Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in self reported morbidity by educational level: a comparison of 11 western European countries.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess whether there are variations between 11 Western European countries with respect to the size of differences in self reported morbidity between people with high and low educational levels. DESIGN AND METHODS: National representative data on morbidity by educational level were obtained from health interview surveys, level of living surveys or other similar surveys carried out between 1985 and 1993. Four morbidity indicators were included and a considerable effort was made to maximise the comparability of these indicators. A standardised scheme of educational levels was applied to each survey. The study included men and women aged 25 to 69 years. The size of morbidity differences was measured by means of the regression based Relative Index of Inequality. MAIN RESULTS: The size of inequalities in health was found to vary between countries. In general, there was a tendency for inequalities to be relatively large in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark and to be relatively small in Spain, Switzerland, and West Germany. Intermediate positions were observed for Finland, Great Britain, France, and Italy. The position of the Netherlands strongly varied according to sex: relatively large inequalities were found for men whereas relatively small inequalities were found for women. The relative position of some countries, for example, West Germany, varied according to the morbidity indicator. CONCLUSIONS: Because of a number of unresolved problems with the precision and the international comparability of the data, the margins of uncertainty for the inequality estimates are somewhat wide. However, these problems are unlikely to explain the overall pattern. It is remarkable that health inequalities are not necessarily smaller in countries with more egalitarian policies such as the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. Possible explanations are discussed.
A method of wavelength selection and spectral discrimination of hyperspectral reflectance spectrometry

Regularized regression was used in a discriminant analysis framework to identify the key spectral regions for the separation of hyperspectral reflectance spectra of grapevine leaves. Choice of regularization parameter values was guided by cross-validation: for the field-measured spectra, estimated validation errors<12% were used; whereas for the glasshouse-measured spectra, validation errors were estimated to be >60% so choice was based on training error of <20%. Out of the 1151 wavelength bands available in the data, the analysis selected 12 or so wavelengths that can be used to differentiate the groups of vines studied. Moreover these wavelengths were repeatedly observed to occur in spectral regions known to be linked to plant physiology and condition, specifically 500-550 nm; 660-690 nm; 700-760 nm; and 900-1450 nm
Measuring poverty : a new approach

Each year's poverty figures are anxiously awaited by policymakers, analysts, and the media. Yet questions are increasing about the 30-year-old measure as social and economic conditions change. In Measuring Poverty a distinguished panel provides policymakers with an up-to-date evaluation of * Concepts and procedures for deriving the poverty threshold, including adjustments for different family circumstances. * Definitions of family resources. * Procedures for annual updates of poverty measures. The volume explores specific issues underlying the poverty measure, analyzes the likely effects of any changes on poverty rates, and discusses the impact on eligibility for public benefits. In supporting its recommendations the panel provides insightful recognition of the political and social dimensions of this key economic indicator. Measuring Poverty will be important to government officials, policy analysts, statisticians, economists, researchers, and others involved in virtually all poverty and social welfare issues.
A security analysis of emerging web standards - Extended version

Over the past few years, a significant effort went into the development of a new generation of web standards, centered around the HTML5 specification. Given the importance of the web in our society, it is essential that these new standards are scrutinized for potential security problems. This paper reports on a systematic analysis of ten important, recent specifications with respect to two generic security goals: (1) new web mechanisms should not break the security of existing web applications, and (2) different newly proposed mechanisms should interact with each other gracefully. Our analysis reveals several violations of these security goals, which should be addressed by the specifications. In addition, we analyze the implementations of some of these standards in major browsers, and show that (1) even explicit security considerations in the standards are not consistently implemented, and (2) ambiguities and underspecification in the standards lead to suboptimal browser implementations. In total, the security analysis reveals 45 issues, of which 12 are violations of the proposed security goals and 31 issues concern vague and ambiguous features in the specifications. Additionally, we found that 6 out of 11 explicit security considerations have been overlooked/overruled in major browsers, leaving secure specifications vulnerable in the end.
Mining frequent neighboring class sets in spatial databases

We consider the problem of finding neighboring class sets. Objects of each instance of a neighboring class set are grouped using their Euclidean distances from each other. Recently, location-based services are growing along with mobile computing infrastructure such as cellular phones and PDAs. Therefore, we expect to see the development of spatial databases that contains very large number of access records including location information. The most typical type would be a database of point objects. Records of the objects may consist of "requested service name," "number of packet transmitted" in addition to x and y coordinate values indicating where the request came from. The algorithm presented here efficiently finds sets of "service names" that were frequently close to each other in the spatial database. For example, it may find a frequent neighboring class set, where "ticket" and "timetable" are frequently requested close to each other. By recognizing this, location-based service providers can promote a "ticket" service for customers who access the "timetable. "
DIAGNOSIS OF FAULT IN TESTABLE REVERSIBLE SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS USING MULTIPLEXER CONSERVATIVE QUANTUM DOT CELLULAR AUTOMATA

