Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimum Transmission Range for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

An optimum transmission range is presented to prolong the network lifetime for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs). This study is based on the different definitions of the network lifetime and the character of underwater acoustic sensor. The formulation of the optimum transmission range is proposed by the tradeoff between minimizing the energy consumption in network and minimizing the maximum energy consumption in sensor node. Therefore, it provides not only a gauge for performance evaluation of UASNs but also a guideline for the design of UASNs protocols. The predicted results are compared with the measured data and the good agreement is reported.
Abnormalities in intracellular Ca2+ regulation contribute to the pathomechanism of Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy.

AIMS The Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is characterized by a transient contractile dysfunction that has been assigned to excessive catecholamine levels after episodes of severe emotional or physical stress. Several studies have indicated that beta-adrenoceptor stimulation is associated with alteration in gene expression of Ca(2+)-regulatory proteins. Thus, the present study investigated the gene expression of crucial proteins [sarcoplasmic Ca(2+) ATPase (SERCA2a), sarcolipin (SLN), phospholamban (PLN), ryanodine receptor (RyR2), and sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX)] involved in the Ca(2+)-regulating system in TTC. METHODS AND RESULTS In 10 consecutive patients, TTC was diagnosed by coronary angiography, ventriculography, and echocardiography. Endomyocardial biopsies were taken during the phase of severely impaired left ventricular (LV) function and after functional recovery. Non-diseased LV tissue from three donor hearts not used for transplantation served as healthy controls. Expression levels of Ca(2+)-regulatory proteins were analysed by means of real-time PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry. SLN, predominantly expressed in the atrial component, showed a remarkable ventricular expression in TTC patients. Gene expression of SERCA2a was significantly down-regulated. Conversely, PLN/SERCA2a ratio was increased. For PLN, dephosphorylation was documented using western blot and immunostaining of PLN-Ser(16) and PLN-Thr(17). No changes could be documented for NCX and RyR2. CONCLUSION In TTC, ventricular expression of SLN and dephosphorylation of PLN potentially result in a reduced SERCA2a activity and its Ca(2+) affinity. Thus, the TTC is associated with specific alteration of Ca(2+)-handling proteins, which might be crucial for contractile dysfunction.
ect of Operation Conditions on the Catalytic Performance of the Co / Mn / TiO 2 Catalyst for Conversion of Synthesis Gas to Light

The e ect of operation variables, such as the H2/CO molar feed ratio, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), temperature, and pressure, on the catalytic performance of the Co/Mn/TiO2 catalyst prepared at the Research Institute of the Petroleum Industry (RIPI) was investigated, and optimum reactor conditions were obtained to produce the maximum amount of light ole ns. The catalyst was prepared by co-precipitation of Co and Mn phases in the presence of commercial TiO2 with maximum selectivity for ethylene and propylene production. It was found that the [H2]/[CO]=2/1, space velocity (GHSV) of 1800 h 1, 280 C temperature and 4 bar pressure were optimum operating conditions for the modi ed catalyst for the conversion of Synthesis Gas(SG) to light ole ns. The results were interpreted in terms of the structure of the catalyst. Characterizations of catalysts were carried out using XRD, SEM and BET speci c surface area.
Love as a Replacement for Fear in the Workplace

Fear is routinely used in organizations and interpersonal relationships as a source of motivation. Some research supports the use of fear to motivate employees to work and to change. However, fear has long lasting negative effects that outweigh the motivation that it produces. This paper proposes and supports the notion of love as a central motivator in place of fear. Inner texture exegesis of 1 John 4:18, along with recent research on love in organizations, supports the move from fear to love. Love produces long lasting effects of inspiration and heart level motivation, increased creativity and effectiveness, and a release of energy. It offers holistic health and growth to individuals. Although replacing fear with love requires a paradigm shift, the effort produces an organizational environment that is more productive and more attractive to employees.
Examining the accuracy of sentiment analysis by brand monitoring companies

Sentiment analysis is prevalent in the recent years as a business evaluation and prediction approach. An increasingly number of companies is participating in the sentiment analysis market to monitor sentiment related to a certain company; the service is called brand monitoring service. However, the accuracy of sentiment analysis has not been evaluated. This paper addresses six criteria of accurate sentiment analysis and selects four companies to examine the degrees of theoretical applications in the reality. Supervisors: Fons Wijnhoven and Ton Spil
The use of turbulization in preliminary fuel treatment in self-ignition engines

It is possible to increase the effectiveness parameters of self-ignition engine performance as well as to decrease the emission of toxic compounds in exhaust gases by using preliminary catalytic fuel treatment PROCESSING – executed directly in the injector body. In order to enhance the impact of the catalyst on the flowing fuel we propose to take advantage of the phenomenon of turbulization in injector passages. First results of tests on an engine of 359 type have shown an improvement of operating parameters and a decrease of toxic emission in exhaust gases.
Medium-Chain Acyl-Coenzyme A Dehydrogenase Deficiency-GeneReviews®-NCBI Bookshelf

