Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Time and Money Pricing as a Mechanism for In-kind Redistribution

We propose a mechanism to implement the distributional goal of "specific egalitarianism", or that allocation of a good be independent of income, but increasing in relative strength of preference or need. Governments could offer the good at multiple "outlets" that charge different money and time prices. Individuals would self-select between outlets based on time opportunity cost. We show conditions under which differential pricing achieves specific egalitarianism more efficiently than uniform public provision funded from income tax, with or without optional private purchase. Differential pricing becomes more efficient than uniform provision as 1) the relative importance of the good rises, 2) the elasticity of substitution between goods falls, 3) variation in preferences increases and 4) income inequality rises or the proportion of the poor falls.
Chandler's The Visible Hand

a Alfred Chandler has written a fine and important book. ' Like all good history, it sees the past through the filter of important current concerns. And like the best of histories, it points toward a new conceptualization of these current problems. No serious student of industrial organization can afford to ignore Chandler's book. Despite the extensive historical scope of the book, Chandler is interested in a particular historical event: the transformation of the American economy from something like the textbook model of competitive firms to a collection of large, integrated corporations. According to Chandler, this change took place in a rush at the end of the nineteenth century. It turned competitive markets into oligopolistic ones, and it sucked a major part of the allocation of resources out of the market into the offices of corporate managers. Their visible hands replaced the invisible ones described by Adam Smith. The book advances our knowledge in several dimensions. For example, it adds a historical dimension to the studies and commentary on the current industrial structure by authors such as Galbraith, Marris, and Means. The controversies that have swirled around their work have not been noted for their historical understanding (e.g., Galbraith (1967) and Solow (1967)). As a result, they have not been able to resolve the central issue: not whether the phenomena noted by these authors are present at all or are all-pervasive (depending on whom you read), but rather when, where, and how they originated. Chandler argues both that the growth of modern business enterprises was inevitable in the late nineteenth century and that they offered advantages only in specified parts of the economy. The Visible Hand also adds an empirical dimension to the literature on the theory of the firm. This literature asserts that firms will expand and integrate when the costs of allocating resources within the firm are less than the costs of doing so through the market. The claim is unobjectionable, but it needs to be complemented by a delineation of situations where such cost savings might be expected. Williamson (1975) has begun the job of
Multi-sensor ambient assisted living system for fall detection

An important goal of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) research is to contribute to the quality of life of the elderly and handicapped people and help them to maintain an independent lifestyle with the use of sensors, signal processing and the available telecommunications infrastructure. From this perspective, detection of unusual human activities such as falling person detection is of utmost importance. In this article, a low-cost AAL system using vibration and passive infrared (PIR) sensors is described for falling person detection, human footstep detection, human motion detection, and unusual inactivity detection. The proposed AAL system works in real-time on a standard computer or chipKIT Uno32 microprocessors. The resulting AAL system is a low-cost and privacy-friendly system thanks to the types of sensors used.
The “Most Wanted” Taxa from the Human Microbiome for Whole Genome Sequencing

The goal of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is to generate a comprehensive catalog of human-associated microorganisms including reference genomes representing the most common species. Toward this goal, the HMP has characterized the microbial communities at 18 body habitats in a cohort of over 200 healthy volunteers using 16S rRNA gene (16S) sequencing and has generated nearly 1,000 reference genomes from human-associated microorganisms. To determine how well current reference genome collections capture the diversity observed among the healthy microbiome and to guide isolation and future sequencing of microbiome members, we compared the HMP’s 16S data sets to several reference 16S collections to create a ‘most wanted’ list of taxa for sequencing. Our analysis revealed that the diversity of commonly occurring taxa within the HMP cohort microbiome is relatively modest, few novel taxa are represented by these OTUs and many common taxa among HMP volunteers recur across different populations of healthy humans. Taken together, these results suggest that it should be possible to perform whole-genome sequencing on a large fraction of the human microbiome, including the ‘most wanted’, and that these sequences should serve to support microbiome studies across multiple cohorts. Also, in stark contrast to other taxa, the ‘most wanted’ organisms are poorly represented among culture collections suggesting that novel culture- and single-cell-based methods will be required to isolate these organisms for sequencing.
Hierarchical Stack-Based Twig Query Algorithm of XML Data

Nowadays, many researchers focus on twig query pattern of XML data. The main representatives are the Holistic Twig Joins method, the use of XR-Tree Index based on it, or the algorithm of identifying directly XML nodes satisfying consecutive parent-children edge-path. All of these efforts don’t improve the efficiency of twig query at all. In this paper, several common twig query algorithms of XML data were analyzed firstly. Then a new coding called EDiezt-P, which is highly flexible and easy to determine the structure relationship of node pairs, is proposed. Based on the EDiezt-P coding and hierarchical stack structure, a new bottom-up Twig query algorithm-TwigStack-HST was proposed. The results of Experiments showed that the query processing time was shortened and the query efficiency was improved by the new TwigStack-HST algorithm.
iCruiser: Protecting Kernel Link-Based Data Structures with Secure Canary

