Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FLoc: Device-free passive indoor localization in complex environments

Localization in complex indoor environments with RF signal is a challenging task. Via this technique, the signal is easily affected by obstacles and environmental noise due to the broadcast nature of RF signal transmission. In this paper, we observe that seismic signal is more oriented than the RF signal, and thus is more suitable for localization in an complex indoor environment with obstacles. Motivated by this observation, we propose a device-free passive indoor localization system, namely Floc, that can fight against environmental impact and achieve high localization accuracy. FLoc is composed of three modules, which are sensing module that collects seismic signal from footsteps, footstep detection module that remove the environmental impact and recover the clean footsteps, and localization module that leverages seismic signal from footsteps for positioning. We implement FLoc on credit-card sized single-board computer Raspberry Pi equipped with geophones. To verify the effectiveness of our system, we conduct extensive experiments for different scenario in a complex indoor environment with the area of 6 × 8 square meter. The experimental results demonstrates that Floc can achieve up to 7cm localiztion accuracy on average, and can outperform the existing acoustic signal-based localization techniques.
A study of the sensitivity of ENSO to the mean climate

Abstract. We study the dependence of the simulated ENSO on the mean simulated climate in the HadCM3 GCM and attempt to understand its relation with results from intermediate-complexity models (ICMs). Our aim is to bridge an existing gap between results from complex GCMs and from more readily understandable ICMs, and thereby to improve our process-based prediction skills of the potential sensitivity of observed ENSO properties (amplitude, frequency and pattern) to climate change. Although there is a suggestion that surface ENSO processes are dominating the response in HadCM3, our work also shows that the complex changes in simulated climate can have contrasting effects on the ENSO and the net result may not be robust.
Molecular Evidence of the Toxic Effects of Diatom Diets on Gene Expression Patterns in Copepods

Background Diatoms are dominant photosynthetic organisms in the world's oceans and are considered essential in the transfer of energy through marine food chains. However, these unicellular plants at times produce secondary metabolites such as polyunsaturated aldehydes and other products deriving from the oxidation of fatty acids that are collectively termed oxylipins. These cytotoxic compounds are responsible for growth inhibition and teratogenic activity, potentially sabotaging future generations of grazers by inducing poor recruitment in marine organisms such as crustacean copepods. Principal Findings Here we show that two days of feeding on a strong oxylipin-producing diatom (Skeletonema marinoi) is sufficient to inhibit a series of genes involved in aldehyde detoxification, apoptosis, cytoskeleton structure and stress response in the copepod Calanus helgolandicus. Of the 18 transcripts analyzed by RT-qPCR at least 50% were strongly down-regulated (aldehyde dehydrogenase 9, 8 and 6, cellular apoptosis susceptibility and inhibitor of apoptosis IAP proteins, heat shock protein 40, alpha- and beta-tubulins) compared to animals fed on a weak oxylipin-producing diet (Chaetoceros socialis) which showed no changes in gene expression profiles. Conclusions Our results provide molecular evidence of the toxic effects of strong oxylipin-producing diatoms on grazers, showing that primary defense systems that should be activated to protect copepods against toxic algae can be inhibited. On the other hand other classical detoxification genes (glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, cytochrome P450) were not affected possibly due to short exposure times. Given the importance of diatom blooms in nutrient-rich aquatic environments these results offer a plausible explanation for the inefficient use of a potentially valuable food resource, the spring diatom bloom, by some copepod species.
Clear(ing) space: mindfulness‐based reflective practice

This paper reports on an enquiry into how practitioners working in healthcare environments bring mindfulness, a particular type of practice of reflection, into their professional and personal lives. Nine participants engaged in group discussion, Haiku poetry writing and the recording of personal audio diaries. Thematic analysis of the diaries indicates a transcending theme that being in the here and now can highlight discomfort, pain and uncertainty. Within this, sub‐themes illustrate that mindfulness can act as a support to personal and professional development, to the content and process of clinical work and as a means to support dealing with work‐related stress. A final theme illustrates participants’ experiences of using the research process to facilitate their ongoing reflective practice. The paper concludes with a note on what has been identified as ‘mindfulness‐based reflective practice’: a practice that can bring vitality and fluidity to critical reflection.
NORMALIZATION: SOME CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS

‘Normalization/Social Role Valorization’ has become a buzz word in the delivery of services to elderly people. After outlining the chief characteristics of normalization, the following article makes three criticisms of the policy. The first two arguments concern the inadequacy of the training and implementation of normalization. An argument about an important normalization premise regarding values and value is the subject of the third criticism. The conclusion reached is that normalization is theoretically inadequate as a policy, and has been implemented in a manner which is contrary to the complex issues which characterise human services, and the expressed and stated needs of individuals.
On the dynamics of a Recurrent Hopfield Network

In this research paper novel real/complex valued recurrent Hopfield Neural Network (RHNN) is proposed. The method of synthesizing the energy landscape of such a network and the experimental investigation of dynamics of Recurrent Hopfield Network is discussed. Parallel modes of operation (other than fully parallel mode) in layered RHNN is proposed. Also, certain potential applications are proposed.
Caspofungin Dose Escalation for Invasive Candidiasis Due to Resistant Candida albicans

ABSTRACT Previous in vivo studies have reported caspofungin dose escalation to be effective against Candida glabrata with reduced susceptibility. We hypothesized that higher doses of caspofungin would be effective against invasive candidiasis caused by the more virulent species Candida albicans, including isolates resistant to this echinocandin. Immunocompetent mice were inoculated with one of three C. albicans isolates, including one susceptible and two resistant isolates with different FKS1 hot spot 1 point mutations. Mice received daily caspofungin treatment for 7 days and were then followed off therapy for 2 weeks to assess survival. Kidney tissue and blood were collected, and fungal burden and serum (1→3)-β-d-glucan were measured. Significant differences in virulence were observed among the three C. albicans isolates, which translated into differences in responses to caspofungin. The most virulent of the resistant isolates studied (isolate 43001; Fks1p F641S) did not respond to caspofungin doses of up to 10 mg/kg of body weight, as there were no differences in survival (survival range, 0 to 12% with treatment), tissue burden, or (1→3)-β-d-glucan concentration compared to those for untreated controls. Higher doses of caspofungin did improve survival against the second resistant isolate (53264; Fks1p S645P) that demonstrated reduced virulence (5 and 10 mg/kg; 80% survival). In contrast, caspofungin doses as low as 1 mg/kg improved survival (85 to 95%) and reduced tissue burden and (1→3)-β-d-glucan concentration against the susceptible isolate (ATCC 90028). These data suggest that caspofungin dose escalation for invasive candidiasis may not be consistently effective against resistant C. albicans isolates, and this may be associated with the virulence of the strain.
Reducing Security Overhead to Enhance Service Delivery in Jini IoT

Jini security framework that is being maintained in Apache River project requires roughly 3 sequential tasks in every connection to cope with security threats in communication between clients and servers in the IoT sensor application. These tasks are sequentially proxy preparation, certification of identity and its credential for mutual authentication, and cryptographic operation for session encryption. Since the proxy preparation task is time spent on preparing a secure and trustable stub for both client/server sides, it is not one of the substantial communication-delay factors. We propose a method of improving proxy preparation reducing service connection delay by completing the preparation of mutual authentication data and session key while on proxy preparation task. Through experiments on a test-bed, we have confirmed that service connection delay time can be reduced by about 2.6 times in proportion to the message sizes through our proposed method. Our work presents an approach to reduce the additional overhead that would be paid for by applying the Jini security framework to the development of sensor application based on Jini IoT.
Family systems practice in pediatric psychology.

