Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
End-to-End and Mac-Layer Fair Rate Assignment in Interference Limited Wireless Access Networks

In this paper, the problem of end-to-end weighted max-min fair rate assignment in a two-channel multi-hop CDMA wireless access network is discussed. We show that end-to-end endweighted global max-min fairness (hierarchical as well as flow-based) can be achieved by simple extension of mac-layer fairness. In particular, we show that weighted end-to-end flow-based as well as hierarchical global max-min fairness can be simply insured if and only if weighted mac-layer max-min and weighted transport-layer max-min fair rates are achieved. The same results can easily be shown to be valid for more general wireless networks, which will be briefly discussed in this paper as well. In addition, we discuss a mac-layer algorithm, MAC-α G algorithm, that, with careful choice of parameters, not only provides weighted α-proportional fairness at the mac layer, but also leads to end-to-end weighted global max-min fairness (both flow-based and hierarchical) with an appropriate higher-layer protocol (i.e. weighted transport-layer max-min fair protocol).
Book Review: Identity, Learning and Support in Virtual Environments, Languages and Education in Africa: A Comparative and Transdisciplinary Analysis, Shades of Globalization in Three Early Childhood Settings: Views from India, South Africa, and Canada

This book explores the ways in which globalisation has affected early childhood education at the local level in terms of policy as well as teachers’ concrete practices. The authors take an ethnographic perspective in order to analyse three very different contexts located on three continents: Africa, Asia and North America. The work is interesting not only in terms of its findings, but also in terms of the methodology employed. Cleghorn & Prochner share some of the most important methodological problems they faced and the decisions they ultimately made concerning them. They understood that designing a questionnaire to distribute to a large sample of teachers would shed little light on the problems they had set out to explore, and would be unlikely to elicit a full depiction of teachers’ actual practices. With this in mind, the authors began to compile as many education policy documents as possible, especially those which most directly referred to education and early childhood care on the three selected continents. They selected three preschool centres in which to conduct their ethnographic study: Sunbeam in South Africa, Little Lake in Canada, and Tshwane in India. They conducted observations within and beyond the classrooms and engaged in frequent informal conversations with the teachers. The authors recognise that without the ethnographic observations, the research would not have yielded some of its most important insights. Cleghorn & Prochner
Expert Performance in Sports: Advances in Research on Sport Expertise

Part 1 The magic and the science of sport expertise - introduction to sport expertise research and this volume. Part 2 Where are we and how did we get there? : expert performance in sport - current perspectives and critical issues the development of elite performance and deliberate practice - an update from the perspective of the expert-performance approach. Part 3 Developing and retaining sport expertise: from play to practice - a developmental framework for the acquisition of expertise in team sport a search for deliberate practice - an examination of the practice environments in figure skating and volleyball tactics the neglected attribute of expertise - problem representations and performance skills in tennis expertise in sport judges and referees - circumventing information processing limitations expert athletes - an integrated approach to decision-making perceptual expertise - development in sport retaining expertise - what does it take for older expert athletes to continue to excel? Part 4 Novel ways of examining the characteristics of expertise and related theories: the development of expertise - the role of coaching, families and cultural contexts memory and expertise - what do experienced athletes remember? expert performance in sport - views from the joint perspectives of ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory. Part 5 The great debate - is a general theory of export performance achievable? : constraints and issues in the development of general theory of expert perceptual motor performance - a critique of the deliberate practice framework how the expert-performance approach differs from traditional approaches to expertise in sports - in search of a shared theoretical framework for studying expert performances.
Cannabidiol monotherapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the major products of the marijuana plant, is devoid of marijuana's typical psychological effects. In contrast, potential antipsychotic efficacy has been suggested based on preclinical and clinical data (Zuardi et al., 2002). In this report, we further investigated the efficacy and safety of CBD monotherapy in three patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). This was an in-patient study. All patients were given placebo for the initial 5 days, and from the 6th to 35th day (inclusive) they received CBD (initial oral dose of 40mg reaching 1280mg/day). On the 36th day, CBD treatment was discontinued and replaced by placebo for 5 days, which was subsequently switched to olanzapine for over 15 days. Efficacy, tolerability and side effects were assessed. One patient showed mild improvement, but two patients didn't show any improvement during CBD monotherapy. All patients tolerated CBD very well and no side effects were reported. These preliminary data suggest that CBD monotherapy may not be effective for TRS.
The Emerging Field of Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships are central in adolescents' lives. They have the potential to affect development positively, but also place adolescents at risk for problems. Romantic experiences change substantially over the course of adolescence; the peer context plays a critical role as heterosexual adolescents initially interact with the other sex in a group context, then begin group dating, and finally have dyadic romantic relationships. Adolescents' expectations and experiences in romantic relationships are related to their relationships with their peers as well as their parents. Although research on adolescents' romantic relationships has blossomed in the past decade, further work is needed to identify the causes and consequences of romantic experiences, examine the diversity of romantic experiences, and integrate the field with work on sexuality and adult romantic relationships.
Mesenchymal glioma stem cells are maintained by activated glycolytic metabolism involving aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A3