Any sequential circuit based on conservative logic gates can be tested for classical unidirectional stuck-at faults using only two test vectors. The two test vectors are all 1s, and all 0s. The designs of two vectors testable latches, master-slave flip-flops and double edge triggered (DET) flip-flops are presented. The importance of the proposed work lies in the fact that it provides the design of reversible sequential circuits completely testable for any stuck-at fault by only two test vectors, thereby eliminating the need for any type of scan-path access to internal memory cells. The reversible design of the DET flip-flop is proposed for the first time in the literature. The application of the proposed approach toward 100% fault coverage for single missing or additional cell defect in the quantum dot cellular automata (QCA) layout of the Fredkin gate. A new conservative logic gate called multiplexer conservative QCA gate (MX-cqca) that is not reversible in nature but has similar properties as the Fredkin gate of working as 2:1 multiplexer. The proposed MX-cqca gate surpasses the Fredkin gate in terms of complexity (the number of majority voters), speed, and area.
Preferences for Truthfulness: Heterogeneity Among and Within Individuals

We conduct an experiment assessing the extent to which people trade off the economic costs of truthfulness against the intrinsic costs of lying. The results allow us to reject a type-based model. People's preferences for truthfulness do not identify them as only either "economic types" (who care only about consequences) or "ethical types" (who care only about process). Instead, we find that preferences for truthfulness are heterogeneous among individuals. Moreover, when examining possible sources of intrinsic costs of lying and their interplay with economic costs of truthfulness, we find that preferences for truthfulness are also heterogeneous within individuals.
Implementation of STDP in Neuromorphic Analog VLSI

Spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), an asymmetric form of Hebbian learning, shows how synaptic strength between neurons changes corresponding to time difference between preand postspikes [1]. It is widely believed that synaptic plasticity can learn and store information of brain, so understanding STDP helps study of the process of learning in the brain. Moreover, hardware implementation of STDP is of great importance in developing brainmachine interfaces. In this paper, we simulate weight change respect to a fixed time difference in Matlab. Then we design circuits to investigate continuous-time STDP by showing weight changes between two neurons. The circuit, which includes integrate and fire (I & F) neuron module, synaptic trace module and weight tower module, is designed and simulated in the Cadence design environment. At last we compare the simulation results of circuits with Matlab simulation results.
From C to Blokus Duo with LegUp high-level synthesis

We apply high-level synthesis (HLS) to generate Blokus Duo game-playing hardware for the FPT 2013 Design Competition [3]. Our design, written in C, is synthesized using the LegUp open-source HLS tool to Verilog, then subsequently mapped using vendor tools to an Altera Cyclone IV FPGA on DE2 board. Our software implementation is designed to be amenable to high-level synthesis, and includes a custom stack implementation, uses only integer arithmetic, and employs the use of bitwise logical operations to improve overall computational performance. The underlying AI decision making is based on alpha-beta pruning [2]. The performance of our synthesizable solution is gauged by playing against the Pentobi [8] - a “known good” C++ software implementation.
Agricultural Land Values and Rents under the Conservation Reserve Program

One objective of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is to reduce the erosion of fragile land. Additional objectives are to decrease surplus production of agricultural commodities and to provide income support for farmers. The direct net impact on farm income is the CRP payment less the farmer share of establishing cover on the land and the lost returns from taking the acreage out of production. It has long been recognized that farm program payments tied to production are capitalized into land values (see, e.g., Herdt and Cochrane 1966; Floyd 1965; Offutt and Shoemaker 1988). Traditional price support programs have this effect because the increases in returns tend to accrue to land because of its relatively inelastic supply. However, the existing target price program provides farmers with a trade-off between increased market earnings due to supply control and receiving deficiency payments. Because existing supply control programs are voluntary, participation in the program requires the payment to be more economically attractive at the margin than producing on the acreage, in which case the program benefits are directly tied to acreage reductions and will tend to be capitalized into land values. As with target price and acreage reduction programs, the impact of the CRP on land values depends on the net effect on expected farm income and returns to land. That is, how big is the increase in land returns over the next best alternative and
A transgenic mouse bearing an antisense construct of regulatory subunit type 1A of protein kinase A develops endocrine and other tumours: comparison with Carney complex and other PRKAR1A induced lesions

