Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polar Coordinate Based Modulation: Concept, Performance Analysis and System Design

In this paper, a nonlinear base-band modulation scheme, namely POLar COordinate based Modulation (POLCOM), is proposed for intensity modulation with direct detection (IM/DD) based optical wireless communication (OWC) systems. Two detectors including the optimal maximum likelihood detector (MLD) operated in polar coordinate and the joint detector (JD) operated in rectangular coordinate are investigated. Over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels, the symbol error rate (SER) performances of POLCOM using these two detectors are derived in high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. To achieve good performance in terms of SER, a heuristic greedy walk algorithm (GWA) is proposed to design the signal constellations for POLCOM. Comprehensive comparisons are made with existing schemes under the same signal bandwidth and spectral efficiency. Through fair comparisons, it is shown that the proposed POLCOM outperforms most of existing schemes.
A Preliminary Study of microRNA-208b after Acute Myocardial Infarction: Impact on 6-Month Survival

Introduction miRNAs contribute to a variety of essential biological processes including development, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Circulating microRNAs are very stable and have shown potential as biomarkers of cardiovascular disease. microRNA-208b expression was increased in the blood of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and has been proposed as a biomarker for early diagnosis. In this pilot study, we investigate the potential of circulating miR-208b as a prognostic biomarker of 6-month survival in AMI patients. Methods Plasma samples from 21 patients and 8 age- and gender-matched healthy adults were collected, and circulating levels of miR-208b were detected using quantitative real-time PCR. Results miR-208b levels were higher in healthy control subjects (9.6-fold; P ≤ 0.05). Within the AMI patients, the levels of miR-208b were significantly lower in the survivor versus nonsurvivor group (fold change = 6.51 and 14.1, resp.; P ≤ 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier curve revealed that the 6-month survival time was significantly higher among AMI patients with a relative expression of miR-208b lower than 12.38. The hazard ratio (HR) for the relative expression of miR-208b (<12.38 was the reference) was 5.08 (95% CI: 1.13–22.82; P = 0.03). Conclusion Our results showed that elevated miR-208b expression was associated with reduced long-term survival in AMI patients. These pilot data indicate the need for a large follow-up study to confirm whether miR-208b can be used as a predictor of 6-month survival time after AMI.
Title Religion insulates ingroup evaluations : the development of intergroup attitudes in India Permalink

Research on the development of implicit intergroup attitudes has placed heavy emphasis on race, leaving open how social categories that are prominent in other cultures might operate. We investigate two of India’s primary means of social distinction, caste and religion, and explore the development of implicit and explicit attitudes towards these groups in minority-status Muslim children and majority-status Hindu children, the latter drawn from various positions in the Hindu caste system. Results from two tests of implicit attitudes find that caste attitudes parallel previous findings for race: higher-caste children as well as lower-caste children have robust high-caste preferences. However, results for religion were strikingly different: both lower-status Muslim children and higher-status Hindu children show strong implicit ingroup preferences. We suggest that religion may play a protective role in insulating children from the internalization of stigma.
Experimental Verification and Evolutionary Origin of 5′-UTR Polyadenylation Sites in Arabidopsis thaliana

Messenger RNA (mRNA) polyadenylation is an indispensable step during post-transcriptional pre-mRNA processing for most genes in eukaryotes. The usage of one poly(A) site over another is known as alternative polyadenylation (APA). APA has been implicated in gene expression regulation through its role of selecting the ends of a transcript. Recent studies of polyadenylation profiles in the Arabidopsis database unexpectedly predicted that a portion of the poly(A) sites are located in the 5′-UTR, which remains to be experimentally verified. We selected 16 genes from a dataset of 744, based on criteria designed to minimize problems in interpretation. Here, we experimentally verify 5′-UTR-APA in Arabidopsis for 10 of the 16 selected genes, and show for the first time existence of independent polyadenylated 5′-UTR transcripts, arising due to alternative polyadenylation. We used 3′-RACE and sequencing to validate poly(A) sites and northern blot to show that the observed short upstream transcripts do not arise from the 3′-end of a previously unrecognized convergent gene. Evidence is reported showing that two of the independent upstream open reading frame (uORF) transcripts studied, one containing a complex dual uORF, very likely arose by exon shuffling following duplication of the 5′-end from the downstream major open reading frame (mORF). Finally, results are presented to show that the uORF in this gene may encode two short functional proteins, based on observation of amino acid sequence conservation encoded by the dual uORFs.
Generating Synthetic but Plausible Healthcare Record Datasets

