Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maximally radio-disjoint multipath routing for wireless multimedia sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks, bandwidth is one of precious resources to multimedia applications. To get more bandwidth, multipath routing is one appropriate solution provided that inter-path interferences are minimized. In this paper, we address the problem of interfering paths in the context of wireless multimedia sensor networks and consider both intra-session as well as inter-session interferences. Our main objective is to provide necessary bandwidth to multimedia applications through non-interfering paths while increasing the network lifetime. To do so, we adopt an incremental approach where for a given session, only one path is built at once. Additional paths are built when requi red, typically in case of congestion or bandwidth shortage. Interference awareness and energy saving are achieved by switching a subset of sensor nodes in a passive state in which they do not take part in the routing process. Despite the routing overhead introduced by the incremental approach we adopt, our simulations show that this can be compensated by the overall achieved throughput and the amount of consumed energy per correctly received packet especially for relatively long sessions such as multimedia ones. This is mainly due to the fact that a small number of non-interfering paths allows for better performances than a large number of interfering ones.
Gait after unilateral total knee arthroplasty: Frontal plane analysis

After unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA), osteoarthritis (OA) in the non‐operated knee often progresses. The altered gait mechanics exhibited by patients after TKA increase the loading on the non‐operated knee and predispose it to disease progression. Therefore, our objective was to examine the potentially detrimental changes in frontal plane kinetics and kinematics during walking in patients who underwent unilateral TKA. Thirty‐one subjects 6 months after TKA, 24 subjects 1 year after unilateral TKA, and 20 control subjects were recruited. All subjects underwent 3D gait analysis. In the TKA groups, the non‐operated knee had a higher adduction angle and higher dynamic loading, knee adduction moment and impulse, compared to the operated knee. This increased loading may be an underlying reason for OA progression in the non‐operated knee. Measures of loading in the control knee did not differ from that of the non‐operated knee in the TKA group, but the TKA group walked with shorter step length. While the non‐operated knee loading was not different from controls, there may be greater risk of cumulative loading in the non‐operated knee of the TKA group given the shorter step length. © 2010 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29:647–652, 2011
A Compressive Sensing Reconstruction Algorithm for Trinary and Binary Sparse Signals Using Pre-mapping

In this paper, we first analyze impact of the distribution of sparse signals on reconstruction quality in compressive sensing through experimental results and heuristic analysis. We suggest that trinary/binary sparse signals are one of the most difficult signals to reconstruct in terms of error bounds. We then show that by incorporating linear or non-linear mapping prior to sensing, significant improvement in the recovery performance can be achieved.
Energy-efficient gait pattern generation of the powered robotic exoskeleton using DME

In this study, an energy-efficient gait pattern and swing trajectory of the powered robotic exoskeleton was proposed through function distribution analysis and the dynamic-manipulability ellipsoid (DME). The exoskeleton has 3 DOF at each side, and it is possible to determine the minimum energy consumption of the joint torques under level-ground walking and stair ambulation conditions. To verify its feasibility and the effect of the proposed optimal gait pattern from the point view of the integrated system (human and exoskeleton), simulations were performed in the cases of walking on level ground and stair ascent/descent. Experiments such as on the metabolic cost of the human body with or without the assistance of the exoskeleton were conducted, and the power consumption of the exoskeleton was assessed, with the aim of improving the efficiency of the integrated system.
The ten commandments of data warehousing

Data warehousing can offer great potential for organizations. Nevertheless, implementing a data warehouse is a complex project that has caused difficulty for organizations. This paper presents the results of a study of four mature users of data warehousing technology. Collectively, these organizations have experienced many problems and solutions in relation to implementing data warehousing. These experience are captured in the form of ten organizational prerequisites for implementing data warehousing. The authors believe that this model could potentially be used by organizations to internally assess the likelihood of data warehousing project success, and to identify the areas that require attention prior to commencing implementation.
USING ISOLATION BY DISTANCE AND EFFECTIVE DENSITY TO ESTIMATE DISPERSAL SCALES IN ANEMONEFISH

Robust estimates of dispersal are critical for understanding population dynamics and local adaptation, as well as for successful spatial management. Genetic isolation by distance patterns hold clues to dispersal, but understanding these patterns quantitatively has been complicated by uncertainty in effective density. In this study, we genotyped populations of a coral reef fish (Amphiprion clarkii) at 13 microsatellite loci to uncover fine‐scale isolation by distance patterns in two replicate transects. Temporal changes in allele frequencies between generations suggested that effective densities in these populations are 4–21 adults/km. A separate estimate from census densities suggested that effective densities may be as high as 82–178 adults/km. Applying these effective densities with isolation by distance theory suggested that larval dispersal kernels in A. clarkii had a spread near 11 km (4–27 km). These kernels predicted low fractions of self‐recruitment in continuous habitats, but the same kernels were consistent with previously reported, high self‐recruitment fractions (40–60%) when realistic levels of habitat patchiness were considered. Our results suggested that ecologically relevant larval dispersal can be estimated with widely available genetic methods when effective density is measured carefully through cohort sampling and ecological censuses, and that self‐recruitment studies should be interpreted in light of habitat patchiness.
Triple Patterning Aware Detailed Placement Toward Zero Cross-Row Middle-of-Line Conflict

