Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Buffer Management Scheme Based on Message Transmission Status in Delay Tolerant Networks

Delay tolerant networks (DTNs) characterise a class of emerging networks that suffer from frequent and long-duration partitions. As the storage-carry-forward paradigm is adopted to transfer messages in DTNs, buffer management schemes greatly influence the performance of routing protocols when nodes have limited buffer space. From a network-wide viewpoint, the excessive increase of a single message's copies will exhaust nodes' buffer space, thus reduces the probability of other messages to be buffered and forwarded and leads substantial decrease in their delivery ratio. In this paper, inspired by the law of diminishing marginal utility in economics, we propose a buffer management scheme based on estimated status of messages, e.g., the total number of copies in the network and the dissemination speed of a message. When performing buffer replacement and scheduling, nodes use encounter histories to estimate status of messages and act accordingly: when buffer overflow occurs, messages that have larger estimated number of copies and faster dissemination speed are replaced prior to and forwarded posterior to other messages. Simulation results show that our buffer management scheme can improve delivery ratio and has relative lower overhead ratio compared with other buffer management schemes.
Patient variable biases in clinical judgment: conceptual overview and methodological considerations.

Specific conceptual factors are presented as having contributed to the negative findings of past psychotherapy bias research. Among these factors are the restrictive nature of both the definition of bias and the model of the biased clinician. A review of published studies of several patient variable biases (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, and age) indicated that bias may best be defined in broader terms and that its occurrence may be more circumscribed than originally conceived. In addition, the lack of a theoretical perspective in this area of research is noted and the applicability of some social cognitive processes is discussed. Methodological factors are also considered, and recommendations for future research are offered.
Association between Serum Phospholipid Fatty Acids and Intraprostatic Inflammation in the Placebo Arm of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial

Inflammation may play an etiologic role in prostate cancer. Several dietary factors influence inflammation; studies have shown that long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are anti-inflammatory, whereas n-6 and trans fatty acids are proinflammatory. We evaluated whether serum phospholipid n-3, n-6, and trans fatty acids were associated with intraprostatic inflammation, separately in 191 prostate cancer cases and 247 controls from the placebo arm of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT). Men without a prostate cancer diagnosis underwent prostate biopsy at trial end, and benign prostate tissue inflammation was evaluated in approximately three biopsy cores per man; this was expressed as no, some, or all cores with inflammation. In controls, serum eicosapentaenoic acid [OR of all cores with inflammation versus none (95% CI), 0.35 (0.14–0.89)] and docosahexaenoic acid [OR (95% CI), 0.42 (0.17–1.02)] were inversely associated with, whereas linoleic acid [OR (95% CI), 3.85 (1.41–10.55)] was positively associated with intraprostatic inflammation. Serum trans fatty acids were not associated with intraprostatic inflammation. No significant associations were observed in cases; however, we could not rule out a positive association with linoleic acid and an inverse association with arachidonic acid. Thus, in the PCPT, we found that serum n-3 fatty acids were inversely, n-6 fatty acids were positively, and trans fatty acids were not associated with intraprostatic inflammation in controls. Although, in theory, inflammation could mediate associations of serum fatty acids with prostate cancer risk, our findings cannot explain the epidemiologic associations observed with n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. Cancer Prev Res; 8(7); 590–6. ©2015 AACR.
A Demonstration of SciDB: A Science-Oriented DBMS

In CIDR 2009, we presented a collection of requirements for SciDB, a DBMS that would meet the needs of scientific users. These included a nested-array data model, science-specific operations such as regrid, and support for uncertainty, lineage, and named versions. In this paper, we present an overview of SciDB's key features and outline a demonstration of the first version of SciDB on data and operations from one of our lighthouse users, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST).
Sensory characterization of texture and flavor of high viscosity gels made with different thickeners

Four thickeners (pectin, gelatin, starch and gelatin + starch) and two aroma concentrations (1.4 and 0. 7 mL aroma / 1 kg candy base) were used for manufacturing high viscosity gel systems, i.e. strawberry candies. The salient texture and flavor attributes of the samples were identified and evaluated by a trained descriptive panel. The thickeners strongly affected texture and flavor attributes of the samples, while the two aroma concentrations did not differentiate between samples. Each thickener used produced its own characteristic texture. The gels with weak and fragile texture had stronger flavor intensities and tart flavor than the gels with strong and cohesive texture. Because of the strong interaction between texture and flavor, the results have major implications for the production of high viscosity gels such as candies.
Erim Report Series Research in Management Consumer Perception and Evaluation of Waiting Time: a Field Experiment Bibliographic Data and Classifications

