical basic-conditioned voiceband channels operating at 9.6 kb/s, and neglecting the effects that limited resolution might have on timing and carrier phase tracking, analysis and simulation both indicate that the required top-weight resolution is of the order of 11 or 12 bits. Moreover, the minimum precision is only weakly dependent on the quality of the channel.
Precision Tracking of a Rotating Shaft With Magnetic Bearings by Nonlinear Decoupled Disturbance Observers

Static offset and synchronous vibration are obstacles to precision tracking of a rotating shaft supported by active magnetic bearings (AMBs). A constant and harmonic disturbance observer is an effective approach to estimate and suppress these undesired effects. A disturbance observer is particularly well-suited for tracking applications since it can directly compensate for AMB force nonlinearity. In this paper, we propose a nonlinear reduced-order disturbance observer which is incorporated into a flatness-based tracking control. Since a reduced-order approach requires knowledge of velocity, we design an inner-loop velocity observer which can achieve convergence at a faster rate than the disturbance observer. This hierarchical observer simplifies the control because disturbance estimates are decoupled for each degree of freedom (DOF) and disturbance compensation is modularized. Experimental results on a commercially available 5-DOF system demonstrate accurate position tracking over the bearing air gap for a wide range of shaft velocities.
A Theoretical Estimate of the Energy Barriers Between Stable Conformations of the Proline Dimer

Semi-empirical energy calculations for an internal Pro-Pro dimer are presented that take into account the nature of the flexibility of the proline ring due to its puckering. Calculations show that three stable conformations are available for the dimer: the cis (w = O", + = 160'); the trans (w = 180", $ = 160", also referred to as trans'); and the cis' (w = 180°, tb = -40') conformations. The best conformational pathways between these stable conformations are determined. Calculations also show that the barrier for cis'-trans' conversion is of the same order of magnitude as that for cis-trans conversion.
The presurgical status of the alveolar cleft and success of secondary bone grafting.

OBJECTIVE The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate presurgical status of the alveolar cleft site and success of secondary alveolar bone grafting. DESIGN Thirty patient records were retrospectively reviewed. Patients selected for inclusion had isolated cleft of at least the primary palate. Patients with additional anomalies were not selected. The study population consisted of 15 female sites and 16 male cleft sites. There were two bilateral cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients and 28 unilateral CLP patients. The age at the time of the secondary alveolar bone grafting ranged from 7 years to 14 years, 4 months. SETTING The study was conducted at the Cleft Palate Clinic at the University of Minnesota, School of Dentistry. METHOD Presurgical radiographs taken at least 1 month prior to the secondary bone grafting and postsurgical radiographs taken at least 6 months after bone surgery were measured. Measurements included size of the cleft defect and bone support for distal and mesial teeth adjacent to the cleft. Evaluation of success was determined on the basis of postsurgical measurements of satisfactory, intermediate, and unsatisfactory outcomes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The size of the cleft defect was not correlated with the success rate of the secondary alveolar bone grafting. If the amount of distal bone support for the mesial tooth was the same as those in a periodontally healthy individual, a satisfactory outcome was 5.8 times more likely. If the amount of mesial bone support for the distal tooth was the same as those in a periodontally healthy individual, the satisfactory outcome was 3.8 times more likely. Although not a primary purpose of the study, it was found that in this study population, if the patient was female, a satisfactory outcome was 3.8 times more likely.
Newly-developed Devices for The Two Types of Underwater Vehicles

JAMSTEC has developed the two types of underwater vehicle since 2005: an ROV to the oceans' deepest depth called ASSS11k (advanced sediment sampling system to 11,000 meter) and a hybrid underwater vehicle for use in shallow-water to mid-depth zones named PICASSO (Plankton Investigatory Collaborating Autonomous Survey System Operon). The most important purpose of the ASSS11k is to get a lot of mud sample of challenger deep in the Mariana Trench, because a number of bacteria have been found there. Scientist wants to continuously explore the deepest parts of the oceans with a vehicle equipped with sediment samplers. ASSS11k consists of a sampling station and a sediment probe. The station contains two types of bottom samplers. One launches the probe to make a preliminary survey, launching the sampler to obtain a sample. We carried out the first sea trial using support vessel of "KAIREI" in January 2007. We tested every functions of the system and achieved sediment sampling at Sagami bay. PICASSO (2 times 0.8 times 0.8 m, 200 kg) is designed for biological and oceanographic observations in depths of up to 1,000 m. This small, light vehicle can be handled and operated by a team of only a few people. The easy-to-use vehicle does not need a dedicated support ship. The vehicle can be used either as untethered remotely operated vehicle (UROV) or autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). In order to develop these vehicles, we used some new technologies and then developed new original devices: a small electrical-optical hybrid communication system, an HDTV optical communication system with Ethernet interface, synthetic designed pressure vessel-chassis-inner circuit boards, buoyancy material for deepest depth, a thin cable with high-tensile strength, a core sampler launcher, crawlers, compact winch motor drivers, a USBL system, a ballast controller, a friendly-user-interface program for operator, a high capacity lithium ion battery, a down sizing optical fiber spooler, and a prototype of underwater electromagnetic communication system.
A novel compact MIMO array based on planar Yagi antennas for multipath fading channels

