Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Minimizing the maximum sensor movement for barrier coverage in the plane

Border surveillance for intrusion detection is an important application of wireless sensor networks. Given a set of mobile sensors and their initial positions, how to move these sensors to a region border to achieve barrier coverage energy-efficiently is challenging. In this paper, we study the 2-D MinMax barrier coverage problem of moving n sensors in a two-dimensional plane to form a barrier coverage of a specified line segment in the plane while minimizing the maximum sensor movement for the sake of balancing battery power consumption. Previously, this problem was shown to be NP-hard for the general case. It was an open problem whether the problem is polynomial-time solvable for the case when sensors have a fixed number of sensing ranges. We study a special case of great practical significance that the sensors have the same sensing range and present an O(n3 log n) time algorithm. Our algorithm computes a permutation of the left and right endpoints of the moving ranges of all the sensors forming a barrier coverage and minimizes the maximum sensor movement distance by characterizing permutation switches that are critical. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first result for solving the 2-D MinMax barrier coverage problem for the case that all sensors have a uniform sensing range.
Increasing Asthma Awareness Among Physicians: Impact on Patient Management and Satisfaction

Our objective was to investigate the impact of increased asthma awareness among primary care physicians on the asthma control and satisfaction of their patients. Physicians attended an asthma education session with emphasis on patient‐physician partnership followed by 4 month monitored follow‐up of patients aged 5–44 years with mild to moderate asthma. Findings were compared with a group of patients whose physician attended the session but did not participate in the follow‐up and two other control groups. The study included pediatricians and general practitioners of Maccabi Healthcare Services and their patients. Asthma symptoms were rated by patients and physicians. Data on drug prescription and use were derived from the Maccabi central database. Patient response and satisfaction and physician satisfaction were evaluated by telephone interviews. Mean asthma symptom score improved from 2.0 to 1.1 in the study group of patients (p < 0.001). The use of reliever drugs decreased concomitantly with a rise in controller drugs in all patients. An improvement in asthma status was reported by 64% of the study patients and 39% of non participating patients (p = 0.007). Fifty‐eight percent of the patients rated their competence to deal with asthma as high before the intervention compared to 62% of the participating and 55% of the non‐participating patients after the intervention (p = 0.002). Most physicians claimed that simply increasing their awareness on asthma led to beneficial results in their patients. Physician education followed by monitored follow‐up enhanced asthma control and patient satisfaction. Nevertheless, physician education alone appears to have a significant isolated impact on asthma control.
The Reliability and Validity of the Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire

The dimensionality of career indecisiveness has continually eluded researchers for several years. These measures have been either purely theoretical or purely empirical, neglecting the other domain. A relatively new instrument, the Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ), is based on a taxonomy of decision-making difficulties. This study assesses the reliability and construct validity of the CDDQ, along with differences between decided and undecided groups. The sample included 268 university students. Convergent validity was assessed using the Career Decision Scale (CDS). Discriminant validity was assessed using measures of anxiety and social desirability. The CDDQ showed convergence with the CDS, and discriminated against both anxiety and social desirability. Differences between groups were statistically significant on most decision making difficulty scales. The results provide support for the reliability and validity of the CDDQ, suggesting that this measure may be useful in attempting to understand the multidimensionality of career indecisiveness and further assist in the development of a more comprehensive and accurate theoretical perspective of the construct of career indecisiveness.
The rise and fall and rise of Japan’s stable shareholders

A historical analysis of the industrial groupings distinctive to Japan demonstrates the existence of persistent cohorts of stable friendly shareholders within group company equity holdings. Over the years, these shareholders have performed various useful tasks for group companies especially with regard to ameliorating the effects of external threats to company governance or group coherence. A number of lessons for management are derived from this analysis.
Nutrition for sport. Getting the most out of training.

BACKGROUND Sports nutrition involves the application of eating strategies to promote good health and adaptation to the training program, to recovery quickly after each exercise session and to perform optimally during competition. OBJECTIVE This article explores the many myths about sports nutrition principles and provides answers to the most common questions that arise in sports nutrition. DISCUSSION Good nutrition practices will enhance the performance and enjoyment of sport and exercise activities at all levels.
Cut detection technique from MPEG compressed video using likelihood ratio test

A cut detection technique using a likelihood ratio test for MPEG compressed video sequences is proposed. Automatic cut detection techniques are essential techniques to analyze video content. The conventional techniques calculate the similarities of two successive frames and determine cut points by comparing the similarities with a given threshold value; the threshold value is determined heuristically. The new technique estimates likelihood functions from video samples and determines cut points by testing the hypothesis that two frames belong to the same shot. This technique makes it possible to calculate the optimum threshold value analytically. The experimental results show that the new technique gives the smallest probability of false negative for fixed probability of false positive in comparison with the conventional techniques.
Understanding Human-Plasmodium falciparum Immune Interactions Uncovers the Immunological Role of Worms

