Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Playing Devil's Advocate: Inferring Sensitive Information from Anonymized Network Traces

Encouraging the release of network data is central to promoting sound network research practices, though the publication of this data can leak sensitive information about the publishing organization. To address this dilemma, several techniques have been suggested for anonymizing network data by obfuscating sensitive fields. In this paper, we present new techniques for inferring network topology and deanonymizing servers present in anonymized network data, using only the data itself and public information. Via analyses on three different network datasets, we quantify the effectiveness of our techniques, showing that they can uncover significant amounts of sensitive information. We also discuss prospects for preventing these deanonymization attacks.
Price-Based Adaptive Scheduling in Multi-Loop Control Systems With Resource Constraints

Under many circumstances event-triggered scheduling outperforms time-triggered schemes for control applications when resources such as communication, computation, or energy are sparse. This paper investigates another benefit of event-triggered control concerning the ability of adaptation that enables the implementation of distributed scheduling mechanisms. The system under consideration comprises multiple heterogeneous control systems that share a common resource for accomplishing their control tasks. Each subsystem is modeled as a discrete-time stochastic linear system. The design problem is formulated as an average cost Markov decision process (MDP) problem with unknown global system parameters that are to be estimated during execution. Techniques from distributed optimization and adaptive MDPs are used to develop distributed self-regulating event-triggers that adapt their request rate to accommodate a global resource constraint. Stability and convergence issues are addressed by using methods from stochastic stability for Markov chains and stochastic approximation. Numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the approach and illustrate the convergence properties.
Short- and Long-Term Black Tea Consumption Reverses Endothelial Dysfunction in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Background—Epidemiological studies suggest that tea consumption decreases cardiovascular risk, but the mechanisms of benefit remain undefined. Endothelial dysfunction has been associated with coronary artery disease and increased oxidative stress. Some antioxidants have been shown to reverse endothelial dysfunction, and tea contains antioxidant flavonoids. Methods and Results—To test the hypothesis that tea consumption will reverse endothelial dysfunction, we randomized 66 patients with proven coronary artery disease to consume black tea and water in a crossover design. Short-term effects were examined 2 hours after consumption of 450 mL tea or water. Long-term effects were examined after consumption of 900 mL tea or water daily for 4 weeks. Vasomotor function of the brachial artery was examined at baseline and after each intervention with vascular ultrasound. Fifty patients completed the protocol and had technically suitable ultrasound measurements. Both short- and long-term tea consumption improved endothelium- dependent flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery, whereas consumption of water had no effect (P <0.001 by repeated-measures ANOVA). Tea consumption had no effect on endothelium-independent nitroglycerin-induced dilation. An equivalent oral dose of caffeine (200 mg) had no short-term effect on flow-mediated dilation. Plasma flavonoids increased after short- and long-term tea consumption. Conclusions—Short- and long-term black tea consumption reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. This finding may partly explain the association between tea intake and decreased cardiovascular disease events.
Urine proteomic studies in preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE) is a multisystem disorder of pregnancy that develops after 20 wk of gestation in previously normotensive women and complicates 5–8% of pregnancies. This rapidly progressive syndrome is usually diagnosed when the mother develops hypertension and proteinuria. The only effective treatment is delivery of the baby although early low‐dose aspirin has been shown to significantly reduce the risk for PE. Recent advances in proteomic methods of protein separation, identification, and quantitation may allow for the identification of proteins and peptides that could facilitate early detection of disease, improve assessment of prognosis, and allow closer monitoring of women at risk for PE. This review summarizes all currently available markers for prediction and diagnosis of PE and presents urine proteomic studies performed for the identification of novel biomarkers.
Vigorous Dynamics Underlie a Stable Population of the Endangered Snow Leopard Panthera uncia in Tost Mountains, South Gobi, Mongolia

Population monitoring programmes and estimation of vital rates are key to understanding the mechanisms of population growth, decline or stability, and are important for effective conservation action. We report, for the first time, the population trends and vital rates of the endangered snow leopard based on camera trapping over four years in the Tost Mountains, South Gobi, Mongolia. We used robust design multi-season mark-recapture analysis to estimate the trends in abundance, sex ratio, survival probability and the probability of temporary emigration and immigration for adult and young snow leopards. The snow leopard population remained constant over most of the study period, with no apparent growth (λ = 1.08+−0.25). Comparison of model results with the “known population” of radio-collared snow leopards suggested high accuracy in our estimates. Although seemingly stable, vigorous underlying dynamics were evident in this population, with the adult sex ratio shifting from being male-biased to female-biased (1.67 to 0.38 males per female) during the study. Adult survival probability was 0.82 (SE+−0.08) and that of young was 0.83 (SE+−0.15) and 0.77 (SE +−0.2) respectively, before and after the age of 2 years. Young snow leopards showed a high probability of temporary emigration and immigration (0.6, SE +−0.19 and 0.68, SE +−0.32 before and after the age of 2 years) though not the adults (0.02 SE+−0.07). While the current female-bias in the population and the number of cubs born each year seemingly render the study population safe, the vigorous dynamics suggests that the situation can change quickly. The reduction in the proportion of male snow leopards may be indicative of continuing anthropogenic pressures. Our work reiterates the importance of monitoring both the abundance and population dynamics of species for effective conservation.
Adolescent Perceptions of Parenting Styles in Sweden, Italy and Greece: An Exploratory Study

