Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Big data enabled user behavior characteristics in mobile internet

Understanding user behavior is essential for source optimization in mobile networks, including urban planning, road traffic engineering, and content distribution. In this paper, we take the first step to investigate the basic characterization of user behavior over 340,000 users of a 4G mobile network in a large metropolitan area. Our study is carried on from two aspects: mobility and application usage. In particular, the relationship between the mobility pattern and the application usage is revealed. We observe that people's mobility patterns are correlated with the application they access. Furthermore, locations such as home and workplace, affects the applications accessed by users. Utilizing our Hadoop-based mobile big data processing platform together with a systematic analysis framework of user behavior from the 6 Terabyte (TB) 4G data traffic, our analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of user behavior in 4G networks, which may be used by network operators to design appropriate mechanisms in resource provision and mobility management for resource consumers based on different categories of applications.
Findings in Revision Myringoplasty

Findings in 38 revision myringoplasty operations were studied. Fascial grafts were used in all operations. The majority of immediate failures after primary procedures were found to be consequences of technical faults, i.e. poor anterior adaptation of the graft. Most of the late re-perforations were caused by atrophy of the graft without infection. The success rate for revision myringoplasty did not differ significantly from that for primary operations. It was concluded that better surgical techniques and better graft materials should be developed.
Albuminuria and cognitive decline in people with diabetes and normal renal function.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Diabetes mellitus is associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment. This study examines whether microvascular disease, as measured by albuminuria and decline in estimated GFR (eGFR), is associated with cognitive decline during 3.3 years of follow-up in individuals with diabetes with a normal baseline eGFR (approximately 90 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)). DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Participants were from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Memory in Diabetes study (N=2977; mean age 62.5 ± 5.8 years; recruitment from August 2003 to December 2005, followed through June 2009), which examined the association of intensive versus standard glucose control on cognitive function. Participants underwent three neuropsychologic tests at baseline, 20 months, and 40 months. Tests included information processing speed, verbal memory, and executive function. Mixed-effects models were used to assess the association of albuminuria and eGFR on the percentage decline in each test. RESULTS Participants with albuminuria at baseline and follow-up (persistent albuminuria) (-5.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), -7.3 to -4.2]) and participants with albuminuria at follow-up but none at baseline (progressive albuminuria) (-4.1% [95% CI, -5.6 to -2.7]) had greater percentage declines on information processing speed than participants without albuminuria at baseline and at follow-up (no albuminuria) (-2.6% [95% CI, -3.4 to -1.9]) (P=0.001 and P=0.10, respectively). There were borderline percentage changes in the test of verbal memory (4.8% [95% CI, 2.4 to 7.1] and 4.7% [95% CI, 2.5 to 7.0] versus 7.1% [95% CI, 6.0 to 8.3]; P=0.11 and P=0.08, respectively). On logistic regression analysis, persistent albuminuria (odds ratio, 1.37 [95% CI, 1.09 to 1.72]) and progressive albuminuria (odds ratio, 1.25 [95% CI, 1.02 to 1.56]) were associated with a ≥ 5% decline in information processing speed scores but not with verbal memory or executive function performance. A 1 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) per year eGFR decline had a borderline association with decline in tests of cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS Persistent albuminuria and progressive albuminuria are associated with a decline in cognitive function in relatively young individuals with diabetes with unimpaired eGFR. These findings do not rule out the possibility of other processes causing cognitive decline.
Competing mechanisms and scaling laws for carbon nanotube scission by ultrasonication

Dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into liquids typically requires ultrasonication to exfoliate individuals CNTs from bundles. Experiments show that CNT length drops with sonication time (or energy) as a power law t-m. Yet the breakage mechanism is not well understood, and the experimentally reported power law exponent m ranges from approximately 0.2 to 0.5. Here we simulate the motion of CNTs around cavitating bubbles by coupling Brownian dynamics with the Rayleigh–Plesset equation. We observe that, during bubble growth, CNTs align tangentially to the bubble surface. Surprisingly, we find two dynamical regimes during the collapse: shorter CNTs align radially, longer ones buckle. We compute the phase diagram for CNT collapse dynamics as a function of CNT length, stiffness, and initial distance from the bubble nuclei and determine the transition from aligning to buckling. We conclude that, depending on their length, CNTs can break due to either buckling or stretching. These two mechanisms yield different power laws for the length decay (0.25 and 0.5, respectively), reconciling the apparent discrepancy in the experimental data.
The Evolution of Nonimmune Histological Injury and Its Clinical Relevance in Adult‐Sized Kidney Grafts in Pediatric Recipients

To describe the evolution, risk factors and impact of nonimmune histological injury after pediatric kidney transplantation, we analyzed 245 renal allograft protocol biopsies taken regularly from the time of transplantation to 2 years thereafter in 81 consecutive rejection‐free pediatric recipients of an adult‐sized kidney. Isometric tubular vacuolization was present early after transplantation was not progressive, and was associated with higher tacrolimus pre‐dose trough levels. Chronic tubulo‐interstitial damage and tubular microcalcifications were already noted at 3 months, were progressive and had a greater association with small recipient size, male donor gender, higher donor age and female recipient gender, but not with tacrolimus exposure. Renal function assessment showed that older recipients had a significant increase in absolute glomerular filtration rate with time after transplantation, which differed from small recipients who showed no increase. It is concluded that progressive, functionally relevant, nonimmune injury is detected early after adult‐sized kidney transplantation in pediatric recipients. Renal graft ischemia associated with the donor‐recipient size discrepancy appears to be a greater risk factor for this chronic histological injury, suggesting that the exploration of additional therapeutic approaches to increase allograft perfusion could further extend the graft survival benefit of adult‐sized kidneys transplanted into small children.
Increased Mortality Risk in Older Adults With Persistently Low or Declining Feelings of Usefulness to Others

Objective: This study seeks to determine if persistently low or declining feelings of usefulness to others in later life predict increased mortality hazard in older adults. Method: Data on change in perceptions of usefulness, health, behavioral and psychosocial covariates, and mortality originate from the MacArthur Study of Successful Aging, a prospective study of 1,189 older adults (aged 70 to 79). Results: Older adults with persistently low feelings of usefulness or who experienced a decline to low feelings of usefulness during the first 3 years of the study experienced a greater hazard of mortality (sociodemographic adjusted hazard ratio = 1.75; 95% confidence interval = 1.22, 2.51) during a subsequent 9-year follow-up as compared to older adults with persistently high feelings of usefulness. Discussion: Older adults with persistently low perceived usefulness or feelings of usefulness that decline to a low level may be a vulnerable group with increased risk for poor health outcomes in later life.
A Concept Map of the Organisational Size Construct in Information Systems Research

Many disciplines pursue research into organisations. Organisational size, as a frequent research variable in the IS literature, has received considerable application but little critical examination. This paper examines the content and construct validity of the organisational size construct. A survey of research papers published in six leading IS journals over an eleven year period finds 21 factors supporting the organisational size construct. The results show a large number of factors in scholarly use, however multi-dimensional scaling analysis suggests that these can be divided into three principal groups. Additionally, many studies offer little or no supportive analysis or justification for their use of organisational size. The findings raise a number of issues which merit further research.
LOS SUBSIDIOS AGRÍCOLAS DE MÉXICO

