Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Steelix: program-state based binary fuzzing

Coverage-based fuzzing is one of the most effective techniques to find vulnerabilities, bugs or crashes. However, existing techniques suffer from the difficulty in exercising the paths that are protected by magic bytes comparisons (e.g., string equality comparisons). Several approaches have been proposed to use heavy-weight program analysis to break through magic bytes comparisons, and hence are less scalable. In this paper, we propose a program-state based binary fuzzing approach, named Steelix, which improves the penetration power of a fuzzer at the cost of an acceptable slow down of the execution speed. In particular, we use light-weight static analysis and binary instrumentation to provide not only coverage information but also comparison progress information to a fuzzer. Such program state information informs a fuzzer about where the magic bytes are located in the test input and how to perform mutations to match the magic bytes efficiently. We have implemented Steelix and evaluated it on three datasets: LAVA-M dataset, DARPA CGC sample binaries and five real-life programs. The results show that Steelix has better code coverage and bug detection capability than the state-of-the-art fuzzers. Moreover, we found one CVE and nine new bugs.
Antioxidation activity and total phenolic contents of various Toona sinensis extracts

Products Processing Division, LRI, COA, Tainan, Taiwan. Accepted 1 August, 2012 The purpose of this study was to analyze the antioxidation activities and total phenolic contents of Toona sinensis . An extractive method of the antioxidant activities of local T. sinensis leaf extracts and various antioxidation models were analyzed. The effects of various solvent concentrations to extract the T. sinensis leaf on the antioxidation activity were compared. The results showed that the T. sinensis leaf extracts of various solvent concentrations had good antioxidant activities. The chelating abilities of ferrous ion in the T. sinensis leaf extracts obtained from various solvent concentrations were above 80%. It is concluded that T. sinensis leaf extracts could be used as biopreservatives of food products. The total antioxidant activities, chelating abilities of ferrous ions and reducing capacities of the T. sinensis leaf extracts might provide a substitute for a natural antioxidant. Keywords: Antioxidative activity, bio-preservatives, extracts, Toona sinensis
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF THE RAMAN SPECTRUM OF DNA. PART I : RAMAN SIGNATURES OF PREMELTING AND MELTING TRANSITIONS OF POLY(DA-DT).POLY(DA-DT)

Poly(dA–dT)· poly(dA–dT) is a double-helical B DNA containing A· T and T· A base pairs in alternating sequence. Although Raman spectra of this structure have been reported previously, the temperature dependence of the Raman bands has not been examined in detail. Using a spectrometer of high spectral precision and sensitivity, we applied Raman difference spectroscopy to determine the temperature dependence of all Raman bands of poly(dA–dT)· poly(dA–dT) in physiological salt solutions (both H2O and D2O) over the temperature range 10–85 °C. Three temperature domains are distinguished by Raman spectroscopy: premelting (10 < t < 66 °C), in which the double-stranded structure is perturbed but does not dissociate; melting (66 < t < 75 °C), in which the double-stranded structure dissociates; and postmelting (75 < t < 85 °C), in which no structural change can be detected. The results demonstrate that distinct Raman difference signatures exist for the premelting and melting transitions, and that each involves changes in most Raman bands. Among other novel findings and assignments: (i) Raman bands at 728 (dA), 1236 (dT) and 1301 cm−1 (dA) provide the most sensitive measures of base stacking in both the premelting and melting domains. (ii) Raman bands at 1182 (dT) and 1512 cm−1 (dA) provide the most sensitive measure of A· T unpairing in the melting domain. An unexpected finding is the apparent correlation of the 1182 cm−1 band intensity with the degree of thymine unpairing. Additionally, bands at 1376 (dT) and 1577 cm−1 (dA) confirm changes in interbase hydrogen bonding with premelting. (iii) The temperature dependence of the Raman band at 819 cm−1 is closely correlated with those of backbone marker bands at 792 and 842 cm−1 (O– P– O stretch modes), indicating that the 819 cm−1 band is due to a vibrational mode localized in the backbone and is diagnostic of phosphodiester torsions α / ζ apparently specific to the gauche−/trans conformation of BII DNA. (iv) The Raman band at 1484 cm−1 (dA) is sensitive to hydrogen bonding at the adenine N1 site. (ν) Comparison of spectra from H2O and D2O solutions reveal significant vibrational coupling between Raman bands of the deoxynucleoside residues and B-form backbone of poly(dA–dT)·poly(dA–dT). These results constitute an important foundation for future Raman studies of premelting and melting phenomena in other DNA sequences, including poly(dA)·poly(dT). Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effective conductivities of heterogeneous media containing multiple inclusions with various spatial distributions

