Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Provably Secure Online/Off-line Identity-Based Signature Scheme for Wireless Sensor Network

This paper describes an efficient and secure online and off-line signature scheme for wireless sensor network (WSN). Security of the proposed scheme is based on difficulty of breaking Bilinear Diffie-Hellman problem (BDHP). WSN systems are usually deployed in hostile environments where they encounter a wide variety of malicious attacks. Information that is the cooked data collected within the sensor network, is valuable and should be kept confidential. In order to protect this transmitted information or messages between any two adjacent sensor nodes, a mutual authentication and key establishment protocol is required for wireless sensor networks. Because some inherent restrictions of sensor nodes which include low power, less storage space, low computation ability and short communication range most existing protocols attempt to establish a pairwise key between any two adjacent sensor nodes by adopting a key pre-distribution approach. In order to further reduce the computational cost of signature generation, online/off-line is suitable for WSN. In on-line/offline signature scheme, the signing process can be broken into two phases. The first phase, performed off-line, is independent of the particular message to be signed; while the second phase is performed on-line, once the message is presented.
Getting a Full Dose? Reconsidering Sex Chromosome Dosage Compensation in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

Dosage compensation—equalizing gene expression levels in response to differences in gene dose or copy number—is classically considered to play a critical role in the evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes. As the X and Y diverge through degradation and gene loss on the Y (or the W in female-heterogametic ZW taxa), it is expected that dosage compensation will evolve to correct for sex-specific differences in gene dose. Although this is observed in some organisms, recent genome-wide expression studies in other taxa have revealed striking exceptions. In particular, reports that both birds and the silkworm moth (Bombyx mori) lack dosage compensation have spurred speculation that this is the rule for all female-heterogametic taxa. Here, we revisit the issue of dosage compensation in silkworm by replicating and extending the previous analysis. Contrary to previous reports, our efforts reveal a pattern typically associated with dosage compensated taxa: the global male:female expression ratio does not differ between the Z and autosomes. We believe the previous report of unequal male:female ratios on the Z reflects artifacts of microarray normalization in conjunction with not testing a major assumption that the male:female global expression ratio was unbiased for autosomal loci. However, we also find that the global Z chromosome expression is significantly reduced relative to autosomes, a pattern not expected in dosage compensated taxa. This combination of male:female parity with an overall reduction in expression for sex-linked loci is not consistent with the prevailing evolutionary theory of sex chromosome evolution and dosage compensation.
Two Extracytoplasmic Function Sigma Subunits, ςE and ςFecI, of Escherichia coli: Promoter Selectivity and Intracellular Levels

ABSTRACT The promoter selectivity of two extracytoplasmic function (ECF) subfamily ς subunits, ςE (ς24) and ςFecI (ς18), of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase was analyzed by using an in vitro transcription system and various promoters. The EςEholoenzyme recognized only the known cognate promoters,rpoEP2, rpoHP3, and degP, and the EςFecI recognized only one known cognate promoter,fecA. The strict promoter recognition properties of ςE and ςFecI are similar to those of other minor ς subunits. Transcription by EςE and EςFecI was enhanced by high concentrations of glutamate, as in the case of other minor ς subunits. The optimum temperature for transcription by EςFecI was low, around 25°C, apparently in agreement with the high rate of iron sequestration byE. coli at low temperatures. By quantitative Western blot analysis, the intracellular levels of ςE and ςFecI in the uninduced steady-state culture of E. coli W3110 (type A) were determined to be 0.7 to 2.0 and 0.1 to 0.2 fmol per μg of total proteins (or 3 to 9 and 0.4 to 0.9 molecules per cell), respectively, and less than 1% of the level of the major ς70 subunit.
Depressed mood and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly living in the community.

