Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Efficient Identity-Based Conditional Privacy-Preserving Authentication Scheme for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

By broadcasting messages about traffic status to vehicles wirelessly, a vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) can improve traffic safety and efficiency. To guarantee secure communication in VANETs, security and privacy issues must be addressed before their deployment. The conditional privacy-preserving authentication (CPPA) scheme is suitable for solving security and privacy-preserving problems in VANETs, because it supports both mutual authentication and privacy protection simultaneously. Many identity-based CPPA schemes for VANETs using bilinear pairings have been proposed over the last few years to enhance security or to improve performance. However, it is well known that the bilinear pairing operation is one of the most complex operations in modern cryptography. To achieve better performance and reduce computational complexity of information processing in VANET, the design of a CPPA scheme for the VANET environment that does not use bilinear paring becomes a challenge. To address this challenge, we propose a CPPA scheme for VANETs that does not use bilinear paring and we demonstrate that it could supports both the mutual authentication and the privacy protection simultaneously. Our proposed CPPA scheme retains most of the benefits obtained with the previously proposed CPPA schemes. Moreover, the proposed CPPA scheme yields a better performance in terms of computation cost and communication cost making it be suitable for use by the VANET safety-related applications.
The effect of offering a high-fiber snack in the morning and the afternoon on overall diet quality and dietary fiber intake in a sample of school-age children.

Cite this article: Kranz S, Brauchla M, Miller K, Baker S (2014) The Effect of Offering a High-Fiber Snack in the Morning and the Afternoon on Overall Diet Quality and Dietary Fiber Intake in a Sample of School-Age Children. J Hum Nutr Food Sci 2(3): 1034. *Corresponding author Dr. Sibylle Kranz, Centre for Exercise, Nutrition, and Health Sciences, School of Policy Studies, 8 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK, Tel: +44 (0)1177 954 6653; Fax: +44 (0) 1177 954 6756; E-mail:
Electrical Stimulation of Low-Threshold Proprioceptive Fibers in the Adult Rat Increases Density of Glutamatergic and Cholinergic Terminals on Ankle Extensor α-Motoneurons

The effects of stimulation of low-threshold proprioceptive afferents in the tibial nerve on two types of excitatory inputs to α-motoneurons were tested. The first input is formed by glutamatergic Ia sensory afferents contacting monosynaptically α-motoneurons. The second one is the cholinergic input originating from V0c—interneurons, located in lamina X of the spinal cord, modulating activity of α-motoneurons via C-terminals. Our aim was to clarify whether enhancement of signaling to ankle extensor α-motoneurons, via direct electrical stimulation addressed predominantly to low-threshold proprioceptive fibers in the tibial nerve of awake rats, will affect Ia glutamatergic and cholinergic innervation of α-motoneurons of lateral gastrocnemius (LG). LG motoneurons were identified with True Blue tracer injected intramuscularly. Tibial nerve was stimulated for 7 days with continuous bursts of three pulses applied in four 20 min sessions daily. The Hoffmann reflex and motor responses recorded from the soleus muscle, LG synergist, allowed controlling stimulation. Ia terminals and C-terminals abutting on LG-labeled α-motoneurons were detected by immunofluorescence (IF) using input-specific anti- VGLUT1 and anti-VAChT antibodies, respectively. Quantitative analysis of confocal images revealed that the number of VGLUT1 IF and VAChT IF terminals contacting the soma of LG α-motoneurons increased after stimulation by 35% and by 26%, respectively, comparing to the sham-stimulated side. The aggregate volume of VGLUT1 IF and VAChT IF terminals increased by 35% and by 30%, respectively. Labeling intensity of boutons was also increased, suggesting an increase of signaling to LG α-motoneurons after stimulation. To conclude, one week of continuous burst stimulation of proprioceptive input to LG α-motoneurons is effective in enrichment of their direct glutamatergic but also indirect cholinergic inputs. The effectiveness of such and longer stimulation in models of injury is a prerequisite to propose it as a therapeutic method to improve inputs to selected group of α-motoneurons after damage.
Academic Journal Pricing and the Demand of Libraries

