Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pareto efficiency of pricing-based power control in wireless data networks

Recent work has considered power control for wireless data networks from the framework of microeconomics. The user preferences have been mapped to utility functions measured in useful bits transmitted per unit of battery energy. We consider utility maximizing distributed power control in the presence of pricing and study the existence and efficiency of equilibria achieved. Specifically, we investigate the Pareto efficiency of a pricing policy that punishes asocial behavior in terms of the transmit power used by each user and hence the interference caused by it. The Nash equilibria achieved under pricing are characterized by using supermodularity. We propose a simple implementation of the pricing scheme where the base station broadcasts a pricing parameter that users use in their distributed power control algorithm. With the appropriate choice of the pricing parameter, all users increase their utilities significantly as compared to the case where there is no pricing. We also discuss the implication of pricing with regard to achieving a socially optimum operating point.
Long-term impact of initial surgical and medical therapy on young patients with papillary thyroid cancer and bilateral cervical metastases.

BACKGROUND There are few reviews on the clinical features and prognosis of young patients with papillary thyroid cancer and bilateral cervical metastases. We have investigated the long-term impact of initial surgical and medical therapy on such patients. METHODS A retrospective study was performed on 24 young patients (11 females and 13 males) with papillary thyroid cancer and bilateral cervical lymph node metastases, ranging in age from 11 to 20 years (mean age, 16.6 years), who were treated in our institution from 1 January 1970 to 31 December 1985. RESULTS All the patients in this group were followed up for 20 years. The survival of the patients at 20 years was 91.7%. The recurrence of local tumor and distant metastases was 20.8% and 12.5%, respectively. Based on analysis of the clinical data, we determined that the completeness of the surgical excision had a significant correlation with tumor recurrence. CONCLUSION These young patients with papillary thyroid cancer and cervical metastases have a good prognosis after suitable treatment.
[Ventral hernia surgery].

BACKGROUND A personal technique for polypropilene mesh implantation in the treatment of massive, boundary and recurrent incisional hernias is described. METHODS. DESIGN retrospective evaluation of cases observed over the last 3 years. SETTING division of General, Oncological and Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgical and Anatomical Sciences, University of Palermo. SUBJECTS twenty-four patients with massive, boundary and recurrent ventral hernia were selected and treated with this technique. INTERVENTIONS the patients were submitted to implantation of a polypropilene prosthesis by using a part of the well vascularised hernial sac in order to close completely the peritoneal layer under the prosthesis (so as to avoid the contact between prosthesis and viscera) and to close the layer over the prosthesis (avoiding a contact between prosthesis and subcutis). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES morbidity and mortality have been evaluated. RESULTS Patients were discharged from the 7th and 15th postoperative day. No mortality was recorded. In four out of 24 patients the following complications were observed: 1 case of high postoperative fever; 2 cases of superficial infection of the surgical wound; 1 case of wide cutaneous suppuration without prosthesis involvement. No recurrences were observed during the follow-up (6 months-3 year). CONCLUSIONS Even if a scientific evaluation of the results is not possible due to the poor number of cases, short-term follow-up and unavailable randomized studies, this technique may be useful since it permits to avoid the contact between prosthesis and viscera, with lower postoperative adherences and the isolation of prosthesis from the subcutaneous tissue, sometimes involved in suppuration.
Growth hormone protects the intestines but not the tumour from 5-fluorouracil toxicity in the short term in the rat

Objective Growth hormone has been proposed as an effective preventative treatment against radiotherapy- and chemotherapy-induced toxicity in the gut. The aim of this study was to determine whether exogenously administered growth hormone modified the effect of 5-fluorouracil on the gut and an implanted colon adenocarcinoma in the rat. Methods An adenocarcinoma was implanted into rats that had been treated with 5-fluorouracil and growth hormone 3 days previously. Tumour growth, plus tumour and intestinal pathology, proliferation, apoptosis and p53 expression were determined. Results Growth hormone protected the intestines against 5-fluorouracil by increasing proliferation and mucosal length, and decreasing apoptosis and p53 expression. Growth hormone did not modify the effects of 5-fluorouracil on the tumour. Conclusions Growth hormone protects the intestines from the deleterious effects of 5-fluorouracil while preserving its antitumoural action on the adenocarcinoma in the short term. Within the crypt, p53 expression is likely to be modulated by growth hormone after 5-fluorouracil treatment.
Simplified Runtime Analysis of Estimation of Distribution Algorithms

