Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Channel State Information Uncertainty on the Performance of Stochastic Signaling

In this paper, stochastic signaling is studied for power-constrained scalar valued binary communications systems in the presence of uncertainties in channel state information (CSI). First, it is shown that, for a given decision rule at the receiver, stochastic signaling based on the available CSI at the transmitter results in a randomization between at most two different signal levels for each symbol. Then, the performance of stochastic signaling and conventional deterministic signaling is compared, and sufficient conditions are derived for improvability and nonimprovability of deterministic signaling via stochastic signaling in the presence of CSI uncertainty. Finally a numerical example is presented to explore the theoretical results.
The Free Uniform Spanning Forest is disconnected in some virtually free groups, depending on the generator set

We prove the rather counterintuitive result that there exist finite transitive graphs H and integers k such that the Free Uniform Spanning Forest in the direct product of the k-regular tree and H has infinitely many trees almost surely. This shows that the number of trees in the FUSF is not a quasi-isometry invariant. Moreover, we give two different Cayley graphs of the same virtually free group such that the FUSF has infinitely many trees in one, but is connected in the other, answering a question of Lyons and Peres (2016) in the negative. A version of our argument gives an example of a non-unimodular transitive graph where WUSF\not=FUSF, but some of the FUSF trees are light with respect to Haar measure. This disproves a conjecture of Tang (2019).
[Postoperative pain relief by patient controlled analgesia using intravenous pentazocine].

Patient controlled analgesia (PCA) by intravenous pentazocine was performed to determine its efficacy and the dose required for the pain relief after gynecological or obstetric operations. After obtaining informed consent, studies were performed on 28 female patients (ASA I, II: Mean age 38.1 years: Mean weight, 53.8 kg) who had received gynecological or obstetric operations with lower abdominal incision. Anesthesia given was nitrous oxide and isoflurane combined with epidural anesthesia with 1% mepivacaine used only during the operation. Six patients had cesarian section under spinal anesthesia. No patients received opioid during anesthesia. PCA was performed with a Graseby PCA pump. Lockout time was 8 minutes and the bolus dose was 3 mg. In all the patients, satisfactory pain relief was obtained and no other analgesic was necessary. Mean initial dose was 169.4 micrograms.kg-1 and the mean doses used for following each 6 hours until 24 hours were 409.7, 368.6, 279.3 and 211.1 micrograms.kg-1 respectively. Evaluation of PCA by the patients after the procedure showed excellent (13 patients) good (12) and passable (3) analgesia. No significant complication was observed except temporary nausea in two patients. Satisfactory postoperative pain relief could be obtained by relatively small doses of pentazocine and adverse reactions related especially to sigma receptor could be avoided.
Mobile robot localization using a single image

Following and extending the approach of K. Sugihara (1988), the author assumes that a mobile robot is equipped with a single camera and a map marking the positions in its environment of landmarks. The robot moves on a flat surface, acquires one image, extracts vertical edges from it, and computes the directions to visible landmarks. The problem is to determine the robot's position and orientation (pose) by establishing the correspondence between landmark directions and points in the map. This approach capitalizes on the excellent angular resolution of standard CCD cameras, while avoiding the feature-correspondence and 3D reconstruction problems. The problem is formulated as a search in a tree of interpretations (pairings of landmark directions and landmark points), and an algorithm to search the tree efficiently to determine the solution poses(s) is developed, taking into account errors in the landmark directions extracted by image processing. Quantitative results from simulations and experiments with real imagery are presented. <<ETX>>
Orthodontists’ and laypeople’s perception of smile height aesthetics in relation to varying degrees of transverse cant of anterior teeth

