Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of additive noise on consensus achievement in wireless sensor networks

Achieving consensus on common global parameters through totally decentralized algorithms is a topic that has attracted considerable attention in the last few years, in view of its potential application in sensor networks. Several algorithms, along with their convergence properties, have been studied in the literature, among which the most popular are the (weighted) average consensus based schemes. One of the most critical aspects of these algorithms is that they suffer from catastrophic noise propagation. We show that the noise affecting the system state variables has a variance that grows linearly with the time index. In addition, we prove that encoding the information on the first forward difference of the state variables rather than on the state itself improves noise resilience, since it guarantees that the asymptotic value of the consensus is affected by noise with bounded variance. The results of our in-depth analysis of the effect of additive noise on consensus algorithms are valid regardless of the noise statistics and for arbitrary network topologies, i.e., arbitrary Laplacian matrices, and contain as special cases previously known results.
Systemic hypotension and the development of acute sensorineural hearing loss in young healthy subjects.

BACKGROUND Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is an acute disorder whose origin is often unclear. A vascular disorder may be a causative factor. OBJECTIVE To determine whether hypotension influences the genesis of SSHL in healthy subjects. DESIGN To investigate the role of a 24-hour blood pressure (BP) profile in a population of young subjects with SSHL from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 1999, by a nonrandomized controlled trial. SETTING The Ear, Nose and Throat Section of the Department of Surgical and Anaesthesiological Sciences and the Department of Internal Medicine, S. Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. PATIENTS The study population consisted of 23 untreated healthy patients diagnosed as having SSHL compared with 20 age- and sex-matched normotensive control subjects. Both groups underwent 24-hour BP monitoring, and their BP profiles were analyzed and compared with routine BP values. The data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 7.1, and the results are expressed as mean +/- SD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The mean BP values were expected to be lower in the study population. RESULTS The average clinic and ambulatory BP values were significantly lower in patients with SSHL, for systolic (clinic, P =.004; ambulatory BP, P =.02) and diastolic (clinic, P =.03; ambulatory BP, P =.03) values. The occurrence of persistent hypotension (the presence of >2 consecutive recordings of systolic BP of < or =105 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP of < or =60 mm Hg) was increased in the population with SSHL. CONCLUSION Systemic hypotension must be considered as the possible cause responsible for the development of SSHL in young healthy subjects.
Architectural design and load flow study of power flow routers

Power flow routing is an emerging control paradigm for the dynamic and responsive control of electric power flows. In this paper, we investigate the design and modelling of the power flow router (PFR) which is a major building block of power flow routing. First, a generic PFR architecture is proposed to encapsulate the desired functions of PFRs. Then, the load flow model of PFRs is developed and incorporated into the optimal power flow (OPF) framework. Based on the load flow model, the control capabilities of PFR, such as decoupled branch power flows and enlarged flow regions, are analysed. With particular attention to available transfer capability (ATC), an OPF study on the standard IEEE benchmark systems with 14, 57, and 118 buses has been performed to show that ATC can be enhanced remarkably by installing the proposed PFRs at some critical buses of the power network.
Human papillomavirus, smoking status and outcomes in tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma

It is now clear that the two separate entitles of tonsillar cancer, HPV induced and non‐HPV induced (smoking induced), have significantly different presenting stage and outcomes. A significant proportion of patients with human papillomavirus positive tonsillar cancer have had exposure to smoking. We examined the combined effect of human papillomavirus and smoking on the outcomes and determined whether smoking can modify the beneficial effect of human papillomavirus. A total of 403 patients from nine centers were followed up for recurrence or death for a median of 38 months. Determinants of the rate of loco‐regional recurrence, death from tonsillar cancer and overall survival were modeled using Cox regression. Smoking status was a significant predictor of overall survival (p = 0.04). There were nonstatistically significant trends favoring never smokers for loco‐regional recurrence and disease specific survival. In addition, there was no statistically significant interactions between smoking and human papillomavirus (p‐values for the interaction were 0.26 for loco‐regional recurrence, 0.97 for disease specific survival and 0.73 for overall survival). The effect of smoking on loco‐regional recurrence and disease specific survival outcomes was not statistically significant, nor was there significant evidence that the effect of smoking status on these outcomes was modified by HPV status. Irrespective of HPV status, however, smokers did have poorer overall survival than never‐smokers, presumably due to effects of smoking that are unrelated to the primary cancer.
Generation of Accent in Nominally Premodified Noun Phrases

The primary purpose of this paper is to present a set of conditions that constrain accent placement in focused nominally premodified NPs. Selkirk (1984) argues that if the premodifier is an argument of the head, then the head can be deaccented. I agree with Selkirk's proposal and argue that what is essential is not whether the premodifier is a grammatical argument of the head noun, but rather, whether it is a θ-complement in lexical conceptual structure. This proposal is evaluated by testing it against a corpus of naturally occurring data.
Really Uncertain Business Cycles