Background: Inactivation of the human type Iα regulatory subunit (RIα) of cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase (PKA) (PRKAR1A) leads to altered kinase activity, primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD), and sporadic adrenal and other tumours. Methods and results: A transgenic mouse carrying an antisense transgene for Prkar1a exon 2 (X2AS) under the control of a tetracycline responsive promoter (the Tg(Prkar1a*x2as)1Stra, Tg(tTAhCMV)3Uh or tTA/X2AS line) developed thyroid follicular hyperplasia and adenomas, adrenocortical hyperplasia and other features reminiscent of PPNAD, including late onset weight gain, visceral adiposity, and non-dexamethasone suppressible hypercorticosteronaemia, with histiocytic, epithelial hyperplasias, lymphomas, and other mesenchymal tumours. These lesions were associated with allelic losses of the mouse chromosome 11 Prkar1a locus, an increase in total type II PKA activity, and higher RIIβ protein levels; the latter biochemical and protein changes were also documented in Carney complex tumours associated with PRKAR1A inactivating mutations and chromosome 17 PRKAR1A locus changes. Conclusion: We conclude that the tTA/X2AS mouse line with a downregulated Prkar1a gene replicates several of the findings in Carney complex patients and their affected tissues, supporting the role of RIα as a candidate tumour suppressor gene.
Stathmin-Tubulin Interaction Gradients in Motile and Mitotic Cells

The spatial organization of the microtubule cytoskeleton is thought to be directed by steady-state activity gradients of diffusible regulatory molecules. We visualized such intracellular gradients by monitoring the interaction between tubulin and a regulator of microtubule dynamics, stathmin, using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensor. These gradients were observed both during interphase in motile membrane protrusions and during mitosis around chromosomes, which suggests that a similar mechanism may contribute to the creation of polarized microtubule structures. These interaction patterns are likely to reflect phosphorylation of stathmin in these areas.
Microenvironment and photosynthesis of zooxanthellae in scleractinian corals studied with microsensors for O2, pH and light

During experimental light-dark cycles, O9 in the tissue of the colonial scleractinian corals Favia sp. and Acropora sp reached >250 % of air saturation after a few minutes in light. Immediately after darkenmg, 0; was depleted rapidly, and within 5 mm the 0; concentration at the tissue surface reached <2 % of air saturation. The pH of the tissue changed within 10 min from about 8.5 in the light to 7.3 m the dark. Oxygen and pH profiles revealed a diffusive boundary layer of flow-dependent thickness, which limited coral respiration in the dark. The light field at the tissue surface (measured as scalar irradiance, Eo) differed strongly with respect to light intensity and spectral composition from the incident collimated light (measured as downwelling irradiance, Ed) Scalar irradiance reached up to 180 % of Ed at the coral tissue surface for wavelengths subject to less absorption by the coral tissue (600 to 650 run and >680 nm). The scalar irradiance spectra exhibited bands of chlorophyll a (chl a ) (675 run), chl c (630 to 640 nm) and pendinin (540 nm) absorption and a broad absorption band due to chlorophyl l~ and carotenoids between 400 and 550 nm. The shape of both action spectra and photosynthesis vs irradiance (Pvs I) curves depended on the choice of the light intensity parameter. Calculations of miha1 slopes and onset of light saturation, Ik, showed that P vs Eo curves exhibit a lower initial slope and a higher 4 than corresponding Pvs Ed curves. Coral respiration in light was calculated as the difference between the measured gross and net photosynthesis, and was found to be >6 times higher at a saturating irradiance of 350 pEm m 2 s 1 than the dark respiration measured under identical hydrodynamic conditions (flow rate of 5 to 6 cm ssl).
An energy-aware co-simulation framework for the design of wireless sensor networks

In this paper we present an energy-aware framework for the design of wireless sensor networks, based on a hardware/software/network co-simulation strategy. The framework enables fast development and optimization of software power management policies, since it allows to run real software that can be easily ported on target hardware nodes. The capabilities of the simulation framework have been stressed by comparing different power management strategies, exploring their power-performance trade-offs and their effectiveness in various network conditions.
Colistin and doripenem combinations against Pseudomonas aeruginosa: profiling the time course of synergistic killing and prevention of resistance.