Background Former studies have pointed to a monocyte-dependant effect of antibodies in protection against malaria and thereby to cytophilic antibodies IgG1 and IgG3, which trigger monocyte receptors. Field investigations have further documented that a switch from non-cytophilic to cytophilic classes of antimalarial antibodies was associated with protection. The hypothesis that the non-cytophilic isotype imbalance could be related to concomittant helminthic infections was supported by several interventions and case-control studies. Methods and Findings We investigated here the hypothesis that the delayed acquisition of immunity to malaria could be related to a worm-induced Th2 drive on antimalarial immune responses. IgG1 to IgG4 responses against 6 different parasite-derived antigens were analyzed in sera from 203 Senegalese children, half carrying intestinal worms, presenting 421 clinical malaria attacks over 51 months. Results show a significant correlation between the occurrence of malaria attacks, worm carriage (particularly that of hookworms) and a decrease in cytophilic IgG1 and IgG3 responses and an increase in non-cytophilic IgG4 response to the merozoite stage protein 3 (MSP3) vaccine candidate. Conclusion The results confirm the association with protection of anti-MSP3 cytophilic responses, confirm in one additional setting that worms increase malaria morbidity and show a Th2 worm-driven pattern of anti-malarial immune responses. They document why large anthelminthic mass treatments may be worth being assessed as malaria control policies.
Dynamic prediction models for clustered and interval-censored outcomes: Investigating the intra-couple correlation in the risk of dementia

The use of settings such as cohorts or clinical trials with interval-censored data and clustered event times are increasingly popular designs. First, the observed outcomes cannot be considered as independent and random effects survival models were introduced. Second, the failure time is not known exactly but it is only known to have occurred within a certain interval. We propose here an extension of shared frailty models to handle simultaneously the interval censoring, the clustering and also left truncation due to delayed entry in the cohort. A simulation study to evaluate the proposed method was conducted. The estimated results are used to obtain dynamic predictions for clustered patients, with interval-censored failure times and with a given history. We apply our method to the Three-City study, a prospective cohort with periodic follow-up in order to study prognostic factors of dementia. In this application scheme, couples are natural clusters and an intra-couple correlation might be present with a possible increased risk for dementia for subjects whose partner already developed incident dementia. No significant intra-couple correlation for the risk of dementia was observed before and after adjustments for covariates. We also present individual predictions of dementia underlining the usefulness of dynamic prognostic tools that can take into account the clustering. The consideration of frailty models for interval-censoring data and left-truncated data permits useful analysis of very complex clustered data. It could help to improve estimation of the impact of proposed prognostic features in a study with clustering. We proposed here a tractable model and a dynamic prediction tool that can easily be implemented using the R package Frailtypack.
Involuntary Attentional Capture is Determined by Task Set: Evidence from Event-related Brain Potentials

To find out whether attentional capture by irrelevant but salient visual objects is an exogenous bottomup phenomenon, or can be modulated by current task set, two experiments were conducted where the N2pc component was measured as an electrophysiological marker of attentional selection in response to spatially uninformative color singleton cues that preceded target arrays. When observers had to report the orientation of a uniquely colored target bar among distractor bars (color task), behavioral spatial cueing effects were accompanied by an early cue-induced N2pc, indicative of rapid attentional capture by color singleton cues. In contrast, when they reported the orientation of target bars presented without distractors (onset task), no behavioral cueing effects were found and no early N2pc was triggered to physically identical cue arrays. Experiment 2 ruled out an alternative interpretation of these N2pc differences in terms of distractor inhibition. These results do not support previous claims that attentional capture is initially unaffected by topdown intention, and demonstrate the central role of task set in involuntary attentional orienting.
EEG frontal asymmetry related to pleasantness of music perception in healthy children and cochlear implanted users

Interestingly, the international debate about the quality of music fruition for cochlear implanted users does not take into account the hypothesis that bilateral users could perceive music in a more pleasant way with respect to monolateral users. In this scenario, the aim of the present study was to investigate if cerebral signs of pleasantness during music perception in healthy child are similar to those observed in monolateral and in bilateral cochlear implanted users. In fact, previous observations in literature on healthy subjects have indicated that variations of the frontal EEG alpha activity are correlated with the perceived pleasantness of the sensory stimulation received (approach-withdrawal theory). In particular, here we described differences between cortical activities estimated in the alpha frequency band for a healthy child and in patients having a monolateral or a bilateral cochlear implant during the fruition of a musical cartoon. The results of the present analysis showed that the alpha EEG asymmetry patterns observed in a healthy child and that of a bilateral cochlear implanted patient are congruent with the approach-withdrawal theory. Conversely, the scalp topographic distribution of EEG power spectra in the alpha band resulting from the monolateral cochlear user presents a different EEG pattern from the normal and bilateral implanted patients. Such differences could be explained at the light of the approach-withdrawal theory. In fact, the present findings support the hypothesis that a monolateral cochlear implanted user could perceive the music in a less pleasant way when compared to a healthy subject or to a bilateral cochlear user.
Cable Fault Localization Using Instantaneous Frequency Estimation in Gaussian-Enveloped Linear Chirp Reflectometry

