Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effective collaborative monitoring in smart cities: Converging MANET and WSN for fast data collection

Ubiquitous smart environments, equipped with low-cost and easy-deployable Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and with widespread Mobile Ad-hoc NETworks (MANETs), are opening brand new opportunities in urban monitoring. Urban data collection, i.e., the harvesting of monitoring data sensed by a large number of collaborating sensors in a wide-scale city, is still a challenging task due to typical WSN limitations (limited bandwidth and energy, long delivery time, …). In particular, effective data collection is crucial for classes of services that require a timely delivery of urgent data, such as environmental monitoring, homeland security, and city surveillance. This paper proposes an original solution to integrate and to opportunistically exploit MANET overlays that are impromptu and collaboratively formed over WSNs in order to boost data collection: overlays are used to dynamically differentiate and fasten the delivery of urgent sensed data over low-latency MANET paths. The reported experimental results show the feasibility and effectiveness (e.g., limited coordination overhead) of our solution for MANET overlays over WSNs. In addition, our proposal can easily integrate with the latest emergent WSN data collection standards/specifications, thus allowing immediate deployability over existing smart city environments.
Classical and Romantic Performing Practice 1750-1900

Foreword Introduction 1. Accentuation in Theory 2. Accentuation in Practice 3. The Notation of Accents and Dynamics 4. Articulation 5. Articulation and Expression 6. The Notation of Articulation and Phrasing 7. String Bowing 8. Tempo 9. Alla Breve 10. Tempo Terms 11. Tempo Modification 12. Embellishment, Ornamentation, and Improvisation 13. Appoggiaturas, Trills, Turns, and Related Ornaments 14. Vibrato 15. Portamento 16. The fermata Recitative Arpeggiation The Variable Dot and Other Aspects of Rhythmic Flexibility Heavy and Light Performance Index
Rejecting familiar distracters during recognition in young adults with traumatic brain injury and in healthy older adults

Abstract The most common cognitive complaint reported by healthy older adults and young adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is memory difficulties. We investigated the effects of normal aging and the long-term effects of TBI in young adults on the susceptibility to incorrectly endorse distracter information on a memory test. Prior to a study phase, participants viewed a “pre-exposure” list containing distracter words, presented once or three times, and half of the target study words. Subsequently, during the study phase, all target words were presented such that, across lists, study words were viewed either once or three times. On the recognition test, TBI and older adult participants were more likely to falsely endorse “pre-exposed” distracter words viewed three times as being from the target study list, compared to non-head-injured young controls. Normal aging and head injury in young may similarly compromise one’s ability to reject highly familiar, but distracting, information during recognition. Older adult and TBI participants were also slower to complete the Trail Making task and had poorer output on a Digit Span task, suggesting these two populations share a deficit in executive function and working memory. Similar changes in frontal lobe function may underlie these shared cognitive deficits. (JINS, 2010, 16, 556–565.)
Cardiovascular Disease Self-Care Interventions

Background. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of increased morbidity and mortality globally. Clinical practice guidelines recommend that individuals with CVD are routinely instructed to engage in self-care including diet restrictions, medication adherence, and symptom monitoring. Objectives. To describe the nature of nurse-led CVD self-care interventions, identify limitations in current nurse-led CVD self-care interventions, and make recommendations for addressing them in future research. Design. Integrative review of nurse-led CVD self-care intervention studies from PubMed, MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, and CINAHL. Primary studies (n = 34) that met the inclusion criteria of nurse-led RCT or quasiexperimental CVD self-care intervention studies (years 2000 to 2012) were retained and appraised. Quality of the review was assured by having at least two reviewers screen and extract all data. Results. A variety of self-care intervention strategies were studied among the male (57%) and Caucasian (67%) dominated samples. Combined interventions were common, and quality of life was the most frequent outcome evaluated. Effectiveness of interventions was inconclusive, and in general results were not sustained over time. Conclusions. Research is needed to develop and test tailored and inclusive CVD self-care interventions. Attention to rigorous study designs and methods including consistent outcomes and measurement is essential.
Ieee Transactions on Wireless Communications, Accepted for Publication an Optimized Iterative (turbo) Receiver for Ofdm Systems with Type-i Hybrid Arq: Clipping and Cfo Cases Abstract—an Optimized Iterative (turbo) Receiver for Orthog- Onal Frequency Division Multiplexing (ofdm) Transmission Is Prop

