Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Evaluation of ICI Self-Cancellation Scheme with Phase-Rotated Data Allocation in OFDM Systems

In this paper, a scheme is proposed to eliminate the effect of intercarrier interference (ICI) in OFDM systems. Applying the desired phase-rotated data allocation within the proposed scheme, the ICI between the subcarriers can be reduced. Besides, the analysis to the ICI effect in the system is presented. The performance with the proposed scheme is evaluated based on the phase rotation factor, carrier-to-interference power ratio (CIR) and bit error rate (BER). The results show that the BER performance with the proposed scheme is better than that with Zhao’s scheme for a large frequency offset because the effect of phase error with the proposed scheme is lighter than that with Zhao's scheme.
Trajectories of Religious/Spiritual Struggles Between Years 1 and 2 of College: The Predictive Role of Religious Belief Salience

ABSTRACT Religious and spiritual struggles involve tensions, conflicts, and strains pertaining to religious and spiritual life. This research examined whether broad measures of religiousness predicted differences in the development and resolution of struggles over 1 year in a sample of undergraduates (N = 451) from three U.S. universities: secular public (n = 146), secular private (n = 126), and faith-based Christian (n = 179). Latent class growth analyses indicated 4 distinct trajectories of change in struggles. One group reported consistently low levels of struggles (n = 298, 66% of total sample); another developed struggles over a 1-year period (n = 100, 22%); a third reported high levels of struggles during both years (n = 19, 4%); and the final group reported resolving their struggles over 1 year (n = 34, 8%). Penalized multinomial logistic regressions indicated that religious belief salience predicted the development of struggles longitudinally. We discuss the implications of these findings.
Effects of post-decoupled-plasma-nitridation annealing of ultra-thin gate oxide

Silicon Nan0 Device Laboratory (SNDL), Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576, e-mail : elebjcho@us.edu. sg 'Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd, Technology Development Department, 60 Woodlands Industrial Park D, Street 2, Singapore 738406 Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue. Singapore 639798 2
Automatic detection and concealment of specular reflections for endoscopic images

Endoscopy is a minimally invasive medical diagnostic procedure, which is used for observing the surfaces of organs inside human body. The surfaces usually contain specular reflections from distributing light sources, which are visible in endoscopic images and videos. For many computer vision algorithms the highlights created by specular reflections may become significant source of error. In this paper, we propose: (a) a method for segmentation of highlights based on adoptive colour thresholding and contour analyses and (b) a powerful inpainting method, which fill the highlighted regions with information propagated from adjacent areas. The inpainting algorithm conceals the specular reflections with high accuracy and provides visually pleasurable appearance of endoscopic images and videos. The methods are compared with related approaches reported for processing of endoscopic images and the efficiency is demonstrated on large set of endoscopic images.
Evaluation of a mosaic based approach to video compression

There is great interest in the storage and browsing of large collections of video clips, due to the current explosion in demand for digital video. Many new algorithms and standards (MPEG, H.261, H.263, etc.) have been developed in recent years for the coding of video. However, most of these techniques lose performance when there exists significant camera motion, a common element of some classes of video such as surveillance and sporting events. A mosaic-based approach to video compression, initially presented by Irani, Hsu, and Anandan (1995), creates a world-oriented panoramic representation of the scene for compression. This paper proposes and evaluates a specific mosaic-based algorithm for video compression that uses a static mosaic with a wavelet-based coding scheme for the mosaic and the temporal residual information. The mosaic-based approach is compared to a global motion compensation approach and the algorithms detailed in this paper are compared to the H.263 TMN5 coder.
Differential Methylation of Genes Associated with Cell Adhesion in Preeclamptic Placentas

Preeclampsia (PE), a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, is hypothesized to be associated with, if not mechanistically related to abnormal placental function. However, the exact mechanisms regulating the pathogenesis of PE remain unclear. While many studies have investigated changes in gene expression in the PE placenta, the role of epigenetics in PE associated placental dysfunction remains unclear. Using the genome-wide Illumina Infinium Methylation 450 BeadChip array, we analyzed gene-specific alterations in DNA methylation in placental biopsies collected from normal pregnant women delivering at term (n = 14), with term PE (≥37 weeks; n = 19) or with preterm PE (<37 weeks, n = 12). Of the 485,582 gene loci on the array, compared to controls, 229 loci were differentially methylated in PE placentas and 3411 loci were differentially methylated in preterm PE (step up p-value <0.05 and >5% methylation difference). Functional annotation of the differentially methylated genes in preterm PE placentas revealed a 32 gene cluster in the cadherin and cell adhesion functional groups (Benjamini p<0.00001). Hypermethylation of CDH11 (p = 0.0143), COL5A1 (p = 0.0127) and TNF (p = 0.0098) and hypomethylation of NCAM1 (p = 0.0158) was associated with altered mRNA expression in preterm PE placentas. Demethylation of first trimester extravillous trophoblast cells resulted in altered CDH11 (p = 0.0087), COL5A1 (p = 0.0043), NCAM1 (p = 0.0260) and TNF (p = 0.0022) mRNA expression. These studies demonstrate aberrant methylation, correlating with disease severity, in PE placentas. Furthermore, we provide evidence that disruption of gene-specific methylation in preterm PE placentas and first trimester trophoblasts is significantly associated with altered gene expression demonstrating that epigenetic modifications early in pregnancy can have effects on trophoblast function contributing to PE.
School participation for children with disabilities in Kenya

