Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phishing Detection: Analysis of Visual Similarity Based Approaches

Phishing is one of the major problems faced by cyber-world and leads to financial losses for both industries and individuals. Detection of phishing attack with high accuracy has always been a challenging issue. At present, visual similarities based techniques are very useful for detecting phishing websites efficiently. Phishing website looks very similar in appearance to its corresponding legitimate website to deceive users into believing that they are browsing the correct website. Visual similarity based phishing detection techniques utilise the feature set like text content, text format, HTML tags, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), image, and so forth, to make the decision. These approaches compare the suspicious website with the corresponding legitimate website by using various features and if the similarity is greater than the predefined threshold value then it is declared phishing. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of phishing attacks, their exploitation, some of the recent visual similarity based approaches for phishing detection, and its comparative study. Our survey provides a better understanding of the problem, current solution space, and scope of future research to deal with phishing attacks efficiently using visual similarity based approaches.
A microtubule polymerase cooperates with the kinesin-6 motor and a microtubule cross-linker to promote bipolar spindle assembly in the absence of kinesin-5 and kinesin-14 in fission yeast

Kinesin-5 is required for bipolar spindle assembly; yet in the absence of kinesins-5 and -14, cells can form spindles. In fission yeast, three distinct pathways compensate for their loss. Microtubule polymerase, kinesin-6, and microtubule cross-linker execute individual roles in concert at different mitotic stages in place of the two kinesins.
miRCarta: a central repository for collecting miRNA candidates

Abstract The continuous increase of available biological data as consequence of modern high-throughput technologies poses new challenges for analysis techniques and database applications. Especially for miRNAs, one class of small non-coding RNAs, many algorithms have been developed to predict new candidates from next-generation sequencing data. While the amount of publications describing novel miRNA candidates keeps steadily increasing, the current gold standard database for miRNAs - miRBase - has not been updated since June 2014. As a result, publications describing new miRNA candidates in the last three to five years might have a substantial overlap of candidates without noticing. With miRCarta we implemented a database to collect novel miRNA candidates and augment the information provided by miRBase. In the first stage, miRCarta is thought to be a highly sensitive collection of potential miRNA candidates with a high degree of analysis functionality, annotations and details on each miRNA. We added—besides the full content of the miRBase—12,857 human miRNA precursors to miRCarta. Users can match their own predictions to the entries of miRCarta to reduce potential redundancies in their studies. miRCarta provides the most comprehensive collection of human miRNAs and miRNA candidates to form a basis for further refinement and validation studies. The database is freely accessible at https://mircarta.cs. uni-saarland.de/.
Model-based Alignment of Heartbeat Morphology for Enhancing Human Recognition Capability

Human recognition with heartbeat signal is useful for different applications such as information security, user identification and remote patient monitoring. In this paper, we propose a modelbased method for the alignment of heartbeat morphology to enhance the recognition capability. The scale change of different heartbeats of the same individual due to heart rate variability is estimated and inversed to yield better alignment. Recognition capabilities of different alignment methods are analyzed and measured by intra-individual and inter-individual distances of aligned heartbeats. A framework for heartbeat recognition incorporating the model-based alignment method is also presented. We tested the recognition capability of heartbeat morphology by using two different databases. It was found that model-based alignment method was useful to boost the recognition capability of heartbeat morphology. A statistical t-test revealed that the improvement was significant with respect to recognition capabilities of other existing alignment methods. We also used the aligned morphology as a feature, tested the recognition accuracy on both databases and compared the recognition performance to those of four other state-of-the-art features. A large increase in recognition accuracy was obtained especially for a multisession database of heartbeat signals captured from fingers using a handheld ECG device.
Terahertz-wave generation using graphene: toward the creation of graphene injection lasers

