Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Throughput of Large One-Hop Ad Hoc Wireless Networks With General Fading

We consider the problem of determining throughput of one-hop unicast transmissions in ad hoc wireless networks. We consider an interference-limited scenario in which wireless links between different nodes are modeled by independently and identically distributed random variables. The main decoding challenge for receive nodes is due to interference of nonintended concurrent transmissions. In this scenario, we consider a heuristic one-hop transmission strategy based on activating source-destination pairs with strongest direct links and forcing other pairs to be silent. We present a closed-form expression for throughput scaling of such strategy, for a completely general channel power distribution. As case studies, we consider practical channel power distributions (e.g., Gamma (Nakagami-m fading and Weibull distributions) and derive the throughput scaling of the heuristic scheme.
Learning to See the Infinite: Measuring Visual Literacy Skills in a 1st-Year Seminar Course.

Visual literacy was a stated learning objective for the fall 2009 iteration of a first-year seminar course. To help students develop visual literacy skills, they received formal instruction throughout the semester and completed a series of carefully designed learning activities. The effects of these interventions were measured using a one-group pretest-posttest study design where students were asked to look at two different—but stylistically similar—paintings and write a response to the following two questions: what do you see and what do you think it means? Students' responses were analyzed based on the visual evidence they recorded and the strength of their arguments using Toulmin's argument model. After instructional interventions, paired t-tests indicate that students made significantly more basic (t(15) = 4.291, p < . 001) and advanced observations (t(15) = 2.440, p = . 014), offered more supporting visual evidence for their best- supported claims, and made stronger connections between their claims and the visual evidence.
Differences in blood pressure control in a large population-based sample of older African Americans and non-Hispanic whites.

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in older adults. Uncontrolled blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. African Americans have poorer blood pressure control than non-Hispanic whites. Little is known about whether this difference persists in older ages or the factors that contribute to this racial gap. METHODS Data were obtained from participants of the Chicago Health and Aging Program. Blood pressure control was defined according to JNC-7 criteria. Univariate chi-square analyses were used to determine racial differences in hypertension and blood pressure control, whereas sequential multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the effect of race on blood pressure control. RESULTS African Americans had a higher prevalence of hypertension (74% vs 63%; p < .001), higher awareness of hypertension (81% vs 72%; p < .001), and poorer blood pressure control (45% vs 51%, p < .001) than non-Hispanic whites. Racial differences in blood pressure control persisted after adjustment for socioeconomic status, medical conditions, obesity, and use of antihypertensive medications (odds ratio = 0.84, 95% confidence interval = 0.70-0.94). From 1993 to 2008, blood pressure control improved more among non-Hispanic whites than among African Americans. CONCLUSIONS Racial differences in blood pressure control in older adults were not explained by socioeconomic status. The racial disparity in the prevalence and control of hypertension remained consistent for older hypertensive individuals eligible for Medicare. Although the rates of hypertension control improved for both racial groups, the improvement was greater among whites, thus widening the gap in this older population at high risk for cardiovascular disease.
The Estonian version of the NEO‐PI‐R: an examination of universal and culture‐specific aspects of the Five‐Factor Model

In this article, we examine universal and culture‐specific aspects of the Five‐Factor Model measured with the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. First, our purpose was to test the replicability of the original (North American) factor structure in the Estonian‐speaking population. The translation was administered to 711 Estonian men and women aged 18 to 82. When the 30 facet scales were factored, parallel analysis suggested that five components should be retained. In the interpersonal plane defined by Extraversion and Agreeableness factors, Estonian facets formed a semicircular array that resembled the American pattern at a distance of about 21°. After these axes were aligned by Procrustes rotation, all five factor congruences exceeded 0.96, providing further evidence that the underlying five‐factor structure of the personality instrument is replicable in languages and cultures which differ substantially from those in which it was originally identified. Second, we tested the hypothesis that the orientation of varimax axes in the interpersonal plane is associated with the culture's degree of individualism–collectivism. We calculated the angular degree of difference between E and A factors in the American sample and in 21 other available samples, correlated it with individualism ratings, and found mixed support for the hypothesis, suggesting that continued research on this issue is merited. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Back from the brink: ageing, exercise and health in a small gym

ABSTRACT This paper discusses findings from a qualitative study which explored older adults' experiences of becoming regular exercisers in a gym triggered by health problems and their interactions with their younger gym instructors. A key question which the study sought to address was whether becoming embedded in the sub-field of exercise challenged traditional discourses of ageing (age habitus). While these older gym users reported significant benefits (greater health capital, expanded social networks and a return to active life after illness), they nevertheless were engaged in a complex and ambiguous negotiation of attitudes to bodily ageing and meanings of fitness and competence. In contrast, the instructors subscribed to a model of physical activity oriented towards physical capital as greater fitness. The paper suggests that these positions manifest competing understandings about what constitutes appropriate and desirable physical capital in later life. Budgetary constraints, beliefs about physical ability, professional expectations and the persistence of the discourse of decline prevent this gap from being easily bridged and allow alternative notions of ageing physicality to colonise the sub-field of exercise. The paper concludes that there is a need to develop ways of breaking down barriers in communication to overcome divergent understandings of what constitutes legitimate physical capital as we get older.
Evaluation of constitutive and inducible resistance to clindamycin in clinical samples of Staphylococcus aureus from a tertiary hospital.

