Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small World Topology-Aware Geographic Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks

Geographic routing, based on greedy forwarding, relies on topology knowledge of the node's neighbors and achieves short path in the well-connected sensor networks. However, because of the absence of the topology knowledge outside of the neighborhood, the forwarding technique fails in the presence of void area. With the void-handling techniques, the geographic routing will experience non-short path and thus consume a large amount of energy. In this paper, a new concept of the topology knowledge, topological awareness, is proposed, which provides a node with myopic topology knowledge (neighbor nodes) and non-myopic topology knowledge (non-neighbor nodes). These non-neighbor nodes are discovered based on a small world model, such that a logical small world network is constructed. A novel geographic routing, called Small World Topology-Aware Routing (SWTAR) is proposed. It is demonstrated that SWTAR greatly enhance the packet delivery ratio without the need of the void-handling techniques and experience nearly shortest forwarding path, especially in the network seriously obstructed by obstacles.
A randomized, double-blind clinical trial of a 3-week course of doxycycline plus albendazole and ivermectin for the treatment of Wuchereria bancrofti infection.

BACKGROUND Eight- and 6-week courses of doxycycline are superior to standard treatment of bancroftian filariasis. Standard treatment (albendazole plus ivermectin) is associated with adverse reactions. We assessed whether a shorter (i.e, 3-week) course of doxycycline with standard treatment would show superior efficacy to standard treatment alone and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions. METHODS A total of 44 adults from Ghana were recruited in January 2003: 20 received doxycycline (200 mg/day) for 3 weeks, and 24 received matching placebo. Participants received albendazole (400 mg) and ivermectin (150 microg/kg) at month 4, and adverse reactions were assessed 48 h later. Treatment efficacy was evaluated at months 4, 12, and 24. RESULTS The microfilariae level was significantly reduced after receipt of doxycycline treatment at months 4 (P = .017), 12 (P = .001), and 24 (P = .005). The microfilariae level was only significantly reduced at month 12 in the placebo group (P = .041). At all follow-up points, the microfilariae level was significantly lower in the doxycycline group. Adverse reactions to standard antifilarial treatment were similar in frequency between the doxycycline group (in 7 of 11 subjects) and the placebo group (in 13 of 17 subjects). Moderate reactions only occurred in the placebo group (in 3 of 17 subjects). Severity of adverse reaction was associated with microfilaremia (P = .037), Wolbachia bacteria in plasma (P = .048), and proinflammatory cytokines in plasma (P = .019). Adult parasite viability was not significantly different between doxycycline and placebo groups at months 12 or 24. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with doxycycline for 3 weeks is more effective in inducing a long-term amicrofilaremia than is standard treatment alone, but it is ineffective at inducing curative effects. Inflammatory reactions to antifilarial treatment are associated with levels of microfilariae and Wolbachia endosymbionts released into plasma.
“Making Do” Decisions

This study describes the decision-making processes home healthcare personnel (HHP) use to manage their personal health and safety when managing hazards in client homes. A professionally diverse national sample of 68 HHP participated in individual semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, and described their decision making and strategies for hazard management in their work environments. HHP described 353 hazard management dilemmas within 394 specifically identified hazards, which were clustered within three broader categories: electrical/fire, slip/trip/lift, and environmental exposures. HHP described multiple types of “making do” decisions for hazard management solutions in which perceived and actual resource limitations constrained response options. A majority of hazard management decisions in the broader hazards categories (72.5%, 68.5%, and 63.5%, respectively) were classifiable as less than optimal. These findings stress the need for more support of HHPs, including comprehensive training, to improve HHP decision making and hazard management strategies, especially in context of resource constraints.
Methodological considerations

Different treatment strategies with substances influencing the immune system have been tried in experimental autoimmune diseases. Glucocorticoids ameliorate EAE, the central nervous system counterpart to EAN. Glucocorticoids damage or eliminate resting T cells, prevent cell movement from lymph nodes and stabilize lysosoma1 membranes. Large doses are especially cytotoxic to resting T cells, while activated T cells and B cells are more resistant (Amason 1984). The immunosuppressive mechanism of Cyclosporin A (CyA) is to reversibly interfere with the primary T cell activation, e.g. the production and/or release of IL2. Q A ameliorate EAN both during the induction and effector phases (Tomkins 1980, Bore1 1984). After the treatment was subsided, CyA resistent, clinical signs reappeared (King et al 1983). Similar results are seen in EAE (Bolton et a1 1982). Plasma exchange has been regarded as a therapeutic method in severe cases of GBS (Consensus Conferens: JAMA 1986; Osterman et a1 1984). Animal experiments have shown that treated animals had less severe clinical signs and that the histological lesions were less marked after plasma exchange (Gross et a1 1983). Pregnancy is well known to alter the immunological responsiveness. GBS occurs only rarely during pregnancy (Raun 1967). In a preliminary retrospective study we have shown that, no pregnancies occurred in 68 cases of GBS in women of fertile age (Strigird et al, unpublished). These observations focus the interest on the influence of sex hormones on the immune system during pregnancy and sex hormone treatment. Oestrogen is known to be an important immunomodulating substance. The effects of oestrogen on EAN development, as well as its influence on T an B lymphocytes during disease are of interest.
Reformulating Aggregate Queries Using Views

