Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Convergence analysis of the iterative adaptive Kronecker receiver for MIMO radar applications

We analyse an iterative adaptive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) radar receiver in the situation where a K L-variate adaptive transmit-receive beamformer is structured as the Kronecker product of a K-variate (transmit) and an L-variate (receive) beamformer. We present results for the special case of two clutter propagation modes separated in elevation angle, where the direction-of-departure (DoD) of one mode and the direction-of-arrival (DoA) of the other mode coincide with that of a target. We introduce the analytical condition of convergence and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) loss factor for a given training sample volume under a number of assumptions for a sample-matrix inversion (SMI)-based iterative algorithm, and demonstrate that the diagonally loaded SMI algorithm can provide significant improvement in the convergence rate of the iterative “Kronecker MIMO receiver”.
In Vivo Evaluation of Dynamic Characteristics of the Normal, Fused, and Disc Replacement Cervical Spines

Study Design. In vivo human and biomechanical study. Objective. To quantify the in vivo kinematic and kinetic variations in the normal, fused, and disc replacement cervical spines. Summary of Background Data. Clinical and cadaveric studies have reported the motions and forces after an anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) or implantation of a cervical artificial disc replacement (CADR). However, there is no current study that describes the in vivo dynamic data of these 2 groups and compares them with that of a normal group. Methods. Ten normal subjects, 10 patients treated with an ACDF (C5–C6), and 10 patients having CADR (C5–C6) performed full flexion to extension motions under fluoroscopic surveillance. Kinematic data were obtained from the fluoroscopic images. Kinetic data were derived based on an inverse dynamic model of the entire cervical spine. Results. Even though the range of motion was larger for the normal group than for the ACDF group, the intersegmental rotations at the adjacent C6–C7 and C4–C5 levels in the ACDF group were 13.4° and 8.8° compared with 3.7° and 4.8° in the normal group, respectively, during the neck motion from 20° flexion to 15° extension. The difference at the C3–C4 level was 1° on average. Both the transverse contact forces and the soft tissue forces in the ACDF group were significantly larger than those in the normal group. The vertical forces in the ACDF group were smaller than those in the normal group, but there were no statistical differences. The CADR group exhibited kinematic and kinetic results similar to the normal group. Conclusion. In terms of restoring the normal dynamic motion of the cervical spine, CADR may be an alternative to the ACDF.
Educational Effects of State Actions Banning Access to In-State Resident Tuition Rates for Unauthorized Immigrant Students

This research studies the effects of state laws ban ning access to in-state resident tuition (ISRT) rates and other educational benefits for una uthorized immigrant students (UIS) in five states: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, and Oh io. It measures the overall effect of policies denying ISRT that were implemented between 2005-201 2 in the United States. Three potential effects are evaluated. First, the s udy estimates the policy effects on the college enrollment of UIS. Because the policy does not deny access to higher education institutions, the possibility exists for this popul ation to attend public or private colleges. However, facing higher costs (i.e., out-of-state tu ition) can deter them from continuing their educational plans. Second, considering the potentia l dynamic effects of policies banning access to ISRT for UIS, the research evaluates the policy effects on school drop out rates among unauthorized immigrants. The lack of real opportun ities to attend higher education might demotivate secondary UIS, thus prompting them to dr op out of school. Finally, the research estimates the effects of banning ISRT access for UI S on the enrollment of citizens and legal residents in higher education. To answer the research questions a multivariate reg r ssion difference-in-differences identification strategy is advanced through the con struction of a natural quasi-experiment using as the main data source the American Community Surv ey. The research finds significant negative policy effects on the college attendance r at s of Hispanic foreign-born non-citizens who are highly likely to be unauthorized immigrants in policy states compared to their peers in nonpolicy states. The results also indicate that amon g the groups analyzed, policies have mainly affected recent high school graduates. With regard to dropping out of school, no-statistically significant evidence was found to support the h ypothesis of dynamic effects of the policies on the enrollment of unauthorized immigrants in second ary education. This research finds no evidence of college attendance benefits for U.S.-bo rn citizens associated with the ISRT policy, save for suggestive evidence for a subgroup of Blac k men. Suggestive evidence of moderate benefits among two subgroups of naturalized citizen s is also found.
Wireless powering of miniaturized neurostimulator

Recent finding of analytical bound on the efficiency of wireless power transfer to a miniature implant and its implementation is reviewed. The optimal source is theoretically solved by modeling the tissue as a multilayer geometry. The optimal source is physically synthesized using a slot array structure whose performance approaches closely to the theoretical bound. The development of highly efficient power delivery system miniaturizes a cardiac neuro-stimulator to a mm-sized, removing the battery out of the device. The neuro-stimulator is demonstrated for a rabbit.
Morten Jerven, and What Economists Do and Don't Get Wrong

