Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fair Task Offloading among Fog Nodes in Fog Computing Networks

Fog computing is expected to cope with the long latency and heavy link burden existing in cloud- based networks. Computing tasks of the terminal node can be offloaded to nearby fog nodes thus achieving much lower processing delay than that of cloud-based networks. Existing researches for energy consumption in fog computing networks mainly focus on the total energy consumed by processing a task. However, fair offloading among multiple fog nodes while maintaining a low task delay is of great significance especially for the battery-powered fog nodes. This paper proposes an analytical framework of the fair task offloading for fog computing networks. Task delay and the corresponding energy consumption are formulated. Then, a fairness scheduling metric is constructed for each fog node. A two-step Fair Task Offloading (FTO) scheme is proposed finally, which selects offloading fog nodes according to the fairness metric and then offloads tasks to the selected nodes based on a rule that minimizes the task delay. Numerical simulations and comparisons indicate the satisfactory performance of the proposed task offloading scheme for maintaining a relatively high fairness index for energy consumption and low task delay in the fog computing networks.
Low-Circulating Homoarginine is Associated with Dilatation and Decreased Function of the Left Ventricle in the General Population

Low homoarginine is an independent marker of mortality in heart failure patients and incident cardiovascular events. Whether homoarginine is related with healthier cardiac structure and function is currently unclear. We used data of the population-based “Study of Health in Pomerania” (SHIP-Trend) to assess this relation. Homoarginine was measured in serum using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Linear regression models assessed the relation between homoarginine and several structural as well as functional parameters and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP). All models were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, and renal function. A total of 3113 subjects (median age 48 (25th percentile 37 to 75th percentile 60) years, 46% male) were included. A standard deviation decrease in homoarginine was associated with a larger left ventricular diastolic diameter (0.3; 95%-confidence interval (CI): 0.2 to 0.5 mm; p < 0.001), left ventricular systolic diameter (0.38; 95%-CI: −0.22 to 0.54 mm; p < 0.001) as well as a less relative wall thickness (–0.003 95%-CI: −0.006 to −0.0008; p = 0.01), left ventricular ejection fraction (–0.47; 95%-CI: –0.79 to −0.15%; p < 0.01) and fractional shortening (−0.35; 95%-CI: −0.62 to 0.07%; p = 0.01). Low homoarginine was also related to higher NTproBNP (−0.02 95%-CI: −0.034 to −0.009 log pg/mL; p < 0.01). Lower serum homoarginine is associated with dilatation of the heart and decreased function. Prospective clinical studies should assess if homoarginine supplementation improves cardiac health in subjects with low serum concentrations.
Interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy GRA method for multiple‐attribute decision making with incomplete weight information

In this paper, the concept of multiple‐attribute group decision‐making (MAGDM) problems with interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy information is developed, in which the attribute values are interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy numbers and the information about the attribute weight is incomplete. Since the concept of interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy sets is the generalization of interval‐valued intuitionistic fuzzy set. Thus, due the this motivation in this paper, the concept of interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy Choquet integral average (IVPFCIA) operator is introduced by generalizing the concept of interval‐valued intuitionistic fuzzy Choquet integral average operator. To illustrate the developed operator, a numerical example is also investigated. Extended the concept of traditional GRA method, a new extension of GRA method based on interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy information is introduced. First, utilize IVPFCIA operator to aggregate all the interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy decision matrices. Then, an optimization model based on the basic ideal of traditional grey relational analysis (GRA) method is established, to get the weight vector of the attributes. Based on the traditional GRA method, calculation steps for solving interval‐valued Pythagorean fuzzy MAGDM problems with incompletely known weight information are given. The degree of grey relation between every alternative and positive‐ideal solution and negative‐ideal solution is calculated. To determine the ranking order of all alternatives, a relative relational degree is defined by calculating the degree of grey relation to both the positive‐ideal solution and negative ideal solution simultaneously. Finally, to illustrate the developed approach a numerical example is to demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness.
A Collaborative Ranking Model with Contextual Similarities for Venue Suggestion

While recent studies have explored the idea of adopting collaborative ranking (CR) for recommendation, there has been no attempt to incorporate contextual similarities between venues. In this study, we explore the effect of incorporating contextual similarities into the learning strategy of a CR model. By enhancing the latent associations between users with contextual similarities, our experiments show that contextual similarities improve the performance of CR.
User Experience of Mobile Application's Interface: Measurement Development

