Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peer-to-Peer Membership Management for Gossip-Based Protocols

Gossip-based protocols for group communication have attractive scalability and reliability properties. The probabilistic gossip schemes studied so far typically assume that each group member has full knowledge of the global membership and chooses gossip targets uniformly at random. The requirement of global knowledge impairs their applicability to very large-scale groups. In this paper, we present SCAMP (Scalable Membership protocol), a novel peer-to-peer membership protocol which operates in a fully decentralized manner and provides each member with a partial view of the group membership. Our protocol is self-organizing in the sense that the size of partial views naturally converges to the value required to support a gossip algorithm reliably. This value is a function of the group size, but is achieved without any node knowing the group size. We propose additional mechanisms to achieve balanced view sizes even with highly unbalanced subscription patterns. We present the design, theoretical analysis, and a detailed evaluation of the basic protocol and its refinements. Simulation results show that the reliability guarantees provided by SCAMP are comparable to previous schemes based on global knowledge. The scale of the experiments attests to the scalability of the protocol.
Parent's perceptions of their first graders' need for mental health and educational services.

OBJECTIVES (1) To estimate the proportion of first graders perceived by their parents as needing mental health or educational services, (2) to examine the validity of these perceptions, and (3) to examine whether factors found to be associated with children's referral to or use of services are associated with parental perceptions. METHOD Subjects are an epidemiological sample of 467 first graders. Children's social adaptational status and psychological well-being were assessed by multiple methods. Logistic regression was used to investigate the associations between indicators of need and parental perceptions of their children's need for services. RESULTS More than 39% of the children were perceived by their parents as needing services. Predictors of parents perceiving their children as needing services were parent and teacher ratings of children's behavior and symptoms, children's standardized achievement test scores, and gender. CONCLUSIONS Given that a large proportion of parents reported their children as needing mental health and educational services and that parents play a central role in children's receiving services, longitudinal studies that investigate the entire process by which children enter into and are maintained in the service delivery system are needed.
Temporal Trends in Treatment and Outcomes for Advanced Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction From 1993–2010: Findings From a University Referral Center

Background—Randomized trials have demonstrated the efficacy of several new therapies for heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction over the preceding 2 decades. This study investigates whether these therapeutic advances have translated into improvement in outcomes for patients with advanced HF referred to a heart transplant center. Methods and Results—Patients with HF (n=2507) referred to a single university center were analyzed in three 6-year eras during which medical and device therapies were evolving: 1993 to 1998 (era 1), 1999 to 2004 (era 2), and 2005 to 2010 (era 3). Impaired hemodynamics and comorbidities were more frequent at time of referral in later eras, whereas other HF severity parameters where similar or improved. Successive eras had greater usage of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, &bgr;-blockers, aldosterone antagonists, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy, consistent with evolving evidence and guideline recommendations over the study period. All-cause mortality and sudden death were significantly lower in era 2 and 3 compared with era 1. After multivariable risk adjustment, era 3 had significantly decreased 2- and 3-year all-cause mortality risk and significantly decreased 1- and 3-year sudden death risk compared with era 1. However, progressive HF death and the combined outcome of mortality/urgent transplant/ventricular assist device were modestly increased in the latter eras. Conclusions—Over the past 2 decades, patients with advanced HF referred to and managed at a tertiary university referral center have benefited from advances in HF medications and devices, as evidenced by improvements in overall survival and sudden death risk.
Floor Versus Screen Trading: Evidence from the German Stock Market

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in both the number and the market share of screen-based trading systems. Electronic trading systems do offer lower operating costs and the possibility of remote access to the market. On the other hand, arguments based on the anonymity of electronic trading systems suggest that adverse selection may be a more severe problem and that, therefore, bid-ask spreads may be higher. The present paper addresses the issue of transaction costs in floor and computerized trading systems empirically. In Germany, floor and screen trading for the same stocks exist in parallel. Both markets are liquid and operate simultaneously for several hours each day. An analysis of the bid-ask spreads reveals that the electronic trading system is relatively less attractive for less liquid stocks. The market shares of the competing systems reveal a similar pattern. The market share of the electronic trading system is negatively related to the total trading volume of the stock, is positively related to the difference between spreads on the floor and in the screen trading system and is at least partially negatively related to return volatility. We further document that spreads in the electronic trading system respond more heavily to changes in return volatility and that the adverse selection component of the spread is larger. We discuss implications our results have for the design of electronic trading systems.
Physicochemical stability of bread fortified with tilapia-waste flour

