Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Artificial Neural Networks, Logistic Regressions, and Classification Trees for Modeling Mental Workload in Real-Time

The use of eye metrics to predict the state of one's mental workload involves reliable and accurate modeling techniques. This study assessed the workload classification accuracy of three data mining techniques; artificial neural network (ANN), logistic regression, and classification tree. The results showed that the selection of model technique and the interaction between model type and time segmentation have significant effects on the ability to predict an individual's mental workload during a recall task. The ANN and classification tree both performed much better than logistic regression with 1-s incremented data. The classification tree also performed much better with data averaged over the full recall task. In addition, the transparency of the classification tree showed that pupil diameter and divergence are significantly more important predictors than fixation when modeling 1-s incremented data.
Seamless QoE Support for Mobile Cloud Services Using IEEE802.21 MIH and the GENI Future Internet Framework

Mobile cloud service is the most important traffic generator today, and high data rate services in this area are increasing. The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a circuit-like service that is widely deployed owing to its security merits and the resource constraints of mobile devices. However, VDI requires a high and guaranteed virtually constant wireless data rate. Thus, we focus on the problems that have to be resolved in order for IEEE802.21 Media Independent Handover (MIH) to support a guaranteed wireless data rate and also enable it to offer optimized and maximized data rate support for mobile cloud services. We also consider a virtual machine (VM) migration scheme that is tightly coupled to mobile networks and can minimize the user's service delay and reduce the bandwidth requirements of the wired network. We then present a consistent control framework by extending the Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI) control framework to provide a single integrated control framework for cloud computing and Future Internet compatibility. Finally, we develop an experimental testbed using a mobile cloud computing environment and evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. We show that the proposed method can enhance the Quality of Experience (QoE) of mobile cloud computing services with increased data rate support and a single consistent control framework that is compatible with the GENI-based Future Internet architecture. The results of evaluations conducted indicate that our proposed method provides 24%–41% better data rate compared to conventional methods.
The 2010 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

In 2010, the number of consumer payments increased nearly 9 percent from 2009 as economic activity began to rebound from the financial crisis and recession. Cash payments by consumers, which had increased sharply in 2009, did not fall back but rather grew another 3 percent in 2010. However, the share of cash payments, the dollar amount of cash withdrawals, and cash holdings by consumers decreased moderately in 2010. Credit card payments by consumers increased 15 percent, reversing more than half the 2009 decline, and the steady trend decline in paper check payments by consumers continued. Debit cards and cash continued to account for the two largest shares of consumer payments (31.1 and 28.6 percent, respectively), and consumer adoption of all types of prepaid cards (38.2 percent) increased notably in 2010. Mobile banking and mobile payments by consumers continued to show moderate increases through the end of 2010, consistent with early stages of technology adoption. The 2010 SCPC contains new results that may help researchers and policymakers identify potential indirect effects of Regulation II (Durbin Amendment) on consumers and may help to inform the Federal Reserve's new strategic plan for the payment system.
Artificial Intelligence in a historical perspective

The paper tells the story of the beginnings of Artificial Intelligence AI as a scientific venture from a European perspective. The story is embedded into three main steps of history. In view of a sustainable future of our globe it is deemed necessary to vigorously advance the initiated third step. Assuming AI's due role in this process would mean a change in its long-term goal: enhancing rather than simulating human intelligence.
Co-stimulatory functions of antigen-presenting cells.

Antigen-presenting cells, in addition to presenting processed antigen, provide co-stimulatory signals that are necessary for stimulating maximal lymphokine production by CD4+ T cells. For interleukin 2 (IL-2)-producing CD4+ T cells, the B7 molecule provides an important co-stimulatory signal through interaction with its ligand on the T-cell surface, CD28. Populations of antigen-presenting cells that express high levels of B7 (e.g., dendritic cells) are much more potent stimulators of T-cell activation than cells that fail to express B7 (e.g., resting B cells). An increase in B7 expression could therefore explain the increased accessory function gained by Langerhans cells as they leave the skin and migrate to the draining lymph node.
A Longitudinal Measurement Error Model with a Semicontinuous Covariate

