Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On properties of multicast routing trees

In the last several years we witnessed the proliferation of multimedia applications on the Internet. One of the unavoidable techniques to support this type of communication is multicasting. However, even a decade after its initial proposal, multicast is still not widely deployed. One of the reasons is the lack of a solid business model. If the gain and the cost of multicast could be predicted, network operators might be encouraged to deploy multicast on a larger scale. In this paper we propose analytical expressions that could be used to estimate the gain of network‐layer multicast. We show that the theoretical model matches extensive simulation and Internet measurement results remarkably well.
Homotopy types of strict 3-groupoids

We look at strict $n$-groupoids and show that if $\Re$ is any realization functor from the category of strict $n$-groupoids to the category of spaces satisfying a minimal property of compatibility with homotopy groups, then there is no strict $n$-groupoid $G$ such that $\Re (G)$ is the $n$-type of $S^2$ (for $n\geq 3$). At the end we speculate on how one might fix this problem by introducing a notion of ``snucategory'', a strictly associative $n$-category with only weak units.
Understanding the neurophysiology of action interpretation in right and left-handed individuals

COPYRIGHT 2015 BY RACHEL LOUISE KELLY " You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. "-Christopher Columbus To my family, whom this was only possible because of their guidance, love and dedicated partnership for success in my life. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my: Mom, Allison, for being unconditionally supportive and encouraging me to always " go for it! " And for spaghetti bolognaise. Dad, Graeme, for always giving the most logical advice and teaching me to think for myself. Sister, Laura, for being my best friend, swolemate and biggest cheerleader. Brother, Andrew, for extraordinary food tours, WB nights and trashy TV. Carol, Jemma, and Megan, for entertaining my nerdy experiments and toys. Research advisor, Dr. Wheaton, for all the unwavering support in all my research and for transforming me from a " psychologist " into a " physiologist. " Mentor, Dr. Mizelle, for lots of helpful feedback/criticism, even more patience, and encouraging me to apply for my Ph.D. considerably in data analysis and were excellent subjects.
An Evaluation of Effects of Different Mydriatics on Choroidal Thickness by Examining Anterior Chamber Parameters: The Scheimpflug Imaging and Enhanced Depth Imaging-OCT Study

Aim. To assess the effects of mydriatics commonly used in clinical practice on choroidal thickness and anterior chamber change. Methods. This was a prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blinded study including a single eye of the participants. The subjects were assigned into 4 groups to receive tropicamide 1%, phenylephrine 2.5%, cyclopentolate 1%, and artificial tears. At the baseline, anterior chamber parameters were assessed using a Pentacam Scheimpflug camera system, and choroidal thickness (CT) was measured using a spectral-domain OCT with Enhanced Depth Imaging (EDI) modality. All measurements were repeated again after drug administration. Results. Increases in pupil diameter, volume, and depth of anterior chamber were found to be significant (p = 0.000, p = 0.000, and p = 0.000, resp.), while decreases in the choroidal thickness were found to be significant in subjects receiving mydriatics (p < 0.05). Conclusions. The study has shown that while cyclopentolate, tropicamide, and phenylephrine cause a decrease in choroidal thickness, they also lead to an increase in the volume and depth of anterior chamber. However, no correlation was detected between anterior chamber parameters and choroidal changes after drug administration. These findings suggest that the mydriatics may affect the choroidal thickness regardless of anterior chamber parameters. This study was registered with trial registration number 2014/357.
Combination of Triple Therapy and Chronic PPI Use May Decrease Risk of Colonic Adenomatous Polyps in Helicobacter pylori Infection

Aim. The aim of the paper is to determine association between H. pylori and colonic adenomatous polyps and to explore whether treatment or chronic PPI use can mitigate this risk. Methods. This case-control study included 943 patients who had H. pylori testing and underwent colonoscopy. Presence of polyps was the outcome of interest, whereas age, sex, race, H. pylori infection, triple therapy, and chronic PPI use were independent variables. Multivariate regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios at 95% confidence intervals. This study was approved by the New York Medical College Institutional Review Board. Results. H. pylori was associated with increased odds of colonic adenomatous polyps (adjusted OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.04–1.77), with stronger association among patients older than 50 (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.18–2.33). Triple therapy (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.44–1.07) or chronic PPI use (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.43–1.09) decreased odds of polyp formation. Analysis revealed a statistically significant reduction in patients who received both triple therapy and chronic PPI, lowering the odds by 60% (adjusted OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.27–0.67). Conclusion. There is increased risk of colonic adenomatous polyps among H. pylori-infected patients. Triple therapy or chronic PPI use may mitigate this risk, with further reduction when these two interventions are combined.
Cell-Laden and Cell-Free Matrix-Induced Chondrogenesis versus Microfracture for the Treatment of Articular Cartilage Defects