Comparative research on parenting styles among Nordic and Mediterranean countries is still missing, despite the increasing number of studies on parenting styles in adolescence. This study explores similarities and differences in adolescents’ retrospective perceptions of parenting styles, for both parents, in Sweden, Italy and Greece, using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. In particular, it examines the relation between parental role, adolescent gender, country of origin, SES and these perceptions. Swedish, Italian and Greek adolescents (N = 702; 30.9% Swedish, 39.6% Italian and 29.5% Greek) participated in the study. To test the principal effects three mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVAs were conducted separately for each parenting style. To verify the interaction effects, a mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVA was tested on authoritative style. Regarding authoritarian and permissive two mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece) ANOVAs were tested. Mothers, as compared to fathers, were perceived as more authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. Moreover, boys perceived their parents as more authoritarian and more permissive than girls. Swedish parents were perceived as significantly less authoritarian than Italian and Greek parents and more permissive than Italian parents; Greek parents were perceived as less authoritarian and more permissive than Italian parents. The study provides an interesting contribution to parenting styles literature, showing how country legislation concerning family matters and SES are related the perception of parenting behaviours.
Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery: 1950–2000

For those caring for the patient with congenital heart disease, the last 50 years of the 20th century was witness to staggering advances in virtually all aspects of pediatric cardiovascular medicine and surgery. The first half of the 20th century was not dormant in this regard. Dr Maude Abbott of Montreal had published her wonderful atlas in 1936 under the auspices of the American Heart Association, a unique compilation of 1000 cases of congenital heart disease.1 Dr Helen Taussig of Baltimore had founded her cardiac clinic at Johns Hopkins and had begun in the 1930s to characterize the clinical and fluoroscopic findings of a wide variety of congenital heart malformations; this material matured into her 2-volume compendium on congenital heart disease published in 1960.2 Dr Robert E. Gross of the Children’s Hospital in Boston successfully ligated the patent arterial duct in 1938, and that signal accomplishment ushered in the era of surgery for congenital heart disease.3 On the basis of her clinical observations that some children with cyanotic congenital heart disease became progressively more cyanotic coincidently with closure of the arterial duct and cognizant of Gross’s benchmark contribution, Dr Taussig traveled to Boston to attempt to persuade him to construct an arterial duct. When he refused, she broached the subject to Dr Blalock at Johns Hopkins. Some years earlier, when in Vanderbilt and with the technical assistance of Vivien Thomas, in an attempt to produce pulmonary hypertension and using the dog as the experimental animal, Dr Blalock constructed an end-to-end surgical anastomosis between the subclavian artery and the pulmonary artery. With Dr Alfred Blalock as the surgeon and the wisdom of his assistant Vivien Thomas, Taussig and Blalock revolutionized the care of the cyanotic child with the construction of the subclavian artery–to–pulmonary artery end-to-side anastomosis, thus augmenting …
A Wireless Multi-Sensor Dielectric Impedance Spectroscopy Platform

This paper describes the development of a low-cost, miniaturized, multiplexed, and connected platform for dielectric impedance spectroscopy (DIS), designed for in situ measurements and adapted to wireless network architectures. The platform has been tested and used as a DIS sensor node on ZigBee mesh and was able to interface up to three DIS sensors at the same time and relay the information through the network for data analysis and storage. The system is built from low-cost commercial microelectronics components, performs dielectric spectroscopy ranging from 5 kHz to 100 kHz, and benefits from an on-the-fly calibration system that makes sensor calibration easy. The paper describes the microelectronics design, the Nyquist impedance response, the measurement sensitivity and accuracy, and the testing of the platform for in situ dielectric impedance spectroscopy applications pertaining to fertilizer sensing, water quality sensing, and touch sensing.
Solitons and nonlinear optics in silicon-on-insulator photonic wires

