Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the Energy Cost of Channel Based Key Agreement

Besides security, energy consumption is a major concern for devices in the Internet of Things (IoT). We compare the energy consumption of two key agreement schemes -- Channel-Based Key Agreement (CBKA) and Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) -- in the IoT setting, using Wi-Fi as wireless communication interface. While ECDH is a well-studied protocol, CBKA has received attention only in recent years. Several publications proposed CBKA as a low-energy alternative to ECDH, but they did not address the energy cost of communication. For a fair comparison, we implemented the schemes on a 32-bit ARM Cortex M3-based IoT platform and measured the respective energy consumption for computation and communication. Our results show that the limiting factor for CBKA over Wi-Fi is the energy cost of communication, in particular the cost of acquiring the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values. Even in an optimal scenario, CBKA must not measure more than ca. 300 RSSI values to be more energy efficient than ECDH. This is at most 1/5 of RSSI values required by CBKA implementations reported in the literature. As an optimization, we present a refined CBKA protocol which can save up to 25% of the energy compared to existing protocols by exploiting inherent data exchanges for entropy extraction.
A comparison of parenting stress and children’s internalising, externalising and attachment-related behaviour difficulties in UK adoptive and non-adoptive families

This study aimed to increase understanding of the impact of the parenting task in a representative sample of adoptive and non-adoptive parents in the UK. Cross-sectional data from two UK samples were collected: (1) 86 adoptive parents and (2) 167 biological parents, of children aged 3–11 years. Parenting stress and parent-reported child internalising, externalising and attachment-related behaviour difficulties were assessed via online questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and analysis of covariance. Compared with their biological counterparts, adoptive parents described higher parenting stress, which was explained by their reports of greater child difficulties, including attachment-related problems. The same was found for biological parents but with lower levels of stress and child difficulties. Thus, the unique nature of the adoptive parenting task indicates that parenting stress should be considered a risk factor when difficulties are present in adoptive families. Furthermore, service thresholds may be better informed by this understanding, particularly as this study found that while just under half of children had high levels of difficulties, under one-third of parents reported receiving services.
No evidence for DPOAEs in the mechanical motion of the locust tympanum

SUMMARY Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are present in non-linear hearing organs, and for low-intensity sounds are a by-product of active processes. In vertebrate ears they are considered to be due to hair cell amplification of sound in the cochlea; however, certain animals lacking a cochlea and hair cells are also reported to be capable of DPOAEs. In the Insecta, DPOAEs have been recorded from the locust auditory organ. However, the site of generation of these DPOAEs and the physiological mechanisms causing their presence in the locust ear are not yet understood, despite there being a number of potential places in the tympanal organ that could be capable of generating DPOAEs. This study aimed to record locust tympanal membrane vibration using a laser Doppler vibrometer in order to identify a distinct place of DPOAE generation on the membrane. Two species of locust were investigated over a range of frequencies and levels of acoustic stimulus, mirroring earlier acoustic recording studies; however, the current experiments were carried out in an open acoustic system. The laser measurements did not find any evidence of mechanical motion on the tympanal membrane related to the expected DPOAE frequencies. The results of the current study therefore could not confirm the presence of DPOAEs in the locust ear through the mechanics of the tympanal membrane. Experiments were also carried out to test how membrane behaviour altered when the animals were in a state of hypoxia, as this was previously found to decrease DPOAE magnitude, suggesting a metabolic sensitivity. However, hypoxia did not have any significant effect on the membrane mechanics. The location of the mechanical generation of DPOAEs in the locust's ear, and therefore the basis for the related physiological mechanisms, thus remains unknown.
Modelling the quasi-stellar object luminosity and spatial clustering at low redshifts

We investigate the ability of hierarchical models of quasi-stellar object (QSO) formation and evolution to match the observed luminosity, number counts and spatial clustering of quasars at redshift z < 2. These models assume that the QSO emission is triggered by galaxy mergers, that the mass of the central black hole (BH) correlates with halo properties and that quasars shine at their Eddington luminosity except, perhaps, during the very early stages of evolution. We find that models based on simple analytic approximations successfully reproduce the observed B-band QSO luminosity function (LF) at all redshifts, provided that some mechanisms is advocated to quench mass accretion within haloes larger than ∼10 13 M ⊙ that host bright quasars. These models also match the observed strength of QSO clustering at z ∼0.8. At larger redshifts, however, they underpredict the QSO biasing which, instead, is correctly reproduced by semi-analytic models in which the halo merger history and associated BHs are followed by Monte Carlo realizations of the merger hierarchy. We show that the disagreement between the LF predicted by semi-analytic models and observations can be ascribed to the use of B-band data, which are a biased tracer of the quasar population, due to obscuration.
Statistical Modeling of Nanotechnology Knowledge Diffusion Networks

