Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Revised Overview of the Identifier-Locator Network Protocol ( ILNP )

This document provides an overview of the Identifier-Locator Network Protocol (ILNP), using the Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) as a reference point. The key difference between ILNP and IP is that the IP Address is replaced by two distinct namespaces. The new Identifier namespace is used only for the identity of a given ILNP node. The new Locator namespace is used only for routing packets to a given ILNP node. ILNP has a new, much more crisp, definition for an Address. The document focuses on describing the areas in which ILNP is different from IPv6 and the reasons for those differences.
Calibration of microphone arrays for improved speech recognition

We present a new microphone array calibration algorithm specifica lly designed for speech recognition. Currently, microphone-array-based speech recognition is performed in two independent stages: array processing, and then recognition. Array processing algorithms designed for speech enhancement are used to process the waveforms before recognition. These systems make the assumption that the best array processing methods will result in the best recognition performance. However, recognition systems interpret a set of features extracted from the speech waveform, not the waveform itself. In our calibration method, the filter parameters of a filter -and-sum array processing scheme are optimized to maximize the likelihood of the recognition features extracted from the resulting output signal. By incorporating the speech recognition system into the design of the array processing algorithm we are able to achieve improvements in word error rate of up to 37% over conventional array processing methods on both simulated and actual microphone array data.
Hyperosmolarity-Induced Apoptosis in Human Corneal Epithelial Cells Is Mediated by Cytochrome c and MAPK Pathways

Purpose: To study whether hyperosmolarity induces apoptosis in human corneal epithelial cells through cytochrome c-mediated death pathways and by activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Methods: Primary human corneal epithelial cells cultured in normal osmolar media (312 mOsM) were switched to hyperosmolar media (450, 500, and 550 mOsM) by adding 70, 90, and 120 mM NaCl, respectively, with or without the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor SB202190 or the extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) inhibitor PD98059. Apoptosis was assessed by the ApopTag In Situ Oligo Ligation (ISOL) assay. Confocal microscopy was used to detect cytochrome c and active caspase-3. Total RNA was extracted and subjected to reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for apoptosis-associated genes. Western blots were performed on cell extracts for the apoptogenic molecules cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO, and phospho-JNK and ERK. Results: ISOL-positive apoptotic cells significantly increased from 3.3 ± 1.6% in control medium to 11.4 ± 5.8%, 18.9 ± 4.8%, and 43.9 ± 8.8% in 70, 90, and 120 mM NaCl added media, respectively. The 90 mM NaCl high saline medium notably increased release of cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO from mitochondria; activated caspase-3, JNK and ERK; stimulated mRNA expression of interleukin-1-converting enzyme and Bax; and reduced Bcl2 expression. SB202190 and PD98059 significantly suppressed hyperosmolarity-induced JNK/ERK activation and ISOL-positive cells. In addition, PD98059 inhibited the release of cytochrome c and Smac/DIABLO from mitochondria. Conclusions: These findings show that hyperosmolarity induces apoptosis of human corneal epithelial cells through a cytochrome c-mediated death pathway, which may be mediated by JNK and ERK MAPK signaling pathways.
UTILITY OF DERMOSCOPY IN ALOPECIA AREATA

