Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Inverse Diffraction Technique for Scaling Measurements of Ionospheric Scintillations on the GPS L1, L2, and L5 Carriers to Other Frequencies

To predict the impact of ionospheric scintillations on communications, navigation, and space radar systems it can be useful to simulate the RF conditions under which these systems must operate. GNSS satellites broadcast radio signals that can be monitored by receivers on the ground to specify scintillations at multiple frequencies in the L band range. In this paper, we describe an inverse diffraction technique for mapping the deterministic structure of GPS scintillations measured at the L1, L2, and L5 frequencies to other frequencies. In the case of weak scatter, a statistical theory that describes how the S4 index scales from one frequency to another is well established (Rino, Radio Sci., 14, 1135, 1979). However, this statistical scaling breaks down when the S4 index at either frequency saturates due to multiple scatter effects. The inverse diffraction technique can be used under both weak and strong scatter conditions, and it works as follows. The complex signal fluctuations on the ground are backpropagated up to ionospheric altitudes to infer an equivalent phase screen. Forward-propagation through a wavelength-scaled version of this screen provides a realization of the complex fluctuations at the desired operating frequency. Using 50 Hz
Putting Real-World Objects into Virtual World: Fast Automatic Creation of Animatable 3D Models with a Consumer Depth Camera

Consumer depth cameras such as Kinect are gaining huge popularity due to their potential to real-time 3D surface reconstruction. The creation of tractable 3D object models from the reconstructed surface model, however, requires further processings for segmentation, mesh/texture generation, and skeletal rigging. Providing solutions for all these issues, this paper formulate a comprehensive framework for generating animatable 3D models of real-world objects using only a single depth camera, with no needs of any generic models and specific viewers. The proposed system enables easy creation of 3D models even for non-experts within a few minutes. As demonstrated in the experimental results, our system generates visually realistic 3D models and their plausible animations.
Effects of Exercise on Left Ventricular Systolic and Diastolic Properties in Patients With Heart Failure and a Preserved Ejection Fraction Versus Heart Failure and a Reduced Ejection Fraction

Lifelong exercise training maintains a youthful compliance of the left ventricle (LV), whereas a year of exercise training started later in life fails to reverse LV stiffening, possibly because of accumulation of irreversible advanced glycation end products. Alagebrium is a novel drug that breaks advanced glycation end product crosslinks and improves LV stiffness in aged animals. In this study, the authors prescribed alagebrium (200 mg daily) or placebo combined with aerobic exercise training or contact control in healthy, sedentary older individuals for 1 year. The authors evaluated overall cardiac function by the use of several modalities, including invasive pressure–volume measurements, exercise testing, and cardiac MRI before and after the training. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effects of alagebrium and exercise training in healthy aged humans. After intervention, exercise training significantly increased exercise capacity, LV mass, and LV end-diastolic volume. Conversely, alagebrium had little effect on exercise capacity or LV geometry. However, alagebrium showed a modest improvement in LV stiffness compared with placebo. This favorable effect of alagebrium on LV stiffness was most prominent in individuals with combined alagebrium and exercise training.
Knowledge and opinion on prostate and prevalence of self-reported BPH and prostate-related events. A cross-sectional survey in Italy

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a very common condition in ageing men and causes considerable morbidity. Although great strides have been made recently, important issues remain under-researched and poorly understood. We have conducted a survey on a representative sample of Italian males to investigate the knowledge and opinion on prostate, to estimate the self-reported prevalence and intensity of BPH and LUTS (low urinary tract symptoms) and to evaluate the performance of the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) in a population-based sample. Trained interviewers administered a standardized questionnaire to a representative random sample of 671 Italian men aged 50 years and over, between May and June 2000. Univariate and multivariate statistical techniques were used to estimate the prevalence of relevant events, and the associations with selected variables. Only half of responders were able to identify the reason for prostate enlargement, less than one-third recently had spoken with a doctor, and only 8.6% had had a rectal examination. Further, 13.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 11.1–16.3%) had ever been told they had BPH, with less than half of them receiving surgery for BPH. About 19% reported moderate-severe I-PSS. Both self-reported BPH and severe–moderate LUTS increased significantly with age (P-value <0.01). As to the I-PSS performance, we documented in a community-based sample that it is reliable and valid. Results of the multivariate analysis suggest that, in addition to age, a person's knowledge that they have BPH and a poor perception of health status are the main variables associated with the probability of moderate–severe LUTS. In conclusion, this community-based survey documents that Italian males have a poor knowledge and perception of prostate-related conditions and do not adequately care about them and, thus, do not seek medical attention. These facts notwithstanding, urological conditions such as BPH are common and may largely affect an individual's life. Our findings might help in the design and implementation of effective interventions to improve people's knowledge and understanding of prostate and change their attitudes towards medical care.
High-Bandwidth Demodulation in Multifrequency AFM : A Kalman Filtering Approach