Abstract Aims To determine the effect of varying the transverse cant of the anterior teeth on orthodontists’ and laypeople’s perceptions of smile aesthetics, and the influence that smile height has on this perception. Materials and methods A 20-year-old Chinese female with an aesthetic smile and normal occlusion was chosen and agreed to participate. Digital pictures of her posed smile were taken and manipulated to create three smile height variations: low, medium, or high. Each variation was further manipulated to create varying degrees of transverse anterior tooth cant. Fifty-six laypeople and 40 orthodontists participated as raters of the dental and facial impact of the altered smile images. Results The orthodontists more commonly and precisely identified the transverse cants of the anterior teeth and the detracting influence on smile aesthetics compared with laypersons. The orthodontists accepted a lesser range of anterior transverse cant. Increased smile heights enhanced the capability of all raters to detect a transverse cant and reduced the acceptable cant range. In addition, an increased smile height worsened the detracting effects of the transverse anterior cant in all raters’ perceptions of smile aesthetics. An increased display of teeth and angulation of an anterior cant increased the ability of raters in both groups to detect differences. Conclusion Transverse cants of anterior teeth can affect orthodontists’ and laypeople’s perceptions of smile aesthetics. Smile height and incisor display were significant factors that affected the orthodontist’s and layperson’s perceptions of smile aesthetics, and suggested that a description of the detracting effect of an anterior transverse cant should also consider smile height. Clinical relevance A transverse occlusal cant is an important aesthetic factor used by clinicians during orthodontic diagnosis and review. It is important to appreciate that there is a difference in perception between orthodontic professionals and patients (laypeople). The extent of this perceptual difference and influencing factors could help the clinician set more appropriate treatment goals.
HTLV‐I associated adult T‐cell leukaemia/lymphoma in Hong Kong

sion (PR) (Ptl > 150,000/mm3, reticulocytes < lOO,OOO/L, and LDH < 300 U/L for CR; Ptl < 100,000/mm3, with LDH < 300/L for PR, after Italian Cooperative Group criteria) [2]. Five more PE sessions were performed in 7 days, and i.v. cortisone (400 mglday) was also administered from day 13 on. Once again, CR could not be achieved. Neurological symptoms increased. Therefore, HDlgG (40 g of human IgGlday) were administered. From the second day of treatment, a gradual normalization was observed in the patient’s hematochemical variables; at 5 days, CR was diagnosed. with complete resolution of neurologic symptoms. The patient was discharged a week later and, I 1 months after the acute episode, she remains in good health and has no signs of disease activity although receiving no consolidation treatment. This case represents further, though certainly not conclusive, evidence of the possible efficacy of HDIgG in the treatment of the ‘ITP forms not responding to conventional apheretic and pharmacologic (platelet antiaggregating substances and cortisone) therapy.
Scanning Electron Microscopic Study of the Muscle Fiber Ends at the Myotendinous Junction in the Posterior Cricoarytenoid and Cricothyroid Muscles in Rats

The fine structural organization of muscle fiber ends at the myotendinous junction in the posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) and cricothyroid (CT) muscles in adult rats was studied by scanning electron microscopy, after removal of tendon connective tissues using the HCl-hydrolysis method. The muscle fiber ends in the PCA muscle had a relatively simple conical appearance and contained a great number of longitudinal slits on the surface. In the CT muscle, the muscle fiber ends were classified into two types. One type had a conical appearance similar to the PCA muscle with many slits on the surface, while the other type was characterized by a complex arrangement of cylindrical cytoplasmic processes and deep clefts, as seen in common skeletal muscles. These findings suggest that the PCA muscle is evolutionarily primitive, and that the CT muscles represent a transitional form between primitive and evolved muscles.
Studies on effective and stable absorbing boundary conditions in ultrasonic wave modeling

In ultrasonic wave numerical modeling in inhomogeneous media, one requires to truncate an unbounded medium to carry out numerical simulation owing to limited memory and computation time. Effective and stable absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) are needed to reduce or eliminate spurious reflections from these truncated artificial boundaries. In this paper, a high-order staggered-grid finite-difference scheme, with velocity-strain equation systems, is proposed. Three absorbing boundary conditions, that is, the PML method, the damping factor method, and the Liao's method, are carefully implemented in this algorithm, and studied in detail. Numerical examples are given to compare the three kinds of ABCs. Our numerical method shows that the PML is efficient and stable not only for body waves but also for surface waves. Keywordsstaggered grid; finite difference; ABCs; PML method
Effect of vitamin E levels on the cell-mediated immunity of broilers vaccinated against coccidiosis

