Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Secure and Efficient Audit Mechanism for Dynamic Shared Data in Cloud Storage

With popularization of cloud services, multiple users easily share and update their data through cloud storage. For data integrity and consistency in the cloud storage, the audit mechanisms were proposed. However, existing approaches have some security vulnerabilities and require a lot of computational overheads. This paper proposes a secure and efficient audit mechanism for dynamic shared data in cloud storage. The proposed scheme prevents a malicious cloud service provider from deceiving an auditor. Moreover, it devises a new index table management method and reduces the auditing cost by employing less complex operations. We prove the resistance against some attacks and show less computation cost and shorter time for auditing when compared with conventional approaches. The results present that the proposed scheme is secure and efficient for cloud storage services managing dynamic shared data.
The Impact of Frequency on Summarization

Most multi-document summarizers utilize term frequency related features to determine sentence importance. No empirical studies, however, have been carried out to isolate the contribution made by frequency information from that of other features. Here, we examine the impact of frequency on various aspects of summarization and the role of frequency in the design of a summarization system. We describe SumBasic, a summarization system that exploits frequency exclusively to create summaries. SumBasic outperforms many of the summarization systems in DUC 2004, and performs very well in the 2005 MSE evaluation, confirming that frequency alone is a powerful feature in summary creation. We also demonstrate how a frequency-based summarizer can incorporate context adjustment in a natural way, and show that this adjustment contributes to the good performance of the summarizer and is sufficient means for duplication removal in multi-document summarization.
A Numerical Meshless Technique for the Solution of the two Dimensional Burger's Equation Using Collocation Method

In this paper we propose a meshfree technique for the numerical solution of the two dimensional Burger's equation. Collocation method using the Radial Basis Functions (RBFs) is coupled with first order accurate finite difference approximation. Different types of RBFs are used for this purpose. Performance of the proposed method is successfully tested in terms of various error norms. In the case of non-availability of exact solution, performance of the new method is compared with the results obtained from the existing methods available in the literature. The elementary stability analysis is established theoretically and is also supported by numerical results.
How do hedonic Design Features Influence an Application's Usage

Mobile applications (apps) have permeated every walk of our life. This has motivated many companies to jump onto the «mobile wave» and develop specific apps for their products and services. With the growing number of apps, it has become ever more difficult for companies to arrest attention and to motivate users to continuously use the installed apps. A strategy that frequently is followed is to «beautify» primarily utilitarian apps with hedonic design features in order to increase enjoyment. The current study therefore attempts to understand what effects do hedonic design features have on the usage of utilitarian apps. Our findings show that the implementation of hedonic design features goes along with two effects. First, the general duration how long a user uses an app is increased. Second, there is an inadvertent side effect in that hedonic design features negatively impact the usage duration of an app's utilitarian functionality. The paper concludes with the discussion of theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Validating Meteosat-derived surface solar irradiance in Mozambique

he solar radiation reaching the ground level on horizontal surfaces is of interest to many domains. The database HelioClim-1 contains daily values of radiation for 21 years: 1985-2005. It has been derived from Meteosat images and covers Europe, Africa and Atlantic Ocean. It is compared to ground-based measurements in Mozambique collected from the World Radiation Data Center. The quality of HelioClim-1 is good: the root mean square difference is approximately 30 W/m², and the correlation coefficient is greater than 0.85. These results are similar to those obtained by previous studies for Europe. HelioClim-1 is freely available through the SoDa Service and offers a reliable and accurate knowledge of the solar radiation and its daily, seasonal and annual variations over recent years.
Olfactory Loss in Parkinson's Disease

Impairment of olfaction is a characteristic and early feature of Parkinson's disease. Recent data indicate that >95% of patients with Parkinson's disease present with significant olfactory loss. Deficits in the sense of smell may precede clinical motor symptoms by years and can be used to assess the risk for developing Parkinson's disease in otherwise asymptomatic individuals. This paper summarizes the available information about olfactory function in Parkinson's disease, indicating the advantageous use of olfactory probes in early and differential diagnosis.
Brain-Controlled Wheelchairs: A Robotic Architecture

Independent mobility is central to being able to perform activities of daily living by oneself. However, power wheelchairs are not an option for many people who, due to severe motor disabilities, are unable to use conventional controls. For some of these people, noninvasive brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer a promising solution to this interaction problem.
Mathematical modelling in health care

