Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of skewness and kurtosis on the Kenward-Roger approximation when group distributions differ.

BACKGROUND This study examined the independent effect of skewness and kurtosis on the robustness of the linear mixed model (LMM), with the Kenward-Roger (KR) procedure, when group distributions are different, sample sizes are small, and sphericity cannot be assumed. METHODS A Monte Carlo simulation study considering a split-plot design involving three groups and four repeated measures was performed. RESULTS The results showed that when group distributions are different, the effect of skewness on KR robustness is greater than that of kurtosis for the corresponding values. Furthermore, the pairings of skewness and kurtosis with group size were found to be relevant variables when applying this procedure. CONCLUSIONS With sample sizes of 45 and 60, KR is a suitable option for analyzing data when the distributions are: (a) mesokurtic and not highly or extremely skewed, and (b) symmetric with different degrees of kurtosis. With total sample sizes of 30, it is adequate when group sizes are equal and the distributions are: (a) mesokurtic and slightly or moderately skewed, and sphericity is assumed; and (b) symmetric with a moderate or high/extreme violation of kurtosis. Alternative analyses should be considered when the distributions are highly or extremely skewed and samples sizes are small.
Security and Privacy in the Medical Internet of Things: A Review

Medical Internet of Things, also well known as MIoT, is playing a more and more important role in improving the health, safety, and care of billions of people after its showing up. Instead of going to the hospital for help, patients’ health-related parameters can be monitored remotely, continuously, and in real time, then processed, and transferred to medical data center, such as cloud storage, which greatly increases the efficiency, convenience, and cost performance of healthcare. The amount of data handled by MIoT devices grows exponentially, which means higher exposure of sensitive data. The security and privacy of the data collected from MIoT devices, either during their transmission to a cloud or while stored in a cloud, are major unsolved concerns. This paper focuses on the security and privacy requirements related to data flow in MIoT. In addition, we make in-depth study on the existing solutions to security and privacy issues, together with the open challenges and research issues for future work.
Very Fast C4.5 Decision Tree Algorithm

ABSTRACT This paper presents a novel algorithm so-called VFC4.5 for building decision trees. It proposes an adaptation of the way C4.5 finds the threshold of a continuous attribute. Instead of finding the threshold that maximizes gain ratio, the paper proposes to simply reduce the number of candidate cut points by using arithmetic mean and median to improve a reported weakness of the C4.5 algorithm when it deals with continuous attributes. This paper will focus primarily on the theoretical aspects of the VFC4.5 algorithm. An empirical trials, using 49 datasets, show that, in most times, the VFC4.5 algorithm leads to smaller decision trees with better accuracy compared to the C4.5 algorithm. VFC4.5 gives excellent accuracy results as C4.5 and it is much faster than the VFDT algorithm.
High-Performance InAs Nanowire MOSFETs

In this letter, we present a 15-nm-diameter InAs nanowire MOSFET with excellent on and off characteristics. An n-i-n doping profile was used to reduce the source and drain resistances, and an Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/HfO<sub>2</sub> bilayer was introduced in the high- process. The nanowires exhibit high drive currents, up to 1.25 A/mm, normalized to the nanowire circumference, and current densities up to 34 MA/cm<sup>2</sup>(V<sub>D</sub> = 0.5 V) . For a nominal L<sub>G</sub> = 100 nm, we observe an extrinsic transconductance (g_m) of 1.23 S/mm and a subthreshold swing of 93 mV/decade at V<sub>D</sub> = 10 mV .
Development of novel systems for bioconversion of cellulosic biomass to useful products

III DEDICATION . V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . VI TABLE OF CONTENTS . VII LIST OF FIGURES . XII LIST OF TABLES . XV ABBREVIATIONS . XVI 1. CHAPTER 1 .
Statin therapy as prevention against development of acute respiratory distress syndrome: An observational study*

Objectives: The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (“statins”) have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with improved outcomes in critically ill patients. We investigated whether previous statin therapy affects outcomes in patients at risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome. Design: Patients were followed-up for the primary outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome and secondary outcomes of intensive care unit and 60-day mortality, organ dysfunction, and ventilator-free days in a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study. Receipt of statin therapy was recorded. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for confounding by indication. Setting: Intensive care units at a tertiary care academic medical center. Patients: Critically ill patients (2,743) with acute respiratory distress syndrome risk factors. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Acute respiratory distress syndrome developed in 738 (26%) patients; 413 patients (15%) received a statin within 24 hrs of intensive care unit admission. Those who had received a statin within 24 hrs had a lower rate of development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (odds ratio 0.56; 95% confidence interval 0.43–0.73; p < .0001). After multivariate adjustment for potential confounders, this association remained significant (odds ratio 0.69; 95% confidence interval 0.51–0.92; p = .01). However, after propensity score matching, the association was not statistically significant (odds ratio 0.79; 95% confidence interval 0.57–1.10; p = .16). Statin use was not associated with reduced acute respiratory distress syndrome mortality, organ dysfunction, or ventilator-free days. Results of the study were presented in accordance with STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines. Conclusions: Statin therapy at the time of intensive care unit admission was not associated with a lower rate of development of acute respiratory distress syndrome after matching for patient propensity to receive statins. Statin therapy was not associated with improvements in acute respiratory distress syndrome mortality, organ failure, or days free from mechanical ventilation.
Erroneous and Veridical Recall Are Not Two Sides of the Same Coin: Evidence From Semantic Distraction in Free Recall

