Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comprehensive Formal Security Analysis of OAuth 2.0

The OAuth 2.0 protocol is one of the most widely deployed authorization/single sign-on (SSO) protocols and also serves as the foundation for the new SSO standard OpenID Connect. Despite the popularity of OAuth, so far analysis efforts were mostly targeted at finding bugs in specific implementations and were based on formal models which abstract from many web features or did not provide a formal treatment at all. In this paper, we carry out the first extensive formal analysis of the OAuth 2.0 standard in an expressive web model. Our analysis aims at establishing strong authorization, authentication, and session integrity guarantees, for which we provide formal definitions. In our formal analysis, all four OAuth grant types (authorization code grant, implicit grant, resource owner password credentials grant, and the client credentials grant) are covered. They may even run simultaneously in the same and different relying parties and identity providers, where malicious relying parties, identity providers, and browsers are considered as well. Our modeling and analysis of the OAuth 2.0 standard assumes that security recommendations and best practices are followed in order to avoid obvious and known attacks. When proving the security of OAuth in our model, we discovered four attacks which break the security of OAuth. The vulnerabilities can be exploited in practice and are present also in OpenID Connect. We propose fixes for the identified vulnerabilities, and then, for the first time, actually prove the security of OAuth in an expressive web model. In particular, we show that the fixed version of OAuth (with security recommendations and best practices in place) provides the authorization, authentication, and session integrity properties we specify.
Second harmonic generation spectroscopy in the Reststrahl band of SiC using an infrared free-electron laser

The Reststrahl spectral region of silicon carbide has recently attracted much attention owing to its potential for mid-infrared nanophotonic applications based on surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs). Studies of optical phonon resonances responsible for surface polariton formation, however, have so far been limited to linear optics. In this Letter, we report the first nonlinear optical investigation of the Reststrahl region of SiC, employing an infrared free-electron laser to perform second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy. We observe two distinct resonance features in the SHG spectra, one attributed to resonant enhancement of the nonlinear susceptibility χ(2) and the other due to a resonance in the Fresnel transmission. Our work clearly demonstrates high sensitivity of mid-infrared SHG to phonon-driven phenomena and opens a route to studying nonlinear effects in nanophotonic structures based on SPhPs.
Tool Development to Measure Dyspnea among Patients with Advanced Cancer Stage

Dyspnea is a distressing symptom of terminal cancer patients. Lack of an appropriate assessment tool for dyspnea disturbs the establishment of proper management. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measure which assesses the multidimensional nature of dyspnea among patient with advanced stage of cancer. The tool was administered by the principal investigator to the participants. The developed dyspnea scale contains 12 items under three domains; these domains are ‘Physical triggers’, ‘psychological triggers’, and ‘environmental triggers. ’ It is recommended to apply the tool in with different types of advanced cancer disease for more psychometric confirmation. To cite this article [Anshasi, H. , & Ahmad, M. (2016). Tool Development to Measure Dyspnea among Patients with Advanced Cancer Stage. J. Middle East North Afr. sci, 2(3), 9-15]. (p-ISSN 24129763) (e-ISSN 2412-8937). http://www.jomenas. org. 2
Numerical Modeling of Fatigue Damage and Fissure Propagation under Cyclic Loadings

The purpose of this work is to develop a numerical simulation procedure in order to predict the evolution of the fatigue damage and rupture in mechanical parts (such as rolling bearings and gears) under cyclic loadings. The study of the fatigue damage evolution, from the first defect appearance until the part's failure, is primordial in view of the preventive maintenance. The numerical procedure is based on the continuum damage mechanics and the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The damage effects are fully coupled with the elasto-plastic constitutive laws on a macroscopic point of view. The Sines fatigue criterion for multiaxial stress states is used to estimate the lifetime of mechanical parts in terms of number of cycles. This numerical model is implemented into Abaqus/Explicit using an user's subroutine (Vumat). A cycle jumping algorithm allows to largely reduce the computation time. Some remeshing techniques are used to follow up the damage and rupture evolutions. The birth and the growth of the damage and rupture can be visualized via the element deleting and remeshing. These numerical tools are applied to a 2D specimen under a cyclic stretching.
Characterization of a Phanerochaete chrysosporium Glutathione Transferase Reveals a Novel Structural and Functional Class with Ligandin Properties*