Triple patterning lithography (TPL) is one of the most promising lithography technology in sub-14-nm technology nodes, especially for complicated low metal layer manufacturing. To overcome the intracell routability problem and improve the cell regularity, recently middle-of-line (MOL) layers are employed in standard cell design. However, MOL layers may introduce a large amount of cross-row TPL conflicts for row-based design. Motivated by this challenge, in this paper we propose the first TPL aware detailed placement toward zero cross-row MOL conflict. In standard cell precoloring, Boolean-based look-up table is proposed to reduce solution space. In detailed placement stage, three powerful techniques, i.e., local reordered single row refinement, min-cost flow-based conflict removal, and local cell interleaving, are proposed to provide zero TPL conflict solution. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methodologies.
A regularised model-based pan-sharpening method for remote sensing images with local dissimilarities

ABSTRACT Combining the spectral information of a low-resolution multispectral (LRMS) image and the spatial information of a high-resolution panchromatic (HRP) image to generate a high-resolution multispectral (HRMS) image has become an important and interesting issue. Local dissimilarities between the LRMS image and the HRP image affect the performance of the pan-sharpening technique. This paper presents a model-based pan-sharpening method with global and nonlocal spatial similarity regularisers to reduce the effects of the local dissimilarities. The degraded model relating the LRMS image to the unknown HRMS image is employed as the data-fitting term to keep spectral fidelity. Two spatial similarity constraints are utilized to further enhance the spatial resolution of the unknown HRMS image. The first regularisation term is under the assumption that the high-pass component of each HRMS band has the similar geometry structure with the adjusted high-pass component of the HRP image. A modulation matrix is constructed to reduce the contrast differences. Moreover, nonlocal self-similarity characteristic of the high-pass component extracted from each HRMS band is considered as another regulariser, which is an effective structural prior to improve the local spatial quality of the HRMS image. The weights of nonlocal similarity model are learned from the high-pass component of available HRP image. Experiments conducted on QuickBird and IKONOS data validate that the proposed pan-sharpening method can achieve better performance compared with several traditional and state-of-the-art pan-sharpening algorithms in terms of quantitative evaluation and visual analysis.
Tectonic history of the Dent Blanche

The Dent Blanche Tectonic System (DBTS), a stack of continental slices of Adriatic origin, is the highest tectonic element of the collisional wedge in the Western Alps, and it straddles the Italian-Swiss border. This excursion is intended to discuss its tectonic history. For this purpose, it describes key localities, allowing the examination of three main points. Firstly, the well-preserved pre-Alpine rocks of the Valpelline series will allow a statement about the structure and evolution of the lower crust during the Permian. Secondly, the frontal contact of the DBTS continental rocks with the underlying ocean-derived rocks (Piemonte-Liguria ocean) will be visited during the second day, in order to discuss the nature of this contact. Thirdly, the Roisan-Cignana Shear Zone, a major boundary inside the DBTS, will be visited during the third day, allowing a better interpretation of the internal geometry of the DBTS.
Multidimensional Poverty among Households in Southwest Nigeria

Money metrics have been adopted in studies of household poverty in Nigeria while few have considered alternative methods. This study analysed poverty among households in southwest Nigeria adopting a “Multidimensional Approach”. This is necessary for robust and effective policy. Data were collected from 355 randomly selected households. Alkire-Foster’s methodology was used to assess households’ poverty and this was further decomposed. The majority of the households lacked improved toilet facilities, sanitation, improved drinking water, nearness to healthcare centres and primary schools, while most households engaged in self-medication. About 7.9 percent were deprived in all the eleven indicators considered. The Multidimensional Headcount Ratio (H) when cut-off (k) was set at 1/3 revealed that 69% of the households were poor and its Intensity (A) was 65% while the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which is the Adjusted Head Count Ratio (M0) revealed that an average household in the area was deprived of 45% of the total potential deprivations it could experience. Decomposition by socioeconomic characteristics revealed that the poverty rate was higher among female-headed households. The same applied to households headed by divorced individuals, younger persons, farmers, less educated individuals and larger households. When k=2/3, 44.2 percent of the households were classified as poor with an “A” value of 0.416 and the MPI being 0.184. At k=1 the percentage of poor households reduced significantly to 7.9 percent with an intensity value of 0.074 and MPI of 0.006. It is recommended that government should improve access to education, health care and enforce various sanitation laws to improve households’ hygiene. Policies should also be geared towards empowering households in order to escape poverty.
Image Matching Using SIFT Features and Relaxation Labeling Technique—A Constraint Initializing Method for Dense Stereo Matching