Emerging multifrequency atomic force microscopy (MF-AFM) methods rely on coherent demodulation of the cantilever deflection signal at multiple frequencies. These measurements are needed in order to close the z-axis feedback loop and to acquire complementary information on the tip-sample interaction. While the common method is to use a lock-in amplifier capable of recovering low-level signals from noisy backgrounds, its performance is ultimately bounded by the bandwidth of the low-pass filters. In light of the demand for constantly increasing imaging speeds while providing multifrequency flexibility, we propose to estimate the in-phase and quadrature components with a linear time-varying Kalman filter. The chosen representation allows for an efficient high-bandwidth implementation on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Tracking bandwidth and noise performance are verified experimentally and trimodal AFM results on a two-component polymer sample highlight the applicability of the proposed method for MF-AFM.
BingBee @ RaglanRoad - A field trial with unattended educational kiosks

A pod of ten unattended “behind-the-glass” computer kiosks has been running at the Raglan Road Multipurpose Centre in Grahamstown for more than three years. The goal is to enhance computational thinking skills, and to provide logic, mathematical, reading and computer literacy skills via edutainment and fun. The technology is explicitly engineered so that usage is not dependent on having willing teachers as supervisors. Initially targeted at 7–13 year old children, we've had to make adaptations for younger children from the on-site pre-primary school. We describe the innovative mechanism that allows unattended access while securing and protecting our systems. We give a brief overview of the technology and content on the kiosks, the implementation, and some observations about usage. Unusually, the project was conceived and initiated from a technical perspective, and we discuss some issues that have arisen around maintenance and division of responsibilities between the parties involved.
Using insertion convolutional code for speech transmission over GERAN 8PSK voice bearers

Lower rate codes can be constructed from a high rate code by inserting known dummy bits into the information bit sequence before encoding. These so-called insertion convolutional (IC) codes can individually adjust the amount of protection given to the information bits, and can be decoded using the same decoder as for the mother codes. We employed the recursive systematic insertion convolutional (RSIC) codes in adaptive multirate (AMR) speech transmission over GERAN (GSM/EDGE radio access network) 8PSK half rate (HR) voice carriers and good results were obtained. The unequal error protection (UEP) necessary for differently important speech encoded bits is realized and optimized by employing different rates of channel codes, followed by a systematic mapping of code bits into strong and weak bits of 8PSK symbols. As a result, the scheme for AMR speech transmission over 8PSK HR voice carriers significantly outperforms the scheme over GMSK HR voice carriers.
Effects of zona incerta lesions on striatal neurochemistry and behavioral asymmetry in 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesioned rats

Analysis of optimal sites for neurosurgical interventions in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) suggests that significant clinical benefits may be achieved by involvement of the zona incerta (ZI). Unilateral electrolytic ZI lesions were made in intact and ipsilaterally 6‐hydroxydopamine (6OHDA)‐lesioned rats. Extracellular levels of glutamate, dopamine, and its metabolites in the ipsilateral striatum of awake rats were measured by using microdialysis, and tests of behavioral asymmetry were performed. In intact rats, ZI lesions had no effect on striatal extracellular glutamate or absolute levels of dopamine or metabolites, but dopamine metabolism decreased. After ZI lesions, contralateral forepaw use decreased in the forepaw adjusting steps test, but there was no change in response to vibrissa stimulation or cylinder exploration. There was no development of rotational asymmetry with amphetamine. In 6OHDA‐lesioned rats, striatal extracellular glutamate levels were elevated compared with controls. ZI lesions reduced the increased levels of glutamate back to normal values. ZI lesions reduced dopamine and homovanillic acid levels and showed a trend toward a decrease in dopamine metabolism. 6OHDA‐lesioned rats demonstrated the expected asymmetry of motor behaviors. After ZI lesions, ipsilateral turns following amphetamine injection were reduced, and there was a trend toward improved symmetry of forepaw use as determined with the forepaw adjusting steps test. There was no change in forepaw use with vibrissa stimulation or cylinder exploration. These data indicate that lesions of the ZI can affect striatal neurochemistry and motor behavioral asymmetry and suggest potential mechanisms by which ZI lesions may improve symptoms in PD. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Turkish version of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE): its cultural adaptation, validation, and reliability.

