Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Experimental Study on Hub Labeling based Shortest Path Algorithms

Shortest path distance retrieval is a core component in many important applications. For a decade, hub labeling (HL) techniques have been considered as a practical solution with fast query response time (e.g., 1--3 orders of magnitude faster), competitive indexing time, and slightly larger storage overhead (e.g., several times larger). These techniques enhance query throughput up to hundred thousands queries per second, which is particularly helpful in large user environment. Despite the importance of HL techniques, we are not aware of any comprehensive experimental study on HL techniques. Thus it is difficult for a practitioner to adopt HL techniques for her applications. To address the above issues, we provide a comprehensive experimental study on the state-of-the-art HL technique with analysis of their efficiency, effectiveness and applicability. From insightful summary of different HL techniques, we further develop a simple yet effective HL techniques called Significant path based Hub Pushing (SHP) which greatly improves indexing time of previous techniques while retains good query performance. We also complement extensive comparisons between HL techniques and other shortest path solutions to demonstrate robustness and efficiency of HL techniques.
The impact of innovation on companies’ performance: an entropy-based analysis of the STAR market segment of the Italian Stock Exchange

This paper proposes the use of a class of concentration-based entropy measures as a new instrument to quantify business performances through an analysis of growth, profitability and productivity. Such measures are tested against a complex analysis of the link between innovation and performance for firms listed in the STAR market segment of the Italian Stock Exchange. In so doing, two targets are achieved: (1) the identification of parameters that are relevant for explaining the relationship between innovation and performance for the considered sample, with special focus on innovation type, innovation level and business size; (2) the elaboration of a new methodology – based on information theory – for the analysis of the impact of innovation on performance. The study shows that type of innovation and size play a key role in determining company performance.
Nutritional Support for Insulin Resistance : A Summary

Blood sugar, or serum glucose, is the basic fuel that all cells in the body use to make energy. Glucose can only be put to work and transformed into energy once it is in the cells, not when it is circulating in the bloodstream. In an optimal state, the body maintains the blood glucose level in a fairly narrow range. Not too low (which is called hypoglycemia), and not too high (called hyperglycemia). This stability is important because imbalances, particularly raised levels, can cause serious health problems. Chronically elevated blood glucose levels result in the development of diabetes, which can lead to severe complications such as cataracts, blindness, kidney failure, and heart disease.
Human Brain Tumor Cell Culture Characterization after Immunostimulatory Gene Transfer

OBJECTIVE Immunogene therapy is a novel cancer treatment strategy based on vaccination with irradiated autologous tumor cells transduced with immunostimulatory genes. To characterize such cells before clinical applications, we studied a human glioma cell line (D54 MG) and early passage human glioma (Ed147.BT, Ed149.BT) and melanoma (Ed141.MEL) cultures after immunostimulatory gene transfer. METHODS Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-12 (IL-12), and B7-2 genes were retrovirally transferred to tumor cells. Gene expression before and after irradiation (200 Gy) was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (GM-CSF, IL-12) and flow cytometry (B7-2). Viability and clonogenicity were determined via trypan blue staining before and after irradiation. Growth rates were determined by serial cell counts. RESULTS GM-CSF expression was high in GM-CSF-transduced (10.36–162.10 ng/106 cells/d preirradiation and 10.22–122.02 ng/106 cells/d postirradiation) but lower in B7-2/GM-CSF-transduced cultures (1.41–2.90 ng/106 cells/d preirradiation, 1.96–5.02 ng/106 cells/d postirradiation). IL-12 expression also was lower (1.30–2.10 ng/106 cells/d preirradiation, 0.47–1.70 ng/106 cells/d postirradiation). B7-2 expression was high (one- to two-logarithm increase in fluorescence) and unaffected by radiation. Postirradiation viability was initially high (94.20 ± 8.46%, Day 1) but decreased rapidly (28.13 ± 4.64%, Day 10). No cultures demonstrated evidence of clonogenicity (i.e., cell division) after 200-Gy irradiation. Growth rates were similar in wild-type and gene-transduced Ed141.MEL, Ed147.BT, and Ed149.BT. However, D54MG-IL-12 growth was slower than that of wild-type D54MG. CONCLUSION GM-CSF, IL-12, and B7-2 genes can be transferred to human glioma and melanoma cell cultures efficiently by use of our retroviral vectors. Irradiation (200 Gy) does not significantly alter therapeutic gene expression. Irradiated cells remain viable for several days but cannot undergo further cell division. Early passage culture growth rates are not altered by therapeutic gene expression but are decreased by IL-12 in an immortalized cell line (D54MG). These results suggest that it is feasible to create vaccines with irradiated, autologous, genetically modified brain tumor cells.
An Automated Executive and Managerial Performance Monitoring, Measurement and Reporting System

