Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Digest: A Biometric Authentication Protocol in Wireless Sensor Network

Since the security of biometric information may be threatened by network attacks, presenting individual’s information without a suitable protection is not suitable for authorization. In traditional cryptographic systems, security was done using individual’s password(s) or driving some other data from primary information as secret key(s). However, encryption and decryption algorithms are slow and contain time-consuming operations for transferring data in network. Thus, it is better that we have no need to decrypt an encrypted trait of an enrolled person, and the system can encrypt the user trait with the user’s passwords and then compare the results with the enrolled persons’ encrypted data stored in database. In this chapter, by considering wireless sensor networks and authenticating server, we introduce a new concept called “digest” and deal with its efficiency in dealing with the security problem. A “digest” can be derived from any kind of information trait through which nobody can capture any information of primary biometric traits. We show that this concept leads to the increase of the accuracy and accessibility of a biometric system.
Coupling light and matter in metallic nanoparticle arrays

• A submitted manuscript is the author's version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
Assessing brain structure and function with diffusion-weighted MRI: Application to stroke

Human brain consists of grey and white matter. Grey matter largely forms the outer layer of the brain, and is responsible for decision making and functioning of the human body. Complementary, the white matter (WM) contains the communication pathways between the grey matter areas. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is an imaging modality allowing to model the brain’s white matter structures by making the MRI acquisition sensitive to diffusion processes. When brain structure is altered due to pathology, it can be assessed and quantified by analysing dMRI data.
Biomechanic and Hemodynamic Perspectives in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Rupture Risk Assessment

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) pose a significant source of mortality for the elderly, especially if they go on undetected and ultimately rupture. Therefore, elective repair of these lesions is recommended in order to avoid risk of rupture which is associ - ated with high mortality. Currently, the risk of rupture and thus the indication to inter vene is evaluated based on the size of the AAA as determined by its maximum diameter. Since AAAs actually present original geometric configurations and unique hemody namic and biomechanic conditions, it is expected that other variables may affect rup - ture risk as well. This is the reason why the maximum diameter criterion has often been proven inaccurate. The biomechanical approach considers rupture as a material failure where the stresses exerted on the wall outweigh its strength. Therefore, rupture depends on the pointwise comparison of the stress and strength for every point of the aneurysmal surface. Moreover, AAAs hemodynamics play an essential role in AAAs natural history, progression and rupture. This chapter summarizes advances in AAAs rupture risk esti - mation beyond the “one size fits all” maximum diameter criterion.
Conducting Large-N Surveys on Policy Work in Bureaucracies: Some Methodological Challenges and Implications from the Czech Republic

The article deals with methodological challenges in conducting large-N surveys on policy work in central public administration. Based upon current work on the topic as well as the author’s experience with a large-N survey in the Czech Republic’s ministries, these challenges include: 1) definition of theoretical sample, 2) obtaining sample frame and support from the ministry, and 3) methods of sampling and data gathering. It is shown that traditional conceptions of a “policy analyst“ are not adequate for research design because a) this term does not include everyone who might be doing policy work, and b) in some countries there is simply no such job position. It is argued that: 1) there should be a closer connection between the theory of policy work and empirical surveys, especially in terms of clearer definition of theoretical population; 2) it would be useful to expand the operationalization of policy work in public administration to include all civil servants except those who work exclusively in the internal operations of the ministry; 3) researchers should be more transparent in describing their methodology (how the sample frame was constructed, how the units from the sample frame were chosen etc.); 4) researchers should better reflect potential weakness of research design (especially sampling bias); 5) more effort to estimate data quality should be made; 6) these surveys should be accompanied by qualitative in-depth studies. The appendix of the article provides detailed information about the methodology of the Czech Republic survey.
Genome-Wide Analysis of DNA Copy Number Changes in Liver Steatosis

Aims: Liver steatosis is the most common benign form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It might be a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, either (i) by causing fibrosis, which highly predisposes to hepatoma, or (ii) by being an early precursor of carcinoma, although it is usually considered not to be pre-neoplastic. We investigated Research Article British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 3(4): 1773-1785, 2013 1774 the genomic profile of liver samples from patients with fatty liver disease. Study Design & Methodology: Copy number variation was investigated by array-CGH, using the Human Genome 244K catalogue array (Agilent Technologies), and changes validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Results: The analysis of liver biopsies from 17 patients, 10 of whom had histological diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, showed differences in the type of variants in patients with steatosis compared to those without steatosis at several chromosome bands, including 3q29, 6p2, 11q11 and 22q11. Conclusion: The genomic copy number changes we have demonstrated suggest that genomic structural variations may be associated with the pathogenesis or the evolution of steatosis.
New Zealand Taxation 2015 Principles, Cases and Questions

