Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MiddlePolice: Fine-Grained Endpoint-Driven In-Network Traffic Control for Proactive DDoS Attack Mitigation

Volumetric attacks, which overwhelm the bandwidth of a destination, are amongst the most common DDoS attacks today. One practical approach to addressing these attacks is to redirect all destination traffic (e.g., via DNS or BGP) to a third-party, DDoS-protection-as-a-service provider (e.g., CloudFlare) that is well provisioned and equipped with filtering mechanisms to remove attack traffic before passing the remaining benign traffic to the destination. An alternative approach is based on the concept of network capabilities, whereby source sending rates are determined by receiver consent, in the form of capabilities enforced by the network. While both third-party scrubbing services and network capabilities can be effective at reducing unwanted traffic at an overwhelmed destination, DDoS-protection-as-a-service solutions outsource all of the scheduling decisions (e.g., fairness, priority and attack identi cation) to the provider, while capability-based solutions require extensive modifications to existing infrastructure to operate. In this paper we introduce MiddlePolice, which seeks to marry the deployability of DDoS-protection-as-a-service solutions with the destination-based control of network capability systems. We show that by allowing feedback from the destination to the provider, MiddlePolice can effeectively enforce destination-chosen traffic control policies, while requiring no deployment from unrelated parties.
Wingbeat frequency and the body drag anomaly: wind-tunnel observations on a thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) and a teal (Anas crecca)

A teal (Anas crecca) and a thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) were trained to fly in the Lund wind tunnel for periods of up to 3 and 16 h respectively. Both birds flew in steady flapping flight, with such regularity that their wingbeat frequencies could be determined by viewing them through a shutter stroboscope. When flying at a constant air speed, the teal's wingbeat frequency varied with the 0.364 power of the body mass and the thrush nightingale's varied with the 0.430 power. Both exponents differed from zero, but neither differed from the predicted value (0.5) at the 1 % level of significance. The teal continued to flap steadily as the tunnel tilt angle was varied from -1 ° (climb) to +6 ° (descent), while the wingbeat frequency declined progressively by about 11 %. In both birds, the plot of wingbeat frequency against air speed in level flight was U-shaped, with small but statistically significant curvature. We identified the minima of these curves with the minimum power speed (Vmp) and found that the values predicted for Vmp, using previously published default values for the required variables, were only about two-thirds of the observed minimum-frequency speeds. The discrepancy could be resolved if the body drag coefficients (CDb) of both birds were near 0.08, rather than near 0.40 as previously assumed. The previously published high values for body drag coefficients were derived from wind-tunnel measurements on frozen bird bodies, from which the wings had been removed, and had long been regarded as anomalous, as values below 0.01 are given in the engineering literature for streamlined bodies. We suggest that birds of any size that have well-streamlined bodies can achieve minimum body drag coefficients of around 0.05 if the feet can be fully retracted under the flank feathers. In such birds, field observations of flight speeds may need to be reinterpreted in the light of higher estimates of Vmp. Estimates of the effective lift:drag ratio and range can also be revised upwards. Birds that have large feet or trailing legs may have higher body drag coefficients. The original estimates of around CDb=0.4 could be correct for species, such as pelicans and large herons, that also have prominent heads. We see no evidence for any progressive reduction of body drag coefficient in the Reynolds number range covered by our experiments, that is 21 600­215 000 on the basis of body cross-sectional diameter.
Therapeutic application of 6-Hz-primed low-frequency rTMS combined with intensive speech therapy for post-stroke aphasia

Objective: To clarify the safety, feasibility and efficacy of 6-Hz-primed low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with intensive speech therapy (ST) for post-stroke aphasic patients. Methods: Four adult patients with history of left hemispheric stroke and with motor-dominant aphasia were studied. During 11-day hospitalization, each patient received 18 treatment sessions consisting of 10-min 6-Hz priming stimulation followed by 20-min 1-Hz low-frequency rTMS and intensive ST for 60 min daily. Both the priming stimulation and low-frequency rTMS were applied to the right frontal lobe. The intensive ST was provided on one-to-one basis. Language function was assessed by Standard Language Test of Aphasia (SLTA), Supplementary Test of SLTA (SLTA-ST), and the Japanese version of Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) within 2 weeks prior to the admission and on the day of discharge. Results: The in-patient protocol was successfully completed by all patients without any adverse effects. Each patient showed an increase in the correct answer rate after the intervention. Improvement was found in both expressive and recessive language modalities in all patients. Conclusions: The protocol of 6-Hz-primed low-frequency rTMS and intensive ST for post-stroke aphasia was safe and feasible, suggesting its potential usefulness in the treatment of this population.
Loss of Cdh1 and Pten Accelerates Cellular Invasiveness and Angiogenesis in the Mouse Uterus1