Tumor heterogeneity of high-grade glioma (HGG) is recognized by four clinically relevant subtypes based on core gene signatures. However, molecular signaling in glioma stem cells (GSCs) in individual HGG subtypes is poorly characterized. Here we identified and characterized two mutually exclusive GSC subtypes with distinct dysregulated signaling pathways. Analysis of mRNA profiles distinguished proneural (PN) from mesenchymal (Mes) GSCs and revealed a pronounced correlation with the corresponding PN or Mes HGGs. Mes GSCs displayed more aggressive phenotypes in vitro and as intracranial xenografts in mice. Further, Mes GSCs were markedly resistant to radiation compared with PN GSCs. The glycolytic pathway, comprising aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) family genes and in particular ALDH1A3, were enriched in Mes GSCs. Glycolytic activity and ALDH activity were significantly elevated in Mes GSCs but not in PN GSCs. Expression of ALDH1A3 was also increased in clinical HGG compared with low-grade glioma or normal brain tissue. Moreover, inhibition of ALDH1A3 attenuated the growth of Mes but not PN GSCs. Last, radiation treatment of PN GSCs up-regulated Mes-associated markers and down-regulated PN-associated markers, whereas inhibition of ALDH1A3 attenuated an irradiation-induced gain of Mes identity in PN GSCs. Taken together, our data suggest that two subtypes of GSCs, harboring distinct metabolic signaling pathways, represent intertumoral glioma heterogeneity and highlight previously unidentified roles of ALDH1A3-associated signaling that promotes aberrant proliferation of Mes HGGs and GSCs. Inhibition of ALDH1A3-mediated pathways therefore might provide a promising therapeutic approach for a subset of HGGs with the Mes signature.
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer Analysis for a Novel Heat Exchanger

1 Chapter 1.Introduction . 2 Chapter 2.Computational Domain and Mesh Generation . 7 2.1 Experimental test section . 7 2.2 Computational Domain . 8 2.3 Meshing and Spectral Convergence . 10 Chapter 3.Mathematical Model and Numerical Methods . 15 3.1 Boundary conditions . 15 3.2 Turbulent Flow Model . 16 3.3 k-ε RANS Model . 20 3.4 Heat Transfer Model . 22 3.5 Solution Procedure . 23 Chapter 4. Results Discussion. 24
Primary Cortical Dynamics for Visual Grouping