Generating datasets that "look like" given real ones is an interesting tasks for healthcare applications of ML and many other fields of science and engineering. In this paper we propose a new method of general application to binary datasets based on a method for learning the parameters of a latent variable moment that we have previously used for clustering patient datasets. We compare our method with a recent proposal (MedGan) based on generative adversarial methods and find that the synthetic datasets we generate are globally more realistic in at least two senses: real and synthetic instances are harder to tell apart by Random Forests, and the MMD statistic. The most likely explanation is that our method does not suffer from the "mode collapse" which is an admitted problem of GANs. Additionally, the generative models we generate are easy to interpret, unlike the rather obscure GANs. Our experiments are performed on two patient datasets containing ICD-9 diagnostic codes: the publicly available MIMIC-III dataset and a dataset containing admissions for congestive heart failure during 7 years at Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona.
A Rasorber-Like Waveguide Based on Thin Film

A novel rasorber-like property is generated in the new designed waveguide, which is constructed by placing an etched lossy thin film in the rectangular waveguide. Two individual transmission modes are observed in this structure in the working range of the rectangular waveguide, which provide the absorption band and passband, respectively. A sample based on indium tin oxide film is also fabricated and measured, and the results show good agreements compared with those of the 3-D full-wave simulation. This letter may extend the application of thin films in the wave propagation area, especially in the electromagnetic shielding of practical electronics.
Privacy Amplification by Subsampling: Tight Analyses via Couplings and Divergences

Differential privacy comes equipped with multiple analytical tools for the design of private data analyses. One important tool is the so-called "privacy amplification by subsampling" principle, which ensures that a differentially private mechanism run on a random subsample of a population provides higher privacy guarantees than when run on the entire population. Several instances of this principle have been studied for different random subsampling methods, each with an ad-hoc analysis. In this paper we present a general method that recovers and improves prior analyses, yields lower bounds and derives new instances of privacy amplification by subsampling. Our method leverages a characterization of differential privacy as a divergence which emerged in the program verification community. Furthermore, it introduces new tools, including advanced joint convexity and privacy profiles, which might be of independent interest.
Controlling the profile of high aspect ratio optical gratings in diamond

Diamond is an excellent material for infrared optics and for applications in harsh environments. Some of those desirable properties, i.e. hardness and chemical inertness, also make it a challenging material to machine and etch. In this study we have tested a wide range of etch parameters in an inductively coupled plasma etcher, in order to produce highly controlled, high aspect ratio gratings in diamond. We discuss the effects of pressure, bias power, and some gas mixture variation (pure oxygen and argon-oxygen) on the etch results and how it impacts the etch mask sputtering and redeposition. We also present a method for applying a fresh aluminum mask, in order to etch even deeper optical gratings. Gratings with aspect ratios as high as 13.5 have been achieved with a 1.42 μm grating period.
Adaptive crossmodal plasticity in deaf auditory cortex : areal and laminar contributions to supranormal vision in the deaf

