Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Algorithm for the Evaluation of the Throughput of a TCP NewReno Bulk Data Flow

This letter presents a simple and accurate algorithm to evaluate the steady-state throughput of a TCP NewReno bulk data flow as a function of the round-trip time, the retransmission timer value, and the loss behavior of the network. This work proposes a new method for evaluating the throughput of a TCP NewReno connection over any network whose end-to-end packetloss process can be described by an analytical model or by any other method that results in the sequence of lost packets along the transmission. This proposal achieves more accurate results than those corresponding to the existing analytical models, with greater simplicity and less resource consumption than those necessary in a simulation. Such an algorithm is validated by its comparison with a set of ns-2 simulation results, obtaining an average error of 1.4% when the loss behavior of the network is modeled by a Bernoulli process (independent network losses) and of 9% when the Gilbert loss model (correlated network losses) is used.
A method of visualizing friends relations and recommending groups in online social network

In online social network, relations among users can be treated as a graph, which is very common data structure handled in computers. Diagrams are widely used to represent the graph structure visually, and it is a better idea to show a user's friends and there relations in a visualization diagrams than simply list them one by one. There have been only a few algorithms for generating undirected self-centered graph. This paper presents a method of visualizing friends relations of each user in social network, moreover, we presents a friend group recommendation method based on the generated graph.
Placing connected components of disconnected graphs

A problem arising when drawing disconnected graphs, is the placement of the connected components. The problem corresponds to finding an appropriate two-dimensional, non-overlapping placement of given objects. Most layout algorithms assume a connected graph and do not deal with connected components. Thus, each component is laid out separately which requires an additional step to arrange these components. There are only few approaches in literature which address this task. We review some of them and present new methods that improve existing results. Our approach is based on a classical greedy approach described by Freivalds et al. which uses a polyomino representation of the objects. We introduce new quality measures to evaluate a two-dimensional placement which yield more compact layouts. Our approach particularly eliminates most cases in which previous approaches returned poor results.
A PRIVACY SECURE KEY PRE-DISTRIBUTION SCHEME FOR WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS 1

To achieve security in wireless sensor networks, it is important to be able to encrypt and authenticate messages sent among sensor nodes. Keys for encryption and authentication purposes must be agreed upon by communicating nodes. Due to resource constraints, achieving such key agreement in wireless sensor networks is non-trivial. Many key agreement schemes used in general networks, such as Daffier-Hellman and public-key based schemes, are not suit-able for wireless sensor networks. Pre-distribution of secret keys for all pairs of nodes is not viable due to the large amount of memory used when the network size is large. To solve the key predistribution problem, two elegant key pre-distribution approaches have been proposed recently [11, 7]. In this , i propose a new key pre-distribution scheme which substantially improves the resilience of the network compared to the existing schemes. Our scheme exhibits a nice thresh-old property: when the number of compromised nodes is less than the threshold, the probability that any nodes other than these compromised nodes is affected is close to zero. This desirable property lowers the initial payoff of smaller scale network breaches to an adversary, and makes it necessary for the adversary to attack a significant proportion of the network. I also present an in depth analysis of our scheme in terms of network resilience and associated overhead.
Lifespan behavioural and neural resilience in a social insect

Analyses of senescence in social species are important to understanding how group living influences the evolution of ageing in society members. Social insects exhibit remarkable lifespan polyphenisms and division of labour, presenting excellent opportunities to test hypotheses concerning ageing and behaviour. Senescence patterns in other taxa suggest that behavioural performance in ageing workers would decrease in association with declining brain functions. Using the ant Pheidole dentata as a model, we found that 120-day-old minor workers, having completed 86% of their laboratory lifespan, showed no decrease in sensorimotor functions underscoring complex tasks such as alloparenting and foraging. Collaterally, we found no age-associated increases in apoptosis in functionally specialized brain compartments or decreases in synaptic densities in the mushroom bodies, regions associated with integrative processing. Furthermore, brain titres of serotonin and dopamine—neuromodulators that could negatively impact behaviour through age-related declines—increased in old workers. Unimpaired task performance appears to be based on the maintenance of brain functions supporting olfaction and motor coordination independent of age. Our study is the first to comprehensively assess lifespan task performance and its neurobiological correlates and identify constancy in behavioural performance and the absence of significant age-related neural declines.
Exploiting vocal-source features to improve ASR accuracy for low-resource languages

A traditional framework in speech production describes the output speech as an interaction between a source excitation and a vocal-tract conﬁgured by the speaker to impart segmental characteristics. In general, this simpliﬁcation has led to approaches where systems that focus on phonetic segment tasks (e.g. speech recognition) make use of a front-end that extracts features that aim to distinguish between different vocal-tract conﬁgurations. The excitation signal, on the other hand, has received more attention for speaker-characterization tasks. In this work we look at augmenting the front-end in a recognition system with vocal-source features, motivated by our work with languages that are low in resources and whose phonology and phonetics suggest the need for complementary approaches to classical ASR features. We demonstrate that the additional use of such features provides improvements over a state-of-the-art system for low-resource languages from the BABEL Program.
Research on the attitude control of quad-rotor UAV based on active disturbance rejection control

