Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A next-hop selection scheme providing long path lifetime in VANETs

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are regarded as essential ways for vehicles to share information with each other. As communication range is limited, multiple relay nodes are often required for establishing the multi-hop routing path between the source node and the destination node. Dependability of such routing path may be compromised due to different motion states of vehicles. In this paper, we address this challenge by designing a new next-hop selection scheme named LPLS (Long Path Lifetime Scheme), in which each relay node uses the optimal stopping theory to choose a suitable next-hop node. Especially, this selection scheme can balance the tradeoff between routing path lifetime and selection efficiency. The analysis and simulation results show that our next-hop selection scheme presents better performance with comparison to other reference schemes applied in the routing algorithms AODV and MOPR.
High concordance between HIV-1 drug resistance genotypes generated from plasma and dried blood spots in antiretroviral-experienced patients

Objective:Dried blood spots (DBS) are a convenient alternative to plasma for drug resistance testing in resource-limited settings. We investigated the correlation between resistance genotypes generated from DBS and plasma. Design:Sixty DBS specimens from HIV-1 subtype B-infected antiretroviral-experienced (n = 58) and naive patients (n = 2) were tested. DBS were prepared using 50 μl blood and were stored with desiccant at −20°C. Methods:Resistance genotypes from DBS were obtained using the ViroSeq HIV-1 assay and were compared with genotypes derived from plasma. The frequency of amplification of proviral DNA from DBS was evaluated using an in-house nested polymerase chain reaction assay. Results:Fifty of the 60 DBS specimens were successfully genotyped including all 38 specimens collected from patients with plasma viral loads greater than 2000 copies/ml and 12 of 22 DBS (54.5%) from patients with viral loads less than 2000 copies/ml. HIV-1 DNA was detected in 44.4% of the DBS. Despite the presence of DNA, genotypes from DBS and plasma were highly concordant. Of the 316 mutations found in plasma sequences, 306 (96.8%) were also found in DBS. Discrepancies were mostly caused by mixtures at minor protease positions or unusual amino acid changes, and in only two cases were caused by major protease (M46L) or reverse transcriptase (K103N) mutations absent in DBS sequences. Conclusion:We demonstrated a high concordance between resistance genotypes from plasma and DBS, and that resistance testing from DBS can achieve sensitive levels similar to those seen using plasma. Our results indicate that DBS may represent a feasible alternative to plasma for drug resistance testing in treated individuals.
Distributed Collaborations and the Effect of Sociometric Feedback

Recall the last time you were assigned to a new group. You met your group members for the first time, introduced yourself, and then your group members started to talk about the tasks and roles of the group. But as the conversation developed, content of the conversation was not the only thing that you were focusing on: your senses were intensely observing the signals that are underneath the spoken language. Information such as who is sitting next to whom, who talks the most, who sounds the most confident, who asks questions, and who replies are all information that gave you a sense of how the group works and how you should behave in the group. Now imagine that this first encounter with the group was through a conference call. Your ears and brain had to work even ABSTRACT
Erythrocyte membrane microviscosity and blood pressure in rats with salt‐induced and spontaneous hypertension

Objective To study membrane viscosity in various rat strains with genetic forms of experimental hypertension. Design The relationship between blood pressure and membrane dynamics was investigated in erythrocytes from three different rat strains with experimental hypertension, namely two models of salt-induced hypertension (Sabra and Dahl rats) and Lyon hypertensive rats with spontaneous hypertension. Methods Membrane microviscosity was evaluated by diphenylhexatriene and trimethylamino-diphenylhexatriene fluorescence steady-state anisotropy. Results There were no significant differences among particular experimental groups in trimethylamino-diphenylhexatriene anisotropy that reflect micro-viscosity changes at the water-lipid interface of the external membrane leaflet. In contrast, the diphenylhexatriene anisotropy, which is related to the core membrane microviscosity, was significantly reduced in the Dahl salt-sensitive rats (irrespective of salt intake level) and in the Sabra hypertension-prone rats with developed salt hypertension. Erythrocyte membranes of Lyon hypertensive rats also had lower values of diphenylhexatriene anisotropy than the respective normotensive controls but this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions Systolic (and often also diastolic) blood pressure correlated negatively with the diphenylhexatriene anisotropy in each of the three strains studied, whereas the trimethylamino-diphenylhexatriene anisotropy of the erythrocyte membranes had no significant relationship to the blood pressure. Further experiments should clarify whether the observed relationship of the diphenylhexatriene anisotropy to blood pressure reflects true pathogenetic mechanisms or is a consequence of haemodynamic changes.
Endeavoring to Contextualize Curricula Within an EBP Framework: A Grounded Theory Study

