Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asynchronous CSMA Policies in Multihop Wireless Networks With Primary Interference Constraints

We analyze asynchronous carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) policies for scheduling packet transmissions in multihop wireless networks subject to collisions under primary interference constraints. While the (asymptotic) achievable rate region of CSMA policies for single-hop networks has been well-known, their analysis for general multihop networks has been an open problem due to the complexity of complex interactions among coupled interference constraints. Our work resolves this problem for networks with primary interference constraints by introducing a novel fixed-point formulation that approximates the link service rates of CSMA policies. This formulation allows us to derive an explicit characterization of the achievable rate region of CSMA policies for a limiting regime of large networks with a small sensing period. Our analysis also reveals the rate at which CSMA achievable rate region approaches the asymptotic capacity region of such networks. Moreover, our approach enables the computation of approximate CSMA link transmission attempt probabilities to support any given arrival vector within the achievable rate region. As part of our analysis, we show that both of these approximations become (asymptotically) accurate for large networks with a small sensing period. Our numerical case studies further suggest that these approximations are accurate even for moderately sized networks.
Integrating user-centered design practices into agile Web development: A case study

In this study we empirically investigate the integration of User-Centered Design (UCD) practices into agile Web development. We propose a hybrid process framework which extends the agile development process, adding lightweight usability engineering practices. We conducted a case study in academia with postgraduate students to empirically evaluate the impact of the hybrid process to the quality of the web products, based on a defect quality analysis through the development phases from user stories gathering up to delivery of the products. The statistical analysis of the quantitative data showed a great improvement in the distribution of the closing-defects across the development phases and full reduction of the defects number, leading to increased quality.
Predicting and tracking internet path changes

This paper investigates to what extent it is possible to use traceroute-style probing for accurately tracking Internet path changes. When the number of paths is large, the usual traceroute based approach misses many path changes because it probes all paths equally. Based on empirical observations, we argue that monitors can optimize probing according to the likelihood of path changes. We design a simple predictor of path changes using a nearest neighbor model. Although predicting path changes is not very accurate, we show that it can be used to improve probe targeting. Our path tracking method, called DTrack, detects up to two times more path changes than traditional probing, with lower detection delay, as well as providing complete load-balancer information.
Piezotronic Effect: An Emerging Mechanism for Sensing Applications

Strain-induced polarization charges in a piezoelectric semiconductor effectively modulate the band structure near the interface and charge carrier transport. Fundamental investigation of the piezotronic effect has attracted broad interest, and various sensing applications have been demonstrated. This brief review discusses the fundamentals of the piezotronic effect, followed by a review highlighting important applications for strain sensors, pressure sensors, chemical sensors, photodetectors, humidity sensors and temperature sensors. Finally, the review offers some perspectives and outlook for this new field of multi-functional sensing enabled by the piezotronic effect.
Can Multivariable Risk-Benefit Profiling Be Used to Select Treatment-Favorable Patients for Thrombolysis in Stroke in the 3- to 6-Hour Time Window?

Background and Purpose— The Stroke-Thrombolytic Predictive Instrument (Stroke-TPI) uses multivariate equations to predict outcomes with and without thrombolysis. We sought to examine whether such a multivariate predictive instrument might be useful in selecting patients with a favorable risk-benefit treatment profile for therapy after 3 hours. Methods— We explored outcomes in patients from 5 major randomized clinical trials testing intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) classified by the Stroke-TPI as “treatment-favorable” or “treatment-unfavorable. ” We used iterative bootstrap re-sampling to estimate how such a model would perform on independent test data. Results— Among patients treated within the 3- to 6-hour window, 67% of patients were classified by Stroke-TPI predicted outcomes as “treatment-favorable” and 33% were classified as “treatment-unfavorable. ” Outcomes in the treatment-favorable group demonstrated benefit for thrombolysis (modified Rankin Scale score ≤1: 44.0% with rt-PA versus 34.2 with placebo, P=0.005), whereas harm was demonstrated in the treatment-unfavorable group (modified Rankin Scale score ≤1: 31.3% with rt-PA versus 38.3% with placebo; P=0.004). Bootstrap resampling with complete cross-validation showed that the absolute margin of benefit in the treatment-favorable group diminished on average by 36% between derivation and independent validation sets, but still represented a significant tripling of improvement in benefit compared with conventional inclusion criteria (5.2% [interquartile range, 1.7% to 8.6%] versus 1.8% [interquartile range, −0.5 to 4.1], P<0.0001). Conclusions— Such multivariable risk-benefit profiling may be useful in the selection of acute stroke patients for rt-PA therapy even more than 3 hours after symptom onset. Prospective testing is indicated.
Carotenoids, Fatty Acid Composition and Heat Stability of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Extracted-Oleoresins

