Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid Least Squares Support Vector Machines for short term predictive analysis

Moth-flame Optimization (MFO) algorithm is a relatively new optimization algorithm which is classified as Swarm Intelligence (SI). It is inspired by unique behavior of moths in nature. Despite its young age, this algorithm has been proven to be able to address many optimization problems. With respect to that matter, this work introduces a new hybrid approach of MFO with Least Squares Support Vector Machines (termed as MFO-LSSVM). With such hybridization, the LSSVM hyper-parameters are fine-tuned by the MFO. Hence, the generalization in prediction can be improved. Realized in load data, the efficiency of the proposed model is compared against three comparable hybrid algorithms and measured based on three statistical criteria. An experimental study demonstrate that the MFO-LSSVM is able to produce better prediction results compared to the identified hybrid algorithms. Therefore the established hybrid model presents the potential to be applied to short term load prediction.
Enhanced Maximum AUC Linear Classifier

In the field of imbalance learning and cost sensitive learning, minimization of the classification error rate is not an appropriate approach due to class skew and cost distributions. Thus the area under the ROC Curve (AUC) has been widely utilized to assess the performance of the classifiers in such cases. The Maximum AUC Linear Classifier (MALC), aiming at maximizing AUC directly, is a nonparametric linear classifier. MALC is based on the analysis of Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney statistic of each single feature and on greedy pairwise combinations of the features. This paper finds that the MALC searches the solution in a much constrained resolution space. Furthermore, the heuristic method for guiding the structure of the classifier is worthy of notice. In this paper the Enhanced MALC (EMALC) is proposed. In the EMALC, two modifications are presented. Modification 1 aims at extensive searching in the solution space. Modification 2 modifies the way that MALC guides to induce the structure of the classifier. Experimental studies are carried out on a broad range of real world dataset. And the proposed methods have shown significant effect.
Synchronization of Electrophysiological Responses with Speech Benefits Syntactic Information Processing

In auditory neuroscience, electrophysiological synchronization to low-level acoustic and high-level linguistic features is well established—but its functional purpose for verbal information transmission is unclear. Based on prior evidence for a dependence of auditory task performance on delta-band oscillatory phase, we hypothesized that the synchronization of electrophysiological responses at delta-band frequency to the speech stimulus serves to implicitly align neural excitability with syntactic information. The experimental paradigm of our auditory EEG study uniformly distributed morphosyntactic violations across syntactic phrases of natural sentences, such that violations would occur at points differing in linguistic information content. In support of our hypothesis, we found behavioral responses to morphosyntactic violations to increase with decreasing syntactic information content—in significant correlation with delta-band phase, which had synchronized to our speech stimuli. Our findings indicate that rhythmic electrophysiological synchronization to the speech stream is a functional mechanism that may align neural excitability with linguistic information content, optimizing language comprehension.
APPLICATION OF THE DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHY IN WELD INSPECTION OF GAS AND OIL PIPELINES

The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of the direct radiography on weld inspection in oil pipelines and gas pipeline during the manufacturing process. To that, 6 specimens with 6 different thickness and varied height of reinforced weld with 5 different kinds of defects were made. All samples were radiographied using Class I films and flat panel. For all specimens the inspection length was 8”. Thus, with the flat panel the detector-to-object distance varied so that it may adequate to several diameters of the tubes. The detector-to-object distance was calculated based on the physical size of the detector taking into consideration a safe distance between the tube curvature and the flat panel extremities, keeping the lowest possible magnification factor so that it could be obtained the length of the inspection. Images with 6 integration time for each experimental arrangement were obtained. The images obtained with the Flat Panel/YXLON system were analyzed according to their quality by using the Contrast parameters (essential wire) (DNV 2007/ IS0 12096 – with reinforcement and ISO 10893-7 – basis material), Basic Spatial Resolution – BSR (ISO 10893-7) and normalized signal-to-noise ratio - SNR N (ISO 10893-7) and by detectability using as reference the conventional radiography. The results showed that for all thickness, the exposure time used to meet the image quality requirements were below with direct radiography. However the BSR were not reached for thickness of 4.85, 6.40 and 9.67 mm, therefore the compensation principle established by ISO 10893-7 was considered, that is, one more contrast wire for a less wire pair
Issues in NFC as a form of contactless communication: A comprehensive survey