In a short space of time, Morten Jerven’s work has influenced debates about economic growth and the nature of the underlying data, especially in the case of sub-Saharan Africa. Jerven (2013) is essential reading for anyone working in this area. His new book is also lively, readable, and thought-provoking. He argues that economists studying growth have misrepresented the African experience as one of long-run economic failure. In commenting on his summary of the arguments, I will also respond to the more detailed discussion and analyses in Jerven (2015). There is a lot to be said for many of the overarching points he makes, including the need for more attention to measurement; the importance of detailed country studies that complement theoretical models and statistical methods; and the value of seeing development as a process unfolding within particular contexts, which should not be analyzed just by taking models off the shelf.
Acellular pertussis vaccines and the role of pertactin and fimbriae

The introduction of acellular pertussis (Pa) vaccines in countries with a low uptake of whole-cell pertussis (Pw) vaccines has led to a dramatic reduction in pertussis disease. Diphtheria–tetanus–acellular pertussis (DTPa) vaccines have also ensured continued highjlevel disease protection in these countries following the shift from Pw- to Pa-containing vaccines, and allowed pertussis booster programs to be implemented. Vaccines containing between one and five components have been licensed and implemented. Those with three or more components consisting of filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), pertussis toxin (PT) and pertactin (PRN) are considered to be more effective than one/two-component Pa vaccines that contain only PT or both PT and FHA. Changes in circulating Bordetella pertussis strains may impact vaccine efficacy and, thus, incidence and transmission of pertussis and deserve to be followed carefully. To date, vaccine-induced shifts among fimbriae (FIM) are reported and this could impact the efficacy of FIM-containing vaccines. Currently, FIM3 appears to be dominant in most European countries, Canada and Australia. Data obtained from a DTPa5 vaccine containing FIM2 and FIM3 have indicated a shift towards an increase in FIM3-expressing B. pertussis clinical breakthrough cases when compared with control vaccine. By contrast, relatively minor PT and PRN sequence polymorphisms have been identified without demonstrable association with vaccination programs. Adsorption of PRN to aluminum salt appears critical for optimal protective capacity in murine pertussis lung challenge. In addition, clinical studies have shown anti-PRN antibody levels to be higher when PRN is adsorbed at a 8-µg dosage versus nonadsorbed PRN at a 3-µg dosage. The available data, therefore, demonstrate that appropriately formulated acellular vaccines containing PT and PRN are the preferred option for pertussis immunization.
Supplementation of omega‐3 fatty acids in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Objective: To study the effect of supplementation with omega‐3 fatty acids on disease variables and drug consumption in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods: Twenty‐four patients were randomized to either a low‐dose (1.95 g omega‐3/day) or a high‐dose (4.55 g omega‐3/day) supplement. Disease activity, functional impairment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and drug consumption were assessed during visits at baseline and at weeks 7, 14, and 21. Results: Eighteen patients completed the study, nine patients from each group. The patients in the high‐dose group exhibited a significant decrease in disease activity according to the Bath Ankylosing Disease Activity Index (BASDAI; p = 0.038), which was not seen in the low‐dose group. Significant differences were not found on drug consumption or in functional capacity in either of the groups. No significant differences were found when comparing the results between the high‐ and low‐dose groups. Conclusion: Omega‐3 fatty acids in adequate doses may have the capacity to decrease the disease activity of AS. However, larger and better controlled studies are needed before any further conclusions can be made on the extent of this capacity.
Children and Young People’s Participation in the Community in Ireland: Experiences and Issues

This paper presents the findings of research into children and young people’s experiences of participating in their communities in Ireland. Using a social and relational understanding of participation, the research found that children and young people are engaged in a wide range of activities in their communities. They are however often misunderstood in the community and have limited opportunities for participation in decisions affecting them. Despite these problems, they report positive experiences of participating in youth clubs and organisations, where their participation is supported by adults. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for research, public policy and community.
How to use analogies for creative business modelling

This paper aims to present a method for interpreting and reinterpreting business models as analogies to support the creation of new business model ideas. ,The authors use the literature on cognitive frames and attention to demonstrate the often-overlooked potential of analogies. From this, the authors derive practical recommendations for the use of analogies in creative business model design. ,Managers can design creative business models by seeking multiple interpretations of the way other businesses create and capture value. ,Business model frameworks are commonplace, but there is little discussion on how to use them effectively. Furthermore, while analogies are helpful in inspiring novel ideas, their creative potential is limited if the questions asked of and insights found in the case study are not reimagined. The authors provide a practical solution to increase creativity in business model design by recursively reflecting upon issues and solutions.
Cardiomyopathy in α-Kinase 3 (ALPK3)–Deficient Mice

