Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduced complexity optimal detection of binary faster-than-Nyquist signaling

In this paper, we investigate the detection problem of binary faster-than-Nyquist (FTN) signaling and propose a novel sequence estimation technique that exploits its special structure. In particular, the proposed sequence estimation technique is based on sphere decoding (SD) and exploits the following two characteristics about the FTN detection problem: 1) the correlation between the noise samples after the receiver matched filter, and 2) the structure of the intersymbol interference (ISI) matrix. Simulation results show that the proposed SD-based sequence estimation (SDSE) achieves the optimal performance of the maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) at reduced computational complexity. This paper demonstrates that FTN signaling has the great potential of increasing the data rate and spectral efficiency substantially, when compared to Nyquist signaling, for the same bit-error-rate (BER) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
TECHNIQUE OF UNCERTAINTY AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ENERGY SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE CALCULATIONS

Sustainable buildings design process is typical for modeling and simulation usage. The main reason is because there is generally no experience with such buildings and there is lot of new approaches and technical solutions to be used. Computer simulation could be supporting tool in engineering design process and can bring the good way for reducing energy consumption together with optimalization algorithm. For the optimization process we have to know which most sensitive input parametr from many of them has to be investigate. Therefore at first is necessary to perform the sensitivity analysis and find out the “strongest” input parametrs which most affecting the results under observation. Also still the simulation tools are mainly using to predict energy consumption, boiler and chiller loads, indor air quality, etc. before the building is build. The information about the building envelope, schedule and HVAC components are unclear and can bring large uncertainty in results by setting this inputs to the simulation tools. Paper presents preview of uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. This techniques are shown on case study concretely BESTEST case600 with DRYCOLD climate conditions. Also systems VAV (variable volume of air) and water fancoil system are compared. For this prototype the simulation tool IES was chosen.
CO – RESIDENCE OF ADULT CHILDREN AND AGING PARENTS – AN OPTION FOR CARE IN OLD AGE ? * *

The article explores the views of three age groups among the Slovenian population about coresidence as one option for filial care of the aged, by using interviews obtained in the DEMHOW project. Co-residence between adult children and their parents was found to be the most important reference point for seeking a solution to the problem of a frail elderly person, unable to care for herself. Co-residence was the starting point for consideration, the first option to examine. The interviews revealed two significant underlying concerns among people. Firstly, the middle cohort was found to be already greatly overburdened by a high and rising work load; secondly, older cohorts recognised the family as a significant source of contacts and of emotional ties that could be easily jeopardised by a too heavy caring burden. The family was found to be a major discussion group within which the changing roles of generations and heavy societal pressures are articulated and reflected.
Development of an Adaptive Interface for the Electronic School Notebook

In this article we describe the construction of an adaptive interface for the Electronic School Notebook, with the abilit y to predict the most likely task that a user is about to perform, based on prio r knowledge of actions already made in the system, combined with the action time f rame. This adaptive capability will reduce the number of explicit inter actions to accomplish a certain task. The system makes use of machine learn ing algorithms, based on decision trees and Markov chains. Resumo. Neste artigo descrevemos a construcao de uma inter face adaptativa para o Caderno Escolar Electronico, com a capacidade de prever a tarefa mais provavel que um utilizador ira realizar no sistema. Esta capacidade de predicao baseia-se no conhecimento das tarefas realizadas an teriormente pelo utilizador em conjugacao com o espaco temporal das mesmas. Esta interface adaptativa permitira reduzir o numero de interaccoes explicita s com o sistema, com vista a realizacao de uma tarefa. O sistema utiliza algorit mos de aprendizagem automatica, baseados em arvores de decisao e redes de Markov.
Anomalies in scheduling control applications and design complexity

Today, many control applications in cyber-physical systems are implemented on shared platforms. Such resource sharing may lead to complex timing behaviors and, in turn, instability of control applications. This paper highlights a number of anomalies demonstrating complex timing behaviors caused as a result of resource sharing. Such anomalous scenarios, then, lead to a dramatic increase in design complexity, if not properly considered. Here, we demonstrate that these anomalies are, in fact, very improbable. Therefore, design methodologies for these systems should mainly be devised and tuned towards the majority of cases, as opposed to anomalies, but should also be able to handle such anomalous scenarios.
Surgical anatomy of the spinal accessory nerve and the trapezius branches of the cervical plexus.

