Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power Allocation for OFDM-DF Cooperative Communication

A minimized power allocation scheme in a cooperative communication manner is studied to low power consumption and extent service life for transmission nodes. The model of the minimizing transmission power allocation for each sub-carrier of source node and relay node is not a convex problem, so it is difficult to find the global optimal solution. A new scheme of Decode-and-Forward Power Allocation (OFDM-DF-PA) is proposed. First, the power is allocated between source and relay node after sub-carrier is allocated under a given transmission power for each sub-carrier. Second, the power of each sub-carrier is allocated individually in source and relay node. Then, three different schemes of Non-cooperative Power Allcation (NPA), Equal Power Allocation (EPA) and OFDM-DF Power Allocation are compared. Simulation results show that OFDM-DF-PA consumes less power than the EPA and the NPA under the same BER performance in cooperative OFDM system with Frequency Reuse Factor of 1.
An integrated fractional-N frequency synthesizer for software-defined radio applications

We present an integrated fractional-N frequency synthesizer providing in-phase / quadrature phase signal over the frequency bands 0.6–4.6 GHz, 5–7 GHz, 10–14 GHz, and in-phase signal over 20–28 GHz for software-defined radio applications. An integrated voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with 34 % tuning range and a set of high speed dividers are used to accomplish all the frequencies. By employing a multi-bit, single-loop sigma delta modulator and an 8-bit reference divider, the synthesizer can achieve a frequency step size of less than 10 Hz. The measured PLL phase noise is −132 dBc/Hz and −121 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset for 884 MHz and 3.5 GHz, respectively. Fabricated in a 0.25 µm SiGe-BiCMOS process, the VCO including buffer draws 45 mA from a 5 V supply and the rest draws 150 mA from a 3 V supply.
Dynamic Adaptation of Networked Reconfigurable Systems

Networked Reconfigurable System comprises of a heterogeneous ad-hoc network of reconfigurable devices interconnected in a wired or wireless manner. This system exploits the reconfigurable computing resource available over the network to improve application performance and increase the robustness of the system to failures. The resource constraints of an individual device can be overcome by utilizing the idle resources in the network. There is a need for providing run-time software support to the system to enable the dynamic adaptation. Resource monitoring, scheduling and task allocation at a network level become very critical issues in ensuring the proper functioning of the system. This paper proposes a framework for dynamic adaptation of the Networked Reconfigurable Systems. A Network Resource Manager (NRM) is developed that orchestrates the reconfiguration process at every device in the network. A Local Reconfiguration Manager (LRM) at every device abstracts the underlying hardware and provides a common interface and set of services to the Network Resource Manager.
Anomalous thermodynamic properties in ferropericlase throughout its spin crossover transition

The thermodynamics properties of ferropericlase Mg1�xFexO where x = 0.1875Fp throughout its spin crossover were investigated by first principles. Fp was treated as an ideal solid solution of pure high-spin and low-spin states. The Gibbs free energies of the pure states were addressed using the LDA+U method. A vibrational virtual-crystal model was developed to address the vibrational properties of the pure spin cases and used in conjunction with quasiharmonic theory to compute their vibrational free energies. The thermodynamics properties of Fp display significant anomalies that should be typical of spin crossover systems in general. In Fp, in particular, they are fundamental for understanding the state of earth’s interior, where the pressure and temperature conditions of the crossover are realized.
Maternal Stress and Coping Strategies in Developmental Dyslexia: An Italian Multicenter Study

