Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of large scale inhomogeneities on the luminosity distance

We study the form of the luminosity distance as a function of redshift in the presence of large scale inhomogeneities, with sizes of order 10 Mpc or larger. We approximate the Universe through the Swiss-cheese model, with each spherical region described by the Lemaitre–Tolman–Bondi metric. We study the propagation of light beams in this background, assuming that the locations of the source and the observer are random. We derive the optical equations for the evolution of the beam area and shear. Through their integration we determine the configurations that can lead to an increase of the luminosity distance relative to the homogeneous cosmology. We find that this can be achieved if the Universe is composed of spherical void-like regions, with matter concentrated near their surface. For inhomogeneities consistent with the observed large scale structure, the relative increase of the luminosity distance is of the order of a few per cent at redshifts near 1, and falls short of explaining the substantial increase required by the supernova data. On the other hand, the effect we describe is important for the correct determination of the energy content of the Universe from observations.
Higher-Dimensional Packing with Order Constraints

We present a first exact study on higher-dimensional packing problems with order constraints. Problems of this type occur naturally in applications such as logistics or computer architecture and can be interpreted as higher-dimensional generalizations of scheduling problems. Using graph-theoretic structures to describe feasible solutions, we develop a novel exact branch-and-bound algorithm. This extends previous work by Fekete and Schepers; a key tool is a new order-theoretic characterization of feasible extensions of a partial order to a given comparability graph that is tailor-made for use in a branch-and-bound environment. The usefulness of our approach is validated by computational results.
Insurer Ownership Structure and Executive Compensation as Complements

The authors apply results on complementarities to theories of insurance companies' choices of ownership structure and executive compensation. They identify minimal restrictions on the interaction between firm policies and exogenous characteristics for theories to have testable implications for reduced-form regression coefficients. Obtaining testable implications for structural-equation regression coefficients requires additional identifying restrictions. The authors' analysis highlights a basic tradeoff between theory and statistical methods.
Room Temperature Ionic Liquids as Green Solvent Alternatives in the Metathesis of Oleochemical Feedstocks

One of the most important areas of green chemistry is the application of environmentally friendly solvents in catalysis and synthesis. Conventional organic solvents pose a threat to the environment due to the volatility, highly flammability, toxicity and carcinogenic properties they exhibit. The recently emerged room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are promising green solvent alternatives to the volatile organic solvents due to their ease of reuse, non-volatility, thermal stability and ability to dissolve a variety of organic and organometallic compounds. This review explores the use of RTILs as green solvent media in olefin metathesis for applications in the oleochemical industry.
Efficient data consistency in HLA/DIS++

Simulation exercises based on the DIS paradigm are faced with a severe scalability limitation due to the use of time out updates or "heartbeat" messages for maintaining consistency despite message loss. Since they carry information that is redundant and useless in most cases, these messages represent a waste of network bandwidth and computational resources. This paper presents an elegant solution that eliminates heartbeats without compromising consistency. Rather than using additional schemes and software components as others have done, the solution proposed here consists of careful use of reliable and unreliable communications based on a key insight into the communication properties of DIS-based simulations. Not only does our solution eliminate heartbeats, it also minimizes additional resource consumption by using reliable communications minimally. Finally, due to its simplicity, it can be easily incorporated into HLA-compliant simulations.
Morse taper dental implants and platform switching: The new paradigm in oral implantology

The aim of this study was to conduct a literature review on the potential benefits with the use of Morse taper dental implant connections associated with small diameter platform switching abutments. A Medline bibliographical search (from 1961 to 2014) was carried out. The following search items were explored: “Bone loss and platform switching,” “bone loss and implant-abutment joint,” “bone resorption and platform switching,” “bone resorption and implant-abutment joint,” “Morse taper and platform switching. ” “Morse taper and implant-abutment joint,” Morse taper and bone resorption,” “crestal bone remodeling and implant-abutment joint,” “crestal bone remodeling and platform switching. ” The selection criteria used for the article were: meta-analysis; randomized controlled trials; prospective cohort studies; as well as reviews written in English, Portuguese, or Spanish languages. Within the 287 studies identified, 81 relevant and recent studies were selected. Results indicated a reduced occurrence of peri-implantitis and bone loss at the abutment/implant level associated with Morse taper implants and a reduced-diameter platform switching abutment. Extrapolation of data from previous studies indicates that Morse taper connections associated with platform switching have shown less inflammation and possible bone loss with the peri-implant soft tissues. However, more long-term studies are needed to confirm these trends.
Adrenomedullin for Risk Stratification of Emergency Patients With Nonspecific Complaints