OBJECTIVES Colistin is an 'old' drug, which is being increasingly utilized due to limited therapeutic options. However, resistance emergence during monotherapy is concerning. Here, our objective was to optimize colistin combinations against Pseudomonas aeruginosa by profiling the time course of synergistic killing and prevention of resistance. METHODS Hollow-fibre infection models over 10 days simulated clinically relevant dosage regimens of colistin and doripenem against two heteroresistant P. aeruginosa strains (MIC 1 mg/L) and one resistant (MIC 128 mg/L) strain (inoculum 10(9.3) cfu/mL). New mathematical mechanism-based models (MBMs) were developed using S-ADAPT. RESULTS Against heteroresistant P. aeruginosa strains, colistin monotherapy resulted in initial killing (up to 2.64 log10 cfu/mL) within 24 h followed by regrowth. High-intensity combinations involving free steady-state colistin concentrations of 5 mg/L achieved complete eradication (>9.3 log10 killing) within 48 h. These combinations achieved synergy with up to 9.38 log10 greater killing compared with the most active monotherapy. Against the colistin-resistant strain, the combination yielded marked initial synergy with up to 6.11 log10 cfu/mL bacterial reductions within 72 h followed by regrowth. The MBMs quantified total and resistant subpopulations and the proposed synergy between colistin and doripenem. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide insight into optimal antibiotic treatment and may serve as a framework for new drug combinations and combination modelling.
Interoperability issues in Web Services

In today's environment most of the commercial web based project developed in the industry as well enumerous number of funded project/and studies taken as part of research oriented initiatives in the academia suffer from major technical issues as to how design, develop and deploy the Web Services that can run in variety of heterogeneous environments. In this paper we address the issues of interoperability between Web Services, the metrics which can be used to measure the interoperability and simulate the Online shopping application by developing the Credit Card Verification Software using Luhn's Mod 10 algorithm having Java Client written in NetBeans and the BankWebService in C# . NET.
Regulation of Myelin Genes Implicated in Psychiatric Disorders by Functional Activity in Axons

Myelination is a highly dynamic process that continues well into adulthood in humans. Several recent gene expression studies have found abnormal expression of genes involved in myelination in the prefrontal cortex of brains from patients with schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses. Defects in myelination could contribute to the pathophysiology of psychiatric illness by impairing information processing as a consequence of altered impulse conduction velocity and synchrony between cortical regions carrying out higher level cognitive functions. Myelination can be altered by impulse activity in axons and by environmental experience. Psychiatric illness is treated by psychotherapy, behavioral modification, and drugs affecting neurotransmission, raising the possibility that myelinating glia may not only contribute to such disorders, but that activity-dependent effects on myelinating glia could provide one of the cellular mechanisms contributing to the therapeutic effects of these treatments. This review examines evidence showing that genes and gene networks important for myelination can be regulated by functional activity in axons.
Dynamic inefficiency, public debt and endogenous fertility

In this paper we show that, when endogenous fertility is considered via Cobb-Douglas preferences, public debt plays a clear-cut role on dynamic inefficiency (DI) of an OLG economy: in fact, for correcting the DI problem, debt must be increased (decreased) when the economy is overaccumulating (underaccumulating). The occurrence of overaccumulation, and, thus, the necessity of a positive level of debt, is favoured by a small capital income share, on the technological side, and a sufficiently high degree of patience and a low preference for children on preferences grounds. As for the optimal level of debt, our analysis shows that a high level ofdebt is more likely to be optimal for countries with a relatively low share of capital, with high costs for rearing children, with high individuals' degree of patience; as for individuals preference for children, as expected, the preference for a numerous family reduces the risk of overaccumulation and, thus, the optimal level of national debt. Moreover, interestingly, although in our model the occurrence of dynamic inefficiency (DI) does not depend on the level of the child rearing cost, such cost magnifies the degree of inefficiency and, therefore, a higher public debt is required for correcting DI. Finally, it is argued that such findings can provide useful criteria for assessing the optimality of public debt-cutting policies undertaken by several Europen countries.
Performance Modelling of TXOP Differentiation in Infrastructure-Based WLANs

As the access point (AP) is responsible for forwarding all the frames to and from the infrastructure-based WLANs, the network performance is significantly degraded by the unbalanced traffic loads. A potential solution is to assign different transmission opportunities (TXOPs) to AP and other mobile stations, respectively. This study develops an analytical model to investigate the performance of infrastructure-based WLANs with the TXOP differentiation under the unbalanced traffic loads. The analytical model is validated through extensive ns2 simulation experiments.