available transmissions of a packet, including failed and new ones. Two distinct practical problems associated with OFDM are considered: (i) Clipping due to non-linearities in the transmit amplifier , and (ii) Carrier frequency offset (CFO). In the optimized scheme, failed transmissions are combined with the new ones to form an iterative receiver that jointly estimates the channel, compensates for the distortion (clipping, or CFO) and decodes the message. The modulation employed is M-ary Phase Shift Keying (MPSK). The system uses an embedded pilot structure for initial channel estimation of the channel, which is assumed doubly-selective. It is shown that gains on the order of 3 dB are achieved in the packet rejection probability with the proposed system. The performance of the optimized system is close to that of the ideal system, i.e. one that performs packet combining with perfect channel knowledge, no clipping, and no CFO.
A review of neuraminidase inhibitor susceptibility in influenza strains

Influenza human infections are considered as a persistent global public health issue. Whereas vaccination is important for prevention, given its limitations, antiviral therapy is at the forefront of treatment, while it also plays a significant role in prevention. Currently, two classes of drugs, adamantanes (M2 blockers) and neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs), are available for treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza infections. Given the resistance patterns of circulating influenza strains, adamantanes are not currently recommended. The current review mainly focuses on the development of resistance to NAIs among A and B subtypes of influenza virus strains over the last 5 years. ‘Permissive’ drift mutations and reassortment of viral gene segments have resulted in NAI oseltamivir-resistant A/(H1N1) variants that rapidly became predominant worldwide in the period 2007–2009. However, the prevalence of antiviral resistance to NAI zanamivir remains relatively low. In addition, the recently developed NAIs, peramivir and laninamivir, while licensed in certain countries, are still under evaluation and only a few reports have described resistance to peramivir. Although in 2014, the majority of circulating human influenza viruses remains susceptible to all NAIs, the emergence of oseltamivir-resistant influenza variants that could retain viral transmissibility, highlights the necessity for enhanced epidemiological and microbiological surveillance and clinical assessment of antiviral resistance.
Multivalued Dependencies for XML Documents with DTDs

Besides functional dependencies, multivalued dependencies are also important integrity constrains in XML documents. So far, the definitions for multivalued dependencies are oriented to XML documents, rather than schemata. At present, DTD is accepted to be a major schema for a XML document, and most of XML documents are designed to have DTDs. So, it is necessary to propose a definition about multivalued dependencies in XML documents with DTDs. We define the multivalued dependency on the DTD and give its semantics via a relational representation of XML. Then, we investigate the issues related to logical implication of multivalued dependencies, give the definitions of closure, path dependency basis and the closure of paths of multivalued dependencies for XML, propose a set of inference rules which are sound and complete. Finally, we propose an algorithm to compute the path dependency basis and an algorithm to decide the membership between a given multivalued dependency and a set of multivalued dependencies.
Clinical Protocols for Hearing Instrument Fitting in the Desired Sensation Level Method

A discussion of the protocols used particularly in the clinical application of the Desired Sensation Level (DSL) Method is presented in this chapter. In the first section, the measurement and application of acoustic transforms is described in terms of their importance in the assessment phase of the amplification fitting process. Specifically, the implications of individual ear canal acoustics and their impact on accurately defining hearing thresholds are discussed. Detailed information about the statistical strength of the real-ear-to-coupler difference (RECD) measurement and how to obtain the measure in young infants is also provided. In addition, the findings of a study that examined the relationship between behavioral and electrophysiologic thresholds in real-ear SPL is described. The second section presents information related to the electroacoustic verification of hearing instruments. The RECD is discussed in relation to its application in simulated measurements of real-ear hearing instrument performance. In particular, the effects of the transducer and coupling method during the RECD measurement are described in terms of their impact on verification measures. The topics of insertion gain, test signals, and venting are also considered. The third section presents three summary tables that outline the hearing instrument fitting process for infants, children, and adults. Overall, this chapter provides both clinical and scientific information about procedures used in the assessment and verification stages of the DSL Method.
Endocytic Trafficking of Membrane-Bound Cargo: A Flotillin Point of View

