Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial Resource Allocation for Spectrum Reuse in Unlicensed LTE Systems

In this paper, we study how to reuse the unlicensed spectrum in LTE-U systems while guaranteeing harmonious coexistence between the LTE-U and Wi-Fi systems. For a small cell with multiple antennas at the base station (SBS), some spatial degrees of freedom (DoFs) are used to serve small cell users (SUEs) while the rest are employed to mitigate the interference to the Wi-Fi users by applying zero-forcing beamforming (ZFBF). As a result, the LTE-U and Wi-Fi throughput can be balanced by carefully allocating the spatial DoFs. Due to the channel state information (CSI) estimation and feedback errors, ZFBF cannot eliminate the interference completely. We first analyze the residual interference among SUEs, called intra-RAT interference, and the interference to the Wi-Fi users, called inter-RAT interference after ZFBF, due to imperfect CSI. Based on the analysis, we derive the throughputs of the small cell and the Wi-Fi systems, respectively. Accordingly, a spatial DoF allocation scheme is proposed to balance the throughput between the small cell and the Wi-Fi systems. Our theoretical analysis and the proposed scheme are verified by simulation results.
Driving the citizen-oriented information on the electronic highway

The paper outlines the design and ongoing development of the Citizen Information Network (CIN) which makes information available to meet the growing demands from citizens for better information about public administration services and self-organized initiatives as well as for better communication among citizens about community affairs. Multimedia technology offers new opportunities but there are complex problems to solve, in particular with regard to data structure and data logistics, and interactive user interface design for casual users. The CIN enables users to get information comprised of text, photos, pictures, voice, and video elements in a multimedia kiosk, to search for the required information via a full-text retrieval from the frequently updated database. Original features of the approach of Bremen concern a public-private partnership and cost-sharing between a tourist and a citizen information system as well as a technical open client server architecture. The creation of such a system is a software and organization development process.
A Review of Near-Collision Driver Behavior Models

Objective: This article provides a review of recent models of driver behavior in on-road collision situations. Background: In efforts to improve traffic safety, computer simulation of accident situations holds promise as a valuable tool, for both academia and industry. However, to ensure the validity of simulations, models are needed that accurately capture near-crash driver behavior, as observed in real traffic or driving experiments. Method: Scientific articles were identified by a systematic approach, including extensive database searches. Criteria for inclusion were defined and applied, including the requirement that models should have been previously applied to simulate on-road collision avoidance behavior. Several selected models were implemented and tested in selected scenarios. Results: The reviewed articles were grouped according to a rough taxonomy based on main emphasis, namely avoidance by braking, avoidance by steering, avoidance by a combination of braking and steering, effects of driver states and characteristics on avoidance, and simulation platforms. Conclusion: A large number of near-collision driver behavior models have been proposed. Validation using human driving data has often been limited, but exceptions exist. The research field appears fragmented, but simulation-based comparison indicates that there may be more similarity between models than what is apparent from the model equations. Further comparison of models is recommended. Application: This review provides traffic safety researchers with an overview of the field of driver models for collision situations. Specifically, researchers aiming to develop simulations of on-road collision accident situations can use this review to find suitable starting points for their work.
Differentiation and Expansion of T Cells with Regulatory Function from Human Peripheral Lymphocytes by Stimulation in the Presence of TGF-β

T cells with immunoregulatory function have been described in human and mouse systems. In both systems these cells can be differentiated either in the thymus or from peripheral T cells. To date, more progress has been made in the study of murine regulatory T cells, because it has been very difficult to isolate human regulatory T cells of sufficient purity and in sufficient numbers to permit detailed examinations of their biochemistry. We report in this study that human T cells with regulatory function can be differentiated in vitro from naive (CD4+CD45RA+) cord blood or peripheral T cells by stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 in the presence of TGF-β. Cells derived in this manner express a surface phenotype (CD25+, CD122+, HLA-DR+, glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor-related gene+, CD103+, CTLA-4+) described for human and mouse regulatory T cells and express protein and message for the transcription factor forkhead/winged helix transcription factor (FOXP3). They produce primarily TGF-β and IL-10, with lesser amounts of IFN-γ and IL-13, when stimulated through their TCRs and are capable of inhibiting cytokine production and proliferation by stimulated naive T cells. Unlike Th1 and Th2 cells, these TGF-β-derived regulatory T cells do not appear to be dependent on the protein kinase Cθ pathway of NF-κB activation for Ag-induced responses.
Cochlear Implantation in Elderly Patients: Surgical and Audiological Outcome

