Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating Intrusion Detection Systems Without Attacking Your Friends: The 1998 DARPA Intrusion Detection Evaluation

Abstract : Intrusion detection systems monitor the use of computers and the network over which they communicate, searching for unauthorized use, anomalous behavior, and attempts to deny users, machines or portions of the network access to services. Potential users of such systems need information that is rarely found in marketing literature, including how well a given system finds intruders and how much work is required to use and maintain that system in a fully functioning network with significant daily traffic. Researchers and developers can specify which prototypical attacks can be found by their systems, but without access to the normal traffic generated by day-to-day work, they can not describe how well their systems detect real attacks while passing background traffic and avoiding false alarms. This information is critical: every declared intrusion requires time to review, regardless of whether it is a correct detection for which a real intrusion occurred, or whether it is merely a false alarm. To meet the needs of researchers, developers and ultimately system administrators we have developed the first objective, repeatable, and realistic measurement of intrusion detection system performance. Network traffic on an Air Force base was measured, characterized and subsequently simulated on an isolated network on which a few computers were used to simulate thousands of different Unix systems and hundreds of different users during periods of normal network traffic. Simulated attackers mapped the network, issued denial of service attacks, illegally gained access to systems, and obtained super-user privileges. Attack types ranged from old, well-known attacks, to new, stealthy attacks. Seven weeks of training data and two weeks of testing data were generated, filling more than 30 CD-ROMs. Methods and results from the 1998 DARPA intrusion detection evaluation will be highlighted, and preliminary plans for the 1999 evaluation will be presented.
Autoresonant „ nonstationary ... excitation of pendulums , Plutinos , plasmas , and other nonlinear oscillators

A weakly driven pendulum cannot be strongly excited by a fixed frequency drive. The only way to strongly excite the pendulum is to use a drive whose frequency decreases with time. Feedback is often used to control the rate at which the frequency decreases. Feedback need not be employed, however; the drive frequency can simply be swept downwards. With this method, the drive strength must exceed a threshold proportional to the sweep rate raised to the 3/4 power. This threshold has been discovered only recently, and holds for a very broad class of driven nonlinear oscillators. The threshold may explain the abundance of 3:2 resonances and dearth of 2:1 resonances observed between the orbital periods of Neptune and the Plutinos ~Pluto and many of the Kuiper Belt objects ! , and has been extensively investigated in the Diocotron system in pure-electron plasmas. © 2001
SaludABLEOmaha: Improving Readiness to Address Obesity Through Healthy Lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino Community, 2011–2013

Background A community’s readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities. Community Context This case study describes SaludABLEOmaha, an initiative to increase readiness of residents in a Midwestern Latino community to address obesity and adopt healthy lifestyles. Methods SaludABLEOmaha emphasized 2 core approaches, youth activism and collaboration among public and private institutions, which we applied to planning and implementing tactics in support of 3 interconnected strategies: 1) social marketing and social media, 2) service learning in schools (ie, curricula that integrate hands-on community service with instruction and reflection), and 3) community and business engagement. Following the Community Readiness Model protocol (http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm), structured interviews were conducted with community leaders and analyzed before and 2.5 years after launch of the program. Outcome The community increased in readiness from stage 3 of the Community Readiness Model, “vague awareness,” at baseline to stage 5, “preparation,” at follow-up. Interpretation SaludABLEOmaha improved community readiness (eg, community knowledge, community climate), which probably contributed to the observed increase in readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle. Community mobilization approaches such as youth activism integrated with social marketing and social media tactics can improve community responsiveness to obesity prevention and diminish health disparities.
In obesity, glucose load loses its early inhibitory, but maintains its late stimulatory, effect on somatotrope secretion.