Link-based data structures, like linked lists and binary trees, play an important role in organizing and maintaining kernel objects. Attackers have a strong motivation to tamper them for various malicious purposes. Although a lot of techniques have been proposed to protect kernel objects from unauthorized modifications, existing methods can hardly be applied to most kernel data structures. In this paper, we design iCruiser, a novel protection mechanism to universally secure the protected data fields in link-based data structures within kernel. iCruiser introduces a secure canary to guard the protected data fields, and it employs a stream cipher to prevent attackers from compromising the canary field. Without the seed key of the stream cipher, attackers can hardly conduct unauthorized modifications to the protected fields without being detected. Furthermore, to monitor the protection status of iCruiser, we employ the execution trace recording technologies to record the execution of iCruiser, which ensures that any attack attempt happening on iCruiser will be traceable and auditable. Through iCruiser, we can easily narrow down the attacking vectors of link-based kernel data structures for attackers. To show the effectiveness, we applied our design on some critical doubly linked lists in Linux kernel and analyzed the performance overhead at the instruction level.
Innovation in Agri-Food Clusters: Theory and Case Studies

Preface Acknowledgements Authors Tables Figures Abbreviations 1. The Blind Leading the Blind Along the Innovation Pathway 2. The Economic Explanation for Innovation 3. Clusters and Traded Interdependencies: Place-based Theories and Models 4. Policies, Strategies and Metrics related to Place in Saskatoon 5. Local Links and Global Pipelines: Innovation Systems Theories and Models 6. Policies, Strategies and Metrics Related to Innovation Processes in Saskatoon 7. Stars and Innovation Athletes: People-based Theories and Models 8. Policies, Strategies and Metrics on People in Saskatoon 9. From Comparative Statics to Networked Dynamics: New Approaches 10. Policy for the 21st Century Bibliography Index.
Black hole statistical physics: Entropy

Black hole is one of new physical phenomena predicted by General Relativity (GR). Though the existence of black holes is still hypothetical (see, for example, [1]), they send a challenge to our imagination and rise a lot of interesting questions. The space-time having a black hole in it, first, has a singularity, and second, has a horizon preventing an external observer from seing it. The singularity in GR is radically different from field theory singularities because it is a property not of some field but of the space-time itself. The topology of space-time is changed when it acquires a black hole. The most convincing viewpoint is that arising of singularities demonstrate the incompleteness of classical gravitational theory and the need to replace it by the quantum theory. So, if one believes in GR as a right theory of gravitation then he can assert that the singularity problem will be solved only after discovering of the quantum gravity theory. But. might quantum gravity be the End of Physics? If the problem of black hole singularity would be solved then probably the problem of cosmological singularity will be solved also. And so, we will have an answer to the question how, when and from what kind of material our Universe has been created. Then all physicists together should migrate, maybe, to biology. But sensible people suggest that the End of Physics is still far from us, and so, we are still far from quantum gravity. Then what we can expect now? Maybe, one should try to guess at least one formula of the future mysterious theory, like Johann Jakob Balmer [2], Swiss teacher of mathematics at a secondary school for girls in Basel, has done in 1885. Or, if one believes that such a formula has been already discovered by Bekenstein [3, 4, 5], one should hope to derive it from some intermediate between classical and quantum theories model, like Niels Bohr has done in 1913 with his model of hydrogen atom. Thorough study of black hole solutions and their properties such as test particle behavior has led to formulation of “black hole thermodynamics” [6], i.e. four laws which are very similar to four laws of the thermodynamics: 0. Surface gravity κ is constant over the horizon. 1. Energy is conserved.
Dopamine-Stimulated Dephosphorylation of Connexin 36 Mediates AII Amacrine Cell Uncoupling

Gap junction proteins form the substrate for electrical coupling between neurons. These electrical synapses are widespread in the CNS and serve a variety of important functions. In the retina, connexin 36 (Cx36) gap junctions couple AII amacrine cells and are a requisite component of the high-sensitivity rod photoreceptor pathway. AII amacrine cell coupling strength is dynamically regulated by background light intensity, and uncoupling is thought to be mediated by dopamine signaling via D1-like receptors. One proposed mechanism for this uncoupling involves dopamine-stimulated phosphorylation of Cx36 at regulatory sites, mediated by protein kinase A. Here we provide evidence against this hypothesis and demonstrate a direct relationship between Cx36 phosphorylation and AII amacrine cell coupling strength. Dopamine receptor-driven uncoupling of the AII network results from protein kinase A activation of protein phosphatase 2A and subsequent dephosphorylation of Cx36. Protein phosphatase 1 activity negatively regulates this pathway. We also find that Cx36 gap junctions can exist in widely different phosphorylation states within a single neuron, implying that coupling is controlled at the level of individual gap junctions by locally assembled signaling complexes. This kind of synapse-by-synapse plasticity allows for precise control of neuronal coupling, as well as cell-type-specific responses dependent on the identity of the signaling complexes assembled.
A fast acquisition system for ultra-wideband wireless multiple-access communications

