Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When Network Effect Meets Congestion Effect: Leveraging Social Services for Wireless Services

The recent development of social services tightens wireless users' social relationships and encourages them to generate more data traffic under network effect. This boosts the demand for wireless services yet may challenge the limited wireless capacity. To fully exploit this opportunity, we study mobile users' data usage behaviors by jointly considering the network effect based on their social relationships in the social domain and the congestion effect in the physical wireless domain. Accordingly, we develop a Stackelberg game for problem formulation: In Stage I, a wireless provider first decides the data pricing to all users to maximize its revenue, and then in Stage II users observe the price and decide data usage subject to mutual interactions under both network and congestion effects. We analyze the two-stage game using backward induction. For Stage II, we first show the existence and uniqueness of a user demand equilibrium (UDE). Then we propose a distributed update algorithm for users to reach the UDE. Furthermore, we investigate the impacts of different parameters on the UDE. For Stage I, we develop an optimal pricing algorithm to maximize the wireless provider's revenue. We evaluate the performance of our proposed algorithms by numerical studies using real data, and thereby draw useful engineering insights for the operation of wireless providers.
Differentiation of Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus safensis Using MALDI-TOF-MS

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) despite being increasingly used as a method for microbial identification, still present limitations in which concerns the differentiation of closely related species. Bacillus pumillus and Bacillus safensis, are species of biotechnological and pharmaceutical significance, difficult to differentiate by conventional methodologies. In this study, using a well-characterized collection of B. pumillus and B. safensis isolates, we demonstrated the suitability of MALDI-TOF-MS combined with chemometrics to accurately and rapidly identify them. Moreover, characteristic species-specific ion masses were tentatively assigned, using UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot and UniProtKB/TrEMBL databases and primary literature. Delineation of B. pumilus (ions at m/z 5271 and 6122) and B. safensis (ions at m/z 5288, 5568 and 6413) species were supported by a congruent characteristic protein pattern. Moreover, using a chemometric approach, the score plot created by partial least square discriminant analysis (PLSDA) of mass spectra demonstrated the presence of two individualized clusters, each one enclosing isolates belonging to a species-specific spectral group. The generated pool of species-specific proteins comprised mostly ribosomal and SASPs proteins. Therefore, in B. pumilus the specific ion at m/z 5271 was associated with a small acid-soluble spore protein (SASP O) or with 50S protein L35, whereas in B. safensis specific ions at m/z 5288 and 5568 were associated with SASP J and P, respectively, and an ion at m/z 6413 with 50S protein L32. Thus, the resulting unique protein profile combined with chemometric analysis, proved to be valuable tools for B. pumilus and B. safensis discrimination, allowing their reliable, reproducible and rapid identification.
Perbandingan Kemampuan Representasi Matematis Siswa antara Contextual Teaching and Learning dan Problem Based Learning

Penelitian ini di latar belakangi oleh fakta bahwa representasi matematis merupakan kemampuan dasar yang harus dimiliki oleh setiap siswa, serta representasi merupakan salah satu komponen penting dan fundamental untuk mengembangkan kemampuan matemats siswa secara umum. Untuk meningkatkan seluruh kemampuan matematis siswa yaitu melalui aktifitas pembelajaran yang hendaknya berpusat pada siswa. Sesuai dengan masalah yang dikemukakan, maka tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui perbandingan dan peningkatan kemampuan representasi matematis siswa terhadap model pembelajaran CTL dan PBL. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah quasi experiment dengan pengambilan sampel purposive sampling. Sampel penelitian dipilih dua kelas dari kelas XI MIPA SMAN 17 Garut tahun ajaran 2017/2018. Kelas eksperimen I yaitu kelas XI MIPA 1 yang mendapatkan model pembelajaran CTL sebanyak 20 siswa, dan kelas eksperimen II yaitu kelas XI MIPA 3 yang mendapatkan model pembelajaran PBL sebanyak 20 siswa. Hasil dari penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa kemampuan representasi matematis siswa dengan menggunakan model pembelajaran CTL lebih baik dibandingkan dengan siswa yang mendapatkan model pembelajaran PBL. Sementara itu, untuk peningkatan kemampuan representasi matematis siswa yang mendapatkan model pembelajaran Contextual Teaching and Learning berinterpretasi tinggi dan Problem Based Learning berinterpretasi sedang. Serta secara umum sikap siswa terhadap pembelajaran matematika dengan menggunakan model pembelajaran Contextual Teaching and Learning dan Problem Based Learning masing-masing berinterpretasi baik.
Utility of a Nonlinear Joint Dynamical Framework to Model a Pair of Coupled Cardiovascular Signals

