Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved Successive Detector for OFDM in Time-Variant Multipath Channels

Time variations of wireless multipath channels can lead to severe intercarrier interference (ICI) in orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) systems, whereas large Doppler frequency spread can provide us with time diversity gain. In order to take advantage of the time diversity and to suppress the interference and noise enhancement at the same time, the receiver normally detects the data successively. In this letter, we propose an improved detection ordering based on the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) rather than the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the successive detector. Using both theoretical analysis and computer simulation, it is shown that this scheme outperforms the traditional successive detection methods.
How job demands and resources predict burnout, engagement and intention to quit in call centres

The industrial psychology literature related to call centres highlights the negative aspects of call centre work environments and the resultant adverse impact on workers’ well-being. Call centres have been labelled the “coal mines of the 21st century”, “assembly lines in the head” and “satanic mills” (Janse van Rensburg, Boonzaier, & Boonzaier, 2013, p. 2). High levels of stress, high staff turnover and burnout are all factors that are often experienced by call centre agents (Banks & Roodt, 2011). However, Van der Colff and Rothman (2009) report that some call centre agents, regardless of the high job demands, do not develop burnout. These agents cope better than others under highly demanding and stressful work conditions. To build on these findings, the present study took a detailed look at factors affecting the well-being of employees working in call centres. Specifically, the question was asked, “Why is there variance in work engagement, job burnout and intention to quit amongst the employees in call centres? ” The job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014) was used as a framework to investigate the well-being of call centre agents employed in the outbound departments of two branches of a Cape Town call centre. The primary objective of this study was to develop and empirically test a structural model, derived from theory, explaining the antecedents of variance in work engagement, job burnout and intention to quit amongst call centre employees. The antecedents comprise transformational leadership (as a job resource), emotional intelligence and psychological capital (as employees’ personal resources), and emotional labour (as job demands) present in a call centre environment. An ex post facto correlational design was used to test the formulated hypotheses in this research study. Quantitative data was collected from 223 call centre agents by means of nonprobability convenience sampling. A self-administered hard-copy survey was distributed to the two call centre branches, given that call centre agents agreed to participate in the research study. Measuring instruments consisted of (1) the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES17) questionnaire (Schaufeli et al., 2002), (2) the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS) (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001), (3) the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS) (Ding & Lin, 2006; Lee, 2000), (4) the Emotional Demands and Emotion-rule Dissonance scales Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
Effect of Replacement of Potassium by Rubidium on the Transmembrane Action Potential and Contractility of Human Papillary Muscle

The effects of extracellular rubidium chloride (1, 2, 4, and 8 mM) on simultaneously recorded transmembrane action potentials and contractions of human papillary muscle in potassium-free solutions were investigated. In KCl-free solution, reduction in the duration of the action potential at the 25% and 50% levels of repolarization was associated with an increase in the force of contraction. Exposure of the muscle to rubidium chloride led to an increase in the duration of the action potential at 25% and 50% levels of repolarization associated with a corresponding decrease in the force of contraction. A decrease in the force of contraction was more usually associated with an increase in the duration of the action potential at the 25% level of repolarization than at the 50% level. No appreciable change in the duration of the action potential at the 90% level of repolarization was observed. Increases in the duration associated with corresponding decreases in the force of contraction were concentrationdependent. Rubidium chloride (8 mM) produced a conduction delay and inexcitability in the muscle. It has been suggested that in KCl-free solution the reduction in the duration of the action potential and an increase in the force of contraction were associated with inhibition of membrane ATPase. Also, the increases in the duration of the action potential accompanied by decreases in the force of contraction were associated with rubidium chloride-induced stimulation of membrane ATPase in human myocardium.
Gear fault detection and diagnosis based on bi-spectrum analysis

