Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new digital signature scheme of ElGamal type on conic curve over the ring Zn

This paper analyzes the security of the existing ElGamal type digital signature scheme based on conic curve over the ring Zn. According to the existing problems, we give a improved digital signature scheme named CCC-i-ElGamal. The theoretical certificates that the security of the proposed scheme is based on two hard mathematical problems. Not only retained the advantages of the conic curve simple operation and easily implementing, but also improved the new scheme's security. And then applies the improved digital signature scheme into the field of XML digital signature, designs and implements an application system of student achievement of the XML signature. Finally, the system's security and algorithm efficiency is analyzed and compared. It verifies the effects of the application of the proposed digital signature scheme in the field of XML digital signature. The experimental results show that the application system achieved the expected functionality and effectiveness. System security and the operating efficiency are improved further.
Object Retrieval Approach with Invariant Features Based on Corner Shapes

This paper presents a new technique for corner shape based object retrieval from a database. The proposed feature matrix consists of values obtained through a neighborhood operation of detected corners. This result in a significant small size feature matrix compared to the algorithms using color features and thus is computationally very efficient. The corners have been extracted by finding the intersections of the detected lines found using Hough transform. As the affine transformations preserve the co-linearity of points on a line and their intersection properties, the resulting corner features for image retrieval are robust to affine transformations. Furthermore, the corner features are invariant to noise. It is considered that the proposed algorithm will produce good results in combination with other algorithms in a way of incremental verification for similarity.
Feature combination using linear discriminant analysis and its pitfalls

In this paper, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) is investigated with respect to the combination of different acoustic features for automatic speech recognition. It is shown that the combination of acoustic features using LDA does not consistently lead to improvements in word error rate. A detailed analysis of the recognition results on the Verbmobil (VM II) and on the English portion of the European Parliament Plenary Sessions (EPPS) corpus is given. This includes an independent analysis of the effect of the dimension of the input to LDA, the effect of strongly correlated input features, as well as a detailed numerical analysis of the generalized eigenvalue problem underlying LDA. Relative improvements in word error rate of up to 5% were observed for LDA-based combination of multiple acoustic features.
Spatial and Temporal Profiles of Growth Factor Expression during CNS Demyelination Reveal the Dynamics of Repair Priming

Demyelination is the cause of disability in various neurological disorders. It is therefore crucial to understand the molecular regulation of oligodendrocytes, the myelin forming cells in the CNS. Growth factors are known to be essential for the development and maintenance of oligodendrocytes and are involved in the regulation of glial responses in various pathological conditions. We employed the well established murine cuprizone model of toxic demyelination to analyze the expression of 13 growth factors in the CNS during de- and remyelination. The temporal mRNA expression profile during demyelination and the subsequent remyelination were analyzed separately in the corpus callosum and cerebral cortex using laser microdissection and real-time PCR techniques. During demyelination a similar pattern of growth factor mRNA expression was observed in both areas with a strong up-regulation of NRG1 and GDNF and a slight increase of CNTF in the first week of cuprizone treatment. HGF, FGF-2, LIF, IGF-I, and TGF-ß1 were up-regulated mainly during peak demyelination. In contrast, during remyelination there were regional differences in growth factor mRNA expression levels. GDNF, CNTF, HGF, FGF-2, and BDNF were elevated in the corpus callosum but not in the cortex, suggesting tissue differences in the molecular regulation of remyelination in the white and grey matter. To clarify the cellular source we isolated microglia from the cuprizone lesions. GDNF, IGF-1, and FGF mRNA were detected in the microglial fraction with a temporal pattern corresponding to that from whole tissue PCR. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis revealed IGF-1 protein expression also in the reactive astrocytes. CNTF was located in astrocytes. This study identified seven different temporal expression patterns for growth factors in white and grey matter and demonstrated the importance of early tissue priming and exact orchestration of different steps during callosal and cortical de- and remyelination.
Protein kinase C in the wood frog, Rana sylvatica: reassessing the tissue-specific regulation of PKC isozymes during freezing

