Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statistical Foundation of Spectral Graph Theory

Spectral graph theory is undoubtedly the most favored graph data analysis technique, both in theory and practice. It has emerged as a versatile tool for a wide variety of applications including data mining, web search, quantum computing, computer vision, image segmentation, and among others. However, the way in which spectral graph theory is currently taught and practiced is rather mechanical, consisting of a series of matrix calculations that at first glance seem to have very little to do with statistics, thus posing a serious limitation to our understanding of graph problems from a statistical perspective. Our work is motivated by the following question: How can we develop a general statistical foundation of "spectral heuristics" that avoids the cookbook mechanical approach? A unified method is proposed that permits frequency analysis of graphs from a nonparametric perspective by viewing it as function estimation problem. We show that the proposed formalism incorporates seemingly unrelated spectral modeling tools (e.g., Laplacian, modularity, regularized Laplacian, etc.) under a single general method, thus providing better fundamental understanding. It is the purpose of this paper to bridge the gap between two spectral graph modeling cultures: Statistical theory (based on nonparametric function approximation and smoothing methods) and Algorithmic computing (based on matrix theory and numerical linear algebra based techniques) to provide transparent and complementary insight into graph problems.
The Use of Knee Braces, Part 1: Prophylactic Knee Braces in Contact Sports

Surrogate knee model biomechanical studies have indicated that off-the-shelf braces provide 20% to 30% greater resistance to a lateral blow when the knee is in full extension. Custom functional braces doubled the protective effects and proved effective with the knee in some flexion. Although functional performance studies are not consistent, preventive knee braces may slow straight-ahead sprint speed, cause early fatigue, and increase muscular relaxation pressures, energy expenditure, blood lactate levels, maximal torque output, oxygen consumption, and heart rate. Two epidemiologic studies have been performed. At West Point, a randomized control study of 71 injuries in 1396 cadets indicated knee brace effectiveness with a statistically higher rate of injury in the control group (3.4/1000 exposures) than in the braced group (1.5/1000 exposures), with the most significance for medial collateral ligament sprains in defensive players. The Big Ten Conference conducted a descriptive study of 100 medial collateral ligament sprains among 987 players in different positions, strings, and types of session. Brace-wear tendency varied directly with the unbraced player counterpart's risk of medial collateral ligament sprain, with the nonplayer linemen experiencing both the greatest risk of unbraced practice session injury (0.0801 injuries/1000 exposures) and the highest incidence of brace wear (85%). During practices, there was a nonsignificant but very consistent reduction in injury rate for braced players in every position and string. During games, there was also a reduced rate for linemen and the linebacker/tight end group. The study concluded that although the issue is not closed, preventive knee braces appear to offer some protection to the medial collateral ligament from a contact injury involving a valgus blow, but there may be negative effects on performance level, leg cramping, and fatigue symptoms.
Desmethionine alkylamide bombesin analogues: a new class of bombesin receptor antagonists with potent antisecretory activity in pancreatic acini and antimitotic activity in Swiss 3T3 cells.

Bombesin-related peptides have a large number of physiological functions as well as having an autocrine growth mechanism for the regulation of small cell lung cancer cells. In the present study we have synthesized 21 des-Met amide or alkylamide analogues of bombesin and compared their abilities to function as bombesin receptor antagonists in guinea pig pancreatic acini and Swiss 3T3 cells with those of the previously most potent antagonist described, [Leu13 psi(CH2NH)Leu14]bombesin (analogue I). All des-Met analogues functioned as antagonists. Bn(1-13)NH2 was approximately equipotent to I (Ki = 60-80 nM) whereas Bn(6-13)NH2 was 30-fold less potent (Ki = 1800 nM). Formation of an ethylamide, Bn(6-13)ethylamide, increased the potency 30-fold such that this octapeptide was equipotent to I. The addition of a D-Phe6 moiety to I did not change potency but caused a 30-fold increase in potency of Bn(6-13)NH2 and a 8-fold increase in the potency of Bn(6-13)ethylamide (Ki = 16 nM). Additional studies of both NH2- and COOH-terminal alterations in Bn(6-13)NH2 demonstrated that the most potent antagonist was [D-Phe6]Bn(6-13)propylamide (PA), having IC50's of 1.6 nM and 0.8 nM for bombesin-stimulated amylase release and Swiss 3T3 cell growth, respectively. Detailed studies of the most potent amide analogue, [D-Phe6]Bn(6-13)NH2, and alkylamide analogue, [D-Phe6]Bn(6-13)PA, demonstrated that these analogues functioned as competitive antagonists and that their action was selective for the bombesin receptor. These results demonstrate that, as with CCK- and gastrin-related peptides, the C-terminal amino acid is important for initiating a biologic response but not essential for determining receptor affinity. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Energy Efficient Broadcasting Based on Ant Colony System Optimization Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks

Broadcasting operation is used to distribute the information from one WSNs node to all nodes. In this paper, we develop a protocol for energy efficient Broadcasting based on Ant colony system Optimization Algorithm that is called BAOA. We present the procedure of BAOA including six steps when searching the optimized broadcasting path in WSNs and design BAOA with UMI. We also simulate BAOA with C++ language and the results show the lifetime of BAOA is longer and the total energy consumption is less than BIP.
Collaborative Filtering with query logs in Search engines

In this paper we study a large query log of more than twenty million queries with the goal of extracting the semantic relations that are implicitly captured in the actions of users submitting queries and clicking answers. Previous query log analyses were mostly done with just the queries and not the actions that followed after them. We rst propose a novel way to represent queries in a vector space based on a graph derived from the query-click bipartite graph. We then an- alyze the graph produced by our query log, showing that it is less sparse than previous results suggested, and that almost all the measures of these graphs follow power laws, shedding some light on the searching user behavior as well as on the distribution of topics that people want in the Web. The representation we introduce allows to infer interesting semantic relationships between queries. Second, we provide an experimental analysis on the quality of these relations, showing that most of them are relevant. Finally we sketch an application that detects multitopical URLs.
Rapid prototyping of low cost 1 DOF haptic interfaces

The paper describes the issues related to the implementation and the control of a low cost 1DOF haptic device. Arduino, which has been widely adopted in the interaction design schools as a means to produce low cost, low-fi and rapid prototypes of interactive systems, has been used here as an alternative to more performing electronic control boards to control a DC motor and simulate a haptic knob. The idea is to explore the possibility of creating simple prototypes of haptic devices before building the final product. At this stage we have explored the implementation of a simple haptic knob, trying to identify the main issues. In particular, some control strategies have been used for the motor, and pros and cons are described in the paper.
Psychological Impact of Significantly Short Stature

These baseline data confirm that many children with significantly short stature are vulnerable to diverse developmental, social and educational problems, and substantiate the importance of a multidisciplinary treatment approach that includes a comprehensive psychological and medical assessment. The psychological assessment should focus on the early detection of problems in academic achievement and psychosocial development, in order that appropriate educational and counselling interventions can be provided. The paediatrician can also foster a positive relationship with patients and their families to facilitate treatment compliance and improve overall outcome in several ways. These include a simple explanation of the aetiology of the child's short stature and how the diagnosis was made, a review of the treatment protocol that includes information about potential side-effects and suggestions for minimizing conflicts about injections, and an open discussion of prognosis to help families develop realistic expectations. It is further suggested that paediatricians stress that treatment outcome should be assessed in psychological terms, such as increased responsibility, as well as physical growth. These anticipatory interventions will help to ensure that the eventual outcome of comprehensive treatment is an optimally functioning young adult.
Excretion in feces and mucosal persistence of Salmonella ser. Typhimurium in pigs subclinically infected with Oesophagostomum spp.

OBJECTIVE To determine interactions between Oesophagostomum spp and Salmonella ser. Typhimurium in pigs. ANIMALS 30 healthy 5- to 6-week-old pigs. PROCEDURE Pigs were allotted to 3 groups (n = 10 pigs/group) and treated as follows: group A was given Oesophagostomum dentatum and O quadrispinulatum; group B was given O dentatum, O quadrispinulatum, and S Typhimurium; and group C was given S Typhimurium only. Pigs in groups A and B were trickle infected with Oesophagostomum spp 3 times weekly throughout the study. After 19 days, groups B and C were inoculated once with S Typhimurium. One pig from each group was euthanatized on the day of Salmonella exposure and 2 and 4 days after Salmonella exposure. The remaining pigs were euthanatized on days 16 and 17 after Salmonella exposure. RESULTS Pigs with dual infections of nematodes and bacteria (group B) excreted significantly higher amounts of S Typhimurium in feces, compared with nematode-free pigs (group C). In addition, group-B pigs excreted S Typhimurium on more days than pigs in group C. Salmonella Typhimurium was detected in the cecum and colon in the majority of pigs in group B, whereas S Typhimurium was only detected in the colon in pigs in group C. Immunohistochemical examination detected S Typhimurium in 7 of 9 pigs in group B but only 2 of 9 pigs in group C. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Interactions between intestinal nematodes and bacteria may play an important role in the dynamics of S Typhimurium infections.
Probability Distributions of Field Crop Yields