AbstractPatients with nonspecific complaints (NSC) presenting to the emergency department (ED) are at risk of life-threatening conditions. New stress biomarkers such as the midregional portion of adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) promise to support decision-making. This study tested the following hypotheses: biomarker-assisted disposition of patients with NSC will not increase mortality. Second, discharge from the ED will increase if clinical risk assessment is combined with low MR-proADM levels. Third, inappropriate disposition to a lower level of care will decrease, if clinical assessment is combined with high MR-proADM levels, and fourth that this algorithm is feasible in the ED setting.Prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled interventional feasibility study with a 30-day follow-up, including patients with NSC. Patients were randomly assigned to either the standard group (decision-making solely based on clinical assessment) or the Novum group (biomarker-assisted). Regarding disposition, patients were assigned to 1 of 3 risk classes: high-risk (admission to hospital), intermediate risk (community geriatric hospital), and low-risk patients (discharge). In the Novum group, in addition to clinical risk assessment, the information of the MR-proADM level was used. Unless there were overruling criteria, patients were transferred or discharged according to the risk assessment. Primary endpoint was 30-day mortality. Secondary endpoints were comparisons of patient disposition and related mortality rates, ED, and hospital length of stay and readmission.The final study cohort consisted of 398 patients (210 in the Standard group and 188 in the Novum group). Overruling, that is, disposition not according to the result of the proposed algorithm occurred in 51 cases. Baseline characteristics between Standard and Novum groups were similar. The mortality rate in the Novum group was 4.3%, as compared to the Standard group mortality of 6.2%, which was not significantly different (intention-to treat analysis). This was confirmed by the perprotocol analysis as well as by sensitivity analysis. For the secondary endpoints, no significant differences were detected.Biomarker-assisted disposition is safe in patients with NSC. Discharge rates did not increase. Feasibility could only partly be shown due to an unexpectedly high overruling rate. Inappropriate disposition to lower levels of care did not change.ClinicalTrials. gov Identifier: NCT00920491
A Distributed Key Based Security Framework for Private Clouds

Cloud computing in its various forms continues to grow in popularity as organizations of all sizes seek to capitalize on the cloud’s scalability, externalization of infrastructure and administration and generally reduced application deployment costs. But while the attractiveness of these public cloud services is obvious, the ability to capitalize on these benefits is significantly limited for those organization requiring high levels of data security. It is often difficult if not impossible from a legal or regulatory perspective for government agencies or health services organizations for instance to use these cloud services given their many documented data security issues. As a middle ground between the benefits and security concerns of public clouds, hybrid clouds have emerged as an attractive alternative; limiting access, conceptually, to users within an organization or within a specific subset of users within an organization. Private clouds being significant options in hybrid clouds, however, are still susceptible to security vulnerabilities, a fact which points to the necessity of security frameworks capable of addressing these issues. In this paper we introduce the Treasure Island Security Framework (TISF), a conceptual security framework designed to specifically address the security needs of private clouds. We have based our framework on a Distributed Key and Sequentially Addressing Distributed file system (DKASA); itself borrowing heavily from the Google File System and Hadoop. Our approach utilizes a distributed key methodology combined with sequential chunk addressing and dynamic reconstruction of metadata to produce a more secure private cloud. The goal of this work is not to evaluate framework from an operational perspective but to instead provide the conceptual underpinning for the TISF. Experimental findings from our evaluation of the framework within a pilot project will be provided in a subsequent work.
Nested Lattice Codes for Vector Perturbation Systems

Vector perturbation is an encoding method for broadcast channels in which the transmitter solves a shortest vector problem in a lattice to create a perturbation vector, which is then added to the data before transmission. In this work, we introduce nested lattice codes into vector perturbation systems, resulting in a strategy which we deem matrix perturbation. We propose design criteria for the nested lattice codes, and show empirically that lattices satisfying these design criteria can improve the performance of vector perturbation systems. The resulting design criteria are the same as those recently proposed for the Compute-and-Forward protocol.
An edge-based mesh segmentation method for engineering objects

