Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Topology control in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks

Topology Control (TC) is one of the most important techniques used in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks to reduce energy consumption (which is essential to extend the network operational time) and radio interference (with a positive effect on the network traffic carrying capacity). The goal of this technique is to control the topology of the graph representing the communication links between network nodes with the purpose of maintaining some global graph property (e.g., connectivity), while reducing energy consumption and/or interference that are strictly related to the nodes' transmitting range. In this article, we state several problems related to topology control in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks, and we survey state-of-the-art solutions which have been proposed to tackle them. We also outline several directions for further research which we hope will motivate researchers to undertake additional studies in this field.
New Insights into Ligand-Receptor Pairing and Coevolution of Relaxin Family Peptides and Their Receptors in Teleosts

Relaxin-like peptides (RLN/INSL) play diverse roles in reproductive and neuroendocrine processes in placental mammals and are functionally associated with two distinct types of receptors (RXFP) for each respective function. The diversification of RLN/INSL and RXFP gene families in vertebrates was predominantly driven by whole genome duplications (2R and 3R). Teleosts preferentially retained duplicates of genes putatively involved in neuroendocrine regulation, harboring a total of 10-11 receptors and 6 ligand genes, while most mammals have equal numbers of ligands and receptors. To date, the ligand-receptor relationships of teleost Rln/Insl peptides and their receptors have largely remained unexplored. Here, we use selection analyses based on sequence data from 5 teleosts and qPCR expression data from zebrafish to explore possible ligand-receptor pairings in teleosts. We find support for the hypothesis that, with the exception of RLN, which has undergone strong positive selection in mammalian lineages, the ligand and receptor genes shared between mammals and teleosts appear to have similar pairings. On the other hand, the teleost-specific receptors show evidence of subfunctionalization. Overall, this study underscores the complexity of RLN/INSL and RXFP ligand-receptor interactions in teleosts and establishes theoretical background for further experimental work in nonmammals.
TOPICAL STEROID TREATMENT FOR ASTHMA AND RHINITIS

WITH the decline of tuberculosis in our community, a positive tuberculin reaction has an enhanced significance commonly indicating a need to treat the individual and to trace the source of his infection. The increasing rarity of tuberculin reactors makes it difficult for the younger doctor to acquire the expertise of his elders in separating a positive tuberculin test from the other possible skin reactions. Dr Caplin's book will be invaluable to the clinician puzzled by an unusual skin reaction following the tuberculin test. The core of the book is a clear and detailed account of methods of Mantoux, Heaf and Tine testing and their exact interpretation. These sections are illustrated with excellent colour photographs of every conceivable skin reaction. They should be -compulsory reading for anyone who subjects his patients to tuberculin testing. Dr Caplin writes clearly and will be understood by the most junior medical student or nurse, yet there is adequate detail in his text and few will need to resort to the well selected references which follow each chapter. It is a pity that he offers no immunological insight into the nature of the tuberculin reaction. This might have improved the subsequent sections dealing with factors which can alter tuberculin sensitivity including BCG, chemoprophylaxis and many disease processes. There are also brief but thought-provoking chapters on tuberculin testing in the community and the need for international standardisation of methods of tuberculin testing. This book will obviously appeal to those involved in preventive medicine and should be readily available for reference at any health centre or clinic when tuberculin testing is undertaken. Though it may not find its way onto most medical book shelves, it should certainly be included among the standard texts in any medical library, since the collected information on tuberculin testing is available in a readily accessible and well illustrated form. It is an inconspicious book which will not date and will be regularly referred to over the years-as such it deserves a heavier duty binding! D.A. C.
A control-oriented model of underwater snake robots exposed to currents

This paper presents a control-oriented model of a neutrally buoyant underwater snake robot that is exposed to a constant irrotational current. The robot is assumed to move in a horizontal, fully submerged plane with a sinusoidal gait pattern and limited link angles. The intention behind the proposed model is to describe the qualitative behaviour of the robot by a simplified kinematic approach, thus neglecting some of the non-linear effects that do not significantly contribute to the overall behaviour. This results in a model with significantly less complex dynamic equations than existing models, which makes the new model well-fitted for control design and analysis. An existing, more complex model and a class of sinusoidal gait patterns are analysed, leading to several properties that serve as a basis for the simplified model. Some of the revealed properties are also valid for ground robots. Simulations that qualitatively validate the theoretical results are presented.
Follow-Up Studies of cf-DNA Testing from 101 Consecutive Fetuses and Related Ultrasound Findings

