Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A ROMANIAN - BELGIAN COMPARISON ON WORK RELATED STEREOTYPES AND BEHAVIOURS

In the larger context of controversies on West-European - East- European countries differences, the present paper analyzes a more specific intercultural difference that may have its roots in the dominating values of a West-European society vs. an East-European one. We refer mainly at the differences between the Romanian and the Belgian culture regarding the way individuals from the two countries see work, the way they relate to work, their beliefs and stereotypes regarding work, and their work related behaviours. The paper tries to outline the fact that the cultural differences on work related stereotypes and behaviours surpass the existing similarities that are a result of the multiple influences both societies were subject of.
Computer Graphics on Mobile Devices

Computer graphics hardware acceleration and rendering techniques have improved significantly in recent years. These improvements are particularly noticeable in mobile devices that are produced in great amounts and developed by different manufacturers. New technologies are constantly developed and this extends the capabilities of such devices correspondingly. In this paper, a review about the existing and new hardware and software, as well as a closer look into some of the most important revolutionary technologies, is given. Special emphasis is given on new Application Programming Interfaces (API) and rendering techniques that were developed in recent years. A review of limitations that developers have to overcome when bringing graphics to mobile devices is also provided.
Level of Detail for Real-Time Volumetric Terrain Rendering

Terrain rendering is an important component of many GIS applications and simulators. Most methods rely on heightmap-based terrain which is simple to acquire and handle, but has limited capabilities for modeling features like caves, steep cliffs, or overhangs. In contrast, volumetric terrain models, e.g. based on isosurfaces can represent arbitrary topology. In this paper, we present a fast, practical and GPU-friendly level of detail algorithm for large scale volumetric terrain that is speciﬁcally designed for real-time rendering applications. Our algorithm is based on a longest edge bisection (LEB) scheme. The resulting tetrahedral cells are subdivided into four hexahe-dra, which form the domain for a subsequent isosurface extraction step. The algorithm can be used with arbitrary volumetric models such as signed distance ﬁelds, which can be generated from triangle meshes or discrete volume data sets. In contrast to previous methods our algorithm does not require any stitching between detail levels. It generates crack free surfaces with a good triangle quality. Furthermore, we efﬁciently extract the geometry at runtime and require no preprocessing, which allows us to render inﬁnite procedural content with low memory consumption.
Robust Real-Time Face Tracking for the Analysis of Human Behaviour

We present a real-time system for face detection, tracking and characterisation from omni-directional video. Viola-Jones is used as a basis for face detection, then various filters are applied to eliminate false positives. Gaps between two detections of a face by the Viola-Jones algorithms are filled using a colour-based tracking. This system reliably detects more than 97% of the faces across several one-hour videos of unconstrained meetings, both indoor and outdoor, while keeping a very low false-positive rate (<0.1%) and without changes in parameters. Diverse measurements, such as head motion and body activity, are extracted to provide input to further research on human behaviour.
The determinants of pricing in the Mexican domestic airline sector and the impact of competition and airport congestion

This paper estimates econometric models to examine the main determinants of pricing in the Mexican domestic airline sector. Average fares are approximately 30 percent lower on routes where at least one low-cost carrier is present. Fares on routes into or out of the Mexico City Airport, the only ―congested‖ airport, are between 40 and 80 percent higher, controlling for airport fees. This suggests that the societal costs of airport congestion can go well beyond the negative congestion externality and should also include the effects of reduced competition from high entry barriers and lack of potential competition. The evidence on the effect of hub and spoke competition is mixed while codesharing is found to result in higher prices. Based upon these estimates there are large consumer benefits from implementing sound competition policy and market-based mechanisms to alleviate airport congestion. Classification JEL: L40, L93, R41.
Energy Cost of Wheel Running in House Mice: Implications for Coadaptation of Locomotion and Energy Budgets

