Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contemporary Psychology and Psychiatry - The Minnesota MultiphasicPersonality Inventory (MMPI)

Volume 2 • Issue 1 • 1000107 Abnorm Behav Psychol ISSN: 2472-0496 ABP, an open access journal A concern with contemporary psychology and psychiatry is that they assume too much on the basis of clinical assessments prone to many sources of error. These sources of error may include, unreliable or invalid test administration and/or interpretation or even variable patient responses over time. It would be difficult to prove that mental health science is based on undeniable fact. Mental health professionals may have enormous privilege bestowed upon them that may be inadvertently used to judge others and even influence life changes upon their patients sometimes to their patients’ detriment. Mental health science, with the tenet, ‘do no harm’, is arguably one of the toughest sciences of all. After all, how easy is it to operationally define the mind? The best that can be hoped for is to try to operationally define personality (including the mind), using some form of metric.
the physical disector method provide an accurate estimation f sensory neuron number in rat dorsal root ganglia ?

The physical disector is a method of choice for estimating unbiased neuron numbers; nevertheless, calibration is needed to evaluate each counting method. The validity of this method can be assessed by comparing the estimated cell number with the true number determined by a direct counting method in serial sections. We reconstructed a 1/5 of rat lumbar dorsal root ganglia taken from two experimental conditions. From each ganglion, images of 200 adjacent semi-thin sections were used to reconstruct a volumetric dataset (stack of voxels). On these stacks the number of sensory neurons was estimated and counted respectively by physical disector and direct counting methods. Also, using the coordinates of nuclei from the direct counting, we simulate, by a Matlab program, disector pairs separated by increasing distances in a ganglion model. The comparison between the results of these approaches clearly demonstrates that the physical disector method provides a valid and reliable estimate of the number of sensory neurons only when the distance between the consecutive disector pairs is 60 m or smaller. In these otal number of sensory neurons orsal root ganglia conditions the size of error between the results of physical disector and direct counting does not exceed 6%. In contrast when the distance between two pairs is larger than 60 m (70–200 m) the size of error increases rapidly to 27%. We conclude that the physical dissector method provides a reliable estimate of the number of rat sensory neurons only when the separating distance between the consecutive dissector pairs is no larger
Probabilistic boosting trees for automatic bone removal from CT angiography images

In CT angiography images, osseous structures occluding vessels pose difficulties for physicians during diagnosis. Simple thresholding techniques for removing bones fail due to overlapping CT values of vessels filled with contrast agent and osseous tissue, while manual delineation is slow and tedious. Thus, we propose to automatically segment bones using a trainable classifier to label image patches as bone or background. The image features provided to the classifier are based on grey value statistics and gradients. In contrast to most existing methods, osseous tissue segmentation in our algorithm works without any prior knowledge of the body region depicted in the image. This is achieved by using a probabilistic boosting tree, which is capable of automatically decomposing the input space. The whole system works by partitioning the image using a watershed transform, classifying image regions as bone or background and refining the result by means of a graph-based procedure. Additionally, an intuitive way of manually refining the segmentation result is incorporated. The system was evaluated on 15 CTA datasets acquired from various body regions, showing an average correct recognition of bone regions of 80% at a false positive rate of 0.025% of the background voxels.
On the Interaction between Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand and Public Transportation Systems

In this paper we study models and coordination policies for intermodal Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand (AMoD), wherein a fleet of self-driving vehicles provides on-demand mobility jointly with public transit. Specifically, we first present a network flow model for intermodal AMoD, where we capture the coupling between AMoD and public transit and the goal is to maximize social welfare. Second, leveraging such a model, we design a pricing and tolling scheme that allows to achieve the social optimum under the assumption of a perfect market with selfish agents. Finally, we present a real-world case study for New York City. Our results show that the coordination between AMoD fleets and public transit can yield significant benefits compared to an AMoD system operating in isolation.
Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing at Copy-Number Breakpoints for Personalized Analysis of Rearranged Ends in Solid Tumors

