Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast and Effective Worm Fingerprinting via Machine Learning

As Internet worms become ever faster and more sophisticated, it is important to be able to extract worm signatures in an accurate and timely manner. In this paper, we apply machine learning to automatically fingerprint polymorphic worms, which are able to change their appearance across every instance. Using real Internet traces and synthetic polymorphic worms, we evaluated the performance of several advanced machine learning algorithms, including naive Bayes, decision-tree induction, rule learning (RIPPER) and support vector machines. The results are very promising. Compared with Polygraph, the state of the art in polymorphic worm fingerprinting, several machine learning algorithms are able to generate more accurate signatures, tolerate more noise in the training data and require much shorter training time. These results open the possibility of applying machine learning to build a fast and accurate online worm fingerprinting system.
Global path planning using modified firefly algorithm

Firefly algorithm is widely used in the tackling of optimization problems. This paper proposed a global path planning algorithm based on the modified firefly algorithm (PPMFA) in order to find an optimal path under multiple objective functions. Owning to the low convergence speed and inaccurate local search ability of the standard firefly algorithm (SFA), the Gaussian random walk is proposed to replace the fixed step size of the SFA so as to improve the random search ability. Incorporating a double check method during the iteration process, the success rate of the movement of each firefly is increased. In order to measure the distance between any two fireflies (which represent two paths), the conception and calculation method of Path Center (PC) is proposed. Simulation results show that compared with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and SFA, the proposed algorithm outperforms both of the algorithms in terms of convergence speed and accuracy.
Single-image super-resolution based on regularization with stationary gradient fidelity

Single-image super-resolution, reconstructing a high resolution (HR) image from a low resolution (LR) one, is an ill-posed problem. Regularization, a method for ill-posed problem, is widely used in super-resolution. The definition of the fidelity term in regularization energy is a key to the performance of regularization based super-resolution. Traditional fidelity is defined as the energy of error image between down-sampled version of HR image estimated and the observed LR image. Since the mpixels not in sampled positions are not considered, the gradient of traditional fidelity is non-stationary. To avoid this problem in traditional fidelity, we propose to define the fidelity term as the energy of error image between the estimated HR image estimate and its blurred version. When gradient decent is used to optimize the regularization energy, we propose an error interpolation fidelity gradient (EIFG) method to estimate a stationary gradient of proposed fidelity. Compared with other methods, experimental results show that our method improve both qualitative and quantitative performances of reconstructed HR image.
Effect of the glass transition of coating adhesive on temperature performance of fiber optic gyroscope and its optimization

The fiber optic gyroscope (FOG)based on Sagnac effect has became to one of the most important sensors in developing due to light in quality, high accuracy, compact in dimension and long life and has played a very important role in both military and civil use. It is the most difficult problem that the FOG has an obvious bias drift caused by temperature change and temperature grade, so its application is limited to a great extent. Fiber coil is one of the most critical components in FOG. Here, the characteristic of temperature error of the fiber optical coil was analyzed. At first, by studying the glass transition of coating adhesive in the fiber coil, the element model of the fiber coil with the glass transition of coating adhesive in FOG was built. Then the discrete mathematics model of SHUPE error with the glass transition of coating adhesive in FOG was built. Finally, based on the temperature models mentioned above, the effects caused by the glass transition of coating adhesive on temperature performance of fiber optic gyroscope were analyzed. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that effect caused by the glass transition of coating adhesive had seriously affected the temperature performance of FOG. By optimizing the glass transition temperature of coating adhesive, the SHUPE error of fiber coils can be reduced. At the same time, the amplitude uniformity of the SHUPE error can be improved greatly to reduce the difficulty in temperature compensation.
Dietary fibre intake in relation to the risk of incident chronic kidney disease