After first establishing an "a priori" expectation of nonnormality, the paper presents statistical analyses of several experimental series of field crop yields. This clinical examination suggests the following plausible inferences: The several series may be regarded as more or less random samples from stable parent probability distributions. Both normality and lognormality appear to be exceptions rather than the rule with respect to those distributions that may properly be inferred from the stochastic properties of the several series. The Pearson system of probability density functions is then applied to the data. The sample moments imply the type I (generalized Beta) skewed function of limited range as the general case. Estimates of this function are obtained for each series. The degree of skewness and kurtosis is shown to depend on nitrogen level. Implications for farm planning are discussed. Each statistical technique used is described and critically reviewed.
Auctions with Incumbents and Newcomers

We study the performance of the first-price format in auctions with asymmetric common-values. We show that, contrary to the result for second price auctions, a small advantage for one player translates only to small changes in bidders� strategies, and the equilibrium remains close to the first-price equilibrium of the original game. We characterize the equilibrium bidding strategies and their behavior as the degree of asymmetry increases. Finally, we study the performance, to enhance the government revenue, of several instruments to favor designated bidders.
Exploring the Genetic Resistance to Gastrointestinal Nematodes Infection in Goat Using RNA-Sequencing

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) are one of the most economically important parasites of small ruminants and a major animal health concern in many regions of the world. However, the molecular mechanisms of the host response to GIN infections in goat are still little known. In this study, two genetically distinct goat populations, one relatively resistant and the other susceptible to GIN infections, were identified in Yichang goat and then four individuals in each group were chosen to compare mRNA expression profiles using RNA-seq. Field experiment showed lower worm burden, delayed and reduced egg production in the relatively resistant group than the susceptible group. The analysis of RNA-seq showed that 2369 genes, 1407 of which were up-regulated and 962 down-regulated, were significantly (p < 0.001) differentially expressed between these two groups. Functional annotation of the 298 genes more highly expressed in the resistant group yielded a total of 46 significant (p < 0.05) functional annotation clusters including 31 genes (9 in innate immunity, 13 in immunity, and 9 in innate immune response) related to immune biosynthetic process as well as transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) pathways. Our findings provide insights that are immediately relevant for the improvement of host resistance to GIN infections and which will make it possible to know the mechanisms underlying the resistance of goats to GIN infections.
Morbidity and mortality pattern of very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight neonates in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Although the mortality and morbidity rates for Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) and Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) neonates have improved over last few decades, they still remain highly vulnerable groups. This study determines the neonatal morbidity and mortality within first four weeks of life in VLBW and ELBW neonates.Methods: It was a hospital based prospective study conducted in the department of paediatrics at GB Pant hospital, an associated hospital of Government Medical College Srinagar. All included neonates were evaluated in neonatology section and were followed up to 4 weeks of life. Standard protocols were used for management of these neonates.Results: A total of 116 neonates were included in the study. Among the 116 neonates 82 (70.69%) were VLBW and 34 (29.31%) were ELBW. 28 (34.14%) VLBW and 18 (52.94%) ELBW neonates died. Among the morbidities Respiratory Distress Syndrome was found in 35.37% of VLBW and 70.59% of ELBW neonates, out of which 12.20% VLBW and 20.58% ELBW neonates developed Bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Perinatal asphyxia was found in 20.73% of VLBW and 29.41% of ELBW neonates and Pathological apnea occurred in 28.04% VLBW and 85.29% ELBW neonates. 40.24% VLBW and 73.53% ELBW neonates developed clinically significant jaundice requiring treatment. Clinical sepsis was found in 43.90% VLBW and 67.65% ELBW neonates while as culture proven sepsis was found in 26.83% VLBW and 41.18% ELBW neonates. Intra ventricular haemorrhage was found in 15.85% VLBW and 52.94% ELBW neonates. Necrotizing enterocolitis developed in 18.29% VLBW and 35.29% ELBW neonates. Retinopathy of prematurity was found in 21.95% VLBW and 26.47% ELBW neonates. Patent ductus arteriosus was found in 14.63% VLBW and 32.35% ELBW neonates.Conclusions: Present study has shown Respiratory distress syndrome, perinatal asphyxia and sepsis as the predominant causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality and these are preventable with a proper health care system and policy directed to the primary prevention.
Extracellular superoxide dismutase has a highly specific localization in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis/usual interstitial pneumonia

Aims : Recent studies suggest the importance of oxidant stress in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. The aim of this study was to investigate extracellular superoxide dismutase (ECSOD), the major antioxidant enzyme of the extracellular matrix of human lung, in biopsy‐proven idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) related to usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP).
Barriers to research utilization by registered nurses in Taiwan.

