Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the Approximation of MIMO Shannon Capacity Over Spatially Correlated Ricean Fading Channels

Due to mathematical intractability, there have been only few analytical results on Ricean capacity with multiple antennas, especially for fading channels with spatial correlation. Based on a result from multivariate statistical theory, this paper shows that the statistically performance analysis for single-sided spatially correlated multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) Ricean fading channels can be replaced approximately by the corresponding analysis for single-sided correlated MIMO Rayleigh channels. In particular, an approximation closed-form expression for the Shannon capacity of single-sided correlated Ricean MIMO channels is given. It is shown by simulation that the approximation to the MIMO Shannon capacity is very accurate even for a small number of antenna elements, various correlation conditions, a wide range of Ricean K-factors, and low to high transmitting signal-to-noise ratio values. Based on the simulation results, it is guessed that the approximation is a lower bound on the MIMO Shannon capacity.
On-the-fly particle filter registration for laser data

This work is focused on streaming particle filter registration of surface models such as homogeneous triangle meshes and point clouds. Part of the approach is a streaming curvature feature calculation. The investigated approach utilizes a particle filter to incrementally update pose estimates during data acquisition. The method is evaluated in real data experiments with a high-precision laser striper system attached to an industrial robot. During the laser scan, the data is integrated on-the-fly in order to calculate features and based on these to estimate the object's pose. Experiments show the method's competitiveness in accuracy and reliability compared to state-of-the-art offline algorithms.
Late-time cosmology in (phantom) scalar-tensor theory: Dark energy and the cosmic speed-up

We consider late-time cosmology in a (phantom) scalar-tensor theory with an exponential potential, as a dark energy model with equation of state parameter close to -1 (a bit above or below this value). Scalar (and also other kinds of) matter can be easily taken into account. An exact spatially-flat FRW cosmology is constructed for such theory, which admits (eternal or transient) acceleration phases for the current universe, in correspondence with observational results. Some remarks on the possible origin of the phantom, starting from a more fundamental theory, are also made. It is shown that quantum gravity effects may prevent (or, at least, delay or soften) the cosmic doomsday catastrophe associated with the phantom, i.e. the otherwise unavoidable finite-time future singularity (Big Rip). A novel dark energy model (higher-derivative scalar-tensor theory) is introduced and it is shown to admit an effective phantom/quintessence description with a transient acceleration phase. In this case, gravity favors that an initially insignificant portion of dark energy becomes dominant over the standard matter/radiation components in the evolution process.
THE WELFARE STATE AND SOCIAL CAPITAL INEQUALITY

ABSTRACT In this paper we theoretically and empirically explore the question whether the unequal distribution of different aspects of social capital (networks, trust, norms) over a number of social dimensions (gender, age, income, employment status, and educational level) is smaller in countries with more developed welfare systems. Our data cover 13 Western industrialized countries and two periods in time (1981, 1999). The paper adds to the existing literature in several ways: by focusing explicitly on the empirical study of social capital inequality, by relating this subject to (quantitative and qualitative) welfare state characteristics, and by studying it from a cross-national and longitudinal perspective. We find that in the sample of countries analyzed there is no clear relationship between social capital inequality and welfare state characteristics. However, whether generally welfare states do not reduce social capital inequalities remains an issue for future research.
Impresa sociale, capitale sociale e politiche di sviluppo per il Mezzogiorno

In questo lavoro metto a fuoco il tema dell’impresa sociale intesa come un’organizzazione che accresce le capacita dei cittadini e che genera beni relazionali e capitale sociale. La tesi che avanzo e che nel Mezzogiorno la promozione dell’impresa sociale avrebbe l’effetto diretto di espandere l’accesso ai servizi collettivi, e dunque le capacita dei residenti meridionali, e l’effetto collegato di ridurre il divario di capitale sociale tra Mezzogiorno e Centro-Nord, elemento che contribuisce fortemente a spiegare il ritardo di sviluppo delle Regioni meridionali. Gli argomenti a favore della diffusione di imprese sociali, nell’ottica di questo scritto, intrecciano quindi gli aspetti del welfare e quelli dello sviluppo umano.
Robust Topological Operations for Dynamic Explicit Surfaces