We will describe several cases studies that illustrate how we have used modelling to improve the delivery of health care. The studies cover various settings in health care, utilise a variety of mathematical modelling techniques, and include descriptions of the impact of the model on the health care system. The studies can be described briefly as follows. In the financial year 2006/2007, emergency departments (EDs) in Australian hospitals dealt with 5,287,451 presentations. Statistical models have been used to forecast the number of patients served by an ED each month, and to evaluate the impact of changes and innovations introduced to the ED. The operation of an acute care hospital medical service has been described well by a double compartment model. Modification to the basic model facilitates the incorporation of occupancy fluctuations, such as winter peaks, across the year. These models can improve strategic decision making in relation to hospital beds. At a more aggregated level, a cohort Markov model was used to identify the most cost-effective screening programme for cervical cancer. The model describes the development of precancerous lesions and progression via multiple stages to the advanced form of cervical cancer, and subsequent death. Cancer may be diagnosed at any time, via screening or clinical presentation with symptoms, at which point treatment may be initiated that will alter the natural history of the disease. The model was used to evaluate a large number of screening options, for which it would be infeasible to conduct clinical studies. Transition care is a form of health care for hospital patients who have finished their stay in an acute care setting but are not be able to return home. Queueing theory has been used to estimate the number of places required for a new transition care facility in a hospital. This example demonstrates how modelling has been used in applying for funds to support new developments in a hospital.
Effects of Pictorial Cues on Reaching Depend on the Distinctiveness of Target Objects

There is an ongoing debate under what conditions learned object sizes influence visuomotor control under preserved stereovision. Using meaningful objects (matchboxes of locally well-known brands in the UK) a previous study has nicely shown that the recognition of these objects influences action programming by means of reach amplitude and grasp pre-shaping even under binocular vision. Using the same paradigm, we demonstrated that short-term learning of colour-size associations was not sufficient to induce any visuomotor effects under binocular viewing conditions. Now we used the same matchboxes, for which the familiarity effect was shown in the UK, with German participants who have never seen these objects before. We addressed the question whether simply a high degree of distinctness, or whether instead actual prior familiarity of these objects, are required to affect motor computations. We found that under monocular and binocular viewing conditions the learned size and location influenced the amplitude of the reaching component significantly. In contrast, the maximum grip aperture remained unaffected for binocular vision. We conclude that visual distinctness is sufficient to form reliable associations in short-term learning to influence reaching even for preserved stereovision. Grasp pre-shaping instead seems to be less susceptible to such perceptual effects.
How the Mall Made Walnut Creek

In 1951, the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Walnut Creek welcomed the construction of a major shopping center adjacent to their downtown area—a configuration that would lead municipal planners to prioritize retail development for their city. Walnut Creek’s nonlinear path to retail dominance over the next several decades exemplifies not only the increasingly multivariate climate surrounding suburban retail development in the latter half of the twentieth century but also the increasingly autonomous role of municipal planners who have used retail as a versatile component of suburban spatial development in an age of metropolitan flux.
Viral infections in immunocompromised patients: what's new with respiratory viruses?

Purpose of review The leading cause of death in solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients is infection. The respiratory viruses, particularly respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, parainfluenza, adenovirus, and picornaviruses, are increasingly recognized as significant pathogens in these populations. Recent findings Respiratory syncytial virus has again been found to be the most common of the respiratory viruses causing severe infections in transplant recipients. Advances in prevention, particularly with regard to infection control practices, and to lesser extent treatment have had a substantial impact on the frequency and outcomes of this infection. New studies have clarified the impact of influenza in the hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients and have provided evidence to support the use of M2 and neuraminidase inhibitors for early treatment. The epidemiology of parainfluenza and adenovirus in transplant recipients has been clarified, although therapeutic modalities are still limited and understudied. New antiviral medications may bring improved outcomes of picornavirus infections in this population. Finally, a new virus, the human metapneumovirus, has recently been described and may be a significant respiratory pathogen in immunocompromised transplant recipients. Summary Studies published over the past year have documented a new respiratory pathogen. They have also resulted in improved understanding of the epidemiology of all of the respiratory virus pathogens, and have contributed to improve management of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplant and solid organ transplant recipients.
Atypical protein kinase C (iota) activates ezrin in the apical domain of intestinal epithelial cells

Atypical protein kinase iota (PKCι) is a key organizer of the apical domain in epithelial cells. Ezrin is a cytosolic protein that, upon activation by phosphorylation of T567, is localized under the apical membrane where it connects actin filaments to membrane proteins and recruits protein kinase A (PKA). To identify the kinase that phosphorylates ezrin T567 in simple epithelia, we analyzed the expression of active PKC and the appearance of T567-P during enterocyte differentiation in vivo. PKCι phosphorylated ezrin on T567 in vitro, and in Sf9 cells that do not activate human ezrin. In CACO-2 human intestinal cells in culture, PKCι co-immunoprecipitated with ezrin and was knocked down by shRNA expression. The resulting phenotype showed a modest decrease in total ezrin, but a steep decrease in T567 phosphorylation. The PKCι-depleted cells showed fewer and shorter microvilli and redistribution of the PKA regulatory subunit. Expression of a dominant-negative form of PKCι also decreased T567-P signal, and expression of a constitutively active PKCι mutant showed depolarized distribution of T567-P. We conclude that, although other molecular mechanisms contribute to ezrin activation, apically localized phosphorylation by PKCι is essential for the activation and normal distribution of ezrin at the early stages of intestinal epithelial cell differentiation.
Effect of Dietary Lipids and Drumstick Leaves (Moringa oleifera) on Lipid Profile & Antioxidant Parameters in Rats