Aiming at quad-rotor UAV's characteristics of under-actuated, strongly coupled, nonlinear, parameter uncertainty and un-modeled disturbance, two types of active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) strategies are presented in order to increase aircraft's attitude control quality. ADRC technology is a kind of control technology which is independent of the precise model of the system, and can estimate and compensate the system's disturbance in real time. The structure and the typical algorithm of ADRC technique are described in detail, including tracking differentiator, extended state observer and state error feedback. After parameter tuning, simulations were carried out based on Simulink. Compared with a classical cascade PID control, simulation results show that linear active disturbance rejection control has better control quality and anti-disturbance performance.
27.5 A pixel-pitch-matched ultrasound receiver for 3D photoacoustic imaging with integrated delta-sigma beamformer in 28nm UTBB FDSOI

A variety of emerging applications in medical ultrasound rely on 3D volumetric imaging, calling for dense 2D transducer arrays with thousands of elements. Due to this high channel count, the traditional per-element cable interface used for 1D arrays is no longer viable. To address this issue, recent work has proven the viability of flip-chip bonding [1] or direct transducer integration [2]. This shifts the burden to a CMOS substrate, which must provide dense signal conditioning and processing before the massively parallel image data can be pushed off chip. A common approach for data reduction is to employ subarray beamforming (BF), which applies delay and sum operations within a group of pixels. To implement such functionality within the tight pixel pitch, prior works have implemented the delays using simple S/H circuits [2] or analog filters [3], and typically suffer from a combination of issues related to limited delay, coarse delay resolution and limited SNR.
Etude de la dissémination des cellules tumorales liée à l’acte chirurgical dans les carcinomes épidermoïdes des voies aérodigestives supérieures

Par definition, une metastase est la formation de foyers tumoraux secondaires liee a la capacite des cellules tumorales a se detacher de la tumeur primitive, de s’implanter dans un autre organe et de proliferer. A partir du foyer primitif, il peut y avoir une dissemination micrometastatique c’est-a-dire la liberation dans le sang ou le reseau lymphatique de cellules tumorales isolees ou de petits amas cellulaires . Ces micrometastases peuvent proliferer et donner naissance a des metastases. La difficulte est de deceler ces cellules tumorales isolees ou en micro-amas, et egalement d’evaluer leur valeur pronostique, ainsi que leur potentiel metastatique. Dans cette etude, nous allons nous interesser plus particulierement au processus metastatique lie a l’acte chirurgical dans les cancers epidermoides des voies aerodigestive superieures (CEVADS). En effet, dans ce type de cancers, la meilleure methode pour etablir un diagnostic est l’analyse anatomo-pathologique du prelevement realise par biopsie. La principale barriere physique empechant les cellules tumorales de migrer est la membrane du tissu atteint. Lors de la chirurgie, ces barrieres sont detruites, ce qui facilite l’invasion du systeme vasculaire. Les cellules tumorales peuvent ainsi se loger dans les vaisseaux et proliferer a distance du site primitif pour former des tumeurs secondaires. Generalement, les metastases sont detectees par imagerie ou serologie a un stade tres avance du cancer. L’objectif de cette etude est de detecter la presence de cellules isolees ou disseminees (CTCs) de CEVADS dans la circulation sanguine a travers trois axes de recherche des metastases : 1) Etude des marqueurs moleculaires pour le diagnostic d’envahissement ganglionnaire des carcinomes epidermoides des voies aerodigestives superieures realisee par PCR quantitative en temps reel et en OSNA. 2) Recherche des cellules tumorales disseminees dans les drains de Redon apres curage cervical 3) Recherche des cellules tumorales circulantes apres acte chirurgical pour carcinomes epidermoides des VADS stade III et IV. Ce protocole nous permettra de valider la recherche des CTCs en situation clinique et par la suite de developper des etudes prospectives diagnostiques et pronostiques des CTCs des CEVADS.
Inductive data link for biomedical implants in the MICS band

We are reporting a short-range inductive data link for biomedical implants in the MICS band (402-405MHz). This system consists of a coil and a matching network that also sets the resonant frequency. An approach for accounting for small additional inductances in the matching network is laid out and calculated using various simulation software and these simulations are confirmed with measurements. Good agreement is obtained between simulations and measurements of return loss and transmitted power.
Detection of dissociative disorders in psychiatric patients by a screening instrument and a structured diagnostic interview.