Telephone waiting times for a commercial service were varied in two different experiments. In the first experiment, the telephone rate was either zero or fixed at Dfl.1. -(approx. $0.40) per minute. Consumer perceptions of waiting times could be described best by a psychophysical power function. Furthermore, wait evaluations were mainly influenced by the difference between the consumers' acceptable and perceived waiting times. The negative effect of perceived waiting time on wait evaluations was increased by the monetary costs of waiting. In the second experiment, the waiting times were filled in different ways: music, queue information, and information about expected waiting time. Information about the expected waiting time significantly reduced the consumer's overestimation of waiting time, whereas information about wait duration and queue increased the negative effect of perceived waiting time on wait evaluations.
Analysis of a global random stratified sample of nurse legislation.

AIM To identify, compare and contrast the major component parts of heterogeneous stratified sample of nursing legislation. BACKGROUND Nursing legislation varies from one jurisdiction to another. Up until now no research exists into whether the variations of such legislation are random or if variations are related to a set of key attributes. METHODS This mixed method study used a random stratified sample of legislation to map through documentary analysis the content of 14 nursing acts and then explored, using quantitative techniques, whether the material contained relates to a number of key attributes. These attributes include: legal tradition of the jurisdiction; model of regulation; administrative approach; area of the world; and the economic status of the jurisdiction. FINDINGS Twelve component parts of nursing legislation were identified. These were remarkably similar irrespective of attributes of interest. However, not all component parts were specified in the same level of detail and the manner by which the elements were addressed did vary. A number of potential relationships between the structure of the legislation and the key attributes of interest were identified. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY This study generated a comprehensive and integrated map of a global sample of nursing legislation. It provides a set of descriptors to be used to undertake further quantitative work and provides an important policy tool to facilitate dialogue between regulatory bodies. At the individual nurse level it offers insights that can help nurses pursue recognition of credentials across jurisdictions.
Automated Sperm Head Detection Using Intersecting Cortical Model Optimised by Particle Swarm Optimization

In human sperm motility analysis, sperm segmentation plays an important role to determine the location of multiple sperms. To ensure an improved segmentation result, the Laplacian of Gaussian filter is implemented as a kernel in a pre-processing step before applying the image segmentation process to automatically segment and detect human spermatozoa. This study proposes an intersecting cortical model (ICM), which was derived from several visual cortex models, to segment the sperm head region. However, the proposed method suffered from parameter selection; thus, the ICM network is optimised using particle swarm optimization where feature mutual information is introduced as the new fitness function. The final results showed that the proposed method is more accurate and robust than four state-of-the-art segmentation methods. The proposed method resulted in rates of 98.14%, 98.82%, 86.46% and 99.81% in accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and precision, respectively, after testing with 1200 sperms. The proposed algorithm is expected to be implemented in analysing sperm motility because of the robustness and capability of this algorithm.
Notch-fatigue Strength of Advanced TRIP-aided Martensitic Steels

The notch-fatigue limit and notch sensitivity of 0.1–0.6%C-1.5%Si-1.5%Mn transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-aided martensitic steels (TM steels) were investigated for use as common rails in nextgeneration automotive diesel engines. Also, these properties were related to the microstructural and retained austenite characteristics. When TM steels containing 0.2% to 0.4% C were subjected to heat treatment for isothermal transformation at 50°C and subsequent partitioning at 250°C, the steels achieved much higher notch-fatigue limits and lower notch sensitivities than those of conventional 0.2–0.4%C1.0%Cr-0.2%Mo structural steels. This was principally associated with (i) plastic relaxation of localized stress concentration as a result of strain-induced transformation of 3–5 vol% metastable retained austenite and (ii) a large amount of finely dispersed martensite-austenite phase along prior austenitic, packet and block boundaries, as well as (iii) a small amount of carbide only in the wide lath-martensite structure, which may contribute to making fatigue crack initiation and/or propagation difficult.
Genome-Wide Congealing and Rapid Transitions across the Speciation Continuum during Speciation with Gene Flow.

