Overlapping Community Structure in Co-authorship Networks: a Case Study

Community structure is one of the key properties of real-world complex networks. It plays a crucial role in their behaviors and topology. While an important work has been done on the issue of community detection, very little attention has been devoted to the analysis of the community structure. In this paper, we present an extensive investigation of the overlapping community network deduced from a large-scale co-authorship network. The nodes of the overlapping community network represent the functional communities of the co-authorship network, and the links account for the fact that communities share some nodes in the co-authorship network. The comparative evaluation of the topological properties of these two networks shows that they share similar topological properties. These results are very interesting. Indeed, the network of communities seems to be a good representative of the original co-authorship network. With its smaller size, it may be more practical in order to realize various analyses that cannot be performed easily in large-scale real-world networks.Comment: 2014 7th International Conference on u- and e- Service, Science and Technolog

Monitor Reaction of Win Stay-Lose Shift Strategies in Iterated Three-Player Prisoner’s Dilemma Game

In this paper, we present an extension model of Prisoner’s Dilemma game, but with three players. We are interested in introducing this model and providing an analysis of competitions of some special types of strategies which have properties of Win Stay-Lose Shift. Therefore, we will show the best one among them and the largest one in the payoff through some graphs by using some numerical values. Also, we will discuss the effect of relatedness between players on the behavior of strategies

Normative static grip strength of Saudi Arabia's population and influences of numerous factors on grip strength

Most daily tasks require exerting static grip strength which can be challenging for the elderly as their strength diminishes with age. Moreover, normative static grip strength data are important in ergonomics and clinical settings. The goal of this study is to present the gender, age-specific, hand-specific, and body-mass-index-specific handgrip strength reference of Saudi males and females in order to describe the population’s occupational demand and to compare them with the international standards. The secondary objective is to investigate the effects of gender, age group, hand area, and body mass index on the grip strength. A sample of 297 (146 male and 151 female) volunteers aged between 18 and 70 with different occupations participated in the study. Grip strength data were collected using a Jamar dynamometer with standard test position, protocol, and instructions. The mean maximum voluntary grip strength values for males were 38.71 kg and 22.01 kg, respectively. There was a curvilinear relationship of grip strength to age; significant differences between genders, hand area, and some age groups; and a correlation to hand dimensions depending on the gender

An Adaptive Fractal Image Steganography Using Mandelbrot and Linear Congruent Generator

Despite the advancements that occurred in the field of technology, information security (i.e., IS) is still deemed important and critical topic. It is still especially deemed so during the transfer process. In this research, a new approach is proposed for hiding information through the use of iterated function systems (i.e., IFS) from Fractals. This approach employs the main feature of fractals that concentrate on the idea that hackers who seek to find the hidden data shall not be able of locating it. Therefore, there is a need to carry out a decoding process in the aim of revering the conversion for securing the transmitted information. In this research, the secure information is hidden inside a fractal Mandelbrot image using the Linear Congruent Generator (i.e., LCG). Regarding the proposed system, it generates the fractal image through the use of the predefined knowledge gained from the hider site that works as a host for different types of secret messages. The knowledge that comes from the key of image dimensions, parameters of Mandelbrot, LCG key, and key agreement of cryptography method, which makes Stego-image analyses of hidden data unacceptable without the correct knowledge. Based on the results that are obtained through carrying out experiments showed the proposed method meets all the requirements for steganography. Such requirements include: the ones related to capacity, visual appearance, undetectability, robustness against extraction (i.e., security), and hit the highest capacities with a visual appearance of high quality

Diffusion tensor imaging tractography in the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) brain

IntroductionTractography is a technique used to trace the pathways of the brain using noninvasive diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data. It is becoming increasingly popular for investigating the brains of domestic mammals and other animals with myelinated fibers but the principle of DTI can also apply for those with unmyelinated fibers. In the case of camels, DTI tractography is a promising method for enhancing current knowledge of the brain’s structural connectivity and identifying white-matter tract changes potentially linked to neurodegenerative pathologies. The present study was therefore designed to describe representative white-matter tracts in the one-humped camel DTI tractography.MethodsPost mortem DTI was used to obtain images of two one-humped camel brains using a 3 Tesla system. T2-weighted images were also acquired to identify regions of interest for each fiber tract and a fiber dissection technique was used to complement the DT images. The main association, commissural, and projection fibers were reconstructed and superimposed on T2-weighted images or fractional anisotropy maps.ResultsThe results of the present study show the reconstruction of the most representative tracts, ie the cingulum, the corpus callosum and the internal capsule, in the one-humped camel brain using DTI data acquired post mortem. These DTI results were compared to those from fiber dissection.DiscussionAnatomy of the cingulum, corpus callosum and internal capsule correlates well with the description in anatomical textbooks and appears to be similar to fibers describe in large animals. Further research will be required to improve and validate these findings and to generate a tractography atlas based on MRI and histological data, as such an atlas would be a valuable resource for future neuroimaging research

