Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental performance evaluation of error estimation and compensation technique for quadrature modulators and demodulators

In recent mobile communication systems, impairments in analog circuits cannot be disregarded owing to the need to achieve high performance. Errors in analog circuits consist of a distortion of a power amplifier(PA), gain and phase imbalance in a quadrature modulator(QMOD) and a quadrature demodulator(QDEMOD), dc offset, frequency offset, and so on. Because of high accuracy of compensation, many techniques of error compensation by using digital signal processing have been studied recently. Digital predistorter(DPD), which can eliminate odd-order distortion caused by PA nonlinearity, is one of the compensation techniques. However, in the case that direct conversion architecture is used in a loop-back path, errors in a QMOD and a QDEMOD affect the performance of DPD. Previously, we proposed an error estimation technique for a QMOD and a QDEMDO by using a variable phase shifter and evaluated the performance through computer simulation. In this paper, we evaluate the performance through an experiment by image rejection ratio(IRR) and error vector magnitude(EVM) in the case that the output of a QMOD is directly connected to the input of a QDEMOD. The results show that IRR improvement after compensation is 10 dB at the output of the QMOD and EVM improvement after compensation is 10 dB at the output of the QMOD and 20 dB at the output of the QDEMOD.
How much is too much - equilibrium points for good export and R&D intensity: Data of world top 2000 companies

Dynamic capabilities, as vehicles to cope with environmental changes, have become extremely popular due to constantly high environmental turbulence. There exist wide variety of capabilities, two most popular ones in globalized and fast changing world are R&D and export. From exploration-exploitation perspective of company, both capabilities have explorative tendencies, interdependent to each-other and fighting for the same resources - can they successfully co-exist? Data from the world top 2000 companies - including Shell, Samsung and Johnson & Johnson - provide evidence for successful ambidexterity of capabilities. As an interesting outcome, both capabilities independently have own equilibrium point for successful operation. Findings indicate that top companies' equilibrium point for export intensity is around 61% and for R&D intensity around 30%.
Design an Interactive Agent by Multi-Empathic Strategies to Reduce Student's Negative Emotion

In recent years, combining the empathic virtual human with the learning system is one of the most popular topics. However, there are few studies on designing pedagogical agents which have different empathic strategies to interact with learners. In this paper, we have described our approach to design an interactive empathic agent with different empathic strategies. We created an empathic interaction model according to Davis' empathic processes and Lester's empathic model. We invited 12 students to participate in this experiment. We had found some interactive suggestions when students suffered some negative or positive emotions during the learning process. These suggestions can make students feeling concerned and more engaged in learning.
Proteomic identification of small, copper-responsive proteins in germinating embryos of Oryza sativa.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for plants and algae, excess Cu is toxic to most plants and can cause a wide range of deleterious effects. To investigate the response of rice (Oryza sativa) to Cu stress, a proteomic approach was used to analyse Cu stress-induced changes in the expression of low molecular-weight proteins in germinating rice seed embryos. METHODS Rice seeds were germinated in the presence or absence of 200 microm Cu for 6 d, and embryos, including newly formed shoots and radicles, were isolated. After proteins were extracted from the germinating embryos and separated by two-dimensional PAGE, 16 proteins in the 6- to 25-kDa range were identified using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. KEY RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Thirteen of the proteins identified, including metallothionein-like protein, membrane-associated protein-like protein, putative wall-associated protein kinase, pathogenesis-related proteins and the putative small GTP-binding protein Rab2, were up-regulated by Cu stress. Three proteins, a putative small cytochrome P450 (CYP90D2), a putative thioredoxin and a putative GTPase, were down-regulated by Cu stress. As far as is known, this study provides the first proteomic evidence that metallothionein and CYP90D2 are Cu-responsive proteins in plants. These findings may lead to a better understanding of plant molecular responses to toxic metal exposure.
OmpR‐dependent and OmpR‐independent responses of Escherichia coli to sublethal attack by the neutrophil bactericidal/permeability increasing protein

