Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defending against DoS attacks on 3G cellular networks via randomization method

As the subscriber number of 3G cellular network escalates, the era of 3G has arrived. Due to the specific network architecture and features, 3G wireless network become susceptible target of new Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, such as paging attack and signaling attack via (Radio Access Bearer) RAB establishment/release. In this paper, we introduce a randomization method to defend against these DoS attacks from the system-design perspective. We inject a certain degree of randomization into the Radio Resource Management (RRM) and Mobility Management (MM) procedure, so the parameters which are important to the attacks would be difficult to measure and the values measured would be much higher. Our simulation shows that the amount of signaling messages on the attack is decreased by 90% and the adverse impact to performance is just less than 10%. So the randomization method could efficiently defense the signaling attacks.
The impact of land-use change on the sensitivity of terrestrial productivity to precipitation variability: a modelling approach

Abstract. Larger climate variability and more frequent extreme events (e.g. droughts) are expected to occur. Hence, assessing the sensitivity (response) of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) to climate variability is crucial for future estimations of terrestrial carbon sequestration. We hypothesize that land-use change (LUC) can modify this sensitivity, defined here as the anomaly correlation between annual NPP and precipitation in the growing season. To assess this changing sensitivity, we use the LPJmL model driven by observed climate variability and two different land-use sets. We find that the effect of LUC is mostly extended in semi-arid grasslands: sensitivity increases with conversion into rainfed crops, but it does not change for managed pasture expansion. Reforestation in temperate regions generally decreases sensitivity: trees are able to respond later to water deficit due to their deep root system. The expansion of irrigation in northern India reduces sensitivity since water availability is not a limiting factor for crop growth. Although we are able to identify spatial patterns of changes in NPP-precipitation sensitivity, the significance of our results focusing at isolation of the land-use effect is limited.
Early Evaluation of Implementation Alternatives of Composite Data Structures Toward Maintainability

Selecting between different design options is a crucial decision for object-oriented software developers that affects code quality characteristics. Conventionally developers use their experience to make such decisions, which leads to suboptimal results regarding code quality. In this article, a formal model for providing early estimates of quality metrics of object-oriented software implementation alternatives is proposed. The model supports software developers in making fast decisions in a systematic way early during the design phase to achieve improved code characteristics. The approach employs a comparison model related to the application of the Visitor design pattern and inheritance-based implementation on structures following the Composite design pattern. The model captures maintainability as a metric of software quality and provides precise assessments of the quality of each implementation alternative. Furthermore, the model introduces the structural maintenance cost metric based on which the progressive analysis of the maintenance process is introduced. The proposed approach has been applied to several test cases for different relevant quality metrics. The results prove that the proposed model delivers accurate estimations. Thus, the proposed methodology can be used for comparing different implementation alternatives against various measures and quality factors before code development, leading to reduced effort and cost for software maintenance.
Alcohol Expectancy Theory and the Identification of High-Risk Adolescents

Four sets of findings support the theory that alcohol expectancy plays a causal-mediational role in teenage problem drinking: (a) Alcohol expectancies correlate with drinking behavior in adults and adolescents who range from low-level social drinkers to alcoholics; (b) expectancies predict the future onset of problem drinking in teenagers, and they have been measured in preadolescent children prior to any drinking experience; (c) expectancies mediate family influences on teen drinking, and they appear to operate in a vicious cycle--high expectancy leads to more drinking, which in turn leads to higher expectancy and still more drinking; and (d) experimental manipulation of expectancies can produce significant drinking reductions in heavy-drinking college students. We review the theory and this evidence and then present data from a 3-year longitudinal study that indicates that expectancy assessment may contribute to the identification of individual high-risk adolescents before drinking onset.
Efficient suppression of secretory clusterin levels by polymersiRNA polymersiRNA polymersiRNA nanocomplexes enhances ionizing radiation lethality in human MCF7 MCF7 MCF7 breast cancer cells in vitro *