Background The concept of the utilization of rearranged ends for development of personalized biomarkers has attracted much attention owing to its clinical applicability. Although targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) for recurrent rearrangements has been successful in hematologic malignancies, its application to solid tumors is problematic due to the paucity of recurrent translocations. However, copy-number breakpoints (CNBs), which are abundant in solid tumors, can be utilized for identification of rearranged ends. Method As a proof of concept, we performed targeted next-generation sequencing at copy-number breakpoints (TNGS-CNB) in nine colon cancer cases including seven primary cancers and two cell lines, COLO205 and SW620. For deduction of CNBs, we developed a novel competitive single-nucleotide polymorphism (cSNP) microarray method entailing CNB-region refinement by competitor DNA. Result Using TNGS-CNB, 19 specific rearrangements out of 91 CNBs (20.9%) were identified, and two polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplifiable rearrangements were obtained in six cases (66.7%). And significantly, TNGS-CNB, with its high positive identification rate (82.6%) of PCR-amplifiable rearrangements at candidate sites (19/23), just from filtering of aligned sequences, requires little effort for validation. Conclusion Our results indicate that TNGS-CNB, with its utility for identification of rearrangements in solid tumors, can be successfully applied in the clinical laboratory for cancer-relapse and therapy-response monitoring.
Appropriating Economic Rents from Resources: An Integrative Property Rights and Resource-Based Approach

Resource-based theory focuses on how economic value is created and sustained, providing the theoretical underpinnings for explaining and predicting sustainable competitive advantage. An implicit assumption of resource-based theory is that the firm's property rights to such resources are secure. However, where property rights to potentially value-creating resources are not fully secure, as in business contexts where multiple parties are jointly participating in creating economic value, potentially value-creating combinations of resources may not be realised. Similar difficulties may arise within the firm, where multiple stakeholders that supply factor inputs are jointly producing economic value. To address these theoretical issues, we map out a property rights theory of the firm that is grounded in resource-based theory on economic rents. We emphasise how firms create economic rents (ex ante) as well as how firms appropriate or capture economic rents (ex post).
History-Preserving Bisimulations on Reversible Calculus of Communicating Systems

History-and hereditary history-preserving bisimulation (HPB and HHPB) are equivalences relations for denotational models of concurrency. Finding their counterpart in process algebras is an open problem, with some partial successes: there exists in calculus of communicating systems (CCS) an equivalence based on causal trees that corresponds to HPB. In Reversible CSS (RCCS), there is a bisimulation that corresponds to HHPB, but it considers only processes without auto-concurrency. We propose equivalences on CCS with auto-concurrency that correspond to HPB and HHPB, and their so-called " weak " variants. The equivalences exploit not only reversibility but also the memory mechanism of RCCS.
Scented Sugar Baits Enhance Detection of St. Louis Encephalitis and West Nile Viruses in Mosquitoes in Suburban California

Abstract Scented sugar baits deployed in California deserts detected early West Nile virus (WNV) transmission by mosquitoes, representing a potential improvement to conventional arbovirus surveillance that relies heavily on infection rates in mosquito pools. In this study, we expanded deployment of scented sugar baits into suburban Sacramento and Yolo (2015, 2016) and Riverside Counties (2016), California.The goal of the study was to determine whether scented sugar baits detect WNV and St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) concurrent with mosquito infections in trapped pools in areas of high human density. Between 8 and 10% of sugar baits were WNV RNA positive in both study years across the three counties. In Riverside County, where SLEV re-emerged in 2015, 1% of sugar baits were SLEV positive in 2016. Rates of sugar bait positives were at least 100 times higher than infection rates in trapped mosquitoes in the same districts.The prevalence of sugar bait positives varied temporally and did not coincide with infections in mosquitoes collected at the same sites each week. WNV RNA positive sugar baits were detected up to 2 wk before and after concurrent surveillance detected infection in mosquito pools at the same sites. Sugar baits also detected WNV in Riverside County at locations where no WNV activity was detected in mosquito pools. Sugar baits generated between 0.8 and 1.2 WNV positives per $1,000 and can be more economical than carbon dioxide baited traps that produce 0.8 positives per $1,000. These results indicate that the sugar bait approach enhances conventional arbovirus surveillance in mosquitoes in suburban California.
The Thin Blue Line Between Protesters and Their Counter-Protesters

More frequently protests are accompanied by an opposing group performing a counter protest. This phenomenon can increase tension such that police must try to keep the two groups separated. However, what is the best strategy for police? This paper uses a simple agent-based model to determine the best strategy for keeping the two groups separated. The 'thin blue line' varies in density (number of police), width and the keenness of police to approach protesters. Three different groups of protesters are modelled to mimic peaceful, average and volatile protests. In most cases, a few police forming a single-file 'thin blue line' separating the groups is very effective. However, when the protests are more volatile, it is more effective to have many police occupying a wide 'thin blue line', and police being keen to approach protesters. To the authors knowledge, this is the first paper to model protests and counter-protests.
Risk model in stage IB1-IIB cervical cancer with positive node after radical hysterectomy

