Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modular Wireless Real-Time Sensor/Actuator Network for Factory Automation Applications

Modern factory facilities are characterized by highly flexible manufacturing cells and highly dynamic processes, where clusters of fixed or moving sensors and actuators have to be controlled in a limited space under stringent real-time and reliability constraints. In such demanding industrial environments, wireless systems can also be beneficial by improving flexibility, cutting cables, and enabling solutions, which are cumbersome or even not possible to realize with wireline systems, especially in controlling moving or rotating parts. In this paper, we present a conceptual study of a wireless real-time system dedicated for remote sensor/actuator control in production automation. System development is based on user requirements, which were extracted from customer interviews and a market research. Low level measurements of frequency- and space-selective wireless channels in a factory-like environment were carried out. System design aspects, i.e., network topology, multiple access schemes, and radio technologies, will be thoroughly reviewed. The performance of a first prototype implementation will be discussed with emphasis on timing behavior and power consumption, as sensors and actuators of the wireless system are intended to operate without power lines or batteries
Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity

In the 17th century, a vision arose which was to captivate the Western imagination for the next 300 years: the vision of Cosmopolis, a society as rationally ordered as the Newtonian view of nature. While fueling extraordinary advances in all fields of human endeavour, this vision perpetuated a hidden yet persistent agenda: the delusion that human nature and society could be fitted into precise and manageable rational categories. Stephen Toulmin confronts that agenda - its illusions and its consequences for our present and future world.
Evolution of Pre-Existing versus Acquired Resistance to Platinum Drugs and PARP Inhibitors in BRCA-Associated Cancers

Platinum drugs and PARP inhibitors (“PARPis”) are considered to be effective in BRCA-associated cancers with impaired DNA repair. These agents cause stalled and collapsed replication forks and create double-strand breaks effectively in the absence of repair mechanisms, resulting in arrest of the cell cycle and induction of cell death. However, recent studies have shown failure of these chemotherapeutic agents due to emerging drug resistance. In this study, we developed a stochastic model of BRCA-associated cancer progression in which there are four cancer populations: those with (i) functional BRCA, (ii) dysfunctional BRCA, (iii) functional BRCA and a growth advantage, and (iv) dysfunctional BRCA and a growth advantage. These four cancer populations expand from one cancer cell with normal repair function until the total cell number reaches a detectable amount. We derived formulas for the probability and expected numbers of each population at the time of detection. Furthermore, we extended the model to consider the tumor dynamics during treatment. Results from the model were validated and showed good agreement with clinical and experimental evidence in BRCA-associated cancers. Based on the model, we investigated conditions in which drug resistance during the treatment course originated from either a pre-existing drug-resistant population or a de novo population, due to secondary mutations. Finally, we found that platinum drugs and PARPis were effective if (i) BRCA inactivation is present, (ii) the cancer was diagnosed early, and (iii) tumor growth is rapid. Our results indicate that different types of cancers have a preferential way of acquiring resistance to platinum drugs and PARPis according to their growth and mutational characteristics.
DPT: Differentially Private Trajectory Synthesis Using Hierarchical Reference Systems

GPS-enabled devices are now ubiquitous, from airplanes and cars to smartphones and wearable technology. This has resulted in a wealth of data about the movements of individuals and populations, which can be analyzed for useful information to aid in city and traffic planning, disaster preparedness and so on. However, the places that people go can disclose extremely sensitive information about them, and thus their use needs to be filtered through privacy preserving mechanisms. This turns out to be a highly challenging task: raw trajectories are highly detailed, and typically no pair is alike. Previous attempts fail either to provide adequate privacy protection, or to remain sufficiently faithful to the original behavior. This paper presents DPT, a system to synthesize mobility data based on raw GPS trajectories of individuals while ensuring strong privacy protection in the form of e-differential privacy. DPT makes a number of novel modeling and algorithmic contributions including (i) discretization of raw trajectories using hierarchical reference systems (at multiple resolutions) to capture individual movements at differing speeds, (ii) adaptive mechanisms to select a small set of reference systems and construct prefix tree counts privately, and (iii) use of direction-weighted sampling for improved utility. While there have been prior attempts to solve the subproblems required to generate synthetic trajectories, to the best of our knowledge, ours is the first system that provides an end-to-end solution. We show the efficacy of our synthetic trajectory generation system using an extensive empirical evaluation.
Estimating Cerebral Blood Flow in Newborn Infants: Comparison of Near Infrared Spectroscopy and 133Xe Clearance