Background Studies about the impact of developmental dyslexia (DD) on parenting are scarce. Our investigation aimed to assess maternal stress levels and mothers’ copying styles in a population of dyslexic children. Methods A total of 874 children (500 boys, 374 girls; mean age 8.32 ± 2.33 years) affected by DD was included in the study. A total of 1,421 typically developing children (789 boys, 632 girls; mean age 8.25 ± 3.19 years) were recruited from local schools of participating Italian Regions (Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Umbria, Sicily) and used as control-children group. All mothers (of both DD and typically developing children) filled out an evaluation for parental stress (Parenting Stress Index—Short Form) and coping strategies [Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS)]. Results No statistical differences for mean age (p = 0.456) and gender (p = 0.577) were found between DD and control children. Mothers of children affected by DD showed an higher rate of all parental stress indexes (Parental Distress domain p < 0.001, Difficult Child p < 0.001, Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction p < 0.001, and Total Stress subscale score p < 0.001) than controls mothers. According to the CISS evaluation, mothers of DD children reported a significantly higher rate of emotion-oriented (p < 0.001) and avoidance-oriented (p < 0.001) coping styles than mothers of typical developing children. On the other hand, a lower representation of task-oriented coping style was found in mothers of DD children (p < 0.001) in comparison to mothers of control-children. Conclusion Our study shows the clinical relevance of the burden carried by the mothers of children affected by DD and suggests the importance to assess parents, particularly mothers, to improve family compliance and clinical management of this disorder.
Plant clonal morphologies and spatial patterns as self-organized responses to resource-limited environments

We propose here to interpret and model peculiar plant morphologies (cushions and tussocks) observed in the Andean Altiplano as localized structures. Such structures resulting in a patchy, aperiodic aspect of the vegetation cover are hypothesized to self-organize thanks to the interplay between facilitation and competition processes occurring at the scale of basic plant components biologically referred to as ‘ramets’. (Ramets are often of clonal origin.) To verify this interpretation, we applied a simple, fairly generic model (one integro-differential equation) emphasizing via Gaussian kernels non-local facilitative and competitive feedbacks of the vegetation biomass density on its own dynamics. We show that under realistic assumptions and parameter values relating to ramet scale, the model can reproduce some macroscopic features of the observed systems of patches and predict values for the inter-patch distance that match the distances encountered in the reference area (Sajama National Park in Bolivia). Prediction of the model can be confronted in the future with data on vegetation patterns along environmental gradients so as to anticipate the possible effect of global change on those vegetation systems experiencing constraining environmental conditions.
Tumor-dependent Kinetics of Partial Pressure of Oxygen Fluctuations during Air and Oxygen Breathing

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the kinetics of partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) fluctuations in fibrosarcoma (FSA) and 9L tumors under air and O2 breathing conditions. The overall hypothesis was that key factors relating to oxygen tension fluctuations would vary between the two tumor types and as a function of the oxygen content of the breathing gas. To assist in the interpretation of the temporal data, spatial pO2 distributions were measured in 10 FSA and 8 9L tumors transplanted into the subcutis of the hind leg of Nembutal-anesthetized (50 mg/kg) Fischer 344 rats. Recessed-tip oxygen microelectrodes were inserted into the tumor, and linear pO2 measurements were recorded in 50-μm steps along a 3-mm path, and blood pressure was simultaneously measured via femoral arterial access. Additionally, pO2 was measured at a single location for 90 to 120 minutes in FSA (n = 11) or 9L tumors (n = 12). Rats were switched from air to 100% O2 breathing after 45 minutes. Temporal pO2 records were evaluated for their potential radiobiological significance by assessing the number of times they crossed a 10-mm-Hg threshold. In addition, the data were subjected to Fourier analysis for air and O2 breathing. FSA and 9L tumors had spatial median pO2 measurements of 4 and 1 mm Hg, respectively. 9L had more low pO2 measurements ≤2.5 mm Hg than did FSA, whereas between 2.5 and 10 mm Hg this pattern was reversed. Pimonidazole staining patterns in FSA and 9L tumors supported these results. Temporal pO2 instability was observed in all experiments during air and O2 breathing. Threshold analyses indicated that the 10 mm Hg threshold was crossed 2 to 5 times per hour, independent of tumor type. However, the magnitude of 9L pO2 fluctuations was approximately eight times greater than FSA fluctuations, as assessed with Fourier transform analysis (Wilcoxon, P < 0.005). O2 breathing significantly increased median pO2 in FSA from 3 to 8 mm Hg (P < 0.005) and caused a significant increase in frequency and magnitude of pO2 fluctuations. One hundred percent O2 breathing had no effect on 9L tumor pO2, and it decreased the magnitude of pO2 fluctuations with borderline significance. These results show that these two tumors differ significantly with respect to spatial and temporal oxygenation conditions under air and O2 breathing. Fluctuations of pO2 of the type reported herein are predicted to significantly affect radiotherapy response and could be a source for genetic instability, increased angiogenesis, and metastases.
Assessing Self-Efficacy of Cultural Competence with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients: A Comparison of Training Methods with Graduate Social Work Students