BACKGROUND A thorough understanding of the topographical anatomy of the spinal accessory nerve and the cervical plexus branches is a basic prerequisite for positive results when operating on the neck. OBJECTIVE To give an exact description of the topographical and surgical anatomy of the spinal accessory nerve (SAN) and the trapezius branches of the cervical plexus. DESIGN Anatomic analysis of the SAN and the trapezius branches of the cervical plexus. SETTING The topographical anatomy of the SAN and the cervical plexus branches were studied in the anterior and posterior triangles of the necks of 46 perfusion-fixed human cadavers of both sexes, which ranged in age from 55 to 97 years (mean age, 83 years). RESULTS The SAN can be identified on the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle, 8.2 + 1.01 cm cranial to the clavicle. In 37% of cases, the SAN enters the posterior triangle of the neck dorsal to the SCM muscle, where it passes through the muscle in 63% of these cases. In the anterior triangle of the neck, the SAN crosses the internal jugular vein ventrally in 56% of the cases and dorsally in 44%. Regarding the cervical plexus, 1 trapezius branch could be found in 9% of the specimens, 2 in 61%, and 3 in 30%. None of the branches merged with the SAN medial to the anterior border of the trapezius muscle. In most cases, a tiny additional branch could be found arising from the SAN about 2 cm medial to the trapezius muscle. This branch enters the descendant part of the muscle approximately 2 to 3 cm cranial to the main nerve. CONCLUSIONS Surprisingly, available data on topographical as well as surgical anatomy of the SAN and the trapezius branches of the cervical plexus are confusing and often wrong. The descriptions given herein can help to minimize the risk of injuring the SAN during neck surgery and preserve the additional innervation of the trapezius muscle granted by the rami trapezii of the cervical plexus.
Laptop theft: a case study on the effectiveness of security mechanisms in open organizations

Organizations rely on physical, technical and procedural mechanisms to protect their IT systems. Of all IT systems, laptops are the probably the most troublesome to protect, since they are easy to remove and conceal. When the thief has physical possession of the laptop, it is difficult to protect the data inside. Organizations open to the public, such as hospitals and universities, are easy targets for laptop thieves, since every day many people wander in the premises. In this study, we look at the effectiveness of the security mechanisms against laptop theft in two universities. We analyze the logs from laptop thefts in both universities and complement the results with penetration tests. The results from the study show that surveillance cameras and access control have a limited role in the security of the organization and that the level of security awareness of the employees plays the greatest role in stopping a theft.
Expectations of Technology

Abstract This article presents a preliminary analysis of the political and educational systems as regards their respective expectations of information technology and teachers’ and students’ use of personal laptop computers in high school, where they are regarded as two differentiated social functional systems. The theoretical basis is inspired by the German sociologist and system theorist Niklas Luhmann, and this analysis is rooted in the concept of systems, where the central concepts are learning and teaching. Thus in theory it is a question of operationalising Luhmann’s cognitive and communicative theories and his theory of social systems, focusing on the two mutually dependent concepts of learning and teaching, or in other words, the concepts of the construction of evidence and the specialised form of communication known as teaching. Assumptions regarding new technology have not been met to the degree expected. The present empirical study demonstrated that the concept “revolution,” used by the political system, cannot be used in this context. The empirical study was carried out on the basis of a system-theoretically inspired consecutive research design (1998-2001). The subject field is a Danish high school, where teachers and students (10 teachers and 22 students) participated in the consecutive research project and were observed by the researcher throughout the three year course of a Danish high school. The article concludes that the educational framework, learning environments and teacher training need rethinking.
Inter-Observer Agreement in Measuring Respiratory Rate

Background Respiratory rate (RR) is an important vital sign which is strongly correlated with in-hospital mortality. At the same time, RR is the most likely vital sign to be omitted when assessing a patient. We believe that one reason for this could be the difficulty in measure the RR, since it is not read off a monitor, but counted manually. Also there is the possibility of assessment bias and the inter-observer reliability becomes important. We therefore set out to investigate how the nursing staff counting the actual number of respirations per minute would agree with the nursing staff using a predefined ordinal scale. Methods For this prospective study, we recorded five videos of a young healthy man breathing approximately 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 times per minute. The videos were shown in a random order to a suitable sample of the nursing staff. The participants were randomized into two groups; one to count the exact number of breaths per minute, and one to use a predefined ordinal scale. Results Comparing the exact number of breaths per minute, the Intra Class Coefficient (ICC) was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.97–1.00). Comparing the RR using the predefined scale, the overall Kappa Fleiss Coefficient was 0.75. Conclusions The inter-observer agreement was high when comparing the use of the actual number of breaths per minute and substantial when comparing the use of the predefined scale. This is the largest inter-observer study on RR to date. However, further studies on the use of scaled comparisons of RR are needed.
Studies on multi-agent based partial discharge online monitoring system for high voltage apparatus

In the contribution, the authors applied the Multi-Agent methodology to the partial discharge (PD) online diagnosis for high voltage apparatus, and a PD diagnosis Multi-Agent system for high voltage apparaus was implemented. Based on the investigation of problems existing in partial discharge detection and evaluation, such as preprocessing, features extraction, trend and fingerprint analysis, corresponding methods and schemes were described. The framework of the Multi-Agent system and detailed design of each agent were also depicted. And furthermore, a complete system implemented by Zeus are established for performing evaluation in field application.
Cyclic ADP-ribose Induces Ca2+ Release from Caffeine-insensitive Ca2+ Pools in Canine Salivary Gland Cells

Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR), a novel putative messenger of the ryanodine receptor, was examined regarding its ability to mobilize Ca2+ from intracellular Ca2+ stores in isolated cells of parotid and submandibular glands of the dog. cADPR induced a rapid and transient Ca2+ release in the digitonin-permeabilized cells of salivary glands. cADPR-induced Ca2+ release was inhibited by ryanodine receptor antagonists ruthenium red, ryanodine, benzocaine, and imperatoxin inhibitor but not by the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3)-receptor antagonist heparin. Thapsigargin, at a concentration of 3 to 30 μM, inhibited IP3-induced Ca2+ release, while higher concentrations were required to inhibit cADPR-induced Ca2+ release. Cross-potentiation was observed between cADPR and ryanodine or SrCl2, suggesting that cADPR sensitizes the Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release mechanism. Cyclic AMP plays a stimulatory role on cADPR- and IP3-induced Ca2+ release in digitonin-permeabilized cells. Calmodulin also potentiated cADPR-induced Ca2+ release, but inhibited IP3-induced Ca2+ release. Acetylcholine and ryanodine caused the rise in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in intact submandibular and parotid cells. Caffeine did not produce any increase in Ca2+ release or [Ca 2+]i rise in any preparation. ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity was found in the centrifuged particulate fractions of the salivary glands. These results suggest that cADPR serves as an endogenous modulator of Ca 2+ release from Ca2+ pools through a caffeine-insensitive ryanodine receptor channel, which are different from IP3-sensitive pools in canine salivary gland cells. This system is positively regulated by cyclic AMP and calmodulin.
Effects of exercise on heart rate variability: inferences from meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION Chronic exercise training produces a resting bradycardia that is thought to be due partly to enhanced vagal modulation. PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of exercise training on heart rate and measures of heart rate variability associated with vagal cardiac modulation and to quantify the relationship between changes in these measures. METHODS A random effects model of effect size (d) for change in high frequency (HF) power and RR interval was calculated. Within-group heterogeneity was assessed using the Q statistic. Where heterogenous effects were found, subgroup analyses were performed using the between-group Q statistic. RESULTS A meta-analysis of 13 studies measuring HF (N=322 cases) produced an overall effect size of d=0.48 (C.I. 0.26-0.70, P=0.00003). Twelve studies (298 cases) reported a change in RR interval with an overall effect size of d=0.75 (C.I. 0.51-0.96, P<0.00001). Effect sizes for RR interval data were significantly heterogenous. Subgroup analysis revealed significantly smaller responses of RR interval to training in older subjects (P<0.1). Effect sizes for change in HF were homogenous, although a trend toward an attenuated response to training was exhibited in older subjects (P>0.10). Linear, quadratic, and cubic fits all revealed weak (P>0.05) relationships between effect sizes for change in HF and RR interval. DISCUSSION Exercise training results in significant increases in RR interval and HF power. These changes are influenced by study population age. The smaller effect size for HF and weak relationship between HF and RR interval suggest factors additional to increased vagal modulation are responsible for training bradycardia.
Discrete Trial Instruction: Comparing the Abbreviated Performance Feedback and Lecture Test Models

Discrete Trial Instruction: Comparing the Abbreviated Performance Feedback and Lecture Test Models by Tammy J. Dobbs MS, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 2010 MA, Walden University, 2005 BS, Chapman University, 2000 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University November 2014
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Requires Phosphate-Responsive Gene Regulation To Resist Host Immunity

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium tuberculosis persists in the tissues of mammalian hosts despite inducing a robust immune response dominated by the macrophage-activating cytokine gamma interferon (IFN-γ). We identified the M. tuberculosis phosphate-specific transport (Pst) system component PstA1 as a factor required to resist IFN-γ-dependent immunity. A ΔpstA1 mutant was fully virulent in IFN-γ−/− mice but attenuated in wild-type (WT) mice and mice lacking specific IFN-γ-inducible immune mechanisms: nitric oxide synthase (NOS2), phagosome-associated p47 GTPase (Irgm1), or phagocyte oxidase (phox). These phenotypes suggest that ΔpstA1 bacteria are sensitized to an IFN-γ-dependent immune mechanism(s) other than NOS2, Irgm1, or phox. In other species, the Pst system has a secondary role as a negative regulator of phosphate starvation-responsive gene expression through an interaction with a two-component signal transduction system. In M. tuberculosis, we found that ΔpstA1 bacteria exhibited dysregulated gene expression during growth in phosphate-rich medium that was mediated by the two-component sensor kinase/response regulator system SenX3-RegX3. Remarkably, deletion of the regX3 gene suppressed the replication and virulence defects of ΔpstA1 bacteria in NOS2−/− mice, suggesting that M. tuberculosis requires the Pst system to negatively regulate activity of RegX3 in response to available phosphate in vivo. We therefore speculate that inorganic phosphate is readily available during replication in the lung and is an important signal controlling M. tuberculosis gene expression via the Pst-SenX3-RegX3 signal transduction system. Inability to sense this environmental signal, due to Pst deficiency, results in dysregulation of gene expression and sensitization of the bacteria to the host immune response.
Antagonistically actuated compliant joint: Torque and stiffness control