INTRODUCTION Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become common in hospitals and the community environment, and this wide resistance has limited patient treatment. Clindamycin (CL) represents an important alternative therapy for infections caused by S. aureus. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing using standard methods may not detect inducible CL resistance. This study was performed to detect the phenotypes of resistance to macrolides-lincosamides-streptogramin B (MLSB) antibiotics, including CL, in clinical samples of S. aureus from patients at a tertiary hospital in Santa Maria, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. METHODS One hundred and forty clinical isolates were submitted to the disk diffusion induction test (D-test) with an erythromycin (ER) disk positioned at a distance of 20mm from a CL disk. The results were interpreted according to the recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). RESULTS In this study, 29 (20.7%) of the 140 S. aureus samples were resistant to methicillin (MRSA), and 111 (79.3%) were susceptible to methicillin (MSSA). The constitutive resistance phenotype (cMLSB) was observed in 20 (14.3%) MRSA samples and in 5 (3.6%) MSSA samples, whereas the inducible resistance phenotype (iMLSB) was observed in 3 (2.1%) MRSA samples and in 8 (5.8%) MSSA samples. CONCLUSIONS The D-test is essential for detecting the iMLSB phenotype because the early identification of this phenotype allows clinicians to choose an appropriate treatment for patients. Furthermore, this test is simple, easy to perform and inexpensive.
Comparison of the Abbott RealTime HCV and Roche COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS TaqMan HCV Assays for the Monitoring of Sofosbuvir-Based Therapy

Background On-treatment HCV kinetics play an invaluable role in evaluating the efficacy of interferon-based therapies. However, the importance of HCV RNA monitoring has not been well discussed concerning treatment with sofosbuvir (SOF)-based regimens, especially for the utility of the Abbott RealTime HCV (ART) assay. Methods This study consisted of 151 patients infected with HCV genotype-1 or -2, including patients with prior treatment-experience or cirrhosis. HCV genotype-1 patients were treated with SOF/ledipasvir and genotype-2 patients with SOF/ribavirin, both for 12 weeks. Serial measurements of HCV RNA were performed with both the ART and COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan v2.0 (CAP/ CTM) assays simultaneously at weeks 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 of treatment. Results The rates of HCV RNA target not detected (TND) by ART were significantly lower than those by CAP/CTM between weeks 2 and 12 (end of treatment [EOT]), irrespective of prior treatment-experience or cirrhosis. 11 (11.6%) genotype-1 and 8 (14.3%) genotype-2 patients did not achieve HCV RNA TND by ART at EOT, in contrast to all having HCV RNA TND by CAP/CTM; however, all achieved sustained virological response. The time at which HCV RNA became TND or unquantifiable was not associated with treatment outcome by either the ART or CAP/CTM assay. Conclusions Over 10% of the patients continued to have detectable HCV RNA by ART at EOT, irrespective of HCV genotype, prior treatment-experience and/or cirrhosis. However, prolonged residual HCV RNA was not associated with treatment failure.
The Mindful Workplace: Developing Resilient Individuals and Resonant Organizations with MBSR

The author, Michael Chaskalson, is an honorary lecturer at Bangor University at the Centre of Mindfulness Research and Practice in the School of Psychology. He is a strong advocate for the implementation of MindfulnessBased Stress Reduction (MBSR) training in the workplace. His premise is that if people are more aware of their thoughts and feelings they are in a better position to manage them and be more effective at work. He argues that we do not have to choose between economic prosperity and human well-being, since mindfulness training for staff can improve an organisation’s productivity and give them an advantage over their competitors.
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its associated factors in the Brazilian adult population : evidence from a population-based survey

Rev BRas epidemiol JaN-maR 2017; 20(1): 16-29 ABSTRACT: Objective: To estimate the prevalence of self-reported diabetes mellitus (DM) and its associated factors among the Brazilian adult population. Methods: The prevalence of DM was assessed in the Survey on Social Dimensions of Inequalities, a national survey with macro-regions representativeness carried out in 2008. Data were collected by a personal face-to-face interview with 12,423 individuals of both sexes, aged over 20 years. The χ2 test at 5.0% was performed in order to identify associated factors, and logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios. Results: The prevalence of DM in Brazil was 7.5%. After adjusting for potential confounders, diabetes remained associated with age (≥ 40 years), education (< 8 years of study), marital status (non-married), obesity, sedentary lifestyle, comorbidity with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, as well as the demand for health services. Conclusion: Results indicate a high prevalence of DM and its associated preventable factors in Brazil. Thus, they highlight the need for a behavioral change as a strategy for prevention and control of diabetes and its complications.
Using Aesthetic Computing as a Method for Customizing Model Structure : An Empirical Study