Bactericidal/permeability‐increasing protein (BPI) of neutrophils is a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐binding antibacterial protein with specificity for Gramnegative bacteria. BPI binding to the bacterial surface rapidly triggers potentially reversible bacterial growth inhibition and alterations of the outer membrane and, later, disruption of the inner membrane and lethal injury. Initial effects include selective OmpR‐dependent changes in the synthesis of outer membrane porins (OmpF and OmpC). Because OmpR is a global transcriptional regulator, we have examined its possible role in responses of E. coli to sublethal injury caused by BPI. Early (<15 min) reversible effects of BPI on bacterial colony‐forming ability and outer membrane permeability were virtually identical in isogenic wild‐type (wt) and ompR−E. coli. Both strains could repair the outer membrane permeability barrier after Mg2+‐induced displacement of bound BPI. However, OmpR was essential for the ability of E. coli to tolerate low doses of BPI and escape the progression of sublethal to lethal damage. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that BPI treatment produced greater membrane perturbations in the ompR− strain, apparent even before lethal injury. These findings suggest that the fate of E. coli exposed to BPI depends on both OmpR‐independent mechanisms engaged in outer membrane repair and OmpR‐ dependent processes that modulate porin synthesis and retard progression of injury from the outer to the inner membrane.
Environmental Factors Affecting Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Have We Made Progress?

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is only partially understood; various environmental and host (e.g. genetic, epithelial, immune, and nonimmune) factors are involved. The critical role for environmental factors is strongly supported by recent worldwide trends in IBD epidemiology. One important environmental factor is smoking. A meta-analysis partially confirms previous findings that smoking was found to be protective against ulcerative colitis and, after the onset of the disease, might improve its course, decreasing the need for colectomy. In contrast, smoking increases the risk of developing Crohn’s disease and aggravates its course. The history of IBD is dotted by cyclic reports on the isolation of specific infectious agents responsible for Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. The more recently published cold chain hypothesis is providing an even broader platform by linking dietary factors and microbial agents. An additional, recent theory has suggested a breakdown in the balance between putative species of ‘protective’ versus ‘harmful’ intestinal bacteria – this concept has been termed dysbiosis resulting in decreased bacterial diversity. Other factors such as oral contraceptive use, appendectomy, dietary factors (e.g. refined sugar, fat, and fast food), perinatal events, and childhood infections have also been associated with both diseases, but their role is more controversial. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that economic development, leading to improved hygiene and other changes in lifestyle (‘westernized lifestyle’) may play a role in the increase in IBD. This review article focuses on the role of environmental factors in the pathogenesis and progression of IBDs.
A pressure-sensing smart stent compatible with angioplasty procedure and its in vivo testing

This study advances the technology for “smart” antenna stents integrated with micro pressure sensors, targeting at providing a non-invasive and rapid diagnosis of stenting-induced complications in a wireless manner. The smart stent device is developed via considering both engineering and clinical practicality with enhanced electromechanical performance over reported counterparts. The fabricated prototypes are assembled on balloon catheters while withstanding crimping forces well greater than 100 N, and show wireless local pressure sensing with a resolution of 12.4 mmHg upon balloon expansion. Using a swine model, the device is successfully operated to demonstrate wireless detection of blood clot formation, as well as real-time tracking of blood pressure change over a mean arterial pressure of 108 mmHg.
Effect of Pessary Use on Genital Hiatus Measurements in Women With Pelvic Organ Prolapse

OBJECTIVE: To compare the size of the genital hiatus in women wearing a pessary for pelvic organ prolapse after consistent pessary use, describe characteristics of patients who continue use, and assess change in pelvic floor symptoms. METHODS: This was an observational cohort study of 90 women seeking nonsurgical management of symptomatic prolapse. Our primary outcome was change in genital hiatus (in centimeters) after 3 months of consistent pessary use. Pelvic floor symptoms were assessed with the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory. Change in genital hiatus measurements and Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory scores were assessed using a paired Student t test. Between-group differences were evaluated using the Student t, Mann Whitney U, and Fisher exact tests, where appropriate. Logistic regression was used to assess baseline characteristics predictive of continued pessary use. RESULTS: The average (±standard deviation) age of participants enrolled was 62.8 ±13.2 years. Median parity was 3, and 87.7% were postmenopausal. Forty-two (47%) continued pessary use at 3 months. After 2 weeks, there was a decrease in the size of the genital hiatus measured with strain from 4.8±1.6 cm to 4.1±1.2 cm, P<. 001, which persisted at 3 months (3.9±1.1 cm, P<.001). The greatest change occurred with the Gellhorn pessary. Baseline Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system point Aa was positively associated with continued pessary use at 3 months, and perineal body at rest was negatively associated. CONCLUSION: After 3 months of pessary use, genital hiatus size decreased significantly. Pessary use results in significant anatomic changes to the genital hiatus in patients with pelvic organ prolapse. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III
Linear binary code for write-once memories

