Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relational Cloud: a Database Service for the cloud

This paper introduces a new transactional “database-as-a-service” (DBaaS) called Relational Cloud. A DBaaS promises to move much of the operational burden of provisioning, configuration, scaling, performance tuning, backup, privacy, and access control from the database users to the service operator, offering lower overall costs to users. Early DBaaS efforts include Amazon RDS and Microsoft SQL Azure, which are promising in terms of establishing the market need for such a service, but which do not address three important challenges: efficient multi-tenancy, elastic scalability, and database privacy. We argue that these three challenges must be overcome before outsourcing database software and management becomes attractive to many users, and cost-effective for service providers. The key technical features of Relational Cloud include: (1) a workload-aware approach to multi-tenancy that identifies the workloads that can be co-located on a database server, achieving higher consolidation and better performance than existing approaches; (2) the use of a graph-based data partitioning algorithm to achieve near-linear elastic scale-out even for complex transactional workloads; and (3) an adjustable security scheme that enables SQL queries to run over encrypted data, including ordering operations, aggregates, and joins. An underlying theme in the design of the components of Relational Cloud is the notion of workload awareness: by monitoring query patterns and data accesses, the system obtains information useful for various optimization and security functions, reducing the configuration effort for users and operators.
CONTROL OF CELLULAR CONTRACTION BY CALCIUM IN VORTICELLA

1. Vorticella extracted with Triton X-100 contracted (i.e. the cell body shrank and the stalk coiled) when the external Ca2+ concentration was raised. The degree of contraction increased with increasing Ca2+ concentration. 2. The threshold Ca2+ concentration for shrinkage of the cell body was identical with that for coiling of the stalk in Vorticella extracted with Triton X-100. 3. Living Vorticella showed a graded shrinkage of the cell body when Ca2+ buffer was injected into the cell body, while the stalk showed coiling of an all-or-nothing type. The degree of shrinkage of the cell body increased with increasing free Ca2+ concentration of the buffer. 4. Living Vorticella showed a sustained contraction in response to external application or intracellular injection of caffeine. The effect of caffeine was inhibited by intracellular injection of procaine or Ruthenium Red. 5. Vorticella injected with Ruthenium Red showed graded shrinkage of the cell body as well as graded coiling of the stalk when Ca2+ buffer was injected into the cell body. 6. Caffeine, procaine and Ruthenium Red had no measurable effect on Ca2+-activated contraction in Vorticella extracted with Triton X-100. 7. It is assumed that regenerative liberation of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum and/or membranous tubules in the contractile system (Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release) is responsible for evoking contraction of an all-or-nothing type following stimulation in living Vorticella.
Performance Analysis of an OFDMA Transmission System in a Multicell Environment

The paper deals with design and performance analysis of orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA)-based downlink cellular wireless communications. Due to a high degree of user mobility, the base station is assumed to have only a statistical knowledge of the users' channels. Relying on the ergodic capacities connected to the user rates, a subcarrier and power allocation that minimizes the total transmitted power is proposed. The allocation strategy requires only the knowledge of the channel statistics and the rate requirements for all users. An extension and a performance analysis of this allocation algorithm in a multicell environment working with a frequency reuse factor equal to one is also conducted. A condition for the multicell network to be able to satisfy all rate requirements is derived
Polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.

The motivation for lithium battery development and a discussion of ion conducting polymers as separators begin this review, which includes a short history of polymer electrolyte research, a summary of the major parameters that determine lithium ion transport in polymer matrices, and consequences for solid polymer electrolyte development. Two major strategies for the application of ion conducting polymers as separators in lithium batteries are identified: One is the development of highly conductive materials via the crosslinking of mobile chains to form networks, which are then swollen by lithium salt solutions ("gel electrolytes"). The other is the construction of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) with supramolecular architectures, which intrinsically give rise to much enhanced mechanical strength. These materials as yet exhibit relatively common conductivity levels but may be applied as very thin films. Molecular composites based on poly(p-phenylene)- (PPP)-reinforced SPEs are a striking example of this direction. Neither strategy has as yet led to a "breakthrough" with respect to technical application, at least not for electrically powered vehicles. Before being used as separators, the gel electrolytes must be strengthened, while the molecularly reinforced solid polymer electrolytes must demonstrate improved conductivity.
Rumours and Markets

