Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transmission of High Rate ATM Packets over Indoor Radio Channels

The design and performance of a high data rate modem that transmits asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) packets over indoor radio channels is discussed. A discrete Fourier transform (DFT)-based multicarrier modulation technique is used to mitigate intersymbol interface (ISI) caused by a multipath spread of up to 250 ns. A rate one-half channel code is used to combat fading. Computer simulation is performed to investigate the system performance for five different multipath intensity profiles. The system performance is compared using a differentially coherent scheme and a coherent scheme based on channel estimation. The effects of carrier frequency offset and some of the hardware nonlinearities are discussed. Using various channel codes, an signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 14-21 dB is required at an average bit error rate (BER) of 10/sup -5/ to transmit a total of 155 Mb/s data over a bandwidth of 280 MHz.
Parental death during childhood and depression in young adults - a national cohort study.

BACKGROUND There are few prospective, population-based studies on childhood parental death and psychiatric disorders in adulthood, and previous findings are inconclusive. This study investigated the association between parental death from natural and external (suicides, accidents or homicides) causes before 18 years and the risk of clinical depression in young adults, in relation to age at loss and gender of both child and parent. METHODS In this register-based study, a national cohort born in Sweden during 1973-1982 (n = 862,554) was followed with regard to hospital admissions and outpatient care for depression during 2006-2013. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the impact of parental death, taking sociodemographic and parental psychosocial covariates into account. RESULTS Maternal death from natural causes was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of outpatient care for depression of 1.19 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.40] in men and 1.15 (1.01-1.31) in women, after adjustment for sociodemographic confounders, with similar effect sizes for paternal natural death. Death from external causes consistently had higher effect size compared with natural deaths, in particular in relation to risk of hospital admissions for depression where they were as high as HR 3.23 (2.38-4.38) for men, and 1.79 (1.30-2.47) for women after a loss of a mother. Losing a parent in preschool age, compared with losing a parent as a teenager, was associated with higher risks of both hospitalization (p = .006) and outpatient care (p = .001) for depression. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that parental loss to death from natural causes during childhood is associated with a small increased risk of long-term consequences for psychological health. Children who lose their parents to death from external causes, that is suicides, accidents or homicides, and children losing a parent in young ages are, however, at particular risk and should be given priority in preventive interventions after parental loss.
Torque Analysis in Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Motors: A Comparative Study

This paper examines the torque ripple and cogging-torque variation in permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). The effect of slot number and magnet skewing on electromagnetic motor torque, has been analyzed in different 20-pole, three-phase, PMSM configurations having the same envelop dimensions and output requirements. Finite-element technique is used for machine characteristics computation. Maxwell-stress tensor is used to find torque. Finite-element analysis results show that: 1) motors with fractional-slot winding have lower torque ripple but show a reduction of the average torque and 2) in step-skew magnet motors, torque-ripple reduction is significant only for a certain step number and magnet-skew angle.
RV-pulmonary arterial coupling predicts outcome in patients referred for pulmonary hypertension

Objective Prognosis in pulmonary hypertension (PH) is largely determined by RV function. However, uncertainty remains about what metrics of RV function might be most clinically relevant. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical relevance of metrics of RV functional adaptation to increased afterload. Methods Patients referred for PH underwent right heart catheterisation and RV volumetric assessment within 48 h. A RV maximum pressure (Pmax) was calculated from the RV pressure curve. The adequacy of RV systolic functional adaptation to increased afterload was estimated either by a stroke volume (SV)/end-systolic volume (ESV) ratio, a Pmax/mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) ratio, or by EF (RVEF). Diastolic function of the RV was estimated by a diastolic elastance coefficient β. Survival analysis was via Cox proportional HR, and Kaplan–Meier with the primary outcome of time to death or lung transplant. Results Patients (n=50; age 58±13 yrs) covered a range of mPAP (13–79 mm Hg) with an average RVEF of 39±17% and ESV of 143±89 mL. Average estimates of the ratio of end-systolic ventricular to arterial elastance were 0.79±0.67 (SV/ESV) and 2.3±0.65 (Pmax/mPAP-1). Transplantation-free survival was predicted by right atrial pressure, mPAP, pulmonary vascular resistance, β, SV, ESV, SV/ESV and RVEF, but after controlling for right atrial pressure, mPAP, and SV, SV/ESV was the only independent predictor. Conclusions The adequacy of RV functional adaptation to afterload predicts survival in patients referred for PH. Whether this can simply be evaluated using RV volumetric imaging will require additional confirmation.
Interleukin-17 Is Not Required for Classical Macrophage Activation in a Pulmonary Mouse Model of Cryptococcus neoformans Infection