Background: GSTs are detoxification enzymes poorly characterized in fungi. Results: GSTFuA1 possesses a unique three-dimensional structure and binds wood degradation compounds at or near the glutathione binding pocket. Conclusion: This GST is a new fungal isoform that we name GSTFuA1. Significance: GSTs with binding properties could be of great interest in various biotechnological applications. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) form a superfamily of multifunctional proteins with essential roles in cellular detoxification processes. A new fungal specific class of GST has been highlighted by genomic approaches. The biochemical and structural characterization of one isoform of this class in Phanerochaete chrysosporium revealed original properties. The three-dimensional structure showed a new dimerization mode and specific features by comparison with the canonical GST structure. An additional β-hairpin motif in the N-terminal domain prevents the formation of the regular GST dimer and acts as a lid, which closes upon glutathione binding. Moreover, this isoform is the first described GST that contains all secondary structural elements, including helix α4′ in the C-terminal domain, of the presumed common ancestor of cytosolic GSTs (i.e. glutaredoxin 2). A sulfate binding site has been identified close to the glutathione binding site and allows the binding of 8-anilino-1-naphtalene sulfonic acid. Competition experiments between 8-anilino-1-naphtalene sulfonic acid, which has fluorescent properties, and various molecules showed that this GST binds glutathionylated and sulfated compounds but also wood extractive molecules, such as vanillin, chloronitrobenzoic acid, hydroxyacetophenone, catechins, and aldehydes, in the glutathione pocket. This enzyme could thus function as a classical GST through the addition of glutathione mainly to phenethyl isothiocyanate, but alternatively and in a competitive way, it could also act as a ligandin of wood extractive compounds. These new structural and functional properties lead us to propose that this GST belongs to a new class that we name GSTFuA, for fungal specific GST class A.
Boosted pedestrian detector adaptation in specific scenes

In detector adaptation, the quality and quantity of collected online samples are of fundamental importance, yet have not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, we present an efficient detector adaptation approach with a novel unsupervised online sample collection scheme, which can obtain sufficient aligned samples in a specific video. Unlike other methods that collect samples by only leveraging the detection confidence or track, we select aligned samples by evaluating the alignment scores using a pixel-wise Gaussian Model. Since this selection would lead to an inadequate number of positive samples, we synthesize positive samples by composing the pedestrian foreground in each aligned positive samples with the scene background at different locations. In this way, we can obtain a large number of qualified aligned positive samples encoding new scene information. With sufficient samples, we adopt a simple yet effective method to obtain an adaptive detector, which not only preserves the effective part of the offline boosted detector but also well adapts to the new scene by adding some new trained classifiers. Experiments demonstrate the efficacy of our sample collection scheme and that our approach significantly improves the performance.
Stable isotope analysis of vertebrae reveals ontogenetic changes in habitat in an endothermic pelagic shark

Ontogenetic changes in habitat are driven by shifting life-history requirements and play an important role in population dynamics. However, large portions of the life history of many pelagic species are still poorly understood or unknown. We used a novel combination of stable isotope analysis of vertebral annuli, Bayesian mixing models, isoscapes and electronic tag data to reconstruct ontogenetic patterns of habitat and resource use in a pelagic apex predator, the salmon shark (Lamna ditropis). Results identified the North Pacific Transition Zone as the major nursery area for salmon sharks and revealed an ontogenetic shift around the age of maturity from oceanic to increased use of neritic habitats. The nursery habitat may reflect trade-offs between prey availability, predation pressure and thermal constraints on juvenile endothermic sharks. The ontogenetic shift in habitat coincided with a reduction of isotopic niche, possibly reflecting specialization upon particular prey or habitats. Using tagging data to inform Bayesian isotopic mixing models revealed that adult sharks primarily use neritic habitats of Alaska yet receive a trophic subsidy from oceanic habitats. Integrating the multiple methods used here provides a powerful approach to retrospectively study the ecology and life history of migratory species throughout their ontogeny.
Differentiation of Schizophrenia Patients from Healthy Subjects by Mismatch Negativity and Neuropsychological Tests