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) shows several well-defined dermoscopic features which may help in confirming diagnosis in AA. Aims: We carried out a study to examine the dermoscopic features of AA and develop a protocol for diagnosis of AA by dermoscopy. Materials and Methods: Dermoscopy was performed in 66 patients with AA. Hanse HVS-500NP dermoscope (magnification of ×32 and ×140) was used. Results: The mean age of the patients (46 males and 20 females) was 26.85 years. The mean age of onset was 25.15 years. The mean duration of alopecia was 10.3 months. Most common AA in our study was patchy type (57/66, 87.7%). Single patch was seen in 24 patients and multiple patches in 33 patients. Diffuse AA was seen in five patients. Ophiasis and alopecia universalis were seen in two patients each. Nail changes were fine pitting (4), ridging (2), thinning of nail plate (2). Twenty nail dystrophy, distal onycholysis, striate leukonychia and coarse pitting were seen in one patient each. Intralesional triamcinolone acetonide was the most common therapy offered. Others were oral betamethasone minipulse therapy, dexamethasone pulse, minoxidil, anthralin and corticosteroids. The most common dermoscopic finding was yellow dots seen in 54 patients (81.8%), followed by black dots (44 patients, 66.6%), broken hairs (36 patients, 55.4%), short vellus hair (27 patients, 40.9%) and tapering hairs (8 patients, 12.1%). Conclusions: The most common dermoscopic finding of AA in our study was yellow dots, followed by black dots, broken hairs, short vellus hair and tapering hairs. Dermoscopic findings were not affected by the type of AA or the severity of the disease.
Automated assessment of left ventricular wall motion based on surface detection and color-encoding of real time three-dimensional echocardiographic images

Off-line 3D color-encoding was applied to the left ventricular (LV) endocardial surfaces obtained from real-time 3D echocardiographic images. Systolic regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) were automatically detected and the accuracy of this method was tested against expert visual interpretation of 2D echocardiographic (2DE) images (apical 2-, 3- and 4- chamber). 20 subjects with normal wall motion (NL), and 14 patients with RWMA were studied. By custom software, color-coded 3D images of systolic wall motion were created, and regional fractional volume change (RFVC) in % of regional end diastolic volume was calculated (18 segments model). In the RWMA pts, RFVCs were compared with thresholds derived from NL subjects for automated classification of the corresponding segments as normal or abnormal. The proposed technique agreed with the expert reader with 91% sensitivity, 80% specificity and 84% accuracy.
Ethnic influences on exemplar retrieval and stereotyping

Two studies are reported testing how subject ethnicity influences the categorization and stereotyping of old (previously seen) and new target persons. In both studies, subjects were presented with a series of photos in two blocks. In block one, subjects made stereotypic trait judgments of target persons. In block two, subjects were presented with the photos presented in block 1 (old photos) and with a similar set of new photos. Block two categorization RTs (Experiment 1) and stereotypic trait ratings (Experiment 2) were compared across Hispanic and Anglo subjects and for differences between old photos and new photos. Across both studies, Hispanic subjects categorized and stereotyped the targets more by ethnicity than by gender, while Anglo subjects used gender as the salient dimension. Importantly, those effects were generally stronger for old photos compared to new photos, demonstrating the influence of prior experiences. Results are discussed for their applicability to exemplar theory (Smith & Zarate, 1.
International Journal of Mathematics And its Applications A Bargaining Cooperative and Non-cooperative Game Theory in Wireless Sensor Networks Research Article

A Bargaining Cooperation and non-cooperation has been recognized as an important mechanism to enhance connectivity and throughput in multi-hop wireless networks, especially under varying channel conditions. One major problem of cooperation and non-cooperation is t incurs energy and possibly delays costs. To a rational and selfish node these costs are worth incurring only if it receives at least comparable returns in the long term. In light of this, we propose a new incentive mechanism called bandwidth exchange (BE) where a node can delegate a portion of its bandwidth to another node in exchange for relay cooperation and non-cooperation. a n-node wireless network over a fading channel and use a Cooperative and non-cooperative game Nash Bargaining Solution (CANGNBS) mechanism to study the benefits of BE in terms of rate and coverage gains. In this paper we specifically study BE in the simple form of exchanging orthogonal frequency bands to provide incentives for relaying in a wireless network. Other forms of exchanging bandwidth such as delegation of time-slots or using spreading codes of different lengths are also possible. Using a Nash Bargaining framework, we explore the advantage of BE in both static and fading channels.
Caries incidence and oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment.

