Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving performance of intrusion detection system using ensemble methods and feature selection

The main task of an intrusion detection system (IDS) is to detect anomalous behaviors from both within and outside the network system, and there have been increasing studies applying machine learning in this area. The limitations of using a single classifier in the classification of normal traffic and anomalies (attacks) led to the idea of building hybrid or ensemble models which are more complicated but provide higher accuracy and lower false alarm rate (FAR). The aim of this paper is to improve the performance of IDS by using ensemble methods and feature selection. The ensemble models were built based on the two ensemble techniques, Bagging and Boosting, with the tree-based algorithms as the base classifier. The proposed models were then evaluated using NSL-KDD datasets. The experimental results showed that the bagging ensemble model with J48 as the base classifier produced the best performance in terms of both classification accuracy and FAR when working with the subset of 35 selected features.
A Common Variant in the MC1R Gene (p.V92M) is associated with Alzheimer's Disease Risk.

Despite the recent identification of some novel risk genes for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the genetic etiology of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) remains largely unknown. The inclusion of these novel risk genes to the risk attributable to the APOE gene accounts for roughly half of the total genetic variance in LOAD. The evidence indicates that undiscovered genetic factors may contribute to AD susceptibility. In the present study, we sequenced the MC1R gene in 525 Spanish LOAD patients and in 160 controls. We observed that a common MC1R variant p.V92M (rs2228479), not related to pigmentation traits, was present in 72 (14%) patients and 15 (9%) controls and confers increased risk of developing LOAD (OR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.08-3.64, p = 0.026), especially in those patients whose genetic risk could not be explained by APOE genotype. This association remains and even increased in the subset of 69 patients with typical AD cerebrospinal fluid profile (OR: 3.40 95% CI: 1.40-8.27, p = 0.007). We did not find an association between p.V92M and age of onset of AD. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the role of MC1R in brain cells through the different MC1R pathways.
Ancient DNA and morphometric analysis reveal extinction and replacement of New Zealand's unique black swans

Prehistoric human impacts on megafaunal populations have dramatically reshaped ecosystems worldwide. However, the effects of human exploitation on smaller species, such as anatids (ducks, geese, and swans) are less clear. In this study we apply ancient DNA and osteological approaches to reassess the history of Australasia's iconic black swans (Cygnus atratus) including the palaeo-behaviour of prehistoric populations. Our study shows that at the time of human colonization, New Zealand housed a genetically, morphologically, and potentially ecologically distinct swan lineage (C. sumnerensis, Poūwa), divergent from modern (Australian) C. atratus. Morphological analyses indicate C. sumnerensis exhibited classic signs of the ‘island rule’ effect, being larger, and likely flight-reduced compared to C. atratus. Our research reveals sudden extinction and replacement events within this anatid species complex, coinciding with recent human colonization of New Zealand. This research highlights the role of anthropogenic processes in rapidly reshaping island ecosystems and raises new questions for avian conservation, ecosystem re-wilding, and de-extinction.
Association between Tpeak-Tend interval and QT prolongation: A study of sertindole and sotalol

The electrocardiographic interval between the peak and the end of the T-wave (Tpe) is believed to be an arrhythmic risk marker. However, there are also a number of reports that are inconsistent with the usefulness of Tpe for identifying abnormal repolarization. This study was designed to investigate how the Tpe prolongation is correlated to a prolonged QT interval, induced by I Kr -blockers. The study included two data sets. A first group of 21 healthy subjects received 160 mg and 320 mg doses of d,l-sotalol. The second group, of 40 patients with schizophrenia, was switched to 16 mg sertindole treatment. The Fridericia corrected QT prolongations (QTcF) and the mean Tpe changes (∆Tpe) were: d,l-sotalol 160 mg: ∆QTcF=29 ms & ∆Tpe=4.7 ms, 320 mg: ∆QTcF=51 ms & ∆Tpe=6.2 ms, sertindole 16 mg: ∆QTcF=17 ms & ∆Tpe=8.5 ms. There were low correlations (r) between ∆QTcF and ∆Tpe in both d,l-sotalol groups and sertindole group. Given the lack of linear relationship between Tpe and QT in response to potential torsadogenic drugs, this study raises doubt about the usefulness of Tpe as a biomarker for repolarization changes and torsadogenic potential in drug safety studies.
Social support and factors associated with self‐efficacy among acute‐care nurse practitioners

