Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance Comparision of AODV and DSR Routing Protocols using Real Time Test-bed

mobile ad-hoc Network is a collection of autonomous wireless nodes without any infrastructure and centralized administration. The main motivation of this work is to analyze AODV and DSR routing protocols based on different performance metrics in a real world environment. This test- bed allows for direct comparisons between ad-hoc routing protocols Though ad hoc network routing protocols, such as DSR and AODV have been extensively studied through simulations, fewer test-bed implementation has been carried out. It is essential in order to understand relative merits or limitations under different network conditions. The test-bed closes the gap between the simulation & real life implementation and allows performance comparison of different ad-hoc routing protocols on a common platform. The goal of this work has been to develop a test-bed such that real world tests of many nodes can be conducted for AODV and DSR protocol and analyze the performance of this protocol with various performance metrics.
Environmental and Human Controls of Ecosystem Functional Diversity in Temperate South America

The regional controls of biodiversity patterns have been traditionally evaluated using structural and compositional components at the species level, but evaluation of the functional component at the ecosystem level is still scarce. During the last decades, the role of ecosystem functioning in management and conservation has increased. Our aim was to use satellite-derived Ecosystem Functional Types (EFTs, patches of the land-surface with similar carbon gain dynamics) to characterize the regional patterns of ecosystem functional diversity and to evaluate the environmental and human controls that determine EFT richness across natural and human-modified systems in temperate South America. The EFT identification was based on three descriptors of carbon gain dynamics derived from seasonal curves of the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI): annual mean (surrogate of primary production), seasonal coefficient of variation (indicator of seasonality) and date of maximum EVI (descriptor of phenology). As observed for species richness in the southern hemisphere, water availability, not energy, emerged as the main climatic driver of
Convexity estimates for ﬂows by powers of the mean curvature

We study the evolution of a closed, convex hypersurface in R n + 1 in direction of its normal vector, where the speed equals a power k (cid:1) 1 of the mean curvature. We show that if initially the ratio of the biggest and smallest principal curvatures at every point is close enough to 1, depending only on k and n , then this is maintained under the ﬂow. As a consequence we obtain that, when rescaling appropriately as the ﬂow contracts to a point, the evolving surfaces converge to the unit sphere.
Report of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) on the risk associated to intake of food supplements containing Cimicifuga racemosa root/rhizome as ingredient

Extracts of the root or rhizome of Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt. , also known as black cohosh, have traditionally been used for treating various conditions, including premenstrual syndrome, menopause and other gynaecological problems, uses that have been recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In Spain, products containing Cimicifuga race-mosa are marketed either as herbal medicinal products or as food supplements. A non-exhaustive sampling of food supplements containing Cimicifuga racemosa registered in the General Health Register of Food and Food Companies (RGSEAA, as per its Spanish acronym), it showed such food supplements contained highly varying accounts of Cimicifuga racemosa , with no uniformity in their form of expression.
Longitudinal variability of geomorphic response to floods

Morphodynamic response of channels and floodplains to flooding reflects interactions of erosive and resistive forces with sediment transport capacity and supply at multiple scales. Monotonic relationships between reach‐scale response to floods with independent variables such as flood stream power and channel confinement can be confounded by longitudinal variations in these variables at longer scales. In these cases, channel response depends on both local and upstream drivers. Using high resolution pre‐ and post‐flood digital elevation models, we calculate reach‐scale (0.5 to 1 km) and segment scale (10 km) longitudinal variations in channel widening and sediment balance. We relate these responses to longitudinal variations of unit stream power and channel confinement for selected streams impacted by the 2013 Colorado Front Range regional flood event. These streams transition from steep and relatively confined in the canyons of the foothills to less steep and unconfined on the high plains. The channel widening response is more closely linked with reach scale gradients in unit stream power: abrupt widening typically occurred within reaches where a large drop in unit stream power occurred relative to upstream. Sediment balance followed segment scale trends in unit stream power, exhibiting a net erosional trend within the foothills that switches to a net depositional trend within the transition to the plains. These findings indicate that unit stream power gradients mediate channel response at reach to segment scales. Predictive modeling of stream response to floods and fluvial hazards assessments that only consider absolute values of reach‐scale stream power may under‐estimate fluvial hazards in some settings by ignoring unit stream power gradients. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Feedback control and the arrow of time

