Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement-based modeling of packet inter-reception time in presence of radio channel congestion

In this paper, we study the performance of the beaconing mechanism underlying active safety vehicular applications in presence of different levels of channel congestion. The importance of this study lies in the fact that channel congestion is considered a major factor influencing communication performance in vehicular networks, and that ours is the first investigation of the effects of congestion based on extensive, real-world measurements. We present a set of measurement-based models of the packet inter-reception time, and we show how these models can be used to estimate the application-level benefits, expressed in terms of increased reliability, of congestion control and of multi-hop propagation of situational information.
TLRs, Treg, and B Cells, an Interplay of Regulation during Helminth Infection

Commonly described as masters of regulation parasitic helminth infections provide a fascinating insight into the complexity of our immune system. As with many other pathogens helminths have developed complex evasion strategies and the immune response of the host has to find a balance between eliciting severe damage to eliminate the parasite or limiting damage and thereby accepting the infection. Nevertheless, one should not forget that these infections still pose a serious public health problem and can elicit severe disfigurement or death in the individual. An interesting spin-off of helminth manipulation on host responses is the apparent prevention of autoimmune diseases or allergy although the actual mechanisms remain unclear. It is well known that Toll-like-receptors (TLR) and non-TLR PRRs play a critical role in initiating innate immune responses which in turn create appropriate adaptive immune reactions. Helminths comprise of a multitude of (glyco)-proteins and (glyco)-lipids and some have been shown to trigger TLR, or alter TLR-mediated responses. Such reactions of course alter adaptive immunity as well. This review will address the consequences of TLR-triggering by helminth antigens and the downstream effect on B cell and regulatory T cell (Treg) actions.
Systems integration for real-world manipulation tasks

A system developed to demonstrate integration of a number of key research areas such as localization, recognition, visual tracking, visual servoing and grasping is presented together with the underlying methodology adopted to facilitate the integration. Through sequencing of basic skills, provided by the above mentioned competencies, the system has the potential to carry out flexible grasping for fetch and carry in realistic environments. Through careful fusion of reactive and deliberative control and use of multiple sensory modalities a significant flexibility is achieved. Experimental verification of the integrated system is presented.
SNQL: A Social Networks Query and Transformation Language

Social Network (SN) data has become ubiquitous, demanding advanced and exible means to represent, transform and query such data. In addition to the intrinsic challenges of querying graph data is the requirement that networks be restructured, and thus that new values be created. To address these, we introduce a dedicated data model and query language, SNQL, founded on previous research on graph databases and on the experience of SN researchers. Technically, it is based in GraphLog and second-order tuple generating dependencies, allowing expressiveness for graph querying and node creation as required by SN, while keeping the complexity of query evaluation in NLOGSPACE.
Physician and public opinions on quality of health care and the problem of medical errors.

BACKGROUND The 1999 Institute of Medicine report on medical errors proposed major changes to the health care system and gained widespread media attention, yet there is limited information on physician or public opinion regarding recommendations from that report. METHODS Mail survey of 1000 Colorado physicians (n = 594) and 1000 national physicians (n = 304), and telephone survey of 500 Colorado households to assess agreement with several proposals and conclusions from the 1999 Institute of Medicine report. RESULTS Most physicians believed that reduction of medical errors should be a national priority (69.7% of Colorado physicians). However, physicians were much less likely than the public to believe that quality of care is a problem (29.1% vs 67.6%; P<.001) or that a national agency is needed to address the problem of medical errors (24.1% vs 59.8%; P<.001). Uniformly, physicians believed that fear of medical malpractice is a barrier to reporting of errors and that greater legal safeguards are necessary for a mandatory reporting system to be successful. Nearly all physicians (92.9%) believed that more training in how to handle medical errors is needed, and 60.1% agreed that it is difficult to differentiate errors due to negligence from unintended errors. CONCLUSIONS There appears to be widespread concern among physicians regarding medical errors, but only a minority in this survey believed that the problem is as significant as the Institute of Medicine and the public believe it to be. Our results suggest that physicians see several barriers to successful error reduction including difficulty defining errors, the need for more training in handling errors, and fear of malpractice litigation. Addressing these barriers will be a necessary step to increasing physician support for many of the changes proposed by the Institute of Medicine.
Low-Luminosity Active Galaxies and Their Central Black Holes