The damaged gearbox is often related to non-linear effects that may lead to non-linearity in the machine vibration signal. This paper introduces the application of modern signal processing technique based on higher order spectrum to the fault detection and diagnosis of gearbox. The bi-spectrum can effectively eliminate the effect of random noise and extract useful features from the noisy mechanical vibration signals. An application of bi-spectrum technique to fault diagnosis of gear wear is presented. The experimental results show that the bi-spectrum analysis technique can effectively extract the transients from strong noise signals and diagnose the fault of gear.
Evidence for a Multivalent Interaction of Symmetrical, N-Linked, Lidocaine Dimers with Voltage-Gated Na+ Channels

The interaction of symmetrical lidocaine dimers with voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) was examined using a FLIPR membrane potential assay and voltage-clamp. The dimers, in which the tertiary amines of the lidocaine moieties are linked by an alkylene chain (two to six methylene units), inhibited VGSC activator-evoked depolarization of cells heterologously-expressing rat (r) Nav1.2a, human (h) Nav1.5, and rNav1.8, with potencies 10- to 100-fold higher than lidocaine (compound 1). The rank order of potency (C4 (compound 4) > C3 (compound 3) ≥ C2 (compound 2) = C5 (compound 5) = C6 (compound 6) ≫ compound 1) was similar at each VGSC. Compound 4 exhibited strong use-dependent inhibition of hNav1.5 with pIC50 values <4.5 and 6.0 for tonic and phasic block, respectively. Coincubation with local anesthetics but not tetrodotoxin attenuated compound 4-mediated inhibition of hNav1.5. These data suggest that the compound 4 binding site(s) is identical, or allosterically coupled, to the local anesthetic receptor. The dissociation rate of the dimers from hNav1.5 was dependent upon the linker length, with a rank order of compound 1 > compound 5 = compound 6 > compound 2 ≫ compound 3. The observation that both the potency and dissociation rate of the dimers was dependent upon linker length is consistent with a multivalent interaction at VGSCs. hNav1.5 VGSCs did not recover from inhibition by compound 4. However, “chase” with free local anesthetic site inhibitors increased the rate of dissociation of compound 4. Together, these data support the hypothesis that compound 4 simultaneously occupies two binding sites on VGSCs, both of which can be bound by known local anesthetic site inhibitors.
Tracking rests and Tempo changes: Improved Score following with Particle filters

In this paper we present a score following system based on a Dynamic Bayesian Network, using particle filtering as inference method. The proposed model sets itself apart from existing approaches by including two new extensions: A multi-level tempo model to improve alignment quality of performances with challenging tempo changes, and an extension to reflect different expressive characteristics of notated rests. Both extensions are evaluated against a dataset of classical piano music. As the results show, the extensions improve both the accuracy and the robustness of the algorithm.
The testimonial privilege of journalists reporting in wartimes or from conflict zones

Journalists reporting from conflict zones make a significant contribution to uncovering and documenting of war crimes. As trained neutral observers they may serve as witnesses in subsequent criminal prosecutions. This creates a moral dilemma: not forcing them to testify in international criminal tribunals may result in perpetrators of war crimes going free – forcing them to testify, may not only put their lives and those of their sources and families at risk, but perpetrators may never confide in them and war crimes may repeatedly go unnoticed. This raises several contentious issues surrounding the testimonial privilege for journalists reporting under these conditions.
Photometric redshift accuracy in AKARI deep surveys Journal Item