BACKGROUND It remains unclear whether depression increases the risk for dementia in the elderly. We evaluated the relationship between depressed mood at baseline and the incidence of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, in the elderly living in the community. METHODS A total of 1070 elderly individuals, aged 60 years or older, were identified as part of a registry for dementia in the Washington Heights community of North Manhattan, NY. In a prospective, longitudinal design with follow-up for 1 to 5 years, annual physician evaluation and neuropsychological testing were used to assess levels of cognitive impairment and to diagnose dementia. Depressive symptoms were evaluated with the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Based on clinical considerations and a validity study, a positive score for the depressed mood item was used in statistical analyses. To confirm the results, the total Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score was also evaluated as the "depression" variable. RESULTS Of the 1070 subjects, 218 met criteria for dementia at baseline evaluation. In the 852 subjects without dementia, depressed mood was more common in individuals with greater cognitive impairment. In a follow-up study of 478 of these subjects without dementia (mean +/- SD, 2.54 +/- 1.12 years of follow-up), the effect of baseline depressed mood on the end-point diagnosis of dementia (93% had possible or probable Alzheimer's disease) was evaluated in a Cox proportional hazards model. Depressed mood at baseline was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia (relative risk, 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.76 to 4.91; P < .001). This effect remained after adjustment for age, gender, education, language of assessment, Blessed Memory Information and Concentration test scores, and Blessed Functional Activity Scale scores (relative risk, 2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 3.62; P < .02). Similar results were obtained when the total Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score was used as the depression variable, with the use of the same covariates (relative risk, 1.07 per point interval; 95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.11; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS Depressed mood moderately increased the risk of developing dementia, primarily Alzheimer's disease. Whether depressed mood is a very early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease, or increases susceptibility through another mechanism, remains to be determined.
Trajectories of parenting stress among mothers and fathers of children with developmental disabilities: From early childhood through adolescence

Parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) face greater caregiving demands than other parents, which may lead to heightened levels of stress. The problematic behavior and functional limitations of the child with DD have been found to contribute to parenting stress (Baker et al., 2002; Beckman, 1991). Despite heightened demands, many parents successfully adapt to raising a child with DD. A goal of recent research has been to identify resources and supports that explain the considerable variability in parental adjustment (Neece & Baker, 2008). This dissertation examined trajectories of parenting stress among mothers (N=147) and fathers (N=110) of children with diverse developmental disabilities, from their child’s early years (age 3) through adolescence (age 15). Using hierarchical linear modeling, stress was found to increase from early to middle childhood and subsequently decrease from middle childhood to adolescence. Characteristics of the child with DD were found to contribute to parents’ stress, with higher behavior problems and lower functional skills predicting greater stress. Parent resources and supports were also found to relate to parenting stress. Greater social support, use of adaptive coping strategies, and more positive perceptions of the family climate predicted lower stress. An additional model was conducted using a modified hierarchical linear modeling approach to examine the role of child stressors and family TRAJECTORIES OF PARENTING STRESS ix
Bandwidth Extension for Hierarchical Speech and Audio Coding in ITU-T Rec. G.729.1

Recommendation G.729. 1 is a new ITU-T standard which was approved in May 2006. This recommendation describes a hierarchical speech and audio coding algorithm built on top of a narrowband core codec. One challenge in the codec design is the generation of a wideband signal with a very limited additional bit rate (less than 2 kb/s). In this paper, we describe the respective codec layer, which extends the transmitted acoustic bandwidth from the narrowband frequency range (50 Hz-4 kHz) to the wideband frequency range (50 Hz-7 kHz). The underlying algorithm uses a fairly coarse parametric description of the temporal and spectral energy envelopes of the high frequency band (4-7 kHz). This parameter set is quantized with a bit rate of 1.65 kb/s. At the decoder side, the high-frequency components are regenerated by appropriately shaping a synthetically generated ldquoexcitation signal.rdquo Apart from the algorithmic description and a discussion, we state a complexity evaluation as well as some listening test results.
STRUCTURE AND POPULATION OF THE ANDROMEDA STELLAR HALO FROM A SUBARU/SUPRIME-CAM SURVEY

