Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Space Shift Keying (SSK—) MIMO with Practical Channel Estimates

In this paper, we study the performance of space modulation for Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) wireless systems with imperfect channel knowledge at the receiver. We focus our attention on two transmission technologies, which are the building blocks of space modulation: i) Space Shift Keying (SSK) modulation; and ii) Time-Orthogonal-Signal-Design (TOSD-) SSK modulation, which is an improved version of SSK modulation providing transmit-diversity. We develop a single-integral closed-form analytical framework to compute the Average Bit Error Probability (ABEP) of a mismatched detector for both SSK and TOSD-SSK modulations. The framework exploits the theory of quadratic-forms in conditional complex Gaussian Random Variables (RVs) along with the Gil-Pelaez inversion theorem. The analytical model is very general and can be used for arbitrary transmit- and receive-antennas, fading distributions, fading spatial correlations, and training pilots. The analytical derivation is substantiated through Monte Carlo simulations, and it is shown, over independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) Rayleigh fading channels, that SSK modulation is as robust as single-antenna systems to imperfect channel knowledge, and that TOSD-SSK modulation is more robust to channel estimation errors than the Alamouti scheme. Furthermore, it is pointed out that only few training pilots are needed to get reliable enough channel estimates for data detection, and that transmit- and receive-diversity of SSK and TOSD-SSK modulations are preserved even with imperfect channel knowledge.
Requirements for De Novo Initiation of RNA Synthesis by Recombinant Flaviviral RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerases

ABSTRACT RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRps) that initiate RNA synthesis by a de novo mechanism should specifically recognize the template initiation nucleotide, T1, and the substrate initiation nucleotide, the NTPi. The RdRps from hepatitis C virus (HCV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), and GB virus-B all can initiate RNA synthesis by a de novo mechanism. We used RNAs and GTP analogs, respectively, to examine the use of the T1 nucleotide and the initiation nucleotide (NTPi) during de novo initiation of RNA synthesis. The effects of the metal ions Mg2+ and Mn2+ on initiation were also analyzed. All three viral RdRps require correct base pairing between the T1 and NTPi for efficient RNA synthesis. However, each RdRp had some distinct tolerances for modifications in the T1 and NTPi. For example, the HCV RdRp preferred an NTPi lacking one or more phosphates regardless of whether Mn2+ was present or absent, while the BVDV RdRp efficiently used GDP and GMP for initiation of RNA synthesis only in the presence of Mn2+. These and other results indicate that although the three RdRps share a common mechanism of de novo initiation, each has distinct preferences.
Mini-collagens in hydra nematocytes

We have isolated and characterized four collagen-related c-DNA clones (N-COL 1, N-COL 2, N-COL 3, N-COL 4) that are highly expressed in developing nematocytes in hydra. All four c-DNAs as well as their corresponding transcripts are small in size (600-1,000 bp). The deduced amino acid sequences show that they contain a central region consisting of 14 to 16 Gly-X-Y triplets. This region is flanked amino-terminal by a stretch of 14-23 proline residues and carboxy-terminal by a stretch of 6-9 prolines. At the NH2- and COOH-termini are repeated patterns of cysteine residues that are highly conserved between the molecules. A model is proposed which consists of a central stable collagen triple helix of 12-14 nm length from which three 9-22 nm long polyproline II type helices emerge at both ends. Disulfide linkage between cysteine- rich segments in these helices could lead to the formation of oligomeric network structures. Electrophoretic characterization of nematocyst extracts allows resolution of small proline-rich polypeptides that correspond in size to the cloned sequences.
An image mosaicing module for wide-area surveillance

This paper presents a fully automatic image mosaicing method for needs of wide-area video surveillance. A pure feature-based approach was adopted for finding the registration between the images. This approach provides us with several advantages. Our method is robust against illumination variations, moving objects, image rotation, image scaling, imaging noise, and is relatively fast to calculate. We have tested the performance of the proposed method against several video sequences captured from real-world scenes. The results clearly justify our approach.
Existence of Oscillations in Cyclic Gene Regulatory Networks with Time Delay

This paper is concerned with conditions for the existence of oscillations in gene regulatory networks with negative cyclic feedback, where time delays in transcription, translation and translocation process are explicitly considered. The primary goal of this paper is to propose systematic analysis tools that are useful for a broad class of cyclic gene regulatory networks, and to provide novel biological insights. To this end, we adopt a simplified model that is suitable for capturing the essence of a large class of gene regulatory networks. It is first shown that local instability of the unique equilibrium state results in oscillations based on a Poincare-Bendixson type theorem. Then, a graphical existence condition, which is equivalent to the local instability of a unique equilibrium, is derived. Based on the graphical condition, the existence condition is analytically presented in terms of biochemical parameters. This allows us to find the dimensionless parameters that primarily affect the existence of oscillations, and to provide biological insights. The analytic conditions and biological insights are illustrated with two existing biochemical networks, Repressilator and the Hes7 gene regulatory networks.
A steering model for on‐line locomotion synthesis

