Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The variation of optimal bandwidth and buffer allocation with the number of sources

We consider a single node which multiplexes a large number of traffic sources. We ask a simple question: how do the optimal allocations of bandwidth and buffer vary with the number of sources? We investigate this issue using previous results on the probability of overflow for an aggregate of i.i. d. flows, e.g., overflow resulting from effective bandwidth models. We wish to determine the variation of the minimum cost allocations of bandwidth and buffer with the number of sources, given a cost per unit of each resource. We first consider a class of on/off fluid flows. We find that the optimal bandwidth allocation above the mean rate and the optimal buffer allocation are both proportional to the square root of the number of sources. Correspondingly, we find that the excess cost incurred by a fixed buffer allocation or by linear buffer allocations is proportional to the square of the percentage difference between the assumed number of sources and the actual number of sources and to the square root of the number of sources. We next consider a class of general i.i. d. sources for which the aggregate effective bandwidth is a decreasing convex function of buffer and linearly proportional to the number of sources. We find that the optimal buffer allocation is strictly increasing with the number of sources. Correspondingly, we find that the excess cost incurred by a fixed buffer allocation is an increasing convex function of the difference between the assumed number of sources and the actual number of sources.
Stable isotopes examined across a migratory divide in Scandinavian willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus and Phylloscopus trochilus acredula) reflect their African winter quarters

The C and N isotopes of feathers from two subspecies of willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus and Phylloscopus trochilus acredula) are isotopically distinct. Our analysis of 138 adult males from sites distributed across Sweden shows that the mean δ15N and δ13C values of subspecies acredula (from latitudes above 63° N) were significantly higher than the mean δ15N and δ13C values of subspecies trochilus (from latitudes below 61° N). The analysed willow warbler feathers had been moulted in the winter quarters and the observed isotopic signatures should thus reflect the isotopic pattern of food assimilated in Africa. The isotopic data observed in Sweden match the cline in morphology, both showing abrupt changes around 62° N.This result agrees with data from ringing recoveries indicating that the two subspecies occupy geographically and isotopically distinct wintering grounds in Africa. Our isotopic data suggest that analysis of stable isotopes of C and N is a promising method to track wintering quarters of European birds that migrate to Africa.
Microsatellite Instability in Nasopharyngeal and Lymphoepithelial Carcinomas of the Head and Neck

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) is a descriptive diagnosis for an undifferentiated carcinoma that has a typical morphologic appearance of large vesicular cells with prominent nucleoli and infiltrating lymphocytes. Tumors with this histopathologic appearance in the head and neck can be categorized as either those that occur in endemic areas, such as Southeast Asia and are associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, or those that occur in other countries and are less commonly associated with EBV. The molecular changes in endemic EBV-related LEC have been fairly well studied and include both alterations in tumor suppressor genes and 1 report of high levels of microsatellite instability. In nonendemic LECs arising in western countries, there is very little data related to molecular mutational profiles. In this study, we examined 19 cases of LEC from the United States for evidence of microsatellite instability at the DNA level and for alterations in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system at the immunohistochemical staining level. Only 3/19 cases showed high-level microsatellite instability and only 1 of these showed an alteration in the DNA MMR protein expression hMLH1. These data suggest that alterations in DNA MMR system are not a common mechanism of tumorigenesis in LEC of the head and neck in a nonendemic country.
Who disciplines management ? Who Disciplines Management in Poorly Performing Companies ? *

Economic theory points to five parties disciplining management of poorly performing firms: holders of large share blocks, acquirers of new blocks, bidders in takeovers, non-executive directors, and investors during periods of financial distress. This paper reports the first comparative evaluation of the role of these different parties in disciplining management. We find that, in the UK, most parties, including holders of substantial share blocks, exert little disciplining and that some, for example, inside holders of share blocks and boards dominated by non-executive directors, actually impede it. Bidders replace a high proportion of management of companies acquired in takeovers but do not target poorly performing management. In contrast, during periods of financial constraints prompting distressed rights issues and capital restructuring, investors focus control on poorly performing companies. These results stand in contrast to the US, where there is little evidence of a role for new equity issues but non-executive directors and acquirers of share blocks perform a disciplinary function. The different governance outcomes are attributed to differences in minority investor protection in two countries with supposedly similar common law systems.
Dopamine Modulation of Emotional Learning in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