Estimation of distribution algorithms (EDA) are stochastic search methods that look for optimal solutions by learning and sampling from probabilistic models. Despite their popularity, there are only few rigorous theoretical analyses of their performance. Even for the simplest EDAs, such as the Univariate Marginal Distribution Algorithm (UMDA) which assumes independence between decision variables, there are only a handful of results about its runtime, and results for simple functions such as Onemax are still missing. In this paper, we show that the recently developed level-based theorem for non-elitist populations is directly applicable to runtime analysis of EDAs. To demonstrate this approach, we derive easily upper bounds on the expected runtime of the UMDA.
Effects of microstructure on the fatigue crack growth behavior of light metals and design considerations

Fatigue crack growth mechanisms of long and small cracks were investigated in cast and wrought aluminum and titanium alloys with various microstructures (as-cast A535, 6061-T61, and mill-and beta annealed Ti-6Al-4V). In addition, friction stir welded and cold spray processed 6061-T61 were also investigated. The effects of microstructure on the fatigue crack growth response of each material were evaluated. Long crack growth data were generated on compact tension specimens at low and high stress ratios R=0.1 and 0.7, respectively. Small crack growth testing was performed on corner and surface flaw tension specimens at low stress ratio, R=0.1. Fatigue crack growth mechanisms at the microstructural scale of the materials were identified and will be discussed. Closure corrections were applied to long crack growth data, and the results were compared to experimental small crack growth data. Models for small crack growth predictions from long crack growth data will also be presented and discussed.
Hazard RegressionCharles Kooperberg

Polynomial splines and their tensor products are used to estimate the conditional log-hazard function based on possibly censored, positive response data and one or more covariates. An automatic procedure involving the maximum likelihood method, stepwise addition, stepwise deletion and BIC is used to select the nal model. The possible models contain proportional hazards models as a subclass, which makes it possible to diagnose departures from proportionality. Two additional log terms are incorporated into a similar model for the unconditional log-hazard function to allow for greater exibility in the extreme tails. A user interface based on S is described.
MoleView: An Attribute and Structure-Based Semantic Lens for Large Element-Based Plots

We present MoleView, a novel technique for interactive exploration of multivariate relational data. Given a spatial embedding of the data, in terms of a scatter plot or graph layout, we propose a semantic lens which selects a specific spatial and attribute-related data range. The lens keeps the selected data in focus unchanged and continuously deforms the data out of the selection range in order to maintain the context around the focus. Specific deformations include distance-based repulsion of scatter plot points, deforming straight-line node-link graph drawings, and as varying the simplification degree of bundled edge graph layouts. Using a brushing-based technique, we further show the applicability of our semantic lens for scenarios requiring a complex selection of the zones of interest. Our technique is simple to implement and provides real-time performance on large datasets. We demonstrate our technique with actual data from air and road traffic control, medical imaging, and software comprehension applications.
Salmonella effectors within a single pathogenicity island are differentially expressed and translocated by separate type III secretion systems

