Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A self-stabilizing protocol for pipelined PIF in tree networks

Self-stabilization is a promising paradigm for achieving fault-tolerance of distributed systems. A self-stabilizing protocol can converge to its intended behavior even when it starts from any system configuration, and, thus, can tolerate any type and any number of transient faults. The PIF (propagation of information with feedback) scheme in a tree network allows the root process to broadcast its information to all other processes and to collect their responses. Many distributed systems utilize the PIF scheme as a fundamental communication scheme. This paper first formalizes the pipelined PIF in tree networks, and proposes a self-stabilizing protocol for the pipelined PIF. The protocol applies the PIF to a sequence of information in a pipelined fashion. The protocol has stabilizing time of O(h) (where h is the height of the tree network). After stabilization, it completes each PIF in O(h) asynchronous rounds and has throughput of O(1). Moreover, the protocol achieves fault-containment: for a complete binary tree network, its expected stabilizing time from 1-faulty configurations is O(1).
Slicing the battery pie: fair and efficient energy usage in device-to-device communication via role switching

By using device-to-device communication, opportunistic networks promise to fill the gap left by infrastructure-based networks in remote areas, to support communication in disaster and emergency situations, as well as to enable new local social networking applications. Yet, to become feasible in practice and accepted by the users, it is crucial that opportunistic communication is energy-efficient. In this paper, we measure and analyze the energy consumption of today's device-to-device communication technologies: Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth and WLAN-Opp (a solution based on the WLAN access point mode). We compare the energy consumption of individual operations such as neighbor discovery and connection establishment/maintenance across the different standards. We find that all of these technologies suffer from two problems. First, neighbor discovery is expensive and can quickly drain the battery if implemented carelessly. We analyze this by measuring the impact of scanning frequency on battery lifetime for the different technologies. Second, all technologies suffer from unfairness issues once a connection is established. The ``host'' of a connection consumes two to five times the energy of a "client". We propose strategies to increase fairness by alternating the hosting role among the peers. We compute the frequency of switching roles based on the distribution of the residual connection time, to achieve a good trade-off between fairness and switching cost.
A method for dance motion recognition and scoring using two-layer classifier based on conditional random field and stochastic error-correcting context-free grammar

This paper presents a unified framework for recognizing and scoring dance motion using 2-layer classifier so that computation complexity is distributed into two layers. This research examines the performance of sliding window, hidden Markov Model (HMM) and conditional random field (CRF) as the first layer classifier to segment the input video into a sequence of motion primitive label. The second layer classifier is stochastic error-correcting context-free grammar, built based on dance master knowledge, to parse the sequence of labels, builds a parse tree, and computes the accumulated dance score. The dataset for this research is captured using one Kinect camera. The training dataset is: 212 samples of 12 motion primitive samples and seven videos of Pendet dance performance. From 5-fold cross-validation, accuracy of sliding window, HMM, and CRF are 0.63, 0.79, and 0.86 respectively. This result shows that CRF achieves higher performance as a dance motion primitive recognizer than HMM as proposed by [1]. The CRF model achieves 0.88 of accuracy when motion feature is all skeleton joint angular coordinates as proposed by [2] but increases to 0.93 if the motion feature is only upper-body joint coordinates. Stochastic error-correcting context-free grammar is chosen as dance choreography model. The experiment using synthetic sequence label with cost factor ci=1 and error-sequence labels up to 50 percent shows the grammar can tolerate the input label sequence error up to 25 percent. The experiment using Pendet dance performances show that the average dance score is 79.3. The low dance score is due to several factors including: dance skill variation, unstable basic gesture repetition, high cost contributed by replacing deletion and substitution of local error by insertion operation, duration variation due the absence of timing guideline of body part motions, and limited training dataset to capture possible basic gesture variations.
Racial Disparity in Federal Criminal Sentences

Using rich data linking federal cases from arrest through to sentencing, we find that initial case and defendant characteristics, including arrest offense and criminal history, can explain most of the large raw racial disparity in federal sentences, but significant gaps remain. Across the distribution, blacks receive sentences that are almost 10 percent longer than those of comparable whites arrested for the same crimes. Most of this disparity can be explained by prosecutors’ initial charging decisions, particularly the filing of charges carrying mandatory minimum sentences. Ceteris paribus, the odds of black arrestees facing such a charge are 1.75 times higher than those of white arrestees.
[Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in workers of bovine tuberculosis sanitation farms in Antioquia, Boyacá and Cundinamarca].

