Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Likelihood criteria based co-channel primary transmitters localization algorithm for cognitive radio networks

Over the last decades the cognitive radio networks (CRNs) has gained the attention in order to resolve the issue of spectrum scarcity. CRN provides the capability to access the spectrum on secondary basis without creating harmful interference to the licensed (primary) users. In this process CRN often needs detect the availability of primary transmitters in order to find the access to the spectrum. In this paper, we presents a method for localization of the unknown number of co-channel primary transmitters. It uses the cooperation of spatially distributed secondary users (SUs) for measurements of the net received signal strength (RSS) at their respective locations. The proposed method first estimates the total number of co-channel primary transmitters using likelihood criteria and then it localizes the primary transmitters individually by applying clustering. K-mean clustering algorithm is applied for classifying the measurements to localize the transmitters individually. The performance of the proposed method is shown in terms of detection probability and false alarm probability.
Dietary Antigens in Crohn's Disease: Antibodies to Porcine Pancreatic Amylase

OBJECTIVES:There is no clear evidence that dietary proteins aggravate Crohn's disease (CD). We aimed to clarify the antibody response to dietary proteins in CD.METHODS:Antibody to porcine pancreatic amylase (PPA) a protease-resistant dietary protein (anti-PPA), was examined in CD patients (N = 104), ulcerative colitis (UC) patients (N = 85), and healthy controls (N = 83), and its relationship with the clinical characteristics of CD was investigated. Antibodies to casein and ovalbumin, anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA), and antibodies to I2 from Pseudomonas fluorescens (anti-I2) were also examined.RESULTS:Thirty-eight percent (39/104) of the CD patients expressed anti-PPA antibodies, and this percentage was significantly higher as compared with the control group (5%, 4/83) and the UC group (9%, 8/85) (P < 0.001). A significantly higher level of anti-PPA antibodies was detected in patients with “small bowel disease-dominant” CD than in those with “colitis-dominant” CD (P < 0.05). Antibodies to casein and ovalbumin were not specifically expressed in CD patients. As ASCA was detected in 33% and anti-I2 in 46% of the CD patients, 72% of the CD patients were found positive for at least one of the three antibodies including anti-PPA antibodies.CONCLUSIONS:CD patients showed a specific antibody response to PPA, as compared with UC patients and controls. There was a significantly higher level of anti-PPA antibody in patients with “small bowel disease-dominant” CD, suggesting that dietary proteins could play a role in the inflammatory response in CD patients with small bowel disease. Anti-PPA antibodies combined with ASCA/anti-I2 may be useful for the diagnosis of CD.
Outward foreign direct investment, offshore outsourcing and local network resilience in industrial districts

ABSTRACT The internationalization of production activities is having a profound impact on regional economies. In this regard, it is generating externalities not only in the countries where production is offshored, but also in the domestic networks in which the internationalizing firms are located. Therefore, this paper investigates the effects of outward foreign direct investment and offshore outsourcing activities on domestic supplier populations in industrial districts (IDs). The aim is to evaluate the ability of these systems to react to the structural shocks associated with internationalization strategies. The results show that local network resilience is generally higher in advanced forms of IDs, where the role of large firms or service activities is more relevant.
Effects of adding a preceding run-up on performance, blood lactate concentration and heart rate during maximal intermittent vertical jumping

In this study, we examined the effects of a prior run-up on intermittent maximal vertical jump performance. Seven regionally ranked male volleyball players volunteered to participate in the study. They performed three randomized tests: (1) six repeated intermittent maximal jumps (jump condition), (2) six repeated intermittent run-ups (run-up condition), and (3) six repeated run-ups followed by maximal jumps (run-up plus jump condition). All performances were assessed and blood lactate concentration and heart rate were measured before and after each of the tests. Mean ( ± ) jump performance (64.7 ± 2.3 cm) increased significantly (P = 0.02) over the course of the jump condition and was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than for the run-up plus jump condition (58.0 ± 3.2 cm), which tended to decrease with repetition. Blood lactate concentration was significantly higher in the run-up plus jump condition (3.73 ± 0.24 mmol · l−1) than in the jump (2.61 ± 0.26 mmol · l−1, P = 0.02) and run-up (2.86 ± 0.18 mmol · l−1, P = 0.03) conditions. The increase in heart rate was significantly higher both in the run-up plus jump condition (33 ± 6 beats · min−1, P = 0.05) and run-up condition (33 ± 4 beats · min−1, P = 0.02) than in the jump condition (21 ± 3 beats · min−1). The results indicate that the addition of run-ups probably impeded performance in the repetition of vertical jumps.
A Better bound of randomized algorithms for the multislope ski-rental problem

