Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Take A Way: Exploring the Security Implications of AMD's Cache Way Predictors

To optimize the energy consumption and performance of their CPUs, AMD introduced a way predictor for the L1-data (L1D) cache to predict in which cache way a certain address is located. Consequently, only this way is accessed, significantly reducing the power consumption of the processor. In this paper, we are the first to exploit the cache way predictor. We reverse-engineered AMD's L1D cache way predictor in microarchitectures from 2011 to 2019, resulting in two new attack techniques. With Collide+Probe, an attacker can monitor a victim? s memory accesses without knowledge of physical addresses or shared memory when time-sharing a logical core. With Load+Reload, we exploit the way predictor to obtain highly-accurate memory-access traces of victims on the same physical core. While Load+Reload relies on shared memory, it does not invalidate the cache line, allowing stealthier attacks that do not induce any last-level-cache evictions. We evaluate our new side channel in different attack scenarios. We demonstrate a covert channel with up to 588.9 kB/s, which we also use in a Spectre attack to exfiltrate secret data from the kernel. Furthermore, we present a key-recovery attack from a vulnerable cryptographic implementation. We also show an entropy-reducing attack on ASLR of the kernel of a fully patched Linux system, the hypervisor, and our own address space from JavaScript. Finally, we propose countermeasures in software and hardware mitigating the presented attacks
Causal mediation analysis in economics: Objectives, assumptions, models

The aim of mediation analysis is to identify and evaluate the mechanisms through which a treatment affects an outcome. The goal is to disentangle the total treatment effect into two components: the indirect effect that operates through one or more intermediate variables, called mediators, and the direct effect that captures the other mechanisms. This paper reviews the methodological advancements in causal mediation literature in economics, in particular focusing on quasi-experimental designs. It defines the parameters of interest under the counterfactual approach, the assumptions and the identification strategies, presenting the Instrumental Variables (IV), Difference-in-Differences (DID) and the Synthetic Control (SC) methods.
Caffeine content in energy drinks

Convenient caffeine sources include energy drinks that are increasing in popularity among recreational and professional athletes, military personnel, young adults, and other consumers seeking ‘’energy boosters’’. Since energy drinks are a relatively concentrated source of caffeine, there is a risk of missing individually targeted caffeine intake or risk of inadvertently high intake with adverse effects. Therefore, the accuracy of declared caffeine content of energy drinks is highly important, especially from a consumer point. The purpose of this study was to determine caffeine content of 15 beverages available on the Croatian market and compare the analytical with the declared value. Caffeine was determined by high performance liquid chromatography technique with photodiode-array detection (HPLC-PDA). In 5 of total 15 products, a higher caffeine content was determined in average of 3.01 % than the one declared, resulting with increased intake of 4.75 mg caffeine/serving. In another 10 analysed products the content of caffeine was lower in average of 5.33 % (4.79 mg caffeine/serving) in compare to the one declared. Therefore, only with accurate information about the caffeine content in energy drinks may consumers and clinicians be assured of safe usage.
Molecular Characterisation of Some Accessions of Corchorus olitorius l .

Nigeria has several native leafy vegetables that have been neglected. Corchorus olitorius belongs to this group. Genetic diversity was studied in five accessions of the plant using sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS PAGE). The aim was to determine the relationship (differences and similarities) among them. Sixteen polypeptide bands were obtained ranging from 12.29 KDa to 170 KDa indicating variations in the banding patterns of the accessions. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic algorithm (UPGMA) dendrogram grouped the five accessions into three clusters with four groups showing 60% of the accessions in one group. The greatest similarity (96%) observed was between NGB00196 and NGB00194 while the lowest similarities (32%) NGB00191 and (40%) NGB00187. Adopting this technology can be useful in plant variety identification and registration of new plant varieties. NGB00191 was observed to be distantly related to the other accessions hence could be combined in a breeding programme.
Running Head: FACIAL IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION

