Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optical biosensors

Optical biosensors represent the most common type of biosensor. Here we provide a brief classification, a description of underlying principles of operation and their bioanalytical applications. The main focus is placed on the most widely used optical biosensors which are surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensors including SPR imaging and localized SPR. In addition, other optical biosensor systems are described, such as evanescent wave fluorescence and bioluminescent optical fibre biosensors, as well as interferometric, ellipsometric and reflectometric interference spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering biosensors. The optical biosensors discussed here allow the sensitive and selective detection of a wide range of analytes including viruses, toxins, drugs, antibodies, tumour biomarkers and tumour cells.
Performance of frequency domain multiuser-MIMO turbo equalization without cyclic prefix

Multiuser (MU)-multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) receivers often need to take iterative strategies to cancel multiuser-interference (MUI). Frequency domain turbo equalization is one of the most promising solutions to the MUI problem. It offers a reasonable trade-off between the receiver performance and the computational complexity by assuming cyclic prefix (CP)-transmission. Nevertheless, CP-transmission is not preferable for the battery life of user terminals. Therefore, this paper proposes a new frequency domain multiuser-detection (MUD) technique by extending the chained turbo equalization (CHATUE) to MU-MIMO systems. Simulation results verify that the proposed MU-MIMO CHATUE algorithm is a more reliable option to improve the spectral- and/or energy-efficiency by eliminating the necessity of CP-transmission than by shortening the training sequences or puncturing the coded data bits.
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation and IVF outcome in poor responders

Abstract Ovarian stimulation of poor ovarian responders still remains a challenging issue. The incidence of poor responders among infertile women is reported in 9–24% IVF cycles and is associated with very low clinical pregnancy rates. Different treatments have been reported in the literature in an attempt to identify the best stimulation protocol for those patients. Administration of dehydroepiandrosterone acetate (DHEA) was suggested as a promising treatment. It is well known that androgens can influence ovarian follicular growth, augment steroidogenesis, promote follicular recruitment and increase the number of primary and pre-antral follicles. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the effect of DHEA supplementation on women with diminished ovarian reserve. Because of the uncertainty of published data, we suggest that well-designed multicentre RCTs are required to provide more insight on the effectiveness of DHEA. The absence of significant side effects should not be considered as an argument to support DHEA treatment.
Metamaterials: Classes, Properties and Applications

Preface Optical Metamaterials as the Platform for a Novel Generation of Ultrasensitive Chemical or Biological Senors Patch Antenna & Perfect Absorber with Dendritic Cell Metamaterials Form-Invariance of Maxwell's Equations in Coordinate Transformations: Metamaterials & Numerical Models Resonance Field Analysis & Electromagnetic Coupling Effects in Metamaterial Structures Negative Refraction in the Materials with Magnetic & Electric Response Metamaterial for Ultra-Thin Directive Antennas Metamaterials Technology: Application to Radiofrequency & Microwave Circuits Index.
Phase Ib Pilot Study to Evaluate Reparixin in Combination with Weekly Paclitaxel in Patients with HER-2–Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

Purpose: Chemokine receptor 1 (CXCR1) is recognized as an actionable receptor selectively expressed by breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). Reparixin is an investigational allosteric inhibitor of chemokine receptors 1 and 2 (CXCR1/2), and demonstrates activity against BCSCs in human breast cancer xenografts. This phase Ib clinical trial examined dose, safety, and pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel plus reparixin therapy, and explored effects of reparixin on BCSCs in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) (trial registration ID: NCT02001974). Experimental Design: Eligible patients had MBC and were candidates for paclitaxel therapy. Study treatment included a 3-day run-in with reparixin oral tablets three times a day, followed by paclitaxel 80 mg/m2/week (days 1, 8, and 15 for 28-day cycle) + reparixin tablets three times a day for 21/28 days; three dose cohorts were examined in a 3+3 dose escalation schema. Additional patients were recruited into an expansion cohort at the recommended phase II dose to further explore pharmacokinetics, safety, and biological effects of the combination therapy. Results: There were neither G4–5 adverse events nor serious adverse events related to study therapy and no interactions between reparixin and paclitaxel to influence their respective pharmacokinetic profiles. A 30% response rate was recorded, with durable responses >12 months in two patients. Exploratory biomarker analysis was inconclusive for therapy effect on BCSCs. Conclusions: Weekly paclitaxel plus reparixin in MBC appeared to be safe and tolerable, with demonstrated responses in the enrolled population. Dose level 3, 1200 mg orally three times a day, was selected for further study in a randomized phase II trial (NCT02370238). Clin Cancer Res; 23(18); 5358–65. ©2017 AACR.
A motion classification approach to fall detection