Central black hole masses for 117 spiral galaxies representing morphological stages S0/a through Sc and taken from the large spectroscopic survey of Ho et al. are derived using Ks-band data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Black hole masses are found using a calibrated black hole-Ks bulge luminosity relation, while bulge luminosities are measured by means of a two-dimensional bulge-disk decomposition routine. The black hole masses are correlated against a variety of parameters representing properties of the nucleus and host galaxy. Nuclear properties such as line width (FWHM [N II]), as well as emission-line ratios (e.g., [O III]/Hβ, [O I]/Hα, [N II]/Hα, and [S II]/Hα), show a very high degree of correlation with black hole mass. The excellent correlation with line width supports the view that the emission-line gas is in virial equilibrium with either the black hole or bulge potential. The very good emission-line ratio correlations may indicate a change in ionizing continuum shape with black hole mass in the sense that more massive black holes generate harder spectra. Apart from the inclination-corrected rotational velocity, no excellent correlations are found between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. Significant differences are found between the distributions of black hole masses in early-, mid-, and late-type spiral galaxies (subsamples A, B, and C) in the sense that early-type galaxies have preferentially larger central black holes, consistent with observations that Seyfert galaxies are found preferentially in early-type systems. The line width distributions show a marked difference among subsamples A, B, and C in the sense that earlier type galaxies have larger line widths. There are also clear differences in line ratios between subsamples A+B and C that likely are related to the level of ionization in the gas. Finally, a Ks-band Simien & de Vaucouleurs diagram shows excellent agreement with the original B-band relation, although there is a large dispersion at a given morphological stage.
A test of microtubule translocation during neurite elongation

In a previous study using PC-12 cells (Lim, S. S., P. J. Sammak, and G. G. Borisy, 1989. J. Cell Biol. 109:253-263), we presented evidence that the microtubule component of the neuronal cytoskeleton is differentially dynamic but stationary. However, neurites of PC-12 cells grow slowly, hindering a stringent test of slow axonal transport mechanisms under conditions where growth was substantial. We therefore extended our studies to primary cultures of dorsal root ganglion cells where the rate of neurite outgrowth is rapid. Cells were microinjected with X-rhodamine-labeled tubulin 7-16 h after plating. After a further incubation for 6-18 h, the cells were photobleached with an argon ion laser. Using a cooled charged couple device and video microscopy, the cells were monitored for growth of the neurite and movement and recovery of fluorescence in the bleached zone. As for PC-12 cells, all bleached zones in the neurite recovered their fluorescence, indicating that incorporation of tubulin occurred along the neurite. Despite increases in neurite length of up to 70 microns, and periods of observation of up to 5 h, no movement of bleached zones was observed. We conclude that neurite elongation cannot be accounted for by the transport of a microtubule network assembled only at the cell body. Rather, microtubules turn over all along the length of the neurite and neurite elongation occurs by net assembly at the tip.
The Effects of Xanthine Oxidoreductase Inhibitors on Oxidative Stress Markers following Global Brain Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in C57BL/6 Mice

We demonstrated that 3-nitrotyrosine and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal levels in mouse brain were elevated from 1 h until 8 h after global brain ischemia for 14 min induced with the 3-vessel occlusion model; this result indicates that ischemia reperfusion injury generated oxidative stress. Reactive oxygen species production was observed not only in the hippocampal region, but also in the cortical region. We further evaluated the neuroprotective effect of xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitors in the mouse 3-vessel occlusion model by analyzing changes in the expression of genes regulated by the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (including pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), matrix metalloproteinase-9 and intercellular adhesion molecules-1). Administration of allopurinol resulted in a statistically significant decrease in IL-1β and TNF-α mRNA expression, whereas febuxostat had no significant effect on expression of these genes; nevertheless, both inhibitors effectively reduced serum uric acid concentration. It is suggested that the neuroprotective effect of allopurinol is derived not from inhibition of reactive oxygen species production by xanthine oxidoreductase, but rather from a direct free-radical-scavenging effect.
Effect of compressed offline foveated video on viewing behavior and subjective quality

Offline foveation is a technique to improve the compression efficiency of digitized video. The general idea behind offline foveation is to blur video regions where no or a small number of previewers look without decreasing the subjective quality for later viewers. It relies on the fact that peripheral vision is reduced compared to central vision, and the observation that during free-viewing humans' gaze positions generally coincide when watching video. In this article, we conduct two experiments to assess how offline foveation affects viewing behavior and subjective quality. In the first experiment, 15 subjects free-viewed six video clips before and after offline foveation whereas in the second experiment we had 17 subjects assessing the quality of these videos after one, two, and three consecutive viewings. Eye movements were measured during the experiments. Results showed that, although offline foveation prior to encoding with H.264 yielded data reductions up to 52% (20% average) on the tested videos, it had little or no effect on where people looked, their intersubject dispersion, fixation duration, saccade amplitude, or the experienced quality during first-time viewing. However, seeing the videos more than once increased the intersubject dispersion and decreased the subjective quality. In view of these results, we discuss the usage of offline foveated video in practical applications.
Automatic textual aggregation approach of scientific articles in OLAP context

