Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outage probability of multi-hop MIMO relaying with transmit antenna selection and ideal relay gain over Rayleigh fading channels

We present a study on the outage probability of multihop wireless communication systems with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) link based on the transmit antenna selection and the maximal-ratio combining (MRC) at the receiver. A nonregenerative system (NS) is investigated with an ideal amplifying gain. MIMO channels are assumed in uncorrelated Rayleigh fading.We derive a moment generating function (MGF) of the reciprocal of the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and obtain a closed-form approximation on the outage probability through the numerical inversion of a Laplace transform. Numerical results show that the presented outage is exactly matched with the outage probability when assuming the ideal relay gain. For more practical gains, the result is shown to be a lowerbound that gets tight at high average SNR as well as for a small number of hops and/or of antennas. We also compare the outage probabilities of nonregenerative MIMO relaying with a regenerative counterpart for multiple hops.
A DCT-Based Secure JPEG Image Authentication Scheme

The challenge in the case of image authentication is that in many cases images need to be subjected to non malicious operations like compression, so the authentication techniques need to be compression tolerant. In this paper we propose an image authentication system that is tolerant to JPEG lossy compression operations. A scheme for JPEG grey scale images is proposed based on a data embedding method that is based on a secret key and a secret mapping vector in the frequency domain. An encrypted feature vector extracted from the image DCT coefficients, is embedded redundantly, and invisibly in the marked image. On the receiver side, the feature vector from the received image is derived again and compared against the extracted watermark to verify the image authenticity. The proposed scheme is robust against JPEG compression up to a maximum compression of approximately 80%,, but sensitive to malicious attacks such as cutting and pasting. Keywords—Authentication, DCT, JPEG, Watermarking.
[Infection and inflammation in sepsis].

Uprkos najmodernijim merama suportivne terapije MODS, koji se cesto javlja kod bolesnika sa sepsom, nosi sa sobom visok mortalitet od preko 50%. Zbog toga istraživanja imunskog odgovora, pro- i antiinflamatornih citokina kod bolesnika sa sepsom imaju veliki znacaj u razumevanju patofiziologije i primene imunomodulacije u terapijske svrhe.
LR-aided MMSE lattice decoding is DMT optimal for all approximately universal codes

Currently for the nT × nR MIMO channel, any explicitly constructed space-time (ST) designs that achieve optimality with respect to the diversity multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) are known to do so only when decoded using maximum likelihood (ML) decoding, which may incur prohibitive decoding complexity. In this paper we prove that MMSE regularized lattice decoding, as well as the computationally efficient lattice reduction (LR) aided MMSE decoder, allows for efficient and DMT optimal decoding of any approximately universal latticebased code. The result identifies for the first time an explicitly constructed encoder and a computationally efficient decoder that achieve DMT optimality for all multiplexing gains and all channel dimensions. The results hold irrespective of the fading statistics.
Immune Escape of Tumors in Vivo by Expression of Cellular Flice-Inhibitory Protein

The antiapoptotic protein cellular FLICE (Fas-associated death domain–like IL-1β–converting enzyme) inhibitory protein (cFLIP) protects cells from CD95(APO-1/Fas)-induced apoptosis in vitro and was found to be overexpressed in human melanomas. However, cytotoxic T cell–induced apoptosis, which is critically involved in tumor control in vivo, is not inhibited by cFLIP in vitro, as only CD95- and not perforin-dependent lysis is affected. This calls into question whether cFLIP is sufficient to allow escape from T cell–dependent immunity. Using two murine tumors, we directly demonstrate that cFLIP does result in escape from T cell immunity in vivo. Moreover, tumor cells are selected in vivo for elevated cFLIP expression. Therefore, our data indicate that CD95-dependent apoptosis constitutes a more prominent mechanism for tumor clearance than has so far been anticipated and that blockade of this pathway can result in tumor escape even when the perforin pathway is operational.
Ex Vivo Expanded Adaptive NK Cells Effectively Kill Primary Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells

Insights into the functional diversification of human NK cells promise improved NK cell therapy. A robust platform was developed to selectively expand adaptive NK cells that have unique specificity and enhanced cytotoxic potential against primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Manipulation of human natural killer (NK) cell repertoires promises more effective strategies for NK cell–based cancer immunotherapy. A subset of highly differentiated NK cells, termed adaptive NK cells, expands naturally in vivo in response to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, carries unique repertoires of inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), and displays strong cytotoxicity against tumor cells. Here, we established a robust and scalable protocol for ex vivo generation and expansion of adaptive NK cells for cell therapy against pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Culture of polyclonal NK cells together with feeder cells expressing HLA-E, the ligand for the activating NKG2C receptor, led to selective expansion of adaptive NK cells with enhanced alloreactivity against HLA-mismatched targets. The ex vivo expanded adaptive NK cells gradually obtained a more differentiated phenotype and were specific and highly efficient killers of allogeneic pediatric T- and precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) blasts, previously shown to be refractory to killing by autologous NK cells and the NK-cell line NK92 currently in clinical testing. Selective expansion of NK cells that express one single inhibitory KIR for self-HLA class I would allow exploitation of the full potential of NK-cell alloreactivity in cancer immunotherapy. In summary, our data suggest that adaptive NK cells may hold utility for therapy of refractory ALL, either as a bridge to transplant or for patients that lack stem cell donors. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(8); 654–65. ©2017 AACR.
Molecular Typing of Hospital-Acquired Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Isfahan, Iran

Background. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most common pathogens that cause hospital- and community-acquired infections in the world. The use of molecular typing methods is essential for determining the origin of the strains, their clonal relations, and also in epidemiological investigations. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibiotic resistant S. aureus isolates and using spa, agr, and SCCmec typing to determine the dominant types in Iran. Material and Method. Fifty isolates of S. aureus were collected from January to May 2010. S. aureus identification was performed by biochemical tests. Disk diffusion method was employed to assess the sensitivity of S. aureus strains to antibiotics and then genetic analysis of bacteria was performed using SCCmec, agr, and spa typing. Results. S. aureus resistance to tetracycline, cefoxitin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, Cot: cotrimoxazole, levofloxacin, rifampin, and vancomycin were found to be 36%, 18%, 12%, 12%, 22%, 6%, 6%, and 0%, respectively. The results of this study showed that 16% of the isolates were resistant to methicillin (MRSA) and the majority of isolates were SSC mec type IV. In addition spa and agr typing revealed agr typeI and spa type t7688 to be the most predominant. Conclusion. In this study, spa typing showed 100% reliability and the t7688 spa type had a frequency of 26% compared to the frequency of 0.0% in the Ridom SpaServer. The frequency of t304 spa type was higher than the global average.
Antimicrobial Evaluation of Mangiferin Analogues

The naturally occurring xanthone glycoside mangiferin has been isolated by column chromatography from the ethanol extract of stem bark of Mangifera indica. Mangiferin was further converted to 5-(N-phenylaminomethyleno)mangiferin, 5-(N-p-chlorophenylaminomethyleno) mangiferin, 5-(N-2-methylphenylaminomethyleno) mangiferin, 5-(N-p-methoxyphenylaminomethyleno) mangiferin, 5-(N, N-diphenylaminomethyleno) mangiferin, 5-(N--napthylaminomethyleno) mangiferin and 5-(N-4-methylphenylaminomethyleno) mangiferin. Mangiferin and its analogues were characterized by melting point and Rf value determination and through spectral technique like UV, IR, and NMR spectral analysis. The synthesized compounds were screened for antimicrobial activity.
Atomic scale study of the anti-vortex domain structure in polycrystalline ferroelectric

Abstract A modified first-principles-based atomistic method incorporating the anisotropic shell model is developed for the simulation of the vortex-type polarisation in polycrystalline ferroelectric. Based on the modified model, a series of distinct vortex and anti-vortex polarisation configurations are obtained at atomic scale simulation in which the anti-vortex polarisation configuration in polycrystalline ferroelectric has never been reported in the open literature. In this study, a standard definition is given to the polarised anti-vortex in mathematics and polarisation topology. The accurate distribution has been obtained from the simulation and validated by analogy of the vortex field using the Landau–Ginzburg–Devonshire theory. The properties of the anti-vortex are studied to establish the relationship among the polarisation value of the vector, the radius and the streamlines curvature of the anti-vortex. Based on the polarisation mechanism, a method is proposed for experimenters to observe clearly and position accurately the polarisation anti-vortex and vortex, which could combine as novel domain structure.
ANXIETY AND 10‐YEAR RISK OF INCIDENT AND RECURRENT DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN OLDER ADULTS

Anxiety has been shown to often precede depression in children and young adults. Only a small number of investigations have examined this form of comorbidity in older adults and the temporal relationship of these syndromes remains unclear. The objective was to verify whether trait anxiety predicts incident/recurrent depressive symptomatology in older adults independently of variables susceptible to explain this relationship in this population, such as cognitive complaints, subjective health, and baseline depressive symptoms.
How Well Does Your Instance Matching System Perform? Experimental Evaluation with LANCE