Eyewitness-identification evidence, such as person descriptions and facial composites, plays a fundamental role in criminal investigations and is regularly regarded as valuable attestation for apprehending and prosecuting perpetrators. However, the reliability and accuracy of eyewitness-identification information is often queried as person descriptions are frequently reported as indistinct and generalizable, whilst composites often tend to exhibit a poor likeness of an intended target-face. This raises questions regarding the reliability of facial identification information as means to accurately identify perpetrators of crimes. The current study utilized a mixed-measures design (N=167) to investigate this concept by directly comparing person descriptions, composites, and description-based synthetic faces generated by a multivariate regression model to evaluate the reliability of facial identification accuracy of a target amongst different formats of facial identification information. Results found a statistically significant main effect between formats of facial identification information (p<.001), with a higher target identification accuracy yielded by facial descriptions in comparison to composites and description-based synthetic faces. However, no statistically significant difference was established between composites and description-based synthetic faces for target identification accuracy. Overall, results indicated that facial descriptions allow for greater identification accuracy of a target-face than other forms of facial identification information. Further research is required into description-based synthetic faces as a means to produce an alternative visual form of facial identification information that may enable greater target identification accuracy of perpetrators than current composites allow.
Immunomodulatory effect of Quercetin on dysregulated Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in mice with both type 1 diabetes and allergic asthma

T-helper subtype imbalance is intricate in type 1 diabetes (T1D) and asthma initiation. The role of quercetin in immune dysregulation in comorbid conditions of T1D and asthma is not available. In this study, it was thought worthy to evaluate the role of quercetin on modulating Th1/Th2 cytokine dysregulation in comorbid diabetic asthma. Male Balb/c mice were injected intravenously with alloxan (80 mg/kg) to persuade T1D. Succeeding diabetes introduction, two intraperitoneal sensitizing doses of ovalbumin emulsion (50 μg ovalbumin blended with 2.5 mg alum/sensitization) were given on days 3 and 8. Mice were given intranasal challenges of ovalbumin (100 μg ovalbumin/25 μl of sterile saline) on days 13–15. Oral quercetin treatment (10–30 mg/kg) was given daily on days 3–15. Nasal hyperresponsiveness (NHR) was recorded immediately after Ova challenge on day 16. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), blood, and lungs were collected 1-hour post NHR for further analysis. Quercetin treatment significantly decreased eosinophils, interleukin-4 while increasing interferon-gamma in blood, and BALF and reduced the allergic airway inflammation by inhibiting inflammatory cell infiltration and mucous cell metaplasia. Furthermore, quercetin with a dose of 30 mg/kg demonstrated a significant glucose reduction. Thus, quercetin exerted dose-dependent anti-asthma activity by modulating Th1/Th2 balance with glucose-lowering potential in comorbid mice.
The Determinants of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises’ (MSMEs) Performance in Nigeria: Evidence from Business Enterprise Survey

In this paper, we provide new evidence on the determinants of business enterprise performance by combining the structure conduct performance, efficiency structure and business environment factors. In particular, we focus on the major determining factors of MSMEs performance in Nigeria. We further account for possible regional variation in MSMEs performance using a cross sectional Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) with fixed effects. The latest 2014 World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data for Nigeria was used and the results obtained shows that skilled labor, capital intensity, age, size, foreign ownership, percentage of export, research & development as well as bribe payment have a positive impact on MSMEs performance. Although, bribe payment is positive, it is not significant to MSME performance. This is because bribery does not translate to outright performance, rather it is a form of illegal extortion from MSMEs by government officials in order to allow them remain in business. On the other hand, the study found degree of competition, poor electricity supply, high insecurity and difficulty in accessing finance as major setbacks to MSMEs performance in Nigeria. While we found skilled labor, age of enterprise and size to contribute significantly to MSMEs performance, contrary to some findings in the literature, we found capital intensity, foreign ownership, firm’s export, bribe payment, research & development, degree of competition, outage intensity, insecurity and difficulty in obtaining finance to be insignificant to MSMEs performance in Nigeria.
GAMBARAN ANGKA KEJADIAN KOMPLIKASI PASCA ANESTESI SPINAL PADA PASIEN SEKSIO SESARIA

