Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Improving the Energy Efficiency of Wireless Sensor Networks under Time-Varying Environment

The adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) schemes has long been adopted at physical layer to combat time-varying properties of the wireless channel. However, transmitting packet over deep fading channel can render extra energy expenditure, due to the incorporation of more error protection or usage of lower modulation mode, which is unaffordable for energy-limited wireless sensor device. To avoid such inefficient energy usage, a simple approach is to temporally buffer the packet when the channel is in deep fading, until the channel quality recovers. Nevertheless, buffering packet can lead to communication performance degradations - communication latency and packet overflow, which should be taken into consideration in sensing applications with QoS requirements. In this paper, by using previously proposed discrete time queuing model, we analyze the effects of Rayleigh fading on the sensor communication system, and propose a cross-layer design on power aware communication of sensor device. Specifically, in such channel adaptive system, each sensor can judiciously accesses the medium according to the channel condition, traffic load, and buffer variation. Simulation and analytical results indicate that, such cross-layer design can lead to energy conservation by as much as 30-40 per cent.
Preimaginal Stages of the Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae): An Invasive Pest on Ash Trees (Fraxinus)

This study provides the most detailed description of the immature stages of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire to date and illustrates suites of larval characters useful in distinguishing among Agrilus Curtis species and instars. Immature stages of eight species of Agrilus were examined and imaged using light and scanning electron microscopy. For A. planipennis all preimaginal stages (egg, instars I-IV, prepupa and pupa) were described. A combination of 14 character states were identified that serve to identify larvae of A. planipennis. Our results support the segregation of Agrilus larvae into two informal assemblages based on characters of the mouthparts, prothorax, and abdomen: the A. viridis and A. ater assemblages, with A. planipennis being more similar to the former. Additional evidence is provided in favor of excluding A. planipennis from the subgenus Uragrilus.
An in vitro model of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis in single- and dual-species biofilms

Purpose The goal of this study was to develop and validate a standardized in vitro pathogenic biofilm attached onto saliva-coated surfaces. Methods Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) strains were grown under anaerobic conditions as single species and in dual-species cultures. Initially, the bacterial biomass was evaluated at 24 and 48 hours to determine the optimal timing for the adhesion phase onto saliva-coated polystyrene surfaces. Thereafter, biofilm development was assessed over time by crystal violet staining and scanning electron microscopy. Results The data showed no significant difference in the overall biomass after 48 hours for P. gingivalis in single- and dual-species conditions. After adhesion, P. gingivalis in single- and dual-species biofilms accumulated a substantially higher biomass after 7 days of incubation than after 3 days, but no significant difference was found between 5 and 7 days. Although the biomass of the F. nucleatum biofilm was higher at 3 days, no difference was found at 3, 5, or 7 days of incubation. Conclusions Polystyrene substrates from well plates work as a standard surface and provide reproducible results for in vitro biofilm models. Our biofilm model could serve as a reference point for studies investigating biofilms on different surfaces.
Axioms of Adaptivity with Separate Marking for Data Resolution

Mixed finite element methods with flux errors in $H({div})$-norms and div-least-squares finite element methods require a separate marking strategy in obligatory adaptive mesh-refining. The refinement indicator $\sigma^2(\mathcal{T},K)=\eta^2(\mathcal{T},K)+\mu^2(K)$ of a finite element domain $K$ in an admissible triangulation $\mathcal{T}$ consists of some residual-based error estimator $\eta(\mathcal{T},K)$ with some reduction property under local mesh-refining and some data approximation error $\mu(K)$. Separate marking means either Dorfler marking if $\mu^2(\mathcal{T})\leq\kappa\eta^2(\mathcal{T})$ or otherwise an optimal data approximation algorithm with controlled accuracy. The axioms are sufficient conditions on the estimators $\eta(\mathcal{T},K)$ and data approximation errors $\mu(K)$ for optimal asymptotic convergence rates. The enfolded set of axioms of this paper simplifies [C. Carstensen, M. Feischl, M. Page, and D. Praetorius, Comput. Math. Appl. , 67 (2014), pp. 1195--1253] for collective m.
A Mechanism of Subunit Recruitment in Human Small Heat Shock Protein Oligomers