ABSTRACT Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes disease in individuals with suppressed cell-mediated immunity. Recent studies in our laboratory have shown that increases in pulmonary Th1-type and interleukin-17A (IL-17A) cytokine production, classical macrophage activation, and sterilizing immunity are elicited in response to infection with a gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing C. neoformans strain, H99γ. IL-17A-treated macrophages, compared to IL-4-treated macrophages, have been demonstrated to exhibit increased microbicidal activity in vitro, a characteristic consistent with classical macrophage activation. The purpose of these studies is to determine the role of IL-17A in the induction of classically activated macrophages following infection with C. neoformans. Immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR were used to characterize the macrophage activation phenotype in lung tissues of mice treated with isotype control or anti-IL-17A antibodies and given an experimental pulmonary infection with C. neoformans strain H99γ. The pulmonary fungal burden was resolved, albeit more slowly, in mice depleted of IL-17A compared to the fungal burden in isotype control-treated mice. Nonetheless, no difference in classical macrophage activation was observed in IL-17A-depleted mice. Similarly, classical macrophage activation was evident in mice deficient in IL-17A or the IL-17 receptor A, which mediates IL-17A signaling, following pulmonary infection with wild-type C. neoformans strain H99 or H99γ. These studies suggest that IL-17A may play a role in the early immune response to C. neoformans but is not required for classical macrophage activation in mice experimentally infected with C. neoformans.
Three essays on exchange-rate misalignment

Theories of exchange-rate determination have generated a vast theoretical and empirical literature. This thesis adds to that body of literature by asking three questions. (i) How do policymakers respond to exchange-rate misalignment? (ii) How does misalignment affect the decisions of financial-market participants? (iii) What do exchange-rate dynamics reveal about the choices of investors in the face of currency risk? These three questions are tackled with studies that offer broad and tractable conclusions and contribute to furthering the current field of research.
Design of a Virtual Reality Supported Test for Spatial Abilities

This paper focuses on the development of a new spatial ability test in virtual reality (VR). This test measures the ability to visualize and mentally manipulate three-dimensional objects directly in 3D space, and should thus have a higher ecological validity than previous spatial ability tests. Items are viewed through head mounted displays and manipulated by means of a wireless pen input device. As a dynamic tests consisting of a pretest, a training phase, and a posttest it does not only measure a person’s current status but also his or her learning potential. Monitoring user interactions in a VR environment allows to measure test performance in ways not possible with traditional means. We describe design and development of the test and will present results of a pre-study with 240 participants conducted in early 2008.
Active browsing with similarity pyramids

Many approaches to content based retrieval of images have focused on query-by-example methods in which the database is searched for all images similar to an example image presented by the user. However query-by-example techniques tend to quickly converge to a small set of images that may not be of interest. In this paper we present an alternative method for content based search which is based on active browsing using a data structure called a similarity pyramid. The similarity pyramid organizes large databases into a three dimensional pyramid structure which the user can move through. During the browsing process, the user can give feed-back through the selection of a set of desirable images which we call a relevance set. Once selected the relevance set can be used to both prune and reorganize the similarity pyramid to best suit the user's task. A novel cross-validation method is also proposed for effectively performing pruning and reorganization operations.
A situational analysis of child and adolescent mental health services in Ghana, Uganda, South Africa and Zambia.

OBJECTIVE Approximately one in five children and adolescents (CA) suffer from mental disorders. This paper reports on the findings of a situational analysis of CA mental health policy and services in Ghana, Uganda, South Africa and Zambia. The findings are part of a 5 year study, the Mental Health and Poverty Project, which aims to provide new knowledge regarding multi-sectoral approaches to breaking the cycle of poverty and mental ill-health in Africa. METHOD The World Health Organization's Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) Version 2.2 was used to collect quantitative information on mental health resources. Mental health policies and legislation were analysed using the WHO Policy and Plan, and Legislation Checklists. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups and interviews. RESULTS Child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) - related legislation, policies, services, programmes and human resources are scarce. Stigma and low priority given to mental health contribute to low investment in CAMH. Lack of attention to the impoverishing impact of mental disorders on CA and their families contribute to the burden. CONCLUSION Scaling up child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) needs to include anti-stigma initiatives, and a greater investment in CAMH. Clear policy directions, priorities and targets should be set in country-level CAMH policies and plans. CAMHS should be intersectoral and include consideration of the poverty- mental health link. The roles of available mental health specialists should be expanded to include training and support of practitioners in all sectors. Interventions at community level are needed to engage youth, parents and local organizations to promote CAMH.
Exploring the Motivations of Facebook Use in Taiwan

