Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed beamforming using semiblind retracement technique for randomly distributed sensors

Beamforming technique is being used in sensor networks to enhance its communication range. The sensors in a networks work on their own clock and for distributed beamforming these signals coherently add at the destination. For this, the knowledge of the channel state information is required. Since the channel state information (CSI) is not available at the transmitter side, the retracement technique is used to estimate the channel effect. In this paper, a novel Semiblind retracement technique is proposed to improve the data transfer rate. The semiblind retracement technique is considered for the cases of a 1 bit feedback and for no reliable feedback mechanism from destination. The sensor distribution is considered as uniform and gaussian and the channel is modeled as Rayleigh and Rician distributed. Simulation results indicate that the proposed semiblind method results in improved data rate. The efficiency is about 9.1% increase in data transmission rate for the worst case channel variation assuming retracement slot is 20% of transmission slot and with 3dB reduction in gain.
Pain and sensitization in knee osteoarthritis and persistent post-operative pain

Osteoarthritis (OA) is an increasingly prevalent disease with substantial impact on those affected by it and on the society. Knee OA, one of the most prevalent of all types of OA, is characterized by failed regeneration of joint damage, resulting in pain and functional limitation for the patient. Persistent post-operative pain (PPP) is a largely underestimated clinical problem known to affect between 5% and 85% of patients undergoing surgery. The pathophysiology of OA pain and PPP remains poorly understood, but a mechanism-based understanding is widely accepted and provides a basis for the understanding of pain. Peripheral and central pain sensitization have been demonstrated as prominent mechanisms influencing the pain in knee OA, while the state of the nociceptive system in patients with PPP after revision of total knee arthroplasty (re-TKA) is unknown. Since 20% undergoing a TKA have an unfavorable pain outcome, knowledge about mechanisms, such as sensitization, involved in the PPP are needed. It is recommended that the treatment of knee OA includes education, exercise, and weight loss, supplemented with insoles and pain medication if needed, and that sensitization should also be treated using a multimodal approach. However, little is known of the combined effects from the recommended treatments on pain-related measures and sensitization in knee OA, even though this could potentially prevent pain and sensitization from progressing and become severe and widespread.
Cancer Management and Research Dovepress Feasibility of an Exercise Intervention for Fatigued Breast Cancer Patients at a Community-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms Purpose: Exercise is beneficial to quality of life after cancer treatment, yet few cancer survivors meet exercise guidelines. Our study sought to determine the feasibility of an oncology rehabilitation exercise program embedded within a cardiac rehabilitation program. Methods: Patients who rated their fatigue >4/10 after completion of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer were screened for eligibility and the outcomes were assessed (Piper Fatigue Scale, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast [FACT-B], Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, body composition, stress test, and physical activity measurement [accel-erometer]). Participants received individualized exercise prescription. Following the 16-week program, repeat assessment plus patient acceptance and satisfaction survey was completed. The primary end point was the composite of accrual rate >25%, program adherence >80%, and mean compliance with accelerometer use >80%. Results: Twenty of 24 screened patients consented to the study and completed the base-line assessment. Adherence was 30.3%. Mean accelerometer use was 3.88/7 days (78%). Fatigue at baseline was rated at 4.82/10, and at 3.59 (p = 0.09) after the intervention. Overall well-being (FACT-B) score changed from 92.7 to 98.3 (p = 0.05). There were no significant changes in body composition (except for bone mineral content), aerobic exercise capacity, or activity patterns. Conclusion: Although the primary outcome was not met, our study indicates that an oncology exercise rehabilitation program can be incorporated into an existing cardiac rehabilitation program. Based on feedback received, we propose that in order to achieve exercise goals, frequent, encouraging, and tailored feedback and group sessions to foster a sense of community may additionally be needed to strengthen adherence to a prescribed exercise program.
A Driver and Riders Matching Approach

Dependence on personal automobiles is becoming increasingly costly due to accelerating climate change and rising gasoline prices. It is particularly wasteful when one realizes that most car seats are typically empty. With the advancement of mobile social networking technologies, it is necessary to reconsider the principles and desired characteristics of ride-sharing systems. Ride-sharing systems can be popular among people if we can provide more flexible and adaptive solution according to preferences of the participants and solve the social challenges. In this paper, we present the genetic algorithm for solving the riders and drivers matching problem with different conflicting objectives. The experiment results of the proposed algorithm indicates the superior performance over the generalized label correcting algorithm in terms of quality and runtime.
Enhanced Voice Activity Detection Using Modified Wiener Filtering and Harmonic Structure Information

Accurate and effective Voice Activity Detection (VAD) is a fundamental step for robust speech and speaker recognition. In this study, we propose a robust VAD algorithm based on Modified Wiener Filtering and Harmonic Structure Information. Effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by using some well- known databases. Experimental results show that the proposed method performs well under a variety of noisy conditions. Copyright © 2014 IFSA Publishing, S. L.
Autolytic defective mutant of Streptococcus faecalis