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) make up a class of molecular chaperones broadly observed across organisms. Many sHSPs form large oligomers that undergo dynamic subunit exchange that is thought to play a role in chaperone function. Though remarkably heterogeneous, sHSP oligomers share three types of intermolecular interactions that involve all three defined regions of a sHSP: the N-terminal region (NTR), the conserved α-crystallin domain (ACD), and a C-terminal region (CTR). Here we define the structural interactions involved in incorporation of a subunit into a sHSP oligomer. We demonstrate that a minimal ACD dimer of the human sHSP, HSPB5, interacts with an HSPB5 oligomer through two types of interactions: (1) interactions with CTRs in the oligomer and (2) via exchange into and out of the dimer interface composed of two ACDs. Unexpectedly, although dimers are thought to be the fundamental building block for sHSP oligomers, our results clearly indicate that subunit exchange into and out of oligomers occurs via monomers. Using structure-based mutants, we show that incorporation of a subunit into an oligomer is predicated on recruitment of the subunit via its interaction with CTRs on an oligomer. Both the rate and extent of subunit incorporation depend on the accessibility of CTRs within an HSPB5 oligomer. We show that this mechanism also applies to formation of heterooligomeric sHSP species composed of HSPB5 and HSPB6 and is likely general among sHSPs. Finally, our observations highlight the importance of NTRs in the thermodynamic stability of sHSP oligomers.
Comparison of nitrifier activity versus growth in the scheldt estuary - a turbid, tidal estuary in northern Europe

Nitrifier activity and growth were measured in the Scheldt estuary over a salinity gradient. Measurements were made during all 4 seasons using 15N enriched ammonium and 14C labeled carbon incorporation. Established conversion ratios are often used to convert the growth of nitrifiers (measured as the incorporation of carbon) to nitrifying activity (i.e. oxidation of ammonium to nitrate). Our study demonstrated that the conversion of growth rates to nitrifying activity induces uncertainty because activity and growth of nitrifiers may be uncoupled. The C:N conversion ratio appears to be oxygen and temperature dependent. We advocate the use of 15N stable isotope techniques to study nitrification: this technique measures the actual activity of nitrifiers without the disadvantages involved in using inhibitors, and thus allows light inhibition to be measured. [KEYWORDS: Nitrification ; Nitrifier activity ; Nitrifier growth ; 15N stable isotopes ; 14C bicarbonate]
An Exploratory Study on Interface Similarities in Code Clones

Code cloning is one of the most popular code reusing techniques where similar pieces of code are replicated within or between code repositories. Interface similarity is a kind of replication that refers to the similarity of method names, return types and parameter types which repeat across the code repositories. Two methods with similar interfaces are prone to be cloned if those perform analogous functions either entirely or at least partially. An exploratory study is performed in this paper, to explore the relationship and effects of interface similarity in code clones. It is investigated that interface similarity can be helpful for code clone detection. First, clone methods are detected in code repositories. Then, interface information is extracted from source code and several interface similarities are measured using that information. The experimental corpus contains three different types of code repositories with 35, 109 and 24,558 Java projects respectively. The detected clone pairs in three code repositories are, on average 57,457, 102,745 and 123,576 respectively. Promising results are found as it shows on average 87.91% intra-project and 59.17% inter-project clones contain similar interfaces (i.e., return types and at least one keyword and one parameter type are similar). Besides, the average similarity of interfaces in Type-1, Type-2 and Type-3 clones are 100%, 83.47% and 81.90% respectively. These results prove the strong relationship between code clones and interface similarities. In future, it can be useful to design and develop interface driven clone detection tools.
The complete mitochondrial genome of the white-rot fungus Ganoderma meredithiae (Polyporales, Basidiomycota)

Abstract Complete nucleotide sequence of the 78,447 bp mitochondrial genome of the white-rotting fungus Ganoderma meredithiae Adask. & Gilb. has been determined by next-generation sequencing technology. The circular molecule encodes a set of mitochondrial protein and RNA genes, including 15 conserved proteins, 29 tRNAs, large and small ribosomal RNAs, and 18 homing endonucleases, with a GC content of 26.14%. All structural genes are located on the same strand except trnW-CCA. Compared with previously sequenced mtDNAs of G. lucidum and G. sinense, the gene order of protein and rRNA genes among the three mitogenomes is highly conserved; however, the tRNA composition is slightly different. The mitochondrial genome of G. meredithiae will contribute to understanding the phylogeny and evolution of Ganoderma and Ganodermataceae, the group containing many species with high medicinal values.
Design and implementation of optimized architecture for computing the 2D-DWT for JPEG2000 compression

To obtain an effective and efficient system, a multitude of architectural solutions must be assessed and their performances compared. Design and evaluation of several hardware architectures require enormous time for their development and the evaluation. In this paper, an exploration of possible architectures for the 2D-discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is accomplished. Particularly, filters used by the standard JPEG2000 are studied: the lossy 9-7 and the lossless 5-3 filters. The designs have been coded with high description level using Handel-C language and the target hardware is Xilinx FPGA of the Virtex-4 family. It is known that the technique of in-place calculation of the 2D-DWT by lifting scheme allows saving space memory, but the problem is that the computed coefficients are not stored in consecutive addresses, and a system for address decoding becomes necessary. The address decoding must be made at every new decomposition level. We propose then a new simple and efficient technique that allows storing the calculated coefficients in a homogeneous space memory and in consecutive addresses. No additional memory or address decoding is necessary. Finally, the designed system allows a rather high throughput and optimized number of hardware resources. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Peace of Mind, Academic Motivation, and Academic Achievement in Filipino High School Students

