Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How to Generate and Exchange Secrets (Extended Abstract)

In this paper we introduce a new tool for controlling the knowledge transfer process in cryptographic protocol design. It is applied to solve a general class of problems which include most of the two-party cryptographic problems in the literature. Specifically, we show how two parties A and B can interactively generate a random integer N = p? q such that its secret, i.e., the prime factors (p, q), is hidden from either party individually but is recoverable jointly if desired. This can be utilized to give a protocol for two parties with private values i and j to compute any polynomially computable functions f(i,j) and g(i,j) with minimal knowledge transfer and a strong fairness property. As a special case, A and B can exchange a pair of secrets sA, sB, e.g. the factorization of an integer and a Hamiltonian circuit in a graph, in such a way that sA becomes computable by B when and only when sB becomes computable by A. All these results are proved assuming only that the problem of factoring large intergers is computationally intractable.
Improving Adherence and Clinical Outcomes in Self-Guided Internet Treatment for Anxiety and Depression: Randomised Controlled Trial

Background Depression and anxiety are common, disabling and chronic. Self-guided internet-delivered treatments are popular, but few people complete them. New strategies are required to realise their potential. Aims To evaluate the effect of automated emails on the effectiveness, safety, and acceptability of a new automated transdiagnostic self-guided internet-delivered treatment, the Wellbeing Course, for people with depression and anxiety. Method A randomised controlled trial was conducted through the website: www.ecentreclinic. org. Two hundred and fifty seven people with elevated symptoms were randomly allocated to the 8 week course either with or without automated emails, or to a waitlist control group. Primary outcome measures were the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-Item (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item (GAD-7). Results Participants in the treatment groups had lower PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores at post-treatment than controls. Automated emails increased rates of course completion (58% vs. 35%), and improved outcomes in a subsample with elevated symptoms. Conclusions The new self-guided course was beneficial, and automated emails facilitated outcomes. Further attention to strategies that facilitate adherence, learning, and safety will help realise the potential of self-guided interventions. Trial Registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610001058066
Designing for usability: key principles and what designers think

This article is both theoretical and empirical. Theoretically, it describes three principles of system design which we believe must be followed to produce a useful and easy to use computer system. These principles are: early and continual focus on users; empirical measurement of usage; and iterative design whereby the system (simulated, prototype, and real) is modified, tested, modified again, tested again, and the cycle is repeated again and again. This approach is contrasted to other principled design approaches, for example, get it right the first time, reliance on design guidelines. Empirically, the article presents data which show that our design principles are not always intuitive to designers; identifies the arguments which designers often offer for not using these principles—and answers them; and provides an example in which our principles have been used successfully.
Carbon Flux and Growth in Mature Deciduous Forest Trees Exposed to Elevated CO2

Whether rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations will cause forests to grow faster and store more carbon is an open question. Using free air CO2 release in combination with a canopy crane, we found an immediate and sustained enhancement of carbon flux through 35-meter-tall temperate forest trees when exposed to elevated CO2. However, there was no overall stimulation in stem growth and leaf litter production after 4 years. Photosynthetic capacity was not reduced, leaf chemistry changes were minor, and tree species differed in their responses. Although growing vigorously, these trees did not accrete more biomass carbon in stems in response to elevated CO2, thus challenging projections of growth responses derived from tests with smaller trees.
Sensorless acquisition of the rotor position angle of induction motors with arbitrary stator windings

The anisotropy of a cage rotor is utilized to determine the angular position of the rotor in an induction machine. The switching transients generated by a pulsewidth-controlled inverter serve as test signals. The response of the three-inverter terminal currents is exploited to derive a quasi-instantaneous rotor position signal. The position is sensed at the inverter through the three-phase motor cable by measuring the current derivatives. The method does not require additional wire connections. It is applicable to induction motors having stator windings connected either in wye or in delta. The results are supported by measurements from an experimental setup.
Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection as a Cause of Sensorineural Hearing Loss in a Highly Immune Population