Background: Deteriorated hearing affects speech perception and speech production, and negatively impacts on social interaction, employment, income, and, as a result, the quality of life of the elderly population. Lack of satisfaction with conventional hearing aids motivated part of them to turn to more sophisticated cochlear device systems. Objective: To investigate the outcome of cochlear implantation (CI) among elderly cochlear implant recipients. Methods: The medical records of 20 postlingual patients aged >65 years at the time of CI, who were followed up for a period of at least 12 months were retrospectively reviewed for age at the time of CI, the cause and duration of deafness, hearing aid experience, comorbidities, complications of the procedure and audiological outcome. Pre- and post-CI speech perception performance was tested using a battery of speech perception tests. Results: In addition to bilateral severe to profound hearing loss, all 20 patients had some comorbidities and 13 had more than 2 pathologies that are associated with hearing impairment. Major complications such as facial nerve paralysis and foreign body reaction were rare (n = 2). Minor complications such as disequilibrium (n = 5) and wound problems (n = 5) resolved spontaneously or were successfully managed conservatively. There were no complications associated with general anesthesia used during the CI procedure. Statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test showed significant differences (p < 0.01) between the pre- and postspeech perception categories. No significant correlations were found between the background data: unaided thresholds, aided thresholds, duration of profound deafness, duration of hearing aid use prior to CI, speech perception before CI and speech perception performance after CI using Pearson correlations. Conclusion: CI was found to be associated with significant hearing benefit in elderly candidates. However, every CI candidate must be informed about possible complications associated with the procedure, especially related to the vestibular system. At the same time, it should be made clear that life-threatening conditions are rare and that the surgery is usually safe.
Research on image fusion algorithm based on Compressed Sensing theory

Visual effect and fusion quality of the traditional image fusion method is relatively poor. Compressed Sensing (CS) as a new image fusion method is proposed, which is simple and easy to implement. At first, the method uses wavelet transform to the original images and gets sparse matrix by sparse processing of wavelet coefficients. And then coefficient matrix is fused by the method of coefficient absolute value maximum. After that we use the method of random observation to get compression sampling to the coefficient matrix after fusion. Image restoration is obtained from compression sampling by solving the optimization problem. The method can recover the image with a small number of sample points because we have handled wavelet coefficients by sparse processing. Experimental results show that the image quality obtained by this method is better than the method of traditional coefficient absolute value maximum fusion at the same sampling point and we can achieve better results by using this method at a small number of sampling points.
Cause of Emergency Department Mortality; a Case-control Study

Introduction: Based on previous studies, cardiovascular diseases, traffic accidents, traumas and cancers are the most important etiology of mortalities in emergency departments (ED). However, contradictory findings have been reported in relation to mortality in emergency departments. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the role of clinical factors in mortality among patients referring to an emergency department in a third-level hospital in Tehran, Iran. Methods: In the present case-control study, all the patients over 18 years of age were evaluated, referring to the ED of Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2010. The patients died in the ED were placed in the case group and those discharged or hospitalized in other hospital wards in the control group. Demographic data, background diseases, and the final diagnoses were recorded. Chi-squared test, multivariate logistic regression, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to evaluate the relationship between the variables mentioned above and patient mortality. Results: 2907 patients (969 (59.9% male) in the case and 1938 (62.2% male) in the control groups) were evaluated. Cardiovascular diseases (39.2%), severe traumas (18.5%), and cerebrovascular accidents (17.7%) were the most frequent etiology of patient mortality in ED. Multivariate regression analysis showed that presentation with cardiovascular complaints (OR=7.3; 95% CI: 3.5-16.1; p<0.001), a history of hypertension (OR=5.4; 95% CI: 1.2-12.3; p<0.001), severe trauma (OR=4.6; 95% CI: 2.0-13.2; p<0.001), age over 60 (OR=3.8; 95% CI: 1.8-7.8; p<0.01) and a final diagnosis of renal disease (OR=3.4; 95% CI: 2.1-6.4; p<0.001) were factors that increased the odds of mortality in patients referring to the ED. Multivariate regression analysis in patients over 60 years showed that sepsis was an independent factor increasing the risk of death (OR=2.9; 95% CI: 1.3-5.9; p=0.009). A patient’s risk of death increases with an increase in the number of risk factors in that patient (r2=0.96; p=0.02). Conclusion: It appears the odds of mortality in patients referring to ED with cardiovascular complaints, a history of hypertensive, severe trauma, age over 60 and a final diagnosis of renal disease are higher versus other patients. In addition, the patients’ odds of death increase with an increase in the number of risk factors. Such an increase is more noticeable at age over 60.
Comparison of the Uniform and Non-Uniform Cellular Automata-Based Approach to the Development of Combinational Circuits