For applications such as video games and virtual walk‐throughs, on‐line locomotion control is an important issue. In general, the user prescribes a sequence of motions one by one while providing an input trajectory. Since the input trajectory lacks in human characteristics, one may not synthesize quality motions by blindly following it. In this paper, we present a novel data‐driven scheme for transforming a user‐prescribed trajectory to a human trajectory in an on‐line manner. As preprocessing, we analyze example motion data to extract human steering behavior. At run‐time, the input trajectory is refined to reflect the steering behavior. Together with an existing on‐line motion synthesis system, our scheme forms a feedback loop, in which the user effectively specifies an intended human trajectory. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Structured Representation of Non-Rigid Surfaces from Single View 3D Point Tracks

This work considers the problem of structured representation of dynamic surfaces from incomplete 3D point tracks from a single viewpoint. The surface is segmented into a set of connected regions each of which can be represented by a fixed intrinsic shape and a parametrised rigid/non-rigid motion trajectory. Neither the model parameters nor the point-to-model assignments are known upfront. Motion and geometric shape parameters are estimated in alternation with a graph-cuts based point-to-model assignment. This modelling process facilitates in-filling of missing data as well as de-noising of measurements by temporal integration while adding meaningful structure to the geometry and reducing storage cost by an order of magnitude. Experiments are presented for real and synthetic sequences to validate the approach and show how a single tuning parameter can be used to trade modelling error with extrapolation level and storage cost.
Expert consensus in the development of a European health‐related quality of life measure for children and adolescents: a Delphi study

Aim: To determine the level of consensus among experts regarding content, structure and sources of content for a new European measure of health‐related quality of life in children and adolescents. Methods: A three‐round Delphi questionnaire was sent by e‐mail to 24 experts in quality of life measurement in 9 European countries. Consensus was considered reached when ≫90% of experts either agreed or disagreed with a given statement, or where median scores were over 6 on a scale of 1–10, and score dispersion was within predefined limits. Results: Completed questionnaires were received from 20 panellists in each round. It was agreed that the new instrument should be a multidimensional, profile measure with 30–49 items covering 5–8 dimensions, which should take no more than 10–15 min to complete. Agreement was also reached on 8 specific dimensions to include in the questionnaire (psychological well‐being, self‐esteem, body image, cognitive functioning, mobility, energy/vitality, social relations, family/home function). Consensus was against the use of individualized questionnaires. Focus groups with children, parents and workers in the field, literature and instrument reviews were considered appropriate sources for content.
High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Determination of an Asymmetrical Triazine Herbicide from Soil

A rapid method for determining residues of the herbicide metribuzin in soil by laboratory experiment under controlled conditions is described. Field soil fortified with herbicide at concentration of 5 mg kg -1 soil, and maintained at field capacity moisture regime and kept at ambient temperature 25 ± 5°C. The soil samples were extracted with different ratio of methanol/water solution and the residue was estimated by HPLC with UV detection at 290 nm and a flow rate of 0.5 ml/ min. The detection limits were 0.05 mg/kg in soil. The results indicate 52.55% degradation of metribuzin in soil samples on 120-days of experiment. The methanol/water (4:1 v/v) was found to be most effective in metribuzin degradation recovery and enhances the recovery as compared to the other. The proposed method has been satisfactorily applied in soil samples showing recoveries ranging from 85% to 98% and represents a valuable procedure for analysis of metribuzin by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
19F MR imaging of ventilation and diffusion in excised lungs

Perfluorinated gases, particularly C2F6, are potentially suitable alternatives to hyperpolarized noble gases for pulmonary airspace spin density and diffusion MRI. This work focuses mainly on 19F imaging of C2F6 gas in healthy and emphysematous explanted lungs, avoiding regulatory issues of human in vivo measurements. Three‐dimensional gradient echo and spin echo spin density images of human lungs can be made in 10 s with adequate signal‐to‐noise, demonstrating the feasibility for breathing dynamics to be captured during a succession of short breath holds. As expected, the spin echo images have much smaller susceptibility artifacts than the gradient echo images. 19F and 3He images of the same lungs are compared. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of C2F6 is sensitive to restrictions imposed by the lung microstructure: the average ADC is measured to be 0.018 cm2/s in healthy lungs versus 0.031 cm2/s in emphysematous lungs at a diffusion time Δ = 2.2 ms. The low free diffusivity of pure C2F6 (D0 = 0.033 cm2/s) places it in a regime where the ADC measurement allows the surface‐to‐volume ratio to be determined in each voxel, a potentially valuable quantitative characterization of regional lung tissue destruction in emphysema. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Energy Detection Based Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Networks

