Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hotspot-based adaptive duty cycle control in delay-tolerant mobile sensor networks

Motivated by stringent power constraints, duty cycle has become a fundamental mechanism in the design of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). As a seminal category of WSN which has been facing even more crucial resource constraints, it is absolutely necessary for Delay-Tolerant Mobile Sensor Networks (DTMSN) to adopt duty cycle as a means of energy conservation. However, contact opportunities, as a rare and vital resource for message delivery in DTMSN, would inevitably get missed somehow as a consequence of periodic sleep. In this paper, we present a novel scheme, Hotspot-based Adaptive Duty Cycle (HADC), to reduce the loss of delivery caused by duty cycle, thus providing a better tradeoff between performance and energy efficiency in DTMSN. Based on analysis of nodal mobility patterns, the popular geographical areas of nodal contacts are extracted in order for the best allocation of power resources. Simulation results confirms that, with HADC, the loss of delivery ratio could get reduced distinctly given the same level of energy consumption.
Antibodies against human papillomaviruses as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in patients with neck squamous cell carcinoma from unknown primary tumor

Treatment of patients with neck lymph node metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from unknown primary tumor (NSCCUP) is challenging due to the risk of missing occult tumors or inducing toxicity to unaffected sites. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a promising biomarker given its causal link to oropharyngeal SCC and superior survival of patients with HPV‐driven oropharyngeal SCC and NSCCUP. Identification of HPV‐driven NSCCUP could focus diagnostic work‐up and treatment on the oropharynx. For the first time, we assessed HPV antibodies and their prognostic value in NSCCUP patients. Antibodies against E6 and E7 (HPV16/18/31/33/35), E1 and E2 (HPV16/18) were assessed in 46 NSCCUP patients in sera collected at diagnosis, and in follow‐up sera from five patients. In 28 patients, HPV tumor status was determined using molecular markers (HPV DNA, mRNA and cellular p16INK4a). Thirteen (28%) NSCCUP patients were HPV‐seropositive for HPV16, 18, 31, or 33. Of eleven patients with HPV‐driven NSCCUP, ten were HPV‐seropositive, while all 17 patients with non‐HPV‐driven NSCCUP were HPV‐seronegative, resulting in 91% sensitivity (95% CI: 59–100%) and 100% specificity (95% CI: 80–100%). HPV antibody levels decreased after curative treatment. Recurrence was associated with increasing levels in an individual case. HPV‐seropositive patients had a better overall and progression‐free survival with hazard ratios of 0.09 (95% CI: 0.01–0.42) and 0.03 (95% CI: 0.002–0.18), respectively. For the first time, seropositivity to HPV proteins is described in NSCCUP patients, and high sensitivity and specificity for HPV‐driven NSCCUP are demonstrated. HPV seropositivity appears to be a reliable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for patients with HPV‐driven NSCCUP.
Using DEA model without input and with negative input to develop composite indicators

We propose a kind of DEA model to develop composite indicators. In particular, this DEA model has no input and has negative outputs, which can be considered as a generalization of the Farrell proportional distance function. This DEA model were used to develop a composite indicator for rating the economic conditions of the countries along China's Belt and Road initiative.
1,1'-Ethylidenebis[L-tryptophan], a contaminant implicated in L-tryptophan eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, suppresses mRNA expression of hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone in Lewis (LEW/N) rat brain.

