Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BER Analysis of Dual-Hop Amplify-and-Forward MIMO Relaying with Best Antenna Selection in Rayleigh Fading Channels

Combining relaying and multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmission is a generic way to overcome the channel-fading impairments. Best antenna selection is a simple but efficient MIMO method that achieves the full diversity and also serves as a lower bound reference of MIMO performance. For a dual-hop MIMO system with an ideal amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying gain and best antenna selection, we provide a probability density function (PDF) of received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and an analytic BER equation when using M-ary PSK in Rayleigh fading channels. The analytic result is shown to exactly match with simulated one. Furthermore, the effect of link unbalance between the first hop and the second hop, due to differences in the number of antennas deployed in both hops as well as in the average power of channel coefficients, on the BER performance is numerically investigated and the results show that the links with better balance give better performance.
Early childhood infection and atopic disorder

BACKGROUND Atopy is of complex origins but the recent rise in atopic diseases in westernised communities points to the action of important environmental effects. One candidate mechanism is the changing pattern of microbial exposure in childhood. This epidemiological study investigated the relationship between childhood infections and subsequent atopic disease, taking into account a range of social and medical variables. METHODS A total of 1934 subjects representing a retrospective 1975–84 birth group at a family doctor practice in Oxfordshire were studied. Public health and practice records were reviewed; temporal records were made of all diagnoses of infections and their treatments, all immunisations, and diagnoses of asthma, hay fever and eczema; maternal atopy and a number of other variables were documented. RESULTS Logistic regression analysis identified three statistically significant predictors of subsequent atopic disease: maternal atopy (1.97, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.66, p<0.0001), immunisation with whole-cell pertussis vaccine (1.76, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.23, p<0.0001), and treatment with oral antibiotics in the first two years of life (2.07, 95% CI 1.64 to 2.60, p<0.0001). There was no significant association found for maternal smoking, bottle feeding, sibship size, or social class. CONCLUSIONS The prediction of atopic disease by maternal atopy mainly reflects the effect of acknowledged genetic factors. Interpretation of the prediction of atopic disorders by immunisation with whole-cell pertussis vaccine and treatment with oral antibiotics needs to be very cautious because of the possibilities of confounding effects and reverse causation. However, plausible immune mechanisms are identifiable for the promotion of atopic disorders by both factors and further investigation of these associations is warranted.
Switching from Bidirectional to Unidirectional Search

Recently, we showed that for traditional bidirectional search with "front-to-end" evaluations, it is not the meeting of search fronts but the cost of proving the optimality of a solution that is problematic. Using our improved understanding of the problem, we developed a new approach to improving this kind of search: switching to unidirectional search after the search frontiers meet for the first time (with the first solution found). This new approach shows improvements over previous bidirectional search approaches and (partly) also over the corresponding unidirectional search approaches in different domains. Together with a special-purpose improvement for the TSP, this approach showed better results than the standard search algorithms using the same knowledge.
Association between GSTT1 and GSTM1 genes polymorphisms Type II diabetes miletus patients in Basra Iraq

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a multifactor disease, one of the most dangerous factors is the impact of the oxidative stress which can participate in diabetogenesis (Ho and Bray, 1999), reduction of insulin secretion (Carlsson et al., 1999), and development of late diabetic complications (Baynes and Thorpe, 1999). Oxidative stress (high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to antioxidant defenses) can arise from ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 3 Number 11 (2014) pp. 288-299 http://www.ijcmas. com
Electrohydraulic high-energy shock-wave treatment for chronic plantar fasciitis.

BACKGROUND Plantar fasciitis is a common foot disorder that may be resistant to nonoperative treatment. This study evaluated the use of electrohydraulic high-energy shock waves in patients who failed to respond to a minimum of six months of antecedent nonoperative treatment. METHODS A randomized, placebo-controlled, multiply blinded, crossover study was conducted. Phase 1 consisted of twenty patients who were nonrandomized to treatment with extracorporeal shock waves to assess the phase-2 study protocol. In phase 2, 293 patients were randomized and an additional seventy-one patients were nonrandomized. Following ankle-block anesthesia, each patient received 100 graded shocks starting at 0.12 to 0.22 mJ/mm(2), followed by 1400 shocks at 0.22 mJ/mm(2) with use of a high-energy electrohydraulic shock-wave device. Patients in the placebo group received minimal subcutaneous anesthetic injections and nontransmitted shock waves by the same protocol. Three months later, patients were given the opportunity to continue without further treatment or have an additional treatment. This allowed a patient in the active treatment arm to receive a second treatment and a patient who received the placebo to cross over to the active treatment arm. Patients were followed at least one year after the final treatment. RESULTS Treatment was successful in seventeen of the twenty phase-1 patients at three months. This improved to nineteen (95%) of twenty patients at one year and was maintained at five years. In phase 2, three months after treatment, sixty-seven (47%) of the 144 actively treated patients had a completely successful result compared with forty-two (30%) of the 141 placebo-treated patients (p = 0.008). At one year, sixty-five of the sixty-seven actively treated, randomized patients maintained a successful result. Thirty-six (71%) of the remaining fifty-one nonrandomized patients had a successful result at three months. For all 289 patients who had one or more actual treatments, 222 (76.8%) had a good or excellent result. No patient was made worse by the procedure. CONCLUSIONS The application of electrohydraulic high-energy shock waves to the heel is a safe and effective noninvasive method to treat chronic plantar fasciitis, lasting up to and beyond one year.
ACQUIRED RISK FACTORS AND DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS IN SYMPTOMATIC OUT PATIENTS

