Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Stateless Neighbour-Aware Cooperative Caching Protocol for Ad-Hoc Networks

Replication of data items among different nodes of a Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) is an efficient technique to increase data availability and improve access latency. This paper proposes a novel algorithm to distribute cached data items among nodes in a MANET. The algorithm combines a probabilistic approach with latency constraints such as the distance from both the source and the clients of the data item. In most scenarios, our approach allows any node to retrieve a data item from a nearby neighbour (often, just one hop away). The paper describes the algorithm and provides its performance evaluation for several different network configurations. This work was partially supported by the Middleware for Network Eccentric and Mobile Applications (MiNEMA) programme of the European Science Foundation Also Technical Report Number C-2005-76. Computer Science Department, University of Helsinki
A tool for reliable self-home blood pressure monitoring designed according to the European Society of Hypertension recommendations: The Microlife WatchBP Home monitor

BackgroundSelf-blood pressure monitoring by patients at home (HBPM) is being increasingly used in clinical practice and has been endorsed by hypertension societies as an important adjunct to the conventional office blood pressure measurements. Several problems, however, exist regarding the application of HBPM in practice, such as device inaccuracy, observer bias and misreporting, variable monitoring schedule and variable method for summarizing measurements. The European Society of Hypertension Working Group (ESH-WG) on Blood Pressure Monitoring has published detailed recommendations on how to apply HBPM in clinical practice. ObjectiveThe Microlife WatchBP Home monitor is designed to provide reliable and unbiased self-blood pressure monitoring by patients at home, strictly according to the ESH-WG recommendations. DesignDual-function automated oscillometric monitor for HBPM in the arm, with memory, PC link capacity and embedded monitoring schedule. The device has a Usual mode for casual HBPM and a Diag (diagnostic) mode for HBPM strictly according to the ESH-WG proposed schedule (duplicate morning and evening measurements for 7 days). Readings are averaged by the device after exclusion of the initial day according to ESH-WG recommendations and can be transferred to PC for storing or printing. A pilot study in hypertensive patients with previous experience in HBPM suggested that the device is user-friendly and well accepted. ConclusionThe Microlife WatchBP Home monitor is a novel device that provides a reliable and unbiased assessment of home blood pressure strictly according to the ESH recommendations.
Pharmacogenomic predictor of sensitivity to preoperative chemotherapy with paclitaxel and fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide in breast cancer.

PURPOSE We developed a multigene predictor of pathologic complete response (pCR) to preoperative weekly paclitaxel and fluorouracil-doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (T/FAC) chemotherapy and assessed its predictive accuracy on independent cases. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred thirty-three patients with stage I-III breast cancer were included. Pretreatment gene expression profiling was performed with oligonecleotide microarrays on fine-needle aspiration specimens. We developed predictors of pCR from 82 cases and assessed accuracy on 51 independent cases. RESULTS Overall pCR rate was 26% in both cohorts. In the training set, 56 probes were identified as differentially expressed between pCR versus residual disease, at a false discovery rate of 1%. We examined the performance of 780 distinct classifiers (set of genes + prediction algorithm) in full cross-validation. Many predictors performed equally well. A nominally best 30-probe set Diagonal Linear Discriminant Analysis classifier was selected for independent validation. It showed significantly higher sensitivity (92% v 61%) than a clinical predictor including age, grade, and estrogen receptor status. The negative predictive value (96% v 86%) and area under the curve (0.877 v 0.811) were nominally better but not statistically significant. The combination of genomic and clinical information yielded a predictor not significantly different from the genomic predictor alone. In 31 samples, RNA was hybridized in replicate with resulting predictions that were 97% concordant. CONCLUSION A 30-probe set pharmacogenomic predictor predicted pCR to T/FAC chemotherapy with high sensitivity and negative predictive value. This test correctly identified all but one of the patients who achieved pCR (12 of 13 patients) and all but one of those who were predicted to have residual disease had residual cancer (27 of 28 patients).
Effects of Food Texture on Three-Dimensional Loads on Implants During Mastication Based on In Vivo Measurements

Introduction:The mechanisms by which the loads exerted on implants that support prostheses are modulated during mastication remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of food texture on 3-dimensional loads measured at a single implant using a piezoelectric transducer. Materials and Methods:Two subjects participated in this study. The transducer and the experimental superstructure, which had been adjusted to the subject's occlusal scheme, were attached to the implant with a titanium screw. The foods tested were chewing gum and peanuts. Results:The mean maximum load on the implant in each chewing cycle was significantly higher during peanut chewing than during gum chewing. The direction of maximum load was significantly more widely dispersed during peanut chewing than during gum chewing. The range of changes in load direction during the force-increasing phase of each chewing cycle was significantly wider during peanut chewing than during gum chewing. Conclusions:The load on the implant was affected by food texture in both subjects. This measurement method can be useful to investigate the mechanisms of load modulation on implants during mastication.
Does customer portfolio analysis relate to customer performance? An empirical analysis of alternative strategic perspective