Abstract The purpose of this study was primarily to evaluate the association of total fibre intake with the risk of incident chronic kidney disease (CKD). We also evaluated the association of dietary fibre from fruits, vegetables, cereals and legumes with the incidence of CKD in a population-based prospective study. We followed up 1630 participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study for 6·1 years, who were initially free of CKD. Baseline diet was assessed by a valid and reliable FFQ. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated, using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation, and CKD was defined as eGFR <60 ml/min per 1·73 m2. OR using multivariable logistic regression was reported for the association of incident CKD with tertiles of dietary fibre intake. After adjustment for age, sex, smoking, total energy intake, physical activity, diabetes and using angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor, the OR for subjects in the highest compared with the lowest tertile of total fibre intake was 0·47 (95 % CI 0·27, 0·86). In addition, for every 5 g/d increase in total fibre intake, the risk of incident CKD decreased by 11 %. After adjusting for potential confounders, OR for participants in the highest compared with the lowest tertile of fibre from vegetables was 0·63 (95 % CI 0·43, 0·93) and from legumes it was 0·68 (95 % CI 0·47, 0·98). We observed inverse associations between total fibre intake and risk of incident CKD, which demonstrate that high fibre intake, mainly from legumes and vegetables, may reduce the occurrence of CKD.
IT-enabled Monitoring and Labor Contracting in Online Platforms: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Two-sided online platforms are typically plagued with hidden information (adverse selection) and hidden actions (moral hazard), limiting market efficiency. Situated in the context of the increasingly popular online platforms for labor contracting (herein referred to as “online labor markets”), this paper investigates whether the implementation of an IT-enabled monitoring system mitigates moral hazard in online platforms by providing direct information on workers’ effort. Our identification hinges on a natural experiment at Freelancer when it first introduced an IT-enabled monitoring system for time-based projects but not for fixed-price projects in February 2014. Based on a unique dataset comprising 6,464 fixed-price projects and 3,120 time-based projects matched on observable characteristics, we employ a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to identify the treatment effect of the monitoring system implementation on various outcomes from both the employer (demand) side and the worker (supply) side, including employers’ worker choice, workers’ entry decisions and reputation premium. We observe that the implementation of the monitoring system lowers the employers’ preference for bidders with a high effort-related reputation in time-based projects, and thus reduces reputation premiums and lowers the entry barrier for workers who have not yet established a reputation on the platform. However, there is no significant change in employers’ preference for bidders with a high capability-related reputation. Further, using fixed-price projects as the control group, the implementation of the monitoring system increased the number of bids on time-based projects by 23.7% (primarily from bidders with no prior experience on the platform) and reduced the transaction price in time-based projects by 6.9%. Our results indicate a partial substitution relationship between reputation systems and monitoring systems, and suggest that IT-enabled monitoring systems have a significant effect on alleviating moral hazard, reducing agency costs, and intensifying supply-side platform competition.
Variants in glucose- and circadian rhythm-related genes affect the response of energy expenditure to weight-loss diets: the POUNDS LOST Trial.

BACKGROUND Circadian rhythm has been shown to be related to glucose metabolism and risk of diabetes, probably through effects on energy balance. Recent genome-wide association studies identified variants in circadian rhythm-related genes (CRY2 and MTNR1B) associated with glucose homeostasis. OBJECTIVE We tested whether CRY2 and MTNR1B genotypes affected changes in measures of energy expenditure in response to a weight-loss diet intervention in a 2-y randomized clinical trial, the POUNDS (Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies) LOST Trial. DESIGN The variants CRY2 rs11605924 (n = 721) and MTNR1B rs10830963 (n = 722) were genotyped in overweight or obese adults who were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 weight-loss diets that differed in their proportions of macronutrients. Respiratory quotient (RQ) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) were measured. RESULTS By 2 y of diet intervention, the A allele of CRY2 rs11605924 was significantly associated with a greater reduction in RQ (P = 0.03) and a greater increase in RMR and RMR/kg (both P = 0.04). The G allele of MTNR1B rs10830963 was significantly associated with a greater increase in RQ (P = 0.01) but was not related to changes in RMR and RMR/kg. In addition, we found significant gene-diet fat interactions for both CRY2 (P-interaction = 0.02) and MTNR1B (P-interaction < 0.001) in relation to 2-y changes in RQ. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that variants in the circadian-related genes CRY2 and MTNR1B may affect long-term changes in energy expenditure, and dietary fat intake may modify the genetic effects. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials. gov as NCT00072995.
Blood culture useful only in selected patients with urinary tract infections – a literature review

Abstract Purpose: The practice of obtaining blood culture in febrile urinary tract infections is controversial, considering that blood cultures rarely provide additional useful information compared to urine cultures alone. Furthermore, whether a longer treatment duration is necessary in bacteremic patients is also controversial. Here, we aim to review to relevant studies. Materials and methods: We searched PubMed and Scopus for studies providing information regarding the discordance between urine and blood cultures. We also searched for clinical trials regarding the treatment duration in bacteremic patients with urinary tract infections. Results: It seems that a higher likelihood of a negative urine culture (e.g. in patients with antibiotic pre-treatment) combined with a higher likelihood of a positive blood culture (e.g. patients with high fever, or patients with complicated urinary tract infections) increases the chance that a blood culture might provide additional useful information. Furthermore, when polymicrobial infection or contamination of the urine specimen is likely (e.g. in patients with indwelling urinary tract catheters or bedridden patients with frequent hospitalizations and catheterizations), blood cultures may help identify the clinically significant pathogen and guide the choice of the antimicrobial regimen. Finally, because bacteremia has been associated with more severe disease and worse outcomes, some authors suggest a longer treatment duration for bacteremic patients. However, whether the presence of bacteremia should alter the duration of treatment remains unclear. Conclusions: Obtaining blood cultures may be useful in selected patients. Randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify the value of bacteremia in guiding the duration of antimicrobial therapy.
Use of Dexmedetomidine for Sedation in Critically Ill Mechanically Ventilated Pediatric Burn Patients