International Journal of Nanomedicine 2006:1(2) 155–162 © 2006 Dove Medical Press Limited. All rights reserved Abstract: Small interfering RNA molecules (siRNA) hold great promise to specifically target cytoprotective factors to enhance cancer therapy. Like antisense RNA strategies, however, the use of siRNA is limited because of in vivo instability. As a first step to overcome delivery issues, a series of graft copolymers of polyethylene glycol and polyethylenimine (PEI-g-PEG) were synthesized and investigated as nontoxic carriers for delivery of siRNA targeting the signaling peptide of secretory clusterin (sCLU), a prosurvival factor that protects cells from ionizing radiation (IR) injury, as well as chemotherapeutic agents. Three copolymers with different PEG grafting densities were tested for their abilities to bind and form nanocomplexes with siRNA. A copolymer composed of 10 PEG grafts (2 kDa each) per PEI polymer (2k10 copolymer) gave the highest binding affinity to siRNA by ethidium bromide exclusion assays, and had the smallest nanocomplex size (115 ± 13 nm diameter). In human breast cancer MCF-7 cells, 2k10–siRNAsCLU nanocomplexes suppressed both basal as well as IR-induced sCLU protein expression, which led to an over 3-fold increase in IR-induced lethality over 2k10–siRNA scrambled controls. In summary, this study demonstrates the proof-of-principle in using nanoparticle-mediated delivery of specific siRNAs to enhance the lethality of IR exposure in vitro, opening the door for siRNA-mediated knockdown of specific cytoprotective factors, such as DNA repair, antiapoptotic, free radical scavenging, and many other proteins.
Stardust@home: Virtual Microscope Validation and First

J. Von Korff, D. Anderson, A. Alexander, B. Betts, D. Brownlee, A. Butterworth, N. Craig, Z. Gainsforth, B. Mendez , T. See, C. J. Snead, R. Srama, S. Tsitrin, J. Warren, M. Zolensky, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA, The Planetary Society, Pasadena, CA, Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, TX, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Design theory of wireless power transfer system based on magnetically coupled resonators

A wireless power transfer system based on magnetically coupled two resonators is analysed using the filter theory. Design equations for each lumped parameter circuit components are derived. As a result, change of coupling coefficient between the resonators and/or change of load resistance are easily responded. Effect of circuit loss to the design theory is also addressed.
CLUSTAL V: improved software for multiple sequence alignment

The CLUSTAL package of multiple sequence alignment programs has been completely rewritten and many new features added. The new software is a single program called CLUSTAL V, which is written in C and can be used on any machine with a standard C compiler. The main new features are the ability to store and reuse old alignments and the ability to calculate phylogenetic trees after alignment. The program is simple to use, completely menu driven and on-line help is provided.
An evaluation of animation in a pedagogical agent

This work presents an empirical evaluation of a pedagogical agent animated through a manifold learning technique. We describe how the dimensionality reduction and embedding attributes of manifold learning techniques allow us to parameterize video data to create a model-free, videorealistic, talking pedagogical agent. The agent is used within a learning-by-teaching system focused on elementary school science education. The system was evaluated on students aged 9-11 (U.S. fifth grade) in local public schools. A single condition was tested, whether the agent was animated or not. The specific task used to evaluate the results was a debugging task concerning the nitrogen cycle of plants. Students using the animated agent performed statistically significantly better than students without the animated agent. Additionally, survey questions indicate that the students prefer the system with animation.
Signature of a Pairing Transition in the Heat Capacity of Finite Nuclei

The heat capacity of iron isotopes is calculated within the interacting shell model using the complete $(pf+0g_{9/2})$-shell. We identify a signature of the pairing transition in the heat capacity that is correlated with the suppression of the number of spin-zero neutron pairs as the temperature increases. Our results are obtained by a novel method that significantly reduces the statistical errors in the heat capacity calculated by the shell model Monte Carlo approach. The Monte Carlo results are compared with finite-temperature Fermi gas and BCS calculations.
Knowledge Transfer in IS Offshoring: Processes, Roles, and Success Factors