The spinal anesthesia is mostly used for cesarean section. The use of spinal anesthesia may cause the complications during and after surgery. The purpose of the research was to describe the incidence complications after spinal anesthesia on the first and third day after cesarean section in Ulin Hospital Banjarmasin. The method of the research is descriptive. The data were obtained from the medical records of the patient and questionnaire sheets. The sampling was used in consecutive sampling with the total of research subjects are 47 patients. The result of the research showed the incidence complications on the first day after spinal anesthesia is back pain 19(42.3%), nausea and vomit 6(13.4%), and headache 1(2.2%). The third day after spinal anesthesia is back pain 5(11%), nausea and vomit 24.4%), and headache 1(2.2%). The conclusion of the research is the image of the incidence complications after spinal anesthesia on the first day and third day at Ulin Hospital Banjarmasin shows back pain as the most complaints. Keywords : complications after spinal anesthesia, spinal anesthesia, Ulin Hospital Banjarmasin.
Properties of the Social Discount Rate and Negative Intertemporal Externality in the Utility or Production Function

This study examines the role of the social discount rate, as applied to the efficient allocation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which provokes serious intertemporal negative externalities such as global warming. Two approaches exist in introducing the negative intertemporal externality brought about by such emissions into economic theory. One is the utility-function approach, and the other is the production-function approach. The former is well-suited to the case in which climate change directly threatens the living standard of human, for example, through a drastic degradation of the environment. The latter approach becomes relevant to case in which global warming is expected to lead to productivity stagnation particular to the additional costs of adaptation. This study shows that both approaches achieve the most efficient allocation in the vicinity of stationary state when a social planner applies a social discount rate close to zero, because the marginal substitution rate of carbon emissions to consumption is correctly reflected in the relative price. In other words, a positive social discount rate underestimates the negative capitalized value of emissions and hence prompts excess consumption and emissions, regardless of which of the two approaches is chosen.
Corruption as Collateral

We propose corruption can substitute for conventional collateral in enforcing financial commitments when institutions are poor. A theoretical framework with agency frictions is built, in which corruptive relations with government officials keep firms committed to loan payments. Based on this framework, we hypothesize the anti-corruption investigation destroys the commitment mechanism so that firms default and, most importantly, firms default strategically as long as they can substitute corruption with other collateral. We investigate regional data and firm-level data from China, and find powerful evidence supporting our hypotheses.
Red wine and green tea flavonoids are cis-allosteric activators and competitive inhibitors of GLUT1-mediated sugar uptake By

The anti-oxidant, flavonoid-rich content of red wine and green tea is reported to offer protection against cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Some studies, however, show that flavonoids inhibit GLUT1-mediated, facilitative glucose transport raising the possibility that their interaction with GLUT1 and subse-quent, downstream effects on carbohydrate metabolism may also impact health. The present study explores the structure/function relationships of flavonoid-GLUT1 interactions. We find that low concentrations of flavonoids act as cis-allosteric activators of sugar uptake while higher concentrations competitively inhibit sugar uptake and non-competitively inhibit sugar exit. Studies with heterologously expressed human GLUTs 1, 3 and 4 reveal that quercetin-GLUT1 and GLUT4 interactions are stronger than quercetin-GLUT3 interactions, that ECG is more selective for GLUT1 while EGCG is less isoform-selective. Docking studies suggest that only one flavonoid can bind to GLUT1 at any instant, but sugar transport and ligand binding studies indicate that human erythrocyte GLUT1
Towards Scienti(cid:28)c Incident Response