OBJECTIVE To present a pediatric psychology consultation treatment framework based on family systems and developmental theories. METHODS After reviewing background relevant to family systems interventions, a five-step protocol (referral, assessment, collaboration, outcome) for consultation is presented, using case examples from our pediatric oncology service, to illustrate joining, focusing, promoting competence and collaboration with patients, families, and staff. RESULTS Using protocols based on family systems frameworks, pediatric psychologists can offer systems-oriented consultation to patients, families, and healthcare teams. CONCLUSIONS Further development and evaluation of family systems protocols are necessary to understand the efficacy of these approaches and their role in training and practice.
TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF WOMEN'S LIVES: THE "RACIAL" REPRODUCTION OF LABOR IN LOW-INCOME URBAN AREAS

The “racial” reproduction of labor forms the central concern of this paper, which comprises an investigation of low-income African-American and Anglo-American wome's engagement in waged and unwaged reproductive activities in a downtown area of Grand Rapids, Michigan. A snowball sample was conducted with 97 women. n“Race” was shown to structure options in relation to occupations, access to transportation, and child care provision, as well as formal and informal community networks. An emphasis on the practices underlying the creation of social constructions of gender and “race” reveals that even within the same geographical location women have different experiences of urban poverty.
Critical Questions and Argument Stratagems: A Framework for Enhancing and Analyzing Students' Reasoning Practices

This article explores the concepts of critical questions (from D. N. Walton, 1996) and integrative and refutational argument stratagems as an approach for teaching argumentation and critical thinking. A study was conducted for 6 months in 3 sections of a 7th-grade social studies classroom in which 30 students discussed and wrote about current events. One section served as a comparison group. Over time the experimental group made more arguments that integrated both sides of each issue. Collectively, the experimental group also successfully constructed salient critical questions, particularly in regard to weighing values and designing practical creative solutions. In-depth analysis of 1 student showed how conceptual structures and argument practices improved incrementally over time and how the appropriation of stratagems may have been facilitated by the dialectical nature of the intervention (e.g., using critical questions and stratagems successfully in discourse). The theoretical and practical importance of Walton's dialogue theory, and the critical question approach to argumentation, are discussed.
Laboratory Sleep Patterns and Dream Content of Type A and B Scoring College Students

The suggestion that there may be a discrepancy between subjective and objective measures of sleep led us to explore the sleep and dreams of 7 Type A and 7 Type B scorers in our laboratory over a three-night period. In earlier studies, Type A scorers had indicated that their sleep was somewhat more disturbed and their dream content generally more active and negative in tone than that of Type B scorers. However, in this study the only differences were that Type A scorers had a greater number of body movements and greater dream recall than did Type B scorers. These results seem to indicate that the impression Type A scorers have of the quality of their sleep and dreams may be a function of their waking life-style.
Deciding Bisimilarity and Similarity for Probabilistic Processes

This paper deals with probabilistic and nondeterministic processes represented by a variant of labeled transition systems where any outgoing transition of a state s is augmented with probabilities for the possible successor states. Our main contributions are algorithms for computing this bisimulation equivalence classes as introduced by Larsen and Skou (1996, Inform. and Comput.99, 1? 28), and the simulation preorder a la Segala and Lynch (1995, Nordic J. Comput.2, 250? 273). The algorithm for deciding bisimilarity is based on a variant of the traditional partitioning technique and runs in time O(mn(logm+logn)) where m is the number of transitions and n the number of states. The main idea for computing the simulation preorder is the reduction to maximum flow problems in suitable networks. Using the method of Cheriyan, Hagerup, and Mehlhorn, (1990, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 443, pp. 235? 248, Springer-Verlag, Berlin) for computing the maximum flow, the algorithm runs in time O((mn6+m2n3)/logn). Moreover, we show that the network-based technique is also applicable to compute the simulation-like relation of Jonsson and Larsen (1991, “Proc. LICS'91” pp. 266? 277) in fully probabilistic systems (a variant of ordinary labeled transition systems where the nondeterminism is totally resolved by probabilistic choices).
Trajectories of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Significant Others of Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Long-term psychological distress has been reported among significant others of patients who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study examined the course and potential predictors of posttraumatic stress symptoms in a relative sample (N = 135) drawn from a national cohort study on severe TBI in Switzerland. Latent growth mixture model analyses revealed two main groups: Across 3, 6, and 12 months after the accident, 63% of the sample indicated fairly low symptom severity (“resilient” course), whereas 37% showed persistence of “higher distress” as indicated by elevated scores on the Impact of Event Scale–Revised. Group membership was significantly associated with self-reported dysfunctional disclosure style. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Protein Kinase D Is a Key Regulator of Cardiomyocyte Lipoprotein Lipase Secretion After Diabetes