This paper reviews recent advances in terahertz-wave generation in graphene toward the creation of new types of graphene terahertz lasers. Fundamental basis of the optoelectronic properties of graphene is first introduced. Second, nonequilibrium carrier relaxation/recombination dynamics and resultant negative terahertz conductivity in optically or electrically pumped graphene are described. Third, recent theoretical advances toward the creation of current-injection graphene terahertz lasers are described. Fourth, unique terahertz dynamics of the two-dimensional plasmons in graphene are discussed. Finally, the advantages of graphene materials and devices for terahertz-wave generation are summarized.
Impact of starting material (fresh versus cryopreserved marrow) on mesenchymal stem cell culture

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) continue to be investigated in multiple clinical trials as potential therapy for different disorders. There is ongoing controversy surrounding the clinical use of cryopreserved versus fresh MSCs. However, little is known about how cryopreservation affects marrow as starting material. The growth kinetics of MSC cultures derived from fresh versus cryopreserved marrow were compared.
Entropy Estimates for Generative Models

Different approaches to generative modeling entail different approaches to evaluation. While some models admit test likelihood estimation, for others only proxy metrics for visual quality are being reported. In this paper, we propose a simple method to compute differential entropy of an arbitrary decoder-based generative model. Using this approach, we found that models with qualitatively different samples are distinguishable in terms of entropy. In particular, adversarially trained generative models typically have higher entropy than variational autoencoders. Additionally, we provide support for the application of entropy as a measure of sample diversity.
Synthesis and Biological Evaluations of NO-Donating Oxa- and Aza-Pentacycloundecane Derivatives as Potential Neuroprotective Candidates

In order to utilize the neuroprotective properties of polycyclic cage compounds, and explore the NO-donating ability of nitrophenyl groups, an array of compounds was synthesized where the different nitrophenyl groups were appended on oxa and aza-bridged cage derivatives. Biological evaluations of the compounds were done for cytotoxicity, neuroprotective abilities, the inhibition of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-mediated Ca2+ influx, the inhibition of voltage-mediated Ca2+ influx, and S-nitrosylation abilities. All of the compounds showed low toxicity. With a few exceptions, most of the compounds displayed good neuroprotection and showed inhibitory activity for NMDA-mediated and voltage-gated calcium influx, ranging from high (>70%) to low (20–39%) inhibition. In the S-nitrosylation assay, the compounds with the nitro moiety as the NO-donating group exhibited low to good nitrosylation potency compared to the positive controls. From the biological evaluation of the tested compounds, it was not possible to obtain a simple correlation that could explain the results across all of the biological study domains. This can be ascribed to the independent processes evaluated in the different assays, which reiterate that neuroprotection is a result of multifactorial biochemical mechanisms and interactions. However, these results signify the important aspects of the pentacylcoundecylamine neuroprotectants across different biological study realms.
Polyacrylonitrile and Carbon Nanofibers with Controllable Nanoporous Structures by Electrospinning

In this work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and carbon nanofibers with controllable nanoporous structures were successfully prepared via electrospinning technique. For the preparation of porous PAN nanofibers, two kinds of polymers of PAN and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were used as electrospun precursor materials, and then the bicomponent nanofibers of PAN and PVP were extracted with water to remove the PVP in the composite polymer nanofibers. By altering the ratio of PAN/PVP in the precursor, the pore size and pore distribution of porous PAN nanofibers could be easily controlled. By using the porous PAN nanofibers as structures directing template and through heat treatment, carbon nanofibers with nanoporous structures were obtained. The porous nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential thermal analyses (DTA), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectra.
Magnetic nanoparticle and liposome technologies for multimodal imaging