This paper presents an application of a cable fault localization using an instantaneous frequency (IF) estimation in the Gaussian-enveloped linear chirp (GELC) reflectometry. The GELC reflectometry sends a GELC signal into a cable and measures the reflected signals from the faults. A fault distance is calculated by the estimated time delay between the incident and reflected signals. The cross-correlation method for estimating time delay can be affected by the propagation characteristics of the cable and this results in the time offset in the time delay estimation. To reduce the time offset, we propose an IF-estimation-based fault-localization method. The proposed method uses the statistical-model-based detection with the hidden Markov model and the constrained Kalman filtering for estimating the IF of the GELC. We can obtain the time delay between the incident and reflected signals by calculating the time delay between the center frequencies corresponding to the incident and reflected signals, respectively. Experimental results show that the proposed method estimates the accurate fault distance without the compensation term for the time offset. Therefore, the proposed method is an appropriate method for estimating the fault localization in a cable.
The Shape of Cas A

On the basis of optical, IR, and X-ray studies of Cas A, we propose a geometry for the remnant based on a “jet-induced” scenario with significant systematic departures from axial symmetry. In this model, the main jet axis is oriented in the direction of strong blueshifted motion at an angle of 110°-120° east of north and about 40°-50° to the east of the line of sight. Normal to this axis would be an expanding torus as predicted by jet-induced models. In the proposed geometry, iron-peak elements in the main jetlike flow could appear “beyond” the portions of the remnant rich in silicon by projection effects, not the effect of mixing. In the context of the proposed geometry, the displacement of the compact object from the kinematic center of the remnant at a position angle of ~169° can be accommodated if the motion of the compact object is near to, but slightly off from, the direction of the main “jet” axis by of order 30°. In this model, the classical NE “jet,” the SW “counterjet,” and other protrusions, particularly the “hole” in the north, are nonaxisymmetric flows approximately in the equatorial plane, e.g., out through the perimeter of the expanding torus, rather than being associated with the main jet. We explore the spokelike flow in the equatorial plane in terms of Rayleigh-Taylor, Richtmyer-Meshkov, and Kelvin-Helmholz instabilities and illustrate these instabilities with a jet-induced simulation.
Coping and repetitive strain injury

Abstract The present research project is based on assessing predictions based on a cognitive appraisal model by Lazarus as to the coping mechanisms used by repetitive strain patients as they appraised their injury, how they coped with their injury, and how they adapted to having their injury. Various predictions are assessed to determine the relationship between problem- and emotion-focused coping. Those who used emotion-focused coping considered Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) as something that must be accepted, were more negative, had more difficulty asking for help, and were younger. Those who used problem- or information-focused coping considered RSI as amenable to change, were more positive, and were older.
Recognition of facial expression by using neural-network system with fuzzified characteristic distances weights

A neural-network with fuzzified characteristic distances weights (NNFCDW) is proposed in this paper to recognize the facial expressions effectively. During the recognition process, the characteristic distances that represent the relationship between the facial expressions and the muscle movement are used to be the major basis for recognition. The different expressions will somehow dominate the characteristic distances defined from different feature-area (mouth, eye or eyebrow). Therefore, the weights of the characteristic distances will be an important factor to determine the recognition rate. In this paper, a reasonable method of tuning the weights without trial-and-error is proposed. A fuzzy system based on the recognition results is developed to generate the weights rationally. The characteristic distances are multiplied with the fuzzified weights and sent to a neural-network system for recognition of the facial expressions. The proposed neural-network system is composed of the self-organizing map (SOM) neural network and back-propagation neural network (BPNN). When BPNN used the pre-classified data as its training data, the training cycles can be obviously reduced. The experimental results demonstrate that the recognition rate of using the proposed NNFCDW obviously increased about 10% ~ 13% as comparing with the results obtained by using pure BPNN. The computational time of using the proposed NNFCDW is also effectively decreased about 60% as comparing with the results obtained by using pure BPNN.
A MDA approach for systems dedicated to process control