The L-tryptophan eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (L-Trp-EMS), related to ingestion of impure L-Trp, occurred in epidemic proportions in the United States in 1989. Epidemiologic studies implicated 1,1'-ethylidenebis[L-tryptophan] (EBT) as the impurity most highly associated with development of human L-Trp-EMS. We have previously shown that Lewis (LEW/N) rats fed L-Trp implicated in the L-Trp-EMS epidemic (case-associated L-Trp) develop fasciitis and perimyositis which is associated with a reduction in corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA expression in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). In this study, we report the effects of EBT- and case-associated L-Trp on CRH mRNA expression in the hypothalamic PVN and secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (CORT) into the plasma over a time course of 1-6 weeks in the same rats in which we have found fascial thickening and immune cell activation induced by these compounds. Both control L-Trp and EBT stimulated the secretion of ACTH and CORT at 1-2 weeks, whereas case-associated L-Trp did not. EBT and case-associated L-Trp decreased CRH mRNA expression in the PVN at 2-6 weeks, while control L-Trp had no effect. The striking contrast in the effects of case-associated L-Trp and EBT on the HPA axis suggests that the reduction in CRH mRNA levels in the PVN seen in each case may be related to different mechanisms. It is possible that EBT suppresses CRH mRNA expression directly, in the absence of inflammation, while case-associated L-Trp may act through multiple mechanisms, including that associated with inflammation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Modernizing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Informatics Using Surveillance Data Platform Shared Services

Public health surveillance is the cornerstone of public health practice. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and states share responsibility for the surveillance enterprise. States have primary responsibility for traditional name-based disease reporting, and they subsequently share anonymized data with CDC. At the same time, CDC maintains many surveillance systems at the federal level. For decades, the number of these single-disease or condition, single-purpose surveillance systems has grown as CDC has needed to expand surveillance data collection to address new public health problems. Currently, CDC has more than 110 surveillance systems. Although these systems provide CDC with the surveillance data needed by the agency, many are experienced as repetitive and burdensome by state and local public health departments, with little or no coordination. This profusion of CDC systems results in duplication of effort, discrepancies among the data elements collected by various programs, and the need to use multiple information technology (IT) systems, which may not be interoperable. Recognizing these problems, multiple CDC surveillance stakeholders (eg, the US Congress, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and the Federal Advisory Committee to the CDC Director) have urged CDC to create a more integrated approach to national public health surveillance and an approach that makes greater use of established data standards. In 2014, CDC launched a new surveillance strategy to streamline and improve the surveillance capabilities of the agency and the public health system. This new strategy is guiding the agency’s efforts to eliminate unnecessary redundancies in surveillance data collection and reporting and to increase surveillance IT system interoperability. The goal is to improve the quality, timeliness, and availability of surveillance data in the public health system (Figure 1). Importantly, the new CDC surveillance strategy also aims to reduce the burden of data exchange on state and local health departments. As part of this strategy, in May 2016, CDC launched a new public health informatics initiative that is intended to reduce the use of single-purpose (siloed) systems for surveillance and to develop reusable, shared services that can be plugged into multiple surveillance activities and programs in the agency. Shared services are business, science, and IT functions that are standardized and built once for reuse by multiple parts of an organization. At CDC, shared services will allow the agency to use fewer
A History of the Use of Anticonvulsants as Mood Stabilizers in the Last Two Decades of the 20th Century

Anticonvulsants have moved into an important position as alternatives and adjuncts to lithium carbonate in the treatment of bipolar illness. Work with the nonhomologous model of kindled seizures helped in the choice of carbamazepine as a potential mood stabilizer and in the study of the mechanisms of action of the second generation anticonvulsants carbamazepine and valproate, as well as the putative third generation psychotropic anticonvulsants lamotrigine and gabapentin. Anticonvulsant neuropeptides such as TRH and nonconvulsant approaches with repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) also appear promising.
Investigation and treatment for iron deficiency in heart failure: the unmet need in Lower and Middle Income Countries