Two experiments examined the extent to which erroneous recall blocks veridical recall using, as a vehicle for study, the disruptive impact of distractors that are semantically similar to a list of words presented for free recall. Instructing participants to avoid erroneous recall of to-be-ignored spoken distractors attenuated their recall but this did not influence the disruptive effect of those distractors on veridical recall (Experiment 1). Using an externalized output-editing procedure—whereby participants recalled all items that came to mind and identified those that were erroneous—the usual between-sequences semantic similarity effect on erroneous and veridical recall was replicated but the relationship between the rate of erroneous and veridical recall was weak (Experiment 2). The results suggest that forgetting is not due to veridical recall being blocked by similar events.
Occurrence and quantification of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli from food matrices

Aim: The objective of the study was to detect Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and develop a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to quantify the bacterial DNA present in different food matrices. Materials and Methods: A total of 758 samples were collected during a period from January 2015 to December 2016 from Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Alappuzha districts of Kerala. The samples consisted of raw milk (135), pasteurized milk (100), beef (132), buffalo meat (130), chevon (104), beef kheema (115), and beef sausage (42). All the samples collected were subjected to isolation and identification of STEC by conventional culture technique. Confirmation of virulence genes was carried out using PCR. For the quantification of STEC in different food matrices, a qPCR was standardized against stx1 gene of STEC by the construction of standard curve using SYBR green chemistry. Results: The overall occurrence of STEC in raw milk (n=135), beef (n=132), buffalo meat (n=130), chevon (n=104), and beef kheema (n=115) samples collected from Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Alappuzha districts of Kerala was 19.26%, 41.6%, 16.92%, 28.85%, and 41.74%, respectively. PCR revealed the presence of stx 1 and stx 2 genes in 88.46 and 83.64 and 30.77 and 40.00% of STEC isolates from raw milk and beef samples, respectively, while 100% of the STEC isolates from buffalo beef and beef kheema samples carried stx 1 gene. Real-time qPCR assay was used to quantify the bacterial cells present in different food matrices. The standard curve was developed, and the slopes, intercept, and R2 of linear regression curves were −3.10, 34.24, and 0.99, respectively. Conclusion: The considerably high occurrence of STEC in the study confirms the importance of foods of animal origin as a vehicle of infection to humans. In the present study, on comparing the overall occurrence of STEC, the highest percentage of occurrence was reported in beef kheema samples. The study shows the need for rigid food safety measures to combat the potential pathogenic effects of harmful bacteria throughout the production chain from production to consumption.
UNIT ROOTS, COINTEGRATION, AND PRETESTING IN VAR MODELS $

This article investigates the robustness of impulse response estimators to near unit roots and near cointegration in vector autoregressive (VAR) models. We compare estimators based on VAR specifications determined by pretests for unit roots and cointegration as well as unrestricted VAR specifications in levels. Our main finding is that the impulse response estimators obtained from the levels specification tend to be most robust when the magnitude of the roots is not known. The pretest specification works well only when the restrictions imposed by the model are satisfied. Its performance deteriorates even for small deviations from the exact unit root for one or more model variables. We illustrate the practical
A novel chaotic hash-based attribute-based encryption and decryption on cloud computing

Cloud computing has evolved as widely accepted and used paradigm for service providers as well as customers on internet. As users share their sensitive information on cloud, it has become the major concern of the cloud service providers to make their environment more secure and trustworthy. For adding extended security, the sensitive data are needed to be encrypted prior to its upload on cloud. The numbers of cryptographic algorithms are proposed by various researchers for this purpose. The main objectives of the attribute-based encryption (ABE) models are to achieve security and access control. To resolve the issue of this conventional attribute-based model, a novel modified and extended hash-based ABE model was implemented on the cloud storage data. Experimental results proved that the proposed model has high computational accuracy compared to traditional ABE models in terms of time and data size concerned.
Targeting c-Met Receptor Overcomes TRAIL-Resistance in Brain Tumors

Tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induced apoptosis specifically in tumor cells. However, with approximately half of all known tumor lines being resistant to TRAIL, the identification of TRAIL sensitizers and their mechanism of action become critical to broadly use TRAIL as a therapeutic agent. In this study, we explored whether c-Met protein contributes to TRAIL sensitivity. We found a direct correlation between the c-Met expression level and TRAIL resistance. We show that the knock down c-Met protein, but not inhibition, sensitized brain tumor cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis by interrupting the interaction between c-Met and TRAIL cognate death receptor (DR) 5. This interruption greatly induces the formation of death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) and subsequent downstream apoptosis signaling. Using intracranially implanted brain tumor cells and stem cell (SC) lines engineered with different combinations of fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins, we show that SC expressing a potent and secretable TRAIL (S-TRAIL) have a significant anti-tumor effect in mice bearing c-Met knock down of TRAIL-resistant brain tumors. To our best knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates c-Met contributes to TRAIL sensitivity of brain tumor cells and has implications for developing effective therapies for brain tumor patients.
Design and Performances of Implantable CPW Fed Apollian Shaped Antenna at 2.45 GHz ISM Band for Biomedical Applications

with slow data rates. This is due to in-ductive communication the data rates have thus been improved by implementing Medical Implant Communication Services (MICS) [5]. The antenna required for data transfer is designed in either air or the dielectric of the body. If designed in air, it performs well when air surrounds the implant, and if designed using the dielectric of the body, it performs best when the implant is inside the body cavity [6]. Therefore, while constructing an implantable antenna, it is critical to place the implant in the medium in which it operates. In this paper, an implantable antenna is proposed for indus-T. A novel implantable CPW fed Apollian shaped antenna embedded into human tissue is proposed for ISM band biomedical applications. The proposed antenna is made compatible for implantation by embedding it in an alumina ceramic substrate( ε r =9.8 and thickness= 0.65 mm). The proposed antenna covers the ISM band of 2.45 GHz. The radiation parameters such as return loss, xy-plane, xz-plane, and yz-plane etc., are measured and analyzed using the agilent vector network analyzer. The proposed antenna has substantial advantages, including low profile, miniaturization ability, lower return loss, better impedance matching, and high gain over conventional implanted antennas.
Delusional-Nondelusional Dichotomy in Major Depression

The response to tricyclic antidepressants, the consistency in the delusional evolutlon from episode to episode, family history of maJor depression and the degree of social and overall functioning were foundin this studyto suggest that delusional depression might best be considered a separate nosologic entity. Further studies comparing delusional with nondelusional depressed patients is necessary to make this distinction more valid. (EgyptJ. Psychiat.,1996,19:79-89).
Association of Quantified Location-Specific Blood Volumes with Delayed Cerebral Ischemia after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Delayed cerebral ischemia is a severe complication of aneurysmal SAH and is associated with a high case morbidity and fatality. The total blood volume and the presence of intraventricular blood on CT after aneurysmal SAH are associated with delayed cerebral ischemia. Whether quantified location-specific (cisternal, intraventricular, parenchymal, and subdural) blood volumes are associated with delayed cerebral ischemia has been infrequently researched. This study aimed to associate quantified location-specific blood volumes with delayed cerebral ischemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical and radiologic data were collected retrospectively from consecutive patients with aneurysmal SAH with available CT scans within 24 hours after ictus admitted to 2 academic centers between January 2009 and December 2011. Total blood volume was quantified using an automatic hemorrhage-segmentation algorithm. Segmented blood was manually classified as cisternal, intraventricular, intraparenchymal, or subdural. Adjusted ORs with 95% confidence intervals for delayed cerebral ischemia per milliliter of location-specific blood were calculated using multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: We included 282 patients. Per milliliter increase in blood volume, the adjusted OR for delayed cerebral ischemia was 1.02 (95% CI, 1.01–1.04) for cisternal, 1.02 (95% CI, 1.00–1.04) for intraventricular, 0.99 (95% CI, 0.97–1.02) for intraparenchymal, and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.86–1.07) for subdural blood. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, the cisternal blood volume has a stronger relation with delayed cerebral ischemia than the blood volumes at other locations in the brain.
A Different Approach for Big Bang Singularity Malay

With the discovery of Hubble Red Shift in the cosmological Universe, the question of Big Bang explosion has become inevitable and to explain this point of singularity thereon. Dissolution and manifestation of the universe happen to occur periodically. In this paper, analysis has been undertaken on the basis of scientific development on well accepted cosmological model, different scientific concepts and on one Vedic/Tantric scriptural remark. According to Vedic/Tantric scriptural remark, at the time of dissolution of the universe it remains in the form of gram. Different scientific tools like Electron Microscopy, X-rays powder diffraction method. Raman & UV spectroscopy have been applied in analyzing the two parts of gram and finally to find out what do they correspond to cosmological analysis of Big Bang singularity. Main mechanisms in action in dissolution and manifestation have also been pointed out.
A Comparative Study of Phase Offset Disposition Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (POD-SPWM) and Symmetrical Pulse Width Modulation Switching Techiques for Generalized Current Source Multilevel Inverter(MCSI)

