Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Privacy-Preserving Public Auditing Protocol for Low-Performance End Devices in Cloud

Cloud storage provides tremendous storage resources for both individual and enterprise users. In a cloud storage system, the data owned by a user are no longer possessed locally. Hence, it is not competent to ensure the integrity of the outsourced data using traditional data integrity checking methods. A privacy-preserving public auditing protocol allows a third party auditor to check the integrity of the outsourced data on behalf of the users without violating the privacy of the data. However, existing privacy-preserving public auditing protocols assume that the end devices of users are powerful enough to compute all costly operations in real time when the data to be outsourced are given. In fact, the end devices may also be those with low computation capabilities. In this paper, we propose two lightweight privacy-preserving public auditing protocols. Our protocols are based on online/offline signatures, by which an end device only needs to perform lightweight computations when a file to be outsourced is available. Besides, our proposals support batch auditing and data dynamics. Experiments show that our protocols are hundreds of times more efficient than a recent proposal regarding to the computational overhead on user side.
Experimental evidence for the existence of absolute acoustic band gaps in two-dimensional periodic composite media

Transmission of acoustic waves in two-dimensional binary solid/solid composite media composed of arrays of Duralumin cylindrical inclusions embedded in an epoxy resin matrix is studied. The experimental transmission spectrum and theoretical band structure of two periodic arrays of cylinders organized on a square lattice and on a centred rectangular network are reported. Absolute gaps extending throughout the first two-dimensional Brillouin zone are predicted. The measured transmission is observed to drop to noise level throughout frequency intervals in reasonable agreement with the calculated forbidden frequency bands.
Neighborhood Density and Frequency Across Languages and Modalities

This research exploits the English and Dutch CELEX lexical database to investigate the form similarity relations between words. Lexical statistics analyses replicate and extend the findings of Landauer and Streeter (1973) concerning the relation between a word′s frequency and the density and frequency of its similarity neighborhood. The results for both Dutch and English reveal only a weak tendency for high-frequency written and spoken words to have more neighbors than rare words and for these neighbors to be more frequent than those of rare words. However, the number of neighbors was found to correlate more highly with bigram frequency than with word frequency. To clarify the relations between these properties, a stochastic model is presented which captures the relevant effects of phonotactic structure on neighborhood similarities. The implications of these findings for models of language production and comprehension are considered.
Association of physical inactivity with hypertension and low educational level in people living with HIV / AIDS

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity and whether it is associated with sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, anthropometric, and body composition variables in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study makes use of data from a cohort of 288 adults aged ≥19 years, conducted between October 2009 and July 2011. The variables studied were sex, age, education, income, skin color, tobacco use, alcohol intake, body mass index, body fat percentage, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio, length of HIV/AIDS diagnosis, use of antiretroviral therapy and length of its use, CD4, hypertension (HT) and diabetes mellitus. Physical inactivity was defined as a score below 600 metabolic equivalent minutes/week according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Version. Poisson multiple regression was applied in the multivariate analysis with a significance level of 5%. The prevalence of physical inactivity was 44.1%. Education of ≤4 years of study (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.71) and HT (PR: 1.49) were associated with physical inactivity. Physical inactivity was highly prevalent in PLWHA and associated with low educational level and HT. We highlight the simultaneous association between two cardiometabolic risk factors, HT and physical inactivity.
Performance analysis in team sports: Advances from an Ecological Dynamics approach

Capacity to produce data for performance analysis in sports has been enhanced in the last decade with substantial technological advances. However, current performance analysis methods have been criticised for the lack of a viable theoretical framework to assist on the development of fundamental principles that regulate performance achievement. Our aim in this paper is to discuss ecological dynamics as an explanatory framework for improving analysis and understanding of competitive performance behaviours. We argue that integration of ideas from ecological dynamics into previous approaches to performance analysis advances current understanding of how sport performance emerges from continuous interactions between individual players and teams. Exemplar data from previous studies in association football are presented to illustrate this novel perspective on performance analysis. Limitations of current ecological dynamics research and challenges for future research are discussed in order to improve the meaningfulness of information presented to coaches and managers.
Trust as a Mediator of the Relationships Between Poverty, Racial Composition, and Academic Achievement