ABSTRACT: A new method of measuring cerebral blood flow (CBF) in newborn infants by means of near infrared spectroscopy (CBFnirs) was compared with the i.v. 133Xe clearance technique (CBFxe). Forty CBFnirs measurements were obtained during 19 133Xe measurements in 16 infants; 79 other CBFnirs data sets were discarded because the assumptions for their use were not fulfilled. The test-retest variation or repeated near infrared-measurements during each 133Xe clearance was 17.5%. CBFnirs was closely related to CBFxe (r2 = 0.84, p < 0.0001), with a slope of 0.75 (SEM = 0.064) and a intercept of 1.58 mL/100 g/min (SEM = 0.51). The difference between the measurements obtained by the two methods (CBFnirs – CBFxe) was negative in the high range of CBF, whereas the difference was close to zero in the low range. We conclude that CBF measured with near infrared spectroscopy was in good agreement with the CBF measured with the 133Xe method. The near infrared spectroscopy method has the advantage of being noninvasive, and it does not involve ionizing radiation. Because of methodologic constraints, however, it may underestimate CBF in the high range of flow, and it may have limitations of application in clinical research. (Pediatr Res 30: 570–573, 1991)
Patterns and functions of self-disclosure during childhood and adolescence.

As the eyes are the “window of the soul,” so too is self-disclosure a window to people's pressing feelings, thoughts, and concerns. In this chapter, we view the complex interplay between individual development and interpersonal experiences through the window of self-disclosure. We begin with an overview of our conceptual assumptions about the role that self-disclosure plays in the larger processes of individual development and interpersonal relationships. Next we summarize the current literature on developmental changes in patterns of self-disclosure. This summary provides a jumping-off point for the final sections in which we explore possible links between changing patterns of disclosure and concurrent changes in individual development. Self-disclosure and development In this chapter, self-disclosure is seen as part of a larger process in which social interactions shape, and are shaped by, the development of the individual child. Our thinking about these processes represents a marriage of ideas drawn from H. S. Sullivan's (1953) “interpersonal theory” of social development and Erik Erikson's (1968) “psychosocial” theory of personality and identity development. (A full discussion of the specific ways that Sullivan's and Erikson's ideas are reflected in our thinking is beyond the scope of this chapter. Suffice it to say that our notion of “needed social input and provisions” is similar to Sullivan's notion of social needs, whereas our notion of “developmental issues and concerns” is, in spirit, similar to Erikson's notions of “crises” and “preoccupations.”)
Bridging the Gap: A Conceptual Model of the Access of Digital Libraries

This paper proposes a general conceptual model for the access of digital libraries based on relevant research in information retrieval, information seeking and foraging, and activity based design theory. The authors reveal that a gap exists in current digital library design practices in which a digital library is disconnected from its targeted user community. Search engines have disintermediated many digital library interfaces and their related evaluation and usability efforts. Many digital libraries are losing their users since users have learned how to use search engines to access open Web content of collective knowledge of a wider mass instead of a specific digital library. Accordingly the authors promote a marketing orientation of digital library design and argue that we should sell the digital library in users’ familiar information environment.
Young People, Sex and the Media: The Facts of Life?

Are children today growing up too soon? How do they - and their parents - feel about media portrayals of sex and personal relationships? Are the media a corrupting influence, or a potentially positive and useful resource for young people? Drawing on an extensive research project, which investigated children's interpretations of sexual content in films, TV and print media, this book considers how young people (aged 9-17) use such material to understand their experiences and build their identities, and how they and their parents respond to public concerns about these issues. The book offers a clearly written and entertaining insight into children's and parents' perspectives on these difficult issues - perspectives that are often ignored or trivialised in public debate.
Cytotoxic effect of Erythroxylum daphnites extract is associated with G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

ABSTRACT Plant-derived molecules showing antineoplastic effects have recently gained increased attention as potential adjuvants to traditional therapies for various cancers. Cerrado biome in Brazil contains high floral biodiversity, but knowledge about the potential therapeutic effects of compounds derived from that flora is still limited. The present study investigated the antineoplastic activity of Erythroxylum daphnites Mart. , a Brazilian native plant from Cerrado biome, in the SCC-9 oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line. Cells were treated with various concentrations of hexane extract of Erythroxylum daphnites leaves (EDH) and assessed for cytotoxicity, proliferation, and apoptosis. Thin layer chromatography was conducted to characterize the substances present in EDH. Our results showed that EDH exerted anti-proliferative effects in SCC-9 cells by stabilizing the cell cycle at G1 phase in association with reduced intracellular levels of cyclins D and E and increased level of p21. EDH also demonstrated pro-apoptotic properties, as shown by an increased expression of caspase-3. Triterpenes were the major constituents of EDH. Our findings demonstrated a cytotoxic effect of EDH against SCC-9 cells in vitro mediated by the restraint of cellular proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Taken together, these findings support EDH constituents as potential therapeutic adjuvants for oral cancer.
From the statistics of connectivity to the statistics of spike times in neuronal networks