A scienti(cid:28)c incident analysis is one with a methodical, justi(cid:28)-able approach to the human decision-making process. Incident analysis is a good target for additional rigor because it is the most human-intensive part of incident response. Our goal is to provide the tools necessary for specifying precisely the reasoning process in incident analysis. Such tools are lacking, and are a necessary (though not su(cid:30)cient) component of a more scienti(cid:28)c analysis process. To reach this goal, we adapt tools from program veri(cid:28)cation that can capture and test abductive reasoning. As Charles Peirce coined the term in 1900, (cid:16)Abduction is the process of forming an explanatory hypothesis. It is the only logical operation which introduces any new idea. (cid:17) We reference canonical examples as paradigms of decision-making during analysis. With these examples in mind, we design a logic capable of expressing decision-making during incident analysis. The result is that we can express, in machine-readable and precise language, the abductive hypotheses than an analyst makes, and the res-ults of evaluating them. This result is bene(cid:28)cial because it opens up the opportunity of genuinely comparing analyst processes without revealing sensitive system details, as well as opening an opportunity towards improved decision-support via limited automation.
Balloon valvuloplasty in two dogs with aortic valve stenosis showing congestive heart failure

A 10-year-old female Papillon and a 1-year-old male Golden Retriever were presented to the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology for a second opinion on an aortic valve stenosis (AS). The aortic flow rate was not as high as it should have been (the aortic flow velocity for case 1 and case 2 was 2.82 m/s and 3.96 m/s, respectively). However, the AS was suspected to be an exacerbating factor in the congestive heart failure, so that a balloon valvuloplasty was conducted. As a result, the congestion and clinical symptoms were much improved in both cases. In conclusion, in cases with an AS, in which afterload is a key factor for the exacerbation of the congestion, a balloon aortic valvuloplasty may reduce the afterload and consequently lead to an improvement in the congestion.
Using Prostatic Fluid Levels of Some Trace Elements and Their Combinations in Non-Invasive and Highly Accurate Screening for Prostate Cancer

Objective: Prostate specific antigen (PSA) does not provide the high reliability and precision that is required for an accurate screening for prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of our study was to search for a simple, rapid, direct, preferably non-invasive, and highly accurate biomarker and procedure for the screening for PCa. Method: The levels of trace elements (TE) Br, Fe, Rb, Sr, and Zn were prospectively evaluated in expressed prostatic fluid (EPF). Also Zn/Br, Zn/Fe, Zn/Rb, Zn/Sr concentration ratios as well as ZnRb and (ZnRb)/Fe concentration combinations were calculated for EPF samples, obtained from 38 apparently healthy males and from 33, 51, and 24 patients with chronic prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and PCa, respectively. Measurements were performed using an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescent (EDXRF) microanalysis. Results: It was found that in the EPF of cancerous prostates the levels of Rb, Zn, Zn/Br, Zn/Fe, Zn/Sr, ZnRb, and (ZnRb)/Fe were significantly lower in comparison with those in the EPF of normal, inflamed, and hyperplastic prostates. For example, in comparison hyperplastic with cancerous prostates p values obtained using Student’s t-test and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-test were Conclusions: The levels of TE and their combinations in EPF, obtained by EDXRF, is a fast, reliable, andnon-invasive diagnostic tool that can be successfully used by local, non- urologist physicians at the point-of-care to provide a highly effective PCa screening and as an additional confirmatory test before a prostate gland biopsy.
Differences in right ventricular dysfunction in patients with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension versus secondary pulmonary hypertension.

