Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A fair trust-based malicious node detection and isolation scheme for WSNs

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are vulnerable to a large number of security threats where sensor nodes may be compromised by malicious nodes that could inject the network with falsified information or bring the network down. Traditional security mechanisms are not suitable for WSNs as these mechanisms require extensive computation, communication and memory, which contradict the nature of a WSN. Trust and reputation based schemes are more effective in providing additional means of security for decision making in WSNs. The main objective of such schemes is to detect and isolate the maliciously behaving nodes before they can do any harm to the network. This paper investigates the performances of a fair trust-based malicious node detection and isolation (FTMNDI) scheme. This scheme uses a modified version of the neighbor-weight trust determination (NWTD) algorithm to periodically update the trust of the nodes based on their reputation. Then, a node within the network is isolated if its trust becomes less than a pre-set minimum acceptable trust value. The performance of the FTMNDI scheme is evaluated through simulations using the network simulator MANSim. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the FTMNDI scheme in detecting and isolating malicious nodes in a fairly and timely manner.
A Renewal Theory Based Analytical Model for the Contention Access Period of IEEE 802.15.4 MAC

In this paper, we propose a simple yet accurate analytical model for the slotted non-persistent carrier sense multiple access protocol with binary exponential backoff, as specified in the medium access control (MAC) protocol of the IEEE 802.15. 4 standard for the contention access period. The model is based on a three-level renewal process, which leads to a general analytical framework applicable to the protocol variants of either single or double sensing, in a saturated or unsaturated case, under a general traffic arrival distribution and with various backoff policies. The analytical model can be used to obtain some important performance metrics, such as MAC throughput and average frame service time. The accuracy of the analytical model is demonstrated by extensive simulation results. The applicability of this model to the performance analysis of other slotted MAC protocols is also briefly discussed.
Imaging mass spectrometry with a low-temperature plasma probe for the analysis of works of art.

DESI-MSI allows direct analysis of the sample withlittle or no sample pretreatment under ambient conditions.However, for analysis ofpaintings,the electrosprayedorganicsolvents may result in contamination and damage to thesample.Herein, we present a novel IMS method that uses a low-temperature plasma (LTP) probe as an ion source for theanalysis of paintings and calligraphy. For the evaluation ofartworks, the following requirements should be satisfied.First, to avoid damage and contamination of sample, nosolvent or matrix should be introduced into the ion source orsamples during the experiment. Second, analysis by the probeshould be carried out in a preparation-free approach, andtherefore an ambient ionization technique amenable to directanalysis is desirable. Finally, the spatial resolution of the IMStechnique should be sufficiently high to allow characteriza-tion of the spatial distribution of analytes. The experimentalsetup and the configuration of LTP probe are shown inFigure 1A and B, respectively (painting study provided in theSupporting Information, Figure S1). The probe is animproved version based upon the previously reported dielec-tric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI) source.
Maturation of cardiovascular control mechanisms in the embryonic emu (Dromiceius novaehollandiae)

SUMMARY Our understanding of avian embryonic cardiovascular regulation has been based on studies in chickens. The present study was undertaken to determine if the patterns established in chickens are generally applicable to the emu, a ratite bird species. We studied cardiovascular physiology over the interval from 60% to 90% of the emu's 50-day incubation period. During this period, embryonic emus exhibit a slight fall in resting heart rate (from 171 beats min-1 to 154 beats min-1) and a doubling of mean arterial pressure (from 1.2 kPa to 2.6 kPa). Exposures to 15% or 10% O2 initially decreased heart rate during the first period of emu incubation studied [60% of incubation (60%I)] but increased heart rate in the 90%I group. Arterial pressure responded to hypoxia with an initial depression (-1.6 kPa) at 60%I and 70%I but showed no response during the later periods of incubation (80%I and 90%I). In addition, tonic stimulation of both cholinergic and adrenergic (α and β) receptors was present on heart rate at 70%I, with the cholinergic and β-adrenergic tone increasing in strength by 90%I. Arterial pressure was dependent on a constant β-adrenergic and constant α-adrenergic tone from 60%I to 90%I. A comparison with embryonic white leghorn chickens over a similar window of incubation revealed that emus and white leghorn chickens both possess an adrenergic tone on heart rate and pressure but that only emus possess a cholinergic tone on heart rate. Collectively, these data indicate that the maturation of cardiovascular control systems differs between white leghorn chickens and emus, inviting investigation of additional avian species to determine other patterns.
Risk Attitudes and Investment Decisions across European Countries - Are Women More Conservative Investors than Men?

