Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A study on interference detection scheme using AIC for UWB MB-OFDM systems

Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) spectrum causes interference to primary wireless communication systems whose spectra overlap the UWB band because UWB systems make use of huge bandwidth compared with the primary systems. Therefore, we have to implement Detect-And-Avoid (DAA) techniques to detect the primary system and control the signal transmitted from the UWB devices. Although there is the energy detection scheme for detecting the primary signal based on a threshold, it is difficult to find an appropriate threshold. In this paper, we investigate a novel detection scheme for UWB Multi-Band OFDM system. The proposed method detects the presence of the primary system using estimates of the primary signal and the noise variance based on the maximum likelihood criterion. Moreover, we introduce Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) in order to select the most suitable primary signal model out of some possible models. As a result, the proposed method dynamically find the threshold to detect the presence of the primary signal in sharp contrast to the conventional energy detection method which uses a static threshold. By the computer simulations, we show that the proposed method outperforms the conventional method with respect to missed-detection and false-detection probabilities.
Training human activity recognition for labels with inaccurate time stamps

We generally use supervised learning when performing activity recognition using mobile sensor devices such as smartphones. In this application, case data associated with the sensor information and type of action is required. However, there is a possibility that a time shift occurs because this association is done manually on the audio and video that has been acquired along with the sensor information. In this paper, we propose a method of activity recognition that can recognize correct actions even if there is a time gap. In this method, we add labels that shift the original learning data label. We also implement multi-label machine learning. In addition, we propose a method for repeated learning based on the Expectation-Maximization(EM) algorithm. To evaluate this method, we conducted an experiment that recognized three types of behavior using a Naive Bayes classifier. In the evaluation, we pieced together three types of human action data into one dataset called pseudo sequence data. We slid the action labels of the pseudo sequence data and examined whether the recognition rate was improved by our proposed method. The results show that the proposed method can perform activity recognition with high accuracy, even if the action labels times are shifted.
Advanced Glycation End Products Are Direct Modulators of β-Cell Function

OBJECTIVE Excess accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) contributes to aging and chronic diseases. We aimed to obtain evidence that exposure to AGEs plays a role in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The effect of AGEs was examined on insulin secretion by MIN6N8 cells and mouse islets and in vivo in three separate rodent models: AGE-injected or high AGE–fed Sprague-Dawley rats and nonobese diabetic (NODLt) mice. Rodents were also treated with the AGE-lowering agent alagebrium. RESULTS β-Cells exposed to AGEs displayed acute glucose-stimulated insulin secretory defects, mitochondrial abnormalities including excess superoxide generation, a decline in ATP content, loss of MnSOD activity, reduced calcium flux, and increased glucose uptake, all of which were improved with alagebrium treatment or with MnSOD adenoviral overexpression. Isolated mouse islets exposed to AGEs had decreased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, increased mitochondrial superoxide production, and depletion of ATP content, which were improved with alagebrium or with MnTBAP, an SOD mimetic. In rats, transient or chronic exposure to AGEs caused progressive insulin secretory defects, superoxide generation, and β-cell death, ameliorated with alagebrium. NODLt mice had increased circulating AGEs in association with an increase in islet mitochondrial superoxide generation, which was prevented by alagebrium, which also reduced the incidence of autoimmune diabetes. Finally, at-risk children who progressed to T1D had higher AGE concentrations than matched nonprogressors. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that AGEs directly cause insulin secretory defects, most likely by impairing mitochondrial function, which may contribute to the development of T1D.
Impoverished environment, cognition, aging and dementia

Abstract Animals living in an impoverished environment, i.e., without the possibility of physical and social activity, perform worse on cognitive tests compared to animals in an enriched environment. The same cognitive difference is also observed in humans. However, it is not clear whether this difference is caused by a decrease in cognition due to an impoverished environment or an increase due to an enriched environment. This review discusses the impact of an impoverished environment on cognition in animal experimental studies and human experimental studies with community-dwelling and institutionalized older people. Results show that the cognitive functioning of old rats is more affected by an impoverished environment than young rats. Similarly, sedentary and lonely people (impoverished environment) have worse cognitive functioning and show a faster cognitive decline than physically and socially active people. Institutionalization further aggravates cognitive decline, probably due to the impoverished environment of nursing homes. In institutions, residents spend an unnecessary and excessive amount of time in bed; out of bed they show mainly sedentary or completely passive behavior. In conclusion, older people, especially those that have been institutionalized, have poor levels of physical and social activity, which in turn has a negative impact on cognitive functioning.
Large-scale SOP minimization using decomposition and functional properties