Adopting evidence-based practice (EBP) principles in undergraduate education can facilitate nursing students’ appreciation of EBP. Using grounded theory method, this study aimed to explore processes used by nurse academics while integrating EBP concepts in undergraduate nursing curricula across Australian universities. Twenty-three nurse academics were interviewed and nine were observed during teaching of undergraduate students. In addition, 20 unit/subject guides were analyzed using grounded theory approach of data analysis. The theory “On a path to success: Endeavoring to contextualize curricula within an EBP framework” reflects academics’ endeavors toward linking EBP concepts to practice, aiming to contextualize curricula in a manner that engages students within an EBP framework. However, academics’ journeys were influenced by several contextual factors which require strategies to accomplish their endeavors. In conclusion, initiatives to minimize barriers, faculty development, and provision of resources across educational and clinical settings are fundamental to achieving undergraduate curricula underpinned by EBP concepts.
PERAN CELEBRITY ENDORSER DALAM MEMBENTUK PERCEIVE VALUE DAN PURCHASING INTENTION

Endorser is representative of a brand that duty to inform, persuade and remind consumers. In case to increase the impact of the endorserâ€™s performance, they are selected from those who have been known as Celebrity Endorser. Chosen celebrity endorser is expected to form the perceive value and consumer purchasing intention. The main issues of use the celebrity endorser is they often not performing well. This study was conducted to examine the influence of celebrity endorser with the formation of perceived value and purchase intention. Results from this study is the celebrity endorser is able to influence the perceive value, but is not able to influence purchase intention. It is also happen with the perceive value (which is formed by a celebrity endorser) is also not able to influence the purchase intention.
An Association of Body Composition Components with the Menopausal Status of Patients with Low Back Pain in Tarn Taran, Punjab, India

Abstract The present study deals with the association of menopausal status of 146 patients (74 pre- and 72 postmenopausal women) with low back pain aged 35-55 years residing in and around Tarn Taran, Punjab, India, and their body composition components, viz. percent body fat and percent lean body mass. The results indicate strong association of percent body fat with all the ten pain measuring variables, viz. pain intensity (r=0.668), personal care (r=0.519), lifting (r=0.620), walking (r=0.648), sitting (r= 0.515), standing (r=0.471), sleeping (r= 0.533), sex life (r= 0.255), social life (r=0.664) and travelling (0.583) in post-menopausal patients with low back pain.
Risk Factors for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Northern Thai Adolescents: An Audio-Computer-Assisted Self-Interview With Noninvasive Specimen Collection

Background Previous studies of sexual behavior and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Thai adolescents may have been limited by participation bias and underreporting of stigmatized behaviors. Goal The goal was to increase knowledge about risk behaviors and STDs among youths in Thailand. Study Design Students aged 15 to 21 years completed an audio-computer-assisted self-interview. Oral fluid was tested for HIV antibodies and urine was tested for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae nucleic acids with polymerase chain reaction. Results Of 1736 invited students, 1725 (99.4%) agreed to participate. Overall, C trachomatis infection was detected in 49 (2.8%), and there were five cases (0.3%) each of infection with N gonorrhoeae and HIV. Among those who reported sexual intercourse, the prevalence of chlamydial infection was 3.7% among men and 6.1% among women. Logistic regression analysis showed age-adjusted factors associated with chlamydial infection among men to be parents’ occupation in agriculture, having sold sex, having a sex partner who had been pregnant, and the number of casual sex partners during lifetime. Among women, age-adjusted factors were parents’ occupation in agriculture, number of casual partners during lifetime, having an older sex partner, and perception of higher HIV infection risk. Conclusion These adolescents had high rates of unprotected intercourse and are at risk for STDs. Prevention programs should emphasize use of effective contraceptive methods, including condom use; reducing the number of sex partners (stressing the risk a partner of older age may pose to female adolescents); and reducing engagement in commercial sex.
Guest Editor's Introduction: Parallel Discrete-Event Simulation Applications

Over the past decade, techniques for parallel and distributed discrete-event simulation have been developed largely within the academic research community. The advent of cluster computing and desktop multiprocessors has now made it feasible to bring these results to bear on the simulation of large, complex engineering systems and on physical systems in a cost-effective manner. Our challenge now is to apply these techniques to real-world problems, i.e., to bring this area out of the laboratory. This special issue of JPDC is devoted to a collection of articles which are representative of the areas to which parallel and distributed simulation are now being applied. We feel that these articles represent a major change in the way in which discrete-event simulation will be done in the future. Taken together, they give us an indication of the benefits which will accrue from our increased ability to simulate problems which it is not possible to approach on conventional uniprocessors.
The Influence of Transformational Leadership on Job Satisfaction and Customer Orientation in Hotel F&B Employees