The overall aim was to produce a magnetolipopolyplex, a multimodal-imaging agent, for the detection of cancer. Iron oxide nanoparticles, which are used as negative contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging were encapsulated into biocompatible liposomes alongside plasmid DNA and targeting peptides. The plasmid DNA provides the potential for optical imaging and PET through the inclusion of the red fluorescent protein reporter gene and the human sodium iodide symporter, which can be radiolabelled. The inclusion of targeting peptides in the formulation of the magnetolipopolyplexes allows for its site-specific delivery. Initially, poly(L)lysine (PLL) was bio-conjugated to the surface of commercially available iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with dextran, rendering the surface charge of the MNPs positive and thus allowing for the electrostatic binding of negatively charged plasmid DNA (pDNA) to the surface. Two plasmids were produced; one coding for the red fluorescent protein (RFP gene) for optical imaging and the other with both RFP and the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS) which can be radiolabelled for PET imaging. Once the pDNA was electrostatically bound to the PLL on the surface of the MNP, the functionalised MNP was encapsulated into a cationic liposome in order to produce a biocompatible means of delivering the liposome both in vivo and in vitro. Unfortunately, poor results were obtained for the in vitro transfections, which were attributed to their large size and negative surface charges. To overcome the issues faced by the formulation method and in vitro transfections studies, an alternative method of magnetolipopolyplex formulation was carried out. Here, negatively charged MNPs, coated with either carboxymethyldextran or citric acid, were added to preformulated cationic liposomes. The negative surface charge of the MNP allowed the successful diffusion of the MNPs through the positively charged lipid membrane to form magnetoliposomes. To these magnetoliposomes co-condensed pDNA and K16 peptides was also added, ultimately forming magnetolipopolyplexes. Dynamic light scattering and zetapotential characterisation data confirmed the successful formulation of the magnetolipopolyplexes and subsequent in vitro transfection studies were carried out to establish the transfection efficiency of the magnetolipopolyplexes by measuring the RFP expression of the pDNA. SQUID magnetometry data was obtained to determine the concentration of the MNPs taken up into the cells following the incubation of the cells with the magnetlipopolyplexes. The encapsulation of MNPs, pDNA and peptides into liposomes demonstrates the successful formulation of a multimodal-imaging agent with the potential for optical, PET and MRI imaging modalities.
New insights on a NGF-mediated pathway to induce ovulation in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)†

Abstract To investigate the ovulatory mechanisms triggered by raw semen (RS) in rabbits, we examined the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF)—a supposed ovulation-inducing factor (OIF)—and cognate receptors in anterior pituitary, ovary, and cervix as well as plasma NGF and luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations. Six does/group were sham-inseminated with sterile saline (PBS), naturally mated (NM), inseminated with RS alone or after lumbar anesthesia (ARS), or treatment with COX inhibitors (CIRS). Immunohistochemistry revealed positive signals for NGF and receptors in all tissues. RT-PCR confirmed the presence of the target transcripts in the same tissues, except NTRK1 in the cervix. Circulating NGF concentrations rose 3- to 6-fold (P < 0.01) 15 min after semen deposition into the genital tract of NM, RS, and ARS rabbits and remained sustained thereafter. Circulating NGF was 4-fold lower (P < 0.01) in CIRS than in RS does indicating that NGF is mainly synthesized by the uterus. A concomitant rise of LH and NGF concentrations was found in 83.3%, 50.0%, and 16.7% of NM, RS, and CIRS does, respectively, but not in ARS (despite high NGF circulating levels). Seminal plasma NGF concentration was 151.9 ± 9.25 µg/mL. The ovulatory responses were 0%, 83.3%, 66.7%, 16.7%, and 0% in PBS, NM, RS, ARS, and CIRS groups, respectively. Present data confirm that, although RS may induce ovulation via endocrine mechanisms through binding to NGF receptors in the ovary, a novel OIF-mediated neural mechanism facilitates ovulation in rabbits. Summary Sentence Raw semen induces ovulation in rabbits via an endocrine- and a nervous-mediated pathway by which NGF, mainly synthesized in the uterus, acts on the ovary and on uterine/cervix afferent neurons projecting LH surge hypothalamic centers, respectively.
A Stage-Targeted Physical Activity Intervention among a Predominantly African-American Low-Income Primary Care Population