A scheme is proposed for predicting the effective conductivities of heterogeneous media containing ellipsoidal inclusions of diverse shapes, spatial distributions, and orientations. This scheme yields explicit expressions for the effective conductivity tensor in terms of three microstructural parameters that characterize the shape, distribution, and orientation of the inclusions. By expanding the effective conductivity tensor in terms of the volume fraction of the inclusions, it is found that the effect of the shape of the distribution ellipsoid on the effective conductivity tensor is of a higher order in the volume fraction than the effect of the shape of the inclusions. The scheme proposed here generalizes the Maxwell formula to heterogeneous media containing multiple inclusions while also taking into account the orientation of the inclusions. Thus, the existing formulas in the literature are special cases of the general formulas given by the present scheme. The predicted effective conductivities of heterogeneous media containing aligned ellipsoidal inclusions, randomly oriented ellipsoidal inclusions, spheroidal inclusions with orientational distributions, and mixtures of cavities and cracks are found to agree well with the experimental results and the results of other schemes.
Exploring Health Information Exchange Implementation Using Qualitative Assessments of Nursing Home Leaders.

OBJECTIVES Limited research exists on nursing home information technologies, such as health information exchange (HIE) systems. Capturing the experiences of early HIE adopters provides vital information about how these systems are used. In this study, we conduct a secondary analysis of qualitative data captured during interviews with 15 nursing home leaders representing 14 nursing homes in the midwestern United States that are part of the Missouri Quality Improvement Initiative (MOQI) national demonstration project. METHODS The interviews were conducted as part of an external evaluation of the HIE vendor contracting with the MOQI initiative with the purpose of understanding the challenges and successes of HIE implementation, with a particular focus on Direct HIE services. RESULTS Emerging themes included (1) incorporating HIE into existing work processes, (2) participation inside and outside the facility, (3) appropriate training and retraining, (4) getting others to use the HIE, (5) getting the HIE operational, and 6) putting policies for technology into place. DISCUSSION Three essential areas should be considered for nursing homes considering HIE adoption: readiness to adopt technology, availability of technology resources, and matching of new clinical workflows.
Genetic Variations of Cholesterol Ester Transfer Protein Gene in Koreans

Abstract An absence of cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP, protein; CETP, gene) results in an increase of the apolipoprotein AI levels and a decrease in the low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. Thus, the CETP polymorphism is important in the assessment of risk of atherosclerosis. This study was conducted to elucidate the genotype distributions of the CETP polymorphism and association with plasma lipid levels in Koreans. The genotypes of the TaqI A and B polymorphic loci were associated with plasma triglyceride levels in the control and coronary artery disease (CAD) groups. There was linkage disequilibrium between TaqI A and B loci in the control group (X2= 5.58, p < 0.05). Association studies of the CETP polymorphism have been carried out mainly with Caucasian populations; however, the results have not been consistent among different populations. A possible explanation for this diversity among populations may be differences in genetic backgrounds, which may be more important than environmental factors. We discuss the reasons for the incompatibility of the CETP polymorphism among populations.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) New bioeroding sponges from Mingulay coldwater reefs , north-west Scotland

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Rethinking Associations 1 Rethinking Associations in Psychology

I challenge the dominant understanding of what it means to say two thoughts are associated. The two views that dominate the current literature treat association as a kind of mechanism that drives sequences of thought (often implicitly so). The first, which I call reductive associationism, treats association as a kind of neural mechanism. The second treats association as a feature of the kind of psychological mechanism associative processing. Both of these views are inadequate. I argue that association should instead be seen as a highly abstract filler term, standing in for causal relations between representational states in a system. Associations, so viewed, could be implemented by many different mechanisms. I outline the role that this view gives associative models as part of a top-down characterization of psychological processes of any kind and of any complexity.
A pilot study evaluating mindfulness-based stress reduction and massage for the management of chronic pain.