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (MCAD) is one of the enzymes involved in mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation, which fuels hepatic ketogenesis, a major source of energy once hepatic glycogen stores become depleted during prolonged fasting and periods of higher energy demands. In a typical clinical scenario, a previously healthy child with MCAD deficiency presents with hypoketotic hypoglycemia, vomiting, and lethargy triggered by a common illness. Seizures may occur. Hepatomegaly and liver disease are often present during an acute episode, which can quickly progress to coma and death. Children are normal at birth and – if not identified through newborn screening – typically present between ages three and 24 months; later presentation, even into adulthood, is possible. The prognosis is excellent once the diagnosis is established and frequent feedings are instituted to avoid any prolonged period of fasting.
Potential Trade in Southeast Europe: a Gravity Model Approach

This paper estimates a classical gravity model for trade on aggregate trade volumes between OECD and transition countries. The results are used to analyse and make projections on trade flows into and out of Southeast European countries following scenarios on potential GDP levels and possible membership of institutions. Alternative variables are also tested, namely transport times instead of geographical distance, and GDP in PPP instead of nominal. Replacing distance with transport times does not lead to great improvements in the model's performance. The use of GDP at PPP is presented mainly to try to deal with specific situations where local prices prevail. The striking feature that emerges in Southeast Europe is of flows of extreme values, in some cases far below, but in others far above, what classical gravity model estimates show. The main conclusion is that Southeast Europe can no longer be viewed as a region from the point of view of aggregate trade flows.
Practice of football and life skills learning: an empirical study

During the 1990’s the World Health Organization (WHO) identified a set of abilities for adaptive and positive behaviors that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life, defining them as life skills (LSs). in particular, LSs are psychosocial competencies and interpersonal skills that help people make informed decisions, solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, empathize with others, and cope with managing their lives in a healthy and productive manner [see WHO, 1993, 1997]. The link between the practice of sports and LSs learning has been the objective of various studies conducted in different contexts with different subject groups, suggesting that the practice of sports can be regarded as an experience that favors LSs learning [Camiré et al., 2009; Curry and Maniar, 2003; Danish et al., 1995; Danish et al., 2004; Goudas et al. 2006; Gould and Carson, 2008; Hodge and Danish, 1999; Hogdson and Sharp, 2000; Holt, 2008; Holt et al., 2008; Jones and Lavallee, 2009; Larson, 2000; Smoll and Smith, 2002; Whitley and Gould 2011]. Other studies have highlighted the link between the practice of sports and some specific LS, such as creative thinking [Memmert et al., 2010], leadership [Gould and Voelker, 2010], and self-awareness [Wiersma and Sherman, 2008]. However, the practice of sports does not per se ensure LSs learning [Danish et al., 2005; Gould et al., 2009; Papacharisis et al., 2005], which is indeed the outcome of the interaction among the characteristics of individuals, of their families and of the context in which sport is practiced [Gould et al., 2007; Jones and Lavallee, 2009; Mahoney and Stattin, 2000]. For this reason, too, structured programs have been developed to increase probability for sports practice to be really able to promote LSs claudio g. coRteSe
Modelling tensile force oscillation during the tensile test of PET specimens

Force oscillation occurring during the tensile testing of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), resulting in periodi- cal cavitation of the test specimens, has been studied. A mathematical model has been developed to describe the phenome- non, wherein special fibre bundles are assigned to the amorphous molecular chains. In order to model the local periodical transformations and the rate dependent viscoelastic behaviour the coupled fibre bundle cells were supplemented with a two- element Maxwell model. Using the parameters determined from the measurements the model was compared to the meas- ured force-elongation diagrams and it has been concluded that the simple model can be well used to describe the phenomenon.
Selective voluntary forgetting in young and young-old adults

Aging is thought to involve a decline in executive-control capacities, although evidence regarding this claim is not always clear. Thus, although studies exist that suggest impoverished inhibitory memory control in older adults relative to younger adults, experiments with the list-method direct forgetting procedure have mostly failed to show adult-age differences in voluntary forgetting. In the present study we aimed to further study this issue by comparing young-old and young adults’ performance with the selective directed forgetting (SDF) procedure, which we assumed to involve higher demands of executive control than the standard nonselective procedure. Thus, on the basis of previous studies showing that a critical factor in finding adult-age differences in executive-control tasks is the overall challenge posed by the tasks, we predicted less SDF in older adults than in younger adults. Supporting our hypothesis, across three experiments we show evidence of older adults’ impoverished capacity to voluntarily forget episodic memories, although only when the task requires selective forgetting. Ours join other findings to suggest that sensitiveness to detect adult-age differences in cognitive control may strongly depend on the executive-control demands imposed by
Biomass accumulation across trophic levels: analysis of landings for the Mediterranean Sea

