Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DetServ: Network Models for Real-Time QoS Provisioning in SDN-Based Industrial Environments

Industrial networks require real-time guarantees for the flows they carry. That is, flows have hard end-to-end delay requirements that have to be deterministically guaranteed. While proprietary extensions of Ethernet have provided solutions, these often require expensive forwarding devices. The rise of software-defined networking (SDN) opens the door to the design of centralized traffic engineering frameworks for providing such real-time guarantees. As part of such a framework, a network model is needed for the computation of worst-case delays and for access control. In this paper, we propose two network models based on network calculus theory for providing deterministic services (DetServ). While our first model, the multi-hop model (MHM), assigns a rate and a buffer budget to each queue in the network, our second model, the threshold-based model (TBM), simply fixes a maximum delay for each queue. Via a packet-level simulation, we confirm that the delay bounds guaranteed by both models are never exceeded and that no packet loss occurs. We further show that the TBM provides more flexibility with respect to the characteristics of the flows to be embedded and that it has the potential of accepting more flows in a given network. Finally, we show that the runtime cost for this increase in flexibility stays reasonable for online request processing in industrial scenarios.
“We’ll only see parts of each other’s lives:” The role of mundane talk in maintaining nonresidential parent–child relationships

Research on relational maintenance shows that mundane day-to-day talk is important in sustaining relationships. This study explores how absence associated with the visitation process shapes nonresidential parents’ communication with their children. Participants’ open-ended responses indicate that several factors facilitate and constrain interaction with their children during absence including their philosophy about communication boundaries, technology, and their relationship with the other parent. Participants who have limited interactions struggle to “know” their children, while those with frequent interaction with their children have access to the mundane stories of their children’s lives, which helps to maintain the relationships. This research suggests that the process of updating about what occurs during absence may be central to maintaining relationships.
Expression of somatostatin in the adult and developing mouse kidney.

BACKGROUND Somatostatin (somatotropin release inhibiting factor) (SRIF) has potent antiproliferative and antisecretory actions. In the adult kidney, somatostatin alters renal blood flow, ion transport, and water permeability. While some evidence suggests that SRIF may be produced by adult kidney tubular cells, the specific tubules generating SRIF are unknown. Somatostatin has also been detected in a variety of embryonic tissues, although it has not been described in the developing kidney. Our objective was to determine the expression pattern of SRIF in both the adult and embryonic mouse kidney. METHODS We performed reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunofluorescence for SRIF in developing and adult mouse kidney tissues. We localized SRIF by dual or serial labeling immunofluorescence with specific markers. RESULTS Somatostatin mRNA was present in kidneys throughout embryogenesis and into adulthood. Starting at embryonic day (E) 12.5, SRIF was strongly expressed at the interface of the metanephric mesenchymal cells and the basolateral surfaces of ureteric bud trunks. Starting at E16.5, the staining at the interface was confined to the peripheral ureteric bud trunks and the clefts of newly dividing ureteric bud ampullae. In older embryos, SRIF also appeared in medullary tubules that appeared to be maturing thin descending limbs of Henle. In the adult kidney, SRIF proteins localized exclusively to medullary thin descending limbs of the Henle loop. CONCLUSION In embryonic kidneys, SRIF is expressed first at the interface of the metanephric mesenchyme and basolateral ureteric bud and later in maturing thin descending limbs of Henle. Expression in the thin descending limb persists in the adult kidney.
Social action tracking via noise tolerant time-varying factor graphs

It is well known that users' behaviors (actions) in a social network are influenced by various factors such as personal interests, social influence, and global trends. However, few publications systematically study how social actions evolve in a dynamic social network and to what extent different factors affect the user actions. In this paper, we propose a Noise Tolerant Time-varying Factor Graph Model (NTT-FGM) for modeling and predicting social actions. NTT-FGM simultaneously models social network structure, user attributes and user action history for better prediction of the users' future actions. More specifically, a user's action at time t is generated by her latent state at t, which is influenced by her attributes, her own latent state at time t-1 and her neighbors' states at time t and t-1. Based on this intuition, we formalize the social action tracking problem using the NTT-FGM model; then present an efficient algorithm to learn the model, by combining the ideas from both continuous linear system and Markov random field. Finally, we present a case study of our model on predicting future social actions. We validate the model on three different types of real-world data sets. Qualitatively, our model can uncover some interesting patterns of the social dynamics. Quantitatively, experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms several baseline methods for action prediction.
A Narrative Journey for Intimate Partner Violence: From Victim to Survivor