Glucose load has a biphasic effect on GH secretion. In fact, in normal subjects, glucose load has a prompt inhibitory and a late stimulatory effect on both spontaneous and GHRH-induced GH levels. The mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect is probably mediated by the increase in hypothalamic somatostatin, whereas that underlying the stimulatory effect is unclear. On the other hand, in obesity, a reduced somatotrope responsiveness to all GH secretagogues is well known, whereas recently, we found that glucose load, but not pirenzepine and somatostatin, fails to inhibit the GHRH-induced GH rise. Thus, the inhibitory effect of hyperglycemia on GH secretion is selectively lacking in obesity. The aim of the present study was to verify whether in obesity the late stimulatory effect of glucose on GH secretion is preserved. We studied 15 female obese patients (OB; age, 33.9 +/- 2.6 yr; body mass index, 36.4 +/- 1.5 kg/m2; waist/hip ratio, 0.9 +/- 0.1) and 12 normal female subjects (NS; 26.5 +/- 1.0 yr; 21.4 +/- 0.3 kg/m2) as controls. Two studies were performed. In study A (six OB and six NS) we evaluated the somatotrope response to GHRH (1 microgram/kg, i.v., at 0 min) alone or preceded by oral glucose (OGTT; 100 g, orally, at -45 min). In study B (nine OB and six NS) we studied the somatotrope response to OGTT (100 g, orally, at 0 min), saline plus GHRH (1 microgram/kg, iv, at 150 min), and OGTT plus GHRH. In study A, the GHRH-induced GH rise in NS was higher (P < 0.01) than that in OB. OGTT blunted the GHRH-induced GH rise in NS (0-90 min area under the curve, 318.9 +/- 39.1 vs. 696.3 +/- 110.8 micrograms/min-L; P < 0.05), but failed to modify it in OB (289.1 +/- 51.7 vs. 283.9 +/- 44.0 micrograms/min-L). In study B, the GHRH-induced GH rise in NS was higher (P < 0.01) than that in OB. OGTT induced a late GH increase in both NS (150-240 min area under the curve, 249.6 +/- 45.2 micrograms/min-L) and OB (103.2 +/- 31.4 micrograms/min-L). Moreover, OGTT enhanced the GHRH-induced GH rise in NS as well as in OB [1433.0 +/- 202.0 vs. 967.9 +/- 116.3 micrograms/min-L (P < 0.03) and 763.8 +/- 131.0 vs. 278.1 +/- 52.3 micrograms/min-L (P < 0.01), respectively]. The GH responses to OGTT alone and combined with GHRH in OB were lower (P < 0.03) than those in NS. Our data show that in human obesity, the oral glucose load loses its precocious inhibitory effect on the GHRH-induced GH rise but maintains its late stimulatory effect on somatotrope secretion. These findings suggest that the inhibitory and stimulatory effects of glucose load on GH secretion are unlikely to be due to biphasic modulation of hypothalamic somatostatin release, which seems selectively refractory to stimulation by hyperglycemia in obesity.
Quo vadis Face Recognition

Within the past decade, major advances have occurred in face recognition. With few exceptions, however, most research has been limited to training and testing on frontal views. Little is known about the extent to which face pose, illumination, expression, occlusion, and individual differences, such as those associated with gender, inﬂuence recognition accuracy. We systematically varied these factors to test the performance of two leading algorithms, one template based and the other feature based. Image data consisted of over 21000 images from 3 publicly available databases: CMU PIE, Cohn-Kanade, and AR databases. In general, both algorithms were robust to variation in illumination and expression. Recognition accuracy was highly sensitive to variation in pose. For frontal training images, performance was attenuated beginning at about 15 degrees. Beyond about 30 degrees, performance became unacceptable. For non-frontal training images, fall off was more severe. Small but consistent differences were found for individual differences in subjects. These ﬁndings suggest direction for future research, including design of experiments and data collection.
Effect of the Lookback Period’s Length Used to Identify Incident Acute Myocardial Infarction on the Observed Trends on Incidence Rates and Survival: Cardiovascular Disease in Norway Project