Nanotechnology is crucial for industrial and scientific advancement, with millions of dollars being invested each year in nanotechnology-related research. Recent developments in information-technology enables modeling the knowledge diffusion process via online depositories of nanotechnology-related scientific publication records. Understanding the mechanism may help funding agencies use their funding effectively. This study uses Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs), a family of theorygrounded statistical models, to explore the knowledge diffusion patterns among nanotechnology researchers. We systematically evaluate how various attributes of researchers and public funding affect the knowledge diffusion processes. Results show that the impact of public funding on nanotechnology knowledge transfer has been increasing in recent years. Funding all kinds of researchers can stimulate knowledge transfer. Also, funding senior researchers help stimulate knowledge sharing. Our analysis framework of knowledge diffusion networks is effective in studying the knowledge diffusion patterns in nanotechnology, and can be easily applied to other fields.
COLCHICINE-INDUCED INHIBITION OF LIPOPROTEIN AND PROTEIN SECRETION INTO THE SERUM AND LACK OF INTERFERENCE WITH SECRETION OF BILIARY PHOSPHOLIPIDS AND CHOLESTEROL BY RAT LIVER IN VIVO

Rats were injected with colchicine and the secretion of triglycerides into the serum was studied for 90 min after injection of [14C]palmitic acid and Triton WR 1339. The release of labeled and chemically determined triglyceride was reduced to about 20–30% of control values. The effect of colchicine on serum triglyceride levels was not dependent on the presence of Triton and was similar in males and females and in fed and fasted rats. The effect was dose dependent and was reversible 6–7 h after injection of 0.05 mg/100 g body weight. Colchicine inhibited also the release of labeled proteins into the serum but did not affect the amount of [3H]leucine incorporated into liver proteins. Within 4 h of colchicine treatment there was an 80% fall in serum very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), a 30% fall in serum high density lipoproteins (HDL), and no change in the d > 1.21 protein level, but reduction in the appearance of labeled proteins was encountered in all serum fractions. Colchicine had no effect on the rate of bile flow and on the secretion of phospholipids and cholesterol into the bile. In the hepatocyte there was accumulation of Golgi-derived secretory vesicles, containing nascent VLDL particles; these vesicles were seen also in the vicinity of the sinusoidal cell surface, but the space of Disse contained few or no VLDL particles. There was an apparent reduction in microtubules and some increase in microfilaments. It is suggested that microtubules affect the secretion of lipoproteins and proteins into the serum by maintaining the organization of the plasma membrane required for its fusion with secretory vesicles. The lack of effect of colchicine on biliary lipid secretion indicates that the latter is not dependent on vesicular transport.
Prognostic Roles of Cross-Talk between Peritumoral Hepatocytes and Stromal Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Involving Peritumoral VEGF-C, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-3

Background Peritumoral liver tissue could play a potential role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression and patient survival via angiogenesis- and lymphangiogensis-related factors. The prognostic role of these factors in hepatocytes and stromal cells in HCC patients after curative resection remains to be explored. Methods Tumor tissue and surrounding peritumoral tissue were obtained from 145 resected HCC patients without lymph node metastasis (LNM) and 37 resected HCC patients with LNM. Tissue microarrays were constructed from duplicate cores of tumor tissue and surrounding peritumoral tissue from each resected specimen. Immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to evaluate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), VEGF-C, VEGF receptor-1(VEGFR-1), VEGFR-2, and VEGFR-3. Macrophage infiltration was determined by CD68 staining. Correlations between the expression of these factors and overall survival (OS) and time to recurrence (TTR) were studied. Results The peritumoral expression of VEGF-A, VEGF-C, VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, and VEGFR-3 were significantly higher than expression of these factors in tumors. VEGFR-1 was mostly located in peritumoral macrophages, while VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 were mostly located in peritumoral hepatocytes. HCC with high peritumoral co-expression of VEGF-C, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-3 was associated with higher peritumoral distribution of macrophages (0.87%±0.26% versus 0.45%±0.20%), LNM (32.4% versus 12.0%), shorter TTR (10.2 months versus 34.5 months), and poor prognosis (19.4 months versus 49.3 months). Conclusion Expression of VEGF-C, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-3 in peritumoral liver tissue is associated with a unique type of HCC that has a poorer outcome after hepatectomy.
Combine and Conquer. Investor Relationships, Global Reputation and Underwriter Competition

I study the competition for underwriting services in the international bond market. Underwriters differentiate their services through relationships with investors in different domestic markets, through global reputation and through their balance sheet size. Investors are segmented by the bond’s currency of denomination due to domestic regulatory frictions. Empirical results of a structural demand model show that investor relationships are important when the bond’s investors are small and segmented. Underwriters differentiate their services on global reputation for bonds denominated in the more liquid currencies of the U.S. Dollar and the Euro. The introduction of the Euro is used as a natural experiment to measure the change in the value of investor relationships when segmentations in the European investor pool are removed. Estimates of a structural model show that the value of investor relationships falls after the Euro, consistent the observed decline in market shares of the European banks.
Comparison of Wet Radiofrequency Ablation with Dry Radiofrequency Ablation and Radiofrequency Ablation Using Hypertonic Saline Preinjection: Ex Vivo Bovine Liver