INTRODUCTION Right ventricular (RV) function in the setting of pulmonary hypertension based on different etiologies has not been well studied. In this study, we evaluated the RV function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (IPH) versus secon-dary pulmonary hypertension (SPH) due to congestive heart failure. MATERIAL AND METHOD Forty-five patients with pulmonary hypertension and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II or III were enrolled. Of these, 22 were diagnosed with IPH and 23 with SPH. Echocardiographic data, including Doppler and Doppler based strain, were assessed according to the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) guidelines for detailed evaluation of RV function in these two groups. RESULTS Mean PAP was 60 ± 14.5 mm Hg in patients with IPH versus 43 ± 11.5 mm Hg in patients with SPH (p = 0.001). Considering conventional indexes of RV function, only Sm and dp/dt were significantly better in the first group compared with the second group (p-value for Sm = 0.042 and for dp/dt = 0.039). RV end diastolic dimension was significantly higher in the IPH group (p = 0.013). Using deformation indexes of RV function, the basal and mid portion of RV free wall strain and basal RV strain rates were significantly worse in the chronic systolic heart failure (PH-HF) group in comparison to the IPH group (p < 0.001 in basal RV strain, p = 0.034 in mid RV strain and p = 0.046 in basal RV strain rate respectively). CONCLUSION IPH has less impact on RV function in comparison to PH-HF. Considering both entities are in the category of RV pressure overload, we conclude that the etiology of pulmonary hypertension also plays an important role in RV function in addition to pressure overload.
PII: S0898-1221(98)00035-2

K e y w o r d s F i r s t principles method, Magnetic moments, Alloys, Parallel computing. 1. I N T R O D U C T I O N T h e first pr inc ip les local dens i ty a p p r o x i m a t i o n (LDA) [1,2] m e t h o d s have enjoyed g rea t success in p rov id ing a de ta i l ed u n d e r s t a n d i n g of m a n y physical p roper t i e s of me ta l s and s imple al loy systems. Recent ly , there has been cons iderab le in teres t in the deve lopmen t of a new class of o r d e r N (O[N]) m e t h o d s for pe r fo rming the first pr inciples L D A calcula t ions on complex sys t ems [3--19]. A n O[N] m e t h o d is one for which the c o m p u t a t i o n a l effort requi red to t r e a t an N a t o m sys t em grows l inear ly wi th N ra the r t h a n N 3, as in convent ional L D A elect ronic s t r uc tu r e me thods . T h e i m p e t u s to develop such m e t h o d s is coupled wi th the need to u n d e r s t a n d more complex sys tems where i t is necessary to t r e a t the in te rac t ions between hundreds to t housands of a toms . Such sys tems include d i so rdered and a m o r p h o u s alloys, gra in boundar ies , d i s loca t ion core s t ruc tu res , surface and interface s t ruc tu re , and noncol l inear magne t i c s t ruc tu res in me ta l s and alloys, to ci te a few. In add i t ion , the deve lopmen t of O [ N ] m e t h o d s is encouraged by advances in sca leable mass ive ly para l le l process ing ( M P P ) compute r s . S t a t e of the a r t M P P machines can have hund reds to t h o u s a n d s of c o m p u t e processors wi th high speed message pass ing be tween them. For Work supported by Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science (GMS) and Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences Division (YW, GMS, DMN and WAS), US-DOE, under Subcontract DEAC05-84OR21400 with Lockheed-Martin Energy Systems, Inc. The authors acknowledge the use of the Intel Paragon XP/S 150 computer, located in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Center for Computational Sciences (CCS), funded by the Department of Energy's Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences (MICS) Division of the Office of Computational and Technology Research. The authors also wish to thank R. Toedte (CCS) for producing the magnetic moment visualizations. Color pictures can be seen on the World Wide Web at the following URL: http://oldpc . ms. ornl. gov/-gms/Accomplishments_96/BB96_pl . html. *Currently at Parallel Applications Group, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2617, U.S.A.
Risk Parameters of Consuming Smokeless Tobacco “Madgha”: A Study in Aswan, Upper Egypt

Abdlrheem SS1*, Abdulkareem ES2, El-Ebidi AM3, Mahmoud HA4, Abdelatif HA5 and Ali SB2 1Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Egypt 2Chest Department, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Egypt 3Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Egypt 4Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Egypt 5Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Aswan University, Egypt