Background: The burden of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV)-associated sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in populations with CMV seroprevalence approaching 100% is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the rate, associated factors, and predictors of SNHL in CMV-infected infants identified by newborn screening in a highly seropositive maternal population. Methods: Newborns with positive saliva CMV-DNA that was confirmed by virus isolation in the first 2 weeks of life were enrolled in a prospective follow-up study to monitor hearing outcome. Results: Of 12,195 infants screened, 121 (1%) were infected with CMV and 12 (10%) had symptomatic infection at birth. Hearing function could be assessed in 102/121 children who underwent at least one auditory brainstem evoked response testing at a median age of 12 months. SNHL was observed in 10/102 (9.8%; 95% confidence interval: 5.1–16.7) children. Median age at the latest hearing evaluation was 47 months (12–84 months). Profound loss (>90 dB) was found in 4/5 children with bilateral SNHL while all 5 children with unilateral loss had moderate to severe deficit. The presence of symptomatic infection at birth (odds ratio, 38.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.6–916.7) was independently associated with SNHL after adjusting for intrauterine growth restriction, gestational age, gravidity, and maternal age. Among 10 infants with SNHL, 6 (60%) were born to mothers with nonprimary CMV infection. Conclusions: Even in populations with near universal immunity to CMV, congenital CMV infection is a significant cause of SNHL demonstrating the importance of CMV as a major cause of SNHL in children worldwide. As in other populations, SNHL is more frequently observed in symptomatic CMV infection.
IGF-1 Induces GHRH Neuronal Axon Elongation during Early Postnatal Life in Mice

Nutrition during the perinatal period programs body growth. Growth hormone (GH) secretion from the pituitary regulates body growth and is controlled by Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) neurons located in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. We observed that dietary restriction during the early postnatal period (i.e. lactation) in mice influences postnatal growth by permanently altering the development of the somatotropic axis in the pituitary gland. This alteration may be due to a lack of GHRH signaling during this critical developmental period. Indeed, underfed pups showed decreased insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) plasma levels, which are associated with lower innervation of the median eminence by GHRH axons at 10 days of age relative to normally fed pups. IGF-I preferentially stimulated axon elongation of GHRH neurons in in vitro arcuate explant cultures from 7 day-old normally fed pups. This IGF-I stimulating effect was selective since other arcuate neurons visualized concomitantly by neurofilament labeling, or AgRP immunochemistry, did not significantly respond to IGF-I stimulation. Moreover, GHRH neurons in explants from age-matched underfed pups lost the capacity to respond to IGF-I stimulation. Molecular analyses indicated that nutritional restriction was associated with impaired activation of AKT. These results highlight a role for IGF-I in axon elongation that appears to be cell selective and participates in the complex cellular mechanisms that link underfeeding during the early postnatal period with programming of the growth trajectory.
Incidence, Predictors, and Significance of Abnormal Cardiac Enzyme Rise in Patients Treated With Bypass Surgery in the Arterial Revascularization Therapies Study (ARTS)

Background—Although it has been suggested that elevation of CK-MB after percutaneous coronary intervention is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, limited data are available in the setting of coronary bypass grafting. The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence, predictors, and prognostic significance of CK-MB elevation following multivessel coronary bypass grafting (CABG). Methods and Results—The population comprises 496 patients with multivessel coronary disease assigned to CABG in the Arterial Revascularization Therapies Study (ARTS). CK-MB was prospectively measured at 6, 12, and 18 hours after the procedure. Thirty-day and 1-year clinical follow-up were performed. Abnormal CK-MB elevation occurred in 61.9% of the patients. Patients with increased cardiac-enzyme levels after CABG were at increased risk of both death and repeat myocardial infarction within the first 30 days (P =0.001). CK-MB elevation was also independently related to late adverse outcome (P =0.009, OR=0.64). Conclusions—Increased concentrations of CK-MB, which are often dismissed as inconsequential in the setting of multivessel CABG, appear to occur very frequently and are associated with a significant increase in both repeat myocardial infarction and death beyond the immediate perioperative period.
Western Australian teachers’ perceptions of effective secondary mathematics teaching through the lens of the ‘actions’ of mathematics: The Proficiency Strands.

This research examined how 14 Western Australian (WA) secondary mathematics teachers perceived effective mathematics teaching through the actions of teaching mathematics, described as Proficiency Strands. The research examined a variety of insights into what constituted effective teaching. Comparisons were made using an interpretive theoretical perspective of an instrumental case study and data were reviewed using a structured inductive framework with thematic analysis. Key findings of the research found that participants’ beliefs and practices did help determine their perceptions of effective teaching but that understanding, and interpretation of mathematical proficiencies were less influential and inconsistently understood. The study found evidence that mathematical proficiencies are incorrectly regarded in a hierarchical sense. There was no evidence that teaching experience affected participants’ understanding of mathematical proficiencies, but evidence was found that participants’ lesson planning focused on classroom management and lesson content and less on the mathematical goals of the lesson. Participants felt that basic lesson structures employed by mathematics teachers could be improved, but had concerns over the volume of curriculum content, which makes that difficult to achieve. TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN WA vi
Anatomical basis of vari tion in mesophyll resistance in eastern Australian sclero hylls : news of a long and winding path

