Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pragmatic Space-Time Codes for Cooperative Relaying in Block Fading Channels

We address the problem of construction of space-time codes for cooperative communications in block fading channels. More precisely, we consider a pragmatic approach based on the concatenation of convolutional codes and BPSK/QPSK modulation to obtain cooperative codes for relay networks, for which we derive the pairwise error probability, an asymptotic bound for frame error probability, and a design criterion to optimize both diversity and coding gain. Based on this framework, we set up a code search procedure to obtain a set of good pragmatic space-time codes (P-STCs) with overlay construction, suitable for cooperative communication with a variable number of relays in quasistatic channel, which outperform in terms of coding gain other space-time codes (STCs) proposed in the literature. We also find that, despite the fact that the implementation of pragmatic space-time codes requires standard convolutional encoders and Viterbi decoders with suitable generators and branch metric, thus having low complexity, they perform quite well in block fading channels, including quasistatic channel, even with a low number of states and relays.
The Role of Social Capital, Commitment, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Improving Job Performance(Case Study: Khoy Municipality)

Today, municipality is counted as one of the largest social bodies. Its effectiveness requires appropriately organizational structure and employees’ commitment to increase performance. Managers should concentrate on attitude and behavior of service staff through cultural background, behavioral patterns, and managerial styles in order to obtain higher quality services. Thus, social capital results in achievement of members’ objectives by creating norms and mutual trust and it prepares a suitable ground for efficiency of human, financial, and economic capital. In this regard, this research investigates the impact of social capital on job performance by considering issues such as employees’ commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors. Statistical population includes 140 headquarters staff of Khoy Municipality. This research method is descriptive and correlational. Data were collected by questionnaire. In order to measure validity, the first and second order confirmatory factor analysis was used. To determine reliability, Cronbach’s alpha was used. Data were analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicated positive impact of social capital on employees’ commitment, organizational citizenship behaviors, and job performance. However, the positive impact of employees’ commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors on their job performance was confirmed. As a result, it can be stated that improvement of processes related to employees’ commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors, affected by factors such as social capital, results in improvement of employees’ job performance.
Adult periodontal-derived neural progenitor and stem cells

The application is in the field of neural stem cells (NSCs) and cellular therapy. It aims to identify and characterize neural progenitor and stem cells from adult periodontal tissue. Neural progenitor and stem cells were isolated and characterized from periodontal tissue originating from biopsies of adult patients. Adult human periodontal-derived neural progenitor and stem cells can be induced to differentiate into neuronal and glial cells, osteoblasts and cells of the periodontium. They survive and integrate when transplanted into organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. The application claims the use of periodontal neural progenitor and stem cells for cellular therapy, particularly for the treatment of the periodontal diseases and neurodegenerative diseases and neurological injuries. Periodontal tissue can be harvested with minimal invasive procedures from the patient himself, providing a promising source of tissue for NSC-based therapy and autologous transplantation.
Face Recognition from Multiple Images per Subject

For face recognition, we show that knowing that each subject corresponds to multiple face images can improve classification performance. For domains such as video surveillance, it is easy to deduce which group of images belong to the same subject; in domains such as family album identification, we lose group membership information but there is still a group of images for each subject. We define these two types of problems as multiple faces per subject. In this paper, we propose a Bipart framework to take advantage of this group information in the testing set as well as in the training set. From these two sources of information, two models are learned independently and combined to form a unified discriminative distance space. Furthermore, this framework is generalized to allow both subspace learning and distance metric learning methods to take advantage of this group information. Bipart is evaluated on the multiple faces per subject problem using several benchmark datasets, including video and static image data, subjects of various ages, various lighting conditions, and many facial expressions. Comparisons against state-of-the-art distance and subspace learning methods demonstrate much better performance when utilizing group information with the Bipart framework.
Analyzing Neural MT Search and Model Performance

In this paper, we offer an in-depth analysis about the modeling and search performance. We address the question if a more complex search algorithm is necessary. Furthermore, we investigate the question if more complex models which might only be applicable during rescoring are promising. By separating the search space and the modeling using n-best list reranking, we analyze the influence of both parts of an NMT system independently. By comparing differently performing NMT systems, we show that the better translation is already in the search space of the translation systems with less performance. This results indicate that the current search algorithms are sufficient for the NMT systems. Furthermore, we could show that even a relatively small n-best list of 50 hypotheses already contain notably better translations.
Tehlikeli Araç Kullanma: Kamuda Çalışan Şoförlerin Emniyet Kemeri Kullanımı