Detection performance of an energy detector used for cooperative spectrum sensing in a cognitive radio network is investigated over channels with both multipath fading and shadowing. The analysis focuses on two fusion strategies: data fusion and decision fusion. Under data fusion, upper bounds for average detection probabilities are derived for four scenarios: 1) single cognitive relay; 2) multiple cognitive relays; 3) multiple cognitive relays with direct link; and 4) multi-hop cognitive relays. Under decision fusion, the exact detection and false alarm probabilities are derived under the generalized "k-out-of-n" fusion rule at the fusion center with consideration of errors in the reporting channel due to fading. The results are extended to a multi-hop network as well. Our analysis is validated by numerical and simulation results. Although this research focuses on Rayleigh multipath fading and lognormal shadowing, the analytical framework can be extended to channels with Nakagami-m multipath fading and lognormal shadowing as well.
Phototoxicity to diuretics and antidiabetics in the cultured keratinocyte cell line HaCaT: evaluation by clonogenic assay and single cell gel electrophoresis Comet assay)

Background: Potential phototoxicity has been described for a number of drugs and chemical substances. Psoralens, chlorpromazines and fluoroquinolones have been described as inducing photomutagenicity and photocarcinogenicity in vitro and in vivo. We wanted to investigate oral antidiabetics and diuretics for potential phototoxicity and possible DNA damage in the HaCaT cell line.
Predicted performance of magnetized semiconductor phase shifters for millimeter-wave microstrip array antennas

The tunable phase shift of a planar magnetized semiconductor phase shifter is presented, suitable for an integrated environment due to its miniature size, low-biasing requirements, and lower material related problems at millimeter-wave frequencies. A linear microstrip phased array antenna with an integrated semiconductor phase shifter is designed and the calculated beam steering properties are tabulated. The design process is verified by simulating similar ferrite-based linear phased array antennas.
Process and outcome evaluation of an on-line support group for asian American male college students

This study examined the process, outcome, and utilization patterns of an on-line support group (OSG) for Asian American male college students. Outcome measures indicated that the group participants felt supported, perceived the discussion topics as relevant, felt comfortable and connected to other group members, and preferred using aliases instead of their real identities. The discourse contained a high proportion of self-disclosure and provision of information, and more than half of the messages (58%) were responses to messages of other group members. These findings suggest that many of the components of group process theorized to be essential for effective groups can take place in OSGs. There were no significant posttest differences between the OSG (n = 16) and control group (n = 16) in ethnic identity or collective self-esteem. Implications of these findings for improving mental health and counseling services for culturally diverse populations are discussed.
Arabic Named Entity Recognition: Using Features Extracted from Noisy Data

Building an accurate Named Entity Recognition (NER) system for languages with complex morphology is a challenging task. In this paper, we present research that explores the feature space using both gold and bootstrapped noisy features to build an improved highly accurate Arabic NER system. We bootstrap noisy features by projection from an Arabic-English parallel corpus that is automatically tagged with a baseline NER system. The feature space covers lexical, morphological, and syntactic features. The proposed approach yields an improvement of up to 1.64 F-measure (absolute).
Exploring LSB Substitution and Pixel-value Differencing for Block-based Adaptive Data Hiding

Khodaei and Faez proposed a new adaptive data hiding technique based on LSB substitution and pixel-value differencing. Their algorithm can embed a large amount of secret data while maintaining acceptable image quality. However, their proposed algorithm only has fixed embedding capacity. In addition, the derivation for three consecutive pixels in the boundary region is poorly manipulated using raster scan order, resulting in inaccurate pixel differences. Finally, an overflow problem may occur for some embedding cases. In this study, we adopt non-overlapping blocks with m -by- n pixels to address the above problems. The cover image is first partitioned into non-overlapping blocks. The LSB substitution and optimal pixel adjustment process are then employed to embed the secret message into the central pixel of each block. The residual pixels within the same block are with message embedded using a pixel-value differencing scheme. The experimental results show that our proposed algorithm can achieve an adjustable embedding capacity according to the block size. The proposed technique is feasible in adaptive data hiding.
STABILITY OF THE G‐MATRIX IN A POPULATION EXPERIENCING PLEIOTROPIC MUTATION, STABILIZING SELECTION, AND GENETIC DRIFT