Studies on the relationships between animal nutrition and immunity have sought reliable methodologies to measure responses. Cellmediated immune response is similarly studied in humans. The cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity test (CBH) is one of the methods to measure that response and consists in the infiltration of inflammatory cells, particularly of lymphocytes and basophils, as result of the application of substances capable of inducing cell proliferation in determined sites, such as wings, wattle, and interdigital space in birds. CBH is considered a simple and fast method and can be applied in birds of different ages. In immunocompetence studies with poultry, phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P) is a commonly used substance, despite the variability of the response related to the method of application (intradermal injection) and the antigens used. In the present experiment, PHA-P was used to observe the cell-mediated immune response of 216 chicks fed three dietary levels of vitamin E from 1 to 36 days of age. All birds were immunologically challenged by vaccination against coccidiosis at three days of age and against Newcastle Disease (NCD) at 14 and 30 days of age. At 36 days of age, birds were submitted to the CBH test according to the methodology of Corrier & DeLoach (1990). Birds fed 65mg/kg of vitamin E presented lasting cell reaction (p £0.08), which indicates that this vitamin E level improved cell immune response of birds due to its antioxidant and immunomodulating properties. The use of this vitamin E level can be considered by nutritionists under practical conditions, aiming to improve broiler immunity.
Expression of Active Murine Granulocyte‐Macrophage Colony‐Stimulating Factor in an Escherichia coli Cell‐Free System

Granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) is an important cytokine in the mammalian immune system. It has been expressed in Escherichia coli with the same biological activity as the native protein. Here, we report the synthesis of a murine recombinant GM‐CSF in an E. coli cell‐free protein synthesis system with a high yield. Since there are two disulfide bonds in the native structure of GM‐CSF, an oxidizing redox potential of the reaction mixture was required. By pretreating the cell extract with iodoacetamide (IAM), the reducing activity of the cell extract was inactivated, and upon further application of an oxidized glutathione buffer, most of the synthesized GM‐CSF was found in its oxidized form. However, the GM‐CSF thus formed showed low activity because of poor folding. With the addition of DsbC, the periplasmic disulfide isomerase from E. coli, a high yield of active GM‐CSF was produced in the cell‐free reaction. Finally, successful folding of the cell‐free synthesized GM‐CSF‐his6 was confirmed by its cell‐proliferation activity after purification with a Ni2+ chelating column.
Learning Individually Inferred Communication for Multi-Agent Cooperation

Communication lays the foundation for human cooperation. It is also crucial for multi-agent cooperation. However, existing work focuses on broadcast communication, which is not only impractical but also leads to information redundancy that could even impair the learning process. To tackle these difficulties, we propose \textit{Individually Inferred Communication} (I2C), a simple yet effective model to enable agents to learn a prior for agent-agent communication. The prior knowledge is learned via causal inference and realized by a feed-forward neural network that maps the agent's local observation to a belief about who to communicate with. The influence of one agent on another is inferred via the joint action-value function in multi-agent reinforcement learning and quantified to label the necessity of agent-agent communication. Furthermore, the agent policy is regularized to better exploit communicated messages. Empirically, we show that I2C can not only reduce communication overhead but also improve the performance in a variety of multi-agent cooperative scenarios, comparing to existing methods.
Molecular Cloning, Overexpression and Characterization of a Novel Feruloyl Esterase from a Soil Metagenomic Library