In the last decade, Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) has taken an increasingly important role in Business Intelligence. Approaches, solutions and tools have been provided for both databases and data warehouses, which focus mainly on numerical data. These solutions are not suitable for textual data. Because of the fast growing of this type of data, there is a need for new approaches that take into account the textual content of data. In the context of Text OLAP (OLAP on text or documents), the measure can be textual and need a suitable aggregation function for OLAP operations such as roll-up. We present in this paper a new aggregation function for textual data. Our approach is based on the affinity between keywords and uses the search of cycles in a graph to find the aggregated keywords. We also present performances and a comparison with three other methods. The experimental study shows good results for our approach.
Single-molecule detection of proteins passing through solid state nanopores

Nanopores have been proven as versatile single-molecule sensors for individual unlabeled biopolymer detection and characterization. Besides application to next gene sequencing, proteins are becoming a prime target of investigation. In our work, single molecules of bovine serum albumin have been detected as the transient current blockages while the proteins pass through a silicon nitride nanopore. Characterization of transition signals at different biased voltages reveals that globular protein translocating through nanopore is different from the linear DNA, with larger current amplitude and longer transition time due to the protein adsorption with nanopore. The results will shed light on the understanding of protein transport cross an individual biomimetic nuclear pores.
Low-Power and Wide-Bandwidth Cyclic ADC With Capacitor and Opamp Reuse Techniques for CMOS Image Sensor Application

In this paper, a power-efficient programmable gain amplifier (PGA) and a cyclic analog-to-digital converter (ADC) are developed for a satellite CMOS image sensor system. The cyclic ADC employs capacitor and opamp reuse techniques to reduce power consumption and occupied silicon area. Moreover, a power-efficient and wide-bandwidth telescopic cascode gain boosting amplifier with capacitive level shifters is adopted to decrease its power consumption further. According to the system specification, a 10-bit, 14-MS/s cyclic ADC with the front-end PGA circuit is implemented in the TSMC 0.18- ¿m triple-well 1P3M CMOS image sensor (CIS) process. The proposed cyclic ADC achieves a spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of 65.1 dB and a signal-to-noise distortion ratio (SNDR) of 52.44 dB with 5-MHz input frequency at 14 MS/s. The power consumption of the cyclic ADC and PGA from a 3.3 V supply are 15.84 mW and 5.78 mW, respectively. The total core area is 0.381 mm2 .
Three-Dimensional Numerical Model of Cell Morphology during Migration in Multi-Signaling Substrates

Cell Migration associated with cell shape changes are of central importance in many biological processes ranging from morphogenesis to metastatic cancer cells. Cell movement is a result of cyclic changes of cell morphology due to effective forces on cell body, leading to periodic fluctuations of the cell length and cell membrane area. It is well-known that the cell can be guided by different effective stimuli such as mechanotaxis, thermotaxis, chemotaxis and/or electrotaxis. Regulation of intracellular mechanics and cell’s physical interaction with its substrate rely on control of cell shape during cell migration. In this notion, it is essential to understand how each natural or external stimulus may affect the cell behavior. Therefore, a three-dimensional (3D) computational model is here developed to analyze a free mode of cell shape changes during migration in a multi-signaling micro-environment. This model is based on previous models that are presented by the same authors to study cell migration with a constant spherical cell shape in a multi-signaling substrates and mechanotaxis effect on cell morphology. Using the finite element discrete methodology, the cell is represented by a group of finite elements. The cell motion is modeled by equilibrium of effective forces on cell body such as traction, protrusion, electrostatic and drag forces, where the cell traction force is a function of the cell internal deformations. To study cell behavior in the presence of different stimuli, the model has been employed in different numerical cases. Our findings, which are qualitatively consistent with well-known related experimental observations, indicate that adding a new stimulus to the cell substrate pushes the cell to migrate more directionally in more elongated form towards the more effective stimuli. For instance, the presence of thermotaxis, chemotaxis and electrotaxis can further move the cell centroid towards the corresponding stimulus, respectively, diminishing the mechanotaxis effect. Besides, the stronger stimulus imposes a greater cell elongation and more cell membrane area. The present model not only provides new insights into cell morphology in a multi-signaling micro-environment but also enables us to investigate in more precise way the cell migration in the presence of different stimuli.
Serum Adiponectin and Cardiometabolic Risk in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes

Background The adipose tissue is considered not only a storable energy source, but mainly an endocrine organ that secretes several cytokines. Adiponectin, a novel protein similar to collagen, has been found to be an adipocyte-specific cytokine and a promising cardiovascular risk marker. Objectives To evaluate the association between serum adiponectin levels and the risk for cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), as well as the correlations between adiponectin and metabolic, inflammatory, and myocardial biomarkers. Methods We recruited 114 patients with ACS and a mean 1.13-year follow-up to measure clinical outcomes. Clinical characteristics and biomarkers were compared according to adiponectin quartiles. Cox proportional hazard regression models with Firth's penalization were applied to assess the independent association between adiponectin and the subsequent risk for both primary (composite of cardiovascular death/non-fatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI)/non-fatal stroke) and co-primary outcomes (composite of cardiovascular death/non-fatal AMI/non-fatal stroke/ rehospitalization requiring revascularization). Results There were significant direct correlations between adiponectin and age, HDL-cholesterol, and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and significant inverse correlations between adiponectin and waist circumference, body weight, body mass index, Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) index, triglycerides, and insulin. Adiponectin was associated with higher risk for primary and co-primary outcomes (adjusted HR 1.08 and 1.07/increment of 1000; p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Conclusion In ACS patients, serum adiponectin was an independent predictor of cardiovascular events. In addition to the anthropometric and metabolic correlations, there was a significant direct correlation between adiponectin and BNP.
Inflation pressure, stock option incentive and the company performance Taking the food industry for an example

This paper analyses the impact of the inflation pressure and the stock option incentive on the company performance using the data of China's listed companies in food industry from 2006 to 2009. The result indicates that the inflation pressure has negative but not significant effect on the performance of the company. And the stock option is significantly negative with the performance of the company.
Finite-Time Transport Structures of Flow Fields

Modern experimental and computational fluid mechanics are increasingly concerned with the structure nature of fluid motion. Recent research has highlighted the analysis of one transport structure which is called Lagrangian coherent structure. However, the quantity nature of the flow transport is still unclear. In this paper, we focus on the transport characteristics of physical quantities and propose an approach to visualize the finite-time transport structure of quantity advection. This is similar to an integral convolution over a scalar field along path-lines of a flow field. Applied to a well-chosen set of physical quantity fields this yields structures giving insights into the dynamical processes of the underlying flow. We demonstrate our approach on a number of test data sets.
Slow Moving Capital

We study three cases in which specialized arbitrageurs lost significant amounts of capital and, as a result, became liquidity demanders rather than providers. The effects on security markets were large and persistent: Prices dropped relative to fundamentals and the rebound took months. While multi-strategy hedge funds who were not capital constrained increased their positions, a large fraction of these funds actually acted as net sellers consistent with the view that information barriers within a firm (not just relative to outside investors) can lead to capital constraints for trading desks with mark-to-market losses. Our findings suggest that real world frictions impede arbitrage capital.
Design of two compact bandpass filters based on external quality factor Qext for RFID application

Two compact bandpass filters based on the square open-loop resonator (SOLR) for RFID application are proposed and experimentally studied in this paper. The filters are designed based on EQF (External Quality Factor) method with a Chebyshev approximation. The performances of the compact filter, are investigated numerically by using Advanced Design System (ADS). The theoretical and measured results agree well and show good performances and high selectivity.
Obturator Nerve Injury: An Infrequent Complication of TOT Procedure

Transvaginal mid-urethral slings have become the most preferred surgical treatment option for female stress urinary incontinence. However, various complications have been reported for these operations occurring especially during penetration of the retropubic space. It can negatively affect patient's quality of life. Early treatment increases the chance of complete normalization of the functions. In this case report we presented a case of obturator nerve damage that was diagnosed and treated at early stage after TOT operation.
Optimization of Distributed Association Rule Mining Approach Based On Vertical Partitioning

— Association rule mining is a one of the most important technique in data mining. It extracts significant patterns from transaction databases and generates rules used in many decision support application. Modern organizations are geographically distributed. Using the traditional centralized association rule mining to discover useful patterns in such distributed system is not always feasible because merging data sets from different sites into a centralized site incurs huge network communication and time costs. This paper present an optimized Distributed Association Rule Mining (D-ARM) based on vertical partitioning. The existing D-ARM algorithms have lots of communication overhead, which is a major issue for concerning. The proposed approach minimizes this communication overhead and it is based on total count. The papers then discuss the Total Count on Vertical Dataset (TCDV) use of this structure which offers significant advantages with respect to existing D-ARM techniques.