This chapter is a summary of three interdigitated investigations to identify the neural substrate underlying supranormal vision in the congenitally deaf. In the first study, we tested both congenitally deaf and hearing cats on a battery of visual psychophysical tasks to identify those visual functions that are enhanced in the congenitally deaf. From this investigation, we found that congenitally deaf, compared to hearing, cats have superior visual localization in the peripheral field and lower visual movement detection thresholds. In the second study, we examined the role of “deaf” auditory cortex in mediating the supranormal visual abilities by reversibly deactivating specific cortical loci with cooling. We identified that in deaf cats, reversible deactivation of a region of cortex typically identified as the posterior auditory field (PAF) in hearing cats selectively eliminated superior visual localization abilities. It was also found that deactivation of the dorsal zone (DZ) of “auditory” cortex eliminated the superior visual motion detection abilities of deaf cats. In the third study, graded cooling was applied to deaf PAF and deaf DZ to examine the laminar contributions to the superior visual abilities of the deaf. Graded cooling of deaf PAF revealed that deactivation of the superficial layers alone does not cause significant visual localization deficits. Profound deficits were identified only when cooling extended through all six layers of deaf PAF. In contrast, graded cooling of deaf DZ showed that deactivation of only the superficial layers was required to elicit increased visual motion detection *Corresponding author. Tel. : þ1-519-663-5777x24110; Fax: þ1-519-663-3193 E-mail: steve.lomber@uwo.ca 251 DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53752-2.00001-1 252 Author's personal copy thresholds. Collectively, these three studies show that the superficial layers of deaf DZ mediate the enhanced visual motion detection of the deaf, while the full thickness of deaf PAF must be deactivated in order to eliminate the superior visual localization abilities of the congenitally deaf. Taken together, this combination of experimental approaches has demonstrated a causal link between the crossmodal reorganization of auditory cortex and enhanced visual abilities of the deaf, as well as identified the cortical regions responsible for adaptive supranormal vision.
Historical impact of water infrastructure on water levels of the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap system

Abstract. The rapid rate of water infrastructure development in the Mekong Basin is a cause for concern due to its potential impact on fisheries and downstream natural ecosystems. In this paper, we analyze the historical water levels of the Mekong River and Tonle Sap system by comparing pre- and post-1991 daily observations from six stations along the Mekong mainstream from Chiang Saen (northern Thailand), to Stung Treng (Cambodia), and the Prek Kdam station on the Tonle Sap River. Observed alterations in water level patterns along the Mekong are linked to temporal and spatial trends in water infrastructure development from 1960 to 2010. We argue that variations in historical climatic factors are important, but they are not the main cause of observed changes in key hydrological indicators related to ecosystem productivity. Our analysis shows that the development of mainstream dams in the upper Mekong Basin in the post-1991 period may have resulted in a modest increase of 30-day minimum levels (+17%), but significant increases in fall rates (+42%) and the number of water level fluctuations (+75%) observed in Chiang Saen. This effect diminishes downstream until it becomes negligible at Mukdahan (northeast Thailand), which represents a drainage area of over 50% of the total Mekong Basin. Further downstream at Pakse (southern Laos), alterations to the number of fluctuations and rise rate became strongly significant after 1991. The observed alterations slowly decrease downstream, but modified rise rates, fall rates, and dry season water levels were still quantifiable and significant as far as Prek Kdam. This paper provides the first set of evidence of hydrological alterations in the Mekong beyond the Chinese dam cascade in the upper Mekong. Given the evident alterations at Pakse and downstream, post-1991 changes could also be directly attributed to water infrastructure development in the Chi and Mun basins of Thailand. A reduction of 23 and 11% in the water raising and falling rates respectively at Prek Kdam provides evidence of a diminished Tonle Sap flood pulse in the post-1991 period. Given the observed water level alterations from 1991 to 2010 as a result of water infrastructure development, we can extrapolate that future development in the mainstream and the key transboundary Srepok, Sesan, and Sekong sub-basins will have an even greater effect on the Tonle Sap flood regime, the lower Mekong floodplain, and the delta.
Stimulation of Natural Attenuation of Metals in Acid Mine Drainage through Water and Sediment Management at Abandoned Copper Mines