Background—In studies using patient administrative data, the identification of the first (incident) acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in an individual is based on retrospectively excluding previous hospitalizations for the same condition during a fixed time period (lookback period [LP]). Our aim was to investigate whether the length of the LP used to identify the first AMI had an effect on trends in AMI incidence and subsequent survival in a nationwide study. Methods and Results—All AMI events during 1994 to 2009 were retrieved from the Cardiovascular Disease in Norway project. Incident AMIs during 2004 to 2009 were identified using LPs of 10, 8, 7, 5, and 3 years. For each LP, we calculated time trends in incident AMI and subsequent 28-day and 1-year mortality rates. Results obtained from analyses using the LP of 10 years were compared with those obtained using shorter LPs. In men, AMI incidence rates declined by 4.2% during 2004 to 2009 (incidence rate ratio, 0.958; 95% confidence interval, 0.935–0.982). The use of other LPs produced similar results, not significantly different from the LP of 10 years. In women, AMI incidence rates declined by 7.3% (incidence rate ratio, 0.927; 95% confidence interval, 0.901–0.955) when an LP of 10 years was used. The decline was statistically significantly smaller for the LP of 5 years (6.2% versus 7.3%; P=0.02) and 3 years (5.9% versus 7.3%; P=0.03). The choice of LP did not influence trends in 28-day and 1-year mortality rates. Conclusions—The length of LP may influence the observed time trends in incident AMIs. This effect is more evident in older women.
Transferrin-modified nanostructured lipid carriers as multifunctional nanomedicine for codelivery of DNA and doxorubicin

Background Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), composed of solid and liquid lipids, and surfactants are potentially good colloidal drug carriers. The aim of this study was to develop surface-modified NLC as multifunctional nanomedicine for codelivery of enhanced green fluorescence protein plasmid (pEGFP) and doxorubicin (DOX). Methods Two different nanocarriers: pEGFP- and DOX-loaded NLC, and solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were prepared. Transferrin-containing ligands were used for the surface coating of the vectors. Their average size, zeta potential, and drug encapsulation capacity were evaluated. In vitro transfection efficiency of the modified vectors was evaluated in human alveolar adenocarcinoma cell line (A549 cells), and in vivo transfection efficiency of the modified vectors was evaluated in a mouse bearing A549 cells model. Results Transferrin-modified DOX and pEGFP coencapsulated NLC (T-NLC) has a particle size of 198 nm and a +19 mV surface charge. The in vitro cell viabilities of the T-NLC formulations were over 80% compared with the control. T-NLC displayed remarkably greater gene transfection efficiency and enhanced antitumor activity than DOX- and pEGFP-coencapsulated SLN in vivo. Conclusion The results demonstrate that T-NLC noticeably enhanced antitumor activity through the combination of gene therapy with chemotherapy. Also coating of active transferrin improved the lung cancer cell-targeting of the carriers. In summary, the novel gene and drug delivery system offers a promising strategy for the treatment of lung cancer.
Safe incorporation of new technologies in thyroid surgery

The history of thyroid surgery starts with Billroth, Kocher and Halsted, who developed the technique for thyroidectomy between the years of 1873 and 1910. In general the essential objectives for thyroidectomy are: sparing the parathyroid glands, avoidance of injury to the laryngeal nerves, an accurate hemostasis and an excellent cosmesis. In the last 10 years, major improvements and new technologies have been proposed and applied in thyroid surgery. These include mini-invasive thyroidectomy, new devices for achieving hemostasis and dissection, regional anesthesia, intraoperative neuromonitoring, parathyroid hormone assay technology and genetic screening. This paper reviews the relevant medical literature published on the influence of these new technologies on the quality of thyroid surgery, as well as prevention of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Searches were last updated in April 2008.
Veto-Like Activity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Functional Discrimination Between Cellular Responses to Alloantigens and Recall Antigens1