This paper proposes a triangle mesh segmentation technique for conventional engineering objects. We exploited two key aspects of engineering geometry: (1) the intrinsic discontinuities existing in boundary surfaces and (2) the anisotropic behavior of true discontinuities. A two run non-linear diffusion algorithm based on an optimal estimation theory is designed to filter out undesired discontinuities. The first run is for treating C1 continuities where the crease edges are detected using anisotropic re-estimation of triangle normal. The second run is for handling C2 continuities in which transition edges are derived through diffusion of curvature tensor associated with each triangle. Morphological operator and geometric snake model are implemented for interpolating smooth and closed feature loops. Results indicate that our method can determine surface patch layout satisfactorily.
Let the Solver Deal with Redundancy

Handling redundancy in propositional reasoning and search is an active path of theoretical research. For instance, the complexity of some redundancy-related problems for CNF formulae and for their 2-SAT and Horn SAT fragments have been recently studied. However, this issue is not actually addressed in practice in modern SAT solvers, and is most of the time just ignored. Dealing with redundancy in CNF formulae while preserving the performance of SAT solvers is clearly an important challenge. In this paper, a self-adaptative process is proposed to manage redundant clauses, enabling redundant information to be discriminated and to keep only the one that proves useful during the search.
Astrochemical confirmation of the rapid evolution of massive YSOs and explanation for the inferred ages of hot cores

Aims. To understand the roles of infall and protostellar evolution on the envelopes of massive young stellar objects (YSOs). Methods. The chemical evolution of gas and dust is traced, including infall and realistic source evolution. The temperatures are determined self-consistently. Both ad/desorption of ices using recent laboratory temperature-programmed-desorption measurements are included. Results. The observed water abundance jump near 100 K is reproduced by an evaporation front which moves outward as the luminosity increases. Ion-molecule reactions produce water below 100 K. The age of the source is constrained to $t \sim 8 \pm 4 \times 10^{4}$ yrs since YSO formation. It is shown that the chemical age-dating of hot cores at ~$\mathrm{few} \times 10^{3}$–10 4 yr and the disappearance of hot cores on a timescale of ~10 5 yr is a natural consequence of infall in a dynamic envelope and protostellar evolution. Dynamical structures of ~$350\,\,\mathrm{AU}$ such as disks should contain most of the complex second generation species. The assumed order of desorption kinetics does not affect these results.
Inhibition of Striatal Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase-cGMP Signaling Reverses Basal Ganglia Dysfunction and Akinesia in Experimental Parkinsonism

Objective There is clearly a necessity to identify novel non-dopaminergic mechanisms as new therapeutic targets for Parkinson's disease (PD). Among these, the soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC)-cGMP signaling cascade is emerging as a promising candidate for second messenger-based therapies for the amelioration of PD symptoms. In the present study, we examined the utility of the selective sGC inhibitor 1H-[1], [2], [4] oxadiazolo-[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ) for reversing basal ganglia dysfunction and akinesia in animal models of PD. Methods The utility of the selective sGC inhibitor ODQ for reversing biochemical, electrophysiological, histochemical, and behavioral correlates of experimental PD was performed in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats and mice chronically treated with MPTP. Results We found that one systemic administration of ODQ is sufficient to reverse the characteristic elevations in striatal cGMP levels, striatal output neuron activity, and metabolic activity in the subthalamic nucleus observed in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. The latter outcome was reproduced after intrastriatal infusion of ODQ. Systemic administration of ODQ was also effective in improving deficits in forelimb akinesia induced by 6-OHDA and MPTP. Interpretation Pharmacological inhibition of the sGC-cGMP signaling pathway is a promising non-dopaminergic treatment strategy for restoring basal ganglia dysfunction and attenuating motor symptoms associated with PD.
Survey of wavelet-domain watermarking algorithms

In this paper, we will provide an overview of the wavelet-based watermarking techniques available today. We will see how previously proposed methods such as spread-spectrum watermarking have been applied to the wavelet transform domain in a variety of ways and how new concepts such as the multi-resolution property of the wavelet image decomposition can be exploited. One of the main advantages of watermarking in the wavelet domain is its compatibility with the upcoming image coding standard, JPEG2000. Although many wavelet-domain watermarking techniques have been proposed, only few fit the independent block coding approach of JPEG2000. We will illustrate how different watermarking techniques relate to image compression and examine the robustness of selected watermarking algorithms against image compression.
MoWeT: A Configurable Framework to Support Ubiquitous Location-Aware Applications