Abstract Purpose To determine the true- and false-positive rates of cf-DNA testing in a cohort of patients from tertiary care centers and assess the impact of ultrasound examinations in pregnancy management. Materials and Methods Clinical, cytogenetic and ultrasound data of 101 consecutive fetuses were collected retrospectively. Cases were classified into five groups according to the ultrasound findings. Karyotyping, interphase FISH and microarray techniques were used for follow-up studies. Results The overall false-positive rate was low for trisomy 21 (T21, 8.2 %), but significantly higher for trisomy 18 (T18, 40 %), monosomy X (MX, 50 %), X/Y trisomies (57.1 %), trisomy 13 (T13, 71.4 %). While single cases of trisomy 16, trisomy 22 and 8q duplication positive in cf-DNA were confirmed, 3 microdeletions (1p36 and two 22q11.2) were not. About 75 % of confirmed T21’s and all confirmed T18 and T13 had major markers and/or malformations. While false-negative cases (two T21, one T18 and one T13) were identified due to abnormal ultrasound findings, all false-positive cases were normal sonographically. Ultrasound findings of confirmed trisomy 16, 22, dup8q, monosomy X and other X/Y aneuploidies were unspecific. Term placenta studies were helpful to assess the role of confined mosaicism in unconfirmed cf-DNA test results. A vanishing twin has been observed as the likely cause of one false-positive T18. Conclusion Our study contributes clinical data on discrepant cf-DNA testing results, corroborates the need for confirmational invasive testing and underscores the benefit of expert ultrasound in the prevention of fatal diagnostic errors.
Drosophila DNA/RNA methyltransferase contributes to robust host defense in aging animals by regulating sphingolipid metabolism

ABSTRACT Drosophila methyltransferase (Mt2) has been implicated in the methylation of both DNA and tRNA. In this study, we demonstrate that loss of Mt2 activity leads to an age-dependent decline of immune function in the adult fly. A newly eclosed adult has mild immune defects that are exacerbated in a 15 day old Mt2−/− fly. The age-dependent effects appear to be systemic, including disturbances in lipid metabolism, changes in cell shape of hemocytes and significant fold-changes in levels of transcripts related to host defense. Lipid imbalance, as measured by quantitative lipidomics, correlates with immune dysfunction, with high levels of immunomodulatory lipids, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramides, along with low levels of storage lipids. Activity assays on fly lysates confirm the age-dependent increase in S1P and concomitant reduction of S1P lyase activity. We hypothesize that Mt2 functions to regulate genetic loci such as S1P lyase and this regulation is essential for robust host defense as the animal ages. Our study uncovers novel links between age-dependent Mt2 function, innate immune response and lipid homeostasis. Summary: A systemic age-dependent change in sphingolipid homeostasis in Drosophila methyltransferase 2 mutants that correlates with an age-dependent decline of immune function.
Functionalization of α-In2Se3 Monolayer via Adsorption of Small Molecule for Gas Sensing

Based on first-principles calculations, the adsorption of NO and NO2 gas molecules on the α-In2Se3 monolayer have been studied. The adsorption configuration, adsorption energy, electronic structure and charge transfer properties are investigated. It is found that the charge transfer processes of NO and NO2 adsorbed on the surface of α-In2Se3 monolayer exhibit electron donor and acceptor characteristics, respectively. After the adsorption of the molecules, the α-In2Se3 monolayers have new states near the Fermi level induced by NO and NO2, which can trigger some new effects on the conducting and optical properties of the materials, with potential benefits to gas selectivity. The present work provides new valuable results and theoretical foundation for potential applications of the In2Se3-based gas sensor.
Asynchronous Decentralized Accelerated Stochastic Gradient Descent

In this paper, we introduce an asynchronous decentralized accelerated stochastic gradient descent type of algorithm for decentralized stochastic optimization. Considering communication and synchronization costs are the major bottlenecks for decentralized optimization, we attempt to reduce these costs from an algorithmic design aspect, in particular, we are able to reduce the number of agents involved in one round of update via randomization. Our major contribution is to develop a class of accelerated randomized decentralized algorithms for solving general convex composite problems. We establish <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(1/\epsilon)$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (resp., <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(1/\sqrt {\epsilon })$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) communication complexity and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(1/\epsilon ^{2})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (resp., <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}(1/\epsilon)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) sampling complexity for solving general convex (resp., strongly convex) problems. It worths mentioning that our proposing algorithm only sublinear depends on the Lipschitz constant if there is a smooth component presented in the objective function. Moreover, we also conduct some preliminary numerical experiments to demonstrate the advantages of our proposing algorithms over the state-of-the-art synchronous decentralized algorithm.
Comparison of Work of Breathing Between Noninvasive Ventilation and Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist in a Healthy and a Lung-Injured Piglet Model