The ubiquitous and highly conserved flotillin proteins, flotillin-1 and flotillin-2, have been shown to be involved in various cellular processes such as cell adhesion, signal transduction through receptor tyrosine kinases as well as in cellular trafficking pathways. Due to the fact that flotillins are acylated and form hetero-oligomers, they constitutively associate with cholesterol-enriched lipid microdomains. In recent years, such microdomains have been appreciated as platforms that participate in endocytosis and other cellular trafficking steps. This review summarizes the current findings on the role of flotillins in membrane-bound cargo endocytosis and endosomal trafficking events. We will discuss the proposed function of flotillins in endocytosis in the light of recent findings that point towards a role for flotillins in a step that precedes the actual endocytic uptake of cargo molecules. Recent findings have also revealed that flotillins may be important for endosomal sorting and recycling of specific cargo molecules. In addition to these aspects, the cellular trafficking pathway of flotillins themselves as potential cargo in the context of growth factor signaling will be discussed.
Neuropsychological factors differentiating treated children with pediatric bipolar disorder from those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

To determine the specificity of suggested endophenotypes of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), the performance of 15 euthymic children with PBD was contrasted with that of 20 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a population with reportedly similar executive dysfunction, and 18 children with both PBD and ADHD. Children with PBD and PBD+ADHD (ages 8 to 17) demonstrated higher intraindividual variability in reaction time, slower processing speed, and more sluggish motor preparedness than did children with ADHD. The findings support the contention that processing speed, intraindividual variability, and slower and more variable reaction time as interstimulus interval lengthens are likely specific endophenotypes of PBD.
Consumer Behaviour, a Modelling Perspective in the Context of Integrated Assessment of Global Change

De consumptie van producten en diensten door mensen oefent een belangrijke invloed uit op het mondiale ecosysteem. Vooralsnog wordt consumptief gedrag impliciet meegenomen in 'integrated assessment' modellen voor 'global change' (b.v TARGETS). In dit rapport worden verschillende theorieen omtrent gedrag samengebracht in een generiek gedragsmodel. Dit gedragsmodel dient als leidraad bij het ontwikkelen van een gecomputeriseerd gedragssimulatieprogramma. Zo'n simulatiemodel vormt een instrument dat gebruikt kan worden bij het verrijken en valideren van toekomstprojecties zoals die worden ontwikkeld met behulp van integrated assessment modellen, en om beleidsmakers aangrijpingspunten te bieden bij het ontwikkelen van beleidsprioriteiten en effectieve strategieen gericht op een duurzame ontwikkeling.
Propagation of shear horizontal surface waves in a layered piezoelectric half-space with an imperfect interface

We investigate the dispersive behavior of shear horizontal (SH) surface waves propagating in a layered structure consisting of a piezoelectric layer and an elastic half-space, in which the top and bottom of the layer are electrically shorted. The interface between the layer and the half-space is assumed to be imperfect bonding. The degree of imperfection of the interface is described by the so-called shear-lag model. The dispersion equations are expressed in an explicit closed form. The phase velocities are calculated to show the influences of the interfacial imperfection and the material properties of piezoelectric layers on the dispersive characteristics.
Biosynthetic Pathways of Inositol and Glycerol Phosphodiesters Used by the Hyperthermophile Archaeoglobus fulgidus in Stress Adaptation