We investigate the photometric redshift accuracy achievable with the AKARI infrared data in deep multiband surveys, such as in the North Ecliptic Pole field. We demonstrate that the passage of redshifted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and silicate features into the mid-infrared wavelength window covered by AKARI is a valuable means to recover the redshifts of starburst galaxies. To this end, we have collected a sample of ∼60 galaxies drawn from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North Field with spectroscopic redshift 0.5 zspec 1.5 and photometry from 3.6 to 24 μm, provided by the Spitzer, Infrared Space Observatory and AKARI satellites. The infrared spectra are fitted using synthetic galaxy spectral energy distributions which account for starburst and active nuclei emission. For ∼90 per cent of the sources in our sample, the redshift is recovered with an accuracy |zphot − zspec|/(1 + zspec) 10 per cent. A similar analysis performed on a set of simulated spectra shows that the AKARI infrared data alone can provide photometric redshifts accurate to |zphot − zspec|/(1 + zspec) ∼ 10 per cent (1σ ) at z 2. At higher redshifts, the PAH features are shifted outside the wavelength range covered by AKARI and the photo-z estimates rely on the less prominent 1.6 μm stellar bump; the accuracy achievable in this case on (1 + z) is ∼10–15 per cent, provided that the active galactic nuclei contribution to the infrared emission is subdominant. Our technique is no more prone to redshift aliasing than optical-ultraviolet photo-z, and it may be possible to reduce this aliasing further with the addition of submillimetre and/or radio data.
GLP-1 Action and Glucose Tolerance in Subjects With Remission of Type 2 Diabetes After Gastric Bypass Surgery

OBJECTIVE Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has been suggested as a major factor for the improved glucose tolerance ensuing after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) surgery. We examined the effect of blocking endogenous GLP-1 action on glucose tolerance in subjects with sustained remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) present before RYGBP. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Blood glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glucagon, GLP-1, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide levels were measured after a meal challenge with either exendin-(9–39) (a GLP-1r antagonist) or saline infusion in eight subjects with sustained remission of T2DM after RYGBP and seven healthy controls. RESULTS Infusion of exendin-(9–39) resulted in marginal deterioration of the 2-h plasma glucose after meal intake in RYGBP subjects [saline 78.4 ± 15.1 mg/dL compared with exendin-(9–39) 116.5 ± 22.3 mg/dL; P < 0.001]. Furthermore, glucose response to meal intake was similarly enlarged in the two study groups [percent change in the area under the curve of glucose exendin-(9–39) infusion versus saline infusion: controls 10.84 ± 8.8% versus RYGBP 9.94 ± 8.4%; P = 0.884]. In the RYGBP group, the blockade of the enlarged GLP-1 response to meal intake resulted in reduced insulin (P = 0.001) and C-peptide (P < 0.001), but no change in glucagon (P = 0.258) responses. CONCLUSIONS The limited deterioration of glucose tolerance on blockade of GLP-1 action in our study suggests the resolution of T2DM after RYGBP may be explained by mechanisms beyond enhancement of GLP-1 action.
An Iterative Implicit Feedback Approach to Personalized Search

General information retrieval systems are designed to serve all users without considering individual needs. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to personalized search. It can, in a unified way, exploit and utilize implicit feedback information, such as query logs and immediately viewed documents. Moreover, our approach can implement result re-ranking and query expansion simultaneously and collaboratively. Based on this approach, we develop a client-side personalized web search agent PAIR (Personalized Assistant for Information Retrieval), which supports both English and Chinese. Our experiments on TREC and HTRDP collections clearly show that the new approach is both effective and efficient.
Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms, Dietary Promotion of Insulin Resistance, and Colon and Rectal Cancer

Abstract: Modifiable risk factors in colorectal cancer etiology and their interactions with genetic susceptibility are of particular interest. Functional vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms may influence carcinogenesis through modification of cell growth, protection from oxidative stress, cell–cell matrix effects, or insulin and insulin-like growth factor pathways. We investigated interactions between foods (dairy products, red and processed meat, and whole and refined grains) and dietary patterns (sucrose-to-fiber ratio and glycemic index) associated with insulin resistance with the FokI polymorphism of the VDR gene and colon and rectal cancer risk. Data (diet, anthropometrics, and lifestyle) and DNA came from case-control studies of colon (1,698 cases and 1,861 controls) and rectal cancer (752 cases and 960 controls) in northern California, Utah, and the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Minnesota (colon cancer study only). Unconditional logistic regression models were adjusted for smoking, race, sex, age, body mass index, physical activity, energy intake, dietary fiber, and calcium. The lowest colon cancer risk was observed with the Ff/ff FokI genotypes and a low sucrose-to-fiber ratio. Rectal cancer risk decreased with greater consumption of dairy products and increased with red or processed meat consumption and the FF genotype. Modifiable dietary risk factors may be differentially important among individuals by VDR genotype and may act through the insulin pathway to affect colon cancer risk and through fat, calcium, or other means to influence rectal cancer risk.
The participative arts for people living with a dementia: a critical review