BACKGROUND Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and massage may be useful adjunctive therapies for chronic musculoskeletal pain. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the feasibility of studying MBSR and massage for the management of chronic pain and estimate their effects on pain and mood. DESIGN Randomized trial comparing MBSR or massage with standard care. PARTICIPANTS Thirty patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. MEASUREMENTS Pain was assessed with 0 to 10 numeric rating scales. Physical and mental health status was measured with the SF-12. RESULTS The study completion rate was 76.7%. At week 8, the massage group had average difference scores for pain unpleasantness of 2.9 and mental health status of 13.6 compared with 0.13 (P<.05) and 3.9 (P<.04), respectively, for the standard care group. These differences were no longer significant at week 12. There were no significant differences in the pain outcomes for the MBSR group. At week 12, the mean change in mental health status for the MBSR group was 10.2 compared with -1.7 in the standard care group (P<.04). CONCLUSIONS It is feasible to study MBSR and massage in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Mindfulness-based stress reduction may be more effective and longer-lasting for mood improvement while massage may be more effective for reducing pain.
A Neurodevelopmental Perspective on the Acquisition of Nonverbal Cognitive Skills in Adolescents With Fragile X Syndrome

This longitudinal study was designed to investigate trajectories of nonverbal cognitive ability in adolescents with fragile X syndrome with respect to the relative influence of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), autism symptom severity, and environmental factors on visualization and fluid reasoning abilities. Males and females with fragile X syndrome (N = 53; ages 10–16 years) were evaluated with the Leiter–R at up to four annual assessments. On average, IQ declined with age. FMRP levels predicted change in fluid reasoning, but not in visualization. The role of FMRP in the neural development that underlies the fragile X syndrome cognitive phenotype is discussed.
Molecular biology of Fanconi anemia: implications for diagnosis and therapy.

FANCONI ANEMIA (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by multiple congenital abnormalities, bone marrow (BM) failure, and cancer susceptibility. The mean age of onset of anemia is 8 years, and the mean survival is 16 years. Death usually results from complications of BM failure.
Determination of hepatic galactose elimination capacity using 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-galactose PET/CT: reproducibility of the method and metabolic heterogeneity in a normal pig liver model

Abstract Objective. A PET method is developed for non-invasive measurement of regional metabolic liver function using the galactose analog 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-galactose, FDGal. The aim of the present study was to determine the reproducibility of the method in pigs before translating it to human studies. Material and methods. Five anesthetized pigs were studied twice within an interval of three days. A dynamic PET recording was performed with an injection of 100 MBq FDGal. Non-radioactive galactose was administered throughout the PET recordings to achieve near-saturated elimination kinetics. Arterial blood samples were collected for determination of blood concentrations of FDGal and galactose (cgal). Net metabolic clearance of FDGal, KFDGal, was calculated from linear representation of data. The approximate maximal hepatic removal rate, Vmax, of galactose (mmol/l tissue/min) was calculated as KFDGal cgal. The estimates from Day 1 and Day 2 were compared and the coefficient of variation, COV, of the estimates calculated. Functional heterogeneity in normal pig liver was evaluated as COV of the tissue concentration of radioactivity during quasi steady-state metabolism. Results. There was no significant difference between Vmax from Day 1 and Day 2 (p = 0.38), and the reproducibility was good with a COV of 14% for the whole liver. In normal pig liver tissue, mean COV after an injection of FDGal was on average 15.6% with no day-to-day variation (p = 0.7). Conclusions. The novel FDGal PET method for determination of hepatic metabolic function has a good reproducibility and is promising for future human studies of regional liver function.
Initiator transfer RNAs