The multislope ski-rental problem is an extension of the classical ski-rental problem, where the player has several lease options in addition to the pure rent and buy options. For the additive general model, Lotker, Patt-Shamir and Rawitz [in: SIAM J. Discr. Math. 26 (2012) 718–736] obtained a randomized algorithm with the competitive ratio bounded by . However, obtaining a better bound on the competitive factor as a function of the slopes parameters remains an open problem in their paper. In this paper, we study randomized algorithm for the additive multislope ski rental problem, and extend the competitive ratio bound proposed by Lotker et al. to .
Cost-Containment Policies in Hospital Expenditure in the European Union

As hospital inpatient care accounts for 30% of total health expenditure, and as health expenditure will continue rising, due to ageing populations and costly technological innovations, it is necessary to examine how to address the twin objectives of containing costs and ensuring high access and quality of services. Bed capacity has been reduced in all EU countries in the past decade, but cross-country variation in bed capacity and inpatient hospitalisations is considerable. Apart from being a cost factor, this impacts negatively on quality of care, as countries with more hospitalisations per capita tend to have also higher shares of preventable hospitalisations. This suggests that the reorganisation and rationalisation of hospital care particularly in countries with a high bed density is an important factor towards cost containment and possibly increasing quality of care. There are well tested options for cost containment at least in the short-term. Among these, the application of hard global budgets in combination with activity-based payments seems useful. Reducing operational costs has also been widely applied and proven to contribute to cost control in the short term. The impact of the many tools aiming at improving hospital performance via structural changes of the hospital and health care sector is more difficult to gauge. It depends among others on the role of the policy reform within the specific health system, whether it was applied at the same time with other health policy reforms and the time needed to see its effects. This applies to virtually all tools reviewed in this paper. The EU can play a supportive and active role in helping to identify the right tools for hospital reform by using its tools of economic governance, policy advice, evidence building and exchange of best practices and providing funding for investments in the sector.
Serologic markers of Epstein-Barr virus infection and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Taiwanese men.

BACKGROUND It is probable but unproven that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has a role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. We determined whether antibodies against EBV are present before the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS A total of 9699 men were enrolled between 1984 and 1986. Blood samples were examined for IgA antibodies against EBV capsid antigen and neutralizing antibodies against EBV-specific DNase. During 131,981 person-years of follow-up, 22 pathologically confirmed new cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma that were diagnosed more than one year after recruitment were ascertained through linkage with the National Cancer Registry of Taiwan. RESULTS The cumulative risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma per 100,000 person-years was 11.2 for subjects who tested positive for neither serologic marker, 45.0 for those who had one marker, and 371.0 for those who had both markers. After adjustment for age and the presence or absence of a family history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, the relative risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma was 32.8 for subjects with both markers (95 percent confidence interval, 7.3 to 147.2; P<0.001) and 4.0 for subjects with one marker (95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 10.2; P=0.003), as compared with subjects with neither marker. The longer the duration of follow-up, the greater the difference in the cumulative incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma between seropositive and seronegative subjects. CONCLUSIONS IgA antibodies against EBV capsid antigen and neutralizing antibodies against EBV DNase are predictive of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Executive Compensation and Political Sensitivity: Evidence from Government Contractors

Using federal contractor data, this paper examines the political costs hypothesis through the impact of government scrutiny and political sensitivity on executive compensation. The political cost hypothesis proffers that firms subject to government scrutiny take actions to deflect potential negative government reactions which can result in increased political costs for the firm. Results suggest that government contractor firms with the most political sensitivity (i.e., firms with government contracts that are most visible and comprise significant portions of their revenue) pay lower total (and excess) compensation to their CEOs, but with larger portions of cash, leading to lower long-term CEO wealth performance sensitivity. However, politically sensitive contractors with significant bargaining power (due to concentration, competition, or political contributions), are actually paid greater excess compensation than other politically sensitive firms. These findings provide insight into the effects and limitations of additional government monitoring of executive compensation.
A novel micro electro-discharge machining method using electrodes fabricated by the LIGA process

This paper describes a new micromachining method which can produce ultrafine patterned high-aspect-ratio micro components from various kinds of materials that include those which cannot be used by silicon or the LIGA processes. This method, based on micro electro-discharge machining employs patterned high-aspect-ratio machining electrodes fabricated by the LIGA process. With this method patterned structures of several metals such as stainless steel and tungsten carbide super hard alloy have been successfully machined with short machining times. In this machining, copper electrodes electroplated via the LIGA process show good performance as far as wear resistance in the fine discharge energy region is concerned. Multiple structures have been also produced in parallel by using an electrode array. These results show that this method can be used to produce high-aspect-ratio micro components. It also shows that structures from materials which cannot be used by other micromachining techniques have become possible.
Low-risk acute heart failure patients: external validation of the Society of Chest Pain Center's recommendations.