Objective To perform classic and molecular epidemiological surveillance of human tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in bovine supply chains at farms with PPD positive bovines in the departments of Antioquia, Boyacá and Cundinamarca during a one-year period. Methods Livestock farms with PPD positive bovines or buffalos were visited in the study departments according to information obtained in the "Programa Nacional de Tuberculosis bovina" (National program on bovine Tuberculosis) released by ICA (Colombian Agriculture and Livestock Institute). Data on socio-demographic information and tuberculosis risk factors associated to the occupation were collected through a survey applied to all workers at the visited farms. Sputum samples were obtained after informed consent. The sputa underwent microbiological and molecular testing to identify members of the M. tuberculosis complex. Results Thirty-three livestock farms were visited and information of 164 workers from the bovine supply chain was collected. Staying in a PPD positive farm for more than a year, ignorance about the disease and the presence of possible vectors, like dogs and cats, were identified as possible risk factors for developing tuberculosis. No cases of tuberculosis caused by M. bovis or M. tuberculosis in workers of the visited farms were found. Conclusion No cases of the disease caused by this zoonotic agent were documented in the departments of Antioquia, Boyacá and Cundinamarca.
Impact of 2015 earthquakes on a local hospital in Nepal: A prospective hospital-based study

Introduction Natural disasters pose a great challenge to the health systems and individual health facilities. In low-resource settings, disaster preparedness systems are often limited and not been well described. Two devastating earthquakes hit Nepal within a 17-days period in 2015. This study aims to describe the burden and distribution of emergency cases to a local hospital. Methods This is a prospective observational study of patients presenting to a local hospital for a period of 21 days following the earthquake on April 25, 2015. Demographic and clinical information was prospectively registered for all patients in the systematic emergency registry. Systematic telephone interviews were conducted in a random sample of the patients 90 days after admission to the hospital. Results A total of 2,003 emergency patients were registered during the period. The average daily number of emergency patients during the first five days was almost five times higher (n = 150) than the pre-incident daily average (n = 35). The majority of injuries were fractures (58%), 348 (56%) in the lower extremities. A total of 345 surgical procedures were performed and the hospital treated 111 patients with severe injuries related to the earthquake (compartment syndrome, crush injury, and internal injury). Among those with follow-up interviews, over 90% reported that they had been severely affected by the earthquakes; complete house damage, living in temporary shelter, or loss of close family member. Conclusion The hospital experienced a very high caseload during the first days, and the majority of patients needed orthopaedic services. The proportion of severely injured and in-hospital deaths were relatively low, probably indicating that the most severely injured did not reach the hospital in time. The experiences underline the need for robust and easily available local health services that can respond to disasters.
Association of blood loss during delivery to B-hemoglobin.