abstract – One hundred and seventy-three individuals receiving orthodontic full band treatment in one or both dental arches were examined in order to assess the relationship between caries incidence and oral hygiene during treatment. Thorough instruction in toothbrushing with a horizontal scrub technique was given. Topical application of sodium fluoride was used regularly throughout the experimental period. The average period of treatment was 19 months. Monthly assessments of oral hygiene were performed through partial recordings utilizing the Plaque (PII) and Gingival Index (GI) systems. Smooth surface carious lesions on vestibular and lingual surfaces of banded teeth were assessed according to a proposed Caries Index (CI) at the time of removal of the orthodontic appliances. The results demonstrated a definite correlation between oral health and caries incidence. With increasing mean PII and GI scores, there were concomitant, almost linear increases in mean CI scores. On an average, the girls had lower PII, GI, and CI scores than boys. The correlations between caries incidence and age, duration of treatment, and initial caries experience were not significant.
Discovery of Trypanosomatid Parasites in Globally Distributed Drosophila Species

Microbial parasites of animals include bacteria, viruses, and various unicellular eukaryotes. Because of the difficulty in studying these microorganisms in both humans and disease vectors, laboratory models are commonly used for experimental analysis of host-parasite interactions. Drosophila is one such model that has made significant contributions to our knowledge of bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Despite this, less is known about other potential parasites associated with natural Drosophila populations. Here, we surveyed sixteen Drosophila populations comprising thirteen species from four continents and Hawaii and found that they are associated with an extensive diversity of trypanosomatids (Euglenozoa, Kinetoplastea). Phylogenetic analysis finds that Drosophila-associated trypanosomatids are closely related to taxa that are responsible for various types of leishmaniases and more distantly related to the taxa responsible for human African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease. We suggest that Drosophila may provide a powerful system for studying the interactions between trypanosomatids and their hosts.
NDRG2 is involved in anti-apoptosis induced by electroacupuncture pretreatment after focal cerebral ischemia in rats

Abstract Objective: We first reported that electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment at the Baihui acupoint (GV20) induces ischemic tolerance. Our recent study demonstrated that N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) expression was up-regulated following transient focal cerebral ischemia. Therefore, we investigated whether NDRG2 was involved in the ischemic tolerance induced by EA pretreatment in rats. Methods: Twenty-four hours after the end of the last EA pretreatment, focal cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 120 minutes in male Sprague–Dawley rats. The neurobehavioral score, infarction volume, and extent of neuronal apoptosis were evaluated at 24 hours after reperfusion. The expression of NDRG2 in the brain was evaluated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blotting, and immunofluorescent staining. Results: Electroacupuncture pretreatment decreased infarction volume and improved neurologic scores at 24 hours after reperfusion. Double immunofluorescence revealed that NDRG2 expression in astrocytes was suppressed in the EA group at 24 hours after reperfusion, and that NDRG2 protein expression was weak in the nucleus and strong in the cytoplasm of the EA group, but strong in the nucleus of the MCAO group. Triple immunofluorescent staining for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick-end labeling (TUNEL), NDRG2, and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) showed that NDRG2 co-localised with apoptotic cells. Moreover, the number of apoptotic cells decreased with the attenuation of NDRG2 expression in the EA group compared to the MCAO group. Conclusion: Our results indicated that NDRG2 is involved in anti-apoptosis induced by EA pretreatment after focal cerebral ischemia in rats. N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2 was involved in EA pretreatment-induced cerebral ischemic tolerance. These findings may be important for our understanding of the cellular signaling pathways induced by EA pretreatment.
Improved fastICA to automatic noise removal for emotional classification

This paper explains the effect of denoising algorithm to classify emotional expression through Electroencephalogram (EEG). This research led to classify the EEG features due to emotions which was induced by the facial expression stimulus include of happy and sad and neutral cases. Time-frequency features was extracted to probe the ability of Improved Fast Independent Components Analysis (IFICA) based on optimization step size as a denoising mathematical tool which is used for data preprocessing. The features were reduced dimensionally by common spatial patterns (CSP). Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used to classify components which were evaluated for the effect of noise removal on data classification. The advantage ofIFICA was indicated by faster convergence and increasing the performance rate during the evaluation. Compare with the previous method, Fast Independent Component Analysis (FICA), the IFICA was significantly accurate during the emotional classification.
Responsive FEM for Aiding Interactive Geometric Modeling