We have recently proposed a correlated model to provide a Gaussian mixture representation of the cardiovascular signals, with promising results in identifying rhythm disturbances. The approach provides a transformation of the data into a set of integrable Gaussians distributed over time. Looking into the model from a new joint modeling perspective, it is capable of assembling a filtered estimation, and can be used to derive temporal information of the waveforms. In this paper, we present a step-by-step derivation of the joint model putting correlation assumptions together to conclude a minimal joint description for a pair of ECG-ABP signals. We then probe novel applications of this model, including Kalman filter based denoising and fiducial point detection. In particular, we use the joint model for denoising and employ the denoised signals for pulse transit time (PTT) estimation. We analyzed more than 70 h of data from 76 patients from the MIMIC database to illustrate the accuracy of the algorithm. We have found that this method can be effectively used for robust joint ECG-ABP noise suppression, with mean signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement up to 23.2 (12.0) dB and weighted diagnostic distortion measures as low as 2.1 (3.3)% for artificial (real) noises, respectively. In addition, we have estimated the error distributions for QT interval, systolic and diastolic blood pressure before and after filtering to demonstrate the maximal preservation of morphological features (ΔQT: mean ± std = 2.2 ± 6.1 ms; ΔSBP: mean ± std = 2.3 ± 1.9 mmHg; ΔDBP: mean ± std = 1.9 ± 1.4 mmHg). Finally, we have been able to present a systematic approach for robust PTT estimation (r = 0.98, p <; 0.001, mean ± std of error = -0.26 ± 2.93 ms). These findings may have important implications for reliable monitoring and estimation of clinically important features in clinical settings. In conclusion, the proposed framework opens the door to the possibility of deploying a hybrid system that integrates these algorithmic approaches for index estimation and filtering scenarios with high output SNRs and low distortion.
Ex vivo Culture of Drosophila Pupal Testis and Single Male Germ-line Cysts: Dissection, Imaging, and Pharmacological Treatment

During spermatogenesis in mammals and in Drosophila melanogaster, male germ cells develop in a series of essential developmental processes. This includes differentiation from a stem cell population, mitotic amplification, and meiosis. In addition, post-meiotic germ cells undergo a dramatic morphological reshaping process as well as a global epigenetic reconfiguration of the germ line chromatin—the histone-to-protamine switch. Studying the role of a protein in post-meiotic spermatogenesis using mutagenesis or other genetic tools is often impeded by essential embryonic, pre-meiotic, or meiotic functions of the protein under investigation. The post-meiotic phenotype of a mutant of such a protein could be obscured through an earlier developmental block, or the interpretation of the phenotype could be complicated. The model organism Drosophila melanogaster offers a bypass to this problem: intact testes and even cysts of germ cells dissected from early pupae are able to develop ex vivo in culture medium. Making use of such cultures allows microscopic imaging of living germ cells in testes and of germ-line cysts. Importantly, the cultivated testes and germ cells also become accessible to pharmacological inhibitors, thereby permitting manipulation of enzymatic functions during spermatogenesis, including post-meiotic stages. The protocol presented describes how to dissect and cultivate pupal testes and germ-line cysts. Information on the development of pupal testes and culture conditions are provided alongside microscope imaging data of live testes and germ-line cysts in culture. We also describe a pharmacological assay to study post-meiotic spermatogenesis, exemplified by an assay targeting the histone-to-protamine switch using the histone acetyltransferase inhibitor anacardic acid. In principle, this cultivation method could be adapted to address many other research questions in pre- and post-meiotic spermatogenesis.
Possible Involvementof Ca 2 + Mobilization and Protein Kinase C Activation in the Inductionof Spontaneous Metastasis by Mouse Mammary Adenocarcinoma Cells 1

Evidence is provided to show that two secondary cell-signaling path ways, Ca2* mobilization and the activation of protein kinase C (PKC), are involved in the induction of spontaneous metastasis in mouse adenocarcinoma cell line SP1. Unlike the parental cells, which were found to be tumorigenic but unable to metastasize from a s.c. site, SP1 cells treated with ionophore A23187 (to mobilize Ca2*) or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (to activate PKC) were able to metastasize spontaneously. Analysis of SP1 cells treated with either agent separately or with both agents simultaneously revealed that both pathways contributed to the final response in a separate and nonsynergistic way. The induced metastatic phenotype in most cases appeared to be heritable. Examination of Ca2+ sources during cell activation by ionophore A23187 suggested that internal ( 'a'* was sufficient for the process of induction. Examination of PKC activity and its intracellular distribution during and after treat ment of SP1 cells with ionophore A23187 and phorbol 12-myristate 13acetate were also evaluated. The results suggested that the basal levels of PKC and the activation of the enzyme appear to be involved in the induction of spontaneous metastasis. Taken together, these observations are consistent with the hypothesis that cell-signaling pathways exist which can induce the metastatic phenotype and that this may be related to phosphatidylinositol turnover.
Blockade of Cardiac Sodium Channels by Lidocaine Single-Channel Analysis