Laboratory house mice (Mus domesticus) that had experienced 10 generations of artificial selection for high levels of voluntary wheel running ran about 70% more total revolutions per day than did mice from random‐bred control lines. The difference resulted primarily from increased average velocities rather than from increased time spent running. Within all eight lines (four selected, four control), females ran more than males. Average daily running distances ranged from 4.4 km in control males to 11.6 km in selected females. Whole‐animal food consumption was statistically indistinguishable in the selected and control lines. However, mice from selected lines averaged approximately 10% smaller in body mass, and mass‐adjusted food consumption was 4% higher in selected lines than in controls. The incremental cost of locomotion (grams food/revolution), computed as the partial regression slope of food consumption on revolutions run per day, did not differ between selected and control mice. On a 24‐h basis, the total incremental cost of running (covering a distance) amounted to only 4.4% of food consumption in the control lines and 7.5% in the selected ones. However, the daily incremental cost of time active is higher (15.4% and 13.1% of total food consumption in selected and control lines, respectively). If wheel running in the selected lines continues to increase mainly by increases in velocity, then constraints related to energy acquisition are unlikely to be an important factor limiting further selective gain. More generally, our results suggest that, in small mammals, a substantial evolutionary increase in daily movement distances can be achieved by increasing running speed, without remarkable increases in total energy expenditure.
The link between asymmetric and symmetric optimal portfolios in fads models

We study a financial market where asymmetric information, mispricing and jumps exist, and link the random optimal portfolios of informed and uninformed investors to the deterministic optimal portfolio of the symmetric market, where no mispricing exists. In particular, we show that under quadratic approximation, the expectation of the random optimal portfolio in the asymmetric market is equal to the optimal deterministic portfolio in the symmetric market. We also compute variance bounds of the optimal portfolios for investors having logarithmic preferences, and prove that the variance of optimal portfolios are bounded above by a simple function of the mean–reversion speed, level of mispricing, and the variance of the continuous component of the return process of the asset.
Recessive multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (rMED): phenotype delineation in eighteen homozygotes for DTDST mutation R279W

Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED) is a generalised skeletal dysplasia that although relatively mild is associated with significant morbidity. Joint pain, joint deformity, waddling gait, and short stature are the main clinical signs and symptoms. In the past, the disorder was subdivided into the milder Ribbing type, usually with flattened epiphyses,1 and the more severe Fairbank type with round epiphyses,2 but many cases were not classifiable as clearly either type.3 MED can be caused by mutations in at least six separate genes: COMP ,4–7 collagen IX ( COL9A1 , COL9A2 , and COL9A3 ),8–13 matrilin 3 ( MATN3 ),15 and the sulphate transporter, DTDST ( DTDST/SLC26A2 ). We have previously reported an adult with a recessively inherited form of MED (rMED) characterised by club feet, double layered patellae, and normal stature, who was homozygous for the mutation 862c>t/R279W in the DTDST gene, previously associated with the achondrogenesis 1B-atelosteogenesis 2-diastrophic dysplasia spectrum. We now report on a group of 18 subjects who are homozygous for this point mutation, allowing a comprehensive assessment of this particular MED phenotype. Distinction of rMED is important because of its recessive inheritance (unlike other MED types) and genetic counselling implications. The frequency of the R279W mutation and the number of subjects with molecularly proven rMED identified since its description suggest that rMED may be more common than hitherto assumed. Blood or genomic DNA was sent to the Zurich centre for DTDST mutation analysis because of clinical and radiographic signs similar to the reported case of rMED,20 or because of a clinical diagnosis of MED and negative mutation analysis of COMP or collagen IX genes. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood leucocytes using standard protocols and was subjected to DTDST mutation analysis. The fragment of interest, that is, the 5′ part of exon …
Technical Validation of ARTSENS–An Image Free Device for Evaluation of Vascular Stiffness