Summary Covariate measurement error in regression is typically assumed to act in an additive or multiplicative manner on the true covariate value. However, such an assumption does not hold for the measurement error of sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study (WSCS). The true covariate is the severity of SDB, and the observed surrogate is the number of breathing pauses per unit time of sleep, which has a nonnegative semicontinuous distribution with a point mass at zero. We propose a latent variable measurement error model for the error structure in this situation and implement it in a linear mixed model. The estimation procedure is similar to regression calibration but involves a distributional assumption for the latent variable. Modeling and model‐fitting strategies are explored and illustrated through an example from the WSCS.
Prevalence of Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella henselae in Domestic Cats from France and Detection of the Organisms in Erythrocytes by Immunofluorescence

ABSTRACT The prevalence of Bartonella infection in a pet cat population from France was found to be 8.1% (8 of 99 cats). The intraerythrocytic location of Bartonella clarridgeiae is shown for the first time, and we show that immunofluorescence detection of the organism in erythrocytes correlates with the number of bacteria in blood.
Steatosis in chronic hepatitis C: Relative contributions of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and alcohol

Steatosis has emerged as a histologic finding of importance to the progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐associated liver disease. However, most studies of HCV‐associated steatosis have excluded alcohol drinkers and individuals with diabetes and thus have not addressed the relative contribution of known causes of steatosis to liver injury in HCV‐associated disease. To address this issue, we studied 297 consecutive patients with HCV who met inclusion criteria. Alcohol consumption, demographics, and serologic tests were correlated with degrees of steatosis and fibrosis on liver biopsy. Liver biopsy specimens were also examined for evidence of significant alcohol or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) injury. In univariate analysis, steatosis correlated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (P = .005) and body mass index (BMI) (P = .0001) but not with the intensity of alcohol intake (in grams per day). In multivariate analysis, BMI (P = .0002) and genotype 3a infection (P = .02) were independent predictors of steatosis. When patients with risk factors for NASH were excluded, genotype 3a infection was the only independent predictor of steatosis. Steatosis (P = .04) and inflammation (P < .0001) scores on liver biopsy were the only independent predictors of fibrosis. Significant alcohol or NASH injury was found in only 6% of biopsy specimens. In conclusion, steatosis in HCV infection is associated with risk factors for NASH, particularly obesity, rather than alcohol consumption.
Towards cone-beam CT thermometry

Temperature monitoring and therefore the final treatment zone achieved during a cone-beam CT (CBCT) guided ablation can prevent overtreatment and undertreatment. A novel method is proposed to detect changes in consecutive CBCT images obtained from projection reconstructions during an ablation procedure. The possibility is explored of using this method to generate thermometry maps from CBCT images, which can be used as an input function for ablation treatment planning. This novel method uses a baseline and an intermittent CBCT scan, which are routinely acquired to confirm the needle position and monitor progress of the ablation. Accurate registration is required and assumed in vitro and ex vivo. A Wronskian change detector algorithm is applied on the compensated images to obtain a difference image between the intermittent and baseline scans. Finally, a thermal map created by applying a calibration determined experimentally is used to obtain the corresponding temperature at each pixel or voxel. We applied Wronskian change detector to detect the difference of two CBCT images, which have low signal to noise ratio, and calibrate Wronskian change model to temperature data using a gel phantom. We tested the temperature mapping with water and gel phantoms as well as pig shoulder. The experimental results show this method can detect temperature change within 5°C for a voxel size of 1mm3 (within clinical relevancy), and by consequence delineate the ablation zone. The preliminary experimental results show that CBCT thermometry is possible and promising, but may require pre-processing, such as registration for motion compensation between the baseline and intermittent scans. Further, quantitative evaluations have to be conducted for validation prior to clinical assessment and translation. CBCT is a widely available technology that could make thermometry clinically practical as an enabling component of iterative ablation treatment planning.
Self-organising distributed component software architectures

