Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Technologically Driven Disorder on Spin Dynamics in ${\rm La}_{0.9}{\rm Ca}_{0.1}{\rm MnO}_{3}$ Manganites in Mid-to-Far Critical Range

Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements were used to probe spin dynamics over mid-to-far critical range for four samples of different structural forms of La0.9Ca0. 1MnO3. As a result of different fabrication routes, these samples contain different imperfections which may have specific impacts on temperature dependence of the EPR linewidth. An analysis of critical spin relaxation speedup, manifested by sharp increase of the linewidth and Onsager kinetic coefficient when approaching to magnetic transition points, was carried out using two critical exponents derived from dynamic and static scaling laws. Deviations of these exponents from theoretical bounds were proposed to be hallmarks of the disorder types.
Maternal adiposity as an independent risk factor for pre‐eclampsia: a meta‐analysis of prospective cohort studies

Studies investigating the association between maternal adiposity and risk of pre‐eclampsia showed contradictory results. Therefore, we performed a meta‐analysis of prospective cohort studies to estimate the effect of maternal adiposity on pre‐eclampsia. We reviewed 1,286 abstracts and finally included 29 prospective cohort studies with 1,980,761 participants and 67,075 pre‐eclampsia events. We pooled data with a random‐effects model, and obtained risk estimates for five predetermined bodyweight groups: low, normal‐weight (reference), overweight, obese and severely obese. In the cohort studies that unadjusted for pre‐eclampsia risk factors, the pooled unadjusted relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for pre‐eclampsia of overweight, obese and severely obese women were 1.58 (95% CI 1.44–1.72, P < 0.001), 2.68 (95% CI 2.39–3.01, P < 0.001) and 3.12 (95% CI 2.24–4.36, P < 0.001), respectively. In those cohorts that adjusted for pre‐eclampsia risk factors, the pooled unadjusted RRs for pre‐eclampsia of overweight, obese and severely obese women were 1.70 (95% CI 1.60–1.81, P < 0.001), 2.93 (95% CI 2.58–3.33, P < 0.001) and 4.14 (95% CI 3.61–4.75, P < 0.001), respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed maternal adiposity was associated with increased risk of pre‐eclampsia in both nulliparous and multiparas women. In conclusion, overweight or obese pregnant women have a substantially increased risk of pre‐eclampsia, and maternal adiposity is an independent risk factor of pre‐eclampsia.
Models of evolution

Different ways in which evolution can be modelled will be reviewed. Two asexual models - ‘Muller’s ratchet’ and a model due to Eigen and Schuster - both lead to the conclusion that the accuracy of replication must reach a limiting value, but the details are different. In classic population genetics models, difficulties arise if fitnesses depend on interactions with others. Two approaches - ‘trait group’ methods, and game theory - are discussed. If the interacting individuals are relatives, there is again a choice between the exact ‘neighbour-modulated fitness’ approach and the more intuitive ‘inclusive fitness’ method. A more drastic change in the nature of the model arises if the units of the evolving system are not individual organisms, but either genes or species. There are conceptual difficulties which must be clarified before species selection can be analysed mathematically.
Biomechanical Evaluation of Different Techniques in Double Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using Finite Element Analysis

Anterior cruciate ligament injuries commonly in traffic accident, sports activities and extreme sports. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is a common practice to help the patients restore the knee stability. However, there is no previous comparison study of single bundle reconstruction, double-femoral double-tibial tunnel reconstruction, single-femoral double-tibial tunnel reconstruction, and double-femoral single-tibial tunnel reconstruction with respect to biomechanical characteristics such as rotational stability, force and stress inside the ligament and grafts, stresses inside the soft tissues. In this study, we developed a pair of three-dimensional finite element models of a lower extremity including femur, tibia, fibula, cartilage, meniscus, and four major ligaments at 0°，25°，60° and 80°of knee flexion. Based on the intact models, single bundle reconstruction, double-femoral double-tibial tunnel reconstruction, single-femoral double-tibial tunnel reconstruction, and double-femoral single-tibial tunnel reconstruction models were also developed. Then, the anterior tibial translations, the forces and stresses inside the ACL and ACL replacements, as well as the stresses inside the menisci, femoral and tibial cartilage were predicted under a combined rotatory load of 10Nm valgus moment and 5 Nm internal torque, respectively using finite element analysis. The rotational stability, ligament forces and stresses in the menisci, femoral and tibial cartilage following double bundle augmentation were superior to the other reconstruction techniques, while there is little advantage in ligament stress compared to that of the single bundle reconstruction. We conclude that double-femoral double-tibial tunnel reconstruction may have advantages with regard to biomechanical characteristics such as rotational stability, force inside the ligament and grafts, stresses inside the soft tissues.
Micromechanical modeling of internal erosion

