Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time dependent pricing in wireless data networks: Flat-rate vs. usage-based schemes

With the advances of bandwidth-intensive mobile devices, we see severe congestion problems in wireless data networks. Recently, research emerges to solve this problem from a pricing point of view. Time dependent pricing has been introduced, and initial investigations have shown its advantages over the conventional time independent pricing. Nevertheless, much is unknown in how a practical and effective time dependent pricing scheme can be designed. In this paper, we explore the design space of time dependent pricing. In particular, we focus on a number of schemes, e.g., the usage-based scheme, the flat-rate scheme, and a mixture of them which we called a cap scheme. Our findings include: 1) the ISP obtains a higher profit with usage-based (or flat-rate) scheme if the capacity is insufficient (or sufficient); 2) the usage-based scheme usually achieves a higher consumer surplus and more efficient traffic utilization than the flat-rate scheme; and 3) the cap scheme is strongly preferred by the ISP to further increase its revenue. We believe our findings provide important insights for ISPs to design effective pricing schemes.
Effect of Genotype, Explant Type and 2,4-D on Cell Dedifferentiation and Callus Induction in Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) Medicinal Plant

Context: Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) as a member of the Apiaceae family is one of the most important medicinal plants in the world.Objective: An experiment was conducted for evaluation of callus induction optimization in cumin accessions (Shahdad, Koohbanan, Badrood and Afghanistan). Materials and methods: Factorial experiment based on completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications was conducted on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of 2,4-D (0, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/l) plus 0.1 mg/l Kinetin in different explants (Root, Shoot, Leaf, Embryo and Seed) of cumin accessions. In this experiment the evaluated traits include days to callus induction (DCI), callus induction percentage (CIP) and callus growth rate (CGR). Results: Statistical analysis showed that seed (as the latest) and root (as the earliest) explants require to 54 and 11 days in order to callus induction initiation respectively. Results showed that accession, explant, accession × explant and 2,4-D × explant interactions were statistically significant effects (P<0.01) on callus induction percentage and callus growth rate traits. Furthermore, 2,4-D had a high significant effect on callus induction percentage.Conclusion:According to results of this study, root explant is an appropriate explant for large production of callus in some accessions of Cuminum cyminum. Also, Koohbanan accession produced callus in minimum time and Afghanistan accession produced high percentage of callus.
Genetic Heterogeneity in Latent Autoimmune Diabetes Is Linked to Various Degrees of Autoimmune Activity

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have indicated that the latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) phenotype is heterogeneous and that LADA patients share features of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in various proportions. We tested for association of known type 1 and type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes in LADA subjects and analyzed relationships to a marker of autoimmune activity (titers of anti-GAD) and a phenotypic risk factor of type 2 diabetes (BMI). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data were assembled from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) study, which comprises the adult population of an entire county in Norway. We genotyped 60 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) known to be associated with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, including 14 tag SNPs used for HLA haplotyping in 120 type 1 diabetic, 126 LADA, and 1,090 type 2 diabetic patients and 1,503 age- and sex-matched nondiabetic subjects. RESULTS The majority of the strongly associated HLA haplotypes for type 1 diabetes were significantly associated with LADA in general, but mainly with high anti-GAD LADA patients. Two distinct HLA haplotypes were associated only with LADA and mainly in low anti-GAD LADA patients. There were no associations of non-HLA type 1 diabetes loci with LADA. Of type 2 diabetes–associated genes, the CC/CT genotypes of rs7961581 (TSPAN8) and the obesity-linked AA/AC genotypes of rs8050136 (FTO) were associated with LADA in general, but mainly in low anti-GAD LADA patients (P = 0.004 and P = 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Genetic heterogeneity in LADA is linked to various degrees of autoimmune activity and may be partly distinct from both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Use of Rituximab in Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia Associated with Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas

The association between non-Hodgkin lymphomas and autoimmune disorders is a well-known event. Also autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AHA), although much more frequent in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), has been described in this group of patients. In recent years, among the more traditional therapeutic options, rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, has shown interesting results in the treatment of primary AHA. Although this drug has been frequently used for AHA in patients with CLL, much less data are available on its use in NHL patients. However, considering that the main pathogenetic mechanism of AHA in course of lymphoproliferative disorders seems to be an antibody production directly or indirectly mediated by the neoplastic clone, this monoclonal antibody represents an ideal therapeutic approach. In this paper we will briefly describe some biological and clinical features of NHL-patients with AHA. We will then analyze some studies focusing on rituximab in primary AHA, finally reviewing the available literature on the use of this drug in NHL related AHA.
Simple approximate equilibria in large games