s: Lauzon NM and Laviolette SR (2011) Dopamine transmission in the prefrontal cortex controls the salience of emotional experience by modulating CaMKII and cyclic-AMP activity. Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Washington D.C.; November 2011 Lauzon NM and Laviolette SR. (2011) Dopamine D4 transmission in the prefrontal cortex controls the salience of emotional experience by modulating CaMKII activity. International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) World Congress. Florence, Italy; July 2011 Lauzon NM Laviolette SR (2010) Dopamine D1 Receptors modulate expression of aversive and rewarding memories in the prefrontal cortex. Murray Barr Anatomy & Cell Biology Research Day. October 2010 Lauzon NM and Laviolette SR (2010) Dopamine D1 Receptors modulate expression of aversive and rewarding memories in the prefrontal cortex. Society for Neuroscience (SfN). San Diego, CA; November 2010 Lauzon NM and Laviolette SR (2009) Dopamine D4 transmission in the prefrontal cortex controls the Salience of Emotional Experience by Modulating CaMKII Activity. Murray Barr Anatomy & Cell Biology Research Day. London, ON; October 2009 Lauzon NM and Laviolette SR (2009) Dopamine D4 transmission in the prefrontal cortex controls the Salience of Emotional Experience by Modulating CaMKII Activity. Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Chicago IL. ; October 2009 Lauzon NM and Laviolette SR (2008) Dopamine D1 versus D4 receptors differentially modulate processing of salient and non-salient emotional information in the pre-limbic cortex. Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Washington D.C; November 2008 Lauzon NM and Laviolette SR (2008) Dopamine D1 versus D4 receptors differentially modulate processing of salient and non-salient emotional information in the pre-limbic cortex. Southwestern Ontario Neuroscience Association (SONA). London, ON; May 2008
Support Kernel Machines for Object Recognition

Kernel classifiers based on Support Vector Machines (SVM) have recently achieved state-of-the art results on several popular datasets like Caltech or Pascal. This was possible by combining the advantages of SVM - convexity and the availability of efficient optimizers, with 'hyperkernels' - linear combinations of kernels computed at multiple levels of image encoding. The use of hyperkernels faces the challenge of choosing the kernel weights, the use of possibly irrelevant, poorly performing kernels, and an increased number of parameters that can lead to overfitting. In this paper we advocate the transition from SVMs to Support Kernel Machines (SKM) - models that estimate both the parameters of a sparse linear combination of kernels, and the parameters of a discriminative classifier. We exploit recent kernel learning techniques, not previously used in computer vision, that show how learning SKMs can be formulated as a convex optimization problem, which can be solved efficiently using Sequential Minimal Optimization. We study kernel learning for several multi-level image encodings for supervised object recognition and report competitive results on several datasets, including INRIA pedestrian, Caltech 101 and the newly created Caltech 256.
Three functional classes of transcriptional activation domain

We have studied the abilities of different transactivation domains to stimulate the initiation and elongation (postinitiation) steps of RNA polymerase II transcription in vivo. Nuclear run-on and RNase protection analyses revealed three classes of activation domains: Sp1 and CTF stimulated initiation (type I); human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat fused to a DNA binding domain stimulated predominantly elongation (type IIA); and VP16, p53, and E2F1 stimulated both initiation and elongation (type IIB). A quadruple point mutation of VP16 converted it from a type IIB to a type I activator. Type I and type IIA activators synergized with one another but not with type IIB activators. This observation implies that synergy can result from the concerted action of factors stimulating two different steps in transcription: initiation and elongation. The functional differences between activators may be explained by the different contacts they make with general transcription factors. In support of this idea, we found a correlation between the abilities of activators, including Tat, to stimulate elongation and their abilities to bind TFIIH.
Efficacy of intravenous paracetamol on pressor response in patients undergoing cesarean section under general anesthesia

Background and Aims: Profound hemodynamic alterations due to stress and pain during endotracheal intubation may cause deleterious effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of intravenous (IV) paracetamol on hemodynamic changes due to endotracheal intubation during cesarean section under general anesthesia. Material and Methods: Random allocation of one hundred and ten patients in two groups (Group A - placebo and Group B - paracetamol), was achieved as per computer generated table. The placebo (normal saline) and paracetamol solutions looked identical as both were available in 100 ml piggy bags and were labeled as study drug. Infusion of the drug was given 1 h before surgery. Two baseline readings of heart rate, systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP and mean BP were recorded before induction, and these readings were repeated during intubation. Detrimental effect on neonate was evaluated by Apgar score measured at 1 and 5 min after birth. Results: There were no significant demographic differences found between the two groups. Hemodyamic changes during intubation also did not differ between the two groups. Conclusion: Administration of IV paracetamol 1 h before cesarean section has no significant effect in preventing hemodynamic changes at the time of endotracheal intubation.
Errors in the 2017 APA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD: What the Data Actually Says

