Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contention analysis of MAC protocols that count

The key aspect in the design of any contention-based medium access control (MAC) protocol is the mechanism to measure and resolve simultaneous contention. Generally, terrestrial wireless MACs can only observe success or collision of a contention attempt through carrier sense. An implicit estimate of the number of contenders occurs through repeated observation and changing back-off contention window. Recent work in underwater MAC protocols suggest there it is possible to directly count the number of contenders by exploiting the spatio-temporal uncertainty inherent to high-latency underwater acoustic medium. Prior work has shown how to use counting in underwater MACs, and how to optimize contention windows in radio MACs. In this paper, we quantify bounds to convergence time for MAC protocols employing exact contender counting. We show that perfect counting allows contention to converge quickly, independent of network density, with an asymptotic limit of 3.6 contention rounds on average. We confirm this analysis with simulation of a specific underwater MAC protocol, and suggest the opportunity for the results to generalize for any radio-based MACs that estimate contenders.
From cloud computing to mobile Internet, from user focus to culture and hedonism: The crucible of mobile health care and Wellness applications

With the rise of mobile Internet and cloud computing new ubiquitous medical services will emerge coinciding with changes in demographics and social structures. Mobile e-health and Wellness applications can help relieving the burden of accelerating health care costs due to aging societies. In order to leverage these new innovations a holistic approach must be considered. Facilitating user centered design, acceptance models for user diversity and cultural as well as hedonic aspects can lead to development of services that improve therapy compliance and can even change the youth's lifestyle. An overview of such applications is presented and put into a cultural context.
Prosocial Behavior in Intergroup Relations: How Donor Self-Construal and Recipient Group-Membership Shape Generosity

This research examines the interplay of self-construal orientation and victim group-membership on prosocial behavior. Whereas consumers primed with an independent self-construal demonstrate similar propensities to help needy in-group and out-group others, an interdependent orientation fosters stronger commitments to aid in-group than out-group members. This interaction holds in both individualistic (i.e., the United States) and collectivistic (i.e., China) nations and seems driven by a belief system. For interdependents, the prospect of helping needy in-group (relative to out-group) members heightens the belief that helping others contributes to their own personal happiness, which in turn increases their propensity to act benevolently. Such in-group/out-group distinctions do not seem to operate among independents. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical implications of our findings for the cross-cultural, intergroup-relations, and prosocial literatures before deriving insights for practice.
Volunteering, paying it forward, and rural community: A study of Bridgetown, Western Australia

Abstract Academic studies have highlighted the importance of volunteering for different communities, as a foundation of their cultural life or as an instrument to develop tourism. However, various knowledge gaps are still acknowledged, both from a practical and theoretical perspective. Using the case of Bridgetown, Western Australia, and incorporating the theory of volunteer work, this study seeks to contribute to the extant body of research in these two areas, studying the importance, ways, and management of volunteering. Data were collected among local residents via face-to-face interviews and focus groups. Various elements of the theory, including productive activity, collective action, and the relation between various types of volunteering were confirmed. Importantly, paying it forward, an element instilled in the local community, which refers to giving without any expectations of returns or rewards, emerged as a significant finding. The implications of the findings for community development are discussed, and future research directions suggested.
A Proteolytic Adaptor for tmRNA-tagged Proteins from α – proteobacteria 1 2

A Proteolytic Adaptor for tmRNA-tagged Proteins from α–proteobacteria 1 2 Faith H. Lessner, Bryan J. Venters, Kenneth C. Keiler* 3 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 4 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 5 Running title: SspB in the α-proteobacteria 6 7 8 *Corresponding author: 9 Mailing address: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 10 The Pennsylvania State University 11 401 Althouse Laboratory 12 University Park, PA 16802 13 Ph: 814-863-0787 14 Fax: 814-863-7024 15 Email: kkeiler@psu.edu 16 AC CE PT ED Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved. J. Bacteriol. doi:10.1128/JB.01387-06 JB Accepts, published online ahead of print on 3 November 2006
Multi-Candidate Reduction for Flexible Single-Document Summarization First