The classical receptive elds of V1 neurons contain only local visual input features. The visual system must group separate local elements into meaningful global features to infer the visual objects in the scene. Local features can group into regions, as in texture segmen-tation; or into contours which may represent boundaries of underlying objects. I propose that the primary visual cortex (V1) contributes to both kinds of groupings with a single mechanism of cortical interac-tions/dynamics mediated by the horizontal connections, and that the dynamics enhance the saliencies of those features in the contours (compared with those in a noisy background) or near the region boundaries (compared with those away from the boundaries). Visual inputs specify the initial neural activity levels, and cortical dynamics modify the neural activities to achieve desired computations. Contours are thereby enhanced through dynamically integrating the mutual facilitation between contour segments, while region boundaries are manifested (and enhanced) in the dynamics because of the breakdown of translation in-variance in image characteristics at the region boundaries. I will show analytically and empirically how global phenomena emerge from local features and nite range interactions, how saliency enhancement relates to the contour length and curvature, and how the neural interaction can be computationally designed for region segmentation and gure-ground segregation. The structure and behavior of the model are consistent with experimental observations.
Vaccine Immunogenicity In Vivo Antigen Stability Affects DNA

The factors that determine the immunogenicity of Ags encoded by viral vaccines or DNA vaccines in vivo are largely unknown. Depending on whether T cell induction occurs via direct presentation of vaccine-encoded epitopes or via one of the different proposed pathways for Ag cross-presentation, the effect of intracellular Ag stability on immunogenicity may possibly vary. However, the inﬂuence of Ag stability on CD8 (cid:1) T cell induction has not been addressed in clinically relevant vaccine models, nor has the accumulation of vaccine-encoded Ags been monitored in vivo. In this study, we describe the relationship between in vivo Ag stability and immunogenicity of DNA vaccine-encoded Ags. We show that in vivo accumulation of DNA vaccine-encoded Ags is required for the efﬁcient induction of CD8 (cid:1) T cell responses. These data suggest that many of the currently used transgene designs in DNA vaccination trials may be suboptimal, and that one should either use pathogen-derived or tumor-associated Ags that are intrinsically stable, or should increase the stability of vaccine-encoded Ags by genetic engineering. The Journal of Immunology, 2007, 179: 2126–2133.
Top-Manager-Entlohnung, Arbeitsanreize und endogene Outside Options

Die Literatur uber Corporate Governance und Top-Manager-Entlohnung (executive compensation) hat gezeigt, dass das klassische Prinzipal-Agenten-Modell die tatsachlich beobachteten Gehalter und Entlohnungsvertrage fur Top-Manager nur sehr eingeschrankt erklaren kann. In jungerer Zeit ist die Hohe der Entlohnung fur Top- Manager in der Bundesrepublik stark diskutiert und zum Teil heftig kritisiert worden. Gerechtfertigt wird die Hohe der Gehalter fast ausschlieslich uber den Marktwert der Top-Manager. Der vorliegende Beitrag greift diese Diskussion auf und prasentiert ein Modell, in dem sich - abweichend von dem klassischen Agency-Problem - der gleichgewichtige Entlohnungsvertrag vollstandig aus den alternativen Beschaftigungsmoglichkeiten (Outside Options) des Managers ergibt. Wesentliches Element des Modells ist, dass ein Manager nicht mehr hinreichend motiviert ist, sofern er wahrend seiner Beschaftigung feststellt, dass er den Wert seiner Outside Options nicht erreicht. Um sicherzustellen, dass der Manager uber die gesamte Dauer der Beziehung motiviert arbeitet, muss der Entlohnungsvertrag so ausgestaltet sein, dass der Manager uber den gesamten Zeitraum – insbesondere nach dem Zugang neuer Information – mindestens den Wert seiner Outside Option erzielt. Damit werden sowohl fixe als auch variable Komponenten der Entlohnungsfunktion vollstandig aus seinem Marktwert abgeleitet. Wir vergleichen die resultierende Entlohnungsfunktion mit den Ergebnissen der Analyse klassischer Anreizprobleme.
Performance analysis of space-time block codes in time-varying Rayleigh fading channels

In this paper, we provide the performance analysis of pilot symbol assisted modulation (PSAM) for transmit diversity with space-time block codes (STBC) in time-varying Rayleigh fading channels. For the performance evaluation, the average bit error rate of transmit diversity with STBC is derived when the channel estimation error exists. Using the result, the average BER in time-varying channels is evaluated when the PSAM is employed.
A Quartz tuning fork-based humidity sensor using Nanocrystalline Zinc oxide thin film coatings