Purpose. To examine the efficacy of a stage-targeted physical activity intervention among low-income African-Americans. Methods. 207 participants were randomly assigned to groups and administered baseline measures. Intervention participants were mailed stage-targeted physical activity information, whereas control participants received low-sodium diet brochures. Measures were readministered by phone 1 and 6 months later, with response rates of 69% and 46%, respectively. Results. 69% of participants were African-American and 64% had a monthly household income of <$1000. A doubly-multivariate analysis of variance indicated that intervention participants reported more physical activity than control participants at 1 month (F(1, 204) = 4.03, p < . 05). Unlike control participants, intervention participants reported significant stage progression at 1 month, according to a McNemar χ2 test. Gains attenuated by 6 months. Conclusions. The current study supports the use of this intervention among low-income African-Americans. Limitations include use of self-report measures and small sample size.
Elevated Preattentive Affective Processing in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Preliminary fMRI Study

Background: Emotion dysregulation is central to the clinical conceptualization of borderline personality disorder (BPD), with individuals often displaying instability in mood and intense feelings of negative affect. Although existing data suggest important neural and behavioral differences in the emotion processing of individuals with BPD, studies thus far have only explored reactions to overt emotional information. Therefore, it is unclear if BPD-related emotional hypersensitivity extends to stimuli presented below the level of conscious awareness (preattentively). Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure neural responses to happy, angry, fearful, and neutral faces presented preattentively, using a backward masked affect paradigm. Given their tendency toward emotional hyperreactivity and altered amygdala and frontal activation, we hypothesized that individuals with BPD would demonstrate a distinct pattern of fMRI responses relative to those without BPD during the viewing of masked affective versus neutral faces in specific regions of interests (ROIs). Results: Results indicated that individuals with BPD demonstrated increases in frontal, cingulate, and amygdalar activation represented by number of voxels activated and demonstrated a different pattern of activity within the ROIs relative to those without BPD while viewing masked affective versus neutral faces. Conclusion: These findings suggest that in addition to the previously documented heightened responses to overt displays of emotion, individuals with BPD also demonstrate differential responses to positive and negative emotions, early in the processing stream, even before conscious awareness.
Cold Plasma Techniques for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Engineering

Plasmas can be defined as the state of ionized gas consisting of positively and negatively charged ions, free electrons and activated neutral species (excited and radical), and are generally classified into two types, thermal (or equilibrium) plasma and cold (or nonequilibrium) plasma, based on the difference in characteristics. The thermal plasma is the state of fully ionized gas characterized by a high gas temperature and an approximate equality between the gas and electron temperature (Tg ≈ Te) and can be generated under atmospheric pressure. The energetic of this plasma is very high enough to break any chemical bond, so that this type of plasma can be excluded from most of organic chemistry, let alone from the field of pahramceutical science. In contrast, the cold plasma is most characterized by a low gas temperature and a high electron temperature (Tg << Te), and easily generated by electric discharges under reduced pressure. The field of plasma chemistry deals with occurrence of chemical reactions in the cold plasma including atmosphere pressure glow discharge plasma. One of the characteristics of surface treatment by cold plasma irradiation is the fact that it is surface limited (ca. 500-1000 A) so that only the surface properties can be changed without affecting the bulk properties. In recent years, biomedical applications of cold plasma are rapidly growing due to the fact that the use of cold plasmas is very useful to treat heat-sensitive objects such as polymeric materials and biological samples. The demonstrations of plasma technology in the biomedical field have created a new field at the intersection of plasma science and technology with biology and medicine, called “Plasma Medicine”. (Fridman et al., 2008) When the cold plasma is irradiated onto polymeric materials, the plasma of inert gas emits intense UV and/or VUV ray to cause an effective energy transfer to solid surface and gives rise to a large amount of stable free radicals on the polymer surface. In view of the fact that surface reactions of plasma treatment are initiated by such plasma-induced radicals, study of the resulting radicals is of utmost importance for understanding of the nature of plasma treatment. Thus, we have undertaken plasma-irradiation of a wide variety of polymers, synthetic and natural, and the surface radicals formed were studied in detail by electron spin resonance (ESR) coupled with the aid of systematic computer simulations. On the basis
Trends in Thyroid Cancer Incidence and Mortality in the United States, 1974-2013