The gene estF27, encoding a protein with feruloyl esterase activity, was cloned through functional screening from a soil metagenomic library and expressed in Escherichiacoli BL21 (DE3) with high solubility. Sequence analysis showed that estF27 encoded a protein of 291 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 31.16 kDa. According to the substrate specificity, EstF27 was classified as a type A feruloyl esterase. EstF27 displayed optimal activity at 40°C and pH 6.8. This enzyme was stable in a broad pH range of 5.0–10.0 over 24 h, and retained more than 50% of its activity after 96 or 120 h incubation in the presence of 3 M KCl or 5 M NaCl. The enzyme activity was slightly enhanced by the addition of Mg2+ and Fe3+ at a low concentration, and completely inhibited by Cu2+. In the enzymatic hydrolysis of destarched wheat bran, EstF27 could release ferulic acid from it in the presence of xylanase from Thermomyces lanuginosus. Given its alkalitolerance, halotolerance and highly soluble expression, EstF27 is a promising candidate for industrial applications.
Rosemary Extract as a Potential Anti-Hyperglycemic Agent: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a disease on the rise and with huge economic burden to health care systems around the globe, results from defects in insulin action (termed insulin resistance) combined with impaired insulin secretion. Current methods of prevention and treatments for insulin resistance and T2DM are lacking in number and efficacy and, therefore, there is a need for new preventative measures and targeted therapies. In recent years, chemicals found in plants/herbs have attracted attention for their use as functional foods or nutraceuticals for preventing and treating insulin resistance and T2DM. Rosemary is an evergreen shrub indigenous to the Mediterranean region and South America, which contains various polyphenols. Rosemary extract and its polyphenolic constituents have been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and anti-hyperglycemic properties. The current review summarizes the existing in vitro and in vivo studies examining the anti-diabetic effects of rosemary extract and its polyphenolic components and highlights the known mechanism of action.
Brachial artery vasodilatation during prolonged lower limb exercise: role of shear rate

We recently observed a marked increase in brachial artery (BA) diameter during prolonged leg cycling exercise. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that this increase in BA diameter during lower limb exercise is shear stress mediated. Accordingly, we determined whether recapitulation of cycling‐induced BA shear rate with forearm heating, a known stimulus evoking shear‐induced conduit artery dilatation, would elicit comparable profiles and magnitudes of BA vasodilatation to those observed during cycling. In 12 healthy men, BA diameter and blood velocity were measured simultaneously using Doppler ultrasonography at baseline and every 5 min during 60 min of either steady‐state semi‐recumbent leg cycling (120 W) or forearm heating. At the onset of cycling, the BA diameter was reduced (−3.9 ± 1.2% at 5 min; P < 0.05), but it subsequently increased throughout the remainder of the exercise bout (+15.1 ± 1.6% at 60 min; P < 0.05). The increase in BA diameter during exercise was accompanied by an approximately 2.5‐fold rise in BA mean shear rate (P < 0.05). Similar increases in BA mean shear with forearm heating elicited an equivalent magnitude of BA vasodilatation to that observed during cycling (P > 0.05). Herein, we found that in the absence of exercise the extent of the BA vasodilator response was reproduced when the BA was exposed to comparable magnitudes of shear rate via forearm heating. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that shear stress plays a key role in signalling brachial artery vasodilatation during dynamic leg exercise.
Adaptive Smith–Waterman residue match seeding for protein structural alignment

The POLYFIT rigid‐body algorithm for automated global pairwise and multiple protein structural alignment is presented. Smith–Waterman local alignment is used to establish a set of seed equivalences that are extended using Needleman–Wunsch dynamic programming techniques. Structural and functional interaction constraints provided by evolution are encoded as one‐dimensional residue physical environment strings for alignment of highly structurally overlapped protein pairs. Local structure alignment of more distantly related pairs is carried out using rigid‐body conformational matching of 15‐residue fragments, with allowance made for less stringent conformational matching of metal‐ion and small molecule ligand‐contact, disulphide bridge, and cis‐peptide correspondences. Protein structural plasticity is accommodated through the stepped adjustment of a single empirical distance parameter value in the calculation of the Smith–Waterman dynamic programming matrix. Structural overlap is used both as a measure of similarity and to assess alignment quality. Pairwise alignment accuracy has been benchmarked against that of 10 widely used aligners on the Sippl and Wiederstein set of difficult pairwise structure alignment problems, and more extensively against that of Matt, SALIGN, and MUSTANG in pairwise and multiple structural alignments of protein domains with low shared sequence identity in the SCOP‐ASTRAL 40% compendium. The results demonstrate the advantages of POLYFIT over other aligners in the efficient and robust identification of matching seed residue positions in distantly related protein targets and in the generation of longer structurally overlapped alignment lengths. Superposition‐based application areas include comparative modeling and protein and ligand design. POLYFIT is available on the Web server at http://polyfit.insa‐toulouse.fr. Proteins 2013; 81:1823–1839. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from CD133‐Positive Cells in Mobilized Peripheral Blood and Cord Blood: Proliferation, Oct4 Expression, and Plasticity