Cellular automata-based model has been shown as a useful developmental model in the evolutionary design of digital circuits at the gate level. Uniform one-dimensional cellular automata have been successfully applied to the circuit design task so far. Moreover, the initial experiments performed during our previous research have demonstrated the possibility of applying non-uniform cellular automata to the circuits design which is the main objective of the proposed paper. We will investigate this approach considering several classes of combinational circuits, provide an analysis of the obtained results and their comparison with the results of the uniform cellular automata-based model. It will be shown that evolution is able to find (in general a different) local transition function for each cell of the automaton according to which the target circuit is developed. Two different case studies will be presented in order to demonstrate the abilities of the proposed method. The first case study deals with the development of combinational multipliers and the second one is intended to develop combinational dividers. The obtained experimental results will be compared to our previous approach in which uniform cellular automata were applied. The proposed non-uniform approach enables to design circuits that we were not able to develop successfully using the uniform cellular automata.
Working Time, Industrial Relations and the Employment Relationship

This article explores the erosion of the standard working-time model associated with the UK's voluntarist system of industrial relations, and argues that its renegotiation is likely to be a critical factor in shaping the employment relationship of the future. As numerous studies over the last two decades have revealed, organizations have increasingly seen ‘time’ as a variable that can be manipulated to increase productivity or expand service provision, through making workers work harder, longer or according to management demands. These studies have also drawn our attention to the wider consequences of the increasing demands that organizations place on their employees in the name of ‘flexibility’, impacting both on what workers do while at work and how they organize and plan the other aspects of their lives. This article brings together two literatures, one on time and the other on industrial relations, and suggests that new working-time arrangements are changing the wage-effort bargain and blurring the previously clearly demarcated boundary between work and non-work time. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in six large UK-based organizations, we argue that there is evidence of a move towards a new ‘temporality’ based on an employer-led model of working time, which differs significantly from both the traditional UK system of working-time regulation and that found in Continental Europe.
Dietary Supplements and Cardiovascular Disease: What is the Evidence and What Should We Recommend?

Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity are important causes of morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular disease affects 80 million Americans and is the leading cause of death (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). Diabetes and obesity are also increasing at alarming rates, and together, the three conditions have a significant impact on public health (Ogden et al., 2006). Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity can be influenced by lifestyle changes, including diet and physical activity (McCullough et al., 2000). The American Heart Association recommends a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, whole grains, high-fiber foods, with lean meats and poultry, moderate consumption of fish, an emphasis on fat-free or low fat dairy products, and limiting the amount of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol (Lichtenstein et al., 2006).
Ageing Adaptation for Multimodal Biometrics using Adaptive Feature Set Update Algorithm

Multimodal Biometrics is an emerging domain in biometric technology where more than one biometric trait is combined to improve the performance. The biometric system take Face, Fingerprint, Voice, Handwritten Signatures, Retina, Iris, Gait, Palm print, Ear & Hand geometry as common features. Human is identified by correct matching of these features. However, features like face, voice, and signature have low permanence and they change with time. Ageing of human, as well as other psychological & environmental conditions cause gradual change in these features. While enrolling feature set we don't consider this factor. Here we propose a new concept that can be used in designing future multimodal biometrics systems which can adapt to the change in the biometrics features like face, voice, signature, and gait over the time or any other factor without compromising the security. Regression based technique can be used to detect change. This algorithm requires use of at least one biometric feature which has very low variance or high degree of permanence, like Fingerprint, Iris, Retina etc. This algorithm can address the problem of false rejection caused by sustained change in biometric features due to Ageing or any other factor without the need of re-enrollment of feature set.
Efficacy of HPV DNA testing with cytology triage and/or repeat HPV DNA testing in primary cervical cancer screening.

BACKGROUND Primary cervical screening with both human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing and cytological examination of cervical cells with a Pap test (cytology) has been evaluated in randomized clinical trials. Because the vast majority of women with positive cytology are also HPV DNA positive, screening strategies that use HPV DNA testing as the primary screening test may be more effective. METHODS We used the database from the intervention arm (n = 6,257 women) of a population-based randomized trial of double screening with cytology and HPV DNA testing to evaluate the efficacy of 11 possible cervical screening strategies that are based on HPV DNA testing alone, cytology alone, and HPV DNA testing combined with cytology among women aged 32-38 years. The main outcome measures were sensitivity for detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) within 6 months of enrollment or at colposcopy for women with a persistent type-specific HPV infection and the number of screening tests and positive predictive value (PPV) for each screening strategy. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Compared with screening by cytology alone, double testing with cytology and for type-specific HPV persistence resulted in a 35% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 15% to 60%) increase in sensitivity to detect CIN3+, without a statistically significant reduction in the PPV (relative PPV = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.52 to 1.10), but with more than twice as many screening tests needed. Several strategies that incorporated screening for high-risk HPV subtypes were explored, but they resulted in reduced PPV compared with cytology. Compared with cytology, primary screening with HPV DNA testing followed by cytological triage and repeat HPV DNA testing of HPV DNA-positive women with normal cytology increased the CIN3+ sensitivity by 30% (95% CI = 9% to 54%), maintained a high PPV (relative PPV = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.60 to 1.26), and resulted in a mere 12% increase in the number of screening tests (from 6,257 to 7,019 tests). CONCLUSIONS Primary HPV DNA-based screening with cytology triage and repeat HPV DNA testing of cytology-negative women appears to be the most feasible cervical screening strategy.
Prevalence, outcome and risk factors for postoperative pyothorax in 232 dogs undergoing thoracic surgery

