Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved multi-target multi-Bernoulli filter

The cardinality-balanced multi-target multi-Bernoulli (CBMeMBer) filter is a promising algorithm for multi-target tracking. However, there exists a problem that when the legacy tracks cardinality is big enough, the effect of measurement innovation will be negligible, even if the measurement is close to the target state prediction. Such a problem is shown analytically in this study, and then an improved MeMBer filter has been proposed, which balances the posterior cardinality by modifying the legacy rather than the measurement-updated tracks parameters. The sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) implementation of the proposed algorithm is developed and its performance has been verified by simulation experiments.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Causing Apoptosis in a Mouse Model of an Ischemic Spinal Cord Injury

A spinal cord injury (SCI) is the devastating trauma associated with functional deterioration due to apoptosis. Most laboratory SCI models are generated by a direct impact on an animal’s spinal cord; however, our model does not involve the direct impact on the spinal cord. Instead, we use a clamp compression to create an ischemia in the descending aortas of mice. Following the success of inducing an ischemic SCI (ISCI), we hypothesized that this model may show apoptosis via an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway. This apoptosis by the ER stress pathway is enhanced by the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The ER is used for the protein folding in the cell. When the protein folding capacity is overloaded, the condition is termed the ER stress and is characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins inside the ER lumen. The unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling pathways that deal with the ER stress response then become activated. This UPR activates the three signal pathways that are regulated by the inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α), the activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), and the protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK). IRE1α and PERK are associated with the expression of the apoptotic proteins. Apoptosis caused by an ISCI is assessed using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) test. An ISCI also reduces synaptophysin and the neuronal nuclear protein (NeuN) in the spinal cord. In conclusion, an ISCI increases the ER stress proteins, resulting in apoptosis in neuronal cells in the spinal cord.
High efficiency planar MCLEDs

The physics of microcavities have been a subject of intense study over the past 25 years. This work stimulated a large body of experimental and theoretical work on the optimization of the light extraction properties of light‐emitting diodes. Not only has this led to the current high efficiency microcavity LEDs but also to the high brightness LEDs based on other approaches, which are presently available on the market. An overview of the state of the art of planar semiconductor microcavity LEDs will be presented. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The Differential Impact of e-Service Quality’s Dimensions on Trust and Loyalty of Retail Bank Customers in an Emerging Market

Abstract The purpose of this study is to evaluate the differential impact of the dimensions of e-service quality (website design efficiency, fulfillment, security/privacy, and system availability) on trust and loyalty of retail bank customers in India, an emerging market. The study uses a survey questionniare to collect data from 351 retail banking customers in India to test the hypothesized relationships. Structural equation modeling technique using IBM AMOS software is used. Findings suggest that fulfillment and security/privacy influence trust while website design efficiency, security/privacy, and system availability influence loyalty. Further, trust positively influences loyalty in the context of retail banking in India.
Exploitation of sound during predator‐prey interactions: Killer whales and herring

The majority of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norway and Iceland feed cooperatively on schools of herring (Clupea harengus). The whales swim towards the school and, at short distances, perform underwater tail slaps that produce thudlike sounds containing impulses resembling cavitation pulses in duration, frequencies, and amplitude. Herring are debilitated by the underwater tail slaps, probably due to a combination of factors like sound pressure gradients, particle movements, hydrodynamic effects, and physical contact with the tail or other fish. Following the underwater tail slaps, killer whales can easily capture individual flaccid herring [Simon et al., J. Exp. Biol. 208, 2459–2466 (2005); a video will be shown]. Icelandic killer whales have another strategy not shown by their Norwegian relatives. A whale can emit a 3‐s, 680‐Hz call that ends 1 s before the tail slap. The frequency of the call falls within the herring audiogram, but outside that of killer whales. This call seems suited for herding the.
Automated pipeline to analyze non-contact infrared images of the paraventricular nucleus specific leptin receptor knock-out mouse model

Evidence of leptin resistance is indicated by elevated leptin levels together with other hallmarks of obesity such as a defect in energy homeostasis.1 As obesity is an increasing epidemic in the US, the investigation of mechanisms by which leptin resistance has a pathophysiological impact on energy is an intensive field of research.2 However, the manner in which leptin resistance contributes to the dysregulation of energy, specifically thermoregulation,3 is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the leptin receptor expressed in paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons plays a role in thermoregulation at different temperatures. Non-contact infrared (NCIR) thermometry was employed to measure surface body temperature (SBT) of nonanesthetized mice with a specific deletion of the leptin receptor in the PVN after exposure to room (25 °C) and cold (4 °C) temperature. Dorsal side infrared images of wild type (LepRwtwt/sim1-Cre), heterozygous (LepRfloxwt/sim1-Cre) and knock-out (LepRfloxflox/sim1-Cre) mice were collected. Images were input to an automated post-processing pipeline developed in MATLAB to calculate average and maximum SBTs. Linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between sex, cold exposure and leptin genotype with SBT measurements. Findings indicate that average SBT has a negative relationship to the LepRfloxflox/sim1-Cre genotype, the female sex and cold exposure. However, max SBT is affected by the LepRfloxflox/sim1-Cre genotype and the female sex. In conclusion this data suggests that leptin within the PVN may have a neuroendocrine role in thermoregulation and that NCIR thermometry combined with an automated imaging-processing pipeline is a promising approach to determine SBT in non-anesthetized mice.
Realistic absorption coefficient of ultrathin films