We propose uncertainty shocks as a new shock that drives business cycles. First, we demonstrate that microeconomic uncertainty is robustly countercyclical, rising sharply during recessions, particularly during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Second, we quantify the impact of time-varying uncertainty on the economy in a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms. We find that reasonably calibrated uncertainty shocks can explain drops and rebounds in GDP of around 3%. Moreover, we show that increased uncertainty alters the relative impact of government policies, making them initially less effective and then subsequently more effective.
A grounded theory study of attitudes towards mental illness and help-seeking amongst police officers with a military background

Introduction: Both police and Armed Forces personnel are at increased risk of encountering psychological trauma with the prevalence of mental health problems higher than in the general population. Appropriate and effective mental health services are crucial but there is a marked lack of take-up of services. This research considered how the attitudes of police officers with a military background affected their help-seeking for mental health problems.Methodology: A phenomenological approach was used with the aims of producing rich data with the insider viewpoint and generating theory about the process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 male ex-Armed Forces police officers. A social constructivist Grounded Theory approach was used to analyse the data.Findings: Police officers with an Armed Forces background viewed themselves as a discrete social group. There was significant cognitive separation between them and their non-service peers, the police organisation, those with mental illness and mental health services. Four group norms, formed during military service, were identified as relevant to the research topic: a) Mission Focus, b) Strength and Control, c) Cohesion and d) Be the Best. These norms were used to determine the stigma associated with both on-set and off-set responsibility for mental health problems within the group. Group norms underpinned the acceptable strategies for managing mental health problems. Education around mental health was not seen as personally relevant at the time. Accepting a mental health problem was the greatest barrier to care and meant an acceptance of norm violation in oneself often triggering an existential crisis. Potential helpers were judged against the group norms and this either hindered or facilitated the process. As the individual recovered, they reframed the group norms in relation to their experience of mental illness and reported Post Traumatic Growth. A theoretical model for the help-seeking process is proposed.Implications: Anti-stigma interventionists need to consider the individual? s perception of their loss of a valued identity and their violation of group norms. The stereotyping and generalisation of police managers and mental health services as ? other? reduces the likelihood of accepting offers of support from those sources. Education must connect with the early beliefs from military service in order to effect change. Organisational denial or ambivalence about the subject needs tackling just as much as the denial in the group and individuals. The group holds much of the solution to the problem within its own membership and peer supporters who have overcome their own mental health challenges can be better used by the organisation to both prevent and manage the problem. They need to able to provide timely, trusted referrals to competent mental health services.
Ethidium Bromide Modifies The Agarose Electrophoretic Mobility of CAG•CTG Alternative DNA Structures Generated by PCR

The abnormal expansion of unstable simple sequence DNA repeats can cause human disease through a variety of mechanisms, including gene loss-of-function, toxic gain-of-function of the encoded protein and toxicity of the repeat-containing RNA transcript. Disease-associated unstable DNA repeats display unusual biophysical properties, including the ability to adopt non-B-DNA structures. CAG•CTG trinucleotide sequences, in particular, have been most extensively studied and they can fold into slipped-stranded DNA structures, which have been proposed as mutation intermediates in repeat size expansion. Here, we describe a simple assay to detect unusual DNA structures generated by PCR amplification, based on their slow electrophoretic migration in agarose and on the effects of ethidium bromide on the mobility of structural isoforms through agarose gels. Notably, the inclusion of ethidium bromide in agarose gels and running buffer eliminates the detection of additional slow-migrating DNA species, which are detected in the absence of the intercalating dye and may be incorrectly classified as mutant alleles with larger than actual expansion sizes. Denaturing and re-annealing experiments confirmed the slipped-stranded nature of the additional DNA species observed in agarose gels. Thus, we have shown that genuine non-B-DNA conformations are generated during standard PCR amplification of CAG•CTG sequences and detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. In contrast, ethidium bromide does not change the multi-band electrophoretic profiles of repeat-containing PCR products through native polyacrylamide gels. These data have implications for the analysis of trinucleotide repeat DNA and possibly other types of unstable repetitive DNA sequences by standard agarose gel electrophoresis in diagnostic and research protocols. We suggest that proper sizing of CAG•CTG PCR products in agarose gels should be performed in the presence of ethidium bromide.
Skills retention in Sudanese village midwives 1 year following Helping Babies Breathe training