In mammals, cadmium is widely considered as a non-genotoxic carcinogen acting through a methylation-dependent epigenetic mechanism. Here, the effects of Cd treatment on the DNA methylation patten are examined together with its effect on chromatin reconfiguration in Posidonia oceanica. DNA methylation level and pattern were analysed in actively growing organs, under short(6 h) and long(2 d or 4 d) term and low (10 mM) and high (50 mM) doses of Cd, through a Methylation-Sensitive Amplification Polymorphism technique and an immunocytological approach, respectively. The expression of one member of the CHROMOMETHYLASE (CMT) family, a DNA methyltransferase, was also assessed by qRT-PCR. Nuclear chromatin ultrastructure was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Cd treatment induced a DNA hypermethylation, as well as an up-regulation of CMT, indicating that de novo methylation did indeed occur. Moreover, a high dose of Cd led to a progressive heterochromatinization of interphase nuclei and apoptotic figures were also observed after long-term treatment. The data demonstrate that Cd perturbs the DNA methylation status through the involvement of a specific methyltransferase. Such changes are linked to nuclear chromatin reconfiguration likely to establish a new balance of expressed/repressed chromatin. Overall, the data show an epigenetic basis to the mechanism underlying Cd toxicity in plants.
Physico chemical parameters of water of some selected areas of Tamirabarani river, Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu

In Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts Tamirabarani River is flowing continuously for 120km (24km in hilly terrain and 96km in plains) and drains into the Bay of Bengal at Punnaikayal village. In this present study, physico chemical parameters of some selected areas of Tamirabarani River water of Tirunelveli, was analyzed from 2013 to 2016. Seven sampling points were selected and the water samples were examined. The parameters such as chloride, sulphate, total alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and hardnesswere analyzed. Paper industrial waste, textile pollutants and temple waste are added to this point. These are the main sources of pollutants of Tamirabarani River. Tamirabarani is a main source of water supply to many towns which include Tirunelveli Corporation. In Tirunelveli corporation area the drinking water is not treated properly. Entire flow on the river has turbidity. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the various pollutants of Tamirabarani River by selecting seven different sites.
Variable selection under multiple imputation using the bootstrap in a prognostic study

Background: Missing data is a challenging problem in many prognostic studies. Multiple imputation (MI) accounts for imputation uncertainty that allows for adequate statistical testing. We developed and tested a methodology combining MI with bootstrapping techniques for studying prognostic variable selection. Method: In our prospective cohort study we merged data from three different randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess prognostic variables for chronicity of low back pain. Among the outcome and prognostic variables data were missing in the range of 0 and 48.1%. We used four methods to investigate the influence of respectively sampling and imputation variation: MI only, bootstrap only, and two methods that combine MI and bootstrapping. Variables were selected based on the inclusion frequency of each prognostic variable, i.e. the proportion of times that the variable appeared in the model. The discriminative and calibrative abilities of prognostic models developed by the four methods were assessed at different inclusion levels. Results: We found that the effect of imputation variation on the inclusion frequency was larger than the effect of sampling variation. When MI and bootstrapping were combined at the range of 0% (full model) to 90% of variable selection, bootstrap corrected c-index values of 0.70 to 0.71 and slope values of 0.64 to 0.86 were found. Conclusion: We recommend to account for both imputation and sampling variation in sets of missing data. The new procedure of combining MI with bootstrapping for variable selection, results in multivariable prognostic models with good performance and is therefore attractive to apply on data sets with missing values. Published: 13 July 2007 BMC Medical Research Methodology 2007, 7:33 doi:10.1186/1471-2288-7-33 Received: 6 October 2006 Accepted: 13 July 2007 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2288/7/33 © 2007 Heymans et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
General practitioners’ perception of being a doctor in urban vs. rural regions in Germany - A focus group study

Abstract Background Inadequate recruitment numbers for GPs in rural regions give cause for concern. Working in rural regions is less attractive among medical students because of strong associations concerning a higher workload, restriction of privacy and demands exceeding their competences. We aimed to explore perceptions of GPs working in urban versus rural regions to contrast these prejudices. Methods We conducted nine focus groups with GPs [female = 21, male = 44] from urban and rural regions, using a semi-structured guideline. Transcripts were content analyzed using deductive and inductive categories. Results Urban GPs perceived themselves as a provider of medical services and rural GPs as being a medical companion. Compared to urban GPs, GPs from non-urban regions portray themselves more strongly as a family physician that accompanies patients ‘from the cradle to the grave’ and is responsible for the treatment of any medical issue. They emphasized their close relationship with their patients. Rural GPs establish a close relationship with their patients and considered this as beneficial for the treatment relationship. This aspect seems to play a subordinate role for urban GPs. Conclusions GPs enjoy their work and the role they play in their patients’ lives. Being a rural GP was described very positively. Greater emphasis should be made on positive aspects of being a GP in rural regions, e.g. by university lectures given by rural GPs, campaigns emphasizing the positive aspects of working as a GP [in rural regions], promotion of work placements or incentives for working in rural general practices.
Central efferent pathways for cold‐defensive and febrile shivering