Previous studies revealed a number of acquired risk factors predisposing to acute deep vein-thrombosis (DVT). Unfortunately many of these clinical or epidemiologic studies were not proper designed, since they didn't include consecutive patients, used no or different types of objective endpoints or collected the data retrospectively. In a prospective trial we evaluated 307 consecutive out-patients with clinically suspected DVT by using ascending venography, which confirmed suspicion in 136 (44%). A history of prior thrombotic episodes as well as factors predisposing to DVT including advancing age, obesity, smoking habits, cancer, chronic lung and/or heart disease, immobilization, pregnancy, childbirth, chronic liver disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), nephrotic syndrome, varicose veins, fractures or trauma or chronic arteriopathies of the legs, diabetes mellitus (DM), recent surgery and estrogen therapy were recorded in all patients. The results of our comparison of these risk factors with the outcome of venography indicate clearly a significant difference (chi-square test) between patients with and without DVT for the following: -previous documented thromboembolism, cancer (p < 0.01); -chronic lung and/or heart disease, age > 65 years, immobilization (p < 0.05). The frequency of pregnancy, childbirth, nephrotic syndrome and chronic liver disease among our patients was too low for providing sufficiently narrow confidence limits. Surprisingly the presence of varicose veins will decrease the possibility of DVT (p < 0.01). In all patients (n=3) affected by SLE clinical suspicion was confirmed. Obesity, smoking habits, recent trauma or fracture or chronic artheriopathies of the legs, DM, recent surgery and estrogen therapy were not associated with an increased risk of thrombosis, since their presence in both groups was approximately the same.
Human Th17 Migration in Three‐Dimensional Collagen Involves p38 MAPK

T cell migration across extracellular matrix (ECM) is an important step of the adaptive immune response but is also involved in the development of inflammatory autoimmune diseases. Currently, the molecular mechanisms regulating the motility of effector T cells in ECM are not fully understood. Activation of p38 MAPK has been implicated in T cell activation and is critical to the development of immune and inflammatory responses. In this study, we examined the implication of p38 MAPK in regulating the migration of human Th17 cells through collagen. Using specific inhibitor and siRNA, we found that p38 is necessary for human Th17 migration in three‐dimensional (3D) collagen and that 3D collagen increases p38 phosphorylation. We also provide evidence that the collagen receptor, discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1), which promotes Th17 migration in 3D collagen, is involved in p38 activation. Together, our findings suggest that targeting DDR1/p38 MAPK pathway could be beneficial for the treatment of Th17‐mediated inflammatory diseases. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2819–2827, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Novel Recommendation Based on Personal Popularity Tendency

Recently, novel recommender systems have attracted considerable attention in the research community. Recommending popular items may not always satisfy users. For example, although most users likely prefer popular items, such items are often not very surprising or novel because users may already know about the items. Also, such recommender systems hardly satisfy a group of users who prefer relatively obscure items. Existing novel recommender systems, however, still recommend mainly popular items or degrade the quality of recommendation. They do so because they do not consider the balance between novelty and preference-based recommendation. This paper proposes an efficient novel-recommendation method called Personal Popularity Tendency Matching (PPTM) which recommends novel items by considering an individual's Personal Popularity Tendency (or PPT). Considering PPT helps to diversify recommendations by reasonably penalizing popular items while improving the recommendation accuracy. We experimentally show that the proposed method, PPTM, is better than other methods in terms of both novelty and accuracy.
Human herpesvirus-6 in liver transplant recipients: role in pathogenesis of fungal infections, neurologic complications, and outcome.