This paper puts forward the concept for a new, automated, “management by exception” script-based network tool to monitor, address, and report deviations from corporate plan(s) in near real time via the company's messaging system. In particular, this paper conceptualizes the utilization and application of tools, initially developed for network monitoring and management, in managing and measuring corporate business performance against plan(s). That is, network-type tools (IVAANs) are used to measure, monitor and report deviations in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from plan(s), and accomplish this in a timely, accurate, and automatic manner, without human intervention or filtering. Senior executives need a sound analytical basis derived from accurate, valid, and timely information for shortand long-term planning and for allocating scarce resources. IVAAN notices are directed and delivered to the responsible manager and other parties concerned with the respective KPI via push agents over the company’s messaging system. Further, IVAAN notices may be accumulated and utilized as an objective measure of managerial and executive performance. 1. Brief Introduction and History of Measurement and Reporting Systems
Testing the Biases in the Rich Cenozoic Angiosperm Macrofossil Record

Premise of research. The Cenozoic fossil record is crucial for understanding the evolution of the remarkably high diversity of angiosperms. However, the quality and biases of the angiosperm fossil record remain unclear mainly due to the lack of a global database. Methodology. We introduce a new global occurrence-based database for Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossils, the Cenozoic Angiosperm Database. We test the temporal, spatial, and phylogenetic biases of the Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossil record and explore their causes. Pivotal results. The data presented here include 2478 assemblages from all Cenozoic epochs and 1961 sites from all continents, as well as representatives of 221 families (of 445 recognized) and 1859 genera, and show that the Cenozoic angiosperm macrofossil record is extraordinarily rich. However, this rich record is temporally, spatially, and phylogenetically biased: the Miocene is much better sampled than the rest of Cenozoic, the Northern Hemisphere is better sampled than the Southern Hemisphere, and the rosids are better sampled than the rest of the angiosperms. The sampling bias might be caused by collecting effort, geological history, or diverse features of the families, such as growth form and distribution. Conclusions. The Cenozoic macrofossil record of angiosperms is remarkably rich, especially of woody families found in the Northern Hemisphere. Even if there are numerous biases in these data, a judicious use of the database should be highly informative.
Correlation between trait hostility and faster reading times for sentences describing angry reactions to ambiguous situations

The hypothesis that trait anger is associated with an increased tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as anger‐provoking was investigated in a reading time study. A total of 48 healthy volunteers read a series of short narrative passages and were asked to adopt the perspective of the main character, identified at the start of each passage. Reading times for key sentences, which described the main characters' angry or nonangry reactions to ambiguous anger‐provoking situations, were recorded. Trait anger and impulsivity were negatively correlated with reading time for sentences describing both types of reaction, but anger was also correlated with relatively faster processing of sentences describing angry reactions. This study suggests that those with angrier dispositions are more likely to anticipate angry reactions from others.
The Efficacy of Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine Against Influenza-associated Acute Otitis Media in Children

