Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DAWG: A Defense Against Cache Timing Attacks in Speculative Execution Processors

Software side channel attacks have become a serious concern with the recent rash of attacks on speculative processor architectures. Most attacks that have been demonstrated exploit the cache tag state as their exfiltration channel. While many existing defense mechanisms that can be implemented solely in software have been proposed, these mechanisms appear to patch specific attacks, and can be circumvented. In this paper, we propose minimal modifications to hardware to defend against a broad class of attacks, including those based on speculation, with the goal of eliminating the entire attack surface associated with the cache state covert channel. We propose DAWG, Dynamically Allocated Way Guard, a generic mechanism for secure way partitioning of set associative structures including memory caches. DAWG endows a set associative structure with a notion of protection domains to provide strong isolation. When applied to a cache, unlike existing quality of service mechanisms such as Intel's Cache Allocation Technology (CAT), DAWG fully isolates hits, misses, and metadata updates across protection domains. We describe how DAWG can be implemented on a processor with minimal modifications to modern operating systems. We describe a non-interference property that is orthogonal to speculative execution and therefore argue that existing attacks such as Spectre Variant 1 and 2 will not work on a system equipped with DAWG. Finally, we evaluate the performance impact of DAWG on the cache subsystem.
Leaflet manual of external beam radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: a review of the indications, evidences, and clinical trials

The use of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which was rarely performed due to liver toxicity with a previous technique, has increased. Palliation of portal vein thrombosis, supplementation for insufficient transarterial chemoembolization, and provision of new curative opportunities using stereotactic body radiotherapy are the potential indications for use of EBRT. The mechanism of EBRT treatment, with its radiobiological and physical perspectives, differs from those of conventional medical treatment or surgery. Therefore, understanding the effects of EBRT may be unfamiliar to physicians other than radiation oncologists, especially in the field of HCC, where EBRT has recently begun to be applied. The first objective of this review was to concisely explain the indications for use of EBRT for HCC for all physicians treating HCC. Therefore, this review focuses on the therapeutic outcomes rather than the detailed biological and physical background. We also reviewed recent clinical trials that may extend the indications for use of EBRT. Finally, we reviewed the current clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of HCC and discuss the current recommendations and future perspectives.
SoH-Aware Reconfiguration in Battery Packs

Cell imbalance, a notorious but widely found issue, degrades the performance and reliability of large battery packs, especially for cells connected in series where their overall capacity delivery is dominated by the weakest cell. In this paper, we exploit the emerging reconfigurable battery packs to mitigate the cell imbalance via the joint consideration of system reconfigurability and State-of-Health (SoH) of cells. Via empirical measurements and validation, we observe that more capacity can be delivered when cells with similar SoH are connected in series during discharging. Based on this observation, we propose two SoH-aware reconfiguration algorithms focusing on fully and partially reconfigurable battery packs, and prove their (near) optimality in capacity delivery. We evaluate the proposed reconfiguration algorithms analytically, experimentally, and via emulations, showing 10%–60% improvement in capacity delivery when compared with SoH-oblivious approaches, especially when facing severe cell imbalance.
The Reliance on Vestibular Information During Standing Balance Control Decreases With Severity of Vestibular Dysfunction

The vestibular system is involved in gaze stabilization and standing balance control. However, it is unclear whether vestibular dysfunction affects both processes to a similar extent. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine how the reliance on vestibular information during standing balance control is related to gaze stabilization deficits in patients with vestibular dysfunction. Eleven patients with vestibular dysfunction and twelve healthy subjects were included. Gaze stabilization deficits were established by spontaneous nystagmus examination, caloric test, rotational chair test, and head impulse test. Standing balance control was assessed by measuring the body sway (BS) responses to continuous support surface rotations of 0.5° and 1.0° peak-to-peak while subjects had their eyes closed. A balance control model was fitted on the measured BS responses to estimate balance control parameters, including the vestibular weight, which represents the reliance on vestibular information. Using multivariate analysis of variance, balance parameters were compared between patients with vestibular dysfunction and healthy subjects. Robust regression was used to investigate correlations between gaze stabilization and the vestibular weight. Our results showed that the vestibular weight was smaller in patients with vestibular dysfunction than in healthy subjects (F = 7.67, p = 0.011). The vestibular weight during 0.5° peak-to-peak support surface rotations decreased with increasing spontaneous nystagmus eye velocity (ρ = −0.82, p < 0.001). In addition, the vestibular weight during 0.5° and 1.0° peak-to-peak support surface rotations decreased with increasing ocular response bias during rotational chair testing (ρ = −0.72, p = 0.02 and ρ = −0.67, p = 0.04, respectively). These findings suggest that the reliance on vestibular information during standing balance control decreases with the severity of vestibular dysfunction. We conclude that particular gaze stabilization tests may be used to predict the effect of vestibular dysfunction on standing balance control.
Comparing supernova remnants around strongly magnetized and canonical pulsars