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the central role that the time asymmetry of stability plays in feedback control. We show that this provides a new perspective on the use of doubly-infinite or semi-infinite time axes for signal spaces in control theory. We then focus on the implication of this time asymmetry in modeling uncertainty, regulation and robust control. We point out that modeling uncertainty and the ease of control depend critically on the direction of time. We finally discuss the relationship of this control-based time arrow with the well-known arrows of time in physics.
D ISTILL V ISION T RANSFORMERS TO CNN S VIA L OW - R ANK R EPRESENTATION A PPROXIMATION

Vision Transformers attain state-of-the-art performance in diverse vision tasks thanks to their scalable and long-range dependencies modeling. Meanwhile, CNNs are still practical and efﬁcient in many industry scenarios, thanks to their inductive biases and mature tiny architectures. Thus it is a challenging yet interesting problem to study the Knowledge Distillation (KD) of these two different architectures. In particular, how to transfer global information from Vision Trans-formers to tiny CNNs. We point out that many current CNN distillation meth-ods are ineffective in the Vision Transformers distillation scenario, which implies that distilling global information is not easy due to the architecture gaps. We develop an encoder-decoder representation distillation framework, namely L ow R ank R epresentation A pproximation (LRRA), to address the problem. The key insight of LRRA is that the global information modeling can be seen as ﬁnding the most important bases and corresponding codes. This process can be solved by matrix decomposition. Speciﬁcally, the student representation is encoded to a low-rank latent representation and used to approximate the teacher representation. The most distinguishable knowledge, i.e., global information, is distilled via the low-rank representation approximation. The proposed method offers a potential closed-form solution without introducing extra learnable parameters and hand-crafted engineering. We benchmark 11 KD methods to demonstrate the usefulness of our approach. Extensive ablation studies validate the necessity of the low-rank structure.
Turkish version of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cognitive and Physical Functioning Questionnaire: A reliability and validity study

Fibromyalgia (FM) syndrome is a chronic disease that is not fully known, characterized by widespread pain and tender points in the musculoskeletal system, accompanied by sleep and mood disorders, weakness, and cognitive dysfunction. 1,2 FM prevalence varies according to the diagnostic criteria applied and is an average of 2.7% in the overall population (4.1% in females and 1.4% in males). 3 Although there is no clear cause to explain etiopathogenesis in FM, various mechanisms have been proposed. It is thought that the disease depends on multiple causes, and research continues. 4,5
Antibacterial Activity of Nigella sativa L. Seed Extracts.

Most of the bacterial pathogens are resistant to existing synthetic antibacterial agents demanding an increasing effort to seek effective phytochemicals as antibacterial agents against such pathogens. Nigella sativa L. (black cumin) seeds play an important role in folk medicine and some of its major constituents are reported to be pharmacologically active. In this present work, black cumin seed extracts were obtained using supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) and conventional soxtec extraction using various organic solvents. The antibacterial activities of the extracts were investigated by the agar dilution method against Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus F 4810 and Staphylococcus aureus FRI 722) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli MTCC 108 and Yersinia enterocolitica MTCC 859). SCCO2-1 (120 bar/40oC) extract showed effective growth inhibition than conventional solvent extracts against all the tested bacteria. Further the antibacterial principle present in the extract was isolated and characterized found to be thymoquinone.
Glucagon-like Peptide-1 improves proliferation and differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells via upregulating VEGF generation