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is commonly used in neonates. A mode of NIV called neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) offers patient-ventilator interactions by using electrical activity of the diaphragm to control mechanical breaths. We hypothesized that the work of breathing (WOB) would decrease with NIV-NAVA. Secondary objectives evaluated the impact of NIV-NAVA on arterial blood gases and respiratory parameters. METHODS: We compared WOB between synchronized breaths in NIV-NAVA and NIV in piglets with healthy lungs and then with surfactant-depleted lungs. Neonatal pigs (median, 2.0 [range, 1.8–2.4] kg) with healthy and then surfactant depleted lungs were sedated and ventilated with NIV-NAVA and NIV in random order. Airway flow and pressure waveforms were acquired. Waveforms were analyzed for the pressure-time product that reflected WOB. The primary outcome between modes was assessed with repeated measurement analysis of variance. RESULTS: The pressure-time product was significantly decreased for NIV-NAVA in both healthy and injured lungs (P < .001). PaO2, PaCO2, inspiratory tidal volume, and peak inspiratory flow were not different in either model. CONCLUSIONS: Synchronized breaths during NIV-NAVA resulted in decreased WOB compared with synchronized breaths during NIV.
SMT-Solvers in Action: Encoding and Solving Selected Problems in NP and EXPTIME

We compare the efficiency of seven modern SMT-solvers for several decision and combinatorial problems: the bounded Post correspondence problem (BPCP), the extended string correction problem (ESCP), and the Towers of Hanoi (ToH) of exponential solutions. For this purpose, we define new original reductions to SMT for all the above problems, and show their complexity. Our extensive experimental results allow for drawing quite interesting conclusions on efficiency and applicability of SMT-solvers depending on the theory used in the encoding.
Local microtubule organization promotes cargo transport in C. elegans dendrites

ABSTRACT The specific organization of the neuronal microtubule cytoskeleton in axons and dendrites is an evolutionarily conserved determinant of neuronal polarity that allows for selective cargo sorting. However, how dendritic microtubules are organized and whether local differences influence cargo transport remains largely unknown. Here, we use live-cell imaging to systematically probe the microtubule organization in Caenorhabditis elegans neurons, and demonstrate the contribution of distinct mechanisms in the organization of dendritic microtubules. We found that most non-ciliated neurons depend on unc-116 (kinesin-1), unc-33 (CRMP) and unc-44 (ankyrin) for correct microtubule organization and polarized cargo transport, as previously reported. Ciliated neurons and the URX neuron, however, use an additional pathway to nucleate microtubules at the tip of the dendrite, from the base of the cilium in ciliated neurons. Since inhibition of distal microtubule nucleation affects distal dendritic transport, we propose a model in which the presence of a microtubule-organizing center at the dendrite tip ensures correct dendritic cargo transport. Highlighted Article: Systematic analysis of microtubule organization in C. elegans neurons reveals distinct mechanisms that act in dendrites, where distal microtubule nucleation in ciliated neurons stimulates distal dendritic transport.
Genomic Characterization of Six Virus-Associated Cancers Identifies Changes in the Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Altered Genetic Programs.

Viruses affect approximately 20% of all human cancers and induce expression of immunogenic viral oncoproteins that make these tumors potent targets for immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this study, we apply computational tools to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and other genomic datasets to define how virus infection shapes the tumor immune microenvironment and genetic architecture of 6 virus-associated tumor types. Across cancers, the cellular composition of the microenvironment varied by viral status, with virus-positive tumors often exhibiting increased infiltration of cytolytic cell types compared with their virus-negative counterparts. Analyses of the infiltrating T-cell receptor repertoire in these patients revealed that Epstein-Barr virus infection was associated with decreased receptor diversity in multiple cancers, suggesting an antigen-driven clonal T-cell response. Tissue-specific gene-expression signatures capturing virus-associated transcriptomic changes successfully predicted virus status in independent datasets and were associated with both immune- and proliferation-related features that were predictive of patient prognosis. Together, the analyses presented suggest viruses have distinct effects in different tumors, with implications for immunotherapy.Significance: This study utilizes TCGA and other genomic datasets to further our understanding of how viruses affect the tumor immune response in different cancer types.Graphical Abstract: http://cancerres.aacrjournals. org/content/canres/78/22/6413/F1.large. jpg Cancer Res; 78(22); 6413-23. ©2018 AACR.
Structural and object detection for phosphene images

