Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A quasi-orthogonal STBC design for SC-FDMA in LTE-advanced

In this paper, a class of quasi-orthogonal space-time block codes (Q-STBC) is proposed for systems with 2 antennas and 3 time slots, where the orthogonal Alamouti code can not be applied due to the “odd symbol” problem inherited in the 3GPP frame structure. The proposed codes can achieve rate one and full diversity with lower complexity maximum likelihood detection. The design takes into consideration the signal power fluctuation and minimizes the potential peak-to-average ratio (PAPR) in the transmitted signals. The application to Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) has been investigated further. A transmission scheme is proposed to preserve the good PAPR property of SC-FDMA. In addition, linear and iterative decoding algorithms are proposed to simplify the receiver complexity. Simulations have been conducted to demonstrate the superior performance.
Three differently coloured concomitant polymorphs: synthesis, structure and packing analysis of (4-(3',5'-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1'-yl)-6-methyl-2-phenylpyrimidine)dichlorocopper(II).

A novel pyrazolylpyrimidine ligand (L) and its complex CuLCl(2) were prepared and structurally characterized. The simultaneous crystallization of three polymorphs of CuLCl(2), green (G), emerald green (EG) and orange (O), was discovered. The molecular structures vary only slightly between the three forms. The Cu atom forms four coordinate bonds with the two N and two Cl atoms, and a shortened Cu.H contact with an H atom of the phenyl ring in L. The structural difference between polymorphs was analyzed with the boundary surfaces of molecular Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra. The difference in colour of the polymorphs is likely to be due to the different pi-pi stackings. There is no stacking in the G modification, but EG and O polymorphs demonstrate face-to-face and slipped stacking, resulting in dimers and infinite chains, respectively. The EG and O polymorphs are packed according to the hexagonal close-packing motif, while in G no special topology is found.
Would protecting tropical forest fragments provide carbon and biodiversity cobenefits under REDD+?

Tropical forests store vast amounts of carbon and are the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats, yet they are being converted and degraded at alarming rates. Given global shortfalls in the budgets required to prevent carbon and biodiversity loss, we need to seek solutions that simultaneously address both issues. Of particular interest are carbon‐based payments under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism to also conserve biodiversity at no additional cost. One potential is for REDD+ to protect forest fragments, especially within biomes where contiguous forest cover has diminished dramatically, but we require empirical tests of the strength of any carbon and biodiversity cobenefits in such fragmented systems. Using the globally threatened Atlantic Forest landscape, we measured above‐ground carbon stocks within forest fragments spanning 13 to 23 442 ha in area and with different degrees of isolation. We related these stocks to tree community structure and to the richness and abundance of endemic and IUCN Red‐listed species. We found that increasing fragment size has a positive relationship with above‐ground carbon stock and with abundance of IUCN Red‐listed species and tree community structure. We also found negative relationships between distance from large forest block and tree community structure, endemic species richness and abundance, and IUCN Red‐listed species abundance. These resulted in positive congruence between carbon stocks and Red‐listed species, and the abundance and richness of endemic species, demonstrating vital cobenefits. As such, protecting forest fragments in hotspots of biodiversity, particularly larger fragments and those closest to sources, offers important carbon and biodiversity cobenefits. More generally, our results suggest that macroscale models of cobenefits under REDD+ have likely overlooked key benefits at small scales, indicating the necessity to apply models that include finer‐grained assessments in fragmented landscapes rather than using averaged coarse‐grained cells.
Effects of Individual Development Accounts on Household Saving Behavior: Evidence from a Controlled Experiment

This paper evaluates the first controlled social experiment on the effects of saving incentives in general and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) in particular. We evaluate an IDA program administered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as part of the American Dream Demonstration. Applicants randomly assigned to the treatment group could open IDAs; those assigned to the control group could not. Both groups were interviewed prior to random assignment and 18 months and 48 months later. Participants making full use of IDAs could accumulate $6,750 for home purchase or $4,500 for other allowed uses. A very high percentage (85 percent) of treatment group members opened IDAs. Given their income levels, participants who made matched withdrawals were able to accumulate significant amounts -more than $3,400 on average, including the match. But most accountholders withdrew all of their IDA funds for non-matchable purposes. In the overall sample, the program had strong effects on homeownership, but almost no effect on accumulation of any other matched asset or financial wealth. Among African-Americans, the program increased the purchase of homes and the accumulation of retirement assets. But groups that were relatively disadvantaged in the baseline survey did not appear to have benefited much if at all from the IDA. This includes households with financial assets below $200, those without a bank account, and those on public assistance. Interpretation of these results requires care because of several special features of IDAs in general and this particular IDA demonstration in particular.
An enumerative stepwise ansatz enables atomic-accuracy RNA loop modeling

