Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influenza vaccination in high-risk groups: a revision of existing guidelines and rationale for an evidence-based preventive strategy

Summary Influenza, an infectious respiratory disease, is one of the main causes of excess winter deaths (EWDs) in Europe. Annual flu epidemics are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates, especially among the elderly, those with underlying health conditions and pregnant women. Health Care Workers (HCWs) are also considered at high risk of both contracting influenza and spreading the virus to vulnerable patients. During the 2014/2015 season, the excess winter mortality rates observed in countries of the northern hemisphere (EuroMOMO network) and in Italy (+13%) were strongly related to the intensity of influenza circulation. Influenza vaccination is the most important public health intervention to prevent seasonal influenza transmission and infection. However, to date, influenza vaccination coverage reported in Europe (including high-risk groups) is still largely unsatisfactory. This study analyzes some international and European guidelines on influenza vaccination and the rationale that underlies evidence- based public health intervention for the prevention of influenza among the principal high-risk groups: a) the elderly (subjects aged 65 years or older); b) subjects with underlying health conditions; c) pregnant women; d) healthcare workers. Only by achievement recommended influenza vaccination coverage among high-risk groups in all European countries can we reduce the burden of disease.
Utilization of scale invariant feature transform in rover vision system

this paper introduces the background of planet rover navigation and discussing the main purpose of the algorithms for the vision system of autonomous guidance system. Some critical criterion of scale invariant feature transform is presented. Methods of improving the results of the transform are applied in the final application. The experiment results of stereo correspondence, 3-dimension reconstruction and target searching are illustrated.
Global Expression Profile of Bacillus subtilis Grown in the Presence of Sulfate or Methionine

ABSTRACT DNA arrays were used to investigate the global transcriptional profile of Bacillus subtilis grown in the presence of sulfate or methionine as the sole sulfur source. The expression of at least 56 genes differed significantly under the two growth conditions. The expression of several genes belonging to the S-box regulon was repressed in the presence of methionine probably in response to S-adenosylmethionine availability. The expression of genes encoding transporters (yhcL, ytmJKLMN, and yxeMO) was high when the sulfur source was methionine or taurine and reduced when it was sulfate.
Perceptual Biases and Mate Choice

Our view of the evolution of sexually selected traits and preferences was influenced radically in the 1990s by studies that emphasized how signals interact with sensory properties of receivers. Here, twenty-five years later, we review evidence that has accumulated in support of this idea. We replace the term sensory biases with perceptual biases to emphasize the growing knowledge of how cognitive processes generate selection on sexual traits. We show that mating preferences among conspecifics (e.g., sexual selection by mate choice) often are influenced by perceptual adaptations and constraints that have evolved in other contexts. We suggest that these perceptual biases need not be costly to females when they influence mate choice because in many cases they generate direct benefits. Although we do not reject a role for indirect benefits in mate choice, such as good genes, exclusive focus on eugenic mate choice limits our understanding of the evolution of the remarkable diversity of sexually selected traits.
Comparative Analysis of Statistical and Information Measures for Benchmark Fitness Landscapes

Various techniques of fitness landscape analysis for the determination of optimisation problem hardness for evolutionary algorithms are proposed in the literature. However, a few implementations of these techniques and their application in practice are described nowadays. In this paper fitness landscapes of benchmark fitness functions are analysed. Statistical and information measures of fitness landscapes are briefly described. Measures of both types are calculated and interpreted for this benchmark landscapes. Detailed calculations of performed experiments are provided and analysed in this paper. The obtained results will allow estimating hardness of different potential optimisation problems for application of the evolutionary algorithms. Conclusions about the influence of conditions and parameters of the fitness landscape analysis techniques on the results that could be achieved also are made.
On stability in the presence of analog erasure channels

Consider a discrete-time networked control scheme, in which the controller has direct access to noisy measurements of the plant¿s output, but the controller and the actuator are connected via a link that features Bernoulli erasure events. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions for the stabilizability of an unstable linear and time-invariant plant. We show that these conditions are identical for two types of actuators: (1) (Type I) Processing at the actuator has access to the plant¿s model; (2) (Type II) Processing at the actuator uses a universal algorithm that does not depend on the model of the plant. We also identify cases where availability of acknowledgements over the controller-actuator channel is not required for stability. We also consider decentralized networked control structures, where two or more independent controller-link-actuator assemblies have access to different measurements of the plant¿s output.
Political exclusion and discrimination in social psychology: Lived experiences and solutions

1 = New York University Stern School of Business 2 = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick 3 = Carnegie Mellon University 4 = James Madison University 5 = University of Southern California 6 = University of Illinois Chicago 7 = Arizona State University 9 = Plymouth University 8 = University of Oxford 9 = Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience 10 = Rochester Institute of Technology 11 = University of Georgia
Weak Lensing Study of Galaxy Biasing

We combine weak lensing measurements from the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS) and the VIRMOS-DESCART survey and present the first direct measurements of the bias parameter b and the galaxy-mass cross-correlation coefficient r on scales ranging from 0.2 to 9.3 h Mpc (which correspond to aperture radii of 1.′5-45′) at a lens redshift z ≃ 0.35. We find strong evidence that both b and r change with scale for our sample of lens galaxies (19.5 < RC < 21), which have luminosities around L*. For the currently favored cosmology (Ωm = 0.3, ΩΛ = 0.7), we find b = 0.71 (68% confidence) on a scale of 1-2 h Mpc, increasing to ~1 on larger scales. The value of r has only minimal dependence on the assumed cosmology. The variation of r with scale is very similar to that of b and reaches a minimum value of r ~ 0.57 (at 1 h Mpc; 68% confidence). This suggests significant stochastic biasing and/or nonlinear biasing. On scales larger than ~ 4 h Mpc, the value of r is consistent with a value of r = 1. In addition, we use RCS data alone to measure the ratio b/r on scale ranging from 0.15 to 12.5 h Mpc (1′-60′) and find that the ratio varies somewhat with scale. We obtain an average value of b/r = 1.090 ± 0.035, in good agreement with previous estimates. A (future) careful comparison of our results with models of galaxy formation can provide unique constraints, as r is linked intimately to the details of galaxy formation.
Consumer Preferences for Fruit and Vegetables with Credence-Based Attributes: A Review

The food marketing sector is responding to an increased level of interest to consumer demand for products with an increasingly wide array of attributes. As evidence, there has been double digit proliferation of offerings in the produce section of retailers on an annual basis. Differentiation claims include factors related to experiential eating quality as well as credence attributes related to environmental and other social outcomes. To establish the overall importance and willingness to purchase and/or to pay for such foods, a summary of selected studies on such credence attributes and a critique of the research methodologies encountered in those studies may be informative. This study aims to identify and rank a number of attributes, focusing on how their statistical significance across consumer studies of fresh produce buying decisions.
VOTER PERCEPTION OF PROPERTY TAX INCIDENCE AS REVEALED BY SCHOOL EXPENDITURE DECISIONS

Voters' beliefs about the burdens they bear from taxes on nonresidential property are estimated for five nonresidential property categories, using Arizona school district data and a reduced form equation based on a two period median voter structural model developed by Helen F. Ladd. Arizona voters apparently believe that they bear virtually none of the property taxes levied on industry; agriculture; rails, utilities, and mines; and vacant rural land: all are believed to be borne by others, with taxes on vacant rural land apparently believed to reduce other tax burdens (perhaps by stimulating economic development). Voters may believe that they bear some or possibly even all of the taxes on commercial property, but this result is not conclusive. These Arizona results differ markedly from Ladd's Massachusetts results.
Simuler une distribution normale à support positif à partir de plusieurs lois candidates

In this article, we provide an accept-reject algorithm to simulate positive normal variables in the univariate case. The main idea consists in determining among different proposal distributions a priori chosen the one which gets the highest average probability of acceptation, depending on the shape of the target distribution. It yields a fast method since it generates low reject.
Independence/decorrelation measures with applications to optimized orthonormal representations

Extended forms of contrast functions are introduced to provide statistical measures of independence for orthogonal mixtures. We also define semicontrasts based on second-order statistics which, in some cases, may be sufficient to separate the mixed sources. The corresponding criteria are then used to obtain an optimized representation of a stochastic process in an orthonormal basis of wavelet packets or local cosines.
Optimum Bandgap and Supply Voltage in Tunnel FETs

A physics-based analytic model of the ON- and OFF-currents in a homojunction tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) is used to understand the relationship between bandgap, gate length, ON-current, OFF-current, ON/OFF current ratio, and supply voltage to meet minimum energy requirements. The model, which applies to direct-bandgap semiconductors, is validated against numerical simulations to show that it captures the trends of more comprehensive simulations. The analytic model is then used to compare alternative channel materials for TFETs. Gate-all-around InAs nanowire and graphene nanoribbon TFETs are used as design examples at gate lengths of 10 and 15 nm and for an ON/OFF current specification of 105. The results suggest that TFETs based on 2-D materials can be more energy efficient than semiconductor nanowire TFETs and conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors for low-power logic.
Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence

This study is an analysis of the roots of human savagery, dealing with the fundamental questions of why the majority of violence is perpetrated by men, whether this is a matter of nature or nurture and whether anything can be done about it. The book provides some surprising answers, based on comparison of male violence among human and among man's closest relatives, the great apes. In three or four species, male violence is common, but the form of violence differs: male orangutangs tend to rape, male chimps wage war and male gorillas kill the offspring of other males. Only in the fourth species, the little-known bonobo, are males (as well as females) non-violent - females are co-dominant, there is no observable aggression between groups, and there is a high level and diversity of sexual activity. The findings are based on 30 years of field research on the behaviour and ecology of chimpanzees and other mammals in Africa.
NONSTAGGERED BOUNDARY-FITTED COORDINATE METHOD FOR FREE SURFACE FLOWS

A new approach based on the finite-difference technique has been developed to study the steady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in the laminar region, where the domain is partially bounded by a free surface. The nonstaggered fractional step method is used to solve the flow equations written in terms of primitive variables. The physical domain is transformed to a rectangle by means of a numerical mapping technique. The location of the phase boundary is accomplished by means of two methods depending on the surface tension effect: the normal-stress boundary condition or the kinematic boundary condition. We have tested the accuracy and efficiency of the numerical method by solving four different test problems: lid-driven flow in an inclined cavity, film in the absence of gravity, the "stick-slip" problem, and the Newtonian jet swell problem.
Narrowband and broadband infrastructure design for wireless networks

There has been an explosion in the number of wireless subscribers. A number of air interface technologies, such as GSM, TDMA and CDMA, are available to wireless service providers for offering wireless services. In addition, a variety of networking technologies, such as STM, ATM and frame relay, are available to the wireless services provider for designing their infrastructure networks. The abundant choice of technologies, and their associated capabilities and costs, creates a need for network design tools which can help vendors and wireless service providers to understand the economics of investing in different technologies. This article is concerned with the design of narrowband and broadband infrastructure networks for wireless access. The article first describes the different technology alternatives and tariff structures and their impact on wireless infrastructure network design. The general infrastructure design problem is then stated and a solution methodology outlined. Examples of the economic trade-offs involved in narrowband and broadband networking technologies are also presented.
The toxic effects on cardiac myocytes of tyledoside F, a cumulative neurotoxic cardiac glycoside isolated from Tylecodon grandiflorus.

2•. The toxic effects of tyledoside F and ouabain on cardiac myocytes were also investigated by observing the effect of the Ca 2 • overload on the viability of myocytes during a period of 75 min. From the results it is clear that there are similarities in the direct effects of tyledoside F and ouabain on the Na-K pump. It was found that ouabain inhibited the Na-K pump current more than that of tyledoside F. With regard to Ca 2 • overload, there are differences in their mode of production of Ca 2 • overload because cinnarizine grotects the myocytes against ouabain-induced Ca 2 + overload but not against tyledoside-induced Ca + overload. This study shows that with the whole-cell clamp technique tyledoside F inhibited the Na-K pump in a manner similar to inhibition of the pump by ouabain. Viability studies with myocytes indicated that tyledoside F also has other effects which are different from these of ouabain.
Exochelins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis remove iron from human iron- binding proteins and donate iron to mycobactins in the M. tuberculosis cell wall

To multiply and cause disease in the host, Mycobacterium tuberculosis must acquire iron from the extracellular environment at sites of replication. To do so, the bacterium releases high-affinity iron- binding siderophores called exochelins. In previous studies, we have described the purification and characterization of the exochelin family of molecules. These molecules share a common core structure with another type of high-affinity iron-binding molecule located in the cell wall of M. tuberculosis: the mycobactins. The water-soluble exochelins differ from each other and from water insoluble mycobactins in polarity, which is dependent primarily upon the length and modifications of an alkyl side chain. In this study, we have investigated the capacity of purified exochelins to remove iron from host high-affinity iron-binding molecules, and to transfer iron to mycobactins. Purified desferri-exochelins rapidly removed iron from human transferrin, whether it was 95 or 40% iron saturated, its approximate percent saturation in human serum, and from human lactoferrin. Desferri-exochelins also removed iron, but at a slower rate, from the iron storage protein ferritin. Purified ferri- exochelins, but not iron transferrin, transferred iron to desferri- mycobactins in the cell wall of live bacteria. To explore the possibility that the transfer iron from exochelins to mycobactins was influenced by their polarity, we investigated the influence of polarity on the iron affinity of exochelins. Exochelins of different polarity exchanged iron equally with each other. This study supports the concept that exochelins acquire iron for M. tuberculosis by removing this element from host iron-binding proteins and transferring it to desferri- mycobactins in the cell wall of the bacterium. The finding that ferri- exochelins but not iron transferrin transfer iron to mycobactins in the cell wall underscores the importance of exochelins in iron acquisition. This study also shows that the variable alkyl side chain on the core structure of exochelins and mycobactins, the principal determinant of their polarity, has little or no influence on their iron affinity.
ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC CYCLES USING UNOBSERVED COMPONENTS MODELS