Bu calismanin amaci degisik kosullarda emniyet kemeri kullanimina etki eden faktorleri incelemektir. Suruculerin emniyet kemeri kullanimi ile ilgili belirtmis olduklari tutumlar ile cesitli davranis ve tutumlari incelenerek her ne kadar jandarma ve polis emniyet kemeri kontrolu yapsa da bazi suruculerin neden emniyet kemeri kullanmadiklari anlasilmaya calisilmistir. Sonuclar, emniyet kemeri ve trafik guvenligiyle ilgili programlari takip eden ve trafikte daha az heyecan arayan kisilerin daha buyuk olasilikla emniyet kemeri kullandiklarini gostermistir. Bununla birlikte, katilimcilarin saldirgan tutumlari ve polis ve kameralarin varligi da katilimcilarin bazi sartlarda emniyet kemeri kullanmalarina yol actigini gostermistir. Ancak, sonuclar suruculerin kaza gecirme ile ilgili algilarinin emniyet kemeri kullanmalarina bir etkisinin olmadigini gostermistir.
Proving completeness by logic

We first give a proof of SAT's NP-completeness based upon a syntactic characterization of NP given by Fagin in 1974. We illustrate the central part of our proof by giving examples of how two well-known problems, MAX INDEPENDENT SET and 3-COLORING, can be expressed in terms of CNF. This new proof is, in some sense, ‘more constructive’ than Cook's classical one, as we need only to show how an NP problem can be expressed in terms of a second-order logical formula. Next, inspired by Fagin's characterization, we propose a logical characterization for the class NP-optimization (NPO), i.e., the class of optimization problems, the decision versions of which are in NP. Based upon this new characterization, we demonstrate the Min-NPO-completeness of MIN WSAT under strict reductions.
The Religion-Health Connection: Evidence, Theory, and Future Directions

The volume and quality of research on what we term the religion-health connection have increased markedly in recent years. This interest in the complex relationships between religion and mental and physical health is being fueled by energetic and innovative research programs in several fields, including sociology, psychology, health behavior and health education, psychiatry, gerontology, and social epidemiology. This article has three main objectives: (1) to briefly review the medical and epidemiologic research on religious factors and both physical health and mental health; (2) to identify the most promising explanatory mechanisms for religious effects on health, giving particular attention to the relationships between religious factors and the central constructs of the life stress paradigm, which guides most current social and behavioral research on health outcomes; and (3) to critique previous work on religion and health, pointing out limitations and promising new research directions.
Finite element analysis of the influence of geometry and design of zirconia crowns on stress distribution.

PURPOSE To evaluate the influence of the geometry and design of prosthetic crown preparations on stress distribution in compression tests, using finite element analysis (FEA). MATERIALS AND METHODS Six combinations of 3D drawings of all-ceramic crowns (yttria-stabilized zirconia framework and porcelain veneer) were evaluated: F, flat preparation and simplified crown; FC, flat preparation and crown with contact point; FCM, flat preparation and modified crown; A, anatomical preparation and simplified anatomical crown framework; AC, anatomical preparation and crown with contact point; and ACM, anatomical preparation and modified crown. Bonded contact types at all interfaces with the mesh were assigned, and the material properties used were according to the literature. A 200 N vertical load was applied at the center of each model. The maximum principal stresses were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. RESULTS The highest values of tensile stress were observed at the interface between the ceramics in the region under the load application for the simplified models (F and A). Reductions in stress values were observed for the model with the anatomical preparation and modified infrastructure (ACM). The stress distribution in the flat models was similar to that of their respective anatomical models. CONCLUSIONS The modified design of the zirconia coping reduces the stress concentration at the interface with the veneer ceramic, and the simplified preparation can exert a stress distribution similar to that of the anatomical preparation at and near the load point, when load is applied to the center of the crown.
Influence of Intracardiac Pressure on Spontaneous Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients With Systolic Heart Failure: Insights From the REDUCEhf Trial

Background—The implantation of a combination hemodynamic monitor-cardioverter-defibrillator in the Reducing Decompensation Events Utilizing Intracardiac Pressures in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure (REDUCEhf) study allowed assessment of the relationship between daily intracardiac pressure and occurrence of ventricular arrhythmic (VT/VF) events. Methods and Results—Median estimated pulmonary artery diastolic pressures (ePAD) were calculated every 24 hours in 378 subjects with New York Heart Association functional class II-III heart failure who had at least 60 days of hemodynamic data. Forty-six subjects experienced 140 VT/VF events on 80 unique study days in which daily median ePAD was available. The incidence of days with VT/VF events was significantly higher when the daily median ePAD for a subject was elevated, defined as >1 SD above that subject’s average median ePAD for the whole study: (2.8 episode days per patient-year compared with 1.7 episode days per patient-year; P=0.040). However, the incidence of days with VT/VF events was not significantly different on days when ePAD was >25 mm Hg compared with days when ePAD was <25 mm Hg. For all 378 subjects, the risk of VT/VF increased with average median ePAD calculated over the whole follow-up period (odds ratio, 1.072 for a 1-mm Hg increase; 95% confidence interval, 1.023–1.124; P=0.003). Conclusions—There is significant positive association between average daily median ePAD and risk for VT/VF. Among patients with VT/VF, elevated intracardiac pressures are associated with higher VT/VF risk only when the definition of increased pressure is subject specific.
Digital signets: self-enforcing protection of digital information (preliminary version)