In the last decade, interest has increased in the role of the participative arts for people who are living with a dementia. The flourishing of this area can be partly understood because of an awareness of the potential for art to deliver health care outcomes. In addition, there is widespread agreement that non-pharmacological interventions are important for people living with a dementia. Therefore, participative arts activities have attracted attention as representing beneficial interventions. This critical review which involved the careful mining of academic and grey literature using replicable search strategies contextualises the participatory arts for people living with a dementia and provides an overview of some of the art orms that are most widely used. The review also highlights some of the extant gaps in the knowledge base. The focus is on the UK context but the role of the participative arts for those with a dementia is equally relevant to practitioners in Europe and the US, and therefore some attention was also given to international literature.
Computer Game Addiction and Emotional Dependence

As computer games grow in popularity, the negative effects of usage should be studied. Computer games (games played on a computer, tablet, or any web-enabled device) have salient qualities, especially MMORPGs, that cause addictive symptoms. I investigated computer game addiction and usage in Trinity College students. A sample of 114 students (M =20.4 years of age, 61% female) was divided into a non-addicted, social player, and computer-addicted group based on Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire. My results showed that there is no significant correlation between day quality and computer game usage, and no significant correlation between emotional dependence and group. Not enough computer-game addicted subjects participated (n=4), so it was unable to be concluded that computer game addicts have lower GPA, or prefer a certain type of game. However, the large number of social players (n=57) shows that more research needs to be conducted to analyze the prevalence of addictive symptoms. Running Head: COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION Poon 3
Hybrid-Parallel formulation of Fundamental Quantum-Chemical Algorithms

Hybrid-parallel variants of Hartree-Fock, Kohn-Sham and Moller-Plesset second-level perturbationtheory are described. Their efficiency with respect to the serial and MPI-basedparallel implementations are measured and briefly analyzed. It is shown that while hybridparallelization provide increased efficiency in all cases, the magnitude of the effect stronglydepends on the features of the particular algorithm.
Psychometric evaluation of the Italian translation of the Gamblers’ Beliefs Questionnaire

Abstract Italy has experienced a rapid growth in gambling accessibility, expenditures and problems. Gambling-related cognitive distortions are established risk factors for disordered gambling, although little is known about the role of gambling-related cognitive distortions among Italians. To establish a valid tool for assessing these distortions, an Italian version of the Gamblers’ Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ-I) was translated and psychometrically evaluated in a sample of 749. Eighty-five percent had gambled recently and 110 were identified as probable disordered gamblers. Good reliability, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated. Concurrent, convergent and predictive validities also suggested that the GBQ-I is a valid and reliable measure for assessing gambling-related cognitive distortions among clinical and non-clinical Italian samples. Factor analysis explored the two-factor structure from the measures’ initial validation but was unable to replicate it. The validation of this translation of the GBQ allows for future cross-cultural research on the role of cognitive distortions in the study and treatment of gambling problems.
Multidrug-resistant phenotype cosegregates with an amplified gene in somatic cell hybrids of drug-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells and drug-sensitive murine cells