BACKGROUND/AIM This study aimed to describe the cultural adaptation of the Turkish Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and to examine the reliability and validity of the scale in older Turkish adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty elderly people were recruited for the study. The assessments included the PASE, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Short Physical Performance Battery and Short Form-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF-36), and the Mini Mental State Test. Outcome measures were conducted twice within a week (test-retest) for reliability. RESULTS Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.714 for the initial evaluation. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the test-retest reliability was 0.995 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.993-0.997. A high level of positive correlation (0.742, P < 0.001) was found between the total score of PASE and the total scores of IPAQ. There were strong positive correlations between the PASE and the total score of SPPB (0.622, P < 0.001), while an average level of positive correlation with SF-36 was found (0.432, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION The results of the study suggest that the Turkish version of the PASE has powerful measurement qualities, which makes it a reliable and valid scale for the fields of research and practice.
Efficient motion planning for high DOF hands using principal motion directions

The paper deals with the problem of motion planning of anthropomorphical mechanical hands avoiding collisions. The proposed approach tries to mimic the real human hand workspace, but reducing the dimension of the search space in order to obtain results as a compromise between motion optimality and planning complexity (time) by means of the concept of principal motion directions. Basically, the work includes the following phases: capturing the human hand workspace using a sensorized glove and mapping it to the mechanical hand workspace, reducing the space dimension by looking for the most relevant principal motion directions, and planning the hand movements using a sampling-based roadmap planner. The approach has been implemented for a four finger anthropomorphical mechanical hand, and some examples are included to illustrate its validity.
Mobilization of Rubisco and Stroma-Localized Fluorescent Proteins of Chloroplasts to the Vacuole by an ATG Gene-Dependent Autophagic Process1[W][OA]

During senescence and at times of stress, plants can mobilize needed nitrogen from chloroplasts in leaves to other organs. Much of the total leaf nitrogen is allocated to the most abundant plant protein, Rubisco. While bulk degradation of the cytosol and organelles in plants occurs by autophagy, the role of autophagy in the degradation of chloroplast proteins is still unclear. We have visualized the fate of Rubisco, stroma-targeted green fluorescent protein (GFP) and DsRed, and GFP-labeled Rubisco in order to investigate the involvement of autophagy in the mobilization of stromal proteins to the vacuole. Using immunoelectron microscopy, we previously demonstrated that Rubisco is released from the chloroplast into Rubisco-containing bodies (RCBs) in naturally senescent leaves. When leaves of transgenic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants expressing stroma-targeted fluorescent proteins were incubated with concanamycin A to inhibit vacuolar H+-ATPase activity, spherical bodies exhibiting GFP or DsRed fluorescence without chlorophyll fluorescence were observed in the vacuolar lumen. Double-labeled immunoelectron microscopy with anti-Rubisco and anti-GFP antibodies confirmed that the fluorescent bodies correspond to RCBs. RCBs could also be visualized using GFP-labeled Rubisco directly. RCBs were not observed in leaves of a T-DNA insertion mutant in ATG5, one of the essential genes for autophagy. Stroma-targeted DsRed and GFP-ATG8 fusion proteins were observed together in autophagic bodies in the vacuole. We conclude that Rubisco and stroma-targeted fluorescent proteins can be mobilized to the vacuole through an ATG gene-dependent autophagic process without prior chloroplast destruction.
Myocardial Ischemia and Mobilization of Circulating Progenitor Cells

Background The response of progenitor cells (PCs) to transient myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the PC response to exercise‐induced myocardial ischemia (ExMI) and compare it to flow mismatch during pharmacological stress testing. Methods and Results A total of 356 patients with stable coronary artery disease underwent 99mTc‐sestamibi myocardial perfusion imaging during exercise (69%) or pharmacological stress (31%). CD34+ and CD34+/chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) receptor 4 PCs were enumerated by flow cytometry. Change in PC count was compared between patients with and without myocardial ischemia using linear regression models. Vascular endothelial growth factor and stromal‐derived factor‐1α were quantified. Mean age was 63±9 years; 76% were men. The incidence of ExMI was 31% and 41% during exercise and pharmacological stress testing, respectively. Patients with ExMI had a significant decrease in CD34+/chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) receptor 4 (−18%, P=0.01) after stress that was inversely correlated with the magnitude of ischemia (r=−0.19, P=0.003). In contrast, patients without ExMI had an increase in CD34+/chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) receptor 4 (14.7%, P=0.02), and those undergoing pharmacological stress had no change. Plasma vascular endothelial growth factor levels increased (15%, P<0.001) in all patients undergoing exercise stress testing regardless of ischemia. However, the change in stromal‐derived factor‐1α level correlated inversely with the change in PC counts in those with ExMI (P=0.03), suggesting a greater decrease in PCs in those with a greater change in stromal‐derived factor‐1α level with exercise. Conclusions ExMI is associated with a significant decrease in circulating levels of CD34+/chemokine (C‐X‐C motif) receptor 4 PCs, likely attributable, at least in part, to stromal‐derived factor‐1α–mediated homing of PCs to the ischemic myocardium. The physiologic consequences of this uptake of PCs and their therapeutic implications need further investigation.
Prototype Foamy Virus Protease Activity Is Essential for Intraparticle Reverse Transcription Initiation but Not Absolutely Required for Uncoating upon Host Cell Entry

