Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power-controlled cross-layer scheduling

Power-Controlled Cross-Layer Scheduling is proposed for real-time multimedia-applications in cellular wireless networks. The new scheme borrows elements from Proportional Fair Scheduling, from which it differs in that it can satisfy hard delay constraints, and improves on exploiting multiuser diversity gains by selectively excluding users from scheduling decisions based on their rate demands. The performance of the new scheduler is compared to performance bounds from multiuser information theory. Then, the basic concept is extended to a real-world scenario, in which the long-term path losses of all users will change over time: this necessitates the introduction of a power control scheme, that, if carefully designed, “inverts” the long-term pathloss of the channel, but not the fast fading. An analysis of the outage probability characteristic shows near-optimum behavior for delay-constrained applications and reveals huge performance gains for demanding users, compared to classical proportional fair scheduling.
Stage-Dependent and Locus-Specific Role of Histone Demethylase Jumonji D3 (JMJD3) in the Embryonic Stages of Lung Development

Histone demethylases have emerged as important players in developmental processes. Jumonji domain containing-3 (Jmjd3) has been identified as a key histone demethylase that plays a critical role in the regulation of gene expression; however, the in vivo function of Jmjd3 in embryonic development remains largely unknown. To this end, we generated Jmjd3 global and conditional knockout mice. Global deletion of Jmjd3 induces perinatal lethality associated with defective lung development. Tissue and stage-specific deletion revealed that Jmjd3 is dispensable in the later stage of embryonic lung development. Jmjd3 ablation downregulates the expression of genes critical for lung development and function, including AQP-5 and SP-B. Jmjd3-mediated alterations in gene expression are associated with locus-specific changes in the methylation status of H3K27 and H3K4. Furthermore, Jmjd3 is recruited to the SP-B promoter through interactions with the transcription factor Nkx2.1 and the epigenetic protein Brg1. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that Jmjd3 plays a stage-dependent and locus-specific role in the mouse lung development. Our study provides molecular insights into the mechanisms by which Jmjd3 regulates target gene expression in the embryonic stages of lung development.
New Adaptation of the ACO Algorithm for the Analog Circuits Design Optimization

We propose a novel adaptation of the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) Technique to optimize analog circuits sizing and design. The proposed algorithm is first tested and its performances are highlighted by using some mathematical test functions. This new adaptation of the ACO algorithm is then directly applied to optimize the design of typical analog circuits, namely CMOS current conveyors. SPICE simulation results are given to show the validity of the proposed algorithm.
A hierarchical feature representation for phonetic classification

The objective of this research is to investigate the use of a hierarchical framework for phonetic classification of speech. The framework is motivated by the observation that a wide variety of measurements may be needed to make phonetic distinctions among different types of speech sounds. The measurements that best discriminate among one class of sounds will most likely be suboptimal for other classes. By allowing a succession of measurements, a hierarchy ensures that only the meaningful features are used for each phonetic distinction. Furthermore, by partitioning phones into classes, a hierarchy provides some broad context for making finer phonetic distinctions among confusable sounds. In the hierarchies explored in this thesis, a speech segment is initially classified into a broad phonetic class using a feature set targeted towards making the broad distinction. Probability scores are assigned to each phonetic class, reflecting the likelihood that the speech segment belongs to the broad class given the features extracted at that stage. Subsequent stages classify the segment into successively finer subclasses, again producing intermediate class probabilities based on feature sets optimized for each particular stage. Overall phone scores are then computed within an MAP probabilistic framework which combines all relevant class scores, allowing meaningful comparisons to be made across all phones. A set of classification experiments are performed on the TIMIT acoustic-phonetic corpus. A set of baseline experiments are established which represent state of the art classification results for the vowels and all phones. Hierarchical classification results indicate that overall performance can be improved by raising scores at individual nodes in the hierarchy. The improvements reported in this thesis reflect gains of less than half percent, but larger gains are expected with the use of more rigorously optimized feature sets. Thesis Supervisor: James R. Glass Title: Principal Research Scientist
Detailed map of a cis-regulatory input function

Most genes are regulated by multiple transcription factors that bind specific sites in DNA regulatory regions. These cis-regulatory regions perform a computation: the rate of transcription is a function of the active concentrations of each of the input transcription factors. Here, we used accurate gene expression measurements from living cell cultures, bearing GFP reporters, to map in detail the input function of the classic lacZYA operon of Escherichia coli, as a function of about a hundred combinations of its two inducers, cAMP and isopropyl β-d-thiogalactoside (IPTG). We found an unexpectedly intricate function with four plateau levels and four thresholds. This result compares well with a mathematical model of the binding of the regulatory proteins cAMP receptor protein (CRP) and LacI to the lac regulatory region. The model is also used to demonstrate that with few mutations, the same region could encode much purer AND-like or even OR-like functions. This possibility means that the wild-type region is selected to perform an elaborate computation in setting the transcription rate. The present approach can be generally used to map the input functions of other genes.
Interaction with hand gesture for a back-projection wall