The current study explored the motivations of online social network use among a sample of the general population in Taiwan (N=4,346). It investigated how seven different motivations to use Facebook predicted the intensity of Facebook use and content-generation behaviors on Facebook. Results showed that the motivation to use Facebook for posting and viewing status updates was the strongest predictor of Facebook intensity, while the motivation to view and share photographs was the strongest predictor of content-generation behavior on the site. Results are discussed in terms of expanding motivations to use Facebook to the study of social networking sites and other new and social media.
Satellite Cells: Regenerative Mechanisms and Applicability in Muscular Dystrophy

The satellite cells are long regarded as heterogeneous cell population, which is intimately linked to the processes of muscular recovery. The heterogeneous cell population may be classified by specific markers. In spite of the significant amount of variation amongst the satellite cell populations, it seems that their activity is tightly bound to the paired box 7 transcription factor expression, which is, therefore, used as a canonical marker for these cells. Muscular dystrophic diseases, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, elicit severe tissue injuries leading those patients to display a very specific pattern of muscular recovery abnormalities. There have been works on the application of precursors cells as a therapeutic alternative for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and initial attempts have proven the cells inefficient; however later endeavours have proposed solutions for the experiments improving significantly the results. The presence of a range of satellite cells populations indicates the existence of specific cells with enhanced capability of muscular recovery in afflicted muscles.
Implementation of parallel cosine and sine modulated filter banks for equalized transmultiplexer systems

Filter bank-based transmultiplexer systems have certain advantages compared with existing DFT-based multicarrier systems and they are promising candidates for data transmission in frequency-selective channels. We have recently proposed a novel and efficient channel equalization idea to be used with critically decimated perfect reconstruction cosine modulated transmultiplexer systems. The equalizer utilizes parallel cosine and sine modulated filter banks in the receiver end. This paper explores efficient realization structures for the needed parallel filter bank system, which finds applications also in other areas.
Approximate SEP Analysis for DF Cooperative Networks With Opportunistic Relaying

We analyze the symbol error probability (SEP) performance of cooperative diversity networks with opportunistic decode-and-forward (ODF) relaying. Assuming that channels suffer from independent nonidentical Rayleigh fading and symbols are M-PSK modulated, the approximate closed-form SEP expressions are derived for opportunistic relaying with adaptive and fixed DF protocols, respectively. Simulations are carried out to validate the theoretical analysis. Results show that the derived approximate SEP is tight particularly at medium and high SNR.
A Payment-Based Incentive and Service Differentiation Scheme for Peer-to-Peer Streaming Broadcast

We propose a novel payment-based incentive scheme for peer-to-peer (P2P) live media streaming. Using this approach, peers earn points by forwarding data to others. The data streaming is divided into fixed-length periods; during each of these periods, peers compete with each other for good parents (data suppliers) for the next period in a first-price-auction-like procedure using their points. We design a distributed algorithm to regulate peer competitions and consider various individual strategies for parent selection from a game-theoretic perspective. We then discuss possible strategies that can be used to maximize a peer's expected media quality by planning different bids for its substreams. Finally, in order to encourage off-session users to remain online and continue contributing to the network, we develop an optimal data forwarding strategy that allows peers to accumulate points that can be used in future services. Simulation results show that the proposed methods effectively differentiate the media qualities received by peers making different contributions (which originate from, for example, different forwarding bandwidths or servicing times) and at the same time maintain high overall system performance.
Functional and Structural Characterization of a Novel HLA-DRB1*04:01-Restricted α-Enolase T Cell Epitope in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Antibodies to citrullinated proteins, common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, are strongly associated to a specific set of HLA-DR alleles including HLA-DRB1*04:01, *04:04, and *01:01. Here, we first demonstrate that autoantibody levels toward the dominant citrullinated B cell epitope from α-enolase are significantly elevated in HLA-DRB1*04:01-positive RA patients. Furthermore, we identified α-enolase-derived T cell epitopes and demonstrated that native and citrullinated versions of several peptides bind with different affinities to HLA-DRB1*04:01, *04:04, and *01:01. The citrulline residues in the eight identified peptides are distributed throughout the entire length of the presented epitopes and more specifically, localized at peptide positions p-2, p2, p4, p6, p7, p10, and p11. Importantly, in contrast to its native version peptide 26 (TSKGLFRAAVPSGAS), the HLA-DRB1*04:01-restricted citrullinated peptide Cit26 (TSKGLFCitAAVPSGAS) elicited significant functional T cell responses in primary cells from RA patients. Comparative analysis of the crystal structures of HLA-DRB1*04:01 in complex with peptide 26 or Cit26 demonstrated that the posttranslational modification did not alter the conformation of the peptide. And since citrullination is the only structural difference between the two complexes, this indicates that the neo-antigen Cit26 is recognized by T cells with high specificity to the citrulline residue.
Usos cotidianos del condicional en el lenguaje escrito