Importance Thyroid cancer incidence has increased substantially in the United States over the last 4 decades, driven largely by increases in papillary thyroid cancer. It is unclear whether the increasing incidence of papillary thyroid cancer has been related to thyroid cancer mortality trends. Objective To compare trends in thyroid cancer incidence and mortality by tumor characteristics at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants Trends in thyroid cancer incidence and incidence-based mortality rates were evaluated using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-9 (SEER-9) cancer registry program, and annual percent change in rates was calculated using log-linear regression. Exposure Tumor characteristics. Main Outcomes and Measures Annual percent changes in age-adjusted thyroid cancer incidence and incidence-based mortality rates by histologic type and SEER stage for cases diagnosed during 1974-2013. Results Among 77 276 patients (mean [SD] age at diagnosis, 48 [16] years; 58 213 [75%] women) diagnosed with thyroid cancer from 1974-2013, papillary thyroid cancer was the most common histologic type (64 625 cases), and 2371 deaths from thyroid cancer occurred during 1994-2013. Thyroid cancer incidence increased, on average, 3.6% per year (95% CI, 3.2%-3.9%) during 1974-2013 (from 4.56 per 100 000 person-years in 1974-1977 to 14.42 per 100 000 person-years in 2010-2013), primarily related to increases in papillary thyroid cancer (annual percent change, 4.4% [95% CI, 4.0%-4.7%]). Papillary thyroid cancer incidence increased for all SEER stages at diagnosis (4.6% per year for localized, 4.3% per year for regional, 2.4% per year for distant, 1.8% per year for unknown). During 1994-2013, incidence-based mortality increased 1.1% per year (95% CI, 0.6%-1.6%) (from 0.40 per 100 000 person-years in 1994-1997 to 0.46 per 100 000 person-years in 2010-2013) overall and 2.9% per year (95% CI, 1.1%-4.7%) for SEER distant stage papillary thyroid cancer. Conclusions and Relevance Among patients in the United States diagnosed with thyroid cancer from 1974-2013, the overall incidence of thyroid cancer increased 3% annually, with increases in the incidence rate and thyroid cancer mortality rate for advanced-stage papillary thyroid cancer. These findings are consistent with a true increase in the occurrence of thyroid cancer in the United States.
Energy efficient and accuracy aware (E2A2) location services via crowdsourcing

Many mobile applications rely on location information gained from location services on mobile devices. However, continuously tracking the device location with high accuracy drains the battery quickly. Furthermore, sensing the same location can be redundant when multiple devices are co-located. In this paper, we develop a crowdsourcing-based location service, E2A2 (energy efficient and accuracy aware), which places colo-cated devices into groups, and uses group location to represent individual device location. The E2A2 location service aims to reduce individual device battery consumption associated with location services while simultaneously maintaining high location accuracy for each device. Our experimental results from a prototype system show the effectiveness of our proposed solution with different mobility patterns. We also present results on the impact of different system parameters and the number of users in a group. Compared to running GPS location services on individual devices separately, our E2A2 service saves on average 33% battery consumption rate when 4 devices are co-located at walking speed and 26% battery consumption rate when 4 devices are colocated on the same bus while meeting the same accuracy requirements.
Manipulation and Overstretching of Genes on Solid Substrates

A “molecular chip”, i.e., a chip on which single macromolecules are freely arranged, is a key for the fabrication of nanoscopic molecular devices, e.g., DNA molecular array chips. We report on a new method for the manipulation of already deposited single macromolecules, which allows to freely position single polyelectrolytes such as DNA on a substrate, to bend and stretch them, to remove stretching defects, and to overstretch double stranded DNA into two parallel single strands.