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the regenerative potential of cell-laden and cell-free collagen matrices in comparison to microfracture treatment applied to full-thickness chondral defects in an ovine model. Methods: Animals (n = 30) were randomized into 5 treatment groups, and 7-mm full-cartilage-thickness defects were set at the trochlea and medial condyle of both knee joints and treated as follows: 2 scaffolds in comparison (collagen I/III, Chondro-Gide®; collagen II, Chondrocell®) for covering microfractured defects (autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis), both scaffolds colonized in vitro with autologous chondrocytes (matrix-associated chondrocyte transplantation), or scaffold-free microfracture technique. One year after surgery, cartilage lesions were biomechanically (indentation test), histologically (O’Driscoll score), and immunohistochemically (collagen type I and II staining) evaluated. Results: All treatment groups of the animal model induced more repair tissue and showed better histological scores and biomechanical properties compared to controls. The average thickness of the repair tissue was significantly greater when a scaffold was used, especially the collagen I/III membrane. However, none of the index procedures surpassed the others from a biomechanical point of view or based on the histological scoring. Collagen type II expression was better in condylar defects compared to the trochlea, especially in those treated with collagen I/III membranes. Conclusion: Covering of defects with suitable matrices promotes repair tissue formation and is suggested to be a promising treatment option for cartilage defects. However, it failed to improve the biomechanical and histological properties of regenerated articular cartilage compared to microfracture alone in an ovine model under the given circumstances.
Sport and disability: Pistorius does not fit with the categories

ABSTRACT Oscar Pistorius presents a major issue to sports organisations, as exposed in the media. First and foremost, media wrongly perceive him as the first disabled athlete to participate in the Olympic Games. Second, they openly question the legitimacy of his participation mainly based on the inequity introduced by his prosthetic legs. Content analysis, in English and French, of written press, International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) texts, from 2004 to 2012, confirms that Pistorius presents a new puzzle to sports organizations. This is partly because they are not able to determine whether his performances are a result of his body strength or if they are biased by his artificial limbs. Furthermore, when he is competing against able-bodied athletes, sports organizsations put him in a ‘monstrous’ position. Similarly, while categorising him as an ‘athlete’ they do not grant him the characteristic feature of this category: certified comparability of performances to ultimately establish ranks.
Reception region characterisation using a 2.4GHz direct sequence spread spectrum radio

Experimental studies on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have revealed the existence of three distinct reception regions. These regions can be classified as connected, transitional, and disconnected. Their location and size may have a significant impact on the performance of communication protocols. The underlying causes for the transitional (or so-called "grey") region have been determined in previous work using both analytical and empirical techniques. Conclusions drawn from these experiments suggest that the transitional region is caused in part by multi-path fading. A natural assumption therefore is that any system used to combat multipath effects will also reduce the extent of the transitional region. Measurements from previous works were mainly carried out on radio architectures using (for example) NRZ and noncoherent FSK and therefore do not validate this assumption. This work shows that the above hypothesis is invalid due to a smaller decay factor and increased standard deviation of the shadowing component for high mulit-path environments. Along with the usual Packet Reception Rate (PRR) tests, a BER test was also undertaken to help identify and characterise the transitional region. A side result of this is that the measured BER shows some deviation from the theoretical value given in the IEEE 802.15. 4 standard and provides evidence why RSSI may not be a good link quality estimator in certain circumstances. In addition a number of practical issues encountered and resolved are reported in the paper.
Firm Behavior Optimal Control on Mobile Service Market

Paper present a system dynamics approach for modeling mobile service competitive market and forecasting market development. The model includes dynamic competition between operators. Pricing policy, service quality, subscriber base, potential subscribers, marketing, etc influence their number of subscribers. The task of defining the market share carrying capacity to forecast sales is described. The method for the saturation level identification is considered and the optimal control problem is formulated and solved. Actual data from several regions of Russia are used in this paper.
Early Life Conditions and Physiological Stress following the Transition to Farming in Central/Southeast Europe: Skeletal Growth Impairment and 6000 Years of Gradual Recovery

