Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Analysis of Blind Adaptive MOE Multiuser Receivers Using Inverse QRD-RLS Algorithm

The inverse QR (IQRD) recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm (IQRD-RLS) is very popular because it has good numerical stability and can be mapped onto COordinate Rotation DIgital Computer (CORDIC) processor-based systolic arrays, which are suitable for very large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI) architecture and real-time applications. In this paper, the blind optimal minimum output energy (MOE) detector which is developed for multiuser detection (MUD) in direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems is implemented using the linearly constrained IQRD-RLS algorithm. Specifically, the max/min approach is combined with subspace tracking for producing the optimal MOE multiuser detector. A new fast subspace tracking algorithm based on Lagrange multiplier methodology and the IQRD-RLS algorithm is developed. A comparative analysis among the recently emerged channel-estimation techniques is conducted using the IQRD-RLS algorithm. The corresponding robust MOE receivers at low SNR are implemented using the IQRD method, and their performances are assessed in terms of SINR, BER, and computational complexity. A robust multiuser receiver is developed by adding a quadratic inequality constraint to the optimal max/min MOE detector. The feasibility of systolic array implementation of the IQRD-based optimal MOE detector is explored. Several simulation experiments are conducted in a severe near-far environment to analyze the IQRD-based receivers and the subspace tracking algorithms.
The Fra(X) syndrome: neurological, electrophysiological, and neuropathological abnormalities.

We have evaluated 62 fragile X syndrome [fra(X)] individuals (55 males and 7 females) with different degrees of developmental disabilities that were clinically non-progressive and non-focal in character. The mean age for the 55 males was 23.1 years +/- 14.3 SD with a range of 2-70: for the 7 females, the mean age was 15.7 years +/- 3.5 SD with a range of 10-20 years. Mental retardation (MR) was found in 53 males (8/53 [15.1%] mild, 26/53 [49.1%] moderate, 14/53 [26.4%] severe, and 5/53 [9.4%] profound). Learning disabilities were found in 2/55 (3.6%) of males. One of the 7 females had mild and one had moderate MR: the other 5 were learning disabled. Autistic stigmata were present in 10/62 (16%) of the patients. Only 14/62 (23%) had a history of seizures, all of which were controlled with anticonvulsants. In 36/62 cases, an electroencephalogram (EEG) was performed. We compared these data with that of others. Brain stem auditory evoked response (BAER) was performed in 12 cases. Abnormalities were found in only 5/12. Neuroimaging and computerized cranial transaxial tomography (CT scan) were performed on 21/62 (34%) of the patients. Only 8 of these 21 (38%) studies were abnormal. One patient died; neuropathological studies showed mild brain atrophy, with light microscopic and ultrastructural abnormalities. Rapid Golgi dendritic spine patterns showed that the proximal apical segments were abnormally developed. Very thin, long tortuous spines with prominent terminal heads and irregular dilatations were present. Marked reductions in the length of the synapses, as determined on EPTA-postfixed tissue where noted. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Isolation of thermotolerant species of Campylobacter from river water using two collection methods

Campylobacter jejuni y C. Coli son agentes zoonoticos de infecciones intestinales que pueden contaminar cuerpos de agua. Varios brotes de gastroenteritis por Campylobacter asociados al consumo de agua han sido descritos. En este estudio se compara el rendimiento de los metodos de la torula de Moore (MSM) y de filtracion por membrana para el aislamiento de Campylobacter en 181 muestras de agua obtenidas del curso urbano del rio Calle-Calle. En el 24.3% de las muestras obtenidas por MSM y en el 7.2% de las obtenidas por MFM fue posible aislar especies termotolerantes de Campylobacter, siendo C. Coli aislado en mayor proporcion que C. Jejuni. Los resultados sugieren que MSM es un metodo eficiente para el aislamiento de estas bacterias a partir de agua.
Difference-Equations Solution of Exchange Rate Dynamics