Cardiomyopathy developed in mice deficient for α-kinase 3 (ALPK3), a nuclear kinase previously implicated in the differentiation of cardiomyocytes. Alpk3–/– mice were produced according to normal Mendelian ratios and appeared normal except for a nonprogressive cardiomyopathy that had features of both hypertrophic and dilated forms of cardiomyopathy. Cardiac hypertrophy in Alpk3–/– mice was characterized by increased thickness of both left and right ventricular (LV and RV) walls and by markedly increased heart weight and increased heart weight/body weight and heart weight/tibia length ratios. Magnetic resonance imaging studies confirmed the increased thickness in both septal and LV free walls at end-diastole, although there was no significant change in LV wall thickness at end-systole. Myocardial hypertrophy was the predominant feature in Alpk3–/– mice, but several changes more typically associated with dilated cardiomyopathy included a marked increase in end-diastolic and end-systolic LV volume, as well as reduced cardiac output, stroke volume, and ejection fractions, suggesting LV chamber dilation. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 50% reduction in both septal and free wall LV contractility in Alpk3–/– mice. Interstitial fibrosis and inflammation were notably absent in Alpk3–/– mice; however, light and electron microscopy revealed altered cardiomyocyte architecture, characterized by reduced numbers of abnormal intercalated discs being associated with mild disarray of myofibrils. These lesions could account for the impaired contractility of the myofibrillar apparatus and contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy in Alpk3 –/– mice.
A new perspective of noise removal from EEG

Denoising, noise or interferences are removed from recorded signal to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), is a crucial and ubiquitous step in the procedure of signal processing, especially for neurophysiological signal. This step facilitates following processing, such as feature extraction, classification, and data analyses. Conventional methods are based on the principle of separating noise components from the recorded signal and removing them, but these methods do not remove noise completely. In particular, conventional methods seems powerless to eliminate irregular and occasional noise bursts, which are caused by transient electrode contacting problem, head movements, or unpredictable factors. In this paper, we tackled the problem of noise removal from a new perspective, which is opposite to the conventional methods. Data portions that are contaminated by noise are entirely removed and then restored according to their relationships with the remaining signal. The rationale of this procedure is to purify the signal through addition rather than deduction that is normally executed in conventional methods. The results of both synthetic data and real EEG demonstrated that our idea is feasible and provides a new promising manner for noise removal.
Comparison of wild‐type and class I integrase mutant‐FIV vectors in retina demonstrates sustained expression of integrated transgenes in retinal pigment epithelium

In neonatal and adult rodent retina, substantial lentiviral vector expression has been detected primarily in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), except in very young animals (2–5 days post‐natal). In non‐retinal tissues, studies of lentiviral vectors have utilized various controls. Among the most stringent are class I integrase mutants, which selectively block the integration reaction while leaving all other gag/pol‐encoded functions intact. For HIV‐1 vectors injected into brain, these have been used to simultaneously control for pseudotransduction and verify that long‐term expression requires integration. Such experiments compare particles that differ only in a single amino acid within a single enzyme that forms a very small molar fraction of the virion. Class I integrase mutants have not been described for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) integrase, or tested in the eye for any lentiviral vector.
Fast- Frequency Offset Cancellation Loop Using Low-IF Receiver and Fractional-N PLL

This brief introduces a simple circuit solution to secure loop stability of an analog-domain fast-frequency offset cancellation loop (OCL). The OCL is composed of a low-IF receiver, phase-domain frequency offset detector (OD), and fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL). Since the OCL uses a phase-domain OD, a stability concern is essentially needed for its practical use. From the frequency-domain analysis, a PLL bandwidth adaptation by controlling charge-pump currents is proposed to achieve a strong stability with phase-margin of more than 60deg. Additionally, a tradeoff between the OCL accuracy and hardware complexity is discussed, and a design example is shown for the 2.4-GHz ZigBee application. With 4-MHz IF, designed for an 0.18-mum CMOS process, our circuit takes 30 mus to reject the frequency offset of +200 kHz within the accuracy of plusmn5 ppm, with 60-DFFs for a time-to-digital converter
Rank truncated product of P‐values, with application to genomewide association scans

Large exploratory studies are often characterized by a preponderance of true null hypotheses, with a small though multiple number of false hypotheses. Traditional multiple‐test adjustments consider either each hypothesis separately, or all hypotheses simultaneously, but it may be more desirable to consider the combined evidence for subsets of hypotheses, in order to reduce the number of hypotheses to a manageable size. Previously, Zaykin et al. ([2002] Genet. Epidemiol. 22:170–185) proposed forming the product of all P‐values at less than a preset threshold, in order to combine evidence from all significant tests. Here we consider a complementary strategy: form the product of the K most significant P‐values. This has certain advantages for genomewide association scans: K can be chosen on the basis of a hypothesised disease model, and is independent of sample size. Furthermore, the alternative hypothesis corresponds more closely to the experimental situation where all loci have fixed effects. We give the distribution of the rank truncated product and suggest some methods to account for correlated tests in genomewide scans. We show that, under realistic scenarios, it provides increased power to detect genomewide association, while identifying a candidate set of good quality and fixed size for follow‐up studies. Genet Epidemiol 25:360–366, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Standardized Effect Sizes for Moderated Conditional Fixed Effects with Continuous Moderator Variables