Abstract. Quantitative genetics theory provides a framework that predicts the effects of selection on a phenotype consisting of a suite of complex traits. However, the ability of existing theory to reconstruct the history of selection or to predict the future trajectory of evolution depends upon the evolutionary dynamics of the genetic variance‐covariance matrix (G‐matrix). Thus, the central focus of the emerging field of comparative quantitative genetics is the evolution of the G‐matrix. Existing analytical theory reveals little about the dynamics of G, because the problem is too complex to be mathematically tractable. As a first step toward a predictive theory of G‐matrix evolution, our goal was to use stochastic computer models to investigate factors that might contribute to the stability of G over evolutionary time. We were concerned with the relatively simple case of two quantitative traits in a population experiencing stabilizing selection, pleiotropic mutation, and random genetic drift. Our results show that G‐matrix stability is enhanced by strong correlational selection and large effective population size. In addition, the nature of mutations at pleiotropic loci can dramatically influence stability of G. In particular, when a mutation at a single locus simultaneously changes the value of the two traits (due to pleiotropy) and these effects are correlated, mutation can generate extreme stability of G. Thus, the central message of our study is that the empirical question regarding G‐matrix stability is not necessarily a general question of whether G is stable across various taxonomic levels. Rather, we should expect the G‐matrix to be extremely stable for some suites of characters and unstable for others over similar spans of evolutionary time.
ESP: a tool to estimate scale parameter for multiresolution image segmentation of remotely sensed data

The spatial resolution of imaging sensors has increased dramatically in recent years, and so too have the challenges associated with extracting meaningful information from their data products. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) is gaining rapid popularity in remote sensing science as a means of bridging very high spatial resolution (VHSR) imagery and GIS. Multiscalar image segmentation is a fundamental step in OBIA, yet there is currently no tool available to objectively guide the selection of appropriate scales for segmentation. We present a technique for estimating the scale parameter in image segmentation of remotely sensed data with Definiens Developer®. The degree of heterogeneity within an image-object is controlled by a subjective measure called the ‘scale parameter’, as implemented in the mentioned software. We propose a tool, called estimation of scale parameter (ESP), that builds on the idea of local variance (LV) of object heterogeneity within a scene. The ESP tool iteratively generates image-objects at multiple scale levels in a bottom-up approach and calculates the LV for each scale. Variation in heterogeneity is explored by evaluating LV plotted against the corresponding scale. The thresholds in rates of change of LV (ROC-LV) indicate the scale levels at which the image can be segmented in the most appropriate manner, relative to the data properties at the scene level. Our tests on different types of imagery indicated fast processing times and accurate results. The simple yet robust ESP tool enables fast and objective parametrization when performing image segmentation and holds great potential for OBIA applications.
The mechanism of biotin-dependent enzymes.

TRANSFORMATIONS THAT REQUIRE BIOTIN. 195 Structural Similarities . 196 Functional Similarities . 198 THE CARBOXYLATION OF BIOTIN . , 199 B icarbonate or Carbon Dioxide as Substrate? 200 Nor O . Carboxybiotin as Product? 200 Some Suggested Mechanisms and Efforts to Discriminate Amongst Them . 200 The Mechanism of Biotin Carboxylation 206 THE CARBOXYLATION OF CARBON ACCEPTORS. 211 Is the Carboxyl Transfer Stepwise or Concerted? 212 Tritium Transfer in Transcarboxylase . 215 THE MECHANISTIC PATHWAY FOR CARBOXYLASES _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . 216 WHY BIOTIN? 216
Does students' machismo fit in school? Clarifying the implications of traditional gender role ideology for school belonging

How much students feel at home in school predicts academic outcomes. In view of the gender achievement gap, it is worth examining the gendered pattern of this school belonging. Studies on school belonging, however, have barely acknowledged possible obstructive effects of traditional gender role attitudes of individual students and student cultures. This study examines the relationship between gender role attitudes and a sense of school belonging among a sample of 6380 students from 59 Flemish schools at the start of their secondary education. The results of multilevel analyses indicate that boys show less sense of school belonging than girls, as do students with more traditional beliefs about gender roles. Moreover, student attitudes related to gender roles are strongly shared at the school level, so that we can speak of a gender role student culture. Students enrolled in more traditional gender role student cultures reveal less school belonging.
Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War

When are people willing to sacrifice for the common good? What are the benefits of friendship? How do communities deal with betrayal? And what are the costs and benefits of being in a diverse community? Using the life histories of more than forty thousand Civil War soldiers, Dora Costa and Matthew Kahn answer these questions and uncover the vivid stories, social influences, and crucial networks that influenced soldiers' lives both during and after the war. Drawing information from government documents, soldiers' journals, and one of the most extensive research projects about Union Army soldiers ever undertaken, Heroes and Cowards demonstrates the role that social capital plays in people's decisions. The makeup of various companies--whether soldiers were of the same ethnicity, age, and occupation--influenced whether soldiers remained loyal or whether they deserted. Costa and Kahn discuss how the soldiers benefited from friendships, what social factors allowed some to survive the POW camps while others died, and how punishments meted out for breaking codes of conduct affected men after the war. The book also examines the experience of African-American soldiers and makes important observations about how their comrades shaped their lives. Heroes and Cowards highlights the inherent tensions between the costs and benefits of community diversity, shedding light on how groups and societies behave and providing valuable lessons for the present day.