Objective To determine the prevalence, outcome and risk factors for postoperative pyothorax in dogs undergoing thoracic surgery. Methods Case records were reviewed retrospectively to identify dogs with post thoracic surgery pyothorax, defined as septic neutrophilic inflammation within the pleural space based on cytology and/or a positive bacterial culture of pleural fluid. Those identified were reviewed for potential risk factors for postoperative pyothorax based on biological plausibility and previously published data. These potential risk factors were explored by multivariable logistic regression. Results Of 232 dogs undergoing thoracic surgery, 15 (6·5%) dogs developed pyothorax. Bacteria cultured included methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multi-resistant Escherichia coli. Of these dogs, six died, four were euthanased and five were treated successfully. A diagnosis of idiopathic chylothorax [Odds Ratio (OR)=12·5, 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=2·7-58·5, P=0·001], preoperative intrathoracic biopsy (OR=14·3, 95% CI=1·7-118·7, P=0·014) and preoperative thoracocentesis (OR=11·2, 95% CI=1·6-78·2, P=0·015) were identified as independent risk factors for development of postoperative pyothorax. Clinical Significance Idiopathic chylothorax, intrathoracic biopsy and prior thoracocentesis are independent risk factors for postoperative pyothorax, which was associated with a 67% mortality rate.
A Wideband 3.6 GHz Digital ΔΣ Fractional-N PLL With Phase Interpolation Divider and Digital Spur Cancellation

A digital ΔΣ fractional-N frequency synthesizer for 4G communication standards is presented which is able to achieve wide loop bandwidth while producing low fractional spurs. The loop adopts a fractional-N divider based on a phase interpolator, allowing to shrink the TDC dynamic range and to improve its linearity. A dynamic-element matching algorithm is employed to further improve TDC linearity and an original correlation algorithm is used to correct for the phase interpolator mismatches. Both digital algorithms operate in background and they are demonstrated to be concurrently effective in reducing in-band fractional spurs below -57 dBc. The circuit is fully integrated in a 65 nm CMOS process and it synthesizes a carrier in the 3.0-3.6 GHz range from a 40 MHz crystal reference with 40 Hz resolution. It achieves -104-dBc/Hz phase noise at 400-kHz offset and a 3.2-MHz maximum loop bandwidth. The synthesizer dissipates 80 mW and occupies 0.4 mm2.
MS-QI: A Modulation Spectrum-Based ECG Quality Index for Telehealth Applications

As telehealth applications emerge, the need for accurate and reliable biosignal quality indices has increased. One typical modality used in remote patient monitoring is the electrocardiogram (ECG), which is inherently susceptible to several different noise sources, including environmental (e.g., powerline interference), experimental (e.g., movement artifacts), and physiological (e.g., muscle and breathing artifacts). Accurate measurement of ECG quality can allow for automated decision support systems to make intelligent decisions about patient conditions. This is particularly true for in-home monitoring applications, where the patient is mobile and the ECG signal can be severely corrupted by movement artifacts. In this paper, we propose an innovative ECG quality index based on the so-called modulation spectral signal representation. The representation quantifies the rate of change of ECG spectral components, which are shown to be different from the rate of change of typical ECG noise sources. The proposed modulation spectral-based quality index, MS-QI, was tested on 1) synthetic ECG signals corrupted by varying levels of noise, 2) single-lead recorded data using the Hexoskin garment during three activity levels (sitting, walking, running), 3) 12-lead recorded data using conventional ECG machines (Computing in Cardiology 2011 dataset), and 4) two-lead ambulatory ECG recorded from arrhythmia patients (MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database). Experimental results showed the proposed index outperforming two conventional benchmark quality measures, particularly in the scenarios involving recorded data in real-world environments.
Ciencia y política de la inteligencia en la sociedad moderna

Pocos temas de la psicologia son tan populares y provocan tanta controversia como el de la Inteligencia y su inseparable investigacion sobre las diferencias individuales en ella. Este debate abarca practicamente todos los ambitos del tema, llegando a plagar hasta su parte mas abstrusa de tintes ideologicos. No es para menos. En una sociedad tan competitiva como la nuestra, una de las caracteristicas mas deseables del «triunfador» o la triunfadora es su inteligencia. Hipocritamente (sin intencion, claro esta), llegamos a decir que ser calificados de «felices» es preferible a serlo de «inteligentes». Sin embargo, nos provoca menos rechazo visceral ser tildados de «poco felices» que de «poco inteligentes».