Frank iron deficiency has been associated with a wide range of cardiac and pulmonary abnormalities including non‐ischaemic cardiomyopathy. Iron deficiency anaemia and isolated iron deficiency are well‐defined adverse prognostic factors in non‐ischaemic cardiac failure. Furthermore, iron‐deficient patients in chronic heart failure with a serum ferritin of <100 μg/l or <300 μg/l with reduced transferrin saturation of <20%, who were given intravenous iron showed improved clinical outcomes. Iron deficiency with or without anaemia affects over a quarter of the world's population, but the impact of iron deficiency in heart failure and the effective management of iron deficiency in heart failure in Lower and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) is not well described. Heart failure in African cohorts occurs at a younger age than in North America and Europe and is more likely to be due to hypertension. Recent studies suggest that iron deficiency anaemia, which is very common in heart failure patients in Africa, and iron deficiency are independently associated with a poor prognosis in heart failure. Preliminary data suggest that iron deficiency in patients with heart failure can be treated with oral iron, with significant beneficial effects on haematological and physiological variables. Cost may prohibit the use of intravenous iron on a large scale in LMICs and optimal regimes to treat iron deficiency in heart failure patients with oral iron therapy remain to be defined.
Adding Details to the Attentional Template Offsets Search Difficulty: Evidence From Contralateral Delay Activity

We investigated how expected search difficultly affects the attentional template by having participants search for a teddy bear target among either other teddy bears (difficult search, high target-distractor similarity) or random nonbear objects (easy search, low target-distractor similarity). Target previews were identical in these 2 blocked conditions, and target-related visual working memory (VWM) load was measured using contralateral delay activity (CDA), an event-related potential indicating VWM load. CDA was assessed after target designation but before search display onset. Shortly after preview offset, the expectation of a difficult search produced a target-related CDA, suggesting the encoding and maintenance of target details in VWM. However, no differences in CDA were found immediately before search onset, suggesting a flexible and efficient weighting of the templates’ features to reflect the expected demands of the search task. Moreover, CDA amplitude correlated with eye movement measures of search guidance in difficult search trials but not easy trials, suggesting that the utility of the attentional template is greater for more difficult searches. These findings are evidence that attentional templates depend on expected task difficulty, and that people may compensate for a more difficult search by adding details to their target representation in VWM, as measured by CDA.
Robustness of xylem properties in conifers: analyses of tracheid and pit dimensions along elevational transects

In alpine regions, tree hydraulics are limited by low temperatures that restrict xylem growth and induce winter frost drought and freezing stress. While several studies have dealt with functional limitations, data on elevational changes in functionally relevant xylem anatomical parameters are still scarce. In wood cores of Pinus cembra L. and Picea abies (L.) Karst. trunks, harvested along five elevational transects, xylem anatomical parameters (tracheid hydraulic diameter dh, wall reinforcement (t/b)2), pit dimensions (pit aperture Da, pit membrane Dm and torus Dt diameters) and respective functional indices (torus overlap O, margo flexibility) were measured. In both species, tracheid diameters decreased and (t/b)2 increased with increasing elevation, while pit dimensions and functional indices remained rather constant (P. cembra: Dt 10.3 ± 0.2 μm, O 0.477 ± 0.005; P. abies: Dt 9.30 ± 0.18 μm, O 0.492 ± 0.005). However, dh increased with tree height following a power trajectory with an exponent of 0.21, and also pit dimensions increased with tree height (exponents: Dm 0.18; Dt 0.14; Da 0.11). Observed elevational trends in xylem structures were predominantly determined by changes in tree size. Tree height-related changes in anatomical traits showed a remarkable robustness, regardless of the distributional ranges of study species. Despite increasing stress intensities towards the timberline, no adjustment in hydraulic safety at the pit level was observed.
Tongue Body Kinematics in Velar Stop Production: Influences of Consonant Voicing and Vowel Context

Abstract This study examines vertical and horizontal tongue body movements in VCV sequences, where the consonant is a voiced or voiceless velar stop. The movement data were recorded using a magnetic transduction technique in two subjects. Consistent with studies of lip and jaw kinematics, the duration of the tongue body raising movement towards closure for the consonant was longer for the voiced stop. In contrast to lip and jaw movements, peak velocity and amplitude of the raising movements were consistently higher for the voiced stop. The larger displacement of the closing movement for the voiced stop was due to a lower starting position of the movement during the preceding vowel. Examination of the tongue body lowering movement for the vowel preceding the velar stop showed it to be longer when the following stop was voiced. Also this lowering movement had a higher peak velocity and amplitude in the voiced environment. These results thus suggest that both the lowering and raising movements in the VC sequence are affected by the voicing status of the consonant. In addition, the second vowel in the VCV sequence showed reliable influences on tongue body movements for the first vowel and the consonant.
Adaptation of population size according to current population diversity in differential evolution

