Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Significance of Underfill on the IC Packages Subjected to Temperature Cyclic Loading

The melting point of Sn—Ag/Sn—Ag—Cu solders are higher than that of Sn—Pb solders by 30°C in particular. These in turn lead to significant divergences in plastic and creep behaviors. This research uses the validated finite-element analyses to study the elastic-plastic-creep behaviors of the 96.5Sn—3.5Ag, 95.5Sn—3.8Ag—0.7Cu lead-free solders, and the classical 63Sn—37Pb solder bumped wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) on printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies subjected to four different temperature cycle tests. The behaviors of equivalent stress and equivalent total strain hysteresis loops are examined in the five key areas, which are the center, upper-right, upper-left, lower-right, and lower-left, at the outmost corner solder joint. It can be seen that: (1) for the elastic-plastic-creep behaviors to these three solder alloys, the range of the temperature loading is the most important factor to assess the reliability of the solder bumped WLCSP on PCB assemblies; (2) in the case of the same scale to the WLCSP and the WLCSP with underfill, the difference of the equivalent total strain range exceed an order of magnitude for all the three solder joints.
Ontogeny of leptin and its receptor expression in mouse testis during the postnatal period

The mechanism by which leptin regulate male reproductive development during postnatal periods remain to be determined. Using immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), we established that leptin is expressed in mouse testis with a cell‐type and stage‐dependent manner during the postnatal period. In testes of 5‐day‐old mice, leptin expression was mainly restricted to gonocytes, whereas the immunostaining of leptin was confined to spermatogonia in 10‐day‐old testes. From Day 20 and onwards, stage‐specific expression of leptin was evident in spermatocytes at stages VII–XII of the cycle in the seminiferous epithelium. RT‐PCR showed that leptin and its receptor isoforms, Ob‐Ra, Ob‐Rb, and Ob‐Re were all expressed in testes from 5‐ to 60‐day‐old mice. The mRNA for Ob‐Ra and Ob‐Re, but not Ob‐Rb or leptin were identified in both immature (14‐day‐old) and adult (60‐day‐old) isolated Leydig cells. These results suggest that besides its primary actions at the hypothalamic‐pituitary level, leptin has direct effects in the proliferation, differentiation of germ cells and the modulation of testicular steroidogenesis, using both autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 75: 874–880, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Salt-Induced Renal Injury in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: Effects of Nebivolol

Background: We investigated renal effects of nebivolol, a selective β1-receptor blocker with additional antioxidative ability, in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) where increased salt intake induces oxidative stress and worsens renal function as a result of further activation of the renin-angiotensin and sympathetic nervous systems. Methods: Male SHR were given an 8% salt diet (HS; n = 22) for 5 weeks; their age-matched controls (n = 9) received standard chow. Nebivolol was given at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day for 5 weeks in 11 HS rats. Results: HS increased blood pressure, plasma renin concentration, urinary protein excretion, and renal nitroxidative stress while decreasing renal blood flow and angiotensin 1–7 receptor (mas) protein expression. There was no change in angiotensin II type 1 receptor expression among the experimental groups. Nebivolol did not alter the salt-induced increase in blood pressure but reduced urinary protein excretion, plasma renin concentration, and nitroxidative stress. Nebivolol also increased neuronal NOS expression while preventing the salt-induced decrease in renal blood flow and mas protein expression. Conclusion: Nebivolol prevented salt-induced kidney injury and associated proteinuria in SHR through a blood pressure-independent mechanism. Its protective effects may be related to reduction in oxidative stress, increases in neuronal NOS and restoration of angiotensin II type 1/mas receptor balance.
HARVEST TRAFFIC MONITORING AND SOIL PHYSICAL RESPONSE IN A PINE PLANTA'TION E. A. Carter and T.P. McDonald USDA Forest Service Auburn, Alabama

Mechanized forest harvest operations induce changes in soil physical properties, which have the potefitial to impzct soil sustai~ability and forest productivity. The assessment of soil compaction and its spatial variability has been determined previously through the identification and tabulation of visual soil disturbance classes and soil physical changes associated with each disturbailce class. This is a time consuming and inaccurate process. The utilization of the GPS provided a means to monitor harvest traffic and transform that information into a detailed map of trafficking. Knowledge of the number of passes (intensity) and their location within the harvest landscape permitted the measurement of soil physical changes in response to the number of machine passes and their spatial structure. Soil bulk density and cone index increased in response to trafficking but the peak values achieved by each varied by sampling time. Soil samples collected immediately after harvest indicated slight response to trafficking but soil samples collected within one year of harvest indicated a greater response, especially in cone index. This was presumably due to differences in soil moisture content at the time of sampling. Spatial structure was evident ifi the portion of the harvest tract which had less soil moisture. Regardless of temporal differences, bulk density exhibited directional dependence while cone index was isotropic.
High-Resolution Shape Completion Using Deep Neural Networks for Global Structure and Local Geometry Inference