With the rapid development of wireless network technology, mobile devices offer better and versatile functions and services than ever before. As the part that users can frequently interact with in whole system, user interface allows the users to experience the system directly. To improve the users' appraisal and satisfaction with the system, it is important to understand the user experiences from the interaction between the users and the interface. However, due to the characteristics of mobile devices, such as the small screen size, mobility and user's short-term memory, mobile devices are significantly different from personal computer. It is not suitable to apply the existing scales directly to the mobile application interface. Thus, this study combined the exiting scales with the "cognitive load" construct which is an important concept of the mobile application interface, to develop a scale which can be employed to measure user experience of mobile application's interface. Through the literature review, expert reviews and exploratory factor analysis based on 581 valid questionnaire responses, the study extracts five constructs, namely, information quality, cognitive load, error resolution, visual aesthetic and system attitude, a total of 43 measurement items. This new scale can be reference for interface design of mobile application for practitioners to improve the user mobile experience. The study also established a research model and tried to investigate the relationship among above five constructs. The analysis based on 581 valid data shows that cognitive load and error resolution play full mediators of the relationship between information quality and system attitude. The result provides a new direction for this line of research.
An eye-tracking study on the effect of infographic structures on viewer’s comprehension and cognitive load

The basic premise of this research is investigating the effect of layout on the comprehension and cognitive load of the viewers in the information graphics. The term ‘Layout’ refers to the arrangement and organization of the visual and textual elements in a graphical design. The experiment conducted in this study is designed based on two stories and each one of these stories is presented with two different layouts. During the experiment, eye-tracking devices are applied to collect the gaze data including the eye movement data and pupil diameter fluctuation. In the research on the modification of the layouts, contents of each story are narrated using identical visual and textual elements. The analysis of eye-tracking data provides quantitative evidence concerning the change of layout in each story and its effect on the comprehension of participants and variation of their cognitive load. In conclusion, it can be claimed that the comprehension from the zigzag form of the layout was higher with a less imposed cognitive load.
A Study on Manual Query Reformulation for Systematic Medical Reviews

Technology-Assisted Review (TAR) approaches are essential to minimize the effort of the user during the search and collect all relevant documents. In this paper, we present a failure analysis based on terminological and linguistic aspects of a TAR system for systematic medical reviews. In particular, we analyze the results of the worst performing topics of the best experiments of the CLEF 2017 eHealth task on Technologically Assisted Reviews in Empirical Medicine. This is an extended abstract of the work presented in [2, 4].
Connecting with technology in lower-income US families

Digital equity initiatives traditionally enable access to devices and Internet service, but increasingly, designers are also recognizing the importance of access to people and programs that support digital skills development. Families in under-served communities are most likely to need such supports but least likely to have them available. We explore the extent to which parents and children might serve as these sources of support for each other in low- and lower-middle-income families, who have seldom been the focus of research on children, families, and technology. We examine how sociodemographic factors and parents’ own technology use relate to patterns in how parents and children guide each other’s technology experiences. We then explore how siblings’ collaborative experiences are influenced by the extent to which inter-generational technology practices are either parent- or child-driven. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for strengthening digital equity initiatives targeting school-age children and their families.
Mathematikdidaktische Unterrichtsqualität – Herausforderungen bei Konzeption und Messung eines theoretischen Konstrukts

1. Einleitung In den letzten Jahrzenten hat der Einfluss der Effektivitätsforschung zum Lehrerberuf deutlich zugenommen (Brophy, 2000; Baumert et al., 2010). Das Interesse für die Zusammenhänge von Lehrerkompetenzen, Unterrichtsqualität und Schülerleistungen ist hier besonders groß (Hill, Rowan & Ball, 2005). Unterrichtsqualität wird somit in einem funktionalen Sinne verstanden, d.h. Hauptziel ist die Vorhersage von gewissen Zielvariablen bei Schülerinnen und Schülern (Seidel & Shavelson, 2007). Gleichzeitig wird besagte Unterrichtsqualität im Rahmen von Kompetenzmessungen oft auf die Performanz der Lehrperson reduziert (Schlesinger & Jentsch, 2016; Blömeke, Gustafsson & Shavelson, 2015). Die theoretische Grundlage dieser Forschungsdisziplin ist das sogenannte Prozess-Mediations-ProduktParadigma (Helmke, 2012). Dieses Modell stellt eine Beziehung zwischen dem Unterrichtsangebot, dessen Nutzung durch Schülerinnen und Schüler und deren Leistungen her. Das Konstrukt Unterrichtsqualität konnte in diesem Modell noch konkretisiert werden: Unterschieden werden die drei Qualitätsdimensionen Klassenführung, konstruktive Unterstützung bzw. Motivationsunterstützung und kognitive Aktivierung (Baumert et al., 2010; Klieme et al., 2009). In diesem Modell liegt der Fokus dann ausschließlich auf dem Unterricht, während andere Einflüsse wie das Fach oder der soziale Hintergrund der Klasse unbeachtet bleiben (Helmke, 2012). Die zuvor angenommene prognostische Validität konnte zuletzt mehrfach bestätigt werden (Hill et al., 2005; Klieme et al., 2009).
The evaluation of the relationship between cervical vertebral anomalies with skeletal malocclusion types and upper airway dimensions