A row of stationary blades of the steam turbine having interconnecting cavities in the base portions thereof to form an annular chamber which cooperates with inlet and outlet ports disposed adjacent the trailing edges of these blades and adjacent the casing and rotor respectively to remove water and steam from the stationary blades, to separate the water and steam, and to direct the steam toward an adjacent row of rotating blades and the water to a drain.
Reserved Type, Length and Value (TLV) Codepoints in Intermediate System to Intermediate System

This document describes implementation codepoints within Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) used today by several ISPs for routing within their clouds. IS-IS is an interior gateway routing protocol developed originally by OSI and used with IP extensions as Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP). This document summarizes all Table, Length and Value (TLV) codepoints that are being used by the protocol and its pending extensions.
Estudio del modelo de memoria compartida distribuida

espanolEn el presente trabajo se muestra un metodo grafico de compensacion de controladores PID en el dominio frecuencial. Se utilizaran familias de controladores PID a los que se les aplicara una modificacion para su mas sencillo manejo. Asimismo, tambien se realizara otra modificacion sobre la Funcion de Transferencia en lazo abierto del sistema sin compensar. Y finalmente, se representan ambos lugares de Black en un mismo plano fase-magnitud en decibelios con el fin de encontrar puntos de corte entre ambos, que permitan obtener familias de controladores PID que satisfagan especificaciones en frecuencia referentes a estabilidad relativa (margenes de fase, magnitud) identicas para todos los miembros de dichas familias, y prefijadas por el disenador. EnglishDistributed shared memory models are being considerated as an alternative to the traditional communication model. This paper analizes the diferences between both models, remarking the advantages and disadvantages if each one. Also several properties which can affect the behavior of shared memory systems are identified, presenting some of the proposed implementations. Finally we point out the existing difficulties to establish a oerformance measure of a given shared memory system.
The Influence of One‐Year Treatment by Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor on Baroreflex Sensitivity and Flow‐Mediated Vasodilation of the Brachial Artery in Essential Hypertension—Comparison with Calcium Channel Blockers

Background. Both baroreflex sensitivity and flow‐mediated vasodilator function have been recognized to have prognostic significance in cardiovascular diseases. Long‐term antihypertensive treatment effects on these parameters, however, remain unclear. Subjects and Methods. We examined the effects of long‐term treatment by angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or calcium channel blockers (CCB) on baroreflex and flow‐mediated vasodilator function in patients with essential hypertension (EH). We recruited 36 patients aged 56 ± 11 years, with systolic blood pressure ≧160 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≧95 mmHg. Patients were assigned either to treatment by long‐acting ACEI (n = 12) or CCB (n = 24). All patients were followed for 12 months. Optimal BP was achieved by two optional increases in treatment: dose‐doubling of the primary drug during the first three months and the addition of diuretics or β‐blockers thereafter. Target blood pressure was 140/90 mmHg or a fall ≧20/10 mmHg. Baroreflex sensitivity was examined by spectral analysis of blood pressure and RR interval variabilities before treatment and after 3 and 12 months of treatment. The flow‐mediated vasodilator function was determined before and 12 months after treatment by measuring the change in brachial artery diameter during increases in flow induced by reactive hyperemia. Results. Baseline blood pressures were similar between the ACEI and CCB groups (172 ± 5/103 ± 2 vs. 172 ± 4/101 ± 3 mmHg). Blood pressures after 3 and 12 months of treatment also did not differ between the ACEI and CCB groups (149 ± 4/91 ± 2 vs. 145 ± 2/ 85 ± 2 mmHg, and 133 ± 5/84 ± 2 vs. 133 ± 2/81 ± 2 mmHg, respectively). Baseline baroreflex sensitivity was similar between the groups (6.7 ± 0.8 vs. 5.9 ± 0.6 msec/mmHg). This parameter remained unchanged at three months but increased after 12 months of treatment in both the ACEI (9.5 ± 1.6 msec/mmHg, p = 0.05) and CCB (9.1 ± 1.2 msec/mmHg, p = 0.006) groups. Percent increases in brachial arterial diameter and flow during reactive hyperemia increased in the group treated with ACEI (12.4 ± 3.5 vs. 25.8 ± 6.3% and 618 ± 72 vs. 953 ± 166, p < 0.05 for both) but both parameters remained unchanged in the group treated with CCB. Conclusion. These data suggest that long‐term blood pressure control with modern antihypertensive drugs improves baroreflex function. Treatment with ACEI may be more favorable for flow‐mediated vasodilator function than treatment with CCB.
HIV-1 pharmacoresistance: clinical and therapeutic implications.