We present a photometric survey of the stellar halo of the nearest giant spiral galaxy, Andromeda (M31), using Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope. A detailed analysis of VI color–magnitude diagrams of the resolved stellar population is used to measure properties such as line-of-sight distance, surface brightness, metallicity, and age. These are used to isolate and characterize different components of the M31 halo: (1) the giant southern stream (GSS); (2) several other substructures; and (3) the smooth halo. First, the GSS is characterized by a broad red giant branch (RGB) and a metal-rich/intermediate-age red clump (RC). The I magnitude of the well-defined tip of the RGB suggests that the distance to the observed GSS field is (m − M)0 = 24.73 ± 0.11 (883 ± 45 kpc) at a projected radius of R ∼ 30 kpc from M31's center. The GSS shows a high metallicity peaked at [Fe/H]≳−0.5 with a mean (median) of −0.7 (−0.6), estimated via comparison with theoretical isochrones. Combined with the luminosity of the RC, we estimate the mean age of its stellar population to be ∼8 Gyr. The mass of its progenitor galaxy is likely in the range of 107–109M☉. Second, we study M31's halo substructure along the northwest/southeast minor axis out to R ∼ 100 kpc and the southwest major-axis region at R ∼ 60 kpc. We confirm two substructures in the southeast halo reported by Ibata et al. and discover two overdense substructures in the northwest halo. We investigate the properties of these four substructures as well as other structures including the western shelf and find that differences in stellar populations among these systems, thereby suggesting each has a different origin. Our statistical analysis implies that the M31 halo as a whole may contain at least 16 substructures, each with a different origin, so its outer halo has experienced at least this many accretion events involving dwarf satellites with mass 107–109M☉ since a redshift of z ∼ 1. Third, we investigate the properties of an underlying, smooth, and extended halo component out to R>100 kpc. We find that the surface density of this smooth halo can be fitted to a Hernquist model of scale radius ∼17 kpc or a power-law profile with Σ(R) ∝ R−2.17±0.15. In contrast to the relative smoothness of the halo density profile, its metallicity distribution appears to be spatially non-uniform with non-monotonic variations with radius, suggesting that the halo population has not had sufficient time to dynamically homogenize the accreted populations. Further implications for the formation of the M31 halo are discussed.
Bir Grup Üniversite Öğrencisinin Demokratik Tutumları ile Çeşitli Değişkenler Arasındaki İlişkiler

Arastirmada, Psikolojik Danisma ve Rehberlik, Sinif Ogretmenligi ve Fen Bilgisi Ogretmenligi ogrencilerinin (ogretmen adaylarinin) demokratik tutumlari, ogrenim gordukleri bolum, cinsiyet, sinif duzeyleri, anne ve babanin egitim duzeyleri, anne ve babanin meslegi, ogrencinin kendi beyanina gore anne, baba ve ogretim elemanlarinin tutumlarini algilamasina gore anlamli farkliliklar olup olmadiginin belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Arastirmanin orneklemini 2003-2004 ogretim yilinda Psikolojik Danisma ve Rehberlik, Sinif Ogretmenligi ve Fen Bilgisi Ogretmenligi Anabilim Dallarinin 1. ve 4. siniflarda ogrenim gormekte olan % 57'si (n=151 kiz ve %43 'u (n=114) erkek olmak uzere toplam 265 ogrenci olusturmustur. Ornekleme giren ogrencilerin % 34,0 (n=90)'u Psikolojik Danisma ve Rehberlik, % 33,2 (n=88)'si Fen Bilgisi, % 32,8 (n=87)'i Sinif Ogretmenligi Anabilim Dali ogrencisidir. Arastirmanin verileri, “Kisisel Bilgi Formu” ve Gozutok (1995) tarafindan gecerlik-guvenirlik calismasi yapilmis olan “Demokratik Tutum Olcegi” ile elde edilmistir. Arastirma verileri ANCOVA, Kruskal Wallis Varyans Analizi ve Bonferroni test teknikleri ile elde edilmistir. Arastirmanin sonucunda ogrencilerin demokratik tutumlari ile ogrenim gordukleri bolum, babanin meslegi, annenin egitim duzeyi ve annenin ogrencilere yonelik algilanan tutumlari arasinda anlamli farkliliklar bulunmustur.
Theorizing the Relationship between Affect and Aesthetics in the ICT Design and Use Context

