Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
InFRA: Interference-Aware PHY/FEC Rate Adaptation for Video Multicast over WLAN

Multi-rate forward erasure correction (FEC)-applied wireless multicast enables reliable and efficient video multicast with intelligent selection of physical (PHY) layer data rate and FEC rate. The optimal PHY/FEC rates depend on the cause of the packet losses. However, previous approaches select the PHY/FEC rates by considering only channel errors even when interference is also a major source of packet losses. We propose InFRA, an interference-aware PHY/FEC rate adaptation framework that (i) infers the cause of the packet losses based on received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error notifications, and (ii) determines the PHY/FEC rates based on the cause of packet losses. Our prototype implementation with off-the-shelf chipsets demonstrates that InFRA enhances the multicast delivery under various network scenarios. InFRA enables 2.3x and 1.8x more nodes to achieve a target video packet loss rate with a contention interferer and a hidden interferer, respectively, compared with the state-of- the-art PHY/FEC rate adaptation scheme. To our best knowledge, InFRA is the first work to take the impact of interference into account for the PHY/FEC rate adaptation.
Quantitative MR microscopy of enzymatically degraded articular cartilage

Structural changes in bovine patellar articular cartilage, induced by component selective enzymatic treatments, were investigated by measuring tissue T2 relaxation at 9.4 T. This MRI parameter was compared with Young's modulus, a measure of elastic stiffness and loadbearing ability of cartilage tissue. Collagenase was used to digest the collagen network and chondroitinase ABC to remove proteoglycans. Polarized light microscopy and digital densitometry were used to assess enzyme penetration after 44 hr of enzymatic digestion. T2 relaxation in superficial cartilage increased significantly only in samples treated with collagenase. A statistically significant decrease in Young's modulus was observed in both enzymatically treated sample groups. These results confirm that T2 of articular cartilage is sensitive to the integrity of collagen in the extracellular matrix. Nonetheless, it does not appear to be an unambiguous indicator of cartilage stiffness, which is significantly impaired in osteoarthrosis. Magn Reson Med 43:676–681, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Social Media Usage, Self-efficacy and Cultural Intelligence: A Longitudinal Empirical Research in China

Social media have become ubiquitous in our lives. To meet with the calls to examine social media usage in cross-cultural contexts, the study conducted a longitudinal survey to explore bilateral relationships between social media usage, self-efficacy and cultural intelligence. Based on Social Cognitive Theory, findings indicate that both informational and socializing usage of social media increase individual’s self-efficacy whereby individual cultural intelligence is developed. In addition, cultural intelligence effectively enhances increasing of individual’s self-efficacy. Implications and limitations are
Some Athenian presuppositions about ‘The Poor’

What did Athenians think about when they talked about ‘the poor’? The question is worth asking for two reasons: first, if we are to judge from our texts, the Athenians talked a good deal about ‘the poor’, and it will help our understanding of these texts to know something about the presuppositions which author and audience had about ‘the poor’; and second, since the way a society stereotypes its members tells us something about that society, a study of Athenian presuppositions about ‘the poor’ should provide a further insight into Athenian social relations. In what follows I do not mean to suggest that all Athenians shared these presuppositions, any more than we share the stereotypes of poverty common today. Whatever individual Athenians may have believed, however, the assumptions to be considered here were a part of the landscape of Athenian public discourse, as it were, and so had to be taken into account when Athenians talked about ‘the poor’. Finally by way of preface I should also add that the present study deals, as its title says, with only some Athenian presuppositions about ‘the poor’. In particular, I do not consider here the large group of texts which, making a virtue of necessity, praise the poor for not succumbing to the vices (especially hubris) typical of the rich.
Requesting and providing information in blogs and internet discussion forums

Purpose – The major aim of this study is to find out whether people articulate their information needs and provide information to others differently in online sites of various types, more specifically, blogs and internet discussion forums.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on the analysis of ten blogs and 40 threads of Suomi24, a Finnish internet discussion forum. The blogs and discussion threads focus on the same topic, that is, coping with depression. For the study, 1,044 blog postings, 1,727 bloggers' and blog readers' comments and 1,236 messages written by the discussion forum participants were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.Findings – The bloggers, blog readers and discussion group participants mainly articulated needs related to getting an opinion or evaluation of an issue, while needs for factual information and procedural information about possible ways of action were presented less frequently. Information provision drew strongly on the u.
Nanomechanical properties of MscL α helices: A steered molecular dynamics study