We propose an algorithm to reformulate aggregate queries using views in a data integration LAV setting. Our algorithm considers a special case of reformulations where aggregates in the query are expressed as views over aggregates in the view definitions. Although the problem of determining whether two queries are equivalent is undecidable, our algorithm returns an equivalent rewriting if one exists.
Circulating miRNAs as Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Disorders

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and frontotemporal dementias (FTD), are considered distinct entities, however, there is increasing evidence of an overlap from the clinical, pathological and genetic points of view. All neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by neuronal loss and death in specific areas of the brain, for example, hippocampus and cortex for AD, midbrain for PD, frontal and temporal lobes for FTD. Loss of neurons is a relatively late event in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases that is typically preceded by other events such as metabolic changes, synaptic dysfunction and loss, neurite retraction, and the appearance of other abnormalities, such as axonal transport defects. The brain’s ability to compensate for these dysfunctions occurs over a long period of time and results in late clinical manifestation of symptoms, when successful pharmacological intervention is no longer feasible. Currently, diagnosis of AD, PD and different forms of dementia is based primarily on analysis of the patient’s cognitive function. It is therefore important to find non-invasive diagnostic methods useful to detect neurodegenerative diseases during early, preferably asymptomatic stages, when a pharmacological intervention is still possible. Altered expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in many disease states, including neurodegeneration, and increasing relevance of miRNAs in biofluids in different pathologies has prompted the study of their possible application as neurodegenerative diseases biomarkers in order to identify new therapeutic targets. Here, we review what is known about the role of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration and the possibilities and challenges of using these small RNA molecules as a signature for neurodegenerative conditions.
Does obesity diminish the positive effect of oral contraceptive treatment on hyperandrogenism in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome?

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an obvious indication for long-term treatment. Combined oral contraceptives (COC) remain the first choice for the treatment of hyperandrogenism in most patients. However, differences in endocrine and metabolic parameters between obese and lean patients have been postulated. This is the first study evaluating the effect of COC treatment in obese versus non-obese PCOS patients. In total, 28 lean [body mass index (BMI) <25 kg/m(2))] and 15 obese (BMI >30 kg/m(2)) women patients were enrolled in the study. The concentrations of androgens, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and lipids were measured before and after 6 months of treatment with COC containing low-androgenic progestins. Clinical androgenic symptoms were monitored. There was a lower concentration of SHBG in obese patients, but there were no differences in androgen concentrations between both groups before the study. Highly significant changes in concentrations of testosterone (P < 0.001), androstenedione (P < 0.0001), SHBG (P < 0.001) and LH (P = 0.01) were demonstrated in lean patients, with only less significant changes in SHBG (P < 0.01) and testosterone (P < 0.05) in obese patients during the study. Clinical androgenic symptoms improved significantly (P = 0.05) only in the group of lean women. No reduction in low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio was observed in either group. In conclusion, the positive effect of COC treatment on androgen production, serum androgen binding capacity, and clinical androgenic symptoms was negatively influenced by an increased BMI.
Toward a Prototype of Expertise in Teaching

This study used a prototype view of teaching as a theoretical framework to interpret, analyze, and describe the behaviors and verbal responses of three expert teachers and to determine the degree to which these three teachers share a “family resemblance” to one another. A case study that provides descriptions of what expert teachers do and say contributes to our understanding of the complexity of expertise in teaching. Analysis of data collected for this study reveals six central tendencies of the three participants. The rich descriptions and summary representations provide specific and complex profiles to inform teacher educators and professional development providers in their efforts to improve professional practice among teachers.
A sampling-based path planner for dual-arm manipulation

This paper presents a method to compute collision-free coordinated manipulation paths for multi-arm robot systems. The method extends previous work by incorporating an explicit treatment of singular configurations, which permit to find solution paths requiring the robot reconfiguration. Such reconfiguration motions are neglected in most of related work. The performance of the planner is analyzed through experiments with academic examples. The generality of the approach is demonstrated by its application to a model of the complex DLRpsilas Justin robot.
Reliability of the Scoliosis Research Society-22 Patient Questionnaire (Italian version) in mild adolescent vertebral deformities.