Wilkinson and Task Force on Statistical Inference (1999) recommended that researchers include information on the practical magnitude of effects (e.g., using standardized effect sizes) to distinguish between the statistical and practical significance of research results. To date, however, researchers have not widely incorporated this recommendation into the interpretation and communication of the conditional effects and differences in conditional effects underlying statistical interactions involving a continuous moderator variable where at least one of the involved variables has an arbitrary metric. This article presents a descriptive approach to investigate two-way statistical interactions involving continuous moderator variables where the conditional effects underlying these interactions are expressed in standardized effect size metrics (i.e., standardized mean differences and semi-partial correlations). This approach permits researchers to evaluate and communicate the practical magnitude of particular conditional effects and differences in conditional effects using conventional and proposed guidelines, respectively, for the standardized effect size and therefore provides the researcher important supplementary information lacking under current approaches. The utility of this approach is demonstrated with two real data examples and important assumptions underlying the standardization process are highlighted.
The 8th international research symposium on the Marfan Syndrome and related conditions

In the nearly quarter‐century since the first international symposium on Marfan syndrome, enormous progress has been achieved in clinical, translational, and basic research. The 8th symposium, at the end of 2010, provides a useful summary of the current status of investigations, reveals why life‐expectancy has improved so markedly during the past 30 years, and lays out a clear path for future endeavors, not only in Marfan syndrome, but in the expanding array of conditions related either through phenotype or pathogenesis. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
In vitro and in vivo angiogenic capacity of BM-MSCs/HUVECs and AT-MSCs/HUVECs cocultures

The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the angiogenic capacity of cocultures using either human bone marrow- or human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) (BM- or AT-MSCs) with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) both in vitro and in vivo at early time points (i.e. days 3 and 7). In vitro, cells were either monocultured (i.e. BM-MSCs, AT-MSCs or HUVECs) or cocultured (i.e. BM-MSCs/HUVECs and AT-MSCs/HUVECs) on Thermanox® (2-dimensional, 2D) or in collagen gels (3-dimensional, 3D). For the in vivo experiment, cells (cocultures) were embedded in collagen gels and implanted subcutaneously in nude mice. For both in vitro and in vivo experiments, samples were collected on days 3 and 7 and histologically processed for hematoxylin-eosin and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1; CD31) staining. For in vivo samples, quantitative parameters for evaluating angiogenesis included CD31-positive staining percentage, total vessel-like structure (VLS) area percentage, VLS density, and average VLS area (i.e. the size of per VLS). In vitro results showed the formation of VLS in both cocultures, while none of the monocultures showed VLS formation, irrespective of 2D or 3D culture condition. Although VLS formation occurred after in vivo implantation, no significant difference in angiogenic capacity was observed between the two cocultures, either on day 3 or on day 7. Further, VLS density decreased and anastomosis of the new human vessels with the murine host vasculature occurred over time. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that AT-MSCs/HUVECs and BM-MSCs/HUVECs have equal angiogenic capacity both in vitro and in vivo, and that vessels from donor origin can anastomose with the host vasculature within seven days of implantation.
Physical and chemical studies on ceruloplasmin. IV. Preparation of radioactive, sialic acid-free ceruloplasmin labeled with tritium on terminal D-galactose residues.

Abstract Crystalline ceruloplasmin was substantially freed of sialic acid by the action of neuraminidase. Sequential treatment of asialoceruloplasmin with galactose oxidase and tritiated borohydride resulted in the incorporation of tritium into at least 4 residues of D-galactose of the protein molecule.
Relaxed collaborative representation for face recognition based low-rank matrix recovery

Face recognition is of paramount importance in computer vision and biometrics systems. In this paper we propose an improved method which is suitable to handle variations in image configurations like pose, illumination, and facial expressions as well as occlusion and disguise, in order to provide high efficiencyi in the face recognition. This method integrates the low-rank matrix which is recovered by using robust principal component analysis (RPCA) with relaxed collaborative representation (RCR). Low-rank representation allows us to better discriminate information which benefits to face identification, and R-CR contributes to the reduction of the variance of coding vector after coding each feature vector on its associated dictionary to allow flexibility of feature coding, thus addressing the similarity among features. Furthermore, it is characterized by the exploitation of the distinctiveness of different features by weighting its distance to other features in the coding domain. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by extensive experiments on different benchmark face databases.