The origin of the strong magnetic fields measured in magnetars is one of the main uncertainties in the neutron star field. On the other hand, the recent discovery of a large number of such strongly magnetized neutron stars is calling for more investigation on their formation. The first proposed model for the formation of such strong magnetic fields in magnetars was through alpha-dynamo effects on the rapidly rotating core of a massive star. Other scenarios involve highly magnetic massive progenitors that conserve their strong magnetic moment into the core after the explosion, or a common envelope phase of a massive binary system. In this work, we do a complete re-analysis of the archival X-ray emission of the supernova remnants (SNRs) surrounding magnetars, and compare our results with all other bright X-ray emitting SNRs, which are associated with compact central objects (which are proposed to have magnetar-like B-fields buried in the crust by strong accretion soon after their formation), high-B pulsars and normal pulsars. We find that emission lines in SNRs hosting highly magnetic neutron stars do not differ significantly in elements or ionization state from those observed in other SNRs, neither averaging on the whole remnants, nor studying different parts of their total spatial extent. Furthermore, we find no significant evidence that the total X-ray luminosities of SNRs hosting magnetars, are on average larger than that of typical young X-ray SNRs. Although biased by a small number of objects, we found that for a similar age, there is the same percentage of magnetars showing a detectable SNR than for the normal pulsar population.
The Crystal Structure of a hCA VII Variant Provides Insights into the Molecular Determinants Responsible for Its Catalytic Behavior

Although important progress has been achieved in understanding the catalytic mechanism of Carbonic Anhydrases, a detailed picture of all factors influencing the catalytic efficiency of the various human isoforms is still missing. In this paper we report a detailed structural study and theoretical pKa calculations on a hCA VII variant. The obtained data were compared with those already known for another thoroughly investigated cytosolic isoform, hCA II. Our structural studies show that in hCA VII the network of ordered water molecules, which connects the zinc bound solvent molecule to the proton shuttle His64, is altered compared to hCA II, causing a reduction of the catalytic efficiency. Theoretical calculations suggest that changes in solvent network are related to the difference in pKa of the proton shuttle in the two enzymes. The residue that plays a major role in determining the diverse pKa values of the proton shuttle is the one in position four, namely His for hCA II and Gly for hCA VII. This residue is located on the protein surface, outside of the active site cavity. These findings are in agreement with our previous studies that highlighted the importance of histidines on the protein surface of hCA II (among which His4) as crucial residues for the high catalytic efficiency of this isoform.
An Electromyography-Based System for Measuring the Flavor Detection Time in Healthy Adults

This study aimed to develop a system to measure the flavor detection time for chewed solid and semi-solid foods. Twelve healthy young adults (seven males and five females) were asked to chew gummy candies with three different fruit flavors (grape, lemon, and pineapple) in a random order while their masseter activities were recorded by surface electromyograms on their habitual working and non-working sides. The participants were also asked to press a button as soon as possible with their preferred hand once they detected the flavor. The time interval between the start of chewing and the button press was measured; the start of chewing was defined as the start of a burst in the masseter electromyogram on the habitual working side. The average interval ranged from 2.82 s (lemon in males) to 4.63 s (grape in males); no significant differences were found between the three tested gummy candies or between the sexes of the participants. The present system can perform the measurements of the following two conventional measurement systems: 1) simple reaction time task for the taste and olfactory stimuli of fluids and vapors, respectively, and 2) time-intensity analysis of the flavor from solid and semi-solid foods, which does not generally consider the flavor detection time.
Risk factors for cardiopulmonary resuscitation‐related injuries sustained during out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrests

We aimed to determine the incidence of and associated risk factors for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)‐related injuries in non‐survivors of out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in an emergency medical service (EMS) system in which all CPR procedures are performed on scene and patients are not routinely transported to the hospital with ongoing CPR.
The Natural Flavone Acacetin Confers Cardiomyocyte Protection Against Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Injury via AMPK-Mediated Activation of Nrf2 Signaling Pathway