Our current understanding of speciation is often based on considering a relatively small number of genes, sometimes in isolation of one another. Here, we describe a possible emergent genome process involving the aggregate effect of many genes contributing to the evolution of reproductive isolation across the speciation continuum. When a threshold number of divergently selected mutations of modest to low fitness effects accumulate between populations diverging with gene flow, nonlinear transitions can occur in which levels of adaptive differentiation, linkage disequilibrium, and reproductive isolation dramatically increase. In effect, the genomes of the populations start to “congeal” into distinct entities representing different species. At this stage, reproductive isolation changes from being a characteristic of specific, divergently selected genes to a property of the genome. We examine conditions conducive to such genome-wide congealing (GWC), describe how to empirically test for GWC, and highlight a putative empirical example involving Rhagoletis fruit flies. We conclude with cautious optimism that the models and concepts discussed here, once extended to large numbers of neutral markers, may provide a framework for integrating information from genome scans, selection experiments, quantitative trait loci mapping, association studies, and natural history to develop a deeper understanding of the genomics of speciation.
Experimental Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease Agent from Mule Deer to Cattle by the Intracerebral Route

This communication reports final observations on experimental transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) from mule deer to cattle by the intracerebral route. Thirteen calves were inoculated intracerebrally with brain suspension from mule deer naturally affected with CWD. Three other calves were kept as uninoculated controls. The experiment was terminated 6 years after inoculation. During that time, abnormal prion protein (PrPres) was demonstrated in the central nervous system (CNS) of 5 cattle by both immunohistochemistry and Western blot. However, microscopic lesions suggestive of spongiform encephalopathy (SE) in the brains of these PrPres-positive animals were subtle in 3 cases and absent in 2 cases. Analysis of the gene encoding bovine PRNP revealed homozygosity for alleles encoding 6 octapeptide repeats, serine (S) at codon 46, and S at codon 146 in all samples. Findings of this study show that although PrPres amplification occurred after direct inoculation into the brain, none of the affected animals had classic histopathologic lesions of SE. Furthermore, only 38% of the inoculated cattle demonstrated amplification of PrPres. Although intracerebral inoculation is an unnatural route of exposure, this experiment shows that CWD transmission in cattle could have long incubation periods (up to 5 years). This finding suggests that oral exposure of cattle to CWD agent, a more natural potential route of exposure, would require not only a much larger dose of inoculum but also may not result in amplification of PrPres within CNS tissues during the normal lifespan of cattle.
Thesis for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Characterization and Analysis of Surface Passivations and Gate Insulators for AlGaN / GaN Microwave HFETs

The large bandgap of gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) offers an inherently high intrinsic breakdown field. When the materials are joined into the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure a 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with a high electron density as well as high electron mobility is generated. The combination of high electron density with high mobility and high breakdown field results in excellent power handling capability at high frequencies. These inherently virtuous physical properties are utilized by the GaN-based heterostructure field effect transistor (HFET) technology. This thesis deals with developing appropriate fabrication processes for AlGaN/GaN HFETs by basic material characterization methods. The main focus is on the passivation of the heterostructure surface, which is notorious for its effect on device performance. Several examples of the effect of the passivation process on the electrical properties of the heterostructure are presented. For example, it is shown that passivating a heterostructure using a non optimized plasma based deposition method may redistribute more than 90% of the channel electrons to a barrier accumulation layer. The use of metal-insulator-semiconducting-heterostructure (MISH) capacitor analysis for extracting interface states is described in detail. Based on a comparison of different passivation methods the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) silicon nitride (SiNx) emerges as a suitable candidate for passivation of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. In this thesis the effects of different LPCVD SiNx deposition parameters are investigated. Furthermore, LPCVD SiNx passivation will produce devices that are less sensitive to illumination. The illumination sensitivity is reduced to less than 3% compared to 15% to 130% for other passivated and non passivated heterostructures. This thesis also reports on the fabrication and DC characterization of insulated gate HFETs. A 5 nm thick layer of LPCVD silicon nitride is deposited below the gate which reduces the gate current by one to two orders of magnitude. This type of device is a promising candidate for reliable HFETs with applications in microwave and power electronics
Collective Response of Zebrafish Shoals to a Free-Swimming Robotic Fish