Trans-differentiation of stem cells shows promise for use in tissue repair medicine. Although poorly defined, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) appear useful for applications in repair medicine. Despite the low frequency of MSC, they are relatively easy to expand. The expression of MHC class II on MSC, however, could deter their use in repair medicine, since these molecules could stimulate an allogeneic host response. This study sought to compare the immune stimulatory and suppressive effects of MSC. Primary human MSC were cultured from bone marrow aspirates and then passaged at least three times before use in assays. Morphologically, MSC were symmetrical; were SH2+, MHC class II+, CD45−, CD44+, CD31−, CD14−, proly-4-hydroxylase−; and showed normal karyotype patterns and elevated telomerase activities. MSC elicited significant stimulatory responses when cocultured with allogeneic PBMC. Despite the production of different types of growth factors, allogeneic effects of MSC could not be explained by the production of these growth factors. One-way MLR reactions were significantly blunted by third-party MSC. Similar suppression was not observed for responses to three different recall Ags. Based on these functional differences by MSC in responses to allo- and recall Ags, we examined whether MSC could exert veto-like functions. We showed that MSC could blunt the cytotoxic effects of allogeneic-induced effectors to mitogen-activated targets. The results showed that although MSC elicited allogeneic responses in a model that mimics a graft-vs-host reaction, they also exerted veto-like activity, but caused no effect on responses to recall Ags.
Benchmarking Web-Application Architectures in the Cloud

Cloud computing has introduced a shift of applications and services from local data centers to remote internet servers. Providing high scalability, fault-tolerance and a pay-per-use cost model, the cloud offers attractive services which cover the entire range of data processing and data storage. While clouds become more and more popular, there are currently only few performance evaluations to verify how well cloud services perform compared to traditional architectures. Moreover, with the increasing number of cloud providers and services, it has become a challenge to compare all offerings. To address this issue, we have distinguished the most common architectures for applications for the cloud and developed a benchmark taking the specific properties of the cloud into account. We implemented this benchmark on services of different cloud providers and carried out an extensive performance analysis. We discovered that depending on the setting and the provider, the performance as well as the cost is subject to considerable divergence. Especially, in terms of performance and scalability, cloud storage services can not reach traditional relational databases.
A Layered Optimization Approach for Redundant Reader Elimination in Wireless RFID Networks

The problem of redundant RFID reader elimination has instigated researchers to propose different optimization heuristics due to the rapid advance of technologies in large scale RFID systems. In this paper, we present a layered elimination optimization (LEO) which is an algorithm independent technique aims to detect maximum amount of redundant readers could be safely removed or turned off with preserving original RFID network coverage. A significant improvement of the LEO scheme is that number of "write-to-tag" operations could be largely reduced during the redundant reader identification phase. Moreover, LEO is a distributed scheme which does not need to collect global information for centralizing control, leading no communications and synchronizations among RFID readers. To evaluate the performance of the proposed techniques, we have implemented the LEO technique along with another redundant reader identification algorithm and other hybrid schemes. In experimental results, the LEO is shown to be effective and provides superior performance in terms of larger number of redundant reader could be detected and with lower algorithm overheads.
Modeling the determinants of pre‐service teachers' perceived usefulness of e‐learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of pre‐service teachers' perceived usefulness of e‐learning for teaching and learning.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 189 pre‐service teachers completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to four constructs which explain perceived usefulness in the context of e‐learning: learning environment (LE), course delivery (CD), tutor attribute (TA), and facilitating conditions (FC). These were administered during the teaching term where participants were attending a technology course. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for modeling and data analysis.Findings – Results revealed that 62.5 percent of the total variance in the pre‐service teachers' perceived usefulness of e‐learning was explained by the four variables. Among them, learning environment did not have a significant influence on perceived usefulness. Overall, the data in this study provided evidence to support the notion that perceived usefulness is a mul.
An Exploration of the Links between Trauma and Delusional Ideation in Secure Services

