Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance evaluation of secure concurrency control algorithm for multilevel secure distributed database system

Majority of the research in multilevel secure database management systems (MLS/DBMS) focuses primarily on centralized database systems. However, with the demand for higher performance and higher availability, database systems have moved from centralized to distributed architectures, and the research in multilevel secure distributed database management systems (MLS/DDBMS) is gaining more and more prominence. Concurrency control is an integral part of database systems. Secure concurrency control algorithms proposed in literature achieve correctness and security at the cost of declined performance of high security level transactions. These algorithms infringe the fairness in processing transactions at different security levels. Though the performance of different concurrency control algorithms have been explored extensively for centralized multilevel secure database management systems, but to the best of author's knowledge the relative performance of transactions at different security levels using different secure concurrency control algorithm for MLS/DDBMS has not been reported yet. To fill this gap, this paper presents a detailed simulation model of a distributed database system and investigates the performance price paid for maintaining security with concurrency control in a distributed database system. The paper investigates the relative performance of transactions at different security levels.
Motion from \x" by Compensating \y" a Uniied Framework for Motion Estimation from Image Sequences by Compensating for the Image-motion of a Point, a Line or a Plane

This paper analyzes the geometry of the visual motion estimation problem in relation to transformations of the input (images) that stabilize particular output functions such as the motion of a point, a line and a plane in the image. By casting the problem within the popular \epipolar geometry", we provide a common framework for including constraints such as point, line of plane xation by just considering \slices" of the parameter manifold. The models we provide can be used for estimating motion from a batch using the preferred optimization techniques, or for deening dynamic lters that estimate motion from a causal sequence. We discuss methods for performing the necessary compensation by either controlling the support of the camera or by pre-processing the images. The compensation algorithms may be used also for recursively tting a plane in 3-D both from point-features or directly from brightness. Conversely, they may be used for estimating motion relative to the plane independent of its parameters.
Polyhedral Tracings and their Convolution

Over ten years ago, Guibas, Ramshaw, and Stol [8] introduced the kinetic framework for Computational Geometry in two dimensions. They augmented the standard boundary representation of planar shapes via polygons or closed curves with certain additional information, to make them into closed tracings. The advantage of tracings is that they admit of a multilinear calculus of operations that generalizes standard boolean operations on shapes such as union, intersection, set di erence, etc. A particular accomplishment of the kinetic framework was to de ne the operation of convolution on planar tracings and to illustrate its use in a variety of algorithmic problems. Loosely speaking, the convolution B R of two tracings B (the barrier) and R (the robot) is another tracing that encodes the interaction of B with all possible translations of a copy of R mirrored through the origin. The convolution allows us to transform problems about two tracings B and R into problems about a point and a composite tracing, the convolution B R. A related composition concept is familiar in robotics, under the names Minkowski sum or con guration space obstacle [15, 14]; but that concept lacks the advantageous multilinear structure of the convolution.
EmPOWER: A Testbed for Network Function Virtualization Research and Experimentation

Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) are making their way into the research agenda of all the major players in the networking domain. Parallely, testbeds and experimental facilities are widely regarded as the fundamental step-stone to future "clean slate" networking. However, designing and building experimental facilities can hardly be considered a trivial step for either researchers and practitioners. Scale, flexibility, and ease of use are just some of the challenges faced by a testbed designer. These considerations are at the base of efforts such as GENI in USA, AKARI in Japan, FEDERICA, NOVI and OFELIA in Europe which provide federated and open facilities for the Future Internet research agenda. Albeit the importance of such facilities is unquestioned, today there is still a dearth of testbed exploiting SDN and NFV concepts in the wireless networking domain. In this paper we present EmPOWER an experimental testbed which aims at filling this gap by offering an open platform on top of which novel concepts can be tested at scale. The EmPOWER testbed is composed by 30 nodes and is currently used by both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Trento and by the research staff at CREATE-NET.
Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods How Good Is Best? Multivariate Case of Ehrenberg-weisberg Analysis of Residual Errors in Competing Regressions How Good Is Best? Multivariate Case of Ehrenberg-weisberg Analysis of Residual Errors in Competing Regressions

