Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multipath Routing and Max-Min Fair QoS Provisioning under Interference Constraints in Wireless Multihop Networks

In this paper, we investigate the problem of flow routing and fair bandwidth allocation under interference constraints for multihop wireless networks. We first develop a novel isotonic routing metric, RI3M, considering the influence of interflow and intraflow interference. The isotonicity of the routing metric is proved using virtual network decomposition. Second, in order to ensure QoS, an interference-aware max-min fair bandwidth allocation algorithm, LMX:M3F, is proposed where multiple paths (determined by using the routing metric) coexist for each user to the base station. In order to solve the algorithm, we develop an optimization formulation that is modeled as a multicommodity flow problem where the lexicographically largest bandwidth allocation vector is found among all optimal allocation vectors while considering constraints of interference on the flows. We compare our RI3M routing metric and LMX:M3F bandwidth allocation algorithm with various interference-based routing metrics and interference-aware bandwidth allocation algorithms established in the literature. We show that RI3M and LMX:M3F succeed in improving network performance in terms of delay, packet loss ratio, and bandwidth usage.
Default Risk, Shareholder Advantage, and Stock Returns*

This paper examines the relationship between default probability and stock returns. Using the Expected Default Frequency (EDF) of Moody's KMV, we document that higher default probabilities are not associated with higher expected stock returns. Within a model of bargaining between equity holders and debt holders in default, we show that the relationship between default probability and equity return is (i) upward sloping for firms where shareholders can extract little benefit from renegotiation (low "shareholder advantage") and (ii) humped and downward sloping for firms with high shareholder advantage. This dichotomy implies that distressed firms with stronger shareholder advantage should exhibit lower expected returns in the cross section. Our empirical evidence, based on several proxies for shareholder advantage, is consistent with the model's predictions. The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org. , Oxford University Press.
Examining high level neural representations of cluttered scenes

Humans and other primates can rapidly categorize objects even when they are embedded in complex visual scenes (Thorpe et al., 1996; Fabre-Thorpe et al., 1998). Studies by Serre et al., 2007 have shown that the ability of humans to detect animals in brief presentations of natural images decreases as the size of the target animal decreases and the amount of clutter increases, and additionally, that a feedforward computational model of the ventral visual system, originally developed to account for physiological properties of neurons, shows a similar pattern of performance. Motivated by these studies, we recorded single and multi unit neural spiking activity from macaque superior temporal sulcus (STS) and anterior inferior temporal cortex (AIT), as a monkey passively viewed images of natural scenes. The stimuli consisted of 600 images of animals in natural scenes, and 600 images of natural scenes without animals in them, captured at four different viewing distances, and were the same images used by Serre et al. to allow for a direct comparison between human psychophysics, computational models, and neural data. To analyze the data, we applied population ‘readout‘ techniques (Hung et al., 2005; Meyers et al., 2008) to decode from the neural activity whether an image contained an animal or not. The decoding results showed a similar pattern of degraded decoding performance with increasing clutter as was seen in the human psychophysics and computational model results. However, overall the decoding accuracies from the neural data lower were than that seen in the computational model, and the latencies of information in IT were long (~125ms) relative to behavioral measures obtained from primates in other studies. Additional tests also showed that the responses of the model units were not capturing several properties of the neural responses, and that detecting animals in cluttered scenes using simple model units based on V1 cells worked almost as well as using more complex model units that were designed to model the responses of IT neurons. While these results suggest AIT might not be the primary brain region involved in this form of rapid categorization, additional studies are needed before drawing strong conclusions.
Dendrochilum hampelii (Coelogyninae, Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae) traded as ‘Big Pink’ is a new species, not a hybrid: evidence from nrITS, matK and ycf1 sequence data

Abstract In 2013, an unidentified species of Dendrochilum appeared in cultivation under the commercial trade name ‘Big Pink’. Using sequences of the nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region and of the plastid matK and ycf1 genes, we examined the phylogenetic relationships between ‘Big Pink’ and six other species of the phenetically defined Dendrochilum subgen. Platyclinis sect. Eurybrachium. Separate and combined analyses (using Bayesian, Maximum Likelihood and Parsimony inference) showed consistent placement of the unidentified species within a statistically well supported clade. Furthermore, the multi-copy nrITS marker showed clear distinct peaks. Thus, we found no evidence that ‘Big Pink’ could be a hybrid. Against this background, and further supported by species-specific mutations in (at least) nrITS and ycf1, we formally describe ‘Big Pink’ as a new species under the name Dendrochilum hampelii. Morphologically, it is most similar to Dendrochilum propinquum, but it differs in a number of characters. Of the two cultivated individuals available for our study, one was of unrecorded provenance. The other allegedly originated from the Philippines. Observations of the species occurring in the wild in the Philippines in the northern provinces of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental on the island of Mindanao confirmed this.
Evaluation of predictors of the development of azotemia in cats.