We propose a data-driven method for recovering missing parts of 3D shapes. Our method is based on a new deep learning architecture consisting of two sub-networks: a global structure inference network and a local geometry refinement network. The global structure inference network incorporates a long short-term memorized context fusion module (LSTM-CF) that infers the global structure of the shape based on multi-view depth information provided as part of the input. It also includes a 3D fully convolutional (3DFCN) module that further enriches the global structure representation according to volumetric information in the input. Under the guidance of the global structure network, the local geometry refinement network takes as input local 3D patches around missing regions, and progressively produces a high-resolution, complete surface through a volumetric encoder-decoder architecture. Our method jointly trains the global structure inference and local geometry refinement networks in an end-to-end manner. We perform qualitative and quantitative evaluations on six object categories, demonstrating that our method outperforms existing state-of-the-art work on shape completion.
Some properties of variable length packet shapers

The min-plus theory of greedy shapers has been developed after Cruz's results on the calculus of network delays. An example of greedy shaper is the buffered leaky bucket controller. The theory of greedy shapers establishes a number of properties; for example, re-shaping keeps original arrival constraints. The existing theory applies in all rigor either to fluid systems, or to packets of constant size such as ATM. For variable length packets, the distortion introduced by packetization affects the theory, which is no longer valid. Chang has introduced the concept of packetizer, which models the effect of variable length packets, and has also developed a max-plus theory of shapers. In this paper, we start with the min-plus theory, and obtain results on greedy shapers for variable length packets which are not readily explained with the max-plus theory of Chang. We show a fundamental result, namely, the min-plus representation of a packetized greedy shaper. This allows us to prove that, under some assumptions, re-shaping a flow of variable length packets does keep original arrival constraints. However, we show on some examples that if the assumptions are not satisfied, then the property may not hold any more. We also demonstrate the equivalence of implementing a buffered leaky bucket controller based on either virtual finish times or on bucket replenishment.
Snakebite in Papua New Guinea.

Snakes are widely feared in Papua New Guinea, and with very good reason. In many parts of PNG snakebite is an almost daily occurrence and venomous snakebite is a serious public health problem, with localized incidence rates that are among the highest of any tropical region in the world. Medical and epidemiological studies of snakebite in different parts of the country have given us detailed snapshots of some of the outcomes of snakebite, and although there are still many gaps in our knowledge, there is a significant amount of factual data available.
Homeopathic Doses of Gelsemium sempervirens Improve the Behavior of Mice in Response to Novel Environments

Gelsemium sempervirens is used in homeopathy for treating patients with anxiety related symptoms, however there have been few experimental studies evaluating its pharmacological activity. We have investigated the effects of homeopathic doses of G. sempervirens on mice, using validated behavioral models. Centesimal (CH) dilutions/dynamizations of G. sempervirens, the reference drug diazepam (1 mg/kg body weight) or a placebo (solvent vehicle) were intraperitoneally delivered to groups of mice of CD1 strain during 8 days, then the effects were assessed by the Light-Dark (LD) choice test and by the Open-Field (OF) exploration test, in a fully blind manner. In the LD test, the mean time spent in the illuminated area by control and placebo-treated animals was 15.98%, for mice treated with diazepam it increased to 19.91% (P = .047), while with G. sempervirens 5 CH it was 18.11% (P = .341, non-significant). The number of transitions between the two compartments increased with diazepam from 6.19 to 9.64 (P < .001) but not with G. Sempervirens. In the OF test, G. sempervirens 5 CH significantly increased the time spent and the distance traveled in the central zone (P = .009 and P = .003, resp.), while diazepam had no effect on these OF test parameters. In a subsequent series of experiments, G. sempervirens 7 and 30 CH also significantly improved the behavioral responses of mice in the OF test (P < .01 for all tested variables). Neither dilutions of G. sempervirens affected the total distance traveled, indicating that the behavioral effect was not due to unspecific changes in locomotor activity. In conclusion, homeopathic doses of G. sempervirens influence the emotional responses of mice to novel environments, suggesting an improvement in exploratory behavior and a diminution of thigmotaxis or neophobia.
Effect of a Hypocaloric Diet, Increased Protein Intake and Resistance Training on Lean Mass Gains and Fat Mass Loss in Overweight Police Officers