Near Field Communication, being an emerging technology, has become an attractive area of research in academics as well as in industries due to its flooding growth and promising applications like short range contactless communication for mobile phone and other devices alike. In this regard, a proper understanding and direction of current research of NFC is to be perfectly maintained for the advancement of knowledge and to reduce the bridge gap between its basic theory and application practice. In this paper, we have proposed a thorough survey on NFC and discussed it in terms of our own visualization. We have found the problems available in the current technology of major industries like Apple, Google, Paypal and proposed some new thoughts to solve those. We also have analyzed the NFC business ecosystem and current / future market trends. In other words, this holistic review with the objective of bringing to state-of-the-art in NFC design provides development of knowledge in this field with future research directions.
Cell switching mechanisms for access point sharing in WLAN over radio-over-fiber systems

Radio-over-fiber (RoF) technology is a promising candidate to provide high data rates and ubiquitous coverage by distributing small cells over the service area. For wireless LAN (WLAN) application in RoF systems, an access points (AP) can be shared among multiple small cells. The medium access mechanisms in the distributed coordination function (DCF) under this context encounter some issues due to the carrier sensing failure between the nodes in different cells. For alleviating this problem and also supporting flexible AP sharing, two switching mechanisms are discussed. One employs a time division scheme for sharing the APs and the other a selective reception of uplink frames among the associated cells. Both approaches are shown to be effective. The proposed mechanisms do not require changes in the existing protocols on both the client side and AP side. And they are complementary to each other due to their different switching principles.
An input panel and recognition engine for on-line handwritten text recognition

A portable input panel and a real-time recognition engine for isolated, handwritten characters are presented. The input panel mimics the one found in standard pen-centered interfaces and the recognition engine is based on approximate Dynamic Time Warping comparisons with prototypes selected by two different fast classification procedures. The error rate obtained on the standard Pendigits task, 0.83%, is significantly lower than the error rate of other recently published techniques.
Cyclopentenone prostaglandin-induced unfolding and aggregation of the Parkinson disease-associated UCH-L1

Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) has been implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is present in neurofibrillary tangles or Lewy bodies. However, the molecular basis for UCH-L1s involvement in proteinacious fibril formation is still elusive, especially in regard to the pathogenicity of the I93M mutation. Here we show that modification of UCH-L1 by cyclopentenone prostaglandins causes unfolding and aggregation. A single thiol group on Cys152 reacts with the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl center in the cyclopentenone ring of prostaglandins, resulting in a covalent adduct. We also show that the PD-associated I93M mutant of UCH-L1 is well-folded, structurally similar to the wild-type protein, and aggregates upon conjugation by cyclopentenone prostaglandins. Our findings suggest a possible mechanistic link between UCH-L1 modification by cyclopentenone prostaglandins and the etiology of neurodegeneration.
Very low-profile "Bull's Eye" feeder antenna

In this letter, a very low-profile planar horn antenna is proposed. It consists of a subwavelength aperture placed into a "Bull's Eye" concentric periodic corrugated conducting plate that produces good return losses and a narrow radiated beam. The antenna is excited by means of a waveguide whose flange has been properly mechanized in the rear part of the structure. The mechanism explaining this phenomenon is similar to the enhanced transmission observed at optical wavelengths in similar structures. In this work, the circularly corrugated structure has been scaled into the microwave frequency range and, moreover, the plane wave excitation has been replaced by a subwavelength aperture excited by a conventional closed metallic waveguide. This transforms the original focusing structure into a new concept of a very low-profile feeder with potential applications.
Baseline Assessment of Public Health Informatics Competencies in Two Hudson Valley Health Departments

Information technology has the capability to improve the way public health is practiced. Realization of this potential is possible only with a workforce ready to utilize these technologies. This project team assessed informatics competencies of employees in two county departments of health. The goal was to determine the status quo in terms of informatics competencies by surveying current levels of proficiency and relevance, and identify areas of needed training. A survey was adapted from the recommendations of a Working Group document by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administered to all employees in the two health departments. Respondents evaluated proficiency and relevance for each of 26 recommended competencies. A gap score was generated between these two measures; results were compared to the recommendations of the Working Group. The following data for each job level are presented: mean gap scores by competency class; the percentage of respondents demonstrating a gap in the competencies reported to be most relevant; and the percentage of respondents meeting the target recommendations of the Working Group. The percentage of respondents who reached the targets was low in higher-level staff. And overall, employees reported low levels of relevance for most of the competencies. The average public health employee does not feel that prescribed informatics competencies are relevant to their work. Before the public health system can take advantage of information technology, relevant employee skills should be identified or developed. There needs to be a shift in thinking that will recognize the promise of information technology in everyday work.
Morpholino‐induced knockdown of zebrafish engrailed genes eng2 and eng3 reveals redundant and unique functions in midbrain–hindbrain boundary development

