Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automated Issuance of Digital Certificates through the Use of Federations

In recent years, there has been a trend for developing single sign-on systems. One alternative to deploy such systems is the use of Federated Identity Management systems. We argue that it is possible to use identity federations to automate the digital certificate issuance and use these certificates to authenticate back into federations. We use the data provided by the user's identity provider to build his certificate, reducing the costs of maintaining several registration authorities and simplifying the certificate issuance process. Making the process simpler to the users, we also encourage them to request and use their certificates. In special, the use of digital certificates for authentication can improve the usability and security of the authentication process. Furthermore, we present a prototype proving the feasibility of our proposal, as well as a discussion of the security and potential applications.
Rat retinal tissue releases a vasorelaxing factor.

PURPOSE To investigate whether the retina of the rat exerts a vasodilatory influence by the release of a relaxing factor and to characterize the retinal relaxing factor (RRF). METHODS The relaxing influence of the rat retina was investigated by placing the retina in close proximity with a precontracted isolated rat carotid artery ring segment, mounted for isometric tension measurements. RESULTS Application of rat retina relaxed the artery in a reliable and reproducible way. The nitric oxide (NO)-synthase inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NA), the soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), and the removal of the endothelium of the artery all failed to affect the RRF response. The RRF response was not decreased; in contrast, it increased after treatment with a cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor (indomethacin or sodium diclofenac). Acute hypoxia largely enhanced retina-induced relaxation. Several potential mediators of hypoxia-induced vasodilation were excluded as candidates for the RRF or for mediating the enhanced response to RRF in hypoxia. Inhibition of the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) with vanadate significantly affected the RRF response. CONCLUSIONS The release of an as yet unidentified relaxing factor(s) from the rat retina was demonstrated. Acute hypoxia profoundly enhances the RRF response. None of the known mediators of hypoxia-induced vasodilation nor NO, prostanoids, or endothelial factors mediate the RRF response. Activation of the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase seems to be involved in the RRF response.
Enhanced vote count circuit based on nor flash memory for fast similarity search

A memory-based search circuit is introduced in this paper. In this circuit, the conventional memory structure is customized to provide equality comparison for each column of memory array, and a counting circuit is included at each column to record the degree of matches between query and reference data patterns. This customized memory circuit can be used for similarity search applications. Due to its massive parallel processing of equality comparisons and counting operations, the search time using this circuit has O(1) complexity. In addition, it uses NOR flash memory structure and Enhanced Vote Count (EVC) interlocked design to achieve low power and high speed. Energy consumption is significantly reduced, by approximately m-fold (m is the number of simultaneously compared pattern bits in EVC), while matching speed is m times faster, compared to original vote count circuit implemented on NOR flash memory structure.
Gender and duration of disease differentiate responses to rituximab–dexamethasone therapy in adults with immune thrombocytopenia

Adults often develop chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) for which treatment order is uncertain. Rituximab and three cycles of dexamethasone (4R + 3Dex) improve treatment responses and short‐term disease control but long‐term outcome is not known. In adults with ITP treated with 4R + 3D, we sought long‐term outcome and associated prognostic variables. Forty‐nine adults treated at Weill‐Cornell received 4R + 3Dex. Their clinical characteristics were reviewed. Duration was median time to treatment failure; Kaplan‐Meier estimates were developed. Vbeta Tcell receptor (VBTCR) repertoire was obtained after treatment in 36 patients. Patients were adults with ITP 18–64 years old, median age 37. The 27 females were twice as likely to have an ongoing response to 4R + 3Dex (44.1%) as males (19.6%; P = 0.009). For ITP duration <12 months, 52.7% of patients had continuing responses to 4R + 3Dex compared to 15.3% of patients with diagnosis >12 months (P = 0.02). Females with ITP duration of <12 months had continuing responses in 78.6%, compared to males with <12 months duration of ITP (21.2%). For patients with disease duration <12 months, 67% of females had continuing responses, compared to 31% of males (P = 0.004). Post‐treatment polyclonal VBTCR was seen in 9/10 continuing responders (six female, three male) but only 13/26 relapsers/nonresponders (P = 0.068). Durable remissions after treatment with 4R + 3Dex were more frequent in female patients with <12 months of ITP duration and those with polyclonal VBTCR after treatment, emphasizing the roles of duration of disease, gender and T cells in chronic ITP. Differences in pathophysiology of ITP by gender and by duration of ITP require further study. Am. J. Hematol. 91:907–911, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Social Stratification of Health in Russia

