Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ground moving target displacement compensation for DPCA based SAR-GMTI system

The velocity and acceleration of the ground moving target can cause the target position to be displaced and defocused in the SAR image. In this paper, the displacement compensation scheme is presented to correct the displaced position and defocused moving target image in the DPCA based SAR-GMTI system. The influence of the ground moving target due to the velocity and acceleration is analyzed in range and azimuth directions, and its compensation method is presented with the simulation results. The performance of the proposed method is compared with respect to the estimated velocity and defocused quantity in both range and azimuth directions.
Permeation of sumatriptan succinate across human skin using multiple types of self-dissolving microneedle arrays fabricated from sodium hyaluronate

Abstract Available formulations of sumatriptan succinate (SS) have low bioavailability or are associated with site reactions. We developed various types of self-dissolving microneedle arrays (MNs) fabricated from sodium hyaluronate as a new delivery system for SS and evaluated their skin permeation and irritation in terms of clinical application. In vitro permeation studies with human skin, physicochemical properties (needle length, thickness and density), and penetration enhancers (glycerin, sodium dodecyl sulfate and lauric acid diethanolamide) were investigated. SS-loaded high-density MNs of 800 µm in length were the optimal formulation and met clinical therapeutic requirements. Penetration enhancers did not significantly affect permeation of SS from MNs. Optical coherence tomography images demonstrated that SS-loaded high-density MNs (800 µm) uniformly created drug permeation pathways for the delivery of SS into the skin. SS-loaded high-density MNs induced moderate primary skin irritations in rats, but the skin recovered within 72 h of removal of the MNs. These findings suggest that high-density MNs of 800 µm in length are an effective and promising formulation for transdermal delivery of SS. To our knowledge, this is the first report of SS permeation across human skin using self-dissolving MNs.
Interpopulation variability and adaptive potential for reduced glyphosate sensitivity in Alopecurus myosuroides

Summary Glyphosate use in the United Kingdom has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Much of this increase is driven by efforts to control herbicide resistant weeds, particularly Alopecurus myosuroides, prior to crop drilling. There is precedent for evolution of glyphosate resistance in similar situations, raising concerns over the sustainability of glyphosate use in the UK. We used dose–response experiments to examine variation in glyphosate sensitivity amongst 40 field‐collected A. myosuroides populations. No populations were resistant to glyphosate, but ED 90 values ranged between 354 and 610 g a.i. ha−1. Five populations had ED 90 values significantly higher than the unexposed control population collected from a site at Rothamsted Research with no previous glyphosate exposure. Recurrent selection experiments were performed to determine whether variation in glyphosate sensitivity had a heritable basis. Following two rounds of selection, five of six field populations evolved significantly reduced sensitivity to glyphosate, with R/S ratios, based on estimated ED 50 values, ranging from 1.2 to 1.5. These results confirm that there is a heritable basis to variation in glyphosate sensitivity. The response to selection was modest. Evolved populations were not highly resistant to glyphosate, although some twice‐selected individuals survived recommended field rates. These results do not represent definitive proof of the potential of A. myosuroides to evolve glyphosate resistance, although they do indicate caution is needed when considering the sustainability of increased glyphosate use to control this herbicide resistance‐prone species.
Code and Data Integrity of Modern Operating Systems

This thesis investigates how runtime code integrity of a modern operating systems (OSs) can be achieved. Existing mechanisms assume, that kernel code, once loaded into memory is static. We show, that this assumption is not true and that OSs perform benign self-optimization during runtime. We also investigate how to improve on kernel data integrity validation. We introduce an approach to identifying and classifying code pointers in memory. Additionally, we present a framework, that is able to both validate the integrity of self-modifying kernel code and to detect kernel-based code-reuse malware in memory in an efficient manner.
The Impact of Cloud Forensic Readiness on Security

The rapid increase in the use of cloud computing has led it to become a new arena for cybercrime. Since cloud environments are, to some extent, a new field for digital forensics, a number of technical, legal and organisational challenges have been raised. Although security and digital forensics share the same concerns, when an attack occurs, the fields of security and digital forensics are considered different disciplines. This paper argues that cloud security and digital forensics in cloud environments are converging fields. As a result, unifying security and forensics by being forensically ready and including digital forensics aspects in security mechanisms would enhance the security level in cloud computing, increase forensic capabilities and prepare organizations for any potential attack.
A New Dominant Gene Mental Retardation Syndrome: Association With Small Stature, Tapering Fingers, Characteristic Facies, and Possible Hydrocephalus

Many members of one family have a unique syndrome of mental retardation, small stature, retarded bone age, hypotonia, tapering fingers, a characteristic facies which includes hypertelorism, upturned nares, and prominent frontal region, and possibly arrested hydrocephalus. The evidence suggests an autosomal dominant gene with variable expressivity as the cause of the syndrome.
Clinical and Patient-Reported Outcomes After Pancreatoduodenectomy for Different Diseases: A Follow-Up Study

