Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Blood Sample Age at Time of Separation on Measured Cytokine Concentrations in Human Plasma

ABSTRACT Measurement of peripheral blood cytokines and other immunomodulatory proteins is a useful and popular tool for assessing human immune responses to a wide range of assaults. A common challenge in this work is obtaining fresh, high-quality samples and limiting the time between blood collection and the separation of plasma or serum from cells. In this study we sought to determine the effect of sample age at the time of processing on the measured levels of 41 soluble immune mediators. Two cohorts were examined: healthy lab donors and trauma patients, who have significant immune perturbation. Whole-blood samples were aliquoted, and plasma was isolated, at days 0, 1, 2, and 3 after collection. Multiplexing techniques were used to measure protein concentrations, and general estimating equations were used to determine if there was a significant change over time. Over the 3-day period examined, only 15 of the 41 proteins showed no significant change in either cohort. Among the remaining proteins both increases and decreases were observed, with changes ranging from 2.4% per day to 325% per day. Proteins with significant changes in one cohort did not always show significant changes in the other group. These results support the need to separate plasma or serum from whole blood as quickly as possible and/or to standardize the length of time to processing within a given study of peripheral blood protein concentrations. When this is not possible, care should be taken to account for differences due to sample age.
High-Order Shock-Fitting and Front-Tracking Methods for Numerical Simulation of Shock-Disturbance Interactions

High-order methods that can resolve interactions of flow-disturbances with shock waves are critical for reliable numerical simulation of strong-shock and turbulence interaction problems. Such problems are not well understood due to limitations of numerical methods. Most of the popular shock-capturing methods are inherently dissipative and may incur numerical oscillations near the shock. Present paper is continuation of our previous work [1] on development and implementation of new algorithms based on shock-fitting and fronttracking methodology which can solve the flow with high-order accuracy near as well as away from the shocks. The shock-fitting algorithm avoids dissipation and possible numerical oscillations incurred in shock-capturing methods by treating shocks sharply. We explore two ways for shock-fitting: conventional moving grid set-up and a new fixed grid set-up with front tracking. In conventional shock-fitting method, a moving grid is fitted to the shock while in the newly developed fixed grid set-up shock is tracked using Lagrangian points and is free to move across underlying fixed grid. High order front-tracking method gives satisfactory results for 2-D shock disturbance interaction problem. We also studied various methods to find shock velocity. It was found that conventional method of advancing the shock using characteristics based shock-acceleration relation gives more accurate results than other methods considered. Shock-turbulence interaction problems may produce nonlinearities like secondary shocks in the post-shock flow. Hence, we have combined our shock-fitting methodology with shock-capturing methods. Convergence analysis was carried out for combined shock-fitting and WENO methods for an unsteady shock disturbance problem and expected fifth order accuracy was achieved. It was found that, where applicable, shock-fitting algorithm provides superior results to those obtained from purely shock-capturing schemes.
Technical Paper Series Congressional Budget Office Washington, DC

The effect upon future Social Security benefits resulting from the introduction of individual accounts depends on both the potential risks and returns of private equities, yet the historical evidence about the determinants of stock market risks and returns is mixed. In particular, correlations between equity returns and market fundamentals (such as the dividend–price ratio) are weak at annual frequencies, which has led some to conclude that a random returns (fixed mean and variance) model is the preferred specification for simulating the future path of equity returns. Although choosing between the random returns model and models based on market fundamentals does equally well for explaining variation of equity returns in the short run, the distinction is important when projecting equity returns over longer periods, as shown here in the context of a Monte Carlo simulation of Social Security reform. If equity returns are even weakly correlated with market fundamentals then (1) the expected future average return may be a function of the starting values for market fundamentals, and (2) the overall range of cumulative outcomes is narrower than the random returns model suggests. INTRODUCTION How would introducing individual accounts affect outcomes for future Social Security beneficiaries? Individual accounts with investment in corporate equities could raise expected benefits, but the welfare cost of increased risk could offset those gains (Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 2003; Feldstein and Rangulova, 2001; MaCurdy and Shoven, 2001). When attempting to quantify the trade-off between risk and return in a policy simulation context, one key modeling decision is how the probability distribution John Sabelhaus is with the Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC (e-mail: john. sabelhaus@cbo.gov). This article was subject to anonymous peer review. The author would like to thank Joel V. Smith, who worked on an earlier version of this article, and also Amy Harris, Josh O’Harra, Steve Lieberman, Kevin Perese, and Michael Simpson of CBO’s Long-Term Modeling Group within CBO’s Health and Human Resources Division, and an anonymous referee for their support and helpful comments. The views expressed here are those of the author and should not be interpreted as those of the Congressional Budget Office.
Jammer Localization in Multi-Hop Wireless Network: A Comprehensive Survey