A novel approach to the design of MIMO arrays exploiting directive antennas is presented. It is well known that pattern orthogonality is a key issue to reach low inter-element correlation, and thus to improve channel capacity. However, in the literature the attention is often focused on reducing mutual coupling instead of optimizing the active element patterns. In this paper a MIMO array of printed Yagi antennas with integrated balun is presented. The end-fire radiation mechanism of the Yagi is exploited to obtain a triangular array of three sectoral antennas. This allows to achieve nearly orthogonal patterns and low mutual coupling between neighbour elements. A properly shaped ground at the antenna feeding points allows to reach small inter-element spacings (well below 0.5 λ) which are typically critical for conventional uniform linear MIMO arrays of omnidirectional radiators. The effectiveness of a planar array made of sectoral-coverage elements to improve MIMO capacity is demonstrated through numerical simulations with IEEE 802.11n channel models.
Eligibility Traces and Plasticity on Behavioral Time Scales: Experimental Support of NeoHebbian Three-Factor Learning Rules

Most elementary behaviors such as moving the arm to grasp an object or walking into the next room to explore a museum evolve on the time scale of seconds; in contrast, neuronal action potentials occur on the time scale of a few milliseconds. Learning rules of the brain must therefore bridge the gap between these two different time scales. Modern theories of synaptic plasticity have postulated that the co-activation of pre- and postsynaptic neurons sets a flag at the synapse, called an eligibility trace, that leads to a weight change only if an additional factor is present while the flag is set. This third factor, signaling reward, punishment, surprise, or novelty, could be implemented by the phasic activity of neuromodulators or specific neuronal inputs signaling special events. While the theoretical framework has been developed over the last decades, experimental evidence in support of eligibility traces on the time scale of seconds has been collected only during the last few years. Here we review, in the context of three-factor rules of synaptic plasticity, four key experiments that support the role of synaptic eligibility traces in combination with a third factor as a biological implementation of neoHebbian three-factor learning rules.
Effects of hydroxyethyl rutosides upon the permeability of single capillaries in the frog mesentery

1 We have investigated the effects of a standardised mixture of hydroxyethyl rutosides (HR) upon the permeability of the walls of single capillaries and venules of the frog mesentery. 2 In each experiment a single vessel was perfused via a micropipette with frog Ringer solutions containing bovine serum albumin (10 mg ml−1) and Ficoll 70 (40 mg ml−1) first in the absence of HR and then with HR added to the perfusate. The permeability of the vessel walls was assessed during each perfusion by using a development of the Landis micro‐occlusion technique to estimate their hydraulic permeability (Lp) and the effective osmotic pressure (σΔπ) exerted across them by the perfusate macromolecules. 3 Measurements were made both in vessels which appeared to be healthy and in vessels showing signs of stasis or inflammation before perfusion. 4 HR at concentrations of 1.0, 0.1 and 0.01 mg ml−1 reduced hydraulic permeability to approximately half of its value in the absence of HR. It increased σδπ to macromolecules at concentrations of 10, 1.0, 0.1, 0.01 and 0.001 mg ml−1. The effects of HR upon permeability were not reversed within 10 min of perfusion with an HR‐free solution. 5 Ultrastructural examination of a number of vessels in which initial high values of permeability were reduced to values within the normal range of permeabilities by HR, showed clear signs of damage to the endothelium, with large gaps between adjacent endothelial cells. 6 These observations suggest that HR does reduce microvascular permeability both in healthy vessels and vessels showing signs of inflammation. The reduction in permeability of inflamed vessels does not appear to be the result of closure of the gaps between adjacent endothelial cells.
Rapid responses to oxidative stress mediated by iron regulatory protein.

Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs), including superoxide anion (O2.‐) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), are by‐products of aerobic metabolism with potential toxicity towards cellular macromolecules, including lipids, proteins and DNA. Excess ROIs, a condition referred to as oxidative stress, is considered to be a major contributor to ageing, degenerative diseases and reperfusion injury. The reactivity of H2O2 with iron (Fenton reaction) intimately connects oxidative stress and cellular iron metabolism. We have found a novel oxidative stress response pathway in mammalian cells which links oxidative stress to the regulation of iron metabolism. Exposure of cells to H2O2 leads to reduced synthesis of the intracellular iron storage protein ferritin and stimulates transferrin receptor (TfR) mRNA expression. Both responses are post‐transcriptional and result from induction of iron regulatory protein (IRP) binding to iron‐responsive elements (IREs) in ferritin and TfR mRNAs. IRP induction by H2O2 appears to involve the disassembly of its cubane 4Fe‐4S cluster and occurs even in the presence of the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. The induction kinetics by H2O2 far exceed those by iron starvation. The response requires cellular integrity and cannot be elicited in cell extracts. Whereas the activation of IRP by iron depletion is insensitive to okadaic acid, the rapid induction by H2O2 is blocked by this inhibitor of type I/IIa protein phosphatases. Thus okadaic acid separates the activation pathways by iron depletion and oxidative stress, suggesting the involvement of stress‐induced kinase/phosphatase pathways in the latter.
The evolution of north‐east Atlantic gadfly petrels using statistical phylogeography

Macaronesia (north‐east Atlantic archipelagos) has been host to complex patterns of colonization and differentiation in many groups of organisms including seabirds such as gadfly petrels (genus Pterodroma). Considering the subspecies of widely distributed soft‐plumaged petrel for many years, the taxonomic status of the three gadfly petrel taxa breeding in Macaronesia is not yet settled, some authors advocating the presence of three, two or one species. These birds have already been the subject of genetic studies with only one mtDNA gene and relatively modest sample sizes. In this study, using a total of five genes (two mitochondrial genes and three nuclear introns), we investigated the population and phylogeographical histories of petrel populations breeding on Madeira and Cape Verde archipelagos. Despite confirming complete lineage sorting with mtDNA, analyses with nucDNA failed to reveal any population structuring and Isolation with Migration analysis revealed the absence of gene flow during the differentiation process of these populations. It appears that the three populations diverged in the late Pleistocene in the last 150 000 years, that is 10 times more recently than previous estimates based solely on one mtDNA gene. Finally, our results suggest that the Madeira petrel population is ancestral rather than that from Cape Verde. This study strongly advocates the use of nuclear loci in addition to mtDNA in demographical and phylogeographical history studies.
Heterozygous CYP1B1 gene mutations in Spanish patients with primary open-angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE To investigate CYP1B1 gene mutations in Spanish patients with ocular hypertension (OHT) or primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS The two coding exons of CYP1B1 were screened for sequence alterations by direct PCR DNA sequencing in 37 and 82 unrelated Spanish subjects diagnosed with OHT and POAG, respectively. As a control we used a group of 93 subjects from whom OHT or glaucoma were ruled out. RESULTS We found three different predicted amino acid substitutions (Ala189Pro, Ala330Ser, and Ala443Gly) in three (8.1%) OHT subjects, and seven different mutations (Ser28Trp, Gly61Glu, Tyr81Asn, Gln144His, Arg145Trp, Glu229Lys, and Val409Phe) in nine (10.9%) glaucoma patients. These sequence variations showed higher frequencies in cases than in controls (as recently reported in French patients). They are predicted to produce a significant change in the amino acid sequence and affect conserved regions of the protein. All these missense mutations were found as heterozygots. In addition, four of them have been previously found in PCG and/or POAG patients, whereas the other six mutations (Ser28Trp, Gln144His, Arg145Trp, Ala189Pro, Ala330Ser, and Val409Phe) have not been previously described. Clinically, these mutations are associated with an age at diagnosis ranging from 12 to 58 years (mean 34.3 years) and from 48 to 77 years (mean 59.9 years) among OHT and glaucoma patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Heterozygous CYP1B1 mutations could confer increased susceptibility to the development of POAG in the Spanish population.
The Efficiency of Zakah Institutions Using Data Envelopment Analysis

Although social based, but in its management the Zakah Institutions need to uphold professionalism, transparency and accountability. Most recently, in the measurement of the effectiveness of the management of zakah fund, known Zakah Core Principles concept. This study would try to measure the efficiency of 3 (three) Zakah Institutions with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. Banxia Frontier Analyst 3.1 used in data calculation. The calculation of the level of Zakah Institutions efficiency in this study are relative, not absolute. The results show that there is 12 fully efficient Decision Making Unit (DMU) Zakah Institution (100% efficient) and 6 DMU inefficient. The main factor inefficiency Zakah Institution from 2007 to 2014 due to the distribution of zakah funds to ashnaf. It is still less than optimal. So it has not been able to resolve the problem of poverty. DOI: 10.15408/aiq.v8i2. 2876
Heart rate dynamics and clinical episodes of atrial fibrillation

