Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Center for Scientific Computation And Mathematical Modeling

Spread spectrum techniques are often employed when transmitting information. They are widely used in wireless and cellular telephony. Spread spectrum techniques allow one to partition bandwidth, to hide transmissions, and to protect one’s transmissions from being jammed. In this article, we develop two facets of spread spectrum. We show how to understand the properties of direct sequence spread spectrum. For this purpose we make use of probabilistic arguments. We also show how to design the pseudo-random sequences that spread spectrum transmitters and receivers generally use. This causes us to consider the properties of recurrence relations (and polynomials) over the integers modulo two.
Ladon: A Cyber-Threat Bio-Inspired Intelligence Management System

According to the Greek mythology, Ladon was the huge dragon with the 100 heads, which had the ability to stay continuously up, in order to guard the golden “Esperides” apples in the tree of life. Alike the ancient one, digital Ladon is an advanced information systems’ security mechanism, which uses Artificial Intelligence to protect, control and offer early warning in cases of detour or misleading of the digital security measures. It is an effective cross-layer system of network supervision, which enriches the lower layers of the system (Transport, Network and Data). It amplifies in an intelligent manner the upper layers (Session, Presentation and Application) with capabilities of automated control. This is done to enhance the energetic security and the mechanisms of reaction of the general system, without special requirements in computational resources. This paper describes the development of Ladon which is an advanced, incredibly fast and low
The Effectiveness of Korean Hand Acupressure on Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting after Gynecological Surgery

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of Korean hand acupressure in the prevention of post operative nausea and vomiting in women scheduled for minor gynecologic surgery. They were divided into two groups. group (A) (60 patients), acupressure was performed 30 min before the induction of anesthesia by using a special acupressure bands, which were fixed onto the korean point K-K9 and remained there for at least 24 h. the second group (B) (60 patients) functioned as control group. In the group (A) the incidence of nausea and vomiting was significantly less also the needs for antiemetic was less than in group (B). It was concluded that Korean hand acupressure of K-K9 is an effective method for
SSM as a tool to build a decision support model for the location of a freight village

This paper describes the use of Soft System Methodology (SSM) as a problem structuring tool, paving the way for the development of a decision support model in the process of planning the location of a freight village. The SSM approach contributed with a deeper understanding of the problematic situation, the identification of the main stakeholders and their relations, in a complex setting involving several Government bodies, municipalities, regional agencies, companies, in the presence of legal, technical, social, economical, and environmental aspects. The SSM analysis enabled to uncover, clarify and structure issues relevant for the development of a multi-criteria model to provide decision support.
Digital Reconstructions of Sauropod Dinosaurs and Implications for Feeding

n recent years, sauropods HAVE been interpreted primarily as quadrupedal herbivores, with sympatric taxa differentiated in their feeding behavior presumably according to their dentition and feeding height in a quadrupedal stance (e.g., Fiorillo 1998; Upchurch and Barrett 2000). In order to generate detailed hypotheses concerning sauropod paleoecology, it is essential to start with as accurate a reconstruction of their body plans as can be afforded from their fossils. An accurate rendering of the life posture of a sauropod is necessary in order to determine the feeding envelope for each taxon in its conventional quadrupedal stance. We review here the body plan of several major sauropod groups, emphasizing the use of whole-body reconstructions to determine the approximate head height when the animal was standing quadrupedally, supporting its weight symmetrically from left to right, and holding the axial skeleton in an undeflected state. The undeflected state is termed the “neutral pose,” defined geometrically, and analyzed on the basis of osteological determinants in extant vertebrates as a guide to their reconstruction for sauropods. Neutral position head height is one key point for analyzing variation in feeding behaviors across sauropods, another being variation in dentition; both are set against the backdrop of available fodder. What was the relationship between a sauropod’s preferred feeding height and the height at which its head was held when the neck was undeflected? A bridging assumption is necessary to relate these two parameters for an extinct species. The habitual feeding posture of a terrestrial herbivore can relate to the neutral position of its neck in three ways: (1) the herbivore can deflect its neck ventrally relative to the neutral position for browsing, or “browse by ventriflexion” (BV); it can raise its neck relative to the neutral position, or “browse by dorsiflexion” (BD); or it can feed at or near the neutral position of the neck, or “browse neutrally”(BN). As browsing behavior is not directly preserved in the fossil record, it is necessary to consider the phylogenetic and functional distribution of these three feeding models among extant tetrapods. The form of browsing (BV, BD, or BN) is, in principle, independent of the neutral pose head height (relative to shoulder height) of a given SIX
A NEW APPROACH FOR MOBIL ROBOT SELF-LOCATION IN THREE DIMENSIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract An original mobile robot self-location technique in three dimensional environments is presented in this paper. This method solves the 3D location problem using a single colour camera on board the robot. A very simple pattern consisting of a few color points has been designed in order to achieve two main objectives. pose of the robot in the room and location of the robot in the building. Perspective projection analysis of the pattern is enough to obtain camera viewing parameters in the room coordinate system and color code analysis identifies the specific floor and room in the building. Our approach is being used for applications inside buildings Experimentation with a mobile robot, advantages and restriction of this technique are shown in the paper.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Inspecting school social quality Assessing and improving school effectiveness in the social domain