An important managerial task in business‐to‐business marketing is the strategic management of supplier‐customer relationships, which is concerned with a portfolio of relationships. A review of existing customer portfolio theories reveals that: most of the portfolio dimensions have not yet been empirically validated; the theoretical base of relevant dimensions may be conceptually inadequate in terms of strategy analysis; and the link between customer portfolio dimensions and customer performance has not yet been examined. Attempts to address these gaps in the literature by studying customer portfolios of large UK‐based banks. The main results indicate that the common industrial organization perspective may only give a short run picture of customer performance. Suggests that long run positioning value of a customer portfolio can be accounted for by resource‐based analysis and strategic approach to customer portfolio analysis. Concludes with a discussion of the results and implications.
A Whole Genome DArTseq and SNP Analysis for Genetic Diversity Assessment in Durum Wheat from Central Fertile Crescent

Until now, little attention has been paid to the geographic distribution and evaluation of genetic diversity of durum wheat from the Central Fertile Crescent (modern-day Turkey and Syria). Turkey and Syria are considered as primary centers of wheat diversity, and thousands of locally adapted wheat landraces are still present in the farmers’ small fields. We planned this study to evaluate the genetic diversity of durum wheat landraces from the Central Fertile Crescent by genotyping based on DArTseq and SNP analysis. A total of 39,568 DArTseq and 20,661 SNP markers were used to characterize the genetic characteristic of 91 durum wheat land races. Clustering based on Neighbor joining analysis, principal coordinate as well as Bayesian model implemented in structure, clearly showed that the grouping pattern is not associated with the geographical distribution of the durum wheat due to the mixing of the Turkish and Syrian landraces. Significant correlation between DArTseq and SNP markers was observed in the Mantel test. However, we detected a non-significant relationship between geographical coordinates and DArTseq (r = -0.085) and SNP (r = -0.039) loci. These results showed that unconscious farmer selection and lack of the commercial varieties might have resulted in the exchange of genetic material and this was apparent in the genetic structure of durum wheat in Turkey and Syria. The genomic characterization presented here is an essential step towards a future exploitation of the available durum wheat genetic resources in genomic and breeding programs. The results of this study have also depicted a clear insight about the genetic diversity of wheat accessions from the Central Fertile Crescent.
The feedback control of hepatic cholesterol synthesis in Ugandan patients with liver disease.

Hepatic cholesterol synthesis is thought to be under the influence of a feedback inhibition by dietary cholesterol, except in the case of primary hepatoma. This feedback mechanism has been studied in Ugandan patients with hepatoma and with nonneoplastic liver disease. A control study of a group of patients in Boston was also carried out. The functioning of the feedback mechanism in Ugandans with hepatoma could not be analyzed in that all hepatoma biopsies synthesized very low amounts of cholesterol. Cholesterol synthesis by hepatoma tissue was significantly less than that of Ugandan controls and was also less than that of previously studied hepatomas in the United States. In patients with nonneoplastic liver disease, the feedback mechanism in several cases appeared to be absent. This finding was in contrast to results from the group of control patients in Boston, which findings verified the cholesterol feedback phenomenon previously reported in Westerners. The Ugandan patients lacking the feedback mechanism did not appear to fall into any single clinical or histological category. The reasons for this finding are uncertain, although a possible role of aflatoxin is suggested.
Highlights From the TIMSS 1999 Video Study of Eighth-Grade Science Teaching

U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences NCES 2006-017 The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Video Study is a follow-up and expansion of the TIMSS 1995 Video Study of mathematics teaching. Larger and more ambitious than the first, the 1999 study investigated eighth-grade science teaching as well as mathematics teaching, expanded the number of countries, and included more countries with relatively high achievement on TIMSS assessments in comparison to the United States. The results of the mathematics portion of the study are presented elsewhere (Hiebert et al. 2003). Discussion of the results from the 1995 Video Study can be found in Stigler et al. (1999) and Stigler and Hiebert (1999). This document highlights key findings from the science lessons and is based on the full report, Teaching Science in Five Countries: Results From the TIMSS 1999 Video Study (Roth et al. 2006).
Gene Regulation by Cohesin in Cancer: Is the Ring an Unexpected Party to Proliferation?