Background Over 80% of deliveries in Sudan occur in isolated villages, attended by village midwives (VMWs). Upgrading newborn resuscitation skills with the Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) programme could improve newborn survival rates. Objective To describe the competencies in newborn resuscitation of selected VMWs pre-HBB and post-HBB training. Methods In a prospective intervention study, the VMWs’ performances in the HBB Objective Structured Clinical Examination B simulated scenario (manikin requiring face-mask ventilation (FMV)) were digitally recorded and analysed prior to and 3 and 12 months following HBB training. Regular manikin-based practice was encouraged following training. Results Pre-HBB training, 42% of 71 VMWs (of whom 61% were functionally illiterate) stimulated the non-breathing manikin by holding it by the legs and either stimulated/slapped (30.4%) or shook (12.7%) it, while 25% (18/71) provided manikin mouth-to-mouth ventilation. The low scorings on the ‘preparation for birth’ (0% and 3.1% at 3 and 12 months, respectively) were mainly due to failure to demonstrate the subitem of ‘cleans hands’. The percentage of VMWs providing manikin FMV within the Golden Minute increased from 37.3% (25/67) to 72.3% (47/65) (p<0.005), but there were no significant differences in the number of VMWs producing at least five FMVs at 3 months (73%, 49/67) and 12 months (58%, 38/65), respectively. Conclusions VMWs, despite a high illiteracy rate, absorbed and sustained HBB skills for at least a year. Regular, low intensity, manikin-based skills training with peers may have helped sustain FMV, but not hand-cleansing skills.
Dramatic erythroid response to low‐dose thalidomide in two patients with transfusion independent thalassemia and severe post‐transfusional alloimmune hemolysis

versus conventional care regimens in olders patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia. EHA Annual Meeting Abstracts 2014:LB-6212. 11. Kantarjian HM, Thomas XG, Dmoszynska A, et al. Multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase III trial of decitabine versus patient choice, with physician advice, of either supportive care or low-dose cytarabine for the treatment of older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia. J Clin Oncol 2012;30:2670–2677. 12. Cashen AF, Schiller GJ, O’Donnell MR, et al. Multicenter, phase II study of decitabine for the first-line treatment of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia. J Clin Oncol 2010;28:556– 561. 13. Lubbert M, Ruter BH, Claus R, et al. A multicenter phase II trial of decitabine as first-line treatment for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia judged unfit for induction chemotherapy. Haematologica 2012;97:393–401. 14. Ritchie EK, Feldman EJ, Christos PJ, et al. Decitabine in patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. Leuk Lymphoma 2013;54:2003–2007.
A case series evaluation of guided self-help for bulimia nervosa using a cognitive manual.

OBJECTIVE The current study examined the usefulness of a new, cognitive-based self-help manual for bulimia nervosa. METHOD Twenty people were provided with assessment and six sessions of guided self-help using the manual. Participants were assessed for eating-related behaviors and attitudes and psychopathology at pretreatment, posttreatment, and at the 3-month follow-up. Assessment instruments included the Eating Disorder Examination, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Screening Test for Co-morbid Personality Disorders, and The University of Rhode Island Change Assessment. Data from 15 people were available at posttreatment and from 13 people at follow-up. RESULTS Using intention-to-treat analyses, binge eating, vomiting, four of the five eating attitudes and self-esteem significantly improved between pretreatment and posttreatment. At follow-up, there was continued improvement on all measures, with the exception of binge eating. DISCUSSION Guided self-help using cognitive techniques is a promising first-line treatment for bulimia nervosa, with further evaluation required in a randomized, controlled trial with long-term follow-up.
A neural computational aid to the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.

STUDY OBJECTIVE Accurate identification of the presence of acute myocardial infarction in adult patients who present to the emergency department with anterior chest pain remains elusive. The artificial neural network is a powerful nonlinear statistical paradigm for the recognition of complex patterns, with the ability to maintain accuracy when some data required for network function are missing. Earlier studies revealed that the artificial neural network is able to accurately identify acute myocardial infarction in patients experiencing chest pain. However, these studies did not measure network performance in real time, when a significant amount of data required for network function may not be available. They also did not use chemical cardiac marker data. METHODS Two thousand two hundred four adult patients presenting to the ED with anterior chest pain were used to train an artificial neural network to recognize the presence of acute myocardial infarction. Only data available at the time of initial patient evaluation were used to replicate the conditions of real-time patient evaluation. Forty variables from patient histories, physical examinations, ECG results, and chemical cardiac marker determinations were used to train and then test the network. RESULTS The network correctly identified 121 of the 128 patients (sensitivity 94.5%; 95% confidence interval 90.6% to 97.9%) with myocardial infarction at a specificity of 95.9% (95% confidence interval 93.0% to 98.5%), despite the fact that an average of 5% (individual range 0% to 35%) of the input data required by the network were missing on all patients. CONCLUSION Network accuracy and the maintenance of that accuracy when some data required for function are unavailable suggest that the artificial neural network may be a potential real time aid to the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction during initial patient evaluation.
Do humans need learning to read humanoid lifting actions?