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
An overview of forty years organotin chemistry developed at the Free Universities of Brussels ULB and VUB

Esta revisao cobre os principais eixos de pesquisa desenvolvidos nas Universidades Livres de Bruxelas entre 1961 e 2001. Primeiro, introduzimos os conceitos desenvolvidos no campo das reacoes de quebra das ligacoes carbono-estanho em compostos RR'R"R"'Sn usando reagentes E-N, obtendo-se R-E e R'R"R"'SnN, em solventes nucleofilos e nao nucleofilos. A adicao do nucleofilo ao ion metalico e necessaria para permitir a quebra da ligacao metal-carbono pelo eletrofilo. A reacao pode ser caracterizada pela retencao da configuracao do carbono quando um retentor ciclico e usado, ou pela inversao de configuracao quando este retentor nao e efetivo. A estereo-seletividade de substituicoes nucleofilas bimoleculares em estanho e tambem discutida, bem como a (in)estabilidade de varias classes de tri-organo-estanho derivados. Finalmente, a atividade in vitro anti-tumoral promissora dos compostos di- e tri-organo-estanhos soluveis em agua e referenciada.
Label-free Quantitative Analysis of One-dimensional PAGE LC/MS/MS Proteome APPLICATION ON ANGIOTENSIN II-STIMULATED SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS SECRETOME*□S

A widely used method for protein identification couples prefractionation of protein samples by one-dimensional (1D) PAGE with LC/MS/MS. We developed a new labelfree quantitative algorithm by combining measurements of spectral counting, ion intensity, and peak area on 1D PAGE-based proteomics. This algorithm has several improvements over other label-free quantitative algorithms: (i) Errors in peak detection are reduced because the retention time is based on each LC/MS/MS run and actual precursor m/z. (ii) Detection sensitivity is increased because protein quantification is based on the combination of peptide count, ion intensity, and peak area. (iii) Peak intensity and peak area are calculated in each LC/MS/MS run for all slices from 1D PAGE for every single identified protein and visualized as a Western blot image. The sensitivity and accuracy of this algorithm were demonstrated by using standard curves (17.4 fmol to 8.7 pmol), complex protein mixtures (30 fmol to 1.16 pmol) of known composition, and spiked protein (34.8 fmol to 17.4 pmol) in complex proteins. We studied the feasibility of this approach using the secretome of angiotensin II (Ang II)-stimulated vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). From the VSMCconditioned medium, 629 proteins were identified including 212 putative secreted proteins. 26 proteins were differently expressed in control and Ang II-stimulated VSMCs, including 18 proteins not previously reported. Proteins related to cell growth (CYR61, protein NOV, and clusterin) were increased, whereas growth arrest-specific 6 (GAS6) and growth/differentiation factor 6 were decreased by Ang II stimulation. Ang II-stimulated changes of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, GAS6, cathepsin B, and periostin were validated by Western blot. In conclusion, a novel label-free quantitative analysis of 1D PAGELC/MS/MS-based proteomics has been successfully applied to the identification of new potential mediators of Ang II action and may provide an alternative to traditional protein staining methods. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 7:2399–2409, 2008.
Hypoglycemic and Antioxidant Effects of Cleome Droserifolia (Samwah) in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Background:Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease caused by inherited or acquired deficiency in insulin secretion and by decreased responsiveness of the organs to the secreted insulin. Recently, some medicinal plants have been reported to be useful in diabetes treatment. Cleome droserifolia (Samwah) having a long history in Egyptian folk medicine for treatment of diabetes mellitus. Aim of the work:The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible antihyperglycemic property of Cleome droserifolia extract (CDE) and its antioxidant mechanism in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Material and Methods:This study was performed on thirty male albino rats of Sprague Dawely strain with an average body weight of 100-110g. Animals were divided into three groups (ten/cage), control untreated group, diabetic group and diabetic group treated with plant extract that was given orally (28.5 mg/kg body wt. twice/ day). Results: Results showed marked decline in levels of serum insulin, body weight, total proteins, albumin, globulin and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). These are accompanied with marked elevation in levels of fasting blood glucose, HOMA-IR, AST, ALT, GGT, urea, creatinine, uric acid, serum total lipids (TL), total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerols (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL) and ratios of TC/HDL and LDL/HDL (risk factors) in diabetic rats as compared to the corresponding controls. While the daily administration of diabetic rats with CDE showed significant amelioration in most of these parameters. Conclusion: It could be concluded that CDE treatment exerts a therapeutic protective nature in diabetes by decreasing oxidative stress and pancreatic β-cells’ damage which may be attributed to its antioxidative potential and antidiabetic property.
RI-CUBE: Dotando al PCE de información abstracta de ingeniería de tráfico interdominio