Various security threats and corresponding countermeasures has been a major concern of the maintainers of multi-hop wireless networks (MHWNs) in recent years. This is accompanied with background advances in wireless link bandwidth and rapid growth deployment of wireless network. As one of the main security threats MHWN faces, jamming attack has attracted much attention since it is easy to launch and can cause severe damages to the network. Accurate jammer localization plays an essential role in applying various anti-jamming countermeasures and it has been a hot topic in recent years. This survey overviews the major recent works done in the field of jammer localization for MHWN. The major contribution of this paper is to present all the typical jammer localization schemes in a single literature along with comprehensive performance comparison by simulation with respect to time complexity, location accuracy, and communication overhead in various MHWN deployment environments. Besides, directions for future research are outlined. We hope this survey can provide insight into different research directions to improve jammer localization accuracy for future developments.
Dual Failure Resilient BFS Structure

We study breadth-first search (BFS) spanning trees, and address the problem of designing a sparse fault-tolerant BFS structure, or FT-BFS for short, resilient to the failure of up to two edges in the given unweighted undirected graph G, i.e., a sparse subgraph H of G such that subsequent to the failure of up to two edges, the surviving part H' of H still contains a BFS spanning tree for (the surviving part of) G. FT-BFS structures, as well as the related notion of replacement paths, have been studied so far for the restricted case of a single failure. It has been noted widely that when concerning shortest-paths in a variety of contexts, there is a sharp qualitative difference between a single failure and two or more failures. Our main results are as follows. We present an algorithm that for every n-vertex unweighted undirected graph G and source node s constructs a (two edge failure) FT-BFS structure rooted at s with O(n5/3) edges. To provide a useful theory of shortest paths avoiding 2 edges failures, we take a principled approach to classifying the arrangement these paths. We believe that the structural analysis provided in this paper may decrease the barrier for understanding the general case of f ≥ 2 faults and pave the way to the future design of f-fault resilient structures for f ≥ 2. We also provide a matching lower bound, which in fact holds for the general case of f ≥ 1 and multiple sources S ⊆ V. It shows that for every f ≥ 1, and integer 1 ≤ σ ≤ n, there exist n-vertex graphs with a source set S ⊆ V of cardinality σ for which any FT-BFS structure rooted at each s ∈ S, resilient to up to f-edge faults has Ω(σ1/(f+1) ⋅ n2-1/(f+1)) edges. In particular, for f=2 and σ=1, a dual failure FT-BFS structure rooted at s must have Ω(n5/3) edges in the worst case. Finally, we also consider the optimization variant for this problem, and propose an O(log n) approximation algorithm for constructing FT-BFS structures resilient to up to f-faults for any constant f ≥ 1 and any source set S ⊆ V.
Pretty good persuasion: a first step towards effective password security in the real world

In the past, research on password mechanisms has focussed almost entirely on technical issues. Only in recent years has the security research community acknowledged that user behavior plays a part in many security failures, and that policies alone may not be sufficient to ensure correct behavior. We argue that password mechanisms and their users form a socio-technical system, whose effectiveness relies strongly on users' willingness to make the extra effort that security-conscious behavior requires. In most organizations, users cannot be forced to comply; rather, they have to be persuaded to do so. Ultimately, the mechanisms themselves, policies, tutorials, training and the general discourse have to be designed with their persuasive power in mind. We present the results of a first study that can guide such persuasive efforts, and describe methods that can be used to persuade users to employ proper password practice.
Comparative phytochemical profiling of Clerodendrum infortunatum with some selected medicinal plants predominant in the Sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal

Abstract Background: The aim of the present study was to quantify the phytochemicals of Clerodendrum infortunatum root and correlate on the basis of phytochemicals present with other medicinal plants belonging to different families. Methods: Various standard biochemical and spectrophotometric methods were employed to study the phytochemical status of the root of C. infortunatum. All the analysis was performed in multiple sets. Various statistical methods like principal component analysis, dendogram, Euclidean distance and correlation study were done to compare the phytochemical profile of C. infortunatum with different selected medicinal plants belonging to different families. Results: Results indicated the presence of various phytochemicals like phenol, alkaloid, flavonoid, tannin, thiamine, riboflavin, etc. Among the estimated phytochemicals, phenol had the highest quantity (65.59±1.26 mg/g) followed by lipid (27.51±0.23 mg/g) and tannin (16.40±0.07 mg/100 g). The phytochemical contents of C. infortunatum are much higher than those of the other reference plants. Conclusions: It may be concluded from the present study that the root of C. infortunatum contains very high amount of phytochemicals which are chiefly responsible for various medicinal properties. Therefore, the presence of the bioactive compounds in high quantity may lead to the potent medicinal value of C. infortunatum root.
Detection of circulating vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in non-small cell lung cancer using Luminex multiplex technology

