Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A distributed and self-organizing scheduling algorithm for energy-efficient data aggregation in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are increasingly being used to monitor various parameters in a wide range of environmental monitoring applications. In many instances, environmental scientists are interested in collecting raw data using long-running queries injected into a WSN for analyzing at a later stage, rather than injecting snap-shot queries containing data-reducing operators (e.g., MIN, MAX, AVG) that aggregate data. Collection of raw data poses a challenge to WSNs as very large amounts of data need to be transported through the network. This not only leads to high levels of energy consumption and thus diminished network lifetime but also results in poor data quality as much of the data may be lost due to the limited bandwidth of present-day sensor nodes. We alleviate this problem by allowing certain nodes in the network to aggregate data by taking advantage of spatial and temporal correlations of various physical parameters and thus eliminating the transmission of redundant data. In this article we present a distributed scheduling algorithm that decides when a particular node should perform this novel type of aggregation. The scheduling algorithm autonomously reassigns schedules when changes in network topology, due to failing or newly added nodes, are detected. Such changes in topology are detected using cross-layer information from the underlying MAC layer. We first present the theoretical performance bounds of our algorithm. We then present simulation results, which indicate a reduction in message transmissions of up to 85% and an increase in network lifetime of up to 92% when compared to collecting raw data. Our algorithm is also capable of completely eliminating dropped messages caused by buffer overflow.
Behavior of the Commercial Sand Crab Portunus pelagicus (L.) at Trap Entrances

Time lapse video recordings were used to study the trap entrance behavior of the sand crab (Portunus pelogicus L.) in the laboratory. The trap used was cylindrical with two opposite entrance funnels, as commonly used in the Australian commercial fishery. Crabs usually made several entrance attempts (i • 2), and 66% and 72% of males and females, respectively, searched less than one-quarter of the trap circumference before entry. It was not uncommon for sand crabs to miss the entrances: for crabs that made an entrance attempt, males missed funnels an average of 2.2 times as compared to females 1.7 times. Entry success rates were 30% and 25% for males and females, respectively, although there was no significant difference in the number of entries between the sexes. Entry order into the baited trap by sex or size was not significant. Antagonistic interactions rarely prevented a crab from entering the trap, but occasionally (<5% of entries} trapped crabs inside the trap prevented newcomers from entering the trap. Crabs also occasionally backed out of a funnel for no apparent reason. The trap was not considered efficient at catching crabs. A more efficient trap would require more entrance space presented to an approaching crab.
Peer-assisted distribution of User Generated Content

User Generated Content (UGC) video applications, such as YouTube, are enormously popular. UGC systems can potentially reduce their distribution costs by allowing peers to store and redistribute the videos that they have seen in the past. We study peer-assisted UGC from three perspectives. First, we undertake a measurement study of the peer-assisted distribution system of Tudou (a popular UGC network in China), revealing several fundamental characteristics that models need to take into account. Second, we develop analytical models for peer-assisted distribution of UGC. Our models capture essential aspects of peer-assisted UGC systems, including system size, peer bandwidth heterogeneity, limited peer storage, and video characteristics. We apply these models to numerically study YouTube-like UGC services. And third, we develop analytical models to understand the rate at which users would install P2P client applications to make peer-assisted UGC a success. Our results provide a comprehensive study of peer-assisted UGC distribution, exposing its fundamental characteristics and limitations.
FDTD Analysis of Light Propagation in the Human Photoreceptor Cells

This paper presents a numerical study of light interaction with the human retinal photoreceptor. The photoreceptors, cells in the retina responsible for monochromatic vision and color discrimination, differ in shape and size. The cell type (rod or cone) and the variety among the cone cells (S, M, and L) condition their peak absorption wavelength (blue, green, or red). In our work, we observe the outersegment of the photoreceptor as a micro-size optical filter by modeling its interaction with the light wave. Our finite-difference time-domain results suggest that the physical structure of the photoreceptor outersegment can affect its filtering properties.
Taint-Enhanced Policy Enforcement: A Practical Approach to Defeat a Wide Range of Attacks

Policy-based confinement, employed in SELinux and specification-based intrusion detection systems, is a popular approach for defending against exploitation of vulnerabilities in benign software. Conventional access control policies employed in these approaches are effective in detecting privilege escalation attacks. However, they are unable to detect attacks that "hijack" legitimate access privileges granted to a program, e.g., an attack that subverts an FTP server to download the password file. (Note that an FTP server would normally need to access the password file for performing user authentication.) Some of the common attack types reported today, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting, involve such subversion of legitimate access privileges. In this paper, we present a new approach to strengthen policy enforcement by augmenting security policies with information about the trustworthiness of data used in securitysensitive operations. We evaluated this technique using 9 available exploits involving several popular software packages containing the above types of vulnerabilities. Our technique sucessfully defeated these exploits.
Psychiatric Impairment Among Adolescents Engaging in Different Types of Deliberate Self-Harm