How does the cellular protein synthetic machinery distinguish initiator tRNA from all of the other tRNAs? What is the mechanism by which the initiator tRNA is sequestered for use exclusively in initiation of protein synthesis? Much interest has centered on questions of the sequence and/or structural information in the tRNA that is necessary for specifying the many distinctive properties of initiator tRNAs and the molecular basis by which the various proteins and/or components of the protein synthetic machinery utilize this information to distinguish initiator tRNAs from other tRNAs. Recent work, involving site-specific mutagenesis and analysis of the properties of the mutant tRNAs in vitro and in vivo, has led to identification of the sequence and structural features important in a eubacterial initiator tRNA. Here, I summarize this work and some of the implications of the results. Progress is also being made on initiator tRNAs from eukaryotic cytoplasm. This is included in another review (24).
The Synthesis of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine Is Essential for Bloodstream Form Trypanosoma brucei in Vitro and in Vivo and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine Starvation Reveals a Hierarchy in Parasite Protein Glycosylation

A gene encoding Trypanosoma brucei UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase was identified, and the recombinant protein was shown to have enzymatic activity. The parasite enzyme is unusual in having a strict substrate specificity for N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate and in being located inside a peroxisome-like microbody, the glycosome. A bloodstream form T. brucei conditional null mutant was constructed and shown to be unable to sustain growth in vitro or in vivo under nonpermissive conditions, demonstrating that there are no alternative metabolic or nutritional routes to UDP-N-acetylglucosamine and providing a genetic validation for the enzyme as a potential drug target. The conditional null mutant was also used to investigate the effects of N-acetylglucosamine starvation in the parasite. After 48 h under nonpermissive conditions, about 24 h before cell lysis, the status of parasite glycoprotein glycosylation was assessed. Under these conditions, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine levels were less than 5% of wild type. Lectin blotting and fluorescence microscopy with tomato lectin revealed that poly-N-acetyllactosamine structures were greatly reduced in the parasite. The principal parasite surface coat component, the variant surface glycoprotein, was also analyzed. Endoglycosidase digestions and mass spectrometry showed that, under UDP-N-acetylglucosamine starvation, the variant surface glycoprotein was specifically underglycosylated at its C-terminal Asn-428 N-glycosylation site. The significance of this finding, with respect to the hierarchy of site-specific N-glycosylation in T. brucei, is discussed.
Prognostic significance of CD38 and CD20 expression as assessed by quantitative flow cytometry in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Summary. CD38 expression on chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) cells is a poor prognostic factor, however, methods for measuring this vary. The QuantiBRITETM flow cytometry (FC) system yields an absolute antigen expression value (antibodies bound/cell, ABC) and may be useful in standardizing CD38 expression analysis. We evaluated cryopreserved pretreatment CLL cells for CD20 ABC, CD38 ABC, and percentage of CD38+ B cells from 131 patients requiring therapy. The 92 patients (70%) with ≥ 100 CD38 ABC had worse overall survival (OS; 34% at 5 years) compared with those with < 100 CD38 ABC (70% at 5 years, mortality hazard ratio 2·30, 95% confidence interval 1·28–4·12; two‐tailed P = 0·003). Among the 64 patients with < 30% CD38+ cells, OS of the 25 with ≥ 100 ABC was worse than that of the 39 with < 100 ABC (P = 0·018). OS of patients with < 30% CD38+ cells and ≥ 100 ABC was actually similar to that of patients with ≥ 30% CD38+ cells. BrightCD20 expression (≥ 20 000 ABC) was not associated with a worse OS (P = 0·10). The presence of ≥ 100 CD38 ABC in CLL patients requiring therapy is an unfavourable prognostic factor for OS and quantitative FC may be superior to percentage CD38+ cell assessment. Prospective trials are required to determine more precisely the prognostic significance of absolute expression levels in fresh CLL cells.
Proteomic analysis of a preneoplastic phenotype in ovarian surface epithelial cells of prophylactic oophorectomies

a Department of Chemistry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong b Open Laboratory of Chemical Biology of the Institute of Molecular Technology for Drug Discovery and Synthesis, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong c Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong d Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong e Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Semantic management: application of ontologies for the integration of management information models

