Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New AspectJ Pointcuts for Integer Overflow and Underflow Detection

ABSTRACT Aspect-oriented Programming (AOP) appears to be a promising paradigm for software security hardening. Using AOP, security experts can be responsible for coding security properties, and developers can concentrate on the basic functionality of the program. AspectJ extends the Java programming language to implement crosscutting concerns modularly in general. In this paper, we have extended AspectJ with new pointcuts in order to detect integer overflows and underflows in Java. Integer overflows and underflows in Java occur silently without throwing an exception. A malicious user can exploit them to produce a security breach. Hence, we implement new pointcuts: addition, multiplication, and subtraction that allow to write advices around integer arithmetic operations to detect integer overflow and underflow and consequently prevent considerable number of security breaches.
Differential characterization of neural sources with the bimodal truncated SVD pseudo-inverse for EEG and MEG measurements

A method for obtaining a practical inverse for the distribution of neural activity in the human cerebral cortex is developed for electric, magnetic, and bimodal data to exploit their complementary aspects. Intracellular current is represented by current dipoles uniformly distributed on two parallel sulci joined by a gyrus. Linear systems of equations relate electric, magnetic, and bimodal data to unknown dipole moments. The corresponding lead-field matrices are characterized by singular value decomposition (SVD). The optimal reference electrode location for electric data is chosen on the basis of the decay behavior of the singular values. The singular values of these matrices show better decay behavior with increasing number of measurements, however, that property is useful depending on the noise in the measurements. The truncated SVD pseudo-inverse is used to control noise artifacts in the reconstructed images. Simulations for single-dipole sources at different depths reveal the relative contributions of electric and magnetic measures. For realistic noise levels the performance of both unimodal and bimodal systems do not improve with an increase in the number of measurements beyond /spl sim/100. Bimodal image reconstructions are generally superior to unimodal ones in finding the center of activity.
Assessing the Frontiers of Ultra-Poverty Reduction : Evidence from Targeting the Ultra-Poor ( CFPR / TUP ) program in Bangladesh IIEP-WP-2009-06

This paper uses household panel data to provide robust evidence on the effects of BRAC’s Targeting the Ultra-poor Program in Bangladesh. We use alternative treatment-comparison pairs; in addition to BRAC’s own classification, we exploit Type 1 errors in assignment in BRAC’s selection process to create a second treatment-comparison pair. This allows us to estimate the program effects on the target group, not contaminated by mistargeting. To address selection on unobservables, we implement heteroskedasticity-based identification and two recent estimators based on matching and propensity score reweighting. The results show that participation had significant positive effects on per capita income, food security, clothing, shoes, livestock, and cash savings, but there is weak or no evidence of an impact on a number of household durables and assets, and indicators of health and women’s empowerment. The effects on the poorest of the poor (the target group) may be different from the effects on an average participant in TUP program. Taking into account differences in initial conditions, the effects of the TUP program on the poorest of the poor are much larger (as measured by the program effect normalized by the initial mean value of an outcome), suggesting that the TUP program would have had a larger impact with better targeting.
Progress in the chemistry and molecular biology of flavins and flavocoenzymes.

An attempt is made to create a basis for the understanding of flavin- (Vitamin B2-) dependent oxidations in terms of molecular structure. The main points of this survey can be summarized as follows: (a) The flavins must be differentiated according to their redox states (quinone state, radical state, hydroquinone state), since configuration, energy content of the tautomeric forms, metal affinity etc., alter drastically during reduction. – (b) The methyl group on C-8 of the flavoquinone is reactive. – (c) The electron transfer properties of the flavin system frequently depend on the coupling of secondary redox systems to the apoprotein. This interaction thermodynamically stabilizes the half-reduced state of the flavin. – (d) Numerous novel flavin types, among them stabilized free radicals, have become available through syntheses at the dihydro stage. – (e) Reaction of the flavin radical with O2 is slow as long as no disproportionation occurs, i.e. the fast flavin autoxidation proceeds via the dihydro state. – (f) The flavin nucleus gains affinity for heavy metal ions only by the acceptance of one, and only one, electron. – (g) Redox activity and contact with the flavin coenzyme have been confirmed for Fe and Mo, which occur in flavoproteins. The properties of the metal coordination sphere are determined primarily by sulfur-containing groups of the apoprotein.
Enhancing quality in Diffusion Tensor Imaging with anisotropic anomalous diffusion filter