An application of error-correcting codes to "write-once" memories (WOM's) as defined by Rivest and Shamir is studied. Large classes of "WOM codes" that are easily decodable are obtained. In particular, a construction allowing three successive writings of 11 bits on 23 positions is derived from the Golay code.
CIGESMED for divers: Establishing a citizen science initiative for the mapping and monitoring of coralligenous assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract Background Over the last decade, inventorying and monitoring of marine biodiversity has significantly benefited from the active engagement of volunteers. Although several Citizen Science projects concern tropical reef ecosystems worldwide, none of the existing initiatives has yet specifically focused on their Mediterranean equivalents. Mediterranean coralline reefs, known as “coralligenous”, are bioherms primarily built by calcifying rhodophytes on hard substrates under dim-light conditions; they are considered hotspots of biodiversity and are extremely popular among divers due to their complex structure, conspicuous biological wealth and high aesthetic value. Nevertheless, data on their distribution, structure and conservation status is lacking for several Mediterranean areas while they are vulnerable to an increasing number of threats. New information In the framework of CIGESMED SeasEra (ERAnet) project a specialized Citizen Science project was launched, aiming to engage enthusiast divers in the study and monitoring of Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages through the gathering of basic information regarding their spatial occurrence, assemblage structure and associated pressures or threats. For its active implementation, a data collection protocol and a multilingual website were developed, comprising an educational module and a data submission platform. Georeferenced data reporting focuses on: (a) basic topographic and abiotic features for the preliminary description of each site, and the creation of data series for sites receiving multiple visits; (b) presence and relative abundance of typical conspicuous species, as well as (c) existence of pressures and imminent threats, for the characterization and assessment of coralligenous assemblages. A variety of tools is provided to facilitate end users, while divers have the choice to report additional information and are encouraged to upload their photographs. The long-term goal is the development of an active community of amateur observers providing widespread and ecologically significant data on coralligenous assemblages.
A 1-V 1.25-Gbps CMOS analog front-end for short reach optical links

This paper presents a new adaptive equalizer for short reach applications through low-cost plastic optical fiber. The adaptive equalizer uses the spectrum balancing technique to compensate the limited bandwidth caused by the fiber and the external photodiode. The prototype has been implemented in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process fed at 1 V. It consumes 38.6 mW at 1.25 Gb/s.
Decreased glucocerebrosidase activity in Gaucher disease parallels quantitative enzyme loss due to abnormal interaction with TCP1 and c-Cbl

Gaucher disease (GD), the most common lysosomal storage disorder of humans, is caused by mutations in the gene coding for the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase). Clinical manifestations vary among patients with the three types of GD, and phenotypic heterogeneity occurs even among patients with identical mutations. To gain insight into why phenotypic heterogeneity occurs in GD, we investigated mechanisms underlying the net loss of GCase catalytic activity in cultured skin fibroblasts derived from patients with the three types of GD. The findings indicate that the loss of catalytic activity of GCase correlates with its quantitative reduction, rather than a decrease in functional capacity of mutant enzyme. Use of a proteasome inhibitor, lactacystin, resulted in increased expression of GCase, suggesting a mechanism of protein degradation in GD. Furthermore, reduced binding of GCase to TCP1 ring complex (TRiC), a regulator of correct protein folding, may result in defective maturation of nascent GCase in GD cells. Additionally, increased interaction between GCase and c-Cbl, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, may be involved in the degradation and loss of GCase in GD. The findings suggest that specific molecular mediators involved in GCase maturation and degradation could be responsible for phenotypic variation among patients with the same genotypes and that these mediators could be therapeutically targeted to increase GCase activity in patients with GD.
Efficacy of chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinomas: Experience from the gustave roussy institute and the bicetre hospital

Chemoembolization (CE) has been used for more than 10 years to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in our departments, and three studies have been done. The first was a retrospective study on 232 patients in which CE was performed with doxorubicin and Gelfoam with or without Lipiodol; the response rate was 41% (34.7–47.3%) and survival was better for Okuda stage I disease than for stages II and HI (2‐year survival 82, 29, and 0% respectively); for patients with Lipiodol retention the response rate was over 50%. The second study compared CE with doxorubicin and Gelfoam to symptomatic treatment in a randomized manner; it included 42 patients and failed to demonstrate a survival advantage (1‐year survival: CE 24% vs. control 31%; NS). The third study is ongoing and tests CE with cis‐platinum, Lipiodol, and Gelfoam.
Discriminative Decision Function Based Scoring Method in Joint Factor Analysis for Speaker Verification

This paper introduces a discriminative decision function scoring method for speaker recognition with the Joint Factor Analysis (JFA) system. In the scoring module of the JFA system, an approximate form of the decision function is proposed. Based on the approximation, we present a discriminative decision function by re-estimating the contribution of each speech sound unit to the decision function. The discriminative decision function is used to exploit the individual Gaussian component for better classiﬁcation. The experiments are carried out on the telephone-telephone core condition of NIST SRE2010. The experimental results show that the proposed scoring method outperforms the conventional frame-by-frame and integration scoring strategies, pro-viding up to 19% and 15% relative improvement respectively.
Plant contents of magnesium, calcium and potassium in relation to ruminant nutrition.