The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors in patients with surgically treated node-positive IB1-IIB cervical cancer and to establish a risk model for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). A total of 170 patients who underwent radical hysterectomy and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy as primary treatment for node-positive International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IB1-IIB cervical cancer from January 2002 to December 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. Five published risk models were evaluated in this population. The variables, including common iliac lymph node metastasis and parametrial invasion, were independent predictors of outcome in a multivariate analysis using a Cox regression model. Three distinct prognostic groups (low, intermediate, and high risk) were defined using these variables. Five-year DFS rates for the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups were 73.7%, 60.0%, and 25.0%, respectively (P<0.001), and 5-year OS rates were 81.9%, 42.8%, and 25.0%, respectively (P<0.001). The risk model derived in this study provides a novel means for assessing prognosis of patients with node-positive stage IB1-IIB cervical cancer. Future study will focus on external validation of the model and refinement of the risk scoring systems by adding new biologic markers.
A Survey of Sound Source Localization Methods in Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks

Wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs) are formed by a distributed group of acoustic-sensing devices featuring audio playing and recording capabilities. Current mobile computing platforms offer great possibilities for the design of audio-related applications involving acoustic-sensing nodes. In this context, acoustic source localization is one of the application domains that have attracted the most attention of the research community along the last decades. In general terms, the localization of acoustic sources can be achieved by studying energy and temporal and/or directional features from the incoming sound at different microphones and using a suitable model that relates those features with the spatial location of the source (or sources) of interest. This paper reviews common approaches for source localization in WASNs that are focused on different types of acoustic features, namely, the energy of the incoming signals, their time of arrival (TOA) or time difference of arrival (TDOA), the direction of arrival (DOA), and the steered response power (SRP) resulting from combining multiple microphone signals. Additionally, we discuss methods not only aimed at localizing acoustic sources but also designed to locate the nodes themselves in the network. Finally, we discuss current challenges and frontiers in this field.
igh prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s . l . in the European red squirrel ciurus vulgaris in France

The European red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) has long been suspected to be a reservoir host of the agents of Lyme borreliosis, in particular B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.). However, very few data support this hypothesis. Hereafter, we investigated the infections with B. burgdorferi genospecies in road-killed red squirrels collected across France. We also characterized the diversity of hard tick species collected from a subsample of hosts. DNA of B. burgdorferi genospecies were detected and identified from PCR products in ear biopsies using reverse line blot hybridization. Variation in prevalence was investigated according to biogeographic areas (Mediterranean, Atlantic, Continental, and Alpine), season, sex, relative age, and body mass from 273 squirrels collected 2003–2010. Among the 746 identified tick specimens, no adult was observed, 63% were nymphs, and 37% were larvae all belonging to the species Ixodes ricinus except one nymph identified as I. trianguliceps. Overall, no squirrels of Mediterranean origin and no unweaned juveniles were found infested by hard ticks. Only season explained variation in I. ricinus abundance on squirrels, with more ticks present in spring to summer than in autumn to winter. Squirrels of Mediterranean origin (n = 20) were not found infected with B. burgdorferi sensu-lato (s.l.), which is almost certainly related to the low occurrence of I. ricinus in this region. Based on individuals analyzed in the other regions of France, 11.5% (n = 26) unweaned young harboured B. burgdorferi s.l. , which indicates that infection occurred already in the nest. In adults (n = 227), the prevalence of infection with B. burgdorferi s.l. was 27.3%, with 18.9% B. burgdorferi s.s. , 11.9% B. afzelii, and 3.5% B. garinii. The season and the body mass, sex, and geographic origin of adults had no effect on the frequency of infection. Infection prevalence of S. vulgaris is among the highest found in rodents in Europe, particularly for B. burgdorferi s.s. supporting the hypothesis that sciurids are particularly suitable hosts for this genospecies.
Beam Training and Data Transmission Optimization in Millimeter-Wave Vehicular Networks

Future vehicular communication networks call for new solutions to support their capacity demands, by leveraging the potential of the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) spectrum. Mobility, in particular, poses severe challenges in their design, and as such shall be accounted for. A key question in mm-wave vehicular networks is how to optimize the trade-off between directive Data Transmission (DT) and directional Beam Training (BT), which enables it. In this paper, learning tools are investigated to optimize this trade-off. In the proposed scenario, a Base Station (BS) uses BT to establish a mm-wave directive link towards a Mobile User (MU) moving along a road. To control the BT/DT trade-off, a Partially Observable (PO) Markov Decision Process (MDP) is formulated, where the system state corresponds to the position of the MU within the road link. The goal is to maximize the number of bits delivered by the BS to the MU over the communication session, under a power constraint. The resulting optimal policies reveal that adaptive BT/DT procedures significantly outperform common-sense heuristic schemes, and that specific mobility features, such as user position estimates, can be effectively used to enhance the overall system performance and optimize the available system resources.
Capsule networks for low-data transfer learning