The paper focuses on an appropriate and consistent theoretical as well as empirical model of the rational-expectations version of the asset-market approach to exchange rate determination. Using a "sticky-price" monetary model, and formulating the model by a difference-equations system, explicit solutions are obtained as functions of forcing variables extending to past dates only. This "backward-looking" characteristic of the solution is in stark contrast to conventional "forward-looking" models, and alleviates empirical investigation because of the need for past data only. This discrete dynamic model is superior to the corresponding continuous model, because its solutions neither exhibit the empirically unfounded "overshooting" behavior, nor have saddle-point (in)stability. Rather, the exchange rate is shown to follow an oscillatory path with asymptotic stability, and this seems to replicate the actual movements closely approximated by a random-walk process. Copyright 2002 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
32. Increasing the Impact of Canadian Research on Teaching and Learning in Post-Secondary Education

This paper builds on an inquiry process initiated during a session at the 2008 Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education conference. The goal was to promote scholarly research on teaching, learning, and educational development in Canadian post-secondary institutions by identifying and prioritizing research issues, and emerging collaborative strategies for inquiry into these issues. We reflect on the initial outcomes of the session and on strategies to increase the impact of research on teaching and learning in our institutions.
Patents, Invalidity, and the Strategic Transmission of Enabling Information

The patent system encourages innovation and knowledge disclosure by providing exclusivity to inventors. Exclusivity is limited, however, because a substantial fraction of patents have some probability of being ruled invalid when challenged in court. The possibility of invalidity-and an ensuing market competition-suggests that when an innovator's capability (e.g., cost of production) is private information, there is potential value to an innovator from signaling strong capability via a disclosure that transfers technical knowledge to a competitor. We model a product-innovation setting in which a valid patent gives market exclusivity and find a unique signaling equilibrium. One might expect that as the probability that a patent will be invalid becomes low, greater disclosure will be induced. We do not find this expectation to be generally supported. Further, even where full disclosure arises in equilibrium, it is only the less capable who make full disclosures. The equilibrium analysis also highlights many of the novel and appealing features of enabling knowledge disclosure signals. Copyright (c) 2003 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A Note on Teaching the Yuan-Dollar Market vis-a-vis China's Dollar Holdings

The economic relationship between China and the U.S. is sufficiently ubiquitous in the media that few students will be unacquainted with the issue. Connecting the dots between China’s export-led growth, current account surpluses, currency peg, and its reserves (whether held by the central bank or in a sovereign wealth fund) is a key task in any undergraduate course that touches on the global economy. The present note proposes a method for understanding the relationship between two items in this list, the currency peg and reserves. Maintaining exchange rates different from equilibrium (as China has done) has consequences for the quantities of currencies that have to be bought and sold. The dollars accumulated have to be held in some form – a fact which also has had far reaching consequences for the global economy. The paper proposes using currency offer curves to facilitate teaching fixed exchange rates to undergraduates. Our method helps students “see” the process of pegging the yuan and the resulting accumulation of dollars.
Heat Stability of Maize Endosperm ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Is Enhanced by Insertion of a Cysteine in the N Terminus of the Small Subunit1

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) is a key regulatory enzyme in starch biosynthesis. However, plant AGPases differ in several parameters, including spatial and temporal expression, allosteric regulation, and heat stability. AGPases of cereal endosperms are heat labile, while those in other tissues, such as the potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuber, are heat stable. Sequence comparisons of heat-stable and heat-labile AGPases identified an N-terminal motif unique to heat-stable enzymes. Insertion of this motif into recombinant maize (Zea mays) endosperm AGPase increased the half-life at 58°C more than 70-fold. Km values for physiological substrates were unaffected, although Kcat was doubled. A cysteine within the inserted motif gives rise to small subunit homodimers not found in the wild-type maize enzyme. Placement of this N-terminal motif into a mosaic small subunit containing the N terminus from maize endosperm and the C terminus from potato tuber AGPase increases heat stability more than 300-fold.
Singapore-India relations : a primer