We present a solution to the mesh tangling problem in surface tracking. Using an explicit triangle mesh to track the location of a surface as it moves in three dimensions has many potential advantages for accuracy and efficiency, compared to implicit capturing methods such as level sets. However, particularly when “mesh surgery” is required for topological changes, this approach is prone to tangling: The mesh may self-intersect or otherwise no longer represent a physical interface. Our new approach uses robust collision testing to determine when a mesh operation—such as motion, adaptive refinement, coarsening, or topological change—will lead to an invalid state; we then either roll back noncritical operations or apply robust collision response algorithms, minimally perturbing the mesh to guarantee validity. We present numerical examples demonstrating the robustness and accuracy of the method.
Libertarianism Without Inequality

Michael Otsuka sets out to vindicate left-libertarianism, a political philosophy which combines stringent rights of control over one's own mind, body, and life with egalitarian rights of ownership of the world. Otsuka reclaims the ideas of John Locke from the libertarian Right, and shows how his Second Treatise of Government provides the theoretical foundations for a left-libertarianism which is both more libertarian and more egalitarian than the Kantian liberal theories of John Rawls and Thomas Nagel. Otsuka's libertarianism is founded on a right of self-ownership. Here he is at one with 'right-wing' libertarians, such as Robert Nozick, in endorsing the highly anti-paternalistic and anti-moralistic implications of this right. But he parts company with these libertarians in so far as he argues that such a right is compatible with a fully egalitarian principle of equal opportunity for welfare. In embracing this principle, his own version of left-libertarianism is more strongly egalitarian than others which are currently well known. Otsuka argues that an account of legitimate political authority based upon the free consent of each is strengthened by the adoption of such an egalitarian principle. He defends a pluralistic, decentralized ideal of political society as a confederation of voluntary associations. Part I of Libertarianism without Inequality concerns the natural rights of property in oneself and the world. Part II considers the natural rights of punishment and self-defence that form the basis for the government's authority to legislate and punish. Part III explores the nature and limits of the powers of governments which are created by the consensual transfer of the natural rights of the governed. Libertarianism without Inequality is a book which everyone interested in political theory should read.
PSCA and Oct-4 Expression in the Benign and Malignant Lesions of Gallbladder: Implication for Carcinogenesis, Progression, and Prognosis of Gallbladder Adenocarcinoma

PSCA and Oct-4 have been thought as markers of cancer stem cells. Although overexpression of PSCA and Oct-4 in cancer has been reported, little is known about the clinical and pathological significance with PSCA and Oct-4 expression in gallbladder adenocarcinoma. In this study, overexpression of PSCA and Oct-4 was detected in gallbladder adenocarcinoma (54.6% and 55.6%). Less expression of PSCA and Oct-4 was detected in the pericancerous tissues (19.6% and 21.7%), gallbladder polyps (13.3% and 13.3%), and gallbladder epithelium with chronic cholecystitis (14.3% and 14.3%). The overexpression of PSCA and Oct-4 was significantly associated with differentiation, tumor mass, lymph node metastasis, invasion of gallbladder adenocarcinoma, and decreased overall survival. Our study suggested that overexpression of PSCA and Oct-4 might be closely related to the carcinogenesis, progression, metastasis, or invasive potential and prognosis of gallbladder carcinoma.
Sacred Technologies: the Evolution of Religious Cognitive Niche