The diabetic heart switches to exclusively using fatty acid (FA) for energy supply and does so by multiple mechanisms including hydrolysis of lipoproteins by lipoprotein lipase (LPL) positioned at the vascular lumen. We determined the mechanism that leads to an increase in LPL after diabetes. Diazoxide (DZ), an agent that decreases insulin secretion and causes hyperglycemia, induced a substantial increase in LPL activity at the vascular lumen. This increase in LPL paralleled a robust phosphorylation of Hsp25, decreasing its association with PKC&dgr;, allowing this protein kinase to phosphorylate and activate protein kinase D (PKD), an important kinase that regulates fission of vesicles from the golgi membrane. Rottlerin, a PKC&dgr; inhibitor, prevented PKD phosphorylation and the subsequent increase in LPL. Incubating control myocytes with high glucose and palmitic acid (Glu+PA) also increased the phosphorylation of Hsp25, PKC&dgr;, and PKD in a pattern similar to that seen with diabetes, in addition to augmenting LPL activity. In myocytes in which PKD was silenced or a mutant form of PKC&dgr; was expressed, high Glu+PA were incapable of increasing LPL. Moreover, silencing of cardiomyocyte Hsp25 allowed phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate to elicit a significant phosphorylation of PKC&dgr;, an appreciable association between PKC&dgr; and PKD, and a vigorous activation of PKD. As these cells also demonstrated an additional increase in LPL, our data imply that after diabetes, PKD control of LPL requires dissociation of Hsp25 from PKC&dgr;, association between PKC&dgr; and PKD, and vesicle fission. Results from this study could help in restricting cardiac LPL translocation, leading to strategies that overcome contractile dysfunction after diabetes.
PDK1 inhibitor GSK2334470 exerts antitumor activity in multiple myeloma and forms a novel multitargeted combination with dual mTORC1/C2 inhibitor PP242

A deeper understanding of the complex pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM) continues to lead to novel therapeutic approaches. Prior studies suggest that 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) is expressed and active, acting as a crucial regulator of molecules that are essential for myelomagenesis. In the present study, we show that GSK2334470 (GSK-470), a novel and highly specific inhibitor of PDK1, induces potent cytotoxicity in MM cell lines including Dexamethasone-resistant cell line, but not in human normal cells. Insulin-like growth factor-1 could not rescue GSK-470-induced cell death. Moreover, GSK-470 down-modulates phosphor-PDK1, thereby inhibiting downstream phosphor-AKT at Thr308 and mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) activity. However, GSK-470 could not affect mTORC2 activity and phosphor-AKT at Ser473. RPMI 8226 and OPM-2 cells with low expression of PTEN show relative resistant to GSK-470. Knockout of PTEN by shRNA resulted in a partial reversion of GSK-470-mediated growth inhibition, whereas overexpression of PTEN enhanced myeloma cell sensitivity to GSK-470, suggesting that the sensitivity to GSK-470 is correlated with PTEN expression statue in MM cells. Combining PP242, a dual mTORC1/C2 inhibitor, with GSK-470, had greater antimyeloma activity than either one alone in vitro and in MM xenograft model established in immunodeficient mice. In particular, this combination was able to result in a complete inhibition of mTORC1/C2 and full activity of AKT. Together, these findings raise the possibility that combining PDK1 antagonist GSK-470 with mTORC1/C2 inhibitors may represent a novel strategy against MM including drug-resistant myeloma, regardless of PTEN expression status.
Task-shifting point-of-care CD4+ testing to lay health workers in HIV care and treatment services in Namibia