Effect of Exogenous Fibrolytic Enzymes Supplementation or Functional Feed Additives on In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation of Chemically Pre-Treated Sunflower Heads

peer reviewedThis study aims to provide possible utilization of sunflower head byproduct (SFH) as a feedstuff by implementing chemical pretreatments (4% sodium hydroxide (SFHNaOH) or 4% urea (SFHurea) and supplementation with either exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) or functional feed additive (FFA). The experimental EFE was a complex (1:1, v/v) of two enzyme products with high activity of β-1,3-1,4-glucanase and endo-1,4-β-D-xylanase and applied at 0 (SFHout), 1, 2, 5, and 10 µL/ gdry matter, while FFA was a fermentation byproduct rich in cellulase and xylanase activities, applied at 0 (SFHout), 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/g DM. SFHurea had the highest (p < 0.05) crude protein (CP) content compared to other SFH substrates. Linear enhancements (p < 0.05) in kinetics of gas production (GP), metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) concentrations were observed for all SFH substrates supplemented with EFE. The SFHout had the highest (p < 0.05) potential GP, maximum rate (Rmax) of GP, ME, OMD and SCFAs. Supplementation of EFE was more pronounced than FFA in affecting the kinetic parameters of in vitro GP for all SFH substrates. SFHout supplemented with EFE seems to be the most promising substrate to enhance microbial fermentation in vitro

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Intoxication du chien par le raisin : diagnostic et prise en charge

Le chien est un animal particulièrement friand de raisins, ce qui le prédispose à une intoxication, qu’elle soit spontanée ou accidentelle. Le raisin est riche en composés phénoliques auxquels le chien s’avère sensible, en développant notamment une néphrotoxicité. L’intoxication se manifeste par des signes digestifs, des signes d’insuffisance rénale aiguë et des dérèglements biologiques. La prise en charge du chien intoxiqué est éliminatoire et symptomatique. Le pronostic est fonction de la quantité ingérée et de l’état des principales fonctions de l’animal. ­Toutefois, il est réservé dès l’installation de la forme rénale, en raison des risques accrus d’éventuelles complications.Les carnivores domestiques sont fréquemment exposés à de nombreux produits ménagers, composés chimiques, pesticides, médicaments, plantes, etc., ce qui les conduit, dans la majorité des cas, à des intoxications graves. Parfois, certains propriétaires donnent des fruits (telles les grappes de raisin) à leurs animaux domestiques comme récompense et/ou par méconnaissance des conséquences de cette ingestion sur leur animal. L’intoxication due à l’ingestion de raisin a été décrite pour la première fois en Amérique en 2001 [

Overlapping Community Detection Versus Ground-Truth in AMAZON Co-Purchasing Network

International audienceObjective evaluation of community detection algorithms is a strategic issue. Indeed, we need to verify that the communities identified are actually the good ones. Moreover, it is necessary to compare results between two distinct algorithms to determine which is most effective. Classically, validations rely on clustering comparison measures or on quality metrics. Although, various traditional performance measures are used extensively. It appears very clearly that they cannot distinguish community structures with different topological properties. It is therefore necessary to propose an alternative methodology more sensitive to the community structure variations in order to conduct more effective comparisons. In this paper, we present a framework to tackle this challenge through a comprehensive analysis of the community structure of overlapping community structured networks. We illustrate our approach with an experimental analysis of a real-world network with a ground-truth community structure that we compare with the output of eight different overlapping community detection procedures, representative of categories of popular algorithms available in the literature. The results allow a better understanding of their behavior. Furthermore, they demonstrate that more emphasis should be put on the topology of the uncovered community structure in order to evaluate the effectiveness of community detection algorithms