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate clinical features and quality of life (QoL) in a 2-year follow-up study in subjects who underwent pancreatic head resection (PHR). Methods: One hundred ninety-seven patients with benign and malignant diseases who underwent PHR were studied. A dedicated clinical form and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life Questionnaire C-30 were administered at evaluation times (immediately before surgery and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after discharge). A sample of 197 sex- and age-matched norms was also included into the study as reference group. Results: Of the 197 patients studied, 164 (83.2%) had malignant disease, and 33 had benign disease (16.8%). At initial evaluation, global health was significantly lower (P = 0.001) in the study population as compared with the norms. At the end of the study, the QoL was not significantly different from the norms, although the QoL of the 30 patients with benign disease was significantly better than that of the 72 patients with malignant disease. Conclusions: The QoL before PHR was impaired in study patients before resection as compared with the normative population, whereas in patients who survived resection, it significantly improved in the 24 months after surgery.Abbreviations: EORTC QLQ C-30 - European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life Questionnaire C-30, GH - global health, PF - physical functioning, RF - role functioning, EF - emotional functioning, CF - cognitive functioning, SF - social functioning, PA - pain, FA - fatigue, NV - nausea-vomiting, SL - sleeping disturbance, DY - dyspnea, AP - appetite loss, CO - constipation, DI - diarrhea, FI - financial difficulties, PROs - patient-reported outcomes, ANOVA - analysis of variance, PPPD - pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy, WP - standard Whipple procedure
Closed-loop driver/vehicle model for automotive control

This paper demonstrates the implementation of a comprehensive vehicle model combined with a driver model in closed loop for the purpose of developing and testing of vehicle stability systems. As an example of such a stability system, a model of an active front steering controller is considered. The operation of this controller is based on vehicle states available my means of a state estimator. The functional efficiency of these combined models is demonstrated using a double-lane change manoeuvre. The use of the stability controller shows clear improvement in terms of the vehicle dynamical stability.
Bayesian network structure learning with causal effects in the presence of latent variables

Latent variables may lead to spurious relationships that can be misinterpreted as causal relationships. In Bayesian Networks (BNs), this challenge is known as learning under causal insufficiency. Structure learning algorithms that assume causal insufficiency tend to reconstruct the ancestral graph of a BN, where bi-directed edges represent confounding and directed edges represent direct or ancestral relationships. This paper describes a hybrid structure learning algorithm, called CCHM, which combines the constraint-based part of cFCI with hill-climbing score-based learning. The score-based process incorporates Pearl s do-calculus to measure causal effects and orientate edges that would otherwise remain undirected, under the assumption the BN is a linear Structure Equation Model where data follow a multivariate Gaussian distribution. Experiments based on both randomised and well-known networks show that CCHM improves the state-of-the-art in terms of reconstructing the true ancestral graph.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Sphingomonas sp., an Endosymbiotic Bacterium Isolated from an Arctic Lichen Umbilicaria sp

ABSTRACT Sphingomonas sp. strain PAMC 26617 has been isolated from an Arctic lichen Umbilicaria sp. on the Svalbard Islands. Here we present the draft genome sequence of this strain, which represents a valuable resource for understanding the symbiotic mechanisms between endosymbiotic bacteria and lichens surviving in extreme environments.
META‐ANALYSES OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MULTILOCUS HETEROZYGOSITY AND FITNESS

Meta‐analyses of published correlation coefficients between multilocus heterozygosity (MLH) and two fitness surrogates, growth rate and fluctuating asymmetry, suggested that the strength of these correlations are generally weak. A variety of plants and animals was included in the meta‐analyses. A statistically homogeneous group of MLH–growth rate correlation coefficients that included both plants and animals yielded a common correlation of rz = 0.133. A common correlation of rz = –0.170 was estimated for correlations between MLH and fluctuating asymmetry in three species of salmonid fishes. These results suggest that selection, including overdominance, has at most a weak effect at allozyme loci and cast some doubt on the widely held notion that heterozygosity and individual fitness are strongly correlated.
Genetic diversity study of indigenous cattle (Gir and Kankrej) population of Rajasthan using microsatellite markers