The mechanism of interaction of lidocaine with cardiac sodium channels during use-dependent block is not well denned. We examined the blockade of single cardiac sodium channels by lidocaine and its hydrophobic derivative RAD-242 in rabbit ventricular myocytes. Experiments were performed in cell-attached and inside-out patches. Use-dependent block was assessed with trains of ten 200 -msec pulses with interpulse intervals of 500 msec and test potentials of -60 to -40 mV. Single-channel kinetics sometimes showed time-dependent change in the absence of drug. During exposure to 80 μM lidocaine, use-dependent block during the trains was associated with a decrease in the average number of openings per step. At -60 mV, mean open time was not significantly changed (control, 1.4 ± 0.6 msec; lidocaine, 1.2 ± 03 msec, P > 0.05). Greater block developed during trains of 200 -msec pulses compared with trains of 20-msec pulses at the same interpulse interval at test potentials during which openings were uncommon later than 20 msec (−50 and -40 mV). Prolonged bursts of channels showing slow-gating kinetics were observed both in control and the presence of 80 μM lidocaine. However, lidocaine may decrease the late sodium current by altering the kinetics of slow gating. The hydrophobic lidocaine derivative RAD-242, which has a 10-fold greater lipid solubility than lidocaine, decreased the peak averaged current during pulse train stimulation by 60% without a change in the mean open time. Our results suggest that the major effect of lidocaine during use-dependent block involves the interaction with a nonconducting state of the sodium channel followed by a failure to open during subsequent depolarization. {Circulation Research 1989;65:1247-1262)
A Unifying Model of How the Tax System and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Affect Corporate Behavior

This paper models the impact of the tax system and GAAP on the real and financial reporting decisions of corporations. It provides a first step toward joint evaluation of taxation and financial reporting in the standard economic analyses of corporate behavior. The key finding is that value arises from real decisions that provide firms with discretion in their tax and financial reporting. This desire for flexibility modifies the optimal decisions of firms, in theory, and we provide examples that illustrate this behavior in the real world.
Adherence with Outpatient Appointments and Medication: A Two-Year Prospective Study of Patients with Schizophrenia

Objective: Especially for patients with chronic diseases, adherence is an important factor that interferes with the success of treatment. There are few reports examining adherence to appointments and medication in diagnostically specific groups such as individuals with schizophrenia. This study aimed to examine the correlates of missed appointments and medication adherence in a sample of persons attending an outpatient schizophrenia follow-up program after hospital discharge. Methods: The study included 132 patients with schizophrenia. Outpatient appointments were planned to occur in the range of every 1 to 8 weeks by taking into consideration the patient’s clinical status. Patients were followed up for a period of two years to assess appointment-keeping behavior and medication adherence. Within this period, patients who did not attend more than 20% of their appointments were evaluated as the “non-attender group. ” Results: The rate of patients, who have missed a scheduled appointment, was 44.7% during the chosen period. Non-attendance was related to low educational level and living alone. Before discharge of the patient, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) total scores were higher in the non-attender group compared to attender patients. Non-attender patients also had higher numbers of psychiatric hospitalizations and involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations and greater medication non-adherence rates. Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors and clinical features affect patient participation in the appointments. In addition, non-attendance at appointments in particular is closely linked with medication non-adherence.
Effects of Supplemental Glutamine on Growth Performance, Plasma Parameters and LPS-induced Immune Response of Weaned Barrows after Castration

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of supplemental glutamine on growth performance, plasma parameters and LPS-induced immune response of weaned barrows after castration. In experiment 1, forty-eight weaned male piglets were used and fed maize and soybean meal diets supplemented with 0 (Control) or 2% L-Gln (Gln+) for 25 days. The results indicated that the Gln+ group tended to increase average daily gain compared to control in stages of days 7 to 14 and 0 to 25. The Gln+ had significantly better feed efficiency than the control group did during days 14 to 25 and 0 to 25. The plasma blood urea nitrogen and alkaline phosphatase contents of Gln+ group were higher than those of the control group on day 14 post-weaning. In experiment 2, sixteen weaned male piglets were injected with E. coli K88+ lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on day 14 post-weaning. The results showed that the Gln+ group had lower concentrations of plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol than the control group on day 14 pre-LPS challenge. In addition, Gln+ group had higher plasma IgG concentration than the control group for pre- or post-LPS challenged on day 14 post-weaning. In summary, dietary supplementation of Gln was able to alleviate the stressful condition and inflammation associated with castration in weaned barrows, and to improve their immunity and growth performance in the early starter stage.
Donepezil Combined with Natural Hirudin Improves the Clinical Symptoms of Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer's Disease: A 20-Week Open-Label Pilot Study