Background Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous disorder with diverse presentations. The current and the proposed DSM-V diagnostic system remains phenomenologically based, despite the fact that several neurobiological and neuropsychological markers have been identified. A multivariate approach has better diagnostic utility than a single marker method. In this study, the mismatch negativity (MMN) deficit of schizophrenia was first replicated in a Han Chinese population, and then the MMN was combined with several neuropsychological measurements to differentiate schizophrenia patients from healthy subjects. Methodology/Principal Findings 120 schizophrenia patients and 76 healthy controls were recruited. Each subject received examinations for duration MMN, Continuous Performance Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III). The MMN was compared between cases and controls, and important covariates were investigated. Schizophrenia patients had significantly reduced MMN amplitudes, and MMN decreased with increasing age in both patient and control groups. None of the neuropsychological indices correlated with MMN. Predictive multivariate logistic regression models using the MMN and neuropsychological measurements as predictors were developed. Four predictors, including MMN at electrode FCz and three scores from the WAIS-III (Arithmetic, Block Design, and Performance IQ) were retained in the final predictive model. The model performed well in differentiating patients from healthy subjects (percentage of concordant pairs: 90.5%). Conclusions/Significance MMN deficits were found in Han Chinese schizophrenia patients. The multivariate approach combining biomarkers from different modalities such as electrophysiology and neuropsychology had a better diagnostic utility.
SLAM using natural features in an underwater environment

This paper presents techniques developed to apply the simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) algorithm to an unmanned underwater vehicle operating in an unstructured, natural environment. It is shown that information from on-board sonar and vision sensors can be fused to select and track regions of the environment that may be used as features to estimate the vehicle's motion. Results including vehicle pose estimates and resulting environment models are shown for data acquired at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Requirements for 5′dRP/AP lyase activity in Ku

The non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway is used in diverse species to repair chromosome breaks, and is defined in part by a requirement for Ku. We previously demonstrated mammalian Ku has intrinsic 5′ deoxyribosephosphate (5′dRP) and apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) lyase activity, and showed this activity is important for excising abasic site damage from ends. Here we employ systematic mutagenesis to clarify the protein requirements for this activity. We identify lysine 31 in the 70 kD subunit (Ku70 K31) as the primary candidate nucleophile required for catalysis, but additional mutation of Ku70 K160 and six other lysines within Ku80 were required to eliminate all activity. Ku from Saccharomyces cerevisiae also possesses 5′dRP/AP lyase activity, and robust activity was also reliant on lysines in Ku70 analogous to K31 and K160. By comparison, these lysines are not conserved in Xenopus laevis Ku, and Ku from this species has negligible activity. A role for residues flanking Ku70 K31 in expanding the range of abasic site contexts that can be used as substrate was also identified. Our results suggest an active site well located to provide the substrate specificity required for its biological role.
Signaling by dopamine regulates D2 receptors trafficking at the membrane

sGi2 is a spliced variant of the GTP-binding protein Gαi2. By difference with Gαi2, which is mainly present at the plasma membrane, sGi2 is localized in intracellular compartments. The splicing event generates a novel C-terminal region in sGi2, which is necessary for its intracellular localization. The role of sGi2 is presently unknown, although its intracellular localization might underlie a possible role in the regulation of trafficking of 7TM receptors. Here, we show that sGi2 complexes with dopamine D2 receptors (D2R) in striatal neurons. The sGi2-D2R complex is readily observed in immunoprecipitation studies using specific antibodies for both proteins on mouse striatal extracts, which identify D2-specific bands of >80 KDa suggesting sGi2 interactions with D2R dimers. Importantly, the sGi2-D2R complex in the absence of receptor stimulation is mostly found in intracellular perinuclear areas in primary neuronal cultures. Treatment of neurons with quinpirole, a D2-specific agonist, results into diffusion of D2R and sGi2 staining throughout the cell and into neurites and membranes. This suggests that dopamine could regulate availability of D2 receptors at the cell surface. The formation of sGi2-D2R complex is mediated through the interaction of sGi2 with the third intracellular loop of D2Rs. As functional consequence of the D2R-sGi2 interaction, we observed a reduction of D2 binding sites at the plasma membrane, when the two proteins are co-expressed in transfected cells. Altogether these studies identify sGi2 as a D2R interacting protein involved in the regulation of D2R at the membrane through a dopamine mediated mechanism.
Interactions between the bud emergence proteins Bem1p and Bem2p and Rho- type GTPases in yeast