Objective We wished to compare the in-vitro efficiency of wet radiofrequency (RF) ablation with the efficiency of dry RF ablation and RF ablation with preinjection of NaCl solutions using excised bovine liver. Materials and Methods Radiofrequency was applied to excised bovine livers in a monopolar mode for 10 minutes using a 200 W generator and a perfused-cooled electrode with or without injection or slow infusion of NaCl solutions. After placing the perfused-cooled electrode in the explanted liver, 50 ablation zones were created with five different regimens: group A; standard dry RF ablation, group B; RF ablation with 11 mL of 5% NaCl solution preinjection, group C; RF ablation with infusion of 11 mL of 5% NaCl solution at a rate of 1 mL/min, group D; RFA with 6 mL of 36% NaCl solution preinjection, group E; RF ablation with infusion of 6 mL of 36% NaCl solution at a rate of 0.5 mL/min. In groups C and E, infusion of the NaCl solutions was started 1 min before RF ablation and then maintained during RF ablation (wet RF ablation). During RF ablation, we measured the tissue temperature at 15 mm from the electrode. The dimensions of the ablation zones and changes in impedance, current and liver temperature during RF ablation were then compared between the groups. Results With injection or infusion of NaCl solutions, the mean initial tissue impedance prior to RF ablation was significantly less in groups B, C, D, and E (43-75 Ω) than for group A (80 Ω) (p < 0.05). During RF ablation, the tissue impedance was well controlled in groups C and E, but it was often rapidly increased to more than 200 Ω in groups A and B. In group D, the impedance was well controlled in six of ten trials but it was increased in four trials (40%) 7 min after starting RF ablation. As consequences, the mean current was higher for groups C, D, and E than for the other groups: 401 ± 145 mA in group A, 287 ± 32 mA in group B, 1907 ± 96 mA in group C, 1649 ± 514 mA in group D, and 1968 ± 108 mA in group E (p < 0.05). In addition, the volumes of RF-induced coagulation necrosis were greater in groups C and E than in group D, which was greater than in groups A and B than in group E (p < 0.05); 14.3 ± 3.0 cm3 in group A; 12.4 ± 3.8 cm3 in group B; 80.9 ± 9.9 cm3 in group C; 45.3 ± 11.3 cm3 in group D and 81.6 ± 8.6 cm3 in group E. The tissue temperature measured at 15 mm from the electrode was higher in groups C, D and E than other groups (p < 0.05): 53 ± 12℃ in group A, 42 ± 2℃ in group B, 93 ± 8℃ in group C; 79 ± 12℃ in group D and 83 ± 8℃ in group E. Conclusion Wet RF ablation with 5% or 36% NaCl solutions shows better efficiency in creating a large ablation zone than does dry RF ablation or RF ablation with preinjection of NaCl solutions.
Corporate Governance When Founders are Directors

We examine chief executive officer (CEO) compensation, CEO retention policies, and mergers and acquisition (M&A) decisions in firms in which founders serve as a director with a nonfounder CEO (founder-director firms). We find that founder-director firms offer a different mix of incentives to their CEOs than other firms. Pay-for-performance sensitivity for nonfounder CEOs in founder-director firms is higher and the level of pay is lower than that of other CEOs. CEO turnover sensitivity to firm performance is also significantly higher in founder-director firms compared with nonfounder firms. Overall, the evidence suggests that boards with founder-directors provide more high-powered incentives in the form of pay and retention policies than the average US board. Stock returns around M&A announcements and board attendance are also higher in founder-director firms compared with nonfounder firms.
Small airway dysfunction and flow and volume bronchodilator responsiveness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background We investigated whether a relationship between small airways dysfunction and bronchodilator responsiveness exists in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods We studied 100 (20 female; mean age: 68±10 years) patients with COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1]: 55% pred ±21%; FEV1/forced vital capacity [FVC]: 53%±10%) by impulse oscillometry system. Resistance at 5 Hz and 20 Hz (R5 and R20, in kPa·s·L−1) and the fall in resistance from 5 Hz to 20 Hz (R5 – R20) were used as indices of total, proximal, and peripheral airway resistance; reactance at 5 Hz (X5, in kPa·s·L−1) was also measured. Significant response to bronchodilator (salbutamol 400 μg) was expressed as absolute (≥0.2 L) and percentage (≥12%) change relative to the prebronchodilator value of FEV1 (flow responders, FRs) and FVC (volume responders, VRs). Results Eighty out of 100 participants had R5 – R20 >0.03 kPa·s·L−1 (> upper normal limit) and, compared to patients with R5 – R20 ≤0.030 kPa·s·L−1, showed a poorer health status, lower values of FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, and X5, along with higher values of residual volume/total lung capacity and R5 (P<0.05 for all comparisons). Compared to the 69 nonresponders and the 8 FRs, the 16 VRs had significantly higher R5 and R5 – R20 values (P<0.05), lower X5 values (P<0.05), and greater airflow obstruction and lung hyperinflation. Conclusion This study shows that peripheral airway resistance is increased in the vast majority of patients with COPD, who showed worse respiratory reactance, worse spirometry results, more severe lung hyperinflation, and poorer health status. Small airway dysfunction was also associated with the bronchodilator responsiveness in terms of FVC, but not in terms of FEV1.
7. Fixed-Effects Negative Binomial Regression Models