This primer on Singapore-India relations seeks to present a comprehensive framework within which to appreciate the multi-dimensional (namely, the historical, social, political, cultural and economic) facets of Singapore's linkages with India. It includes topics such as The Indian Economy: Past Progress, Recent Reforms and Medium-term Potentials; Singapore-India Economic Relations: Exploring Synergies for Mutual Benefit; Indian Financial System and Development Opportunities; Human Resources Complementarities between Singapore and India; and Legal Framework for Doing Business in India.
Three-year result of efficacy for type 2 diabetes mellitus control between laparoscopic duodenojejunal bypass compared with laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Purpose The mechanism by which bariatric surgery facilitates diabetic control is still unknown. Duodenojejunal bypass supports the foregut theory; however, its efficacy when used alone is not yet established. Methods During the period from January 2008 to December 2009, patients who underwent laparoscopic duodenojejunal bypass (LDJB) or laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with or without morbid obesity were included. Patients who had a follow-up for less than 3 years were excluded. Patient baseline characteristics, change of body weight, body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and diabetic treatments were analyzed. Results In total, 8 LDJB and 20 LRYGB patients were analyzed. The LDJB group had more number of male patients than the LRYGB group (LDJB 75% vs. LRYGB 30%, P = 0.030). Baseline BMI in the LRYGB group was higher than in the LDJB group (LDJB 27.0 ± 2.5 vs. LRYGB 32.6 ± 3.4, P < 0.001). Age, DM duration, baseline HbA1c, and C-peptide levels were similar. Longer operation time was needed to perform LDJB (LDJB 367.5 ± 120.2 vs. LRYGB 232.9 ± 41.1, P < 0.001), but no differences were observed in the hospital stay and complication rate between the 2 groups. At the third year of follow-up, the T2DM remission rate was observed in 40% of patients in the LRYGB group and 12.5% of patients in the LDJB group. Conclusion LDJB is not an effective method for controlling T2DM compared with LRYGB. Foregut theory may not be the main mechanism of diabetic control during bariatric surgery.
How close to their offensive potential do national football league teams play

This paper presents preliminary results about how close to their offensive potential teams in the National Football League (NFL) play. Our study extends the work of previous researchers in several ways. First, we are the first to investigate the efficiency of professional football teams. Secondly, we utilize a panel data set covering the seasons 1989 to 1993 for all 28 NFL teams. Thirdly we estimate a frontir for the offensive teams. By estimating a stochastic production frontier model on a panel data set of NFL teams we find that many teams have played very close to their offensive potentials. For example, teams could have scored around one point more in each game than they actually did. This shows that these NFL teams are excellent, on average, at exploiting their talent - which seems reasonable.
Positioning Political Parties: The 2005 UK General Election

After identifying the paucity of positioning research relating to political marketing the construct is defined and practical examples of its application in politics provided. The analysis of the 2005 election starts by considering the long term framing of political issues and concludes that this, overall, provided Labour with a competitive advantage. Next the positioning dilemmas facing the three national parties in British politics at the start of the campaign are highlighted. Using a basic positioning model, the positioning strategies followed during the campaign itself are then discussed, both in terms of policies and image/emotional positioning approaches. The attempts by the opposition parties to reposition Labour and the latter's defensive reactions are discussed at this point. Then, the way the wider positioning of the parties was targeted at electoral segments is considered. The paper concludes with an attempt to explain the election result in terms of the relative success or failure of the positioning strategies adopted.
Operations of a Pension Fund after the Asian Crisis: The Thai Experience*