OF DISSERTATION ASSESSING SELF-EFFICACY OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE WITH LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL CLIENTS: A COMPARISON OF TRAINING METHODS WITH GRADUATE SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS Graduate social work students are mandated to be cultural competent to work with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. This exploratory study examined how best to teach graduate social work students to be culturally competent in working with LGB clients by assessing their perceived competence of attitudes, knowledge and skills as well as their demonstrated competence through case vignettes. The study compared a current pedagogical method of infusing LGB material across the curricula with two types of brief trainings (didactic lecture and experiential). This mixed methods study utilized a pretest/posttest design to examine the effects of the trainings as well as qualitative responses from the participants. Results offer suggestions as to which pedagogical approach might be most effective in helping social work students gain competence for working with LGB individuals.
Marine Algal Toxins : Origins , Health Effects , and Their Increased Occurrence

Certain marine algae produce potent toxins that impact human health through the consumption of contaminated shellfish and finfish and through water or aerosol exposure. Over the past three decades, the frequency and global distribution of toxic algal incidents appear to have increased, and human intoxications from novel algal sources have occurred. This increase is of particular concern, since it parallels recent evidence of large-scale ecologic disturbances that coincide with trends in global warming. The extent to which human activities have contributed to their increase therefore comes into question. This review summarizes the origins and health effects of marine algal toxins, as well as changes in their current global distribution, and examines possible causes for the recent increase in their occurrence.
Selected Advanced Data Visualizations: "The UX-Machine", Cultural Visualisation, Cognitive Big Data, and Communication of Health and Wellness Data

The goal of this set of this demonstration presentation is to describe a set of visualizations that underline the importance of appropriate data visualizations in particular contexts. The goal is to showcase different types of visualizations, and illustrate how emerging media technology can be utilized for this purpose. First, we showcase "The UX-Machine", which is a tool for visualizing bio-feedback data; second, we illustrate a visualization of a cultural photographic collection; third, we present Cognitive Big Data as emerging new technology in the domain of Big Data, and fourth present visualization as a matter of communication and culture. The goal of this paper is to introduce and describe the key aspects of visualization on some concrete examples. The demonstrators should also illustrate the use of emerging media technology as part of advanced concepts for data visualization.
Stimulatory Effect of Interleukin‐1α on Proliferation through a Ca2+/Calmodulindependent Pathway of a Human Thyroid Carcinoma Cell Line, NIM 1