OBJECTIVE To study the association between blood loss during delivery and B-hemoglobin before and after delivery (3 days and 10 weeks, respectively). MATERIALS AND METHODS Information on blood loss for 693 women, 93.9% of all parturients during the study period, was extracted from the original medical records. B-hemoglobin was analyzed at the antenatal maternal health care unit at the last visit before delivery, in capillary samples taken on the ward on the 3rd day, or 10 weeks after delivery. Associations were estimated with Pearson's parametric correlation coefficient. RESULTS Altogether, 31.3% of all parturients had a higher B-hemoglobin value on the 3rd day after delivery than on the last visit to the maternal health care unit before delivery; the mean intrapartum blood loss was 375 ml (range 100-2,200 ml). The correlation coefficient between B-hemoglobin on the 3rd day after delivery and blood loss was r = -0.53. When the last value recorded at the antenatal maternal health care unit was included in the analysis, the correlation coefficient remained virtually unchanged (r = -0.52). Only 14 (blood loss < or = 600 ml), or 11% (blood loss >600 ml) of the variation in the B-hemoglobin was accounted for by the amount of blood loss. No significant correlation coefficient was evident for B-hemoglobin 10 weeks after delivery vis-à-vis blood loss, irrespective of whether iron supplementation was administered (r = 0.01) or not (r = 0.17). CONCLUSION The weak association between intrapartum blood loss and B-hemoglobin suggests that the value of B-hemoglobin determined after delivery may be less indicative than previously thought. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that only a minor part (< or = 14%) of the variation in B-hemoglobin on the 3rd day after delivery is explained by the amount of blood lost.
High Sensitivity of Human Adipose Stem Cells to Differentiate into Myofibroblasts in the Presence of C. aspersa Egg Extract

Introduction Regeneration therapy using adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC) has been proposed in the treatment of skin aging. Myofibroblast plays a relevant role in the organization of the extracellular matrix of the damaged skin. A natural extract was derived from the eggs of the mollusk Cryptomphalus aspersa (e-CAF) that seems to play a role on skin repair. We have investigated the potential effects of e-CAF in the differentiation of ADSC. Materials and methods ADSC were cultured in the absence or presence of e-CAF (50 and 200 μg/mL) for 24 hours and 7 days. Real-time cell assay, morphological, immunofluorescence, and RT-PCR techniques were used to evaluate the cell culture and expression of αSMA, collagen I, and tropoelastin. Results e-CAF induced significant reduction in the rate of growth of ADSC from 24 hours to 7 days of culture. e-CAF also induced bigger sizes, higher levels of cytoplasmic refringence and complexity, and a more polyhedral morphological changes in the cultured ADSC. The protein and mRNA expression of αSMA was significantly increased in e-CAF-cultured ADSC. Conclusion e-CAF promotes ADSC differentiation to myofibroblasts and should be considered as a potential agent for the prevention and treatment of skin aging.
Structural and Magnetic Properties of Nickel Oxide Nanopowders

Structure and magnetic properties of nickel oxide (NiO) nanopowders have been studied by X-ray/neutron diffraction, SQUID magnetometer, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Our diffraction data indicate that at room temperature all NiO powders are antiferromagnetically ordered and have a rhombohedral (R-3m) phase. The SQUID magnetometry and Raman spectroscopy measurements support the presence of the antiferromagnetic ordering.
Gastric cancer: epidemiology, prevention, classification, and treatment

Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the world, the epidemiology of which has changed within last decades. A trend of steady decline in gastric cancer incidence rates is the effect of the increased standards of hygiene, conscious nutrition, and Helicobacter pylori eradication, which together constitute primary prevention. Avoidance of gastric cancer remains a priority. However, patients with higher risk should be screened for early detection and chemoprevention. Surgical resection enhanced by standardized lymphadenectomy remains the gold standard in gastric cancer therapy. This review briefly summarizes the most important aspects of gastric cancers, which include epidemiology, risk factors, classification, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. The paper is mostly addressed to physicians who are interested in updating the state of art concerning gastric carcinoma from easily accessible and credible source.
[Magnetic Resonance Imaging Conversion Predictors of Clinically Isolated Syndrome to Multiple Sclerosis].