In this work, we explore the feasibility of regulating the collective behavior of zebrafish with a free-swimming robotic fish. The visual cues elicited by the robot are inspired by salient features of attraction in zebrafish and include enhanced coloration, aspect ratio of a fertile female, and carangiform/subcarangiform locomotion. The robot is autonomously controlled with an online multi-target tracking system and swims in circular trajectories in the presence of groups of zebrafish. We investigate the collective response of zebrafish to changes in robot speed, achieved by varying its tail-beat frequency. Our results show that the speed of the robot is a determinant of group cohesion, quantified through zebrafish nearest-neighbor distance, which increases with the speed of the robot until it reaches . We also find that the presence of the robot causes a significant decrease in the group speed, which is not accompanied by an increase in the freezing response of the subjects. Findings of this study are expected to inform the design of experimental protocols that leverage the use of robots to study the zebrafish animal model.
Anti-TNF antibody therapy in rheumatoid arthritis and the risk of serious infections and malignancies: systematic review and meta-analysis of rare harmful effects in randomized controlled trials.

CONTEXT Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays an important role in host defense and tumor growth control. Therefore, anti-TNF antibody therapies may increase the risk of serious infections and malignancies. OBJECTIVE To assess the extent to which anti-TNF antibody therapies may increase the risk of serious infections and malignancies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by performing a meta-analysis to derive estimates of sparse harmful events occurring in randomized trials of anti-TNF therapy. DATA SOURCES A systematic literature search of EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and electronic abstract databases of the annual scientific meetings of both the European League Against Rheumatism and the American College of Rheumatology was conducted through December 2005. This search was complemented with interviews of the manufacturers of the 2 licensed anti-TNF antibodies. STUDY SELECTION We included randomized, placebo-controlled trials of the 2 licensed anti-TNF antibodies (infliximab and adalimumab) used for 12 weeks or more in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Nine trials met our inclusion criteria, including 3493 patients who received anti-TNF antibody treatment and 1512 patients who received placebo. DATA EXTRACTION Data on study characteristics to assess study quality and intention-to-treat data for serious infections and malignancies were abstracted. Published information from the trials was supplemented by direct contact between principal investigators and industry sponsors. DATA SYNTHESIS We calculated a pooled odds ratio (Mantel-Haenszel methods with a continuity correction designed for sparse data) for malignancies and serious infections (infection that requires antimicrobial therapy and/or hospitalization) in anti-TNF-treated patients vs placebo patients. We estimated effects for high and low doses separately. The pooled odds ratio for malignancy was 3.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-9.1) and for serious infection was 2.0 (95% CI, 1.3-3.1). Malignancies were significantly more common in patients treated with higher doses compared with patients who received lower doses of anti-TNF antibodies. For patients treated with anti-TNF antibodies in the included trials, the number needed to harm was 154 (95% CI, 91-500) for 1 additional malignancy within a treatment period of 6 to 12 months. For serious infections, the number needed to harm was 59 (95% CI, 39-125) within a treatment period of 3 to 12 months. CONCLUSIONS There is evidence of an increased risk of serious infections and a dose-dependent increased risk of malignancies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with anti-TNF antibody therapy. The formal meta-analysis with pooled sparse adverse events data from randomized controlled trials serves as a tool to assess harmful drug effects.
Distributed Link Scheduling With Constant Overhead

This paper proposes a new class of simple, distributed algorithms for scheduling in multihop wireless networks under the primary interference model. The class is parameterized by integers k ges 1. We show that algorithm k of our class achieves k/(k + 2) of the capacity region, for every k ges 1. The algorithms have small and constant worst-case overheads. In particular, algorithm k generates a new schedule using a) time less than 4k + 2 round-trip times between neighboring nodes in the network and b) at most three control transmissions by any given node for any k. The control signals are explicitly specified and face the same interference effects as normal data transmissions. Our class of distributed wireless scheduling algorithms are the first ones guaranteed to achieve any fixed fraction of the capacity region while using small and constant overheads that do not scale with network size. The parameter k explicitly captures the tradeoff between control overhead and throughput performance and provides a tuning-knob protocol designers can use to harness this tradeoff in practice.
SHARP ESTIMATES FOR HYPERBOLIC METRICS AND COVERING THEOREMS OF LANDAU TYPE

One of the main covering results asserts that if a holomorphic function f in the unit disk satises jf 0 (0)j Ajf(0)j with A > 4; then f covers an annulus of the form r 0; where K is a certain function of A. Extremals are furnished by universal covering maps onto complements of certin discrete sets. The covering theorems are proved by solving minimum problems for hyperbolic metrics.