Properties of a variant of Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 9790 with defective cellular autolysis are described. The mutant strain was selected as a survivor from a mutagenized cell population simultaneously challenged with two antibiotics which inhibit cell wall biosynthesis, penicillin G and cycloserine. Compared to the parental strain, the mutant strain exhibited: (i) a thermosensitive pattern of cellular autolysis; (ii) an autolytic enzyme activity that had only a slightly increased thermolability when tested in solution in the absence of wall substrate; and (iii) an isolated autolysin that had hydrolytic activity on isolated S. faecalis wall substrate indistinguishable from that of the parental strain, but that was inactive when tested on walls of Micrococcus lysodeikticus as a substrate. These data indicate an alteration in the substrate specificity of the autolytic enzyme of the mutant which appears to result from the synthesis of an altered form of autolytic enzyme.
The Hitchhiking Effect of an Autosomal Meiotic Drive Gene

Transmission-ratio distortion is a departure from a 1:1 segregation of alleles in the gametes of a heterozygous individual. The so-called driving allele is strongly selected regardless of its effect on the fitness of the carrying individual. It may then have an important impact on neutral polymorphism due to the genetic hitchhiking effect. We study this hitchhiking effect in the case of true meiotic drive in autosomes and show that it is more dependent on the recombination rate than in the classical case of a gene positively selected at the organism level.
Disk Degeneration and Low Back Pain: Are They Fat-Related Conditions?

Low back pain (LBP) is the world's most debilitating condition. Disk degeneration has been regarded as a strong determinant associated with LBP. Overweight and obesity are public health concerns that affect every population worldwide and whose prevalence continues to rise. Studies have indicated strong associations between overweight/obesity and disk degeneration as well as with LBP. This broad narrative review article addresses the various mechanisms that may be involved leading to disk degeneration and/or LBP in the setting of overweight/obesity. In particular, our goal is to raise awareness of the role of fat cells and their involvement via altered metabolism or the release of adipokines as well as other pathways that may lead to the development of disk degeneration and LBP. Understanding the role of fat in this process may aid in the development of novel biological therapies and technologies to halt the progression or regenerate the disk. Moreover, with genetic advancements and the appreciation of genetic epidemiology, a more personalized approach to spine care may have to consider the role of fat in any preventative, therapeutic, and/or prognosis modalities toward the disk and LBP.
Interleukin 10 (IL‐10) gene variants and susceptibility for paediatric onset Crohn’s disease

Background A recent genome‐wide association study in adult patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) has implicated the interleukin 10 (IL‐10) gene as an important candidate gene. Moreover, a UC‐associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3024405 was also significantly associated with adult Crohn’s disease (CD).
Fetal optimization during maternal sepsis: relevance and response of the obstetric anesthesiologist

Purpose of review In many labor and delivery units, the obstetric anesthesiologist is often responsible for managing and stabilizing the acutely septic parturient. The management of maternal sepsis has been summarized previously; this study will focus on the implications of maternal sepsis on the fetus, and ways to optimize fetal outcomes. Recent findings Although the complex pathophysiology of sepsis is being better understood, the incidence of maternal severe sepsis and deaths continues to increase. The differential sensitivities of systemic and uterine vasculature to catecholamines during pregnancy and the role of fetal inflammatory responses have recently been further elucidated. Additional investigations on methods of fetal monitoring are needed to assist in early identification of the compromised fetus. Despite decades of research, management of a septic parturient and her fetus, including the most appropriate resuscitation fluids, vasopressors and hemodynamic monitoring systems to maximize maternal and fetal outcomes, remain controversial. Summary In the setting of maternal sepsis, fetal optimization is frequently best accomplished by meeting maternal hemodynamic, oxygenization, and infection treatment goals. Understanding the circulatory and pathophysiologic changes that occur within the uteroplacental unit and fetus is essential to identifying and resolving potential conflicts between maternal and fetal management goals.
Down's syndrome as a model of a pre-leukemic condition.