[enter Abstract Body]With an increasing interest in both affect and aesthetics in the context of information and communication technology (ICT) design and use, there is a timely need to provide a theory based understanding of these concepts and their relationships. In this paper, we point out some confusion as shown in the literature and provide a theory based understanding of the concepts and their relationships. Such an understanding can eventually provide practical suggestions on researching affect and aesthetics in the ICT context and suggest researchers to expand the coverage of aesthetics concept from focusing primarily on pleasantness or positivity to a broader coverage indicated by affect’s structure.
Physical activity and risk of breast cancer overall and by hormone receptor status: The European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition

Physical activity is associated with reduced risks of invasive breast cancer. However, whether this holds true for breast cancer subtypes defined by the estrogen receptor (ER) and the progesterone receptor (PR) status is controversial. The study included 257,805 women from the multinational EPIC‐cohort study with detailed information on occupational, recreational and household physical activity and important cofactors assessed at baseline. During 11.6 years of median follow‐up, 8,034 incident invasive breast cancer cases were identified. Data on ER, PR and combined ER/PR expression were available for 6,007 (67.6%), 4,814 (54.2%) and 4,798 (53.9%) cases, respectively. Adjusted hazard ratios (HR) were estimated by proportional hazards models. Breast cancer risk was inversely associated with moderate and high levels of total physical activity (HR = 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86–0.99, HR = 0.87, 95%‐CI: 0.79–0.97, respectively; p‐trend = 0.002), compared to the lowest quartile. Among women diagnosed with breast cancer after age 50, the largest risk reduction was found with highest activity (HR = 0.86, 95%‐CI: 0.77–0.97), whereas for cancers diagnosed before age 50 strongest associations were found for moderate total physical activity (HR = 0.78, 95%‐CI: 0.64–0.94). Analyses by hormone receptor status suggested differential associations for total physical activity (p‐heterogeneity = 0.04), with a somewhat stronger inverse relationship for ER+/PR+ breast tumors, primarily driven by PR+ tumors (p‐heterogeneity < 0.01). Household physical activity was inversely associated with ER–/PR– tumors. The results of this largest prospective study on the protective effects of physical activity indicate that moderate and high physical activity are associated with modest decreased breast cancer risk. Heterogeneities by receptor status indicate hormone‐related mechanisms.
Chicago Public Schools and Student Achievement

This study examines whether students in the Chicago Public School System are at a disadvantage relative to students in suburban school systems and other school systems in Illinois after many background factors are taken into account. It is shown that grade school students in Chicago do as well as their counterparts else-where. However, high school students in Chicago have a much larger drop-out rate and lower test scores in reading after adjusting for background variables.
Phenomenological Study of Engaging Mindset Development in Authentic, Applied Learning Enviornments in a Secondary School

This qualitative, phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of 16 adults regarding their learning experiences while enrolled as high school students in journalism or engineering classes. The study focused on students’ participation in these applied learning experiences, and the effects on the initial and subsequent development of “engaging mindsets,” also known as noncognitive mindsets (self-efficacy, belief in effortbased achievement, sense of belonging, and appreciating the value and meaning of work), in their post-secondary educational and career experiences. Participants described seven factors of the learning environment positively affecting their learning and future growth: complex, open-ended problem solving; choice and creativity; student independence; real world relevance; products or performances for authentic audiences; relationship and collaboration skill development; and the shifted role of the teacher. Participants conveyed four key enduring effects of applied learning experiences carrying forward into their adulthood: increased autonomy, cognitive freedom, and willingness to take risks; appreciation for collaborative, empowering relationships; meaningful self-discovery; and a greater sense of purpose. I analyzed the participants’ reflections through the lens of three theoretical frameworks: educational theories related to applied learning environment design, selfdetermination theory regarding universal psychological needs, and theories looking at the importance of authentic, real world experiences. I discovered applied learning might hold promise for developing engaging mindsets. Applied learning creates an educational structure teachers can follow, contains elements
EXPECTANCY GENERATION AND UTILIZATION: AN ATTENTIONAL CONTROL PERSPECTIVE