The prices of for-profit academic journals have increased rapidly over the past decade (Barbara Albee and Brenda Dingley, 2001). There remains substantial debate as to the explanation for these increases. Among those put forward are the increased concentration of the journal industry (see e.g., McCabe, 2002) and the relatively recent effort by major publishers to bundle print and electronic journals (Aaron S. Edlin and Rubinfeld, 2004). While both explanations are undoubtedly important, what is missing is the significant role of the primary customers of journal publishers—the academic libraries. As agents of college and university faculties, libraries serve the interests of their principals while having only limited information about faculty journal demands. Facing little or no hard budget constraint, faculty are unlikely or unwilling to make difficult allocative choices. As a result, libraries have been making hard choices for years (between journals and books, and among journals), in a world of increasing budgetary pressure. Given that electronic transmission of knowledge is becoming increasingly important, an understanding of the reasons for the increases in journal prices is a vital element in the ongoing discussion of best mechanisms by which scholarly communications can be disseminated. In this paper, we formulate a model of library journal demand and suggest how it can be used to analyze the optimal pricing of journals by publishers. This represents part of a larger project whose long-range goal is to explain the pattern of journal pricing over time, and to evaluate two broad policy questions: (i) To what extent have mergers and/or bundling practices been responsible for the increase in journal prices? (ii) To what extent are journal prices likely to change in response to changing library acquisition strategies (reallocation of budgets between serials and books, journal sharing among libraries, setting hard budgets, etc.)?
PECKING ORDER VERSUS TRADE-OFF: AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH TO THE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE CAPITAL STRUCTURE

In this paper, we explore two of the most relevant theories that explain financial policy in small and medium enterprises (SMEs): pecking order theory and trade-off theory. Panel data methodology is used to test the empirical hypotheses over a sample of 6482 Spanish SMEs during the five-year period 1994? 1998. The results suggest that both theoretical approaches contribute to explain capital structure in SMEs. However, while we find evidence that SMEs attempt to achieve a target or optimum leverage (trade-off model), there is less support for the view that SMEs adjust their leverage level to their financing requirements (pecking order model). En este trabajo, exploramos dos de las teorias mas relevantes que explican lapolitica de financiacion de la pequena y mediana empresa: la seleccion jerarquica y elequilibrio estatico. El contraste de hipotesis se lleva a cabo con metodologia de datos depanel, a partir de una muestra de 6482 pymes espanolas, que presentan informacionfinanciera a lo largo del periodo 1994-1998. Los resultados indican que ambos enfoquescontribuyen a explicar la estructura de capital de las pymes, si bien mientras que seconfirma la existencia de un endeudamiento objetivo u optimo que estas empresas tratande alcanzar (modelo de equilibrio estatico), no parece quedar claro que ajusten su nivelde deuda a sus necesidades de financiacion (modelo de seleccion jerarquica).
Interactive Resource Allocation by Problem Decomposition and Temporal Abstractions

Abstractions are generally thought to reduce the complexity of problem solving. In this report, we present two abstraction techniques and one partitioning heuristic to solve r esource allocation problems. The clustering heuristic decomposes the resource allocation probl em into easy and difficult components interacting through abstracted pools of resources. The hierarchy of resource pools allows the user to intervene in conflict resolution at the most appropriate level of abstraction. The temporal abstraction techniques simplify the decoupled components. They also aid the user in assessing the tightness of the problem and the types of missing res ources. We propose an algorithm that interleaves these processes. The main advantages of our approach are limiting the need for backtracking, providing aninteractive framework for conflict resolution , and offering a comprehensive view of resource contention.
Electron Tomography Reveals the Steps in Filovirus Budding

The filoviruses, Marburg and Ebola, are non-segmented negative-strand RNA viruses causing severe hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in humans and nonhuman primates. The sequence of events that leads to release of filovirus particles from cells is poorly understood. Two contrasting mechanisms have been proposed, one proceeding via a “submarine-like” budding with the helical nucleocapsid emerging parallel to the plasma membrane, and the other via perpendicular “rocket-like” protrusion. Here we have infected cells with Marburg virus under BSL-4 containment conditions, and reconstructed the sequence of steps in the budding process in three dimensions using electron tomography of plastic-embedded cells. We find that highly infectious filamentous particles are released at early stages in infection. Budding proceeds via lateral association of intracellular nucleocapsid along its whole length with the plasma membrane, followed by rapid envelopment initiated at one end of the nucleocapsid, leading to a protruding intermediate. Scission results in local membrane instability at the rear of the virus. After prolonged infection, increased vesiculation of the plasma membrane correlates with changes in shape and infectivity of released viruses. Our observations demonstrate a cellular determinant of virus shape. They reconcile the contrasting models of filovirus budding and allow us to describe the sequence of events taking place during budding and release of Marburg virus. We propose that this represents a general sequence of events also followed by other filamentous and rod-shaped viruses.
Neural Responses to Complex Auditory Rhythms: The Role of Attending