The SH3 domain-containing protein Bem1p is needed for normal bud emergence and mating projection formation, two processes that require asymmetric reorganizations of the cortical cytoskeleton in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To identify proteins that functionally and/or physically interact with Bem1p, we screened for mutations that display synthetic lethality with a mutant allele of the BEM1 gene and for genes whose products display two-hybrid interactions with the Bem1 protein. CDC24, which is required for bud emergence and encodes a GEF (guanine- nucleotide exchange factor) for the essential Rho-type GTPase Cdc42p, was identified during both screens. The COOH-terminal 75 amino acids of Cdc24p, outside of the GEF domain, can interact with a portion of Bem1p that lacks both SH3 domains. Bacterially expressed Cdc24p and Bem1p bind to each other in vitro, indicating that no other yeast proteins are required for this interaction. The most frequently identified gene that arose from the bem1 synthetic-lethal screen was the bud-emergence gene BEM2 (Bender and Pringle. 1991. Mol. Cell Biol. 11:1295-1395), which is allelic with IPL2 (increase in ploidy; Chan and Botstein, 1993. Genetics. 135:677-691). Here we show that Bem2p contains a GAP (GTPase-activating protein) domain for Rho-type GTPases, and that this portion of Bem2p can stimulate in vitro the GTPase activity of Rho1p, a second essential yeast Rho-type GTPase. Cells deleted for BEM2 become large and multinucleate. These and other genetic, two-hybrid, biochemical, and phenotypic data suggest that multiple Rho-type GTPases control the reorganization of the cortical cytoskeleton in yeast and that the functions of these GTPases are tightly coupled. Also, these findings raise the possibility that Bem1p may regulate or be a target of action of one or more of these GTPases.
Dissecting the signaling pathway of nicotine‐mediated neuroprotection in a mouse Alzheimer disease model

Nicotine has a therapeutic benefit in treating Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study we show that nicotine decreases accumulation of β‐amyloid (Aβ) in the cortex and hippocampus of APP (V717I) transgenic mice. Nicotine prevents activation of NF‐κB and c‐Myc by inhibiting the activation of MAP kinases (MAPKs). As a result, the activity of inducible NOS and the production of NO are down‐regulated. RNA interference experiments show that the above nicotine‐mediated process requires α7 nAChR. Nicotine decreases Aβ via the activation of a7nAChRs through MAPK, NF‐κB, and c‐myc pathways. Nicotine also inhibits apoptosis and cell cycle progression in this mouse line. The dissected signaling pathway of nicotine‐mediated neuroprotection in the present study provides a mechanistic basis for the potential development of drug targets for treating AD. Liu, Q. , Zhang, J., Zhu, H. , Qin, C. , Chen, Q. , Zhao, B. Dissecting the signaling pathway of nicotine‐mediated neuroprotection in a mouse Alzheimer disease model. FASEB J. 21, 61–73 (2007)
Searching Candidate Lyapunov Function with Threshold Accepting Algorithm

Stability of nonlinear systems is a problem of fundamental importance in system engineering. Specifically, the computation of a Lyapunov function which presents one of the tools for study the stability of nonlinear systems. The objective of this work is to study the Lyapunov approaches of polynomial systems. These approaches have been investigated in order to develop numerical algorithms based on the synthesis of a polynomial Lyapunov functions. We proceed in two steps: Firstly, we exploit the Carle man linearization technique which allows achieving a linear system of infinite dimension. Secondly, we implement a Threshold Accepting Algorithm technique to determine a candidate Lyapunov Function. The increase in the degree of truncation of the equation of infinite dimensional of Lyapunov function allowing greater accuracy the theorem of Lyapunov' stability. But it complicates the calculation and synthesis of the expression of the Lyapunov function. The proposed approach is applied to the well known systems.
A new sensorless drive scheme for a BLDC motor based on the terminal voltage difference