Abandoned mining sites represent a substantial environmental challenge especially when acid mine drainage (AMD) is affecting surface water (Nordstrom 2011). Comparison of abandoned copper mines in Norway shows a clear difference in the environmental impact as indicated by the fish population in the receiving waters. Local hydrological and geochemical conditions were investigated to address the environmental fate of the copper release and the influence on the available copper fraction. Remedial solutions are designed based on stimulating the natural on-going attenuation processes. Management of hydrological and sedimentary processes can give an immediate improvement while long-term solutions for source removal are implemented.
In-vivo Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Nanoparticles Effects on Chromosomal Abnormalities and Lactate Dehydrogenase Activity

In this study we investigated effect of TiO 2 nanoparticles on chromosomal abnormalities and lactate dehydrogenase activity and for this purpose nano anatase of titanium dioxide in four dosages of 10, 50, 100, 500, 800mg/Kg BW during intraperitoneal injection of male mice Balb/C were treated. After 24 hours, micronucleus test was carried out on the samples of bone marrow and determination of the Level of Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) level test performed on the samples of peripheral blood. Result showed that nano anatase of titanium dioxide in low dosage of 10, 50, 100mg/Kg BW, had not toxicity effects on bone marrow but in high dosages of 500, 800mg/Kg BW caused induced toxicity effect with increase micronucleus. In dosage of 10mg/Kg BW of nanoparticles showed LDH enzyme is blocked and a reduced in LDH level. The results of this study will be providing useful information for researcher to design of nanotechnology products with minimal side effects. This study can be very useful in reducing the complications of nanoparticle toxicity.
Cross-Layer Data Delivery in Satellite-Aerial-Terrestrial Communication

The emerging SAT communication network holds great promise in various wireless access applications and services. How to achieve in such integrated network the best data delivery performance across multiple layers, given the limited inter-layer link capacity, however, is still a challenging issue. To the best of our knowledge, the cross-layer gateway selection problem for traffic transmission remains almost untouched, since previous works in this line mainly focused on one single layer and neglected the other layers. Toward this end, we first define in this article the cross-layer gateway selection as a constrained optimization problem in a SAT network, and then propose a greedy solution to efficiently identify an optimal set of gateways from an aerial network that serves as a relay layer for the data delivery between the terrestrial layer and the satellite layer. After providing extensive numerical results to validate the efficacy of our solution, we also point out challenges and future directions.
Prevalence of Parasomnias in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea. A Registry-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To assess the prevalence of parasomnias in relation to presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We hypothesized higher parasomnia prevalence with higher OSA severity. Methods: The sample comprised 4,372 patients referred to a Norwegian university hospital with suspicion of OSA (mean age 49.1 years, 69.8% males). OSA was diagnosed and categorized by standard respiratory polygraphy (type 3 portable monitor). The patients completed a comprehensive questionnaire prior to the sleep study, including questions about different parasomnias during the last 3 months. Pearson chi-square tests explored differences according to the presence and severity of OSA. Furthermore, logistic regression analyses with the parasomnias as dependent variables and OSA severity as predictor were conducted (adjusted for sex, age, marital status, smoking, and alcohol consumption). Results: In all, 34.7% had apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) <5 (no OSA), 32.5% had AHI 5-14.9 (mild OSA), 17.4% had AHI 15-29.9 (moderate OSA), and 15.3% had AHI ≥30 (severe OSA). The overall prevalence of parasomnias was 3.3% (sleepwalking), 2.5% (sleep-related violence), 3.1% (sexual acts during sleep), 1.7% (sleep-related eating), and 43.8% (nightmares). The overall parasomnia prevalence was highest in the no OSA group. In the chi-square analyses, including all OSA groups, the prevalence of sleep-related violence and nightmares were inversely associated with OSA severity, whereas none of the other parasomnias were significantly associated with OSA severity. In adjusted logistic regression analyses the odds of sleepwalking was significantly higher in severe compared to mild OSA (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.12–3.55). The other parasomnias, including sleep-related violence and nightmares, were not associated with OSA presence or severity when adjusting for sex and age. Conclusions: We found no increase in parasomnias in patients with OSA compared to those not having OSA. With the exception of sleepwalking, the parasomnias were not associated with OSA severity.
A Protocol-Channel-Based Indoor Positioning Performance Study for Bluetooth Low Energy

Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology coupled with fingerprinting provides a simple way to position users with high accuracy in indoor environments. In this paper, we study the effect of BLE protocols and channels on indoor positioning using different distance and similarity measures in a controlled environment. With the aim of reproducing a real positioning system situation, we also study the effect of the user’s orientation in the positioning phase and, consequently, provide accuracy and precision results for each orientation. In a 168-m2 testbed, 12 beacons configured to broadcast with the Eddystone and iBeacon protocols were deployed and 40 distance/similarity measures were considered. According to our results, in a specific orientation there is a group of distance metrics coupled with a protocol-channel combination that produces similar accuracy results. Therefore, choosing the right distance metric in that specific orientation is not as critical as choosing the right protocol and, especially, the right channel. There is a trend whereby the protocol-channel combination that provides the best accuracy is almost unique for each orientation. Depending on the orientation, the accuracies obtained for the abovementioned group of distances are within the range of 1.1–1.5 m and the precisions are 90% within the range of 1.5–2.5 m.
Modeling and Performance Analysis of Shielded Differential Annular Through-Silicon Via (SD-ATSV) for 3-D ICs

A shielded-differential annular through-silicon via (SD-ATSV) is proposed and investigated. The equivalent circuit model is developed with the influence of the electrically floating silicon substrate taken into account. By virtue of the circuit model, the frequency- and time-domain electrical characterizations of the SD-ATSV are conducted. Furthermore, the thermo-mechanical stress of the SD-ATSV is captured and compared with that of the shielded-differential cylindrical through-silicon via. It is demonstrated that by utilizing the SD-ATSV, the keep-out zone can be reduced without performance degradation.
Robust Resource Allocation Based Energy Harvesting in Distributed Antenna System

In this paper, we study a multiuser distributed antenna system with simultaneous wireless information and power transmission under the assumption of imperfect channel state information (CSI). Considering CSI errors, the minimum signal- to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) is maximized subject to individual energy harvesting constraint for each mobile station by jointly designing beamforming and the power splitting (PS). First, an efficient algorithm is proposed to convert the original problem to a set of "dual" min-max power balancing problems. Then, an semi-definite programming based iterative algorithm is developed to achieve a local optimal rank-one solution.
2-D DOA Estimation of Coherent Wideband Signals with Auxiliary-Vector Basis

We develop a two-dimensional (2-D) direction-of- arrival (DOA) estimation scheme for coherent wideband source signals using coherent signal subspace method based auxiliary-vector (CSSM-AV) basis. Computation of the basis is carried out by a modified version of the orthogonal CSSM-AV filtering algorithm. The proposed method reconstructs the signal subspace using a cross-correlation matrix after which the modified CSSM-AV algorithm is employed to estimate the azimuth and elevation angles. Then, successive orthogonal maximum cross- correlation auxiliary vectors are calculated to form a basis for the scanner-extended signal subspace. This technique is very efficient in reducing the algorithm complexity. Since it does not require that the eigenvectors be determined in order to find the signal subspace and yields a superior resolution performance for closely spaced sources even when the number of samples is low. Specifically, the complexity of the proposed 2-D DOA estimation algorithm compared to the CSSM algorithm is more favorable when the number of signals arriving on the antenna element is much less than the number of antenna elements. Performance evaluation shows that the proposed method outperforms competing methods such as CSSM, TOPS and WAVES algorithms in terms of estimation error, probability of resolution and number of sample support for a given SNR in scenarios in which many sources are present in the system, the array size is large, and the number of samples is small.