Humans can infer, just from the observation of others' actions, several information on the actor's intents and on the properties of the manipulated objects. This intuitive understanding is very efficient and allows two collaborating partners to be prepared to handle the common tools, as they can estimate the weight of the object the other agent is passing to them even before the hand-over is concluded. Transferring this kind of mutual understanding to human - robot interactions would be particularly beneficial, as it would improve the fluidity of any collaborative task. The question that we address in this study is therefore under which conditions humans can estimate the weight lifted by a humanoid robot and whether the acquisition of this skill requires an extensive learning by the human subject. Moreover, we assess whether reading humanoid lifting actions implies the involvement of the observer's motor system, as it happens for weight judgment from the observation of human actions. Our results indicate that with a proper design of the humanoid lifting motions, human subjects are able to estimate the weight lifted by the humanoid robot with a similar accuracy as that exhibited during human observation. Furthermore, such ability is intuitive and does not require learning or training. Lastly, weight judgment seems to be dependent on the involvement of the observer's motor system both during human and humanoid observation. These findings suggest that the neural mechanisms at the basis of human interaction can be extended to human-humanoid interaction, allowing for intuitive and proficient collaboration between humanoid robots and untrained human partners.
Accelerated Stress Test Assessment of Through-Silicon Via Using RF Signals

In this paper, radio frequency signal is demonstrated as an effective probe for assessing the effect of thermal cycling on the reliability of through-silicon vias (TSVs) in stacked dies. It is found that the RF signal integrity in TSV daisy chain, particularly its transmission characteristics, degrades considerably with extended thermal cycling, because of the formation and the growth of voids. Early failures are observed in the reliability analysis of the TSV daisy chain and are attributed to processing-related variability across the wafer. However, the maximum failure rate is found to occur at 500 thermal cycles, which is attributed to the initiation of defects and their subsequent propagation.
A Model Vaccine Exploiting Fungal Mannosylation to Increase Antigen Immunogenicity1

Ag mannosylation represents a promising strategy to augment vaccine immunogenicity by targeting Ag to mannose receptors (MRs) on dendritic cells. Because fungi naturally mannosylate proteins, we hypothesized that Ags engineered in fungi would have an enhanced capacity to stimulate T cell responses. Using the model Ag OVA, we generated proteins that differentially expressed N- and O-linked mannosylation in the yeast Pichia pastoris and compared them to their unglycosylated counterparts produced in Escherichia coli. We found that yeast-derived OVA proteins containing N-linkages, extensive O-linkages, or both were more potent than the unmannosylated Ags at inducing OVA-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation. This elevated response to fungal Ags was inhibited by mannan, suggesting involvement of MRs. However, the macrophage MR (CD206) was not essential, because macrophage MR-deficient dendritic cells were fully competent in presenting yeast-derived OVA Ags. Thus, the use of fungal glycosylation to provide N-linked and/or extensive O-linked mannosylation increased the capacity of the model Ag OVA to stimulate Ag-specific T cell responses in an MR-dependent manner. These data have implications for vaccine design by providing proof of principle that yeast-derived mannosylation can enhance immunogenicity.
The occurrence of virulent tubercle bacilli in presumably non-tuberculous lung tissue.

In I927 Opie and Aronson 1 reported the results of a comprehensive study to determine whether or not latent focal lesions of pulmonary tuberculosis contain virulent tubercle bacilli. A total of 304 lesions obtained from the lungs of I69 individuals dying of causes other than tuberculosis in two Philadelphia hospitals was examined. Data pertaining to 208 lesions of the primary complex from the lungs and tracheobronchial lymph nodes, which were used to inoculate guinea pigs, revealed that tubercle bacilli were present in approximately 26 per cent. Since the material examined by Opie and Aronson consisted of focal lesions that were caseous, caseocalcareous, calcified or encapsulated, the authors questioned whether the tubercle bacilli, in the instances in which the results of the inoculation of guinea pigs were positive, were present within the structure of the focal lesions or in the peripheral tissue in which the lesions were embedded. They accordingly investigated this phase of the problem, injecting guinea pigs with (i) lung tissue from the apexes, which were grossly without evidence of tuberculosis or fibrous scars; (2) lung tissue presumably free from tuberculous lesions, from the base of the lungs; and (3) apparently non-tuberculous lymph nodes from the hilum or the tracheobronchial tree. It was found that tubercle bacilli were present in tissues removed from I5, or 45.5 per cent, * Received for publication April 29, 1939.