Purpose: Research shows that trust is significantly related to academic achievement. This study expands knowledge of this connection in two ways. First, because a stratified, random sample of elementary schools from an entire state was used, the results have considerable generalizability. Second, this study tested the relationship between trust and achievement and assessed whether links between academic achievement, socioeconomic status (SES), and racial composition are mediated by the levels of trust teachers report in students and parents. Data Collection and Analysis: Schools were systematically randomly selected and stratified by location, prior achievement, SES, and size to represent all traditional public elementary schools across Michigan. Teachers responded to surveys measuring the levels of trust in schools. A path analysis was conducted at the school level to model variation in trust and the proportion of students passing the state mathematics and reading assessments. Findings: Using path analysis and controlling for measures of school context, greater trust was associated with increased school achievement in mathematics and reading on state assessments used for accountability purposes. Also, school SES, racial composition, and size were indirectly related to achievement through their associations with trust. However, racial and economic disadvantage were not directly related to achievement after controlling for prior achievement and trust. Conclusion: Because racial and economic disadvantage were related to achievement only indirectly through their negative associations with trust, trust relations appear to mediate the relationship between school disadvantage and academic achievement. Future researchers may wish to study whether programs seeking to increase trust in schools can effectively minimize the academic disadvantage typically associated with poverty and racial composition.
Induction of Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase by Pre-treatment with Poly(I:C) May Enhance the Efficacy of MSC Treatment in DSS-induced Colitis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used experimentally for treating inflammatory disorders, partly owing to their immunosuppressive properties. The goal of the study was to determine whether TLR ligands can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of bone marrow-derived MSCs for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Mice (C57BL6) were administered with 4% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water for 7 days and injected with MSCs on days 1 and 3 following DSS ingestion. Our results demonstrated that among various TLR ligands, MSCs treated with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)], which is a TLR3 ligand, more profoundly induced IDO, which is a therapeutically relevant immunosuppressive factor, without any observable phenotype change in vitro. The poly(I:C)-treated MSCs attenuated the pathologic severity of DSS-induced murine colitis when injected i.p. but not i.v. In summary, preconditioning MSCs with poly(I:C) might improve their efficacy in treating DSS-induced colitis, and this effect at least partly depends on the enhancement of their immunosuppressive activity through increasing their production of IDO.
The pathogenesis of anosognosia for hemiplegia

We compared patients with unawareness of hemiplegia lasting more than 1 month after right hemisphere stroke with other patients with right hemisphere stroke who became aware of hemiplegia within a few days after onset. Patients with persistent unawareness invariably had severe left hemisensory loss and usually had severe left spatial neglect. They were almost always apathetic; their thought lacked direction, clarity, and flexibility, and they had at least moderate impairment of intellect and memory. Their right hemisphere strokes were large and always affected the central gyri or their thalamic connections and capsular pathways. In addition, there was evidence of at least mild left hemisphere damage, most commonly caused by age-associated atrophy. The pathogenesis of anosognosia for hemiplegia may involve failure to discover paralysis because proprioceptive mechanisms that ordinarily inform an individual about the position and movement of limbs are damaged, and the patient, because of additional cognitive defects, lacks the capacity to make the necessary observations and inferences to diagnose the paralysis. We discuss the implications of this “discovery” theory and contrast it with other explanations of anosognosia.
The Effects of Milrinone on Platelets in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Although amrinone produces thrombocytopenia, no information is available regarding the acute effects of milrinone on platelets.Therefore, we evaluated the effects of milrinone on platelet number and function in cardiac surgical patients. Twenty-seven patients were studied during cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Patients were randomized to receive no milrinone (n = 10), or milrinone (n = 17) at a loading dose of 50-75 micro gram/kg in the CPB circuit followed by 0.5-0.75 micro gram centered dot kg-1 centered dot min-1 for 12-24 h. Bleeding times and blood samples for coagulation studies were obtained prior to induction, and at 2 and 24 h after CPB. In both groups, platelet counts decreased significantly from the baseline at 2 and 24 h after CPB, and bleeding time increased significantly from the baseline at 2 and 24 h after CPB. No significant thromboelastoplasty (TEG) changes were observed in either group, and there were no significant differences in platelet aggregation or chest tube drainage between the groups. Acute milrinone administration did not cause significant changes in platelet number of function in patients undergoing cardiac operations requiring CPB, beyond the usual adverse effects of cardiac surgery and CPB. (Anesth Analg 1995;81:44-8)
Gender Wage Inequality and Economic Growth: Is There Really a Puzzle?

