Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monitoring the impact of stress on the sleep patterns of pilgrims using wearable sensors

This work presents an approach for detecting pilgrims' stress levels using their nightly sleep patterns and identifying the most relevant sleep parameters for stress detection. We collected data from 10 participants, who wore two wearable devices, a chest strap and a wristband, during the 2013 Hajj pilgrimage. To build and evaluate different classification models we use bio-physiological measures such as ECG/HRV, respiration, body temperature and GSR data, and physical parameters including upper body posture sensors and accelerometers on the body and arms. The best classifier is capable of differentiating between low, moderate, and high-perceived stress with an accuracy of 73 %. Both physical and bio-physiological feature modalities show similar individual performance. Sleep duration and upper body activity on the one side and ECG/HRV features on the other are the most important sleep parameters.
Barriers of Information and Communication Technology on Distant Learning Program among Nursing Students in the National Open University Abeokuta, Nigeria

Distant learning program is a formalised teaching and learning system specifically designed to be carried out remotely by using electronic communication, with about 180,000 students as at 2013 in the National Open University Nigeria. This study explored the barriers of information and communication technology to distant learning program among nursing students in the National Open University, Abeokuta, Nigeria. A descriptive cross sectional survey design was used for this study. One hundred and seven (107) questionnaires were distributed to the respondents. Data was analysed using statistical package for social sciences and was presented using frequency, percentages and distribution tables. The result of the barriers of information and communication technology in distant learning program traveled that hows 100% agrees to poor funding from the government as a barrier to distant learning program, 72.9% agrees to lack of power supply in school and students dormitories as a barrier to distant learning program while 27.1% disagrees, 59.81% agrees to poor ICT inclination as a barrier to distant learning program while 40.19% disagrees, 71.98% agrees to poor Internet connectivity in school as a barrier to distant learning program while 28.04% disagrees, 84.11% agrees to school curriculum as a barrier to distant learning program while 15.89% disagrees, 100% agrees to software and license cost as a barrier to distant learning program, 57.01% agrees to lack of skills in designing course-wares as a barrier to distant learning program while 42.99% disagrees. This shows that there are some barriers of information and communication technology to distant learning program. It was therefore recommended that the government should provide enough information and communication technology media that will be used in disseminating course outlines to students and provision of skilled man power that will operate the available technology.
A.On the point transformations for the second order differential equations // Electronic archive at LANL

If two particular equations (1.1) and (1.3) are fixed, the question on the existence of the point transformation (1.2) that transfer one of these equations into another is known as the problem of equivalence. In special case when the equation (1.3) is trivial ỹ = 0 this problem was solved in classical papers by Tresse [1] and Cartan [2]. Another particular case for the equivalence problem is connected with Painleve equations. These are six equations of the form (1.1) with meromorphic coefficients defined by the condition that their common solution y = y(x, c1, c2) considered as a function in x has no singularities except for the poles (see [3] and [4]). Painleve equations became very popular with the advent of the inverse scattering method,
Plant Mitochondrial Recombination Surveillance Requires Unusual RecA and MutS Homologs[OA]

For >20 years, the enigmatic behavior of plant mitochondrial genomes has been well described but not well understood. Chimeric genes appear, and occasionally are differentially replicated or expressed, with significant effects on plant phenotype, most notably on male fertility, yet the mechanisms of DNA replication, chimera formation, and recombination have remained elusive. Using mutations in two important genes of mitochondrial DNA metabolism, we have observed reproducible asymmetric recombination events occurring at specific locations in the mitochondrial genome. Based on these experiments and existing models of double-strand break repair, we propose a model for plant mitochondrial DNA replication, chimeric gene formation, and the illegitimate recombination events that lead to stoichiometric changes. We also address the physiological and developmental effects of aberrant events in mitochondrial genome maintenance, showing that mitochondrial genome rearrangements, when controlled, influence plant reproduction, but when uncontrolled, lead to aberrant growth phenotypes and dramatic reduction of the cell cycle.
Leucine minimizes denervation-induced skeletal muscle atrophy of rats through akt/mtor signaling pathways

