Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Machine Learning Classifiers for Zero-Day Intrusion Detection - An Analysis on CIC-AWS-2018 dataset

Detecting Zero-Day intrusions has been the goal of Cybersecurity, especially intrusion detection for a long time. Machine learning is believed to be the promising methodology to solve that problem, numerous models have been proposed but a practical solution is still yet to come, mainly due to the limitation caused by the out-of-date open datasets available. In this paper, we take a deep inspection of the flow-based statistical data generated by CICFlowMeter, with six most popular machine learning classification models for Zero-Day attacks detection. The training dataset CIC-AWS-2018 Dataset contains fourteen types of intrusions, while the testing datasets contains eight different types of attacks. The six classification models are evaluated and cross validated on CIC-AWS-2018 Dataset for their accuracy in terms of false-positive rate, true-positive rate, and time overhead. Testing dataset, including eight novel (or Zero-Day) real-life attacks and benign traffic flows collected in real research production network are used to test the performance of the chosen decision tree classifier. Promising results are received with the accuracy as high as 100% and reasonable time overhead. We argue that with the statistical data collected from CICFlowMeter, simple machine learning models such as the decision tree classification could be able to take charge in detecting Zero-Day attacks.
Meeting lifetime goals with energy levels

In this paper we present Levels, a programming abstraction for energy-aware sensor network applications. Unlike most previous work it does not try to maximize network lifetime but rather helps to meet user-defined lifetime goals while maximizing application quality. Levels is targeted to applications where there is no redundancy and no node should fail early. With our programming abstraction the application developer defines so-called energy levels. These energy levels form a stack and can be deactivated from top to bottom if the lifetime goal cannot be met otherwise. Each code block within an energy level contains information about its energy consumption, which can be obtained from simulation tools without much effort. The runtime system then uses the data about the energy consumption of the different levels to compute an optimal level assignment for the time remaining. As we show in the evaluation, applications using Levels can accurately meet given lifetime goals and offer good application quality. In addition, the runtime overhead of our system is almost negligible.
Effects of Point Count Duration, Time-of-Day, and Aural Stimuli on Detectability of Migratory and Resident Bird Species in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Effects of count duration, time-of-day, and aural stimuli were studied in a series of unlimited-radius point counts conducted during winter in Quintana Roo, Mexico. The rate at which new species were detected was approximately three times higher during the first 5 minutes of each 15- minute count than in the final 5 minutes. The number of individuals and species detected in 15-minute counts declined by >60 percent over the first 3 hours after sunrise. Use of aural stimuli (playbacks of prerecorded warbler "chip" notes, imitated owl calls, "spishing") offset this temporal reduction in detection rate for Nearctic migrants, but not for most permanent residents. The relative precision of occurrence rates estimated from point count data is inherently low, especially for rarely encountered species. Estimates will be more precise if the sample of points is large and especially if the probability of detecting targeted species is high. Different combinations of sample size and count duration can yield equally precise estimates of occurrence rates. The point count method is commonly used to survey breeding bird communities in temperate North America (Verner 1985), where investigators have studied the effects of count duration, radius of the count area, and time-of-day (Gutzwiller 1991; Robbins 1981; Buskirk and others, Dawson and others, Gates, Petit and others in this volume). However, there have been only two previous quantitative assessments of the point count method in the Neotropics, where a high proportion of the landbird species that breed in temperate North America spend most of the year (Blake 1992, Hutto and others 1986). Given the precarious status of some Nearctic migrants (Askins and others 1990, Hagan and Johnston 1992, Keast and Morton 1980, Rappole and others 1983), additional information on their winter distribution and ecology is urgently needed. If point counts are to be employed in such studies, several questions should be addressed: (1) Are point counts suitable for surveys of non- breeding birds in the Neotropics? (2) Which extrinsic factors influence the results of winter point counts in the Neotropics? (3) How can survey protocols be modified to increase the efficiency of winter point counts in the Neotropics? Methods
Reduced synaptic activity precedes synaptic stripping in vagal motoneurons after axotomy

Activated microglia, which spread on the motor neurons following nerve injury, engage in the displacement of detached afferent synaptic boutons from the surface of regenerating motor neurons. This phenomenon is known as “synaptic stripping. ” The present study attempted to examine whether changes in the synaptic inputs after motor nerve injury correlated with the microglial attachment to the dorsal motor neurons of the vagus (DMV). DMV neurons in Wistar rats could survive after nerve injury, whereas most of injured DMV neurons in the C57BL/6 mice died. At 2 days after nerve injury, a significant decrease was observed in the frequencies of both spontaneous and miniature EPSCs and IPSCs recorded from DMV neurons in the slice preparation but not from the mechanically dissociated neurons in the Wistar rats. At this stage, no direct apposition of microglia on the injured neurons was observed. High‐K+ stimulation restored their frequencies to control levels. Furthermore, PPADS and DPCPX, antagonists of P2 and adenosine receptors, respectively, also stimulated the recovery of their frequencies. In contrast, no significant change was detected in the spontaneous EPSCs frequency recorded from the severely injured DMV neurons in the slice preparation of the C57BL/6 mice. These observations strongly suggest that presynaptic inhibition through glia‐derived ATP and adenosine, thus precedes synaptic stripping in regenerating DMV neurons following nerve injury. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cyclic Distributed Garbage Collection without Global Synchronization