Grass tetany and wheat pasture poisoning are metabolic diseases of mature, lactating beef cattle. In some other countries, similar problems occur with dairy cattle. In grass tetany, the animals generally are grazing cool-season forages in which Mg concentration or bioavailability of plant Mg is low. Levels of Mg in the blood serum also generally are low. Grass tetany can occur in beef cattle fed hay made from grass, small grains or alfalfa Medicago sativa L. ). In wheat pasture poisoning where animals are grazing small grains forages, blood levels of Ca often are low, and blood Mg also may be low. Both grass tetany and wheat pasture poisoning occur when plants are growing rapidly in the spring, at the time of heavy lactation demand by ruminants for Mg and Ca. When the temperature increases and plants start to grow rapidly in the spring, concentrations of K, N, organic acids, and the ratio of K/(Ca + Mg) all increase, and the percent dry matter decreases. Much research remains to be done to understand all the soil, plant, and animal aspects of grass tetany and wheat pasture poisoning.
Fasciola hepatica mucin-encoding gene: expression, variability and its potential relevance in host–parasite relationship

SUMMARY Fasciola hepatica is the causative agent of fasciolosis, a zoonosis with significant impact both in human and animal health. Understanding the basic processes of parasite biology, especially those related to interactions with its host, will contribute to control F. hepatica infections and hence liver pathology. Mucins have been described as important mediators for parasite establishment within its host, due to their key roles in immune evasion. In F. hepatica, mucin expression is upregulated in the mammalian invasive newly excysted juvenile (NEJ) stage in comparison with the adult stage. Here, we performed sequencing of mucin cDNAs prepared from NEJ RNA, resulting in six different cDNAs clusters. The differences are due to the presence of a tandem repeated sequence of 66 bp encoded by different exons. Two groups of apomucins one with three and the other with four repeats, with 459 and 393 bp respectively, were identified. These cDNAs have open reading frames encoding Ser-Thr enriched proteins with an N-terminal signal peptide, characteristic of apomucin backbone. We cloned a 4470 bp gene comprising eight exons and seven introns that encodes all the cDNA variants identified in NEJs. By real time polymerase chain reaction and high-resolution melting approaches of individual flukes we infer that fhemuc-1 is a single-copy gene, with at least two different alleles. Our data suggest that both gene polymorphism and alternative splicing might account for apomucin variability in the fhemuc-1 gene that is upregulated in NEJ invasive stage. The relevance of this variation in host–parasite interplay is discussed.
Identification of Cowdria ruminantiumAntigens That Stimulate Proliferation of Lymphocytes from Cattle Immunized by Infection and Treatment or with Inactivated Organisms

ABSTRACT Cowdria ruminantium is an obligate intracellular pathogen that causes heartwater in ruminants. Several findings suggest that T cells play an important role in protection against the disease. In order to identify which proteins are involved in T-cell immunity,C. ruminantium proteins were fractionated by continuous-flow electrophoresis and tested for their ability to stimulate lymphocyte proliferation in vitro. C. ruminantium-infected endothelial cell lysates were fractionated at between 11 and 38 kDa and 50 and 168 kDa on 15 and 7% acrylamide gels, respectively. In an attempt to stimulate the natural infective process, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained from two cattle rendered immune by infection and treatment and assayed in proliferation assays with fractionated proteins. In a parallel study, four cattle were immunized with inactivated C. ruminantiumto determine whether their lymphocytes also responded to fractionated proteins. Proliferation assays after immunization by infection and treatment detected no C. ruminantium-specific proliferation in vitro after one vaccination. Proliferation was observed, however, between 1 and 4 weeks after challenge. This was followed by a period of no detectable response, after which the response reappeared. PBMC from animals immunized with inactivated organisms proliferated specifically in response to antigen soon after the first immunization. Only C. ruminantium proteins with low molecular masses of 11, 12, 14 to 17, and 19 to 23 kDa induced proliferative responses by lymphocytes from all six animals. These protein fractions may have potential as vaccine antigens.