It has been previously reported that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 are important for the occurrence and development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study was designed to detect the serum levels of VEGF and MMP-9 in NSCLC, and to explore their diagnostic and prognostic values. A total of 543 cases were involved, of which 332 were NSCLC (272 cases in the pretreatment group and 60 cases in the postoperative group), 91 were patients with benign lung diseases and 120 were healthy controls. The serum levels of VEGF and MMP-9 were determined by Luminex multiplex technology. The serum levels of VEGF and MMP-9 were found to be significantly higher in the pretreatment group than those in the patients with benign lung diseases and healthy controls (VEGF, P<0.0001; MMP-9, P<0.0001). Compared with the pretreatment group, the serum levels of VEGF and MMP-9 in the postoperative group were significantly decreased (VEGF, P=0.005; MMP-9, P=0.002), and the levels of VEGF and MMP-9 in the pretreatment group of patients with stages III and IV were higher than those with stages I and II (VEGF, P<0.0001; MMP-9, P=0.021). In addition, the levels of VEGF and MMP-9 were found to closely correlate with lymph node metastasis (VEGF, P<0.0001; MMP-9, P<0.0001) in the pretreatment group, while being independent of other clinicopathological parameters (P>0.05). Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between the serum levels of VEGF and MMP-9 (r=0.159; P=0.009). A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the diagnostic value of MMP-9 was higher than that of VEGF in the pretreatment group. The log-rank test indicated that the inoperable NSCLC patients with low levels of VEGF exhibited a significantly longer overall survival time than those with high VEGF levels (P<0.0001). Additionally, the serum levels of VEGF and lymph node metastasis were identified as independent prognostic factors of the inoperable NSCLC patients in a multivariate Cox regression analysis (P<0.05). These results indicated that VEGF and MMP-9 may be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of NSCLC.
A path model for geodesics in Euclidean buildings and its applications to representation theory

In this paper we give a combinatorial characterization of projections of geodesics in Euclidean buildings to Weyl chambers. We apply these results to the representation theory of complex reductive Lie groups and to spherical Hecke rings associated with split nonar- chimedean reductive Lie groups. Our main application is a generalization of the saturation theorem of Knutson and Tao for SLn to other complex semisimple Lie groups.
Decreasing Computer Anxiety and Increasing Computer Usage among Early Childhood Education Majors through a Hands-On Approach in a Nonthreatening Environment.

This practicum was designed to lessen the computer anxiety of early childhood education majors enrolled in General Curriculum or General Methods courses, to assist them in learning more about computer applications, and to increase the amount of time spent using computers. Weekly guidelines were given to the students, and a hands-on approach was used in a laboratory setting. Students were encouraged to explore applications beyond the minimal guidelines with the understanding that their grades would not be affected adversely by their computer experiences. The 10 students were allotted a 2-hour block of time each week in the technology lab and were encouraged to use the facilities during regular lab hours. Each student used the various types of computers available. Analysis revealed that all of those enrolled demonstrated basic knowledge about computers and basic operating skills, with a majoiity indicating an increase in their knowledge of computer applications. All students showed an increase in computer usage and a majority of participants expressed a higher level of confidence in using computers and a reduced level of anxiety, and all indicated that they would use computers more extensively in the future. Three appendixes present a use checklist, a usage log, and the study questionnaire. (Contains 2 tables and 20 references.) (Author/SLD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Olin. 01 Er:les:0*nel Research ahcr Marhyon'e^r EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 0 This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this rq document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy
Interpreting Scientific and Engineering Practices: Integrating the cognitive, social, and cultural dimensions