Seguino (2000) shows that gender wage discrimination in export-oriented semi-industrialized countries might be fostering investment and growth in general. While the original analysis does not have internationally comparable wage discrimination data, we replicate the analysis using data from a meta-study on gender wage discrimination and do not find any evidence that more discrimination might further economic growth – on the contrary: if anything the impact of gender inequality is negative for growth. Standing up for more gender equality – also in terms of wages – is good for equity considerations and at least not negative for growth.
Premedication with clonidine versus fentanyl for intraoperative hemodynamic stability and recovery outcome during laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia induced intraoperative hemodynamic responses which should be attenuated by appropriate premedication. The present study was aimed to compare the clinical efficacy of clonidine and fentanyl premedication during laparoscopic cholecystectomy for attenuation of hemodynamic responses with postoperative recovery outcome. Subjects and Methods: In this prospective randomized double blind study 64 adult consented patients of either sex with ASA I and II, scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia and met the inclusion criteria, were allocated into two groups of 32 patients. Group C patients have received intravenous clonidine 1μg kg-1 and Group F patients have received intravenous fentanyl 2μg kg-1 5 min before induction. Anesthetic and surgical techniques were standardized. All patients were assessed for intraoperative hemodynamic changes at specific time and postoperative recovery outcome. Results: Premedication with clonidine or fentanyl has attenuated the hemodynamic responses of laryngoscopy and laparoscopy. Clonidine was superior to fentanyl for intraoperative hemodynamic stability. No significant differences in the postoperative recovery outcome were observed between the groups. Nausea, vomiting, shivering and respiratory depression were comparable between groups. Conclusion: Premedication with clonidine or fentanyl has effectively attenuated the intraoperative hemodynamic responses of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Colour, design and reward: phenotypic integration of fleshy fruit displays

The functional or structural linkage among traits [phenotypic integration (PI)] within complex structures can constrain the evolutionary response of individual traits. To analyse whether frugivores with distinct sensory ecology have shaped the patterns of fruit diversification differently, we compared PI values of fleshy fruits that are consumed by birds and mammals. We used phylogenetic comparative analyses of PI among 13 morphological, nutritional and visual fruit traits from 111 Mediterranean plant species. Results showed that morphological traits had higher PI values than nutritional and colour traits. Visual and nutritional traits show positive phylogenetic covariance, while negative covariation occurs between fruits size and nutrients. Importantly, fruits consumed by birds were relatively more integrated than fruits consumed partly or solely by mammals. Hence, we show that major groups of mutualistic frugivores can shape the covariance among some fruit traits differently and thereby influence fruit diversification.
Transcriptional co-activator TAZ sustains proliferation and tumorigenicity of neuroblastoma by targeting CTGF and PDGF-β

Neuroblastoma is a common childhood malignant tumor originated from the neural crest-derived sympathetic nervous system. A crucial event in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma is to promote proliferation of neuroblasts, which is closely related to poor survival. However, mechanisms for regulation of cell proliferation and tumorigenicity in neuroblastoma are not well understood. Here, we report that overexpression of TAZ in neuroblastoma BE(2)-C cells causes increases in cell proliferation, self renewal and colony formation, which was restored back to its original levels by knockdown of TAZ in TAZ-overexpression cells. Inhibition of endogenous TAZ attenuated cell proliferation, colony formation and tumor development in neuroblastoma SK-N-AS cell, which could be rescued by re-introduction of TAZ into TAZ-knockdown cells. In addition, we found that overexpressing TAZ-mediated induction of CTGF and PDGF-β expression, cell proliferation and colony formation were inhibited by knocking down CTGF and PDGF-β with siRNA in TAZ-overexpressing cell. Overall, our findings suggested that TAZ plays an essential role in regulating cell proliferation and tumorigenesis in neuroblastoma cells. Thus, TAZ seems to be a novel and promising target for the treatment of neuroblastoma.
Inferences Are For Doing

Spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) are ubiquitous and occur when perceivers spontaneously infer actor traits from actor behaviors. Previous research has elucidated the processes underlying STIs, but little work has focused on the functions of STIs. This article proposes that these unintentional early inferences serve a general approach or avoidance function. Two studies are reported in which external approach and avoidance motivations elicited via flexion–extension (Study 1) or physical warmth (Study 2) affect the encoding of trait-implying behavioral statements in a valence-matching manner. The results suggest that somatic states can act as cues that affect unintentional social information processing independently of the actual experience of the psychological states associated with those somatic states. Implications for a functional perspective on STIs are discussed.
Neurogenic role of the neural gland in the development of the ascidian, Botryllus schlosseri (Tunicata, Urochordata)