The genetic diversity study of native Gir and Kankrej (Bos indicus) cattle populations were evaluated using nine microsatellite markers (ETH-225, CSRM-60, HEL-9, INRA-005, ETH-10, HAUT-24, BM1818, ILSTS-002 and ILSTS-006) suggested by FAO (ISAG). A total of 60 cattle were sampled from different places of local Rajasthan region. For each, 30 individuals were sampled. The mean number of observed and effective alleles in Kankrej were high (5.222 and 3.714) comparatively and the average expected heterozygosity values (0.5403) indicated high diversity in the Kankrej population than Gir (0.4520). High polymorphism information content (PIC) values observed for most of the markers with an average of 0.5116 are indicative of high polymorphism of these markers in Kankrej breed than in Gir (0.4202), which showed high informativeness of all the microsatellite markers in Kankrej breed. Three microsatellites markers (HAUT24, BM1818 AND ILSTS006) did not show amplification in both breeds. INRA005 was the only markers amplified in Kankrej. The allele diversity (mean observed number of alleles was 6.11; mean effective number of alleles was 5.187) and gene diversity (0.2771) values implied a substantial amount of genetic variability in both populations. Reasonably high PIC values observed for most of the markers, with an average PIC value of 0.5116 across all the loci implied that this set of microsatellite are very informative for evaluation of genetic diversity in both the breeds. This informativeness of microsatellite markers showed it can be used for various applications like, conservation, disease diagnosis and polymorphism in different populations. Key words : Genetic diversity, polymorphism information content (PIC), heterozygosity, polymorphism, marker.
Ten-year use of mental health services by patients with borderline personality disorder and with other axis II disorders.

OBJECTIVE The study determined the prevalence of use of three treatment modalities (individual therapy, medication, and hospitalization) reported over a ten-year period by patients with borderline personality disorder and by those in a comparison group with other axis II disorders. Time to cessation and time to resumption for each modality among patients with borderline personality disorder were also determined. METHODS Treatment history of inpatients with a reliable diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (N=290) and of other axis II disorders (N=72) was assessed with an interview of proven reliability during the index admission. Treatment history was reassessed at two-year intervals for ten years. RESULTS For all three treatment modalities, prevalence of use declined significantly among patients with borderline personality disorder and among those in the comparison group. Among patients with borderline personality disorder, 52% reported having stopped individual therapy and 44% reported having stopped medication at one or more of the follow-up interviews over ten years. However, 85% of those who had stopped psychotherapy and 67% of those who stopped taking medication resumed these treatments during a subsequent two-year period. In contrast, 88% had experienced at least one two-year period without a psychiatric hospitalization by the time of the ten-year follow-up; however, almost half of these patients were subsequently rehospitalized. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that patients with borderline personality disorder tend to use outpatient treatments without interruption over prolonged periods. They also suggest that inpatient treatment is used far more intermittently by patients with borderline personality disorder.
Conserved outer membrane protein of Neisseria meningitidis involved in capsule expression

In Neisseria meningitidis, translocation of capsular polysaccharides to the cell surface is mediated by a transport system that fits the characteristics of ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters. One protein of this transport system, termed CtrA, is located in the outer membrane. By use of a CtrA-specific monoclonal antibody, we could demonstrate that CtrA occurs exclusively in N. meningitidis and not in other pathogenic or nonpathogenic Neisseria species. Nucleotide sequence comparison of the ctrA gene from different meningococcal serogroups indicated that CtrA is strongly conserved in all meningococcal serogroups, independent of the chemical composition of the capsular polysaccharide. Secondary structure analysis revealed that CtrA is anchored in the outer membrane by eight membrane-spanning amphipathic beta strands, a structure of proteins that function as porins.
GLASSOFAST : An efficient GLASSO implementation

The GLASSO algorithm has been proposed by Friedman, Hastie and Tibshirani in 2008 to solve the `1 regularized inverse covariance matrix estimation problem. The conditional dependency structure which is captured by the inverse of the covariance matrix is of interest in numerous applications and the publication of GLASSO has spurred the development of several other algorithms aimed to solve the same optimization problem. In this paper, we present GLASSOFAST, our efficient implementation of GLASSO and demonstrate via numerical experiments that it is a magnitude faster than the original implementation.
Coordinated recharging of mobile robots during exploration

We compare five policies for teams of mobile robots to share a limited number of charging points while exploring a structured, unknown environment. Since it is infeasible to precompute an optimized schedule due to a limited time horizon, an energy-aware planner is used for adaptively deciding when and where to recharge. The coordination between robots is based on market economy giving them the flexibility to incorporate multiple objectives into a single cost function. The presented policies are evaluated through simulations with different robot team sizes on different maps. We measure the exploration gain in explored area and the exploration cost in traveled distance over time. We compare the market-based approach to a simple first-come, first-served approach. Results demonstrate the applicability for multi-robot exploration and show the strengths and weaknesses of each policy.
Supporting the Exploration of the Learning Goals for a Continuous Learner Toward Creative Learning