In this study, we used a common procedure to assess the potential of mobilized peripheral blood (MPB) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) as sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in comparison with bone marrow (BM). We tested three methods: plastic adhesion supplemented with 5% of BM‐MSC conditioned medium, unsupplemented plastic adhesion, and selection of CD133‐positive cells. MSCs derived from MPB or UCB are identified by their positive expression of mesenchymal (SH2, SH3) and negative expression of hematopoietic markers (CD14, CD34, CD45, HLA‐DR). We observed that the CD133‐positive cell fraction contains more MSCs with high proliferative potential. Placed in appropriate conditions, these cells proved their capacity to differentiate into adipocytes, osteocytes, chondrocytes, and neuronal/glial cells. MPB‐ and UCB‐MSCs express Oct4, a transcriptional binding factor present in undifferentiated cells with high proliferative capacity. The selection of CD133‐positive cells enabled us to obtain a homogeneous population of MSCs from UCB and MPB. These sources may have a major clinical importance thanks to their easy accessibility.
Osteoarthritis: definitions and criteria.

With the aim of promoting consistency in osteoarthritis (OA) research the American Rheumatism Association (ARA) has recently published a proposed system of classification and a set of criteria for the reporting of osteoarthritis of the knee. ' Preliminary findings of the criteria committee's work on OA of the hip and hand have also been reported.2 These publications raise many fundamental questions, ranging from the value and use of diagnostic criteria to the definition and nature of OA.3
Modeling and Simulation of COVID-19 Pandemic for Cincinnati Tri-State Area

In this paper, we use SIR model to simulate the COVID-19 pandemic for Cincinnati Tri-State Area. We have built a representative population of Cincinnati that includes movements for traveling to stores, schools, workplaces, and traveling to friends houses. Using this model, we simulate the effect of quarantine, return to work, and panic buying. We show that that there will be a second wave of infections when people return to work and significant increase in number of infections when there is panic buying at stores with the announcement of the quarantine measures.
Decoupled synchronized states in networks of linearly coupled limit cycle oscillators

Networks of limit cycle oscillators can show intricate patterns of synchronization such as splay states and cluster synchronization. Here we analyze dynamical states that display a continuum of seemingly independent splay clusters. Each splay cluster is a block splay state consisting of sub-clusters of fully synchronized nodes with uniform amplitudes. Phases of nodes within a splay cluster are equally spaced, but nodes in different splay clusters have an arbitrary phase difference that can be fixed or evolve linearly in time. Such coexisting splay clusters form a decoupled state in that the dynamical equations become effectively decoupled between oscillators that can be physically coupled. We provide the conditions that allow the existence of particular decoupled states by using the eigendecomposition of the coupling matrix. Additionally, we provide an algorithm to search for admissible decoupled states using the external equitable partition and orbital partition considerations combined with symmetry groupoid formalism. Unlike previous studies, our approach is applicable when existence does not follow from symmetries alone and also illustrates the differences between adjacency and Laplacian coupling. We show that the decoupled state can be linearly stable for a substantial range of parameters using a simple eight-node cube network and its modifications as an example. We also demonstrate how the linear stability analysis of decoupled states can be simplified by taking into account the symmetries of the Jacobian matrix. Some network structures can support multiple decoupled patterns. To illustrate that, we show the variety of qualitatively different decoupled states that can arise on two-dimensional square and hexagonal lattices.