This paper describes an application of quartz tuning forks (QTF) coated with nanocrystalline ZnO films used as relative humidity sensors. The nanocrystalline ZnO thin films were deposited on the QTF by sol-gel method. The film was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to obtain the information on the structural and morphological properties. And the humidity sensitivity characteristics of the sensors have been investigated. Ethanol and acetone interference on the sensor performance have been also tested. Sensing experiments were examined by measuring the resonance frequency shift of QTF which due to the additional mass loading. The results showed that the sensors have high humidity sensitivity, good stability, fast response time, and well reproducibility. We demonstrate here a simple and low-cost humidity sensor using the QTF
Robust Multichannel Dereverberation using Relaxed Multichannel Least Squares

A novel approach is proposed for robust multichannel dereverberation in the presence of system identification error (SIEs), based on channel shortening. A mathematical link is derived between the well known multiple-input/output inverse theorem (MINT) algorithm and channel shortening. The relaxed multichannel least squares (RMCLS) algorithm is then proposed as an efficient realization within the channel shortening paradigm and is shown through experimental results to outperform MINT in the presence of SIEs. While the RMCLS is robust to SIEs, the coloration of the output cannot be controlled. Two extensions to RMCLS are proposed to control the level of coloration and the performances of both extensions are evaluated comparatively. It is shown that both substantially maintain the dereverberation performance and robustness to SIEs obtained from RMCLS while effectively controlling the level of coloration introduced.
Direct estimate of motion parameters by means of Markov random fields

Motion estimation in image sequences is undoubtedly one of the most studied problems because for many applications, going from video coding to pattern recognition, motion estimation is a fundamental tool. A new methodology which, by minimizing a specific potential function, determines for each image pixel its motion parameter set is presented. The approach is based on MRFs (Markov random fields) acting on a first-order neighborhood for each selected point and on a simple motion model that accounts for rotations and translations. Experimental results on synthetic and real world sequences have demonstrated the good performance of the adopted technique and moreover a quantitative and qualitative comparison with another well-known approach has confirmed the goodness of the proposed algorithm.
Myocarditis in Paediatric Patients: Unveiling the Progression to Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure

Myocarditis is a challenging and potentially life-threatening disease associated with high morbidity in some paediatric patients, due to its ability to present as an acute and fulminant disease and to ultimately progress to dilated cardiomyopathy. It has been described as an inflammatory disease of the myocardium caused by diverse aetiologies. Viral infection is the most frequent cause of myocarditis in developed countries, but bacterial and protozoal infections or drug hypersensitivity may also be causative agents. The prompt diagnosis in paediatric patients is difficult, as the spectrum of clinical manifestation can range from no myocardial dysfunction to sudden cardiac death. Recent studies on myocarditis pathogenesis have revealed a triphasic nature of this disease, which influences the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to adopt in each patient. Endomyocardial biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosing myocarditis, and several non-invasive diagnostic tools can be used to support the diagnosis. Intravenous immunoglobulin has become part of routine practice in the treatment of myocarditis in paediatric patients at many centres, but its true effect on the cardiac function has been the target of many studies. The aim of this review is to approach the recently discovered facets of paediatric myocarditis regarding its progression to dilated cardiomyopathy.
Mexiletine Protects Myocardium During Acute Ischemia by Opening Sarcolemmal K-ATP Channel: Studies in Closed-Chest Acute Ischemia Model in Rabbits