We prove that in every normal form n-player game with m actions for each player, there exists an approximate Nash equilibrium in which each player randomizes uniformly among a set of O(log m + log n) pure actions. This result induces an O(N log log N)-time algorithm for computing an approximate Nash equilibrium in games where the number of actions is polynomial in the number of players (m=poly(n)); here N=nmn is the size of the game (the input size). Furthermore, when the number of actions is a fixed constant (m=O(1)) the same algorithm runs in O(Nlog log log N) time. In addition, we establish an inverse connection between the entropy of Nash equilibria in the game, and the time it takes to find such an approximate Nash equilibrium using the random sampling method. We also consider other relevant notions of equilibria. Specifically, we prove the existence of approximate correlated equilibrium of support size polylogarithmic in the number of players, n, and the number of actions per player, m. In particular, using the probabilistic method, we show that there exists a multiset of action profiles of polylogarithmic size such that the uniform distribution over this multiset forms an approximate correlated equilibrium. Along similar lines, we establish the existence of approximate coarse correlated equilibrium with logarithmic support. We complement these results by considering the computational complexity of determining small-support approximate equilibria. We show that random sampling can be used to efficiently determine an approximate coarse correlated equilibrium with logarithmic support. But, such a tight result does not hold for correlated equilibrium, i.e., sampling might generate an approximate correlated equilibrium of support size Ω(m) where m is the number of actions per player. Finally, we show that finding an exact correlated equilibrium with smallest possible support is NP-hard under Cook reductions, even in the case of two-player zero-sum games.
Perceived discrimination: why applicants and employees expect and perceive discrimination

In this dissertation we have investigated perceptions of discrimination. We have shown discrimination exists in the eyes of applicants and employees and especially when from an ethnic minority group. There are psychological variables that influence these perceptions differently for minority and majority groups but the groups are not per se based on ethnicity as they also depend on whether one feels connected with ones’ subgroup and whether one values this identity. People tend to differ in how sensitive they are to rejection and in being high or low on core self evaluations or in the way they attribute events. This affects their level of perceived discrimination and affects perceptions of discrimination differently for ethnic groups, for groups that are rejected or accepted for a job, and affects reactions when a diversity policy is included or excluded in recruitment. At work, the role of the leader also turned out to be of importance as, for both minority and majority groups, deeper level similarity was related to perceptions of discrimination. Finally, the findings in this dissertation offer a starting point for future research as well as for thinking about how further feelings of perceived discrimination can be reduced in practice.
Healthy conversation skills: increasing competence and confidence in front-line staff

Abstract Objective (i) To assess change in confidence in having conversations that support parents with healthy eating and physical activity post-training. (ii) To assess change in staff competence in using ‘open discovery’ questions (those generally beginning with ‘how’ and ‘what’ that help individuals reflect and identify barriers and solutions) post-training. (iii) To examine the relationship between confidence and competence post-training. Design A pre–post evaluation of ‘Healthy Conversation Skills’, a staff training intervention. Setting Sure Start Children's Centres in Southampton, England. Subjects A total of 145 staff working in Sure Start Children's Centres completed the training, including play workers (43 %) and community development or family support workers (35 %). Results We observed an increase in median confidence rating for having conversations about healthy eating and physical activity (both P < 0·001), and in using ‘open discovery’ questions (P < 0·001), after staff attended the ‘Healthy Conversation Skills’ training. We also found a positive relationship between the use of ‘open discovery’ questions and confidence in having conversations about healthy eating post-training (r = 0·21, P = 0·01), but a non-significant trend was observed for having conversations about physical activity (r = 0·15, P = 0·06). Conclusions The ‘Healthy Conversation Skills’ training proved effective at increasing the confidence of staff working at Sure Start Children's Centres to have more productive conversations with parents about healthy eating. Wider implementation of these skills may be a useful public health nutrition capacity building strategy to help community workers support families with young children to eat more healthy foods.
Immunohistochemical Markers for the Rodent Immune System

The responses to insults including chemical toxins, irradiation and infectious agents involve morphologic, biochemical and molecular changes in the immune system. The changes in specific tissues and cells often can be detected by histopathology and its associated field of immunohistochemisty (IHC). Cells normally express specific proteins (antigens) that can be detected by IHC. When responses to xenobiotics occur, cells often up or down regulate proteins. The art of IHC requires specialized procedures for detection of antigens. Fixation, tissue processing, immunoreactions and antigen retrieval methods are important elements of IHC. We review the antibodies, their sources, use of frozen or fixed paraffin-embedded tissues and specific IHC methods including antigen retrieval and illustrate how they can be effectively used to characterize the immunotoxicologic effects of agents.
Chemical and biological availability of sediment‐sorbed benzo[a]pyrene and hexachlorobiphenyl