Introduction Access to CD4+ testing remains a common barrier to early initiation of antiretroviral therapy among persons living with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries. The feasibility of task-shifting of point-of-care (POC) CD4+ testing to lay health workers in Namibia has not been evaluated. Methods From July to August 2011, Pima CD4+ analysers were used to improve access to CD4+ testing at 10 selected public health facilities in Namibia. POC Pima CD4+ testing was performed by nurses or lay health workers. Venous blood samples were collected from 10% of patients and sent to centralised laboratories for CD4+ testing with standard methods. Outcomes for POC Pima CD4+ testing and patient receipt of results were compared between nurses and lay health workers and between the POC method and standard laboratory CD4+ testing methods. Results Overall, 1429 patients received a Pima CD4+ test; 500 (35.0%) tests were performed by nurses and 929 (65.0%) were performed by lay health workers. When Pima CD4+ testing was performed by a nurse or a lay health worker, 93.2% and 95.2% of results were valid (p = 0.1); 95.6% and 98.1% of results were received by the patient (p = 0.007); 96.2% and 94.0% of results were received by the patient on the same day (p = 0.08). Overall, 97.2% of Pima CD4+ results were received by patients, compared to 55.4% of standard laboratory CD4+ results (p < 0.001). Conclusions POC CD4+ testing was feasible and effective when task-shifted to lay health workers. Rollout of POC CD4+ testing via task-shifting can improve access to CD4+ testing and retention in care between HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy initiation in low- and middle-income countries.
Connectivity in the presence of shadowing in 802.11 ad hoc networks

Connectivity is an important property for QoS support in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Recently, there has been a big effort in exploring the critical transmission range (CTR) analytically, based on different network models. While most of these studies rely on a geometric model and come up with asymptotic bounds, their significance regarding finite 802.11 based MANETs is unclear. In this paper, we investigate connectivity in MANETs from a layered perspective. We first point out how the transmission range affects the end-to-end connection probability in a log-normal shadowing model and compare the results to theoretical bounds and measurements in the path loss model. We then show how connectivity issues behave in 802.11 and IP based networks if the fading effect increases. The paper concludes with an analytical model for the link probability in log-normal shadowing environments as a function of the number of nodes, network area, transmission range, path loss exponent and shadowing deviation.
Physiological and Genetic Aspects of Abortive Infection of a Shigella sonnei Strain by Coliphage T7

Phage T7 adsorbed to and lysed cells of Shigella sonnei D2 371-48, although the average burst size was only 0.1 phage per cell (abortive infection). No mechanism of host-controlled modification was involved. Upon infection, T7 rapidly degraded host deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to acid-soluble material. Phage-directed DNA synthesis was initiated normally, but after a few minutes the pool of phage DNA, including the parental DNA, was degraded. Addition of chloramphenicol, at the time of phage infection, prevented both the initiation of phage-directed DNA synthesis and the degradation of parental phage DNA. Addition of chloramphenicol 4.5 min after phage was added permitted the onset of phage-directed DNA synthesis but prevented breakdown of phage DNA. Mutants of T7 (ss− mutants) have been isolated which show normal growth in strain D2 371-48. Upon mixed infection of this strain with T7 wild type and an ss− mutant, infection was abortive; no complementation occurred. The DNA of the ss− mutants was degraded in mixed infection like that of the wild type. Revertant mutants which have lost their ability to grow on D2 371-48 were isolated from ss− mutants; they are, in essence, phenotypically like T7 wild type. Independently isolated revertants of ss− mutants did not produce ss− recombinants when they were crossed among themselves. When independently isolated ss− mutants were crossed with each other, wild-type recombinants were found; ss− mutants could then be mapped in a cluster compatible with the length of one cistron. We concluded that T7 codes for an active, chloramphenicol-sensitive function [ss+ function (for suicide in Shigella)] which leads to the breakdown of phage DNA in the Shigella host.