This retrospective chart review study of 227 participants examined the psychiatric profiles of outpatient adolescents ages 12 to 19 years (M = 15.08 years, SD = 1.72 years) engaging in different types of deliberate self-harm (DSH) behaviors. Participants were divided into four groups: no deliberate self-harm (NoDSH; n = 119), nonsuicidal self-injury only (NSSI only; n = 30), suicide attempt only (n = 38), and suicide attempt plus NSSI (n = 40). Those who attempted suicide were more likely to have major depressive disorder and/or posttraumatic stress disorder than those who engaged in NSSI only. Those who engaged in any type of DSH were more likely to have features of borderline personality disorder than those who did not engage in DSH. The suicidal ideation levels of those in the NSSI group were similar to those in the NoDSH group. Findings offer empirical support for the importance of distinguishing between suicidal and nonsuicidal self-harm behaviors.
Concurrent Adaptation of Human and Machine Improves Simultaneous and Proportional Myoelectric Control

Myoelectric control of a prosthetic hand with more than one degree of freedom (DoF) is challenging, and clinically available techniques require a sequential actuation of the DoFs. Simultaneous and proportional control of multiple DoFs is possible with regression-based approaches allowing for fluent and natural movements. Conventionally, the regressor is calibrated in an open-loop with training based on recorded data and the performance is evaluated subsequently. For individuals with amputation or congenital limb-deficiency who need to (re)learn how to generate suitable muscle contractions, this open-loop process may not be effective. We present a closed-loop real-time learning scheme in which both the user and the machine learn simultaneously to follow a common target. Experiments with ten able-bodied individuals show that this co-adaptive closed-loop learning strategy leads to significant performance improvements compared to a conventional open-loop training paradigm. Importantly, co-adaptive learning allowed two individuals with congenital deficiencies to perform simultaneous 2-D proportional control at levels comparable to the able-bodied individuals, despite having to a learn completely new and unfamiliar mapping from muscle activity to movement trajectories. To our knowledge, this is the first study which investigates man-machine co-adaptation for regression-based myoelectric control. The proposed training strategy has the potential to improve myographic prosthetic control in clinically relevant settings.
P2Y2 receptor agonists for the treatment of dry eye disease: a review

Recent advances in the understanding of dry eye disease (DED) have revealed previously unexplored targets for drug therapy. One of these drugs is diquafosol, a uridine nucleotide analog that is an agonist of the P2Y2 receptor. Several randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that the application of topical diquafosol significantly improves objective markers of DED such as corneal and conjunctival fluorescein staining and, in some studies, tear film break-up time and Schirmer test scores. However, this has been accompanied by only partial improvement in patient symptoms. Although evidence from the literature is still relatively limited, early studies have suggested that diquafosol has a role in the management of DED. Additional studies would be helpful to delineate how different subgroups of DED respond to diquafosol. The therapeutic combination of diquafosol with other topical agents also warrants further investigation.
Applicability of ε-Support Vector Machine and Artificial Neural Network for Flood Forecasting in Humid, Semi-Humid and Semi-Arid Basins in China

The aim of this study was to develop hydrological models that can represent different geo-climatic system, namely: humid, semi-humid and semi-arid systems, in China. Humid and semi-humid areas suffer from frequent flood events, whereas semi-arid areas suffer from flash floods because of urbanization and climate change, which contribute to an increase in runoff. This study applied ɛ-Support Vector Machine (ε-SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) for the simulation and forecasting streamflow of three different catchments. The Evolutionary Strategy (ES) optimization method was used to optimize the ANN and SVM sensitive parameters. The relative performance of the two models was compared, and the results indicate that both models performed well for humid and semi-humid systems, and SVM generally perform better than ANN in the streamflow simulation of all catchments.
Genetic Basis for Diagnosis of Novel Mutation of LDLReceptor Gene

Background: The low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor is a cell-surface protein that regulates plasma cholesterol by specific uptake of LDL particles from the plasma. Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemias that predispose to premature coronary artery diseases. Familial hypercholesterolemia is caused by sequence variations in LDL receptor gene. Aim & Objective: The molecular analysis of low density lipoprotein for diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), an autosomal dominant disease caused by a multitude of LDL receptor (LDLR) gene mutations and confirmation of these mutations by DNA sequencing. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of type specific primers allowed the rapid detection of point mutations in exon 3, 4, 9, and 14 of the low density lipoprotein receptor gene in hypercholesterolemia patients. In our study we screened 120 patients with hypercholesterolemia by lipid profiles after twelve hours fasting and with family history of premature coronary heart diseases. Results: Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples of an apparently healthy control group and hypercholesterolemia patients with LDL > 160mg/dL and clinical features of FH to detect mutations in exons 3, 4, 9, and 14 of the LDLR gene, with modification in the technique by using type-specific primers. Discussion/ Conclusions: The frequency of heterozygous FH was noted that 35% were classical and 65% probable cases were observed with mutation at exon 3 and 4. The mutations reported were further confirmed by DNA sequencing.
Th/U ratios in metamorphic zircon