In some cases, minimum sum-of-products (SOP) expressions of Boolean functions can be derived by detecting decomposition and observing the functional properties such as unateness, instead of applying the classical minimization algorithms. This paper presents a systematic study of such situations and develops a divide-and-conquer algorithm for SOP minimization, which can dramatically reduce the computational effort, without sacrificing the minimality of the solutions. The algorithm is used as a preprocessor to a general-purpose exact or heuristic minimizer, such as ESPRESSO. The experimental results show significant improvements in runtime. The exact solutions for some large MCNC benchmark functions are reported for the first time.
A qualitative analysis of clients' experience of non-response to psychological therapy

Introduction: There has been an expansion of research into psychotherapy outcomes for both clients who improve and clients who deteriorate as a result of therapy. However, those who fail to respond to therapy have been overlooked. Estimates of non-response to therapy vary from 14% to 60%, yet research with this client group is lacking. Additionally, research suggests therapists are limited in their ability to predict negative outcomes in therapy. If this is equivalent for non-response to therapy, our ability to respond appropriately to these clients may be an issue that needs addressing further. This study aims to begin to understand what sense clients make of therapy which, they feel, has brought about no change. Method: Eight clients who had completed a course of therapy within psychological therapy services (6+ sessions) and subjectively felt that they had not benefitted from this were interviewed about their experience. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed to allow an in depth, inductive study of a new area, in order to develop a model of participants’ experiences. Results: Five themes emerged regarding the therapy experience; ‘what I expected’, ‘how I found my therapist’, ‘what was therapy like’, ‘external influences’ and ‘what I am left with’. These were brought together into a model which allowed further meaning to be drawn from the accounts and the experience understood as a process. Discussion: The analysis and model were explored in relation to the available literature. This included consideration of attachment theory in relation to managing therapy expectations, facilitating emotional expression and length of therapy required, in addition to seeking further clarity with regard to what is meant by the term ‘non-response’ in psychological therapy. Novel findings of this research were examined in the context of the strengths and limitations of this particular study. From this, areas of future research and potential clinical impactions were considered.
Data Compression and Feature Extraction of Ecg Signals

The paper deals with an efficient composite method which has been developed for data compression, signal retrieval and feature extraction of ECG signals. After carrying out detailed studies and by training different topologies of error-back-propagation (EBP) artificial neural network (ANN) with respect to variations in number of hidden layers and number of elements in each hidden layer, the best topology with two hidden layers and four elements in each hidden layer has been finalized for ECG data compression using a Military Hospital (MH) data base. Thereafter, detailed investigations have been carried out with a network topology of 335-4-4-335 using CSE data base. After signal retrieval from the compressed data, it has been found that the network not only compresses the data, but also improves the quality of retrieved ECG signal with respect to elimination of high-frequency interference present in the original signal. The compression ratio (CR) in ANN method increases with increase in number of ECG cycle.
Investigative Interviews of Children: A Guide for Helping Professionals

Interviewing Children for investigative purposes is a specialized skill. Professional interviewers need to be able to conduct interviews that bear scrutiny from outside agencies and also serve the best interests of children. In clear, engaging language, this book corrects the common misunderstandings about adult-child conversational exchanges and provides guidelines for interviewers, based on the most up-to-date research. It also presents a flexible interview protocol that can be tailored to meet individual needs. Investigative Interviews of Children will be invaluable not only to child protection workers, lawyers, law enforcement officers, and psychologists, but also to other mental health professionals, educators, and parents.
Selective decreased grey matter volume of the pain-matrix network in cluster headache

Aim: We assessed the pattern of regional white matter and grey matter abnormalities in patients with cluster headache (CH), using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Methods: Using a 3.0 Tesla scanner, dual-echo, diffusion tensor and 3D T1-weighted scan were acquired from 15 patients with episodic CH and 19 healthy controls. TBSS analysis was performed using the FMRIB's Diffusion Toolbox. VBM was performed on the 3D T1-weighted images using SPM8. Results: No diffusivity and volumetry abnormalities of brain white matter were detected in CH patients. Compared with controls, CH patients showed decreased grey matter volume in the right thalamus, head of the right caudate nucleus, right precentral gyrus, right posterior cingulate cortex, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule and left insula (p < 0.001). They also had increased grey matter volume of the right cuneus. The results did not change after hemisphere mirroring in the five patients with left lateralized attacks. The decreased left middle frontal gyrus volume was significantly correlated with disease duration (r = −0.79, p < 0.001). Conclusion: CH patients experience tissue abnormalities of grey matter regions that are part of the antinociceptive system, which is shared with other chronic pain conditions.
Socially synchronized circadian oscillators