NIM 1 cells, a human thyroid cell line established from a patient with thyroid papillary adenocarcinoma, produce cytokines such as interleukin‐1α (IL‐1α) and granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor. In the present study, we investigated the signal transduction pathway in the proliferation of NIM 1 cells evoked by IL‐1α. Incubation of NIM 1 cells with IL‐1α for 48 h increased the incorporation of 3H‐thymidine (3H‐TdR). The stimulatory effect of IL‐1α was evident at 0.01 ng/ml and the maximal effect was seen at 10 ng/ml. IL‐1α evoked an influx of 45Ca into NIM 1 cells within 3 min in a concentration‐dependent manner (0.01–1 ng/ml). These stimulatory effects of IL‐1α on both 3H‐TdR incorporation and 45Ca influx were similarly inhibited by nicardipine, an inhibitor of voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels, in a concentration‐dependent manner (10–1000 nM). The stimulatory effect of IL‐1α on 3H‐TdR incorporation was inhibited by N‐(6‐aminohexyl)‐5‐chloro‐1‐naphthalenesulfonamide (W‐7), an antagonist of calmodulin, but not by 1‐(5‐isoquinoline sulfonyl)‐2‐methylpiperazine (H‐7), an inhibitor of protein kinase C. While the culture medium initially contained 0.75 mM Ca2+, inhibition of 3H‐TdR incorporation by nicardipine and W‐7 under these baseline conditions was also recognized. These results suggest that IL‐1α stimulates cell proliferation through a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent pathway in NIM 1 cells.
Development of cone photoreceptors and their synapses in the human and monkey fovea

During retinal development, ribbon synapse assembly in the photoreceptors is a crucial step involving numerous molecules. While the developmental sequence of plexiform layers in human retina has been characterized, the molecular steps of synaptogenesis remain largely unknown. In the present study, we focused on the central rod‐free region of primate retina, the fovea, to specifically investigate the development of cone photoreceptor ribbon synapses. Immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy were utilized to track the expression of photoreceptor transduction proteins and ribbon and synaptic markers in fetal human and Macaca retina. Although the inner plexiform layer appears earlier than the outer plexiform layer, synaptic proteins, and ribbons are first reliably recognized in cone pedicles. Markers first appear at fetal week 9. Both short (S) and medium/long (M/L) wavelength‐selective cones express synaptic markers in the same temporal sequence; this is independent of opsin expression which takes place in S cones a month before M/L cones. The majority of ribbon markers, presynaptic vesicular release and postsynaptic neurotransduction‐related machinery is present in both plexiform layers by fetal week 13. By contrast, two crucial components for cone to bipolar cell glutamatergic transmission, the metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 and voltage‐dependent calcium channel α1. 4, are not detected until fetal week 22 when bipolar cell invagination is present in the cone pedicle. These results suggest an intrinsically programmed but nonsynchronous expression of molecules in cone synaptic development. Moreover, functional ribbon synapses and active neurotransmission at foveal cone pedicles are possibly present as early as mid‐gestation in human retina.
Predicting High-Impact Pharmacological Targets by Integrating Transcriptome and Text-Mining Features.

PURPOSE Novel, "outside of the box" approaches are needed for evaluating candidate molecules, especially in oncology. Throughout the years of 2000-2010, the efficiency of drug development fell to barely acceptable levels, and in the second decade of this century, levels have improved only marginally. This dismal condition continues despite unprecedented progress in the development of a variety of high-throughput tools, computational methods, aggregated databases, drug repurposing programs and innovative chemistries. Here we tested a hypothesis that the economic impact of targeting a particular gene product is predictable a priori by employing a combination of transcriptome profiles and quantitative metrics reflecting existing literature. METHODS To extract classification features, the gene expression patterns of a posteriori high-impact and low-impact anti-cancer target sets were compared. To minimize the possible bias of text-mining, the number of manuscripts published prior to the first clinical trial or relevant review paper, as well as its first derivative in this interval, were collected and used as quantitative metrics of public interest. RESULTS By combining the gene expression and literature mining features, a 4-fold enrichment in high-impact targets was produced, resulting in a favourable ROC curve analysis for the top impact targets. The dataset was enriched by the highest impact anti-cancer targets, while demonstrating drastic differences in economic value between high and low-impact targets. Known anti-cancer products of EGFR, ERBB2, CYP19A1/aromatase, MTOR, PTGS2, tubulin, VEGFA, BRAF, PGR, PDGFRA, SRC, REN, CSF1R, CTLA4 and HSP90AA1 genes received the highest scores for predicted impact, while microsomal steroid sulfatase, anticoagulant protein C, p53, CDKN2A, c-Jun, and TNSFS11 were highlighted as most promising research-stage targets. CONCLUSIONS A significant cost reduction may be achieved by a priori impact assessment of targets and ligands before their development or repurposing. Expanding a suite of combinational treatments could also decrease the costs, while achieving a higher impact per developed ligand. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW. Registered readers (see "For Readers") may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue's contents page.
Two EGF molecules contribute additively to stabilization of the EGFR dimer