Cohesin is a multisubunit protein complex that plays an integral role in sister chromatid cohesion, DNA repair, and meiosis. Of significance, both over- and underexpression of cohesin are associated with cancer. It is generally believed that cohesin dysregulation contributes to cancer by leading to aneuploidy or chromosome instability. For cancers with loss of cohesin function, this idea seems plausible. However, overexpression of cohesin in cancer appears to be more significant for prognosis than its loss. Increased levels of cohesin subunits correlate with poor prognosis and resistance to drug, hormone, and radiation therapies. However, if there is sufficient cohesin for sister chromatid cohesion, overexpression of cohesin subunits should not obligatorily lead to aneuploidy. This raises the possibility that excess cohesin promotes cancer by alternative mechanisms. Over the last decade, it has emerged that cohesin regulates gene transcription. Recent studies have shown that gene regulation by cohesin contributes to stem cell pluripotency and cell differentiation. Of importance, cohesin positively regulates the transcription of genes known to be dysregulated in cancer, such as Runx1, Runx3, and Myc. Furthermore, cohesin binds with estrogen receptor α throughout the genome in breast cancer cells, suggesting that it may be involved in the transcription of estrogen-responsive genes. Here, we will review evidence supporting the idea that the gene regulation function of cohesin represents a previously unrecognized mechanism for the development of cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 9(12); 1587–607. ©2011 AACR.
Capital Structure Decisions of European and U.S. Listed Firms: Is there a Unique Financial Theory?

This study seeks to verify if financial theories are mutually exclusive in explaining the capital structure decisions of European and U.S. listed firms. To achieve the main objective of this study, for the period between 1996 and 2007, a research sample of 659 listed firms made up as follows is taken into consideration: 92 German, 78 Spanish, 95 French, 91 Italian, 76 Dutch, 45 Portuguese, 91 British and 91 U.S. firms. As method of estimation, we use panel data models, namely the GMM System (1998) and LSDVC (2005) dynamic estimators. The results obtained show that for all the listed firms in Europe and the U.S., the existence of a negative relationship between profitability and debt is in accordance with the assumptions of Pecking Order Theory. Furthermore, the negative relationship between liquidity and debt also suggests that European and U.S. listed firms follow the principles of Pecking Order Theory in their capital structure decisions. However, the results also show that European and U.S. listed firms follow the Dynamic Trade-Off Theory seeking to adjust, albeit with different speeds, the level of current debt towards the target debt ratio.
Sudden Stops and Reallocation : Evidence from Labor Market Flows in Latin America

Sudden stops and international nancial crises have been a main feature of developing countries in the last 25 years. While their aggregate e¤ects are well known, the microeconomic channels through which they work have yet to be explored. In this paper we study their e¤ects on microeconomic variables related to job ows using sectoral panel data for four Latin American countries. We nd that sudden stops are associated with lower job creation and increased job destruction. Furthermore, these e¤ects are heterogeneous across sectors and across countries. Sectors with higher dependence on external nancing experience lower creation. A similar result is observed in sectors with higher indicators of liquidity needs, which experience signi cantly larger negative job ows, an e¤ect particularly robust among continuing rms. Finally, we nd a negative correlation between a countrys ring and dismissal costs and labor destruction during sudden stops, mostly a¤ecting the decisions of continuing rms. Our results provide evidence of nancial conditions being an important transmission channel of sudden stops within a country. Moreover, they also highlight the relevance of nancial factors in the restructuring process in general. Keywords: sudden stops, gross job ows, reallocation, nancial fragility. We would like to thank George-Marios Angeletos, Olivier Blanchard, Ricardo Caballero, Kevin Cowan, Francesco Giavazzi, Jeanne Lafortune, Borja Larraín, and seminar participants at Central Bank of Chile, CEA-U. of Chile, MIT, PUC-Chile, Université de Montréal, and the 2007 LACEA Annual Conference at Bogota for very useful comments, and Claudio Raddatz for generously sharing his data on sector level nancial characteristics. Tessada thanks his advisors George-Marios Angeletos and Olivier Blanchard for their continuous support, encouragement and feedback. Tessada also acknowledges nancial support from the Chilean Scholarship Program and a Finch Fellowship at the MIT Economics Department. The usual disclaimer applies. Future updates of this paper will be available online at http://econ-www.mit.edu/grad/tessada/research. yEmail: fgallego@alum.mit.edu. zCorresponding author. Email: tessada@mit.edu.
The Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of the Agnew Intrusion, Canada: a Product of S-undersaturated, high-Al and low-Ti Tholeiitic Magmas

Partial melting in these mantle sources may have been induced by The 2100 m thick Agnew Intrusion (50 km) in central Ontario, ‘thermal’ plumes. Canada, is a deformed, Palaeoproterozoic, layered leucogabbronoritic to gabbronoritic pluton that is believed to have intruded as a subvolcanic sill between Archaean granitic basement of the Superior Province and overlying Palaeoproterozoic flood basalts. Its emplacement was part of a major magmatic event in the region, which
Age-related Effects of Speed and Power on Agility Performance of Young Soccer Players