ABSTRACT Suffusion is the internal erosion process by which finer soil particles are detached from the solid matrix, and transported through constrictions by seepage flow. At the macroscopic scale, this is a bulk erosion process and corresponds to a source term in the mass balance equations. This paper constitutes a step towards bridging the gap between the counter intuitive bulk erosion model and our intuition that erosion is essentially an interfacial process. We suggest that a framework within suffusion can be viewed as a clay/water interface erosion at the microsopic scale. The coefficient of surface erosion appears to be a relevant parameter for the suffusion bulk erosion law. The comparison between the results of the present modeling study and previously published experimental data supports the validity of our approach.
Evolutionary origins of the vertebrate heart: Specification of the cardiac lineage in Ciona intestinalis

Here we exploit the extensive cell lineage information and streamlined genome of the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, to investigate heart development in a basal chordate. Several cardiac genes were analyzed, including the sole Ciona ortholog of the Drosophila tinman gene, and tissue-specific enhancers were isolated for some of the genes. Conserved sequence motifs within these enhancers facilitated the isolation of a heart enhancer for the Ciona Hand-like gene. Altogether, these studies provide a regulatory framework for the differentiation of the cardiac mesoderm, beginning at the 110-cell stage, and extending through the fusion of cardiac progenitors during tail elongation. The cardiac lineage shares a common origin with the germ line, and zygotic transcription is first detected in the heart progenitors only after its separation from the germ line at the 64-cell stage. We propose that germ-line determinants influence the specification of the cardiac mesoderm, both by inhibiting inductive signals required for the development of noncardiac mesoderm lineages, and by providing a localized source of Wnt-5 and other signals required for heart development. We discuss the possibility that the germ line also influences the specification of the vertebrate heart.
The compressed permuterm index

The Permuterm index [Garfield 1976] is a time-efficient and elegant solution to the string dictionary problem in which pattern queries may possibly include one wild-card symbol (called Tolerant Retrieval problem). Unfortunately the Permuterm index is space inefficient because it quadruples the dictionary size. In this article we propose the Compressed Permuterm Index which solves the Tolerant Retrieval problem in time proportional to the length of the searched pattern, and space close to the kth order empirical entropy of the indexed dictionary. We also design a dynamic version of this index that allows to efficiently manage insertion in, and deletion from, the dictionary of individual strings. The result is based on a simple variant of the Burrows-Wheeler Transform, defined on a dictionary of strings of variable length, that allows to efficiently solve the Tolerant Retrieval problem via known (dynamic) compressed indexes [Navarro and Mäkinen 2007]. We will complement our theoretical study with a significant set of experiments that show that the Compressed Permuterm Index supports fast queries within a space occupancy that is close to the one achievable by compressing the string dictionary via gzip or bzip. This improves known approaches based on Front-Coding [Witten et al. 1999] by more than 50% in absolute space occupancy, still guaranteeing comparable query time.
NOISE CANCELLATION IN STOCHASTIC WIRELESS CHANNELS USING CODING AND ADAPTIVE FILTERING

Wireless communication with fading as a major impairment along with other phenomena gives rise to noise in the channel. One of the major issues in wireless communication is to cancel out noise effects primarily when the propagation medium demonstrates stochastic behavior. Data transmission in noisy communication channel is controlled with the help of error control coding. Also, the elimination of noise is effective with the help of adaptive filters as these track the variations in the input signal compared to a given reference signal. In this paper, we explore certain methods of noise cancellation using error correction coding as well as adaptive filter trained with Least Mean Square (LMS), Normalised Least Mean Square (NLMS) and Recursive Least Square (RLS) algorithm. The experiments performed show satisfactory results in severely faded Nakagami-m channels. The work formulates a methodology for developing certain insight into the use of error control coding and adaptive filtering to fight fading in wireless channel. General Terms Algorithms
A Class of Weiss–Weinstein Bounds and Its Relationship With the Bobrovsky–Mayer-Wolf–Zakaï Bounds

A fairly general class of Bayesian “large-error” lower bounds of the Weiss–Weinstein family, essentially free from regularity conditions on the probability density functions support, and for which a limiting form yields a generalized Bayesian Cramér–Rao bound (BCRB), is introduced. In a large number of cases, the generalized BCRB appears to be the Bobrovsky–Mayer-Wolf–Zakai bound (BMZB). Interestingly enough, a regularized form of the Bobrovsky–Zakai bound (BZB), applicable when the support of the prior is a constrained parameter set, is obtained. Modified Weiss–Weinstein bound and BZB which limiting form is the BMZB are proposed, in expectation of an increased tightness in the threshold region. Some of the proposed results are exemplified with a reference problem in signal processing: the Gaussian observation model with parameterized mean and uniform prior.
Direct Density Derivative Estimation