(Semi)immersive displays like back projection walls have become widely used in various visual domains. Despite the superior image quality of `through-the-windows VR' users are still not satisfied with the interaction capabilities - mostly due to the extra wiring for the interaction devices. This paper represents a hand gesture interaction system for a back-projection wall environment, supporting object manipulation (translation, rotation, and uniform scale) and selection tasks through the vision-tracking technique. We propose to use thimble-shaped fingertip markers made of white printing paper with a `black light' source. Gesture parameters are calculated by 3D positions of the marked fingertips and their pinching states
Modeling Risks in Biometric-Based Authentication Control Systems

Contemporary authentication control systems deploy biometric and other supporting technologies. Such systems deal with various risks, which should be well understood and evaluated. This paper introduces an approach to modeling risks and measuring the resulting system performance. This approach is a based on using modeling tools designed from a library of Bayesian network modeling modules. It is explained using the example of border control systems and the corresponding operational scenarios.
A novel interference cancellation aided minimum bit error rate beamforming

This paper studies a novel receiver optimization for spatial multiple access scenario with each user using single antenna and multiple antenna array is used at the base station. To achieve space division multiple access, the newly introduced minimum bit error rate (MBER) beamforming method is used instead of the conventional minimum mean square error (MMSE) beamforming, because of its promising error probability performance. To increase the number of admitted users to the system, a two stage heuristic algorithm is presented using MBER beamforming in conjunction with interference cancellation. A set of beamforming weight vectors is calculated by minimizing the error probability at the receiver assuming that the interference signals from other users are detected. By numerical analysis it is shown that the proposed method is able to support more users than MBER and MMSE beamforming, in addition to providing better bit error rate performance.
A Physically Segmented Hidden Markov Model Approach for Continuous Tool Condition Monitoring: Diagnostics and Prognostics

In this paper, a temporal probabilistic approach based on the hidden Markov model (HMM), named physically segmented HMM with continuous output, is introduced for continuous tool condition monitoring in machinery systems. The proposed approach has the advantage of providing an explicit relationship between the actual health states and the hidden state values. The provided relationship is further exploited for formulation and parameter estimation in the proposed approach. The introduced approach is tested for continuous tool wear prediction in a computer numerical control milling machine and compared with two well-established neural network (NN) approaches, namely, multilayer perceptron and Elman network. In the experimental study, the prediction results are provided and compared after adopting appropriate hyper-parameter values for all the approaches by cross-validation. Based on the experimental results, physically segmented HMM approach outperforms the NN approaches. Moreover, the prognosis ability of the proposed approach is studied.
Identification in Chain Multi-Agent Causal Models

In this paper we introduce chain multi-agent causal models which are an extension of causal Bayesian networks to a multi-agent setting. Instead of 1 single agent modeling the entire domain, there are several agents organised in a chain, each modeling non-disjoint subsets of the domain. Every agent has a causal model over the variables in his domain, determined by an acyclic causal diagram and a joint probability distribution over its observed variables. See Figure 1 for an example.
An ASIP instruction set optimization algorithm with functional module sharing constraint

This paper describes a formal method that selects the instruction set of an ASIP (application specific integrated processor) that maximizes the chip performance under the constraints of chip area and power consumption. Our contribution includes a new formalization and algorithm that considers the functional module sharing in the problem of instruction set optimization. This problem was not addressed in the previous work and considering it leads to an efficient implementation of the selected instructions. The proposed method also enables designers to predict the performance of their designs before implementing them, which is an important feature for producing a high quality design in reasonable time.
Switching Social Contexts: The Effects of Housing Mobility and School Choice Programs on Youth Outcomes

Despite years of research, methodological and practical obstacles make it difficult to conclude whether policies aimed at improving schools and communities are effective for improving youth outcomes. To complement existing work, we assess research on the educational and social outcomes for comparable youth who change school and neighborhood settings through unique housing policy and school voucher programs. Research shows that housing programs have helped poor families move to much safer, less disadvantaged, and less segregated neighborhoods. Some housing programs have also provided early educational benefits for young people who relocated to less poor and less segregated neighborhoods, but these gains were not maintained in the long run. School voucher programs have helped disadvantaged youth attend higher-performing private schools in less segregated environments with more middle-class peers. Although some voucher programs have shown small positive effects, the results of others are less certain owing t.
Avaliação do equilíbrio estático de pacientes neurológicos a partir do uso do Nintendo WII Balance Board