The purpose of this research was to examine the decision-making process of battered women from a Narrative framework and to identify the major internal and external constructs (emphasizing unique outcomes, dominant cultural narratives, and support for new narratives) which allow for these women to re-story their lives. Several themes emerged indicating that the decision-making processes is dependent upon the ability to capture positive moments in their lives without allowing the perceived influence of dominant cultural narratives to override these moments. The process is further clouded by perception of available social networks and resources that support change of her narrative.
Hierarchical quadratic programming: Fast online humanoid-robot motion generation

Hierarchical least-square optimization is often used in robotics to inverse a direct function when multiple incompatible objectives are involved. Typical examples are inverse kinematics or dynamics. The objectives can be given as equalities to be satisfied (e.g. point-to-point task) or as areas of satisfaction (e.g. the joint range). This paper proposes a complete solution to solve multiple least-square quadratic problems of both equality and inequality constraints ordered into a strict hierarchy. Our method is able to solve a hierarchy of only equalities 10 times faster than the iterative-projection hierarchical solvers and can consider inequalities at any level while running at the typical control frequency on whole-body size problems. This generic solver is used to resolve the redundancy of humanoid robots while generating complex movements in constrained environments.
Decoding Valuing People

Government policy frameworks on the support of disabled people can often be difficult to ‘read’, as they contain contradictory elements that simultaneously support and confront social processes that create inequalities and oppression. Valuing People (VP), the UK government’s policy framework for learning disability (intellectual disability), provides such a context for work that enhances learning‐disabled people’s inclusion in community and society, and to reverse some of the systemic disadvantage they have experienced. However, as an uneasy amalgam of the progressive and the neoliberal, the romantic and the practical, it has been difficult to evaluate in order to use its opportunities and minimise its dangers. This article attempts to decode VP in terms of ideologies in human services, and the current New Labour policy mix. Its emphases on Person Centred Planning, Direct Payments and employment will be analysed to try to establish what VP means, and to suggest more adequate priorities. This analysis might also be relevant to other sectors where there is a similar problem of decoding their particular policy context.
Chromatin Remodeling by the T Cell Receptor (Tcr)-β Gene Enhancer during Early T Cell Development

Gene targeting studies have shown that T cell receptor (TCR)-β gene expression and recombination are inhibited after deletion of an enhancer (Eβ) located at the 3′ end of the ∼500-kb TCR-β locus. Using knockout mouse models, we have measured, at different regions throughout the TCR-β locus, the effects of Eβ deletion on molecular parameters believed to reflect epigenetic changes associated with the control of gene activation, including restriction endonuclease access to chromosomal DNA, germline transcription, DNA methylation, and histone H3 acetylation. Our results demonstrate that, in early developing thymocytes, Eβ contributes to major chromatin remodeling directed to an ∼25-kb upstream domain comprised of the Dβ-Jβ locus regions. Accordingly, treatment of Eβ-deleted thymocytes with the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A relieved the block in TCR-β gene expression and promoted recombination within the Dβ-Jβ loci. Unexpectedly, however, epigenetic processes at distal Vβ genes on the 5′ side of the locus and at the 3′ proximal Vβ14 gene appear to be less dependent on Eβ, suggesting that Eβ activity is confined to a discrete region of the TCR-β locus. These findings have implications with respect to the developmental control of TCR-β gene recombination, and the process of allelic exclusion at this locus.
Long‐Term Avifaunal Impoverishment in an Isolated Tropical Woodlot

Abstract: Long‐term (>50 years) extinction patterns and processes in isolated tropical forest patches are poorly understood. Considering that forest fragments are rapidly becoming the common feature of most tropical landscapes, data on the long‐term conservation value of such fragments are urgently needed. We report on avifaunal turnover in a tropical woodlot (Bogor Botanical Gardens; 86 ha; 54% native and 46% introduced plants; mean 83,649 visitors/month) that has been surveyed several times before and after its isolation in 1936. By 2004 the original avifaunal richness of this woodlot declined by 59% (97 to 40 species) and its forest‐dependent avifauna declined by 60% (30 to 12 species). Large‐bodied birds were particularly prone to extinction before 1987, but following this time none of the species traits we studied could be considered predictive of extinction proneness. All seven forest‐dependent bird species that attempted to colonize this woodlot by 1987 perished thereafter. Our results show that area reduction, isolation, intense human use, and perverse management (e.g., understory removal) of this patch have probably negatively affected the long‐term sustainability of its forest avifauna.
Tris(3-chloropentane-2,4-dionato-κ2 O,O′)iron(III)