This study examined the chemical and biological availability of two nonpolar organic compounds, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and hexachlorobiphenyl (HCBP), from a spiked sediment that was aged for varying amounts of time. Chemical availability was evaluated using four different solvent combinations to extract chemicals from the sediment. The extractability of BaP and HCBP from sediment using traditional solvents was then compared to the transfer efficiency (TE) of a benthic invertebrate (Lumbriculus variegatus) to relate chemical extractability to bioavailability in the organisms. Results indicated that water was the solvent that best approximated bioavailability for BaP, whereas comparisons for HCBP were inappropriate, because TE values exceeded 100%. The inability to obtain a reasonable TE estimate for HCBP was most likely due to the fact that the oligochaetes received a major portion of their uptake from interstitial water instead of ingestion of sediment particles, which invalidated an important assumption of the TE model. Overall, the results of this study indicate that exhaustive chemical extractions may be an inaccurate representation of the bioavailable fractions for some contaminants.
Structural health monitoring using scanning laser vibrometry: III. Lamb waves for fatigue crack detection

Guided ultrasonic waves have shown great potential for structural health monitoring. Various types of transducer can be used for actuating and sensing of these waves. This includes non-contact approaches such as optical/laser techniques. Classical laser methods usually involve high energy interferometers. The paper demonstrates that a commercial laser vibrometer, designed for vibration/modal analysis, can be used for crack detection in metallic structures. The study involves a simple fatigue test in order to initiate and grow a crack. Lamb waves generated by one bonded piezoceramic transducer were sensed using a multi-point scanning laser vibrometer. The results demonstrate the potential of laser vibrometry for simple, rapid and robust detection of fatigue cracks in metallic structures.
[Micrometastases in bone marrow of patients with cancers in the head and neck area].

Individual disseminated epithelial tumour cells were detected in bone marrow aspirates in 41 of 108 patients (37%) with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck region by an immunocytochemical technique based on monoclonal antibodies raised against the cytokeratin No. 19. In the clinical stage I (T1N0M0) tumour cells were detected only in 26.3% of the patients, whereas in stage IV (T4N0M0, T(all)N2-3M0, T(all)N(all)M1) almost twice as many patients (47.7%) presented with tumour cells in the bone marrow. Apparently, grade of differentiation of the tumour (grading) had no influence on the spread of single tumour cells. An influence of the different localisations of the primary tumour on tumour cell spread or the rate of tumour recurrence cannot as yet be discovered. Cytokeratin No. 19 expressing cells were not detectable in the bone marrow of 18 patients with non-malignant disease. Seventy-three patients were included in a follow-up study with a mean observation time of 25 months (range: 4-52 months). The presence of epithelial cells at the time of primary treatment appears to indicate a significantly higher risk of development of local or distant tumour recurrences (p = 0.01). Of 46 patients initially exhibiting no tumour cells in the bone marrow, only 14 had a clinical recurrence. Whereas 17 of 27 patients who presented with tumour cells in the bone marrow developed either a local tumour recurrence or distant metastases in different organs. Patients presenting with bone marrow tumour cells showed a significantly shorter disease-free survival than those without (p = 0.002). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
An Experimental Study on Diesel Fuel Droplets Coupling Evaporation

With the continuous improvement of power density,in the process of diesel fuel evaporation in cylinder, the interaction between droplets continues to grow. In order to study the mutual influence in the process of droplets evaporation, the evaporation phenomenas of single droplet, double-droplet and multi-droplet were studied experimentally in this paper. Firstly the influence of background temperature on single droplet evaporation rate was contrasted to verify the reasonableness of the experimental system. And then the influence of number of droplets and distance between droplets was compared and elicited the value of evaporation rate for each experimental condition. It can be found that when the number of droplets increases, the evaporation rate of droplets decreases; when the distance between droplets decreases, the evaporation rate of droplets also reduced.
Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E 6 and E 7 Cause Polyploidy in Human Keratinocytes and Up-Regulation of G 2M-Phase Proteins

Human papillomavirus type 16 proteins E6 and E7 have been shown to cause centrosome amplification and lagging chromosomes during mitosis. These abnormalities during mitosis can result in missegregation of the chromosomes, leading to chromosomal instability. Genomic instability is thought to be an essential part of the conversion of a normal cell to a cancer cell. We now show that E6 and E7 together cause polyploidy in primary human keratinocytes soon after these genes are introduced into the cells. Polyploidy seems to result from a spindle checkpoint failure arising from abrogation of the normal functions of p53 and retinoblastoma family members by E6 and E7, respectively. In addition, E6 and E7 cause deregulation of cellular genes such as Plk1, Aurora-A, cdk1, and Nek2, which are known to control the G2-M-phase transition and the ordered progression through mitosis.
User Experience Evaluation of a Distributed Interactive Movie