In animal models increased vagal outflow has been shown to play a major role in the initiation and the maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF), but the role of the autonomic nervous system in the genesis and maintenance of clinical AF has not been well established. This research was designed to assess the role of the autonomic nervous system in the initiation, maintenance and recurrence of clinical AF episodes by measuring various indexes of heart rate (HR) variability in relation to the occurrence and duration of clinical AF episodes. The study population consisted of patients for whom 24-hour ECG recordings were performed because of clinical reasons, and of 116 consecutive patients who were treated with transthoracic electrical cardioversion due to persistent AF (>3 month). HR variability was initially analyzed in 20-minute intervals before 62 episodes of AF in 22 patients with lone AF, and then in 15-minute periods both in patients with structural heart disease (n=35) and in patients with lone AF (n=28). HR variability was analyzed from the entire recording in 78 patients after restoration of sinus rhythm with cardioversion. HR turbulence after atrial ectopic beats located 0 to 60 min before the onset of AF episodes was compared with the means of HR turbulence after atrial ectopic beats by hour in the rest of the recording in 39 patients with structural heart disease and in 29 patients with lone AF. Traditional time and frequency domain measures of HR variability showed no significant changes before the onset of AF. However, a progressive decrease occurred both in the approximate entropy (ApEn) (p<0.001) and short-term scaling exponent values (α) (p<0.001) before the AF episodes in patients without structural heart diseases. In the analysis of possible relationship between the duration of AF and the HR variability preceding the AF, the high-frequency (HF) spectral component of HR variability was observed to be higher (p<0.0001) and low-frequency (LF) component lower (p<0.0001) before long (>200 s, n=41) compared to short (<200 s, n=51) AF episodes in patients with lone AF. After restoration of sinus rhythm with cardioversion in patients with recurrence of AF during one month, all power spectral components except the ultra-low-frequency power were increased. An increased HF spectral component specifically predicted the early recurrence of AF. Turbulence onset was significantly higher during one hour before the AF than during the other hours of the recording, both in patients with structural heart diseases and in patients with lone AF (p<0.0001 for both). In conclusion, specific changes in HR variability patterns are related to spontaneous onset, maintenance and recurrence of clinical AF episodes: 1) a decrease in the complexity of R-R intervals is a common phenomenon preceding the spontaneous onset of clinical AF episodes; 2) altered HR variability, reflecting changes
Associating protein activities with their genes: rapid identification of a gene encoding a methylglyoxal reductase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Methylglyoxal is associated with a broad spectrum of biological effects, including cytostatic and cytotoxic activities. It is detoxified by the glyoxylase system or by its reduction to lactaldehyde by methylglyoxal reductase. We show that methylglyoxal reductase (NADPH‐dependent) is encoded by GRE2 (YOL151w). We associated this activity with its gene by partially purifying the enzyme and identifying by MALDI–TOF the proteins in candidate bands on SDS–PAGE gels whose relative intensities correlated with specific activity through three purification steps. The candidate proteins were then purified using a glutathione‐S‐transferase tag that was fused to them, and tested for methylglyoxal reductase activity. The advantage of this approach is that only modest protein purification is required. Our approach should be useful for identifying many of the genes that encode the metabolic pathway enzymes that have not been associated with a gene (about 275 in S. cerevisiae, by our estimate). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
High-Energy Picosecond Pulse Generation by Gain Switching in Asymmetric Waveguide Structure Multiple Quantum Well Lasers

A multiple quantum well laser diode utilizing an asymmetric waveguide structure with a large equivalent spot size of ~3 μm is shown to give high energy (~1 nJ) and short (~100 ps) isolated optical pulses when injected with <;10 A and ~1-ns current pulses realized with a MOS driver. The active dimensions of the laser diode are 30 μm (stripe width) and 3 mm (cavity length), and it works in a single transversal mode at a wavelength of ~0.8 μm. Detailed investigation of the laser behavior at elevated temperatures is conducted; it is shown that at high enough injection currents, lasers of the investigated type show low temperature sensitivity. Laser diodes of this type may find use in accurate and miniaturized laser radars utilizing single photon detection in the receiver.
Early evolution and ecology of camouflage in insects

Taxa within diverse lineages select and transport exogenous materials for the purposes of camouflage. This adaptive behavior also occurs in insects, most famously in green lacewing larvae who nestle the trash among setigerous cuticular processes, known as trash-carrying, rendering them nearly undetectable to predators and prey, as well as forming a defensive shield. We report an exceptional discovery of a green lacewing larva in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain with specialized cuticular processes forming a dorsal basket that carry a dense trash packet. The trash packet is composed of trichomes of gleicheniacean ferns, which highlight the presence of wildfires in this early forest ecosystem. This discovery provides direct evidence of an early acquisition of a sophisticated behavioral suite in stasis for over 110 million years and an ancient plant–insect interaction.