INTRODUCTION Clinically isolated syndrome may be the first manifestation of multiple sclerosis, a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, and it is defined by a single clinical episode suggestive of demyelination. However, patients with this syndrome, even with long term follow up, may not develop new symptoms or demyelinating lesions that fulfils multiple sclerosis diagnostic criteria. We reviewed, in clinically isolated syndrome, what are the best magnetic resonance imaging findings that may predict its conversion to multiple sclerosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS A search was made in the PubMed database for papers published between January 2010 and June 2015 using the following terms: 'clinically isolated syndrome', 'cis', 'multiple sclerosis', 'magnetic resonance imaging', 'magnetic resonance' and 'mri'. RESULTS In this review, the following conventional magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities found in literature were included: lesion load, lesion location, Barkhof's criteria and brain atrophy related features. The non conventional magnetic resonance imaging techniques studied were double inversion recovery, magnetization transfer imaging, spectroscopy and diffusion tensor imaging. DISCUSSION The number and location of demyelinating lesions have a clear role in predicting clinically isolated syndrome conversion to multiple sclerosis. On the other hand, more data are needed to confirm the ability to predict this disease development of non conventional techniques and remaining neuroimaging abnormalities. CONCLUSION In forthcoming years, in addition to the established predictive value of the above mentioned neuroimaging abnormalities, different clinically isolated syndrome neuroradiological findings may be considered in multiple sclerosis diagnostic criteria and/or change its treatment recommendations.
The prioritization of symptom beliefs over illness beliefs: The development and validation of the Pain Perception Questionnaire for Young People

Objectives To investigate the suitability of the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ‐R) for use with adolescents with a long‐term pain condition and to validate a new questionnaire for use with this age group. Design A three‐phase mixed‐methods study. Methods Phase 1 comprised in‐depth qualitative analyses of audio‐recorded cognitive interviews with 20 adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who were answering IPQ‐R items. Transcripts were coded using framework analysis. A content analysis of their intended responses to individual items was also conducted. In Phase 2, a new questionnaire was developed and its linguistic and face validity were assessed with 18 adolescents without long‐term conditions. In Phase 3, the construct validity of the new questionnaire was assessed with 240 adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. A subset of 43 adolescents completed the questionnaire a second time to assess test–retest reliability. All participants were aged 11–16 years. Results Participants described both conceptual and response format difficulties when answering IPQ‐R items. In response, the Pain Perception Questionnaire for Young People (PPQ‐YP) was designed which incorporated significant modifications to both wording and response formats when compared with the IPQ‐R. A principal component analysis of the PPQ‐YP identified ten constructs in the new questionnaire. Emotional representations were separated into two constructs, responsive and anticipatory emotions. The PPQ‐YP showed high test–retest reliability. Conclusions Symptom beliefs appear to be more salient to adolescents with a long‐term pain condition than beliefs about the illness as a whole. A new questionnaire to assess pain beliefs of adolescents was designed. Further validation work may be needed to assess its suitability for use with other pain conditions. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Versions of the adult Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ‐R) have been adapted for adolescents and children by changing item wording; however, research to assess the degree to which the underlying IPQ‐R constructs are relevant to adolescents with a long‐term condition had not been performed. What the present study adds? In adolescents, beliefs about symptoms of their condition are more salient than beliefs about the illness as a whole. Question response formats for children and young people need to take account of age‐specific abilities. A new questionnaire has been designed for adolescents with pain. It is theoretically congruent with the CS‐SRM.
Molecular Evidence for a Thymus-Independent Partial T Cell Development in a FOXN1−/− Athymic Human Fetus

The thymus is the primary organ able to support T cell ontogeny, abrogated in FOXN1−/− human athymia. Although evidence indicates that in animal models T lymphocytes may differentiate at extrathymic sites, whether this process is really thymus-independent has still to be clarified. In an athymic FOXN1−/− fetus, in which we previously described a total blockage of CD4+ and partial blockage of CD8+ cell development, we investigated whether intestine could play a role as extrathymic site of T-lymphopoiesis in humans. We document the presence of few extrathymically developed T lymphocytes and the presence in the intestine of CD3+ and CD8+, but not of CD4+ cells, a few of them exhibiting a CD45RA+ naïve phenotype. The expression of CD3εεpTα, RAG1 and RAG2 transcripts in the intestine and TCR gene rearrangement was also documented, thus indicating that in humans the partial T cell ontogeny occurring at extrathymic sites is a thymus- and FOXN1-independent process.
Safety and Efficacy of a Novel Everolimus-Eluting Stent System in “Real-World” Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Report of Preliminary Outcomes