ABSTRACT Archaeoglobus fulgidus accumulates di-myo-inositol phosphate (DIP) and diglycerol phosphate (DGP) in response to heat and osmotic stresses, respectively, and the level of glycero-phospho-myo-inositol (GPI) increases primarily when the two stresses are combined. In this work, the pathways for the biosynthesis of these three compatible solutes were established based on the detection of the relevant enzymatic activities and characterization of the intermediate metabolites by nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. The synthesis of DIP proceeds from glucose-6-phosphate via four steps: (i) glucose-6-phosphate was converted into l-myo-inositol 1-phosphate by l-myo-inositol 1-phosphate synthase; (ii) l-myo-inositol 1-phosphate was activated to CDP-inositol at the expense of CTP; this is the first demonstration of CDP-inositol synthesis in a biological system; (iii) CDP-inositol was coupled with l-myo-inositol 1-phosphate to yield a phosphorylated intermediate, 1,1′-di-myo-inosityl phosphate 3-phosphate (DIPP); (iv) finally, DIPP was dephosphorylated into DIP by the action of a phosphatase. The synthesis of the two other polyol-phosphodiesters, DGP and GPI, proceeds via the condensation of CDP-glycerol with the respective phosphorylated polyol, glycerol 3-phosphate for DGP and l-myo-inositol 1-phosphate for GPI, yielding the respective phosphorylated intermediates, 1X,1′X-diglyceryl phosphate 3-phosphate (DGPP) and 1-(1X-glyceryl) myo-inosityl phosphate 3-phosphate (GPIP), which are subsequently dephosphorylated to form the final products. The results disclosed here represent an important step toward the elucidation of the regulatory mechanisms underlying the differential accumulation of these compounds in response to heat and osmotic stresses.
Mysterious machines

Alan Turing proposed a test for the intelligence of machines in 1950 [1]. Despite great efforts, no computer has passed this test so far. Each year, chat bots compete for the Loebner Prize, the first formal instantiation of a Turing Test. No contender was able to fool the jury yet. Major problems of the chat bots are the lack of common knowledge and the logical consistency of a dialogue. We explore a new approach to chat bots by focusing on non-logical conversation topics: mysticism. The founding books of the major religions are widely acknowledged examples of mystical topics. We selected the New Testament, the Koran and Rigveda as the knowledge base for our conversational robots. The robots are able to autonomously talk to each other and to humans about their religious believe. Each robot represents a belief, but we do not reveal their convictions. This ambiguity forces observers to follow the actual conversations instead of quickly applying stereotypes.
Adrenal function in sepsis: The retrospective Corticus cohort study

Objective:To refine the value of baseline and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH)-stimulated cortisol levels in relation to mortality from severe sepsis or septic shock. Design:Retrospective multicenter cohort study. Setting:Twenty European intensive care units. Patients:Patients included 477 patients with severe sepsis and septic shock who had undergone an ACTH stimulation test on the day of the onset of severe sepsis. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Compared with survivors, nonsurvivors had higher baseline cortisol levels (29.5 ± 33.5 vs. 24.3 ± 16.5 &mgr;g/dL, p = .03) but similar peak cortisol values (37.6 ± 40.2 vs. 35.2 ± 22.9 &mgr;g/dL, p = .42). Thus, nonsurvivors had lower &Dgr;max (i.e., peak cortisol minus baseline cortisol) (6.4 ± 22.6 vs. 10.9 ± 12.9 &mgr;g/dL, p = .006). Patients with either baseline cortisol levels <15 &mgr;g/dL or a &Dgr;max ≤9 &mgr;g/dL had a likelihood ratio of dying of 1.26 (95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.44), a longer duration of shock, and a shorter survival time. Patients with a &Dgr;max ≤9 &mgr;g/dL but any baseline cortisol value had a likelihood ratio of dying of 1.38 (95% confidence interval, 1.18–1.61). Conclusions:Although delta cortisol and not basal cortisol level was associated with clinical outcome, further studies are still needed to optimize the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency in critical illness. Etomidate influenced ACTH test results and was associated with a worse outcome.
Emerging scholars: predictors of independent researcher identification in education PhD students