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common condition in geriatric cats. Diagnosis is based on the development of persistent azotemia with inadequate urine concentrating ability. Biomarkers are sought for early identification. HYPOTHESIS Clinical variables, urine concentrating ability, proteinuria, and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) index will be predictive of cats at risk of developing azotemia within 12 months. ANIMALS Client-owned nonazotemic geriatric (>or=9 years) cats. METHODS Prospective longitudinal cohort study monitoring a population of healthy nonazotemic geriatric cats every 6 months until development of azotemia, death, or the study end point (September 30, 2007). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess baseline clinical, biochemical, and urinalysis variables, urine protein to creatinine ratio (UP/C), urine albumin to creatinine (UA/C) ratio, and urinary NAG index as predictors of development of azotemia. RESULTS One hundred and eighteen cats were recruited with a median age of 13 years. Ninety-five cats (80.5%) had been followed or reached the study end point by 12 months of which 30.5% (29/95) developed azotemia. Age, systolic blood pressure, plasma creatinine concentration, urine specific gravity, UP/C, UA/C, and NAG index were significantly associated with development of azotemia in the univariable analysis (P<or=.05). However, in the multivariable analysis, only plasma creatinine concentration with either UP/C (Model 1) or UA/C (Model 2) remained significant. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE This study demonstrates a high incidence of azotemia in a population of previously healthy geriatric cats. Proteinuria at presentation was significantly associated with development of azotemia although causal association cannot be inferred. Evaluation of NAG index offered no additional benefit.
Study of Different Fusion Techniques for Multimodal Biometric Authentication

This article gathers the studies and experiments carried out by the authors orientated to the combination of three unimodal systems into a single multimodal system. The fusion strategy used has been the so-called "score fusion" using different algorithms, among them "neural networks" and "support vector machines", etc. All of the experiments have been carried out from the same group of data obtained as a result of the execution of the processes of three unimodal verification systems on three independent biometrical databases. Results show the great improvement that fusion can generate when unimodal results are not good enough.
miR-205 hinders the malignant interplay between prostate cancer cells and associated fibroblasts.

AIMS Tumor microenvironment is a strong determinant for the acquisition of metastatic potential of cancer cells. We have recently demonstrated that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) elicit a redox-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in prostate cancer (PCa) cells, driven by cycloxygenase-2/hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1)/nuclear factor-κB pathway and enhancing tumor aggressiveness. Here, we investigated the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumor-stroma interplay to identify possible tools to counteract oxidative stress and metastasis dissemination. RESULTS We found that miR-205 is the most downmodulated miRNA in PCa cells upon CAF stimulation, due to direct transcriptional repression by HIF-1, a known redox-sensitive transcription factor. Rescue experiments demonstrated that ectopic miR-205 overexpression in PCa cells counteracts CAF-induced EMT, thus impairing enhancement of cell invasion, acquisition of stem cell traits, tumorigenicity, and metastatic dissemination. In addition, miR-205 blocks tumor-driven activation of surrounding fibroblasts by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. INNOVATION Overall, such findings suggest miR-205 as a brake against PCa metastasis by blocking both the afferent and efferent arms of the circuit between tumor cells and associated fibroblasts, thus interrupting the pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory circuitries engaged by reactive stroma. CONCLUSION The evidence that miR-205 replacement in PCa cells is able not only to prevent but also to revert the oxidative/pro-inflammatory axis leading to EMT induced by CAFs sets the rationale for developing miRNA-based approaches to prevent and treat metastatic disease.
Prediction Cyber Bullying with Respect to Depression, Anxiety and Gender Variables