ABSTRACT E-cadherin (CDH1) is a cell adhesion molecule that coordinates key morphogenetic processes regulating cell growth, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Loss of CDH1 is a trademark of the cellular event epithelial to mesenchymal transition, which increases the metastatic potential of malignant cells. PTEN is a tumor-suppressor gene commonly mutated in many human cancers, including endometrial cancer. In the mouse uterus, ablation of Pten induces epithelial hyperplasia, leading to endometrial carcinomas. However, loss of Pten alone does not affect longevity until around 5 mo. Similarly, conditional ablation of Cdh1 alone does not predispose mice to cancer. In this study, we characterized the impact of dual Cdh1 and Pten ablation (Cdh1d/d Ptend/d) in the mouse uterus. We observed that Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice died at Postnatal Days 15–19 with massive blood loss. Their uteri were abnormally structured with curly horns, disorganized epithelial structure, and increased cell proliferation. Co-immunostaining of KRT8 and ACTA2 showed invasion of epithelial cells into the myometrium. Further, the uteri of Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice had prevalent vascularization in both the endometrium and myometrium. We also observed reduced expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors, loss of cell adherens, and tight junction molecules (CTNNB1 and claudin), as well as activation of AKT in the uteri of Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice. However, complex hyperplasia was not found in the uteri of Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice. Collectively, these findings suggest that ablation of Pten with Cdh1 in the uterus accelerates cellular invasiveness and angiogenesis and causes early death.
Development and validation of an LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous analysis of 28 specific narcotic adulterants used in dietary supplements

The purpose of this study was to develop a method to analyse the concentration of multiple illegal narcotics present in dietary supplements. To this end, we established and optimised a procedure using LC-MS/MS simultaneously to analyse 28 narcotic compounds in various forms of dietary supplements, including powders, tablets, liquids and capsules. In addition, candy and cookies that have also had detected cases of adulteration were also analysed. The specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), stability and recovery for these methods were validated accordingly. The LOD and LOQ of the LC-MS/MS ranged from 0.01–50.0 to 0.03–100 ng g−1, respectively. The linearity of these results was good (r2 > 0.99), with intra- and inter-day precision values of 0.2–5.2% and 0.2–4.8%, respectively. Further, the intra- and inter-day accuracies of this method were 97.0–103.4% and 94.6–103.1%, respectively. The stability RSD was less than 7.8%. The mean recovery for this LC-MS/MS procedure was 81.1–117.4%, with an RSD less than 9.8%. Following the validation of our method, we analysed 47 commercially available dietary supplements obtained in Korea. Whilst none of these samples had detectable amounts of the 28 specified narcotic adulterants, our novel LC-MS/MS procedure can be utilised comprehensively and continually to monitor illegal drug adulteration in various forms of dietary supplements.
Pose-Invariant Facial Expression Recognition Based on 3D Face Reconstruction and Synthesis from a Single 2D Image

In this paper, a novel method is proposed for person-independent pose-invariant facial expression recognition based on 3D face reconstruction from only 2D frontal images in a training set. A 3D Facial Expression Generic Elastic Model (3D FE-GEM) is proposed to reconstruct an expression-invariant 3D model of each human face in the present database using only a single 2D frontal image with/without facial expressions. Then, for each 7-class of facial expressions in the database, a Feature Library Matrix (FLM) is created from yaw face poses by the rotating the 3D reconstructed models and extracting features in rotated face. Each FLM is subsequently rendered based on yaw angles of face poses. Before matching to the FLM, an initial estimate of yaw angles of face poses is obtained in the test face image using an automatic head pose estimation approach. Then, an array of the FLM is selected based on the estimated yaw angles for each class of facial expressions. Finally, the selected arrays from FLMs are compared with target image features by Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification. Favorable outcomes were acquired to handle pose in facial expression recognition on the available image based on the proposed method compared to several state-of-the-arts in pose-invariant facial expression recognition.
Distributed Model Predictive Control for Multi-Vehicle Formation with Collision Avoidance Constraints