The American Psychological Association (APA) Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) concluded that there was strong evidence for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), cognitive therapy (CT), and exposure therapy yet weak evidence for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). This is despite the findings from an associated systematic review which concluded that EMDR leads to loss of PTSD diagnosis and symptom reduction. Depression symptoms were also found to improve more with EMDR than control conditions. In that review, EMDR was marked down on strength of evidence (SOE) for symptom reduction for PTSD. However, there were several problems with the conclusions of that review. Firstly, in assessing the evidence in one of the studies, the reviewers chose an incorrect measure that skewed the data. We recalculated a meta-analysis with a more appropriate measure and found the SOE improved. The resulting effect size for EMDR on PTSD symptom reduction compared to a control condition was large for studies that meet the APA inclusion criteria (SMD = 1.28) and the heterogeneity was low (I2= 43%). Secondly, even if the original measure was chosen, we highlight inconsistencies with the way SOE was assessed for EMDR, CT, and CPT. Thirdly, we highlight two papers that were omitted from the analysis. One of these was omitted without any apparent reason. It found EMDR superior to a placebo control. The other study was published in 2015 and should have been part of APA guidelines since they were published in 2017. The inclusion of either study would have resulted in an improvement in SOE. Including both studies results in standard mean difference and confidence intervals that were better for EMDR than for CPT or CT. Therefore, the SOE should have been rated as moderate and EMDR assessed as at least equivalent to these CBT approaches in the APA guidelines. This would bring the APA guidelines in line with other recent practice guidelines from other countries. Less critical but also important, were several inaccuracies in assessing the risk of bias and the failure to consider studies supporting strong gains of EMDR at follow-up.
The impact of completing a drink driving rehabilitation program on future drinking : the clients’ perspective

The paper explores the role and focus of drink driving rehabilitation programs. It is particularly concerned with whether programs that specifically focus on reducing driving after drinking also have a positive effect on clients’ levels of drinking. A sample of volunteering clients was recruited while they were participating in the Australian “Under the Limit” program and they were followed up at least three months post completion. Response rates were very low and the sample is assumed to reflect the views and outcomes of persons who felt positive about the program. Clients reported large and meaningful reductions in their drinking and in their drink driving. They also reported important moves towards action and change in their drinking habits. The findings deserve to be followed up given the fact that drink driving programs are generally of much shorter duration than alcohol focussed interventions. There is a need for further research in this area and for developing more effective recruitment strategies.
Epidemiology of low back pain in children and adolescents

It has been estimated that over 80% of the population will report low back pain (LBP) at some point in life,1 and each year 7% of the adult population consult their GP with symptoms.2 Prevalence increases with age, reaching a peak during the sixth decade of life.3 Until recently little was known about LBP at young ages. Clinically it was perceived to be uncommon—with few children consulting because of LBP in primary care. Large prospective epidemiological studies have shown that, in those free of LBP at baseline, the best predictor of future onset is a previous history of LBP.4 Therefore, to understand the epidemiology of LBP, and what predisposes someone to a trajectory of LBP in adult life, it is important to examine the condition at young ages, to determine factors responsible for onset of initial episodes, and to examine whether LBP in childhood is related to symptoms in adulthood.
Promoter Methylation in Cytology Specimens as an Early Detection Marker for Esophageal Squamous Dysplasia and Early Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is very high in northern China. This cancer has a very poor prognosis, mostly because it is usually diagnosed at a late stage. Detection at an earlier stage can dramatically improve prognosis. Microscopic evaluation of esophageal balloon cytology (EBC) specimens has been the most common method for early detection of ESCC, but this technique is limited by low sensitivity and specificity. The use of molecular markers may improve these screening characteristics. This study evaluates whether measurement of gene methylation in EBC specimens may have utility for the detection of esophageal squamous dysplasia and early ESCC. We evaluated the presence of methylation in eight genes shown to be methylated in ESCC in previous studies in EBC specimens from 147 patients with endoscopic biopsy diagnoses ranging from normal mucosa to severe squamous dysplasia. Methylation status was determined using quantitative methylation-specific PCR techniques. The sensitivity and specificity of methylation of each individual gene and of combinations of these genes to detect biopsy-proven high-grade (moderate or severe) squamous dysplasia were determined. For individual genes, the sensitivities ranged from 9% to 34% and the specificities ranged from 77% to 99%. Using a panel of four genes (AHRR, p16INK4a, MT1G, and CLDN3) resulted in sensitivity and specificity of 50% and 68%, respectively. This study suggests that evaluation of gene methylation in EBC samples may have utility for early detection of esophageal squamous dysplasia and early ESCC; however, identification of more sensitive methylation markers will be required for development of a clinically useful screening test.
Thermal Decomposition of a Dickite-Hydrazine Intercalation Complex