A probabilistic neural-network-based feature-matching algorithm for a stereo image pair is presented in this paper, which will be useful as a constraint initializing method for further dense matching technique. In this approach, scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) features are used to detect interest points in a stereo image pair. The descriptor which is associated with each keypoint is based on the histogram of the gradient magnitude and direction of gradients. These descriptors are the preliminary input for the matching algorithm. Using disparity range computed by visual inspection, the search area can be restricted for a given stereo image pair. Reduced search area improves the computation speed. Initial probabilities of matches are assigned to the keypoints which are considered as probable matches from the selected search area by Bayesian reasoning. The probabilities of all such matches are improved iteratively using relaxation labeling technique. Neighboring probable matches are exploited to improve the probability of best match using consistency measures. Confidence measures considering the neighborhood, unicity, and symmetry are some validation techniques which are built into the technique presented here for finding accurate matches. The algorithm is found to be effective in matching SIFT features detected in a stereo image pair with greater accuracy, and these accurate correspondences can be used in finding the fundamental matrix which encodes the epipolar geometry between the given stereo image pair. This fundamental matrix can then be used as a constraint for finding inliers that are used in matching methods for deriving dense disparity map.
Pan-Viral Screening of Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults With and Without Asthma Reveals Unexpected Human Coronavirus and Human Rhinovirus Diversity

Abstract Background. Between 50% and 80% of asthma exacerbations are associated with viral respiratory tract infections (RTIs), yet the influence of viral pathogen diversity on asthma outcomes is poorly understood because of the limited scope and throughput of conventional viral detection methods. Methods. We investigated the capability of the Virochip, a DNA microarray—based viral detection platform, to characterize viral diversity in RTIs in adults with and without asthma. Results. The Virochip detected viruses in a higher proportion of samples (65%) than did culture isolation (17%) while exhibiting high concordance (98%) with and comparable sensitivity (97%) and specificity (98%) to pathogen-specific polymerase chain reaction. A similar spectrum of viruses was identified in the RTIs of each patient subgroup; however, unexpected diversity among human coronaviruses (HCoVs) and human rhinoviruses (HRVs) was revealed. All but one of the HCoVs corresponded to the newly recognized HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU1 viruses, and >20 different serotypes of HRVs were detected, including a set of 5 divergent isolates that formed a distinct genetic subgroup. Conclusions. The Virochip can detect both known and novel variants of viral pathogens present in RTIs. Given the diversity detected here, larger-scale studies will be necessary to determine whether particular substrains of viruses confer an elevated risk of asthma exacerbation.
A Randomized Switch From Nevirapine-Based Antiretroviral Therapy to Single Tablet Rilpivirine/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate in Virologically Suppressed Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1-Infected Rwandans

There is a need to improve antiretroviral options in Africa. This study shows switching from a neviripine-based treatment to co-formulated rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in virologically suppressed Rwandans is safe and non-inferior to continued nevirapine-based therapy at 24 weeks.
HFE gene variants and iron-induced oxygen radical generation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), lung accumulation of excessive extracellular iron and macrophage haemosiderin may suggest disordered iron homeostasis leading to recurring microscopic injury and fibrosing damage. The current study population comprised 89 consistent IPF patients and 107 controls. 54 patients and 11 controls underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Haemosiderin was assessed by Perls' stain, BAL fluid malondialdehyde (MDA) by high-performance liquid chromatography, BAL cell iron-dependent oxygen radical generation by fluorimetry and the frequency of hereditary haemochromatosis HFE gene variants by reverse dot blot hybridisation. Macrophage haemosiderin, BAL fluid MDA and BAL cell unstimulated iron-dependent oxygen radical generation were all significantly increased above controls (p<0.05). The frequency of C282Y, S65C and H63D HFE allelic variants was markedly higher in IPF compared with controls (40.4% versus 22.4%, OR 2.35, p=0.008) and was associated with higher iron-dependent oxygen radical generation (HFE variant 107.4±56.0, HFE wild type (wt) 59.4±36.4 and controls 16.7±11.8 fluorescence units per 105 BAL cells; p=0.028 HFE variant versus HFE wt, p=0.006 HFE wt versus controls). The data suggest iron dysregulation associated with HFE allelic variants may play an important role in increasing susceptibility to environmental exposures, leading to recurring injury and fibrosis in IPF. HFE gene variants that cause iron-related fibrosing diseases implicate lung iron dysregulation in IPF pathogenesis http://ow.ly/DRnJK
Social isolation during puberty affects female sexual behavior in mice