ABSTRACT Gating of mechanosensitive (MS) channels is driven by a hierarchical cascade of movements and deformations of transmembrane helices in response to bilayer tension. Determining the intrinsic mechanical properties of the individual transmembrane helices is therefore central to understanding the intricacies of the gating mechanism of MS channels. We used a constant-force steered molecular dynamics (SMD) approach to perform unidirectional pulling tests on all the helices of MscL in M. tuberculosis and E. coli homologs. Using this method, we could overcome the issues encountered with the commonly used constant-velocity SMD simulations, such as low mechanical stability of the helix during stretching and high dependency of the elastic properties on the pulling rate. We estimated Young's moduli of the α-helices of MscL to vary between 0.2 and 12.5 GPa with TM2 helix being the stiffest. We also studied the effect of water on the properties of the pore-lining TM1 helix. In the absence of water, this helix exhibited a much stiffer response. By monitoring the number of hydrogen bonds, it appears that water acts like a ‘lubricant’ (softener) during TM1 helix elongation. These data shed light on another physical aspect underlying hydrophobic gating of MS channels, in particular MscL.
Relaciones entre personalidad y salud física - psicológica diferencias según sexo - género, situación laboral y cultura - nación

El objetivo general de esta Tesis Doctoral es analizar las relaciones entre personalidad y salud a partir del modelo de personalidad de Theodore Millon y sus posibles diferencias segun las variables demograficas incluidas en la investigacion (sexo/genero, situacion laboral y cultura/nacion), dentro del marco teorico general de la Psicologia de la Salud. La muestra total esta compuesta por 1377 participantes de tres paises (375 espanoles, 466 portugueses y 536 brasilenos). Las variables incluidas fueron: personalidad, salud percibida, dolencias fisicas, ansiedad, autoestima y satisfaccion personal. Los resultados demuestran que un estilo de personalidad desadaptado, definido por una tendencia a experimentar emociones negativas de forma pasiva, con una inestabilidad emocional de fondo, y por la tendencia a inhibir la expresion de estas emociones en la interaccion social, esta ultima caracterizada por el aislamiento, la sumision y la inseguridad, seria un terrero fructifero para una pobre salud y quizas para la aparicion y desarrollo de posibles enfermedades. Por otro lado, el estilo de personalidad asociado a mas salud se caracteriza por afrontar los hechos de la vida con optimismo y determinacion, afrontandolos de forma activa, recurriendo a los demas como fuente de informacion y con unas relaciones interpersonales saludables, basadas en la seguridad en uno mismo. Ademas, se confirma la hipotesis secundaria, o sea, las variables sexo y situacion laboral tomadas en conjunto modulan las relaciones entre personalidad y salud. Es decir, el lugar ocupado por las personas en el mercado laboral, y mas alla de los datos, quizas el estres percibido por mujeres y hombres segun su condicion de trabajo y los conflictos generados a partir de ello, sea la clave para que los rasgos de personalidad cobren importancia o no en el estado de salud de los sujetos.
Non-integer variable order dynamic modeling and identification of soft tissue deformation

This paper presents the concept of non-integer analytical dynamic modeling of soft tissue deformation. The main idea of the paper is to introduce a variable order equation for the single-dimensional viscoelastic stress-strain relation. A set of experimental data and an identification method are used to validate such idea. Afterwards, we extend the stresss-train relationship to the multi-dimensional case. Combining this equation with the equations of motion for a soft continuum body leads to the set of force-displacement equations. The model is rearranged to form a standard state space dynamical system. Then, these equations are analyzed and compared with a previously developed integer-order model.
Characterization of Aerosols of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Following Three Generation Methods Using an Optimized Aerosolization System Designed for Experimental Inhalation Studies

