Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed Joint Source-Channel Coding in Wireless Sensor Networks

Considering the fact that sensors are energy-limited and the wireless channel conditions in wireless sensor networks, there is an urgent need for a low-complexity coding method with high compression ratio and noise-resisted features. This paper reviews the progress made in distributed joint source-channel coding which can address this issue. The main existing deployments, from the theory to practice, of distributed joint source-channel coding over the independent channels, the multiple access channels and the broadcast channels are introduced, respectively. To this end, we also present a practical scheme for compressing multiple correlated sources over the independent channels. The simulation results demonstrate the desired efficiency.
Population structure of the butternut canker fungus, Ophiognomonia clavigignenti-juglandacearum, in North American forests

The occurrence of multiple introduction events, or sudden emergence from a host jump, of forest pathogens may be an important factor in successful establishment in a novel environment or on a new host; however, few studies have focused on the introduction and emergence of fungal pathogens in forest ecosystems. While Ophiognomonia clavigignenti-juglandacearum (Oc-j), the butternut canker fungus, has caused range-wide mortality of butternut trees in North America since its first observation in 1967, the history of its emergence and spread across the United States and Canada remains unresolved. Using 17 single nucleotide polymorphic loci, we investigated the genetic population structure of 101 isolates of Oc-j from across North America. Clustering analysis revealed that the Oc-j population in North America is made up of three differentiated genetic clusters of isolates, and these genetic clusters were found to have a strong clonal structure. These results, in combination with the geographic distribution of the populations, suggest that Oc-j was introduced or has emerged in North America on more than one occasion, and these clonal lineages have since proliferated across much of the range of butternut. No evidence of genetic recombination was observed in the linkage analysis, and conservation of the distinct genetic clusters in regions where isolates from two or more genetic clusters are present, would indicate a very minimal or non-existent role of sexual recombination in populations of Oc-j in North America.
A First Step Towards GPU-assisted Query Optimization

Modern graphics cards bundle high-bandwidth memory with a massively parallel processor, making them an interesting platform for running data-intensive operations. Consequently, several authors have discussed accelerating database operators using graphics cards, often demonstrating promising speed-ups. However, due to limitations stemming from limited device memory and expensive data transfer, GPUaccelerated databases remain a niche technology. We suggest a novel approach: Using the graphics card as a co-processor during query optimization. Query optimization is a compute-heavy operation that requires only minimal data transfer, making it a well-suited target for GPU offloading. Since existing optimizers are typically very efficient, we do not suggest to simply accelerate them. Instead, we propose to use the additional resources to leverage more computationally involved optimization methods. This approach indirectly accelerates a database by generating better plan quality. As a first step towards GPU-assisted query optimization, we present a proof-of-concept that uses the graphics card as a statistical co-processor during selectivity estimation. We integrated this GPU-accelerated estimator into the optimizer of PostgreSQL. Based on this proof-of-concept, we demonstrate that a GPU can be efficiently used to improve the quality of selectivity estimates in a relational database system.
Microanatomical Study of Embryonic Gonadal Development in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

Gonadal development of quail embryos was examined histologically using histological and histochemical methods. In the present study, quail embryos were studied at various stages of incubation period based on phases of gonadogenesis. Germ cell migration was observed on day 3-4 but gonadal differentiation and gonadal function were observed on day 6–8 and day 11–14, respectively. During germ cell migration, quail primordial germ cells (qPGCs) were successfully detected in both left and right genital ridges as well as the dorsal mesentery by lectin histochemistry. Unexpectedly, qPGCs-like cells were found next to the neural tube by Mallory-AZAN stain. During gonadal differentiation, embryonic sex can be distinguished histologically since day 8 of incubation. Embryonic testis exhibited a thin cortex, whereas embryonic ovary exhibited a thick cortex. Testicular cord formation was found in the medulla of embryonic testes while the lacunae and fat-laden cells were found in the medulla of embryonic ovary during gonadal function. This is the first report on a comparison of phases of gonadogenesis and histochemical study of quail embryonic gonads in both sexes.
Systematic Review of Computed Tomographic Angiography for Assessment of Carotid Artery Disease