Atomic-accuracy structure prediction of macromolecules should be achievable by optimizing a physically realistic energy function but is presently precluded by incomplete sampling of a biopolymer’s many degrees of freedom. We present herein a working hypothesis, called the “stepwise ansatz,” for recursively constructing well-packed atomic-detail models in small steps, enumerating several million conformations for each monomer, and covering all build-up paths. By making use of high-performance computing and the Rosetta framework, we provide first tests of this hypothesis on a benchmark of 15 RNA loop-modeling problems drawn from riboswitches, ribozymes, and the ribosome, including 10 cases that are not solvable by current knowledge-based modeling approaches. For each loop problem, this deterministic stepwise assembly method either reaches atomic accuracy or exposes flaws in Rosetta’s all-atom energy function, indicating the resolution of the conformational sampling bottleneck. As a further rigorous test, we have carried out a blind all-atom prediction for a noncanonical RNA motif, the C7.2 tetraloop/receptor, and validated this model through nucleotide-resolution chemical mapping experiments. Stepwise assembly is an enumerative, ab initio build-up method that systematically outperforms existing Monte Carlo and knowledge-based methods for 3D structure prediction.
Analysis of 100 emergency aortocoronary bypass operations after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty: which patients are at risk for large infarctions?

Severe vascular complications are an inherent risk of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Data from 100 emergency aortocoronary bypass operations required after 2850 interventions (3.5%) were retrospectively analysed in order to identify factors that determine postoperative infarct size. Large infarctions were assumed if the patient died of cardiogenic shock (n = 12), if postoperative angiography demonstrated a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction of more than 20% of if R-waves in the ECG decreased by more than 40% and a QRS-score increased by more than 5. According to these definitions, 29 patients experienced large infarctions, while 71 experienced no or only small infarctions. The following factors differentiated the two groups: age (58 vs 53 years, P = 0.008), pre-PTCA exercise work load (88 vs 118 Watts, P = 0.0001), exercise ischaemia score (2.7 vs 1.9, P = 0.045), degree of pre-PTCA stenosis (83 vs 86%, P = 0.03), coronary multivessel versus single vessel disease (60 vs 38%, P = 0.02), collaterals to the target vessel (10 vs 34%, P = 0.05), total vascular occlusion during PTCA (76 vs 56%, P = 0.035), and long duration of ischaemia after onset of the complication (253 vs 179 min, P = 0.012). Data from patients with large postoperative infarctions who survived ranged between those with no or small infarctions and those who died of cardiogenic shock. Higher age (P = 0.04), reduced exercise tolerance (P = 0.0004), absence of collaterals (P = 0.04), and duration of ischaemia until reperfusion (P = 0.001) were independent predictors of large postoperative myocardial infarctions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Beyond Lyme: Aetiology of Tick‐borne Human Diseases with Emphasis on the South‐Eastern United States

Since its emergence in the north‐eastern and upper mid‐western United States in the 1970s, Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, has captured the public’s attention as the nation’s most prevalent vector‐borne zoonotic disease. In contrast, recent publications on tick‐pathogen systems in the eastern United States, and findings from Department of Defense investigations of ticks found biting military personnel, indicate that residents of the south‐eastern United States are primarily at risk from emerging diseases caused by tick‐borne pathogens other than B. burgdorferi. The risk of contracting these diseases varies greatly among states as a consequence of regional variation in the abundance of the key vector tick species. Moreover, this risk is changing, because tick distributions are in flux. To improve health outcomes, health providers need better information and awareness regarding which tick species bite humans in each state and which zoonotic pathogens are prevalent in these ticks. Effective diagnosis, treatment, control and reporting of tick‐borne disease in the south‐eastern United States require that health providers think ‘beyond Lyme’ and consider the marked regional differences in the tick species that bite humans and in the pathogens that these ticks carry.
Comparison of photoreceptor spatial density and ganglion cell morphology in the retina of human, macaque monkey, cat, and the marmoset Callithrix jacchus

We studied the relationship between the morphology of ganglion cells and the spatial density of photoreceptors in the retina of two Old World primates, human and macaque monkey; the diurnal New World marmoset Callithrix jacchus; and the cat. Ganglion cells in macaque and marmoset were labelled by intracellular injection with Neurobiotin or by Dil diffusion labelling in fixed tissue. Cone photoreceptor densities were measured from the same retinas. Supplemental data for macaque and data for human and cat were taken from published studies.
A Mouse Skin Multistage Carcinogenesis Model Reflects the Aberrant DNA Methylation Patterns of Human Tumors