Receptor dimerization is generally considered to be the primary signaling event upon binding of a growth factor to its receptor at the cell surface. Little, however, is known about the precise molecular details of ligand‐induced receptor dimerization, except for studies of the human growth hormone (hGH) receptor. We have analyzed the binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to the extracellular domain of its receptor (sEGFR) using titration calorimetry, and the resulting dimerization of sEGFR using small‐angle X‐ray scattering. EGF induces the quantitative formation of sEGFR dimers that contain two EGF molecules. The data obtained from the two approaches suggest a model in which one EGF monomer binds to one sEGFR monomer, and that receptor dimerization involves subsequent association of two monomeric (1:1) EGF‐sEGFR complexes. Dimerization may result from bivalent binding of both EGF molecules in the dimer and/or receptor‐receptor interactions. The requirement for two (possibly bivalent) EGF monomers distinguishes EGF‐induced sEGFR dimerization from the hGH and interferon‐γ receptors, where multivalent binding of a single ligand species (either monomeric or dimeric) drives receptor oligomerization. The proposed model of EGF‐induced sEGFR dimerization suggests possible mechanisms for both ligand‐induced homo‐ and heterodimerization of the EGFR (or erbB) family of receptors.
Lworld – An Animation System Based on Rewriting Noser Hansrudi

Lworld is a computer graphics animation system based on L-systems, a parallel rewriting technique used primarily in computer graphics for plant modeling. Because rule-based programming is a powerful technique, we use it as a basis for a general-purpose animation system called Lworld (LSystem world). We describe the architecture, the features, and the programming language of the animation system. Examples of fractal curves, plants, fractal landscapes, group animation, visualization, and evolutionary optimizations illustrate its capabilities. Lworld allows users to create real-time animations as well as raytraced image sequences for further movie production. It is freely available, and runs on PCs.
Identifying Modifiable Factors associated with Depression across the Lifespan in Stroke Survivor-Spouse Dyads

Depression is the most common psychological sequela associated with stroke, affecting approximately 33% of stroke survivors (Hackett, Yapa, Parag, & Anderson, 2005) with corresponding impacts on spouses, partners, or other informal caregivers (Han & Haley, 1999; Low, Payne, & Roderick, 1999). Although stroke is more common in older persons, persons of all ages are at risk for stroke and especially post-stroke depression (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2007; Barker-Collo, 2007; Hughes, Giobbie-Hurder, Weaver, Kubal, & Henderson, 1999). One of the factors which could explain increased risk of depression is “biographical disruption” (Bury, 1982), which happens when couples experience chronic illnesses that are developmentally off schedule or unexpected (Faircloth, Boylstei, Rittman, Young, & Gubrium, 2004; Pound, Gompertz, & Ebrahim, 1998; Roding, Lindstrom, Malms, & Ohman, 2003). The goal of this dissertation study was to examine modifiable factors associated with depression in stroke survivor-spouse dyads, including the potential moderating effects of biographical disruption. This goal was accomplished by pursuing three specific aims: (1) investigating the extent to which dyad-level factors are associated with current depression in stroke survivor-spouse dyads, above and beyond the influence of individual-level factors; (2) investigating the extent to which biographical disruption associated with stroke moderates the strength of association between individual and dyad-level factors and depression; and (3) exploring additional individualand dyad-level features of disruption from stroke not included in the structured portion of the interview, and to explore how the experience of stroke may be different for couples in different