ABSTRACT The physicochemical stability of six bread formulations with different tilapia flour (BTF) levels (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) in substitution to wheat flour was investigated regarding moisture content, water activity (aw), pH, instrumental color parameters, texture profile, lipid and protein oxidation on days 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 at 25°C. BTF10%, BTF15%, and BTF20% displayed lower (P < 0.05) moisture, aw, lightness index, cohesiveness, springiness and resilience, and higher (P < 0.05) pH, redness index, yellowness index, hardness, chewiness, lipid and protein oxidation compared to BTF0%, BTF2.5%, and BTF5%. Nevertheless, pH drops, lipid and protein oxidation were less pronounced (P < 0.05) for BTF10%, BTF15%, and BTF20% during storage. Although quality loss has been observed in breads containing ≥ 10% TF, bread at 5% TF did not display altered traditional wheat bread physicochemical characteristics and may be an attractive alternative for the health food market.
Small Rho-GTPases and cortical malformations

Rho-GTPases have been found to be crucial for cytoskeleton remodelling and cell polarity, as well as key players in directed cell migration in various tissues and organs, therefore becoming good candidates for involvement in neuronal migration disorders. We recently found that genetic deletion of the small GTPase RhoA in the developing mouse cerebral cortex results in three distinct cortical malformations: a defect in the proliferation of progenitor cells during development that leads to a bigger cerebral cortex in the adult mouse, a change in the morphology of radial glial cells that results in the formation of a subcortical band heterotopia (SBH, also called Double Cortex) and an increase in the speed of migrating newborn neurons. The latter, together with the aberrant radial glial shape, is likely to be the cause of cobblestone lissencephaly, where neurons protrude beyond layer I at the pial surface of the brain.
Seismic Damage Prediction of Masonry Churches by a PGA-based Approach

ABSTRACT The current study focuses on the effects of the seismic events occurred in Central Italy on 2016, which caused in this area unacceptably losses of human life and severe damage to the building stock and monumental heritage. The main aims of this article are first to provide a qualitative picture of damage observed on 68 one-nave churches located in Marche, Umbria, and Lazio, and then to assess the possibility of using an approach based on Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) for predictive purposes. Based on a large number of post-earthquake inspections, which have been carried out within the activity of the Italian consortium ReLUIS, Damage Probability Matrices have been obtained by adopting a macro-element approach. It has been applied to both single damage mechanism and for assessing the global damage of the examined churches. Finally, an expected damage level has been evaluated using a first-level predictive model as a function of vulnerability indexes, allowing a comparison with the actual damage revealed after the earthquake. The obtained outcomes prove that the predictive model is quite reliable for reproducing the damage scenario of churches spread over a large territory, provided that the PGA level is used as a measure of earthquake intensity.
Ultrafast electron dynamics in chemically doped complex materials analyzed by time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Complex materials, in which electron correlations play a key role in favoring a rich interplay among the various microscopic electronic, structural and magnetic degrees of freedom, are of deep scientic and technological interest as they often lead to the appearance of novel, exotic phases. One promising approach to investigate this complex interplay is the study of non-equilibrium states and their relaxation in the time domain, since signatures of dierent coupling channels can result on distinguishable femto- to picosecond timescales. In the present work the ultrafast electron dynamics of two complex, chemically doped model systems are investigated by means of time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (trARPES) on femtosecond timescales directly in the time-domain. Co-doped BaFe2As2 belongs to the family of the newly discovered Fe-based high-Tc superconductors and understanding the microscopic origins of electronic phases in such materials is important for elucidating the mechanism of high-Tc superconductivity. The ultrafast relaxation of the excited hot electron populations was investigated for systems with three dierent Co-contents and above the antiferromagnetic transition temperature. The major ndings is the signature of the coupling of the electronic system to a bosonic excitation that manifests itself in a uence-dependent step occurring in the relaxation rates at the same energy of E EF = 200meV for all dopings. Due to the energetic position of such a feature and after comparison with neutron scattering experiments in literature, the magnetic origin of such a boson was suggested. A systematic temperature- and uence-dependent study was performed on 1T-TaS2, in which simultaneously strong electron-electron (e-e) and electron phonon (e-ph) interaction are present, aiming at the characterization of the photoinduced state. The major nding is the observation of a transient population of doubly occupied states in the Mott-insulating phase, that is, the upper Hubbard band (UHB). From the analysis of its temporal evolution, the relevant timescales for photo-induced disorder and the subsequent dynamics in the electronic subsystem could be estimated to be of the order of the hopping cycle. While electron-phonon coupling plays a signicant role and serves as an energetic loss channel for the excited electronic system on longer time scales, the dynamics, thermalization of carriers in the UHB and subsequent decay of its occupation do not require such coupling. It was concluded that the electronic and phononic subsystem are decoupled at early times after photo perturbation, which lead to a consistent reduction of complexity in the theoretical modeling. Finally a rst photoemission experiment aiming at reaching the metastable hidden state and investigating its properties looking directly at both static and dynamical changes in the electronic structure is reported. For both model systems, the time domain approach was crucial to unveil physical properties that wouldn't have been accessible under equilibrium conditions.
Task Popularity-Based Energy Minimized Computation Offloading for Fog Computing Wireless Networks