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is a frequent complication of influenza in young children. Influenza vaccination is known to protect against AOM by preventing influenza illness. We sought to determine the efficacy of the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) against influenza-associated AOM compared with placebo and trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV). LAIV is approved for eligible children aged ≥2 years in the United States and in several other countries. Methods: AOM incidence data from 6 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and 2 randomized, double-blind, TIV-controlled trials in children 6 to 83 months of age were pooled and analyzed. Results: A total of 290 cases of AOM were identified in 24,046 study subjects. LAIV efficacy against influenza-associated AOM was 85.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78.3%–89.8%) compared with placebo and 54.0% (95% CI, 27.0%–71.7%) compared with TIV. Efficacy trended higher in those ≥24 months of age compared with those aged 6 to 23 months. In placebo-controlled trials, among children who acquired influenza despite vaccination, AOM was diagnosed in 10.3% of LAIV recipients and 16.8% of placebo recipients, representing a 38.2% (95% CI, 11.0%–58.2%) relative reduction in the development of AOM. In TIV-controlled studies, among subjects with breakthrough influenza illness, the proportions of LAIV and TIV recipients who developed AOM were similar. Conclusions: Children receiving LAIV had a high level of protection against influenza-associated AOM when compared with placebo or TIV. This was most evident in children older than 2 years, for whom LAIV is indicated. LAIV recipients who contracted breakthrough influenza illness despite vaccination developed AOM at a significantly lower rate than did unvaccinated children who developed influenza.
OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR PROBABILITY OF REINFORCEMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF STIMULUS CONTROL ' CAROL 0

Pigeons were trained with a successive discrimination procedure in which responding during the negative stimulus was never reinforced and responding during the positive stimulus was reinforced according to one of four probability values. This discrimination training followed extensive training with a single, neutral stimulus and the same temporal distribution of reinforcements. The development of stimulus control was studied by tracing the difference in rate of responding between the positive and negative stimuli over the course of discrimination training. Response rate during the positive stimulus remained constant, while that during the negative stimulus decreased to zero. The probability of reinforcement associated with the positive stimulus affected both the total number of responses emitted during the negative stimulus and the number of negative stimulus presentations during which responding occurred. However, the number of reinforcements during the positive stimulus preceding the attainment of various degrees of stimulus control was similar for all probability values.
A technological study of North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware

Abstract North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware is an unusual, dense and hard Early Bronze Age pottery, made for the most part from very special noncalcareous clays which were not used for any other ancient Mesopotamian ceramics. It is in general more porous than modern stoneware and was fired at lower temperatures. Nonetheless, because of its high content of flux, it is very stoneware‐like in its vitrification and in its content of mullite. By changing kiln atmospheres and by part vitrification of the surface, deliberately varying grey to red colours were obtained. Pale olive coloured sherds, and also some of the red and grey samples of North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware, constitute calcareous and probably local varieties. The majority of sherds analysed, of the noncalcareous North‐Mesopotamian Stone Ware from forty‐one sites, fall into only two compositional groups indicating two areas of manufacture, as yet unidentified.
Radial distribution functions of amorphous silicon.

Substantial changes in the radial distribution function of amorphous Si films have been observed in neutron-diffraction studies. The spectra indicate changes in short-range order associated with an approx.11% modification in the bond-angle distribution width. The results allow the first direct comparison of structural and vibrational Raman probes of variations in local order in thin-film amorphous solids. Good agreement is obtained between the measured bond-angle variation and that based on Raman estimates.
Impact of oestrogens on the progression of liver disease

Abstract: As of this writing, the most common cause of hepatic fibrosis is chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV), the characteristic feature of which is hepatic steatosis. Hepatic steatosis leads to an increase in lipid peroxidation in hepatocytes, which in turn activates hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). HSCs are also thought to be the primary target cells for inflammatory stimuli, and produce extracellular matrix components. Based on available clinical information, chronic hepatitis C appears to progress more rapidly in men than in women, and cirrhosis is predominately a disease of men and postmenopausal women. It should be noted that estradiol (E2) is a potent endogenous antioxidant. A recent study has shown that hepatic steatosis became evident in an aromatase‐deficient mouse and was diminished in animals, after treatment with E2. Our studies showed that E2 suppressed hepatic fibrosis in hepatic fibrosis models, inhibited the activation of activator protein 1 and nuclear factor‐κB in cultured hepatocytes undergoing oxidative stress, and attenuated HSC activation in primary culture. Recently, variant oestrogen receptors (ERs) were found to be expressed to a greater extent in male patients with chronic liver disease than in female subjects. We also demonstrated decreased levels of ERs in postmenopausal women and cirrhotic patients of both genders. The actions of E2 are mediated through ER α and β. HSCs have also been found to possess functional ER β but not ER α. A better understanding the basic mechanisms underlying the gender‐associated differences observed in the development of hepatic fibrosis would provide valuable information relative to the search for effective antifibrogenic therapies.
Rhabdomyosarcomatous differentiation in a spermatocytic seminoma with review of literature