The purpose of this study is to determine the age-related effects of power and running speed on agility ability of young soccer players. A total of eighty-one soccer players, who do not have professional contracts with any professional club but play for various local and school teams on a regular basis, have participated (mean age: 17.7±1.16, range 16–19) in this study. Tests consist of anthropometric variables, power and speed measurements, and the agility test (T-Agility). At the completion of the warm-up protocol, players completed assessments of countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), speed (10-, and 30-m sprints, respectively), and the agility test (Agility T-Test). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis was used to compare the parameters between each group and Pearson correlation analyses were applied to determine the relationships between agility test, speed, and power. When evaluated by age, only U16 players displayed moderate correlation between Agility T-Test and S10m and S30m (P<0.05). The only significantly weak correlation was found between the Agility T-Test and S30m for U19 players (P<0.05). Similarly, the only significantly weak correlation was found between the Agility T-Test and CMJ and SJ for U19 players (P<0.05). In conclusion, the results showed that speed and lower extremity power should not be considered as important predictors of agility performance in young athletes.
Pool desiccation and developmental thresholds in the common frog, Rana temporaria

The developmental threshold is the minimum size or condition that a developing organism must have reached in order for a life-history transition to occur. Although developmental thresholds have been observed for many organisms, inter-population variation among natural populations has not been examined. Since isolated populations can be subjected to strong divergent selection, population divergence in developmental thresholds can be predicted if environmental conditions favour fast or slow developmental time in different populations. Amphibian metamorphosis is a well-studied life-history transition, and using a common garden approach we compared the development time and the developmental threshold of metamorphosis in four island populations of the common frog Rana temporaria: two populations originating from islands with only temporary breeding pools and two from islands with permanent pools. As predicted, tadpoles from time-constrained temporary pools had a genetically shorter development time than those from permanent pools. Furthermore, the variation in development time among females from temporary pools was low, consistent with the action of selection on rapid development in this environment. However, there were no clear differences in the developmental thresholds between the populations, indicating that the main response to life in a temporary pool is to shorten the development time.
Estimation of the Reference Evapotranspiration in Sumbawa District , West Nusa Tenggara , Indonesia

The study aimed to estimate the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) using the Cropwat Model. The Cropwat Model is a Penman-Monteith Model (FAO 56-PM) as a method for determining ETo with monthly meteorological data input from 2005-2016 in Sumbawa District. Results showed that the minimum and maximum ETo values fluctuated around 3.04-4.17 mm/ day. The highest values were observed in September and the lowest in February. The value of ETo in Sumbawa Regency fluctuated during the period 2005-2016.
Ancient DNA Suggests Dwarf and ‘Giant’ Emu Are Conspecific

Background The King Island Emu (Dromaius ater) of Australia is one of several extinct emu taxa whose taxonomic relationship to the modern Emu (D. novaehollandiae) is unclear. King Island Emu were mainly distinguished by their much smaller size and a reported darker colour compared to modern Emu. Methodology and Results We investigated the evolutionary relationships between the King Island and modern Emu by the recovery of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from sub-fossil remains. The complete mitochondrial control (1,094 bp) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region (1,544 bp), as well as a region of the melanocortin 1 receptor gene (57 bp) were sequenced using a multiplex PCR approach. The results show that haplotypes for King Island Emu fall within the diversity of modern Emu. Conclusions These data show the close relationship of these emu when compared to other congeneric bird species and indicate that the King Island and modern Emu share a recent common ancestor. King Island emu possibly underwent insular dwarfism as a result of phenotypic plasticity. The close relationship between the King Island and the modern Emu suggests it is most appropriate that the former should be considered a subspecies of the latter. Although both taxa show a close genetic relationship they differ drastically in size. This study also suggests that rates of morphological and neutral molecular evolution are decoupled.
Stock Return Seasonalities and Investor Structure: Evidence From China's B-Share Market

This paper investigates whether seasonalities in daily stock returns are related to the trading behavior of individual and institutional investors. The change in the investor structure of B-share markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen after the abolition of ownership restrictions in 2001 provides a unique testing environment. We show that day-of-the-week effects are attenuated after the market entrance of Chinese individual investors, who had previously not been allowed to trade in B-shares. Our empirical results suggest that institutional rather than individual investors are a main driving force behind such anomalies. In addition, we find evidence of reduced index return autocorrelation and US spillover effects in the post-liberalization period.
Does a Seller's Ecommerce Reputation Matter? Evidence from Ebay Auctions

With internet commerce, a buyer cannot directly examine the product and so must rely upon the accuracy and reliability of the seller in deciding whether and how much to bid. In this setting, the seller's reputation can become an important factor in the bid. This paper examines the impact of the seller's reputation on the willingness of buyers to bid on items sold via internet auctions, using a 1999 mint condition U.S. $5 gold coin whose average price was $32.73. The empirical results show that the seller's reputation has a positive, statistically significant, but small impact on the price. Copyright 2002 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd