Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overcoming Broadcast Storm Problem in a Vehicular Network

Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET) has become a very interesting technology for future generation vehicles. This is mainly due to its embedded and promising advantages which primarily include improvement of safety conditions on public road through exchange of critical safety messages amongst involved nodes. The success of VANET heavily relies on successful messages dissemination amongst involved vehicles. However, a successful message exchange can only be possible if the transmission medium is collision free. Under the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), the cooperative Awareness messages (CAM) have to be transmitted at the rate of 10 Hz as per standard. To account for congestion management, the Distributed Congestion Control (DCC) mechanism was proposed. However, under higher node density, the DDC becomes inefficient and dramatically contribute to the deterioration of the VANET environment. The present work proposes a Dynamic Broadcast Storm Mitigation Algorithm (DBSMA) which can be used to combat the broadcast storm problem in a Vehicular Network (VN). Results from several simulations confirmed that the DBSMA has a potentiality to conquer the effect of broadcast storm by offering more than 150% improved efficiency against the DCC approach. Another advantage of the DBSMA is that it is simple to compute and easy to implement.
Determination of antenna shape using its radiation pattern

The numerical approach to determine the shape of antenna by its known directivity pattern has been developed. The general formulation for 3-D case inverse scattering problem is performed. The system of the non-linear equations with respect the function that describe form antenna and the current on it is derived. The obtained system is ill-posed because of equation for finding the antenna shape, which is integral equation of the first kind. The approach is described in details for 2-D case. The numerical algorithm for solving the obtained system and regularizing procedure are elaborated.
Ultrafine fibers of zein and anthocyanins as natural pH indicator.

BACKGROUND pH-sensitive indicator membranes, which are useful for pharmaceutical, food, and packaging applications, can be formed by encapsulating halochromic compounds within various solid supports. Accordingly, electrospinning is a versatile technique for the development of these indicators, by entrapping pH dyes within ultrafine polymer fibers. RESULTS The ultrafine zein fibers, containing 5% (w/v) anthocyanins, had an average diameter of 510 nm. The pH-sensitive membrane exhibited color changes from pink to green when exposed to acidic and alkaline buffers, respectively. The contact angle was negligible after 10 and 2 s for neat and 5% anthocyanin-loaded zein membranes, respectively. CONCLUSION The pH membranes exhibited color changes in a board pH range, which can potentially be used in various active packaging applications. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Antenatal Corticosteroids for Accelerating Fetal Lung Maturation for Women at Risk of Preterm Birth

BACKGROUND: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a serious complication of preterm birth and the primary cause of early neonatal mortality and disability. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects on fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, on maternal mortality and morbidity, and on the child in later life of administering corticosteroids to the mother before anticipated preterm birth. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Trials Register (October 30, 2005). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled comparisons of antenatal corticosteroid administration (betamethasone, dexamethasone, or hydrocortisone) with placebo or with no treatment given to women with a singleton or multiple pregnancy, expected to deliver preterm as a result of either spontaneous preterm labor, preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes, or elective preterm delivery. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors assessed trial quality and extracted data independently. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-one studies (3,885 women and 4,269 infants) are included. Treatment with antenatal corticosteroids does not increase risk to the mother of death, chorioamnionitis, or puerperal sepsis. Treatment with antenatal corticosteroids is associated with an overall reduction in neonatal death (relative risk [RR] 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58–0.81, 18 studies, 3,956 infants), RDS (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.59–0.73, 21 studies, 4,038 infants), cerebroventricular hemorrhage (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.43–0.69, 13 studies, 2,872 infants), necrotizing enterocolitis (RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.29–0.74, eight studies, 1,675 infants), respiratory support, intensive care admissions (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65–0.99, two studies, 277 infants), and systemic infections in the first 48 hours of life (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.38–0.85, five studies, 1,319 infants). Antenatal corticosteroid use is effective in women with premature rupture of membranes and pregnancy-related hypertension syndromes. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSION: The evidence from this new review supports the continued use of a single course of antenatal corticosteroids to accelerate fetal lung maturation in women at risk of preterm birth. A single course of antenatal corticosteroids should be considered routine for preterm delivery with few exceptions. Further information is required concerning optimal dose-to-delivery interval, optimal corticosteroid to use, and effects in multiple pregnancies and to confirm the long-term effects into adulthood.
Seasonal weight loss and metabolic adaptation in rural Beninese women: the relationship with body mass index