The need to implement Ecosystem-Based-Management (EBM) in marine ecosystems and the recent adoption of European Union directives, such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), make indicators that are able to describe ecosystem state particularly relevant. The trophodynamic context is promising in that it can define integrative ecosystem indicators from modelling and field data. Here we analyze energy accumulation across trophic levels (TLs), i.e. the accumulation of energy in various biomass components of an ecosystem. The analysis of biomass accumulation across TLs, previously applied to surveys and model output data, was applied to a time series (1970 to 2010) of landings in the Mediterranean Sea and its 8 sub-areas. The standardized cumulative biomass versus TL curves for each year were fit to a logistic function, revealing that the accumulation pattern was detectable using landings data and confirming prior patterns. Parameters describing the curve shape, i.e. basal biomass, inflection point and steepness, were considered as possible indicators for assessing changes of ecosystem state through time. These parameters were able to detect systems modification in terms of both space and time and exhibited differential sensitivity to external drivers. The inflection point was mainly fishery-driven, whereas steepness seems to respond to environmental features, indicating an ability to discriminate across major ecosystem drivers. The application of Monte Carlo un certainty analysis showed that all of the parameters are sufficiently robust to possible sampling errors in the TL assignment to the different taxa. Collectively, these results confirm the robustness of patterns for cumulative biomass across TL curves seen in a growing number of marine eco systems. These emergent features suggest that this approach could produce useful ecosystem indicators for the implementation of EBM and the MSFD.
ESTIMATION IN THE CONVOLUTION STRUCTURE DENSITY MODEL. PART II: ADAPTATION OVER THE SCALE OF ANISOTROPIC CLASSES.

This paper continues the research started in Lepski and Willer (2016). In the framework of the convolution structure density model on R d , we address the problem of adaptive minimax estimation with Lp–loss over the scale of anisotropic Nikol'skii classes. We fully characterize the behavior of the minimax risk for different relationships between regularity parameters and norm indexes in the definitions of the functional class and of the risk. In particular, we show that the boundedness of the function to be estimated leads to an essential improvement of the asymptotic of the minimax risk. We prove that the selection rule proposed in Part I leads to the construction of an optimally or nearly optimally (up to logarithmic factor) adaptive estimator.
DEALING WITH THE UBIQUITY OF PHTHALATES IN THE LABORATORY WHEN DETERMINING PLASTICIZERS BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY / MASS SPECTROMETRY AND PARAFAC

Determining plasticizers and other additives migrated from plastic materials becomes a hard task when these substances are already present in the laboratory environment. This work dealt with this drawback in the multiresidue determination of four plasticizers (2,6-di-tertbutyl-4-methyl-phenol (BHT), diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA) and diisononyl phthalate (DiNP)) and a UV stabilizer (benzophenone (BP)) by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using DiBP-d4 as internal standard. The ubiquity of DiBP by a non-constant leaching process in the laboratory was detected, which could not guarantee the achievement of a trustworthy quantification. To handle this, the assessment of the level of DiBP in solvent blanks having fixed the probabilities of false noncompliance (α) and false compliance (β) at 0.01 was performed. On the other hand, another special case was that of DiNP, in whose chromatogram finger peaks appear because of an array of possible C9 isomers. PARAFAC, used for the identification and quantification of all the substances, is a useful chemometric tool that enabled a more reliable determination of this analyte since no peak areas were considered but chromatographic and spectral loadings. Since phthalates may migrate from rubber latex items, an evaluation of the existence of matrix effects on the determination of the five analytes was conducted prior to an extraction with hexane from a dummy for infants. As matrix effects were present, the quantification of the compounds under study was performed following the standard addition method using PARAFAC sample loadings as response variable. As a result, the presence of BHT was confirmed, being its concentration equal to 37.87 μg L-1. Calibrations based on PARAFAC yielded the following values for the decision limit (CCα): 1.16 μg L-1 for BHT, 1.34 μg L-1 for BP, 1.84 μg L-1 for DEHA and 51.42 μg L-1 for DINP (for α = 0.05 and two replicates).
Are concepts useful for organizing search results