The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, survives whole-body freezing and thawing each winter. The extensive adaptations required at the biochemical level are facilitated by alterations to signaling pathways, including the insulin/Akt and AMPK pathways. Past studies investigating changing tissue-specific patterns of the second messenger IP3 in adapted frogs have suggested important roles for protein kinase C (PKC) in response to stress. In addition to their dependence on second messengers, phosphorylation of three PKC sites by upstream kinases (most notably PDK1) is needed for full PKC activation, according to widely-accepted models. The present study uses phospho-specific immunoblotting to investigate phosphorylation states of PKC—as they relate to distinct tissues, PKC isozymes, and phosphorylation sites—in control and frozen frogs. In contrast to past studies where second messengers of PKC increased during the freezing process, phosphorylation of PKC tended to generally decline in most tissues of frozen frogs. All PKC isozymes and specific phosphorylation sites detected by immunoblotting decreased in phosphorylation levels in hind leg skeletal muscle and hearts of frozen frogs. Most PKC isozymes and specific phosphorylation sites detected in livers and kidneys also declined; the only exceptions were the levels of isozymes/phosphorylation sites detected by the phospho-PKCα/βII (Thr638/641) antibody, which remained unchanged from control to frozen frogs. Changes in brains of frozen frogs were unique; no decreases were observed in the phosphorylation levels of any of the PKC isozymes and/or specific phosphorylation sites detected by immunoblotting. Rather, increases were observed for the levels of isozymes/phosphorylation sites detected by the phospho-PKCα/βII (Thr638/641), phospho-PKCδ (Thr505), and phospho-PKCθ (Thr538) antibodies; all other isozymes/phosphorylation sites detected in brain remained unchanged from control to frozen frogs. The results of this study indicate a potential important role for PKC in cerebral protection during wood frog freezing. Our findings also call for a reassessment of the previously-inferred importance of PKC in other tissues, particularly in liver; a more thorough investigation is required to determine whether PKC activity in this physiological situation is indeed dependent on phosphorylation, or whether it deviates from the generally-accepted model and can be “overridden” by exceedingly high levels of second messengers, as has been demonstrated with certain PKC isozymes (e.g., PKCδ).
Beyond “Sign at the X”: In Pursuit of Comprehension

interesting. The relationship between law and language is complex and fraught. The undesirable consequences to the non-lawyer of (to her) obscure legal language can be mitigated.Wszalek himself says how. Lawyers are required not only to be learned in the law—they are subsequent to a draconian duty to make the law sufficiently comprehensible to their clients. There is a compelling parallel, worthy of further discussion, between the duty of clinicians to give to patients the information necessary tomake an informed decision about treatment, and that of lawyers to give sufficient legal information. We do not expect patients to have the clinical comprehension of their doctors; we should not expect lawyers’ clients, or other lay people involvedwith the legal system, to have a lawyer’s understanding of the law. & REFERENCES
2005: Ambiguities and anomalies: What can eye-movements and event-related potentials reveal about second language sentence processing

Second language sentence processing is examined here in light of several monolingual psycholinguistic models of parsing, as well as that of linguistic theories specifically adapted to account for second language acquisition in adult learners. We first examine studies that have primarily recorded eyemovements to trace syntactic processing. Syntactic-ambiguity resolution is used in these studies to address various current models of parsing, both in monolinguals and bilinguals. To illustrate how these models can be tested, we discuss a particular type of structural ambiguity: reduced relative clauses. Thereafter, we focus our attention on studies that have recorded eventrelated potentials during the processing of spoken and written sentences in bilinguals. In these studies, the accent is placed upon how semantic and syntactic anomalies, rather than ambiguities, are treated. We conclude with a quick comparison of these two approaches.
Inorganic Arsenite Potentiates Vasoconstriction through Calcium Sensitization in Vascular Smooth Muscle

Chronic exposure to arsenic is well known as the cause of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension. To investigate the effect of arsenic on blood vessels, we examined whether arsenic affected the contraction of aortic rings in an isolated organ bath system. Treatment with arsenite, a trivalent inorganic species, increased vasoconstriction induced by phenylephrine or serotonin in a concentration-dependent manner. Among the arsenic species tested—arsenite, pentavalent inorganic species (arsenate), monomethylarsonic acid (MMAV), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAV)—arsenite was the most potent. Similar effects were also observed in aortic rings without endothelium, suggesting that vascular smooth muscle plays a key role in enhancing vasoconstriction induced by arsenite. This hypercontraction by arsenite was well correlated with the extent of myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation stimulated by phenylephrine. Direct Ca2+ measurement using fura-2 dye in aortic strips revealed that arsenite enhanced vasoconstriction induced by high K+ without concomitant increase in intracellular Ca2+ elevation, suggesting that, rather than direct Ca2+ elevation, Ca2+ sensitization may be a major contributor to the enhanced vasoconstriction by arsenite. Consistent with these in vitro results, 2-hr pretreatment of 1.0 mg/kg intravenous arsenite augmented phenylephrine-induced blood pressure increase in conscious rats. All these results suggest that arsenite increases agonist-induced vasoconstriction mediated by MLC phosphorylation in smooth muscles and that calcium sensitization is one of the key mechanisms for the hypercontraction induced by arsenite in blood vessels.
Network-Based Analysis of Software Change Propagation