Problem Statement : Cyber bullying has been occurred as a new kind of bullying among students as a result of misusing technological developments. Cyber bullying has serious negative effects in psychological, emotional and social areas. The findings of the researches states that suffering from bullying behaviors causes physical and mental illnesses after a while and in case these bullying behaviors continue for a long time and the victim cannot get support from the environment, this causes these illnesses to be felt more severely Purpose of Study : The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of the students’ being cyber victim with respect to depression, anxiety and gender. Methods: The sample of this study was composed of the 261 students attending two different high schools in the second term of 2009-2010 education year in Osmaniye city center. 22 of these students were excluded from the scope of the research since their scales were not completely filled. In conclusion, 239 students were included in the study since their scales were found practicable. Three means were used to collect data in the research. These are virtual victim questionnaire, permanent anxiety inventory and Beck depression inventory. Findings and Result: Results indicated that there were positive significant correlations among cyber victim, depression and anxiety. Also, there were negative and low level correlations between cyber victim and gender. This finding showed that girls were exposed to cyber bullying more than boys. Conclusions and Recommendations : With the rapid increase of technological improvements and use of technological means by the students more commonly, this problem which is experienced in schools leads to the thought that it will become a more important issue in the following years. It was found that the students included in the bullying incidents (both as bully and victim) are more inclined to psychological problems than the ones not involved. Since cyber bullying incidents are done using technological means, they will not be limited to a specific area (school, schoolyard, class, roundtrip to school). Considering the possibility that such incidents will happen also at home, parents should undertake important duties and responsibilities for preventive actions. For this purpose, school staff should raise awareness regarding the use of technology in not only students but also the parents.
Say not to say : new perspectives on miscommunication

The naive and simplicistic idea of communication in terms of semantic transparency is just one side of the different aspects of communication acts. From our experience we know well that communication can be successful without being ideal, perfect and unproblematic. In general communication can be considered as a planned attitude strategically aimed at achieving intentions, and as a direction of practical reasoning. This attitude co-ordinates the relationship among intention, plan and performance in agreement with context constraints and opportunities. Its aim is to get the utmost effectiveness in order to realize a communicative intention. In fact, understanding the meaning of an utterance does not imply the understanding of a transparent semantic content determined solely by its autonomous truth conditions. Understanding it is more similar to a interactive play in which the players have to negotiate reciprocal intentions. In this sense communication is a "risky task" in which the borderline between communicative and non-communicative intentionality in speakers is a territory that needs further investigation. So, discursive interactions have their opaque border areas where communication still succeeds without being openly and explicitly strived for. In particular the attention of the book is focused on the problematic case of "say to not say" where the attitude of speakers seems to be intentionally ambiguous, confused, misdirected and pretended. "Say Not To Say: New Perspectives on Miscommunication" explores the major ways in which miscommunication can be experienced in our daily life. The book is organized around a basic set of themes. The essential progression of each section is from abstract matters of theory to those of specific refinement and application. Relevant considerations are presented in three stages. First is a broad theoretical conception of the conditions that are necessary for various acts or episodes of miscommunication to occur. Second, is the issue of how the theoretical conception of miscommunication in question applies to any number of salient conditions in which an array of agreements, disagreements understandings and misunderstanding come to light. Third is a concern with individual effort and shared struggle to improve the quality or substance of face-to-face interaction with fellow creatures like ourselves.
Haptoglobin Genotype and Risk Markers of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Sudden cardiac death and atherosclerosis have a major impact on cardiovascular mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Inflammation with elevated high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is involved in both sudden cardiac death and atherosclerosis, and decreased heart rate variability (HRV) is a predictor of both sudden cardiac death and atherosclerosis. Haptoglobin (Hp) is characterised by three genotypes (1-1, 2-1, and 2-2) with different antioxidant abilities. The aim was to examine whether HRV and hs-CRP were associated with Hp genotype in CKD patients. Fifty-six patients with CKD stage 2–5 were included. Hp genotype was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. HRV was analysed from the 24 h Holter recordings. Hs-CRP was measured using an immunoturbidimetric assay. The results show that the HRV indices SDNN and SDANN were significantly lower in the Hp 2-2 patients (P = 0.02 and 0.04, resp.). In an adjusted linear regression model, Hp 2-2 was associated with both SDNN (P = 0.005) and SDANN (P = 0.01). Hs-CRP was higher in the Hp 2-2 patients (P = 0.002). In an adjusted linear regression model, the association between Hp 2-2 and hs-CRP remained significant (P = 0.003). In conclusion, a negative association was observed between Hp 2-2 and HRV, and Hp 2-2 was positively associated with hs-CRP in CKD patients.
Renal blood flow pattern by noninvasive Doppler ultrasound in normal children and acute renal failure patients.