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the relationship of nurse practitioners' social support as well as other factors associated with perceived self-efficacy. BACKGROUND There is a growing demand for nurse practitioners in Taiwan, for whom self-perceived efficacy is associated with performance. Nevertheless, research on the self-efficacy and social support of nurse practitioners is limited. DESIGN This is a cross-sectional survey study. METHODS Questionnaires were distributed to nurse practitioners in seven hospitals in northern Taiwan from May 2015 to March 2016. In total, data from 335 (78% return rate) certified nurse practitioners were analysed. Social support was measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), and perceived self-efficacy was measured by the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE). Data were analysed by ANOVAs with post hoc test and multiple linear regression. RESULTS The mean score for self-efficacy was 27.60 ± 6.17. Support scores were 11.574 ± 2.37 for supervisors, 12.795 ± 1.92 for coworkers and 64.07 ± 10.16 for family, friends and significant others. nurse practitioners in the high monthly salary group had significantly higher self-efficacy than nurse practitioners in the medium and low monthly salary group (F = 8.99; p < .01). Social support from coworkers (β = 0.18, p < .01) and family, friends and significant others (β = 0.15, p < .01) and a higher monthly salary were significant factors. CONCLUSIONS The self-efficacy of nurse practitioners in hospitals in Taiwan is insufficient. Monthly salary and levels of social support were found to contribute to nurse practitioners' self-efficacy. Thus, to enhance nurse practitioners' self-efficacy and work performance, nursing leaders should address these issues. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The findings inform hospital administrators to be aware of the importance of salary in relation to nurse practitioners' perceptions of social support and self-efficacy.
Investigation on PhC based T-shaped waveguide as all-optical XOR, NOT, OR and AND logic gates

In this article, we propose a simple photonic crystal based T-shaped waveguide as XOR, NOT, and OR logic gates, and as an AND gate with small modification in the radius of its directional rods. The operation of the waveguide as a proposed logic gate structure depends upon the phase of the input light applied. The phase of the light applied to port A of the waveguide is zero whereas it varies for port B. For the NOT gate, port B is used to apply the reference input with 180° phase. The phase of the input light applied to port B is zero for OR and AND while it is 180° for XOR. Numerical analysis is carried out by simulating the proposed logic gate structure at a wavelength of 1550 nm for all the logic gates using Finite Difference Time Domain method. The results show that the ON to OFF contrast ratio of XOR and NOT gates is 54.91 dB while it is 6.02 dB for AND gate, with a fast response time of less than 0.15 ps. Finally, it can be concluded that, the proposed simple and common logic gate structure with fast output response allows it to be utilized as a basic component in the future Photonic Integrated Circuits.
Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Jute Polyester Composite for Long Continuous Fiber Reinforcement

Composite materials have become a necessity in recent times due to their attractive properties. The use of natural fibers is also having enough potential in the formation of feasible composites. The use of such composites in structural application as a low cost material has created a new horizon for investigation. Jute is a stiff fiber and its application in the packaging industry as a load-bearing fiber is quite common. The structure of jute is porous and it has a tendency to absorb moisture from the atmosphere, which results in its deterioration at the interface. The theoretical model for prediction of strength for such composites having porous reinforcement is developed in the present work, by considering a hexagonal fiber packing. The area occupied by voids is considered as a region of ineffectiveness for load transfer to the fibers through the matrix. The region of interphase between fiber and matrix is introduced to represent impurities in the composite. The interphase volume and property are evaluated using a modified rule of mixture (ROM). The results are also compared with FEM results obtained using licensed package ANSYS and IDEAS, with interphase properties obtained from a theoretical model. The experiments are carried out for jute— polyester composite with variation in volume fraction from 4 to 36%. The specimens are prepared at a constant pressure of 3.43 104 N/m2 by the compression molding method and special care is taken to maintain a long continuous aligned reinforcement. The strengths of the specimen are measured as per ASTM D 3039-76. The results obtained by experiments are observed to be between 0.307 and 2.41% with the theoretical model and simulated FEM results, while it is deviating 25.87% with ROM.
ABO blood group is a risk factor for coronary artery disease in patients with poor blood pressure control