A.S. C. Ehrenberg first noticed and S. Weisberg then formalized a property of pairwise regression to keep its quality almost at the same level of precision while the coefficients of the model could vary over a wide span of values. This paper generalizes the estimates of the percent change in the residual standard deviation to the case of competing multiple regressions. It shows that in contrast to the simple pairwise model, the coefficients of multiple regression can be changed over a wider range of the values including the opposite by signs coefficients. Consideration of these features facilitates better understanding the properties of regression and opens a possibility to modify the obtained regression coefficients into meaningful and interpretable values using additional criteria. Several competing modifications of the linear regression with interpretable coefficients are described and compared in the Ehrenberg-Weisberg approach.
Competitive Inhibitors of the CphA Metallo-β-Lactamase from Aeromonas hydrophila

ABSTRACT Various inhibitors of metallo-β-lactamases have been reported; however, none are effective for all subgroups. Those that have been found to inhibit the enzymes of subclass B2 (catalytically active with one zinc) either contain a thiol (and show less inhibition towards this subgroup than towards the dizinc members of B1 and B3) or are inactivators behaving as substrates for the dizinc family members. The present work reveals that certain pyridine carboxylates are competitive inhibitors of CphA, a subclass B2 enzyme. X-ray crystallographic analyses demonstrate that pyridine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid chelates the zinc ion in a bidentate manner within the active site. Salts of these compounds are already available and undergoing biomedical testing for various nonrelated purposes. Pyridine carboxylates appear to be useful templates for the development of more-complex, selective, nontoxic inhibitors of subclass B2 metallo-β-lactamases.
Variants in human papillomavirus receptor and associated genes are associated with type-specific HPV infection and lesion progression of the cervix

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infects cervical epithelial cells through cellular membrane receptors, and then induces the initiation and progression of cervical cancer. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may impact the susceptibility and outcome of diseases, but it's still unknown whether variant in HPV receptor and associated genes is associated with type-specific HPV infection and cervical lesion progression. We examined 96 SNPs in 8 genes which may participate in the HPV infection process in 875 samples with HPV negative or single HPV16, 18, 52, 58 positive from 3299 cervical exfoliated cell samples, by Illumina BeadXpress VeraCode platform, and analyzed the correlation between the SNPs and type-specific HPV infection and cervical lesions progression. We found rs28384376 in EGFR and rs12034979 in HSPG2 significantly correlated to HPV16 infection; rs2575738, rs2575712, rs2575735 in SDC2 and rs6697265 in HSPG2 significantly correlated to HPV18 infection; rs10510097 in FGFR2, rs12718946 in EGFR significantly correlated to HPV52 infection; rs4947972 in EGFR, rs2981451 in FGFR2, rs2575735 in SDC2 significantly correlated to HPV58 infection. And rs3135772, rs1047057 and rs2556537 in FGFR2, rs12034979 in HSPG2, rs16894821 in SDC2 significantly correlated to cervical lesion progression induced by HPV16 infection; rs6697265 and rs6680566 in HSPG2, rs16860426 in ITGA6 by HPV18 infection; rs878949 in HSPG2, rs12718946 and rs12668175 in EGFR by HPV52 infection; no SNP by HPV58 infection. Our findings suggest that HPV receptor and associated gene variants may influence the susceptibilities to HPV type-specific infection and cervical lesion progression, which might have a potential application value in cervical cancer screening and therapy.
Statistical Model Selection Based on Resampling Procedure for Neural Networks Classification

Feedforward neural networks (FFNN) is one of neural networks architectures that frequently used for solving classification problems. One of the crucial problems in FFNN is how to determine the optimal number of hidden units to achieve good generalization. We usually have to choose a suitable model containing some hidden units among a collection of viable candidates. In general, there are two existing comparison procedures of the models, those are categorized as analytical and resampling based. This paper focuses on the resampling based multiple comparison technique by employing statistical hypothesis testing, particularly on the testing data to find the best model. The method is applied for determining the number of hidden units of FFNN. The results show that statistical hypothesis testing based on the resampling data is an efficient and effective procedure to find the optimal number of hidden units of FFNN in classification problem.
In Vitro Assays of Anti-diabetic and Anti-hypertensive Potential of Some Traditional Edible Plants of Qatar