This Study is an analysis on the effects of relational factors(shared transformational leadership) among leadership, employees' job satisfaction and customer orientation. To accomplish this, it was determined that the analysis derived from a hypothesis and literature reviews and data collected from 322 F&B employees of five-star hotel in Seoul. The collected data has been analyzed by SPSS 14.0. and results were as follows. First, transformational leadership(charisma, individual consideration, intellectual stimuli) would affect job satisfaction, It was found that charisma had a positively significant effect on job satisfaction alone while individual consideration and intellectual stimuli had a positively significant effect on job satisfaction. Second, job satisfaction would affect customer orientation, It was found to have a positively significant effect on the relations with customer orientation. Based on the results of this study, suggestions about hotel managers' transformational leadership, employees' job satisfaction and customer orientation were made.
Apomorphine inhibits the growth‐stimulating effect of retinal pigment epithelium on scleral cells in vitro

Visual deprivation of the chicken eye causes axial elongation with high myopia. The cartilaginous layer of the myopic sclera shows an increase of mitotic activity. Previous studies reported that the in vivo administration of apomorphine, a dopamine nonselective agonist, effectively prevents visual‐deprivation myopia. Because the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) regulates growth of the sclera as we and others have shown previously, it is speculated that the RPE cells may play an important role in this preventive effect of apomorphine. In this study, to clarify the mechanism by which the administration of apomorphine inhibits the proliferation of scleral chondrocytes in vivo, we have investigated the effect of apomorphine on the proliferation of scleral chondrocytes with or without co‐cultured RPE cells in vitro. We previously demonstrated that cell proliferation of scleral chondrocytes remarkably increases with co‐cultured RPE cells. In this study, we found that apomorphine at concentrations of higher than 2×10−5 M dramatically reduced the growth‐stimulatory effect of RPE cells on the scleral chondrocytes, whereas the inhibitory effect of apomorphine on the proliferation of scleral chondrocytes without RPE cells was very little. Our results strongly suggest that apomorphine may reduce the production and/or release of some humoral factors from RPE cells, which stimulate the growth of scleral cells. There is also a possibility that apomorphine reduces the reactivity of scleral cells to the humoral factors released from RPE cells. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On Importance Sampling in Digital Communications - Part I: Fundamentals

A simulation algorithm design strategy based on the combination of event simulation, conditional importance sampling, and asymptotically optimal biasing of Gaussian noise inputs is discussed. The utility of this approach is illustrated by presenting numerical results for a satellite channel model that includes uplink and downlink noise sources, a travelling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA) nonlinearity, and intersymbol interference (ISI) from both uplink and downlink filtering. An overview and comparison of various simulation design strategies and some results on the optimization of general mean translation and variance scaling biasing schemes for nonlinear systems are presented. >
Phytochemical and Antibacterial Studies of Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) - A Multipurpose Medicinal Plant

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) belongs to the family Asteraceae and it is a small aromatic biennial or perennial herb. The whole plant contains a number of medicinally important compounds such as inulin, esculin, volatile compounds (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes), coumarins, flavonoids and vitamins. In the present study, we evaluated the phytochemical analysis for the presence of various secondary metabolites and antibacterial activity of the root extracts of chicory against pathogenic bacteria like gram positive (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus) and gram negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi) bacteria by in vitro agar well diffusion method. The hexane and ethyl acetate root extracts of chicory showed pronounced inhibition than chloroform, petroleum ether and water extracts. Root extracts showed more inhibitory action on Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi than Micrococcus luteus and Escherichia coli.
Points for Peanuts or Peanuts for Points? Setting the Optimal Value of Loyalty Currency

A loyalty program introduces a new currency -- the points -- through which customers transact with a firm. We study the problem of optimally setting the monetary value of points, i.e., pricing in this new currency, in a multi-period setting. We first show that point pricing is different from cash pricing primarily due to the way points are accounted for, as liabilities on the firm's balance sheet. This introduces subtle channels through which the firm's decisions affect its financial performance, and exacerbates the importance of certain managerial considerations such as taxation or earnings smoothing incentives.We characterize the optimal cash and point pricing policies, and find that they mimic "base-stock, list price'' policies in inventory management. In particular, point prices/values are always set so that the total value of points reaches a "base-stock'' target, and cash prices are charged so as to maximize the firm's cash flows under the optimal loyalty point values. Under a profit-maximizing policy, the total value of loyalty points is set independently of the firm's realized financial performance. In contrast, we find that under the aforementioned managerial considerations, the optimal value of points becomes state-dependent, and is increasing (decreasing) under strong (weak) operating performance. In this sense, our work shows that loyalty points can act as a hedging tool against uncertainty in future performance, providing a new rationale for their existence, even in the absence of competition.
Numerical simulation of unsteady generalized Newtonian blood flow through differently shaped distensible arterial stenoses