The study investigated the influence of dietary vitamin E derived from drumstick leaves (DL, Moringa oleifera) on antioxidant status and plasma lipids in male rats, fed diets based on either palm (PO) or peanut oil (PN). Two control (PO & PN) and three experimental diets (PODL, PNDL & POPNDL) differing in dietary fat source supplemented with DL powder were fed (ad libitum, 8 weeks). The vitamin E content of control diets was 30 IU/kg while the experimental diets provided 60 IU/kg of diet. No significant differences in body weight, liver and adipose tissue weights were observed between the 5 groups, despite the difference in the type/source of fat used in the diets. After 8 weeks, the cholesterol and TBARS levels in the livers of rats fed PODL diet were lower than the other groups. In all 5 groups, plasma cholesterol decreased after 8 weeks, however, diets supplemented with DL powder resulted in decreases in both plasma cholesterol and lipid peroxides marked decrease (p < 0.05) compared to control group. The increase in plasma vitamin E levels were not significant. The data suggest that the combination of dietary fat and drumstick leaves as a source of antioxidant was beneficial as it reduced plasma cholesterol & lipid peroxidation.
S Orionis 70: Just a Foreground Field Brown Dwarf?

We examine recent claims that the T-type brown dwarf S Ori 053810.1-203626 (S Ori 70) is a spectroscopically verified low-mass (3 MJup) member of the 1-8 Myr σ Orionis cluster. Comparative arguments by Martín & Zapatero Osorio asserting that S Ori 70 exhibits low surface gravity spectral features indicative of youth and low mass are invalidated by the fact that their comparison object was not the field T dwarf 2MASS 0559-1404, but rather a nearby background star. Instead, we find that the 1-2.5 μm spectra of S Ori 70 are well matched to older (age ~ few Gyr) field T6-T7 dwarfs. Moreover, we find that spectral model fits to late-type field T dwarf spectra tend to yield low surface gravities (log g = 3.0-3.5), and thus young ages (≲5 Myr) and low masses (≲3 MJup), inconsistent with expected and/or empirical values. Finally, we show that the identification of one T dwarf in the field imaged by Zapatero Osorio et al. is statistically consistent with the expected foreground contamination. Based on the reexamined evidence, we conclude that S Ori 70 may simply be an old, massive (30-60 MJup) field brown dwarf lying in the foreground of the σ Orionis cluster. This interpretation should be considered before presuming the existence of so-called "cluster planets. "
Dietary Choline : A Story Beyond Fatty Liver