The current research effort in the design of lightweight and safe robots is resulting in increased interest for the development of variable stiffness actuators. Antagonistic pneumatic muscle actuators (pMAs) have been proposed for this purpose, due to their inherent nonlinear spring behavior resulting from both air compressibility and their nonlinear force-length relation. This paper addresses the simultaneous torque and stiffness control of an antagonistically actuated joint with pneumatic muscles driven by compact, fast-switching solenoid valves. This strategy allows compensation of unmodeled joint dynamics while adjusting the joint stiffness depending on the task requirements. The proposed controller is based on a sliding mode force control applied to an average model of the valve-pneumatic muscle system. This was necessary to cope with both the well known model uncertainties of the pMA and the discontinuous on-off behavior of the solenoid valves. Preliminary experimental results verified the effectiveness of the proposed implementation.
Rectal Hyposensitivity

Impaired or blunted rectal sensation, termed rectal hyposensitivity (RH), which is defined clinically as elevated sensory thresholds to rectal balloon distension, is associated with disorders of hindgut function, characterised primarily by symptoms of constipation and fecal incontinence. However, its role in symptom generation and the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the sensory dysfunction remain incompletely understood, although there is evidence that RH may be due to 'primary' disruption of the afferent pathway, 'secondary' to abnormal rectal biomechanics, or to both. Nevertheless, correction of RH by various interventions (behavioural, neuromodulation, surgical) is associated with, and may be responsible for, symptomatic improvement. This review provides a contemporary overview of RH, focusing on diagnosis, clinical associations, pathophysiology, and treatment paradigms.
[The multi-level Meta analysis model combining individual level data with aggregative level data].

OBJECTIVE To explore the multi-level Meta analysis model combining individual level data with aggregative level data and its application in medicine. METHODS The difference in respect to "decreased hemoglobin A(1c)" between treatment with roglizatone and treatment without roglizatone was obtained by combining individual level data from clinical trial of roglizatone natrium with aggregative level data from literatures. This endeavor was regarded as an example to construct the multi-level Meta analysis model combining individual level data with aggregative level data. RESULTS The baseline hemoglobin A(1c) was 9% and the dose of drug was 4 mg per day. The average difference in "decreased hemoglobin A(1c)" between treatment with and without roglizatone was 0. 464%, with a 95% CI from 0.168% to 0.760%. CONCLUSION In case that individual data are available, the multi-level Meta analysis model combining individual level data with aggregative level data can utilize the data resources adequately and the results obtained should be more accurate.
Concepts and Relations in Neurally Inspired In Situ Concept-Based Computing

In situ concept-based computing is based on the notion that conceptual representations in the human brain are “in situ. ” In this way, they are grounded in perception and action. Examples are neuronal assemblies, whose connection structures develop over time and are distributed over different brain areas. In situ concepts representations cannot be copied or duplicated because that will disrupt their connection structure, and thus the meaning of these concepts. Higher-level cognitive processes, as found in language and reasoning, can be performed with in situ concepts by embedding them in specialized neurally inspired “blackboards. ” The interactions between the in situ concepts and the blackboards form the basis for in situ concept computing architectures. In these architectures, memory (concepts) and processing are interwoven, in contrast with the separation between memory and processing found in Von Neumann architectures. Because the further development of Von Neumann computing (more, faster, yet power limited) is questionable, in situ concept computing might be an alternative for concept-based computing. In situ concept computing will be illustrated with a recently developed BABI reasoning task. Neurorobotics can play an important role in the development of in situ concept computing because of the development of in situ concept representations derived in scenarios as needed for reasoning tasks. Neurorobotics would also benefit from power limited and in situ concept computing.
Making Sense of Literacy Portfolios: A Four-Step Plan.

i/i As we visit classrooms to observe student teachers, it is obvious that the use of portfolio assessment has become an accepted practice in secondary schools. Generally the portfolios are used to showcase student competence and provide teachers with greater insight into student progress. Although we consistently see inventive portfolios, the critical issues of reliability and validity for this type of assessment are rarely addressed. This article outlines a four-step portfolio plan that takes into consideration the integrity of portfolios as measurement tools, and describes steps teachers can follow to reduce the frustration