La agricultura mexicana afronta graves problemas y retos, muchas voces demandan mas subsidios y apoyos del gobierno. En Mexico prevalece la idea de que la agricultura no es apoyada de la misma manera que en paises desarrollados; se argumenta que paises con los que se realiza intercambio comercial subsidian en mayor grado su agricultura y que por eso no podemos competir internacionalmente. Los objetivos de esta investigacion fueron analizar el comportamiento temporal del monto total de los subsidios a la agricultura mexicana durante el periodo 1986-2003; comparar los subsidios agricolas de Mexico con sus principales socios comerciales y evaluar las tesis que sustentan el abandono del campo por el Estado mexicano, la falta de proteccion a la agricultura y la insufi ciencia de los subsidios. En contra de la creencia de la mayoria de los economistas de Mexico, con el calculo del porcentaje del valor de la produccion que corresponde a subsidios (EPS%) se concluyo que los subsidios a la agricultura son similares en terminos relativos, que los de sus principales socios comerciales (Estados Unidos de America y Canada) y menores que la Union Europea y Japon. En lugar de aumentar los subsidios agricolas, en Mexico se deberia invertir considerablemente mas en los servicios de apoyo necesarios para impulsar la intensifi cacion y la productividad en la agricultura.
Exploring non-stationarity patterns in schizophrenia: neural reorganization abnormalities in the alpha band

Objective. The aim of this paper was to characterize brain non-stationarity during an auditory oddball task in schizophrenia (SCH). The level of non-stationarity was measured in the baseline and response windows of relevant tones in SCH patients and healthy controls. Approach. Event-related potentials were recorded from 28 SCH patients and 51 controls. Non-stationarity was estimated in the conventional electroencephalography frequency bands by means of Kullback–Leibler divergence (KLD). Relative power (RP) was also computed to assess a possible complementarity with KLD. Main results. Results showed a widespread statistically significant increase in the level of non-stationarity from baseline to response in all frequency bands for both groups. Statistically significant differences in non-stationarity were found between SCH patients and controls in beta-2 and in the alpha band. SCH patients showed more non-stationarity in the left parieto-occipital region during the baseline window in the beta-2 band. A leave-one-out cross validation classification study with feature selection based on binary stepwise logistic regression to discriminate between SCH patients and controls provided a positive predictive value of 72.73% and negative predictive value of 78.95%. Significance. KLD can characterize transient neural reorganization during an attentional task in response to novelty and relevance. Our findings suggest anomalous reorganization of neural dynamics in SCH during an oddball task. The abnormal frequency-dependent modulation found in SCH patients during relevant tones is in agreement with the hypothesis of aberrant salience detection in SCH. The increase in non-stationarity in the alpha band during the active task supports the notion that this band is involved in top-down processing. The baseline differences in the beta-2 band suggest that hyperactivation of the default mode network during attention tasks may be related to SCH symptoms. Furthermore, the classification improved when features from both KLD and RP were used, supporting the idea that these measures can be complementary.
Exogenous thymosin β4 prevents apoptosis in human intervertebral annulus cells in vitro

Abstract Loss of cells in the human disc due to programmed cell death (apoptosis) is a major factor in the aging and degenerating human intervertebral disc. Our objective here was to determine if thymosin β4 (TB4), a small, multifunctional 5kDa protein with diverse activities, might block apoptosis in human annulus cells cultured in monolayer or three-dimensional (3D) culture. Apoptosis was induced in vitro using hydrogen peroxide or serum starvation. Annulus cells were processed for identification of apoptotic cells using the TUNEL method. The percentage of apoptotic cells was determined by cell counts. Annulus cells also were treated with TB4 for determination of proliferation, and proteoglycan production was assessed using cell titer and 1,2 dimethylmethylamine (DMB) assays and histological staining. A significant reduction in disc cell apoptosis occurred after TB4 treatment. The percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis decreased significantly in TB4 treated cells in both apoptosis induction designs. TB4 exposure did not alter proteoglycan production as assessed by either DMB measurement or histological staining. Our results indicate the need for further studies of the anti-apoptotic effect of TB4 and suggest that TB4 may have therapeutic application in future biological therapies for disc degeneration.
Complicated and fatal Strongyloides infection in Canadians: risk factors, diagnosis and management