The multiplicity of network management models (SNMP, CMIP, DMI, WBEM, etc.) has raised the need of defining multiple mechanisms to allow the interoperability among all involved management domains. One basic component of such interoperability is the mapping between the information models that each domain specifies. These mappings, usually carried out with syntactical translations, can reach the semantic level by using ontologies. This article shows the advantages of using formal ontology techniques to improve the integration of current network management models.
Technical Report on A Generic Multi-Dimensional Data Generator for Earth Mover ’ s Distance Similarity Analysis

Earth Mover’s Distance based Similarity Analysis (EMDSA) is an important and effective tool in many multimedia retrieval and pattern recognition applications. Currently there is no benchmark or publicly available datasets for evaluating EMDSA techniques. We would like to share a large-scale image feature generator we have designed and implemented for evaluating EMDSA techniques. The generator supports a wide range of of image features (16 commonly used features are embedded in). It provides flexible execution options: (i) it may run on a single machine or on a Hadoop cluster; (ii) the source image data may reside locally in a single machine, in a Hadoop file system, or on the Internet as URLs. We have made the source code of our generator and dozens of pre-generated datasets available online.
In Vitro and in Vivo Biocompatibility of Substituted Cellulose and Synthetic Membranes

Regenerated cellulosic membranes are held as bioincompatible due to their high complement - and leukopenia - inducing properties. Adherence of polymorphonuclear neutrophils and monocyte purified from normal human blood to the three membranes were evaluated in an in vitro recirculation circuit in the presence or absence of fresh, autologous plasma after recirculation in an in vitro circuit using minimodules with each of the three membranes. In in vivo studies, 9 patients were treated with conventional haemodialysis for 2 weeks with each membrane and 1 week for wash-out using haemodialysers with the following surface: 1.95 m2 for benzyl-cellulose, 1.8 m2 for acetate-cellulose and low-flux polysulfone. Measurement of leukopenia, plasma C3a des Arg and elastase-α 1 proteinase inhibitor complex levels as well as urea, creatinine, phosphate and uric acid clearances was performed. Plasma-free neutrophils adhered maximally to acetate-cellulose (65% remaining in the circulation), while there was no significant difference between low-flux polysulfone and benzyl-cellulose (80% circulating neutrophils, at 15 min, p<0.001 vs acetate cellulose). In the presence of fresh plasma, as source of complement, the differences between acetate cellulose vs polysulfone and benzyl-cellulose were even more evident, suggesting the role of complement-activated products in neutrophil adherence. A similar trend was observed for monocyte adherence with the three membranes in the absence or presence of plasma. In vivo studies showed that the nadir of leukopenia was at 15 and 30 min with acetate-cellulose (79%) and benzyl-cellulose (50%) (p<0.05 acetate- vs benzyl-cellulose) and at 15 min with polysulfone (24%) (p<0.01 vs acetate- and benzyl-cellulose). Plasma C3a des Arg levels arose to 2037 ± 120 ng/ml, 1216 + 434 ng/ml and 46 ± 55 ng/ml with acetate-, benzyl-cellulose and polysulfone, respectively. No pre- vs post-dialysis increase in the intracellular content of TNF-α was detected with any of three membranes. Clearance values of urea, creatinine and uric acid were superimposable for all the three membranes. However, benzyl cellulose had a significantly higher clearance for phosphorus (normalized for surface area) (p<0.01 vs acetate-cellulose, 0.001 vs polysulfone). These results implicate that synthetic modification of the cellulose polymer as for the benzyl-cellulose significantly reduces the in vitro adherence, delays the in vivo activation of “classic” biocompatibility parameters and notably improves the removal of inorganic phosphorus.