This study questions the popular stereotype that women are more risk averse than men in their financial investment decisions. The analysis is based on micro-level data from large-scale surveys of private households in five European countries. In our analysis of investment decisions, we directly account for individuals' self-perceived willingness to take financial risks. The empirical evidence we provide only weakly supports the gender differences argument. We find that women are less likely to invest in risky financial assets. However, when the probability of investing is controlled for, males and females are found to allocate equal shares of their wealth to risky assets.
Experimental study of router buffer sizing

During the past four years, several papers have proposed rules for sizing buffers in Internet core routers. Appenzeller et al. suggest that a link needs a buffer of size O(C/√N), where C is the capacity of the link, and N is the number of flows sharing the link. If correct, buffers could be reduced by 99% in a typical backbone router today without loss in throughput. Enachecsu et al., and Raina et al. suggest that buffers can be reduced even further to 20-50 packets if we are willing to sacrifice a fraction of link capacities, and if there is a large ratio between the speed of core and access links. If correct, this is a five orders of magnitude reduction in buffer sizes. Each proposal is based on theoretical analysis and validated using simulations. Given the potential benefits (and the risk of getting it wrong! ) it is worth asking if these results hold in real operational networks. In this paper, we report buffer-sizing experiments performed on real networks - either laboratory networks with commercial routers as well as customized switching and monitoring equipment (UW Madison, Sprint ATL, and University of Toronto), or operational backbone networks (Level 3 Communications backbone network, Internet2, and Stanford). The good news: Subject to the limited scenarios we can create, the buffer sizing results appear to hold. While we are confident that the O(C/√N) will hold quite generally for backbone routers, the 20-50 packet rule should be applied with extra caution to ensure that network components satisfy the underlying assumptions.
Polyvariant mutant CFTR genes in patients with chronic pancreatitis

Several authors have reported an association between mutations of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR) and chronic pancreatitis. CFTR gene transcription and protein efficiency are influenced by two polymorphic loci, (TG)m and M470V, other than the T5 allele, whose role is already well‐established. The TG11/T5 haplotype is commonly found in healthy subjects, while the TG12/T5/V470 and TG13/T5/V470 haplotypes are present in congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD) patients. While the T5 allele is a mutation that is over‐represented in patients with chronic pancreatitis, no data are available concerning the possible allelic preference at the other two polymorphic loci, (TG)m and M470V, in these patients. For this reason, we screened 39 patients with chronic pancreatitis for the most common CFTR mutations found so far in the Italian population; in addition, we examined the length of the polypyrimidine (poly‐T) tract in intron 8, the (TG)m length and the M or V codon at position 470. CFTR mutations were found in 3 patients. Poly‐T variant typing identified genotype T5/T7 in 5 patients and T5/T9 in 1 patient. Direct sequencing of intron 8 in patients with the T5 variant revealed the TG12/T5/V470∥TG11/T7/V470 genotype in 5 patients and TG10/T9∥TG11/T5 genotype in 1 patient. In patients with chronic pancreatitis, the T5 allele is frequently associated with TG12 and V470, a haplotype already reported in CBAVD cases and quite uncommon in healthy subjects.
Heat Shock Alters the Expression of Schizophrenia and Autism Candidate Genes in an Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Model of the Human Telencephalon

Schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are highly heritable neuropsychiatric disorders, although environmental factors, such as maternal immune activation (MIA), play a role as well. Cytokines mediate the effects of MIA on neurogenesis and behavior in animal models. However, MIA stimulators can also induce a febrile reaction, which could have independent effects on neurogenesis through heat shock (HS)-regulated cellular stress pathways. However, this has not been well-studied. To help understand the role of fever in MIA, we used a recently described model of human brain development in which induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) differentiate into 3-dimensional neuronal aggregates that resemble a first trimester telencephalon. RNA-seq was carried out on aggregates that were heat shocked at 39°C for 24 hours, along with their control partners maintained at 37°C. 186 genes showed significant differences in expression following HS (p<0.05), including known HS-inducible genes, as expected, as well as those coding for NGFR and a number of SZ and ASD candidates, including SMARCA2, DPP10, ARNT2, AHI1 and ZNF804A. The degree to which the expression of these genes decrease or increase during HS is similar to that found in copy loss and copy gain copy number variants (CNVs), although the effects of HS are likely to be transient. The dramatic effect on the expression of some SZ and ASD genes places HS, and perhaps other cellular stressors, into a common conceptual framework with disease-causing genetic variants. The findings also suggest that some candidate genes that are assumed to have a relatively limited impact on SZ and ASD pathogenesis based on a small number of positive genetic findings, such as SMARCA2 and ARNT2, may in fact have a much more substantial role in these disorders - as targets of common environmental stressors.
Boosting training for myoelectric pattern recognition using Mixed-LDA