Early life conditions play an important role in determining adult body size. In particular, childhood malnutrition and disease can elicit growth delays and affect adult body size if severe or prolonged enough. In the earliest stages of farming, skeletal growth impairment and small adult body size are often documented relative to hunter-gatherer groups, though this pattern is regionally variable. In Central/Southeast Europe, it is unclear how early life stress, growth history, and adult body size were impacted by the introduction of agriculture and ensuing long-term demographic, social, and behavioral change. The current study assesses this impact through the reconstruction and analysis of mean stature, body mass, limb proportion indices, and sexual dimorphism among 407 skeletally mature men and women from foraging and farming populations spanning the Late Mesolithic through Early Medieval periods in Central/Southeast Europe (~7100 calBC to 850 AD). Results document significantly reduced mean stature, body mass, and crural index in Neolithic agriculturalists relative both to Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fishers and to later farming populations. This indication of relative growth impairment in the Neolithic, particularly among women, is supported by existing evidence of high developmental stress, intensive physical activity, and variable access to animal protein in these early agricultural populations. Among subsequent agriculturalists, temporal increases in mean stature, body mass, and crural index were more pronounced among Central European women, driving declines in the magnitude of sexual dimorphism through time. Overall, results suggest that the transition to agriculture in Central/Southeast Europe was challenging for early farming populations, but was followed by gradual amelioration across thousands of years, particularly among Central European women. This sex difference may be indicative, in part, of greater temporal variation in the social status afforded to young girls, in their access to resources during growth, and/or in their health status than was experienced by men.
Associations Between Different Parenting Styles and Child Behavior

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic, behavioral control disorder, which is most frequently diagnosed in children. ADHD is traditionally conceptualized as a neurological disorder; however, there are important environmental factors that affect symptom presentation. Parental involvement is a critical factor in virtually every form of treatment for ADHD, yet the specific parenting styles employed by parents of children with ADHD has received little attention. This study sought to address this issue through identifying associations between parenting styles, ADHD symptoms, and homework problems. Participants were recruited from a community sample, using a snowball sampling method. Participants were required to complete three rating scales, which assessed for parenting style, child’s ADHD symptoms, and child’s homework problems. Results indicated that parents who had high scores on the authoritative scale had children with more ADHD Inattentive and ADHD Combined symptoms than did parents who had lower scores on the authoritative scale. Results also indicated that higher scores on the authoritative scale were associated with a greater number of homework problems. These findings indicate that authoritative parenting is not a unitary construct, but that it has various expressions on a continuum of demandingness and responsiveness. Differences in authoritative parenting may contribute to ADHD symptom presence and to homework problems in male children. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PARENTING STYLES AND CHILD BEHAVIOR v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Table of
A Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contract Fulfillment in Teams

A recent focus on social contexts in the psychological contracts literature has provided the bases for the study of psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) at higher levels of analysis. Continuing these efforts, we develop a model of two key constructs of PCF at the team level: shared team PCF and shared individual PCF. In this article, we provide definitions and theorize about the processes that govern the emergence of these constructs. In addition, we discuss enabling factors for the emergence of the constructs and conceptually differentiate them from other related team-level constructs. We also propose a nomological network of the relationships of shared team PCF and shared individual PCF with important team-level variables, considering at the same time the interplay between individual and collective phenomena. The model provides new insights about antecedents and outcomes of PCF constructs at the team level. Finally, we discuss theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research.
AutoScaler: Scale-Attention Networks for Visual Correspondence

Finding visual correspondence between local features is key to many computer vision problems. While defining features with larger contextual scales usually implies greater discriminativeness, it could also lead to less spatial accuracy of the features. We propose AutoScaler, a scale-attention network to explicitly optimize this trade-off in visual correspondence tasks. Our network consists of a weight-sharing feature network to compute multi-scale feature maps and an attention network to combine them optimally in the scale space. This allows our network to have adaptive receptive field sizes over different scales of the input. The entire network is trained end-to-end in a siamese framework for visual correspondence tasks. Our method achieves favorable results compared to state-of-the-art methods on challenging optical flow and semantic matching benchmarks, including Sintel, KITTI and CUB-2011. We also show that our method can generalize to improve hand-crafted descriptors (e.g Daisy) on general visual correspondence tasks. Finally, our attention network can generate visually interpretable scale attention maps.
Extending the Understanding of End User Information Systems Satisfaction Formation: An Equitable Needs Fulfillment Model Approach