Although the research of Balota, Black and Cheney (1992) has shown attentional deficits in older adults to be detrimental to performance in semantic priming tasks which require a shift of attention away from a presented category, no attempt has been made to link performance to measures of attentional control. The current study utilizes the same paradigm as Balota, Black and Cheney with participants’ attentional control measured using the battery of Hutchison (in press). Results show ability not only to generate expectancy for the target category, but to override automatic processes initiated by the prime word is tied to attentional control. Unfortunately, the attempt of Balota, Black and Cheney to estimate expectancy generation when no shift of attention is required may require revision.
Novel Aeromonas hydrophila PPD134/91 Genes Involved in O-Antigen and Capsule Biosynthesis

ABSTRACT The sequences of the O-antigen and capsule gene clusters of the virulent Aeromonas hydrophila strain PPD134/91 were determined. The O-antigen gene cluster is 17,296 bp long and comprises 17 genes. Seven pathway genes for the synthesis of rhamnose and mannose, six transferase genes, one O unit flippase gene, and one O-antigen chain length determinant gene were identified by amino acid sequence similarity. PCR and Southern blot analysis were performed to survey the distribution of these 17 genes among 11 A. hydrophila strains of different serotypes. A. hydrophila PPD134/91 might belong to serotype O:18, as represented by JCM3980; it contained all the same O-antigen genes as JCM3980 (97 to 100% similarity at the DNA and amino acid levels). The capsule gene cluster of A. hydrophila PPD134/91 is 17,562 bp long and includes 13 genes, which were assembled into three distinct regions similar to those of the group II capsule gene cluster of Escherichia coli and other bacteria. Regions I and III contained four and two capsule transport genes, respectively. Region II had five genes which were highly similar to capsule synthesis pathway genes found in other bacteria. Both the purified O-antigen and capsular polysaccharides increased the ability of the avirulent A. hydrophila strain PPD35/85 to survive in naïve tilapia serum. However, the purified surface polysaccharides had no inhibitory effect on the adhesion of A. hydrophila PPD134/91 to carp epithelial cells.
Preliminary Draft: Do Not Cite Social Skills and Promotions

This paper examines which factors raise the probability a worker will be promoted using the NLSY dataset. While other papers have tried to explain what affects a worker’s probability of receiving a promotion, this is the first paper to look at the impact of social ability. We use the respondent’s self reported sociability at age eighteen and whether the individual participated in clubs during high school as measures of social skills. Individuals who participated in clubs during high school are thirteen percent more likely to receive a promotion than those who did not. Interestingly, this result only holds for blue-collar workers. On the other hand, white-collar workers who report they are somewhat social are ten percent more likely to receive a promotion than their co-workers who are somewhat shy. There is no evidence of gender or race discrimination in the promotion process.
A Decade of QuikSCAT Scatterometer Sea Ice Extent Data

Polar sea ice is an important input to global climate models and is considered to be a sensitive indicator of climate change. While originally designed only for wind estimation, radar backscatter measurements collected by wind scatterometers have proven useful for estimating the extent of sea ice. During the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) mission, SeaWinds data were used to operationally map the sea ice extent. The resulting sea ice maps were used to mask near-surface winds to support SeaWinds' primary mission of measuring near-surface winds over the ocean. This paper describes the operational SeaWinds sea ice extent mapping algorithm, provides validation comparisons, and presents results from the ten-year data product. Starting with enhanced resolution horizontal polarization and vertical polarization backscatter images, the algorithm employs an iterative maximum-likelihood classifier with fixed thresholds to segment sea ice and open ocean pixels. Residual classification errors are reduced through binary image processing techniques and sea ice growth/retreat constraint methods. The algorithm results are compared with sea ice concentrations derived from Special Sensor Microwave/Imager data and with RADARSAT synthetic aperture radar imagery. The results suggest differences in the sensitivities of active and passive products given their channel sets and specific algorithms. Derived sea ice extents over the full decade-long QuikSCAT mission data set are analyzed to show important trends in sea ice extent for the Antarctic and Arctic regions.