Most cognitive studies of religion adopt a modular theory of cognition. The 'space'that is studied is often the 'space between the ears'. Culture and religion are viewed as by-products of more entrenched features of our brains. Although this 'Standard Model' explains many intuitive expressions of religious belief, it has trouble explaining (a) the variability of religious systems crossculturally (b) the uses of material culture (i.e. symbolic structures etc) in transmitting religious concepts. The following thesis presents a 'wideware mind' hypothesis for religious cognition. I urge that while our internal cognitive architecture is causally relevant to religious cognition, the material artefacts of culture must be viewed as cognitive properties in their own right. Hence any causal account of religious cognition must acknowledge the external features of minds and how our neurological resources interact with the artefacts of our world.
The effects of water ingestion on orthostatic hypotension in two groups of chronic autonomic failure: multiple system atrophy and pure autonomic failure

Background: Oral ingestion of water increases seated blood pressure in patients with chronic autonomic failure by mechanisms that remain unclear. As orthostatic hypotension is common in chronic autonomic failure, and is not always adequately controlled by medication, the potential benefits of water ingestion on standing blood pressure were studied in two types of autonomic failure: multiple system atrophy (MSA), in which the lesion is central and pre-ganglionic, and pure autonomic failure (PAF), in which the lesion is post-ganglionic. Methods: In 14 patients with autonomic failure (seven PAF and seven MSA) standing blood pressure and heart rate were measured before, and 15 and 35 minutes after ingestion of 480 ml distilled water. Patients remained seated for 15 minutes after water ingestion, with beat to beat cardiovascular indices measured with the Portapres II device with subsequent Modelflow analysis. Results: Standing prior to water ingestion caused a significant fall in blood pressure in all patients. After water ingestion there was a rise in seated blood pressure. Seated and standing blood pressure at 15 and 35 minutes after water ingestion was significantly higher than before water, with an improvement in orthostatic symptoms. The time to first significant rise in seated blood pressure occurred at 5 minutes post water ingestion in PAF and at 13 minutes in MSA. These increases were accompanied by increases in total peripheral resistance, reaching significance by 5 minutes in PAF and 13 minutes in MSA. There were no significant changes in cardiac output, stroke volume, or ejection fraction. Conclusions: Water is thus beneficial in improving standing BP in AF, acting within 15 minutes in both MSA and PAF. The earlier onset of the pressor effect in PAF may reflect the differing lesion site and underlying pathophysiology between these conditions.
Determining the benefits of direct-touch, bimanual, and multifinger input on a multitouch workstation

Multitouch workstations support direct-touch, bimanual, and multifinger interaction. Previous studies have separately examined the benefits of these three interaction attributes over mouse-based interactions. In contrast, we present an empirical user study that considers these three interaction attributes together for a single task, such that we can quantify and compare the performances of each attribute. In our experiment users select multiple targets using either a mouse-based workstation equipped with one mouse, or a multitouch workstation using either one finger, two fingers (one from each hand), or multiple fingers. We find that the fastest multitouch condition is about twice as fast as the mouse-based workstation, independent of the number of targets. Direct-touch with one finger accounts for an average of 83% of the reduction in selection time. Bimanual interaction, using at least two fingers, one on each hand, accounts for the remaining reduction in selection time. Further, we find that for novice multitouch users there is no significant difference in selection time between using one finger on each hand and using any number of fingers for this task. Based on these observations we conclude with several design guidelines for developing multitouch user interfaces.
Preventive, Lifestyle, and Personal Health Behaviors Among Physicians

ObjectiveThis study examines personal health behaviors and wellness, health-related lifestyles, and prevention screening practices among licensed physicians.MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 1,875 physicians practicing in California. Data from 763 returned questionnaires (41%) were analyzed.ResultsOur data show that 7% of this sample were clinically depressed, 13% reported using sedatives or tranquilizers, over 53% reported severe to moderate stress, and only 38% described their level of daily stress as slight. About 4% self-reported recent marijuana use. More than 6% screened positive for alcohol abuse and 5% for gambling problems. Thirty-five percent of participants reported “no” or “occasional” exercise. About 27% self-reported “never” or “occasionally” eating breakfast. In addition, 34% reported 6 or fewer hours of sleep daily, while 21% self-reported working more than 60 hours per week. Physicians’ excessive number of work hours (more than 65 hours per week) was associated with lack of exercise, not eating breakfast, and sleeping fewer than 6 hours per night. California physicians report breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer screening behaviors that exceeded population estimates in California and Healthy People 2010 national goals.ConclusionAdditional interventions designed to improve physicians’ lifestyles and personal health behaviors should be encouraged. A focus on creating healthy lifestyles will benefit physicians as much as the general population.
"I think he is in his room playing a video game": parental supervision of young elementary-school children at home.