AIM The reliability evaluation of the Italian version of the Scoliosis Research Society-22 Patient Questionnaire (SRS-22-I), administered to adolescents with mild vertebral deformities, is evaluated. METHODS STUDY DESIGN forward-backward translation, pretest, final version according to a focus-group evaluation, and 1 week test/retest. POPULATION pretest: 35 subjects (22 females), age range 8.5-19 years, 28 idiopathic scoliosis (17 degrees +/-7 degrees ), 7 hyperkyphosis (54 degrees +/-4 degrees ); test/retest: 20 subjects (11 females), age range 12-17.5 years, 15 idiopathic scoliosis (16 degrees +/-8 degrees ), 5 hyperkyphosis (55 degrees +/-5 degrees ). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Spearman rank test, percent of agreement. Statistical significance: 0.05. Software: Statgraphics 3.0. We calculated the results of the questionnaire and performed the statistical analysis using non parametric test because of the charcteristics of the data: this differ from previously published RESULTS RESULTS Response rate was 100%. Total score: median 4 (range 3-5); results for different domains (median, range): function/activity 4 (3-5), pain 5 (3-5), self image/ appearance 3 (2-5), mental health 4 (3-5), satisfaction with management 4 (2-5). Time required to answer the questionnaire ranged from 5 to 20'; for 12 to 17.5 years old subjects from 5 to 10'. pretest showed difficulties with questions on pain; the questionnaire was changed accordingly. Spearman's rho ranged from 0.42 to 1, not significantly different from null value for questions 12 and 21. Percent of agreement (evaluated only for question 11a) was 100%. The ceiling and floor effects have been found high. CONCLUSIONS The SRS-22-I was found to be reliable for young patients with mild vertebral deformities of different type. Lack of reliability for questions 12 and 21 should be better understood. Until now the psychometric properties of SRS-22 questionnaire have been evaluated only in USA populations, and in idiopathic scoliosis. Moreover, only one study has been proposed including patients with mild idiopathic scoliosis. This, together with the non-parametric statistical analysis used, could explain the high ceiling and floor effects we found in our data.
Perioperative medication management: General principles and practical applications

An extensive medication history, including the use of nonprescription agents and herbal products, is the foundation of effective perioperative medication management. Decisions about stopping or continuing medications perioperatively should be based on withdrawal potential, the potential for disease progression if therapy is interrupted, the potential for drug interactions with anesthesia, and the patient’s short-term quality of life. In general, medications with withdrawal potential should be continued perioperatively, nonessential medications that increase surgical risk should be discontinued before surgery, and clinical judgment should be exercised in other cases.
Approximations of Geodesic Distances for Incomplete Triangular Manifolds

We present a heuristic algorithm to compute approximate geodesic distances on a triangular manifold S containing n vertices with partially missing data. The proposed method computes an approximation of the geodesic distance between two vertices pi and pj on S and provides an upper bound of the geodesic distance that is shown to be optimal in the worst case. This yields a relative error bound of the estimate that is worst-case optimal. The algorithm approximates the geodesic distance without trying to reconstruct the missing data by embedding the surface in a low dimensional space via multi-dimensional scaling (MDS). We derive a new heuristic method to add an object to the embedding computed via least-squares MDS.
Mapping visualization on-demand onto a virtual globe: an appealing complement to browser-based navigation

Current browser-based navigation is a universal and powerful tool, but lacks of three useful features: overview of the global website structure, efficient history browsing and an alternative to link-link navigation. By combining Visualization on-demand (Vizod) with an interactive virtual globe, we tackled these issues by means of multi-resolutions maps displayed according to user's interactions and preferences. We provided in this way a contextual hypertext navigation, each page being assigned locations and links on top a a virtual map. We built up and performed experiments of a prototype providing a smooth, appealing and promising complement to browser-based navigation.
Good and Poor Readers' Use of Explicitly Cued Graphic Aids

This study investigated the effects of explicitly cuing graphic aids in accompanying text. Specifically, the study attempted to determine if various cuing conditions would affect differently good and poor readers' comprehension of the text, attention to graphic aids, and recall of information displayed in graphic aids. Three expository passages each accompanied by two graphic aids were developed. One graphic aid displayed information that was redundant to the text; a second graphic aid displayed information that was non-redundant but related to the text. Good and poor seventh- and eighth-grade readers read these passages under five different conditions. Under one condition no graphic aids accompanied the text. Graphic aids accompanied the text in the remaining conditions that represented four levels of cuing: no cuing, general cuing, specific cuing, and combined cuing. Results of comprehension tests for each passage and a post-experiment graphics test were analyzed using analysis of variance procedures. Major conclusions were that explicit cuing increases attention to graphic aids and recall of information displayed in graphic aids that are redundant to the text. In addition, poor readers' comprehension of illustrated text is improved by explicit cuing of graphic aids.
The Small Nucle(ol)ar RNA Cap Trimethyltransferase Is Required for Ribosome Synthesis and Intact Nucleolar Morphology

