Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transparency Effect in the Emergence of Monopolies in Social Networks

Power law degree distribution was shown in many complex networks. However, in most real systems, deviation from power-law behavior is observed in social and economical networks and emergence of giant hubs is obvious in real network structures far from the tail of power law. We propose a model based on the information transparency (transparency means how much the information is obvious to others). This model can explain power structure in societies with non-transparency in information delivery. The emergence of ultra powerful nodes is explained as a direct result of censorship. Based on these assumptions, we define four distinct transparency regions: perfect non-transparent, low transparent, perfect transparent and exaggerated regions. We observe the emergence of some ultra powerful (very high degree) nodes in low transparent networks, in accordance with the economical and social systems. We show that the low transparent networks are more vulnerable to attacks and the controllability of low transparent networks is harder than the others. Also, the ultra powerful nodes in the low transparent networks have a smaller mean length and higher clustering coefficients than the other regions.
Estudo de confiabilidade da aplicação da escala de Fugl-Meyer no Brasil

Reliability Study on the Application of the Fugl-Meyer Scale in Brazil Objective: The aim of this study was to produce a Brazilian version of the original Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale and to verify the intrarater and interrater reliability in chronic post-stroke patients. Method: Fifty hemiparetic patients participated in this study. The Fugl-Meyer assessment was applied to them twice (intrarater reliability) by three physiotherapists (interrater reliability), from three rehabilitation centers. Results: The results showed that the whole Fugl-Meyer scale demonstrated high interrater and intrarater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99 and 0.98, respectively), and high reliability for each subscale (intraclass interrater = 0.99 to 0.94; intraclass intrarater = 0.98 to 0.87). Conclusion: It was concluded that the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale did not show any conflicts of interpretation. High intrarater and interrater reliability rates were obtained, thereby allowing this version to be used as instrument for clinical evaluation and research in Brazil.
Performance analysis of direction-of-arrival estimation using the decentralized root-MUSIC

In this paper, we propose a decentralized implementation of the root-MUSIC algorithm over a network of nodes based on averaging consensus (AC) protocol. In our implementation, the nodes compute a sufficient statistic of their measurements, namely the signal subspace, in a decentralized fashion and sent it to a fusion center (FC), which performs the direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation using the root-MUSIC algorithm. The proposed decentralized implementation reduces the required communication with the FC and the computational cost at the FC. Moreover, we derive an analytical expression for the asymptotic behaviour of the mean square error (MSE) for DOA estimation using our proposed algorithm, which we refer to as the decentralized root-MUSIC algorithm. Based on our performance analysis we show that the decentralized root-MUSIC algorithm is not a consistent estimator of the DOAs. Nevertheless, we demonstrate by simulations that the decentralized root-MUSIC algorithm achieves the Cramér Rao bound (CRB) for small number of snapshots and low SNRs.
he global range of subduction zone thermal models

We model 56 segments of subduction zones using kinematically defined slabs based on updated geometries from Syracuse and Abers (2006) to obtain a comprehensive suite of thermal models for the global subduction system. These two-dimensional thermal models provide insight to the dehydration and melting processes that occur in subduction zones. Despite the wide range of slab geometries, ages, convergence velocities and upper plates the predicted thermal structures share many common features. All models feature partial coupling between the slab and the overriding plate directly downdip of the thrust zone, invoked to replicate the cold nose observed in measurements of heat flow and seismic attenuation. We test four separate assumptions about the causes of the partial coupling: (1) the downdip end of the partial coupling is at a constant depth, (2) it is at constant distance trenchward from the arc, (3) it is defined by a critical surface slab temperature, or (4) it is adjusted such that the hottest part of the mantle wedge ditor ark Jellinek
An Estimation of Plasma Vitamin A and the Vitamin A Absorption Test