Prosthetic vision based on phosphenes is a promising way to provide visual perception to some blind people. However, phosphenic images are very limited in terms of spatial resolution (e.g.: 32 x 32 phosphene array) and luminance levels (e.g.: 8 gray levels), which results in the subject receiving very limited information about the scene. This requires using high-level processing to extract more information from the scene and present it to the subject with the phosphenes limitations. In this work, we study the recognition of indoor environments under simulated prosthetic vision. Most research in simulated prosthetic vision is performed based on static images, while very few researchers have addressed the problem of scene recognition through video sequences. We propose a new approach to build a schematic representation of indoor environments for phosphene images. Our schematic representation relies on two parallel CNNs for the extraction of structural informative edges of the room and the relevant object silhouettes based on mask segmentation. We have performed a study with twelve normally sighted subjects to evaluate how our methods were able to the room recognition by presenting phosphenic images and videos. We show how our method is able to increase the recognition ability of the user from 75% using alternative methods to 90% using our approach.
Predicting Student Performance in Higher Education Institutions Using Decision Tree Analysis

The overall success of educational institutions can be measured by the success of its students. Providing factors that increase success rate and reduce the failure of students is profoundly helpful to educational organizations. Data mining is the best solution to finding hidden patterns and giving suggestions that enhance the performance of students. This paper presents a model based on decision tree algorithms and suggests the best algorithm based on performance. Three built classifiers (J48, Random Tree and REPTree) were used in this model with the questionnaires filled in by students. The survey consists of 60 questions that cover the fields, such as health, social activity, relationships, and academic performance, most related to and affect the performance of students. A total of 161 questionnaires were collected. The Weka 3.8 tool was used to construct this model. Finally, the J48 algorithm was considered as the best algorithm based on its performance compared with the Random Tree and RepTree algorithms.
Improvement of insulin resistance via increase of GLUT4 and PPARγ in metabolic syndrome‐induced rats treated with omega‐3 fatty acid or l‐carnitine

Frequent consumption of fructose and saturated fatty acids increase risk of metabolic syndrome (MS). Features of MS include insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, visceral obesity, and hypertension. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of omega‐3 and l‐carnitine in ameliorating features of MS.
Triply Supervised Decoder Networks for Joint Detection and Segmentation

Joint object detection and semantic segmentation is essential in many fields such as self-driving cars. An initial attempt towards this goal is to simply share a single network for multi-task learning. We argue that it does not make full use of the fact that detection and segmentation are mutually beneficial. In this paper, we propose a framework called TripleNet to deeply boost these two tasks. On the one hand, to deeply join the two tasks at different scales, triple supervisions including detection-oriented supervision and class-aware/agnostic segmentation supervisions are imposed on each layer of the decoder. Class-agnostic segmentation provides an objectness prior to detection and segmentation. On the other hand, to further intercross the two tasks and refine the features in each scale, two light-weight modules (i.e., the inner-connected module and the attention skip-layer fusion) are incorporated. Because segmentation supervision on each decoder layer are not performed at the test stage and two added modules are light-weight, the proposed TripleNet can run at a real-time speed (16 fps). Experiments on the VOC 2007/2012 and COCO datasets show that TripleNet outperforms all the other one-stage methods on both two tasks (e.g., 81.9% mAP and 83.3% mIoU on VOC 2012, and 37.1% mAP and 59.6% mIoU on COCO) by a single network.
Why patients prefer high-level healthcare facilities: a qualitative study using focus groups in rural and urban China

Introduction Despite policy measure to strengthen and promote primary care, Chinese patients increasingly choose to access higher level hospitals. The resulting overcrowding at higher level hospitals and underutilisation of primary care are viewed to diminish the effects of the continuing health system investments on population health. We explore the factors that influence the choice of healthcare facility level in rural and urban China and aim to reveal the underlying choice processes. Methods We conducted eight semistructured focus group discussions among the general population and the chronically ill in a rural area in Chongqing and an urban area in Shanghai. Respondents’ discussions of (evidence-based) factors and how they influenced their facility choices were analysed using qualitative analysis techniques, from which we elicited choice process maps to capture the partial order in which the factors were considered in the choice process. Results The factors considered, after initial illness perception, varied over four stages of health service utilisation: initial visit, diagnosis, treatment and treatment continuation. The factors considered per stage differed considerably between the rural and urban respondents, but less so between the general population and the chronically ill. Moreover, the rural respondents considered the township health centres as default and prefer to continue in primary care, yet access higher levels when necessary. Urban respondents chose higher levels by default and seldom moved down to primary care. Conclusions Disease severity, medical staff, transportation convenience, equipment and drug availability played important roles when choosing healthcare facilities in China. Strengthening primary care correspondingly may well be effective to increase primary care utilisation by the rural population but insufficient for the urban population. The developed four-stage process maps are general enough to serve as the basis for (partially) ordering factors influencing facility level choices in other contexts.