In this report we show an algorithm for cyclic distributed garbage collection that does not require global coordination and is tolerant to message, network, and process failures. Most of the cyclic distributed garbage collectors use mark-and-sweep to nd the transitive closure of objects that are reached from the global roots. The main disadvantage of mark-and-sweep is that it requires global coordination to know when the mark-phase has ended. Our algorithm takes a more radical approach and uses back-tracing instead of mark-and-sweep to eliminate the need for global synchronization. Starting from an object that is suspected to be garbage, the algorithm recursively traces back the references that point to the suspect to nd the transitive closure of objects that reach the suspect. If this closure does not contain any root, then the objects in the closure are collected. Local garbage collectors have to be modiied to provide back-references for local proxies (representation of remote objects) and local principals (exported objects). One interesting feature of the algorithm is that all the state necessary for garbage collecting one closure is stored in a single message. This allows the algorithm not to require global synchronization and to make it scalable for usage in very large distributed systems. The cost of the algorithm is minimum. It only adds small overhead in the local garbage collector to compute the back-references plus some extra space in the process to store them. We show how this algorithm is implemented and a proof of its correctness.
Group Lending versus Individual Lending in Microfinance

Microfinance is typically associated with joint liability of group members. However, a large part of microfinance institutions rather offers individual instead of group loans. We analyze the incentive mechanisms in both individual and group contracts. Moreover, we show that microfinance institutions offer group loans when the loan size is rather large, refinancing costs are high, and competition between microfinance institutions is low. Otherwise, individual loans are offered. Interestingly, our analysis predicts that individual lending in microfinance will gain in importance in the future if microfinance institutions continue to get better access to capital markets and if competition further rises.
Auditory Stimulus Detection Partially Depends on Visuospatial Attentional Resources

Humans’ ability to detect relevant sensory information while being engaged in a demanding task is crucial in daily life. Yet, limited attentional resources restrict information processing. To date, it is still debated whether there are distinct pools of attentional resources for each sensory modality and to what extent the process of multisensory integration is dependent on attentional resources. We addressed these two questions using a dual task paradigm. Specifically, participants performed a multiple object tracking task and a detection task either separately or simultaneously. In the detection task, participants were required to detect visual, auditory, or audiovisual stimuli at varying stimulus intensities that were adjusted using a staircase procedure. We found that tasks significantly interfered. However, the interference was about 50% lower when tasks were performed in separate sensory modalities than in the same sensory modality, suggesting that attentional resources are partly shared. Moreover, we found that perceptual sensitivities were significantly improved for audiovisual stimuli relative to unisensory stimuli regardless of whether attentional resources were diverted to the multiple object tracking task or not. Overall, the present study supports the view that attentional resource allocation in multisensory processing is task-dependent and suggests that multisensory benefits are not dependent on attentional resources.
Effect of 8 Weeks of Overfeeding on Ectopic Fat Deposition and Insulin Sensitivity: Testing the “Adipose Tissue Expandability” Hypothesis

OBJECTIVE The presence of large subcutaneous adipocytes in obesity has been proposed to be linked with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes through the “adipose tissue expandability” hypothesis, which holds that large adipocytes have a limited capacity for expansion, forcing lipids to be stored in nonadipose ectopic depots (skeletal muscle, liver), where they interfere with insulin signaling. This hypothesis has, however, been largely formulated by cross-sectional findings and to date has not been prospectively demonstrated in the development of insulin resistance in humans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Twenty-nine men (26.8 ± 5.4 years old; BMI 25.5 ± 2.3 kg/m2) were fed 40% more than their baseline requirement for 8 weeks. Before and after overfeeding, insulin sensitivity was determined using a two-step hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Intrahepatic lipid (IHL) and intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) were measured by 1H-MRS and abdominal fat by MRI. Subcutaneous abdominal adipose and skeletal muscle tissues were collected to measure adipocyte size and markers of tissue inflammation. RESULTS Subjects gained 7.6 ± 2.1 kg (55% fat) and insulin sensitivity decreased 18% (P < 0.001) after overfeeding. IHL increased 46% from 1.5% to 2.2% (P = 0.002); however, IMCL did not change. There was no association between adipocyte size and ectopic lipid accumulation. Despite similar weight gain, subjects with smaller fat cells at baseline had a greater decrease in insulin sensitivity, which was linked with upregulated skeletal muscle tissue inflammation. CONCLUSIONS In experimental substantial weight gain, the presence of larger adipocytes did not promote ectopic lipid accumulation. In contrast, smaller fat cells were associated with a worsened metabolic response to overfeeding.
Robust admissibility and stabilization of uncertain singular fractional-order linear time-invariant systems