The aim of this study was to explore the role of attention in pulse and meter perception using complex rhythms. We used a selective attention paradigm in which participants attended to either a complex auditory rhythm or a visually presented word list. Performance on a reproduction task was used to gauge whether participants were attending to the appropriate stimulus. We hypothesized that attention to complex rhythms – which contain no energy at the pulse frequency – would lead to activations in motor areas involved in pulse perception. Moreover, because multiple repetitions of a complex rhythm are needed to perceive a pulse, activations in pulse-related areas would be seen only after sufficient time had elapsed for pulse perception to develop. Selective attention was also expected to modulate activity in sensory areas specific to the modality. We found that selective attention to rhythms led to increased BOLD responses in basal ganglia, and basal ganglia activity was observed only after the rhythms had cycled enough times for a stable pulse percept to develop. These observations suggest that attention is needed to recruit motor activations associated with the perception of pulse in complex rhythms. Moreover, attention to the auditory stimulus enhanced activity in an attentional sensory network including primary auditory cortex, insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex, and suppressed activity in sensory areas associated with attending to the visual stimulus.
A Model of Spatial Map Formation in the Hippocampus of the Rat

Using experimental facts about long-term potentiation (LTP) and hippocampal place cells, we model how a spatial map of the environment can be created in the rat hippocampus. Sequential firing of place cells during exploration induces, in the model, a pattern of LTP between place cells that shifts the location coded by their ensemble activity away from the actual location of the animal. These shifts provide a navigational map that, in a simulation of the Morris maze, can guide the animal toward its goal. The model demonstrates how behaviorally generated modifications of synaptic strengths can be read out to affect subsequent behavior. Our results also suggest a way that navigational maps can be constructed from experimental recordings of hippocampal place cells.
Comparison of Volume Status in Asymptomatic Haemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis Outpatients

Background: The majority of haemodialysis (HD) patients gain weight between dialysis sessions and thereby become volume overloaded, whereas peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a more continuous technique. Cardiovascular mortality and hypertension is increased with both treatment modalities. We therefore wished to compare volume status in PD and HD to determine whether PD patients are chronically volume overloaded, as a risk factor for cardiovascular mortality. Study Design, Setting and Participants:We retrospectively audited 72 healthy HD patients and 115 healthy PD patients attending a university hospital dialysis centre for routine outpatient treatment, who had multi-frequency bioimpedance measurements of extracellular water to total body water (ECW/TBW). Results: The groups were well matched for age, sex, weight and ethnicity, PD patients had greater urine output [1,075 (485–1,613) vs. 42.5 (0–1,020) ml/day, p < 0.001], but there was no difference in antihypertensive prescription (63.5 vs. 76.4%), mean arterial blood pressure (post-dialysis 101.6 ± 1.5 mm Hg vs. pre-dialysis 102 ± 2.4 mm Hg), although post-dialysis arterial blood pressure was lower than in PD patients (96.4 ± 3.1 mm Hg, p < 0.05). The ratio of ECW/TBW fell after HD (pre-dialysis 0.394 ± 0.001 vs. post-dialysis 0.389 ± 0.004, p < 0.001) and was similar in the PD group to the group before HD (0.393 ± 0.001), and greater than that in the group after HD (p < 0.001). ECW/TBW was greater than the normal reference range in 30% PD patients, 28% patients before HD and 20% patients after HD. Conclusions: Overhydration is common in healthy stable PD outpatients, and ECW volumes in PD patients are not dissimilar to those of pre-dialysis HD patients. The role of chronic volume overload as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease needs further investigation.
Antibacterial Activity of Juglone against Staphylococcus aureus: From Apparent to Proteomic

The proportion of foodborne disease caused by pathogenic microorganisms is rising worldwide, with staphylococcal food poisoning being one of the main causes of this increase. Juglone is a plant-derived 1,4-naphthoquinone with confirmed antibacterial and antitumor activities. However, the specific mechanism underlying its antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus remains unclear. To elucidate the mechanism underlying its antibacterial activity, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation methods of quantitative proteomics were applied for analysis of the 53 proteins that were differentially expressed after treatment with juglone. Combined with verification experiments, such as detection of changes in DNA and RNA content and quantification of oxidative damage, our results suggested that juglone effectively increased the protein expression of oxidoreductase and created a peroxidative environment within the cell, significantly reducing cell wall formation and increasing membrane permeability. We hypothesize that juglone binds to DNA and reduces DNA transcription and replication directly. This is the first study to adopt a proteomic approach to investigate the antibacterial mechanism of juglone.
The UV-Optical Color Magnitude Diagram. II. Physical Properties and Morphological Evolution On and Off of a Star-forming Sequence