Gene amplification has been associated with multidrug resistance (MDR) in several drug-resistant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines which exhibit cross-resistance to other unrelated, cytotoxic drugs. In situ hybridization studies (Teeter et al., J. Cell Biol., in press) suggested the presence of an amplified gene associated with the MDR phenotype on the long arm of either of the largest CHO chromosomes (1 or Z1) in vincristine-resistant cells. In this study, somatic cell hybrids were constructed between these vincristine-resistant CHO cells and drug-sensitive murine cells to determine the functional relationship between the chromosome bearing the amplified sequences and the MDR phenotype. Hybrids exhibited primary drug resistance and MDR in an incomplete dominant fashion. Hybrid clones and subclones segregated CHO chromosomes. Concordant segregation between vincristine resistance, the MDR phenotype, the presence of the MDR-associated amplified sequences, overexpression of the gene located in those sequences, and CHO chromosome Z1 was consistent with the hypothesis that there is an amplified gene on chromosome Z1 of the vincristine-resistant CHO cells which is responsible for the MDR in these cells. A low level of discordance between CHO chromosomes Z8 and 2 and the drug resistance phenotype suggests that these chromosomes may contain genes involved with the MDR phenotype.
Essential role of sympathetic endothelin A receptors for adverse cardiac remodeling

Significance In failing hearts, norepinephrine (NE) net release and endothelin-1 (ET1) levels are increased. ET1 receptor antagonists were successfully used in preclinical heart failure (HF) studies, but clinical studies did not show beneficial effects in HF patients. We found that mice lacking endothelin receptor A (ETA) only in sympathetic neurons but not in cardiomyocytes were protected from the development of HF. Mechanistically, the presynaptic reuptake of NE within the heart was preserved in mice lacking ETA only in sympathetic neurons. These data provide an explanation of why patients in clinical studies do not benefit from ET1 receptor antagonists, because these patients are usually treated with β blockers, which interfere with the mechanism of action identified here. In preclinical studies, endothelin receptor A (ETA) antagonists (ETAi) attenuated the progression of heart failure (HF). However, clinical HF trials failed to demonstrate beneficial effects of ETAi. These conflicting data may be explained by the possibility that established HF drugs such as adrenergic receptor blockers interfered with the mechanism of ETAi action in clinical trials. Here we report that mice lacking ETA only in sympathetic neurons (SN-KO) showed less adverse structural remodeling and cardiac dysfunction in response to pathological pressure overload induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC). In contrast, mice lacking ETA only in cardiomyocytes (CM-KO) were not protected. TAC led to a disturbed sympathetic nerve function as measured by cardiac norepinephrine (NE) tissue levels and [124I]-metaiodobenzylguanidine-PET, which was prevented in SN-KO. In a rat model of HF, ETAi improved cardiac and sympathetic nerve function. In cocultures of cardiomyocytes (CMs) and sympathetic neurons (SNs), endothelin-1 (ET1) led to a massive NE release and exaggerated CM hypertrophy compared with CM monocultures. ETA-deficient CMs gained a hypertrophic response through wild-type SNs, but ETA-deficient SNs failed to mediate exaggerated CM hypertrophy. Furthermore, ET1 mediated its effects indirectly via NE in CM-SN cocultures through adrenergic receptors and histone deacetylases, resulting in activation of the prohypertrophic transcription factor myocyte enhancer factor 2. In conclusion, sympathetic ETA amplifies ET1 effects on CMs through adrenergic signaling pathways. Thus, antiadrenergic therapies may blunt potentially beneficial effects of ETAi. Taken together, this may indicate that patients with β blocker intolerance or disturbed sympathetic nerve function could be evaluated for a potential benefit from ETAi.
BLIND SOURCE SEPARATION OF AUDIO SIGNALS USING WVD-KR ALGORITHM

Under-determined blind source separation aims to separate N non-stationary sources from M (M<N) mixtures. Paper presents a time-frequency approach (TF) to under-determined blind source separation of N non-stationary sources from M mixtures(M<N). It is based on Wigner-Ville distribution and Khatri-Rao product. Improved method involves a two step approach which involves the estimation of the mixing matrix where negative values of auto WVD of the sources are fully considered and secondly auto-term TF points are extracted.After extracting the auto-term TF points source WVD values at every TF point are computed using a new algorithm based on Khatri-Rao product. Thus sources are separated with the proposed approach no matter how many active sources there are as long as N≤ 2M-1.Simulation results are presented to show the superiority of the proposed algorithm by comparing it with the existing algorithms.