This paper addresses the robust admissibility problem in singular fractional-order continuous time systems. It is based on new admissibility conditions of singular fractional-order systems expressed in a set of strict linear matrix inequalities ( LMIs ). Then, a static output feedback controller is designed for the uncertain closed-loop system to be admissible. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the proposed methods.
Clustering Algorithms Research

The research actuality and new progress in clustering algorithm in recent years are summarized in this paper. First, the analysis and induction of some representative clustering algorithms have been made from several aspects, such as the ideas of algorithm, key technology, advantage and disadvantage. On the other hand, several typical clustering algorithms and known data sets are selected, simulation experiments are implemented from both sides of accuracy and running efficiency, and clustering condition of one algorithm with different data sets is analyzed by comparing with the same clustering of the data set under different algorithms. Finally, the research hotspot, difficulty, shortage of the data clustering and some pending problems are addressed by the integration of the aforementioned two aspects information. The above work can give a valuable reference for data clustering and data mining.
Truncated SIMD Multiplier Architecture for Approximate Computing in Low-Power Programmable Processors

Approximate computing has been exploited for many years in application-specific architectures. Recently, it has also been proposed for low-power programmable processors. However, this poses some challenges as, in a microprocessor, the energy consumed by fetching and decoding an instruction may be significantly higher than that of the execution itself. Therefore, approximate computing would be advisable only for those instructions, in which the execution stage is significantly expensive in terms of energy consumption. In this paper, we present new architectures for truncated SIMD multipliers able to calculate signed and unsigned products from <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$8\times {}8$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$64\times {}64$ </tex-math></inline-formula> bits. Next, we analyze the precision loss incurred by truncation for all product sizes. We implement accurate and truncated architectures for both scalar and SIMD products and find that truncation allows area savings of up to 27%. The proposed design is experimentally evaluated in different scenarios, showing potential energy savings ranging from 29% to 42%. Finally, this paper analyzes the overall convenience of introducing truncated SIMD architectures with respect to accurate SIMD and scalar architectures.
Serological test results of sexually transmitted diseases in patients with condyloma acuminata

Introduction Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common causes of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The incidence of condyloma acuminata (CA) has increased in recent years. Aim To determine demographical features and serological test results of STD in patients with CA. Material and methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 94 patients presenting to a dermatology clinic in Ankara, Middle Anatolia, Turkey. Dermatological examinations were made and the patients completed a questionnaire which consisted of questions about their marital status, partners and condom use. In all cases, VDRL/RPR, anti-HIV, HBsAg, anti-HCV and in 57 cases – HSV type 1–2 IgM and IgG were studied. If the value of VDRL or RPR was positive, TPHA was conducted. Results In our study, 83 men and 11 women had CA. We could not analyze whether our cases had multiple partners and a habit of condom use as some of the patients did not answer questions about their sexual life. We observed VDRL and TPHA positivity in 3 (3.1%) cases, none of those cases had clinical findings of syphilis and they denied using any therapy for syphilis. HBsAg positivity was found in 3 cases. No anti-HIV and anti-HCV antibody positivity was detected. Conclusions The seroprevalence of HBsAg in our study was similar to that of the general population of Turkey. But as we found positive syphilis serology in 3 patients, we suggest that syphilis serology should be investigated in patients with CA.
Impacts of Perinatal Dioxin Exposure on Motor Coordination and Higher Cognitive Development in Vietnamese Preschool Children: A Five-Year Follow-Up

Dioxin concentrations remain elevated in the environment and in humans residing near former US Air Force bases in South Vietnam. Our previous epidemiological studies showed adverse effects of dioxin exposure on neurodevelopment for the first 3 years of life. Subsequently, we extended the follow-up period and investigated the influence of perinatal dioxin exposure on neurodevelopment, including motor coordination and higher cognitive ability, in preschool children. Presently, we investigated 176 children in a hot spot of dioxin contamination who were followed up from birth until 5 years old. Perinatal dioxin exposure levels were estimated by measuring dioxin levels in maternal breast milk. Dioxin toxicity was evaluated using two indices; toxic equivalent (TEQ)-polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDDs/Fs) and concentration of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Coordinated movements, including manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance, were assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (Movement ABC-2). Cognitive ability was assessed using the nonverbal index (NVI) of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II). In boys, total test and balance scores of Movement ABC-2 were significantly lower in the high TEQ- PCDDs/Fs group compared with the moderate and low exposure groups. NVI scores and the pattern reasoning subscale of the KABC-II indicating planning ability were also significantly lower in the high TCDD exposure group compared with the low exposure group of boys. However, in girls, no significant differences in Movement ABC-2 and KABC-II scores were found among the different TEQ-PCDDs/Fs and TCDD exposure groups. Furthermore, in high risk cases, five boys and one girl highly exposed to TEQ-PCDDs/Fs and TCDD had double the risk for difficulties in both neurodevelopmental skills. These results suggest differential impacts of TEQ-PCDDs/Fs and TCDD exposure on motor coordination and higher cognitive ability, respectively. Moreover, high TEQ-PCDDs/Fs exposure combined with high TCDD exposure may increase autistic traits combined with developmental coordination disorder.
The Effects of Walking Speed and Hardness of Terrain on the Foot-Terrain Interaction and Driving Torque for Planar Human Walking