OBJECTIVES Using a prospective design, this research examined supervision of young elementary-school children at home and how this relates to child injury, parent permissiveness, and children's risk-taking propensity. METHODS Mothers reported children's history of injuries and recorded home supervision over a 2-month interval on a weekly basis. Children independently completed diaries about daily events, including injuries. RESULTS Children spent 24% of time alone, mostly supervised intermittently or not at all. Parent permissiveness was associated with increased time unsupervised, while children's risk-taking propensity was associated with decreased time unsupervised. Greater direct supervision was associated with fewer injuries, while more indirect and non-supervision time emerged as risk factors and were associated with more frequent injury. CONCLUSIONS These results extend those from preschool-aged children and suggest that caregiver supervision influences risk of injury across a broad age range throughout childhood. Implications for children's safety are discussed.
Analysis of the switching threshold in dual-level class-G modulated power amplifiers

A two-level class-G RF power amplifier system is analyzed. Measurements show that for low output powers there is an optimum switching threshold valid for both PAE and linearity while for higher output powers they diverge and there is a trade-off between PAE and linearity. This creates a region where the output power can be reduced from maximum to 2 dB (58%) back-off in which the PAE and linearity can be kept constant. Furthermore the power amplifier properties can be dynamically adjusted by changing the switching threshold voltage of the class-G modulator.
Resolution of Inflammation: Prostaglandin E2 Dissociates Nuclear Trafficking of Individual NF-κB Subunits (p65, p50) in Stimulated Rheumatoid Synovial Fibroblasts1

NF-κB transcription factors regulate inflammatory responses to cytokines such as IL-1β and TNF-α. We tested whether PGE2 regulated nuclear localization of individual NF-κB subunits, p65 and p50, in synovial fibroblasts harvested from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). IL-1β/TNF-α stimulated the translocation of p65 and p50 from the cytosol to the nucleus of human RA synovial fibroblasts, as well as NF-κB activation measured by luciferase reporter assay. PGE2 (10 nM, 6 h) enhanced p50, but inhibited p65 translocation and NF-κB activation. In contrast, depletion of endogenous PGE2 by ibuprofen (100 μM) and celecoxib (5 μM) enhanced p65, but inhibited p50 nuclear translocation as well as binding to NF-κB DNA binding sites. PGE2 also blocked IL-1β/TNF-α-stimulated ERK activation, and the ERK inhibitor, PD98059, mimicked PGE2 in blocking p65, but enhancing p50 nuclear translocation, suggesting that the effects of PGE2 on p65 and p50 are mediated via effects on ERK. PGE2 also enhanced the expression of IκBα in an ERK-independent manner, suggesting that PGE2 inhibits NF-κB activation by both ERK-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Our data indicate that PGE2 may act to attenuate cytokine-induced inflammatory responses in RA synovial fibroblasts via regulation of the localization of specific NF-κB family dimers.
Face Recognition using Eigenvector and Principle Component Analysis

Face recognition is an important and challenging field in computer vision. This research present a system that is able to recognize a person’s face by comparing facial structure to that of a known person which is achieved by using frontal view facing photographs of individuals to render a two-dimensional representation of a human head. Various symmetrization techniques are used for preprocessing the image in order to handle bad illumination and face alignment problem. We used Eigenface approach for face recognition. Eigenfaces are eigenvectors of covariance matrix, representing given image space. Any new face image can then be represented as a linear combination of these Eigenfaces. This makes it easier to match any two given images and thus face recognition process. The implemented eigenface-based technique classified the faces 95% correctly.
Accelerated Fatty Acid Oxidation in Muscle Averts Fasting-induced Hepatic Steatosis in SJL/J Mice*