The population of older people in the world has grown rapidly in recent years. To alleviate the increasing burden on health systems, automated health monitoring of older people can be very economical for requesting urgent medical support when a harmful accident has been detected. One of the accidents that happens frequently to older people in a household environment is a fall, which can cause serious injuries if not handled immediately. In this paper, we propose a motion classification approach to fall detection, by integrating the techniques of motion capture and machine learning. The motion of a person is recorded with a set of inertial sensors, which provides a comprehensive and structural description of body movements, while being robust to variations in the working environment. We build a database comprising motions of both falls and normal activities. We experiment with several combinations of joint selection, feature extraction, and classification algorithms, showing that accurate fall detection can be achieved by our motion classification approach.
The impact of duration and settings of TCP measurements on available bandwidth estimation in mobile networks

Today, crowdsourcing applications distribute the task of performance measurements in mobile networks over various mobile users to achieve an accurate benchmark. A common measurement methodology is an application on the customers' phones which injects probe packets into the network under test and derives estimates for selected network properties such as available bandwidth. Bandwidth measurements in cellular wireless networks, which are highly dynamic and offer only shared resources, are in general a resource demanding task. Current methods deploy tests of constant duration running data transfers over TCP. Their resource consumption scales directly with the available capacity of the link. In this work we take a closer look at the different chosen test durations and analyze the trade-off between accuracy and resources spent in various different configurations, e.g., numbers of parallel TCP connections, based on extensive measurements in real world operational LTE and UMTS networks conducted in 2016, Austria. In our experiments a minimum measurement duration of six seconds allows for estimating available bandwidth with an average error of less than 1%.
Religion and Political Economy in an International Panel

Economic and political developments affect religiosity, and the extent of religious participation and beliefs influence economic performance and political institutions. We study these two directions of causation in a broad cross-country panel that includes survey information over the last 20 years on church attendance and an array of religious beliefs. Although religiosity declines overall with economic development, the nature of the response varies with the dimension of development. Church attendance and religious beliefs are positively related to education (thereby conflicting with theories in which religion reflects non-scientific thinking) and negatively related to urbanization. Attendance also declines with higher life expectancy and lower fertility. We investigate the effects of official state religions, government regulation of the religion market, Communism, religious pluralism, and the denominational composition of religious adherence. On the other side, we find that economic growth responds positively to the extent of some religious beliefs but negatively to church attendance. That is, growth depends on the extent of believing relative to belonging. These results hold up when we use as instrumental variables the measures of official state religion, government regulation, and religious pluralism.
A microblog dataset for tibetan sentiment analysis

We introduce TSTD, a microblog dataset for Tibetan sentiment analysis which is publicly available. It consists of about 10K Tibetan microblogs and classified positive, negative and neutral. We present the properties of the dataset and run experiments for 3-way sentiment classification in Tibetan using feature-based and deep learning systems on the dataset.
Adipose tissue depot volume relationships with spinal trabecular bone mineral density in African Americans with diabetes

Changes in select adipose tissue volumes may differentially impact bone mineral density. This study was performed to assess cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between computed tomography-determined visceral (VAT), subcutaneous (SAT), inter-muscular (IMAT), and pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) volumes with respective changes in thoracic vertebral and lumbar vertebral volumetric trabecular bone mineral density (vBMD) in African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Generalized linear models were fitted to test relationships between baseline and change in adipose volumes with change in vBMD in 300 African American-Diabetes Heart Study participants; adjustment was performed for age, sex, diabetes duration, study interval, smoking, hypertension, BMI, kidney function, and medications. Participants were 50% female with mean ± SD age 55.1±9.0 years, diabetes duration 10.2±7.2 years, and BMI 34.7±7.7 kg/m2. Over 5.3 ± 1.4 years, mean vBMD decreased in thoracic/lumbar spine, while mean adipose tissue volumes increased in SAT, IMAT, and PAT, but not VAT depots. In fully-adjusted models, changes in lumbar and thoracic vBMD were positively associated with change in SAT (β[SE] 0.045[0.011], p<0.0001; 0.40[0.013], p = 0.002, respectively). Change in thoracic vBMD was positively associated with change in IMAT (p = 0.029) and VAT (p = 0.016); and change in lumbar vBMD positively associated with baseline IMAT (p<0.0001). In contrast, vBMD was not associated with change in PAT. After adjusting for BMI, baseline and change in volumes of select adipose depots were associated with increases in thoracic and lumbar trabecular vBMD in African Americans. Effects of adiposity on trabecular bone appear to be site-specific and related to factors beyond mechanical load.
Mechanical behavior of areca fiber reinforced epoxy composites