The foot-terrain interaction mechanics of human is important in understanding the biped locomotion mechanism. This paper aims to investigate the effect of walking speed and the hardness of the terrain on foot-terrain interaction mechanics. In the experiments, mobile portable plantar mechanical measuring insoles with 107 sensor elements were used to gauge the plantar force and contact area in real-time. Seven subjects with healthy feet have participated in typical experiments. The statistical methods including correlation analysis, univariance analysis, and systematic identification are primarily used to obtain several main results. Bimodal functions in describing the total pressure-time relations were performed at slow and regular speeds but only one hump is left if walking at fast paces; they can be unified and summed by three subsections’ unimodal functions. The forefoot produces a large peak impact force in slow and regular quasi-static walking on both hard ground and deformable terrains, while the heel absorbs more dynamic impact shocks in fast walking on hard ground. The torques generated by the ankle joints are calculated based on plantar force or its derived information such as zero moment point. Some implications are drawn, for example, the dynamically changed positions of zero moment point (ZMP) for humans are similar to that generated by reptiles wiggling through the flowable terrains; increasing the stride length on the hard ground produces more impact vibrations than quickening paces but more effective in accelerating walks on deformable terrains.
Framework for Modeling Opinion Dynamics Influenced by Targeted Messages

We describe a flexible framework, Social Networks and Opinion Dynamics Analysis (SNODA) tool, designed to perform agent-based modeling and analysis of opinion propagation within a large artificial society. The tool allows the user to create desirable scenarios by configuring agent attributes and generating complex social networks that define information flow between agents. The SNODA framework also provides the capability to model influence operations, which are designed to shift opinions of agents in a desired direction. User can create message agents, configure their attributes, identify the social groups or individuals to be targeted by the messages, run simulation and visually monitor overall outcome at the system level.
Phosphate Salivary Secretion in Hemodialysis Patients: Implications for the Treatment of Hyperphosphatemia

Background/Aims: Hyperphosphatemia is recognized as contributing to the increased risk of cardiac death in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients. Currently available pharmacologic treatment for hyperphosphatemia is based on phosphate binders but, despite treatment, only half of the patients fall within the range for serum phosphorus of the K/DOQI guidelines. Therefore, there is a need to identify other therapeutic approaches in order to reduce serum phosphate. Salivary fluid contains phosphate which, if related to the daily salivary secretion (1,000–1,880 ml), may raise interest in order to identify further additive approaches to phosphorus removal in uremic patients, while data about salivary phosphate secretion in ESRD patients are controversial. Methods: This study evaluates salivary phosphate secretion in 68 HD patients compared with 30 healthy subjects. Saxon’s test confirmed normal salivary function in patients and controls. Salivary calcium and serum phosphate, calcium and PTH were also measured. Results: HD patients had significantly higher salivary phosphorus levels compared with healthy controls: 30.35 (26.5–34.6) vs. 12.1 (10.58–14.73) mg/dl (p < 0.0001), and this significantly correlated (p < 0.0001) with serum phosphorus. Multiple regression analysis confirmed serum phosphorus as the only predictor (p < 0.0001) of salivary phosphorus. Conclusions: Given the functional secretive similarity between salivary glands and the kidneys, this increased salivary phosphate secretion might be interpreted as being compensatory in the presence of renal failure. Absorption of the increased salivary phosphate secretion, however, may worsen hyperphosphatemia; therefore, the binding of salivary phosphate might be considered as a further therapeutic approach to hyperphosphatemia in ESRD.
A 2-D Passive-Dynamic-Running Biped With Elastic Elements

This is the first study of a real physical kneed bipedal robot that exhibits passive-dynamic running (PDR), i.e., a bipedal gait with a flight phase in a device without an actuator. By carefully designing the properties of the elastic elements implemented into the hip joints and the stance legs in this device, we achieved a stable PDR consisting of 36 steps. The main contribution of this paper is the demonstration of PDR in the real world, which fully exploits the elastic mechanical properties.