The accumulation of triglycerides (TG) in the liver, designated hepatic steatosis, is characteristically associated with obesity and insulin resistance, but it can also develop after fasting. Here, we show that fasting-induced hepatic steatosis is under genetic control in inbred mice. After a 24-h fast, C57BL/6J mice and SJL/J mice both lost more than 20% of body weight and ∼60% of total body TG. In C57BL/6J mice, TG accumulated in liver, producing frank steatosis. In striking contrast, SJL/J mice failed to accumulate any hepatic TG even though they lost nearly as much adipose tissue mass as the C57BL/6J mice. Mice from five other inbred strains developed fasting-induced steatosis like the C57BL/6J mice. Measurements of the uptake of free fatty acids (FA) in vivo and in vitro demonstrated that SJL/J mice were protected from steatosis because their heart and skeletal muscle took up and oxidized twice as much FA as compared with C57BL/6J mice. As a result of this muscle diversion, serum-free FA and ketone bodies rose much less after fasting in SJL/J mice as compared with C57BL/6J mice. When livers of SJL/J and C57BL/6J mice were perfused with similar concentrations of FA, the livers took up and esterified similar amounts. We conclude that SJL/J mice express one or more variant genes that lead to enhanced FA uptake and oxidation in muscle, thereby sparing the liver from FA overload in the fasting state.
Minimisation of Multiplicity Tree Automata

We consider the problem of minimising the number of states in a multiplicity tree automaton over the field of rational numbers. We give a minimisation algorithm that runs in polynomial time assuming unit-cost arithmetic. We also show that a polynomial bound in the standard Turing model would require a breakthrough in the complexity of polynomial identity testing by proving that the latter problem is logspace equivalent to the decision version of minimisation. The developed techniques also improve the state of the art in multiplicity word automata: we give an NC algorithm for minimising multiplicity word automata. Finally, we consider the minimal consistency problem: does there exist an automaton with n states that is consistent with a given finite sample of weight-labelled words or trees? We show that this decision problem is complete for the existential theory of the rationals, both for words and for trees of a fixed alphabet rank.
AutoDict: Automated Dictionary Discovery

An attribute dictionary is a set of attributes together with a set of common values of each attribute. Such dictionaries are valuable in understanding unstructured or loosely structured textual descriptions of entity collections, such as product catalogs. Dictionaries provide the supervised data for learning product or entity descriptions. In this demonstration, we will present AutoDict, a system that analyzes input data records, and discovers high quality dictionaries using information theoretic techniques. To the best of our knowledge, AutoDict is the first end-to-end system for building attribute dictionaries. Our demonstration will showcase the different information analysis and extraction features within AutoDict, and highlight the process of generating high quality attribute dictionaries.
Feline gastrointestinal microbiota

Abstract The close relationship between gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota and its host has an impact on the health status of an animal that reaches beyond the GI tract. A balanced microbiome stimulates the immune system, aids in the competitive exclusion of transient pathogens and provides nutritional benefits to the host. With recent rapid advances in high-throughput sequencing technology, molecular approaches have become the routinely used tools for ecological studies of the feline microbiome, and have revealed a highly diverse and complex intestinal ecosystem in the feline GI tract. The major bacterial groups are similar to those found in other mammals, with Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria constituting more than 99% of intestinal microbiota. Several nutritional studies have demonstrated that the feline microbiota can be modulated by the amount of soluble fibers (i.e., prebiotics) and macronutrients (i.e., protein content) in the diet. Initial clinical studies have suggested the presence of a dysbiosis in feline inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Recently, metagenomic approaches have attempted to characterize the microbial gene pool. However, more studies are needed to describe the phylogenetic and functional changes in the intestinal microbiome in disease states and in response to environmental and dietary modulations. This paper reviews recent studies cataloging the microbial phylotypes in the GI tract of cats.