Numerical simulation methods are used mainly as off-line verification tools in current computer-aided engineering systems to reject designs that fail to satisfy the required constraints, rather than to guide the user toward a better design. This paper presents the integration of a real-time finite-element method (FEM) analysis into interactive geometric modeling. Real-time feedback from numerical simulation during interactive editing can guide users toward improving their design without tedious trial-and-error iterations. We achieve fast FEM analysis during interactive editing by carefully reusing previous computation results such as meshes and matrices based on speed and accuracy trade-offs. We implemented several example applications to demonstrate the versatility of the system. We also present two informal user studies, metallophone and bridge design, to show the effectiveness of the approach. We envision that our tools can assist nonexpert users to design objects that satisfy physical constraints and help them understand the underlying physical principles.
The Relation of Individual Search Activity to Subjective Job Characteristics

A part of the process of managerial problem solving is search. A number of subjective job characteristics, namely discretion, variety, unpredictability, and work interdependence, were examined to determine whether they are able to discriminate between managers who engage in a high level of search activity and managers who engage in a low level of search activity. Discretion was found to be the most important subjective job characteristic. Variety and work interdependence also contribute to the discrimination of managers along the dimension of search activity.
Justice through consensus: Shared identity and the preference for a restorative notion of justice

We propose a concept of restorative justice as a sense of justice deriving from consensus about, and the reaffirmation of, values violated by an offence (in contrast to punishment-based retributive justice). Victims should be more likely to seek restorative justice (and less likely retributive justice) when they perceive to share a relevant identity with the offender. In Study 1, when the relevant identity (university affiliation) shared with the offender was made salient (vs. not), participants found a consensus-based response more justice-restoring. In Study 2, when the group (company) shared with the offender was cohesive (vs. not), participants more strongly endorsed a restorative justice philosophy and, mediated by this, responded in consensus-restoring ways. In Study 3, when the offender was an ingroup (vs. outgroup) member, participants more strongly endorsed a restorative justice philosophy, fully mediated by sadness emotions. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DNA Sequence Variation and Regulation of Genes Involved in Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Abstract DNA sequence variations [copy number variations, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and microsatellite repeats] play an important role in susceptibility/resistance to tuberculosis and other infectious diseases like malaria and HIV. Different population exhibit variable associations with tuberculosis susceptibility and severity because of DNA sequence variations in both host and parasite. A number of genes and their polymorphisms have been identified that appear to be important in tuberculosis. In this article, several case–control studies of tuberculosis including a number of genes in different population have been explored. Furthermore, this review summarizes the current studies of host polymorphisms and their association with tuberculosis in different population. We have computationally predicted 275 SNPs which occur in transcription factor binding sites for transcription factors in 19 genes involved in pathogenesis of tuberculosis. Some common SNPs are rs1327474, rs755622, rs1801274, rs396991, rs5030737, rs1800451, rs1800450, rs3763313 rs3763313, rs9268494 and rs9268492 that have been found to play a role in disease. Presence of non‐synonimous polymorphisms in coding region might affect the structure of protein, whereas polymorphisms in promoter region affect the level of gene products, consequently altering the susceptibility/resistance to disease. Based on this prediction, we hypothesize that these genes play an important role in susceptibility to tuberculosis through an altered expression of gene product via the modification of transcriptional regulation of gene.
. Introduction Carina Henriksson and Norm Friesen