Vascular stiffness is an indicator of cardiovascular health, with carotid artery stiffness having established correlation to coronary heart disease and utility in cardiovascular diagnosis and screening. State of art equipment for stiffness evaluation are expensive, require expertise to operate and not amenable for field deployment. In this context, we developed ARTerial Stiffness Evaluation for Noninvasive Screening (ARTSENS), a device for image free, noninvasive, automated evaluation of vascular stiffness amenable for field use. ARTSENS has a frugal hardware design, utilizing a single ultrasound transducer to interrogate the carotid artery, integrated with robust algorithms that extract arterial dimensions and compute clinically accepted measures of arterial stiffness. The ability of ARTSENS to measure vascular stiffness in vivo was validated by performing measurements on 125 subjects. The accuracy of results was verified with the state-of-the-art ultrasound imaging-based echo-tracking system. The relation between arterial stiffness measurements performed in sitting posture for ARTSENS measurement and sitting/supine postures for imaging system was also investigated to examine feasibility of performing ARTSENS measurements in the sitting posture for field deployment. This paper verified the feasibility of the novel ARTSENS device in performing accurate in vivo measurements of arterial stiffness. As a portable device that performs automated measurement of carotid artery stiffness with minimal operator input, ARTSENS has strong potential for use in large-scale screening.
Can bilateral prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) induce mania? A case report.

Sir: Bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) using high-frequency (hf-rTMS) and low-frequency (lf-rTMS) stimulation over the left and right dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC), respectively, was theorized to enhance antidepressant outcome. 1 Although efficacy is discussed controversially , 2,3 this stimulation paradigm at least did not induce nocuous cognitive impairments. 2,4 Cases of affective side effects have been reported with use of hf-rTMS over the left DLPFC 5,6 and with use of lf-rTMS over the right DLPFC. 7 We report a 31-year-old woman experiencing a depressive episode in the course of DSM-IV bipolar I disorder who switched to mania on day 7 of a bilateral rTMS trial. Case report. Ms. A's background included a family history positive for bipolar disorder. Her disease began in 1985 with a depressive episode followed by clear-cut manic episodes in 1987 and 1992 and a second depressive episode in 1998. While an inpatient, she was assigned to rTMS treatment in a random-ized, double-blind, sham-controlled, 10-day rTMS add-on trial in June 2002. 3 Each rTMS session included hf-rTMS (20 Hz, 100% motor threshold, 10 trains of 10 seconds) over the left DLPFC followed by a subsequent lf-rTMS (1 Hz, 120% motor threshold, 20 minutes) applied over the right DLPFC. On the first day of stimulation, the patient was administered 40 mg of citalopram and 10 mg of lorazepam. Prior to this trial, paroxe-tine had been tapered over 4 days. At baseline, Ms. A had a score of 23 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, 8 which declined to 4 at the end of treatment (day 7). This robust improvement of her depressive features reflects remission. On day 7, she developed manic symptoms, namely motor restlessness, hyper-talkativeness, grandiose ideas, and newly emerged racing thoughts. Both rTMS and antidepressant treatment were stopped immediately, and clozapine treatment (100 mg/day) was started. Within 5 days the patient's manic symptoms vanished, but she immediately cycled to another depressive episode. Citalopram treatment (40 mg/day) was restarted for a period of 4 weeks. Due to a lack of response, Ms. A was prescribed several antidepressant regimens over the next 3 months. Eventually, amitriptyline and carbamazepine showed antidepressant efficacy after 10 weeks, without signs of mania. The question arises of whether the patient's switch to mania is to be attributed to an intrinsic effect of rTMS, citalopram, 9 or both. If the switch is considered to be treatment-related, it seems reasonable to argue that …
Magnetite Nanoparticles Induce Genotoxicity in the Lungs of Mice via Inflammatory Response