This paper presents a normative study on the use of conditionals in written language. A sample of texts (total length 450.000 words) originally written in Spanish was used. A total of 408 conditionals were found. We analyzed the quality of the conditionals as simple indicative, biconditionals, counterfactual, deontic (obligations, permissions, etc.) or causal, and tested the frequency of use for each of these types of conditionals. For each of them, we also tested the order as direct (antecedent-consequent) or reverse (consequent-antecedent), and the use of negations in each of the components. The results were compared to the predictions of the main current theories of reasoning.
The Effects of Service-Learning Participation on Pre-Internship Educators' Teachers' Sense of Efficacy.

This study aimed to determine if pre-internship teacher education students’ participation in service-learning activities in K-12 classrooms would significantly affect their teachers’ sense of efficacy (TSE). A secondary focus sought to determine if one type of service-learning activity (e.g., whole-class instruction) would affect teacher efficacy more than another (e.g., small-group tutoring). Findings revealed that pre-internship service-learners in both types of service-learning activities increased significantly in their TSE. However, neither type of service-learning activity was superior to the other as measured by the minimally accepted . 05 level. The discussion focuses on factors shared between the two service-learning designs that might mediate a positive mastery experience. L’objectif de cette etude etait de determiner si la participation par des etudiants en pedagogie a des activites de benevolat dans des classes de la maternelle a la 12e annee augmenterait de facon significative leur sentiment d’etre efficaces comme enseignants. Un deuxieme objectif consistait a determiner si un type d’activite de benevolat (par ex. l’enseignement a toute la classe) affecterait l’efficacite d’un enseignant plus qu’une autre (par ex. le tutorat a de petits groupes). Les resultats indiquent que les deux types d’activite ont accru de facon significative le sentiment d’efficacite comme enseignants chez les etudiants benevoles. Toutefois, les parametres selon le seuil minimal de 0,05 ont revele qu’aucune activite n’etait superieure a l’autre. La discussion porte sur des facteurs communs aux deux activites de benevolat et qui pourraient entrainer une experience d’apprentissage fructueuse.
Physiologic Field Triage Criteria for Identifying Seriously Injured Older Adults

Abstract Objective. To evaluate the ability of out-of-hospital physiologic measures to predict serious injury for field triage purposes among older adults and potentially reduce the undertriage of seriously injured elders to non-trauma hospitals. Methods. This was a retrospective cohort study involving injured adults 55 years and older transported by 94 emergency medical services (EMS) agencies to 122 hospitals (trauma and non-trauma) in 7 regions of the western United States from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008. We evaluated initial out-of-hospital Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, systolic blood pressure (SBP), respiratory rate, heart rate, shock index (SBP ÷ heart rate), out-of-hospital procedures, mechanism of injury, and patient demographics. The primary outcome was “serious injury,” defined as Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16, as a measure of trauma center need. We used multivariable regression models, fractional polynomials and binary recursive partitioning to evaluate appropriate physiologic cut-points and the value of different physiologic triage criteria. Results. A total of 44,890 injured older adults were evaluated and transported by EMS, of whom 2,328 (5.2%) had ISS ≥ 16. Nonlinear associations existed between all physiologic measures and ISS ≥ 16 (unadjusted and adjusted p ≤ 0.001 for all,), except for heart rate (adjusted p = 0.48). Revised physiologic triage criteria included GCS score ≤ 14; respiratory rate < 10 or > 24 breaths per minute or assisted ventilation; and SBP < 110 or > 200 mmHg. Compared to current triage practices, the revised criteria would increase triage sensitivity from 78.6 to 86.3% (difference 7.7%, 95% CI 6.1–9.6%), reduce specificity from 75.5 to 60.7% (difference 14.8%, 95% CI 14.3–15.3%), and increase the proportion of patients without serious injuries transported to major trauma centers by 60%. Conclusions. Existing out-of-hospital physiologic triage criteria could be revised to better identify seriously injured older adults at the expense of increasing overtriage to major trauma centers.