We present empirical results from a new approach, Aesthetic Computing to customizing model structures for designing models for systems found in mathematics and computer simulation. At the University of Florida, we have taught the methodology of Aesthetic Computing as a separate class, and within the context of a Simulation class. Students in the simulation class were taught the method and then subsequently allowed to construct their own interactive 3D representations of typical simulation model structures such as Petri nets and finite state automata. While using the method, natural issues arise, questioning where aesthetic computing can provide benefit in model representation. To help answer such questions, a student needs to be presented with a body of knowledge that represents the “aesthetic computing technique,” and then the student applies this knowledge to create the modeling artifacts. We present recent empirical studies from two classes, Aesthetic Computing and Computer Simulation, where aesthetic “methods/techniques” were employed. From the studies, we determined that there were several key results associated with Aesthetic Computing: 1) the ability for the student to be more creative in building their own custom models, and 2) the ability to improve perceived communication of technical topics (e.g., associated with the models) to non-experts.
Negative Reciprocity in an Environment of Violent Conflict

How is negative reciprocity cultivated in an environment of violent conflict? This study investigates how students in the West Bank react to unfair proposals in an ultimatum game. Proposals submitted with Hebrew as compared to Arab handwriting are rejected more often. Israelis must offer 15 percent more of a given stake than Palestinians in order to achieve the same probability of acceptance. This willingness to lose money by rejecting proposals reveals a preference for discrimination against Israelis, cultivated in the conflict-ridden environment. Students who voice a militant attitude, surprisingly, do not reveal a higher tendency to discriminate, exercising a high degree of negative reciprocity toward all unfair proposals. But those who favor a political role for Islam have a higher inclination to discriminate. This implies that ethnic and religious cleavages do not consistently generate in-group solidarity.
The limits of resolution

This paper challenges the notion that a fixed spatial resolution is applicable for digitising all items in a collection, irrespective of their characteristics. The fineness of detail in crafted objects depends on the granularity of the substrate, the diameter of the tool, and the visual contrast sensitivity of the craftsman. The ability of an imaging device to capture fine detail is characterised by its modulation transfer function (MTF). A technique based on the 1-D Fourier transform is introduced for determining the spatial frequency of the finest detail in an object. It is proposed that for capturing hand-crafted detail the image should resolve features of 50 µm diameter, requiring 40 samples per mm (1200 dpi).
The Empire, the police, and the introduction of fingerprint technology in Malta

It required more than three decades for fingerprint technology, invented in the British colony of India, to reach the British colony of Malta. Fingerprint technology was not institutionalized in Malta until 1932 owing to a different social context; British colonial authorities tended to see the Maltese as Europeans and never regarded crime prevention as a priority. Nevertheless, a review of policing in Malta in the 19th and early 20th centuries supports the thesis that fingerprint-based identification was invented to maintain surveillance over `otherness'. Although the colonial situation in Malta did not produce anything like the Criminal Tribes Act in British India, the introduction of fingerprint technology coincided with concern over foreign residents. Fingerprint technology became institutionalized following enactment of the Aliens Act in 1899 and formation of a detective and alien branch within the police organization. The diffusion of knowledge within the British Empire did not operate in a predictable direction. Rather, knowledge arising in one colony spread to others, as well as to England, channelled by familiar prejudices as much as scientific discovery.
INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORTISOL AND ATRIAL NATRIURETIC FACTOR IN THE IMMATURE OVINE FETUS

1. In chronically cannulated ovine fetuses (100–130 days of gestation) the infusion of cortisol (86.7 ± 15 μg/h for 4 h) or human atrial natriuretic factor (ANF; 4.4 μg for 2 h) resulted in highly significant increases in the excretion of sodium, chloride, potassium and water.
Type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in European children and adolescents with obesity -- a problem that is no longer restricted to minority groups.