Sentence compression techniques based on linguistically-motivated syntactic rules have proved effective in single-document summarization tasks. The addition of topic terms yields state-of-the-art performance, according to previous evaluations. Since “trimming” rules must be applied successively, optimal rule ordering presents a challenge. This paper describes the Multi-Candidate Reduction (MCR) framework, which addresses this issue by simultaneously generating many compressed variants from multiple starting points. A weighted featurebased technique, optimized using previous test data, is then used to select from the generated candidates. The MCR framework enhances the flexibility of summarization systems and improves output quality: we obtain scores that are significantly higher for some ROUGE measures than the highest scores previously reported.
Development of Bioartificial Myocardium Using Stem Cells and Nanobiotechnology Templates

Cell-based regenerative therapy is undergoing experimental and clinical trials in cardiology, in order to limit the consequences of decreased contractile function and compliance of damaged ventricles following myocardial infarction. Over 1000 patients have been treated worldwide with cell-based procedures for myocardial regeneration. Cellular cardiomyoplasty seems to reduce the size and fibrosis of infarct scars, limit adverse postischemic remodelling, and improve diastolic function. The development of a bioartificial myocardium is a new challenge; in this approach, tissue-engineered procedures are associated with cell therapy. Organ decellularization for bioscaffolds fabrication is a new investigated concept. Nanomaterials are emerging as the main candidates to ensure the achievement of a proper instructive cellular niche with good drug release/administration properties. Investigating the electrophysiological properties of bioartificial myocardium is the challenging objective of future research, associating a multielectrode network to provide electrical stimulation could improve the coupling of grafted cells and scaffolds with host cardiomyocytes. In summary, until now stem cell transplantation has not achieved clear hemodynamic benefits for myocardial diseases. Supported by relevant scientific background, the development of myocardial tissue engineering may constitute a new avenue and hope for the treatment of myocardial diseases.
for the Detection of Early Stage Ovarian Cancer Three Biomarkers Identified from Serum Proteomic Analysis

Early detection remains the most promising approach to improve long-term survival of patients with ovarian cancer. In a five-center casecontrol study, serum proteomic expressions were analyzed on 153 patients with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, 42 with other ovarian cancers, 166 with benign pelvic masses, and 142 healthy women. Data from patients with early stage ovarian cancer and healthy women at two centers were analyzed independently and the results cross-validated to discover potential biomarkers. The results were validated using the samples from two of the remaining centers. After protein identification, biomarkers for which an immunoassay was available were tested on samples from the fifth center, which included 41 healthy women, 41 patients with ovarian cancer, and 20 each with breast, colon, and prostate cancers. Three biomarkers were identified as follows: (a) apolipoprotein A1 (down-regulated in cancer); (b) a truncated form of transthyretin (down-regulated); and (c) a cleavage fragment of inter-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H4 (up-regulated). In independent validation to detect early stage invasive epithelial ovarian cancer from healthy controls, the sensitivity of a multivariate model combining the three biomarkers and CA125 [74% (95% CI, 52– 90%)] was higher than that of CA125 alone [65% (95% CI, 43–84%)] at a matched specificity of 97% (95% CI, 89–100%). When compared at a fixed sensitivity of 83% (95% CI, 61–95%), the specificity of the model [94% (95% CI, 85–98%)] was significantly better than that of CA125 alone [52% (95% CI, 39–65%)]. These biomarkers demonstrated the potential to improve the detection of early stage ovarian cancer.
Adami, Elisabetta: to Each Reader His, Their or Her Own Pronoun: Prescribed, Proscribed and Disregarded Uses of Generic Pronouns in English