El cómputo de rutas en Internet se ha vuelto una tarea compleja y costosa. La arquitectura PCE (Path Computation Element) proporciona la funcionalidad necesaria para el cómputo de rutas interdominio en redes MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) y GMPLS (Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching). En este escenario, el cálculo de rutas interdominio se lleva a cabo mediante la cooperación entre PCEs. El PCE que requiera ayuda, utiliza un mecanismo de selección de PCEs colaboradores que podría tener en consideración el estado de la red y sus recursos. Este mecanismo es especialmente importante debido al impacto que tiene en el tiempo total necesario para computar una ruta interdominio completa. En este trabajo, aportamos un detallado estudio de la información de ingeniería de tráfico manejada por los IGPs (Interior Gateway Protocols) más importantes y también un mecanismo para intercambiar esta información en entornos interdominio de forma que no se viole la privacidad de sobre la topología de la dominios afectados. Con esta información en su poder, un elemento PCE puede seleccionar un PCE exterior para colaborar, de forma efectiva y más precisa, minimizando el tiempo total necesario para calcular la ruta interdominio. KeywordsEncaminamiento interdominio; ISIS-TE; MPLSTE; OSPF-TE; selección de PCE.
A New Joint P and S Velocity Model of the Mantle Parameterized in Cubic B-Splines

Abstract : The objective of the project is to develop and improve upon three-dimensional (3-D) seismic velocity models of the Earth and to utilize such models for improving the locations of events recorded at regional and teleseismic distances. Our previous experiments performed using 3-D models of varying resolution show that the accuracy of event location with respect to ground truth does not necessarily improve with an increasing number of free parameters in a model. One reason for this may be the lack of waveform data used for constructing recent high-resolution models, since the maximum sensitivity of seismic travel times to structure is in the middle to lower mantle. In this paper we develop a new joint, P and S velocity model parameterized in terms of radial and horizontal cubic splines, using a combination of direct and differential travel times and surface wave phase measurements. The accuracy of the travel time data has been improved by relocating the events using a previously existing 3-D mantle P wave model. The cubic spline parameterization conveniently allows more detailed models to be inserted within it for use of regional phases in event location. Our preliminary model shows substantial differences in compressional velocity in the uppermost mantle compared with previous models. In conjunction with the model development, we are collecting new reference events with accurate locations, among them earthquakes on mid-ocean ridges and transforms, using a constrained inversion technique.
A Scalable Algorithm for Query Minimization

Minimizing a query means nding an equivalent one with the least number of joins. Although this problem was on eived over 25 years ago, no s alable algorithm exists today for several reasons. First, the problem is NP-hard even for onjun tive queries, whi h seems to pre lude a universally fast algorithm. More importantly, there was little need: histori ally most queries were handwritten and already minimal. Today view expansion has be ome a entral theme of many systems. This tends to result in queries that are highly redundant and in need of minimization. In addition, re ent theoreti al work on tree-de omposition has provided a new approa h to query ontainment, the major sub-problem in query minimization. We des ribe a query minimization algorithm that s ales to onjun tive queries with hundreds of joins. The algorithm in orporates four te hniques: a fast heuristi for tree-de omposition, randomization, table-pruning, and in remental re omputation. Our experimental evaluation shows that ea h ontributes signi antly to the algorithm's performan e.
Katriina Joensuu – Interactions between human mesenchymal stem cells and circulating mononuclear cells in bone regeneration