Abstract Estimating the derivatives of probability density functions is an essential step in statistical data analysis. A naive approach to estimate the derivatives is to first perform density estimation and then compute its derivatives. However, this approach can be unreliable because a good density estimator does not necessarily mean a good density derivative estimator. To cope with this problem, in this letter, we propose a novel method that directly estimates density derivatives without going through density estimation. The proposed method provides computationally efficient estimation for the derivatives of any order on multidimensional data with a hyperparameter tuning method and achieves the optimal parametric convergence rate. We further discuss an extension of the proposed method by applying regularized multitask learning and a general framework for density derivative estimation based on Bregman divergences. Applications of the proposed method to nonparametric Kullback-Leibler divergence approximation and bandwidth matrix selection in kernel density estimation are also explored.
Synergetic cooperation in a distributed base station system

Cooperation in wireless communications is an attractive means to gain spectral efficiency or diversity. Typically, cooperation is studied at the level of an individual end-to-end link. On the other hand, the primary goal of the the protocol proposed herein is not the improvement of individual link quality, but rather to improve global resource utilization throughout the network in the context of a distributed base station system. A simple Alamouti-type cooperative protocol for mobiles with half-duplex air interfaces is presented. The effect of cooperation on the overall network in terms of resource availability, connection capacity, and offered quality of service is studied via emulation of an agent-system organizing the distributed base station model. Despite the limitations of the simplistic cooperation protocol used, it is shown that cooperation yields improved performance through synergistic effects at the system level.
Using clustering and visualization for refining the results of a WWW image search engine

Search engines are useful because they allow the user to find information of interest from the World-Wide Web. We have developed a WWW search engine called AMORE that allows users to find images on the Web. However, like textual search engines, AMORE sometimes retrieves a lot of results. Showing the retrieved images as pages of scrolled list, like other search engines, is not very userfriendly. Therefore, we have developed a query result visualization environment that allows the user to organize the search results in a Java applet using various techniques; for example, the user can use text and image clustering. This paper presents the architecture of the system and discusses the text and image clustering algorithms. Examples are used to show the usefulness of the techniques. CR Categories: H.3. 3 [Information Storage and Retrieval]: Information Search and Retrieval-Clustering; H.5. 3 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Group and Organization Interfaces-Webbased interaction
The role of ruminants in reducing agriculture's carbon footprint in North America

Owing to the methane (CH4) produced by rumen fermentation, ruminants are a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) and are perceived as a problem. We propose that with appropriate regenerative crop and grazing management, ruminants not only reduce overall GHG emissions, but also facilitate provision of essential ecosystem services, increase soil carbon (C) sequestration, and reduce environmental damage. We tested our hypothesis by examining biophysical impacts and the magnitude of all GHG emissions from key agricultural production activities, including comparisons of arable- and pastoral-based agroecosystems. Our assessment shows that globally, GHG emissions from domestic ruminants represent 11.6% (1.58 Gt C y−1) of total anthropogenic emissions, while cropping and soil-associated emissions contribute 13.7% (1.86 Gt C y−1). The primary source is soil erosion (1 Gt C y−1), which in the United States alone is estimated at 1.72 Gt of soil y−1. Permanent cover of forage plants is highly effective in reducing soil erosion, and ruminants consuming only grazed forages under appropriate management result in more C sequestration than emissions. Incorporating forages and ruminants into regeneratively managed agroecosystems can elevate soil organic C, improve soil ecological function by minimizing the damage of tillage and inorganic fertilizers and biocides, and enhance biodiversity and wildlife habitat. We conclude that to ensure long-term sustainability and ecological resilience of agroecosystems, agricultural production should be guided by policies and regenerative management protocols that include ruminant grazing. Collectively, conservation agriculture supports ecologically healthy, resilient agroecosystems and simultaneously mitigates large quantities of anthropogenic GHG emissions.
Laplacian regularized low rank subspace clustering

The problem of fitting a union of subspaces to a collection of data points drawn from multiple subspaces is considered in this paper. In the traditional low rank representation model, the dictionary used to represent the data points is chosen as the data points themselves and thus the dictionary is corrupted with noise. This problem is solved in the low rank subspace clustering model which decomposes the corrupted data matrix as the sum of a clean and self-expressive dictionary plus a matrix of noise and gross errors. Also, the clustering results of the low rank representation model can be enhanced by using a graph of data similarity. This model is called Laplacian regularized low rank representation model with a graph regularization term added to the objective function. Inspired from the above two ideas, in this paper a Laplacian regularized low rank subspace clustering model is proposed. This model uses a clean dictionary to represent the data points and a graph regularization term is also incorporated in the objective function. Experimental results show that, compared with the traditional low rank representation model, low rank subspace clustering model and several other state-of-the-art subspace clustering model, the model proposed in this paper can get better subspace clustering results with lower clustering error.
QUILT: A Decode/Quantize-Interleave-Transmit approach to cooperative relaying