For a number of years grammarians, linguists and teachers have debated on which English pronoun should be used to refer individually to gender-indefinite or sex-mixed human categories and roles. When sexism in language was a major issue, both the long-lasting prescription of " generic he " and the proscription of the so-called " singular they " were questioned and various gender-fair alternatives, such as " he/she " , were suggested. Nowadays " The Great He/She Battle " seems to have exhausted its ink-munitions and, in absence of an agreed solution, " recast the sentence into the plural " remains the handbooks most suggested strategy in order to avoid the problem. Yet so far no corpus-based study has apparently ascertained the current use of generic pronouns. In order to fill this gap, after a brief overview of the existing literature, this paper will investigate the use of generic pronouns in the academic and journalistic sections of the BNC and the ANC. The analysis aims to evaluate both the current status of the proscription of " singular they " and the extent of the introduction of gender-fair neologisms such as " he or she ". The two phenomena will be investigated in relation to possible variations in use between British and American English (the latter generally considered more conservative with generic pronouns). Furthermore the paper will advance hypotheses on the rhetorical and pragmatic effects deriving from the rare, yet attested, " generic she " , the use of which seems to give a peculiar perspective to the utterance with respect to logical categories such as general vs. particular, abstract vs. concrete, generalization vs. exemplification. Finally, the results of the analysis will, we hope, lead to a fruitful comparison between language in use and grammatical descriptions and prescriptions of English generic pronouns.
Author’s Response Regarding Cardiac Disease Patterns in Northern Malawi: Epidemiologic Transition Perspective

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a strongly emerging problem in developing countries. The documentation and prediction of CVD patterns are important for policy makers if actions are to be taken to curb this problem. We aimed to document the current CVD patterns in Malawi, and associate these patterns to the theory of epidemiologic transition as a means of predicting future CVD patterns. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the data recorded in the register of the cardiac clinic in Mzuzu Central Hospital-the only cardiac clinic run by a cardiologist in Malawi-from 2001 through 2005. The findings were interpreted in the context of the epidemiologic transition theory. RESULTS Out of the 3908 new Malawian patients included in the 5-y period register, 34% had valvular heart disease (mainly rheumatic heart disease (RHD)); 24%, hypertensive heart disease; 19%, cardiomyopathies; and 14%, pericardial diseases. The other CVD patterns included congenital heart disease and arrhythmias, each representing 4% of the registered patients. Among the 1% comprising other CVD patterns, 3 cases were documented to have coronary heart disease, all of which happened in 2005. CONCLUSION Malawi is in the stage of receding pandemics, which is characterized by CVD patterns predominated by RHD, cardiomyopathies, and hypertensive heart disease. However, continuous observation is required to detect signs of emerging "degenerative-related" CVD patterns, which is another stage in the epidemiologic transition.
Evaluating concordance to American Diabetes Association standards of care for type 2 diabetes through group visits in an uninsured or inadequately insured patient population.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a managed care approach to health care delivery, group visits, in the management of uninsured or inadequately insured patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 120 patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to receive their care in group visits or usual care for 6 months. After 6 months, concordance with 10 process-of-care indicators recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) standards of care was evaluated through chart abstraction. The 10 items evaluated were up-to-date HbA(1c) levels and lipid profiles, urine for microalbumin, appropriate use of ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blockers, use of lipid-lowering agents where indicated, daily aspirin use, annual foot examinations, annual referrals for retinal examinations, and immunizations against streptococcal pneumonia and influenza. RESULTS Patients who received care in group visits showed statistically significant improvement in concordance with these 10 process-of-care indicators (P < 0.001). Of the patients, 76% who received care in group visits had at least 9 of these 10 items up to date, as compared with 23% of control patients; 86% of patients in group visits had at least 8 of the 10 indicators compared with 47% of control patients. CONCLUSIONS Group visits proved more effective in promoting concordance with ADA standards of care than usual care in the treatment of uninsured or inadequately insured patients with type 2 diabetes.
Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions from Luculia pinceana Flower and Its Changes at Different Stages of Flower Development