Aizoon canariense, Cynomorium coccineum, Glossonema edule, and Malva parviflora, edible desert plants from Qatar, were selected to determine levels of phenolic bioactives and potential health benefits for managing early stages of type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Aqueous extracts of C. cocineum, contained soluble phenolics and had relatively high levels of antioxidant activity associated with α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). G. edule and M. parviflora had moderate levels of anti-oxidant potential, soluble phenolics, and ACE inhibitory activity. The medicinal properties associated with C. coccineum suggest the plant may have potential as a diet-based solution for combating, preventing, and managing the early stage of type 2 diabetes when coupled with an overall healthy life style and pharmacological management strategies. INTRODUCTION Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a systemic, multilayered chronic disease with worldwide impact, reaching epidemic proportions and projected to be the 7 leading cause of death by 2030 (WHO, 2013). Qatar is predicted to have the highest number of diabetic patients in the near future, with a reported increase of 130% by the year 2030 (Mushlin et al., 2012). Due to genetic susceptibility, children that have one or two diabetic parents are two to four times higher risk for being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (Harrison et al., 2003). Consanguinity, the incidence of which is the highest in the State of Qatar (51%), is frequently the cause of the prevalence of many genetic disorders and other inherited adult diseases, such as diabetes (Bener et al., 2013). In recent years, many edible food, medicinal, and spice plants have been investigated for potential benefits in managing type 2 diabetes (Kaur et al., 2015; Mirmiran et al., 2014). Among the most important plant-based antioxidants are the dietary phenolics that are thought to be more effective as an antioxidants than vitamin E or C in vitro and in vivo (Rice-Evans et al., 1997) because they potentially have direct enzyme inhibitory benefits as targets for hyperglycemia and managing carbohydrate metabolism. Specifically, apart from the antioxidant properties, phenolic compounds are natural inhibitors of α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes applicable for the management of early stages of hyperglycaemia associated with type 2 diabetes. A method available for the management of type 2 diabetes is to impede the breakdown and intestinal absorption of glucose through the inhibition of pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase enzymes (Pinto et al., 2009). The presence of the phenolics that act as α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors in fruits, vegetables and spices could be a good approach to control post-prandial hyperPhoboo et al.: In Vitro Assays of Anti-diabetic and Anti-hypertensive Potential
Skeletal muscle intermediate filaments form a stress-transmitting and stress-signaling network

ABSTRACT A fundamental requirement of cells is their ability to transduce and interpret their mechanical environment. This ability contributes to regulation of growth, differentiation and adaptation in many cell types. The intermediate filament (IF) system not only provides passive structural support to the cell, but recent evidence points to IF involvement in active biological processes such as signaling, mechanotransduction and gene regulation. However, the mechanisms that underlie these processes are not well known. Skeletal muscle cells provide a convenient system to understand IF function because the major muscle-specific IF, desmin, is expressed in high abundance and is highly organized. Here, we show that desmin plays both structural and regulatory roles in muscle cells by demonstrating that desmin is required for the maintenance of myofibrillar alignment, nuclear deformation, stress production and JNK-mediated stress sensing. Finite element modeling of the muscle IF system suggests that desmin immediately below the sarcolemma is the most functionally significant. This demonstration of biomechanical integration by the desmin IF system suggests that it plays an active biological role in muscle in addition to its accepted structural role.
Executive function and metacognitive self-awareness after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

The objective of this study is to identify the clinical, neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric, and functional variables that correlate with metacognitive self-awareness (SA) in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) outpatients and to assess the influence of the same variables on the sensory-motor, cognitive, and behavioral-affective indicators of SA. This cross-sectional observational study evaluated 37 outpatients from May 2006 to June 2007 in a neurorehabilitation hospital on the basis of the following inclusion criteria: (1) age ≥ 15 years; (2) diagnosis of severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale, GCS ≤ 8); (3) posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) resolution; (4) capacity to undergo formal psychometric evaluation despite cognitive and sensory-motor deficits; (5) absence of aphasia; (6) availability of informed consent. A neuropsychological battery was used to evaluate attention, memory, and executive functions. SA was assessed by the awareness questionnaire (AQ), administered to both patients and relatives. Decreased metacognitive self-awareness is significantly correlated with increased problems in some components of executive system, even when the AQ subscales were considered separately. The significant correlation found between some components of executive system and metacognitive self-awareness confirmed the importance of addressing this issue to treat SA contextually in the rehabilitation of executive functions. (JINS, 2008, 14, 862–868.)
Determining Academic Success in Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