ABSTRACT Foamy viruses (FVs) are unique among retroviruses in performing genome reverse transcription (RTr) late in replication, resulting in an infectious DNA genome, and also in their unusual Pol biosynthesis and encapsidation strategy. In addition, FVs display only very limited Gag and Pol processing by the viral protease (PR) during particle morphogenesis and disassembly, both thought to be crucial for viral infectivity. Here, we report the generation of functional prototype FV (PFV) particles from mature or partially processed viral capsid and enzymatic proteins with infectivity levels of up to 20% of the wild type. Analysis of protein and nucleic acid composition, as well as infectivity, of virions generated from different Gag and Pol combinations (including both expression-optimized and authentic PFV open reading frames [ORFs]) revealed that precursor processing of Gag, but not Pol, during particle assembly is essential for production of infectious virions. Surprisingly, when processed Gag (instead of Gag precursor) was provided together with PR-deficient Pol precursor during virus production, infectious, viral DNA-containing particles were obtained, even when different vector or proviral expression systems were used. Although virion infectivity was reduced to 0.5 to 2% relative to that of the respective parental constructs, this finding overturns the current dogma in the FV literature that viral PR activity is absolutely essential at some point during target cell entry. Furthermore, it demonstrates that viral PR-mediated Gag precursor processing during particle assembly initiates intraparticle RTr. Finally, it shows that reverse transcriptase (RT) and integrase are enzymatically active in the Pol precursor within the viral capsid, thus enabling productive host cell infection.
Structural complexity of the symbiotic plasmid of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli

The complete physical map of the symbiotic plasmid of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli strain CFN42 was established. The data support the concept that Rhizobium symbiotic genes are part of a complex genomic structure which contains a large amount of reiterated DNA sequences. This plasmid is a circular structure of 390 kb with approximately 10 families of internally reiterated DNA sequences of two to three elements each. One family includes two directly oriented nitrogenase operons situated 120 kb apart. We also found several stretches of pSym that are reiterated in other replicons of the cell. Localization of symbiotic gene sequences by heterologous hybridization revealed that nodABC sequences are separated in two regions, each of which contains a nod boxlike element, and it also suggested the presence of two copies of the nifA and nodD gene sequences. We propose that the complex structure of the symbiotic plasmid allows interactions between repeated DNA sequences which, in turn, might result in frequent rearrangements.
Combining Pervasive Computing with Activity Recognition and Learning

Today, networks, microprocessors, memory chips, smart sensors and actuators are faster, more powerful, cheaper and smaller than ever. Chips are all around, invading everyday objects. Wireless networks enable to easily connect them. Everyday objects can then propose innovative and unexpected interactions (Ullmer & Ishii, 2000). Clothes will transport one’s profile to reconfigure his environment according to his preferences (Abowd et al. 1997). Lamps will help people finding lost objects (Vergnes et al., 2005). Interactive portraits will reflect at distance the mood and health state of one’s beloved relatives (Mynatt et al., 2001). This new technologically enhanced environment will enable finding novel solutions to help people in their everyday life, such as elders that suffer from cognitive deficit and have many difficulties to carry out their activities of daily living (Pigot et al., 2003). Most of these people wish to stay at home, where they feel comfortable and safe, as long as possible. The governments aim to help them for social reasons as well as economical ones. However, keeping cognitively impaired people at home involves many risks that are necessary to control. In order to do that, the physical and human environment must be specifically designed to compensate the cognitive impairments and the loss of autonomy (Ramos et al., 2008). Combining pervasive computing with techniques from artificial intelligence (AI) greatly increases the acceptance of the pervasive assisted living and makes it more capable of providing a better quality of life in a non-intrusive way, where elderly people, with or without disabilities, could clearly benefit from this concept. From the computational perspective, there is a natural association between them. However, research addressing smart environments has in the past largely focused on network and hardware oriented solutions. AI-based techniques (planning and action theory, ontological and temporal reasoning, etc) that promote intelligent behaviour have not been examined to the same extent (Augusto & Nugent, 2006), although notable exceptions can been found in the domain of activity recognition for healthcare. Prior work has been done to use sensors to recognize the execution status of particular types of activities, such as hand washing (Mihailidis et al., 2007), meal preparation (Barger et al., 2002), and movements around town (Liao et al., 2004). Additionally, several projects have attempted to do more general activity 22