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of leucine treatment (0.30 mM) on muscle weight and signaling of myoproteins related to synthesis and degradation pathways of soleus muscle following seven days of complete sciatic nerve lesion. Wistar rats (n = 24) of 3–4 months of age (192 ± 23 g) were used. The animals were randomly distributed into four experimental groups (n = 6/group): control, treated with leucine (L), denervated (D) and denervated treated with leucine (DL). Dependent measures were proteins levels of AKT, AMPK, mTOR, and ACC performed by Western blot. Leucine induced a reduction in the phosphorylation of AMPK (p < 0.05) by 16% in the L and by 68% in the DL groups as compared with control group. Denervation increased AMPK by 24% in the D group as compared with the control group (p < 0.05). AKT was also modulated by denervation and leucine treatment, highlighted by the elevation of AKT phosphorylation in the D (65%), L (98%) and DL (146%) groups as compared with the control group (p < 0.05). AKT phosphorylation was 49% higher in the D group as compared with the DL group. Furthermore, denervation decreased mTOR phosphorylation by 29% in the D group as compared with the control group. However, leucine treatment induced an increase of 49% in the phosphorylation of mTOR in the L group as compared with the control group, and an increase of 154% in the DL as compared with the D group (p < 0.05). ACC phosphorylation was 20% greater in the D group than the control group. Furthermore, ACC in the soleus was 22% lower in the in the L group and 50% lower in the DL group than the respective control group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, leucine treatment minimized the deleterious effects of denervation on rat soleus muscle by increasing anabolic (AKT and mTOR) and decreasing catabolic (AMPK) pathways. These results may be interesting for muscle recovery following acute denervation, which may contribute to musculoskeletal rehabilitation after denervation.
D-LDA: A Topic Modeling Approach without Constraint Generation for Semi-defined Classification

We study what we call semi-defined classification, which deals with the categorization tasks where the taxonomy of the data is not well defined in advance. It is motivated by the real-world applications, where the unlabeled data may also come from some other unknown classes besides the known classes for the labeled data. Given the unlabeled data, our goal is to not only identify the instances belonging to the known classes, but also cluster the remaining data into other meaningful groups. It differs from traditional semi-supervised clustering in the sense that in semi-supervised clustering the supervision knowledge is too far from being representative of a target classification, while in semi-defined classification the labeled data may be enough to supervise the learning on the known classes. In this paper we propose the model of Double-latent-layered LDA (D-LDA for short) for this problem. Compared with LDA with only one latent variable y for word topics, D-LDA contains another latent variable z for (known and unknown) document classes. With this double latent layers consisting of y and z and the dependency between them, D-LDA directly injects the class labels into z to supervise the exploiting of word topics in y. Thus, the semi-supervised learning in D-LDA does not need the generation of pair wise constraints, which is required in most of the previous semi-supervised clustering approaches. We present the experimental results on ten different data sets for semi-defined classification. Our results are either comparable to (on one data sets), or significantly better (on the other nine data set) than the six compared methods, including the state-of-the-art semi-supervised clustering methods.
On the expected duration of a search for a fixed pattern in random data

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Channel Equalization in Filter Bank Based Multicarrier Modulation for Wireless Communications

Channel equalization in filter bank based multicarrier (FBMC) modulation is addressed. We utilize an efficient oversampled filter bank concept with 2x-oversampled subcarrier signals that can be equalized independently of each other. Due to Nyquist pulse shaping, consecutive symbol waveforms overlap in time, which calls for special means for equalization. Two alternative linear low-complexity subcarrier equalizer structures are developed together with straightforward channel estimation-based methods to calculate the equalizer coefficients using pointwise equalization within each subband (in a frequency-sampled manner). A novel structure, consisting of a linear-phase FIR amplitude equalizer and an allpass filter as phase equalizer, is found to provide enhanced robustness to timing estimation errors. This allows the receiver to be operated without time synchronization before the filter bank. The coded error-rate performance of FBMC with the studied equalization scheme is compared to a cyclic prefix OFDM reference in wireless mobile channel conditions, taking into account issues like spectral regrowth with practical nonlinear transmitters and sensitivity to frequency offsets. It is further emphasized that FBMC provides flexible means for high-quality frequency selective filtering in the receiver to suppress strong interfering spectral components within or close to the used frequency band.
Cancer-Selective Targeting and Cytotoxicity by Liposomal-Coupled Lysosomal Saposin C Protein