INTRODUCTION Risk-stratification in acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS) is problematic. A recent set of recommendations describes emergency department (ED) patients with AHFS who do not fulfill high-risk criteria and may be good candidates for observation unit (OU) management. The goal of this analysis was to report on the outcomes experienced by ED patients with AHFS who do not have any of these high-risk criteria. METHODS We performed a secondary analysis of the HEart failure and Audicor technology for Rapid Diagnosis and Initial Treatment (HEARD-IT) multinational study. HEARD-IT was a multicenter study designed to test the impact of acoustic cardiography on ED decision making in patients with possible AHFS. For the purposes of the current analysis we identified a subset of HEARD-IT patients who did not fulfill any high-risk criteria based on published data. The proportion of these patients who experienced an adverse outcome was determined. RESULTS The 201 subjects who fulfilled the inclusion criteria had a mean age of 64 years (SD: 13), 61% were male, 34% were Caucasian, and 55% were black. There were a total of 25 (12.4%) cardiac events, including 1 death due to AHFS. The majority of the cardiac events were 30-day readmissions related to AHFS (16/25, 64.0%). CONCLUSION AHFS patients at low-risk for subsequent morbidity and mortality based on recent consensus guidelines may be good candidates for early discharge after a brief period of observation in the OU or ED. Additional prospective research is needed to determine the impact of implementation of these criteria in ED patients with AHFS.
Essays on Applied Microeconomics

My dissertation aims to contribute the migration and education literatures, my thesis contains two main topics and three papers. In the first two papers, I study the job search process of rural migrants in urban labor markets when social networks present. Then, I analyse how social networks affect both migration decisions and individuals’ labor market outcomes. In the last paper, I examine the determinants of an individual’s college education decision, with particular attention to the uncertainty faced by individuals. The first paper examines the job search process of rural migrants, who have the option of returning home. This paper focuses on analysing the effect of social networks on their labor market outcomes. I build a dynamic structural model of job search for migrants. I estimate the model using “Rural Urban Migration in China" dataset. The estimation results show that rural migrants with social networks receive more job offers and that migrants with social networks also have higher wages on average. The second paper analyses the effect of social networks on both migration decisions and individuals’ labor market outcomes. I develop and estimate a dynamic model of return and repeated migration, social network investment decisions and labor market transitions. The model distinguishes two channels through which social networks may affect migration decisions: (1) a direct effect on migration costs, and (2) an indirect effect on labor market outcomes through the job arrival rate. I estimate the model using panel data from the Chinese Household Income Project (2007-2009). The estimation results show that social networks increase arrival rates, and decrease migration costs. I also show that policies that directly lower migration costs may be more cost effective at increasing rural-urban migration in China than those focused on unemployment benefits. In the third paper, we use economic theory and estimates of a semiparametrically identified structural model to analyze the role played by uncertainty and its interaction with credit constraints and preferences in explaining education choices. We develop amethodology that distinguishes information unknown to the econometrician but forecastable by the agent and information unknown to both at each stage of the life cycle. Usingmicrodata on earnings, we estimate amodel of college choice, labor supply and consumption, under uncertainty with repayment constraints. We find that 52% and 56% of the variances of college and high school log-wages respectively are predictable by the agent at the time schooling choices are made. When people are allowed to smooth consumption, college increases to nearly 58%.
Challenging the omnipotence of the suprachiasmatic timekeeper: are circadian oscillators present throughout the mammalian brain?

The suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (SCN) is the master circadian pacemaker or clock in the mammalian brain. Canonical theory holds that the output from this single, dominant clock is responsible for driving most daily rhythms in physiology and behaviour. However, important recent findings challenge this uniclock model and reveal clock‐like activities in many neural and non‐neural tissues. Thus, in addition to the SCN, a number of areas of the mammalian brain including the olfactory bulb, amygdala, lateral habenula and a variety of nuclei in the hypothalamus, express circadian rhythms in core clock gene expression, hormone output and electrical activity. This review examines the evidence for extra‐SCN circadian oscillators in the mammalian brain and highlights some of the essential properties and key differences between brain oscillators. The demonstration of neural pacemakers outside the SCN has wide‐ranging implications for models of the circadian system at a whole‐organism level.
Functional Definitions of Vocal Fold Geometry for Laryngeal Biomechanical Modeling

Precise geometric data on vocal fold dimensions are necessary for defining the vocal fold boundaries with respect to the laryngeal framework in physiological and biomechanical models of the larynx (eg, finite-element models). In the mid-membranous coronal section, vocal fold depth can be defined as the horizontal distance from the vocal fold medial surface to the thyroid cartilage, whereas vocal fold thickness can be defined as the vertical distance from the inferior border of the thyroarytenoid muscle to the vocal fold superior surface. Traditionally, such geometric data have been obtained from measurements made on histologic tissue sections. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to obtain reliable data by this method, unless the effects of sample preparation on vocal fold geometry are quantified. Significant tissue deformations are often induced by histologic processes such as fixation and dehydration, sometimes producing shrinkages as large as 30%. In this study, reliable geometric data of the canine vocal fold were obtained by the alternative method of quick-freezing for sample preparation, using liquid nitrogen. Coronal sections of quick-frozen larynges were thawed gradually in saline solution. Images of the mid-membranous coronal sections at various thawing stages were captured by a digital camera. Measurements of operationally defined vocal fold dimensions (depth and thickness) useful for biomechanical modeling were made with a graphics software package. The results showed that geometric changes of the vocal fold induced by freezing are likely reversed by thawing, such that the measurements made on thawed larynges are reliable approximations of the actual vocal fold dimensions.
Bacterial populations and processes involved in acetate and propionate consumption in anoxic brackish sediment.

Bacterial populations and pathways involved in acetate and propionate consumption were studied in anoxic brackish sediment from the Grosser Jasmunder Bodden, German Baltic Sea. Uptake of acetate and propionate from the porewater was studied using stable carbon isotope-labeled compounds. Labeled acetate was not produced as an intermediate during propionate uptake experiments, and propionate consumption was not affected by the addition of acetate. In parallel, incorporation of labeled acetate and propionate into phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFA) was studied to indicate bacterial populations involved in the consumption of these substrates. The (13)C-acetate label was mainly recovered in even-numbered PLFA (16:1omega7c, 16:0 and 18:1omega7c). In contrast, primarily odd-numbered PLFA (a15:0, 15:0, 17:1omega6 and 17:0) and the even-numbered i16:0 were labeled after incubation with (13)C-propionate. Although single PLFA labeled with propionate are commonly found in sulfate reducers, the complete PLFA-labeling pattern does not resemble any of the know strains. However, the acetate-labeling pattern is similar to Desulfotomaculum acetoxidans and Desulfofrigus spp. , two acetate-consuming, sulfate reducers. In conclusion, our data suggest that acetate and propionate were predominantly consumed by different, specialized groups of sulfate-reducing bacteria.
CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) and cohesin influence the genomic architecture of the Igh locus and antisense transcription in pro-B cells

Compaction and looping of the ~2.5-Mb Igh locus during V(D)J rearrangement is essential to allow all VH genes to be brought in proximity with DH-JH segments to create a diverse antibody repertoire, but the proteins directly responsible for this are unknown. Because CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) has been demonstrated to be involved in long-range chromosomal interactions, we hypothesized that CTCF may promote the contraction of the Igh locus. ChIP sequencing was performed on pro-B cells, revealing colocalization of CTCF and Rad21 binding at ~60 sites throughout the VH region and 2 other sites within the Igh locus. These numerous CTCF/cohesin sites potentially form the bases of the multiloop rosette structures at the Igh locus that compact during Ig heavy chain rearrangement. To test whether CTCF was involved in locus compaction, we used 3D-FISH to measure compaction in pro-B cells transduced with CTCF shRNA retroviruses. Reduction of CTCF binding resulted in a decrease in Igh locus compaction. Long-range interactions within the Igh locus were measured with the chromosomal conformation capture assay, revealing direct interactions between CTCF sites 5′ of DFL16 and the 3′ regulatory region, and also the intronic enhancer (Eμ), creating a DH-JH-Eμ-CH domain. Knockdown of CTCF also resulted in the increase of antisense transcription throughout the DH region and parts of the VH locus, suggesting a widespread regulatory role for CTCF. Together, our findings demonstrate that CTCF plays an important role in the 3D structure of the Igh locus and in the regulation of antisense germline transcription and that it contributes to the compaction of the Igh locus.