Background and Purpose— To review the literature on the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) compared with arteriography/intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography as reference standard for assessment of symptomatic carotid artery disease. Methods— The PubMed, MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases were searched to retrieve studies published between 1990 and July 2003, comparing CTA and intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography in patients with symptomatic carotid artery disease that presented raw data for detection of a <70% or 70% to 99% stenosis or an occlusion. Two observers independently assessed methodological quality and constructed 2×2 tables for sensitivity and specificity of CTA for detection of a 70% to 99% stenosis versus <70% stenosis or an occlusion, and for <99% stenosis versus occlusion. A bivariate random effects model was used to calculate the pooled sensitivity and specificity of CTA for detection of these lesions. Results— Some 864 patients (66% male) with a mean age of 66 years were studied in the 28 studies included in the meta-analysis. In all studies, a single-slice CT-scan was used. Only 8 studies satisfied all methodological quality criteria. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for detection of a 70% to 99% stenosis were 85% (95% CI, 79% to 89%) and 93% (95% CI, 89% to 96%), respectively. For detection of an occlusion, the sensitivity and specificity were 97% (95% CI, 93% to 99%) and 99% (95% CI, 98% to 100%), respectively. Incomplete reporting of demographic characteristics and technical differences in the individual studies obstructed a meaningful subgroup analysis. Conclusions— CTA is an accurate modality for detection of severe carotid artery disease, especially for detection of occlusions. The fair methodological quality of the included studies must be taken into account when interpreting these results.
Overcoming Resolution-Based Lower Bounds for SAT Solvers

Many leading-edge SAT solvers are based on the Davis-Putnam procedure or the Davis-Logemann-Loveland procedure, and thus on unsatisfiable instances they can be viewed as attempting to find refutations by resolution. Therefore, exponential lower bounds on the length of resolution proofs also apply to such solvers. Empirical performance of DLL-based solvers on SAT instances from the pigeonhole and Urquhart family are consistent with this expectation. Our work explores an entirely different approach to SAT solving that does not have this drawback. A bare-bones implementation of our algorithm, reported earlier, was able to refute pigeonhole instances in polynomial time without explicitly using symmetries, and this empirical result is backed up by an analytical proof. In this work, we show how to extend Compressed-BFS to perform Boolean Constraint Propagation, part of all practical, complete SAT solvers. Unlike DLL-based solvers, our empirical results show that full BCP offers marginal improvements in runtime.
M-GRASP: A GRASP With Memory for Latency-Aware Partitioning Methods in DVE Systems

A necessary condition for providing quality of service to distributed virtual environments (DVEs) is to provide a system response below a maximum threshold to the client computers. In this sense, latency-aware partitioning methods try to provide response times below the threshold to the maximum number of client computers as possible. These partitioning methods should find an assignment of clients to servers that optimizes system throughput, system latency, and partitioning efficiency. In this paper, we present a new algorithm based on greedy randomized adaptive search procedure with memory for finding the best solutions as possible to this problem. We take into account several different alternatives in order to design both the constructive phase and the local search phase of this multistart metaheuristic for combinatorial problems. Additionally, we enhance this basic approach with some intensification strategies that improve the efficiency of the basic search method. Performance evaluation results show that the new algorithm increases the performance provided by other metaheuristics when applied to solve the latency-aware partitioning problem in DVE systems.
Shortening Velocity and Power Output of Skinned Muscle Fibers from Mammals Having a 25 , 000-fold Range of Body Mass

The shortening velocities of single, skinned, fast and slow skeletal muscle fibers were measured at 5---6°C in five animal species having a 25,000-fold range of body size (mouse, rat, rabbit, sheep, and cow). While fiber diameter and isometric force showed no dependence on animal body size, maximum shortening velocity in both fast and slow fibers and maximum power output in fast fibers were found to vary with the -IA power of body size. Maximum power output in slow fibers showed a slightly greater ( ~A power) dependence on body size. The isometric force produced by the fibers was correlated (r = 0.74) inversely with fiber diameter. For all sizes of animal the average maximum velocity was 1.7 times faster in fast fibers than in slow fibers. The large difference in mechanical properties found between fibers from large and small animals suggests that properties of the contractile proteins vary in a systematic manner with the body size. These sizedependent changes can be used to study the correlations of structure and function of these proteins. Experimental results also suggest that the different metabolic rates observed in different sizes of animals could be accounted for, at least in part, by the difference in the properties of the contractile proteins.
Molecular factors in migraine

Migraine is a common neurological disorder that affects 11% of adults worldwide. This disease most likely has a neurovascular origin. Migraine with aura (MA) and more common form - migraine without aura (MO) – are the two main clinical subtypes of disease. The exact pathomechanism of migraine is still unknown, but it is thought that both genetic and environmental factors are involved in this pathological process. The first genetic studies of migraine were focused on the rare subtype of MA: familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM). The genes analysed in familial and sporadic migraine are: MTHFR, KCNK18, HCRTR1, SLC6A4, STX1A, GRIA1 and GRIA3. It is possible that migraine is a multifactorial disease with polygenic influence. Recent studies have shown that the pathomechanisms of migraine involves both factors responsible for immune response and oxidative stress such as: cytokines, tyrosine metabolism, homocysteine; and factors associated with pain transmission and emotions e.g.: serotonin, hypocretin-1, calcitonin gene-related peptide, glutamate. The correlations between genetic variants of the HCRTR1 gene, the polymorphism 5-HTTLPR and hypocretin-1, and serotonin were observed. It is known that serotonin inhibits the activity of hypocretin neurons and may affect the appearance of the aura during migraine attack. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms of migraine, including genotype-phenotype correlations, may contribute to finding markers important for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
Perceptual completion of occluded surfaces