The paper presents a simple model to study the effects of rumours on markets. Agents in our economy communicate with their local neighbours which gives rise to the possible spread of a rumour. As the rumour affects beliefs of the agents the evolution of the rumour has a direct impact on market outcomes. Our results show that if the rumour dies out long-run equilibrium prices correspond to pre-rumour values. However, if the rumour stays present it produces a price run-up for the good that is positively targeted by the rumour. Price run-ups related to rumours have been observed in empirical studies by Rose [Rose, A.M., 1951. Rumor in the stock market. Public Opinion Quarterly 15, 461–486], Pound and Zeckhauser [Pound, J., Zeckhauser, R. , 1990. Clearly heard on the street: the effect of takeover rumors on stock prices. Journal of Business 63, 291–308] and Zivney et al. [Zivney, T. , Bertin, W.J., Torabzadeh, K.M. , 1996. Overreaction to take-over speculation. Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 36, 89–115]. The present model provides an analytical foundation for this finding.
Association between periodontitis and salivary nitric oxide metabolites among community elderly Koreans.

BACKGROUND Nitric oxide (NO) is known to play an important role in many biologic systems, although the relationship between NO metabolites and periodontitis remains controversial. Moreover, little evidence of an association between salivary NO (S-NO) and periodontitis in the general population has been reported. This study aims to investigate the relationship between S-NO and periodontitis in an elderly Korean population. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted using participants and salivary samples from Sunchang Elderly Cohort Study. The total number of final participants was 242 (91 males and 151 females; 48 to 93 years old). Periodontitis was determined by a clinical attachment loss of >6 mm at six probe points on 12 index teeth. NO was measured in unstimulated saliva via the Griess reaction. Sociodemographic status, general/oral health, and health-related behaviors were investigated as confounders. Bivariate analysis and multivariable linear regression analyses including confounders were applied. RESULTS After controlling for age, sex, education, salivary flow rate, number of teeth, smoking status, physical activity, hypertension, and diabetes, three metabolites of S-NO (total NO, nitrite, and nitrate) were independently associated with the percentage of probe points exhibiting periodontitis. Of these linear associations, total NO was found to have the strongest correlation with periodontitis (partial r = 0.181, P = 0.009). These associations were most pronounced in females (except for nitrate), non-smokers, those without hypertension, and those without diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that high concentrations of S-NO are associated with severe periodontitis. Thus, S-NO may serve as a potential biologic marker for detecting and monitoring periodontitis.
Permanent magnet synchronous machine drive control using analog hall-effect sensors

Control of permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) requires rotor position measurement/estimation, as well as the magnet polarity detection for startup of the machine. The rotor position of PMSMs is typically measured using a speed/position sensor (e.g. an encoder), while the magnet polarity is commonly measured using digital hall-effect sensors. Since simplifying the system can help improve reliability and reduce the cost associated with the measurements, the use of low cost analog hall-effect sensors for estimation of the PM position and polarity for control of PMSMs drives is evaluated in this paper. Experimental results performed on a 7.5 kW motor confirm that analog hall-effect sensors can replace both speed/position sensors and digital hall-effect sensors, while maintaining adequate performance of the drive at lower cost. 1
Influence of Chelators on Iron Solubilization from Quartz and Feldspars by Bioleaching

Ultra-fine iron particles are difficult to treat by conventional mineral processing methods. Thus bioleaching is an attractive alternative for effective removal of iron minerals. The removal of oxidic Fe-phases from industrial silicates via bioleaching needs to be optimized with regard to the rate of iron reduction and dissolution. A new role for chelators as the low addition of AQDS or NTA during bacterial quality improvement of non-metallics, resulted in stimulating of Fe dissolution under non-controlled anaerobic conditions. AQDS stimulated bacterial iron reduction and Fe2+ concentration in solution was higher than Fe3+. However, NTA non-stimulated iron reduction, but increased bacterial iron dissolution in form of Fe3+. Changes in iron removal from samples were used to assess the chelator effectiveness of the heterotrophic bioleaching process. Chelators might be added to iron-contaminated non-metallics during bioleaching processes for stimulation of rate of iron removal.
Time-multiplexed single front-end multiple-input multiple-output receivers with preserved diversity gain

A design technique to realise a low-complexity multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) receiver using a time-multiplexed single front-end receiver is introduced. The architecture uses a simple front-end receiver where it delivers radio frequency signals to baseband section. The theory behind this architecture is analysed and the diversity gain of the proposed receiver is investigated. This simple MIMO receiver can provide the same diversity gain as the diversity gain of the multiple front-end. Moreover, the experimental studies are conducted to evaluate the diversity gain of the proposed architecture. Excellent agreement between the simulated and measurement results is obtained. The proposed architecture provides a new receiver design technique with lower complexity, power consumption and cost in MIMO systems.
Perspective of health data interoperability on cloud-based Medical Cyber-Physical Systems