A large variation in seasonal weight loss between individuals exists in rural communities in developing countries. Therefore, it was investigated whether some individuals show a metabolic adaptation and, through that, prevent large body-weight losses during the preharvest season. Basal metabolic rate (BMR), energy intake and physical activity level (PAL) of rural Beninese women were measured in three seasons. Groups of subjects were: women with a body mass index (BMI) < 18 (n 18), and a BMI > 23 (n 16), and women who had shown small (n 18) and large (n 15) preharvest weight loss. All groups of subjects decreased energy intake during the preharvest season by 0·66–1·09 MJ/d. PAL did not show significant seasonal changes in any of the four groups. Only subjects with a BMI < 18 decreased BMR during the preharvest season with 2·9 (SD 6·7) J/kg per min (P < 0·05), with a decrease of 0·8 (SD 1·4) kg (P < 0·05) in body weight. In very thin women with a BMI < 17 (n 5) BMR expressed per unit body weight decreased even more during the preharvest season (by 12 %).
Vitamin D: emerging new roles in insulin sensitivity

The growing incidence of prediabetes and clinical type 2 diabetes, in part characterised by insulin resistance, is a critical health problem with consequent devastating personal and health-care costs. Vitamin D status, assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, is inversely associated with diabetes in epidemiological studies. Several clinical intervention studies also support that vitamin D, or its active metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), improves insulin sensitivity, even in subjects with glucose metabolism parameters classified within normal ranges. The mechanisms proposed which may underlie this effect include potential relationships with improvements in lean mass, regulation of insulin release, altered insulin receptor expression and specific effects on insulin action. These actions may be mediated by systemic or local production of 1,25(OH)2D or by suppression of parathyroid hormone, which may function to negatively affect insulin sensitivity. Thus, substantial evidence supports a relationship between vitamin D status and insulin sensitivity; however, the underlying mechanisms require further exploration.
A Brief Survey on the Role of Dimensionality Reduction in Manipulation Learning and Control

Bio-inspired designs are motivated by efficiency, adaptability, and robustness of biological systems’ dynamic behaviors in complex environment. Despite progress in design, the lack of sensorimotor and learning capabilities is the main drawback of humanlike manipulation systems. Dimensionality reduction has demonstrated in recent robotics research to solve problems that affect high degrees of freedom devices. In this letter, a survey on the role of dimensionality reduction in learning and control strategies is provided by discussing different techniques adopted for dimensionality reduction, as well as learning and control strategies built on subspaces of reduced dimension across different fully actuated and underactuated anthropomorphic designs.
Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Combined with Lateral Flow Strip for Listeria monocytogenes Detection in Food.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important food-borne pathogenic bacterium that causes human disease, resulting in economic losses worldwide. The current detection methods for L. monocytogenes are not well suited for direct field testing because they involve complicated, time-consuming operations. A simple, efficient method is vital for L. monocytogenes detection. In this study, we combined isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) with a lateral flow (LF) strip to rapidly and reliably detect L. monocytogenes. In the presence of biotin- and digoxin-modified primers, RPA produced numerous digoxin- and biotin-attached duplex DNA products. These products were detected on an LF strip via dual immunoreactions (digoxin on the duplex DNA reacted with the anti-digoxin antibody on the gold nanoparticle (Au-NP) and the biotin on the duplex DNA captured by the streptavidin on the LF test zone). The accumulation of Au-NPs produced characteristic bands, enabling the visual detection of L. monocytogenes without instrumentation. This assay could be used to detect L. monocytogenes within 15 min, including DNA amplification with RPA for 10 min at 39 °C and visualization of the amplicons by LF strips for 5 min. Experiments confirmed a detection limit as low as 300 fg of DNA and 1.5 × 101 CFU in pure cultures. Furthermore, RPA-LF exhibited no cross-reactions with pathogens. Evaluation of the method with food samples indicated that the detection limit was substantially improved to 1.5 × 10° CFU for the original bacterial content in 25 g/mL samples after enrichment for 6 hr. RPA-LF can be used as a sensitive and rapid detection technique for L. monocytogenes. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) can amplify target DNA at 37 to 42 °C without a thermal cycler. Lateral flow (LF) strips are portable, cheap and easy to operate. RPA combined with LF strips to detect Listeria monocytogenes can be widely used in remote areas.
Where the Risks Lie: A Survey on Systemic Risk

We review the extensive literature on systemic risk and connect it to the current regulatory debate. While we take stock of the achievements of this rapidly growing field, we identify a gap between two main approaches. The first one studies different sources of systemic risk in isolation, uses confidential data, and inspires targeted but complex regulatory tools. The second approach uses market data to produce global measures which are not directly connected to any particular theory, but could support a more efficient regulation. Bridging this gap will require encompassing theoretical models and improved data disclosure.
[ASSOCIATION BETWEEN STEVIA SWEETENER CONSUMPTION AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS].