New Zealand Taxation has been used in all New Zealand Universities and most Technical Institutes throughout New Zealand since 2004. Originally written by Clinton Alley, Andrew Maples, and John Veal, this book now has 27 chapters covering all aspects of taxation in New Zealand. It is designed to elucidate the most complex and problematic law written in New Zealand, and to build a framework on which the different taxation concepts can be understood. Rather than simply restating the law, it explains taxation policies and procedures and critically evaluates taxation regimes as well as providing cases, review questions, references and further reading lists. It is a comprehensive, research based book, written by academics and professionals with life time experiences of taxation.
ANTI-TYROSINASE AND CYTOTOXICITY ACTIVITIES OF CURCUMIN-METAL COMPLEXES

Objective: The objective of this study is investigating the potential of curcumin metal complexes in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Methods: Curcumin was complexed with five divalent transition metals (Zn(II), Cu(II), Fe(II), Mn(II), and Mg(II)) and then investigated for their anti-tyrosinase activity and their mode of inhibition against mushroom tyrosinase and cytotoxicity against KB and MCF-7 cell lines. Results: The tyrosinase inhibition of curcumin increased in the presence of Mn (II) and Zn (II); however, the activity was reduced after complexingwith Cu (II), Fe (II), and Mg (II). Curcumin manganese complex (curcumin-Mn) exhibited the highest potent anti-tyrosinase activity with classical noncompetitive inhibitor which showed the inhibition constant (KI)of 3.57 µg/mL(7.58µg/mL for free curcumin). For the cytotoxicity against KB and MCF7 cell lines, free curcumin showed cytotoxicity against both KB (IC 50 9.58 mg/mL) and MCF7 (13.86 mg/mL) cancer cell lines; whereas, it was found to be lower in the metal complexes. Conclusion: This study suggests a potential use of the curcumin-Mn and Zn as a depigmentation agent in cosmetic products.
Loss of Interferon-γ Inducibility of TAP1 and LMP2 in a Renal Cell Carcinoma Cell Line

The inadequate ability of cancer cells to present antigen on the cell surface via MHC class I molecules is one mechanism by which tumor cells evade antitumor-associated antigen immunity. In many cases, such as in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the lack of MHC class I antigen presentation can be attributed to the down-regulation of genes needed for antigen processing, such as the transporters associated with antigen processing (TAP)1 and TAP2, and the proteasomal components low molecular weight proteins (LMP)2 and LMP7. The TAP1 and LMP2 genes are transcribed from a shared bidirectional promoter containing an IFN response factor element that confers IFN-gamma inducibility. Here, we investigate the differential responsiveness to IFN-gamma of RCC cell lines, Caki-1 and Caki-2, which have been reported to have abnormally low expressions of TAP1 and LMP2. We now demonstrate that the Caki-2 cell line is defective in the IFN-gamma signaling pathway. The effects of IFN-gamma on TAP1 and LMP2 expression revealed a loss of up-regulation in Caki-2 cells, but not in Caki-1 cells. In vivo DNA footprinting shows a specific loss of occupancy at the IFN response factor element site in Caki-2 cells, whereas Caki-1 cells show full promoter occupancy. Furthermore, in vitro DNA-binding studies indicated that Caki-2 cells do not have IFN-regulatory factor 1- or signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (Stat1)-binding activity after IFN-gamma stimulation. Examination of Stat1, Jak1, and Jak2 proteins demonstrated that the proteins were expressed, however, not phosphorylated, upon IFN-gamma treatment in Caki-2 cells. Also, this cell line expressed both IFN-gamma receptor chains. IFN-gamma inducibility could not be rescued by introduction of normal Jak1 and/or Jak2 proteins. However, overexpression of Jak1 did increase TAP1 and LMP2 expression independent of IFN-gamma, indicating that the Stat1 and IFN-regulatory factor 1 proteins present in Caki-2 can be activated. These findings suggest that the loss of TAP1 and LMP2 induction is a defect in the earliest steps of the IFN-gamma signaling pathway resulting in the inability of Caki-2 cells to up-regulate the MHC class I antigen-processing pathway. Because immunotherapy may be one of the most promising approaches for treating RCC, understanding the mechanisms by which these tumors circumvent cytokine signaling, thereby evading antitumor-specific-antigen immunity, would greatly aid the efficacy of such therapy.
Learning Experiences in the Novice-expert Liminal Space

This paper reports on new research into the learning experiences of novices and experts. The research explored the novice-expert liminal space to study the threshold concepts involved in learning to become an expert. Grounded theory methods were used to elicit evidence of critical concepts present in the learning experiences; this approach allowed categories and themes to emerge from the data and proved to be an original and effective methodology for exploring threshold concepts. The study’s research design also underscored the importance, when undertaking similar studies, to focus on the learners themselves in data collection when exploring learning experiences.
Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in aquatic food webs are tracers of diet and provenance