Following the adaptation of the Carr and Price (1926) colour reaction to the determination of the vitamin A content of the blood by McCoord and Luce-Clausen (1934), Chesney and McCoord (1934) reported impaired absorption of vitamin A from the intestine in coeliac disease, and devised the vitamin A absorption test as an index of the absorption of fat from the intestine. The chemical method was improved by Kimble (1939) and by May, Blackfan, McCreary, and Allen (1940), in each case a photoelectric colorimeter of the Evelyn (1936) type being employed in place of the earlier visual matching of the colours. The vitamin A absorption test has since been used by a number of workers in the United States, who confirmed the findings of low fasting plasma vitamin A levels and flat absorption curves in coeliac disease (Breese and McCoord, 1939; Clausen and McCoord, 1938; May et al., 1940; May, McCreary and Blackfan, 1942; Adlersberg and Sobotka, 1943a), in cystic fibrosis of the pancreas (Blackfan and May, 1938), in sprue and idiopathic steatorrhoea (Adlersberg and Sobotka, 1943b; Ingelfinger, 1943; Cayer, Ruffin and Perlzweig, 1945; Darby, Kaser, and Jones, 1947), in congenital atresia of the bile duct (May et al., 1940), and in colitis (Page and Bercovitz, 1943). It was soon found, however, that low plasma vitamin A levels and flat absorption curves may occur in conditions other than those characterized by steatorrhoea, particularly in chronic infectious diseases, e.g., in tuberculosis (Breese, Watkins, and McCoord, 1942), in giardiasis (Katsampes, McCoord, and Phillips, 1944), in catarrhal jaundice (Breese and McCoord, 1940), in cirrhosis of the liver (Ralli, Bauman, and Roberts, 1941), in malnutrition, inflammatory lesions, and cretinism (May and McCreary, 1941), and in several diseases of the skin (Ruch, Brunsting, and Osterberg, 1946; Peck, Glick, Sobotka, and Chargin, 1943). It is thus evident that the low plasma vitamin A level and flat absorption curve is not in itself diagnostic of steatorrhoea although both findings are invariably present when fat absorption is impaired. Ingelfinger (1943) considers that in assessing the low vitamin A level and flat absorption curve much is gained by a knowledge of the plasma carotene level, which is also low in steatorrhoea (Cayer et al., 1945). Our purpose in this communication is to present a method of plasma vitamin A estimation and to record data which we have found relevant to the performance and interpretation of the absorption test. Method
Hybrid kinematic and dynamic simulation of running machines

Dynamic simulation requires the computationally expensive calculation of joint accelerations, while in kinematic simulation these accelerations are known based on a given trajectory. This paper describes a hybrid kinematic and dynamic simulation method that can be applied to the simulation of running machines to speed up the computations over that of a dynamic simulation. This is possible because much of the time the legs of a running machine are in the air and their trajectories are directly specified and tightly controlled. The method is more flexible than dynamic simulation alone because it allows joints to be either motion-controlled or force-controlled. It is general to all robotic systems with tree structures, and fully motion-controlled or force-controlled kinematic loops. It should work best for machines with appendages that are motion-controlled, such as those encountered in underwater and space manipulation.
Characterizing fairness for 3G wireless networks

The end to end system data performance over a 3G cellular network depends on many factors such as the number of users, interference, multipath propagation, radio resource management techniques as well as the interaction between these mechanisms and the transport protocol's flow and congestion mechanisms. Using controlled experiments in a public cell site, we investigate the interaction between TCP and the 3G UMTS/HSPA network's resource allocation, and its effect on fairness in the throughput achieved across multiple (up to 26) TCP flows in a loaded cell sector. Our field measurement results indicate that TCP fairness fluctuates significantly when the air interface (radio link) is the bottleneck. We also observe that TCP fairness is substantially better when the backhaul link (a fixed wired link) is the bottleneck, instead of the air interface. We speculate that the fairness of TCP flows is adversely impacted by the mismatch between the resource allocation mechanisms of TCP's flow and congestion control and that of the Radio Access Network (RAN).
HSPPC-96: a personalised cancer vaccine

HSPPC-96 is a protein peptide complex consisting of a 96 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp), gp96, and an array of gp96-associated cellular peptides. Immunisation with HSPPC-96 induces T-cell specific immunity against these peptides; gp96 is not immunogenic per se. The non-covalent binding of gp96 to peptides is neither selective nor restricted to cell types. Thus, the collection of gp96-associated peptides represents the antigenic peptide pool of a cell; this is the basis of the peptide-specific immunogenicity elicited by HSPPC-96. Since the repertoire of antigenic peptides in the cell is different between normal and tumour cells and is also distinct among tumours of the same histology due to the randomness of tumour-specific mutations, a purified sample of HSPPC-96 can only effectively immunise against the tumour from which it originates. The immunisation effect is, therefore, specific to both the individual patient and the tumour type. This true custom-based vaccine has been shown to induce protective T-cell immunity against a variety of tumours in animal models. The major mechanism of action is thought to be the ability of HSPPC-96 to prime peptide-specific MHC class I-restricted CD8+ T-cells by interacting with antigen-presenting cells in a receptor-dependent manner. HSPPC-96 is now being widely tested against human malignancies for which effective therapies do not exist. The major challenges of the human studies are immunological monitoring and the determination of optimal dosing, scheduling and route of administration. HSPPC-96 has been well tolerated at all dose levels. Clinical applications are being addressed by numerous studies including an international, multi-centre, double-blind Phase III trial for the treatment of stage III renal cell carcinoma in the adjuvant setting.
MARS: a MAPLE/MATLAB/C resultant-based solver