This paper presents a distributed model predictive control (MPC) method for unicycles information with collision avoidance constraints. The proposed method first stabilizes the system by using a feedback linearization, and then a collision avoidance method based on MPC is applied to the linearized system. One of the features of the proposed method is that each vehicle sequentially solves its optimal control problem at different time step. Unlike other MPC collision avoidance methods in which all vehicles solve optimal control problems at every time step, only one vehicle can solve its optimization problem at one time step. We derive a condition for the proposed method to ensure the feasibility of the optimization method and stability of the closed-loop system. The effectiveness of the method is also investigated by experiments.
Cortical mechanisms of smooth pursuit eye movements with target blanking. An fMRI study

Smooth pursuit eye movements are evoked by retinal image motion of visible moving objects and can also be driven by the internal representation of a target due to extraretinal mechanisms (e.g. efference copy). To delineate the corresponding neuronal correlates, functional magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 T was applied during smooth pursuit at 10 °/s with continuous target presentation and target blanking for 1 s to 16 right‐handed healthy males. Eye movements were assessed during scanning sessions by infra‐red reflection oculography. Smooth pursuit performance was optimal when the target was visible but decreased to a residual velocity of about 30% of the velocity observed during continuous target presentation. Random effects analysis of the imaging data yielded an activation pattern for smooth pursuit in the absence of a visual target (in contrast to continuous target presentation) which included a number of cortical areas in which extraretinal information is available such as the frontal eye field, the superior parietal lobe, the anterior and the posterior intraparietal sulcus and the premotor cortex, and also the supplementary and the presupplementary eye field, the supramarginal gyrus, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cerebellar areas and the basal ganglia. We suggest that cortical mechanisms such as prediction, visuo‐spatial attention and transformation, multimodal visuomotor control and working memory are of special importance for maintaining smooth pursuit eye movements in the absence of a visible target.
Altered perception of distorted visual feedback occurs soon after whiplash injury: an experimental study of central nervous system processing.

BACKGROUND Sensory and motor system dysfunctions have been documented in a proportion of patients with acute whiplash associated disorders (WAD). Sensorimotor incongruence may occur and hence, may explain pain and other sensations in the acute stage after the trauma. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed at (1) evaluating whether a visually mediated incongruence between sensory feedback and motor output increases symptoms and triggers additional sensations in patients with acute WAD, (2) investigating whether the pattern of sensations in response to sensorimotor incongruence differs among patients suffering from acute and chronic WAD, and healthy controls. STUDY DESIGN Experimental study. SETTING Patients with acute WAD were recruited within one month after whiplash injury via the emergency department of a local Red Cross medical care unit, the Antwerp University Hospital, and through primary care practices. Patients with chronic WAD were recruited through an advertisement on the World Wide Web and from the medical database of a local Red Cross medical care unit. Healthy controls were recruited from among the university college staff, family members, and acquaintances of the researchers. METHODS Thirty patients with acute WAD, 35 patients with chronic WAD, and 31 healthy persons were subjected to a coordination test. They performed congruent and incongruent arm movements while viewing a whiteboard or mirror. RESULTS. Twenty-eight patients with acute WAD reported sensations such as pain, tightness, feeling of peculiarity, and tiredness at some stage of the test protocol. No significant differences in frequencies and intensities of sensations were found between the various test stages (P > .05). Significantly more sensations were reported during the incongruent mirror stage compared to the incongruent control stage (P < .05). The pattern in intensity of sensations across the congruent and incongruent stages was significantly different between the WAD groups and the control group. LIMITATIONS The course and prognostic value of susceptibility to sensorimotor incongruence after an acute whiplash trauma are not yet clear from these results. A prospective longitudinal study with an expanded study population is needed to investigate if those with a lowered threshold to visually mediated sensorimotor incongruence in the acute stage are at risk to develop persistent pain and disability. CONCLUSION Patients with acute WAD present an exacerbation of symptoms and additional sensations in response to visually mediated changes during action. These results indicate an altered perception of distorted visual feedback and suggest altered central sensorimotor nervous system processing in patients with acute WAD.
Palmitoylation of membrane proteins (Review)