This paper reports an explorative study on organizing search results by concepts that are selected titles of Wiki pages. Because of limited display areas and for ease of navigation, two novel algorithms identify at most three general concepts, and at most five of their specific concepts for display. Our evaluation shows that the retrieval effectiveness improvement is significant at 90% confidence level using the paired student's t-test, albeit our users have no access to document titles nor to the content.
Patterns of plant diversity at high altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Aims To describe the biodiversity patterns of plants along an altitudinal gradient oil the Quighai-Tibetan Plateau and to clarify file bias in plant specimen records at high altitude Methods We conducted a large-scale investigation of vegetation at a wide range of altitudes, focusing oil a high-altitudinal range (3 200-5 200 m) at different locations on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau We then compared the altitudinal distribution of plant species obtained from our field investigation with that in plant specimen records from published sources and an online database Important Findings Our data provide evidence that altitude plays a large role in regulating species composition on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau WC Could not, however, detect a clear relationship between altitude and spe cies richness, although a weak monotonically increasing trend of richness was detected with increasing altitude According to specimen records, most species have been sampled at a wide range of altitudes, and the average range of 145 species is >2 000 m Despite this wide range, more than half of the species we observed were at higher altitudes than the specimen records indicate High-altitude areas have probably been so poorly sampled that Only a small fraction of the resident species has been recorded This' Study clearly shows the regional bias of specimen records in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Developing Deprivation Index for Leeds Using Housing Conditions and Demographic Profiling

Poverty has been significant to the community of the United Kingdom to the extent of being almost every government’s promise to combat it. The large overlap between poverty and deprivation allows us to study the latter as a proxy of the former. This study investigates deprivation in England and Wales in general and the city of Leeds in particular, by focusing on housing conditions indicator (HPC). The analyses conducted included pair-wise associations, multivariate linear regressions and formulating a deprivation index using standardised value. For England and Wales, housing in poor condition indicator was strongly associated with population size, percentage of job seekers, percentage of users of incapacity benefits, percentage of lone parent, percentage of disabled, percentage of females, Combined Living Environment Indicator (CLEI) and levels of air pollutants; whereas for Leeds, HPC was significantly associated with percentage of lone parent and CLEI. The geographic distribution of Leeds deprivation index was similar to those developed for Leeds but present more deprived areas at the peripheries of the city. Moreover, the analyses showed that gender or age distribution of the population did not play a significant role to housing deprivation in Leeds. Although the results of this study agree greatly with previous relevant research, the outcomes pose questions for future research especially the need to investigate the deprivation at the edges of the city away from the historically deprived central areas. Finally, the findings of this study call for social and environmental policy makers to regulate housing near highly polluted areas.
I T ] 3 F eb 2 01 8 A Graph Theoretic Approach for Training Overhead Reduction in FDD Massive MIMO Systems

The overheads associated with feedback-based channel acquisition can greatly compromise the achievable rates of FDD based massive MIMO systems. Indeed, downlink (DL) training and uplink (UL) feedback overheads scale linearly with the number of base station (BS) antennas, in sharp contrast to TDDbased massive MIMO, where a single UL pilot trains the whole BS array. In this work, we propose a graph-theoretic approach to reducing DL training and UL feedback overheads in FDD massive MIMO systems. In particular, we consider a single-cell scenario involving a single BS with a massive antenna array serving to single-antenna mobile stations (MSs) in the DL. We assume the BS employs two-stage beamforming in the DL, comprising DFT pre-beamforming followed by MU-MIMO precoding. The proposed graph-theoretic approach exploits knowledge of the angular spectra of the BS-MS channels to construct DL training protocols with reduced overheads. Simulation results reveal that the proposed training-resources allocation method can provide approximately 35% sum-rate performance gain compared to conventional orthogonal training. Our analysis also sheds light into the impact of overhead reduction on channel estimation quality, and, in turn, achievable rates.
Peer Review #1 of "The comparative population genetics of Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (v0.2)"

Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) and N. gonorrhoeae (Ng) are closely related pathogenic bacteria. To compare their population genetics we compiled a dataset of 1145 genes found across 20 Nm and 15 Ng genomes. We find that Nm is seven-times more diverse than Ng in their combined core genome. Both species have acquired the majority of their diversity by recombination with divergent strains, however we find that Nm has acquired more of its diversity by recombination than Ng. We find that linkage disequilibrium declines rapidly across the genomes of both species. Several observations suggest that Nm has a higher effective population size than Ng; it is more diverse, the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous polymorphism is lower, and linkage disequilibrium declines more rapidly to a lower asymptote in Nm. The two species share a modest amount of variation, half of which seems to have been acquired by lateral gene transfer and half from their common ancestor. We investigate whether diversity varies across the genome of each species and find that it does. Much of this variation is due to different levels of lateral gene transfer. However, we also find some evidence that the effective population size varies across the genome. We test for adaptive evolution in the core genome using a McDonald-Kreitman test and by considering the diversity around non-synonymous sites that are fixed for different alleles in the two species. We find some evidence for adaptive evolution using both approaches.