Objectives: Although we have previously shown that mexiletine might protect myocardium during acute ischemia, the precise mechanism was unclear. In the present study, the mechanism of this effect was examined by using selective K-ATP channel blockers in closed-chest acute ischemia model in rabbits. Methods: In 40 rabbits, the large left ventricular branch (LLVB) of the left coronary artery was occluded for 30 minutes by inserting a catheter bead (ϕ0.5-0.7 × 1.5 mm) through the left carotid artery and was then reperfused. The rabbits were divided into the following 5 groups: (1) control group (n = 8); (2) mexiletine (Mex) group (n = 8, continuous infusion of Mex 24 mg/kg/h); (3) Mex + 5-hydroxydecanoate (5HD) group (n = 8, preadministration of 5HD, 5 mg/kg, followed by Mex infusion); (4) Mex + HMR1098 (selective sarcolemmal K-ATP channel blocker) group (n = 8, preadministration of HMR1098, 3 mg/kg, followed by Mex infusion); and (5) pilsicainide (Pil) group (n = 8, continuous infusion of Pil 18 mg/kg/h). The incidence of ventricular arrhythmia, hemodynamics, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and infarction size were evaluated and compared among the 5 groups. Results: The incidence of ventricular arrhythmia was lower in groups treated with Mex than the control. The hemodynamics did not show significant differences among the 5 groups. Although the LVEF at 30 minutes after reperfusion was lower in the Mex group (41 ± 3%, P < 0.001) than the control group (48 ± 3%), the LVEF at 360 minutes after reperfusion had recovered and became higher in the Mex group (62 ± 3%, P < 0.001) than the control group (55 ± 3%). The infarction size was smaller in the Mex group (30 ± 5%, P = 0.028) than the control group (51 ± 8%). These effects of Mex were negated by HMR1098 but not by 5HD and were larger than the effects of Pil. Conclusions: Mex showed improvement in the LVEF in the later phase after reperfusion as well as a reduction in ventricular arrhythmia. The cardioprotective effect of Mex was considered to appear through its action on the sarcolemmal K-ATP channel.
Moving from the design of usable security technologies to the design of useful secure applications

Recent results from usability studies of security systems have shown that end-users find them difficult to adopt and use. In this paper we argue that improving the usability of security technology is only one part of the problem, and that what is missed is the need to design usable and useful systems that provide security to end-users in terms of the applications that they use and the tasks they want to achieve. We propose alternate ways of building and integrating security technologies into applications and usability methods for evaluating how successful our prototypes are. We believe that the end results of designing usable and useful (from the end-user perspective) systems will be secure applications which will reflect the needs of users who are increasingly using computers away from the office and in a wider variety of networked configurations.
Hardware and software effective configurations for multi-input fuzzy logic controllers

The paper proposes two novel approaches for the simplification of multi-input fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs). By these approaches either a hierarchical or parallel structure is derived for a multi-input FLC, leading to the implementation of faster controllers with reduced memory demand. Both these features can be profitably used in the realisation of hardware and software effective fuzzy logic controllers for the industrial field applications. Experimental tests and comparative considerations are also included in the paper. <<ETX>>
Série Scientifique Scientific Series Nonparametric Estimation of American Options Exercise Boundaries and Call Prices Nonparametric Estimation of American Options Exercise Boundaries and Call Prices *

CIRANO is a private non-profit organization incorporated under the Québec Companies Act. Its infrastructure and research activities are funded through fees paid by member organizations, an infrastructure grant from the Ministère de lIndustrie, du Commerce, de la Science et de la Technologie, and grants and research mandates obtained by its research teams. The Scientific Series fulfils one of the missions of CIRANO: to develop the scientific analysis of organizations and strategic behaviour. We would like to thank Tim Hankes from the OCC and Tom Finucane from Syracuse University for supplying us OEX exercise data. This paper is an extended version of section 2 of Broadie et al. (1995) which was presented at CIRANO, Unlike European-type derivative securities, there are no simple analytic valuation formulas for American options, even when the underlying asset price has constant volatility. The early exercise feature considerably complicates the valuation of American contracts. The strategy taken in this paper is to rely on nonparametric statistical methods using market data to estimate the call prices and the exercise boundaries. The paper focuses on the daily market option prices and exercise data on the S&P100 contract. A comparison is made with parametric constant volatility model-based prices and exercise boundaries. We find large discrepancies between the parametric and nonparametric call prices and exercise boundaries.