A manutencao postural requer constante adaptacao muscular e de coordenacao do movimento por meio de estruturas que captam e encaminham os estimulos para o Sistema Nervoso Central (SNC). Algumas patologias que acometem o SNC levam a alteracoes do equilibrio. O Balance Board (BB) e um acessorio recente da Nintendo que pode avaliar em conjunto a capacidade do individuo controlar a estimulacao ambiental adequando sua postura, utilizado a partir da adaptacao do software LabView. O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o equilibrio estatico de pacientes neurologicos por meio do uso do console Nintendo Wii Balance Board. Participaram, desse estudo 4 pacientes, com diagnosticos variados, de ambos os sexos, com idades variadas que frequentam regularmente a clinica-escola de Fisioterapia da Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. Foram encontradas diferencas estatisticas entre as tentativas de olhos abertos e olhos fechados apenas para as variaveis MX (deslocamento do eixo X), MBL (media das medianas do bottom left), MBR (media das medianas do bottom right), MTR (media das medianas do top right). Os resultados deste estudo apresentam o Nintendo Wii Balance Board como uma ferramenta eficaz para a avaliacao do equilibrio estatico de pacientes com diferentes alteracoes no sistema nervoso central.
Pricing Rule in a Clock Auction

We analyze a discrete clock auction with lowest-accepted-bid (LAB) pricing and provisional winners, as adopted by India for its 3G spectrum auction. In a perfect Bayesian equilibrium, the provisional winner shades her bid, whereas provisional losers do not. Such differential shading leads to inefficiency. An auction with highest-rejected-bid (HRB) pricing and exit bids is strategically simple, has no bid shading, and is fully efficient. In addition, it has higher revenues than the LAB auction, assuming profit-maximizing bidders. The bid shading in the LAB auction exposes a bidder to the possibility of losing the auction at a price below the bidder's value. Thus, a fear of losing at profitable prices may cause bidders in the LAB auction to bid more aggressively than predicted, assuming profit-maximizing bidders. We extend the model by adding an anticipated loser's regret to the payoff function. Revenue from the LAB auction yields higher expected revenue than the HRB auction when bidders' fear of losing at profitable prices is sufficiently strong. This would provide one explanation why India, with an expressed objective of revenue maximization, adopted the LAB auction for its upcoming 3G spectrum auction, rather than the seemingly superior HRB auction.
Nanopit-induced osteoprogenitor cell differentiation: The effect of nanopit depth

We aimed to assess osteogenesis in osteoprogenitor cells by nanopits and to assess optimal feature depth. Topographies of depth 80, 220 and 333 nm were embossed onto polycaprolactone discs. Bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stromal cells were seeded onto polycaprolactone discs, suspended in media and incubated. Samples were fixed after 3 and 28 days. Cells were stained for the adhesion molecule vinculin and the osteogenic transcription factor RUNX2 after 3 days. Adhesion was lowest on planar controls and it was the shallowest, and 80-nm-deep pits supported optimal adhesion formation. Deep pits (80 and 220 nm) induced most RUNX2 accumulation. After 28 days, osteocalcin and osteopontin expression were used as markers of osteoblastic differentiation. Deep pits (220 nm) produced cells with the highest concentrations of osteopontin and osteocalcin. All topographies induced higher expression levels than controls. We demonstrated stimulation of osteogenesis in a heterogeneous population of mesenchymal stromal cells. All nanopit depths gave promising results with an optimum depth of 220 nm after 28 days. Nanoscale modification of implant surfaces could optimise fracture union or osteointegration.
High viral load in lymph nodes and latent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in peripheral blood cells of HIV-1-infected chimpanzees

We have examined human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in chimpanzees by analyzing HIV-1 DNA and RNA in lymph nodes and peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Like certain asymptomatic HIV-infected persons, these chimpanzees had no detectable viral replication in their PBMCs. However, viral replication and a high viral load were observed in the lymphatic tissue. Despite the absence of viral replication in PBMCs, 1/1,000 to 1/10,000 of the PBMCs contained HIV-1 proviral DNA, and HIV transcription could be rapidly induced in these cells in vitro. These results provide direct evidence of cellular latency of HIV in vivo and suggest that HIV infection in chimpanzees may be a useful model for clinical latency of HIV infection in humans.
How Biotic Differentiation of Human Impacted Nutrient Poor Deciduous Forests Can Affect the Preservation Status of Mountain Forest Vegetation