We use the UV-optical color magnitude diagram in combination with spectroscopic and photometric measurements derived from the SDSS spectroscopic sample to measure the distribution of galaxies in the local universe (z < 0.25) and their physical properties as a function of specific star formation rate (SFR/M⋆) and stellar mass (M⋆). Throughout this study our emphasis is on the properties of galaxies on and off of a local “star-forming sequence. ” We discuss how the physical characteristics of galaxies along this sequence are related to scaling relations typically derived for galaxies of different morphological types. We find, among other trends, that our measure of the star formation rate surface density, ΣSFR, is nearly constant along this sequence. We discuss this result and implications for galaxies at higher redshift. For the first time, we report on measurements of the local UV luminosity function versus galaxy structural parameters, as well as inclination. We also split our sample into disk-dominated and bulge-dominated subsamples using the i-band Sersic index and find that disk-dominated galaxies occupy a very tight locus in SFR/M⋆ vs. M⋆ space, while bulge-dominated galaxies display a much larger spread of SFR/M⋆ at fixed stellar mass. A significant fraction of galaxies with SFR/M⋆ and ΣSFR above those on the “star-forming sequence” are bulge-dominated. We can use our derived distribution functions to ask whether a significant fraction of these galaxies may be experiencing a final episode of star formation (possibly induced by a merger or other burst), soon to be quenched, by determining whether this population can explain the growth rate of the non-star-forming galaxies on the “red sequence. ” We find that this is a plausible scenario for bulge-dominated galaxies near the characteristic transition mass under reasonable assumptions regarding quenching timescales. Similarly, we use this technique to estimate the rate of mergers/starbursts that take galaxies off of the star-forming sequence and show that the implied merger rates are consistent with local measurements.
Politics of Policy-Making in Korea and Japan ( Draft Paper )

Until recently, the politics of welfare in Korea and Japan tended to be dominated by conservative forces ‘from above’, combined with a lack of a crucial role of prowelfare forces ‘from below’. This research attempts to investigate the formation and domination of such forces from above with a focus on the interaction between institutional arrangements and strategic manoeuvring by political actors which, I argue, constitutes the politics of policy-making. The notion of the politics of policymaking aims to provide a politically, institutionally and historically sensitive framework than the pluralist analysis of policy-making based on, for instance, the advocacy coalition approach. On this basis, the research endeavours to elucidate the way in which the ideas and interests of conservative forces from above were embedded in the overall welfare system of Korea and Japan. Political strategies are considerably influenced – but not fully determined – by institutional legacies and configurations. Korea and Japan share some crucial institutional legacies, which are captured by the following distinctive features: the organisational arrangements of the ‘developmental state’ (e.g. powerful economic bureaucracy); and ‘group-coordinated market economies’ (e.g. company-based unions). At the same time, attention should also be paid to different institutional configurations, namely a strong presidential system, unicameral legislature and single-member constituencies in Korea; and a parliamentary system of government, bicameral legislature and multi-member constituencies in Japan. To this end, the main research question is what are the similarities and differences in the politics of policy-making between Korea and Japan. This research will make a meaningful contribution to the current understanding of welfare politics in the two countries facing similar socio-economic pressures (e.g. rapidly ageing populations and labour market duality) under inexorable economic globalisation.
Stochastic Expectation Propagation

Expectation propagation (EP) is a deterministic approximation algorithm that is often used to perform approximate Bayesian parameter learning. EP approximates the full intractable posterior distribution through a set of local approximations that are iteratively refined for each datapoint. EP can offer analytic and computational advantages over other approximations, such as Variational Inference (VI), and is the method of choice for a number of models. The local nature of EP appears to make it an ideal candidate for performing Bayesian learning on large models in large-scale dataset settings. However, EP has a crucial limitation in this context: the number of approximating factors needs to increase with the number of data-points, N, which often entails a prohibitively large memory overhead. This paper presents an extension to EP, called stochastic expectation propagation (SEP), that maintains a global posterior approximation (like VI) but updates it in a local way (like EP). Experiments on a number of canonical learning problems using synthetic and real-world datasets indicate that SEP performs almost as well as full EP, but reduces the memory consumption by a factor of N. SEP is therefore ideally suited to performing approximate Bayesian learning in the large model, large dataset setting.
Incomplete Contracts as a Screening Device in Competing Vertical Inter-Firm Relationships

Plusieurs recherches recentes dans le domaine de l’organisation industrielle ont souligne la valeur strategique des contrats incomplets dans les relations verticales entre les entreprises. Cet article met en evidence un effet jusqu’ici peu considere de l’incompletude contractuelle: en analysant un simple modele d’agence caracterise par la presence d’une double incitation a mentir, on montre que, si l’agent (vendeur) agit dans un marche imparfaitement concurrentiel, le principal (producteur) peut volontairement choisir d’utiliser un contrat incomplet pour assurer la revelation veridique de l’information privee de son agent. Alors que la mise a disposition d’outils supplementaires pour la surveillance des actes de l’agent afin de reduire le risque de comportement opportuniste ne garantit pas l’auto-selection des types, l’utilisation de contrats incomplets assure toujours une separation parfaite, meme en presence des countervailing incentives.