The risk of chronic diseases has been shown to be inversely related to tomato intake and the lycopene levels in serum and tissue. Cis-isomers represent approximately 50%–80% of serum lycopene, while dietary lycopene maintains the isomeric ratio present in the plant sources with about 95% of all-trans-lycopene. Supercritical CO2 extraction (S-CO2) has been extensively developed to extract lycopene from tomato and tomato processing wastes, for food or pharmaceutical industries, also by using additional plant sources as co-matrices. We compared two S-CO2-extracted oleoresins (from tomato and tomato/hazelnut matrices), which showed an oil-solid bi-phasic appearance, a higher cis-lycopene content, and enhanced antioxidant ability compared with the traditional solvent extracts. Heat-treating, in the range of 60–100 °C, led to changes in the lycopene isomeric composition and to enhanced antioxidant activity in both types of oleoresins. The greater stability has been related to peculiar lycopene isomer composition and to the lipid environment. The results indicate these oleoresins are a good source of potentially healthful lycopene.
Haplotypes in the CRP Gene Associated with Increased BMI and Levels of CRP in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes or Obesity from Southwestern Mexico

Objective. We evaluated the association between four polymorphisms in the CRP gene with circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity, and risk score of coronary heart disease. Methods. We studied 402 individuals and classified them into four groups: healthy, obese, T2D obese, and T2D without obesity, from Guerrero, Southwestern Mexico. Blood levels of CRP, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and leukocytes were measured. Genotyping was performed by PCR/RFLP, and the risk score for coronary heart disease was determined by the Framingham's methodology. Results. The TT genotype of SNP rs1130864 was associated with increased body mass index and T2D patients with obesity. We found that the haplotype 2 (TGAG) was associated with increased levels of CRP (β = 0.3; 95%CI: 0.1, 0.5; P = 0.005) and haplotype 7 (TGGG) with higher body mass index (BMI) (β = 0.2; 95%CI: 0.1, 0.3; P < 0.001). The risk score for coronary heart disease was associated with increased levels of CRP, but not with any polymorphism or haplotype. Conclusions. The association between the TT genotype of SNP rs1130864 with obesity and the haplotype 7 with BMI may explain how obesity and genetic predisposition increase the risk of diseases such as T2D in the population of Southwestern Mexico.
Expansion of a unique CD57+NKG2Chi natural killer cell subset during acute human cytomegalovirus infection

During human CMV infection, there is a preferential expansion of natural killer (NK) cells expressing the activating CD94–NKG2C receptor complex, implicating this receptor in the recognition of CMV-infected cells. We hypothesized that NK cells expanded in response to pathogens will be marked by expression of CD57, a carbohydrate antigen expressed on highly mature cells within the CD56dimCD16+ NK cell compartment. Here we demonstrate the preferential expansion of a unique subset of NK cells coexpressing the activating CD94–NKG2C receptor and CD57 in CMV+ donors. These CD57+NKG2Chi NK cells degranulated in response to stimulation through their NKG2C receptor. Furthermore, CD57+NKG2Chi NK cells preferentially lack expression of the inhibitory NKG2A receptor and the inhibitory KIR3DL1 receptor in individuals expressing its HLA-Bw4 ligand. Moreover, in solid-organ transplant recipients with active CMV infection, the percentage of CD57+NKG2Chi NK cells in the total NK cell population preferentially increased. During acute CMV infection, the NKG2C+ NK cells proliferated, became NKG2Chi, and finally acquired CD57. Thus, we propose that CD57 might provide a marker of “memory” NK cells that have been expanded in response to infection.
Analysis of Axial Vibration in the Laminated Rubber-Metal Spring