Data on trends in the social stratification of health in Russia show evidence of definite social inequalities in the health of males and females in the post-Soviet period. Improvements in female health in the 2000s, which were observed in the best-off stratum, were conditioned by their overall rise in well-being and expansion of access to good quality fee-based medical services. These factors, however, did not affect males' sense of well-being; even in the relatively well-off stratum no positive changes were observed.
ASR1 transcription factor and its role in metabolism

Asr1 (ABA, stress, ripening) is a plant gene widely distributed in many species which was discovered by differential induction levels in tomato plants subjected to drought stress conditions. ASR1 also regulates the expression of a hexose transporter in grape and is involved in sugar and amino acid accumulation in some species like maize and potato. The control that ASR1 exerts on hexose transport is interesting from a biotechnological perspective because both sugar partitioning and content in specific organs affect the yield and the quality of many agronomically important crops. ASR1 affect plant metabolism by its dual activity as a transcription factor and as a chaperone-like protein. In this paper, we review possible mechanisms by which ASR1 affects metabolism, the differences observed among tissues and species, and the possible physiological implications of its role in metabolism.
Good Babies vs. Bad Babies; or, Inheriting the Arrow of Time

The main route towards populating the string landscape relies on nucleation of " baby universes ". One should however ask whether such babies can resemble the Universe we observe. For they may not have an Arrow of time: even if some of them have basic physical laws essentially identical to those we have discovered, they may have the wrong — insufficiently smooth — initial conditions. We argue that all baby universes will be " bad babies " in this sense, unless the Null Energy Condition is violated when they are born. Recent work of Arkani-Hamed et al suggests that NEC violation is sometimes acceptable in string theory, and we show that, in these circumstances, requiring stability against non-perturbative string effects may permit the birth of " good babies ". The latter are [by definition] able to inherit the Arrow that, as we have argued elsewhere, is established when the original universe is " created from nothing " , in accordance with the Ooguri-Vafa-Verlinde " entropic principle " .
Combined Time-Reversal Space-Time Block coding and Transmit Beamforming for Frequency-Selective Fading Channels

Transmit beamforming (BF) with reliable channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) can improve the system performance significantly. On the other hand, for unreliable CSIT pure space-time coding outperforms transmit BF. In this paper, the combination of time-reversal space-time block codes (TR-STBCs) and transmit BF for transmission over frequency-selective fading channels is considered. The proposed scheme takes the reliability of the CSIT into account in an optimum way. For unreliable CSIT, the proposed scheme yields the same diversity gains as a TR-STBC, whereas for reliable CSIT significant BF gains can be obtained in addition to the diversity gain of the TR-STBC.
Distinct Cytoplasmic and Nuclear Fractions of Drosophila Heterochromatin Protein 1: Their Phosphorylation Levels and Associations with Origin Recognition Complex Proteins

The distinct structural properties of heterochromatin accommodate a diverse group of vital chromosome functions, yet we have only rudimentary molecular details of its structure. A powerful tool in the analyses of its structure in Drosophila has been a group of mutations that reverse the repressive effect of heterochromatin on the expression of a gene placed next to it ectopically. Several genes from this group are known to encode proteins enriched in heterochromatin. The best characterized of these is the heterochromatin-associated protein, HP1. HP1 has no known DNA-binding activity, hence its incorporation into heterochromatin is likely to be dependent upon other proteins. To examine HP1 interacting proteins, we isolated three distinct oligomeric species of HP1 from the cytoplasm of early Drosophila embryos and analyzed their compositions. The two larger oligomers share two properties with the fraction of HP1 that is most tightly associated with the chromatin of interphase nuclei: an underphosphorylated HP1 isoform profile and an association with subunits of the origin recognition complex (ORC). We also found that HP1 localization into heterochromatin is disrupted in mutants for the ORC2 subunit. These findings support a role for the ORC-containing oligomers in localizing HP1 into Drosophila heterochromatin that is strikingly similar to the role of ORC in recruiting the Sir1 protein to silencing nucleation sites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase Glu298Asp gene polymorphism in psoriasis cases with hypertension