Pathogenicity islands (PAIs) are large DNA segments in the genomes of bacterial pathogens that encode virulence factors. Five PAIs have been identified in the Gram‐negative bacterium Salmonella enterica. Two of these PAIs, Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)‐1 and SPI‐2, encode type III secretion systems (TTSS), which are essential virulence determinants. These ‘molecular syringes’ inject effectors directly into the host cell, whereupon they manipulate host cell functions. These effectors are either encoded with their respective TTSS or scattered elsewhere on the Salmonella chromosome. Importantly, SPI‐1 and SPI‐2 are expressed under distinct environmental conditions: SPI‐1 is induced upon initial contact with the host cell, whereas SPI‐2 is induced intracellularly. Here, we demonstrate that a single PAI, in this case SPI‐5, can encode effectors that are induced by distinct regulatory cues and targeted to different TTSS. SPI‐5 encodes the SPI‐1 TTSS translocated effector, SigD/SopB. In contrast, we report that the adjacently encoded effector PipB is part of the SPI‐2 regulon. PipB is translocated by the SPI‐2 TTSS to the Salmonella‐containing vacuole and Salmonella‐induced filaments. We also show that regions of SPI‐5 are not conserved in all Salmonella spp. Although sigD/sopB is present in all Salmonella spp. , pipB is not found in Salmonella bongori, which also lacks a functional SPI‐2 TTSS. Thus, we demonstrate a functional and regulatory cross‐talk between three chromosomal PAIs, SPI‐1, SPI‐2 and SPI‐5, which has significant implications for the evolution and role of PAIs in bacterial pathogenesis.
Anatomical property variation in Acacia auriculiformis growing in Bangladesh

Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. (ex Benth) is an extensively planted fast-growing species in Bangladesh. Understanding the anatomical property variation has significant importance in tree improvement and wood utilization. Radial variations of anatomical properties in 11-year-old trees were examined in this study. Vessel diameter increased gradually up to about 40–45% distance from pith and then levelled-off to bark. Fibre diameter gradually decreased toward bark, whereas fibre wall thickness showed a reverse pattern. In contrast to fibre proportion, vessel and ray proportions gradually increased from pith to bark. Cell wall proportion was nearly stable up to ∼70% distance from pith and then increased gradually to bark. Results suggest that air-dried density or compressive strength variation is mainly attributed by the fibre morphology, i.e. fibre diameter and fibre wall thickness (at 1% level). Significant variations among the trees in vessel and fibre diameters (at 1% level), and ray and axial parenchyma proportions (at 5% level) suggest the possibility of tree selection for breeding.
Pharmacological Control of Receptor of Advanced Glycation End-Products and its Biological Effects in Psoriasis

Receptor for advanced glycation end-products is implicated in a development of chronic inflammatory response. Aim of this paper is to provide a review on commercial and experimental medicines that can interfere with RAGE and signaling through RAGE. We searched three bibliographical databases (PubMed, Web of Science and MEDLINE) for the publications from 2005 to March 2012 and identified 5 major groups of agents that can interfere with RAGE biological effects. In the first part of this paper, we discuss AGE crosslink breakers. These chemicals destroy advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that are crosslinked to the extracellular matrix proteins and can interact with RAGE as ligands. Then, we describe two non-conventional agents SAGEs and KIOM-79 that abolish certain biological effects of RAGE and have a strong anti-inflammatory potential. In the third part, we evaluate the inhibitors of the signaling cascades that underlie RAGE. Particularly, we discuss two groups of kinase inhibitors tyrphostins and the inhibitors of JAK kinases. Considering RAGE as a potential master regulator of processes that are crucial for the pathogenesis of psoriasis, we propose that these medicins may help in controlling the disease by abolishing the chronic inflammation in skin lesions.
Kernel Mean Estimation and Stein Effect

A mean function in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS), or a kernel mean, is an important part of many algorithms ranging from kernel principal component analysis to Hilbert-space embedding of distributions. Given a finite sample, an empirical average is the standard estimate for the true kernel mean. We show that this estimator can be improved due to a well-known phenomenon in statistics called Stein's phenomenon. After consideration, our theoretical analysis reveals the existence of a wide class of estimators that are better than the standard one. Focusing on a subset of this class, we propose efficient shrinkage estimators for the kernel mean. Empirical evaluations on several applications clearly demonstrate that the proposed estimators outperform the standard kernel mean estimator.
Modelling hot strength behaviour of steel