Researchers in computer vision have primarily studied the problem of visual reconstruction of environmental structure that is plainly visible. In this paper, the conventional goals of visual reconstruction are generalized to include both visible and occluded forward facing surfaces. This larger fraction of the environment is termed the anterior surfaces. In this paper, we show that the boundaries of the anterior surfaces can be represented in viewer-centered coordinates as a labeled knot diagram. Where boundaries are not occluded and where surface reflectance is distinct from that of the background, boundaries will be marked by image contours. However, where boundaries are occluded, or where surface reflectance matches background reflectance, there will be no detectable luminance change in the image. Deducing the complete image trace of the boundaries of the anterior surfaces under these circumstances is termed the figural completion problem. The second half of this paper describes a computational theory of figural completion. A working model is demonstrated on a variety of illusory contour displays. The experimental system employs a two stage process of completion hypothesis and combinatorial optimization. The labeling scheme is enforced by integer linear inequalities so that the optimal feasible solution of an integer linear program defines a typologically valid surface organization. <<ETX>>
On optimal data split for generalization estimation and model selection

The paper is concerned with studying the very different behavior of the two data splits using hold-out cross-validation, K-fold cross-validation and randomized permutation cross-validation. First we describe the theoretical basics of various cross-validation techniques with the purpose of reliably estimating the generalization error and optimizing the model structure. The paper deals with the simple problem of estimating a single location parameter. This problem is tractable as non-asymptotic theoretical analysis is possible, whereas mainly asymptotic analysis and simulation studies are viable for the more complex AR-models and neural networks.
A Comparison Survey of Organic and Conventional Broiler Chickens for Infectious Agents Affecting Health and Food Safety

Abstract The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to evaluate the health status of organic broiler chickens and the contamination rate with Salmonella and Campylobacter in organic broiler production in Belgium. The broilers were screened for antibodies against routinely monitored poultry diseases at 1 day old and at slaughter. Fecal examination for the presence of worm eggs was done at slaughter. Bacteriological examination for the detection of Salmonella and Campylobacter was performed at day 1, week 2, week 4, week 7, week 10, and slaughter. Conventional broilers of the same poultry integration and reared in the same geographic area were also screened and served as reference. Serologic data indicated lower antibody titers against infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease in organic flocks. No significant differences could be found in prevalence of Salmonella between organic and conventional broilers at slaughter. In contrast, Campylobacter infections at slaughter were significantly higher in organic flocks. Organic flocks most probably become infected with Campylobacter between week 7 and week 10. Worm eggs were found in neither the organic flocks nor the conventional flocks. In conclusion, there are indications that the respiratory health status is better in organic broilers but that organic flocks are more often infected with Campylobacter than are conventional flocks.
Alendronate Reduces the Excretion of Risk Factors for Calcium Phosphate Stone Formation in Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporosis

Objective: Osteoporosis is associated with the pathogenesis and risk of urolithiasis, which is higher among postmenopausal women (as opposed to premenopausal). Bisphosphonates potently inhibit bone resorption, and are used in the management of bone disease. We investigated the ability of a bisphosphonate to prevent calcium stone formation. Methods: We studied 12 postmenopausal women (63.8 ± 7.3 years) who were not receiving osteoporosis therapy, and had stones comprised of calcium phosphate (CaP; n = 3), calcium oxalate (CaOx; n = 3) and CaP + CaOx (n = 6). We measured bone mineral density (BMD), serum and urinary values in 24-hour urine specimens before and 3 months after the oral administration of 5 mg/day of alendronate (ALN). The indexes of the ionic activity product of calcium oxalate, AP(CaOx), and of calcium phosphate, AP(CaP), were estimated using the Tiselius method. Results: ALN significantly reduced the AP(CaP) index (1.53 ± 1.37 to 0.89 ± 0.81, p <0.05). Urinary calcium, oxalate, phosphate and the AP(CaOx) index did not significantly change. BMD improved in 11 of the 12 patients. Urinary stones did not develop in any of the patients during the course of the study. Conclusion: The results suggested that ALN not only improves BMD and osteoporosis, but also reduces the risk of calcium phosphate stone formation in postmenopausal women.
Dynamic multidimensional histograms