This cross-sectional study was designed to identify barriers to research utilization among registered nurses (N = 510) in clinical settings in Taiwan. Data were collected by mailed survey. Barriers were measured by the Barriers to Research Utilization Scale-Chinese version, which has four subscales: characteristics of the adopter (nurse), organization (setting barriers and limitations), innovation (research qualities), and communication (presentation/accessibility of the research). Research utilization was predicted by frequency of reading professional literature, years of research experience, hospital classification, and the barriers of communication, innovation, and adopter characteristics. These findings indicate the need to enhance Taiwanese nurses' research efficacy, research-based information, and research experiences. Nursing administrators should create a research-friendly climate and support implementing research findings.
Comparing the Performance of Multispectral and Hyperspectral Images for Estimating Vegetation Properties

Multispectral and hyperspectral data have been used to investigate various land cover characteristics. Hyperspectral data have more potential to retrieve information of ground features than multispectral data; however, their limited availability leads to fewer studies in the literature. This research aims to acquire both multispectral and hyperspectral images and compare their performance for estimating vegetation properties (i.e., chlorophyll content). A hyperspectral image (with 325 bands in the visible near infrared (NIR) range) was obtained using a compact hyperspectral sensor mounted on a manned helicopter. A modified camera-based three-band image (with blue, green, and NIR) and a RedEdge sensor-based five-band image (with blue, green, red, red edge, and NIR) were simulated using the hyperspectral image. These three images were compared for the estimation of vegetation chlorophyll content. Partial least square (PLS) regression and random forest regression (RFR) were both applied to estimate chlorophyll using image-derived variables, including vegetation indices and imagery textures. Results show that the RedEdge image achieved good accuracy (R2 ∼ 0.80, RMSE ∼ 14 μg/cm2), close to the accuracy of using the hyperspectral image (R2 ∼ 0.81, RMSE ∼ 13 μg/cm2). The extra bands in the hyperspectral image did not substantially improve chlorophyll estimation. The three-band multispectral image yielded the lowest accuracy (e.g., R2 ∼ 0.42, RMSE ∼ 24 μg/cm2). The RFR performed consistently better than the PLS, owing to its use of randomly-selected training data and predictor variables to build regression trees. These results are expected to provide insights into future studies on the selection of remote sensing images for different monitoring needs.
A new method of two-photon absorption spectrum measurement by supercontinuum

A new non-generated two photon absorption (TPA) spectrum measurement was demonstrated. A white light super continuum beam (WLSC) with spectrum range from 500 nm to 720 nm was used for the measurement. With 800 nm fundamental beam, a wide TPA spectrum of Rhodamine 6G was acquired in a single-step procedure.
Amorphous/crystalline silicon interface characterization by capacitance and conductance measurements

We have deposited intrinsic amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) using the ECR-CVD (Electron Cyclotron Resonance Chemical Vapor Deposition) technique, and we have analyzed the interface between a-Si:H and crystalline silicon (c-Si). In order to obtain the a-Si:H/c-Si density of interface defects (Dit), we have followed the conductance method proposed by E. H. Nicollian and A. Goetzberger, normally applied to characterize MIS (Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor) structures. In this work we have considered that the intrinsic amorphous silicon behaves as an insulator for low bias. Values of the Dit lower than 1011 cm-1eV-1 were obtained for our samples.
Pretreatment prognostic factors for survival in patients with advanced urothelial tumors treated in a phase I/II trial with paclitaxel, cisplatin, and gemcitabine

New chemotherapeutic agents, including paclitaxel and gemcitabine, are active in advanced bladder carcinoma, and combination regimens with these agents have shown promising results. Unlike conventional chemotherapy regimens, such as methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin, there are no data available on key predictive factors for response and survival with these novel agents. Since this information is needed for selection of patients for these new combinations and for stratification purposes in ongoing randomized trials, the authors aimed to study the predictive factors for response and survival to the current regimen containing cisplatin, paclitaxel, and gemcitabine.
Evolved-Profile Dielectric Rod Antennas

A systematic approach is presented for the design of profiled dielectric rod antennas that satisfy specified radiation pattern objectives. The approach uses a body of revolution method of moments technique to rapidly analyze arbitrarily profiled dielectric rods while a genetic algorithm is used to achieve the design objectives. As examples we present dielectric rod designs optimized for maximum gain and low sidelobes. These designs are compared with a conventional linear profile design. Measured results are presented and these are shown to agree well with the calculated radiation patterns. We show that improved gain and sidelobe performance is achieved using a non-linear rod profile compared to a standard linear profile. The generality of the approach is demonstrated with a shaped beam antenna design that has a cosecant-squared pattern.