p to 10% of children with Down's syndrome (DS) are born with an unusual clonal megakary-ocytosis syndrome commonly called transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD) or transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM) or transient leukemia. As suggested by the different names the disorder is usually transient and resolves spontaneously within up to several months. The biological mechanism of the spontaneous resolution is unclear. About 20% of these patients will, however , develop full blown malignant acute megakary-oblastic leukemia (AMKL) during their first 4 years of life. 1 In fact, the risk of AMKL is about 600 times higher in children with DS. 2 The factor(s) underlying the transformation from benign TMD into malignant AMKL are largely unknown. Acquired additional chromosomal abnormalities such as trisomy 8 and activating mutations in the JAK3 kinase may be associated with disease progression. The peculiar association between DS and childhood megakaryoblastic disorders has led to an intensive search for a leukemogenic gene or genes on chromosome 21. A surprising twist in this story came with the discovery that a gene on chromosome X, GATA1, was mutated in the megakaryoblasts from all patients with DS and either TMD or AMKL. 4-6 The mutations occur before birth and they were also found in fetal liver of aborted DS fetuses. 7,8 The mutations are acquired as they are not found in remission samples, and are specific to the megakaryoblastic disorders associated with tri-somy 21. GATA1 encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor that regulates the normal development of the ery-throid, megakaryocytic and basophilic/mast cell lineag-es. 9 Two isoforms of GATA1 are usually detected: a full length GATA1 translated from the first ATG on exon 2, and a shorter form (GATA1s) that is initiated from an ATG on exon 3. The normal function of GATA1s is unknown. Presumably the balance between these two products serves a regulatory function in normal megakaryocytic development. All the acquired mutations in the megakaryoblastic disorders of DS result in elimination of the full length GATA1 and the preservation of GATA1s. Thus a clear model for multistep leukemogenesis in DS emerges (Figure 1A): in a relatively high proportion of DS patients, acquired mutations in GATA1 are selected in utero and are probably responsible for the differentiation arrest and the initiation of clonal proliferation of immature megakaryoblasts. These mutations are necessary but insufficient for the development of the full blown AMKL that affects some of these patients during early childhood. The collaboration …
Sizing CMOS inverters with Miller Effect and Threshold voltage Variations

The maximum speed of synchronous circuits is generally constrained by the worst case propagation delay, which limits the system clock frequency. Various techniques exist to manage the circuit delay, trading off speed for other system resources. One such approach is to equalize the rise and fall delay times. The primary design parameter for equalizing these delay times is the ratio between the width of the PMOS and NMOS transistors, which determines the relationship between the currents passed along the pull-up and pull-down paths. The variation of the pull-up to pull-down ratio for different circuit parameters is discussed in this paper under the constraint of equal rise and fall delay times. It is shown that the short-circuit current and the Miller capacitance affect the ideal linear relationship between the CMOS inverter delay times and the load capacitance, requiring the pull-up to pull-down ratio to be adjusted as circuit parameters are varied. These effects are more pronounced in deep submicrometer technologies with significant parasitic MOSFET capacitances and threshold voltage variations. Based on analytic and experimental observations, circuit design guidelines are proposed to minimize the Miller effect.
Lipid Emulsion Inhibits Vasodilation Induced by a Toxic Dose of Bupivacaine via Attenuated Dephosphorylation of Myosin Phosphatase Target Subunit 1 in Isolated Rat Aorta

Lipid emulsions are widely used for the treatment of systemic toxicity that arises from local anesthetics. The goal of this in vitro study was to examine the cellular mechanism associated with the lipid emulsion-mediated attenuation of vasodilation induced by a toxic dose of bupivacaine in isolated endothelium-denuded rat aorta. The effects of lipid emulsion on vasodilation induced by bupivacaine, mepivacaine, and verapamil were assessed in isolated aorta precontracted with phenylephrine, the Rho kinase stimulant NaF, and the protein kinase C activator phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu). The effects of Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632 on contraction induced by phenylephrine or NaF were assessed. The effects of bupivacaine on intracellular calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i) and tension induced by NaF were simultaneously measured. The effects of bupivacaine alone and lipid emulsion plus bupivacaine on myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1) phosphorylation induced by NaF were examined in rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells. In precontracted aorta, the lipid emulsion attenuated bupivacaine-induced vasodilation but had no effect on mepivacaine-induced vasodilation. Y-27632 attenuated contraction induced by either phenylephrine or NaF. The lipid emulsion attenuated verapamil-induced vasodilation. Compared with phenylephrine-induced precontracted aorta, bupivacaine-induced vasodilation was slightly attenuated in NaF-induced precontracted aorta. The magnitude of the bupivacaine-induced vasodilation was higher than that of a bupivacaine-induced decrease in [Ca2+]i. Bupivacaine attenuated NaF-induced MYPT1 phosphorylation, whereas lipid emulsion pretreatment attenuated the bupivacaine-induced inhibition of MYPT1 phosphorylation induced by NaF. Taken together, these results suggest that lipid emulsions attenuate bupivacaine-induced vasodilation via the attenuation of inhibition of MYPT1 phosphorylation evoked by NaF.
GATA‐dependent recruitment of MEF2 proteins to target promoters