Understanding hermeneutic phenomenology as a research method requires the definition and discussion of terms that may initially appear daunting – beginning with the phrase “hermeneutic phenomenology” itself. Phenomenology is the study of experience, particularly as it is lived and as it is structured through consciousness. “Experience” in this context refers not so much to accumulated evidence or knowledge as something that we “undergo. ” It is something that happens to us, and not something accumulated and mastered by us. Phenomenology asks that we be open to experience in this sense. Hermeneutics, for its part, is the art and science of interpretation and thus also of meaning. Meaning in this context is not a thing that is final and stable, but something that is continuously open to new insight and interpretation. Hermeneutic phenomenology is consequently the study of experience together with its meanings. Like hermeneutics, this type of phenomenology is open to revision and reinterpretation: it is about an openness to meaning and to possible experiences. Hermeneutic phenomenology, in short, is as much a disposition and attitude as it is a distinct method or program for inquiry. As Max van Manen, one of the principle proponents of hermeneutic phenomenology as a research method, puts it: This approach represents an “attitude or disposition of sensitivity and openness: it is a matter of openness to everyday, experienced meanings as opposed to theoretical ones” (2002, n.p.). As it is considered in this collection, namely as a qualitative research method in educational (and related) research, hermeneutic phenomenology is clearly distinct from other qualitative research methods, and also from other phenomenological approaches. It rejects the claim of some phenomenological methods that ideal “essences” of experience or consciousness can be isolated outside of the researcher’s cultural and historical location. In its emphasis on the interpretation and reinterpretation of meaning, it rejects any “transcendental” claim to meaning or any research conclusions that are fixed once and for all. It does not study objects or phenomena as (potentially) objective, but as necessarily meaningful. As Emmanuel Levinas says, it does not seek to “understand the object, but its meaning” (1987, p. 110, italics added). Also, unlike many other phenomenological and qualitative research approaches, hermeneutic phenomenology is particularly open to literary and poetic qualities of language, and encourages aesthetically sensitized writing as both a process and product of research. * * * In this introduction, we describe these and other characteristics of hermeneutic phenomenology as a research method primarily in education and secondarily, in
Behavioural and Hormonal Indicators of Enduring Environmental Stress in Dogs

Four groups of dogs, which had been subjected to housing conditions of varying quality for years, were assumed to experience different levels of stress. The groups were compared for behavioural and hormonal parameters in order to identify measures that indicate chronic stress in the dog and which may help to identify poor welfare in this species. As a standard for comparison, one of the four groups was composed of privately owned dogs; we assumed that chronic stress levels were relatively low in this group (GI). The three remaining groups of dogs (GII, Gill and GIV) were kept under conditions of low to relatively high austerity, and had basal urinary ratios of Cortisol to creatinine, adrenaline to creatinine and, to a lesser extent, noradrenaline to creatinine, that varied from low to high, respectively. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found in Cortisol to creatinine ratios when comparing GI to GII, GUI and GIV and when GII was compared to GIV. Statistical analyses indicated that the mean adrenaline to creatinine ratio in GI differed from that in the remaining groups and that the ratio in GII differed from that in GUI. Noradrenaline to creatinine ratios differed significantly only between GI and GUI. Dopamine to creatinine ratios and noradrenaline to adrenaline ratios did not differ significantly between groups. When dogs were not disturbed, those that were kept under the most austere conditions typically had high levels of locomotor activity, nosing, urinating and paw lifting. After mild disturbance by a slamming door or in the presence of a researcher these animals reacted actively, with increased locomotor activity, circling and nosing, and they showed high levels of behaviours that have previously been associated with acute stress: body shaking, yawning, ambivalent postures and displacement behaviours. Chronic stress in dogs may be identified by increased paw lifting when animals are not disturbed and by ample behavioural expressions of arousal when they are mildly stimulated. Since some behaviours may occur in contexts not related to stress, behavioural data are easily misinterpreted with regard to chronic stress. Interpretation will only be meaningful when physiological measures such as urinary adrenaline to creatinine ratios and, especially, urinary Cortisol to creatinine ratios are also determined.