Abstract Relationships between trauma symptoms and delusional ideation were explored in a forensic sample. A between-subjects design compared low and high trauma scoring patients on measures of delusional ideation and paranoia. A within-subjects design examined associations between trauma-related cognitions, delusional ideation and paranoia. Thirty-four participants were recruited from a number of secure units. Participants' “worst trauma” was identified using a self-report analogue scale. Self-report measures of trauma symptoms, trauma-related beliefs, delusions and paranoia were completed. Thirteen patients scored above the cut-off on the trauma measure, indicating a high rate of trauma symptoms. The most frequently cited worst traumas were committing an offence and the experience of psychosis. Correlational analyses revealed positive associations between traumatization and intensity of delusional ideation and paranoia. Trauma-related negative cognitions about the self were positively associated with level of delusional ideation, associated distress, and preoccupation. Negative cognitions about the world were associated with paranoia. Findings provide some evidence for associations between traumatization and delusional ideation and paranoia in this population. Future research should aim to replicate and extend the study, using a larger sample size and diagnostic measures of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The Effects of Religion and Religiosity on Advertisement Assessment among Lebanese Consumers

ABSTRACT Religion plays a significant role in the way consumers perceive the advertising of controversial products. Religiosity, which describes an individual's commitment and adherence to religious values and beliefs, is also of a noteworthy relevance in how consumers appraise product advertisements. Conducted in Lebanon, the study employed a survey design that was administered to a randomized sample including respondents from the two main religions in the country, namely Islam and Christianity. The questionnaire was completed by a representative sample of 527 Lebanese consumers. Those sampled from each region were chosen based on religious sects’ distribution in each of the five local conglomerates, with a fair representation of gender and age groups. The results indicated significant differences in perceptions between Muslim and Christian, and highly religious versus less religious respondents with regards to the offensiveness of the advertising of controversial products. Briefly, the more religious consumers were largely more offended by the advertisement of the 17 products studied than nonreligious consumers. Also, Muslim consumers from both sects, showed greater level of offense than their Christian counterparts. These results have significant implications on both advertisers and marketing managers aiming to expand their field of business in the Middle East, as well as in other international regions where religion plays an integral role in the society.
Don't Call Me “Biker Chick”: Women Motorcyclists Redefining Deviant Identity

The majority of literature on women who participate in the world of motorcycling focuses on females associated with outlaw motorcycle clubs and hardcore bikers. Roles for those women tended to be subservient and demeaning. Women are the fastest growing segment in today's contemporary world of middle- and upper-middle-class motorcycling, where they fulfill more meaningful roles whether they are passengers or riders of their own bikes. This descriptive exploratory study utilizes a symbolic interaction framework to analyze approximately four years of participant observation and ethnographic interviews with some of these women. Findings indicate that female motorcyclists manipulate several meaningful symbols in order to redefine what has largely been viewed as a deviant identity. Riding motorcycles is what they do, not who they are. Women who ride feel a sense of freedom, excitement, and empowerment as they maintain their femininity while participating in what has traditionally been viewed as a masculine endeavor.
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results from a Population-Based Survey in Olmsted County, Minnesota

Objectives. To compare the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) versus non-RA subjects and to describe determinants of GI disorders in RA. Methods. The bowel disease questionnaire was completed by RA and non-RA subjects. RA patients also completed the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ). Results. The study responders included 284 RA and 233 non-RA subjects. Abdominal pain/discomfort, postprandial fullness, nausea, and stool leakage were significantly more common in RA versus non-RA (odds ratios [OR] = 1.8; 1.9; 4.0; 8.2, resp.). The use of laxatives, proton pump inhibitors, NSAIDs, acetaminophen, and narcotics was more commonly reported in RA versus non-RA (OR = 2.0; 1.7; 3.0; 2.0; 1.9, resp.). Age < 60 and HAQ ≥ 1 were associated with dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and GI symptom complex overlap in RA. Conclusion. Several upper and lower GI disorders were significantly more prevalent in RA versus non-RA subjects. Age <60 and physical function impairment (HAQ ≥ 1) were associated with GI disorders in RA.