A new mechanism for the adaptation of population size in differential evolution (DE) is described and applied to CEC 2014 test suite. The adaptive mechanism is based on linear reduction of the population diversity and enables both decreasing and increasing the population size during the search. The efficiency of DE variants with and without this adaptive mechanism is compared. Moreover, this new mechanism is also compared with the linear reduction of population size used in L-SHADE and its successful successors. The results of the comparison demonstrate the benefit from the new adaptive mechanism to the algorithm efficiency in more than a half of test problems while the deterioration of efficiency occurs rarely.
Study of temporal variation of vertical TEC using NavIC data

Determination of Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) and analysis of its diurnal variation is presented for NavIC data. The radio waves propagating through the ionosphere suffers from a delay depending upon the frequency of radio wave and Total Electron Content (TEC). This delay affects the positional accuracy of the navigation system. The proposed study is used to correct this delay called first order error correction.
The relationship between breakfast and whole diet energy profiles in a group of preschool children.

The energy profile of the diet of the Spanish population is imbalanced, showing excessive intake of fats and protein and insufficient intake of carbohydrates. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether this imbalance also existed in 110 preschool children between 2 and 6 years of age, and to examine the relationship between their breakfast and whole diet energy profiles. The results obtained show that subjects who consumed less carbohydrate (< 50% of energy intake) or more fat (> 35% of total intake) at breakfast showed poorer energy profiles and poorer fat quality over their whole diet. Significant and positive correlations were found between energy supplied at breakfast by protein, fats, carbohydrates, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the same parameters measured for the whole diet.
Treatment of adult ADHD: a clinical perspective

Adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has moved from the blurred edge of clinical focus to clear recognition as a prevalent and significant disorder in its own right. It is a relatively common comorbidity which if identified and treated may open the door to better outcomes for hard-to-treat patients. Conversely, failure to identify and treat adult ADHD is linked to negative outcomes. The recognition of the importance of adult ADHD in a subset of our patients challenges us to overcome our anxiety about this diagnosis and prevent the societal marginalization of vulnerable patients. Adult ADHD responds well to integrated pharmacological and psychotherapeutic intervention. Its treatment responsiveness reduces disability and allows the comorbidity which is typically present to be addressed. Mastering this challenge can make the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD a rewarding experience.
"Assessing Quality-of-Life of Cancer Caregivers in Spain: Validation of CQOLC-Spain Scale and Elements of a Cross- Cultural Analysis"

Cancer is a leading cause of death, ranked first or second in most developed countries such as Singapore, the USA, France, Turkey, Spain, just right after cardiovascular diseases [1-5]. Moreover, cancer diagnosis impact Quality-of-Life (QOL) for patients, and family-caregivers. Assessing cross-cultural validation is key in medicine and social sciences as, beyond language translation issues, the way people experience emotions and needs may vary. Cultural attributes impact patient-caregiver satisfaction with care, health and quality-of-life [6-7], necessitating cross-cultural scale, and psychometric validation studies. Cancer-caregivers quality-of-life (CQOLC) is studied in such perspective here.
Involvement of CTGF, a Hypertrophic Chondrocyte-Specific Gene Product, in Tumor Angiogenesis