Summary Background Glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1), released from enteroendocrine cells of the intestine, exerted cardiovascular protective effect. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play an important role in maintaining endothelial integrity regulating neovascularization and reendothelialization after endothelial injury. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important cytokine in the process of EPCs vascular differentiation and proliferation. Material/Methods This study was designed to investigate the association between VEGF changes and the proliferation/differentiation function of EPCs in the presence of GLP-1. Results We demonstrated that GLP-1 markedly enhanced the EPCs proliferation and expression of EC-specific markers, and simultaneously upregulated VEGF secretion in EPCs. Exogenous VEGF augmented EPCs proliferation/differentiation abilities in a dose-dependent manner. However, all of the beneficial effects of GLP-1 were suppressed by anti-VEGFmAb or the KDR-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor SU1498. Conclusions These findings suggest that GLP-1 improves VEGF generation, which contributed to improvement of EPCs biological function, partly by tyrosine kinase KDR. VEGF is a necessary intermediate, mediating the effects of GLP-1 on EPCs. These changes offer a novel explanation that upregulation EPCs bioactivities may be one of the mechanisms of GLP-1 cardiovascular protective effect.
Endovascular arterial occlusion accomplished using microcoils deployed with and without proximal flow arrest: results in 19 patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to their relatively recent FDA approval, detachable balloons for endovascular arterial occlusion had been available on only a limited basis. We evaluated the feasibility of permanent endovascular carotid and vertebral artery occlusion using microcoils deployed with and without proximal flow arrest in 19 patients. METHODS Permanent endovascular occlusion was performed in 19 arteries of 19 patients. The treated lesions included nine aneurysms, one carotid-cavernous fistula/pseudoaneurysm, seven neoplasms, and two dissections. Nondetachable balloons were used to arrest proximal blood flow during occlusion of only six arteries. Anticoagulation (heparin, 5000 U IV) was used during occlusion of 18 arteries. Three to 88 coils were used per lesion. Complex fibered platinum microcoils were used for all cases, and GDCs were also used in two patients. RESULTS Sixteen patients had no new neurologic deficits after arterial occlusion. No patient had an acute event that suggested an embolic complication. Coils provided rapid and durable arterial occlusion in 17 patients. In both patients with acute carotid artery rupture, large numbers of coils placed during flow arrest failed to produce complete occlusion, which was accomplished subsequently with detachable balloons. One of these patients incurred a fatal hemispheric infarct after occlusion. One patient treated for a ruptured posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm by vertebral artery occlusion continued to have progressive neurologic deficits. One patient with a cavernous aneurysm had upper extremity weakness and mild dysphasia 24 hours after internal carotid artery occlusion. CONCLUSION In our small series, microcoils were found to be safe and effective for neurovascular occlusion. When both intravenous heparin (5000 U IV bolus) and heparinized catheter flush solutions (5000 U/L) are used, flow arrest during coil placement is unnecessary to prevent clinically apparent embolic complications.
The effect of angiotensin (1-7) on bone marrow stem cells

Backgrounds: Angiotensin (Ang) II is an octapeptide that plays a critical role in cardiac and blood-pressure control. However, also other Ang peptides, particularly Ang-(1-7), have important biological activities. The cardiovascular actions of Ang-(1-7) counteract pathogenic effects of Ang II and attenuate the development of heart failure. Apart from direct effects on cardiovascular tissue, Ang-(1-7) stimulates bone marrow, which harbors cells that might support the therapeutic effect of Ang-(1-7). Therefore, we studied effects of Ang-(1-7) on bone marrow-derived hematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells. Methods and Results: Ang-(1-7) stimulated the proliferation of human CD34+ and mononuclear cells in vitro. Under in vivo conditions monitoring proliferation and differentiation of human cord blood mononuclear cells in NOD/SCID mice, the number of HLA-I+ and CD34+ cells was increased by 42 fold and 600 fold, respectively. In rodents, Ang-(1-7) stimulated bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells and especially endothelial progenitor cells in vitro and in vivo. Consequently, in a murine infarct model, treatment with the heptapeptide improved cardiac function and elevated the number of c-kit and VEGF-positive cells. Conclusions: this suggests Ang-(1-7) has crucial role in regenerative processes after myocardial infarction in part through progenitor stimulation, thus characterizing it to be a promising new tool in stimulating the cardiovascular regeneration under pathophysiological conditions.
Optimal power allocation for relay‐based cooperative communication systems with energy harvesting

In this paper, the problem of throughput maximization in cooperative communication systems is considered, in which the nodes use energy harvesters instead of conventional energy sources. The 3‐node Gaussian relay channel with decode‐and‐forward relaying scheme is investigated, where the source and relay harvest energy from the environment. In this work, optimal power levels for 2 cases are obtained. First, a deterministic model is considered, where the noncausal (offline) knowledge of the harvested energy and channel states is available. The problem is shown to be a convex optimization problem, where the solutions to which are derived using convex optimization techniques. Then, the online case is investigated, in which only the casual knowledge of the harvested energy and channel states are used. In the online setting, the problem is formulated as a Markov decision process. The performance of the system in both offline and online cases, along with a few suboptimal schemes introduced in the literature, is evaluated using computer simulations.
Effects of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Pump Inhibitors on Vascular Smooth Muscle

A dysfunctioning of Ca2+ pump ATPase in the sarcoplasmic reticulum in vascular smooth muscle has been proposed as a contributing factor for the development of genetic hypertension. In this study, we determined whether in vitro inhibition of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump in vascular smooth muscle tissues and cultured cells isolated from aortas of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar- Kyoto (WKY) rats would elicit the known alterations of contractile function and cell growth. We found the following common vascular effects of thapsigargin and cyclopiazonic acid, which are known to be selective inhibitors of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase in a number of tissues including smooth muscle: (1) Both sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump inhibitors diminished agonist-induced transient contraction in Ca2+-free medium (ie, contraction due to intracellular release of Ca2+) and enhanced nifedipine-sensitive contraction on readmission of Ca2+ (ie, Ca2+ influx via L-type channels); and (2) thapsigargin and cyclopiazonic acid inhibited the attachment of cultured aortic muscle cells to the substrate in a similar degree in both SHR and WKY cells, but SHR cells were more sensitive than WKY cells to the inhibition of cell proliferation by these two agents. The first effect may provide an explanation for several contractile abnormalities known to be associated with elevated cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, whereas the second effect suggests that elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ in aortic smooth muscle cells is not necessarily associated with or sufficient to account for the accelerated cellular proliferation in SHR. These results, however, further stress the functional importance of impairment of Ca2+ regulation in vascular smooth muscle cells in genetic hypertension.
Genetic Diversity of Aspergillus flavus Contamination of Sorghum Grains

Seventeen Aspergillus flavus isolates were isolated from 48 sorghum grain samples from different localities of Riyadh, in the Saudi Arabia. Potential ability to produce aflatoxins (AFs) B1, B2, G1 and G2 was studied by HPLC analysis of these AFs in the culture extracts. Ten (59%) A. flavus isolates produced detectable levels of AFs at concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 1.6 µg/kg. The isolates were classified into four chemotypes based on the ability to produce AFs and sclerotia. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers were used, with the aim of study genetic diversity and discriminate aflatoxigenic from non-aflatoxigenic isolates. RAPD and ISSR analysis revealed a high level of genetic diversity in the A. flavus population and useful for genetic characterization. RAPD and ISSR markers were not suitable to discriminate aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic isolates, but ISSR primers were better compared to RAPD.
Leadership Structure and Corporate Performance in Nigeria

Leadership in terms of structure and style has generated relatively little attention from economic discourse compared with the influence of financial ratios in the determination of firms’ performance especially in the developing economies. Therefore, the study considered the effects of leadership structure on the performance of listed firms in Nigeria, using a panel data analysis of 50 selected listed firms based on firm accessibility, turnover rate, profit margin and year of existence criteria among others. The data were observed from 2008 to 2017 with the findings showing the Leadership structure positively correlated with the market based value of firms in Nigeria. It was also revealed that separating personality and position of Board Chairman from the Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) position is value enhancing; while the CEO and the Board Chairman are expected to monitor the activities of firms for effective performance in Nigeria
Smoking, diet, pregnancy and oral contraceptive use as risk factors for cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia in relation to human papillomavirus infection

Smoking, nutrition, parity and oral contraceptive use have been reported as major environmental risk factors for cervical cancer. After the discovery of the very strong link between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer, it is unclear whether the association of these environmental factors with cervical cancer reflect secondary associations attributable to confounding by HPV, if they are independent risk factors or whether they may act as cofactors to HPV infection in cervical carcinogenesis. To investigate this issue, we performed a population-based case–control study in the Västerbotten county of Northern Sweden of 137 women with high-grade cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN 2–3) and 253 healthy age-matched women. The women answered a 94-item questionnaire on diet, smoking, oral contraceptive use and sexual history and donated specimens for diagnosis of present HPV infection (nested polymerase chain reaction on cervical brush samples) and for past or present HPV infections (HPV seropositivity). The previously described protective effects of dietary micronutrients were not detected. Pregnancy appeared to be a risk factor in the multivariate analysis (P< 0.0001). Prolonged oral contraceptive use and sexual history were associated with CIN 2–3 in univariate analysis, but these associations lost significance after taking HPV into account. Smoking was associated with CIN 2–3 (odds ratio (OR) 2.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7–4.0), the effect was dose-dependent (P = 0.002) and the smoking-associated risk was not affected by adjusting for HPV, neither when adjusting for HPV DNA (OR 2.5, CI 1.3–4.9) nor when adjusting for HPV seropositivity (OR 3.0, CI 1.9–4.7). In conclusion, after taking HPV into account, smoking appeared to be the most significant environmental risk factor for cervical neoplasia. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
Class, Community, Inequality

We investigate how voluntary contributions to community-specific public goods affect (a) the relationship between inequality of incomes and inequality of welfare outcomes, and (b) individuals’ material incentives for supporting income redistribution. We show that the nominal distribution of income could give quite a misleading picture of real inequality and tensions in society, both within and between communities. We also analyze the impact of alternative patterns of income growth on welfare inequality, and show that, somewhat paradoxically, individuals sometimes have incentives for opposing redistribution programs from which they themselves stand to receive income increments. This arises because of the complicating role of public goods, and has strong implications for class and community solidarity.