Both a theoretical algorithm and an experimental procedure are discussed of a new route to determine the absorption/scattering properties of thin films deposited on transparent substrates. Notably, the non-measurable contribution of the film–substrate interface is inherently accounted for. While the experimental procedure exploits only measurable spectra combined according to a very simple algorithm, the theoretical derivation does not require numerical handling of the acquired spectra or any assumption on the film homogeneity and substrate thickness. The film absorption response is estimated by subtracting the measured absorption spectrum of the bare substrate from that of the film on the substrate structure but in a non-straightforward way. In fact, an assumption about the absorption profile of the overall structure is introduced and a corrective factor accounting for the relative film-to-substrate thickness. The method is tested on films of a well known material (ITO) as a function of the film structural quality and influence of the film–substrate interface, both deliberately changed by thickness tuning and doping. Results are found fully consistent with information obtained by standard optical analysis and band gap values reported in the literature. Additionally, comparison with a conventional method demonstrates that our route is generally more accurate even if particularly suited for very thin films.
Prognostic outcomes of cytomegalovirus reactivation after autologous stem cell transplantation

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation is a common complication in patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, the incidence of CMV reactivation is low after autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT), and the prognostic value of CMV reactivation remains controversial. Moreover, reports on late CMV reactivation after auto-SCT are limited. We aimed to analyze the association between CMV reactivation and survival outcomes and develop a predictive model for late CMV reactivation in patients undergoing auto-SCT. Methods: Data of 201 patients who underwent SCT at the Korea University Medical Center from 2007 to 2018 were collected. We analyzed prognostic factors for survival outcomes after auto-SCT and risk factors for late CMV reactivation using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Then, we developed a predictive risk model for late CMV reactivation based on results of the risk factor analysis. Results: Early CMV reactivation was significantly associated with better overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.329; P = 0.045) in patients with multiple myeloma; however, no significant differences were observed in patients with lymphoma. For late CMV reactivation, a serum lactate dehydrogenase level greater than the upper limit of normal (HR, 2.251; P = 0.027) and late CMV reactivation (HR, 2.964; P = 0.047) were independent risk factors for poor OS, while lymphoma diagnosis (vs. multiple myeloma; HR, 0.389; P = 0.016) was an independent risk factor for good OS. In risk factor analysis for late CMV reactivation, T-cell lymphoma diagnosis (odds ratio [OR], 8.499; P = 0.029), ≥ two prior chemotherapies (OR, 8.995; P = 0.027), failure to achieve complete response (CR) after transplantation (OR, 7.124; P = 0.031), and early CMV reactivation (OR, 12.853; P = 0.007) were significantly associated with late CMV reactivation. To develop the predictive risk model for late CMV reactivation, a score (1 to 1.5) was assigned for each of the above-mentioned variables. The optimal cutoff value (1.75 points) was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The predictive risk model showed good discrimination, with an area under the curve of 0.872 (standard error, 0.062; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Late CMV reactivation was an independent risk factor for inferior OS, whereas early CMV reactivation was associated with better survival in patients with multiple myeloma. This risk prediction model could be helpful in identifying high-risk patients who require monitoring for late CMV reactivation and potentially benefit from prophylactic or preemptive therapy.
Multiport Single Element Mimo Antenna Systems: A Review