INTRODUCTION stevia consumption has increased worlwide among the different age groups; however, studies regarding the association between stevia intake and nutritional status in adults are scarce. OBJECTIVE to evaluate stevia intake in first year university students from five chilean cities (Santiago, Temuco, Viña del Mar, Concepción and Antofagasta) controlling by nutritional status, socioeconomic level, gender and whether their undergraduate program belongs to the health sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS 486 first year university students belonging to 4 Chilean universities were evaluated. Each student completed a weekly food frequency questionnaire including food and beverages containing stevia. Selfreport of weight and height was requested. RESULTS 69.8% of the students consumed stevia every week, the liquid form being the main contributor to the dietary stevia intake (81.2%). Only 1.4% of the students went over the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). Normal weight women show a higher stevia intake compared to those obese or overweight (p < 0.05). Finally, stevia consumption appears to be positively associated to normal weight in the first model (adjusted) (OR = 0.219; IC 95%: 0.13-0.35; p < 0.05) and second model (OR = 0.21; IC 95%: 0.13-0.35; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION stevia consumption was positively associated with normal nutritional status in Chilean university students.
PAMPC: Perception-Aware Model Predictive Control for Quadrotors

We present the first perception-aware model predictive control framework for quadrotors that unifies control and planning with respect to action and perception objectives. Our framework leverages numerical optimization to compute trajectories that satisfy the system dynamics and require control inputs within the limits of the platform. Simultaneously, it optimizes perception objectives for robust and reliable sensing by maximizing the visibility of a point of interest and minimizing its velocity in the image plane. Considering both perception and action objectives for motion planning and control is challenging due to the possible conflicts arising from their respective requirements. For example, for a quadrotor to track a reference trajectory, it needs to rotate to align its thrust with the direction of the desired acceleration. However, the perception objective might require to minimize such rotation to maximize the visibility of a point of interest. A model-based optimization framework, able to consider both perception and action objectives and couple them through the system dynamics, is therefore necessary. Our perception-aware model predictive control framework works in a receding-horizon fashion by iteratively solving a non-linear optimization problem. It is capable of running in real-time, fully onboard our lightweight, small-scale quadrotor using a low-power ARM computer, together with a visual-inertial odometry pipeline. We validate our approach in experiments demonstrating (I) the conflict between perception and action objectives, and (II) improved behavior in extremely challenging lighting conditions.
New Entanglements between Instrumental, Shared and Mental Maps in the Exploration of Urban Space: an Experimental Project

The new access to cartographic tools (beyond specialist uses) produces new collective shared configurations and new, further mental individual and collective representations. With several years’ experiments of interactions between participants in remote cities, the aim of the research presented here is a better understanding of entanglements between instrumental, shared and mental maps. More specifically the question is to know how new instrumental uses renew shared mental representations of urban spaces. How are mental maps constructed in situations of interaction with connected and dynamic uses? Consecutively, how are they developing when shared? The aim is to understand new forms of entanglements between egocentric, allocentric and distributed spaces in the mobile perception of urban space.
Scheduling in multi-wavelength ring-based optical networks-on-chip

Synchronous networks-on-chip (NoC) require tailored schedulers achieving low latency, high throughput, and fairness while avoiding packet collisions. Efficient schedulers exist for rearrangeable non-blocking NoC. However, NoCs fabricated in integrated photonics typically suffer a blocking behavior due to the limitations of the switching capabilities in the space and wavelength domains. This paper discusses a scheduler for an integrated optical NoC based on a ring topology and realized with multiple resonating microrings (multi-microring, MMR). Scheduling in MMR architecture consists of the conventional matching sub-problem and the wavelength assignment sub-problem. The paper’s contribution is twofold. An iterative parallel wavelength matching (iPWM) algorithm is presented for jointly addressing both sub-problems. iPWM achieves performance similar to a two-step scheduler based on sequential iSLIP and first-fit wavelength assignment, but with a computational complexity lower than and independent of the number of wavelengths. A comprehensive comparison with the two-step scheduler based on the more complex maximum weighted matching algorithm and with an optimal scheduler is also carried out for the case of fixed and tunable transmitters to assess the trade-off between scheduling complexity and performance. In addition, bidirectionality with one or two transceivers per port is proposed as a way to overcome the throughput degradation caused by the blocking behavior. Simulation results indicate that bidirectionality is very effective in improving the throughput and reducing the latency even when using a single transceiver.
Protocol Sequences With Carrier Sensing for Wireless Sensor Networks