This paper proposes a learning goal space that visualizes the distribution of the obtained solutions to support the exploration of the learning goals for a learner. Subsequently, we examine the method for assisting a learner to present the novelty of the obtained solution. We conduct a learning experiment using a continuous learning task to identify various solutions. To assign the subjects space to explore the learning goals, several parameters related to the success of the task are not instructed to the subjects. In the comparative experiment, three types of learning feedbacks provided to the subjects are compared. These are presenting the learning goal space with obtained solutions mapped on it, directly presenting the novelty of the obtained solutions mapped on it, and presenting some value that is slightly related to the obtained solution. In the experiments, the subjects to whom the learning goal space or novelty of the obtained solution is shown, continue to identify solutions according to their learning goals until the final stage in the experiment is attained. Therefore, in a continuous learning task, our supporting method of directly or indirectly presenting the novelty of the obtained solution through the learning goal space is effective.
Antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing disorders: Evidence for Gene × Environment × Development interaction

Abstract Gene × Environment interaction contributes to externalizing disorders in childhood and adolescence, but little is known about whether such effects are long lasting or present in adulthood. We examined gene–environment interplay in the concurrent and prospective associations between antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing disorders (antisocial behavior and substance use disorders) at ages 17, 20, 24, and 29. The sample included 1,382 same-sex twin pairs participating in the Minnesota Twin Family Study. We detected a Gene × Environment interaction at age 17, such that additive genetic influences on antisocial behavior and substance use disorders were greater in the context of greater antisocial peer affiliation. This Gene × Environment interaction was not present for antisocial behavior symptoms after age 17, but it was for substance use disorder symptoms through age 29 (though effect sizes were largest at age 17). The results suggest adolescence is a critical period for the development of externalizing disorders wherein exposure to greater environmental adversity is associated with a greater expression of genetic risk. This form of Gene × Environment interaction may persist through young adulthood for substance use disorders, but it appears to be limited to adolescence for antisocial behavior.
Variation in therapy and outcome for pediatric head trauma patients

ObjectiveThis study was undertaken to examine variation in therapies and outcome for pediatric head trauma patients by patient characteristics and by pediatric intensive care unit. Specifically, the study was designed to examine severity of illness on admission to the pediatric intensive care unit, the therapies used during the pediatric intensive care unit stay, and patient outcomes. Data Sources and Setting Consecutive admissions from three pediatric intensive care units were recorded prospectively (n = 5,749). For this study, all patients with an admitting diagnosis of head trauma were included (n = 477). Data collection occurred during an 18-month period beginning in June 1996. All of the pediatric intensive care units were located in children’s hospitals, had residency and fellowship training programs, and were headed by a pediatric intensivist. MethodsAdmission severity was measured as the worst recorded physiological derangement during the period ≤6 hrs before pediatric intensive care unit admission. Therapies and resource use were based on the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System with adaptations for pediatrics. The use of intracranial pressure monitoring was recorded on admission to the unit (within 1 hr) and at any time during the pediatric intensive care unit stay. Outcomes were measured at the time of pediatric intensive care unit discharge by the Pediatric Overall Performance Category scale. Risk factors for mortality were examined by using bivariate analyses with significant predictors as candidate variables in a logistic regression to predict expected mortality. Intracranial pressure monitoring and other therapies were added to the mortality prediction model to test for protective effects. Finally, race and insurance status were added to the model to test for differences in the quality of care. ResultsThe overall mortality rate for the entire sample was 7.8%. Mortality rates for children ≤1 yr old were significantly higher than for children >1 yr old (16.1% vs. 6.1%;p = .002). Comparisons by insurance status indicated that observed mortality rates were highest for self-paying patients. However, patient characteristics were not associated with use of therapies or standardized mortality rates after adjustment for patient severity. There was significant variation in the use of paralytic agents, seizure medications, induced hypothermia, and intracranial pressure monitoring on admission across the three pediatric intensive care units. In multivariate models, only the use of seizure medications was associated significantly with reduced mortality risk (odds ratio = 0.17; 95% confidence interval = 0.04–0.70;p = .014). ConclusionsTherapies and outcomes vary across pediatric intensive care units that care for children with head injuries. Increased use of seizure medications may be warranted based on data from this observational study. Large randomized controlled trials of seizure prophylaxis in children with head injury have not been conducted and are needed to confirm the findings presented here.
Substrate doping induced hole barrier lowering in PtSi/n-Si Schottky diode and its implication to PtSi source/drain SBFETs

In this paper, Schottky barrier height (SBH) lowering of Pt silicide/n-Si diodes is demonstrated empirically and we study its implications to Schottky-barrier (SB) source/drain p-FETs. We show that the hole SBH can be lowered through an image-force mechanism by increasing the n-Si substrate doping, which can lead to a substantial gain of the drive current in the long-channel bulk p-SBFETs. Numerical simulations show that the channel doping concentration is also critical for short-channel n- & p- SOI SBFETs performance.