ABSTRACT: In the present work, the mechanical properties of compositesobtained by using areca ﬁbers in epoxy matrix have been investigated. The arecaﬁbers extracted from the areca husk are alkali-treated with potassium hydroxideto get better interfacial bonding between ﬁbers and matrix. The test specimens areprepared with different values of weight ratio of ﬁber to matrix, the ﬁbers beingrandomly oriented. The test specimens are cured for different periods of time tostudy the effect of curing time on the mechanical properties. The results of testssuch as water absorption, tension, compression, bending, impact, and hardnessconducted on the test specimens are herein reported. It is found that themechanical properties of the composites tested are greatly inﬂuenced by (i) alkalitreatment of ﬁber, (ii) weight ratio of ﬁber–matrix, and (iii) curing time. C 2011Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 31: 319–330, 2012; View this articleonline at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/adv.20255 Correspondence to:
Heavy Alcohol Use Among Migrant and Non-Migrant Male Sex Workers in Thailand: A Neglected HIV/STI Vulnerability

ABSTRACT Background: There is scarce research on male sex workers in the context of alcohol use. While heavy alcohol use has been established as a risk factor for HIV and STI infections among men who have sex with men (MSM), men who engage in sex work with other men, particularly from the Global South, have not been included in these studies. Moreover, studies among male sex workers in Asia often do not explore migration contexts of these men. Objectives: The objective of this exploratory study is to examine the prevalence and correlates of heavy alcohol use among migrant and non-migrant male sex workers in Bangkok and Pattaya, Central Thailand. Methods: Between August and October 2015, 18–24 year-old migrant and non-migrant male sex workers (n = 212) were recruited from various male sex work-identified venues (bars, clubs, massage parlors, and go-go bars) to take an interviewer-administered cross-sectional survey in Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand. Measures were adapted from previous studies in similar populations and included structured questions across four domains, including demographic characteristics, alcohol use, stimulant use, and sexual behaviors. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the independent associations between heavy alcohol use (heavy versus not heavy) and demographic characteristics, stimulant use and sexual behavior. Results: Heavy alcohol use was prevalent among one-third of participants. Heavy alcohol use was positively associated with male sex workers who were non-migrant and Thai, currently using stimulants, having 15 or more male clients in the past month and having first consumed alcohol at age 15 years or younger. Conclusions: Current HIV prevention efforts should consider subpopulations of MSM, including male sex workers and migrants, as well as other risk behaviors like alcohol, as important contexts for HIV and STI risks.
Fabrication and Electronic Investigation of GaAs nanowire/Graphene Hybrid Devices

In the present study, a process for fabricating GaAs nanowire/graphene hybrid devices using electron beam lithography processing techniques is presented and demonstrated. Fabricated devices were investigated electronically by measuring emph{I-V} characteristics under a variable gate voltage. Fabrication processes for both exfoliated and CVD-grown graphene were developed. For exfoliated graphene the outlined process is unsuccessful, as the graphene flakes were found to crumble and fall off during the first processing step following transfer. It is thus concluded that exfoliated graphene flakes are too delicate to perform any significant processing after graphene transfer. The fabrication process was successfully demonstrated in fabrication of devices with CVD-grown graphene. However, nanowires in these devices were seen to undergo significant corrosion during the process, which is credited to the water exposure associated with graphene transfer. This was found to be an especially prominent issue for contacted nanowires, where the metal contact is believed to facilitate galvanic corrosion. I-V characteristics and gate voltage dependence were measured for GaAs nanowire/graphene hybrid devices made with CVD-grown graphene. Large variations in the I-V behavior and gate voltage dependence was observed. This is credited to corrosion in the nanowires, which is thought to result in uncharacteristic behavior for metal-GaAs contacts. There are also indications that several devices are shortened by graphene. The electronic investigations are therefore found to be inconclusive in respect to the electronic properties of the graphene/GaAs nanowire junction. It is concluded that further developments in the fabrication process are needed to achieve GaAs nanowire/graphene hybrid devices suitable for detailed analysis.
Rocker outsole shoes and margin of stability during walking: A preliminary study

Rocker outsole shoes are commonly prescribed to diabetic patients to redistribute peak plantar pressures at high risk areas such as forefoot thereby decreasing risks of plantar ulceration. However, there are evidences of postural destabilizing effect of the rocker outsole shoes. Patients with diabetes, particularly those suffering from neuropathy, are at a higher risk of falling. Then, beside primary role of rocker outsole in offloading, it is essential to explore the effect of the rocker outsole on postural stability of these patients. The smaller base of support (BOS) of the rocker outsoles due to their specific geometry has been previously mentioned as a threat to postural stability. Margin of stability (MOS) appeared to be an appropriate method for measuring postural stability during walking by considering the dynamicity of BOS in its equation. MOS is defined as the distance between the velocity adjusted position of the centre of mass (COM) and the boundaries of the BOS which constantly changes during walking. Then, this study proposes how we can use MOS concept to investigate the impact of the rocker outsoles on dynamic stability. In this study the kinematic data from a single subject with diabetic neuropathy was used to explain the efficiency of the methodology. Conclusive results are expected after carrying out systematic tests using a statistically representative sample size.
DSP performance evaluation for motion estimation