Pattern recognition based myoelectric prostheses (MP) need a training procedure for calibrating the classifier. Due to the non-stationarity inhered in surface electromyography (sEMG) signals, the system should be retrained day by day in long-term use of MP. To boost the training procedure in later periods, we propose a method, namely Mixed-LDA, which computes the parameters of LDA through combining the model estimated on the incoming training samples of the current day with the prior models available from earlier days. An experiment ranged for 10 days on 5 subjects was carried out to simulate the long-term use of MP. Results show that the Mixed-LDA is significantly better than the baseline method (LDA) when few samples are used as training set in the new (current) day. For instance, in the task including 13 hand and wrist motions, the average classification rate of the Mixed-LDA is 88.74% when the number of training samples is 104 (LDA: 79.32%). This implies that the approach has the potential to improve the usability of MP based on pattern recognition by reducing the training time.
A day at the beach while on tropical vacation: sun protection practices in a high-risk setting for UV radiation exposure.

OBJECTIVE To conduct an assessment of levels of UV radiation (UVR) exposure and the range of sun protection behaviors of beachgoers at a popular vacation destination. DESIGN Participants completed the sun habits survey prior to entry to the beach and completed an exit survey on leaving regarding their sun protection practices while at the beach. Ambient UVR was monitored using polysulfone dosimeters. SETTING A popular beach for vacationers in Honolulu, Hawaii. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Sun protection practices and UVR. RESULTS Participants spent an average of 3 hours at the beach and received an estimated UVR dose of 10.4 standard erythemal doses. Latent class analysis identified 3 homogeneous classes with distinct characteristics and sun protection behaviors. Those in class 1 (unconcerned and at low risk) were at least risk of skin cancer, intended to tan, and used the least amount of sun protection. Those in class 2 (tan seekers) had the second highest risk of skin cancer, had the highest proportion of women, became sunburned easily, intended to tan, had used tanning beds in past 30 days, and had the highest proportion of sunscreen coverage and the least clothing coverage. Those in class 3 (concerned and protected) had the highest skin cancer risk, the highest proportion of clothing coverage and shade use, and were more likely to be residents of Hawaii. CONCLUSIONS Beachgoers were exposed to 5 times the UVR dose required to result in erythema among unprotected fair-skinned populations. Latent class analysis was effective in identifying subgroups of beachgoers who would benefit from targeted, population-based interventions aimed at reducing skin cancer risks while enjoying outdoor leisure-time activities.
Cardioprotective Effects of Glycyrrhizic Acid Against Isoproterenol-Induced Myocardial Ischemia in Rats

The aim of the present study was to look into the possible protective effects of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) against isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial infarction in Sprague-Dawley rats. The effect of three doses of glycyrrhizic acid in response to isoproterenol (ISO)-induced changes in 8-isoprostane, lipid hydroperoxides, super oxide dismutase and total glutathione were evaluated. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control, ISO-control, glycyrrhizic acid alone (in three doses-5, 10 and 20 mg/kg BW) and ISO with glycyrrhizic acid (in three doses) groups. ISO was administered at 85 mg/kg BW at two consecutive days and glycyrrhizic acid was administered intraperitoneally for 14 days. There was a significant increase in 8-isoprostane (IP) and lipid hydroperoxide (LPO) level in ISO-control group. A significant decrease in total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total glutathione (GSH) was seen with ISO-induced acute myocardial infarction. Treatment with GA significantly increased SOD and GSH levels and decreased myocardial LPO and IP levels. Histopathologically, severe myocardial necrosis and nuclear pyknosis and hypertrophy were seen in ISO-control group, which was significantly reduced with GA treatment. Gycyrrhizic acid treatment proved to be effective against isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial infarction in rats and GA acts as a powerful antioxidant and reduces the myocardial lipid hydroperoxide and 8-isoprostane level.
Fast outflows in broad absorption line quasars and their connection with CSS/GPS sources

Broad absorption line quasars are among the objects presenting the fastest outflows. The launching mechanism itself is not completely understood. Models in which they could be launched from the accretion disk, and then curved and accelerated by the effect of the radiation pressure, have been presented. We conducted an extensive observational campaign, from radio to optical band, to collect information about their nature and test the models present in the literature, the main dichotomy being between a young scenario and an orientation one. We found a variety of possible orientations, morphologies, and radio ages, not converging to a particular explanation for the BAL phenomenon. From our latest observations in the m- and mm-band, we obtained an indication of a lower dust abundance with respect to normal quasars, thus suggesting a possible feedback process on the host galaxy. Also, in the low-frequency regime we confirmed the presence of CSS components, sometime in conjunction with a GPS one already detected at higher frequencies. Following this, about 70% of our sample turns out to be in a GPS or CSS+GPS phase. We conclude that fast outflows, responsible for the BAL features, can be more easily present among objects going through a restarting or just-started radio phase, where radiation pressure can substantially contribute to their acceleration. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A numerical approximation of non-Fickian flows with mixing length growth in porous media.