Today, GPS enabled systems are extensively used for geographic navigation in almost all contexts (commercial, personal, etc.). The first limit of these systems is their incapacity to work in covered areas, alley streets and, obviously, inside buildings. Furthermore commercial GPS applications are not enough customizable, only allowing user to add a set of POIs (Points Of Interest) without any capability of adding user defined behaviors. Recently, other kind of technologies, such as RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) and Bluetooth, are being used to develop location based applications, like context aware services usable in indoor environment. In this paper we present a hybrid system called MoWeT that make use of both GPS and RFID technology and that is fully customizable in regard of contents, events, user interactions. MoWeT allows also, users involved in the same work session, to interact each other through their mobile devices, making use of a central communication server, but also with users connected to the same session, but with a 3D view, with their workstations (mixed reality). In this paper we focus on the usage as enhanced personal tourist guidance with mobile connectivity.
A randomized controlled trial of an appearance-based dietary intervention.

OBJECTIVE Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption precipitates preventable morbidity and mortality. The efficacy of an appearance-based dietary intervention was investigated, which illustrates the beneficial effect that fruit and vegetable consumption has on skin appearance. METHODS Participants were randomly allocated to three groups receiving information-only or a generic or own-face appearance-based intervention. Diet was recorded at baseline and 10 weekly follow-ups. Participants in the generic and own-face intervention groups witnessed on-screen stimuli and received printed photographic materials to illustrate the beneficial effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on skin color. RESULTS Controlling for baseline diet, a significant effect of intervention group was found on self-reported fruit and vegetable intake among 46 completers who were free of medical and personal reasons preventing diet change. The own-face appearance-based intervention group reported a significant, sustained improvement in fruit and vegetable consumption whereas the information-only and generic appearance-based intervention groups reported no significant dietary changes. CONCLUSIONS Seeing the potential benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption on own skin color may motivate dietary improvement.
Origins and estimates of uncertainty in predictions of twenty-first century temperature rise

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Cleaning of Ancient Document Images Using Modified Iterative Global Threshold

Ancient document Image processing is an important area attracting many researchers in the recent period. Binarization is the first step while cleaning the document for further processing. Based on the degradation of the original document, either global or local thresholding methods are preferred. Thresholding phenomenon is a simple and practical approach to identify the cluster of pixels that are most likely associated with background information, while separating the object information. In this paper we propose a modified iterative global thresholding approach to separate the clusters of fore ground and background. The relative closeness towards background intensity is computed in each iteration after image equalization. Camera captured images of ancient printed documents, stone carvings and palm leaves are evaluated in the present paper.
Cardiac dysfunction in adipose triglyceride lipase deficiency: treatment with a PPARα agonist

Adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) has been identified as a rate‐limiting enzyme of mammalian triglyceride catabolism. Deletion of the ATGL gene in mice results in severe lipid accumulation in a variety of tissues including the heart. In the present study we investigated cardiac function in ATGL‐deficient mice and the potential therapeutic effects of the PPARα and γ agonists Wy14,643 and rosiglitazone, respectively.
Long-Term In Vivo Imaging of Fibrillar Tau in the Retina of P301S Transgenic Mice

Tauopathies are widespread neurodegenerative disorders characterised by the intracellular accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau. Especially in Alzheimer's disease, pathological alterations in the retina are discussed as potential biomarkers to improve early diagnosis of the disease. Using mice expressing human mutant P301S tau, we demonstrate for the first time a straightforward optical approach for the in vivo detection of fibrillar tau in the retina. Longitudinal examinations of individual animals revealed the fate of single cells containing fibrillar tau and the progression of tau pathology over several months. This technique is most suitable to monitor therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing the accumulation of fibrillar tau. In order to evaluate if this approach can be translated to human diagnosis, we tried to detect fibrillar protein aggregates in the post-mortem retinas of patients that had suffered from Alzheimer's disease or Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Even though we could detect hyperphosphorylated tau, we did not observe any fibrillar tau or Aß aggregates. In contradiction to previous studies, our observations do not support the notion that Aβ or tau in the retina are of diagnostic value in Alzheimer's disease.