The primary objective of antiretroviral therapy is to suppress viral replication as soon as possible, as much as possible and for as long as possible, a concept so clearly emphasized by David Ho in 1995: "Treat HIV early and hard! ". That, however, seems an ideal objective by a number of reasons, recently recognized as fundamental: unavailability of treatments able to eradicate the infection, difficulty to reach compliance to HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy), emergence of drug resistance and cross-resistance. (Cross)-resistance in particular has the potential both to waste future therapeutic options and to be transmitted during HIV infection. Therefore, HIV pharmacoresistance has to be considered one of the most challenging focal point in research on antiretroviral therapy. Understanding of causes, evolutionary patterns and consequences of resistance in terms of viroimmunological and clinical response appears inescapable to strategically plan and monitor treatment. Rather than to eradicate the infection with regimens more and more hard but more and more difficult to comply with, the realistic approach is to construct a strategic therapeutic itinerary tailored to the bio-psycho-social patient conditions and to the saving of therapeutic options. The latter means the rational sequencing of the drug employment for a long-term therapy, potentially life-long.
The OFR Financial System Vulnerabilities Monitor

The Office of Financial Research (OFR) has a mandate to measure and monitor risks to U.S. financial stability. To help fulfill that mandate, the OFR launched the Financial System Vulnerabilities Monitor (FSVM) in 2017. The monitor is a starting point for assessing vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system. It is constructed as a heat map of 58 quantitative indicators. It is designed to provide early warning signals of potential financial system vulnerabilities that merit investigation. This paper details the monitorâ€™s purpose, construction, interpretation, and use.
“It Feels Right. Therefore, I Feel Present and Enjoy”: The Effects of Regulatory Fit and the Mediating Roles of Social Presence and Self-Presence in Avatar-Based 3D Virtual Environments

This research examined the effects of regulatory fit on media users' enjoyment of interactions with a virtual interlocutor and feelings of social presence and self-presence in the 3D virtual environments (VEs) of Second Life. Results from a two (regulatory focus state: promotion vs. prevention) × two (regulatory strategy: eagerness means vs. vigilance means) between-subjects full-factorial experiment demonstrated that the regulatory fit between regulatory focus state and means for goal pursuit in computer-mediated communication (CMC) within 3D VEs increases users' enjoyment, feelings of presence, and postexperimental healthy eating intentions. A path analysis further revealed the mediating roles of social presence and self-presence. Theoretical and methodological contributions as well as practical implications are discussed.
Effective quiet and moderate TTS: Implications for noise exposure statndars.

’’Effective quiet,’’ the highest SPL of a noise that will neither produce a significant temporary threshold shift (TTS) nor retard recovery from a TTS produced by a prior exposure to a higher level, is shown to be about 76 dB for octave bands of noise centered at 250 and 500 Hz, and around 68 dB for those centered at 1000, 2000, or 4000 Hz. On the other hand, a mean TTS2 (TTS 2 min after exposure) of no greater than 10 dB at all frequencies from 500 to 5600 Hz is produced by a broad‐band noise whose octave‐band spectrum falls off at −5 dB per octave (’’magenta’’ noise) and which has an A‐weighted level of 90 dBA. When the group mean TTS2 is 10 dB, less than 10% of normal ears will show a TTS2 of 20 dB. Therefore if a 20‐dB TTS2 is tolerable day after day with no adverse effects, the present industrial noise exposure limit of 8 h at 90 dBA would adequately protect more than 90% of exposed workers in noises with similarly falling spectra. Correction factors for unusual spectra should, however, be developed.
Protein metabolism in human obesity: relationship with glucose and lipid metabolism and with visceral adipose tissue.