Dexmedetomidine has previously been used only for short-term, procedural sedation in children. The purpose of this review was to describe the dosing, safety, and efficacy of dexmedetomidine for sustained sedation in intubated pediatric burn patients. The authors reviewed acutely burned children treated between 2005 and 2008 who were intubated during their course of care and who received dexmedetomidine for sedation. Patients served as their own controls using the time periods when they received sedatives other than dexmedetomidine. Eleven patients with 17 dexmedetomidine treatment courses were identified. The median patient age was 7 years (range 1.6–17 years), and median burn size was 30.5% TBSA (range 6–59%). Patients were ventilated for a median of 9 days (range 4–46 days). The median initial dose of dexmedetomidine was 0.39 &mgr;g/kg/hr (range 0.10–1.16 &mgr;g/kg/hr), with a median infusion dose of 0.57 &mgr;g/kg/hr (range 0.11–1.17 &mgr;g/kg/hr) and median treatment duration of 40 hours (range 1–356 hours). None of the patients received dexmedetomidine loading dose. Patients achieved more appropriate Riker scores while treated with dexmedetomidine than while being treated with other sedatives (3.8 vs 3.3, P = .003). The incidence of hypotension and/or bradycardia while on dexmedetomidine was not greater than when it was not being used. Clinically significant rebound hypertension and tachycardia were absent on discontinuation of dexmedetomidine. No unplanned extubations were observed. Median length of hospital stay was 49 days (range 7–118 days). Dexmedetomidine seems to be safe and effective for sedation of pediatric burn patients on mechanical ventilation with close cardiovascular monitoring.
Geometrically Consistent Projection-Based Tabletop Sharing for Remote Collaboration

Projection-based tabletop sharing (PBTS) systems allow a local user to share a pointing gesture or a handwritten note on a tabletop document with a remote user who places the same document on a tabletop by projecting the upper limb image of the local user onto the remote document and tabletop. A vertical display is used to share an image of the upper body, including the face of the remote user. However, in previous systems, the spatial layouts of the shared documents must be identical on both tabletops, and the projected upper limb is not extended from the upper body image of the remote user. This paper proposes a PBTS system to address such geometric consistency issues to improve remote collaboration. First, we propose to maintain the geometric consistency of a pointing gesture and handwritten note between each pair of the shared documents rather than between the entire tabletops. This allows users to freely change the document layouts on both tabletops. Second, we propose to overlay the upper limb image such that it is extended from the vertical display, where the upper body image is shown. This is achieved by rotating the upper limb image around the fingertip that performs the pointing gestures or around the tip of the pen used to write notes. We constructed a prototype to determine if the proposed system resolves the geometric consistency issues. Then, we evaluated how accurately a user can convey a pointing position to a distant partner when the document layouts differ between the remote tabletops. Finally, we evaluated how the user experience, particularly the social presence, is improved by the proposed geometrically consistent upper limb direction.
Encoding Time in Feedforward Trajectories of a Recurrent Neural Network Model

Brain activity evolves through time, creating trajectories of activity that underlie sensorimotor processing, behavior, and learning and memory. Therefore, understanding the temporal nature of neural dynamics is essential to understanding brain function and behavior. In vivo studies have demonstrated that sequential transient activation of neurons can encode time. However, it remains unclear whether these patterns emerge from feedforward network architectures or from recurrent networks and, furthermore, what role network structure plays in timing. We address these issues using a recurrent neural network (RNN) model with distinct populations of excitatory and inhibitory units. Consistent with experimental data, a single RNN could autonomously produce multiple functionally feedforward trajectories, thus potentially encoding multiple timed motor patterns lasting up to several seconds. Importantly, the model accounted for Weber's law, a hallmark of timing behavior. Analysis of network connectivity revealed that efficiency—a measure of network interconnectedness—decreased as the number of stored trajectories increased. Additionally, the balance of excitation (E) and inhibition (I) shifted toward excitation during each unit's activation time, generating the prediction that observed sequential activity relies on dynamic control of the E/I balance. Our results establish for the first time that the same RNN can generate multiple functionally feedforward patterns of activity as a result of dynamic shifts in the E/I balance imposed by the connectome of the RNN. We conclude that recurrent network architectures account for sequential neural activity, as well as for a fundamental signature of timing behavior: Weber's law.
Detecting non-causal artifacts in multivariate linear regression models