The laminated rubber-metal spring is well known in application as the vibration isolator for earthquake protection. The spring is therefore designed to be able to sustain the vibration waves from horizontal direction. This paper discusses the possibility of the laminated spring to be employed for other applications where the excitation mainly comes from axial direction, such as to isolate vibration transmission from heavy engine. The model is first developed for a simple finite rod to simulate the effect of internal resonances at high frequency when the wavelength is much smaller than the length of the rod. The effect of metal plates inserted in the rubber is then modelled using the lumped parameter system. The results are presented in terms of the vibration transmissibility.
Macrophage cytoplasmic vesicle pH gradients and vacuolar H+‐ATPase activities relative to virus infection

A number of viruses replicate in macrophages, some having an obligate requirement for a macrophage host. This raised the question concerning the role of the macrophage endosomal/lysosomal compartment during such infections. Both lysosomotropic weak bases, amantadine and chloroquine, which interfere with endosomal/lysosomal pH gradients, and the macrolide antibiotic bafilomycin A1, which interferes with vacuolar H+‐ATPase, inhibited African swine fever (ASF) virus replication in porcine macrophages. This inhibition was reversible: replenishment of bafilomycin, but not amantadine or chloroquine, maintained the inhibition. The characteristics of the inhibition, and the capacity of virus to escape and re‐commence replication, related to the capacity of each drug to interfere with the endosomal/lysosomal proton pump. These results demonstrate that the virus actually requires macrophage endosomal/lysosomal activity for its replication. Therein, vacuolar H+‐ATPase activity is particularly critical for successful virus replication, which is interesting considering the importance of this for endosomal/lysosomal activity and macrophage function. J. Leukoc. Biol. 64: 302–310; 1998.
Application of speech conversion to alaryngeal speech enhancement

Two existing speech conversion algorithms were modified and used to enhance alaryngeal speech. The modifications were aimed at reducing the spectral distortion (bandwidth increase) in a vector-quantization (VQ) based system and the spectral discontinuity in a linear multivariate regression (LMR) based system. Spectral distortion was compensated for by formant enhancement using the chirp z-transform and cepstral weighting. Spectral discontinuity was alleviated using overlapping clusters during the construction of the conversion mapping function. The modified VQ and LMR algorithms were used to enhance alaryngeal speech. The results of perceptual evaluation indicated that listeners generally preferred to listen to the alaryngeal speech samples enhanced by the modified conversions over original samples.
Domination, Packing and Excluded Minors

Let (G) be the domination number of a graph G ,a nd letk(G) be the maximum number of vertices in G, no two of which are at distance k in G . I t is easy to see that (G) 2(G). In this note it is proved that (G) is bounded from above by a linear function in 2(G )i fG has no large complete bipartite graph minors. Extensions to other parameters k(G) are also derived.
Treatment With Acamprosate in Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Comorbid Alcohol Dependence

Objective: Alcohol use disorders and schizophrenia frequently co-occur with rates higher than in the general population. There is no consensus on the best treatment for patients with these comorbid conditions. Several clinical trials have shown that acamprosate is superior to placebo in reducing drinking and is particularly effective in sustaining abstinence. No study to date has examined the efficacy of acamprosate in patients with alcohol dependence and comorbid schizophrenia. The aims of this study are to assess the efficacy of acamprosate when compared to placebo in reducing drinking and to examine its effects on schizophrenic symptoms. Methods: This was a double-blind, randomized, 12-week treatment trial of acamprosate versus placebo. Twenty-three recently abstinent patients with diagnosed alcohol dependence and comorbid schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or psychosis not otherwise specified were included in this study. Results: All participants significantly decreased their drinking during medication treatment, although acamprosate was not superior to placebo in increasing consecutive days of abstinence. There was a significant difference favoring the acamprosate group on obsessive thoughts of drinking but no significant group X time interaction. Overall, medication treatment significantly reduced positive symptoms of schizophrenia, but there were no group differences. Conclusions: Acamprosate was not more effective than placebo in reducing drinking or symptoms of schizophrenia. It can be safely used in patients with alcohol dependence and comorbid schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
A study of the state-of-the-art of PaaS interoperability