Conducting independent research is a rite of passage in most PhD programs. Yet, little is known about the factors in the higher educational process that meaningfully shape doctoral students' self-beliefs about conducting independent research. This study used psychosocial and social cognitive variables to predict doctoral students' independent researcher identification and career interest. A total of 129 PhD students enrolled in a single School of Education at a public university in the southeastern United States completed measures of research self-efficacy, mentorship effectiveness, research experience, and stage of degree progress, as well as demographic information and responded to two single item visual analog scales measuring their degree of independent researcher identity and research career interest, respectively. A multiple regression analysis showed that the study model significantly predicted 42.8% of students' independent researcher identification and to a lesser degree (11.1%) students' research career interest. In the model, research self-efficacy was the sole significant unique contributor to researcher identification thus validating its critical importance for PhD students. Significant differences were observed in participants' researcher identification and research career interest based on stage of degree progress and some or no pre-dissertation research experience. However, no significance was observed for either regarding students' research career interest. The results validate the utility of social cognitive theoretical frameworks with doctoral students, suggests the need for proactive career development models to encourage students' exploration of research career options, and also that research self-efficacy may be closely related to mentorship effectiveness in helping students to establish independent researcher identification.
The personal nature of notions of consciousness : a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of the personal in the understanding of consciousness

Collects and clarifies the variety of notions of consciousness in an effort to establish a basis for an interdisciplinary study of consciousness. Through theoretical and empirical analyses this study confirms the connection between personal attitudes toward life and toward reality in general, an individual's judgement concerning the nature of consciousness, and the proper means for studying it. This is accomplished via a statistical analysis of responses by academics (mostly in psychology) to a questionnaire, together with a detailed account of the methods employed in developing it. It is preceded by a discussion of various concepts and philosophical approaches to consciousness. Contents: Introduction; The Problem of Consciousness; Metanalysis of Definitions of Consciousness; Notions of Consciousness; An Empirical Examination of the ole of the Personal in the Understanding of Consciousness; Conclusions; and Appendix with the Consciousness Questionnaire, Respondents' Written Responses, and Statistical Analyses.
Development and evaluation of an in vitro virus isolation procedure as a replacement for the mouse inoculation test in rabies diagnosis

A tissue culture virus isolation procedure for rabies street strain virus on mouse neuroblastoma cells is described. Parameters for the optimum sensitivity of the procedure were determined to include a minimum 4-day incubation of virus in tissue culture and the use of diethylaminoethyl-dextran for increased cell susceptibility. The in vitro procedure performed well in a comparison with the fluorescent-antibody test and the mouse inoculation test (MIT) on weakly positive brain tissue. Decomposed specimens and virus inhibitors present in brain suspensions were found to interfere with the in vitro procedure. A Formalin-methanol fixative was found to be superior on plastic 96-well plates to previously used fixatives. A 2-year clinical trial of the procedure in parallel with the MIT demonstrated the practicality of the procedure. Accordingly, the New York State rabies diagnostic laboratory has replaced the MIT with the in vitro procedure as a backup for the fluorescent-antibody test in the routine diagnosis of rabies.
Unsupervised Activity Recognition Using Automatically Mined Common Sense

A fundamental difficulty in recognizing human activities is obtaining the labeled data needed to learn models of those activities. Given emerging sensor technology, however, it is possible to view activity data as a stream of natural language terms. Activity models are then mappings from such terms to activity names, and may be extracted from text corpora such as the web. We show that models so extracted are sufficient to automatically produce labeled segmentations of activity data with an accuracy of 42% over 26 activities, well above the 3.89% baseline. The segmentation so obtained is sufficient to bootstrap learning, with accuracy of learned models increasing to 52%. To our knowledge, this is the first human activity inferencing system shown to learn from sensed activity data with no human intervention per activity learned, even for labeling.