In Kenya, policies to increase access to quality education have largely focused on reducing rural/urban, gender, and income inequality. Yet, many children do not attend or fully participate in school because they have physical and mental disabilities. The goal of this paper is to examine school enrollment, attendance, and primary school completion patterns for children with disabilities in Kenya. The study used the 2007 Kenya National Survey for Persons with Disabilities. The aim of the survey, the first of its kind in Kenya, was to estimate the number of people with disabilities, their regional distribution, and their demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The study finds that children with disabilities face significant obstacles to schooling. Schools are unable to offer services to children with disabilities, hence making it difficult for them to attend school. These children are significantly less likely to enroll in school, attend school, and complete primary school.
Moderating Effect of Membership Status on the Quality-Value-Loyalty Chain at Museums

Delivering a high-quality, valued, and recommendable experience to customers is crucial for the tourism industry. Our purpose in this research was to investigate the determinants of museum visitor retention and the moderating effect of membership status on the quality-value-loyalty chain at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. Participants were 729 museum visitors who had made more than 2 visits in 1 year. Results identified significant interrelationships among visitors’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, perceptions of service quality, and perception of value, which determined their loyalty. We are the first researchers to explore the effect of membership status at a museum as a moderator influencing the quality-value-loyalty chain. Our findings can act as a guide for museum managers and promoters as to which service offerings will meet the needs of both member and nonmember visitors, and will encourage their loyalty.
Top-k Recommendation with Temporal Dynamics

This work focuses on top-k recommendation in domains where underlying data distribution shifts overtime. We propose to learn a time-dependent bias for each item over whatever existing recommendation engine. Such a bias learning process alleviates data sparsity in constructing the engine, and at the same time captures recent trend shift observed in data. We present an alternating optimization framework to resolve the bias learning problem, and develop methods to handle a variety of commonly used recommendation evaluation criteria, as well as large number of items and users in practice. The proposed algorithm is examined, both offline and online, using real world data sets collected from a retailer website. Empirical results demonstrate that the bias learning can almost always boost recommendation performance. We encourage other practitioners to adopt it as a standard component in recommender systems where temporal dynamics are a norm.
Learners on the Periphery: Lurkers as Invisible Learners

Abstract Lurkers, who are also known as silent learners, observers, browsers, read-only participants, vicarious learners, free-riders, witness learners, or legitimate peripheral participants (our preferred term), tend to be hard to track in a course because of their near invisibility. We decided to address this issue and to examine the perceptions that lurkers have of their behaviour by looking at one specific online learning course: CLMOOC. In order to do this, we used a mixed methods approach and collected our data via social network analysis, online questionnaires, and observations, including definitions from the lurkers of what they thought lurking was. We then analysed the data by using social network and content analyses and interpreted the research findings using the concept Community of Practice, with the Pareto Principle used to delimit types of learner. Our research findings revealed that lurking is a complex behaviour, or set of behaviours, and there isn’t one sole reason why lurkers act the ways that they do in their respective communities. We concluded that for a more participatory community the more active, experienced or visible community members could develop strategies to encourage lurkers to become more active and to make the journey from the periphery to the core of the community.
Image Reporting and Characterization System for Ultrasound Features of Thyroid Nodules: Multicentric Korean Retrospective Study