This paper demonstrates that the conditional negative binomial model for panel data, proposed by Hausman, Hall, and Griliches (1984), is not a true fixed-effects method. This method—which has been implemented in both Stata and LIMDEP—does not in fact control for all stable covariates. Three alternative methods are explored. A negative multinomial model yields the same estimator as the conditional Poisson estimator and hence does not provide any additional leverage for dealing with over-dispersion. On the other hand, a simulation study yields good results from applying an unconditional negative binomial regression estimator with dummy variables to represent the fixed effects. There is no evidence for any incidental parameters bias in the coefficients, and downward bias in the standard error estimates can be easily and effectively corrected using the deviance statistic. Finally, an approximate conditional method is found to perform at about the same level as the unconditional estimator.
A Large Gene Network in Immature Erythroid Cells Is Controlled by the Myeloid and B Cell Transcriptional Regulator PU.1

PU.1 is a hematopoietic transcription factor that is required for the development of myeloid and B cells. PU.1 is also expressed in erythroid progenitors, where it blocks erythroid differentiation by binding to and inhibiting the main erythroid promoting factor, GATA-1. However, other mechanisms by which PU.1 affects the fate of erythroid progenitors have not been thoroughly explored. Here, we used ChIP-Seq analysis for PU.1 and gene expression profiling in erythroid cells to show that PU.1 regulates an extensive network of genes that constitute major pathways for controlling growth and survival of immature erythroid cells. By analyzing fetal liver erythroid progenitors from mice with low PU.1 expression, we also show that the earliest erythroid committed cells are dramatically reduced in vivo. Furthermore, we find that PU.1 also regulates many of the same genes and pathways in other blood cells, leading us to propose that PU.1 is a multifaceted factor with overlapping, as well as distinct, functions in several hematopoietic lineages.
A novel actuator with adjustable stiffness (AwAS)

This paper describes the design and development of a new actuator with adjustable stiffness (AwAS) which can be used in robots which are necessary to work close to or physically interact with humans, e.g. humanoids and exoskeletons. The actuator presented in this work can independently control equilibrium position and stiffness by two motors. The first motor controls the equilibrium position while the second motor regulates the compliance. The novelty of the proposed design with respect to the existing systems is on the principle used to regulate the compliance. This is done not through the tuning of the pretension of the elastic element as in the majority of existing system but by controlling the fixation of the elastic elements (springs) using a linear drive. An important consequence of this approach is that the displacement needed to change the stiffness is perpendicular to the forces generated by the springs, thus this helps to minimize the energy/power required to change the stiffness. This permits the use of a small motor for the stiffness adjustment resulting in a lighter setup. Experimental results are presented to show the ability of AwAS to control position and regulate the stiffness independently.
Quantum spinning strings in AdS_4 x CP^3: testing the Bethe Ansatz proposal

Recently, an asymptotic Bethe Ansatz that is claimed to describe anomalous dimensions of"long"operators in the planar N=6 supersymmetric three-dimensional Chern-Simons-matter theory dual to quantum superstrings in AdS_4 x CP^3 was proposed. It initially passed a few consistency checks but subsequent direct comparison to one-loop string-theory computations created some controversy. Here we suggest a resolution by pointing out that, contrary to the initial assumption based on the algebraic curve considerations, the central interpolating function h(\lambda) entering the BMN or magnon dispersion relation receives a non-zero one-loop correction in the natural string-theory computational scheme. We consider a basic example which has already played a key role in the AdS_5 x S^5 case: a rigid circular string stretched in both AdS_4 and along an S^1 of CP^3 and carrying two spins. Computing the leading one-loop quantum correction to its energy allows us to fix the constant one-loop term in h(\lambda) and also to suggest how one may establish a correspondence with the Bethe Ansatz proposal, including the non-trivial one-loop phase factor. We discuss some problems which remain in trying to match a part of world-sheet contributions (sensitive to compactness of the string direction) and their Bethe Ansatz counterparts.