A pilot study of the Doppler renal arterial flow pattern was done in a group of 38 normal children, including 11 neonates age 2 weeks or less, 10 infants age 2 weeks to 1 year, and 17 children age 1 year and over. The appearance time, acceleration time, end‐diastolic to peak‐systolic velocity ratio (d/S), and diastolic to systolic flow ratio (A2/A1) increased with age. Another four patients with acute renal failure showed a characteristic absence of blood flow in the whole or late‐diastolic phase. Diastolic flow reappeared with recovery. Doppler renal arterial flow pattern may be a noninvasive investigation of diagnostic and prognostic value.
Functional interaction between the ZO-1-interacting transcription factor ZONAB/DbpA and the RNA processing factor symplekin

Epithelial tight junctions participate in the regulation of gene expression by controlling the activity of transcription factors that can interact with junctional components. One such protein is the Y-box transcription factor ZONAB/DbpA that binds to ZO-1, a component of the junctional plaque. Symplekin, another nuclear protein that can associate with tight junctions, functions in the regulation of polyadenylation and thereby promotes gene expression. Here, we addressed the question of whether these two proteins interact and whether this is of functional relevance. We demonstrate that ZONAB/DbpA and symplekin form a complex in kidney and intestinal epithelial cells that can be immunoprecipitated and that exists in the nucleus. The interaction between ZONAB/DbpA and symplekin can be reconstituted with recombinant proteins. In reporter gene assays in which ZONAB/DbpA functions as a repressor, symplekin functionally interacts with ZONAB/DbpA, indicating that symplekin can also promote transcriptional repression. RNAi experiments indicate that symplekin depletion reduces the nuclear accumulation and the transcriptional activity of ZONAB/DbpA in colon adenocarcinoma cells, resulting in inhibition of proliferation and reduced expression of the ZONAB/DbpA-target gene cyclin D1. Our data thus indicate that symplekin and ZONAB/DbpA cooperate in the regulation of transcription, and that they promote epithelial proliferation and cyclin D1 expression.
ORIOLE, in the Search for Evidence of OER in Teaching. Experiences in the Use, Re-use and the Sharing and Influence of Repositories

The study presented here aims to gather useful information on the use, re-reuse and sharing of resources in Education and also the influence of repositories, to better understand the perspective of individual practitioners and suggest future areas of debate for researchers.Open Resources: Influence on Learners and Educators (ORIOLE) project, was based within the Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University (OU) from 2009-2013 and focused on investigating, understanding and disseminating about use and reuse of open resources in learning and teaching. This paper focuses on the second survey activity of this project. During 2011 (Pegler, 2012), an extensive online survey about reuse of educational resources was conducted through (mainly UK-based) practitioner communities. In 2013, a more international version was created (available in English and Spanish) and circulated during that year (http://bit.ly/OERsurvey_2013). The ORIOLE Survey 2013 collected information about the contexts in which open resource use may occur, looking particularly at attitudes about reuse of educational resources (OER) in teaching. What influences open resources in education is a topic of relevance to anyone taking on forward engagement with open education and the answers lie with those who are working directly in the delivery of learning and teaching, and those who support this work.It is hoped that this qualitative analysis will provide a deeper understanding of the differences in the motivation to engage with OER and the shifts in experience and expectations across diverse contexts.
Untapped potential: Cultural sensitivity-Islamic persuasive communication in health promotion programs

The development of the health communication field has been paralleled with the appreciation of the importance of the social and cultural context in understanding health, health behaviour and health communication. This argues both for a shift in methods and a shift in the theoretical and philosophical approaches underpinning these methods. A lack of understanding of Muslims and their cultural and religious tradition contributes to potential conflicts in health promotion. Thus, this paper suggests the use of Islamic values and elements in developing a communication strategy for promoting health behavioural change. This paper has three objectives: (1) to briefly review the research on cultural sensitivity factors with specific focus on religious factors in health communication; (2) to identify the most promising explanatory mechanism for faith-based (Islamic) communication persuasion in health promotion, with particular attention to the relationship between religious factors and health behaviour; and (3) to critique previous work on Islamic communication and health, pointing out potential and promising new research directions in health promotion. These insights may contribute to further development of health promotion strategies for Muslims in Islamic nations as well as Muslim communities in non-Islamic nations through the inter-culturalisation process.
Effective Spoken Language Labeling with Deep Recurrent Neural Networks

Understanding spoken language is a highly complex problem, which can be decomposed into several simpler tasks. In this paper, we focus on Spoken Language Understanding (SLU), the module of spoken dialog systems responsible for extracting a semantic interpretation from the user utterance. The task is treated as a labeling problem. In the past, SLU has been performed with a wide variety of probabilistic models. The rise of neural networks, in the last couple of years, has opened new interesting research directions in this domain. Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) in particular are able not only to represent several pieces of information as embeddings but also, thanks to their recurrent architecture, to encode as embeddings relatively long contexts. Such long contexts are in general out of reach for models previously used for SLU. In this paper we propose novel RNNs architectures for SLU which outperform previous ones. Starting from a published idea as base block, we design new deep RNNs achieving state-of-the-art results on two widely used corpora for SLU: ATIS (Air Traveling Information System), in English, and MEDIA (Hotel information and reservation in France), in French.