End user satisfaction (EUS) is critical to successful information systems implementation. Many EUS studies in the past have attempted to identify the antecedents of EUS, yet most of the relationships found have been criticized for their lack of a strong theoretical underpinning. Today it is generally understood that IS failure is due to psychological and organizational issues rather than technological issues, hence individual differences must be addressed. This study proposes a new model with an objective to extend our understanding of the antecedents of EUS by incorporating three well-founded theories of motivation, namely expectation theory, needs theory, and equity theory. The uniqueness of the model not only recognizes the three different needs (i.e., work performance, relatedness, and self-development) that users may have with IS use, but also the corresponding inputs required from each individual to achieve those needs fulfillments, which have been ignored in most previous studies. This input/needs fulfillment ratio, referred to as equitable needs fulfillment, is likely to vary from one individual to another and satisfaction will only result in a user if the needs being fulfilled are perceived as "worthy" to obtain. The partial least squares (PLS) method of structural equation modeling was used to analyze 922 survey returns collected form the hotel and airline sectors. The results of the study show that IS end users do have different needs. Equitable work performance fulfillment and equitable relatedness fulfillment play a significant role in affecting the satisfaction of end users. The results also indicate that the impact of perceived IS performance expectations on EUS is not as significant as most previous studies have suggested. The conclusion is that merely focusing on the technical soundness of the IS and the way in which it benefits employees may not be sufficient. Rather, the input requirements of users for achieving the corresponding needs fulfillments also need to be examined.
Registry of the Spanish Network for Systemic Sclerosis

AbstractSystemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, multisystem disease showing a large individual variability in disease progression and prognosis. In the present study, we assess survival, causes of death, and risk factors of mortality in a large series of Spanish SSc patients. Consecutive SSc patients fulfilling criteria of the classification by LeRoy were recruited in the survey. Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportional-hazards models were used to analyze survival and to identify predictors of mortality. Among 879 consecutive patients, 138 (15.7%) deaths were registered. Seventy-six out of 138 (55%) deceased patients were due to causes attributed to SSc, and pulmonary hypertension (PH) was the leading cause in 23 (16.6%) patients. Survival rates were 96%, 93%, 83%, and 73% at 5, 10, 20, and 30 years after the first symptom, respectively. Survival rates for diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) and limited cutaneous SSc were 91%, 86%, 64%, and 39%; and 97%, 95%, 85%, and 81% at 5, 10, 20, and 30 years, respectively (log-rank: 67.63, P < 0.0001). The dcSSc subset, male sex, age at disease onset older than 65 years, digital ulcers, interstitial lung disease (ILD), PH, heart involvement, scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), presence of antitopoisomerase I and absence of anticentromere antibodies, and active capillaroscopic pattern showed reduced survival rate. In a multivariate analysis, older age at disease onset, dcSSc, ILD, PH, and SRC were independent risk factors for mortality. In the present study involving a large cohort of SSc patients, a high prevalence of disease-related causes of death was demonstrated. Older age at disease onset, dcSSc, ILD, PH, and SRC were identified as independent prognostic factors.
The Historical Origins of Territorial Disputes

Given the abundance of evidence that disputed territory matters, we know remarkably little about the origins of territorial claims. We argue that the presence of competing historical border precedents is central to the emergence of territorial claims. We outline why precedents provide opportunity to make claims and provide two possible explanations for why leaders have incentive to claim along precedents. One possibility is consistent with the conventional wisdom that incentive derives from territorial characteristics such as natural resources or strategic significance. A second and more novel explanation is that the persistent coordination effects of historical boundaries provide the incentive to draw claims along them. We use new data on the location of historical boundaries from the peace of Westphalia until the start of the French Revolution to show that historical border precedents drive the emergence of territorial claims after the Congress of Vienna and that persistent coordination effects provide incentive to dispute historical precedents.
Evaluations of Factors Predicting the Need for an Extra-Cervical Approach for Intra-Thoracic Goiter

Introduction: Intra-thoracic goiter refers to the extension of enlarged thyroid tissue into the thoracic inlet. This condition can produce symptoms of compression on adjacent organs and can sometimes be accompanied by malignant transformation. Therefore surgical treatment is almost always necessary. In order to remove the pathology with the fewest post-operative complications, selection of the appropriate surgical approach is essential. In this study we aimed to detect the criteria which help us select the best therapeutic approach. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 82 patients with intra-thoracic goiter were investigated. Their data were extracted from medical records and analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Overall 82 patients, 18 (21%) males and 64 (78%) females with mean age of 56.38 years were studied. The most common clinical symptoms were mass (95%) and dyspnea (73%). In most patients, the surgical approach was cervical (90.2%), while 9.8% of patients required an extra-cervical approach. Post-operation complications were observed in 17.1% of patients; the most common being transient recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis (4.9%). Malignancy was reported in the histopathology of seven patients (8.5%). The most common malignant histopathology was papillary thyroid carcinoma (7.3%). Extension of the thyroid tissue below the uppermost level of the aortic arch was significantly correlated with the need for an extra-cervical approach to surgery (P<0.001). Conclusion: Because of the compressive effect and risk of malignancy, intra-thoracic goiters require immediate surgical intervention. Commonly, cervical incision is used for removing the extended goiter to the mediastinum. Extension of the goiter below the uppermost level of the aortic arch increases the likelihood of an extra-cervical approach being required.