An essential step toward understanding neural circuits is linking their structure and their dynamics. In general, this relationship can be almost arbitrarily complex. Recent theoretical work has, however, begun to identify some broad principles underlying collective spiking activity in neural circuits. The first is that local features of network connectivity can be surprisingly effective in predicting global statistics of activity across a network. The second is that, for the important case of large networks with excitatory-inhibitory balance, correlated spiking persists or vanishes depending on the spatial scales of recurrent and feedforward connectivity. We close by showing how these ideas, together with plasticity rules, can help to close the loop between network structure and activity statistics. Highlights Remarkable new data on connectivity and activity raise the promise and raise the bar for linking structure and dynamics in neural networks. Recent theories aim at a statistical approach, in which the enormous complexity of wiring diagrams is reduced to key features of that connectivity that drive coherent, network-wide activity. We provide a unified view of three branches of this work, tied to a broadly useful “neural response” formula that explicitly relates connectivity to spike train statistics. This isolates a surprisingly systematic role for the local structure and spatial scale of connectivity in determining spike correlations, and shows how the coevolution of structured connectivity and spiking statistics through synaptic plasticity can be predicted self-consistently.
Context Source: A Smartphone Application for Serving Context to a Generic Context Provisioning System

This paper presents a modular context provisioning middleware for the support of ubiquitous services and applications, entitled C-ProMiSE (“Context Provisioning Middleware with Support for Evolving Awareness”). Special emphasis is put on a smartphone application which serves the middleware with primitive context originating from diverse physical, virtual and logical sensors (e.g. GPS, accelerometers, address book). Besides general design principles, a specific implementation based on the Android OS is prototyped and quantitatively evaluated. Since limited battery power is a major concern in smart mobile devices, the energy consumption by the prototype contextual application is also determined.
Glucose tolerance and plasma insulin levels during the last trimester of pregnancy.

Plasma glucose and plasma immunoreactive insulin (IRI) levels were measured during the 75g glucose tolerance test (GTT) in healthy pregnant women, to clarify the changes of glucose metabolism during the last trimester of pregnancy. The glucose tolerance decreased with gestational time. After 33 weeks of gestation, the peak levels of the post-glucose loading occur-red at 60 minutes instead of 30 minutes after glucose ingestion. The parameter that best reflected the decrease in glucose tolerance was the level 60 minutes after glucose ingestion, which at the 33rd gestational week was significantly higher than the level at the 28th gestational week. The IRI reaction accompanying the rise in plasma glucose appeared to increase gradually during gestation, even in the last trimester. The largest increases of plasma IRI levels after glucose loading were seen at or after the 36 th week of gestation.
The best of two worlds: Between-method triangulation in gendered labour market research (SOAS Working Paper. London)

textabstractAbstract Assumptions applied in Orthodox Economic methods are criticised for being an inadequate depiction of reality. This is particularly the case from the perspective of Feminist Economics. Gender biases are reflected in the quantitative data sources and methods commonly applied for economic research. These include male biases in statistical data, a focus on outcomes rather than processes as well as the neglect of reproductive work and its interaction with market work. To overcome these problems, this paper introduces between-method triangulation, i.e. the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data generation and analysis, as an innovative and more realistic methodology to conduct gendered economic analysis. It draws on the authors’ recent empirical work on the Indonesian and Mauritian labour markets where between-method triangulation was employed. The approach is shown to be able to enhance empirical economic analysis by mutually validating results. Furthermore, the approach is shown to remove gender biases in economic analysis by analysing conflicting evidence and by complementing quantitative with qualitative findings in light of feminist economics theory.
Isscc 2011 / Session 8 / Architectures & Circuits for next Generation Wireline Transceivers / 8.3 8.3 a 40gb/s Tx and Rx Chip Set in 65nm Cmos