Abstract Recent literature has recognized the advantageous role of low-arousal positive affect such as feelings of peacefulness and internal harmony in collectivist cultures. However, limited research has explored the benefits of low-arousal affective states in the educational setting. The current study examined the link of peace of mind (PoM) to academic motivation (i.e., amotivation, controlled motivation, and autonomous motivation) and academic achievement among 525 Filipino high school students. Findings revealed that PoM was positively associated with academic achievement β = . 16, p < . 05, autonomous motivation β = . 48, p < . 001, and controlled motivation β = . 25, p < . 01. As expected, PoM was negatively related to amotivation β = –. 19, p < . 05, and autonomous motivation was positively associated with academic achievement β = . 52, p < . 01. Furthermore, the results of bias-corrected bootstrap analyses at 95% confidence interval based on 5,000 bootstrapped resamples demonstrated that peace of mind had an indirect influence on academic achievement through the mediating effects of autonomous motivation. In terms of the effect sizes, the findings showed that PoM explained about 1% to 18% of the variance in academic achievement and motivation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are elucidated.
Experimental and numerical determination of SAR distributions within culture flasks in a dielectric loaded radial transmission line

The effect of dielectric loading on the cell layer specific absorption rate (SAR) within a T-75 culture flask being irradiated within a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) cell was studied both experimentally and numerically. Direct thermal measurements of a T-75 containing 40 mL of culture medium and resting upon a 3-mm-thick slab of alumina ceramic (/spl epsiv//sub r/=9.6) revealed that, compared to the same flask resting upon a foam slab (/spl epsiv//sub r/1.0) of the same thickness, the average SAR at the cell layer was increased roughly fourfold. This fourfold increase is significant experimentally because it allows biologists to perform experiments over a larger range of SAR values needed to determine possible dose-response curves without the costs and difficulties of a fourfold increase in amplifier power. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations of the SAR distribution were in good quantitative agreement with the experimental measurements. It is concluded that FDTD modeling can be a cost effective and scientifically acceptable means of obviating the thermal measurement of SAR.
Rotational atherectomy ablation for an unexpandable stent under the guide of IVUS

Rationale: Inadequate stent expansion due to rigid calcified may result in restenosis lesions, but the available options are limited. Patient concerns: We report a case via the trans-radial approach of the severely underexpanded freshly deployed stent due to heavily calcified plaques Diagnoses: Coronary angiography revealed that there was no adequate expansion of the freshly deployed stent. Interventions: Under the guide of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), rotational atherectomy (RA) successfully ablated the stent layers and the protruding calcified plaque. Followed by balloon angioplasty, the ablated segment was scaffolded with another stent, well expanded and documented by IVUS. Outcomes: The patient was uneventful during the procedure and remained angina free at the point of one year of clinical follow-up. Lessons: This case indicated that RA via the trans-radial approach could be a useful remedy in the situation of under-expansion of implanted stents, and the debulking should be performed under IVUS-guidance.
A bilingual advantage for episodic memory in older adults

The ability to remember events—referred to as episodic memory—is typically subject to decline in older adulthood. Episodic memory decline has been attributed in part to less successful executive functioning, which may hinder an older adult's ability to implement controlled encoding and retrieval processes. Since bilingual older adults often show more successful executive functioning than monolinguals, they may be better able to maintain episodic memory. To examine this hypothesis, we compared bilingual and monolingual older adults on a picture scene recall task (assessing episodic memory) and a Simon task (assessing executive functioning). Bilinguals exhibited better episodic memory than their monolingual peers, recalling significantly more items overall. Within the bilingual group, earlier second language acquisition and more years speaking two languages were associated with better recall. Bilinguals also demonstrated higher executive functioning, and there was evidence that level of executive functioning was related to memory performance. Results indicate that extensive practice controlling two languages may benefit episodic memory in older adults.
Differential Privacy for Statistics: What we Know and What we Want to Learn

We motivate and review the denition privacy, our principal motivating scenario was a statistical database, in which the trusted and trustworthy curator (in our minds, the Census Bureau) gathers sensitive information from a large number of respondents (the sample), with the goal of learning and releasing to the public statistical facts about the underlying population. The diculty, of course, is to release statistical information without compromising the privacy of the individual respondents. We initially only thought in terms of a noninteractive setting, in which the curator computes and publishes some statistics, and the data are not used further. Privacy concerns may aect
A VEHICLE LICENSE PLATE DETECTION METHOD FOR INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM APPLICATIONS