The effect of presenting a distributed interactive movie at different levels of control and distribution on the end user’s fun and presence experience was studied. The results suggest that an increased level of end-user control on the flow in the video increases the level of the user’s experience and impacts the feeling of presence significantly. The effects of distribution are less clear and are very much depending on the presentation devices and the content modality. These results are discussed in terms of the measurement instruments and the experimental design, and suggestions are made for further research.
Influence of FADS Polymorphisms on Tracking of Serum Glycerophospholipid Fatty Acid Concentrations and Percentage Composition in Children

Background Tracking of fatty acid (FA) contribution to plasma or serum lipids over time was shown in children and adults. However, the potential role of FADS gene variants has not been investigated. Methods and Principal Findings Serum GP FA composition of 331 children aged 2 and 6 years, participating in an ongoing birth cohort study, was analyzed. Correlation coefficients were estimated to describe FA tracking over 4 years and to assess the influence of FADS variants on tracking. We found low to moderate tracking (r = 0.12–0.49) of FA compositions and concentration between 2 and 6 years. Concentration changes of total monounsaturated FA and total saturated FA over time correlated closely (r = 0.79) but percentage values were unrelated (r = −0.02). Tracking for n-6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) concentrations was lower in subjects homozygous for the major allele of FADS variants and higher in carriers of at least one minor allele, whereas for total n-3 LC-PUFA concentrations and compositions this was vice versa. For individual n-3 PUFA inconsistent results were found. Conclusions and Significance Serum GP FA composition shows low to moderate tracking over 4 years with a higher tracking for LC-PUFA metabolites than for their precursor FA. Serum PUFA levels and their tracking seem to be more influenced by lipid and lipoprotein metabolism than by FA specific pathways.
Alcohol Consumption, Mediating Biomarkers, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Among Middle-Aged Women

OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to investigate whether adiponectin concentrations and biomarkers of inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and insulin resistance mediate the association between alcohol consumption and diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—In a nested case-control study of 705 women with incident diabetes and 787 matched control subjects, we examined the adjusted relationship between baseline alcohol consumption and risk of diabetes before and after adjustment for markers of inflammation/endothelial dysfunction (C-reactive protein, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin, tumor necrosis factor-α receptor 2, and interleukin-6), fasting insulin, and adiponectin concentrations. RESULTS—Alcohol consumption was associated with a decreased risk of diabetes (odds ratio per 12.5 g/day increment in alcohol use 0.58; 95% CI 0.49–0.69; P < 0.001). Adjustment for BMI attenuated the association by 25%. None of the markers of inflammation or fasting insulin appeared to account for >2% of the observed relationship. Without adjustment for BMI, these biomarkers individually explained slightly more of the association, but <10% in all cases. Adiponectin accounted for 25% in a fully adjusted model and for 29% without adjustment for BMI. CONCLUSIONS—In this population of women, alcohol consumption was inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin appeared to be a mediator of this association, but circulating biomarkers of inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and fasting insulin did not explain this association. These results suggest that further research is needed into the potentially mediating roles of other biomarkers affected by alcohol consumption.
Deletion of GEL2 encoding for a β(1–3)glucanosyltransferase affects morphogenesis and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus

The first fungal glycosylphosphatidylinositol an‐chored β(1–3)glucanosyltranferase (Gel1p) has been described in Aspergillus fumigatus and its encoding gene GEL1 identified. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored glucanosyltransferases play an active role in the biosynthesis of the fungal cell wall. We characterize here GEL2, a homologue of GEL1. Both homologues share common characteristics: (i) GEL1 and GEL2 are constitutively expressed during over a range of growth conditions; (ii) Gel2p is also a putative GPI‐anchored protein and shares the same β(1–3)glucanosyltransferase activity as Gel1p and (iii) GEL2, like GEL1, is able to complement the Δgas1 deletion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae confirming that Gelp and Gasp have the same enzymatic activity. However, disruption of GEL1 did not result in a phenotype whereas a Δgel2 mutant and the double mutant Δgel1Δgel2 exhibit slower growth, abnormal conidiogenesis, and an altered cell wall composition. In addition, the Δgel2 and the Δgel1Δgel2 mutant have reduced virulence in a murine model of invasive aspergillosis. These data suggest for the first time that β(1–3)glucanosyltransferase activity is required for both morphogenesis and virulence in A. fumigatus.