During and after the Asian crisis, institutional investors and pension funds in Asian financial markets have been confronted with a number of difficulties effecting their performance and the way they carry out their role within the national pension system. We analyze these problems by comparing the actual investment policy of an institutional investor with an optimal investment strategy derived from the insights of modern portfolio theory. We also analyze whether the organizational set-up of a pension fund allows it to adequately perform its role within the pension system. As an example, we examine the operations of the Thai Government Pension Fund (GPF). We find that allowing international investments and reducing restrictions on equity investments while lowering the implicit requirements for investments in government debt would allow the GPF to further diversify its investment risk and to increase its risk-adjusted return. We also show that some changes in the governance structure of the GPF would lower the occurrence of conflicts of interest for the management and increase the efficiency of the GPF operations. Copyright 2004 East Asian Economic Association.
Sustainable Tourism and Policy Implementation: Lessons from the Case of Calviá, Spain

To date there is much literature identifying the need for sustainable tourism and for policy to address this need, however, there are few studies addressing sustainable tourism at a practical level or the effectiveness of policy implementation. This research focuses on the operational level of policy in order to gain a greater understanding of the barriers and possible solutions to implementation of sustainable tourism policy. This research focused on one of the Mediterranean's most popular sun, sea and sand tourist resorts – Calviá, located in Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Calviá is an example of a mass tourism destination which, from a result of tourism pressure in the late 1980s, faced significant economic, social and environmental decline. By taking an integrated and collaborative approach to implement a sustainable tourism policy [using the participatory process of Local Agenda 21 (LA21)] Calviá received much international acclaim. This descriptive case study outlines the motivations behind establishing a sustainable tourism policy, the process, successes and barriers of implementation and lessons learned. By outlining sustainable tourism policy from development to evaluation, this case study hopes to provide recommendations for other destinations who aim to work towards sustainable tourism goals.
Similar changes in muscle lipid metabolism are induced by chronic high‐fructose feeding and high‐fat feeding in C57BL/J6 mice

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of high fructose and high fat feeding on muscle lipid metabolism and to illustrate the mechanisms by which the two different dietary factors induce muscle lipid accumulation. C57BL/J6 mice were fed either a standard, high‐fructose (HFru) or high‐fat diet. After 16 weeks feeding, mice were killed and plasma triglyceride (TG) and free fatty acid (FFA) levels were detected. In addition, muscle TG and long chain acyl CoA (LCACoA) content was determined, glucose tolerance was evaluated and the protein content of fatty acid translocase CD36 (FATCD36) in muscle was measured. Mitochondrial oxidative function in the muscle was evaluated by estimating the activity of oxidative enzymes, namely cytochrome oxidase (COx), citrate synthase (CS) and β‐hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (β‐HAD), and the muscle protein content of carnitine palmitoyltransferase‐1 (CPT‐1), cyclo‐oxygenase (COX)‐1 and proliferator‐activated receptor coactivator (PGC)‐1α was determined. Finally, sterol regulatory element‐binding protein‐1c (SREBP‐1c) gene expression and fatty acid synthase (FAS) protein content were determined in muscle tissues. After 16 weeks, plasma TG and FFA levels were significantly increased in both the HFru and HF groups. In addition, mice in both groups exhibited significant increases in muscle TG and LCACoA content. Compared with mice fed the standard diet (control group), those in the HFru and HF groups developed glucose intolerance and exhibited increased FATCD36 protein levels, enzyme activity related to fatty acid utilization in the mitochondria and protein expressions of CPT‐1, COX‐1 and PGC‐1α in muscle tissue. Finally, mice in both the HFru and HF groups exhibited increase SREBP‐1c expression and FAS protein content. In conclusion, high fructose and high fat feeding lead to similar changes in muscle lipid metabolism in C57BL/J6 mice. Lipid accumulation in the muscle may be associated with increased expression of proteins related to lipid transportation and synthesis.
Pollution Prevention—Occupational Safety and Health in Hospitals: Alternatives and Interventions