This paper presents a comparison between two switching techniques namely Phase Offset Disposition Sinusoidal PWM (POD-SPWM) and Symmetrical PWM switching for a generalized current source multilevel inverter (MCSI) topology. One of the advantages of MCSI is it can reduce the total harmonic distortion (THD) at the output load current with a sinusoidal current waveform. In this paper, the generalized MCSI with the different levels has been developed with Matlab@simulation software in order to study the performance of the two switching schemes for the operation of the MCSI. From the simulation results, POD-SPWM switching technique can give better THD results compare to symmetrical switching technique.
Dynamic connectivity detection: an algorithm for determining functional connectivity change points in fMRI data

Recently there has been an increased interest in using fMRI data to study the dynamic nature of brain connectivity. In this setting, the activity in a set of regions of interest (ROIs) is often modeled using a multivariate Gaussian distribution, with a mean vector and covariance matrix that are allowed to vary as the experiment progresses, representing changing brain states. In this work, we introduce the Dynamic Connectivity Detection (DCD) algorithm, which is a data-driven technique to detect temporal change points in functional connectivity, and estimate a graph between ROIs for data within each segment defined by the change points. DCD builds upon the framework of the recently developed Dynamic Connectivity Regression (DCR) algorithm, which has proven efficient at detecting changes in connectivity for problems consisting of a small to medium (< 50) number of regions, but which runs into computational problems as the number of regions becomes large (>100). The newly proposed DCD method is faster, requires less user input, and is better able to handle high-dimensional data. It overcomes the shortcomings of DCR by adopting a simplified sparse matrix estimation approach and a different hypothesis testing procedure to determine change points. The application of DCD to simulated data, as well as fMRI data, illustrates the efficacy of the proposed method.
CHAPTER TWO A MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF THE SHORT TERM RESPONSE OF SOIL BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES TO 2,4-D SELECTION

Soil microcosms were constructed from conventional till, zero till and successional field soils to investigate the effect of the management history of the soil on bacterial communities after 2,4-0 application. After amended 2,4-D had been degraded, the bacterial community was analyzed by most probable number (MPN) counts of total heterotrophs and 2,4-0 degraders and by SSU rDNA analysis using Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analyses (ARDRA) and Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (TRFLP). The microcosms observed from each of the different field plots showed shifts in the community by both culture and SSU rDNA analyses. The same dominant ARDRA pattern appeared from the SSU rDNA genes amplified from the community DNA from each of the field soils. 2,4-0 degrading isolates were also obtained from terminal MPN tubes showing growth on 2,4-D. Some of the isolate also had this ARDRA pattern. Analyses of the partial sequence of the SSU rDNA genes from these isolates identified them as close relatives of the Burkholderia genus. Since dominant members selected in each treatment appeared to be the same, the management history of the soil did not influence the selection of dominant 2,4-0 degraders. Rather, the diversity index measured before and after 2,4-D addition by Shannon-Weiner equation using the ribotype number as species number and peak area the species abundance showed that management history of the soil did influence this parameter.
Platelet-Activating Factor (PAF) Receptor Antagonism Modulates Inflammatory Signaling in Experimental Uveitis

ABSTRACT Background: The phospholipid mediator platelet-activating factor (PAF) activates an inflammatory response that includes arachidonic acid release and prostaglandin production in the eye, increasing vascular permeability and inflammation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the action of LAU-0901, a novel PAF receptor antagonist, on experimental uveitis. Methods: Uveitis was induced in Lewis rats by lipopolysaccharide treatment. LAU-0901 was then delivered systemically in different concentrations at plus 4 and 16 hours, or vehicle injected as controls. Additional animals were used for histological analyses of untreated, uveitis, and uveitis-plus-LAU-0901 retinas. Conventional histological and immunohistochemical methods were employed. A slit lamp and Spectral Domain-Ocular Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) retinal imager was used for anterior segment photography and posterior pole OCT. Rats were euthanized 4 hours after the second LAU-0901 injection in this 24-hour model. Aqueous humor was collected and quantified, and also analyzed for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Results: Uveitic eyes demonstrated hypopyon formation, leukocyte infiltration, and an increase in aqueous protein and TNF-α levels. LAU-0901 treatment resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in inflammation, reflected by reduced total protein levels (up to a 64% reduction). Moreover, hypopyon was prevented, leukocytes were absent in vitreous and aqueous humor, and TNF-α levels were reduced by 91%. Conclusions: The PAF receptor antagonist LAU-0901 decreases ocular inflammation in a rat model of anterior uveitis in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that use of this molecule may provide a means to attenuate inflammation onset and offer a future alternative or adjunctive treatment for ocular inflammation.