The object-oriented software systems frequently evolve to meet new change requirements. Understanding the characteristics of changes aids testers and system designers to improve the quality of softwares. Identifying important modules becomes a key issue in the process of evolution. In this context, a novel network-based approach is proposed to comprehensively investigate change distributions and the correlation between centrality measures and the scope of change propagation. First, software dependency networks are constructed at class level. And then, the number of times of cochanges among classes is minded from software repositories. According to the dependency relationships and the number of times of cochanges among classes, the scope of change propagation is calculated. Using Spearman rank correlation analyzes the correlation between centrality measures and the scope of change propagation. Three case studies on java open source software projects Findbugs, Hibernate, and Spring are conducted to research the characteristics of change propagation. Experimental results show that (i) change distribution is very uneven; (ii) PageRank, Degree, and CIRank are significantly correlated to the scope of change propagation. Particularly, CIRank shows higher correlation coefficient, which suggests it can be a more useful indicator for measuring the scope of change propagation of classes in object-oriented software system.
Multi-step sensor selection with position uncertainty constraints

Research on localization systems has shifted from focusing mainly on accuracy towards a more cognitive design, accounting for communication constraints, energy limitations, and delay. This leads to a variety of sensor selection optimization problems that are solved using techniques from convex optimization. We provide a novel formulation of the sensor selection problem over an extended time horizon, aiming to minimize the sensing cost of an entire path while guaranteeing a certain position accuracy. We state algorithms for determining lower and upper bounds on the sensing cost and utilize these in a path selection problem for autonomous agents. Simulation results confirm the usefulness of our approach, where we observe a benefit of optimizing over longer time horizons in low to medium noise scenarios compared to a myopic sensor selection scheme.
Real-time extraction of carotid artery contours from ultrasound images

This paper presents the development of a novel, fully-automatic tracking and segmentation system to extract the boundary of the carotid artery from ultrasound images in real-time. The center of the carotid artery is tracked using the Star algorithm. The stability of the Star algorithm has been improved by using a temporal Kalman filter. A spatial Kalman filter is used to estimate the carotid artery boundary. Since the method does not employ any numerical optimization, convergence is very fast. The stability and accuracy of the method is demonstrated by tracking the carotid artery over a 30 second sequence of ultrasound images taken during a carotid artery examination. An application of the tracking method to ultrasound image servoing is also presented.
Cross-Layer Modeling for QoS-Driven Multimedia Multicast/Broadcast over Fading Channels in [Advances in Mobile Multimedia]

In this article we propose a cross-layer design model for multimedia multicast/broadcast services to efficiently support the diverse quality of service requirements over mobile wireless networks. Specifically, we aim at achieving high system throughput for multimedia multicast/broadcast while satisfying QoS requirements from different protocol layers. First, at the physical layer, we propose a dynamic rate adaptation scheme to optimize the average throughput subject to the loss rate QoS constraint specified from the upper-layer protocol users. We investigate scenarios with either independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) or non-i.i. d. fading channels connecting to different multicast receivers. Then, applying the effective capacity theory at the data link layer, we study the impact of the delay QoS requirement (i.e., QoS exponent) on the multimedia data rate of mobile multicast/broadcast that our proposed scheme can support. Also presented are simulation results which show the trade-off among different QoS metrics and the performance superiority of our proposed scheme as compared to the other existing schemes.
Recommendations and Standardization of Biomarker Quantification Using NMR-Based Metabolomics with Particular Focus on Urinary Analysis

NMR-based metabolomics has shown considerable promise in disease diagnosis and biomarker discovery because it allows one to nondestructively identify and quantify large numbers of novel metabolite biomarkers in both biofluids and tissues. Precise metabolite quantification is a prerequisite to move any chemical biomarker or biomarker panel from the lab to the clinic. Among the biofluids commonly used for disease diagnosis and prognosis, urine has several advantages. It is abundant, sterile, and easily obtained, needs little sample preparation, and does not require invasive medical procedures for collection. Furthermore, urine captures and concentrates many “unwanted” or “undesirable” compounds throughout the body, providing a rich source of potentially useful disease biomarkers; however, incredible variation in urine chemical concentrations makes analysis of urine and identification of useful urinary biomarkers by NMR challenging. We discuss a number of the most significant issues regarding NMR-based urinary metabolomics with specific emphasis on metabolite quantification for disease biomarker applications and propose data collection and instrumental recommendations regarding NMR pulse sequences, acceptable acquisition parameter ranges, relaxation effects on quantitation, proper handling of instrumental differences, sample preparation, and biomarker assessment.
A structured decision-making approach to climate change adaptation in the forest sector