Whereas accepted models of tumorigenesis exist for genetic lesions, the timing of epigenetic alterations in cancer is not clearly understood. We have analyzed the profile of aberrations in DNA methylation occurring in cells lines and primary tumors of one of the best-characterized mouse carcinogenesis systems, the multistage skin cancer progression model. Initial analysis using high-performance capillary electrophoresis and immunolocalization revealed a loss of genomic 5-methylcytosine associated with the degree of tumor aggressiveness. Paradoxically, this occurs in the context of a growing number of hypermethylated CpG islands of tumor suppressor genes at the most malignant stages of carcinogenesis. We have observed this last phenomenon using two approaches, a candidate gene approach, studying genes with well-known methylation-associated silencing in human tumors, and a mouse cDNA microarray expression analysis after treatment with DNA demethylating drugs. The transition from epithelial to spindle cell morphology is particularly associated with major epigenetic alterations, such as E-cadherin methylation, demethylation of the Snail promoter, and a decrease of the global DNA methylation. Analysis of data obtained from the cDNA microarray strategy led to the identification of new genes that undergo methylation-associated silencing and have growth-inhibitory effects, such as the insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3. Most importantly, all of the above genes were also hypermethylated in human cancer cell lines and primary tumors, underlining the value of the mouse skin carcinogenesis model for the study of aberrant DNA methylation events in cancer cells.
Researching the teacher-researcher : practice-based research in Dutch professional development schools

In this dissertation, we wanted to provide empirical evidence for the proposition that performing practice-based research in PDSs is a powerful incentive for the professional development of (student) teachers. Therefore, the aims of this dissertation were: 1. Mapping the concepts associated with (student) teachers’ practice-based research in schools in terms of research input, research process, and research outcomes. More specifically the following aspects were investigated: (a) contextual input, or the realization of research environments in schools, (b) personal input, or teachers’ and student teachers’ motives for performing practice-based research, (c) the research process, or the performed practice-based research activities by teachers and student teachers, and (d) research outcomes, or the perceived outcomes regarding research and teaching following practice-based research. 2. Investigating the added-value of PDSs settings compared with non-PDSs settings. More specifically, PDSs and non-PDSs (student) teachers’ perceptions of the aforementioned aspects associated with practice-based research were compared. 3. Testing a hypothetical model that describes the relations between (student) teachers’ perceptions of the input (contextual and personal), process and outcomes of practice-based research, and with that, the relative importance of these different aspects in relation to each other. To meet these aims, four studies were conducted for these purposes using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The following four key questions were addressed: 1. What are participants’ – school leaders’, teachers’ and student teachers’ – perceptions of the actual and preferred situation regarding practice-based research in Dutch PDSs? 2. What features characterize teachers’ practice-based research activities and what is the impact of these activities in terms of quality standards and criteria, and learning outcomes? 3. Do PDSs make a difference in terms of (student) teachers’ perceptions of input (contextual and personal), process and outcomes of in-school practice-based research? 4. What model explains the empirical relations that exist in (student) teachers’ perceptions of factors associated with the input (contextual and personal), process and outcomes of in-school practice-based research?
Efficient Modeling of Open Structures Using Nonuniform Leapfrog ADI-FDTD

The perfectly matched layer (PML) using the split-field formulation has been implemented in a recently developed leapfrog alternating-direction-implicit finite-difference time-domain method (leapfrog ADI-FDTD) for efficient modeling of open structures. To further enhance computational efficiency and modeling accuracy, a nonuniform numerical grid is incorporated in the proposed formulations. Numerical simulations of a 2-D TE wave in an open region and an electromagnetic band-gap Y-power splitter are performed to verify the implementation with the PML. The results show that with the proposed method, CPU time savings can be up to 50% of that of a conventional ADI-FDTD.
The effects of bungy weight training on muscle function and functional performance