BACKGROUND The clinical impact and relevance of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) infection in liver transplant recipients, has not been fully discerned. METHODS A prospective study of 80 consecutive liver transplant recipients was performed using surveillance cultures for HHV-6 at weeks 2, 3, 4, and 6 after transplantation. Viral isolation was used for the detection of HHV-6. RESULTS HHV-6 infection occurred in 39% (31 of 80) of the patients. Patients with HHV-6 infection were more likely to have hepatocellular carcinoma as underlying liver disease (P=.09). Mental status changes of unidentifiable etiology were significantly more likely to occur in patients with HHV-6 compared with those without (26%, 9 of 31 vs. 6%, 3 of 49, P=.008). HHV-6 infection was an independent predictor of invasive fungal infections (odds ratio 8.3, 95% confidence interval, 1.2-58.0, P=.03). A significant association between HHV-6 infection and CMV infection after transplantation, CMV recipient and donor serostatus, rejection, or fever of unknown origin, could not be documented. Mortality at last follow-up in patients with HHV-6 infection (29%, 9 of 31) was significantly greater than those without HHV-6 (6%, 3 of 49, P=.008). CONCLUSIONS Central nervous system complications of unknown etiology after liver transplantation may be related to HHV-6 infection. HHV-6 viremia was an independently significant predictor of invasive fungal infections and was associated with late mortality in liver transplantation recipients.
Economic impact of using an immunostimulating agent to prevent severe acute exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE OM-85 BV, an immunostimulant made from bacterial extracts, has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization for acute exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as to reduce the length of stay for all hospitalizations. METHODS In conjunction with a placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial, a cost effectiveness analysis was carried out to assess the economic impact of using OM-85 BV. In the analysis, effectiveness was defined as the difference in the number of severe acute exacerbations, assessed by the number of hospitalizations for a respiratory problem, between the placebo and OM-85 BV-treated groups. RESULTS The median cost to prevent one day of hospitalization for a respiratory condition was CDN$45, with a 95% CI of CDN$18 to CDN$210. Bootstrap of the study population and sensitivity analyses showed that the results were robust and not likely due to random fluctuation; 98.8% of the cost effectiveness and 96.8% of the cost-benefit ratios favoured the use of OM-85 BV. Indirect costs, defined as a need for help, were reduced by 36% in the group treated with OM-85 BV: 779 h of help compared with 1212 h in the placebo group. This trend, while not significant, is consistent with other results and suggests a decrease in the severity of exacerbations in the OM-85 BV-treated group. CONCLUSION Given the high prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease worldwide and the high cost of acute exacerbations, immunostimulants may become a key element in the improved control of this condition.
Efficient Computation of the Binary Vector That Maximizes a Rank-Deficient Quadratic Form

The maximization of a full-rank quadratic form over the binary alphabet can be performed through exponential-complexity exhaustive search. However, if the rank of the form is not a function of the problem size, then it can be maximized in polynomial time. By introducing auxiliary spherical coordinates, we show that the rank-deficient quadratic-form maximization problem is converted into a double maximization of a linear form over a multidimensional continuous set, the multidimensional set is partitioned into a polynomial-size set of regions which are associated with distinct candidate binary vectors, and the optimal binary vector belongs to the polynomial-size set of candidate vectors. Thus, the size of the candidate set is reduced from exponential to polynomial. We also develop an algorithm that constructs the polynomial-size candidate set in polynomial time and show that it is fully parallelizable and rank-scalable. Finally, we demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in the context of adaptive spreading code design.
Cholesterol through the Looking Glass

Background: Cholesterol is believed to be sensed via direct binding to the homeostatic machinery rather than by altering membrane properties. Results: Enantiomeric cholesterol, which exerts membrane effects but not specific interactions, also elicited homeostatic responses. Conclusion: Cholesterol mediates its own homeostasis through changing membrane properties in addition to specific cholesterol-protein binding. Significance: This work indicates a significant role of membrane effects in cholesterol homeostasis. How cholesterol is sensed to maintain homeostasis has been explained by direct binding to a specific protein, Scap, or through altering the physical properties of the membrane. The enantiomer of cholesterol (ent-cholesterol) is a valuable tool in distinguishing between these two models because it shares nonspecific membrane effects with native cholesterol (nat-cholesterol), but not specific binding interactions. This is the first study to compare ent- and nat-cholesterol directly on major molecular parameters of cholesterol homeostasis. We found that ent-cholesterol suppressed activation of the master transcriptional regulator of cholesterol metabolism, SREBP-2, almost as effectively as nat-cholesterol. Importantly, ent-cholesterol induced a conformational change in the cholesterol-sensing protein Scap in isolated membranes in vitro, even when steps were taken to eliminate potential confounding effects from endogenous cholesterol. Ent-cholesterol also accelerated proteasomal degradation of the key cholesterol biosynthetic enzyme, squalene monooxygenase. Together, these findings provide compelling evidence that cholesterol maintains its own homeostasis not only via direct protein interactions, but also by altering membrane properties.
Hierarchical max-flow routing