Purpose: Saposin C is a multifunctional protein known to activate lysosomal enzymes and induce membrane fusion in an acidic environment. Excessive accumulation of lipid-coupled saposin C in lysosomes is cytotoxic. Because neoplasms generate an acidic microenvironment, caused by leakage of lysosomal enzymes and hypoxia, we hypothesized that saposin C may be an effective anticancer agent. We investigated the antitumor efficacy and systemic biodistribution of nanovesicles comprised of saposin C coupled with dioleoylphosphatidylserine in preclinical cancer models. Experimental Design: Neuroblastoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor and, breast cancer cells were treated with saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine nanovesicles and assessed for cell viability, ceramide elevation, caspase activation, and apoptosis. Fluorescently labeled saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine was i.v. injected to determine in vivo tumor-targeting specificity. Antitumor activity and toxicity profile of saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine were evaluated in xenograft models. Results: Saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine nanovesicles, with a mean diameter of ∼190 nm, showed specific tumor-targeting activity shown through in vivo imaging. Following i.v. administration, saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine nanovesicles preferentially accumulated in tumor vessels and cells in tumor-bearing mice. Saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine induced apoptosis in multiple cancer cell types while sparing normal cells and tissues. The mechanism of saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine induction of apoptosis was determined to be in part through elevation of intracellular ceramides, followed by caspase activation. In in vivo models, saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine nanovesicles significantly inhibited growth of preclinical xenografts of neuroblastoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. I.v. dosing of saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine showed no toxic effects in nontumor tissues. Conclusions: Saposin C–dioleoylphosphatidylserine nanovesicles offer promise as a novel, nontoxic, cancer-targeted, antitumor agent for treating a broad range of cancers. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(18):5840–51)
Reading embossed capital letters: An fMRI study in blind and sighted individuals

Reading Braille activates visual cortex in blind people [Burton et al., J Neurophysiol 2002;87:589–611; Sadato et al., Nature 1996;380:526–528; Sadato et al., Brain 1998;121:1213–1229]. Because learning Braille requires extensive training, we had sighted and blind people read raised block capital letters to determine whether all groups engage visual cortex similarly when reading by touch. Letters were passively rubbed across the right index finger at 30 mm/s using an MR‐compatible drum stimulator. Age‐matched sighted, early blind (lost sight 0–5 years), and late blind (lost sight >5.5 years) volunteers performed three tasks: stating an identified letter, stating a verb containing an identified letter, and feeling a moving smooth surface. Responses were voiced immediately after the drum stopped moving across the fingertip. All groups showed increased activity in visual areas V1 and V2 during both letter identification tasks. Blind compared to sighted participants showed greater activation increases predominantly in the parafoveal‐peripheral portions of visuotopic areas and posterior parts of BA 20 and 37. Sighted participants showed suppressed activity in most of the same areas except for small positive responses bilaterally in V1, left V5/MT+, and bilaterally in BA 37/20. Blind individuals showed suppression of the language areas in the frontal cortex, while sighted individuals showed slight positive responses. Early blind showed a more extensive distribution of activity in superior temporal sulcal multisensory areas. These results show cross‐modal reorganization of visual cortex and altered response dynamics in nonvisual areas that plausibly reflect mechanisms for adaptive plasticity in blindness. Hum Brain Mapp, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multi-Agent Based Techniques for Coordinating the Distribution of Electricity in a Micro-Grid Environment

By the year 2050, the UK must transition to a low carbon economy via an 80% reduction of all carbon emissions. In order to ensure that this challenging low carbon emissions plan is met, not only will energy need to be generated and used more efficiently, but technologies that use cleaner energy, such as the electrification of home heating and vehicles, will need to be introduced. This increase in demand for electricity will need to be balanced with additional supply, however the current national grid is not capable of sustaining this increase. Therefore a more dynamic and efficient two-way national grid will be required which incorporates intermittent renewable resources, micro-generators, micro-storage devices and agent managed microgrids. Fred Schweppe, a recognised world leader in the field of electric power, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1960 onwards, researched ways in which a dynamic national grid could be implemented. However at the time the technologies available were limited. This paper compares the current state of the art techniques at solving some of problems Schweppe identified, describes the agent coordination algorithms that are used, and suggests some future research opportunities on applying agent coordination algorithms, that have not previously been used, to microgrids.
Syllogistic Reasoning as a Basis for Combination of Evidence in Expert Systems