We compare the effects of a moderate hypocaloric, high-protein diet and resistance training, using two different protein supplements, versus hypocaloric diet alone on body compositional changes in overweight police officers. A randomized, prospective 12-week study was performed comparing the changes in body composition produced by three different treatment modalities in three study groups. One group (n = 10) was placed on a nonlipogenic, hypocaloric diet alone (80% of predicted needs). A second group (n = 14) was placed on the hypocaloric diet plus resistance exercise plus a high-protein intake (1.5 g/kg/day) using a casein protein hydrolysate. In the third group (n = 14) treatment was identical to the second, except for the use of a whey protein hydrolysate. We found that weight loss was approximately 2.5 kg in all three groups. Mean percent body fat with diet alone decreased from a baseline of 27 ± 1.8 to 25 ± 1.3% at 12 weeks. With diet, exercise and casein the decrease was from 26 ± 1.7 to 18 ± 1.1% and with diet, exercise and whey protein the decrease was from 27 ± 1.6 to 23 ± 1.3%. The mean fat loss was 2.5 ± 0.6, 7.0 ± 2.1 and 4.2 ± 0.9 kg in the three groups, respectively. Lean mass gains in the three groups did not change for diet alone, versus gains of 4 ± 1.4 and 2 ± 0.7 kg in the casein and whey groups, respectively. Mean increase in strength for chest, shoulder and legs was 59 ± 9% for casein and 29 ± 9% for whey, a significant group difference. This significant difference in body composition and strength is likely due to improved nitrogen retention and overall anticatabolic effects caused by the peptide components of the casein hydrolysate.
β-Amyloid Peptides Decrease Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase Expression in Astroglial Cells

In astroglial cells beta-amyloid peptides (betaA) induce a reactive phenotype and increase expression of NO synthase. Here we show that treatment of rat brain astrocytes with betaA decreases their capacity to accumulate cyclic GMP (cGMP) in response to NO as a result of a decreased expression of soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) at the protein and mRNA levels. Potentiation of betaA-induced NO formation by interferon-gamma did not result in a larger decrease in cGMP formation and inhibition of NO synthase failed to reverse down-regulation of sGC, indicating that NO is not involved. The betaA effect was prevented by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. Intracerebral betaA injection also decreased sGC beta1 subunit mRNA levels in adult rat hippocampus and cerebellum. A loss of sGC in reactive astrocytes surrounding beta-amyloid plaques could be a mechanism to prevent excess signalling via cGMP at sites of high NO production.
Left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in coronary artery disease: effects of revascularization on exercise-induced ischemia.

Left ventricular systolic and diastolic function were studied before and after surgical revascularization in a group of 24 patients with stable angina who all had an excellent clinical response to surgery. With use of micromanometer left ventricular pressure measurements and ventricular volumes, calculated from biplane cineangiograms, left ventricular function at rest and during exercise before and after surgery was compared. Before surgery all patients had exercise-induced ischemia with new asynergy, a fall in ejection fraction from 57% to 49% (p less than .001), and a rise in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure from 23 to 37 mm Hg (p less than .001). Postoperative exercise resulted in no new asynergy and ejection fraction rose from 59% to 61% (p less than .05). Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure still rose from 17 to 25 mm Hg (p less than .01). Left ventricular pressure decay during exercise was greatly improved after revascularization and allowed maintenance of reduced early diastolic pressures. The early diastolic pressure nadir before surgery rose from 9 to 21 mm Hg (p less than .001); the postoperative nadir was 5 mm Hg at rest and 6 mm Hg during exercise. All patients had an upward shift in the diastolic pressure-volume relationship during preoperative exercise. After revascularization there was no upward shift in some patients and a much smaller shift in others. The postoperative increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was due to increased end-diastolic volume, not altered compliance. There was an increase in mean right atrial pressure during exercise either before (6 to 11 mm Hg) or after surgery (4 to 10 mm Hg). These increases were quite variable, suggesting no consistent role of pericardial restraint during exercise. Early diastolic peak filling rate during exercise was greater after surgery (1260 vs 950 ml/sec, p less than .001). In fact, during postoperative exercise early diastolic filling rates were greater than normal, reflecting the persistence of abnormally high atrial pressures for filling. As at preoperative study, late diastolic filling during exercise was restricted after revascularization when compared with that in a control group. Postoperatively patients undergoing bypass procedures with a good clinical result showed significantly improved left ventricular diastolic and systolic function. Persistent elevation of end-diastolic and atrial pressures and other abnormalities of diastolic function may reflect chronic structural changes and need to be taken into account when evaluating patients after bypass surgery.
Microstructural Parcellation of the Human Cerebral Cortex – From Brodmann's Post-Mortem Map to in vivo Mapping with High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The year 2009 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of the famous brain map of Korbinian Brodmann. Although a “classic” guide to microanatomical parcellation of the cerebral cortex, it is – from today's state-of-the-art neuroimaging perspective – problematic to use Brodmann's map as a structural guide to functional units in the cortex. In this article we discuss some of the reasons, especially the problematic compatibility of the “post-mortem world” of microstructural brain maps with the “in vivo world” of neuroimaging. We conclude with some prospects for the future of in vivo structural brain mapping: a new approach which has the enormous potential to make direct correlations between microstructure and function in living human brains: “in vivo Brodmann mapping” with high-field magnetic resonance imaging.
Serum IGF-1 levels correlate negatively to liver damage in diabetic rats