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a potent secreted signaling factor which functions in multiple stages of angiogenesis. In the present study, we examined the role of CTGF in tumor angiogenesis and made the following observations: (1) Histological analysis of human breast cancer (MDA231) cell and human fibrosarcoma (HT1080) cell xenografts in BALB/c nude mice showed a high level of neovascularization. Human squamous cell carcinoma (A431) xenografts induced only a low level of neovascularization. (2) CTGF mRNA was strongly expressed in MDA231 and in HT1080 cells in vivo and in vitro, but not in A431 cells. (3) CTGF protein was markedly produced in MDA231 cells and HT1080 cells and secreted into culture medium, and its production was greater during phases of growth rather than confluency. (4) Production of CTGF in bovine aorta endothelial cells was induced by CTGF, VEGF, bFGF and TGF-β. (5) Neovascularization induced by HT1080 cells or MDA231 cells on chicken chorioallantoic membrane was suppressed in the presence of neutralizing CTGF-specific polyclonal antibody. These results suggest that CTGF regulates progression in tumor angiogenesis and the release or secretion of CTGF from tumor cells is essential for the angiogenesis.
Optionsbewertung mit stochastischer Volatilität

Der vorliegende Artikel diskutiert die Optionsbewertung mit Hilfe des Heston-Modells mit stochastischer Volatilität. Zunächst werden dazu die wesentlichen Modelleigenschaften charakterisiert, um dann eine diskrete Modellimplementation für Derivate zu entwickeln, für die keine geschlossene Lösung existiert. Anhand eines Fallbeispiels wird demonstriert, dass der diskrete Algorithmus sehr gute Konvergenzeigenschaften besitzt. Schließlich wird am Beispiel von BarrierOptionen gezeigt, wie wichtig die Wahl eines geeigneten Modells gerade zur Bewertung von exotischen Derivaten ist.
Plant leaves as natural green scaffolds for palladium catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions

This work presents a novel approach of using natural plant leaf surfaces having intricate hierarchical structures as scaffolds for Pd nanoparticles and demonstrated it as a Green dip catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions in water. The influence of the topographical texture of the plant leaves on the deposition and catalytic properties of Pd nanoparticles are presented and discussed. The catalytic activity can be correlated to the surface texture of the leaves, wherein it has been found that the micro/nanostructures present on the surface strongly influence the assembly and entrapment of the nanoparticles, and thereby control aggregation and leaching of the catalysts. This approach can provide insights for the future design and fabrication of bioinspired supports for catalysis, based on replication of leaf surfaces.
A Combined Eddy-Diffusivity Mass-Flux Approach for the Convective Boundary Layer

A better conceptual understanding and more realistic parameterizations of convective boundary layers in climate and weather prediction models have been major challenges in meteorological research. In particular, parameterizations of the dry convective boundary layer, in spite of the absence of water phase-changes and its consequent simplicity as compared to moist convection, typically suffer from problems in attempting to represent realistically the boundary layer growth and what is often referred to as countergradient fluxes. The eddy-diffusivity (ED) approach has been relatively successful in representing some characteristics of neutral boundary layers and surface layers in general. The mass-flux (MF) approach, on the other hand, has been used for the parameterization of shallow and deep moist convection. In this paper, a new approach that relies on a combination of the ED and MF parameterizations (EDMF) is proposed for the dry convective boundary layer. It is shown that the EDMF approach follows naturally from a decomposition of the turbulent fluxes into 1) a part that includes strong organized updrafts, and 2) a remaining turbulent field. At the basis of the EDMF approach is the concept that nonlocal subgrid transport due to the strong updrafts is taken into account by the MF approach, while the remaining transport is taken into account by an ED closure. Large-eddy simulation (LES) results of the dry convective boundary layer are used to support the theoretical framework of this new approach and to determine the parameters of the EDMF model. The performance of the new formulation is evaluated against LES results, and it is shown that the EDMF closure is able to reproduce the main properties of dry convective boundary layers in a realistic manner. Furthermore, it will be shown that this approach has strong advantages over the more traditional countergradient approach, especially in the entrainment layer. As a result, this EDMF approach opens the way to parameterize the clear and cumulus-topped boundary layer in a simple and unified way.