Engrailed transcription factors are important regulators of midbrain–hindbrain boundary development in mice, but their function in zebraﬁsh is not known. Two genes are known in mammals, En-1 and En-2, whereas zebraﬁsh have four genes: eng1, eng1b, eng2, and eng3 with different spatiotemporal activity patterns. Here we use individual and combined morpholino (MO)-mediat-ed inactivation to determine the redundant and unique functions of eng2 and eng3 . engrailed genes
Expression of Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase Gene in Adult Rat Brain

The synthesis of the intracellular messenger, cyclic GMP, is catalysed by particulate or soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGCY). sGCY is activated by nitric oxide, a compound with putative neurotransmitter functions, especially in long‐term potentiation. Hybridization histochemistry with a probe complementary to the rat lung large (α1) subunit was used to assess the exact localization of sGCY mRNA in the rat brain. Many cells in the olfactory bulb contained sGCY mRNA. In the whole cerebral cortex, sGCY mRNA was found in all layers, with a predominance in layers II ‐ III. A similar pattern was found in the olfactory tuberculum, in continuation with the piriform cortex and the cortical amygdaloid nucleus. All parts of the striatum expressed sGCY mRNA. sGCY mRNA was also found in the habenula medialis, in the pinealis in some diencephalic nuclei, and in the granule cell layers of the cerebellum. This study provides a description of the normal anatomy of sGCY gene expression in the rat forebrain as a basis for the study of the modulation of expression after physiological and pharmacological manipulations.
Cognitive Impairment and Basal Ganglia Functional Connectivity in Vascular Parkinsonism

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with vascular parkinsonism have higher cognitive decline and more basal ganglia lesions. We aimed to evaluate the relationship of cognitive impairment with functional connectivity between the basal ganglia and cingulate cortex in vascular parkinsonism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients (8 with vascular parkinsonism and 22 with Parkinson disease) and 23 controls were enrolled. The Mattis Dementia Rating Scale and the Stroop Task were used to assess cognitive decline. MR imaging examinations included T1-MPRAGE, FLAIR, and resting-state fMRI sequences. MPRAGE was segmented to obtain basal ganglia and cingulate cortex volumes. FLAIR was segmented to obtain white matter hyperintensity lesion volume. Resting-state fMRI sequences were used to compare basal ganglia functional connectivity with the cingulate cortex between patients and controls. RESULTS: Patients with vascular parkinsonism exhibited impaired attention, resistance to interference, and inhibitory control and an increased number of errors on the Stroop Task. They also had higher caudate nucleus and white matter hyperintensity lesion volumes, which were positively correlated (ρ = 0.75, P < .0001). Caudate nucleus functional connectivity with the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex was increased in patients with vascular parkinsonism compared with controls and patients with Parkinson disease, and it was positively correlated with the caudate nucleus volume (ρ = 0.44, P = .016). Caudate nucleus functional connectivity with the posterior cingulate cortex was decreased in patients with vascular parkinsonism compared with controls and negatively correlated with the number of errors on the Stroop test (ρ = −0.51, P = .0003). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with vascular parkinsonism, cognitive decline could be related to changes of caudate nucleus functional connectivity with the cingulate cortex at resting-state, which may be induced by ischemia-related remodelling.
Treatment Staff Referrals, Participation Expectations, and Perceived Benefits and Barriers to Adolescent Involvement in Twelve-Step Groups

ABSTRACT Adolescents treated for substance use disorders (SUDs) appear to benefit from participation in Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA). However, as compared with adults, fewer adolescents attend, and those who do attend do so less intensively and discontinue sooner. It is unknown whether this disparity is due to a lowered expectation for youth participation by the clinicians treating them, as they may adapt the adult-based model to fit a less-dependent cohort, or whether recommendations are similar to those of clinicians who work with adults and other factors are responsible. All clinical staff (N = 114) at 5 adolescent programs (3 residential, 2 outpatient) were surveyed anonymously about referral practices and other beliefs about 12-step groups. Staff rated AA/NA participation as very important and helpful to adolescent recovery and referral rates were uniformly high (M = 86%, SD = 28%). Desired participation frequency was over 3 times per week. The theoretical orientation and level of care of the programs influenced some results. Findings suggest lower adolescent participation in 12-step groups is not due to a lack of clinician enthusiasm or referrals, but appears to be due to other factors.
Psychosocial correlates of health-promoting and health-impairing behaviors in pregnancy