In adult ascidians, the neural complex consists of a cerebral ganglion (the brain) and the associated neural gland. We have studied the development of the neural complex during the vegetative reproduction of the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri, the buds of which arise from the atrial mantle of the parental zooid. Each bud develops into a new organism within which a neural complex becomes differentiated. We found that the presumptive (pioneer) nerve cells that ultimately form the cerebral ganglion of the adult arise as migratory cells from a primordial cluster of rudimentary gland cells. Hence, the neural gland appears to be neurogenic in that it serves as the cellular source of components that differentiate into conventional nerve cells. In the adult, these cells take on the form of a typical invertebrate ganglion with an outer cortex of nerve cell bodies and an internal medulla. This medulla consists of a neuropile of neuronal processes making classical synaptic contacts. The adult neural gland differentiates into a structure with a ciliated duct that opens into the branchial chamber, the body of the gland, and the dorsal organ, which is quite distinct from the dorsal strand of other ascidians. The rudimentary neural gland cells, therefore, differentiate into one of two distinct pathways: the first, glandular, is possibly involved in the evaluation of environmental signals, and the other, nervous, leads to brain formation. This compares with the vertebrate situation in which the olfactory–pituitary placodes are thought to originate from a common cellular source. Thus, these data support the earlier contention of a homology between the tunicate neural gland and the vertebrate adenohypophysis. J. Comp. Neurol. 394:230–241, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Concussion Education for High School Football Players

This survey study compared high school football players’ knowledge and attitudes about concussion before and after receiving concussion education. There were no significant changes in the Concussion Attitude Index. Results revealed a statistically significant difference in the athletes’ scores for the Concussion Knowledge Index, t(244) = 8.49, p = . 000, and Cohen’s d = 1.05. Concussion education can help football players learn signs, symptoms, and negative effects of mild brain injuries.
Study of induced emotion by color stimuli: Power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability

The current study analyzed heart rate variability in the frequency domain to study the effect of different colors on the autonomic nervous system and emotions induced by different colors. Sixteen female volunteers were presented with four different colors on a digital screen as a visual stimulus while the lead II of ECG was recorded. For assessment of induced emotion by colors, validated Self-Assessment Manikin Test were used. Effects of colors on power spectrum of HRV were reported. The results showed that red and yellow increased power in high frequency (p<;1E-4). Also, the value of low frequency power in response to yellow and green were less than control state.
Combined design and robust control of a vehicle passive/active suspension

System performance can significantly benefit from optimally integrating the passive and active elements of vehicle suspension systems. The present article introduces an approach that combines passive and active elements to improve the robustness of a vehicle suspension system with respect to a worst-case scenario. This integrated passive and active suspension approach leads to a coupled optimization problem that is often difficult to solve. To reduce the computational effort, a sequential strategy that optimizes the passive elements first, and then the active elements, is used depending on the strength of the coupling. The effect of level of uncertainty, tire stiffness, and unsprung mass parameters on this coupling is then studied. Varying such parameters leads to establishing a relationship between coupling and robustness of the control system. This link between coupling and robustness can be utilized to aid the designer in assessing the parameters' influence on coupling and robustness. Results show that the coupling between design and robust control tends to increase as the level of uncertainty increases. In addition, demanding more robustness for vehicle suspensions with harsh ride characteristics increases coupling much more rapidly compared to suspensions with soft ride characteristics.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Frontal Lobe in Autism Spectrum Disorder

To investigate frontal lobe white matter in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we performed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 50 ASD children (mean age: 57.5 ± 29.2 months, 43 males) and 16 typically developing children (mean age: 82.1 ± 41.4 months, 11 males). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was significantly higher for whole frontal lobe (P = 0.011), long (P < 0.001) and short range (P = 0.0126) association fibers in ASD group. There was a trend toward statistical significance in the fractional anisotropy (FA) of whole frontal lobe fibers (P = 0.11). FA was significantly lower in ASD group for short range fibers (P = 0.0031) but not for long range fibers (P = not significant [NS]). There was no between-group difference in the number of frontal lobe fibers (short and long) (P = NS). The fiber length distribution was significantly more positively skewed in the normal population than in the ASD group (P < 0.001). The long range association fibers of frontal lobe were significantly longer in ASD group (P = 0.026 for both left and right hemispheres). Abnormal frontal FA and ADC may be due to white matter organization abnormalities in ASD. Lack of evidence for excessive short range connectivity in ASD in this study may need to be re-examined with future advances in DTI technology.
Consumer Research and Semiotics: Exploring the Morphology of Signs, Symbols, and Significance

The importance of signs and symbols has been widely recognized, but only a handful of consumer researchers have developed theory and research programs based on semiotics, the doctrine of signs. This article outlines the emergence and principal perspectives of semiotics and then discusses its applications and implications for consumer research. Among its strengths, semiotics positions meaning at the nucleus of consumer behavior, provides a rich metalanguage for semiotic consumer research, and recommends a multi-paradigm philosophy of science.