An updated numerical simulation of unsteady generalized Newtonian blood flow through differently shaped distensible arterial stenoses is developed. A shear-thinning fluid modelling the deformation dependent viscosity of blood is considered for the characterization of generalized Newtonian behaviour of blood. The arterial model is treated as two-dimensional and axisymmetric with an outline of the stenosis obtained from a three-dimensional casting of a mildly stenosed artery. The full Navier-Stokes equations governing blood flow are written in the dimensionless form and the solution is accomplished by finite time-step advancement through their finite difference staggered grid representations. The marker and cell (MAC) method comprising the use of a set of marker particles moving with the fluid is used for the purpose. Results are obtained for three differently shaped stenoses – irregular, smooth and cosine curve representations. The present results do agree well with those of existing investigations in the steady state, but contrary to their conclusions the present findings demonstrate that the excess pressure drop across the cosine and the smooth stenoses is caused by neither their smoothness nor their higher degree of symmetry relative to the irregular stenosis, but is rather an effect of area cover with respect to the irregular stenosis. This effect clearly prevails throughout the entire physiological range of Reynolds numbers. Further the in-depth study in flow patterns reveals the development of flow separation zones in the diverging part of the stenosis towards the arterial wall, and they are influenced by non-Newtonian blood rheology, distensibility of the wall and flow unsteadiness in order to validate the applicability of the present model.
Patterns and contrasts in ophthalmic investigation *

The Snellen test has been the most popular clinical measurement of spatial vision for over a century, but it does not fully express the visual ability of an individual. For more analytical purposes the information capacity of the visual system may be assessed by tests of contrast sensitivity and peripheral vision. The visual system selectively reduces the spatial information content of the visual field to avoid overloading the limited capacity for perception and decision making in the brain. The ways in which this reduction occurs and the processing of spatial information is of interest in many disciplines, and theoretical knowledge has been accelerated by the study of artifical intelligence. These processes may be investigated in human subjects by psychophysical and electrophysiological techniques. This provides additional information for diagnostic purposes and will form the basis of new systems of clinical investigation.
Ex-Ante Preference in a Consumer Search Market

Consumers usually have ex-ante preferences over differentiated products before they spend significant time searching for the ones that fit their tastes best. To understand how ex-ante preferences influence a search market, I construct a sequential search model in a Hotelling setting where consumers search for match values with transparent price information available from the Internet. I show that, in response to a change in the search cost, firms choose their pricing strategies depending on the shape of the ex-ante preference distribution. Consumers as a whole can become worse off when the search cost decreases as they may need to pay higher prices. The model is extended to show that firms always have incentives to disclose prices.
Microsatellite mapping of quantitative trait loci affecting carcass traits on chromosome 1 in half-sib families of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting carcass traits on chromosome 1 in Japanese quail. The populations comprised of 422 progeny in 9 half-sib families. Phenotypic data on carcass weight, carcass parts, and the internal organs were collected on 422 progeny. Nine half-sib families were genotyped for 8 microsatellite markers covering chromosomes 1. Quantitative trait loci effects were estimated using interval mapping regression method Chromosome wide significant QTL were identified for the weight of bursa of fabricius at 24 cM (P < 0.01), uropygial gland at 102 cM (P < 0.05) and breast muscle at 199 cM (P < 0.05) on chromosome 1. The detected QTL segregated in 7 out of the 9 half-sib families, and the size of QTL effect ranged from 0.68 to 25.1 in unit of the trait residual standard deviation. The current study adds significant new information for better understanding of the inheritance of carcass traits in Japanese quail.
A Comparison of Validation Indices for Evaluation of Clustering Results of DNA Microarray Data

In this paper we assess the clustering results of gene expression (microarray) data by using different validation indices. We perform k-means clustering and evaluate the results by using three validation indices: Silhouette, Davies-Bouldin's and our proposed BR index. For performing the experiments we use our implementation of these measures in MATLAB. From the comparison of the validation indices we can conclude that BR index has better decreasing tendency depending on the number of clusters than Davies Bouldin's index for yeast microarray dataset.