We consider linear models where $d$ potential causes $X_1,. ,X_d$ are correlated with one target quantity $Y$ and propose a method to infer whether the association is causal or whether it is an artifact caused by overfitting or hidden common causes. We employ the idea that in the former case the vector of regression coefficients has 'generic' orientation relative to the covariance matrix $\Sigma_{XX}$ of $X$. Using an ICA based model for confounding, we show that both confounding and overfitting yield regression vectors that concentrate mainly in the space of low eigenvalues of $\Sigma_{XX}$.
Variability of North Sea pH and CO2 in response to North Atlantic Oscillation forcing

High biological activity causes a distinct seasonality of surface water pH in the North Sea, which is a strong sink for atmospheric CO2 via an effective shelf pump. The intimate connection between the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean suggests that the variability of the CO2 system of the North Atlantic Ocean may, in part, be responsible for the observed variability of pH and CO2 in the North Sea. In this work, we demonstrate the role of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the dominant climate mode for the North Atlantic, in governing this variability. Based on three extensive observational records covering the relevant levels of the NAO index, we provide evidence that the North Sea pH and CO2 system strongly responds to external and internal expressions of the NAO. Under positive NAO, the higher rates of inflow of water from the North Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic outflow lead to a strengthened north‐south biogeochemical divide. The limited mixing between the north and south leads to a steeper gradient in pH and partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) between the two regions in the productive period. This is exacerbated further when coinciding with higher sea surface temperature, which concentrates the net community production in the north through shallower stratification. These effects can be obscured by changing properties of the constituent North Sea water masses, which are also influenced by NAO. Our results highlight the importance of examining interannual trends in the North Sea CO2 system with consideration of the NAO state.
Evidence-Based Treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder: Implementation, Integration, and Stepped Care

Learning ObjectiveAfter participating in this activity, learners should be better able to:• Evaluate evidence-based therapies for borderline personality disorder AbstractSeveral manualized psychotherapies for treating borderline personality disorder (BPD) have been validated in randomized, controlled trials. Most of these approaches are highly specialized, offering different formulation of BPD and different mechanisms by which recovery is made possible. Mental health clinicians are challenged by the degree of specialization and clinical resources that these approaches require in their empirically validated adherent forms. While these effective treatments have renewed optimism for the treatment of BPD, clinicians may feel limited in their ability to offer any of them or may integrate an eclectic assortment of features from the different treatments. This article will evaluate four major evidence-based treatments for BPD—dialectical behavioral therapy, mentalization-based treatment, transference-focused psychotherapy, and General Psychiatric Management—and possible modes of implementation in adherent and integrative forms. Models of implementing these diverse treatment approaches will be evaluated, and the potential advantages of combining evidence-based treatments will be discussed, along with some cautionary notes. A proposal for providing stepwise care through assessment of clinical severity will be presented as a means of achieving system-wide changes and greater access to care.
Higher serum cholesterol is associated with intensified age‐related neural network decoupling and cognitive decline in early‐ to mid‐life

Mounting evidence indicates that serum cholesterol and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease intensify normative trajectories of age‐related cognitive decline. However, the neural mechanisms by which this occurs remain largely unknown. To understand the impact of cholesterol on brain networks, we applied graph theory to resting‐state fMRI in a large sample of early‐ to mid‐life Veterans (N = 206, Meanage = 32). A network emerged (centered on the banks of the superior temporal sulcus) that evidenced age‐related decoupling (i.e., decreased network connectivity with age), but only in participants with clinically‐elevated total cholesterol (≥180 mg/dL). Crucially, decoupling in this network corresponded to greater day‐to‐day disability and mediated age‐related declines in psychomotor speed. Finally, examination of network organization revealed a pattern of age‐related dedifferentiation for the banks of the superior temporal sulcus, again present only with higher cholesterol. More specifically, age was related to decreasing within‐module communication (indexed by Within‐Module Degree Z‐Score) and increasing between‐module communication (indexed by Participation Coefficient), but only in participants with clinically‐elevated cholesterol. Follow‐up analyses indicated that all findings were driven by low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, rather than high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) or triglycerides, which is interesting as LDL levels have been linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, whereas HDL levels appear inversely related to such disease. These findings provide novel insight into the deleterious effects of cholesterol on brain health and suggest that cholesterol accelerates the impact of age on neural trajectories by disrupting connectivity in circuits implicated in integrative processes and behavioral control. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3249–3261, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.