The present study investigates the potential signal pathway of acacetin in cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion injury using an in vitro hypoxia/reoxygenation model in primary cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and H9C2 cardiomyoblasts. It was found that acacetin (0.3–3 μM) significantly decreased the apoptosis and reactive oxygen species production induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in cardiomyocytes and H9C2 cardiomyoblasts via reducing the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and cleaved-caspase-3 and increasing the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. In addition, acacetin not only suppressed the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines TLR-4 and IL-6 induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation injury, but also increased the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Moreover, acacetin increased Nrf2 and HO-1 in a concentration-dependent manner, and rescued SOD1 and SOD2 reduction induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation insult. These beneficial effects of acacetin disappeared in cells with silenced Nrf2, suggesting that Nrf2 activation participates in the cardioprotective effect of acacetin against hypoxia/reoxygenation insult. However, acacetin-induced Nrf2 activation was not observed in cells with silenced AMPK and in ventricular tissues of rat hearts treated with the AMPK inhibitor Compound C and subjected to ischemia/reperfusion injury. Our results demonstrate for the first time that AMPK-mediated Nrf2 activation is involved in the cardiomyocytes protection of acacetin against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury by activating a series of intracellular signals involved in anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptosis.
Enhancing higher harmonics of a tapping cantilever by excitation at a submultiple of its resonance frequency

In a tapping-mode atomic force microscope, the frequency spectrum of the oscillating cantilever contains higher harmonics at integer multiples of the excitation frequency. When the cantilever oscillates at its fundamental resonance frequency ${w}_{1}$, the high $Q$-factor damps the amplitudes of the higher harmonics to negligible levels, unless the higher flexural eigenmodes are coincident with those harmonics. One can enhance the $n\text{th}$ harmonic by the $Q$ factor when the cantilever is excited at a submultiple of its resonance frequency $({w}_{1}∕n)$. Hence, the magnitude of the $n\text{th}$ harmonic can be measured easily and it can be utilized to examine the material properties. We show theoretically that the amplitude of enhanced higher harmonic increases monotonically for a range of sample stiffness, if the interaction is dominated by elastic force.
Perturbation approach to shape reconstruction in a rectangular waveguide using experimental data

We consider the inverse problem of reconstructing the shape of a deformation in one of the broad walls of a rectangular waveguide. Assuming a small deformation, resulting in weak scattering, the direct problem is solved using a first order perturbation approach. Hence, the inverse problem becomes linear and is formulated as an equation system for a set of expansion coefficients. The illposedness of the inverse problem is handled with regularization, by adding a penalty term which weight is determined by the L-curve method. The theory is tested on experimental reflection data, using the dominant mode of the waveguide. The reconstructed shape is in qualitative agreement with the true shape, but a detailed resolution cannot be obtained due to insufficient quality of the experimental data. Extensions and improvements of the method are discussed.
G-SECI model-based knowledge creation for CoPS innovation: the role of grey knowledge

This paper aims to propose a new knowledge creation model called Grey SECI (G-SECI), study the knowledge creation mechanism and the relationship between knowledge creation models and innovation performance during complex product systems (CoPSs) development. Research and development of CoPSs relies heavily on knowledge creation. However, most scholars have studied CoPS innovation stages from the view of design process of system products, focussing on functional management and project management during the RD and organization innovation performance is influenced by knowledge combination and knowledge systematization. ,The coverage of geographical distribution is limited. Therefore, there are no data from foreign enterprises. The impact of different geographical cultures on CoPS knowledge creation model could be further investigated; in addition, the statistical analysis results of this study need to be further verified in other industries. ,This paper provides a series of insights for CoPS project leaders. The results may also provide practical guidance for the related management personnel in the fields of human resource training, project planning, project quality and technology R&D in CoPS R&D management. ,The paper’s main contribution is to modify classic SECI knowledge conversion model by introducing grey knowledge and build a new G-SECI knowledge creation model. Besides, the paper adds empirical evidence on the knowledge creation paths in CoPS and reveals that internalization by practice is the key mode of knowledge creation.
Discovering children's competences in coding through the analysis of Scratch projects

Computational thinking and coding has received considerable attention over the past several years. Considerable efforts worldwide suggest the need for more empirical studies providing evidence-based practices to introduce and engage children with coding activities. The main goal of this study is to examine which programming concepts students use when they want to develop a game, and what is the interrelation among these concepts. To achieve our goal, a field study was designed and data were collected from coding activities. In detail, during a two-week period, one-day workshops were organized almost every day on which 44 children participating in, with ages between 8–17. The workshops follow a constructionist approach and comprise of two parts. First the children interact with robots, and then develop a game using Scratch. The findings provide a deeper understanding on how children code by showing the use of specific programming concepts to develop their projects and their correlations. Hence, we improve our knowledge about children's competences in coding.
Sleep quality and associated factors among the elderly living in rural Chiang Rai, northern Thailand