BACKGROUND The incidence of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes is an increasing problem in Europe. We determined the prevalence of impaired glucose regulation in a predominantly Caucasian cohort of 491 children and adolescents with obesity. METHODS Fasting glucose and insulin levels were determined in all 491 subjects. Patients with an abnormal fasting glucose or with additional risk factors (positive family history of type 2 diabetes, acanthosis nigricans, hyperlipidemia; n=102) underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT; 1.75 g glucose/kg body weight). Homeostasis model assessment was used to estimate insulin resistance in all subjects. The insulin sensitivity index was determined in those subjects who underwent an OGTT. Screening for mutations in the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) gene and the coding region of the brain-derived neutrophic factor (BDNF) in 37 patients with an impaired glucose tolerance was performed by WAVE analysis. RESULTS Out of the total of 491 patients, 12 had an abnormal fasting glucose level. Of the 102 patients who underwent an OGTT, 37 had impaired glucose tolerance; 6 out of the 102 patients were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Eighty-eight per cent of patients with abnormal glucose tolerance and 66% of patients with type 2 diabetes were Caucasian. Insulin resistance indices correlated well with the degree of abnormal glucose tolerance. Using the screening algorithm for type 2 diabetes as advocated by the American Diabetes Association, 68% of patients with impaired glucose tolerance and 66% of patients with type 2 diabetes would have been missed. No abnormalities in the MC4R and BDNF genes were detected. CONCLUSIONS Impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes are far more common in obese European children of Caucasian origin than previously thought. Using fasting glucose levels as the main screening tool appears to be insufficient in detecting these children.
Natural Language Generation with Tree Conditional Random Fields

This paper presents an effective method for generating natural language sentences from their underlying meaning representations. The method is built on top of a hybrid tree representation that jointly encodes both the meaning representation as well as the natural language in a tree structure. By using a tree conditional random field on top of the hybrid tree representation, we are able to explicitly model phrase-level dependencies amongst neighboring natural language phrases and meaning representation components in a simple and natural way. We show that the additional dependencies captured by the tree conditional random field allows it to perform better than directly inverting a previously developed hybrid tree semantic parser. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the model performs better than a previous state-of-the-art natural language generation model. Experiments are performed on two benchmark corpora with standard automatic evaluation metrics.
Don't Look, Don't Touch: The science behind revulsion

Every flu season, sneezing, coughing, and graphic throat-clearing become the day-to-day background noise in every workplace. And coworkers tend to move as far—and as quickly—away from the source of these bodily eruptions as possible. Instinctively, humans recoil from objects that they view as dirty and even struggle to overcome feelings of discomfort once the offending item has been cleaned. These reactions are universal, and although there are cultural and individual variations, by and large we are all disgusted by the same things. In Don’t Look, Don’t Touch, Don’t Eat, Valerie Curtis builds a strong case for disgust as a “shadow emotion”—less familiar than love or sadness, it nevertheless affects our day-to-day lives. In disgust, biological and sociocultural factors meet in dynamic ways to shape human and animal behavior. Curtis traces the evolutionary role of disgust in disease prevention and hygiene, but also shows that it is much more than a biological mechanism. Human social norms, from good manners to moral behavior, are deeply rooted in our sense of disgust. The disgust reaction informs both our political opinions and our darkest tendencies, such as misogyny and racism. Through a deeper understanding of disgust, Curtis argues, we can take this ubiquitous human emotion and direct it towards useful ends, from combating prejudice to reducing disease in the poorest parts of the world by raising standards of hygiene. Don’t Look, Don’t Touch, Don’t Eat reveals disgust to be a vital part of what it means to be human and explores how this deep-seated response can be harnessed to improve the world.
MECP2 coding sequence and 3′UTR variation in 172 unrelated autistic patients

Mutations in the coding sequence of the methyl‐CpG‐binding protein 2 gene (MECP2), which cause Rett syndrome (RTT), have been found in male and female autistic subjects without, however, a causal relation having unequivocally been established. In this study, the MECP2 gene was scanned in a Portuguese autistic population, hypothesizing that the phenotypic spectrum of mutations extends beyond the traditional diagnosis of RTT and X‐linked mental retardation, leading to a non‐lethal phenotype in male autistic patients. The coding region, exon–intron boundaries, and the whole 3′UTR were scanned in 172 patients and 143 controls, by Detection of Virtually All Mutations‐SSCP (DOVAM‐S). Exon 1 was sequenced in 103 patients. We report 15 novel variants, not found in controls: one missense, two intronic, and 12 in the 3′UTR (seven in conserved nucleotides). The novel missense change, c.617G > C (p.G206A), was present in one autistic male with severe mental retardation and absence of language, and segregates in his maternal family. This change is located in a highly conserved residue within a region involved in an alternative transcriptional repression pathway, and likely alters the secondary structure of the MeCP2 protein. It is therefore plausible that it leads to a functional modification of MeCP2. MECP2 mRNA levels measured in four patients with 3′UTR conserved changes were below the control range, suggesting an alteration in the stability of the transcripts. Our results suggest that MECP2 can play a role in autism etiology, although very rarely, supporting the notion that MECP2 mutations underlie several neurodevelopmental disorders. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.