Cognitive studies of science and technology (“cognitive studies”) participate in two interdisciplinary fields: cognitive science and science and technology studies (STS). My analysis starts from issues about how cognitive studies are situated with respect to the social and cultural research programs in STS. As we will see, these issues have implications for how cognitive studies are situated within cognitive science as well. Within STS there is a perceived divide between cognitive accounts and social and cultural (“socio-cultural”) accounts of knowledge construction, evaluation, and transmission. Socio-cultural accounts are dominant, and have tended to claim that cognitive factors are inconsequential to interpreting these practices. Scientists are seen as having interests and motivations and as being members of cultures, but cognition remains, in effect, “black boxed. ” Cognitive studies accounts, for their part, have payed deference to the importance of the social and cultural dimensions of practice, but have not, by and large, made these dimensions an integral part of their analysis. The situation has fostered a perception of incompatibility between cognitive and socio-cultural accounts. One clear indication of this perception is the now-expired infamous “ten-year moratorium” on cognitive explanations issued first in 1986 by Bruno Latour and Stephen Woolgar (Latour and Woolgar 1986, p. 280; Latour 1987, p. 247), by which time they claimed, all pertinent aspects of science would be explained in terms of socio-cultural factors. Perceptions to the contrary, any such divide is artificial. Producing scientific knowledge requires the kind of sophisticated cognition that only rich social, cultural, and material environments can enable. Thus, the major challenge for interpreting scientific and engineering knowledge-producing practices is to develop accounts that capture the fusion of the social cognitive cultural dimensions in these. I will argue that the perception stems not from a fundamental incompatibility between cognitive and socio-cultural accounts of science and technology, but rather that integration has been hampered by implicit and explicit notions of ‘cognition’ employed on both sides of the perceived divide. Implicit echoes of Cartesian dualism underlie the anti-cognitive stance in socio-
Impact of chromatic dispersion on the system limitation due to polarization mode dispersion

The impact of chromatic dispersion on the system limitation due to polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is investigated through Monte Carlo simulations. The waveplate model is used to realistically simulate the variation of PMD with frequency. It is shown that the effects of higher order PMD are compounded in the presence of chromatic dispersion. This can lead to a reduction in the PMD limit for large values of chromatic dispersion. However, it does not lead to a reduction in the PMD limit for the moderate levels of chromatic dispersion that would be encountered in most systems.
Diagnosis and monitoring of complex industrial processes based on self-organizing maps and watershed transformations

A cost-effective operation of complex automation systems requires the continuous diagnosis of the asset functionality. The early detection of potential failures and malfunctions, the identification and localization of present or impending component failures and, in particular, the monitoring of the underlying physical process are of crucial importance for the efficient operation of complex process industry assets. With respect to these suppositions a software agent based diagnosis and monitoring concept has been developed, which allows an integrated and continuous diagnosis of the communication network and the underlying physical process behavior. The present paper outlines the architecture of the developed distributed diagnostic concept based on software agents and presents the functionality for the diagnosis of the unknown process behaviour of the underlying automation system based on machine learning methods.
Maintaining adolescents’ involvement in exercise and quality of life: A Self Determination Theory approach

Adolescence is a time during which physical activity is reported to decline steeply, putting both current and future health and wellbeing at risk. The four studies included in this thesis were designed to contribute to our understanding of why participation in leisure time exercise declines during adolescence. In particular, the studies aimed to test a proposed pathway of effects between negative body or weight related self perceptions and engagement in volitional exercise through the application of self determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000). The roles of extrinsic goal content, need satisfaction and motivation on leisure time exercise (LTE) were tested at both a crosssectional and longitudinal level, and analysed in detail through a qualitative study. A final experimental study was then conducted to test the degree to which some of these observed constructs are open to change, and to explore whether focusing adolescents on exercising for goals of physical appearance in a single exercise session (PE) would be facilitative of involvement in PE through heightening its relevance, or inhibitive of self determined motivation through the pathway of effects predicted for extrinsic goals by SDT. Weight related physical self perceptions (WRPSPs) were found to compromise need satisfaction and motivation to predict poorer LTE and quality of life one year later, suggesting that the reduction of, or distraction from WRPSPs would form a useful basis for exercise interventions. Adolescents showed resilience to extrinsic goals and motives for exercise, which were found to have a positive additive effect on behaviour, motivation and perceived value of activities when present in combination with intrinsic goals and motives for exercise. These findings indicated that a hierarchy of goals exists, such that goals for individual bouts of exercise are less important in determining the outcomes an adolescent will experience, than goals for exercise overall. The findings divert somewhat from SDT to suggest that when combined with a basis of intrinsic motivation towards exercise, the introduction of a highly relevant, yet extrinsic goals may be useful in initiating (although not necessarily maintaining) effortful goal directed behaviour in adolescence.