OBJECTIVE AND METHOD Diagnosis and treatment of the dissociative disorders may be delayed for many years because of difficulties in detecting patients at high risk for dissociative disorders. This study investigates the utility of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), a self-report instrument for dissociative experiences, in detecting patients at high risk for dissociative disorders. The clinician-administered Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) was used as the diagnostic standard, and 36 outpatients with mixed diagnoses and nine normal subjects were evaluated for the presence and absence of a dissociative disorder. DES scores were then compared. RESULTS Results indicate that a DES cutoff score of 15-20 yields good to excellent sensitivity and specificity as a screening instrument. However, for higher cutoff points the sensitivity can be much lower. CONCLUSIONS Thus, although the DES can be used to identify some high-risk patients, they should be further evaluated with such diagnostic instruments as the SCID-D or by in-depth clinical follow-up.
The Quality and Economic Impact of Disruptive Behaviors on Clinical Outcomes of Patient Care

Disruptive behaviors have been shown to have a negative impact on work relationships, team collaboration, communication efficiency, and process flow, all of which can adversely affect patient safety and quality of care. Despite the growing recognition of the damage that can be done, there are still pockets of resistance to taking action to address the issue head-on. Given the new call to action from the Joint Commission accreditation standard and the growing public accountability for patient safety, organizations need to recognize the full impact of disruptive behaviors and implement appropriate policies, procedures, and educational programs to raise levels of awareness regarding the seriousness of the issue, hold individuals accountable for their behavior, and provide training and support not only to reduce the incidence and consequences of disruptive events but also to improve efficiency of communication and team collaboration in an effort to improve outcomes of care.
Comprehensive metabolite profiling in distinct chemotypes of Commiphora wightii

Abstract Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari, known as guggul, produces a medicinally important gum resin which is used extensively by Ayurvedic physicians to treat various ailments. However, most of the studies on C. wightii have been limited to its gum resin. Comprehensive metabolic profiling of leaves, stem and gum resin samples was undertaken to analyse aqueous and non-aqueous metabolites from three distinct chemotypes (NBRI-101, NBRI-102 and NBRI-103) shortlisted from different agro-climatic zones. GC-MS, HPLC and NMR spectroscopy were used for comprehensive metabolomics. Multivariate analysis showed characteristic variation in quinic and citric acids, myo-inositol and glycine (aqueous metabolites) and 2,6-di-tert-butyl-phenol, trans-farnesol and guggulsterones (non-aqueous metabolites) amongst the three chemotypes. Quinic acid, citric acid and myo-ionositol were detected in substantial quantities from leaves and stem samples which provide opportunities for novel nutraceutical and pharmaceutical formulations. Quinic acid, from the leaves, was identified as a marker metabolite for early selection of high guggulsterones-yielding cultivars.
Using T-O-E theoretical framework to study the adoption of ERP solution

Abstract This paper provides further insight into IS adoption by investigating how 12 factors within the technology-organization-environment (T-O-E) framework explain SMEs’ adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Survey data were collected from executives of SMEs drawn from six fast service enterprises with strong operations in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Purposive and snow ball sampling was adopted and the proposed framework was tested using the logistic regression; specifically, the likelihood ratios, Hosmer and Lemeshow’s goodness of fit, and Nagelkerke R2 were used. The hypothesized relationships were supported at either p < 0.01 or 0.05 with each factor differing in its statistical coefficient and some bearing negative values; suggesting that some factors do not pose much threat to adopters but to non-adopters. Thus, adoption of ERP by SMEs is well-explained by T-O-E framework though it is more driven by technological factors than by organizational and environmental factors. Implicit is that the proposed model will be useful to IS vendors in making investment decisions and crafting marketing programs that appeal to non-adopters since they have more adoption challenges than adopters and to cause adopters to progress in the loyalty ladder.
Ferroelectric non-hysteresis actuator for microwave tuneable devices

Low loss and highly tuneable microwave filters controlled by piezoelectric actuator are discussed. Dielectric or metallic parts of device should have the piezo-dirigible air gap between them. The most important for these devices is to use non-hysteresis relaxor ferroelectric ceramics with large electrostriction. Electromechanic way of control has restriction in the speed of operation, and this problem is estimated by the microwave investigation of relaxor ceramics that is used as main actuator material.
Low-Income Workers with Employer-Sponsored Insurance: Who’s at Risk When Employer Coverage Is No Longer an Option?