The problem of protecting digital content software, video, documents, music, etc. – from illegal redistribution by an authorized user, is the focus of considerable industrial and academic effort. In the absence of special-purpose tamperproof hardware, the problem has no cryptographically secure solution: once a legitimate user has purchased the cent ent, the user, by definition, has access to the material and can therefore capture it and redistribute it. A number of techniques have been suggested or are currently employed to make redistribution either inconvenient or traceable. In this paper we introduce digital signets, a new technique for protecting digital content from illegal redistribution. The work motivates the study of the previously unexamined class of incompressible functions, analysis of which adds a cryptographic twist to communication complexity.
Visual pattern discovery in image and video data: a brief survey

In image and video data, visual pattern refers to re‐occurring composition of visual primitives. Such visual patterns extract the essence of the image and video data that convey rich information. However, unlike frequent patterns in transaction data, there are considerable visual content variations and complex spatial structures among visual primitives, which make effective exploration of visual patterns a challenging task. Many methods have been proposed to address the problem of visual pattern discovery during the past decade. In this article, we provide a review of the major progress in visual pattern discovery. We categorize the existing methods into two groups: bottom‐up pattern discovery and top‐down pattern modeling. The bottom‐up pattern discovery method starts with unordered visual primitives followed by merging the primitives until larger visual patterns are found. In contrast, the top‐down method starts with the modeling of visual primitive compositions and then infers the pattern discovery result. A summary of related applications is also presented. At the end we identify the open issues for future research. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2014, 4:24–37. doi: 10.1002/widm.1110
Assessment of Antioxidant and Phenolic Compound Concentrations as well as Xanthine Oxidase and Tyrosinase Inhibitory Properties of Different Extracts of Pleurotus citrinopileatus Fruiting Bodies

Abstract Cellular damage caused by reactive oxygen species has been implicated in several diseases, thus establishing a significant role for antioxidants in maintaining human health. Acetone, methanol, and hot water extracts of Pleurotus citrinopileatus were evaluated for their antioxidant activities against β-carotene-linoleic acid and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, reducing power, ferrous ion-chelating abilities, and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities. In addition, the tyrosinase inhibitory effects and phenolic compound contents of the extracts were also analyzed. Methanol and acetone extracts of P. citrinopileatus showed stronger inhibition of β-carotene-linoleic acid compared to the hot water extract. Methanol extract (8 mg/mL) showed a significantly high reducing power of 2.92 compared to the other extracts. The hot water extract was more effective than the acetone and methanole extracts for scavenging DPPH radicals. The strongest chelating effect (92.72%) was obtained with 1.0 mg/mL of acetone extract. High performance liquid chromatography analysis detected eight phenolic compounds, including gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, naringenin, hesperetin, formononetin, and biochanin-A, in an acetonitrile and hydrochloric acid (5 : 1) solvent extract. Xanthine oxidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of the acetone, methanol, and hot water extracts increased with increasing concentration. This study suggests that fruiting bodies of P. citrinopileatus can potentially be used as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants.
Nonlinear PWM controller for a single-phase half bridge AC-DC converters

The problem of controlling half bridge single phase unity power factor rectifier circuit is considered. The control objectives are to achieve i) output regulation and ii) near unity power factor in the presence of an uncertain load. The considered problem is dealt with using a double-loop controller developed on the basis of the system nonlinear model. The inner-loop is designed using Lyapunov technique to cope with the PFC issue. The outer-loop is designed to regulate the converter output voltage. The obtained regulator is shown to meet its objectives namely a tight output voltage regulation, a power factor correction, and robustness with respect to load changes. The proposed controller has been simulated using MATLAB-SIMULINK environment to illustrate its features.
Statin-sensitive dysregulated AT1 receptor function and density in hypercholesterolemic men.