Daily rhythms of physiology and behaviour are governed by an endogenous timekeeping mechanism (a circadian ‘clock’). The alternation of environmental light and darkness synchronizes (entrains) these rhythms to the natural day–night cycle, and underlying mechanisms have been investigated using singly housed animals in the laboratory. But, most species ordinarily would not live out their lives in such seclusion; in their natural habitats, they interact with other individuals, and some live in colonies with highly developed social structures requiring temporal synchronization. Social cues may thus be critical to the adaptive function of the circadian system, but elucidating their role and the responsible mechanisms has proven elusive. Here, we highlight three model systems that are now being applied to understanding the biology of socially synchronized circadian oscillators: the fruitfly, with its powerful array of molecular genetic tools; the honeybee, with its complex natural society and clear division of labour; and, at a different level of biological organization, the rodent suprachiasmatic nucleus, site of the brain's circadian clock, with its network of mutually coupled single-cell oscillators. Analyses at the ‘group’ level of circadian organization will likely generate a more complex, but ultimately more comprehensive, view of clocks and rhythms and their contribution to fitness in nature.
Cardinality Estimation for Large-Scale RFID Systems

Counting the number of RFID tags (cardinality) is a fundamental problem for large-scale RFID systems. Not only does it satisfy some real application requirements, it also acts as an important aid for RFID identification. Due to the extremely long processing time, slotted ALOHA-based or tree-based arbitration protocols are often impractical for many applications, because tags are usually attached to moving objects and they may have left the readers interrogation region before being counted. Recently, estimation schemes have been proposed to count the approximate number of tags. Most of them, however, suffer from two scalability problems: time inefficiency and multiple-reading. Without resolving these problems, large-scale RFID systems cannot easily apply the estimation scheme as well as the corresponding identification. In this paper, we present the Lottery Frame (LoF) estimation scheme, which can achieve high accuracy, low latency, and scalability. LoF estimates the tag numbers by utilizing the collision information. We show the significant advantages, e.g., high accuracy, short processing time, and low overhead, of the proposed LoF scheme through analysis and simulations.
Nonlinear and Multisectoral Macrodynamics: Essays in Honour of Richard Goodwin

Part 1 Biographical and introductory: Richard Goodwin retrospective, J.K. Galbraith the (nonlinear) life and (economic) times of Richard M.Goodwin, Kumaraswamy Velupillai. Part 2 Nonlinear macrodynamics: Goodwin's growth cycle - reminiscence and rumination, Robert M.Solow deterministic chaos in economics - an occurrence in axiomatic utility theory, Paul A.Samuelson a model of cyclical growth, Richard Stone observations concerning the growth cycle, Andrew Brody a reconsideration of Frisch's original cycle model, Bjorn Thalberg social rigidities, growth cycles and development planning, Amiya Kumar Bagchi. Part 3 Multisectoral macrodynamics: normalized general co-ordinates and vertically integrated sectors in a simple case, Luigi L.Pasinetti a comparison between Goodwin's normalized general co-ordinates and Pasinetti's vertical integration methods, Terenzio Cozzi generalized diagonal co-ordinates in dynamical analysis and capital and distribution theory, Lionello F.Punzo. Part 4 Exotica: the specification of error terms, Jan Tinbergen rationality in disequilibrium, Siro Lombardini probabilistic causality and econnomic models - Suppes, Keynes and Granger, Alessandro Vercelli.
Modulation of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression by Red Blood Cell Aggregation

The effects of enhanced re d blood cell (RBC) aggregation on nitric oxide (NO) dependent vascular control mechanisms have been investigated in a rat exchange transfusion model. RBC aggregation for cells in native plasma was increased via a novel method using RBC covalently coated w ith a 13 kDa poloxamer copolymer (Pluronic F98); control experiments used RBC coated with a non-aggregating 8.4 kDa poloxamer (Pluronic F68). Rats exchange-transfused with aggregating RBC suspensions demonstrated significantly enhanced RBC aggregation throughout the five day follow-up period, with mean arterial blood pressure increasing gradually over this period. Arterial segments (≈ 300 µm diameter) were isolated from gracilis muscle on the fifth day and mounted between two glass micropipettes in a special chamber equipped with pressure servo control system. Dose dependent dilation by acetylcholine and flow-mediated dilation of arterial segments pressurized to 30 mmHg and pre-constricted to 45-55% of the original diameter by phenylephrine were significantly blunted in rats with enhanced RBC aggregation. Both responses were totally abolished by non-specific NOS inhibitor (L-NAME) treatment of arterial segments, indicating that the responses were NO-related. Additionally, expression of eNOS protein was found to be decreased in muscle samples obtained from rats exchanged with aggregating cell suspensions. These results imply that enhanced RBC aggregation results in suppressed expression of NO synthesizing mechanisms, thereby leading to altered vasomotor tonus: the mechanisms involved most likely relate to decreased wall shear stresses due to decreased blood flow and/or increased axial accumulation of RBC.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Open Access the Ethnobotany of Christ's Thorn Jujube (ziziphus Spina-christi) in Israel