Background: Platform as a Service (PaaS) model of Cloud Computing is at an early stage of adoption in spite of its perceived benefits, especially in speeding up the development cycle of Cloud-aware applications. Wider adoption of this service model is impeded by multiple inhibitors, one of which is a lack of interoperability between proprietary services of public PaaS providers. The paper presents the state-of-the-art of PaaS interoperability initiatives from industry and academia. Although these initiatives evidence interest in solving the issue, they are focused either on system infrastructure services or on enabling application portability. PaaS service interoperability has not received much attention yet. Aim: The paper proposes a Semantic-Agent framework as an effective solution for spanning multiple public PaaSs and integrating differentiated application infrastructure services. The proposed interoperability framework will be independent of specific offerings and targeted at the needs of developers. Methodology: This PhD (of which the current study is a subset) encompasses three primary tasks. First, an OWL-S based ontology for semantic annotation of PaaS services will be designed. Second, a multi-agent mechanism will be devised to enable semantic matching and composition of services. Third, a proof-of-concept solution that is able to span multiple public PaaSs and establish service interoperability will be developed. Contribution: The two main contributions of this research are: i) establishing a comprehensive ontology for PaaS services supporting Cloud application development, and ii) devising a novel framework enabling their interoperability.
Periodization of Carbohydrate Intake: Short-Term Effect on Performance

Background: “Sleep-low” consists of a sequential periodization of carbohydrate (CHO) availability—low glycogen recovery after “train high” glycogen-depleting interval training, followed by an overnight-fast and light intensity training (“train low”) the following day. This strategy leads to an upregulation of several exercise-responsive signaling proteins, but the chronic effect on performance has received less attention. We investigated the effects of short-term exposure to this strategy on endurance performance. Methods: Following training familiarization, 11 trained cyclists were divided into two groups for a one-week intervention—one group implemented three cycles of periodized CHO intake to achieve the sleep-low strategy over six training sessions (SL, CHO intake: 6 g·kg−1·day−1), whereas the control group consumed an even distribution of CHO over the day (CON). Tests were a 2 h submaximal ride and a 20 km time trial. Results: SL improved their performance (mean: +3.2%; p < 0.05) compared to CON. The improvement was associated with a change in pacing strategy with higher power output during the second part of the test. No change in substrate utilization was observed after the training period for either group. Conclusion: Implementing the “sleep-low” strategy for one week improved performance by the same magnitude previously seen in a three-week intervention, without any significant changes in selected markers of metabolism.
Formation of the bicoid morphogen gradient: an mRNA gradient dictates the protein gradient

The Bicoid (Bcd) protein gradient is generally believed to be established in pre-blastoderm Drosophila embryos by the diffusion of Bcd protein after translation of maternal mRNA, which serves as a strictly localized source of Bcd at the anterior pole. However, we previously published evidence that the Bcd gradient is preceded by a bcd mRNA gradient. Here, we have revisited and extended this observation by showing that the bcd mRNA and Bcd protein gradient profiles are virtually identical at all times. This confirms our previous conclusion that the Bcd gradient is produced by a bcd mRNA gradient rather than by diffusion. Based on our observation that bcd mRNA colocalizes with Staufen (Stau), we propose that the bcd mRNA gradient forms by a novel mechanism involving quasi-random active transport of a Stau-bcd mRNA complex through a nonpolar microtubular network, which confines the bcd mRNA to the cortex of the embryo.
Spontaneous transition to superrotation in warm climates simulated by CAM3