BACKGROUND Hypercholesterolemia causes an upregulation of vascular angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor expression in cell culture and animal models. The presented studies were undertaken to examine AT1 receptor overexpression in hypercholesterolemic men and therapeutic interventions thereof by HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). METHODS AND RESULTS Effects of AT1 receptor activation were measured by assessing the blood pressure increase after infusion of angiotensin II in normo- (cholesterol 181+/-11 mg/dL) and hypercholesterolemic (cholesterol 294+/-10 mg/dL) men (n=19 and 20, respectively). AT1 receptor expression was assessed on isolated platelets. Some patients were investigated before and after cholesterol-lowering therapy with statins. Hypercholesterolemia led to a significant increase of angiotensin II-induced blood pressure elevation. AT1 receptor expression was significantly enhanced in hypercholesterolemic individuals (B(max)=5.2+/-1.2 fmol/mg protein) compared with normocholesterolemic men (B(max)=2.1+/-0.2 fmol/mg protein). Cholesterol-lowering treatment with statins reversed the elevated blood pressure response to angiotensin II infusion (P<0.05) and downregulated AT1 receptor density (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Hypercholesterolemia induces AT1 receptor overexpression and enhances biological effects of angiotensin II in men. These findings provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of hypertension and atherosclerosis and may initiate rational and new therapeutic concepts.
Product Review: The Explanation of Crime: Context, Mechanisms and Development

er goals are brushed aside quite so quickly. And one might also wonder how the various measures of recidivism used can be reconciled. For example, with regard to academic education and life skills programs, rearrest and return to prison are the two measures used—but these measure very different things. For adult boot camp programs, an astonishing 11 measures of recidivism are used for 25 different samples. Finally, and perhaps most worrying, is the sense of certainty that What Works in Corrections offers. In the final chapter there is a list of programs that work and another of programs that do not work. The implication for policymakers is clear—use the former and forget the latter. But we are no further forward with the real question of why some programs work and others do not (and if we follow the methodological prescription on offer here, we will never move forward). Without knowing this, it becomes difficult to replicate effective programs and learn from the failures. The contested nature of research, the shifting sands that represent the reality of social science research, are nowhere in evidence. Dr. MacKenzie (and her colleagues in the CCCJG) would appear to be quite willing to judge criminological research according to their own methodological standards—something that academics have always done—but the group’s success in receiving funding from the U.S., UK and Canadian governments makes such attempts to impose standards rather disturbing. Science is surely about encouraging debate, not trying to close it off. What Works in Corrections is far more than just another academic study. It is not too much to claim that it is part of a battle that is currently being waged between academics— a battle whose outcome will have profound implications for criminological (and other social scientific) research. The Explanation of Crime: Context, Mechanisms and Development, edited by PerOlof H. Wikström and Robert J. Sampson. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 305 pp. $72.00 cloth. ISBN: 0521857074.
Towards a Standards-based Approach to e-Learning Personalization using Reusable Learning Objects

e-Learning systems that produce personalized course offerings for the learner are often expensive, both from a time and financial perspective, to develop and maintain. Learning content personalized to a learners’ cognitive preferences has been shown to produce more effective learning, however many approaches to realizing this form of personalization involve considerable re-authoring of existing learning material. To reduce the implementation overhead on the content author and course designer it is imperative to facilitate the maximum reuse of learning resources. This paper investigates a standards-based approach to delivering personalized learning content to learners using WWW technologies. Detailed is an implementation of a personalized e-Learning service, called the OPen Adaptive Learning Environment (OPAL), which is based on delivering content personalized to the learner’s cognitive and presentation learning preferences using aggregation models based on ADL SCORM (ADL).
A 6Gbps Serial Link Transmitter with Pre-emphasis

In this paper, we propose a novel 6Gbps SATA transmitter. The transmitter is constructed by PISO, driver, pre-emphasis and PLL for a 1-5 meter cable. A test chip of transmitter with PLL and on-chip termination is implemented to verify the design methodology. The overall circuit is implemented in TSMC 0.18 mum 1P6M 1.8 V CMOS process. The whole measured transmitter jitter is about 44ps and the power consumption is 68 mW for 6Gbps case.
Real‐time black‐blood MRI using spatial presaturation

A real‐time interactive black‐blood imaging system is described. Rapid blood suppression is achieved by exciting and dephasing slabs outside the imaging slice before each imaging excitation. Sharp‐profiled radio frequency saturation pulses placed close to the imaging slice provide good blood suppression, even in views containing slow through‐plane flow. In vivo results indicate that this technique improves endocardial border definition during systole in real‐time cardiac wall‐motion studies. Phantom and animal results indicate that this technique nearly eliminates flow artifacts in real‐time intravascular studies. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;13:807–812. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.