Nanoparticles (NPs) can be released in the air in work settings, but various factors influence the exposure of workers. Controlled inhalation experiments can thus be conducted in an attempt to reproduce real-life exposure conditions and assess inhalation toxicology. Methods exist to generate aerosols, but it remains difficult to obtain nano-sized and stable aerosols suitable for inhalation experiments. The goal of this work was to characterize aerosols of titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs, generated using a novel inhalation system equipped with three types of generators—a wet collision jet nebulizer, a dry dust jet and an electrospray aerosolizer—with the aim of producing stable aerosols with a nano-diameter average (<100 nm) and monodispersed distribution for future rodent exposures and toxicological studies. Results showed the ability of the three generation systems to provide good and stable dispersions of NPs, applicable for acute (continuous up to 8 h) and repeated (21-day) exposures. In all cases, the generated aerosols were composed mainly of small aggregates/agglomerates (average diameter <100 nm) with the electrospray producing the finest (average diameter of 70–75 mm) and least concentrated aerosols (between 0.150 and 2.5 mg/m3). The dust jet was able to produce concentrations varying from 1.5 to 150 mg/m3, and hence, the most highly concentrated aerosols. The nebulizer collision jet aerosolizer was the most versatile generator, producing both low (0.5 mg/m3) and relatively high concentrations (30 mg/m3). The three optimized generators appeared suited for possible toxicological studies of inhaled NPs.
The Impact of Psychological Science on Policing in the United States

The May 2015 release of the report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing highlighted a fundamental change in the issues dominating discussions about policing in America. That change has moved discussions away from a focus on what is legal or effective in crime control and toward a concern for how the actions of the police influence public trust and confidence in the police. This shift in discourse has been motivated by two factors—first, the recognition by public officials that increases in the professionalism of the police and dramatic declines in the rate of crime have not led to increases in police legitimacy, and second, greater awareness of the limits of the dominant coercive model of policing and of the benefits of an alternative and more consensual model based on public trust and confidence in the police and legal system. Psychological research has played an important role in legitimating this change in the way policymakers think about policing by demonstrating that perceived legitimacy shapes a set of law-related behaviors as well as or better than concerns about the risk of punishment. Those behaviors include compliance with the law and cooperation with legal authorities. These findings demonstrate that legal authorities gain by a focus on legitimacy. Psychological research has further contributed by articulating and demonstrating empirical support for a central role of procedural justice in shaping legitimacy, providing legal authorities with a clear road map of strategies for creating and maintaining public trust. Given evidence of the benefits of legitimacy and a set of guidelines concerning its antecedents, policymakers have increasingly focused on the question of public trust when considering issues in policing. The acceptance of a legitimacy-based consensual model of police authority building on theories and research studies originating within psychology illustrates how psychology can contribute to the development of evidence-based policies in the field of criminal law.
El bono de desarrollo humano en Ecuador : encuentros y desencuentros

El documento propone analizar a traves de un caso de estudio, el Bono de Desarrollo Humano, cual es la relacion del Estado, las politicas publicas para la superacion de la pobreza y las y los beneficiarios del programa estatal ecuatoriano. Con este fin se rastrea a partir de la narrativa de funcionarios publicos y las beneficiarias los encuentros y desencuentros de los discursos frente al programa. Asi, por un lado, encontraremos “discursos oficiales” de los funcionarios de gobiernos en turno durante la decada de implementacion del programa, por otro, se recoge las voces de las mujeres beneficiarias en un intento de comprender, la otra cara de la moneda. Una apuesta del presente trabajo esta en argumentar que el programa se sustenta en el trabajo no remunerado de las mujeres, ademas de fortalecer el rol historico de las mismas. Y por otro lado, en mostrar que la implementacion de programas sociales sin ingredientes como la transparencia y la perspectiva de genero puede ocasionar mayor vulnerabilidad para las beneficiarias y abrir la posibilidad de ser un nicho de reproduccion de practicas clientelares por parte de los gobiernos de turno.
Bacterial DNA in mixed cholesterol gallstones