In this paper, we analyze the performance of the floating point digital signal processor (DSP) TMS320C6711 for an implementation of video coding motion. Two relevant motion estimation techniques were implemented: BMA (block matching algorithm) and BMGT (block matching using geometric transforms). These have been combined with fast block matching algorithms to speed up the process. In order to increase the DSP performance, we have optimized some programming mechanisms like: the level of code parallelism, hand designed assembly code and an efficient usage of internal memory as cache. This implementation has shown that real-time motion estimation of BMA type, can be implemented in this DSP. However. BMGT type motion estimation cannot be done by one DSP alone in-real time applications, due to its high computational complexity.
Action recognition from extremely low-resolution thermal image sequence

This paper proposes a Deep Learning-based action recognition method from an extremely low-resolution thermal image sequence. The method recognizes daily actions by humans (e.g. walking, sitting down, standing up, etc.) and abnormal actions (e.g. falling down) without privacy concerns. While privacy concerns can be ignored, it is difficult to compute feature points and to obtain a clear edge of the human body from an extremely low-resolution thermal image. To address these problems, this paper proposes a Deep Learning-based action recognition method that combines convolution layers and an LSTM layer for learning spatio-temporal representation, whose inputs are the thermal images and their frame differences cropped by the gravity center of human regions. The effectiveness of the proposed method was confirmed through experiments.
Measurement of contrast reduction and its application to LCD backlight control

In this paper we propose a novel method to measure the contrast reduction in a digital image, and its application on LCD backlight dimming. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, we propose a new key concept, burstiness, in measuring the contrast reduction. Second, there has not been a backlight control method that quantifies the image quality degradation in terms of contrast reduction, and optimizes it with power consumption. By considering the spatial distribution characteristic of contrast reduced pixels, the proposed method effectively captures the contrast reduction. This leads to a gain in the power saving in the backlight dimming while visual perception quality is maintained.
Secure and efficient voice-over-IP in a cdma2000® Network

This paper examines how to provide secure and efficient voice-over-IP service on a cdma2000 network. Various alternative solutions and their relationship to header compression techniques are discussed. We propose a new method of end-to-end encryption that could be used to provide privacy even when Header Removal, a cdma2000-specific technique where IP/UDP/RTP headers are discarded before transmission over the air, is in use. The new method relies on a novel variable-length block cipher that can be re-used with fixed parameters across many voice frames, eliminating the requirement to carry precise cryptographic synchronization with each and every voice frame. Instead, the parameters to the block cipher are varied on an infrequent basis, and synchronization information is communicated from the encryptor to the decryptor by overwriting the occasional voice frame, with minimal impact on resulting voice quality. The method offers provable security guarantees given some assumptions about the amount of entropy contained in the encoded speech data.
Combinatorial Semi-Bandits with Knapsacks

We unify two prominent lines of work on multi-armed bandits: bandits with knapsacks (BwK) and combinatorial semi-bandits. The former concerns limited "resources" consumed by the algorithm, e.g., limited supply in dynamic pricing. The latter allows a huge number of actions but assumes combinatorial structure and additional feedback to make the problem tractable. We define a common generalization, support it with several motivating examples, and design an algorithm for it. Our regret bounds are comparable with those for BwK and combinatorial semi- bandits.
A novel clustering algorithm using hypergraph‐based granular computing

Clustering is an important technique in data mining. In this paper, we introduce a new clustering algorithm. This algorithm, based on granular computing, constructs a hypergraph (simplicial complex) by the hypergraph bisection algorithm. It will discover the similarities and associations among documents. In some experiments on Web data, the proposed algorithm is used; the results are quite satisfactory. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Physicians, sick leave certificates, and patients' subsequent employment outcomes

Abstract I analyze how general practitioners (GPs) indirectly affect their patients' employment outcomes by deciding the length of sick leaves. I use an instrumental variables framework where spell durations are identified through supply‐side certification measures. I find that a day of sick leave certified only because the worker's GP has a high propensity to certify sick leaves decreases the employment probability persistently by 0.45–0.69 percentage points, but increases the risk of becoming unemployed by 0.28–0.44 percentage points. These effects are mostly driven by workers with low job tenure. Several robustness checks show that endogenous matching between patients and GPs does not impair identification. My results bear important implications for doctors: Whenever medically justifiable, certifying shorter sick leaves to protect the employment status of the patient may be beneficial.