IS offshoring research regarding knowledge transfer processes, roles involved, as well as influencing factors is characterized by its diverse and heterogeneous nature. Covering the last fifteen years of IS offshoring research, this paper provides a consolidated view of the field of study. It presents a generic knowledge transfer process consisting of four stages and five milestones. These stages are characterized and evaluated according to their relevance for knowledge transfer, the types of knowledge transferred, the main activities and methods for transfer and testing, as well as the goals pursued. Furthermore, we aggregate the diverse literature findings relating to individuals who facilitate knowledge transfer processes into a general role. We label this role “offshore coordinator” and present its core tasks and necessary skills. In addition, we identify and cluster core factors that influence success or failure of knowledge transfer. In summary, our study answers calls to discontinue with empirically derived definitions in favor of theory-based conceptualization of the IS offshoring research field with respect to knowledge transfer processes, roles, and success factors. Future studies can build on these results and examine questions with respect to particular characteristics of knowledge transfer processes and their influencing success and failure factors.
The Oligomeric Form of the Escherichia coli Dps Protein Depends on the Availability of Iron Ions

The Dps protein of Escherichia coli, which combines ferroxidase activity and the ability to bind DNA, is effectively used by bacteria to protect their genomes from damage. Both activities depend on the integrity of this multi-subunit protein, which has an inner cavity for iron oxides; however, the diversity of its oligomeric forms has only been studied fragmentarily. Here, we show that iron ions stabilize the dodecameric form of Dps. This was found by electrophoretic fractionation and size exclusion chromatography, which revealed several oligomers in highly purified protein samples and demonstrated their conversion to dodecamers in the presence of 1 mM Mohr’s salt. The transmission electron microscopy data contradicted the assumption that the stabilizing effect is given by the optimal core size formed in the inner cavity of Dps. The charge state of iron ions was evaluated using Mössbauer spectroscopy, which showed the presence of Fe3O4, rather than the expected Fe2O3, in the sample. Assuming that Fe2+ can form additional inter-subunit contacts, we modeled the interaction of FeO and Fe2O3 with Dps, but the binding sites with putative functionality were predicted only for Fe2O3. The question of how the dodecameric form can be stabilized by ferric oxides is discussed.
Asymptotically Optimal Regular Synthesis of Reversible Logic Networks

We propose a network of generalized Toffoli gates with multiple EXORs for the realization of reversible functions. If implemented as a quantum circuit, the cost of such gates is shown to be only marginally higher than the cost of a Toffoli gate with a single EXOR and the same number of controls. The main result is a regular synthesis procedure which allows for the creation of asymptotically optimal reversible networks. However, asymptotic optimality does not necessarily mean absolute optimality. Thus, when the algorithm terminates, and a network is created, simplification procedures that may reduce the number of gates in the network can be applied.
Sheaf semantics for concurrent interacting objects

This paper uses concepts from sheaf theory to explain phenomena in concurrent systems, including object, inheritance, deadlock, and non-interference, as used in computer security. The approach is very; general, and applies not only to concurrent object oriented systems, but also to systems of differential equations, electrical circuits, hardware description languages, and much more. Time can be discrete or continuous, linear or branching, and distribution is allowed over space as well as time. Concepts from categpru theory help to achieve this generality: objects are modelled by sheaves; inheritance by sheaf morphisms; systems by diagrams; and interconnection by diagrams of diagrams. In addition, behaviour is given by limit, and the result of interconnection by colimit. The approach is illustrated with many examples, including a semantics for a simple concurrent object-based programming language.
The trauma of organizational change