Recent paleoclimate proxy reconstructions show that tropical surface temperatures may have been as high as 35°–40°C in the Early Cenozoic. Here, we study the tropical atmospheric circulation's response to temperatures in this range using a full‐complexity atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). We find that when equatorial surface temperatures exceed ∼33°C, the model undergoes a transition to equatorial superrotation, a state with strong annual‐ and zonal‐mean westerlies on the equator. The transition is driven by zonal momentum convergence due to large‐amplitude transient eddies on the equator. These eddies have a structure similar to the observed Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO). The model's MJO variability is weaker than observed when simulating the modern climate but increases sharply with temperature, coming to dominate the tropical variability and mean state of the warmest climates.
Conformational Analysis of α-Helical Polypeptides in Two Opposite Screw Forms. A Combined Use of 2H NMR and MD Simulation

In this work, we wish to report the results of conformational analysis of poly(β-phenethyl L-aspartate) (PPLA) and poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate) (PBLG) in two opposite α-helical screw sense. Variously deuterated PPLA samples were prepared, and 2H NMR measurements were carried out in tetrachloroethane at two different temperatures: one for the right-handed and the other for the left-handed α-helical state. The rotational isomeric state (RIS) analysis of the 2H NMR quadrupolar splitting data was carried out, and the sidechain conformations were estimated. The results of the analysis for the right-handed α-helical PBLG have been reported previously. In the right-handed α-helix regime, i.e., r-PPLA and r-PBLG, the preferred form of the first two bonds was found to be χ1χ2=tt, leading to an extended sidechain conformation in the direction perpendicular to the α-helical axis. The corresponding arrangements in the l-form (1-PPLA) are more or less evenly distributed among three states, g−t, tt, and g−g+. MD simulations were performed for the side chain flanking the right- and left-handed α-helical backbone by using Biosym’s Discover program. An α-helix fragment consisting of 18 aminoacid residues, Ac-X18-NHMe with X= Asp(OPhe) or Glu(OBzl), was adopted as a model for the polymers in the simulation. The preferred sidechain conformations were elucidated as an average over an interval 100—200 ps. The simulations were performed in vacuo as well as in the presence of solvent molecules (chloroform). The agreement was found to be quite reasonable in all three polymer systems for which relevant experimental data are available.
Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants that are deficient in exotoxin A synthesis and are altered in expression of regA, a positive regulator of exotoxin A

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, production of exotoxin A, an ADP-ribosyltransferase, is a complex and highly regulated process. Two positively acting regulatory genes, regA and regB, have been cloned and characterized. To identify additional exotoxin A regulatory genes, we have characterized four N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-generated mutants of P. aeruginosa PA103 which are deficient in exotoxin A production. These mutants (PA103-8, PA103-15, PA103-16, and PA103-19) do not accumulate intracellular exotoxin A and are not complemented by the cloned toxA or regAB genes. This observation indicates that the lesion(s) in the mutants is probably in an exotoxin A regulatory gene(s) and is not in the genes for secretion of exotoxin A or in the toxA or regAB genes. To assess the effect of the putative regulatory mutations on the toxA and regAB genes, we compared the activity of the toxA and regAB promoters in the mutant and parental strains using plasmids containing the genes for beta-galactosidase or chloramphenicol acetyltransferase under the control of either the toxA or the regAB promoter. The toxA promoter-beta-galactosidase fusion plasmid could not be maintained in PA103-8. beta-Galactosidase expression driven by the toxA promoter was absent in the mutant PA103-19 and occurred at a low level, which was not repressed by iron in mutants PA103-15 and PA103-16. The regAB genes are temporally controlled by two promoters, P1 and P2. In all four mutants, regAB P1 promoter activity was reduced; however, expression under the control of the regAB P2 promoter was normal. These observations suggest the existence of one or more regulatory genes which directly affect expression of both the toxA and the regAB P1 promoters.