The fast and accurate timing acquisition of short ultra-wideband (UWB) pulse shapes and, implicitly, the required high sampling rates play a significant role in UWB receiver-structure design and create challenges for signal acquisition under non-ideal conditions. Furthermore, the pulse shape is seen as one of the key factors influencing the performance of UWB systems. While fulfilling the power-spectral-density emission requirements, the pulse shape must offer the highest detection capabilities with suitable levels of accuracy. In this paper, a fast acquisition system for UWB wireless multiple-access communications is presented. The proposed acquisition system has explicit design characteristics that offer greatly improved acquisition time, accuracy, and implementation cost, while also yielding very satisfactory performance at high noise and multi-user interference levels. In addition, the impact of pulse shapes on the performance of this fast acquisition system is evaluated to determine the most suitable pulse shape for its implementation.
Opioid-Induced Long-Term Potentiation in the Spinal Cord Is a Presynaptic Event

Opioids remain the mainstay of treatment for severe pain, but the associated hyperalgesia and tolerance are significant impediments to achieving adequate pain relief with opioids. Here we show that in the spinal cord, brief application of the μ-opioid receptor agonist (D-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly-ol5)-enkephalin (DAMGO) at 1 μm, but not at 1–10 nm, caused an initial decrease followed by a large and long-lasting increase in the amplitude of monosynaptic EPSCs evoked from the dorsal root in ∼50% of lamina I and II neurons. However, postsynaptic dialysis of the G-protein inhibitor had no effect on DAMGO-induced initial inhibition and long-term potentiation (LTP) in either lamina I or II neurons. DAMGO-induced LTP was associated with an increase in the paired-pulse depression ratio. Furthermore, DAMGO application and washout induced an initial decrease followed by a persistent increase in the frequency of miniature EPSCs. Bath application, but not postsynaptic dialysis, of an NMDA receptor antagonist or a calcium chelator abolished DAMGO-induced LTP. Strikingly, ablation of TRPV1-expressing primary afferents not only eliminated DAMGO-induced LTP but also prolonged DAMGO-induced inhibition of the miniature and evoked EPSCs (i.e., long-term depression). Thus, our study strongly suggests that TRPV1-expressing primary afferents play a prominent role in opioid-induced presynaptic LTP, which challenges a previous report suggesting the postsynaptic nature of this opioid-induced LTP. This excitatory effect of opioids on primary afferents can counteract the inhibitory effect of opioids on synaptic transmission at the spinal level and is likely involved in opioid-induced hyperalgesia and tolerance.
VEGF‐A, VEGF‐D, VEGF receptor‐1, VEGF receptor‐2, NF‐KB, and RAGE in atherosclerotic lesions of diabetic Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits

Plaque angiogenesis may be associated with the development of unstable and vulnerable plaques. Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) are potent angiogenic factors that can affect plaque neovascularization. Our objective was to determine the effect of diabetes on atherosclerosis and on the expression of angiogenesis‐related genes in atherosclerotic lesions. Alloxan was used to induce diabetes in male Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits that were sacrificed 2 and 6 months after the induction of diabetes. Nondiabetic WHHL rabbits served as controls. Blood glucose (Glc), serum‐free fatty acids (FFA), and serum triglyceride levels were significantly higher in diabetic rabbits. Accelerated atherogenesis was observed in the diabetic WHHL rabbits together with increased intramyocellular lipids (IMCL), as determined by 1H‐NMR spectroscopy. Atherosclerotic lesions in the diabetic rabbits had an increased content of macrophages and showed significant increases in immunostainings for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐A, VEGF‐D, VEGF receptor‐1, VEGF receptor‐2, RAGE, and NF‐B. VEGF‐A165 and VEGFR‐2 mRNA levels were significantly increased in aortas of the diabetic rabbits, where a trend toward increased plaque vascularization was also observed. These results suggest that diabetes accelerates atherogenesis, up‐regulates VEGF‐A, VEGF‐D, and VEGF receptor‐2 expression, and increases NF‐B, RAGE, and inflammatory responses in atherosclerotic lesions in WHHL rabbits. —Roy, H. , Bhardwaj, S. , Babu, M. , Kokina, I. , Uotila, S. , Ahtialansaari, T. , Laitinen, T. , Hakumaki, J., Laakso, M. , Herzig, K‐H. , Ylä‐Herttuala, S. VEGF‐A, VEGF‐D, VEGF receptor‐1, VEGF receptor‐2, NF‐B, and RAGE in atherosclerotic lesions of diabetic Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits. FASEB J. 20, E1550 –E1559 (2006)
Defying hardness with a hybrid approach