Modelling the hot strength behaviour of steel is very complicated because of the fact that the processing conditions in terms of strain, strain rate and temperature of deformation are very critical. This in turn will help to control the evolution of final microstructural constituents which in turn can also influence the processing conditions to a great extent. The composition of steel is another important variable which plays crucial role in determining the flow stress behaviour. There are some available models which can work to predict the flow stress behaviour at high temperature for different steel grades. However, these existing models are not robust enough to predict the flow stress behaviour irrespective of steel composition. Scope of the current work is put to fill up the gap of unavailability of generalised model of hot flow behaviour by developing a new model. The newly developed model was used for predicting the flow stress for different steel grades over a wide processing conditions and the outcomes were found to be in very good agreement (within ±20 MPa) with the experimental results.
Reliability Evaluation of Distribution System with Distributed Generation

Distribution system reliability assessment is an important part of power system reliability assessment. In recent years, distributed generations (DG) are more and more connected to distribution system because of its flexible and friendly environment features, which imposes a great influence on distribution system reliability. Hence, a reliability evaluation method suitable for distribution system with DG is imperative, which is proposed in this paper. First, a probabilistic model of DG output is established based on the generation characteristics of DG. Second, the island operation mode of distribution system with DG is researched, subsequently, the calculation method of the probability of island successful operation is put forward on the basis of DG model and the load model. Third, a reliability assessment methodology of distribution system with DG is proposed by improving the traditional minimal path algorithm for reliability evaluation of distribution system. Finally, some results are obtained by applying the proposed method to the IEEE-RBTS Bus6 system, which are consistent with the well-known facts. In this way, the proposed method is proved to be reasonable and effective.
Monte Carlo calculation of specific absorbed fractions: variance reduction techniques

The purpose of the present work is to calculate specific absorbed fractions using variance reduction techniques and assess the effectiveness of these techniques in improving the efficiency (i.e. reducing the statistical uncertainties) of simulation results in cases where the distance between the source and the target organs is large and/or the target organ is small. The variance reduction techniques of interaction forcing and an ant colony algorithm, which drives the application of splitting and Russian roulette, were applied in Monte Carlo calculations performed with the code penelope for photons with energies from 30 keV to 2 MeV. In the simulations we used a mathematical phantom derived from the well-known MIRD-type adult phantom. The thyroid gland was assumed to be the source organ and urinary bladder, testicles, uterus and ovaries were considered as target organs. Simulations were performed, for each target organ and for photons with different energies, using these variance reduction techniques, all run on the same processor and during a CPU time of 1.5 · 105 s. For energies above 100 keV both interaction forcing and the ant colony method allowed reaching relative uncertainties of the average absorbed dose in the target organs below 4% in all studied cases. When these two techniques were used together, the uncertainty was further reduced, by a factor of 0.5 or less. For photons with energies below 100 keV, an adapted initialization of the ant colony algorithm was required. By using interaction forcing and the ant colony algorithm, realistic values of the specific absorbed fractions can be obtained with relative uncertainties small enough to permit discriminating among simulations performed with different Monte Carlo codes and phantoms. The methodology described in the present work can be employed to calculate specific absorbed fractions for arbitrary arrangements, i.e. energy spectrum of primary radiation, phantom model and source and target organs.
Schwann Cell But Not Olfactory Ensheathing Glia Transplants Improve Hindlimb Locomotor Performance in the Moderately Contused Adult Rat Thoracic Spinal Cord