This document presents a MDA-based method for the development of systems dedicated to process control. It proposes to introduce a first sensors/actuators independent model. QoS semantic definitions are then stated; thus, dealing with quality of service (QoS) requirements is a way to safely introduce sensors/actuators in the model.
Characterization of six human disease-associated inversion polymorphisms

The human genome is a highly dynamic structure that shows a wide range of genetic polymorphic variation. Unlike other types of structural variation, little is known about inversion variants within normal individuals because such events are typically balanced and are difficult to detect and analyze by standard molecular approaches. Using sequence-based, cytogenetic and genotyping approaches, we characterized six large inversion polymorphisms that map to regions associated with genomic disorders with complex segmental duplications mapping at the breakpoints. We developed a metaphase FISH-based assay to genotype inversions and analyzed the chromosomes of 27 individuals from three HapMap populations. In this subset, we find that these inversions are less frequent or absent in Asians when compared with European and Yoruban populations. Analyzing multiple individuals from outgroup species of great apes, we show that most of these large inversion polymorphisms are specific to the human lineage with two exceptions, 17q21.31 and 8p23 inversions, which are found to be similarly polymorphic in other great ape species and where the inverted allele represents the ancestral state. Investigating linkage disequilibrium relationships with genotyped SNPs, we provide evidence that most of these inversions appear to have arisen on at least two different haplotype backgrounds. In these cases, discovery and genotyping methods based on SNPs may be confounded and molecular cytogenetics remains the only method to genotype these inversions.
Cyclic AMP Can Decrease Expression of Genes Subject to Catabolite Repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT External cyclic AMP (cAMP) hindered the derepression of gluconeogenic enzymes in a pde2 mutant ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae, but it did not prevent invertase derepression. cAMP reduced nearly 20-fold the transcription driven by upstream activation sequence (UAS1FBP1) from FBP1, encoding fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase; it decreased 2-fold the activation of transcription by UAS2FBP1. Nuclear extracts from cells derepressed in the presence of cAMP were impaired in the formation of specific UASFBP1-protein complexes in band shift experiments. cAMP does not appear to act through the repressing protein Mig1. Control of FBP1 transcription through cAMP is redundant with other regulatory mechanisms.
Does Respiratory Muscle Training Improve Cough Flow in Acute Stroke? Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Purpose— Cough protects the lungs from aspiration. We investigated whether respiratory muscle training may improve respiratory muscle and cough function, and potentially reduce pneumonia risk in acute stroke. Methods— We conducted a single-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 82 patients with stroke (mean age, 64±14 years; 49 men) within 2 weeks of stroke onset. Participants were masked to treatment allocation and randomized to 4 weeks of daily expiratory (n=27), inspiratory (n=26), or sham training (n=25), using threshold resistance devices. Primary outcome was the change in peak expiratory cough flow of maximal voluntary cough. Intention-to-treat analyses were conducted using ANCOVA, adjusting for baseline prognostic covariates. Results— There were significant improvements in the mean maximal inspiratory (14 cmH2O; P<0.0001) and expiratory (15 cmH2O; P<0.0001) mouth pressure and peak expiratory cough flow of voluntary cough (74 L/min; P=0.0002) between baseline and 28 days in all groups. Peak expiratory cough flow of capsaicin-induced reflex cough was unchanged. There were no between-group differences that could be attributed to respiratory muscle training. There were also no differences in the 90-day incidence of pneumonia between the groups (P=0.65). Conclusions— Respiratory muscle function and cough flow improve with time after acute stroke. Additional inspiratory or expiratory respiratory muscle training does not augment or expedite this improvement. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.controlled-trials.com. Unique identifier: ISRCTN40298220.
Vitamin D3 Distribution and Status in the Body

Objective: To estimate the amount, type, and tissue distribution of vitamin D in the adult body under typical inputs. Methods: Review and reanalysis of published measurements and analysis of tissue samples from growing pigs raised in confinement on diets providing about 2000 IU vitamin D/day. Cholecalciferol and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration measured by HPLC. Results: Mean serum 25(OH)D in all studies combined was 45 nmol/L. At the level of vitamin D repletion represented by this concentration, total body vitamin D would be 14,665 IU for a 70 kg adult woman. 65% of this total was present as native cholecalciferol and 35% as 25(OH)D. Nearly three-quarters of the cholecalciferol was in fat, while 25(OH)D was more evenly distributed throughout the body (20% in muscle, 30% in serum, 35% in fat, and 15% in all other tissues). At the daily vitamin D consumption rates in these animals total body stores provided only a ∼7-day reserve. Conclusions: At total intakes on the order of 2000 IU/day, an adult has very little vitamin D reserve, despite intakes 10× the current recommendations. Those recommended inputs need to be increased by at least an order of magnitude. Food tables that fail to take into account 25(OH)D content of various meat products lead to underestimation of dietary vitamin D intake.