In response to the increasing demand for voice, data, and multimedia applications, the next generation of wireless communication systems is projected to provide faster data rates and better service quality to customers. Techniques such as Multiple-Input–Multiple-Output (MIMO) and diversity are being studied and implemented to meet the needs of next-generation wireless communication systems. Embedding multiple antennas into the same antenna system is seen as a promising solution, which can improve both the system’s channel capacity and the communication link’s quality. However, for small handheld and portable devices, embedding many antennas into a single device in a small area and at the same time providing good isolation becomes a challenge. Hence, designing a shared antenna system with multiple feed ports with equivalent or better performance characteristics as compared to the approach of multiple antennas with multiple feed ports is a promising advantage which can reduce the size and cost of manufacturing. This paper intends to provide an in-depth review of different MIMO antenna designs with common radiators covering various antenna design aspects such as isolation techniques, gain, efficiency, envelope correlation coefficient, and size, etc. There is also a discussion of the mathematical concepts of MIMO and different isolation techniques, as well as a comparative analysis of different shared radiator antenna designs. The literature review shows that only very few antennas’ design with common radiator have been suggested in the available literature at present. Therefore, in this review paper, we have endeavored to study different antennas’ designs with common radiator. A comparison is provided of their performance improvement techniques in a holistic way so that it can lead to further develop the common radiator multiport antenna systems and realize the promising advantages they offer.
Regulation of Macrophage Polarization by miR-449a/Cripto-1-PI3K/AKT/NF-κB Signaling Pathway in Allogeneic Transfusion Mice

In this study, the expression of Cripto-1 and the role of macrophage polarization in immune response after allogeneic transfusion were analyzed by constructing a mouse model of allogeneic transfusion. In order to analyze the effects of miR-449a on the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway and the expression of downstream related regulatory factors under normal and abnormal conditions, we adopt in vitro and in vivo experiments separately. The molecular mechanism of PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway was analyzed by blocking or activating gene expression and western blotting. Experiment in vitro has confirmed that inhibition of miR-449a increased the protein expression of Cripto-1. In vivo experiments confirmed that allogeneic transfusion reduced the expression of Cripto-1, which further inhibited NF-κB signaling pathway through AKT/PI3K phosphorylation, regulated macrophage polarization, inhibited M1 polarization of macrophages, promoted M2 polarization, and thus affected immune response of the body.
Magnetoresistance and anomalous thermal hysteresis in La0.67Ca0.33MnO3/CaCu3Ti4O12 composites

The (1 − x) La0.67Ca0. 33MnO3(LCMO)/xCaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.10) composites were fabricated by the sol–gel method and investigated in detail for their electrical transport and magnetoresistance (MR) properties. The X‐ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscopy analysis reveal that both LCMO and CCTO phases are distributed in the composites. Compared with pure LCMO, an obvious enhancement of MR is observed over a wide temperature range for the composites at high external magnetic field. Under 3 T field, the MR increases to a maximum value of 73.4% for x = 0.1 composite. Simultaneously, the thermal hysteresis behavior in resistivity is observed in x = 0.03, 0.05, and 0.1 samples, respectively. The MR enhancement and the abnormal experimental observations are attributed to the enhanced spin disorder at grain boundaries induced by the interaction product layer between LCMO and CCTO.
On the Beamforming Design and Transmit Power Analysis for Single- and Multi-Cluster NOMA

This paper is on the beamforming design and performance analysis of the power-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) systems. First, a closed-form linear beamforming design is proposed for single-cluster NOMA systems with two users to minimize the required transmit power with users' signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratios (SINRs) guaranteed. The average power consumption and the power scaling law are derived for the proposed beamforming design. For multi-cluster NOMA, we exploit a two-stage beamforming design where the first stage eliminates the inter-cluster interference via zero-forcing (ZF) and the second stage aims at saving the required transmit power within each cluster by using the proposed single-cluster beamforming design based on the effective channel vectors. Numerical results are provided to show the superiority of NOMA transmissions with our proposed beamforming comparing to other transmission schemes in terms of the required transmit power and the outage performance.
What shells around NGC 3923 tell us about the modified dynamics

The consistency of the application of modified dynamics model MOND predictions to observed shell system around NGC 3923, which was questioned by Hernquist and Quinn (1987), is reexamined. It is pointed out that the model of Hernquist and Quinn, which they used to verify the assumptions of the MOND, contains some inadequacies in the analysis, model assumptions, and presentation. It is shown that, when these fault are corrected, no significant discrepancy remains between the predictions of MOND and the data. Improvements are suggested on the procedure of testing the predictions for various potential fields against the data.
Antifungal potential of endophytic Bacillus species isolated from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) against Fusarium oxysporum collected from selected farms in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Fusarium wilt, caused by F. oxysporum, is a prevalent destructive tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) disease in Nigeria. Development of safe, and efficient biocontrol measures is important in the management of the disease. In this study, incidence of fusarium wilt of tomato in four agricultural zones of Oyo State was established through purposive sampling, and the abundance, and in vitro-biocontrol potential of Bacillus endophytes were determined. Strains of F. oxysporum and Bacillus endophytes were isolated from tomato plants collected from 21 farms. In vitro-inhibition potential of endophytes was determined through a modified, dual-culture assay, involving six endophytes, and carbendazim (fungicide), set up in a completely randomized design. Using a rating-scale of 0–9, the highest wilt severity (6.67) and incidence (39.30%) were observed on Akinware farm in Ibadan/Ibarapa agricultural zone of Oyo State. Fusarium oxysporum IB3q caused severe wilt symptoms, including leaf chlorosis, necrosis, vascular discoloration, and wilt, on infected Alausa and Ibadan-local tomato varieties. Thirty-nine strains of Bacillus endophytes were isolated from the tissues of healthy tomato plants. Six of the isolated Bacillus endophytes inhibited F. oxysporum. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Sa08 and B. subtilis Og04 had inhibitory zones of 15.67 and 19.43 mm, respectively, against F. oxysporum, and caused hyphal disintegration of the pathogen. They produced cell wall-degrading enzymes, with relative activities ranging from 0.87 to 5.04. Based on their in vitro-inhibition potential, B. amyloliquefaciens Sa08 and B. subtilis Og04 should be deployed, as prospective biocontrol measures against seed-borne fusarium pathogens and fusarium wilt on tomato plants.
Validation of the Core Beliefs Inventory (CBI) in Brazilian Portuguese.