A firm’s decision to drop the offer of employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), reduce eligibility for ESI, or significantly increase employee costs would have serious implications for the health insurance status of currently covered low-income workers. The authors find that at least a third of currently covered low-income workers do not have affordable insurance options outside of the group market. Furthermore, a simulation analysis shows that 54 percent of those workers would become uninsured if their employers were to drop ESI. This would result in an additional 1 million uninsured adults if 10 percent of low-income workers lost their ESI offer, and at least 350,000 uninsured adults if 10 percent of workers in firms with fewer than 100 employees (the firms most likely to drop coverage) lost their ESI. The authors also find that expanding public programs to cover low-income workers would reduce the high uninsurance rate by half, but substantial minorities would remain uninsured.
PROPELLER for motion‐robust imaging of in vivo mouse abdomen at 9.4 T

In vivo high‐field MRI in the abdomen of small animals is technically challenging because of the small voxel sizes, short T2 and physiological motion. In standard Cartesian sampling, respiratory and gastrointestinal motion can lead to ghosting artefacts. Although respiratory triggering and navigator echoes can either avoid or compensate for motion, they can lead to variable TRs, require invasive intubation and ventilation, or extend TEs. A self‐navigated fast spin echo (FSE)‐based periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) acquisition was implemented at 9.4 T to enable high‐resolution in vivo MRI of mouse abdomen without the use of additional navigators or triggering. T2‐weighted FSE‐PROPELLER data were compared with single‐shot FSE and multi‐shot FSE data with and without triggering. Single‐shot methods, although rapid and robust to motion, demonstrated strong blurring. Multi‐shot FSE data showed better resolution, but suffered from marked blurring in the phase‐encoding direction and motion in between shots, leading to ghosting artefacts. When respiratory triggering was used, motion artefacts were largely avoided. However, TRs and acquisition times were lengthened by up to approximately 20%. The PROPELLER data showed a 25% and 61% improvement in signal‐to‐noise ratio and contrast‐to‐noise ratio, respectively, compared with multi‐shot FSE data, together with a 35% reduction in artefact power. A qualitative comparison between acquisition methods using diffusion‐weighted imaging was performed. The results were similar, with the exception that respiratory triggering was unable to exclude major motion artefacts as a result of the sensitisation to motion by the diffusion gradients. The PROPELLER data were of consistently higher quality. Considerations specific to the use of PROPELLER at high field are discussed, including the selection of practical blade widths and the effects on contrast, resolution and artefacts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of team cognition in collaborative information seeking

Collaborative information seeking (CIS) is of growing importance in the information sciences and human–computer interaction (HCI) research communities. Current research has primarily focused on examining the social and interactional aspects of CIS in organizational or other settings and developing technical approaches to support CIS activities. As we continue to develop a better understanding of the interactional aspects of CIS, we need also start to examine the cognitive aspects of CIS. In particular, we need to understand CIS from a team cognition perspective. To examine how team cognition develops during CIS, we conducted a study using observations and interviews of student teams engaged in colocated CIS tasks in a laboratory setting. We found that a variety of awareness mechanisms play a key role in the development of team cognition during CIS. Specifically, we identify that search, information, and social methods of awareness are critical to developing team cognition during CIS. We discuss why awareness is important for team cognition, how team cognition comprises both individual and team‐level cognitive activities, and the importance of examining both interaction and cognition to truly understand team cognition.
A Pilot Study Comparing Observational and Questionnaire Surrogate Measures of Pesticide Exposure Among Residents Impacted by the Ecuadorian Flower Industry

Self-reported measures of residential pesticide exposure are commonly used in epidemiological studies, especially when financial and logistical resources are limited. However, self-reporting is prone to misclassification bias. This pilot study assesses the agreement between self-report of residential pesticide exposure with direct observation measures, in an agricultural region of Ecuador, as a cross-validation method in 26 participants (16 rose workers and 10 controls), with percent agreement and kappa statistics calculated. Proximity of homes to nearby flower farms was found to have only fair agreement (kappa =.35). The use of discarded plastics (kappa =.06) and wood (kappa =.13) were found to have little agreement. Results indicate that direct observation or measurement may provide more accurate appraisals of residential exposures, such as proximity to industrial farmland and the use of discarded materials obtained from the flower farms.
Technique de factorisation multi-biais pour des recommandations dynamiques

La factorisation de matrices offre une grande qualite de prediction pour les systemes de recommandation. Mais sa nature statique empeche de tenir compte des nouvelles notes que les utilisateurs produisent en continu. Ainsi, la qualite des predictions decroit entre deux factorisations lorsque de nombreuses notes ne sont pas prises en compte. La quantite de notes ecartees est d'autant plus grande que la periode entre deux factorisation est longue, ce qui accentue la baisse de qualite. Nos travaux visent a ameliorer la qualite des recommandations. Nous proposons une factorisation de matrices utilisant des groupes de produits et integrant en ligne les nouvelles notes des utilisateurs. Nous attribuons a chaque utilisateur un biais pour chaque groupe de produits similaires que nous mettons a jour. Ainsi, nous ameliorons significativement les predictions entre deux factorisations. Nos experimentations sur des jeux de donnees reels montrent l'efficacite de notre approche.