Looks beneath the surface of much of the rhetoric and “ought to be”s of organizational change ‐ a world of learners and change masters ‐ to a “real” perceived and experienced world where managers are struggling with ‐ what for them are ‐ the experienced traumas of change. This is a world where individual managers are attempting to survive the trauma which is more usually associated with disasters or catastrophes, and even abuse. Sets out to clarify the meaning of such terms as trauma, catastrophe, abuse, victim and survivor and their significance in the context of organizational change. Urges the instigators, initiators, implementors and facilitators of change in organizations to face up to and consider the implications of managers’ experienced trauma. Although not arguing against the need for organizations to embark on significant and continuing change attempts, prompts a calculation of the real costs of such changes in terms of their short‐ and long‐term consequences.
Terminology Evolution Module for Web Archives in the LiWA Context ∗

More and more national libraries and institutes are archiving the web as a part of the cultural heritage. As with all long term archives, these archives contain text and language that evolves over time. This is particularly true for web archives as content published online is highly dynamic and changing at a fast rate. The language evolution causes gaps between the terminology used for querying and the one stored in long term archives. To ensure access and interpretability of these archives, language evolution must be found and handled in an automatic manner. In this paper we present the LiWA Terminology evolution module, TeVo which takes us one step closer to fully automatic detection of terminology evolution. TeVo consists of a pipeline for ﬁnding evolution from web archives based on the UIMA framework. The LiWA TeVo module consists of two main processing chains, the ﬁrst for Warc ﬁle extraction and text processing and the second for ﬁnding terminology evolution. We also present the terminology evolution browser, the TeVo browser, which aids in exploring evolution of terms present in archives.
Accurate wheel speed measurement for sensorless ABS in electric vehicle

The In-Wheel technology is emerging as the dominant drive system for electric vehicles. The existence of an electric motor at each wheel provides opportunities for development of efficient intelligent brakes for In-Wheel cars. This paper considers the practical realization of a sensorless ABS for In-Wheel Electric Vehicles. In the proposed braking system, the wheel speed is estimated from the back EMF of the In-Wheel motor, which makes the conventional wheel speed sensor redundant. The paper also introduces an effective denoising method using the wavelet packet technique, to increase the accuracy of the wheel speed measurement by the back EMF signal of the In-Wheel motor. The proposed strategy has also been implanted on a conventional ABS braking test rig. The experimental results showed that the proposed system can adequately replace the conventional ABS wheel speed sensor.
Lower and Upper Bounds on the Generalization of Stochastic Exponentially Concave Optimization

In this paper we derive high probability lower and upper bounds on the excess risk of stochastic optimization of exponentially concave loss functions. Exponentially concave loss functions encompass several fundamental problems in machine learning such as squared loss in linear regression, logistic loss in classification, and negative logarithm loss in portfolio management. We demonstrate an O(d log T/T ) upper bound on the excess risk of stochastic online Newton step algorithm, and an O(d/T ) lower bound on the excess risk of any stochastic optimization method for squared loss, indicating that the obtained upper bound is optimal up to a logarithmic factor. The analysis of upper bound is based on recent advances in concentration inequalities for bounding self-normalized martingales, which is interesting by its own right, and the proof technique used to achieve the lower bound is a probabilistic method and relies on an information-theoretic minimax analysis.
Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy Assessed by Drug Level Monitoring and Self-Report in Cameroon