ABSTRACT Objectives: To compare the prevalence of cervical vertebral anomalies (CVAs) in different skeletal malocclusions and to evaluate the relationship between upper airway dimension and vertebral anomalies. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on lateral cephalometric radiographs of 2062 patients aged 7–49 years. Skeletal malocclusion type, presence of CVAs, and upper airway area of 1856 patients who met the inclusion criteria of the study were recorded. The obtained data were transferred to the SPSS program for statistical analysis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 13.8 ± 3.7 years. The prevalence of CVAs was 45.7%. There was no significant difference in prevalence between skeletal malocclusions (p = 0.89). According to airway measurements, no significant difference was found between patients with and without CVAs (p = 0.718). Conclusion: The present results suggest that there is no direct effect of skeletal malocclusion type and upper airway dimension in the etiology of CVAs.
Quality of end-of-life care in patients with dementia compared to patients with cancer: A population-based register study

Introduction Globally, dementia is one of the leading causes of death. Given the growing elderly population in the world, the yearly number of deaths by dementia is expected to increase. Patients dying from dementia are reported to suffer from a burden of symptoms similar to that of patients with cancer, but receive less medication against symptoms, have a lower probability of palliative care planning and seldom have access to specialised palliative care. Studies investigating the quality of palliative care in dementia are scarce. The aim of this Swedish national study was to compare the quality of end-of-life care between patients with dementia and patients with cancer regardless of place of care. Methods Thirteen end-of-life care quality indicators collected by the Swedish Register of Palliative Care (SRPC) were compared between patients dying from dementia and patients dying from cancer. Data were collected from deaths occurring in nursing homes, hospitals, specialised and general palliative home care, and palliative in-patient units during a three-year period (during March 2012 to February 2015). Analyses were performed using a multivariable logistic regression model, adjusted for age and gender. A subgroup of patients with Alzheimer’s disease was identified and compared to patients with other and unspecified types of dementia. Results A total of 4624 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, 11 804deaths from other dementia diagnoses and 51 609 deaths from cancer were included. For six of the 13 quality indicators examined (prescription of PRN drugs against nausea and anxiety, information and bereavement support offered to next of kin, pain assessment and specialised palliative care consultations), poorer outcomes were shown for the dementia group in comparison to the cancer group. Two outcomes (prevalence of pressure ulcers and fluid therapy during the last 24 hours in life) showed better outcomes for the dementia group. The outcomes for the 13 quality indicators were similar for patients with Alzheimer’s disease compared to patients with other and unspecified types of dementia. Conclusions The findings in this study indicates that patients dying from Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia receive a poorer quality of end-of-life care concerning several important end-of-life care areas when compared to patients dying from cancer. Guidelines for end-of-life care in Sweden cannot explain or justify these differences. Further studies are needed to find possible ways to improve end-of-life care in the large and growing group of patients dying from dementia.
Control Method for Sampled-Data Systems with Multiple Channels Based on Deadband-Triggered Scheme

A new deadband-triggered scheme is proposed to investigate the control problems for sampled-data systems with multiple transmitting channels. Sampled-data systems simultaneously contain continuous-time and discrete-time signals, which make the systems hybrid. In the sampled-data systems with multiple channels, the every state signals are transmitting at different channels. The deadband communication constraint is adopted to reduce the usage of communication resources. When the difference between the previous value and the most present value is lager than a given threshold of deadband, then the node of channels transmits the most present value. Furthermore, by use of Lyapunov functional method and input delay approach, the new stability analysis and stabilization conditions for the sampled-data with multiple channels on the basis of deadband-triggered scheme are proposed. Numerical simulations and experiments show the validity and usefulness of the derived conditions. The proposed deadband-triggered scheme is beneficial to further reduce the load of the communication data.
The Dynamics and Optimal Control of a Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease Model