Fog computing is a new systematic paradigm which provides low latency enabled cloud services to mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) networks by provisioning the computation capability within the radio access network (RAN) assignable to mobile end users. In this letter, an energy optimal offloading scheme based on a probabilistic priority model of cloud tasks is investigated over fog computing networks. The optimization problem jointly minimizes the energy consumption of user equipment (UE) and the fog server. Simulation results show that the proposed joint UE and fog server energy optimization (JUFO) scheme provides a better performance compared to the conventional offloading scheme, which operates strictly within the determined delay bound.
Cognitive function and nonfood-related impulsivity in post-bariatric surgery patients

Initial evidence that cognitive function improves after bariatric surgery exists. The post-surgery increase in cognitive control might correspond with a decrease of impulsive symptoms after surgery. The present study investigated cognitive function and nonfood-related impulsivity in patients with substantial weight loss due to bariatric surgery by using a comparative cross-sectional design. Fifty post-bariatric surgery patients (postBS group) who had significant percent weight loss (M = 75.94, SD = 18.09) after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (body mass index, BMI Mpost = 30.54 kg/m2, SDpost = 5.14) were compared with 50 age and gender matched bariatric surgery candidates (preBS group; BMI Mpre = 48.01 kg/m2, SDpre = 6.56). To measure cognitive function the following computer-assisted behavioral tasks were utilized: Iowa Gambling Task, Tower of Hanoi, Stroop Test, Trail Making Test-Part B, and Corsi Block Tapping Test. Impulsive symptoms and behaviors were assessed using impulsivity questionnaires and a structured interview for impulse control disorders (ICDs). No group differences were found with regard to performance-based cognitive control, self-reported impulsive symptoms, and ICDs. The results indicate that the general tendency to react impulsively does not differ between pre-surgery and post-surgery patients. The question of whether nonfood-related impulsivity in morbidly obese patients changes post-surgery should be addressed in longitudinal studies given that impulsive symptoms can be considered potential targets for pre- as well post-surgery interventions.
Intact Anthocyanins and Metabolites in Rat Urine and Plasma After 3 Months of Anthocyanin Supplementation

Abstract: Anthocyanins are polyphenols responsible for most red to purple colors in plants. Human consumption of these pigments is increasing because of their potential health benefits and use as natural colorants. With more than 600 different anthocyanins found in nature, the impact of chemical structure on their absorption and metabolism needs to be investigated. Urine and plasma samples were collected from 32 rats receiving control diet or chokeberry-, bilberry-, and grape-enriched (3.85 g cyanidin 3-galatoside equivalent/kg) diet for 14 wk. Below 2 μmol/l of anthocyanins and relatively higher levels of presumable metabolites were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array in the plasma. In the urine the total concentration of intact anthocyanins and methylated derivatives ranged from 17.4 (bilberry) to 52.6 (chokeberry) nmol/l. The type and number of anthocyanin glycosylations affected the absorption remarkably. Detection of an acylated anthocyanin in plasma and urine suggests bioavailability of these anthocyanin derivatives that are commonly found in commercially available colorants.
Morphogenesis of two immunologically induced mouse lymphomas.

Female BALB/c and DBA/2N mice were treated simultaneously with azathioprine and an antigen (LDH virus, tubercle bacteria, or bovine serum albumin). Experimental animals developed between 20 and 66% malignant lymphomas that were classified by light and electron microscopy as lymphoblastic types. The tumors developed in an atrophic thymus and subsequently spread to involve the remaining lymphoreticular and hemoreticular tissues, as well as nearly all other organs. Cytologically, the initial thymic tumor nodules did not differ from hyperplastic nodules of nonneoplastic lymphoblastic stem cells. Also, cells of a well-established tumor showed only slight differences from those of normal lymphoblastic stem cells, such as increased esterase activity and presence of cytoplasmic annulate lamellae. Virus particles (C-type) were identified by electron microscopy only in early tissue culture passages of the BALB/c lymphoma but not in the DBA lymphoma. All tumors were readily isotransplantable. Cell-free transplantation remained negative in all instances tried. The tumor grows in tissue culture as an established lymphoblast cell line.
Trichlorido[4-methoxy-2,6-bis(2-pyrimidin-2-yl-κN)phenyl-κC 1]platinum(IV) acetonitrile monosolvate