S-Palmitoylation is a reversible post-translational modification that results in the addition of a C16-carbon saturated fatty acyl chain to cytoplasmic cysteine residues. This modification is mediated by Palmitoyl-acyl Transferases that are starting to be investigated, and reversed by Protein Palmitoyl Thioesterases, which remain enigmatic. Palmitoylation of cytoplasmic proteins has been well described to regulate the interaction of these soluble proteins with specific membranes or membrane domains. Less is known about the consequences of palmitoylation in transmembrane proteins not only due to the dual difficulty of following a lipid modification and dealing with membrane proteins, but also due to the complexity of the palmitoylation-induced behavior. Moreover, possibly because the available data set is limited, the change in behavior induced by palmitoylation of a transmembrane protein is currently not predictable. We here review the various consequences reported for the palmitoylation of membrane proteins, which include improper folding in the endoplasmic reticulum, retention in the Golgi, inability to assemble into protein platforms, altered signaling capacity, premature endocytosis and missorting in the endocytic pathway. We then discuss the possible underlying mechanisms, in particular the ability of palmitoylation to control the conformation of transmembrane segments, to modify the affinity of a membrane protein for specific membrane domains and to control protein-protein interactions.
Measurement of myocardial wall thickening from PET/SPECT images: comparison of two methods.

PURPOSE We compared two methods for measuring myocardial wall thickening from nuclear medicine perfusion scans. The first method uses the percent change in peak activity, and the second method models a profile measured across the myocardium. METHOD Mathematical simulations of the myocardium were used. In addition, images with PET or SPECT resolution were created from real MR images. Known amounts of noise were then added. RESULTS The percent peak thickening (% PT) is nonlinear with true percent thickening, especially for PET resolutions [7 mm full width at half-maximum (FWHM)]. For the peak method, low levels of noise (10%) introduced an error of 8%PT for PET and of 16%PT for SPECT. Additional smoothing reduced these errors. For the fitted model, at 10% noise, the error in thickening was large: 2.3 mm for PET and 7.8 mm for SPECT. CONCLUSION The fitted model works well only with good resolution and low noise (e.g., 7 mm FWHM and 10%). The peak method is also sensitive to noise, especially for poorer resolutions. Additional smoothing gives more reliable results for the peak method but not the fitted method. The peak method is therefore the more generally reliable, but even this method may only allow classification of myocardial thickening into broad categories.
The early pregnancy placenta foreshadows DNA methylation alterations of solid tumors

ABSTRACT The placenta relies on phenotypes that are characteristic of cancer to successfully implant the embryo in the uterus during early pregnancy. Notably, it has to invade its host tissues, promote angiogenesis—while surviving hypoxia—, and escape the immune system. Similarities in DNA methylation patterns between the placenta and cancers suggest that common epigenetic mechanisms may be involved in regulating these behaviors. We show here that megabase-scale patterns of hypomethylation distinguish first from third trimester chorionic villi in the placenta, and that these patterns mirror those that distinguish many tumors from corresponding normal tissues. We confirmed these findings in villous cytotrophoblasts isolated from the placenta and identified a time window at the end of the first trimester, when these cells come into contact with maternal blood, as the likely time period for the methylome alterations. Furthermore, the large genomic regions affected by these patterns of hypomethylation encompass genes involved in pathways related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, immune response, and inflammation. Analyses of expression profiles corresponding to genes in these hypomethylated regions in colon adenocarcinoma tumors point to networks of differentially expressed genes previously implicated in carcinogenesis and placentogenesis, where nuclear factor kappa B is a key hub. Taken together, our results suggest the existence of epigenetic switches involving large-scale changes of methylation in the placenta during pregnancy and in tumors during neoplastic transformation. The characterization of such epigenetic switches might lead to the identification of biomarkers and drug targets in oncology as well as in obstetrics and gynecology.
A Case‐crossover Analysis of Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in Shanghai

A Case‐crossover Analysis of Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in Shanghai: Haidong Kan, et al. Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, P. R. China—We used a case‐crossover approach to assess the association between air pollution and daily mortality in Shanghai from June 2000 to December 2001. By design, this method can avoid some common concerns about the time‐series approach, which was most frequently used to assess the short‐term effects of air pollution. Different control periods (unidirectional and bi‐directional control samplings) were used for the analysis. With a bi‐directional six control sampling approach, the results from a conditional logistic regression model controlling for weather conditions showed that each 10 µg/m3 increase over a 48‐h moving average of PM10, SO2 and NO2 corresponds to 1.003 (95%CI 1.001–1.005), 1.016 (95%CI 1.011– 1.021), and 1.020 (95%CI 1.012–1.027) relative risk of non‐accident mortality, respectively. The association between air pollution and mortality for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and cardiovascular causes was found to be closer than that for all causes. The results confirmed the deleterious role of the current air pollution level on human health in Shanghai, and provided information on the applicability of case‐crossover design in studying the acute health effects of air pollution.