A theoretical study of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic wires was conducted. These nanoscale optical waveguides can have transverse dimensions substantially smaller than the wavelength of the infrared light they carry. This extreme confinement provides very strong dispersion, which can be greatly controlled by specifying the waveguide geometry. The confinement also enhances silicon’s already considerable Kerr nonlinearity (whereby refractive index increases with optical intensity), allowing for nonlinear optical phenomena with record-breakingly small powers. The most notable of these phenomena (and the prime subject of this report) is the soliton, which is a self-sustaining localised pulse held together by a balance between dispersion and nonlinearity. A variety of other phenomena are also considered, including continuum generation, in which the spectral width of a pulse is greatly increased, and modulational instability, in which deviations from an optical waveform are reinforced by nonlinearity. Light propagation through a single wire is modelled numerically, and the results compared to third-party experimental data. The analysis reveals that the experimental results are consistent with soliton evolution, thus strengthening the base of evidence for the existence of solitons in silicon wires. Light propagation through arrays of multiple waveguides is also modelled. It is shown that interwire diffraction is intimately linked to dispersion, and that by exploiting this it is possible to realise both solitons and modulational instability in arrays of wires that individually would not be able to support these phenomena. It is also shown that silicon nanowires are an excellent medium for realising “optical bullets” in which a pulse of light is self-localised both in and transverse to the direction of propagation. A distinctive pattern of radiation emitted by these bullets is predicted. Solitons supported by the Raman effect (rather than the Kerr effect) are also considered. A novel class of soliton solutions are derived, which have the novel property of existing even when the frequency components comprising the soliton are not phase matched.
Identification of Cross-Species Shared Transcriptional Networks of Diabetic Nephropathy in Human and Mouse Glomeruli

Murine models are valuable instruments in defining the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN), but they only partially recapitulate disease manifestations of human DN, limiting their utility. To define the molecular similarities and differences between human and murine DN, we performed a cross-species comparison of glomerular transcriptional networks. Glomerular gene expression was profiled in patients with early type 2 DN and in three mouse models (streptozotocin DBA/2, C57BLKS db/db, and eNOS-deficient C57BLKS db/db mice). Species-specific transcriptional networks were generated and compared with a novel network-matching algorithm. Three shared human–mouse cross-species glomerular transcriptional networks containing 143 (Human-DBA STZ), 97 (Human-BKS db/db), and 162 (Human-BKS eNOS−/− db/db) gene nodes were generated. Shared nodes across all networks reflected established pathogenic mechanisms of diabetes complications, such as elements of Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) signaling pathways. In addition, novel pathways not previously associated with DN and cross-species gene nodes and pathways unique to each of the human–mouse networks were discovered. The human–mouse shared glomerular transcriptional networks will assist DN researchers in selecting mouse models most relevant to the human disease process of interest. Moreover, they will allow identification of new pathways shared between mice and humans.
On the Effects of Cooperation in DTNs

In a delay tolerant network (DTN) the nodes may behave autonomously deciding on their own whether to implement or not the rules of a routing algorithm. In this paper, the effects of node cooperation (or lack of it) are explored for three well-known routing algorithms proposed for DTNs with respect to the message delivery delay and the transmission overhead incurred until message delivery or the termination of the message spreading process. The results show that the sensitivity of the algorithms to the cooperation degree can be high, to the point of making them inferior to algorithms they typically outperform under a fully cooperative environment. Finally, it is demonstrated how a simple mechanism that incorporates the cooperation degree can help improve effectiveness.
A timing formula for main‐sequence star binary pulsars

ABSTRA C T In binary radio pulsars with a main-sequence star companion, the spin-induced quadrupole moment of the companion gives rise to a precession of the binary orbit. As a first approximation one can model the secular evolution caused by this classical spin-orbit coupling by linear-in-time changes of the longitude of periastron and the projected semi-major axis of the pulsar orbit. This simple representation of the precession of the orbit neglects two important aspects of the orbital dynamics of a binary pulsar with an oblate companion. First, the quasiperiodic effects along the orbit, owing to the anisotropic 1=r 3 nature of the quadrupole potential. Secondly, the long-term secular evolution of the binary orbit, which leads to an evolution of the longitude of periastron and the projected semi-major axis, which is non-linear in time. In this paper a simple timing formula for binary radio pulsars with a main-sequence star companion is presented which models the short-term secular and most of the short-term periodic effects caused by the classical spin-orbit coupling. I also give extensions of the timing formula that account for long-term secular changes in the binary pulsar motion. It is shown that the short-term periodic effects are important for the timing observations of the binary pulsar PSR B1259‐63. The long-term secular effects are likely to become important in the next few years of timing observations of the binary pulsar PSR J0045‐7319. They could help to restrict or even determine the moments of inertia of the companion star and thus probe its internal structure. Finally, I reinvestigate the spin-orbit precession of the binary pulsar PSR J0045‐7319 since the analysis given in the literature is based on an incorrect expression for the precession of the longitude of periastron. A lower limit of 208 for the inclination of the B star with respect to the orbital plane is derived.
Impact of ocean waves on deep waters mixing and large-scale circulation