In the title complex, [Pt(C15H11N4O)Cl3]·CH3CN, the PtIV ion adopts a distorted octahedral coordination geometry defined by a tridentate cyclometalated NCN ligand and three Cl atoms. In the crystal, individual molecules are aggregated into a three-dimensional network by C—H⋯Cl hydrogen-bonding interactions and π–π stacking interactions between the tridentate ligands, the shortest ring centroid–centroid distance being 3.613 Å.
Analysis of intraindividual and intraspecific variation in semicircular canal dimensions using high‐resolution x‐ray computed tomography

The semicircular canal system tracks head rotation and provides sensory input for the reflexive stabilization of gaze and posture. The purpose of this study was to investigate the intraspecific and intraindividual variation in the size of the three semicircular canals. The right and left temporal bones were extracted from 31 individuals of the short‐tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) and scanned on a high‐resolution x‐ray computed tomography system. The radius of curvature was calculated for each of the three semicircular canals for each side. Paired t‐tests and independent sample t‐tests indicated no significant differences in canal size between the right and left canals of the same individuals or between those of males and females of the same species. Pearson product moment correlation analyses demonstrated that there was no significant correlation between canal size and body mass in this sample.
Two-Stage Designs in Case–Control Association Analysis

DNA pooling is a cost-effective approach for collecting information on marker allele frequency in genetic studies. It is often suggested as a screening tool to identify a subset of candidate markers from a very large number of markers to be followed up by more accurate and informative individual genotyping. In this article, we investigate several statistical properties and design issues related to this two-stage design, including the selection of the candidate markers for second-stage analysis, statistical power of this design, and the probability that truly disease-associated markers are ranked among the top after second-stage analysis. We have derived analytical results on the proportion of markers to be selected for second-stage analysis. For example, to detect disease-associated markers with an allele frequency difference of 0.05 between the cases and controls through an initial sample of 1000 cases and 1000 controls, our results suggest that when the measurement errors are small (0.005), ∼3% of the markers should be selected. For the statistical power to identify disease-associated markers, we find that the measurement errors associated with DNA pooling have little effect on its power. This is in contrast to the one-stage pooling scheme where measurement errors may have large effect on statistical power. As for the probability that the disease-associated markers are ranked among the top in the second stage, we show that there is a high probability that at least one disease-associated marker is ranked among the top when the allele frequency differences between the cases and controls are not <0.05 for reasonably large sample sizes, even though the errors associated with DNA pooling in the first stage are not small. Therefore, the two-stage design with DNA pooling as a screening tool offers an efficient strategy in genomewide association studies, even when the measurement errors associated with DNA pooling are nonnegligible. For any disease model, we find that all the statistical results essentially depend on the population allele frequency and the allele frequency differences between the cases and controls at the disease-associated markers. The general conclusions hold whether the second stage uses an entirely independent sample or includes both the samples used in the first stage and an independent set of samples.
Acute Abdominal Pain Assessment in the Emergency Department: The Experience of a Greek University Hospital

Background Acute abdominal pain (AAP) is a common symptom in the emergency department (ED). Because abdominal pain can be caused by a wide spectrum of underlying pathology, evaluation of abdominal pain in the ED requires a comprehensive approach, based on patient history, physical examination, laboratory tests and imaging studies. The aim of this study was to investigate predictive factors for admission to the hospital in patients who presented to the ED with AAP as the main symptom. Methods This prospective observational study enrolled 125 patients who presented with AAP in the ED of the Patras University Hospital in western Greece. The sample of patients who enrolled in the study was representative of patients who receive care in this academic institution. All patients underwent clinical examination, laboratory testing and radiological assessment. Clinical and laboratory data were analyzed in an attempt to identify clinical or laboratory factors predicting hospital admission. Results Based on clinical, laboratory and radiologic evaluation, 37.6% of patients enrolled in the study were admitted to the hospital, whereas 62.4% were not admitted. Compared to patients who were not admitted, patients admitted to the hospital had higher age and significantly higher inflammatory markers, white blood count and C-reactive protein (CRP). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that abnormal imaging findings (odds ratio (OR) = 6.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.11 - 19.77, P < 0.001) and elevated serum CRP levels (OR = 6.24, 95% CI: 2.16 - 18.03, P < 0.001) were significant predictive factors for hospital admission. Conclusions Assessment of AAP remains a challenging problem in the ED. Comprehensive history combined with detailed clinical examination, appropriate laboratory testing and radiologic imaging facilitates effective assessment of patients who present in the ED with AAP and guides the decision to admit patients to the hospital for further care.