The Unobserved Components Models represent a framework in which phenomena like any periodic behaviour, economic cycles in particular, may be modelled and forecast naturally. The main distinct feature of the methodology used in this paper is the use of a Dynamic Harmonic Regression model, characterised by time variable parameters that may vary following a rich family of models. This class of models are set up in a State Space context that takes advantage of the extraordinary flexibility of the recursive algorithms known as the Kalman Filter and Fixed Interval Smoother. Different versions of the models have to be applied to time series, depending on their time properties. In particular, time series with a non-constant period cycle has to be analysed in a totally different way to other series that exhibit a constant period cycle. A simple method to extract the cyclical information from the series in the case of non-constant period cycles is presented in the paper. The methodology is compared with others and shown working in practice with several examples.
ltm: An R Package for Latent Variable Modeling and Item Response Theory Analyses

The R package ltm has been developed for the analysis of multivariate dichotomous and polytomous data using latent variable models, under the Item Response Theory approach. For dichotomous data the Rasch, the Two-Parameter Logistic, and Birnbaum’s Three-Parameter models have been implemented, whereas for polytomous data Semejima’s Graded Response model is available. Parameter estimates are obtained under marginal maximum likelihood using the Gauss-Hermite quadrature rule. The capabilities and features of the package are illustrated using two real data examples.
Audit Procurement: Managing Audit Quality and Audit Fees in Response to Agency Costs

This study examines (1) the association between agency costs and audit‐procurement practices, and (2) the association between audit‐procurement practices, audit quality, and audit fees. Improved audit procurement has been promoted as a mechanism for improving audit quality, particularly in the public sector where auditor moral hazard problems have historically existed. Using a sample of municipal organizations, we find evidence that cities facing higher levels of agency costs, and cities that rely more on their external auditors to relieve such costs, tend to have better‐developed audit‐procurement practices. We also find evidence that well‐developed audit‐procurement practices (and individual audit‐procurement elements), are associated with the hiring of auditors who have higher levels of industry experience—suggestive of higher audit quality. Finally, we find evidence suggesting that well‐developed audit‐procurement practices have a minimal combined effect on audit fees; however, individual audit‐procur.
A novel design and development on bioimpedance-based wheelchair control

This article presents a novel design and development on bioimpedance-based wheelchair control for the disabled people and the elderly. We use three electrodes to measure two channels of bioimpedance from the trapezius muscle. Bioimpedance changes when there is a movement in the segment of trapezius muscle. We can classify six types of motions resulting in six operation capabilities for wheelchair control based on six types of shoulder movements, i.e. left shoulder up, right shoulder up, and both shoulder up for short time and long time. Our system is composed of the modified Howland current bridge circuit, which supplies the 0.5 mA ac current to the measurement system at the frequency of 50 kHz. NI PCI-6250 DAQ board was adopted to collect the data and Labview 8.2 was used to implement the signal processing and control system. Algorithms applied in the system are an automatic threshold value adjustment, which adapt its value to the measured signal. Pump value detection is used to detect the unexpected large change of the signal to avoid the wrong operation. Results indicate that the change of signal according to the shoulder movement is very stable. Moreover, we can use the shoulder movement to control LED on Labview8.2 with an accuracy of 100%.
Heterogeneity-Aware Routing Protocol in Overlay Network

In some systems that employ overlay technology, nodes are highly heterogeneity. Classic routing protocols (such as Chord) consider nodes as homogeneous and all nodes maintain routing table with same size, taking on same routing load. Therefore the scalability of system is restricted by weakest node. Heterogeneity-aware routing mechanism (Hetero-RM) is proposed in this paper. It assigns each node certain level which is proportional to its ability. Routing entry of node points to as higher-level node as possible, so the node with higher level bears more forwarding task. Hetero-RM has same routing efficiency O(log2N) as classic routing protocol, yet with better scalability.