INTRODUCTION Experiencing trauma may entail psychopathological consequences, but also changes considered to be positive (i.e., posttraumatic growth). For positive change to occur, an impact on the beliefs of individuals is required, which may be measured through the Core Beliefs Inventory (CBI). The objective of this study was to validate the Brazilian Portuguese version of the CBI. METHODS A total of 248 university students (65.7% female) answered the following assessment instruments: sociodemographic data sheet, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Posttraumatic Symptoms Checklist - Clinician Version (PCL-5) and the CBI. Psychometric properties of the CBI were assessed by conducting an exploratory factor analysis through a principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and convergent validity (Pearson correlation between instruments) were also investigated. RESULTS The total scale showed adequate internal consistency (α = 0.83). A single factor solution explained 42.63% of the variance of the CBI. Significant correlations were found between CBI and PTGI, and between CBI and PCL-5. CONCLUSION The psychometric properties indicated adequate internal consistency and construct validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the CBI.
Two-dimensional fractal metasurface and its application to low profile circularly polarized antennas

Two-dimensional (2D) Wunderlich-shaped fractal reactive impedance surface (WRIS) is designed and extensively investigated to reduce the dielectric substrate thickness without deteriorating the electromagnetic characteristic. Slot resonators, Hilbert-shaped complementary single ring resonator (HCSRR), and the complementary three-turns spiral resonator have been used to achieve antenna miniaturization and also to render the circularly polarized (CP) wave. For demonstration, WRIS-inspired HCSRR- and TCSR-loaded CP antennas are optimized, fabricated, and measured. Numerical and experimental results indicate that both antennas owe compact size smaller than 0. 18λ0 × 0. 25λ0 × 0. 017λ0, exhibit comparable impedance, and axial ratio (AR) bandwidth better than 1.60% and pure CP performances. Furthermore, the antennas are free of metallic via holes and easy of fabrication, indicating promising applications in wireless communication systems.
The Fifteen Puzzle- A New Approach through Hybridizing Three Heuristics Methods

The Fifteen Puzzle problem is one of the most classical problems that has captivated mathematics enthusiasts for centuries. This is mainly because of the huge size of the state space with approximately 1013 states that have to be explored, and several algorithms have been applied to solve the Fifteen Puzzle instances. In this paper, to manage this large state space, the bidirectional A* (BA*) search algorithm with three heuristics, such as Manhattan distance (MD), linear conflict (LC), and walking distance (WD), has been used to solve the Fifteen Puzzle problem. The three mentioned heuristics will be hybridized in a way that can dramatically reduce the number of states generated by the algorithm. Moreover, all these heuristics require only 25 KB of storage, but help the algorithm effectively reduce the number of generated states and expand fewer nodes. Our implementation of the BA* search can significantly reduce the space complexity, and guarantee either optimal or near-optimal solutions.
Minimum-Cost Checking Using Imperfect Information

An event takes place at time t, a discrete random variable with known probability function. At unit intervals of time, a measurement x is observed which yields information about the event; x is a random variable, with a known probability density function being dependent upon whether or not the event has yet occurred. After each observation, a decision is made that the event has or has not yet occurred. The latter decision implies waiting for the next measurement. The former decision, if correct, ends the procedure. If incorrect, this fact is incorporated, and the procedure continues. A decision cost structure is assumed that assigns: (1) a fixed (false alarm) cost to deciding the event has occurred when, in fact, it has not; (2) a (time late) cost proportional to the time between the occurrence of the event and the decision that it has occurred. The minimum-expected-cost decision strategy and the minimum cost thus obtained are derived by means of dynamic programming.