The problem of computing zeros of a system of polynomial equations has been well studied in the computational literature. A number of algorithms have been proposed and many computer algebra and public domain packages provide the capability of computing the roots of polynomial equations. Most of these implementations are based on Gr obner bases which can be slow for even small problems. In this paper, we present a new system, MARS, to compute the roots of a zero dimensional polynomial system. It is based on computing the resultant of a system of polynomial equations followed by eigendecomposition of a generalized companion matrix. MARS includes a robust library of Maple functions for constructing resultant matrices, an e cient library of Matlab routines for numerically solving the eigenproblem, and C code generation routines and a C library for incorporating the numerical solver into applications. We illustrate the usage ofMARS on various examples and utilize di erent resultant formulations.
On the Use of Relative Likelihood Ratios in Statistical Inference

We ask the question, “How good are parameter estimates? ,” and offer criticism of confidence intervals as an answer. Instead we suggest the engineering community adopt a little known idea, that of defining plausible intervals from the relative likelihood ratio. Plausible intervals answer the question, “What range of values could plausibly have given rise to the data we have seen? ” We develop a simple theorem for computing plausible intervals for a wide variety of common distributions, including the Gaussian, exponential, and Poisson, among others.
Is female preference for male repertoires due to sensory bias?

There are several possible explanations for the female preference for male repertoires in birds. These males are older, and have better territories; thus there are functional reasons for females to prefer these males. However, there is an alternative explanation; females may habituate less quickly to song repertoires than single songs. I tested whether females have a non–functional, sensory bias for male song repertoires, by testing female preference for a repertoire in zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata), a species in which males possess a single stereotyped song. Females chose between a male repertoire of four different phrases created from the song phrase of one individual and that of one of those phrases repeated four times (natural zebra finch song). Females were also given a choice between the above repertoire and a song made from the phrases of four related males (‘family’ stimulus). I tested female preference by training females to press a button for presentation of a song stimulus, and counting the number of button presses. Females preferred the song repertoire to a single phrase song, and did not differentiate between the repertoire and song phrases from four males. Evidence from the Estrildidae indicates that having a single song is the ancestral state for zebra finches, so the preference is not ancestral.
Predictable routing

Predictable routing is the concept of using prespecified patterns to route a net. By doing this, we allow an more accurate prediction mechanism for metrics such as congestion and wirelength earlier in the design flow. Additionally, we can better plan the routes, insert buffers and perform wire sizing earlier. With comparable routing quality we show that we can predictably route up to 30% of a selected subset of nets. Also, we introduce methods for finding a group of nets which can be predictably routed.
Speed testing without speed tests: estimating achievable download speed from passive measurements

How fast is the network? The speed at which real users can download content at different locations and at different times is an important metric for service providers. Knowledge of this speed helps determine where to provision more capacity and helps detect network problems. However, most network-level estimates of these speeds today are obtained using active "speed tests" that place substantial load on the network and are not necessarily representative of actual user experiences due to limited vantage points. These problems are exacerbated in wireless networks where the physical locations of users play an important role in performance. To redress these problems, this paper presents a new technique to estimate achievable download speed using only flow records collected passively. Estimating achievable speed passively is non-trivial because the measured throughput of real flows is often not comparable to the achievable steady-state TCP rate. This can be because, for example, flows are small and never exit TCP slow start or are rate-limited by the content-provider. Our technique addresses these issues by constructing a ThroughputIndex, a list of flow types that accurately estimate achievable speed. We show that our technique estimates achievable speed more accurately than other techniques in a large 3G wireless network.
Raynaud's phenomenon (primary or secondary to systemic sclerosis). The usefulness of laser-Doppler flowmetry in the diagnosis.

BACKGROUND Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) consists of painful vascular spasms of the extremities stressed by cold exposure. It is often a symptom, in many cases the onset, of systemic sclerosis (SSc). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role that laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) could have in the differential diagnosis of these disorders and to characterize the functional behaviour of the microvessels in RP. METHODS In this study we examined 52 patients (five males and 47 females, aged 17-57) affected by primary RP, 21 patients (three males and 18 females, aged 31-63) affected by RP secondary to SSc as defined by Wouda in 1987 and 20 healthy subjects (three males and 17 females, aged 26-58) by means of LDF with an appropriate cold-test (11 degrees C for 2 min). RESULTS We show that the cold test applied at hand level can distinguish RP patients from healthy subjects. Data show that basal blood flow of patients affected by SSc is diminished in its medium value and presents a typical tracing without vasomotion in comparison to healthy subjects and also to patients affected by primary RP. On the basis of our data among the primary RP patients we can also distinguish a group that show basal blood flow tracing very similar to that of sclerodermic patients. These subjects should be carefully followed-up. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, it could be stimulating for the future to introduce LDF as a complementary method for the diagnosis of RP and possibly for early discrimination between the primary disease and that secondary to SSc.
Load Scheduling and Power Trading in Systems With High Penetration of Renewable Energy Resources