Despite the regenerative actions of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM‐ MSCs) and optimal reduction, ossification is delayed in almost 10% of all fractures, requiring surgical intervention. The gold standard for treating non‐ unions and delayed unions is a tissue auto‐ or allograft, which, nevertheless, can cause several specific problems, such as donor site morbidity, disease transmission and immunological rejection. To overcome these problems, tissue‐ engineered bone grafts are being developed. They are sensitive to hypoxia, however, and can quickly undergo apoptosis in the host tissue. Therefore, improved methods for inducing proper angiogenesis and tissue endothelialisation are vital. It is known that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB‐MNCs) include endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which are responsible for neoangiogenesis in adult tissues, and these cells have been suggested as a potential source of bone graft vascularization. The aims of this study were to utilize the interactions between human BM‐MSCs and PB‐MNCs: Firstly, to develop a method of endothelialising an MSC‐culture; secondly, to optimize the differentiation capacity of MSCs into bone‐forming osteoblasts; and, thirdly, to characterize the cellular and molecular factors essential in these processes. The results showed that a co‐ culture of human MSCs and MNCs led to a powerful endothelial cell differentiation and tubular structure formation, even without any exogenous growth factors. Furthermore, the osteoblastic differentiation and bone formation in the co‐culture setting was more efficient than in monocultures and was further potentiated when cultures were supplemented with exogenous VEGF. Finally, it was shown that both endothelial and pericyte differentiation were induced in MSC‐MNC co‐ cultures and that the expression profile of various proangiogenic factors was dependent on culture conditions. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the key events that stimulate successful bone healing can be induced in co‐cultures of human MSCs and MNCs. This co‐culture method can be used to enhance osteoblast, endothelial cell and pericyte differentiation and could therefore have potential in the further development of tissue‐engineered bone grafts.
Non-equilibrium steady state of sparse systems

A resistor network picture of transitions is appropriate for the study of energy absorption by weakly chaotic or weakly interacting driven systems. Such “sparse” systems reach a novel non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) once coupled to a bath. In the stochastic case there is an analogy to the physics of percolating glassy systems, and an extension of the fluctuation-dissipation phenomenology is proposed. In the mesoscopic case the quantum NESS might differ enormously from the stochastic NESS, with saturation temperature determined by the sparsity. A toy model where the sparsity of the system is modeled using a log-normal random ensemble is analyzed.
EVALUATION OF NATURAL PRODUCTS

Crude extracts from Warburgia ugandensis Sprague, Azadirachta indica, Tagetes minuta and Urtica massaica have been tested against soil pathogens; Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria passiflorae and Aspergillus niger. The results obtained showed biological activity against these pathogens except for U. massaica extract, which was not active. Separation of the crude extract from W. ugandensis yielded two pure compounds; Muzigadial and Muzigadiolide whose structures were confirmed by spectroscopic techniques and comparing with already existing spectroscopic data. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for those two compounds from W. ugandensis have been obtained. Green house experiments using W. ugandensis crude extract against F. oxysporium that causes wilting in Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato plant) have been carried out. Data interpretation carried out by Analysis of variance and comparison of various treatments through LSD and DMRT tests showed that this crude extract controlled the pathogen F. oxysporum. INTRODUCTION Methyl bromide has been used as a fumigant for over 60 years. An important valuable property of methyl bromide is the broad range of pests that it can control. It is used as a fumigant against pathogens (fungi, bacteria and soil borne viruses), insects, mites, nematodes and rodents. These pests may be in the soil, in durable or perishable commodities, as in structures and transportation vehicles. The broad spectrum of activity and ease of application of the material have led to its use as treatment of choice in a number of situations. Several agricultural systems involving intensive production of high value crops have become dependent on the use of methyl bromide. On a global basis, the largest single use of methyl bromide is as a soil fumigant (1).
Recent Advances and Challenges in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) Akyildiz et al. (2002), Zhao & Guibas (2009) are formed of spatially distributed autonomous sensor nodes (motes). They are deployed in an environment where they can be used to monitor environmental conditions in collaboration, and communicate with each other through the wireless links. Several applications that are used in different areas have been outlined in the literature, such as, medical applications for monitoring patients Shnayder et al. (2005), monitoring mission critical environments, e.g., volcanic eruptions Werner-Allen et al. (2005), monitoring the structural integrity of buildings/towers Ceriotti et al. (2009) and several other multimedia applications.
My Current Thoughts on Coefficient Alpha and Successor Procedures

In 1997, noting that the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests” was fast approaching, Lee Cronbach planned what have become the notes published here. His aimwas to point out theways in which his views on coefficient alpha had evolved, doubting nowthat the coefficientwas the bestway of judging the reliability of an instrument to which it was applied. Tracing in these notes, in vintage Cronbach style, his thinking before, during, and after the publication of the alpha paper, his “current thoughts” on coefficient alpha are that alpha covers only a small perspective of the range of measurement uses for which reliability information is needed and that it should be viewed within a much larger system of reliability analysis, generalizability theory.