The sarcomatous differentiation occurring in spermatocytic seminoma (SS) renders an aggressive behavior with metastatic potential to this relatively indolent neoplasm. Correct identification of this sarcomatous component is essential as further management differs. Herein, we report a case of young male with SS with rapid increase in size of the tumor. Histopathology revealed a rhabdomyosarcomatous component infiltrating the rete-testis and epididymis along with a well-circumscribed SS.
Servicios urbanos de agua potable y alcantarillado en Chile: factores determinantes del desempeño

Resumen La experiencia de la prestacion de los servicios de agua potable y alcantarillado en Santiago, y en los centros urbanos en Chile en general, resulta interesante por dos razones principales: (i) altos niveles de cobertura y eficiencia alcanzados bajo la prestacion publica de los servicios; y (ii) la magnitud de inversiones realizadas y ausencia de conflictos regulatorios significativos, o la capacidad de resolverlos de manera expedita y pragmatica, una vez instaurado el modelo de prestacion privada de los mismos. El objetivo de este estudio es identificar los principales factores que han influenciado la prestacion de los servicios en las areas urbanas de Chile, y especialmente en la ciudad de Santiago, con una perspectiva aplicable a otros paises de la region. El analisis se centra tanto en los factores endogenos al sector de agua potable y alcantarillado (estructura institucional, estructura industrial, participacion privada, marco regulatorio, politicas de financiamiento, tarifarias y de subsidios, secuenciamiento del proceso de reformas y escalonamiento en el tiempo de los objetivos economicos, sociales y ambientales, etc.) como en los exogenos (politicas macroeconomicas, situacion social, lugar del sector en las prioridades politicas que se evidencia de las decisiones gubernamentales, politicas de gestion del agua y del medio ambiente, etc.). Se presta especial atencion al impacto de las politicas macroeconomicas sobre los patrones de sostenibilidad de los servicios. El documento se estructura de la siguiente manera. En una primera parte, se presenta una caracterizacion de la evolucion historica del sector que intenta examinar su desarrollo en un horizonte de tres decadas, y ademas se muestran los principales resultados obtenidos, principalmente, en cuanto a factores de desempeno, niveles de inversion y comportamiento de la demanda. En la segunda y tercera partes del estudio, se analizan los principales factores endogenos y exogenos que explican el buen desempeno del sistema. Por ultimo, se esbozan algunas conclusiones.
Delay-Optimal User Scheduling and Inter-Cell Interference Management in Cellular Network via Distributive Stochastic Learning

In this paper, we propose a distributive queueaware intra-cell user scheduling and inter-cell interference (ICI) management control design for a delay-optimal cellular downlink system with M base stations(BSs). Each BS has K downlink queues for K users respectively with heterogeneous arrivals and delay requirements. The ICI management control is adaptive to joint queue state information (QSI) over a slow time scale, while the user scheduling control is adaptive to both the joint QSI and the joint channel state information (CSI) over a faster time scale. We show that the problem can be modeled as an infinite horizon average cost Partially Observed Markov Decision Problem (POMDP), which is NP-hard in general. By exploiting special problem structure, we shall derive an equivalent Bellman equation to solve the POMDP problem. To address the distributive requirement and the issue of dimensionality and computation complexity, we derive a distributive online stochastic learning algorithm, which only requires local QSI and local CSI at each of the M BSs. We show that the proposed learning algorithm converges almost-surely and has significant gain compared with various baselines. The proposed solution only has linear complexity order O(MK).
Legislação e mídia envolvendo a caça de animais silvestres no Brasil: uma perspectiva histórica e socioambiental