The Th/U ratios of zircon crystals are routinely used to help understand their growth mechanism. Despite the wide application of Th/U ratios in understanding the geological significance of zircon U–Pb ages, the main controls on the Th/U ratio in metamorphic zircon are poorly understood. Here, phase equilibria modelling coupled with solubility expressions for accessory minerals are used to investigate the controls on the Th/U ratios of suprasolidus metamorphic zircon in an average amphibolite facies metapelite composition. We also present a new database of metamorphic Th/U ratios in zircon from Western Australia. Several factors affecting the Th/U ratio are investigated, including the bulk rock concentrations of Th and U, the amount of monazite in the system, and open v. closed system behaviour. Our modelling predicts that the main controls on the Th/U ratio of suprasolidus metamorphic zircon are the concentrations of Th and U in the system, and the breakdown and growth of monazite in equilibrium with zircon. Furthermore, the relative timing of zircon and monazite growth during cooling and melt crystallization has an important role in the Th/U ratio of zircon. Early grown zircon near the peak of metamorphism is expected to have elevated Th/U ratios whereas zircon that grew near the solidus is predicted to have relatively low Th/U ratios, which reflects the coeval growth of monazite during cooling and melt crystallization. Our modelling approach aims to provide an improved understanding of the main controls of Th/U in metamorphic zircon in migmatites and hence better apply this geochemical ratio as a tool to assist in interpretation of the genesis of metamorphic zircon.
How constructive is constructing measures?

Given some set, how hard is it to construct a measure supported by it? We classify some variations of this task in the Weihrauch lattice. Particular attention is paid to Frostman measures on sets with positive Hausdorff dimension. As a side result, the Weihrauch degree of Hausdorff dimension itself is determined.
Evaluation of groundwater quality for irrigation in Malwathu Oya cascade-I in Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka

Agro-wells (shallow agricultural wells) serve as the main source of water for irrigation of agricultural crops in dry zone of Sri Lanka. Agro-wells are extensively used by the farmers in Malwathu Oya Cascade-I, located in dry zone without proper assessment of its suitability for irrigation. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the quality of groundwater for irrigation in the Malwathu Oya cascade-I. Some selected vital water quality parameters (electrical conductivity, pH, concentration of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, carbonate, bicarbonate, arsenic, lead, cadmium, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium and nitrogen) and depth to groundwater were measured once a month from June 2012 to May 2013 to represent, both pre and post monsoons in 20 selected agro-wells. Salinity, residual sodium carbonate, sodium adsorption ratio and sodium percentage were calculated using measured parameters. Point based inverse distance weighted interpolation method available in GIS was used to produce maps of spatial distribution of water quality parameters. Based on the height of water column at the end of the dry season, 20%, 25%, 30% and 25% of the wells had low, moderate, high and very high groundwater potential for agriculture, respectively. It was observed that almost all the chemical parameters monitored tend to concentrate towards the lower part of the cascade during the pre-monsoon period. As per the US salinity hazard diagram, 5% of the wells had low salinity and low sodium (C1S1) while, 35% of the wells had medium salinity and low sodium hazard (C2S1). These sources can be used for irrigation with most crops on most soils with little danger of exchangeable sodium. Sixty percent (60%) of the water samples had high salinity, low sodium hazard (C3S1) and can be used with adequate drainage and special measures for salinity control.
MicroMeeting: Who's talking to whom? Epithelial–bacterial pathogen interactions

Our perception that host–bacterial interactions lead to disease comes from rare, unsuccessful interactions resulting in the development of detectable symptoms. In contrast, the majority of host–bacterial interactions go unnoticed as the host and bacteria perceive each other to be no threat. In July 2004, a focused international symposium on epithelial–bacterial pathogen interactions was held in Newcastle upon Tyne (UK). The symposium concentrated on recent advances in our understanding of bacterial interactions at respiratory and gastrointestinal mucosal epithelial layers. For the host these epithelial tissues represent a first line of defence against invading bacterial pathogens. Through the discovery that the innate immune system plays a pivotal role during host–bacterial interactions, it has become clear that epithelia are being utilized by the host to monitor or communicate with both pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Interest in understanding the bacterial perspective of these interactions has lead researchers to realize that the bacteria utilize the same factors associated with disease to establish successful long‐term interactions. Here we discuss several common themes and concepts that emerged from recent studies that have allowed physiologists and microbiologists to interact at a common interface similar to their counterparts – epithelia and bacterial pathogens. These studies highlight the need for further multidisciplinary studies into how the host differentiates between pathogenic and commensal bacteria.
Modelling the interplay between childhood and adult adversity in pathways to psychosis: initial evidence from the AESOP study