Summary 1. The stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope (d 2 H and d 18 O) composition of animal tissues are well-established tracers for terrestrial migration ecology and wildlife forensics. However, the behaviour of these isotopes in aquatic ecosystems and their potential as tracers of diet and provenance are complicated because of inputs from ambient H2O and diet. 2. We conducted controlled aquaria-based experiments to quantify the mechanisms that drive the H and O isotopic flow within and among aquatic species. The isotopic composition of water and diet of two aquatic species (Chironomus tentans and Poecilia reticulata), representing two trophic levels, was varied in six isothermal treatments. Both species were raised from juvenile to adult to ensure that tissues were in isotopic equilibrium with their dietary and environmental conditions (ambient water, food, dissolved oxygen). We measured water, dissolved O2, diet, tissue protein and lipids for d 2 Ho rd 18 O. 3. The flows of H and O isotopes for tissue formation in aquatic organisms were parameterized using a steady-state multi-pool mass-balance model. The ambient H2O contribution to tissue protein H and O isotopes in both species was significant (30–50% for 2 H and >80% for 18 O). An apparent trophic effect for d 2 H and isotopic discrimination between water and protein for d 18 O( c .1 5&) were identified. 4. Our isotopic data and model revealed potential applications and cautions in using d 2 H and d 18 O measurements for ecological studies in aquatic food webs. Tissue d 2 H values may be a complementary trophic tracer in aquatic food webs, but only when the main controlling mechanisms are properly accounted for (i.e., H isotopic exchange with water during protein synthesis and influence of metabolic water). Measurements of d 18 O, on the other hand, reflect that of water and so can be used for predicting isotopic assignment to origin of aquatic organisms as there is no complicating trophic effect, but more d 18 O field data and improved analytical precision may be required to better establish the strengths to ecological applications.
Impact Assessment of the L-Band Digital Aeronautical Communications System on the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System

The L-band digital aeronautical communications system (LDACS) is the future air–ground communications technology currently undergoing the International Civil Aviation Organization standardization process. As LDACS is intended to operate in the frequency band 960–1164 MHz, compatibility tests between LDACS and the legacy systems operating in this frequency band are necessary to ensure that no system is harmfully interfered. One of these systems is the joint tactical information distribution system (JTIDS), a technology employed by the tactical data link Link 16. In this paper, we present the results of an impact assessment of LDACS on JTIDS conducted through simulations. The extent of the impact has been quantified by simulating a wide variety of interference configurations, which are expected to cover most realistic interference conditions between LDACS and JTIDS. Baseband simulation models of both systems have been implemented and an interference scenario between LDACS and JTIDS has been defined. To evaluate the impact, the degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of JTIDS by the presence of LDACS has been determined. Default JTIDS transmissions, where the information is repeated at distant frequencies, do not show a significant degradation by the presence of strong LDACS interference, with an SNR loss lower than 1 dB in any considered interference scenario. Comparatively, a certain dependency on the specific LDACS deployment is noticeable for less protected JTIDS transmissions. Based on the observed interdependencies, recommendations for the deployment of LDACS are given in this paper, such that the impact of LDACS on JTIDS is minimized.
Effect of foliar application of micronutrients on persimmon fruit quality and yield

In the present research work forty five trees of persimmon having uniform height and canopy were evaluated against five treatments (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) to determine the efficiency of micronutrients foliar spray on the yield and yield attributes. The experiment was conducted at a farmer’s field in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Micronutrients concentration was measured before and after foliar spray. Mixed application of micronutrients i.e. T5 (30 ZnSO4, Borax 20 and 40 g FeSO4) gave the highest persimmon yield (148.9 kg tree-1) with an increase of 7.73% over control followed by T4 with an increase of 6.15% over control. Micronutrients application in comparison with the control also improved number of fruits tree -1 , fruit weight and fruit diameter. The response of the lone application of micronutrients were in the order Zn >Fe > B. Moreover micronutrients spray also produced lush green shiny leaves and improved the fruit quality significantly by increasing Zinc, Iron and Boron contents. On the basis of our findings combined application of micronutrients (T5) along with other fertilizers are recommended as a most efficient and cost effective method to improve the quality and yields of persimmon.
An Empirical Throughput Analysis of Multimedia Applications with OpenFlow-based Dynamic Load Balancing Approach in WLAN