In the title compound, [Fe(C5H6ClO2)3], the FeIII cation is situated on a twofold rotation axis and is coordinated by six O atoms from three 3-chloropentane-2,4-dionate ligands in a slightly distorted octahedral environment. Fe—O bond lengths are in the range 1.9818 (18)–1.9957 (18) Å. The trans O—Fe—O angles are 169.06 (13) and 171.54 (8)°, whereas the corresponding cis angles are in the range 84.81 (10)–100.68 (12)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked via C—H⋯Cl interactions.
Transcriptional changes in organoculture of full-thickness human skin following topical application of all-trans retinoic acid

Les rétinoïdes sont utilisés comme agents thérapeutiques pour de nombreuses maladies de la peau, p.ex. le psoriasis, l'acné et les troubles de la kératinisation. Les mêmes substances ont également été reconnues dans le traitement des troubles de l' hyperpigmentation tels que le melasma.
From PASSI to Agile PASSI: tailoring a design process to meet new needs

From several years we are developing robotic multi-agent systems according to well defined design methodologies. These methodologies evolved over time because of the changes in the operating environments (robotic hardware and software platforms) and specific missions accomplished by our robots. In the last four years we used PASSI (Process for Agent Societies Specification and Implementation) obtaining good results but, the growing experience and day by day accelerating changes in requirements suggested us to find a new and more versatile approach. In this context we developed the Agile PASSI methodology discussed in This work; it is an agile process built up capitalizing all the experiences done with PASSI and its supporting tools some of which have been adapted and reused in the new process.
Distinct contributions of human hippocampal theta to spatial cognition and anxiety

Current views of the hippocampus assign this structure, and its prominent theta rhythms, a key role in both cognition and affect. We studied this duality of function in humans, where no direct evidence exists. Whole‐head magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data were recorded to measure theta activity while healthy participants (N = 25) navigated two virtual Morris water mazes, one in which they risked receiving aversive shocks without warning to induce anxiety and one in which they were safe from shocks. Results showed that threat of shock elevated anxiety level and enhanced navigation performance as compared to the safe condition. MEG source analyses revealed that improved navigation performance during threat was preferentially associated with increased left septal (posterior) hippocampal theta (specifically 4–8 Hz activity), replicating previous research that emphasizes a predominant role of the septal third of the hippocampus in spatial cognition. Moreover, increased self‐reported anxiety during threat was preferentially associated with increased left temporal (anterior) hippocampal theta (specifically 2–6 Hz activity), consistent with this region's involvement in mediating conditioned and innate fear. Supporting contemporary theory, these findings highlight simultaneous involvement of the human hippocampus in spatial cognition and anxiety, and clarify their distinct correlates. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Beneficial effects of recombinant human activated protein C in a ewe model of septic shock*

Objective:To investigate the effects of activated protein C (APC) in a clinically relevant animal model of septic shock. Design:Prospective, randomized, controlled study. Setting:University medical center research laboratory. Subjects:Eighteen female sheep (body weight, 27–35 kg). Interventions:Animals were fasted, anesthetized, invasively monitored, and mechanically ventilated before receiving 0.5 g/kg body weight of feces intraperitoneally to induce sepsis. Fluid resuscitation with Ringer lactate was titrated to maintain pulmonary artery occlusion pressure at baseline levels. No vasoactive agents or antibiotics were used. Two hours after the induction of sepsis, animals were randomized to receive an infusion of APC (24 &mgr;g·kg−1·hr−1, n = 9) or an equivalent volume of vehicle (n = 9) throughout the experimental period. Measurements and Main Results:The APC-treated animals had significantly higher arterial pressure, urine output, Pao2/Fio2 ratios, and thoracopulmonary compliance than the control animals. They had lower pulmonary arterial pressure and arterial lactate concentrations than the control animals. Plasma colloid oncotic pressure was better maintained in the APC-treated group than in the control group (p < .05). Prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were altered less, and plasma D-dimer concentrations were significantly lower in the APC-treated group than in the control group (p < .05). The blood protein C concentration and platelet count were maintained better in the APC-treated group than in the control group (p < .05). APC administration was associated with significantly longer survival (median, 27 hrs vs. 20 hrs; p < .05). At postmortem examination, the lung wet/dry ratio was significantly lower in the APC group than in the control group (6.3 ± 0.7 vs. 7.1 ± 1.2, p < .05). Conclusions:In this clinically relevant model of septic shock due to fecal peritonitis, administration of APC had beneficial effects on hemodynamic variables, gas exchange, lactic acidosis, and coagulation abnormalities. Higher colloid oncotic pressures and lower lung wet/dry ratios at autopsy suggest preserved endothelial integrity. APC administration resulted in prolonged survival.
Adopters' Experiences of Preparation to Parent Children with Serious Difficulties