We propose a capsule network-based architecture for generalizing learning to new data with few examples. Using both generative and non-generative capsule networks with intermediate routing, we are able to generalize to new information over 25 times faster than a similar convolutional neural network. We train the networks on the multiMNIST dataset lacking one digit. After the networks reach their maximum accuracy, we inject 1-100 examples of the missing digit into the training set, and measure the number of batches needed to return to a comparable level of accuracy. We then discuss the improvement in low-data transfer learning that capsule networks bring, and propose future directions for capsule research.
BUDaMaF - Data Management in Cloud Federations

Data management has always been a multi-domain problem even in the simplest cases. It involves, quality of service, security, resource management, cost management, incident identification, disaster avoidance and/or recovery, as well as many other concerns. In our case, this situation gets ever more complicated because of the divergent nature of a cloud federation like BASMATI. In this federation, the BASMATI Unified Data Management Framework (BUDaMaF), tries to create an automated uniform way of managing all the data transactions, as well as the data stores themselves, in a polyglot multi-cloud, consisting of a plethora of different machines and data store systems.
Phytochemical studies, total phenolic and flavonoids content and evaluation of antiradical activity of the extracts of the leaves from Dischistocalyx sp. (Acanthacées)

The present study appears in the setting of the valorization of food and medicinal plants of Gabon. The traditional use of Dischistocalyx sp for the treatment of anemia and the absence of scientific works on this species incited us to achieve our survey on this plant. The phytochemical screening, The FolinCiocalteu method, the method of aluminum trichlorure (AlCl3, 2%) and DPPH radical was used, respectively, to identify the chemical groups content of Dischistocalyx sp, to quantify flavonoids and polyphenols content and to measure the Antiradical activity. Four extracts (water extract, ethanolic-water extract, ethanolic-acidified extract and ethanolic extract) have been analyzed. The qualitative analysis permitted to identify the presence of polyphenols, anthocyanins, tannins, triterpenoids, reducing sugars, flavonoids, glycosides and saponins in the different extracts. Quantitative analysis showed that the content in flavonoids was raised more in ethanolic-acid extract (330.406 ± 0.021 mg EQ/g) and total polyphenols in the ethanolic-water extract (290.33 ± 0.037 mg EAG/g). Radical Scavenging Activity (%RSA) increasing in the following order: % RSA (water extract) < % RSA (ethanolic extract) < % RSA (ethanolic-acidified extract) <% RSA (ethanolic-water extract)
A new traffic engineering approach for QoS provisioning and failure recovery in SDN-based ISP networks

In this paper, we propose a new SDN (Software Defined Networking) controller design that jointly addresses the problems of optimal traffic engineering (TE), quality of service (QoS) provisioning and failure recovery in ISP (Internet Service Provider) networks. The control logic of the controller is divided into the offline and online component. The online component handles dynamic arrivals of users' requests in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The offline component is responsible for periodic optimization of traffic distribution in the network. The goal of such architecture is to increase acceptance ratio for QoS requests and minimize degradation of background (best-effort) traffic in a scalable manner. Our simulation study has shown that the proposed solution outperforms the competitive one, which is commonly used in MPLS-based ISP networks, even when TE optimization is repeated after relatively long time intervals. This alleviates concerns regarding the scalability of the SDN control plane in large-scale ISP networks.
Business Model of a Botnet

Botnets continue to be an active threat against firms or companies and individuals worldwide. Previous research regarding botnets has unveiled information on how the system and their stakeholders operate, but an insight on the economic structure that supports these stakeholders is lacking. The objective of this research is to analyse the business model and determine the revenue stream of a botnet owner. We also study the botnet life-cycle and determine the costs associated with it on the basis of four case studies. We conclude that building a full scale cyber army from scratch is very expensive where as acquiring a previously developed botnet requires a little cost. We find that initial setup and monthly costs were minimal compared to total revenue.
Relationship between diet, the gut microbiota, and brain function

The human intestinal microbiota, comprising trillions of microorganisms, exerts a substantial effect on the host. The microbiota plays essential roles in the function and development of several physiological processes, including those in the brain. A disruption in the microbial composition of the gut has been associated with many metabolic, inflammatory, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative disorders. Nutrition is one of several key factors that shape the microbial composition during infancy and throughout life, thereby affecting brain structure and function. This review examines the effect of the gut microbiota on brain function. The ability of external factors, such as diet, to influence the microbial composition implies a certain vulnerability of the gut microbiota. However, it also offers a potential therapeutic strategy for ameliorating symptoms of mental and physical disorders. Therefore, this review examines the potential effect of nutritional components on gut microbial composition and brain function.