An integrated pollution prevention (P2) and occupational safety and health (OSH) worksite intervention and alternatives assessment strategy was developed in hospitals. It was called the Pollution Prevention-Occupational Safety and Health (P2OSH) assessment for the “Sustainable Hospitals Project. ” Methods included (a) developing a participatory intervention model for introducing more environmentally sound, healthy, and safe materials and work practices for specific hospital procedures; (b) developing an integrated P2OSH survey to evaluate environmental and occupational impacts of the intervention; and (c) conducting and evaluating interventions by applying the P2OSH assessment pre- and post-intervention. Eleven interventions were performed in six hospitals: an aliphatic fixative replaced xylene in three histology laboratories; a mercury reduction plan was implemented in three clinical laboratories; digital imaging replaced wet chemical film processing in three radiology departments; a less toxic aldehyde replaced formaldehyde in one hospital histopathology laboratory; and conventional mopping was replaced by microfiber mopping in one hospital. Occupational and environmental health and safety impacts were observed for all interventions. The alternatives generally were beneficial, although each had limitations that resulted in process and task changes with potentially negative P2 and/or OSH impacts. When these were identified in the pilot phase they could be addressed before full-scale implementation. The P2OSH method shifts the focus of occupational and environmental hygiene from hazard control to substitution. Because few ideal alternatives exist, the emphasis is on a continuous process to identify, implement, and evaluate alternatives, rather than on a particular alternative. Occupational and environmental health and safety professionals have an important role as agents in hospital organizational change and in the search for healthier and safer alternatives. Through these activities they can become involved in the design/redesign of products, materials, and processes, thus expanding their traditional role.
Complex network analysis based adaptive differential evolution

Differential Evolution is a powerful stochastic population-based evolutionary algorithm for continuous functions optimisation. Unfortunately, it is not free of problems of possible premature convergence and stagnation. Many attempts have been made to remedy these issues and improve the performance and reliability through either self-adaptive parameters and strategies, or by controlling the population topology. In this paper, the adaptive approach based on analysis of complex network modelling the exchange of information in the population is presented. Two variants of Adaptive DE algorithm based on this mechanism are introduced and their performance compared against original DE, showing that Adaptive DE outperforms DE in many of the benchmark problems.
Increased Tunel Positive Cells in CA1, CA2, and CA3 Subfields of Rat Hippocampus Due to Copper and Ethanol Co-Exposure

Copper (Cu) is an essential element for life. However, it is toxic at excessive doses, whereas exposure to ethanol (EtOH) has known to cause morphological changes, degeneration, and neuronal loss in central nervous system. A previous investigation by the authors’ group showed that Cu and EtOH co-treatment cause severe hippocampal neuronal loss in CA1, CA2, and CA3 subfields of rat hippocampus. This study was designed to analyze the possible mechanism(s) of action of this effect. In addition, the possible neurogenesis in response to a potent neurodegenerative treatment in rat hippocampus was analyzed. Results demonstrated that Cu and EtOH induced neuronal loss in rat hippocampus was in correlation with the increased cell death analyzed on the basis of TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. On the other hand, neuronal regenerative activity was detectable in analyzed CA1, CA2, and CA3 subfields of the rat hippocampus analyzed on the basis of 5-bromo-2′-deoxy-uridine (BrdU) labeling assay; however, this activity in treated group was not significantly different from that of control group.
Anaesthesia for eye surgery: general considerations.

Ophthalmic surgeons rarely deal with life-threatening problems, although the diseases may be distressing, inconvenient or disfiguring. Nevertheless, eye conditions assume great importance to the sufferer, because the threat or fear of blindness is always in the background. Many patients presenting for eye surgery suffer from coincidental illness which makes them poor risks for anaesthesia. These include cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes and renal disorders. The infirmities of old age are such that the preservation and restoration of eyesight is of great importance, particularly to those whose horizons may be limited to their homes and their television screens. Whilst many patients will not pose serious problems to the trained anaesthetist some, including the very young and the very old, will tax the skills of even the most experienced. Perhaps it is this aspect, coupled with the limited nature of the surgery, which makes ophthalmic practice one of the most rewarding fields in which to participate. This paper will consider the practical problems which the anaesthetist encounters in eye surgery, and indicates various ways in which these can be overcome.