It is controversial whether metabolic disorders of human obesity include protein metabolism. Even less information is available concerning the effect of fat distribution on protein metabolism. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism was performed in 11 obese nondiabetic and 9 normal women whose body composition and regional fat distribution were determined. [1-14C]Leucine and [3-3H]glucose were infused in the postabsorptive state and during an euglycemic hyperinsulinemic (35-40 microU/mL) clamp combined with indirect calorimetry for assessment of leucine flux, oxidation, and nonoxidative disposal, glucose turnover and oxidation, and lipid oxidation. Fat-free mass (FFM) was estimated by a bolus of 3H2O. Subcutaneous abdominal and visceral adipose tissues were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. During the clamp, obese women had lower glucose turnover (4.51 +/- 0.41 vs. 6.63 +/- 0.40 mg/min.kg FFM; P < 0.05), with a defect in both oxidation (3.27 +/- 0.22 vs. 3.89 +/- 0.21) and nonoxidative disposal (1.24 +/- 0.27 vs. 2.74 +/- 0.41; P < 0.005), whereas lipid oxidation was higher during the clamp (0.49 +/- 0.15 vs. 0.17 +/- 0.09 mg/min.kg FFM). There was no difference in leucine flux (basal, 2.23 +/- 0.17 vs. 2.30 +/- 0.29; clamp, 2.06 +/- 0.19 vs. 2.10 +/- 0.24 mumol/min.kg FFM), oxidation (basal, 0.37 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.36 +/- 0.05; clamp, 0.34 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.06) and nonoxidative leucine disposal (basal, 1.86 +/- 0.17 vs. 1.94 +/- 0.26; clamp, 1.72 +/- 0.20 vs. 1.71 +/- 0.19) in the two groups. In obese women, basal leucine oxidation was directly related with glucose oxidation and inversely to lipid oxidation (both P < 0.05), whereas visceral adipose tissue was inversely related to leucine flux both in the basal state and during the clamp (P < 0.05). In conclusion, in human obesity, 1) rates of protein metabolism in the basal state and in the range of insulin concentrations encountered after a meal are normal; 2) protein oxidation is positively related to glucose oxidation and negatively related to lipid oxidation; and 3) visceral adipose tissue is inversely related to all parameters of protein metabolism.
Indoor-to-outdoor path-loss models for femtocell predictions

Two different indoor-to-outdoor path-loss models are proposed in this paper: an analytical formula derived for link-level and system-level simulations in heterogeneous radio networks, and a ray-tracing based model providing deterministic path-loss predictions, helpful for precise radio analysis or radio-planning tasks. The models were elaborated from CW measurements collected around a large set of indoor transmitter situations at frequency 2.1GHz. They were elaborated for simulation of useful and interfering signals in the context of femtocell deployments.
Tumstatin, an Endothelial Cell-Specific Inhibitor of Protein Synthesis

Tumstatin is a 28-kilodalton fragment of type IV collagen that displays both anti-angiogenic and proapoptotic activity. Here we show that tumstatin functions as an endothelial cell–specific inhibitor of protein synthesis. Through a requisite interaction with αVβ3 integrin, tumstatin inhibits activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase), protein kinase B (PKB/Akt), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and it prevents the dissociation of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E protein (eIF4E) from 4E-binding protein 1. These results establish a role for integrins in mediating cell-specific inhibition of cap-dependent protein synthesis and suggest a potential mechanism for tumstatin's selective effects on endothelial cells.
Economic Corns of Demutualization of Exchanges: Predicting Robust Financial Drivers of Demutualization Using Probit Extreme Bounds Analysis

The aim of this study is to examine the economic corns of demutualization and gauge the stability and soundness of demutualized indexes and predict financial drivers of demutualization using Probit Extreme Bounds Analysis. The sample of the study includes 29 exchanges of the World. We find that demutualized exchanges are more attractive in case of hot and stable state markets than full-fledged local mutual exchanges. Conversely, market capitalization is categorized as a robust financial driver influencing exchanges propensity to demutualize. In addition, this study finds that demutualization of exchanges leads towards international alliances, market integration, unfold flourishing and growth avenues which enhance potential synergies between stock market related activities and therefore lead to stock market growth.