ABSTRACT Background: Few studies had examined the role of ABO blood groups on CAD in hypertensive patients with different blood pressure (BP) controls. Methods: A total of 2708 patients with primary hypertension (HTN) were consecutively enrolled and underwent coronary angiography (CAG) due to angina-like chest pain. The severity of coronary artery stenosis was assessed by Gensini score (GS). Patients were divided into two groups due to results of CAG: HTN with CAD (n = 2185) and HTN without CAD (n = 523). Poor BP control was defined as systolic BP (SBP) ≥ mean in the study. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine the potential impact of ABO blood groups on risk of the presence and severity of CAD. Results: Compared to HTN without CAD group, the percentage of A blood group was statistically higher and O blood group was significantly lower in HTN with CAD group. Moreover, percentage of the angiography-proven CAD was higher in A blood group than that in non-A blood group (p < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, A blood group was independently associated with CAD (odds ratio (OR): 1.422; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.017–1.987; p = 0.039) and GS (β = 0.055, p = 0.046) in patients with poor BP control. Conclusions: A blood group was an independent risk factor for the presence and severity of CAD in hypertensive patients with poor BP control.
Myosin VI is required for sorting of AP-1B–dependent cargo to the basolateral domain in polarized MDCK cells

In polarized epithelial cells, newly synthesized membrane proteins are delivered on specific pathways to either the apical or basolateral domains, depending on the sorting motifs present in these proteins. Because myosin VI has been shown to facilitate secretory traffic in nonpolarized cells, we investigated its role in biosynthetic trafficking pathways in polarized MDCK cells. We observed that a specific splice isoform of myosin VI with no insert in the tail domain is required for the polarized transport of tyrosine motif containing basolateral membrane proteins. Sorting of other basolateral or apical cargo, however, does not involve myosin VI. Site-directed mutagenesis indicates that a functional complex consisting of myosin VI, optineurin, and probably the GTPase Rab8 plays a role in the basolateral delivery of membrane proteins, whose sorting is mediated by the clathrin adaptor protein complex (AP) AP-1B. Our results suggest that myosin VI is a crucial component in the AP-1B–dependent biosynthetic sorting pathway to the basolateral surface in polarized epithelial cells.
Strategies to Accelerate HIV Care and Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation After HIV Diagnosis: A Randomized Trial

Objective: Determine the effectiveness of strategies to increase linkage to care after testing HIV positive at mobile HIV testing in South Africa. Design: Unmasked randomized controlled trial. Methods: Recruitment of adults testing HIV positive and not currently in HIV care occurred at 7 mobile HIV counseling and testing units in urban, periurban, and rural South Africa with those consenting randomized 1:1:1:1 into 1 of 4 arms. Three strategies were compared with standard of care (SOC): point-of-care CD4 count testing (POC CD4), POC CD4 plus longitudinal strengths-based counseling (care facilitation; CF), and POC CD4 plus transport reimbursement (transport). Participants were followed up telephonically and through clinic records and analyzed with an intention-to-treat analysis. Results: From March 2013 to October 2014, 2558 participants were enrolled, of whom 160 were excluded postrandomization. Compared with the SOC arm where 298 (50%) reported having entered care, linkage to care was 319 (52%) for POC CD4, hazard ratio (HR) 1.0 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.89 to 1.2, P = 0.6]; 331 (55%) for CF, HR: 1.1 (95% CI: 0.84 to 1.3, P = 0.2); and 291 (49%) for transport, HR 0.97 (95% CI: 0.83 to 1.1, P = 0.7). Linkage to care verified with clinical records that occurred for 172 (29%) in the SOC arm; 187 (31%) in the POC CD4 arm, HR: 1.0 (95% CI: 0.86 to 1.3, P = 0.6); 225 (38%) in the CF arm, HR: 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1 to 1.7, P = 0.001); and 180 (31%) in the transport arm, HR: 1.1 (95% CI: 0.88 to 1.3, P = 0.5). Conclusions: CF improved verified linkage to care from 29% to 38%.
Kinetic measures for distinguishing vulnerable from stable atherosclerotic plaque with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI

Carotid atherosclerosis is a primary cause of stroke, which is responsible for a majority of disabilities and deaths worldwide. Plaque inflammation and abundant microvasculature have been identified as important aspects contributing to plaque vulnerability that can be studied non-invasively with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Due to the asymptomatic nature of vulnerable plaque, there is an unmet clinical need to identify and characterize these lesions before they rupture. We presented an automated computerized method based on kinetic measures to distinguish vulnerable from stable atherosclerotic plaques on DCE-MRI. Four classes of kinectic features, including pharmacokinetic, intensity kinetic, histogram kinetic, and textual kinetic features, were extracted for capturing the pathophysiologic changes in various aspects of plaque vascular structure and functionality in atherosclerosis. These features can reflect the local inflammatory processes and microvasculature changes appearing in plaque destabilization. Our method was evaluated on real clinical data and achieved the area under the curve of 0.95 using a combined feature set, suggesting a potential of this method applied to a computer-aided diagnosis system for an early detection of vulnerable plaques.
Clinical Profiles Among Greek Adolescent Suicide Attempters: A Latent Class Analysis

Background: Suicide attempts are a significant public health problem among youth, resulting in a major social and economic burden for communities and a devastating impact on families. Aims: To determine whether we can identify distinct clinical profiles using latent class analysis in a clinical sample of Greek adolescents who were admitted to hospital following a suicide attempt. Method: Data on 11 clinical parameters from 182 adolescents were analyzed, with a two-class solution selected as the best fitting among the one- through three-class solutions that were examined. Results: We observed two distinct classes, specifically in the probability of mood disorders, substance use disorders, abandonment/neglect, and displaying traits of personality disorders. While most of the adolescents who attempted suicide showed a low probability of these parameters (71.7%), about a third of the sample (28.3%) showed a much more severe clinical profile. Analyses of pertinent contextual and risk factors indicated that those with a more severe clinical profile tend to come from overall more dysfunctional family systems, have more problems in school, and have made a previous attempt. Conclusion: We conclude that the adolescent suicide attempt population is a heterogeneous group in need of focused differentiated care specifically targeted to particular subgroups.
Transgender People and HIV Prevention: What We Know and What We Need to Know, a Call to Action

Abstract:Transgender people have been disproportionally affected by HIV, particularly transgender women. Their increased vulnerability to HIV is due to multiple issues, including biological (eg, increased efficiency of HIV transmission through receptive anal sex), epidemiological (eg, increased likelihood of having HIV-infected partners), structural (eg, social stigma limiting employment options), and individual factors (eg, internalized stigma leading to depression and substance use and risk-taking behaviors). There have been limited culturally appropriate HIV prevention interventions for transgender people, with many key prevention studies (eg, the iPrEx PrEP study) enrolling transgender women in a study focusing on men who have sex with men. This has resulted in limited understanding of the optimal ways to decrease transgender people's risk for HIV acquisition. The current supplement of JAIDS is designed to review what is known about HIV prevention for transgender people and to highlight new insights and best practices. The study reviews recent epidemiologic data, the pharmacology of HIV prophylactic agents in individuals who may be using exogenous hormones, and several recent multi-component interventions designed to address the lived experience of transgender people. Additionally, the study reviews the work going on at the NIH to address transgender health in general and HIV prevention in specific, as well as two important papers related to clinical trial design issues and the ethical conduct of research in this frequently disenfranchised population. It is the hope of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) that this supplement will promote new knowledge around transgender health and the requisite issues that need to be addressed in order to conduct optimal clinical trials. The ultimate hope is that the information distilled in this supplement will inform investigators, clinicians, and public health officials in order to design further research to develop optimal prevention interventions for transgender people and to implement these interventions in ways that are culturally congruent and health promoting.
Human Subcutaneous Tissue Response to Glucose Sensors: Macrophages Accumulation Impact on Sensor Accuracy.