Background There is evidence that a range of socio-environmental exposures is associated with an increased risk of psychosis. However, despite the fact that such factors probably combine in complex ways to increase risk, the majority of studies have tended to consider each exposure separately. In light of this, we sought to extend previous analyses of data from the AESOP (Aetiology and Ethnicity in Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses) study on childhood and adult markers of disadvantage to examine how they combine to increase risk of psychosis, testing both mediation (path) models and synergistic effects. Method All patients with a first episode of psychosis who made contact with psychiatric services in defined catchment areas in London and Nottingham, UK (n = 390) and a series of community controls (n = 391) were included in the AESOP study. Data relating to clinical and social variables, including parental separation and loss, education and adult disadvantage, were collected from cases and controls. Results There was evidence that the effect of separation from, but not death of, a parent in childhood on risk of psychosis was partially mediated through subsequent poor educational attainment (no qualifications), adult social disadvantage and, to a lesser degree, low self-esteem. In addition, there was strong evidence that separation from, but not death of, a parent combined synergistically with subsequent disadvantage to increase risk. These effects held for all ethnic groups in the sample. Conclusions Exposure to childhood and adult disadvantage may combine in complex ways to push some individuals along a predominantly sociodevelopmental pathway to psychosis.
From the Ground Up: The DIMACS Software Security Workshop

The DIMACS Software Security Workshop held in New Jersey explored issues such as security engineering, architecture and implementation risks, security analysis, mobile and malicious code, education and training, and open research issues. Many promising techniques have grown from connections between computer security, programming languages, and software engineering, and one workshop goal was to bring these communities closer together to crystallize the software security subfield.
Cardiovascular Toxicity of Molecular Targeted Therapy in Cancer Patients: A Double-Edged Sword.

UNLABELLED The annual incidence of cancer has increased over the past 20 years, yet the 5-year relative survival rate for cancer has improved with the increasing availability of advanced therapies, including molecular targeted therapy. Cardiovascular toxicity can develop with this type of targeted therapy, which can cause serious side effects including left ventricular dysfunction, hypertension, hypotension, QT prolongation, thromboembolism, and myocardial ischemia. In many ways, the quality of life primarily depends on the health status of patient cardiopulmonary function. However, risk factor assessment, routine monitoring, and prompt intervention remain the best strategy to deal with these patients with malignancies, to ensure that their cardiopulmonary function is maintained at the highest possible level. Most previous studies on cardiovascular toxicity have focused on conventional chemotherapy. Molecular targeted therapy is a novel anticancer treatment; however, due to potentially adverse cardiovascular events from this therapy, oncologists and cardiologists need to work together to maximize the benefits. In this review, we focused on target therapy-induced cardiovascular toxicities, in particular cardiac structural, electrophysiological, and vascular effects. KEY WORDS Cardiovascular toxicity; Molecular target therapy.
Analysis of Malnutrition and Associated Factors among Under Five Years in Kaura Local Government, Kaduna State, Nigeria

This study was intended to apply statistical analysis to determine malnutrition and associated factors among under- five years in Kaura Local Government Area of southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Malnutrition remains a public health problem in developing countries like Nigeria. The study involved 150 children drawn using multi-stage sampling was adopted. Observation for edema, emaciation, sunken eyes, dehydrated skin, tin grey hair and protruding abdomen was done. Stunting, Underweight and wasting were determined using the WHO child growth standards. The classification of Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) was done using weight-for-age with or without edema. Children between 80-60% without edema were considered underweight, 80-60% with edema is Kwashiorkor and less than 60% with edema is Marasmic-Kwashiorkor while less than 60% without edema is Marasmus. Questionnaire, Weighing scale and a length board was used in the collection of data. Data was analyzed using Chi-squared and descriptive statistics. Findings indicate that prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight was 47.33%, 8.67% and 25.33% respectively. About 18.67% were diagnosed with various forms of protein energy malnutrition and is most common among male children (27.4%), younger children (31%) between (0-11 months) and children having mothers with no formal education (20%). Marasmus was the most common form of protein energy malnutrition (65.38%). Age of Child, Gender and maternal Educational status have influence on Malnutrition. At (p=0.05) the relationship between malnutrition and age of baby, gender with mothers education was statistically significant.