Aim:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of donepezil plus natural hirudin in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's Disease. Methods: In the 20-week, randomized, open-label and controlled study, 84 patients received either donepezil (5 mg/day for the first 4 weeks and 10 mg/day thereafter) or donepezil plus natural hirudin (3 g/day) treatment. Efficacy was reflected by the change of the total scores of Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), Activities of Daily Life (ADL) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Results: The patients with the donepezil plus natural hirudin treatment showed more significant improvement in the daily activities and the decline of the cognition than those with donepezil treatment. Significant difference was present in the groups since the 8th week. No group difference was found in the NPI change. However, within the hirudin treatment group, more powerful efficacy including NPI assessment was found in the patients with vascular risk factors (VRF) as comparing to with those without VRF. The combination of donepezil and natural hirudin was well tolerated. The dropout rate was greater in the donepezil and natural hirudin (50%) treatment group than in the donepezil (39%) treatment group. Similar result was found in the incidence of adverse events (23.8% vs 19.0%), but there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Adverse events were the most common reason for the dropout. Although hemorrhage and hypersensitiveness were more common in donepezil plus Maixuekang treatment (11.9% and 7.1%) group than in donepezil treatment (2.4% and 2.4%) group, no significant difference was present between the two groups. Economic problem was another important reason for the patients' withdrawal. Conclusions: Compared with the donepezil treatment in the patients with mild-to-moderate AD, our results suggest that donepezil combined with natural hirudin may improve the treatment effects in the ADL, BPSD and cognition of the patients. Furthermore, this joint treatment is safe.
Information fusion in a TV program recommendation system

In a previous paper, we presented a conceptual framework for high-level information fusion. The approach relies on the use of the Conceptual Graphs model for both knowledge representation and information fusion. We introduced the use of fusion heuristics in the framework. This paper validates the viability of the approach through several experimentations. We use the fusion platform implementing the framework within a recommendation system for smart television. TV program descriptions coming from different sources of information are fused. To evaluate the quality of the fusion process, we compare the results to TV program descriptions recorded by the INA institute. We consider both the preciseness of the schedule and the proportion of programs correctly predicted. The experimentations emphasize the importance of the heuristics that we introduced in the conceptual framework.
Energy Requirement of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Production

The scope of this chapter is to calculate the net energy of the production chain for virgin olive oil. Therefore, the determination was carried out for the direct and indirect energy inputs and the energy present as feedstock in the outputs (products and by-products). To perform this analysis, all of the production processes for olives and for oil extraction were studied. For the agricultural phase, three systems of cultivation were taken into consideration: the centenary olive grove (COO), the “intensive” olive grove (HDO) and, the more recently introduced, “super-intensive” olive grove (HSDO). The last two models are distinguished by the high number of trees per hectare and by an intense mechanization of agricultural practices. Regarding the oil extraction phase, four different technologies were compared: the pressure system (PS), the two-phase system (2PS), the three-phase (3PS), and the system, called “de-pitted”, which provides for the separation of the pits before the oil is extracted (DPS). The analysis showed that the production of olives needs more than 90% of energy requirements, much of which is met by non-renewable sources of energy. The production of fertilizers, and also irrigation, are the production factors that require a considerable amount of energy. Among the three agricultural systems analyzed, the COO system of cultivation is the one that requires less energy as compared to the other systems. The scenario that enables the most energy return, however, is the SHDO system of cultivation, due to the greater amount of pruning residues that can be obtained.
Scaling law in the standard map critical function. Interpolating Hamiltonian and frequency map analysis

We study the behaviour of the standard map critical function in a neighbourhood of a fixed resonance, that is the scaling law at the fixed resonance. We prove that for the fundamental resonance the scaling law is linear. We show numerical evidence that for the other resonances p/q, q≥2, p≠0 and p and q relatively prime, the scaling law follows a power-law with exponent 1/q.
Auto-Calibration Methods of Kinematic Parameters and Magnetometer Offset for the Localization of a Tracked Mobile Robot

This paper describes an automatic calibration procedure adopted to improve the localization of an outdoor mobile robot. The proposed algorithm estimates, by using an extended Kalman filter, the main kinematic parameters of the vehicles, such as the wheel radii and the wheelbase as well as the magnetometer offset. Several trials have been performed to validate the proposed strategy on a tracked electrical mobile robot. The mobile robot is aimed to be adopted as a tool to help humanitarian demining operations.