A significant loss of biodiversity resulting from human activity has caused biotic homogenisation to become the dominant process shaping forest communities. In this paper, we present a rare case of biotic differentiation in European temperate deciduous forest herb layer vegetation. The process is occurring in nutrient poor oak-hornbeam forests in mountain areas (Polish Eastern Carpathians, Central Europe) where non-timber use was converted into conventional forest management practice. This change contributed to increases in the nitrogen content and pH reaction of the soil that, contrary to predominant beliefs on the negative impact of habitat eutrophication on diversity, did not result in a decrease in the latter. We discuss possible reasons for this phenomenon that indicate the important role of tree stand composition (an increasing admixture of beech worsening the trophic properties of the soil). The second issue considered involves the effect of the changes in herb species composition of oak-hornbeam forest on its distinctiveness from the beech forest predominating in the Polish Eastern Carpathians. Unfortunately, despite the increase in the species compositional dissimilarity of oak-hornbeam forest, a reduction in their distinctiveness in relation to the herb species composition of beech forest was found. Such a phenomenon is an effect of the major fragmentation of oak-hornbeam forests, a spread of beech forest-type species, and forest management that gives preference to beech trees. Consequently, it can be expected that changes occurring in oak-hornbeam forest vegetation will contribute to a decrease in the forest vegetation variability at the regional scale.
Serie research memoranda Unemployment Dynamics and Age

Youth unemployment is an issue of primary concern in Western European countries. In this paper we analyze dynamics in unemployment for youths, adults (prime-aged individuals), and elderly. We use quarterly French unemployment data, stratified by gender, age group, and duration, over the period 1982-1994. We find that the inflow rate of male youths is more sensitive to the business cycle than the inflow rate of adults, but that the outflow of adults is more sensitive than the outflow of youths. Seasonal effects affect youth unemployment mainly by fluctuations in the inflow. The results are used for a policy recommendation. *Dept. of Economics, Free University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tinbergen Institute, and CEPR. tDept. of Economics, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, NL-5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands, and CentER for Economic Research. SDept. of Economics, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, NL-5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands, CentER for Economic Research, and CEPR.
Performance analysis of scheduling policies for delay-tolerant applications in centralized wireless networks

Many scheduling schemes have been proposed in literature to control how different users access a wireless channel. Channel-aware schedulers exploit the measurements of instantaneous channel conditions of the different users to obtain throughput gains by proper selection of the users to transmit (or receive) in each channel state. In this paper, the performance of channel-aware scheduling policies which are applicable for delay-tolerant applications in centralized wireless networks are analyzed in a new mathematical framework. The framework is applied in numerical examples to compare the performance of different scheduling policies in terms of their efficiency in allocating the wireless resources. This efficiency is measured against the set of all possible operating points of the system, chosen, e.g., by the network operator.
A Survey on the Prevalence of Depression in Blood Donors with Hepatitis C in Shiraz

Background Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder associated with hepatitis C. Objectives This study aimed to survey the prevalence rate of depression in patients with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) before they were aware of their HCV test result. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on all blood donors with confirmed positive HCV test results who donated blood between March 21, 2012 to March 21, 2013 at Fars blood transfusion center in Iran as case group and age- and sex-matched blood donors with negative screening test results as control group. A semi-structured interview based on DSM IV-TR depressive disorder criteria and Beck depression inventory (BDI) was conducted. BDI contained 21 items, each scored from 0 to 3 and total score of 0 to 63 for the whole scale computed by summing up all the items. A cut-off score of ≥ 19 indicated clinically significant depressive symptoms. The prevalence rate and risk factors of depression were determined. Results The most frequent risk factors for HCV infection were intravenous drug abuse (59.3%), unsafe sexual contact (30.5%), and history of being imprisoned (25.4%). The prevalence rate of depression in the HCV group was 55.9 % (95% CI: 42.99% - 68.87%) that was significantly higher than the corresponding rate of the control group as 17.7 % ( 95% CI: 8.49% - 28.79%) (P < 0.001). The severity of depression was also more in the HCV group (P < 0.001). Besides, the prevalence rate of depression was higher among HCV patients with lower education level, previous history of drug abuse, unsafe sexual contact, and previous history of psychiatric diseases. The prevalence rate of depression was higher in the case group even after adjusting for other variables. Conclusions Our study underlined the remarkable prevalence of depression among HCV patients. Therefore, designing depression screening tests is suggested to help such patients before starting the treatment.
Synergetic synthesis of DC-DC boost converter controllers: theory and experimental analysis

This paper describes a new approach to the synthesis of controllers for power converters based on the theory of synergetic control. The controller synthesis procedure is completely analytical, and is based on fully nonlinear models of the converter. Synergetic controllers provide asymptotic stability with respect to the required operating modes, invariance to load variations, and robustness to variation of converter parameters. With respect to their dynamic characteristics, synergetic controllers are superior to the existing types of PI controllers. We present here the theory of the approach, a synthesis example for a boost converter, simulation results, and experimental results.