Physical layer cooperation of a source with a relay can significantly boost the performance of a wireless connection. However, the best practical relaying scheme can vary depending on the relative strengths of the channels that connect the source, relay and destination. This paper proposes and evaluates QUILT, a system for physical-layer relaying that seamlessly adapts to the underlying network configuration to achieve competitive or better performance as compared to the best current approaches. QUILT combines on-demand, opportunistic use of Decode-Forward (DF) or Quantize-Map-Forward (QMF) followed by interleaving at the relay, with hybrid decoding at the destination that extracts information from received frames even if these are not decodable. We theoretically quantify how our design choices for QUILT affect the system performance. We also deploy QUILT on the WarpLab software radio platform, and show through over-the-air experiments up to 5 times FER improvement over the next best cooperative protocol.
Challenges in relating concentrations of aromas and tastes with flavor features of foods

ABSTRACT Flavor sensations in food are highly influenced by the aroma and taste compounds. Reviewing the extensive literature of recent years in this field has shown that the reconstitution of flavor based on aroma and taste compounds poses numerous problems. These are of different nature and include among others (a) chemical transformations among these compounds, (b) changes in the concentrations of the compounds responsible for the perceived flavor, (c) interactions among the chemical compounds that enhance or reduce a specific flavor sensation, and finally, (d) the complexity of the different food matrices and its influence in the flavor perception. Another difficulty that flavor scientists must face is how to properly model and visualize the complex relationships existing between the chemical composition of foods and the flavor perception. These problems have repercussions on the reconstitution of the flavor signature of food based on the natural concentrations of its key aroma and taste compounds. Therefore, the main aim of this review is to deal with all these issues to propose potential solutions for a robust transformation in a science-based quality approach.
Apolipoprotein A-I-mediated efflux of sterols from oxidized LDL-loaded macrophages.

Although oxidized low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL) can accumulate in macrophages in vitro, generating cholesterol-loaded cells, little attention has been paid to the capacity of such macrophages loaded with OxLDL to export cholesterol and oxidized sterol moieties. In vitro lipid-loaded cells were generated by incubating primary cultures of mouse peritoneal macrophages with acetylated LDL (AcLDL) or OxLDL for 24 hours. The cellular content of native cholesterol, individual cholesteryl esters, and 7-ketocholesterol was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. These cells were then incubated with medium containing apolipoprotein (apo) A-I and albumin or albumin alone for up to 24 hours; cholesterol and oxidized sterol efflux were measured both in terms of intracellular depletion and extracellular accumulation. Macrophages loaded with AcLDL accumulated cholesterol and large quantities of cholesteryl esters, whereas OxLDL-loaded cells accumulated cholesterol, a number of oxidized compounds (predominantly 7-ketocholesterol), and a relatively small quantity of cholesteryl esters. AcLDL-derived cells released approximately 50% of their total cholesterol (unesterified and esterified) to apo A-I-containing medium over 24 hours in the form of unesterified cholesterol, whereas OxLDL-derived cells released approximately 30% of their total cholesterol and 7% of their total content of 7-ketocholesterol over the same period. There was minimal efflux of any sterol in the absence of apo A-I. The proportions of cholesterol and 7-ketocholesterol released by either AcLDL- or OxLDL-loaded cells were not reduced by inhibiting cellular acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyl transferase using Sandoz 58-035, despite substantial alterations in the proportions of both free cholesterol and (in OxLDL-loaded cells) free 7-ketocholesterol in these cells. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Vitamin D Receptor Genotype and the Risk of Bone Fractures in Women

Several studies have confirmed an initial report of a relation between bone density and polymorphic forms of the calcitriol (vitamin D) receptor gene, whereas others have failed to find an association. We examined whether variants of the vitamin D receptor gene are associated with the risk of bone fracture, using a nested case-control analysis within the Nurses' Health Study cohort. The study women all were Caucasian and were 43–69 years of age when they provided a blood sample. Cases included the 54 proximal femur (hip) fractures and 163 distal radius (forearm) fractures that occurred subsequent to the blood draw. Cases and controls were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction for the BsmI polymorphism. The BB genotype, previously associated with lower bone density, was associated with a more than twofold increased risk of hip fracture compared with the bb genotype. Risk was greater for women who were older, leaner, or less physically active or who had a lower calcium intake. The heterozygous genotype was not associated with any increased risk of hip fracture, and we observed little association between vitamin D receptor genotype and forearm fracture. This study supports an association between vitamin D receptor genotype and hip fracture. It also implies that modification by other risk factors may have contributed to the conflicting results from previous studies of vitamin D receptor genotype and femoral bone density. (Epidemiology 1998;9: 535–539)