Nanomaterials are useful for their characteristic properties and are commonly used in various fields. Nanosized-magnetite (MGT) is widely utilized in medicinal and industrial fields, whereas their toxicological properties are not well documented. A safety assessment is thus urgently required for MGT, and genotoxicity is one of the most serious concerns. In the present study, we examined genotoxic effects of MGT using mice and revealed that DNA damage analyzed by a comet assay in the lungs of imprinting control region (ICR) mice intratracheally instilled with a single dose of 0.05 or 0.2 mg/animal of MGT was approximately two- to three-fold higher than that of vehicle-control animals. Furthermore, in gpt delta transgenic mice, gpt mutant frequency (MF) in the lungs of the group exposed to four consecutive doses of 0.2 mg MGT was significantly higher than in the control group. Mutation spectrum analysis showed that base substitutions were predominantly induced by MGT, among which G:C to A:T transition and G:C to T:A transversion were the most significant. To clarify the mechanism of mutation caused by MGT, we analyzed the formation of DNA adducts in the lungs of mice exposed to MGT. DNA was extracted from lungs of mice 3, 24, 72 and 168 h after intratracheal instillation of 0.2 mg/body of MGT, and digested enzymatically. 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and lipid peroxide-related DNA adducts were quantified by stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Compared with vehicle control, these DNA adduct levels were significantly increased in the MGT-treated mice. In addition to oxidative stress- and inflammation related-DNA adduct formations, inflammatory cell infiltration and focal granulomatous formations were also observed in the lungs of MGT-treated mice. Based on these findings, it is suggested that inflammatory responses are probably involved in the genotoxicity induced by MGT in the lungs of mice.
On the Cohabitation of Adaptive Search Radius Enabled Peers with Regular eMule Peers

Adaptive search radius (ASR) is a peer selection method that can be used in peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing applications, such as eMule or BitTorrent, in order to reduce the generated traffic. ASR enabled peers try to exchange file parts with the peers which are topologically closer, instead of swapping parts indiscriminately with peers near and far. Traffic travels fewer hops, resulting in fewer congested links, less traffic through tier-1 ISP's core links and less traffic exchanged among ISPs. We believe it would be easier for ASR to be accepted if it was presented as an enhancement or modification to current P2P applications, instead of an entirely new application. In this paper we study the use of ASR with the eMule protocol and the impact a progressive migration would have. We found that the introduction of ASR enabled peers reduces the generated traffic but also improves the performance of regular eMule peers, preventing users from adopting ASR. We propose modifications to the original ASR algorithm in order for ASR peers to present superior performance when combined with regular eMule peers, prompting users to migrate willingly. We also propose a migration plan which would enable ASR to be gradually introduced into the eMule population. We support our proposal with simulation studies that showed a 19 to 29% decrease in download time and a 27 to 70% reduction in the traffic carried by tier-1 ISPs.
IL-17A-producing T cells are associated with the progression of lung adenocarcinoma

Accumulating evidence has shown that T cells are crucial in shaping the tumor microenvironment and regulating tumor development. However, the roles of IL-17A-producing T cells (IL-17A+CD4+ Th17, IL-17A+CD8+ Tc17 and IL-17A+ γδT17 cells) and related cytokines in the progression of lung cancer (LC) remain uncertain. Here, we found that the frequencies of both Th17 and γδT17 cells in the peripheral blood of patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LA) were higher than those in healthy controls (HCs), whereas the frequency of Tc17 cells in the patients with LA was decreased. In addition, the frequencies of circulating Th17 and γδT17 cells, but not Tc17 cells, were positively associated with tumor invasion and metastasis. Furthermore, the major source of IL-17A production was Th17 cells, followed by Tc17 and γδT17 cells, in peripheral blood from patients with LA and HCs; but the percentages of Th17 and γδT17 cells in total intracellular IL-17A+ cells obtained from the patients with LC were higher than those from HCs. Moreover, the protein and corresponding mRNA levels of IL-17A, IL-23, IL-1β, and TGF-β1 were much higher in the patients with LA than those in HCs, and the levels of IL-17A in patients were positively correlated with numbers of both Th17 and γδT17 cells, but not Tc17 cells. Finally, the frequencies of circulating Th17 and γδT17 cells, along with the levels of IL-17A, IL-23, IL-1β, and TGF-β1 were decreased in the patients with LA after tumor resection, whereas the frequency of circulating Tc17 cells was inversely increased in these patients. Our findings indicate that Th17, Tc17, γδT17 cells, and IL-17A-associated cytokines contribute to the development of LA and thus represent promising targets for therapeutic strategies.
Negative selection and niching by an artificial immune system for network intrusion detection