ABSTRACT Nucleolar morphogenesis is a poorly defined process. Here we report that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae nucleolar trimethyl guanosine synthase I (Tgs1p), which specifically selects the m7G cap structure of snRNAs and snoRNAs for m2,2,7G conversion, is required not only for efficient pre-mRNA splicing but also for pre-rRNA processing and small ribosomal subunit synthesis. Mutational analysis indicates that the requirement for Tgs1p in pre-mRNA splicing, but not its involvement in ribosome synthesis, is dependent upon its function in cap trimethylation. In addition, we report that cells lacking Tgs1p showed a striking and unexpected loss of nucleolar structural organization. Tgs1p is not a core component of the snoRNP proteins; however, in vitro, the protein interacts with the KKD/E domain present at the carboxyl-terminal ends of several snoRNP proteins. Strains expressing versions of the snoRNPs lacking the KKD/E domain were also defective for nucleolar morphology and showed a loss of nucleolar compaction. We propose that the transient and functional interactions of Tgs1p with the abundant snoRNPs, through presumed interactions with the KKD/E domain of the snoRNP proteins, contribute substantially to the coalescence of nucleolar components. This conclusion is compatible with a model of self-organization for nucleolar assembly.
Computational Health Informatics in the Big Data Age

The explosive growth and widespread accessibility of digital health data have led to a surge of research activity in the healthcare and data sciences fields. The conventional approaches for health data management have achieved limited success as they are incapable of handling the huge amount of complex data with high volume, high velocity, and high variety. This article presents a comprehensive overview of the existing challenges, techniques, and future directions for computational health informatics in the big data age, with a structured analysis of the historical and state-of-the-art methods. We have summarized the challenges into four Vs (i.e., volume, velocity, variety, and veracity) and proposed a systematic data-processing pipeline for generic big data in health informatics, covering data capturing, storing, sharing, analyzing, searching, and decision support. Specifically, numerous techniques and algorithms in machine learning are categorized and compared. On the basis of this material, we identify and discuss the essential prospects lying ahead for computational health informatics in this big data age.
Brides N' Bumps

This paper accounts for the rise of a monolithic contemporary post-feminist pregnant bridal identity that is upheld and sold as the “ultimate” pleasure of femininity in Australia, the US, and the UK. I shall critically analyse the enfranchisement of the contemporary pregnant bride as a “new” consumer identity using the purchase of a maternity wedding dress as a key example. I argue that as pregnancy is already an experience deeply embedded in the marketplace, with this comes the added pressure for pregnant women to use bridal maternity clothing to conform to normative feminine bodily ideals. This claim is supported by interviews with a sample of Australian pregnant brides as part of a longitudinal qualitative study of pregnancy and body image. I conclude that as much as the pregnant bride challenges convention, in many ways, paradigms of femininity, in this context, remain ultimately unchanged and unchallenged.
Öğretmen Adaylarının Amaç Yönelimleri ile Yapılandırmacılığa Yönelik Görüşlerinin İncelenmesi

Bu calismanin amaci ogretmen adaylarinin amac yonelimleri ile yapilandirmaciliga iliskin gorusleri arasindaki iliskiyi ortaya koymaktir. Calisma, Zonguldak Karaelmas Universitesi Eregli Egitim fakultesinde okuyan 149 ogretmen adayina uygulanmistir. Calisma 2009-2010 ogretim yili guz doneminde yapilmistir. Veriler basari amac yonelimi ve yapilandirmaciliga yonelik gorus olcegi ile toplanmistir. Calismanin sonunda ogretmen adaylarinin amac yonelimlerinin ve yapilandirmaciliga iliskin goruslerinin okumus olduklari bolume gore degismedigi, ogrenme yonelimi ile yapilandirmaciliga iliskin gorusleri arasinda anlamli bir iliski oldugu saptanmistir.
Extended FRAG-BASE schema-matching method for multi-version open GIS Web services retrieval

The OGC Web Service (OWS) schemas have the characteristics of a complex element structure, are distributed and large scale, have differences in element naming, and are available in different versions. Applying conventional matching approaches may lead to not only poor quality, but also bad performance. In this article, the OWS schema file decomposition, fragment presentation, fragment identification, fragment element match, and combination of match results are developed based on the extended FRAG-BASE (fragment-based) schema-matching method. Different versions of Web Feature Service (WFS) and Web Coverage Service (WCS) schema-matching experiments show that the average recall of the extended FRAG-BASE matching for the schemas is above 80%, the average precision reaches 90%, the average overall achieves 85%, and the matching efficiency increases by 50% as compared with that of the COMA and CONTEXT matcher. The multi-version WFS retrieval under the Antarctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (AntSDI) data service environment demonstrates the feasibility and superiority of the extended FRAG-BASE method.