A selected group of adopters coping with very troubled children recently placed from care was asked about their satisfactions and dissatisfactions with the preparation for parenting that had been provided. Although some aspects were well received, most thought that the preparation had not been helpful in developing the parenting skills for managing difficult behaviour. It was notable that the child's level of disturbance still came as a surprise to many. The study, reported here by Alan Rushton and Elizabeth Monck, throws up the question of how to deliver a service that meets the need for both general preparation to adopt and preparation to parent the specific child eventually placed. Fresh consideration needs to be given to the best means, and timing, of parenting preparation and support.
Mice lacking circadian clock components display different mood-related behaviors and do not respond uniformly to chronic lithium treatment

Genomic studies suggest an association of circadian clock genes with bipolar disorder (BD) and lithium response in humans. Therefore, we tested mice mutant in various clock genes before and after lithium treatment in the forced swim test (FST), a rodent behavioral test used for evaluation of depressive-like states. We find that expression of circadian clock components, including Per2, Cry1 and Rev-erbα, is affected by lithium treatment, and thus, these clock components may contribute to the beneficial effects of lithium therapy. In particular, we observed that Cry1 is important at specific times of the day to transmit lithium-mediated effects. Interestingly, the pathways involving Per2 and Cry1, which regulate the behavior in the FST and the response to lithium, are distinct as evidenced by the phosphorylation of GSK3β after lithium treatment and the modulation of dopamine levels in the striatum. Furthermore, we observed the co-existence of depressive and mania-like symptoms in Cry1 knock-out mice, which resembles the so-called mixed state seen in BD patients. Taken together our results strengthen the concept that a defective circadian timing system may impact directly or indirectly on mood-related behaviors.
How adaptive immunity constrains the composition and fate of large bacterial populations

Significance Complex communities of microorganisms are important ecological forces and phages are integral components of microbial populations. Among the many bacterial defense mechanisms against phages, CRISPR-Cas is unique in its ability to learn from past infections by storing pieces of phage DNA (called spacers) in its own genome to neutralize future infections. Our work shows that the rank abundance distribution of spacers across the whole bacterial population, which is readily accessed using genomic sequencing, may provide a phenomenological observable that reflects important structural aspects of bacterial populations. This study lays out a path toward a phenomenological framework for understanding microbial dynamics and may provide insights into complex and diverse natural populations where microscopic modeling is plagued by overparameterization and overfitting. Features of the CRISPR-Cas system, in which bacteria integrate small segments of phage genome (spacers) into their DNA to neutralize future attacks, suggest that its effect is not limited to individual bacteria but may control the fate and structure of whole populations. Emphasizing the population-level impact of the CRISPR-Cas system, recent experiments show that some bacteria regulate CRISPR-associated genes via the quorum sensing (QS) pathway. Here we present a model that shows that from the highly stochastic dynamics of individual spacers under QS control emerges a rank-abundance distribution of spacers that is time invariant, a surprising prediction that we test with dynamic spacer-tracking data from literature. This distribution depends on the state of the competing phage–bacteria population, which due to QS-based regulation may coexist in multiple stable states that vary significantly in their phage-to-bacterium ratio, a widely used ecological measure to characterize microbial systems.
Evidence based purchasing: understanding results of clinical trials and systematic reviews

Abstract Objective: To assess whether the way in which the results of a randomised controlled trial and a systematic review are presented influences health policy decisions. Design: A postal questionnaire to all members of a health authority within one regional health authority. Setting: Anglia and Oxford regional health authorities. Subjects: 182 executive and non-executive members of 13 health authorities, family health services authorities, or health commissions. Main outcome measures: The average score from all health authority members in terms of their willingness to fund a mammography programme or cardiac rehabilitation programme according to four different ways of presenting the same results of research evidence—namely, as a relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction, proportion of event free patients, or as the number of patients needed to be treated to prevent an adverse event. Results: The willingness to fund either programme was significantly influenced by the way in which data were presented. Results of both programmes when expressed as relative risk reductions produced significantly higher scores when compared with other methods (P<0.05). The difference was more extreme for mammography, for which the outcome condition is rarer. Conclusions: The method of reporting trial results has a considerable influence on the health policy decisions made by health authority members.
Selective harmonic elimination PWM using ant colony optimization

Selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation (SHEPWM) is a useful switching technique in multilevel inverters because of low number of switching and at the same time, high quality of output voltage waveform. The main problem in SHEPWM is finding the optimum switching angles with the aim of minimizing specific harmonics. Population-based optimization algorithms have been demonstrated to be an effective tool for such problems with transcendental equations and inequality constraints. In this paper, the ant colony optimization for continuous domains (ACOℝ) is applied to harmonic elimination problem in a seven-level cascaded inverter. Simulation results in MATLAB environment are compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, results show higher convergence rate of ACOℝ in comparison with PSO.