This paper presents a negative selection algorithm with niching by an artificial immune system, for network intrusion detection. The paper starts by introducing the advantages of negative selection algorithm as a novel distributed anomaly detection approach for the development of a network intrusion detection system. After discussing the problems of existing approaches using negative selection for network intrusion detection, this paper presents a modified negative selection algorithm with niching, which shows diversity, generality and requires less computation time. The network packet data used in this work is then introduced and a novel genotype encoding scheme to handle this data and a corresponding fitness function is explained.
Measuring Peer-to-Peer Botnets Using Control Flow Stability

Currently, botnets use peer-to-peer (P2P) networks for command and control (C&C) communication. In contrast to traditional centralized-organized botnets, P2P-based botnets do not have a central point of failure for botnets and are consequently more concealable and robust, which degrades the performance of botnet detection approaches significantly. Considering that the C&C flows related to a P2P-based bot exhibit stability on statistical meaning due to the impartial position in botnet and performing pre-programmed control activities automatically, a novel detection approach based on the control flow stability is proposed in this paper. The measurement of control flow stability is firstly derived from the P2P-based C&C case study and the definition of control flow stability. After analyzing the stability of Storm bots and comparing the results to that of normal P2P client, a stability detection algorithm that can tune the accuracy of detecting results is developed. Extensive experimental results show the proposed approach is very efficient and can detect P2P-based botnet with low false positive ratio.
Design of a 1.8V 8-bit 500MSPS folding-interpolation CMOS A/D converter with a folder averaging technique

In this paper, a CMOS analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with an 8-bit 500 MSPS at 1.8 V is designed. The architecture of the proposed ADC is based on a Folding ADC with a cascaded-folding and a cascaded-interpolation structure. A self-linearized preamplifier with source degeneration technique and a folder averaging technique for the high-performance are introduced. Further, a novel auto-switching encoder is also proposed. The chip has been fabricated with 0.18mu m 1-poly 5-metal CMOS technology. The active chip area is 0.79 mm2 and it consumes about 200 mW at 1.8 V power supply. The DNL and INL are within plusmn0.6/plusmn0.6LSB, respectively. The measured result of SNDR is 47.05dB.
Electron-Beam Tomography Coronary Artery Calcium and Cardiac Events: A 37-Month Follow-Up of 5635 Initially Asymptomatic Low- to Intermediate-Risk Adults

Background—Conventional coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors fail to explain nearly 50% of CAD events. This study examines the association between electron-beam tomography (EBT) coronary artery calcium (CAC) and cardiac events in initially asymptomatic low- to intermediate-risk individuals, with adjustment for the presence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, and a history of cigarette smoking. Methods and Results—The study was performed in 8855 initially asymptomatic adults 30 to 76 years old (26% women) who self-referred for EBT CAC screening. Conventional CAD risk factors were elicited by use of a questionnaire. After 37±12 months, information on the occurrence of cardiac events was collected and confirmed by use of medical records and death certificates. In men, events (n=192) were associated with the presence of CAC (RR=10.5, P <0.001), diabetes (RR=1.98, P =0.008), and smoking (RR=1.4, P =0.025), whereas in women, events (n=32) were linked to the presence of CAC (RR=2.6, P =0.037) and not risk factors. The presence of CAC provided incremental prognostic information in addition to age and other risk factors. Conclusions—The association between EBT CAC and cardiac events observed in this study of initially asymptomatic, middle-aged, low to intermediate-risk individuals presenting for screening suggests that in this group, knowledge of the presence of EBT CAC provides incremental information in addition to that defined by conventional CAD risk assessment.
Hot Topics in Motor Control and Learning

ISSN: 0270-1367 (Print) 2168-3824 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline. com/loi/urqe20 Hot Topics in Motor Control and Learning Dagmar Sternad To cite this article: Dagmar Sternad (1998) Hot Topics in Motor Control and Learning, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 69:4, 319-325, DOI: 10.1080/02701367.1998. 10607705 To link to this article: http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/02701367.1998. 10607705