Cultured adult rat Schwann cells (SCs) or olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG), or both, were transplanted in the adult Fischer rat thoracic (T9) spinal cord 1 week after a moderate contusion (10 gm, 12.5 mm, NYU impactor). Rats received either a total of 2 × 106 cells suspended in culture medium or culture medium only (controls). At 12 weeks after injury, all grafted animals exhibited diminished cavitation. Although in medium-injected rats 33% of spinal tissue within a 5-mm-long segment of cord centered at the injury site was spared, significantly more tissue was spared in SC (51%), OEG (43%), and SC/OEG (44%) grafted animals. All three types of glial grafts were filled with axons, primarily of spinal origin. SC grafts contained more myelinated axons than SC/OEG and OEG grafts. Both types of SC-containing grafts expressed more intense staining for glial fibrillary acidic protein and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan compared with OEG-only grafts. Retrograde tracing demonstrated that the number of propriospinal and brainstem axons reaching 5–6 mm beyond the grafted area was significantly higher with SC and SC/OEG grafts but not with OEG-only grafts compared with controls. Corticospinal fibers terminated closer to the lesion epicenter in all grafted animals than in controls. With SC-only grafts, a modest but statistically significant improvement in hindlimb locomotor performance was detected at 8–11 weeks after injury. Thus, in addition to this functional improvement, our results show that an SC graft is more effective in promoting axonal sparing/regeneration than an SC/OEG or OEG graft in the moderately contused adult rat thoracic spinal cord.
THE TEMPERATURE OF INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS FROM TURBULENT HEATING

To evaluate the effect of turbulent heating in the thermal balance of interstellar clouds, we develop an extension of the log-Poisson intermittency model to supersonic turbulence. The model depends on a parameter, d, interpreted as the dimension of the most dissipative structures. By comparing the model with the probability distribution of the turbulent dissipation rate in a simulation of supersonic and super-Alfvénic turbulence, we find a best-fit value of d = 1.64. We apply this intermittency model to the computation of the mass-weighted probability distribution of the gas temperature of molecular clouds, high-mass star-forming cores, and cold diffuse H i clouds. Our main results are: (1) the mean gas temperature in molecular clouds can be explained as the effect of turbulent heating alone, while cosmic-ray heating may dominate only in regions where the turbulent heating is low; (2) the mean gas temperature in high-mass star-forming cores with typical full width at half-maximum of ∼ 6 km s−1 (corresponding to a one-dimensional rms velocity of 2.5 km s−1) may be completely controlled by turbulent heating, which predicts a mean value of approximately 36 K, two to three times larger than the mean gas temperature in the absence of turbulent heating; and (3) the intermittency of the turbulent heating can generate enough hot regions in cold diffuse H i clouds to explain the observed CH+ abundance, if the rms velocity on a scale of 1 pc is at least 3 km s−1, in agreement with previous results based on incompressible turbulence. Because of its importance in the thermal balance of molecular clouds and high-mass star-forming cores, the process of turbulent heating may be central in setting the characteristic stellar mass and in regulating molecular chemical reactions.
Anthropometric characteristics and VO2 max of urban tribal and non-tribal boys of Tripura

Anthropometry is the single most portable, systemized technique, universally applicable, inexpensive, and noninvasive method available to assess the proportions, size, and composition of the human body. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) is internationally accepted parameter to evaluate the cardiorespiratory fitness. But determination of VO2 max is restricted within well equipped laboratory because of its exhausting, hazardous and complicated experimental protocol. The tests were carried out in 300 urban tribal boys (150 pre-pubertal tribal and 150 post-pubertal boys) and 300 urban non-tribal boys (150 pre-pubertal and 150 post-pubertal boys). Anthropometric characteristics including height, weight, body circumferences, bone widths, body fat%, TST, mesomorphy and cardiorespiratory fitness include VO2 max which were all measured by standard procedures. The independent samples t-test revealed that non-tribal boys had found significantly higher height (p<0.01), weight (p<0.01), skinfold measurements and body fat % (p<0.01) as compared to tribal boys. Thus, non-tribal boys were found taller and heavier. On the other hand, the tribal boy also showed significantly greater circumferences, bone widths, mesomorphic component and VO2 max (p<0.01) as compared to non-tribal boys. which may be due to lean body weight and greater body size in them. The high body fat % of non-tribal boys can also lead to reduced cardiorespiratory fitness.