This article surveys the ethnobotany of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. in the Middle East from It is suggested that this is the only tree species considered "holy" by Muslims (all the individuals of the species are sanctified by religion) in addition to its status as "sacred tree " (particular trees which are venerated due to historical or magical events related to them, regardless of their botanical identity) in the Middle East. It has also a special status as "blessed tree" among the Druze.
Protein Kinase Cα and P-Type Ca2+ Channel CaV2.1 in Red Blood Cell Calcium Signalling

Background/Aims: Protein kinase Cα (PKCα) is activated by an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ in red blood cells (RBCs). Previous work has suggested that PKCα directly stimulates the CaV2.1 channel, whereas other studies revealed that CaV2.1 is insensitive to activation by PKC. The aim of this study was to resolve this discrepancy. Methods: We performed experiments based on a single cell read-out of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration in terms of Fluo-4 fluorescence intensity and phosphatidylserine exposure to the external membrane leaflet. Measurement modalities included flow cytometry and live cell imaging. Results: Treatment of RBCs with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) led to two distinct populations of cells with an increase in intracellular Ca2+: a weak-responding and a strong-responding population. The EC50 of PMA for the number of cells with Ca2+ elevation was 2.7±1.2 µM; for phosphatidylserine exposure to the external membrane surface, it was 2.8±0.5 µM; and for RBC haemolysis, it was 2.9±0.5 µM. Using pharmacological manipulation with the CaV2.1 inhibitor ω-agatoxin TK and the broad protein kinase C inhibitor Gö6983, we are able to show that there are two independent PMA-activated Ca2+ entry processes: the first is independent of CaV2.1 and directly PKCα-activated, while the second is associated with a likely indirect activation of CaV2.1. Further studies using lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) as a stimulation agent have provided additional evidence that PKCα and CaV2.1 are not directly interconnected in a signalling chain. Conclusion: Although we provide evidence for a lack of interaction between PKCα and CaV2.1 in RBCs, further studies are required to decipher the signalling relationship between LPA, PKCα and CaV2.1.
Modeling the Location Selection of Mirror Servers in Content Delivery Networks

For a provider of a Content Delivery Network (CDN), the location selection of mirror servers is a complex optimization problem. Generally, the objective is to place the nodes centralized such that all customers have convenient access to the service according to their demands. It is an instance of the k-center problem, which is proven to be NP-hard. Determining reasonable server locations directly influences run time effects and future service costs. We model, simulate, and optimize the properties of a content delivery network. Specifically, considering the server locations in a network infrastructure with prioritized customers and weighted connections. A simulation model for the servers is necessary to analyze the caching behavior in accordance to the targeted customer requests. We analyze the problem and compare different optimization strategies. For our simulation, we employ various realistic scenarios and evaluate several performance indicators. Our new optimization approach shows a significant improvement. The presented results are generally applicable to other domains with k-center problems, e.g., the placement of military bases, the planning and placement of facility locations, or data mining.
Long-Term Clinical Responses of Neoadjuvant Dendritic Cell Infusions and Radiation in Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Purpose. Patients with large >5 cm, high-grade resectable soft tissue sarcomas (STS) have the highest risk of distant metastases. Previously we have shown that dendritic cell (DC) based vaccines show consistent immune responses. Methods. This was a Phase I single institution study of neoadjuvant radiation with DC injections on 18 newly diagnosed high-risk STS patients. Neoadjuvant treatment consisted of 50 Gy of external beam radiation (EBRT), given in 25 fractions delivered five days/week, combined with four intratumoral injections of DCs followed by complete resection. The primary endpoint was to establish the immunological response to neoadjuvant therapy and obtain data on its clinical safety and outcomes. Results. There were no unexpected toxicities or serious adverse events. Twelve out of 18 (67%) patients were alive, of which an encouraging 11/18 (61%) were alive with no systemic recurrence over a period of 2–8 years. Favorable immunological responses correlated with clinical responses in some cases. Conclusions. This study provides clinical support to using dendritic cell injections along with radiation in sarcomas, which when used optimally in combination can help clinical outcomes in soft tissue sarcoma. Study registration number is NCT00365872.
Acoustic ear recognition for person identification

In this paper we investigate how the acoustic properties of the pinna-i.e., the outer flap of the ear- and the ear canal can be used as a biometric. The acoustic properties can be measured relatively easy with an inexpensive sensor and feature vectors can be derived with little effort. We achieve equal error rates in the order of 1.5%-7%, depending on the application device that is used to do the measurement.