In the presence of uncertainty, computation of the certainty factor of a hypothesis requires, in general, the availability of rules for combining evidence under chaining, disjunction and conjunction. The method described in this paper is based on the use of what may be viewed as a generalization of syllogistic reasoning in classical logic--a generalization in which numerical or, more generally, fuzzy quantifiers assume the role of probabilities. For example, the proposition QA's are B's, in which Q is a numerical or fuzzy quantifier, may be interpreted as "the conditional probability of B given A is Q. " In this sense, the knowledge base of an expert system may be assumed to consist of propositions of the general form "QA's are B's. " It is shown that six basic syllogisms are sufficient to provide a systematic framework for the computation of certainty factors. A comparison with the rules of combination of evidence in PROSPECTOR, MYCIN and other expert systems is presented and a connection between syllogistic reasoning and the Dempster-Shafer theory is established. The syllogistic method of reasoning lends itself to a computationally efficient implementation and thus provides an effective tool for the management of uncertainty in expert systems.
Smart Acoustic Room System Based on Correlation Functions

In this paper, the smart acoustic room (SAR) system is presented for partitioning room acoustically. That is, in different places of the room, one can hear to the desired signal. This is realized by robust estimation algorithm for well control of room acoustic impulse responses. Therefore, unwanted music or speech signal is canceled, while, at the same place, the desired signal (the desired music or speech) could be heard. And also, we apply the SAR system into the double-talk echo canceling. The computer simulation results support the theoretical findings and verify the robustness of the proposed algorithms.
The immunization data quality audit: verifying the quality and consistency of immunization monitoring systems.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the consistency and quality of immunization monitoring systems in 27 countries during 2002-03 using standardized data quality audits (DQAs) that had been launched within the framework of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. METHODS The consistency of reporting systems was estimated by determining the proportion of third doses of diphtheria-tetanuspertussis (DTP-3) vaccine reported as being administered that could be verified by written documentation at health facilities and districts. The quality of monitoring systems was measured using quality indices for different components of the monitoring systems. These indices were applied to each level of the health service (health unit, district and national). FINDINGS The proportion of verified DTP-3 doses was lower than 85% in 16 countries. Difficulties in verifying the doses administered often arose at the peripheral level of the health service, usually as the result of discrepancies in information between health units and their corresponding districts or because completed recording forms were not available from health units. All countries had weaknesses in their monitoring systems; these included the inconsistent use of monitoring charts; inadequate monitoring of vaccine stocks, injection supplies and adverse events; unsafe computer practices; and poor monitoring of completeness and timeliness of reporting. CONCLUSION Inconsistencies in immunization data occur in many countries, hampering their ability to manage their immunization programmes. Countries should use these findings to strengthen monitoring systems so that data can reliably guide programme activities. The DQA is an innovative tool that provides a way to independently assess the quality of immunization monitoring systems at all levels of a health service and serves as a point of entry to make improvements. It provides a useful example for other global health initiatives.
Performance Analysis of Traffic Bottleneck Induced by Concentration at K-Ary N-Cube NoC Routers

Mesh and torus are the most popular topologies suggested to implement Network-on-Chip (NoC). Concentration has been suggested to reduce networks complexity in terms of routers and wiring requirements. Several studies have examined the performance of concentrated mesh. This paper expands on these studies to re-evaluate the benefits of concentration in mesh and torus. Three alternative router configurations are proposed to investigate bottleneck performance due to concentration. Simulation results indicate that, under uniform traffic distribution, only large ratios of packet length-to-average hop count is in favor of concentrated mesh and torus. The Cmesh profits from its high channel bandwidth to offer better performance than Ctorus. The latter is unable to overcome the high packet serialization overhead even when using separate input ports at routers, one for each IP core, to reduce packet contention. Furthermore, non-local traffic at routers suffers more from contention than local traffic. Providing dedicated input ports, one for each IP core, at routers, reduces the average packet latency by 80% compared to a configuration with a single input port shared by all IP cores of the cluster, while only 20% improvement is achieved by adding a separate input port to service local traffic. However, when high traffic load is sent locally to the IP cores belonging to the same cluster as the source, a router configuration with multiple channels servicing local traffic greatly reduces the overall packet latency.
A New Voltage to Frequency Converter

The technique for improving the linearity between the input voltage and the frequency of oscillation is described. This improvement is accomplished by adding a control circuit to Concentional voltage-to-frequency converters. From the experimental results, the linearity of this converter was about 0.15 percent at the frequency of 1 MHz.