OBJECTIVE:Numerous investigators have proposed a role for bacteria in biliary lithogenesis. We hypothesized that bacterial DNA is present in gallstones, and that categorical differences exist between gallstone type and the frequency of bacterial sequences.METHODS:Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify bacterial 16S rRNA and uidA (encoding Escherichia coli [E. coli]β-glucuronidase) genes in different types of gallstones. PCR products were sequenced.RESULTS:Bacterial 16S rRNA and uidA DNA sequences in E. coli were detected in all brown pigment, common bile duct, and mixed cholesterol gallstones (n = 14). In contrast, only one (14%) of seven pure cholesterol gallstones yielded a PCR product. Most (88%) mixed cholesterol gallstones yielded PCR amplification products from their central, as well as their outer, portions. Sequenced products possessed 88–98% identity to 16S rRNA genes of E. coli and Pseudomonas species.CONCLUSIONS:Bacterial DNA sequences are usually present in mixed cholesterol (to 95% cholesterol content), brown pigment, and common bile duct, but rarely in pure cholesterol gallstones. The presence of bacterial β-glucuronidase is also suggested. The role of bacteria and their products in the formation of mixed cholesterol gallstones, which comprise the majority of cholesterol gallstones, warrants further study.
Computed Tomography Findings in Xanthogranulomatous Pyelonephritis

Background: Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGN) is an uncommon condition characterized by chronic suppurative renal inflammation that leads to progressive parenchymal destruction. Purpose: To review the computed tomography (CT) findings of patients diagnosed with XGN. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of CT findings in patients with histologically proven XGN was carried out. Results: Thirteen CT examinations of 11 patients were analyzed. Renal enlargement was demonstrable on the affected side in all patients. Nine patients (82%) had multiple dilated calyces and abnormal parenchyma. Six patients (55%) had a renal pelvis or upper ureteric calculus causing obstruction. Three patients (27%) had focal fat deposits identifiable within the inflamed renal parenchyma. Two patients had renal abscesses. Ten patients (91%) had extrarenal extension of the inflammatory changes. Three patients (27%) demonstrated extensive retroperitoneal inflammation. Conclusion: Unilateral renal enlargement and inflammation were the most consistent findings of XGN on CT. Perinephric inflammation and collections or abscess should also alert the radiologist to the possibility of this diagnosis.
The effect of low and high carbohydrate diets on pulmonary oxygen uptake and muscle deoxygenation kinetics during exercise transitions into the heavy-intensity domain

ii CO-AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF APPENDICES ix LIST OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER 1 1 1 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 1 1.1 What are 2 O V& kinetics? 1 1.2 What limits 2 O V& kinetics? 4 1.3 Near-Infrared Spectroscopy 7 1.4 Overview of Fat metabolism 7 1.5 Overview of Carbohydrate metabolism 9 1.6 Diet manipulation, PDH, and 2 O V& 10 1.7 Purpose 11 CHAPTER 2 12
Multi-Objective Coupled Energy and Reactive Power Market Clearing Model using HFMOEA

This paper presents a new multi-objective coupled energy and reactive power market clearing model namely the MO-CERPMC model in day-ahead competitive market environment. In proposed model, both the active and reactive power markets are considered as coupled markets and cleared in a same time frame. The multi-objective optimization problem involves the minimization of total payment functions for active power and reactive power support services respectively. Minimization of both objectives are subject to various system operating constraints such as generators capability curve limits, uniform price auctions for both the markets, zonal/localized reactive power market structure etc. The MO-CERPMC model is solved using two multi-objective optimization techniques such as a hybrid fuzzy multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (HFMOEA) and a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and the results are compared. KeywordsCoupled energy and reactive power market clearing, uniform price auction, multi-objective optimization, Pareto-optimal front, hybrid fuzzy evolutionary algorithm.
Catalytically inactive SHIP2 inhibits proliferation by attenuating pdgf signaling in 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes

Inadequate proliferation and/or differentiation of preadipocytes may lead to adipose tissue dysfunction characterized by hypertrophied, insulin‐resistant adipocytes. Platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) may alter adipose tissue function by promoting proliferation of preadipocytes. Two principal signaling pathways that regulate proliferation are PI3K/PI(3,4,5)P3/Akt and Shc/Ras/ERK1/2. SH2 domain‐containing inositol 5‐phosphatase 2 (SHIP2) dephosphorylates PI(3,4,5)P3, and also binds to Shc. Our goal was to determine how SHIP2 affects these PDGF signaling routes. To assess the role of the 5‐phosphatase domain, we expressed wild‐type or catalytically inactive dominant‐negative SHIP2 (P686A‐D690A‐R691A; PDR/AAA) in 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes. Surprisingly, SHIP2 PDR/AAA inhibited proliferation more potently than wild‐type SHIP2. After three days of proliferation, phospho‐Akt, phospho‐ERK1/2, and PDGF receptor (PDGFR) levels were reduced in PDR/AAA‐expressing preadipocytes. SHIP2 PDR/AAA interference with PDGFR signaling was demonstrated using imatinib, an inhibitor of PDGFR tyrosine kinase. The anti‐proliferative effect of imatinib observed in control preadipocytes was not significant in SHIP2 PDR/AAA‐expressing preadipocytes, indicating a pre‐existing impairment of PDGFR‐dependent mitogenesis in these cells. The inhibition of PDGF‐activated mitogenic pathways by SHIP2 PDR/AAA was consistent with a decrease in PDGFR phosphorylation caused by a drop in receptor levels in SHIP2 PDR/AAA‐expressing cells. SHIP2 PDR/AAA promoted ubiquitination of the PDGFR and its degradation via the lysosomal pathway independently of the association between the E3 ubiquitin ligase c‐Cbl and PDGFR. Overall, our findings indicate that SHIP2 PDR/AAA reduces preadipocyte proliferation by attenuating PDGFR signaling. J. Cell. Physiol. 218: 228–236, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Genetic variants in COMT and neurocognitive impairment in families of patients with schizophrenia

This study examined the relations of genetic variants in catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) gene, including rs737865 in intron 1, rs4680 in exon 4 (Val158Met) and downstream rs165599, to schizophrenia and its related neurocognitive functions in families of patients with schizophrenia. Totally, 680 individuals from 166 simplex (166 affected members and 354 nonpsychotic first‐degree relatives) and 46 multiplex families (85 affected members and 75 nonpsychotic first‐degree relatives) were interviewed using Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies, administered Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Continuous Performance Test (CPT), and drawn for venous blood. Both categorical (dichotomizing families on affected members’ neurocognitive performance) and quantitative approaches toward the WCST and CPT performance scores were employed using the family‐based association test and the variance components framework, respectively. Both false discovery rate and permutations were used to adjust for multiple testing. The genotypes of rs4680 were associated with both the WCST and CPT performance scores in these families, but not with schizophrenia per se in either whole sample or subgroup analyses. Meanwhile, the other two single nucleotide polymorphisms were differentially associated with the two tasks. For WCST indexes, regardless of subgroup analyses or quantitative approach, only rs737865 exhibited moderate associations. For CPT indexes, rs737865 exhibited association for the subgroup with deficit on CPT reaction time, whereas rs165599 exhibited association for the subgroup with deficit on CPT d′ as well as quantitative undegraded d′. Our results indicate that the genetic variants in COMT might be involved in modulation of neurocognitive functions and hence conferring increased risk to schizophrenia.
LBRW: A Learning based Random Walk for Recommender Systems

Location-based social networks LBSNs have witnessed a great expansion as an attractive form of social media. LBSNs allow users to "check-in" at geographical locations and share this information with friends. Indeed, with the spatial, temporal and social aspects of user patterns provided by LBSNs data, researchers have a promising opportunity for understanding human mobility dynamics, with the purpose of designing new generation mobile applications, including context-aware advertising and city-wide sensing applications. In this paper, the authors introduce a learning based random walk model LBRW combining user interests and "mobility homophily" for location recommendation in LBSNs. These properties are observed from a real-world Location-Based Social Networks LBSNs dataset. The authors present experimental evidence that validates LBRW and demonstrates the power of these inferred properties in improving location recommendation performance.