Objectives:To compare adherence to antiretroviral therapy using drug level monitoring and self-report and to explore the relation between these 2 methods and viral load measurements. Methods:Sixty patients received a fixed-dose combination of nevirapine, stavudine, and lamivudine in a clinical study in Cameroon. Adherence was assessed every 6 months until month 36 by nevirapine minimal plasma concentration and self-report. Plasma HIV-1 viral load was determined at the same time. Analyses included 159 complete observations. Results:The proportion of patients labeled as “adherent” was significantly lower using nevirapine monitoring (88.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 82.7 to 93.2) than self-report (97.5%, CI: 93.7 to 99.3; P = 0.002). Virologic failure was associated with the nevirapine concentration (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 4.43; P = 0.018) but not with the self-reported adherence (aOR = 0.84; P = 0.9). As compared with the virologic outcome, the sensitivity of nevirapine level monitoring for predicting inadequate adherence was 20.5%, the specificity was 91.7%, the positive predictive value was 44.4%, and the negative predictive value was 78.0%. For self-report, the respective values were 2.6%, 97.5%, 25.0%, and 75.5%. Conclusions:Drug level monitoring provided a more reliable estimate of adherence than self-report. This method could be used in research settings. Operational research is required to define how to improve the accuracy of the self-report method because it is the most feasible method in clinical practice.
FIRST MOLECULAR DETECTION AND VP7 (G) GENOTYPING OF GROUP A ROTAVIRUS BY SEMI-NESTED RT-PCR FROM SEWAGE IN NIGERIA

SUMMARY Rotavirus is the leading cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide, and sewage is a major source of the virus dissemination in the environment. Our aim was to detect and genotype rotaviruses from sewages in Nigeria. One hundred and ninety sewage samples were collected between June 2014 and January 2015. The two phase concentration method using PEG 6000 and dextran was used to concentrate sewage samples following WHO protocols. Molecular detection was performed by RT-PCR, and VP7 genotyping by semi-nested multiplex PCR. A total of 14.2% (n = 27) samples tested positive. Monthly distribution showed that June to September had a lower rate (3.7% to 7.4%), while October to January recorded 11% to 26%. Genotype G1 predominated followed by G8, G9, G4 and lastly G2, 7.4% (n = 2) of isolates were nontypeable. This is the first report of rotavirus detection in sewages from Nigeria. Genotype G1 remains the most prevalent genotype. This observation calls for an effort by the governmental authorities to implement a molecular surveillance, both clinical and environmental, in order to provide vital information for the control and the vaccine efficacy not only in Nigeria, but globally.
Trajectory generation with curvature constraint based on energy minimization

The trajectory generation problem for mobile robots consists in providing a set of trajectories that are 'smooth' and meet certain boundary conditions. The authors present a method to generate curvature continuous trajectories for which the curvature profile is a polynomial function of arc length. An algorithm based on the deformation of a curve by energy minimization allows one to solve general geometric constraints which was not possible by previous methods. Furthermore, it is able to take into account the limitation of radius of curvature of the robot by controlling the extrema of curvature along the path. <<ETX>>
GP5+/6+ PCR followed by Reverse Line Blot Analysis Enables Rapid and High-Throughput Identification of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes

ABSTRACT In this study, we developed a simple and fast typing procedure for 37 mucosotropic human papillomavirus (HPV) types using a nonradioactive reverse line blotting (RLB) procedure for general primer (GP5+/6+) PCR products. This system has the advantages not only that in a simple format, up to 42 PCR products can be simultaneously typed per membrane per day, but also that after stripping, the membranes can be easily rehybridized at least 15 times without a loss of signal. RLB appeared highly specific, and its sensitivity was identical to that of conventional typing performed with type-specific oligonucleotide probes in an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The performance of RLB typing was evaluated with samples of HPV-positive cervical scrapings (n = 196) and biopsies of cervical premalignant lesions (n = 100). The distribution of HPV genotypes detected in these samples was in line with the distribution expected on the basis of literature data. In addition, RLB and EIA typing procedures were compared for the typing of high-risk HPV types in GP5+/6+ PCR products of 210 cervical scrapings from high-risk HPV-positive women who participated in a population-based screening program. The typing procedures had an excellent overall agreement rate of 96.5% (kappa value, 0.77). RLB was successful in detecting multiple HPV infections as well as single infections. In conclusion, the GP5+/6+ PCR-RLB procedure appeared to be a reliable and simple approach that may be of great value for large epidemiological studies, population-based cervical cancer screening programs, and vaccination trials that require high-throughput HPV typing.