In this paper, we focus on the problems of load scheduling and power trading in systems with high penetration of renewable energy resources (RERs). We adopt approximate dynamic programming to schedule the operation of different types of appliances including must-run and controllable appliances. We assume that users can sell their excess power generation to other users or to the utility company. Since it is more profitable for users to trade energy with other users locally, users with excess generation compete with each other to sell their respective extra power to their neighbors. A game theoretic approach is adopted to model the interaction between users with excess generation. In our system model, each user aims to obtain a larger share of the market and to maximize its revenue by appropriately selecting its offered price and generation. In addition to yielding a higher revenue, consuming the excess generation locally reduces the reverse power flow, which impacts the stability of the system. Simulation results show that our proposed algorithm reduces the energy expenses of the users. The proposed algorithm also facilitates the utilization of RERs by encouraging users to consume excess generation locally rather than injecting it back into the power grid.
A Feasibility Study and Development Framework Design for Realizing Smartphone-Based Vehicular Networking Systems

Designing and distributing effective vehicular safety applications can help significantly reduce the number of car accidents and assure the safety of many precious lives. However, despite the efforts from standardization bodies and industrial manufacturers, many studies suggest that it will take more than a decade for full deployment. We start this work with the hypothesis that smartphones may be suitable platforms for catalyzing the distribution of vehicular safety systems. Specifically, smartphones connected to their respective cellular networks can report sensing data to back-end application servers and exchange safety-related messages. This paper first evaluates the performance of the vehicular ad-hoc networking standards and the hardware platforms that implement them. Next, we perform empirical evaluations on the performance of cellular networks to confirm their applicability in vehicular networking. Based on our observations, we present the VoCell application development framework. VoCell, comprehends a set of components that eases the development of smartphone applications for vehicular networking applications. Using VoCell, developers can easily access internal and external sensing components and share this data to servers. We present a number of example applications developed using VoCell and evaluate their effectiveness in local and highway environments using a pilot deployment. We envision that VoCell can act as a building block for enabling new smartphone-based systems for vehicular networking applications.
Performance Analysis of Two-Tier Wireless Mesh Networks for Achieving Delay Minimisation

Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) are emerging as a key technology for the next-generation wireless networks owing to its attractive properties, such as dynamic self-organisation, quick deployment, easy maintenance, low cost, and high scalability. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to investigate the end-to-end delay in a random-access two-tier (i.e., the backhaul tier and access tier) WMN. In the backhaul tier, mesh routers are uniformly distributed in a grid placement. The access tier is formed by a series of wireless local area networks. After validating the accuracy of the analytical model through simulation experiments, we use the model to tune the system parameters in order to minimise the end-to-end delay.
Central effects of thyronamines on glucose metabolism in rats.

Thyronamines are naturally occurring, chemical relatives of thyroid hormone. Systemic administration of synthetic 3-iodothyronamine (T(1)AM) and - to a lesser extent - thyronamine (T(0)AM), leads to acute bradycardia, hypothermia, decreased metabolic rate, and hyperglycemia. This profile led us to hypothesize that the central nervous system is among the principal targets of thyronamines. We investigated whether a low dose i.c. v. infusion of synthetic thyronamines recapitulates the changes in glucose metabolism that occur following i.p. thyronamine administration. Plasma glucose, glucoregulatory hormones, and endogenous glucose production (EGP) using stable isotope dilution were monitored in rats before and 120 min after an i.p. (50 mg/kg) or i.c. v. (0.5 mg/kg) bolus infusion of T(1)AM, T(0)AM, or vehicle. To identify the peripheral effects of centrally administered thyronamines, drug-naive rats were also infused intravenously with low dose (0.5 mg/kg) thyronamines. Systemic T(1)AM rapidly increased EGP and plasma glucose, increased plasma glucagon, and corticosterone, but failed to change plasma insulin. Compared with i.p.-administered T(1)AM, a 100-fold lower dose administered centrally induced a more pronounced acute EGP increase and hyperglucagonemia while plasma insulin tended to decrease. Both systemic and central infusions of T(0)AM caused smaller increases in EGP, plasma glucose, and glucagon compared with T(1)AM. Neither T(1)AM nor T(0)AM influenced any of these parameters upon low dose i.v. administration. We conclude that central administration of low-dose thyronamines suffices to induce the acute alterations in glucoregulatory hormones and glucose metabolism following systemic thyronamine infusion. Our data indicate that thyronamines can act centrally to modulate glucose metabolism.