Les differents projets presentes dans cette these contribuent a la comprehension de plusieurs aspects cles de la circulation oceanique. Le premier aspect que nous etudions porte sur les processus physiques a l'origine du melange lie a la maree; deux processus ont ete mis en evidence. Depuis la latitude critique vers l'equateur, la maree interne transfert son energie a des ondes plus petite echelle via des instabilites triadiques resonnantes impliquant les ondes proche inertielles. Depuis la latitude critique vers le pole, les ondes de maree interne continuent de transferer leur energie a des ondes plus petite echelle, mais etonnamment ce transfert se fait entre la maree interne et des ondes evanescentes.Dans la deuxieme etude, nous etudions l'effet d'un courant moyen sur la propagation et la dissipation des ondes de maree interne, generees a la topographie dans des simulations haute resolution. Dans ce cas, la dependance en latitude de la dissipation de la maree interne est plus lisse et plus proche d'une constante. Ce changement de la dependance en latitude peut etre lie au decalage des frequences des ondes de maree interne par effet Doppler, ce qui induit la generation d'ondes secondaires plus petite echelle.Dans la troisieme etude, nous etudions l'effet d'une perturbation generee en amont sur la circulation dans le bassin amont du a l'interaction entre la perturbation et un seuil hydrauliquement controle. Les ondes de Kelvin et topographiques de Rossby, generees par une variation de l'afflux d'eau dans le bassin amont, perturbent l'ecoulement au dessus du seuil et ainsi l'export d'eau. Cette perturbation est due a la refraction des ondes sur le seuil a chaque passage, une fois qu'elles ont fait le tour du bassin amont.
Neuronal Bases of Directional Expectation and Anticipatory Pursuit

Expectation of upcoming events is an essential cognitive function on which anticipatory actions are based. The neuronal basis of this prospective representation is poorly understood. We trained rhesus monkeys in a smooth-pursuit task in which the direction of upcoming target motion was indicated using a color cue. Under these conditions, directional expectation frequently evoked anticipatory smooth movements. We found that the activity of a population of neurons in the supplementary eye fields encoded the expected future direction of the target. Neuronal activity increased after presentation of the cue, indicating future target motion in the preferred direction. Neuronal activity either remained unaltered or was reduced if the antipreferred direction was cued. In addition, ∼30% of these neurons were more active during trials with anticipatory pursuit in the preferred direction than during trials when monkeys did not anticipate target motion onset. This subset of recorded neurons encoded the direction of the subsequent anticipatory pursuit. We hypothesize that the neural representation of directional expectation could be conceptualized as a competitive interaction between pools of neurons representing likely future events, with the winner of this competition determining the direction of the subsequent anticipatory movement. Similar mechanisms could drive prediction before movement initiation in other motor domains.
A sustainable programme to prevent falls and near falls in community dwelling older people: results of a randomised trial

STUDY OBJECTIVE In the causative mechanism of falls among older community dwellers, slips and trips have been found to be significant precursors. The purpose of the two year trial was to assess the effectiveness of multi-component interventions targeting major risk factors for falls in reducing the incidence of slips, trips and falls among the well, older community. DESIGN Four groups with approximately equal numbers of participants were randomly allocated to interventions. The prevention strategies included education and awareness raising of falls risk factors, exercise sessions to improve strength and balance, home safety advice to modify environmental hazards, and medical assessment to optimise health. The interventions combined the strategies in an add on approach. The first intervention group receiving the information session only was regarded as the control. The outcome of interest was the occurrence of a slip, trip or fall, monitored prospectively using a daily calendar diary. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Two hundred and fifty two members of the National Seniors Association in the Brisbane district agreed to participate. National Seniors clubs provide a forum for active, community dwelling Australians aged 50 and over to participate in policy, personal development and recreation. MAIN RESULTS Using Cox's proportional hazards regression model, adjusted hazard ratios comparing intervention groups with the control ranged from 0.35 (95% CI 0.17, 0.73) to 0.48 (0.25, 0.91) for slips; 0.29 (0.16, 0.51) to 0.45 (0.27, 0.74) for trips; and 0.60 (0.36, 1.01) to 0.82 (0.51, 1.31) for falls. While calendar monitoring recorded outcome, it was also assessed as a prevention strategy by comparing the intervention groups with a hypothetical non-intervened group. At one year after intervention, reductions in the probability of slips, trips and falls (61(95%CI 54, 66)%; 56 (49, 63)%; 29 (22, 36)% respectively) were demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS This study makes an important contribution to the priority community health issue of falls prevention by showing that effective, sustainable, low cost programmes can be introduced through community-based organisations to reduce the incidence of slips, trips and falls in well, older people.