We build and study the transmission dynamics of a hand-foot-mouth disease model with vaccination. The reproduction number is given, the existence of equilibria is obtained, and the global stability of disease-free equilibrium is proved by constructing the Lyapunov function. We also apply optimal control theory to the hand-foot-mouth disease model. The treatment and vaccination interventions are considered in the hand-foot-mouth disease model, and the optimal control strategies based on minimizing the cost of intervention and minimizing the number of the infected people are given. Numerical results show the usefulness of the optimization strategies.
MOTHER-OF-FT-AND-TFL1 represses seed germination under far-red light by modulating phytohormone responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Significance Seeds sense environmental conditions, such as light quality, to regulate their germination. Light enriched in the far-red wavelength, such as under-the-canopy light (shade), increases abscisic acid (ABA) and decreases gibberellin (GA) levels, the phytohormones repressing and promoting germination, respectively. We have discovered that MFT functions as a key repressor of germination under far-red light conditions by modulating ABA and GA responses. Seed germination in many plant species is triggered by sunlight, which is rich in the red (R) wavelength and repressed by under-the-canopy light rich in far red (FR). R:FR ratios are sensed by phytochromes to regulate levels of gibberellins (GAs) and abscisic acid (ABA), which induce and inhibit germination respectively. In this study we have discovered that, under FR light conditions, germination is repressed by MOTHER-OF-FT-AND-TFL1 (MFT) through the regulation of the ABA and GA signaling pathways. We also show that MFT gene expression is tightly regulated by light quality. Previous work has shown that under FR light conditions the transcription factor PHYOCHROME-INTERACTING-FACTOR1 (PIF1) accumulates and promotes expression of SOMNUS (SOM) that, in turn, leads to increased ABA and decreased GA levels. PIF1 also promotes expression of genes encoding ABA-INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5) and DELLA growth-repressor proteins, which act in the ABA and GA signaling pathways, respectively. Here we show that MFT gene expression is promoted by FR light through the PIF1/SOM/ABI5/DELLA pathway and is repressed by R light via the transcription factor SPATULA (SPT). Consistent with this, we also show that SPT gene expression is repressed under FR light in a PIF1-dependent manner. Furthermore, transcriptomic analyses presented in this study indicate that MFT exerts its function by promoting expression of known ABA-induced genes and repressing cell wall expansion-related genes.
AIR: Anywhere Immersive Reality with User-Perspective Projection

Projection-based augmented reality (AR) has much potential, but is limited in that it requires burdensome installations and prone to geometric distortions on display surface. To overcome these limitations, we propose AIR. It can be carried and placed anywhere to project AR using pan/tilting motors, while providing the user with distortion-free projection of a correct 3D view.
On Coverage Probabilities and Sum-Rate of Full-Duplex Device-to-Device Cellular Networks

This paper utilizes the tools of stochastic geometry to derive closed-form approximations of coverage probabilities for both cellular and D2D links of a realistic underlaid full-duplex (FD) cellular D2D network. In the considered model, D2D users operate in FD mode under the adverse effect of realistic residual self-interference, and their locations are modeled by a homogeneous spatial Poison point process (PPP). The coverage probabilities involve multiple integrals due to the average over the distributions of transmit power, wireless fading, and link distances. Therefore, our solution is to first apply Laplace transforms and novel approximations that accurately approximate the expected values of fractional and exponential functions of random variables to obtain the distributions of signal to interference and noise ratios (SINRs) at the base station (BS) and D2D users. By further taking the average over the distributions of cellular and D2D link distances, we then arrive at the closed-form approximations of cellular and D2D coverage probabilities. Furthermore, based on the approximation of D2D link coverage probability, an analytical expression of the D2D link sum-rate is obtained, which can be effectively calculated. Our results show that the integration of FD in D2D provides significant sum-rate improvement over the half-duplex D2D counterpart.
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Distributed Storage in Vehicular Networks

In recent years, wireless communication demands from high-speed vehicles rapidly increase, due to the enrichment of various emerging vehicular applications including road safety, intelligent transportation, in-vehicle entertainments, self- driving, etc. Such high communication demands result in significant burdens on the supporting infrastructure in vehicular networks, which in turn deteriorate the quality of experience (QoE) of vehicular users. In the literature, local popular content caching is an effective approach to alleviate the burden on core networks as well as reducing the content downloading delay. However, the burden is simply shifted to RSUs if popular contents are cached at RSUs. In addition, the frequency reuse in space is also inadequate. Caching popular contents at vehicles may be an effective approach to solve the aforementioned problems. However, the critical issue of vehicle- based storage schemes is the high mobility nature of vehicles, which could lead to loss of stored data due to the storage vehicles' leaving the region of interests. To cope with the vehicle mobility issue, we propose a vehicle-based distributed storage scheme via local V2V communications in this paper. The key of the proposed data storage scheme is to maintain the survival of the stored data in a designated region by transferring the stored data from leaving vehicles to incoming vehicles at the entrance/exit of the region, in order to prevent data loss due to the high mobility of vehicles. Structured redundancy via erasure coding is also introduced in order to combat the volatile V2V links. Theoretical analysis and numerical results validate the effectiveness of our proposed vehicle-based distributed storage scheme and suggest that the stored data could survive for up to tens of hours under a typical road condition.