Luculia plants are famed ornamental plants with sweetly fragrant flowers, of which L. pinceana Hooker, found primarily in Yunnan Province, China, has the widest distribution. Solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) was employed to identify the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from different flower development stages of L. pinceana for the evaluation of floral volatile polymorphism. Peak areas were normalized as percentages and used to determine the relative amounts of the volatiles. The results showed that a total of 39 compounds were identified at four different stages of L. pinceana flower development, including 26 at the bud stage, 26 at the initial-flowering stage, 32 at the full-flowering stage, and 32 at the end-flowering stage. The most abundant compound was paeonol (51%–83%) followed by (E,E)-α-farnesene, cyclosativene, and δ-cadinene. All these volatile compounds create the unique fragrance of L. pinceana flower. Floral scent emission offered tendency of ascending first and descending in succession, meeting its peak level at the initial-flowering stage. The richest diversity of floral volatile was detected at the third and later periods of flower development. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the composition and its relative content of floral scent differed throughout the whole flower development. The result has important implications for future floral fragrance breeding of Luculia. L. pinceana would be adequate for a beneficial houseplant and has a promising prospect for development as essential oil besides for a fragrant ornamental owing to the main compounds of floral scent with many medicinal properties.
Parental expressed emotion and adolescent self-injury.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the relationship between parental expressed emotion (EE) and adolescent self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB), as well as potential mediators and moderators of this relationship. METHOD Thirty-six adolescents ages 12 to 17 years recruited from the community (2004-2005) provided data. Parents of the adolescents completed the Five-Minute Speech Sample, a performance-based measure of EE, and adolescents completed interviews and rating scales assessing SITB, mental disorders, and related constructs. RESULTS Analyses revealed that high parental EE was associated with each type of SITB assessed: suicide ideation, suicide plans, suicide attempts, and non-suicidal self-injury. Analyses also revealed that one specific component of EE (i.e., parental criticism) was strongly associated with SITB, whereas the other (i.e., emotional overinvolvement) was not and that the relationship between EE and SITB was not explained by the presence of mental disorders. Finally, a moderation model was supported in which the relationship between parental criticism and SITB was especially strong among adolescents with a self-critical cognitive style. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that parental criticism is significantly associated with SITB and suggests one specific pathway through which the family may influence adolescent SITB. Future research is needed to replicate these findings and examine the direction of these relationships.
EFFECT OF IMAGE ORIENTATION AND SIZE ON OBJECT RECOGNITION: RESPONSES OF SINGLE UNITS IN THE MACAQUE MONKEY TEMPORAL CORTEX

This study examined how cells in the temporal cortex code orientation and size of a complex object. The study focused on cells selectively responsive to the sight of the head and body but unresponsive to control stimuli. The majority of cells tested (19/26, 73%) were selectively responsive to a particular orientation in the picture plane of the static whole body stimulus, 7/26 cells showed generalisation responding to all orientations (three cells with orientation tuning superimposed on a generalised response). Of all cells sensitive to orientation, the majority (15/22, 68%) were tuned to the upright image. The majority of cells tested (81%, 13/16) were selective for stimulus size. The remaining cells (3/16) showed generalisation across four-fold decrease in size from life-sized. All size-sensitive cells were tuned to life-sized stimuli with decreasing responses to stimuli reduced from life-size. These results do not support previous suggestions that cells responsive to the head and body are selective to view but generalise across orientation and size. Here, extensive selectivity for size and orientation is reported. It is suggested that object orientation and size-specific responses might be pooled to obtain cell responses that generalise across size and orientation. The results suggest that experience affects neuronal coding of objects in that cells become tuned to views, orientation, and image sizes that are commonly experienced. Models of object recognition are discussed.
Illiquidity Spillovers: Theory and Evidence from European Telecom Bond Issuance