Next generation optical and electrical communications such as chip-to-chip serial links or 100GbE require very-high-speed transceivers. At tens of Gb/s, both transmitters and receivers suffer from inadequate bandwidth and high power consumption. One major difficulty arises from the performance degradation of FIR-based FFEs as the FF's CK-Q delay becomes significant to one bit period. Using passive components as delay elements [1][2] can relax this issue to some extent, but the untunable delay is quite vulnerable to PVT variations. Traditional DFEs also suffer from speed limitation in its feedback loop, and parallelization schemes usually introduce complex circuits and high power consumption. This paper presents a full-rate 40Gb/s transceiver prototype significantly alleviating the above issues. Figure 8.3. 1 shows the transmitter, which consists of a 20GHz PLL, a 5-tap FFE with tunable delay, and a 1UI delay generator. To create exactly 1-bit delay, conventional FFE approach needs flip-flops, which would either suffer from limited bandwidth or large CK-Q delay. Both issues would devastatingly destroy the fil-ter's performance. Even in 65nm CMOS, a flip-flop-based FFE can only operate at 20Gb/s. To increase speed, we propose a 5-tap FFE incorporating delay elements [T b (=25ps) + remainder Δt], which is made of LC networks for each tap, and compensation elements between the nodes of the combiner. In other words, the 40Gb/s input data through the FIR are combined by exactly 25ps separation with different weighting coefficients α −2 , α −1 , …α 2. The 1UI delay generator is responsible for creating one T b delay. Each T b-delay element is actually a voltage controlled delay line (VCDL) composed of inductors and varactors. By tuning the control voltage (V ctrl), the 1UI delay generator locks the 10GHz input (from the 20GHz PLL and ÷2 circuit) and the delayed version to form a 90° phase difference, forcing T b delay to be exactly 25ps. As demonstrated in Fig. 8.3. 2(b), this " artificial " transmission line provides good matching for broadband and nar-rowband signals. Distributing V ctrl through the FIR filter, we reproduce the 5-tap 40Gb/s delay line with high accuracy. Note that T b is immune from PVT variations because of the closed-loop control. The T b-delay cell is illustrated in Fig. 8.3. 2(a). The differential pair M 1-2 propagates input data into an emulated transmission line made of 7 segments of LC network. By tuning V ctrl from 0 to 1.2V, the delay from D in …
A Survey of Pennsylvania School Psychologists' Training, Knowledge and Evaluation Practice for Assessing and Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders

The main purpose of this research was to survey Pennsylvania school psychologists regarding their training, knowledge and evaluation practices when assessing and diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). A 65 question electronic survey focusing on four areas: A) training, B) knowledge, C) current practice and D) demographic information, was distributed to 908 certified school psychologists in PelIDsylvania and completed by 243 respondents. Results found that school psychologists in Pennsylvania playa key role with assessment and diagnosis of ASD, yet have limited formal training in important aspects of ASD. Doctoral level school psychologists and school psychologists with the greatest number of years of experience reported feeling better prepared with ASD issues than did non-doctoral and less experienced school psychologists. The majority of respondents repOlied that they were not yet familiar with the 2007 Pennsylvania Autism Expert Workgroup Report and indicated that they fail to follow some of the best practice guidelines when assessing and diagnosing ASD. Pennsylvania school psychologists demonstrated very basic general knowledge of ASD, but measuring knowledge among a highly educated group proved problematic in this research. An example of a service delivery model that utilizes best practice standards for assessing and diagnosing ASD is also presented, along with implications for the field of school psychology. P A School Psychologist's Role with ASD's 111
Maxwell Garnett theory for mixtures of anisotropic inclusions: Application to conducting polymers

The effective dielectric function e e for a medium of anisotropic inclusions embedded in an isotropic host is calculated using the Maxwell Garnett approximation. For uniaxial inclusions, e e depends on how well the inclusions are aligned. We apply this approximation to study e e for a model of quasi-one-dimensional organic polymers. The polymer is assumed to be made up of small single crystals embedded in an isotropic host of randomly oriented polymer chains. The host dielectric function is calculated using the effective-medium approximation ~EMA! The resulting frequency-dependent e e(v) closely resembles experiment. Specifically, Reee(v) is negative over a wide frequency range, while Imee(v) exhibits a broad ‘‘surface plasmon’’ band at low frequencies, which results from localized electronic excitations within the crystallites. If the host is above the conductivity percolation threshold, Imee(v) has a low-frequency Drude peak in addition to the surface plasmon band, and Reee(v) is negative over an even wider frequency range. We also calculate the cubic nonlinear susceptibility x e(v) of the polymer, using a nonlinear EMA. At certain frequencies, x e(v) is found to be strongly enhanced above that of the corresponding single crystals. Our results suggest that the electromagnetic properties of conducting polymers can be understood by viewing the material as randomly inhomogeneous on a small scale such that the quasistatic limit is applicable. @S0163-1829~97! 01537-3#