Load balancing among nearby access points (APs) is an inexorable issue in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. It can cause the throughput degradation, transmission delay, and packet loss that might reduce the quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE). The present work presents a SDN-based IEEE 802.11 WLAN architecture to take advantage of OpenFlow protocol for dynamic load balancing (OFDLB) among adjacent APs to enhance quality of multimedia applications. The empirical evaluation of the proposed architecture was carried out by throughput analysis of different real application scenarios under multiple test cases. The results reports several benefits achieved by the proposed approach such as good throughput of multimedia applications, 30% reduction in datagram loss and jitter minimization in the OFDLB-WLAN environment. An apparent improvement in network performance by the proposed solution as compared to traditional methods is deemed to be a contribution of the present work.
Manual de vigilância epidemiológica de eventos adversos pós-vacinação

Por sua excelencia comprovada, o Programa Nacional de Imunizacoes (PNI), hoje comemorando seus 40 anos de criacao, e destaque internacional. No Brasil, seus mais de 200 milhoes de cidadaos convivem em um panorama de saude publica de reduzida ocorrencia de obitos por doencas imunopreveniveis. O Pais tem investido recursos vultosos na universalidade de atendimento e descentralizacao de acoes; na aquisicao de imunobiologicos com qualidade comprovada; na adequacao de sua cadeia de frio; na vigilância de eventos adversos pos-vacinacao; no sistema de informacao; em capacitacao e atualizacao tecnica dos profissionais. As campanhas nacionais de vacinacao, voltadas em cada ocasiao para diferentes faixas etarias, proporcionam o crescimento da conscientizacao social a respeito da cultura em saude.
Optimal Liquidity Provision in Limit Order Markets

A small investor provides liquidity at the best bid and ask prices of a limit order market. For small spreads and frequent orders of other market participants, we explicitly determine the investor’s optimal policy and welfare. In doing so, we allow for general dynamics of the mid price, the spread, and the order ow, as well as for arbitrary preferences of the liquidity provider under consideration.
Using feedback to promote learning

This edited book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology. Although much, but not all, of what is presented is focused on learning in college and university settings, teachers of all academic levels may find the recommendations made by chapter authors of service. Authors wrote their chapters with nonexperts as the target audience – teachers who may have little or no background in science of learning, research-based approaches to teaching and learning, or even general principles of psychological science. The book is organized in three sections. The 14 chapters in Part 1 address important concepts, principles, theories, and research findings, and applications related to the science of learning. The four chapters in Part 2 focus on preparing faculty to apply science of learning principles in their courses. Finally, the six chapters in Part 3 provide examples of research that have been done in real academic settings and that have applied one or more science of learning principles.
Efficient and Green Embedding of Virtual Data Centers with Mixture of Unicast and Multicast Services

The improved efficiency achieved by virtualizing data centers (DCs) has been well established. In this paper, we propose a mixed Virtual Data Center (VDC) capable of supporting both unicast and multicast services. We provide a new method to realize the embedding of these VDCs. We also provide a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation and a scalable heuristic algorithm for efficiently embedding its demands. Numerical results show that mixed VDC embedding supporting both unicast and multicast services performs significantly better than existing embedding methods in terms of system cost, power consumption, link capacity utilization, and VDC acceptance ratio.
Molecular Characterization of Mosquitoes of Anopheles gambiae Species Complex (Diptera: Culicidae) from Sudan and Republic of Southern Sudan

Mosquitoes of the Anopheles gambiae complex, namely Anopheles arabiensis (Patton, 1905) and Anopheles gambiae (Giles, 1902) are the major vectors of human malaria in the African continent. This study was conducted mainly to investigate the molecular biologyof members of the An. gambiae complex in Sudan and Republic of Southern Sudan. The molecular investigation involved identification of members of the An. gambiae complex using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques based on DNA specific nucleotide differences in the intergenic spacer region (IGS) of the ribosomal RNA gene claster (rRNA) and partial sequencing and analysis of IGS regions. Adult Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from four sites in Kassala State, Sudan and from one site in Western Bahr El Ghazal State, Republic of Southern Sudan. In addition, An. arabiensis specimens, obtained from Sennar town laboratory colony (Sudan) was used in the study. Collection of Anopheles mosquitoes was done by hand capture using sucking tube (aspirator) during the rainy seasons of 2008, 2009 and 2010. The molecular investigation predicts the existence of two species within the An. gambiae complex, namely An. arabiensis and An. gambiae . An. arabiensis was found as the predominant Anopheles mosquitoes in all the collection sites while An. gambiae was found sympatrically with An. arabiensis in Republic of Southern Sudan. The analysis of the IGS fragments revealed moderate level of genetic variations within and between the An. arabiensis populations. An. gambiae individuals showed high genetic similarity. The genetic analysis revealed little population differentiation ( F st=0.067) and high migration rate (Nm=3.51) which indicated high gene flow between An. arabiensis populations collected from Kassala State localities. The phylogenetic relationships between the different populations of An. arabiensis and An. gambiae were investigated. The IGS regions of rRNA gene have been shown to be powerful markers for species identification and studying the genetic structure of members of An. gambiae complex.