Students with disabilities have not been fully welcomed in higher education in spite of litigation, court cases, and positive shifts in public perceptions. The transition from high school to college is challenging for students without disabilities. Students with disabilities often get overlooked by their institution and overwhelmed during this transition, contributing to an achievement gap for these students. Student success is measured by retention, academic achievement, and on-time graduation. This research study examined how student success was impacted by a student’s registration with the campus disability office, use of accommodations, and use of institutional and social support systems. This study explored a new frontier of research that dispels the myth that students with disabilities are a homogenous group. The results of this study can be used to increase knowledge regarding students with disabilities and their success in higher education. The results will assist college and university administrators as well as staff in disability services offices in tracking the success of accommodations for students with disabilities. This study can help university administration to better understand the benefits of institutional support services as well as encourage faculty involvement in implementing accommodations and helping students see the benefit of student registration with the campus office of disabilities.
microRNA-4717 differentially interacts with its polymorphic target in the PD1 3′ untranslated region: A mechanism for regulating PD-1 expression and function in HBV-associated liver diseases

Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) is involved in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. Single-nucleotide polymorphism, rs10204525, located in the PD1 3′ untranslated regions (UTR), is associated with chronic HBV infection. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression via specific binding to the target 3′UTR of mRNA. In this study, three miRNAs were predicted to putatively interact with PD1 rs10204525 polymorphic site of allele G. One of them, miRNA-4717, was demonstrated to allele-specifically affect luciferase activity in a dose-dependent manner in cells transfected with vectors containing different rs10204525 alleles. In lymphocytes from chronic HBV patients withrs10204525 genotype GG, miR-4717 mimics significantly decreased PD-1 expression and increased (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-γ production. miR-4717 inhibitor significantly increased PD-1 expression and decreased TNF-α and IFN-γ production although not significantly. In lymphocytes from chronic HBV patients with rs10204525 genotype AA, no similar effects were observed. miR-4717 levels in peripheral lymphocytes from patients with HBV-related chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and HCC were significantly decreased. In conclusion, miR-4717 may allele-specifically regulate PD-1 expression through interaction with the 3′ UTR of PD1 mRNA, leading to the alteration of immune regulation and affecting the susceptibility and disease course of chronic HBV infection.
A Unified Anatomy Ontology of the Vertebrate Skeletal System

The skeleton is of fundamental importance in research in comparative vertebrate morphology, paleontology, biomechanics, developmental biology, and systematics. Motivated by research questions that require computational access to and comparative reasoning across the diverse skeletal phenotypes of vertebrates, we developed a module of anatomical concepts for the skeletal system, the Vertebrate Skeletal Anatomy Ontology (VSAO), to accommodate and unify the existing skeletal terminologies for the species-specific (mouse, the frog Xenopus, zebrafish) and multispecies (teleost, amphibian) vertebrate anatomy ontologies. Previous differences between these terminologies prevented even simple queries across databases pertaining to vertebrate morphology. This module of upper-level and specific skeletal terms currently includes 223 defined terms and 179 synonyms that integrate skeletal cells, tissues, biological processes, organs (skeletal elements such as bones and cartilages), and subdivisions of the skeletal system. The VSAO is designed to integrate with other ontologies, including the Common Anatomy Reference Ontology (CARO), Gene Ontology (GO), Uberon, and Cell Ontology (CL), and it is freely available to the community to be updated with additional terms required for research. Its structure accommodates anatomical variation among vertebrate species in development, structure, and composition. Annotation of diverse vertebrate phenotypes with this ontology will enable novel inquiries across the full spectrum of phenotypic diversity.
Testing for Cobreaking and Super exogeneity in the Presence of Deterministic Shifts

We introduce a reduced rank technique for testing for common deterministic shifts. The reduced rank approach is analysed also in the context of super exogenity and an alternative test for super-exogeneity is proposed. One important advantage of this approach is that departing from the unrestricted model we depart from a more general model that does not impose a priori which are the target and the policy variables. This could be useful in case in which there did not existed an exact knowledge about a classification between target and instrument nor about their relationship. Monte Carlo simulations are implemented to investigate the power of this technique.
Linear Functions for Interactive Configuration Using Join Matching and CSP Tree Decomposition

Quick responses are required for interactive configuration. For this an ideal interactive configurator needs to provide the functionalities required for interactive configuration with at most linear time complexity. In this paper, we present such a data structure calledJoin Matched CSP(JMCSP). When a JMCSP is used to represent a configuration problem, the functionalities required for interactive configuration can be obtained with linear time complexity. Unlike the tree-of-BDDs [Subbarayan, 2005 ], the JMCSPs while taking advantage of treedecomposition also provide linear configuration functions. Although obtaining a JMCSP is exponential in the tree-width of the input configuration problem, due to tree-like hierarchical nature of configuration problems, this is typically feasible. We present the JMCSP compilation process along with the linear interactive configuration functions on it. The linear functionalities provided by the JMCSPs include computation of all minimum explanations .