STRONGYLOIDIASIS, WHICH IS CAUSED by the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis, is a common and persistent infection, particularly in developing countries. In the setting of compromised cellular immunity, it can result in fulminant dissemination with case-fatality rates of over 70%. The majority of new Canadian immigrants come from countries where Strongyloides is highly endemic; therefore, the burden of Strongyloides may be underappreciated in Canada. Because early diagnosis and therapy can have a marked impact on disease outcome, screening for this infection should be considered mandatory for patients who have a history of travel or residence in a disease-endemic area and risk factors for disseminated disease (e.g., corticosteroid use and human T-lymphotropic virus type I infection).
Caractérisation de la résistance partielle des bananiers à la maladie des raies noires et évaluation de la variabilité de l'agressivité de l'agent causal, Mycosphaerella fijiensis

Les programmes d'amelioration genetique chez le bananier visent la creation de nouvelles varietes partiellement resistantes a la maladie des raies noires. L'objectif principal de cette etude etait de caracteriser les composantes de cette resistance a l'aide de parametres du cycle infectieux, de juger de leur poids epidemiologique et d'evaluer la variabilite de l'agressivite de l'agent pathogene. Des differences significatives ont ete mises en evidence entre cultivars partiellement resistants pour certaines sequences du cycle infectieux tant en conditions naturelles que controlees. Ainsi, certaines composantes de resistance ont ete suggerees. Le dispositif experimental utilise au champ n'a toutefois pas permis de juger du poids epiderniologique de certaines d'entre elles. Par ailleurs, une faible variabilite de l'agressivite chez #M. fijiensis# a ete detectee et aucune interaction specifique n'a ete mise en evidence. Ces resultats ont une implication pour la selection de resistances partielles efficaces et durables. (Resume d'auteur)
Inducible expression eliminates the fitness cost of vancomycin resistance in enterococci

Inducible vancomycin resistance in enterococci is due to a sophisticated mechanism that combines synthesis of cell wall peptidoglycan precursors with low affinity for glycopeptides and elimination of the normal target precursors. Although this dual mechanism, which involves seven genes organized in two operons, is predicted to have a high fitness cost, resistant enterococci have disseminated worldwide. We have evaluated the biological cost of VanB-type resistance due to acquisition of conjugative transposon Tn1549 in Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis. Because fitness was dependent on the integration site of Tn1549, an isogenic set of E. faecalis was constructed to determine the cost of inducible or constitutive expression of resistance or of carriage of Tn1549. A luciferase gene was inserted in the integrase gene of the transposon to allow differential quantification of the strains in cocultures and in the digestive tract of gnotobiotic mice. Both in vitro and in vivo, carriage of inactivated or inducible Tn1549 had no cost for the host in the absence of induction by vancomycin. In contrast, induced or constitutively resistant strains not only had reduced fitness but were severely impaired in colonization ability and dissemination among mice. These data indicate that tight regulation of resistance expression drastically reduces the biological cost associated with vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus spp. and accounts for the widespread dissemination of these strains. Our findings are in agreement with the observation that regulation of expression is common in horizontally acquired resistance and represents an efficient evolutionary pathway for resistance determinants to become selectively neutral.
Maximum Sample Volume for Permittivity Measurements by Cavity Perturbation Technique

The maximum sample volume for accurate permittivity measurements of dielectric materials having various geometries (rod/bar, strip/disk, and sphere) by cavity perturbation technique has been investigated by determining the maximum volume ratio of sample to cavity (V<sub>s</sub>/V<sub>c</sub>)max based on analysis of the measurement theory. It is demonstrated that (V<sub>s</sub>/V<sub>c</sub>)max of a dielectric rod/bar with the height equal to that of resonant cavity relies exclusively on the relative dielectric constant, whereas (V<sub>s</sub>/V<sub>c</sub>)max of a dielectric strip/disk or sphere depends on both the relative dielectric constant and the dielectric loss factor. There is a relatively weak permittivity dependence of (V<sub>s</sub>/V<sub>c</sub>)max for dielectric property measurements of dielectric strips/disks compared with rods/bars or spheres. The maximum sample volume used in the measurements for different sample geometries follows the order: . Comparison between (V<sub>s</sub>/V<sub>c</sub>)max of low-loss Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and high-loss SiC reveals that low-loss materials can have a larger sample volume than high-loss materials for measurement. High-loss materials may require a strip/disk geometry to meet the measurement requirements. The variation in (Vs/Vc)max of Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> having different geometries in a broad temperature range up to ~ 1400<sup>°</sup>C shows that (V<sub>s</sub>/V<sub>c</sub>)max of the sample decreases with increasing temperature and the change in (V<sub>s</sub>/V<sub>c</sub>)max should be considered during the high-temperature permittivity measurements.
Improved Age Estimation for Solar-Type Dwarfs Using Activity-Rotation Diagnostics