This paper presents a new sensorless drive scheme for a brushless DC (BLDC) motor based on the terminal voltage difference. Unlike the zero crossing point (ZCP) of the phase back electro-motive force (BEMF) which has been used in the conventional sensorless drive schemes, the ZCP of the BEMF difference between two phases corresponds to the commutation point of a BLDC motor accurately. So as to detect the ZCP and adopt it to the BLDC motor commutation, a circuit which constitutes of a differential amplifier and a comparator is designed. Some experimental results show that the output of the suggested circuit is analogous to the hall sensor signal and it can be used for BLDC motor sensorless drive.
Efficient and Flexible Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells on Nanotextured Polymer Substrate Using Sol–gel Based Nanoimprinting Method

The mechanical flexibility of substrates and controllable nanostructures are two major considerations in designing high‐performance, flexible thin‐film solar cells. In this work, we proposed an approach to realize highly ordered metal oxide nanopatterns on polyimide (PI) substrate based on the sol‐gel chemistry and soft thermal nanoimprinting lithography. Thin‐film amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) solar cells were subsequently constructed on the patterned PI flexible substrates. The periodic nanopatterns delivered broadband‐enhanced light absorption and quantum efficiency, as well as the eventual power conversion efficiency (PCE). The nanotextures also benefit for the device yield and mechanical flexibility, which experienced little efficiency drop even after 100,000 bending cycles. In addition, flexible, transparent nanocone films, obtained by a template process, were attached onto the patterned PI solar cells, serving as top anti‐reflection layers. The PCE performance with these dual‐interfacial patterns rose up to 8.17%, that is, it improved by 48.5% over the planar device. Although the work was conducted on a‐Si:H material, our proposed scheme can be extended to a variety of active materials for different optoelectronic applications.
Combination of Modafinil and d-amphetamine for the Treatment of Cocaine Dependence: A Preliminary Investigation

Background: Two stimulant medications, modafinil and d-amphetamine, when tested individually, have shown safety and efficacy for treatment of cocaine addiction. We hypothesized that the combination of modafinil and d-amphetamine, at low doses, would show equivalent or greater benefit in reducing cocaine use compared to higher doses of each individual medication or placebo. Methods: Sixteen week, randomized, parallel-group design with four treatment arms comparing placebo to modafinil 400 mg; d-amphetamine 60 mg; modafinil 200 mg plus d-amphetamine 30 mg. Primary outcome variables, retention and cocaine use, were analyzed on the sample of 73 participants who received the first dose of the study medication. Results: Retention rates did not differ between groups and were generally low, with 40% remaining in treatment at week 12 and 20% at week 16. Participants receiving the combination of modafinil and d-amphetamine showed a trend of increased cocaine use over time with a corresponding low Bayesian probability of benefit (33%). Relatively better cocaine outcomes were observed in the placebo and d-amphetamine only groups. The study medications were generally well-tolerated with few adverse effects, yet rates of adherence were suboptimal (≤80%). Conclusion: Data from this preliminary investigation fail to provide evidential support for conducting a larger study of this dual-agonist medication combination for treatment of cocaine dependence.
Why BSP computers? (bulk-synchronous parallel computers)

The author gives a summary of some of the arguments favoring the adoption of the bulk-synchronous parallel (BSP) model as a standard for parallel computing. First, he argues that for parallel computing to become a major industry, agreement has to be reached on a standard model at a level intermediate between the language and architecture levels. He goes on to list the factors that make the BSP model attractive as a standard at this intermediate or bridging level. Finally, he provides some reasons for favoring it over the shared memory or PRAM model which is an alternative candidate for this role. <<ETX>>