Eccentric strength training is thought to be important for improving functional performance. A form of training that may enhance the eccentric training stimulus is the attachment of a rubber bungy to the strength-training apparatus in such a way that the return velocity and, therefore, the force required to decelerate the load at the end of the eccentric phase are increased. To determine the effects of elastic bungy training, we performed two studies. In the first, we examined the electromyographic (EMG) and kinematic characteristics of three different squat techniques: traditional squat, non-bungy jump squat and bungy jump squat. In the second study, we examined whether jump squat training with and without the attachment of a rubber bungy to an isoinertial supine squat machine affects muscle function, multidirectional agility, lunge ability and single leg jump performance. The EMG activity of the vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius muscles was recorded. An instrumented isoinertial supine squat machine was used to measure maximal strength and various force, velocity and power measures in both studies. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a control group and two weight-trained groups, one of which performed bungy squat jumps and one of which performed non-bungy squat jumps. The two experimental groups performed 10 weeks of ballistic weight training. The kinematic and EMG characteristics of the bungy and non-bungy squat techniques differed significantly from those of the traditional squat on all the variables measured. The only difference between the bungy squat and non-bungy squat training was greater EMG activity during the later stages (70-100%) of the eccentric phase of the bungy squat condition. The 10 weeks of bungy squat and non-bungy squat jump weight training were found to be equally effective in producing improvements in a variety of concentric strength and power measures (10.6-19.8%). These improvements did not transfer to improved performance for the single leg jump and multidirectional agility. However, bungy weight training did lead to a significant improvement in lunge performance (21.5%) compared with the other groups.
Presidents versus Prime Ministers: Shaping Executive Authority in Eastern Europe

Open conflict between presidents and prime ministers has become a familiar phenomenon throughout East Central Europe since the fall of communism. While individual personalities and the particular constellations of issues in each country have helped shape individual conflicts, this article seeks to account for them in more fundamental structural terms and to place them in the context of current debates over the relative virtues of presidentialism and parliamentarism. There is a discrepancy between the prestige and popularity of presidents and their modest formal powers; prime ministers, by contrast, enjoy considerable formal power but only limited legitimacy. Since the distribution of authority in newly constituted democracies is ambiguous and fluid, with no established conventions and understandings defining precisely the boundaries among key institutions, presidents seek to utilize the ambiguity to convert their assets of prestige into “real” power over policy, while prime ministers resist what they see as incursions into their areas of responsibility. The article explores the strengths and weaknesses of each side, the terrain of struggle, the tactics employed, the political outcomes to date, and the implications for political consolidation and the future distribution of executive authority in the region's states.
Extending a tourism causality network model: A cross-country, multigroup empirical analysis

This study provides insights into a powerful statistical technique to test model invariance across multiple groups. In doing so, it provides insights for policymakers and contributes to the literature on tourism demand forecasting by validating and extending previous results on how supply-side factors influence tourism demand. Specifically, this study considered an a priori validated structural model for relationships among the economy, society, environment and tourism constructs in 162 countries, examining the extent to which the model was invariant across two groups of isolated observations: developed and less-developed countries. Upon testing, the a priori model did not replicate across both groups. Instead a reduced model, incorporating the society, environment and tourism constructs only was used to compare and test for variances in parameters across the two groups using multigroup analysis sampling in AMOS 16.0. The results indicated that path coefficients were equal across groups. A positive relationship existed between the society and environment constructs, while a similar positive significant relationship existed between the society and environment constructs from one side and tourism, respectively.
Employee motivational factors: a comparison between Malaysia and Sultanate of Oman

Industrial psychologists have continuously devised theories and executives and managers have tirelessly formulated various programmes related to employee motivation. A set of committed, motivated employees is an asset for any organisation – public or private. A well-known fact is that an organisation can emulate almost anything of another organisation except its human resources. How to motivate employees? Can one particular factor motivate everybody equally? Is there any cultural influence on motivating factors? Extensive investigations have been made to address these fundamental questions in the last few decades. This research, which is a sequel to the previous researches, basically aims at identifying the salient motivating factors for Malaysian as well as Omani employees. A detailed comparison has been made on the findings of the motivating factors with regard to the two countries. Finally, managerial implications are highlighted for both the countries.
Effect of vibration on tactile sensitivity.

Tactile hypersensitivity is a common sequela of traumatic hand injury. Vibration is used clinically to reduce this hypersensitivity. The purpose of this study was to determine if vibration has an effect on tactile threshold and if so to determine the duration of that effect. Mean tactile thresholds were determined for 24 healthy adults by means of a pressure aesthesiometer. The experimental group (6 men, 6 women) received 10 minutes of vibration. Mean tactile thresholds were redetermined at the end of the 10-minute treatment period in the experimental group and after a 10-minute rest period in the control group (6 men, 6 women). Thresholds were also redetermined at 5-minute intervals for the next 20 minutes in all subjects. The experimental group showed a significant change in mean tactile threshold after 10 minutes of vibration (p less than .001). This difference remained at 5 (p less than .001) and 10 (p less than .05) minutes postvibration but not at 15 and 20 minutes. No significant change in mean tactile threshold was found in the control group. The results indicate that vibration does increase tactile threshold in "normal" hands and the effect lasts for at least 10 minutes. The application of this information to the clinical setting is discussed.