Abstract Behaviors during pregnancy including eating, exercise, cigarette smoking, and other substance use affect the health of a pregnant woman and her fetus. However, little is known about what influences pregnant women to engage in these health behaviors. Based upon relevant theory, we hypothesized that because health-promoting behaviors require continuous efforts that may depend upon a reliable, stable set of resources, intrapersonal traits, namely self-esteem and optimism, would be associated with the practice of health-promoting behaviors during pregnancy. In addition, we hypothesized that variables reactive to the more immediate context, pregnancy-specific stress and perceived control over pregnancy, would be associated with the practice of health-impairing behaviors. We distinguished health-promoting and health-impairing behaviors in a diverse sample of 165 pregnant women and investigated whether such behaviors are associated with distinct psychosocial factors. Results supported study hypotheses and provide evidence that even after controlling for maternal age, income, body mass index, and gestation, a stable, self-relevant disposition, self-esteem, is associated with the practice of health-promoting behaviors in pregnancy whereas pregnancy-specific stress, a situationally-evoked factor, is associated with the practice of health-impairing prenatal behaviors. Perceived control over pregnancy, which may reflect stable disposition and situational perceptions, was associated with health-promoting and health-impairing behaviors.
Continued emissions of carbon tetrachloride from the United States nearly two decades after its phaseout for dispersive uses

Significance Global-scale observations suggest large unexplained emissions of the ozone-depleting chemical carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) despite stringent limits on its production for dispersive uses for many years. Identifying the sources of continued CCl4 emission is necessary before steps can be taken to accelerate the emission decline and limit future ozone depletion. Results from an extensive air sampling network over the United States indicate continued emission of CCl4 with a similar distribution but much larger magnitude than industrial facilities reporting emissions to the US Environmental Protection Agency. If these emissions are attributable to chlorine production and processing and are indicative of release rates of CCl4 from these industries worldwide, a large fraction of ongoing global emissions of CCl4 can be explained. National-scale emissions of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) are derived based on inverse modeling of atmospheric observations at multiple sites across the United States from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s flask air sampling network. We estimate an annual average US emission of 4.0 (2.0–6.5) Gg CCl4 y−1 during 2008–2012, which is almost two orders of magnitude larger than reported to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) (mean of 0.06 Gg y−1) but only 8% (3–22%) of global CCl4 emissions during these years. Emissive regions identified by the observations and consistently shown in all inversion results include the Gulf Coast states, the San Francisco Bay Area in California, and the Denver area in Colorado. Both the observation-derived emissions and the US EPA TRI identified Texas and Louisiana as the largest contributors, accounting for one- to two-thirds of the US national total CCl4 emission during 2008–2012. These results are qualitatively consistent with multiple aircraft and ship surveys conducted in earlier years, which suggested significant enhancements in atmospheric mole fractions measured near Houston and surrounding areas. Furthermore, the emission distribution derived for CCl4 throughout the United States is more consistent with the distribution of industrial activities included in the TRI than with the distribution of other potential CCl4 sources such as uncapped landfills or activities related to population density (e.g., use of chlorine-containing bleach).
Mitigating Denial-of-Service Attacks on VoIP Environment

IP telephony refers to the use of Internet protocols to provide voice, video, and data in one integrated service over LANs, BNs, MANs, not WANs. VoIP provides three key benefits compared to traditional voice telephone services. First, it minimizes the need fro extra wiring in new buildings. Second, it provides easy movement of telephones and the ability of phone numbers to move with the individual. Finally, VoIP is generally cheaper to operate because it requires less network capacity to transmit the same voice telephone call over an increasingly digital telephone network (FitzGerald & Dennis, 2007 p. 519). Unfortunately, benefits of new electronic communications come with proportionate risks. Companies experience losses resulting from attacks on data networks. There are direct losses like economic theft, theft of trade secrets and digital data, as well as indirect losses that include loss of sales, loss of competitive advantage etc. The companies need to develop their security policies to protect their businesses. But the practice of information security has become more complex than ever. The research paper will be about the major DoS threats the company’s VoIP environment can experience as well as best countermeasures that can be used to prevent them and make the VoIP environment and, therefore, company’s networking environment more secure.
IPv6 and UDP Checksums for Tunneled Packets

This document updates the IPv6 specification (RFC 2460) to improve performance when a tunnel protocol uses UDP with IPv6 to tunnel packets. The performance improvement is obtained by relaxing the IPv6 UDP checksum requirement for tunnel protocols whose header information is protected on the "inner" packet being carried. Relaxing this requirement removes the overhead associated with the computation of UDP checksums on IPv6 packets that carry the tunnel protocol packets. This specification describes how the IPv6 UDP checksum requirement can be relaxed when the encapsulated packet itself contains a checksum. It also describes the limitations and risks of this approach and discusses the restrictions on the use of this method.