Detecting license plates is crucial and inevitable in the vehicle license plate recognition system. In this article, a Hue-Saturation-Intensity (HSI) color model is adopted to select automatically statistical threshold value for detecting candidate regions. The focus of this article is on the implementation of a new method to detect candidate regions when vehicle bodies and license plates (LP) have similar color. The proposed method is able to deal with candidate regions under independent orientation and scale of the plate. For the decomposing candidate regions, predetermined LP alphanumeric characters are used by position histogram to verify and detect vehicle LP regions. Various LP images were used with a variety of conditions to test the proposed method and results proved its effectiveness.
Youth temperament, harsh parenting, and variation in the oxytocin receptor gene forecast allostatic load during emerging adulthood

Abstract An association has been found between receipt of harsh parenting in childhood and adult health problems. However, this research has been principally retrospective, has treated children as passive recipients of parental behavior, and has overlooked individual differences in youth responsivity to harsh parenting. In a 10-year multiple-wave prospective study of African American families, we addressed these issues by focusing on the influence of polymorphisms in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR), variants of which appear to buffer or amplify responses to environmental stress. The participants were 303 youths, with a mean age of 11.2 at the first assessment, and their parents, all of whom were genotyped for variations in the rs53576 (A/G) polymorphism. Teachers rated preadolescent (ages 11 to 13) emotionally intense and distractible temperaments, and adolescents (ages 15 and 16) reported receipt of harsh parenting. Allostatic load was assessed during young adulthood (ages 20 and 21). Difficult preadolescent temperament forecast elevated receipt of harsh parenting in adolescence, and adolescents who experienced harsh parenting evinced high allostatic load during young adulthood. However, these associations emerged only among children and parents who carried A alleles of the OXTR genotype. The results suggest the oxytocin system operates along with temperament and parenting to forecast young adults’ allostatic load.
Disparities in cancer survival and incidence by metropolitan versus rural residence in Utah

Cancer disparities in rural and frontier communities are an important issue in Utah because much of Utah is sparsely populated. The aims of this study were to investigate whether there are differences in the cancer incidence and 5‐year survival rates in Utah by metropolitan/rural residence and to investigate disparities in distributions of cancer risk factors. We used cancer registry records to identify patients diagnosed with a first primary cancer in Utah between 2004 and 2008. We estimated 5‐year survival and incidence rates. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for the risk of death. There were 32,498 (86.9%) patients with cancer who lived in metropolitan counties and 4906 (13.1%) patients with cancer who lived in rural counties at the time of cancer diagnosis. Patients with cancer from rural counties were more likely to be older, American Indian/Alaskan Native, non‐Hispanic, male, and diagnosed at higher stage. Rural residents had a five‐year relative survival that was 5.2% lower than metropolitan residents and a 10% increase in risk of death (HR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.18) after adjustment for multiple factors. Overall, the cancer incidence rates in rural counties were lower by 11.9 per 100,000 per year (449.2 in rural counties vs. 461.1 in metropolitan counties). Cancer patients living in rural counties of Utah had different demographic characteristics as well as differences in incidence and survival rates. Further studies with individual‐level data are necessary to investigate the reasons behind these differences in cancer incidence and survival to reduce disparities.
Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution in Developing Countries

The deleterious effects of ambient air pollution on human health have been consistently documented by many epidemiologic studies worldwide, and it has been calculated that globally at least seven million deaths are annually attributable to the effects of air pollution. The major air pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by a number of natural processes and human activities include nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. In addition to the poor ambient air quality, there is increasing evidence that indoor air pollution also poses a serious threat to human health, especially in low-income countries that still use biomass fuels as an energy resource. This review summarizes the current knowledge on ambient air pollution in financially deprived populations.
Secondary 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S.: Process Evaluation Based on the Co-Walker Scheme

This study examined the implementation quality of the Tier 1 Program (Secondary 1 Curriculum) delivered in the second year of the Full Implementation Phase of the Project P.A. T.H. S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes). Under the “Co-Walker Scheme”, systematic observation of curriculum units was conducted in 138 schools. Results indicated that the overall level of program adherence was high, with an average of 82.9%. The mean ratings of the program implementation quality were also high. Despite limitations, the findings of this study suggest that the implementation of the Secondary 1 Program (Tier 1 Program) of the Full Implementation Phase was of very high quality. The present findings also provide strong evidence to account for the successful and encouraging outcomes of a major positive youth development program in Hong Kong.