The nonFickian flow of fluid in porous media is complicated by the history effect which characterizes various mixing length growth of the flow, which can be modeled by an integro-differential equation. This paper proposes two mixed finite element methods which are employed to discretize the parabolic integro-differential equation model. An optimal order error estimate is established for one of the discretization schemes.
On the existence of group codes for the Gaussian channel

A number of theorems are given, which give insight into the algebraic structure of group codes for the Gaussian channel, as defined by Slepian. The problem of the existence of group codes for a given pair of defining parameters (i.e., number of codewords M , and dimension of the signal space n ) is partially solved.
Decreased Lubricin Concentrations and Markers of Joint Inflammation in Synovial Fluids from Patients with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Objective— To study the effect of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on lubricin concentration in synovial fluid (SF) and its correlation with time post-injury, inflammatory cytokines, lubricin degrading enzymes, and SF proteoglycan content. Methods— SF samples were obtained from both knees of 30 patients with a unilateral ACL insufficiency 32–364 days post-injury. Lubricin, inflammatory cytokines [interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 β ), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α ) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)] and catabolic enzymes [procathepsin-B and neutrophil elastase (NE)] were quantified in the SF of injured and contralateral (uninjured) joints using ELISAs. Sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) levels in SF were measured by Alcian blue binding assay. Results— SF lubricin concentrations were significantly (p<0.001) reduced following ACL injury when compared to the contralateral joint. Within 12-months, the lubricin concentration of the injured knee (slope=0.006, SE=0.00010, p<0.001) approached that of the contralateral knee, which did not change with time (slope= − 0.0002, SE=0.00050, p=0.71). TNF- α levels showed a significant negative relationship with log 2 lubricin levels. IL-1 β , TNF- α , IL-6, procathepsin-B and NE concentrations in injured SF were greater in samples whose injuries were recent compared to those that were chronic. There were no detectable cytokines or enzymes in SF of contralateral joints. sGAG concentrations were significantly (p<0.01) higher in injured SF compared to contralateral joints. Conclusions— The decrease in SF lubricin concentrations following ACL injury may place the joint at an increased risk of wear-induced damage, as a consequence of lack of boundary lubrication, potentially leading to secondary osteoarthritis. The decrease in SF lubricin was associated with elevation of inflammatory cytokines.
What does control theory bring to systems research?

Feedback mechanisms can help today's increasingly complex computer systems adapt to changes in workloads or operating conditions. Control theory offers a principled way for designing feedback loops to deal with unpredictable changes, uncertainties, and disturbances in systems. We provide an overview of the joint research at HP Labs and University of Michigan in the past few years, where control theory was applied to automated resource and service level management in data centers. We highlight the key benefits of a control-theoretic approach for systems research, and present specific examples from our experience of designing adaptive resource control systems where this approach worked well. In addition, we outline the main limitations of this approach, and discuss the lessons learned from our experience.
Stochastic Technical Progress, Smooth Trends, and Nearly Distinct Business Cycles

This paper studies a model of random technical progress where technology diffuses at realistically slow rates. It fits smooth trends to the sum of GDP series generated by this model and series representing transitory, or cyclical, fluctuations. Detrended GDP is then largely unrelated to technical progress. The detrending method proposed by Rotemberg (1999) reconstructs cyclical variations somewhat more accurately than the HP filter. With sufficiently slow diffusion it is also more accurate than a method based on VARs fitted to hours and GDP growth. Consistent with the model's predictions, permanent shocks initially depress both hours and output in these VARs.
Glycine and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors: physiological significance and possible therapeutic applications.

Since the finding by [Johnson and Ascher (1987)][1] demonstrating that glycine enhances electrophysiological responses mediated by N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)b-sensitive glutamatergic receptors, considerable interest has been devoted to this topic (for reviews, see [Dingledine et al. , 1990][2]; [
Immunocytochemical investigations of sodium channels along nodal and internodal portions of demyelinated axons

Voltage‐gated sodium channels are largely localized to the nodes of Ranvier in myelinated axons, providing the physiological basis for saltatory conduction. Studies using anti‐sodium channel antibodies have shown that along demyelinated axons sodium channels form new distributions. The nature of this changed distribution appears to vary with the time course and mechanism of demyelination. In chronic demyelination, sodium channels increase in number and redistribute along previously internodal axon segments. In chronic demyelination produced by doxorubicin, the increase in sodium channels appeared independently of Schwann cells, suggesting increased neuronal synthesis. In acute demyelination produced by lysolecithin new clusters of sodium channels developed but only in association with the edges of remyelinating Schwann cells, which appeared to control the distribution and mobility of the channels. These findings affirm the plasticity of sodium channels in demyelinated axons and are relevant to understanding how these axons recover conduction. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.