While the strong anticorrelation between chromospheric activity and age has led to the common use of the Ca II H and K emission index (R′HK = LHK/Lbol) as an empirical age estimator for solar-type dwarfs, existing activity-age relations produce implausible ages at both high and low activity levels. We have compiled R′HK data from the literature for young stellar clusters, richly populating for the first time the young end of the activity-age relation. Combining the cluster activity data with modern cluster age estimates and analyzing the color dependence of the chromospheric activity age index, we derive an improved activity-age calibration for F7-K2 dwarfs (0.5 mag < B − V < 0.9 mag ). We also present a more fundamentally motivated activity-age calibration that relies on conversion of R′HK values through the Rossby number to rotation periods and then makes use of improved gyrochronology relations. We demonstrate that our new activity-age calibration has typical age precision of ~0.2 dex for normal solar-type dwarfs aged between the Hyades and the Sun (~0.6-4.5 Gyr). Inferring ages through activity-rotation-age relations accounts for some color-dependent effects and systematically improves the age estimates (albeit only slightly). We demonstrate that coronal activity as measured through the fractional X-ray luminosity (RX = LX/Lbol) has nearly the same age- and rotation-inferring capability as chromospheric activity measured through R′HK. As a first application of our calibrations, we provide new activity-derived age estimates for a volume-limited sample of the 108 solar-type field dwarfs within 16 pc.
2.45GHz wide input range CMOS rectifier for RF energy harvesting

This paper presents a CMOS rectifier operating at 2.45 GHz for RF energy harvesting. The diode forward voltage drop, forward peak current and reverse leakage current issues have been addressed by utilizing a novel DC-boosted biasing technique. The proposed rectifier is implemented in 65 nm 6M/1P standard CMOS technology. In simulation, the proposed rectifier achieved peak efficiency of 59.6% with input power of −12 dBm at 2.45 GHz and 29 kΩ output load. PCE greater than 20% can be achieved over an extended input power range of 19 dB from −18 dBm to 1 dBm. The proposed rectifier has sensitivity of −17 dBm for 1 V output voltage.
New magnetic resonance imaging methods for cerebrovascular disease: Emerging clinical applications

During the 1990s, novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have emerged that allow the noninvasive and rapid assessment of normal brain functioning and cerebral pathophysiology. Some of these techniques, including diffusion‐weighted imaging and perfusion‐weighted imaging, have already been used extensively in specialized centers for the evaluation of patients with cerebrovascular disease. Evidence is now rapidly accumulating that both diffusion‐ and perfusion‐weighted imaging, particularly when used in combination with high‐speed MR angiography, will lead to improvements in the clinical management of acute stroke patients. Other novel MR techniques, such as spectroscopic imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, and blood oxygenation level–dependent functional MRI, have not yet assumed a definitive role in the diagnostic evaluation of cerebrovascular disease. However, they are promising research tools that provide noninvasive data about infarct evolution as well as mechanisms of stroke recovery. In this article, we review the basic principles underlying these novel MRI techniques and outline their current and anticipated future impact on the diagnosis and management of patients with cerebrovascular disease. Ann Neurol 2000;47:559–570