Histograms are a concise and flexible way to construct summary structures for large data sets. They have attracted a lot of attention in database research due to their utility in many areas, including query optimization, and approximate query answering. They are also a basic tool for data visualization and analysis.In this paper, we present a formal study of dynamic multidimensional histogram structures over continuous data streams. At the heart of our proposal is the use of a dynamic summary data structure (vastly different from a histogram) maintaining a succinct approximation of the data distribution of the underlying continuous stream. On demand, an accurate histogram is derived from this dynamic data structure. We propose algorithms for extracting such an accurate histogram and we analyze their behavior and tradeoffs. The proposed algorithms are able to provide approximate guarantees about the quality of the estimation of the histograms they extract.We complement our analytical results with a thorough experimental evaluation using real data sets.
Spine–sheath layer radiative interplay in subparsec‐scale jets and the TeV emission from M87

Simple one-zone homogeneous synchrotron self-Compton models have severe difficulties in explaining the TeV emission observed in the radio galaxy M87. Also, the site the TeV emission region is uncertain: it could be the unresolved jet close to the nucleus, analogously to what is proposed for blazars, or it could be the active knot, called HST-1, tens of parsec away. We explore the possibility that the TeV emission of M87 is produced in the misaligned subparsec-scale jet. We base our modelling on a structured jet, with a fast spine surrounded by a slower layer. In this context the main site responsible for the emission of the TeV radiation is the layer, while the (debeamed) spine accounts for the emission from the radio to the GeV band: therefore we expect a more complex correlation with the TeV component than that expected in one-zone scenarios, in which both components are produced by the same region. Observed from small angles, the spine would dominate the emission, with an overall spectral energy distribution close to those of BL Lac objects with a synchrotron peak located at low energy.
A Cyclic GMP–dependent Calcium-activated Chloride Current in Smooth-muscle Cells from Rat Mesenteric Resistance Arteries

We have previously demonstrated the presence of a cyclic GMP (cGMP)-dependent calcium-activated inward current in vascular smooth-muscle cells, and suggested this to be of importance in synchronizing smooth-muscle contraction. Here we demonstrate the characteristics of this current. Using conventional patch-clamp technique, whole-cell currents were evoked in freshly isolated smooth-muscle cells from rat mesenteric resistance arteries by elevation of intracellular calcium with either 10 mM caffeine, 1 μM BAY K8644, 0.4 μM ionomycin, or by high calcium concentration (900 nM) in the pipette solution. The current was found to be a calcium-activated chloride current with an absolute requirement for cyclic GMP (EC50 6.4 μM). The current could be activated by the constitutively active subunit of PKG. Current activation was blocked by the protein kinase G antagonist Rp-8-Br-PET-cGMP or with a peptide inhibitor of PKG, or with the nonhydrolysable ATP analogue AMP-PNP. Under biionic conditions, the anion permeability sequence of the channel was SCN− > Br− > I− > Cl− > acetate > F− >> aspartate, but the conductance sequence was I− > Br− > Cl− > acetate > F− > aspartate = SCN−. The current had no voltage or time dependence. It was inhibited by nickel and zinc ions in the micromolar range, but was unaffected by cobalt and had a low sensitivity to inhibition by the chloride channel blockers niflumic acid, DIDS, and IAA-94. The properties of this current in mesenteric artery smooth-muscle cells differed from those of the calcium-activated chloride current in pulmonary myocytes, which was cGMP-independent, exhibited a high sensitivity to inhibition by niflumic acid, was unaffected by zinc ions, and showed outward current rectification as has previously been reported for this current. Under conditions of high calcium in the patch-pipette solution, a current similar to the latter could be identified also in the mesenteric artery smooth-muscle cells. We conclude that smooth-muscle cells from rat mesenteric resistance arteries have a novel cGMP-dependent calcium-activated chloride current, which is activated by intracellular calcium release and which has characteristics distinct from other calcium-activated chloride currents.
Sural mononeuropathy: A report of 36 cases

Introduction: Isolated sural mononeuropathy is rare and frequently constitutes a diagnostic challenge. Methods: This investigation was a retrospective study of sural neuropathy at a single electrodiagnostic center. Results: Our study included 36 patients with sural neuropathy, the largest sample so far reported. Non‐surgical, non‐traumatic etiologies account for 50% of the cases, including 7 patients with inflammatory or vasculitic conditions. Routine sural conduction study was positive in 34 of 36 patients, whereas a distal recording method was used to verify the diagnosis of sural mononeuropathy in 2 patients. Most (58%) patients did not require specific treatment, but persistent sensory symptoms were seen in a minority of cases. Sural nerve biopsy in 1 patient helped diagnostic and treatment planning. Conclusions: Sural mononeuropathy has distinct etiologic, clinical, and electrophysiological features. Recognition can be beneficial in treating patients with sensory symptoms involving the distal lower extremity. Muscle Nerve 49:443–445, 2014