Choline. Choline has been identified as a required nutrient for many species including humans, chicks, and pigs. Choline is found in low concentrations in most feeds, ranging from 0.04% in corn silage and alfalfa hay to 0.3% in protein sources such as soybean meal and cottonseed meal (DM basis). Its low concentrations in feeds are indicative of the low amounts required by livestock (e.g. 3 g/day for a lactating sow). Although the bovine requirement for choline has yet to be established, the supplementation of choline to dairy cows in transition usually improves milk production and often aids in the reduction of fat in the liver. However, in order for choline to be absorbed in the small intestine of ruminants, the choline must have some protection from degradation by ruminal microbes which degrade dietary choline to methane and acetic acid. Several ruminally-protected choline (RPC) products are being marketed commercially to the dairy industry across the world. ReaShure (Balchem Corp., New Hampton, NY) is such a product containing approximately 25% choline chloride. In 16 experiments published since 2003, dairy cows supplemented with an RPC product starting in late gestation (~ 3 weeks prepartum) and continuing into lactation produced an average of 4.4 lb/day more milk or fat-corrected milk compared with cows not supplemented with RPC. Fourteen of the 16 studies reported a numerical increase and 10 reported a statistically significant increase in milk due to RPC supplementation. The need for choline by nonruminants is increased during pregnancy and lactation because of the dam’s transport of choline to the fetus during pregnancy and into the milk (Zeisel, 2011). This may well be true for ruminant animals as well.
Apoptosis in keratocytes caused by mitomycin C.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of mitomycin C on rabbit keratocytes, with a view to determining its potential in modulating corneal stromal wound healing. In addition, the pathway by which this regulation occurs was investigated. METHODS Keratocytes were isolated from New Zealand White rabbits and cultured. Hoechst staining and flow cytometric analyses with annexin V were used to identify the nature of the keratocyte response to mitomycin C. The response of cultured keratocytes to 0.005%, 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.04%, and 0.06% mitomycin C was evaluated with the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. In addition, after exposure of keratocytes to 0.01% mitomycin C, the LDH assay was performed at different times of 6, 12, and 24 hours. Keratocytes were preincubated with various concentrations of CPP32-like protease inhibitor (Z-VAD-FMK), caspase-8 inhibitor (Z-IETD-FMK), and caspase-9 inhibitor (Z-LEHD-FMK) and treated with 0.01% mitomycin C. The LDH assay was performed after 12 hours. Cytochrome c immunostain was performed after exposure to 0.01% mitomycin C. RESULTS Hoechst staining revealed shrinkage of the cytoplasm, formation of apoptotic bodies, and nuclear fragmentation. Apoptotic changes in cells were detected by flow cytometry. LDH activities increased significantly at concentrations of 0.005% mitomycin C or greater and were time dependent until 24 hours. Treatment with a CPP32-like protease inhibitor caused a decrease in LDH activity, although the results were not statistically significant. Specific inhibitors of caspase-8 and -9 significantly reduced the LDH activity induced by mitomycin C. Cytochrome c immunostaining of keratocytes pretreated with mitomycin C showed strongly positive findings. CONCLUSIONS Mitomycin C induced apoptosis, not necrosis, in cultured corneal keratocytes through the caspase pathway-specifically, caspase-8 and -9-related to the mitochondrial pathway.
On dynamic input allocation for set-point regulation of the JET tokamak plasma shape

In this paper we propose a solution to the input saturation avoidance problem in the JET tokamak shape control by illustrating its capabilities to enforce coil currents selections that tend to move away from the saturation limits within the allowable degrees of freedom. The proposed solution revisits the dynamic allocation scheme first proposed in [10] for input redundant plants and generalized in [6] and [9] for not input redundant ones. In particular we propose a different scheme for the input allocation, more suitable within a set-point regulation setting, and prove its convergence properties. We also present simulation results to assess the steady-state and transient performances obtained with the novel scheme, as compared to the previous approaches.
P2P-AVS: P2P Based Cooperative VoIP Spam Filtering

With the broad implementation of Internet, VoIP poses an important role on the Internet and provides a new way to people to contact each other. As VoIP's cheapness and simpleness, many institutes forecast that VoIP emerges as next spam entryway like e-mail service. In this paper, we propose a novel schema, called P2P-AVS (anti-voice-spam), against spam call on the VoIP networks. It bases on an open distributed architecture to store and share end users' personal evaluation about spammer. P2P-AVS system acts as a middleware of VoIP proxy server, and constructs a DHT network over them to make it more robust. Furthermore, we design a proper reputation model to measure user's histoy and combine others' evaluation so that we can detect spam calls. At last, we verify the reputation model through building simulation testbed. Results show that reputation model of P2P-AVS could detect spam calls accurately.
On Bootstrapping of Linguistic Features for Bootstrapping Grammars

We discuss a cue-based grammar induction approach based on a parallel theory of grammar. Our model is based on the hypotheses of interdependency between linguistic levels (of representation) and inductability of specific structural properties at a particular level, with consequences for the induction of structural properties at other linguistic levels. We present the results of three different cue-learning experiments and settings, covering the induction of phonological, morphological, and syntactic properties, and discuss potential consequences for our general grammar induction model.
Study of the cavitating instability on a grooved Venturi profile

Cavitation is a limiting phenomenon in many domains of fluid mechanics. Instabilities of a partial cavity developed on an hydrofoil, a converging-diverging step or in an inter-blade channel in turbomachinery, have already been investigated and described in many previous works. The aim of this study is to evaluate a passive control method of the sheet cavity. According to operating conditions, cavitation can be described by two different regimes: an unstable regime with a cloud cavitation shedding and a stable regime with only a pulsating sheet cavity. Avoiding cloud cavitation can limit structure damages since a pulsating sheet cavity is less agressive. The surface condition of a converging-diverging step, like a Venturi-type obstacle, is here studied as a solution for a passive control of the cavitation. This study discusses the effect of an organized roughness, in the shape of longitudinal grooves, on the developed sheet cavity. Analyzes conducted with Laser Doppler Velocimetry, visualisations and pressure measurements show that the grooves geometry, and especially the groove depth, acts on the sheet cavity dynamics. Results show that modifying the surface condition, by varying the grooves geometry, can reduce cavity sheet length and even suppress the cloud cavitation shedding.