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Psoriasis is a common autoimmune-mediated chronic, inflammatory skin disease. Although, the molecular mechanism is not completely understood, psoriasis is caused by genetic and non-genetic parameters. The current study aimed (1) to define genotype and allele frequency of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS Glu298Asp) gene polymorphism in hypertensive and/or non-hypertensive psoriatic patients (2) to investigate the possible relationship between the eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism and the risk of hypertension among psoriatic patients in the Turkish population. DESIGN AND SETTINGS This cross-sectional, case-control study was performed between March 2010 and November 2012 at the University hospital in Çanakkale, Turkey PATIENTS AND METHODS Gene profiles of 75 psoriatic patients (21 hypertensive and 54 normotensive patients) and 55 healthy (normotensive and non-psoriatic) volunteers were compared. Peripheral blood-EDTA samples were used for total genomic DNA isolation and genotyping. Target eNOS gene was genotyped for patients and control groups by real-time PCR melting-curve analysis system (LightCycler 2.0, Roche, Germany, and results were compared statistically. RESULTS An increased T allele frequency in eNOS Glu298Asp single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was determined in psoriatic patients when compared with normotensive non-psoriatic healthy volunteers (OR 2.3, CI 1.14–3.99), (P=.017). The T allele frequency was also found to be increased in hypertensive psoriatic patients when compared with healthy volunteers (4.83-fold increased, 95% CI 1.62–14.43 ([P=.003]) and normotensive psoriatic patients (3.03-fold increased, 95% CI 1.03–8.94 [P=.041]), respectively. CONCLUSION The current preliminary results suggested that there was a correlation between eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism and hypertension among psoriatic patients in the Turkish population. The T allele frequency of eNOS Glu298Asp SNP was different in hypertensive psoriatic patients, and the difference was statistically significant when compared with the normotensive psoriatic patients and healthy controls. These results need to be confirmed by large-scale studies.
Image fusion based on principal component analysis and high-pass filter

Several commercial earth observation satellites carry dual-resolution sensors, which provide high spatial resolution panchromatic image and low spatial resolution multi-spectral image. Image fusion techniques are therefore useful for integrating a high spectral resolution image with a high spatial resolution image, to produce a fused image with high spectral and spatial resolutions. Some image fusion methods such as IHS, PC and BT provide superior visual high-resolution multi-spectral images but ignore the requirement of high-quality synthesis of spectral information. The high-quality synthesis of spectral information is very important for most remote sensing application based on spectral signatures, such as lithology, soil and vegetation analysis. Another family of image fusion techniques such as HPF operates on the basis of the injection of high-frequency components from the high spatial resolution panchromatic image into the multi-spectral image. This family of methods provides less spectral distortion. In this paper we propose to integrate between the two families PCA and HPF to provide pan sharpened image with superior spatial resolution and less spectral distortion. The experiments have shown that the proposed fusion method retains the spectral characteristics of the multi-spectral image and improves at the same time the spatial resolution of the fused image.
Integrating Perspectives in Career Development Theory and Practice

The author explores the possibility of theory integration in career development and counseling, focusing primarily on bridging the gap between objectivist/positivistic and constructivist approaches. The potentiality of combining concepts from varied theories into a preliminary framework is discussed. This framework proposes 3 possibilities: career as self-realization, growing experiences, and context conceptualization. Because its focus is career development practice, this framework triggers some heuristic thoughts that might be seen by career counselors as applicable to their counseling interventions.
A Novel Single-Phase AC–AC Converter for Circuit Breaker Testing Application

This paper presents a novel single-phase ac-ac converter with power factor correction and output current control for circuit-breaker testing according to the IEC 60898 standard. The important advantages of the proposed circuit are low component count and fast responses for the standard requirement, especially a current step at the beginning of the test. The proposed single-phase ac-ac converter can operate in either buck or boost mode to accommodate the need for a wide range of output current while satisfying the ramping and step current requirements in the standard. The control circuits consist of two parts, dc voltage control of dc-link capacitors and ac output current controls operating simultaneously. The proposed circuit is verified through both computer simulation and hardware experiment. An example of a 50 A circuit breaker testing according to the IEC 60898 is demonstrated in the paper.
Fingerprint Pre-Classification Using Ridge Density

Fingerprint ridge frequency is a global feature, which is most prominently different in fingerprints of men and woman, and it also changes within the maturing period of a person. This paper proposes the method of fingerprint pre-classification, based on the ridge frequency replace- ment by the density of edge points of the ridge boundary. This method is to be used after applying the common steps in most fingerprint matching algorithms, namely the fingerprint image filtering, binarization and marking of good/bad image areas. The experimental performance evaluation of fingerprint pre-classification is presented. We have found that fingerprint pre-classification using the fingerprint ridge edges density is possible, and it enables to preliminary reject part of the fin- gerprints without heavy loss of the recognition quality. The paper presents the evaluation of two sources of fingerprint ridge edges density variability: a) different finger pressure during the finger- print scanning, b) different distance between the geometrical center of the fingerprint and position of the fingerprint fragment.
The Excitator as a Minimal Model for the Coordination Dynamics of Discrete and Rhythmic Movement Generation