Identifying duplicate instances in the Data Web is most commonly performed (semi-)automatically using instance matching frameworks. However, current instance matching benchmarks fail to provide end users and developers with the necessary insights pertaining to how current frameworks behave when dealing with real data. In this paper, we present the results of the evaluation of instance matching systems using Lance, a domain-independent, schema agnostic instance matching benchmark generator for Linked Data. Lance is the first benchmark generator for Linked Data to support semantics-aware test cases that take into account complex OWL constructs in addition to the standard test cases related to structure and value transformations. We provide a comparative analysis with benchmarks produced using the Lance framework for different domains to assess and identify the capabilities of state of the art instance matching systems.
Mining the Student Dropout in Higher Education

Higher technological and vocational education (TVE) has served an important role in the long-term progress and industrial development of Taiwan. However, the high dropout rates in higher TVE are a challenging task for policy makers. This study is a first to propose a hybrid approach that combines both k-means and rough set theory for mining the dropout knowledge among student dropout. An empirical case of student dropout is based on the industrial-academic cooperation (IAC) education of higher TVE in Taiwan. The results of knowledge extraction from the proposed approach are illustrated as knowledge patterns/rules and clusters to provide better understanding of the reasons for or factors influencing student dropout.
Normative Databases for Imaging Instrumentation

Purpose:To describe the process by which imaging devices undergo reference database development and regulatory clearance. The limitations and potential improvements of reference (normative) data sets for ophthalmic imaging devices will be discussed. Method:A symposium was held in July 2013 in which a series of speakers discussed issues related to the development of reference databases for imaging devices. Results:Automated imaging has become widely accepted and used in glaucoma management. The ability of such instruments to discriminate healthy from glaucomatous optic nerves, and to detect glaucomatous progression over time is limited by the quality of reference databases associated with the available commercial devices. In the absence of standardized rules governing the development of reference databases, each manufacturer’s database differs in size, eligibility criteria, and ethnic make-up, among other key features. Conclusions:The process for development of imaging reference databases may be improved by standardizing eligibility requirements and data collection protocols. Such standardization may also improve the degree to which results may be compared between commercial instruments.
Secrecy Enhancement by Antenna Selection and FD Communication with Randomly Located Eavesdroppers

This paper investigates the secrecy connectivity probability for wireless networks with transmit antenna selection in the presence of randomly located eavesdroppers. Firstly, we propose an antenna selection scheme for use at the base station with a half-duplex receiver to enhance secrecy connectivity performance. Then in order to further improve the secrecy connectivity, a full-duplex (FD) receiver, which broadcasts a jamming signal while receiving the downlink message, is considered in this work. The probabilities of secrecy connectivity are given in the closed form and integral form for half-duplex and full-duplex receivers, respectively. The derived analytical results are verified by Monte Carlo simulations. The resulting analysis shows that the application of antenna selection at the transmitting base station and full-duplex communication at the receiving terminal leads to significant improvements in secrecy connectivity.
Hedge Funds: Ability Persistence and Style Bias

We analyze the persistence of the ability of hedge fund managers. Using a database of 3627 hedge funds from 1994 to 2005 we demonstrate that the ability does not persist for top performers once the strategy of the fund is correctly assessed. Manager ability is defined as the difference between fund return and the return of a portfolio of hedge fund indices whose weights have been estimated with a tracking error minimization. Our results are different from other contributions that measure the ability on the base of the investment strategy self reported in the fund prospectus. We demonstrate that the results of these previous contributions may be biased by a "style bias" that we define as the difference between the prospectus strategy and the one that best fits fund returns
Management of Mental Health Crises Among Youths With and Without ASD: A National Survey of Child Psychiatrists.

OBJECTIVE This study compared management by child psychiatrists of mental health crises among youths with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS A custom online mental health crisis services survey was administered to members of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The survey probed three domains of crisis management: willingness to work with youths with a history of mental health crisis, comfort level in managing a mental health crisis, and availability of external resources during a crisis. Child psychiatrists reporting on management of youths with ASD (N=492) and without ASD (N=374) completed the survey. RESULTS About 75% of psychiatrists in both groups were willing to accept a child with a history of a mental health crisis in their practice. During a crisis, psychiatrists caring for youths with ASD had less access to external consultation resources, such as a crisis evaluation center or other mental health professionals, compared with those caring for youths without ASD. Psychiatrists also expressed concerns about the ability of emergency department professionals and emergency responders to manage mental health crises among youths in a safe and developmentally appropriate manner, particularly among those with ASD. CONCLUSIONS Child psychiatrists are in need of more external resources to manage youths with ASD who are experiencing a mental health crisis. There is also a need to develop best practice procedures for emergency responders who are working with youths experiencing a mental health crisis.
Effect of N-acetyl-l-cysteine on insulin resistance caused by prolonged free fatty acid elevation.

Circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) are elevated in obesity and cause insulin resistance. The objective of the current study was to determine whether the antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) prevented hepatic and peripheral insulin resistance caused by prolonged elevation of plasma FFAs. Chronically cannulated Wistar rats received saline (SAL), Intralipid plus heparin (IH), IH plus NAC, or NAC i.v. infusion for 48 h. Insulin sensitivity was determined using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp with tritiated glucose tracer. IH induced hepatic and peripheral insulin resistance (P<0.05). NAC co-infusion did not prevent insulin resistance in the liver, although it was able to prevent peripheral insulin resistance. Prolonged IH infusion did not appear to induce oxidative stress in the liver because hepatic content of protein carbonyl, malondialdehyde, and reduced to oxidized glutathione ratio did not differ across treatment groups. In alignment with our insulin sensitivity results, IH augmented skeletal muscle protein carbonyl content and this was prevented by NAC co-infusion. Taken together, our results indicate that oxidative stress mediates peripheral, but not hepatic, insulin resistance resulting from prolonged plasma FFA elevation. Thus, in states of chronic plasma FFA elevation, such as obesity, antioxidants may protect against peripheral but not hepatic insulin resistance.
Investigation of output power in ring CW fiber laser using graphene saturable absorber

This paper reported the effect of different coupling ratio in continuous wave fiber laser in a ring cavity configuration. Different coupling ratios of 10/90 and 50/50 were tested. Where the output power may vary depending on the ratio and it can be applied to specific area that requires either high or low output power. In addition, generation of passive Q-switched erbium doped fiber laser (EDFL) using graphene based saturable absorber in ring cavity using different coupling ratio was experimentally investigated. As a result, wavelength centered at 1566.62nm is obtain from EDFL cavity. Moreover, the cavity using coupler of 50/50 is capable to achieve Q-switched pulses as compared to the cavity using coupler of 10/90. Where the maximum output power recorded is 336mW with pulse repetition rate of 23.74 kHz. In addition, the pulse width is 3. 84µs, and pulse energy is 14.15nJ.
Rapid methods for concurrent measurement of the RF‐pulse flip angle and the longitudinal relaxation time

Measuring both the flip angle (FA) and the longitudinal relaxation time T1 is essential in quantitative and longitudinal studies because the signal amplitude is dependent on these quantities. Conventional methods can only measure one of them at a time and require long scan times. In this work, two mutually consistent methods are developed; each can acquire multislice data for determining both the FA and T1 in a scan time about half the time needed for a conventional FA measurement. On the basis of a recent development of longitudinal‐relaxation measurement (Hsu and Lowe, J Magn Reson 2004;169:270–278; Hsu and Glover, J Magn Reson 2006;181:98–106), one of the methods uses RF pulse trains of two FAs whereas the other uses pulse trains of different pulse spacing. When only the FA or T1 is needed, the present methods can still be faster than conventional methods for the needed quantity. In benchmarking with a uniform‐density sample, both methods generate precise T1 values independent of the FA chosen (except at and near 90°). In the demonstration with three normal volunteers at 3 T, the T1 values of frontal and occipital white matter, putamen, and caudate are compared; the T1 values are in agreement with literature values and the intrasubject deviation is 0.2%–2.8%. Magn Reson Med, 61:1319–1325, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Capturing Consistency between Intra-clause and Inter-clause Relations in Knowledge-rich Dependency and Case Structure Analysis

We present a method for dependency and case structure analysis that captures the consistency between intra-clause relations (i.e., case structures or predicate-argument structures) and inter-clause relations. We assess intra-clause relations on the basis of case frames and inter-clause relations on the basis of transition knowledge between case frames. Both knowledge bases are automatically acquired from a massive amount of parses of a Web corpus. The significance of this study is that the proposed method selects the best dependency and case structure that are consistent within each clause and between clauses. We confirm that this method contributes to the improvement of dependency parsing of Japanese.
The Need for Different Domain-independent Heuristics

PRODIGY's planning algorithm uses domain-independent search heuristics. In this paper, we support our belief that there is no single search heuristic that performs more efficiently than others for all problems or in all domains. The paper presents three different domain-independent search heuristics of increasing complexity. We run PRODIGY with these heuristics in a series of artificial domains (introduced in (Barrett & Weld 1994)) where in fact one of the heuristics performs more efficiently than the others. However, we introduce an additional simple domain where the apparently worst heuristic outperforms the other two. The results we obtained in our empirical experiments lead to the main conclusion of this paper: planning algorithms need to use different search heuristics in different domains. We conclude the paper by advocating the need to learn the correspondence between particular domain characteristics and specific search heuristics for planning efficiently in complex domains.