This paper describes a technique to reduce the computational complexity of max-flow routing, based on a hierarchical decomposition of the network. The computational complexity of this hierarchical max-flow routing is comparable to that of Dijkstra's and Bellman-Ford's algorithms. It is shown that in many of today's networks, this hierarchical approach provides nearly the same performance as flat (i.e., non-hierarchical) routing, with significantly less computation
Near-surface soil moisture content measurement by GNSS reflectometry: An estimation model using calibrated GNSS signals

The microwave signal of GNSS L band is very sensitive to the electromagnetic property of soil surface, through measuring the reflected electromagnetic energy from soil, the relationship between power of GNSS reflected signals and soil dielectric constant can be built, and then soil moisture can be estimated. In order to improve estimation accuracy, both the direct and reflected GNSS signals need to be calibrated to eliminate the signal error. A soil moisture estimation model utilizing calibrated GNSS L band reflected signals is proposed in this paper, and the estimation accuracy is validated using SMEX02 data. The error of areas with different NDVI is calculated. The error of soil moisture estimation is 7.04% for bare soil condition of the verify areas. It is shown that this model is suitable for bare soil condition or areas with low vegetation coverage. For further research, in the case of soil with high vegetation coverage, the model should be modified through adding the vegetation effect into it.
Protective immune responses against West Nile virus are primed by distinct complement activation pathways

West Nile virus (WNV) causes a severe infection of the central nervous system in several vertebrate animals including humans. Prior studies have shown that complement plays a critical role in controlling WNV infection in complement (C) 3−/− and complement receptor 1/2−/− mice. Here, we dissect the contributions of the individual complement activation pathways to the protection from WNV disease. Genetic deficiencies in C1q, C4, factor B, or factor D all resulted in increased mortality in mice, suggesting that all activation pathways function together to limit WNV spread. In the absence of alternative pathway complement activation, WNV disseminated into the central nervous system at earlier times and was associated with reduced CD8+ T cell responses yet near normal anti-WNV antibody profiles. Animals lacking the classical and lectin pathways had deficits in both B and T cell responses to WNV. Finally, and somewhat surprisingly, C1q was required for productive infection in the spleen but not for development of adaptive immune responses after WNV infection. Our results suggest that individual pathways of complement activation control WNV infection by priming adaptive immune responses through distinct mechanisms.
Vaccines against malaria

There is no licenced vaccine against any human parasitic disease and Plasmodium falciparum malaria, a major cause of infectious mortality, presents a great challenge to vaccine developers. This has led to the assessment of a wide variety of approaches to malaria vaccine design and development, assisted by the availability of a safe challenge model for small-scale efficacy testing of vaccine candidates. Malaria vaccine development has been at the forefront of assessing many new vaccine technologies including novel adjuvants, vectored prime-boost regimes and the concept of community vaccination to block malaria transmission. Most current vaccine candidates target a single stage of the parasite's life cycle and vaccines against the early pre-erythrocytic stages have shown most success. A protein in adjuvant vaccine, working through antibodies against sporozoites, and viral vector vaccines targeting the intracellular liver-stage parasite with cellular immunity show partial efficacy in humans, and the anti-sporozoite vaccine is currently in phase III trials. However, a more effective malaria vaccine suitable for widespread cost-effective deployment is likely to require a multi-component vaccine targeting more than one life cycle stage. The most attractive near-term approach to develop such a product is to combine existing partially effective pre-erythrocytic vaccine candidates.
Nanodevice for Imaging Normal Stress Distribution With Application in Sensing Texture and Feel' by Touching

Abstract : Touch is one of the five senses designed by nature for survival. 'Touch' may (partially) be characterized as a sensory operation for measuring texture and softness of an object by mechanical contact. We propose to design, fabricate, study and develop, a novel touch sensor made from nanoparticles with broad range of other applications such as, ultrasound medical imaging/diagnostics, smart materials, and non-destructive diagnostics of large structures. The nanodevice is a self-assembled thin-film sensor that will convert static or dynamic (compressive) normal stress distribution to, (i) visible-light, and/or, (ii) electrical current or voltage. The optical and/or electrical signal is proportional to the magnitude of local stress on the sensor's active area. By detecting the light intensity distribution and/or, probing the current distribution on the active area using an electrode array, the stress distribution can be obtained at (potentially) spatial resolution of <10 m spot. Since the device is self-assembled, the sensor surface can be 100 m2 to (in principle) over 1 m2. Importantly, the dynamic range and the sensitivity of the sensor can be tuned by 1-2 orders of magnitude by regulating the device power supply. Due to high speed (especially for electrical signal), the external stimulus (i.e., stress distribution) may be a pressure or sound radiation. The basic device element is a multilayer film of metallic and (electroluminescent) semiconducting nanoparticles. We have self-assembled a preliminary sensor with active area of 1 cm2 and sensitivity of ^1 KPa. Since, the total film thickness of the sensor is <100 nm, the normal strain (due to stress) will be highly localized. A patent application on the sensor is filed.