Climate change presents a risk to the composition, health, and vitality of Canada’s forests and forest sector. Effects may be either negative or positive, and will interact in complex ways over many spatial and temporal scales depending on such factors as physical geography, forest type, and forest management practices. Given the apparent vulnerability of forests and the forest sector to climate change, it is prudent that forest and forest-based community managers begin to develop adaptive strategies to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of climate change. A flexible planning framework that incorporates key principles of structured decision-making and risk management is presented as a practical way to integrate climate change adaptation into forest management planning. RESUME Les changements climatiques presentent des risques en matiere de composition, de sante et de vitalite des forets et du secteur forestier du Canada. Les effets peuvent etre soit negatifs, soit positifs et entraineront des interactions complexes a de multiples niveaux spatiaux et temporaux en fonction de facteurs comme la geographie physique, le type de foret et les pratiques d’amenagement forestier. Etant donne la vulnerabilite apparente des forets et du secteur forestier face aux changements climatiques, il serait prudent que les amenagistes forestiers et les gestionnaires des communautes dependantes des forets commencent a elaborer des strategies d’adaptation afin de minimiser les risques et maximiser les benefices relies aux changements climatiques. Un cadre flexible de planification qui comporte des principes cles de prise de decision structuree et de gestion du risque est presente en tant que moyen pratique d’integrer l’adaptation aux changement climatiques au sein de la planification de l’amenagement forestier. Mots cles :c hangements climatiques, foret, consequences, adaptation, vulnerabilite, gestion du risque, planification
Linking PharmGKB to Phenotype Studies and Animal Models of Disease for Drug Repurposing

The investigation of phenotypes in model organisms has the potential to reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying disease. The large-scale comparative analysis of phenotypes across species can reveal novel associations between genotypes and diseases. We use the PhenomeNET network of phenotypic similarity to suggest genotype-disease association, combine them with drug-gene associations available from the PharmGKB database, and infer novel associations between drugs and diseases. We evaluate and quantify our results based on our method's capability to reproduce known drug-disease associations. We find and discuss evidence that levonorgestrel, tretinoin and estradiol are associated with cystic fibrosis (p < 2.65 · 10(-6), p < 0.002 and p < 0.031, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Bonferroni correction) and that ibuprofen may be active in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (p < 2.63 · 10(-23), Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Bonferroni correction). To enable access to our results, we implement a web server and make our raw data freely available. Our results are the first steps in implementing an integrated system for the analysis and prediction of drug-disease associations for rare and orphan diseases for which the molecular basis is not known.
Bisphosphonamidate Clodronate Prodrug Exhibits Selective Cytotoxic Activity against Melanoma Cell Lines

Bisphosphonates are used clinically to treat disorders of calcium metabolism and malignant bone disease and are known to inhibit cancer cell growth, adhesion, and invasion. However, clinical use of these agents for the treatment of extraskeletal disease is limited because of low cell permeability. We recently described a bisphosphonamidate prodrug strategy for efficient intracellular release of bisphosphonates, including clodronate (CLO), in non–small cell lung cancer cells. To evaluate anticancer activity of this prodrug class across many cancer cell types, the bisphosphonamidate clodronate prodrug (CLO prodrug) was screened against the NCI-60 cell line panel, and was found to exhibit selectivity toward melanoma cell lines. Here, we confirm efficient cellular uptake and intracellular activation of this prodrug class in melanoma cells. We further demonstrate inhibition of melanoma cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and an antitumor effect of CLO prodrug in a xenograft model. These data suggest a novel therapeutic application for the CLO prodrug and potential to selectively target melanoma cells. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(2); 297–306. ©2013 AACR.
Analysis of rRNA processing and translation in mammalian cells using a synthetic 18S rRNA expression system

Analysis of processing, assembly, and function of higher eukaryotic ribosomal RNA (rRNA) has been hindered by the lack of an expression system that enables rRNA to be modified and then examined functionally. Given the potential usefulness of such a system, we have developed one for mammalian 18S rRNA. We inserted a sequence tag into expansion segment 3 of mouse 18S rRNA to monitor expression and cleavage by hybridization. Mutations were identified that confer resistance to pactamycin, allowing functional analysis of 40S ribosomal subunits containing synthetic 18S rRNAs by selectively blocking translation from endogenous (pactamycin-sensitive) subunits. rRNA constructs were suitably expressed in transfected cells, shown to process correctly, incorporate into ≈15% of 40S subunits, and function normally based on various criteria. After rigorous analysis, the system was used to investigate the importance of sequences that flank 18S rRNA in precursor transcripts. Although deletion analysis supported the requirement of binding sites for the U3 snoRNA, it showed that a large segment of the 5′ external transcribed spacer and the entire first internal transcribed spacer, both of which flank 18S rRNA, are not required. The success of this approach opens the possibility of functional analyses of ribosomes, with applications in basic research and synthetic biology.
Thechemical basis of moprhogenesis

Internet QoS and 802.11 mesh networks, while important in theory, have not until recently been considered practical. after years of extensive research into IPv6, we prove the development of write-back caches, which embodies the important principles of e-voting technology. We propose an applicati on for the memory bus, which we call Admirer. Although it at first glance seems unexpected, it is derived from known results.