A hybrid algorithm is a collection of heuristics, paired with a polynomial time procedure S (called a selector) that decides based on a preliminary scan of the input which heuristic should be executed. We investigate scenarios where the selector must decide between heuristics that are “good” with respect to different complexity measures, e.g. heuristic h1 is efficient but approximately solves instances, whereas h2 exactly solves instances but takes superpolynomial time. We present hybrid algorithms for several interesting problems Π with a “hardness-defying” property: there is a set of complexity measures {mi} whereby Π is conjectured or known to be hard (or unsolvable) for each mi, but for each heuristic hi of the hybrid algorithm, one can give a complexity guarantee for hi on the instances of Π that S selects for hi that is strictly better than mi. For example, some NP-hard problems admit a hybrid algorithm that given an instance can either solve it exactly in “subexponential” time, or approximately solve it in polytime with a performance ratio exceeding that of the known inapproximability of the problem (under P 6= NP). The author was supported in part by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and the NSF ALADDIN Center under Grant No. 0122581.
Deposition of polymeric thin films by ionization-assisted method

The author is specifically involved in a novel deposition technique that is called ionization-assisted deposition (IAD) method. The IAD method is an extension of the vacuum deposition by ionizing and accelerating a part of the evaporated material toward the substrate. It has been shown that this method has the advantage of controlling the film quality, such as crystallinity and surface morphology due to its flexible control of film formation condition by adjusting the amount and energy of ions. This paper describes the application of IAD for the preparation of polymeric thin films in three different concepts.
Radical Possibilities: Public Policy, Urban Education, and A New Social Movement

Acknowledgments Series Editor's Introduction Introduction Part I Federal Policy and Urban Education 1. The Economic is Political 2. Macroeconomic Policy and Urban Poverty 3. Taxing Rich and Poor 4. Urban Children, Social Class, and Education Part II Metropolitan Inequities 5. Jobs, Public Transit, and Urban Education 6. Housing and Tax Policy as Education Reform 7. The Local (Challenging the Rules of the Game) Part III Social Movements, New Public Policy, and Urban Educational Reform 8. How Do People Become Involved in Political Contention? 9. Building a New Social Movement 10. Putting Urban Education at the Center
The clinical impact of bacterial biofilms

Bacteria survive in nature by forming biofilms on surfaces and probably most, if not all, bacteria (and fungi) are capable of forming biofilms. A biofilm is a structured consortium of bacteria embedded in a self‐produced polymer matrix consisting of polysaccharide, protein and extracellular DNA. Bacterial biofilms are resistant to antibiotics, disinfectant chemicals and to phagocytosis and other components of the innate and adaptive inflammatory defense system of the body. It is known, for example, that persistence of staphylococcal infections related to foreign bodies is due to biofilm formation. Likewise, chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients are caused by biofilm growing mucoid strains. Gradients of nutrients and oxygen exist from the top to the bottom of biofilms and the bacterial cells located in nutrient poor areas have decreased metabolic activity and increased doubling times. These more or less dormant cells are therefore responsible for some of the tolerance to antibiotics. Biofilm growth is associated with an increased level of mutations. Bacteria in biofilms communicate by means of molecules, which activates certain genes responsible for production of virulence factors and, to some extent, biofilm structure. This phenomenon is called quorum sensing and depends upon the concentration of the quorum sensing molecules in a certain niche, which depends on the number of the bacteria. Biofilms can be prevented by antibiotic prophylaxis or early aggressive antibiotic therapy and they can be treated by chronic suppressive antibiotic therapy. Promising strategies may include the use of compounds which can dissolve the biofilm matrix and quorum sensing inhibitors, which increases biofilm susceptibility to antibiotics and phagocytosis.
Segmentation of MRI Brain Images with an Improved Harmony Searching Algorithm

The harmony searching (HS) algorithm is a kind of optimization search algorithm currently applied in many practical problems. The HS algorithm constantly revises variables in the harmony database and the probability of different values that can be used to complete iteration convergence to achieve the optimal effect. Accordingly, this study proposed a modified algorithm to improve the efficiency of the algorithm. First, a rough set algorithm was employed to improve the convergence and accuracy of the HS algorithm. Then, the optimal value was obtained using the improved HS algorithm. The optimal value of convergence was employed as the initial value of the fuzzy clustering algorithm for segmenting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain images. Experimental results showed that the improved HS algorithm attained better convergence and more accurate results than those of the original HS algorithm. In our study, the MRI image segmentation effect of the improved algorithm was superior to that of the original fuzzy clustering method.