Abstract Diabetes and insulin resistance frequently cause liver damage. Diabetes also causes reduction in liver and blood IGF-1 levels. We investigated the relation between liver damage and IGF-1 levels in diabetic rats. Fourteen Wistar albino rats were divided into control and diabetic groups. Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin. Rats were sacrificed for biochemical and histologic examinations 2 weeks after streptozotocin injection. Serum and liver IGF-1 levels were decreased, liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were increased, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzymes activities were decreased and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were increased in diabetic group. Microscopic examination of liver revealed that normal tissue organization was disrupted in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. There was a strongly positive correlation between blood glucose levels and liver injury, and blood and liver IGF-1 levels. There was a strongly negative correlation between blood IGF-1 levels and hepatic injury. Our results suggest that reduction of blood IGF-1 levels correlates with hepatic injury and circulating IGF-1 levels may have predictive value for determining hepatic damage that results from diabetes. In addition, circulating IGF-1 levels are correlated with glutathione levels and the oxidative stress status of diabetic rat liver.
LOGAN: Evaluating Privacy Leakage of Generative Models Using Generative Adversarial Networks

Generative models are increasingly used to artificially generate various kinds of data, including high-quality images and videos. These models are used to estimate the underlying distribution of a dataset and randomly generate realistic samples according to their estimated distribution. However, the data used to train these models is often sensitive, thus prompting the need to evaluate information leakage from producing synthetic samples with generative models---specifically, whether an adversary can infer information about the data used to train the models. In this paper, we present the first membership inference attack on generative models. To mount the attack, we train a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), which combines a discriminative and a generative model, to detect overfitting and recognize inputs that are part of training datasets by relying on the discriminator's capacity to learn statistical differences in distributions. We present attacks based on both white-box and black-box access to the target model, and show how to improve the latter using limited auxiliary knowledge of dataset samples. We test our attacks on several state-of-the-art models, such as Deep Convolutional GAN (DCGAN), Boundary Equilibrium GAN (BEGAN), and the combination of DCGAN with a Variational Autoencoder (DCGAN+VAE), using datasets consisting of complex representations of faces (LFW), objects (CIFAR-10), and medical images (Diabetic Retinopathy). The white-box attacks are 100% successful at inferring which samples were used to train the target model, and the black-box ones succeeds with 80% accuracy. Finally, we discuss the sensitivity of our attacks to different training parameters, and their robustness against mitigation strategies, finding that successful defenses often result in significant worse performances of the generative models in terms of training stability and/or sample quality.
Cluster-Based Analysis for Personalized Stress Evaluation Using Physiological Signals

Technology development in wearable sensors and biosignal processing has made it possible to detect human stress from the physiological features. However, the intersubject difference in stress responses presents a major challenge for reliable and accurate stress estimation. This research proposes a novel cluster-based analysis method to measure perceived stress using physiological signals, which accounts for the intersubject differences. The physiological data are collected when human subjects undergo a series of task-rest cycles, incurring varying levels of stress that is indicated by an index of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Next, a quantitative measurement of stress is developed by analyzing the physiological features in two steps: 1) a k-means clustering process to divide subjects into different categories (clusters), and 2) cluster-wise stress evaluation using the general regression neural network. Experimental results show a significant improvement in evaluation accuracy as compared to traditional methods without clustering. The proposed method is useful in developing intelligent, personalized products for human stress management.
Asynchronous parallel stochastic gradient descent: a numeric core for scalable distributed machine learning algorithms

The implementation of a vast majority of machine learning (ML) algorithms boils down to solving a numerical optimization problem. In this context, Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) methods have long proven to provide good results, both in terms of convergence and accuracy. Recently, several parallelization approaches have been proposed in order to scale SGD to solve very large ML problems. At their core, most of these approaches are following a MapReduce scheme. This paper presents a novel parallel updating algorithm for SGD, which utilizes the asynchronous single-sided communication paradigm. Compared to existing methods, Asynchronous Parallel Stochastic Gradient Descent (ASGD) provides faster convergence, at linear scalability and stable accuracy.