Medical Cyber-Physical Systems (MCPS) refers to an interconnected, dependable and intelligent system of embedded medical devices used to monitor and control multiple aspects of the patients physiological state. These systems need to handle different type of data based on different types of sensors and other medical devices in order to understand the situation of the patient, make appropriate treatment plan or to generate alarm when needed. However, the data generated from the MCPS is not readily interoperable and accessible to all stakeholders in a seamless manner, which makes it difficult to make a treatment decision effectively for a patient. This paper studies the perspective of health data interoperability on cloud-based MCPS, and proposes a conceptual framework to support healthcare professional with an integrated view of the heterogeneous data for analyzing, sharing, and decision making.
Clinical Interventions in Aging Dovepress Facilitators and Barriers to Self-management of Nursing Home Residents: Perspectives of Health- Care Professionals in Korean Nursing Homes

Purpose: To explore facilitators and barriers to self-management from the viewpoint of staff taking care of nursing home (NH) residents with chronic diseases in South Korea. Patients and methods: A qualitative content analysis was done using the focus group interview method. A total of 23 health-care professionals (16 registered nurses and 7 social workers) were interviewed from three urban NHs, each with more than 100 beds. Results: Five facilitators were identified: grouping the residents; the resident's awareness of his/her current health status; the willingness of residents to engage in self-management; residence in the facility; and support from the staff. Additionally, seven barriers were identified: deterioration of the resident's health; the dependency expectations of the resident; hesitation in asking for help; difference in expectations between the staff and the resident's family; insufficient staffing and time; lack of standardized guidelines; and conservative tendencies of the staff due to rigid policies. Conclusion: The findings of this study can help health-care professionals recognize the factors that influence self-management and provide direction for registered nurses and other health professionals involved in supporting self-management programs for NH residents.
Scenario Building with Energy Focused Input Output Analysis for Climate Change Policy

Acknowledgement I thank all the people in this Industrial Ecology MSc programme in the Netherlands for lots of stimulus from many different study fields, especially the ones in CML (Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University) for giving me one of the best internship environments in my experience. Rene Kleijn, who has always supported my thesis as nice supervisor, had been generous for my changing and modifying research project, but still can check properly what I was doing. Reinout Heijungs, who always gave me clear, short and extremely hitting-the-point comments like sharp a knife, letting me see and sometimes even indirectly borrow the wonderful brain. Jasper van Dobben de Bruijn, who let me listen to diverse types of innovative electric music and the basic knowledge on DJ's sound architecture, which definitely inspired me in developing this model. Nakajima Foundation, who helped me to do this master programme with its financial support. I wish my research fulfills its mission. who let me survive in the extension of time for experiencing many fields of studies before coming to the Netherlands, finally to reach Industrial Ecology. SSAV (School for Advanced Studies in Venice Foundation), which has given me PhD position (Analysis and Governance for Sustainable Development) for researching on this topic further. And my family and love, you feel, therefore I am.
That one there! Pointing to establish device identity

Computing devices within current work and play environments are relatively static. As the number of 'networked' devices grows, and as people and their devices become more dynamic, situations will commonly arise where users will wish to use 'that device there' instead of navigating through traditional user interface widgets such as lists. This paper describes a process for identifying devices through a pointing gesture using custom tags and a custom stylus called the gesturePen. Implementation details for this system are provided along with qualitative and quantitative results from a formal user study. As ubiquitous computing environments become more pervasive, people will rapidly switch their focus between many computing devices. The results of our work demonstrate that our gesturePen method can improve the user experience in ubiquitous environments by facilitating significantly faster interactions between computing devices.
A case of both clear and papillary renal cell carcinomas in the left kidney

We present a patient with two types of renal cell carcinoma (clear and papillary) in the left kidney – nephrectomy was performed. Among the first symptoms, bone metastases occurred. As far as we know, this is the first reported case in literature with such an unexpected outcome, because the patient is still alive and feels good.
Authenticated Encryption in the Public-Key Setting: Security Notions and Analyses

Se urity Notions and Analyses Jee Hea An Abstra t This paper addresses the se urity of authenti ated en ryption s hemes in the publi key setting. We present two new notions of authenti ity that are stronger than the integrity notions given in the symmetri setting [5℄. We also show that hoseniphertext atta k se urity (IND-CCA) in the publi key setting is not obtained in general from the ombination of hosen-plaintext se urity (IND-CPA) and integrity of iphertext (INT-CTXT), whi h is in ontrast to the results shown in the symmetri setting [13, 5℄. We provide se urity analyses of authenti ated en ryption s hemes onstru ted by ombining a given publi key en ryption s heme and a given digital signature s heme in a \generi " manner |namely, En rypt-and-Sign, Sign-then-En rypt, and En rypt-then-Sign| and show that none of them, in general, provide se urity under all notions de ned in this paper. We then present a s heme alled ESSR that meets all se urity notions de ned here. We also give se urity analyses on an eÆ ient DiÆe-Hellman based s heme alled DHETM, whi h an be thought of as a transform of the en ryption s heme \DHIES" [1℄ into an authenti ated en ryption s heme in the publi key setting.
Activity of a β-nucleating agent for isotactic polypropylene and its influence on polymorphic transitions