Introduction: Tetrilimus (Sahajanand Medical Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Surat, India) is a recently-introduced biodegradable-polymer coated everolimus-eluting cobalt-chromium coronary stent system with an ultra-thin strut thickness. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes with Tetrilimus coronary stents in “real-world” patients with coronary artery disease. Methods: In this retrospective, single-arm, open-label, multi-center registry, all consecutive patients who received Tetrilimus stents between July-2015 and April-2016 at two tertiary-care centers in India were analyzed. Primary endpoint was 30-day incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization, and target vessel revascularization. The Academic Research Consortium (ARC)-defined stent thrombosis was assessed as additional safety endpoint. Results: During the study period, 280 Tetrilimus stents (1.4 ± 0.5 stent/patient) were implanted to treat 252 coronary lesions (1.1 ± 0.3 stent/lesion) in 208 patients (age: 57.5 ± 11.9 years). Of study population, 65.9% were males, 46.6% were hypertensives, 25% were diabetics, 36.5% were alcoholics, 29.3% were smokers, 13.9% were tobacco chewers, 5.3% had previous revascularization, and 45.2% displayed multi-vessel disease. Of treated lesions, 67.5% were complex and 18.7% had total occlusion. Average length and diameter of implanted stents were 25.5 ± 8.8 mm and 2.9 ± 0.3 mm respectively. Subsequently, 30-day MACE were reported in 2 (0.96%) patients; both cases owing to in-hospital cardiac deaths. Events of stent thrombosis or noncardiac death were not reported in any patient. Conclusion: Low MACE rates and absence of stent thrombosis at early 30-day follow-up indicates that Tetrilimus everolimus-eluting stents may have encouraging safety and efficacy in unselected “real-world” patients with coronary artery disease.
Vaccine development for syphilis

ABSTRACT Introduction: Syphilis, caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, continues to be a globally prevalent disease despite remaining susceptible to penicillin treatment. Syphilis vaccine development is a viable preventative approach that will serve to complement public health-oriented syphilis prevention, screening and treatment initiatives to deliver a two-pronged approach to stemming disease spread worldwide. Areas covered: This article provides an overview of the need for development of a syphilis vaccine, summarizes significant information that has been garnered from prior syphilis vaccine studies, discusses the critical aspects of infection that would have to be targeted by a syphilis vaccine, and presents the current understanding within the field of the correlates of protection needed to be achieved through vaccination. Expert commentary: Syphilis vaccine development should be considered a priority by industry, regulatory and funding agencies, and should be appropriately promoted and supported.
Influence of early cover screw exposure on crestal bone loss around implants: intraindividual comparison of bone level at exposed and non-exposed implants.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of early exposure of the cover screw on crestal bone loss around implants. METHODS The study population consisted of 19 patients who were treated with dental implants placed using a two-stage surgical protocol and had early exposed and non-exposed implants (20 early exposed and 20 non-exposed implants). The crestal bone loss at exposed and non-exposed implants in each patient was evaluated with a periapical radiograph taken at the first surgery and at suprastructure insertion using a computerized image-analysis system. The bone loss was compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS The mean crestal bone loss at exposed implants was 0.40 +/- 0.53 mm, and it was 0.18 +/- 0.26 mm at non-exposed implants. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed a statistically significant difference in crestal bone loss between exposed and non-exposed implants in the same patient (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS The early exposure of the cover screw that results in breakdown of the mucosal seal seems to accelerate early peri-implant crestal bone loss. Periodic follow-up after the first surgery may be critical for minimizing the influence of early exposure.