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to characterize the prevalence of poor sleep quality and to identify associated factors among community-dwelling elderly individuals in northern Thailand. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 266 randomly selected elderly people in a sub-district in rural Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand. The participants were interviewed using the Thai version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULTS Roughly 44.0% of the participants had poor sleep quality (PSQI score, >5), 9.4% used sleep medication, 27.1% had poor family relationships, and 12.0% had mild depression. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that being female (odds ratio [OR], 1.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10 to 3.02), a higher education level (OR, 3.03; 95% CI, 1.34 to 6.86 for primary school; OR, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.31 to 5.44 for higher than primary school), mild depression (OR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.11 to 6.36), and poor family relationships (OR, 3.65; 95% CI, 1.98 to 6.75) were significantly associated with poor sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of poor sleep quality among the elderly was moderately high. Healthcare providers should regularly conduct screenings for sleep quality and depression; provide sleep health education; and conduct interventions to encourage participating in family activities, resolving conflicts, sharing ideas, and making compromises within the family.
Duo: A Human/Wearable Hybrid for Learning About Common Manipulate Objects

Abstract : Humanoid robots would benefit from a better understanding of common manipulable objects and the human behaviors associated with them. Duo is a human/wearable hybrid that is designed to learn about this important domain of human intelligence by interacting with natural manipulable objects in unconstrained environments. Duo's wearable AI system measures the kinematic configuration of the human's head, torso and dominate arm, while watching the workspace of the human's hand through a head-mounted camera. Duo also requests helpful actions from the human through speech via headphones. This paper presents results on an initial set of behaviors for Duo which lead to high-quality segmentations of common manipulable objects in unconstrained human environments. In Duo, the wearable AI system essentially subsumes the abilities of its cooperative human partner by sharing the human's sensor input and directing a portion of the human's actions. Together, the cooperative human and the wearable AI system can be thought of as constituting a new kind of humanoid robot that complements more traditional, wholly synthetic humanoid robots by allowing researchers to circumvent some of the currently unsolved problems in the field, from dextrous object manipulation to unrestricted mobility.
Predicting Foreign Language Usage from English-Only Social Media Posts

Social media is known for its multi-cultural and multilingual interactions, a natural product of which is code-mixing. Multilingual speakers mix languages they tweet to address a different audience, express certain feelings, or attract attention. This paper presents a large-scale analysis of 6 million tweets produced by 27 thousand multilingual users speaking 12 other languages besides English. We rely on this corpus to build predictive models to infer non-English languages that users speak exclusively from their English tweets. Unlike native language identification task, we rely on large amounts of informal social media communications rather than ESL essays. We contrast the predictive power of the state-of-the-art machine learning models trained on lexical, syntactic, and stylistic signals with neural network models learned from word, character and byte representations extracted from English only tweets. We report that content, style and syntax are the most predictive of non-English languages that users speak on Twitter. Neural network models learned from byte representations of user content combined with transfer learning yield the best performance. Finally, by analyzing cross-lingual transfer – the influence of non-English languages on various levels of linguistic performance in English, we present novel findings on stylistic and syntactic variations across speakers of 12 languages in social media.
Internet of medical things: Architectural model, motivational factors and impediments

The field of Internet of Things (IoT) is progressing in a fashion that will transform the complete landscape of future internet. It will further provide opportunities into new domains for automation and integration of real word objects. Medical field is always at the forefront of innovation adoption. There are currently numerous applications of the concept in the medical field such as e-Health and m-Health. This paper has reviewed and proposed the architectural model to implement Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Moreover using Carley's eight step content analysis technique, motivational factors for the adoption of IoMT have been identified. Finally the paper sheds light on the major impediment such as security and privacy issues. This work will help the medical professionals to smoothly integrate the IoMT in their domain and avoid the major pitfalls.
New Paradigm in Speech Recognition: Deep Neural Networks

This paper addresses the topic of deep neural networks (DNN). Recently, DNN has become a flagship in the fields of artificial intelligence. Deep learning has surpassed state-of-the-art results in many domains: image recognition, speech recognition, language modelling, parsing, information retrieval, speech synthesis, translation, autonomous cars, gaming, etc. DNN have the ability to discover and learn complex structure of very large data sets. Moreover, DNN have a great capability of generalization. More specifically, speech recognition with DNN is the topic of our work in this paper. We present an overview of different architectures and training procedures for DNN-based models. In the framework of transcription of broadcast news, our DNN-based system decreases the word error rate dramatically compared to a classical system.