The authors identify a class of excitable two-dimensional model systems, the excitators, that provide an entry point to the understanding of the mechanisms of discrete and rhythmic movement generation and a variety of related phenomena, such as false starts and the geometry of phase space trajectories. The starting point of their analysis is the topological properties of the phase flow. In particular, the phenomenon of false starts provides a characteristic structural condition for the phase flow, the separatrix, which partitions the phase space. Threshold phenomena, which are characteristic of excitable systems, as well as stable and unstable fixed points and periodic orbits, are discussed. Stable manifolds in the proximity of fixed points, resulting in an overshoot and a slow return phase after movement execution, are predicted in the analysis. To investigate coordination phenomena, the authors discuss the effects of two types of couplings, the sigmoidal coupling and a truncated version thereof, known as the Haken-Kelso-Bunz (HKB) coupling. They show analytically and numerically that the sigmoidal coupling leads to convergence phenomena in phase space, whereas the HKB coupling displays convergent as well as divergent behaviors. The authors suggest a specific representation of the excitator that allows the quantification of the predictions.
A Conflict Analysis Framework for QoS-Aware Routing in Contention-Based Wireless Mesh Networks with Beamforming Antennas

Utilizing smart beamforming antennas in contention-based wireless mesh networks has proven to provide a significant increase in the network capacity. Nevertheless, their effectiveness in providing additional QoS guarantees is still under-explored. In this paper, we develop a framework for analyzing conflicts on wireless links considering both the physical interference and the operation of the underlying directional MAC protocol. Based on a novel taxonomy, we classify the link conflicts into several categories and propose a novel colored conflict graph abstraction to model the network interference pattern in the presence of contention-based directional MAC protocols. Using the proposed colored conflict graph, we derive a closed form expression for the probability of successful transmission over a wireless link given that all the bandwidth requirements are satisfied. Based on our analysis, we formulate the bandwidth-guaranteed routing problem as an optimization problem. Since the problem is NP-hard, we present a heuristic algorithm for joint routing and admission control to find single-path bandwidth-guaranteed routes. Using extensive simulations, we demonstrate the accuracy of our conflict analysis and the ability of the proposed algorithm to provide QoS guarantees along with efficient channel utilization.
Science on the Web: Student Evaluations of Scientific Arguments

The World Wide Web is rapidly growing as a source of scientific information for the layperson. We analyzed Web presentations of scientific arguments and how students evaluate those arguments. Our findings suggest that argumentation can be described as a situated activity. Web sites presented challenges relating to multiple layers of argument, missing evidence and evidence that cannot be corroborated, and insufficient detail. These characteristics of Web sites exacerbated weaknesses in students' skills of argument. Student weaknesses stemmed from their epistemological stance, their overreliance on surface features rather than systematic analysis, metacognitive failures, and a failure to understand the nature of science and publishing.
Complete Genome Sequence of Escherichia Phage OSYSP

ABSTRACT Bacteriophage OSYSP is a new anti-Escherichia coli O157:H7 phage isolated from municipal wastewater in Ohio. OSYSP is potent against enterohemorrhagic E. coli and is a candidate biocontrol agent for food and therapeutic applications. In this paper, we present the important genetic features of this phage based on its complete genome sequence.
Software Reuse: Survey and Research Directions

Software reuse is the use of software resources from all stages of the software development process in new applications. Given the high cost and difficulty of developing high-quality software, the idea of capitalizing on previous software investments is appealing. However, software reuse has not been as effective as expected and has not been very broadly or systematically used in industry. This paper surveys recent software-reuse research using a framework that helps identify and organize the many factors that must be considered to achieve the benefits of software reuse in practice. We argue that software reuse needs to be viewed in the context of a total systems approach that addresses a broad range of technical, economic, managerial, organizational, and legal issues and conclude with a summary of the major research issues in each of these areas.
Rock: A High-Performance Sparc CMT Processor

Rock, Sun's third-generation chip-multithreading processor, contains 16 high-performance cores, each of which can support two software threads. Rock uses a novel checkpoint-based architecture to support automatic hardware scouting under a load miss, speculative out-of-order retirement of instructions, and aggressive dynamic hardware parallelization of a sequential instruction stream. It is also the first processor to support transactional memory in hardware.
On Teaching TCP/IP Protocol Analysis to Computer Forensics Examiners

Digital investigators have an increasing need to examine data network logs and traffic, either as part of criminal or civil investigations or when responding to information security incidents. To truly understand the contents of the logs and the data packets, examiners need to have a good foundation in the protocols comprising the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite. This paper introduces the use of protocol analyzers and packet sniffers for TCP/IP traffic, and provides examples of normal and suspect TCP/IP traffic. This paper also provides a basis for a discussion of intrusion detection and signature analysis.