The intercalation complex of a low-defect dickite from Tarifa, Spain, with hydrazine was studied by high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HTXRD). differential thermal analysis (DTA), and ther-mogravimetry (TG). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern obtained at room temperature indicated that the intercalation of hydrazine and H2O into dickite caused an increase of the basal spacing from 7.08 to 10.24 A, which is slightly lower than the 10.4-Å spacing commonly observed after intercalation into kaolinite. Heating between 25–50°C produced a structural rearrangement of the complex, which decreased the basal spacing from 10.24 to 9.4 A, and the resulting 9.4-Å complex was stable between 50–90°C. Heating between 90–300°C caused a gradual reduction in spacing, which occurred through a set of intermediate phases. These phases were interpreted to be interstratifications of intercalated and non-intercalated layers. These changes were also observed by DTA and TG. Two main endothermic reactions and two main stages of mass loss, respectively, were indicated in the DTA and the TG curves in the temperature range 25–200°C. This behavior suggests that intercalated molecules, hydrazine and H2O, occupied well-defined sites in the interlayer of the dickite. The intercalated molecules were lost in an ordered fashion as confirmed by the infrared analysis of the decomposition products; H2O was lost in the first stage and ammonia was identified in the second stage. Above 300°C, complete removal of the intercalated molecules restored the basal spacing of the dickite. However, the basal reflections were broadened, the relative intensities were changed, and changes in the dehydroxylation temperature indicated that the intercalation-desorption process induced some stacking disorder in the dickite structure.
EshA Accentuates ppGpp Accumulation and Is Conditionally Required for Antibiotic Production in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

ABSTRACT Disruption of eshA, which encodes a 52-kDa protein that is produced late during the growth of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), resulted in elimination of actinorhodin production. In contrast, disruption of eshB, a close homologue of eshA, had no effect on antibiotic production. The eshA disruptant accumulated lower levels of ppGpp than the wild-type strain accumulated. The loss of actinorhodin production in the eshA disruptant was restored by expression of a truncated relA gene, which increased the ppGpp level to the level in the wild-type strain, indicating that the reduced ppGpp accumulation in the eshA mutant was solely responsible for the loss of antibiotic production. Antibiotic production was also restored in the eshA mutant by introducing mutations into rpoB (encoding the RNA polymerase β subunit) that bypassed the requirement for ppGpp, which is consistent with a role for EshA in modulating ppGpp levels. EshA contains a cyclic nucleotide-binding domain that is essential for its role in triggering actinorhodin production. EshA may provide new insights and opportunities to unravel the molecular signaling events that occur during physiological differentiation in streptomycetes.
A Model for Jet-Surface Interaction Noise Using Physically Realizable Upstream Turbulence Conditions

This paper is a continuation of previous work in which a generalized Rapid Distortion Theory (RDT) formulation was used to model low-frequency trailing-edge noise. The research was motivated by proposed next-generation aircraft configurations where the exhaust system is tightly integrated with the airframe. Data from recent experiments at NASA on the interaction between high-Reynolds-number subsonic jet flows and an external flat plate showed that the power spectral density (PSD) of the far-field pressure underwent considerable amplification at low frequencies. For example, at the 900 observation angle, the low-frequency noise could be as much as 10dB greater than the jet noise itself. In this paper, we present predictions of the noise generated by the interaction of a rectangular jet with the trailing edge of a semi-infinite flat plate. The calculations are based on a formula for the acoustic spectrum of this noise source derived from an exact formal solution of the linearized Euler equations involving (in this case) one arbitrary convected scalar quantity and a Rayleigh equation Green's function. A low-frequency asymptotic approximation for the Green's function based on a two-dimensional mean flow is used in the calculations along with a physically realizable upstream turbulence spectrum, which includes a finite de-correlation region. Numerical predictions, based on three-dimensional RANS solutions for a range of subsonic acoustic Mach number jets and nozzle aspect ratios are compared with experimental data. Comparisons of the RANS results with flow data are also presented for selected cases. We find that a finite decorrelation region increases the low-frequency algebraic decay (the low frequency "rolloff") of the acoustic spectrum with angular frequency thereby producing much closer agreement with noise data for Strouhal numbers less than 0.1. Secondly, the large-aspectratio theory is able to predict the low-frequency amplification due to the jet-edge interaction reasonably well, even for moderate aspect ratio nozzles. We show also that the noise predictions for smaller aspect ratio jets can be fine-tuned using the appropriate RANS-based mean flow and turbulence properties.