Exposure to stress during puberty can lead to long-term behavioral alterations in adult rodents coincident with sex steroid hormone-dependent brain remodeling and reorganization. Social isolation is a stress for social animals like mice, but little is known about the effects of such stress during adolescence on later reproductive behaviors. The present study examined sexual behavior of ovariectomized, estradiol and progesterone primed female mice that were individually housed from 25 days of age until testing at approximately 95 days, or individually housed from day 25 until day 60 (during puberty), followed by housing in social groups. Mice in these isolated groups were compared to females that were group housed throughout the experiment. Receptive sexual behaviors of females and behaviors of stimulus males were recorded. Females housed in social groups displayed greater levels of receptive behaviors in comparison to both socially isolated groups. Namely, social females had higher lordosis quotients (LQs) and more often displayed stronger lordosis postures in comparison to isolated females. No differences between female groups were observed in stimulus male sexual behavior suggesting that female “attractiveness” was not affected by their social isolation. Females housed in social groups had fewer cells containing immunoreactive estrogen receptor (ER) α in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) and in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) than both isolated groups. These results suggest that isolation during adolescence affects female sexual behavior and re-socialization for 1 month in adulthood is insufficient to rescue lordosis behavior from the effects of social isolation during the pubertal period.
Evaluation and Optimization of Thermo-Mechanical Reliability of a TSV-Based 3D MEMS

This paper focuses on the thermo-mechanical reliability of a 3D-TSV MEMS in which cap layer and MEMS micro-structure layer is vertically interconnected and bonded by TSVs/micro-bumps and a sear ring. Geometrical parameters of the TSV structure and the seal ring are optimized first before the global model simulation. Smaller thickness of bottom TSV Cu and smaller opening size of silicon oxide layer are preferred in terms of thermo-mechanical reliability and electrical reliability. Quarter circular arc corner turning of radius 50μm decreases shear stress by at most 43.7% and peeling stress by at most 55.4% when compared with any other corner turning. In the end, the optimized structure parameters are introduced into the global model reliability simulation to verify the feasibility of the 3D-TSV MEMS.
Understanding bacteriophage therapy as a density-dependent kinetic process.

Studies of bacteriophage as therapeutic agents have had mixed and unpredictable outcomes. We argue that interpretation of these apparently paradoxical results requires appreciation of various density-dependent threshold effects. We use a mathematical model to delineate different categories of outcome, including therapy by simple inundation, by active biocontrol, and by delayed active biocontrol. Counter-intuitively, there are situations in which earlier inoculation can be less efficacious, and simultaneous inoculation with antibiotics can be detrimental. Predictions of therapeutic responses are made using formulae dependent on biologically meaningful parameters; experimental measurement of the parameters will be a prerequisite of application of the model to particular study systems. Such modelling can point to which aspects of phage biology might most fruitfully be engineered so as to enhance the viability of bacteriophage therapy.
Electronic Monitoring of Medication Adherence in a 1-year Clinical Study of 2 Dosing Regimens of Mesalazine for Adults in Remission with Ulcerative Colitis

Background:Adherence to medication is an issue of great importance for patients with ulcerative colitis. Once daily mesalazine seems to be no worse than divided doses in preventing relapse in remitting patients. Although this has been attributed to improved adherence, detailed measures of adherence have been lacking from previous studies. Methods:A 1-year substudy was conducted alongside a trial that compared 2 different dosing regimens (once daily versus three times daily) of mesalazine for patients in remission with ulcerative colitis. Participants in the substudy had their adherence monitored electronically using the medication event monitoring system, self-report, and tablet counts. We compared measures, determined factors associated with adherence and associations between adherence and relapse, modeled adherence over time, and explored behavioral aspects. Results:We included 58 participants. Adherence was high across all measures (89.3% self-report, 96.7% tablet counts, and 89.2% medication event monitoring system). Agreement between the measures was poor at times. Adherence according to the medication event monitoring system best distinguished between the participants who relapsed (71.4%) and those who remained in remission (93.4%), although this difference was not statistically discernible at the 5% level. Adherence deteriorated over the study period, with three times daily participants generally less adherent than once-daily participants (odds ratio, 0.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.01–0.08). Adherence was higher on weekdays (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.31–1.65) and around clinic visit dates (odds ratio, 1.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.18–1.72). Conclusions:Simple dosing regimens are preferable to multiple daily dosing regimens. Electronic monitoring of adherence should be used more often in clinical studies. Self-reported adherence and tablet counts may underestimate adherence. Adherence declined over time, and adherence was generally lower and more varied for those allocated to the three times daily regimen.