Protocol sequences are deterministic binary sequences of a common period, which enjoy some special Hamming cross-correlation property by design. In contrast to random or contention-based medium access control schemes, a protocol sequence-based scheme can serve to provide at least a certain number of contention-free packet transmissions within a bounded delay for each asynchronous user in a feedback-free multiple access system. However, all protocol sequence-based schemes in the literature require that all sequence entries are mapped to slots with the same time duration, which produces a relatively low channel utilization. To overcome this inefficiency that is undesirable in delay-constrained wireless sensor networks, building on the idea of combining sequence-based access and carrier sensing, this paper proposes a new protocol sequence-based scheme, called the PS-CS. We derive the theoretical average throughput, average access delay, worst-case delay, and average energy consumption of the PS-CS. It is shown that the PS-CS produces average throughput close to the optimal capacity of ${p}$ -persistent carrier sense multiple access (CSMA), and enjoys smaller access delay than the optimal ${p}$ -persistent CSMA. In addition, we study the energy-delay tradeoff, impact of carrier sensing fault and channel error, and how to modify the PS-CS to support real-time downlink for feedback control.
USING DEFICITS OF CONVEXITY TO RECOGNIZE HAND GESTURES FROM SILHOUETTES

We describe a method of recognizing hand gestures from hand silhouettes. Given the silhouette of a hand, we compute its convex hull and extract the deficits of convexity corresponding to the differences between the hull and the silhouette. The deficits of convexity are normalized by rotating them around the edges shared with the hull. To learn a gesture, the deficits from a number of examples are extracted and normalized. The deficits are grouped by similarity which is measured by the relative overlap using k-means clustering. Each cluster is assigned a symbol and represented by a template. Gestures are represented by string of symbols corresponding to the nearest neighbors of the deficits. Distinct sequences of symbols corresponding to a given gesture are stored in a dictionary. Given an unknown gesture, its deficits of convexity are extracted and assigned the corresponding sequence of symbols. This sequence is compared with the dictionary of known gestures and assigned to the class to which the best matching string belongs. We used our method to design a gesture interface to control a web browser. We tested our method on five different subjects and achieved a recognition rate of 92% 99%.
Hierarchical and Pseudo-Random eIRA Codes Based on BIBDs and Primitive Interleavers

The present invention relates to viral peptides referred to as "DP107- and DP178-like" peptides. Specifically, the invention relates to isolated influenza A DP107- and DP178-like peptides which are identified by sequence search motif algorithms. The peptides of the invention exhibit antiviral activity believed to result from inhibition of viral induced fusogenic events.
An Analysis of VR Technology Used in Immersive Simulations with a Serious Game Perspective

Using virtual environments (VEs) is a safer and cost-effective alternative to executing dangerous tasks, such as training firefighters and industrial operators. Immersive virtual reality (VR) combined with game aspects have the potential to improve the user experience in the VE by increasing realism, engagement, and motivation. This article investigates the impact of VR technology on 46 immersive gamified simulations with serious purposes and classifies it towards a taxonomy. Our findings suggest that immersive VR improves simulation outcomes, such as increasing learning gain and knowledge retention and improving clinical outcomes for rehabilitation. However, it also has limitations such as motion sickness and restricted access to VR hardware. Our contributions are to provide a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of using VR in immersive simulations with serious purposes, to propose a taxonomy that classifies them, and to discuss whether methods and participants profiles influence results.
Entwicklung eines werkzeugs zur standortbestimmung von IT-abteilungen basierend auf COBIT 5

(IT-)Berater stehen immer wieder vor derselben Herausforderung, nämlich, effizient und effektiv herauszufinden, wo beim Kunden (und seiner IT) Verbesserungspotenziale vorhanden ist. Dies führte im folgenden Beitrag für den IT-Bereich zur systematischen auf dem IT-GovernanceFramework COBIT beruhenden Entwicklung eines Werkzeugs und einer Methode zur Analyse von IT-Abteilungen. Ziel ist es, eine effiziente und effektive Untersuchung von IT-Abteilungen nachvollziehbar zu gestalten und die Schlussfolgerungen der Analyse (visuell) nachvollziehbar aufzeigen zu können. Zur Entwicklung wurde ein iteratives Forschungsvorgehen mit vier Durchläufen bei vier verschiedenen Firmen durchgeführt und aus wissenschaftstheoretischer Sicht wurde auf die folgenden Ansätze gesetzt: Method Engineering, Design Science sowie Action Research. Einerseits wurde eine (Beratungs-)Methode und ein Werkzeug zur Untersuchung und Analyse von IT-Abteilungen entwickelt. Letzteres lässt sich kurz als Excel-basiertes Werkzeug zur Reifegradbestimmung von COBIT-Prozesszielen bei Unternehmen charakterisieren, das über eine einfache Visualisierung u.a. auch zur Vermittlung der Resultate der IT-Analysen zuhanden der Betroffenen beiträgt.