The myocyte enhancer factor‐2 (MEF2) proteins are MADS‐box transcription factors that are essential for differentiation of all muscle lineages but their mechanisms of action remain largely undefined. In mammals, the earliest site of MEF2 expression is the heart where the MEF2C isoform is detectable as early as embryonic day 7.5. Inactivation of the MEF2C gene causes cardiac developmental arrest and severe downregulation of a number of cardiac markers including atrial natriuretic factor (ANF). However, most of these promoters contain no or low affinity MEF2 binding sites and they are not significantly activated by any MEF2 proteins in heterologous cells suggesting a dependence on a cardiac‐enriched cofactor for MEF2 action. We provide evidence that MEF2 proteins are recruited to target promoters by the cell‐specific GATA transcription factors, and that MEF2 potentiates the transcriptional activity of this family of tissue‐restricted zinc finger proteins. Functional MEF2/GATA‐4 synergy involves physical interaction between the MEF2 DNA‐binding domain and the carboxy zinc finger of GATA‐4 and requires the activation domains of both proteins. However, neither MEF2 binding sites nor MEF2 DNA binding capacity are required for transcriptional synergy. The results unravel a novel pathway for transcriptional regulation by MEF2 and provide a molecular paradigm for elucidating the mechanisms of action of MEF2 in muscle and non‐muscle cells.
Position control of crane vessel during offshore installations: Using adaptive and robust control methods

Heavy lift crane vessels play an important role in offshore installations. Previous studies have shown that position control systems for these vessels can cause unstable positioning behavior during offshore construction assignments under specific conditions, e.g., change of environmental loads. Some control methods, such as crane force feedforward to the controller or the estimator, have been developed to improve the stability of the position control systems. However, these methods depend on the accurate estimation of the crane force and fast reaction of thrusters, which are difficult to obtain under working conditions. To make the positioning system stable, and compensate the controller for the changing crane stiffness and the systems onboard, two methods will be provided. One is to increase the flexibility of the system, while the other one is to increase the robustness. Two control methods, adaptive PID and H-infinity, are adopted and the results are compared. During simulations, the two controllers can dispose of crane modeling error and time delay of thrusters. Adaptive PID has a smaller variance under higher wind and wave load, while H-infinity controller has a larger clearance with the platform.
The role of heart rate variability in sports physiology

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a relevant marker reflecting cardiac modulation by sympathetic and vagal components of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Although the clinical application of HRV is mainly associated with the prediction of sudden cardiac death and assessing cardiovascular and metabolic illness progression, recent observations have suggested its applicability to physical exercise training. HRV is becoming one of the most useful tools for tracking the time course of training adaptation/maladaptation of athletes and in setting the optimal training loads leading to improved performances. However, little is known regarding the role of HRV and the internal effects of physical exercise on an athlete, which may be useful in designing fitness programs ensuring sufficient training load that may correspond with the specific ability of the athlete. In this review, we offer a comprehensive assessment of investigations concerning the interrelation between HRV and ANS, and examine how the application of HRV to physical exercise may play a role in sports physiology.
Development of an Adaptive Approach for Precision Agriculture Monitoring with Drone and Satellite Data

For better agricultural productivity and food management, there is an urgent need for precision agriculture monitoring at larger scales. In recent years, drones have been employed for precision agriculture monitoring at smaller scales, and for past few decades, satellite data are being used for land cover classification and agriculture monitoring at larger scales. The monitoring of agriculture precisely over a large scale is a challenging task. In this paper, an approach has been proposed for precision agriculture monitoring, i.e., the classification of sparse and dense fields, which is carried out using freely available satellite data (Landsat 8) along with drone data. Repeated usage of drone has to be minimized and hence an adaptive classification approach is developed, which works with image statistics of the selected region. The proposed approach is successfully tested and validated on different spatial and temporal Landsat 8 data.
Robust Temporal Coding of Contrast by V1 Neurons for Transient But Not for Steady-State Stimuli

We show that spike timing adds to the information content of spike trains for transiently presented stimuli but not for comparable steady-state stimuli, even if the latter elicit transient responses. Contrast responses of 22 single neurons in macaque V1 to periodic presentation of steady-state stimuli (drifting sinusoidal gratings) and transient stimuli (drifting edges) of optimal spatiotemporal parameters were recorded extracellularly. The responses were analyzed for contrast-dependent clustering in spaces determined by metrics sensitive to the temporal structure of spike trains. Two types of metrics, cost-based spike time metrics and metrics based on Fourier harmonics of the response, were used. With both families of metrics, temporal coding of contrast is lacking in responses to drifting sinusoidal gratings of most (simple and complex) V1 neurons. However, two-thirds of all neurons, mostly complex cells, displayed significant temporal coding of contrast for edge stimuli. The Fourier metrics indicated that different response harmonics are partially independent, and their combined use increases information about transient stimuli. Our results demonstrate the importance of stimulus transience for temporal coding. This finding is significant for natural vision because moving edges, which are present in moving object boundaries, and saccades induce transients. We think that an abrupt change in the adapted state of the local visual circuitry triggers the temporal structuring of spike trains in V1 neurons.