The influence of a nonpigmenting β-nucleating additive in the crystallization of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) is investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. It is found that this additive induces the formation of a very high level of the trigonal modification of iPP. The crystallization and melting behavior of the nucleated systems are studied as a function of the cooling and heating rates and the control of the final temperature during the cooling process. The nucleating agent exerts an important effect on the crystallization temperatures and the polymorphic transitions of iPP, delaying the β–α recrystallization process through an increase in the stability of the trigonal crystals. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 531–539, 2002
Overexpression of HER-2/neu in uterine serous papillary cancer.

PURPOSE Uterine serous papillary carcinoma (USPC) is a highly aggressive variant of endometrial cancer and histologically similar to high-grade ovarian cancer. HER-2/neu, the transmembrane receptor encoded by the c-erbB2 gene, is overexpressed by immunohistology in approximately 25% of ovarian cancers. In this study, we have evaluated the expression of HER-2/neu in several fresh, established, paraffin-embedded, fixed USPCs. In addition, we have tested the sensitivity of USPC cells to Herceptin treatment. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Ten consecutive USPC specimens were assessed by immunohistochemistry for the intensity of expression of HER-2/neu. In addition, three USPC cell lines were analyzed for expression of HER-2/neu by flow cytometry as well as for sensitivity to Herceptin-mediated, complement-dependent cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), and inhibition of cell proliferation. RESULTS Eight of 10 (80%) of the USPCs assessed immunohistochemically for the intensity of expression of HER-2/neu stained heavily for HER-2/neu (2+ to 3+). Fresh and established primary USPC cell lines were found to express significantly more HER-2/neu receptor by flow cytometry (on the average, 10-fold greater) when compared with HER-2/neu-positive primary or established breast and ovarian cancer cell lines (P < 0.001). Importantly, although these USPC cell lines were resistant to chemotherapy in vivo and to natural killer- and complement-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro, they were found to be highly sensitive to Herceptin-mediated ADCC. USPC cell proliferation was also inhibited by Herceptin. A significant enhancement of ADCC was demonstrated when effector cells were exposed to low doses of IL-2 in vitro. Physiological concentrations of human serum IgG did not inhibit Herceptin-mediated ADCC against USPC. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of these findings and previous reports showing a positive in vivo correlation between efficacy of Herceptin therapy and the level of HER-2/neu overexpression by tumor cells, we propose that Herceptin might be a novel and attractive therapeutic strategy in patients harboring chemotherapy-resistant, recurrent, or metastatic USPC.
Patient‐Specific Finite Element Modelling and Validation of Porcine Femora in Torsion

The accuracy of biomechanical simulation has been improved by using high‐resolution computed tomography (CT) to define the geometry and material parameters. This technique has been used to assess numerous systems, including the mechanical properties of bone, fixation techniques post‐fracture and the performance of bone microarchitecture. In this study, a semi‐automated process for converting CT data into finite element (FE) models was used to model the mid‐shaft (diaphysis) of porcine femoral samples under sub‐maximal torsional and compressive load. Physical validation was undertaken to investigate if the all‐important geometry and material property mapping functioned correctly. Porcine femoral specimens were imaged using contiguous helical CT, which was converted to FE models using ScanIP from Simpleware, Exeter, UK. The heterogeneous material properties were estimated using density–elasticity relationships proposed in literature for human bone samples. Laboratory testing performed favourably, with a linear strain response validating the use of the array of linear material models used in simulation. The simulation procedure also performed well. Linear regression and mean error calculation demonstrated accurate correlation between predicted (from simulation) and observed (measured within the laboratory) results that offered improvement over the accuracy within comparative testing for human samples. Using FE modelling on a patient‐specific basis offers potential in a number of scenarios, including the determination of injury risk and design of protective equipment. The increased accessibility of animal samples allows large‐scale fracture testing of complex loading mechanisms and the potential to consider younger animal samples (to investigate the behaviour of developing bone). Spiral fractures of long bones have been demonstrated to be an indicator of non‐accidental injury in children. Combining the increased accuracy in torsional simulation in this study with younger sample testing may be employed to attempt to determine the causes of fracture from post fracture scans, aiding in the diagnosis of non‐accidental injury.