BACKGROUND Subcutaneous (s.c.) glucose sensors have become a key component in type 1 diabetes management. However, their usability is limited by the impact of foreign body response (FBR) on their duration, reliability, and accuracy. Our study gives the first description of human acute and subacute s.c. response to glucose sensors, showing the changes observed in the sensor surface, the inflammatory cells involved in the FBR and their relationship with sensor performance. METHODS Twelve obese patients (seven type 2 diabetes) underwent two abdominal biopsies comprising the surrounding area where they had worn two glucose sensors: the first one inserted 7 days before and the second one 24 h before biopsy procedure. Samples were processed and studied to describe tissue changes by two independent pathologists (blind regarding sensor duration). Macrophages quantification was studied by immunohistochemistry methods in the area surrounding the sensor (CD68, CD163). Sensor surface changes were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Seven-day continuous glucose monitoring records were considered inaccurate when mean absolute relative difference was higher than 10%. RESULTS Pathologists were able to correctly classify all the biopsies regarding sensor duration. Acute response (24 h) was characterized by the presence of neutrophils while macrophages were the main cell involved in subacute inflammation. The number of macrophages around the insertion hole was higher for less accurate sensors compared with those performing more accurately (32.6 ± 14 vs. 10.6 ± 1 cells/0.01 mm2; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The accumulation of macrophages at the sensor-tissue interface is related with decrease in accuracy of the glucose measure.
The stability analysis of systems with nonlinear feedback expressed by a quadratic program

We consider the stability of the feedback connection of a stable linear time invariant (LTI) plant with a static nonlinearity expressed by a certain class of quadratic program (QP). We establish quadratic constraints from the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions that may be used to construct a piecewise quadratic Lyapunov function via the S-procedure. The approach is based on existing results in the literature, but gives a more parsimonious linear matrix inequality (LMI) criterion. Our approach can be extended to model predictive control (MPC), and gives equivalent results to those in the literature but with a much lower dimension LMI criterion
Efficient Data Delivery in Wireless Sensor Networks with Ubiquitous Mobile Data Collectors

Usually, sensor data needs to be disseminated from the source sensors to data collectors (e.g., sink nodes), making those spatially distributed sensor data available for applications to access. The widespread and ubiquitous nature of mobile devices, e.g., PDAs and cell phones around the world, makes them attractive to be used as mobile data collectors (MDCs) to collect and deliver the sensor data. The goal of this work is to design a dissemination protocol that leads to efficient data delivery from the source sensors to ubiquitous MDCs. We propose the Wait-Focus-Spray (WFS) scheme for wireless sensor networks with ubiquitous MDCs. The main objective of WFS is to balance the data delivery latency and transmission overhead when considering the existence of ubiquitous MDCs. In WFS, we also propose a corresponding mechanism-probabilistic scattered binary spraying (PSBS), to reduce the spatial redundancy when spraying data copies, which can increase the probability of meeting a MDC. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that our WFS scheme reduces the transmission cost per message while provides comparable delivery delay compared with the existing work.
Experimental investigation of superplastic behaviour in magnesium alloys

Abstract Constant strain rate tensile tests have been conductedfor fine grained Mg-Al-Zn (AZ91) and Mg-Zn-Zr (ZK60 and ZK61) alloys processed by powder metallurgy (PM) and ingot metallurgy (IM) routes. The experimental results revealed that the strain rate was inversely proportional to the cube of the grain size and that the activation energy for superplastic flow was higher than that for grain boundary diffusion. The PM Mg alloys showed superplastic behaviour at higher strain rates than the IM Mg alloys. This is because of smaller grain sizes of the PM Mg alloys. The origin of the high strain rate superplasticity for the PM Mg alloys is unlikely to be associated with the presence of a liquid phase.