Non‐technical summary Shivering is an involuntary somatic motor response that occurs in skeletal muscles to produce heat during exposure to cold environments or during the development of fever. This study describes the brain circuitry mechanism that produces shivering. The reception of either cutaneous cool‐sensory signals or pyrogenic signals by neurons in the preoptic area, a thermoregulatory and febrile centre, leads to activation of descending excitatory signalling through hypothalamic and medullary sites to drive shivering. Intriguingly, this central command pathway for shivering parallels that for sympathetically regulated non‐shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. The present results promote our understanding of the brain mechanisms for thermal homeostasis that orchestrate the regulation of the somatic and autonomic motor systems to meet the critical demand for regulation of the body and brain temperatures.
Etude de l’apport de l’ajout du sable de dune et du fraisât routier sur le comportement du béton bitumineux

RÉSUMÉ. Les ressources en matériaux pour la construction routière deviennent de plus en plus rares et de plus en plus coûteuses. Trouver des solutions pour substituer une partie de ces matériaux par des produits de recyclage ou des matériaux abondants et peu coûteux devient donc une nécessité. D’où l’idée d’utiliser les déchets de la réhabilitation routière (les fraisâts d’enrobés) ainsi que le sable de dune, deux matériaux très peu utilisés en construction routière en Tunisie. Différentes formulations ont été testées avec l’ajout de plusieurs pourcentages de fraisât seul dans un premier temps et de fraisât et de sable de dune ensuite. Les résultats trouvés montrent la possibilité de l’introduction du fraisât dans la formulation du béton bitumineux avec un dosage maximal de 40 %. De plus, l’ajout de 10 % de sable de dune permet d’améliorer considérablement les résistances et les fluages Marshall, la résistance à l’eau et le comportement au compactage des mélanges bitumineux obtenus. Les résultats trouvés rappellent ceux des enrobés à modules élevés.
Proteomic Analysis Revealed Nitrogen-mediated Metabolic, Developmental, and Hormonal Regulation of Maize (Zea mays L.) Ear Growth

Optimal nitrogen (N) supply is critical for achieving high grain yield of maize. It is well established that N deficiency significantly reduces grain yield and N oversupply reduces N use efficiency without significant yield increase. However, the underlying proteomic mechanism remains poorly understood. The present field study showed that N deficiency significantly reduced ear size and dry matter accumulation in the cob and grain, directly resulting in a significant decrease in grain yield. The N content, biomass accumulation, and proteomic variations were further analysed in young ears at the silking stage under different N regimes. N deficiency significantly reduced N content and biomass accumulation in young ears of maize plants. Proteomic analysis identified 47 proteins with significant differential accumulation in young ears under different N treatments. Eighteen proteins also responded to other abiotic and biotic stresses, suggesting that N nutritional imbalance triggered a general stress response. Importantly, 24 proteins are involved in regulation of hormonal metabolism and functions, ear development, and C/N metabolism in young ears, indicating profound impacts of N nutrition on ear growth and grain yield at the proteomic level.
Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease without Dementia: Subtypes and Influences of Age

Background and Purpose Cognitive impairments are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), although the severity of these impairments does not significantly impair the patient's daily activities. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) of Parkinson's disease (PDMCI) and its subtypes in nondemented PD patients. We also evaluated the influence of age on the pattern of subtypes of PDMCI. Methods A total of 141 consecutive, nondemented PD patients underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment covering the five cognitive domains: attention, language, visuospatial, memory, and executive functions. PDMCI was defined as impaired performance in at least one of these five cognitive domains. The influence of age on the distribution of subtypes of PDMCI was assessed by comparing patients in two groups dichotomized according to their age at assessment (younger vs. older). Results Fifty-seven (40.4%) of the nondemented PD patients had an impairment in at least one domain, and were therefore considered as having PDMCI. The age at assessment and age at disease onset were significantly higher in the PDMCI patients. The amnestic type of PDMCI was the most frequent, followed by the visuospatial, linguistic, executive, and attention types in that order. The frequency of PDMCI was higher for all subtypes in the older group; the domain that was influenced the most by age was executive function. Conclusions MCI was common in PD and the subtypes were diverse. Age was found to be an important risk factor for the development of PDMCI, particularly for the executive subtype. These results indicate that the concept of MCI should be introduced in PD.