Atualmente, a caca e uma atividade ilegal no Brasil e que promove elevado impacto ambiental sobre as populacoes de animais silvestres em todos os biomas. Atraves de um levantamento historico, elencamos as mudancas da legislacao e das percepcoes da midia nacional envolvendo as atividades cinegeticas no Brasil para estabelecer se ha uma correlacao entre tais fatores e quais as possiveis consequencias dessas mudancas para a conservacao da fauna silvestre. Demonstramos que as pressoes da politica e da midia nacional e internacional foram fatores que influenciaram o advento de leis mais rigorosas sobre o tema. Em paralelo, o estabelecimento de tais leis pode ter promovido um novo padrao de divulgacao e percepcao da imagem do cacador e de seus impactos perante a sociedade, o que pode ser encarado como positivo sob uma otica conservacionista.
Factor Xa-activated whole blood clotting time (Xa-ACT) for bedside monitoring of dalteparin anticoagulation during haemodialysis.

BACKGROUND Low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) like dalteparin are increasingly used for anticoagulation during haemodialysis (HD). The available laboratory tests for monitoring LMWH anticoagulation are time-consuming and expensive, and the suitability of the conventional activated clotting time (ACT) is controversial. A simple and cheap bedside test would be useful. METHODS We studied the factor Xa-activated whole blood clotting time (Xa-ACT) in vitro and in vivo in nine patients undergoing chronic HD with i.v. dalteparin bolus anticoagulation and compared it with the conventional ACT. Plasma anti-factor Xa (antiXa) activity was determined with a chromogenic assay. Thrombin-antithrombin complexes were measured to detect coagulation activation. RESULTS Xa-ACT and ACT were prolonged with rising dalteparin concentration. In vitro, both clotting times were strongly correlated with the antiXa levels (r = 0.94 and 0.89, respectively). Nevertheless, compared with the ACT, the Xa-ACT was considerably more sensitive to the LMWH in vitro (healthy blood: Xa-ACT 90 s/U vs ACT 26 s/U; uraemic blood: Xa-ACT 96 s/U vs ACT 31 s/U) as well as in vivo (Xa-ACT 81 s/U vs ACT 22 s/U) and reflected different intensities of anticoagulation. An initial dalteparin bolus of 80+/-11 U/kg body weight was able to prevent coagulation activation for up to 4 h of HD. CONCLUSION For monitoring LMWH anticoagulation the Xa-ACT was superior to the conventional ACT in vitro as well as in vivo during HD. The Xa-ACT can be useful as a LMWH bedside test. The ACT was not sensitive enough to serve as a LMWH monitoring tool.
Cognitive processing speed in Lyme disease.

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to more precisely define the nature of the cognitive processing deficits in the patients with Lyme disease. BACKGROUND Lyme disease has been associated with cognitive disturbances. METHOD Sixteen patients who met the Centers for Disease Control's case definition for Lyme disease and 15 age- and education-matched control subjects completed two computerized assessments. The first was a matching procedure that assessed perceptual/motor speed. The second task was an alphabet-arithmetic (AA) test that measured the speed of mental arithmetic. On the matching task, subjects judged as true or false simple identity equations (e.g., B + 0 = B). On the AA task, subjects indicated the veracity of equations of the same form as those of the matching task but which required mental arithmetic (e.g., A + 3 = D). The use of this paradigm permits sensory or motor slowing to be distinguished from slowed cognitive processing speed. Also, the tests do not involve automated or overlearned responses. RESULTS Lyme disease patients and healthy controls did not differ in perceptual/motor speed. However, Lyme disease patients' response times were significantly longer than those of healthy controls during the AA task, demonstrating specific impairments in mental activation speed. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that Lyme disease patients show specific deficits when initiating a cognitive process. These impairments are independent of sensory, perceptual, or motor deficits.