In a study of the European telecommunication-sector bond market, we find empirical evidence that a firm's new bond issue can temporarily inflate yield spreads of other bonds in its sector. We show that this effect seems unrelated to new fundamental information about the bond's issuer. Our results imply that an issuance of 15.5 billion Euros by Deutsche Telekom temporarily depressed the mark-to-market value of 100 billion Euros in outstanding European telecom debt by approximately 273 million Euros. This study is supported and motivated by a stylized model of a risk-averse liquidity-provider in which supply shocks, such as new issues, place price pressure on correlated securities.
Impact of Geographic Location on Vitamin D Status and Bone Mineral Density

A significant decline of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration [25(OH)D] with increasing latitude has been reported only for Caucasians. To determine the association between serum 25(OH)D and geographic location and its impact on bone mineral density (BMD) in an Asian population, a total of 17,508 subjects (8910 men and 8598 women) from the 2008–2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were stratified into four age groups and analyzed for 25(OH)D and BMD according to geographic location (South, 33° N–35° N; Middle, 36° N; North, 37° N–38° N). Mean 25(OH)D were 47.7 and 41.2 nmol/L; calcium intake, 564.9 & 442.3 mg/d; femoral neck BMD, 0.829 & 0.721 g/cm2; and lumbar spine BMD, 0.960 & 0.918 g/cm2 for men and women, respectively. Both men and women living in the South had significantly higher 25(OH)D and femoral neck BMD for those ≥50 years old. Lumbar spine BMD was significantly higher in men ≥50 years old, and for women 10–29 & 50–69 years old living in the South. A 1 or 2 degree difference in latitude has a significant effect on serum 25(OH)D and BMD in this low vitamin D status population. Thus, consideration of geographic location for a recommendation of vitamin D intake may be necessary.
ICAM G241A Polymorphism and Soluble ICAM-1 Serum Levels: Evidence for an Active Immune Process in Schizophrenia

Objectives: We have previously reported reduced serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in schizophrenic patients. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the ICAM-1 gene was described at position 241. The G→A SNP results in a nonsynonymous amino acid exchange of the ICAM-1 protein, and the A allele was shown to be also associated with several immunological disorders like rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: We investigated 70 schizophrenic patients and 128 unrelated healthy control persons regarding the relationship between the serum levels of sICAM-1 and the ICAM-1 G214A polymorphism. Results: We were able to replicate our previous finding of reduced sICAM-1 levels in schizophrenia. Healthy control persons carrying the polymorphic A allele showed markedly lower sICAM-1 serum levels than carriers of the homozygous GG wild type (p < 0.004). In contrast, no significant difference in the sICAM-1 serum levels were seen regarding the G241A genotype distribution in schizophrenic patients. Conclusion: We hypothesize that the biochemical effect of the G241A SNP is masked in schizophrenic patients, indicating a disease-related mechanism leading to reduced levels of sICAM-1 in schizophrenia.
Increased adoption and efficiency of self-managed teams,through the fulfilment of basic psychological needs (autonomy,competence and relatedness

iii List of tables. vii List of figures. ix CHAPTER 1. Introduction . 10 1.1 PREAMBLE . 10 1.2 RESEARCH TITLE . 10 1.3 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM . 10 1.4 RESEARCH MOTIVATION . 11 1.5 RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES . 12 1.6 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH . 12 1.7 KEY CONCEPTS DEFINED . 12 1.8 OUTLINE OF RESEARCH REPORT . 13 1.8. 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 13 1.8. 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 13 1.8. 3 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH HYPOTHESES . 14 1.8. 4 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN . 14 1.8. 5 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS . 14 1.8. 6 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION . 14 1.8. 7 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION . 14 1.9 SUMMARY . 15 CHAPTER 2. Literature Review . 16 2.1 INTRODUCTION . 16 2.2 ORGANISATION FLEXIBILITY . 17 2.3 SELF-MANAGED TEAMS . 18 2.4 AUTONOMY-SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP . 23 2.5 MOTIVATION . 26 2.5. 1 SELF DETERMINATION THEORY . 28 2.5. 2 BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS . 30 2.6 ADOPTING THE CHANGE TO A SELF-MANAGED TEAM . 34 2.7 SUMMARY . 36