Objective The objective of this retrospective study was to develop and validate a simple diagnostic prediction model by using ultrasound (US) features of thyroid nodules obtained from multicenter retrospective data. Materials and Methods Patient data were collected from 20 different institutions and the data included 2000 thyroid nodules from 1796 patients. For developing a diagnostic prediction model to estimate the malignant risk of thyroid nodules using suspicious malignant US features, we developed a training model in a subset of 1402 nodules from 1260 patients. Several suspicious malignant US features were evaluated to create the prediction model using a scoring tool. The scores for such US features were estimated by calculating odds ratios, and the risk score of malignancy for each thyroid nodule was defined as the sum of these individual scores. Later, we verified the usefulness of developed scoring system by applying into the remaining 598 nodules from 536 patients. Results Among 2000 tumors, 1268 were benign and 732 were malignant. In our multiple regression analysis models, the following US features were statistically significant for malignant nodules when using the training data set: hypoechogenicity, marked hypoechogenicity, non-parallel orientation, microlobulated or spiculated margin, ill-defined margins, and microcalcifications. The malignancy rate was 7.3% in thyroid nodules that did not have suspicious-malignant features on US. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.867, which shows that the US risk score help predict thyroid malignancy well. In the test data set, the malignancy rates were 6.2% in thyroid nodules without malignant features on US. Area under the ROC curve of the test set was 0.872 when using the prediction model. Conclusion The predictor model using suspicious malignant US features may be helpful in risk stratification of thyroid nodules.
Bridging the Gender Gap in Political Ambition: Experimental Evidence

One of the main reasons for the continued underrepresentation of women in politics is the persistent, well-documented gender gap in political ambition. We focus on three prominent arguments of how political ambition among young women could be increased: exposure to political role models, a better work-life balance, and less competitive selection procedures. We conducted a field experiment on a sample of students at a leading Swiss university. Subjects were invited to participate in workshops led by well-known female politicians. The results show that the treatment increased interest in the ongoing national election campaign, but did not have a positive effect on political ambition. Moreover, we conducted two survey experiments on the same population. Contrary to expectations, female students were less likely than male students to respond positively to the incentives of a shorter commute, and both genders responded equally favorably to a less competitive selection process.
Teachers’ emotional experiences and exhaustion as predictors of emotional labor in the classroom: an experience sampling study

Emotional exhaustion (EE) is the core component in the study of teacher burnout, with significant impact on teachers’ professional lives. Yet, its relation to teachers’ emotional experiences and emotional labor (EL) during instruction remains unclear. Thirty-nine German secondary teachers were surveyed about their EE (trait), and via the experience sampling method on their momentary (state; N = 794) emotional experiences (enjoyment, anxiety, anger) and momentary EL (suppression, faking). Teachers reported that in 99 and 39% of all lessons, they experienced enjoyment and anger, respectively, whereas they experienced anxiety less frequently. Teachers reported suppressing or faking their emotions during roughly a third of all lessons. Furthermore, EE was reflected in teachers’ decreased experiences of enjoyment and increased experiences of anger. On an intra-individual level, all three emotions predict EL, whereas on an inter-individual level, only anger evokes EL. Explained variances in EL (within: 39%, between: 67%) stress the relevance of emotions in teaching and within the context of teacher burnout. Beyond implying the importance of reducing anger, our findings suggest the potential of enjoyment lessening EL and thereby reducing teacher burnout.
Wireline and wireless RF-Interconnect for next generation SoC systems

In the era of the nanometer CMOS technology, due to stringent system requirements in power, performance and other fundamental physical limitations (such as mechanical reliability, thermal constraints, overall system form factor, etc.), future SoC systems are relying more on ultra-high data rate scalable, re-configurable, highly compact and reliable interconnect fabric. To overcome such challenges, we explore the use of multiband wireline and wireless RF-Interconnect (RF-I) which can communicate simultaneously through multiple frequency bands with low power signal transmission, reconfigurable bandwidth and excellent mechanical flexibility and reliability.
CRG Index: A More Sensitive Ht-Index for Enabling Dynamic Views of Geographic Features

The ht-index is a recently proposed tool for capturing dynamic views of the evolution process of geographic features, but the ht-index is not sensitive to small changes during this process. To address this problem, an improved ht-index, a cumulative rate of growth (CRG) index, was proposed. Compared to the ht-index, the CRG index is more sensitive to changes during the evolution process of geographic features, and the process is better captured by the CRG index as a result. In addition, the head/tail breaks method (used to derive the ht-index) was adjusted, making the CRG index a universal tool for capturing the dynamic views of both increasingly heterogeneous and increasingly homogeneous geographic features.
Effects of Chronic Ingestion of L-arginine alpha ketoglutarate Combined With Creatine monohydrate on Anaerobic Performance in Strength-Trained Athletes

Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank the lead supervisor for their continued hard work and supervision throughout the research process. An extended thanks is given to the entire technical team for their assistance in lab bookings and equipment preparation. Additional thanks are given to all friends and family that have offered support and assistance during the study. Lastly, but not least, the author would like to thank the participants that volunteered for this study and completed everything as requested. Abstract There has been a vast growth in the use of 'pre' workout nutritional aids for sports performance over the past decade, particularly those containing single use amino acids such as L-arginine. There are many purported physiological benefits to suggest combination of L-arginine with creatine will expedite a greater performance, however exact mechanisms are equivocal and evidence suggesting an actual performance benefit are lacking. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of L-arginine alpha ketoglutarate (AAKG) on total body mass, fat free mass, peripheral blood flow (ml.100ml-1 .min-1), isometric bench press and half squat, countermovement jump and peak power output in a single anaerobic Wingate. Further investigation into additive effects of creatine monohydrate (Cr) is undertaken where warranted. METHOD: Strength trained individuals (n = 24,3 kg) were randomly assigned in a double blind manner either: (1) AAKG combined with Cr; (2) AAKG combined with a matched cornflour placebo (PLA); (3) Matched cornflour PLA alone, or (4) Control (CONT) across an 8 week intervention. Participants' anthropometric measures, peripheral blood flow, isometric strength and power were tested. To minimise dietary covariance, subjects completed weekly nutritional assessments to maintain dietary consistency. RESULTS: Total body mass (TBM) was not significantly different at any point during the trial, overall TBM from baseline to week 8 was not
IPTV missed expectations. Can regulation do the trick

IPTV is the natural evolution of the traditional television, in all industrialized countries facing a diminishing revenue and audience trend. U.S. broadcasters are asking audience to view each show “live” and not recorded (or peer-to-peer) as to ensure audience to their advertisers and, as a consequence, financing to subsequent episodes of the show. This is a challenge posed by the so-called Martini generation, which demands content “anytime, anyplace, anywhere”, and is not satisfied by traditional television since its approach is to use different media a la carte. For these customers, the right of choosing when and where to watch contents (TV serials, shows, news, movies) is very important, therefore putting at risk the traditional broadcasting distribution mode that imposes a simultaneous one-to-many consumption including additional
Minimal conductivity in graphene: Interaction corrections and ultraviolet anomaly

Conductivity of a disorder-free intrinsic graphene is studied to the first order in the long-range Coulomb interaction and is found to be σ=σ0(1+0.01g), where g is the dimensionless (“fine structure”) coupling constant. The calculations are performed using three different methods: i) electron polarization function, ii) Kubo formula for the conductivity, iii) quantum transport equation. Surprisingly, these methods yield different results unless a proper ultraviolet cut-off procedure is implemented, which requires that the interaction potential in the effective Dirac Hamiltonian is cut-off at small distances (large momenta).
An all-pairs shortest path algorithm for bipartite graphs

Bipartite graphs are widely used for modeling of complex structures in biology, engineering, and computer science. The search for shortest paths in such structures is a highly demanded procedure that requires optimization. This paper presents a variant of the all-pairs shortest path algorithm for bipartite graphs. The method is based on the distance matrix product and improves the general algorithm by exploiting the graph topology. The space complexity is reduced by a factor of at least four and the time complexity decreased by almost an order of magnitude when compared with the basic APSP algorithm.
Finding Dynamic Dense Subgraphs

Online social networks are often defined by considering interactions of entities at an aggregate level. For example, a call graph is formed among individuals who have called each other at least once; or at least k times. Similarly, in social-media platforms, we consider implicit social networks among users who have interacted in some way, e.g., have made a conversation, have commented to the content of each other, and so on. Such definitions have been used widely in the literature and they have offered significant insights regarding the structure of social networks. However, it is obvious that they suffer from a severe limitation: They neglect the precise time that interactions among the network entities occur. In this article, we consider interaction networks, where the data description contains not only information about the underlying topology of the social network, but also the exact time instances that network entities interact. In an interaction network, an edge is associated with a timestamp, and multiple edges may occur for the same pair of entities. Consequently, interaction networks offer a more fine-grained representation, which can be leveraged to reveal otherwise hidden dynamic phenomena. In the setting of interaction networks, we study the problem of discovering dynamic dense subgraphs whose edges occur in short time intervals. We view such subgraphs as fingerprints of dynamic activity occurring within network communities. Such communities represent groups of individuals who interact with each other in specific time instances, for example, a group of employees who work on a project and whose interaction intensifies before certain project milestones. We prove that the problem we define is NP-hard, and we provide efficient algorithms by adapting techniques for finding dense subgraphs. We also show how to speed-up the proposed methods by exploiting concavity properties of our objective function and by the means of fractional programming. We perform extensive evaluation of the proposed methods on synthetic and real datasets, which demonstrates the validity of our approach and shows that our algorithms can be used to obtain high-quality results.