Introduction: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an important medical imaging modality that has been useful to the study of microstructural changes in neurological diseases. However, the image noise level is a major practical limitation, in which one simple solution could be the average signal from a sequential acquisition. Nevertheless, this approach is time-consuming and is not often applied in the clinical routine. In this study, we aim to evaluate the anisotropic anomalous diffusion (AAD) filter in order to improve the general image quality of DTI. Methods: A group of 20 healthy subjects with DTI data acquired (3T MR scanner) with different numbers of averages (N=1,2,4,6,8, and 16), where they were submitted to 2-D AAD and conventional anisotropic diffusion filters. The Relative Mean Error (RME), Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), Coefficient of Variation (CV) and tractography reconstruction were evaluated on Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) maps. Results: The results point to an improvement of up to 30% of CV, RME, and SSIM for the AAD filter, while up to 14% was found for the conventional AD filter (p<0.05). The tractography revealed a better estimative in fiber counting, where the AAD filter resulted in less FA variability. Furthermore, the AAD filter showed a quality improvement similar to a higher average approach, i.e. achieving an image quality equivalent to what was seen in two additional acquisitions. Conclusions: In general, the AAD filter showed robustness in noise attenuation and global image quality improvement even in DTI images with high noise level.
Interpreting developmental changes in neuroimaging signals

The imaging of developmental changes in brain function is challenging, but great strides have been made in addressing many of the conceptual issues that this work raises. I highlight a set of issues that remain to be addressed in this literature. First, I argue that the appeal to developmental neurobiology is often misplaced, as it focuses on neurodevelopmental processes that are mostly completed by the age at which neuroimaging studies can be performed. Second, I argue that the concept of “normative” development needs to be reexamined, as it reflects fundamental value judgments about brain development that seem inappropriate for scientific investigation. Third, I examine the ways in which developmental changes are often interpreted, arguing that common interpretations, including the concepts of “efficiency” and “focalization” may be less useful than commonly supposed. To put developmental neuroimaging on stronger footing, we need to develop stronger connections between computational and neurobiological accounts of developmental changes. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
B cell epitopes of the major timothy grass pollen allergen, Phl p 1, revealed by gene fragmentation as candidates for immunotherapy

Group 1 grass pollen allergens are recognized by IgE antibodies of almost 40% of allergic individuals and therefore belong to the most important elicitors of Type I allergy worldwide. We have previously isolated the cDNA coding for the group 1 allergen from timothy grass, Phl p 1, and demonstrated that recombinant Phl p 1 contains most of the B cell as well as T cell epitopes of group 1 allergens from a variety of grass and corn species. Here we determine continuous B cell epitopes of Phl p 1 by gene fragmentation. IgE antibodies of grass pollen allergic patients identified five continuous epitope‐containing areas that on an average bound 40% of Phl p 1‐specific IgE antibodies and were stably recognized in the course of disease. In contrast to untreated patients, patients undergoing grass pollen immunotherapy started to mount IgG4 antibodies to the recombinant IgE‐defined fragments in the course of immunotherapy. The protective role of these IgG4 antibodies is demonstrated by observations that 1) increases in rPhl p 1 fragment‐specific IgG4 were in parallel with decreases in Phl p 1‐specific IgE, and 2) preincubation of rPhl p 1 with patients sera containing rPhl p 1 fragment‐specific IgG4 blocked histamine release from basophils of an untreated grass pollen allergic patient. We propose to use recombinant Phl p 1 fragments for active immunotherapy in order to induce protective IgG responses against IgE epitopes in grass pollen allergic patients. This concept may be applied for the development of allergy vaccines whenever the primary sequence or structure of an allergen is available. —Ball, T. , Fuchs, T. , Sperr, W. R. , Valent, P., Vangelista, L. , Kraft, D. , Valenta, R. B cell epitopes of the major timothy grass pollen allergen, Phl p 1, revealed by gene fragmentation as candidates for immunotherapy. FASEB J. 13, 1277–1290 (1999)
Recovering from negative events by boosting implicit positive affect

Upregulation of implicit positive affect (PA) can act as a mechanism to deal with negative affect. Two studies tracked temporal changes in positive and negative affect (NA) assessed by self-report and the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT; Quirin, Kazén, & Kuhl, 2009). Study 1 observed the predicted increases in implicit PA after exposure to a threat-related film clip, which correlated positively with the speed of recognising a happy face among an angry crowd. Study 2 replicated increases in implicit PA after exposition to the same film clip, and showed that such increases were enhanced by priming self-referential stimuli. The findings are discussed against the background of personality systems interaction (PSI) theory (Kuhl, 2000, 2001), which emphasises the role of the implicit self in affect regulation.
Signalling pathway of nitric oxide in synaptic GABA release in the rat paraventricular nucleus

In the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, nitric oxide (NO) inhibits sympathetic outflow through increased GABA release. However, the signal transduction pathways involved in its action remain unclear. In the present study, we determined the role of cGMP, soluble guanylyl cyclase, and protein kinase G in the potentiating effect of NO on synaptic GABA release to spinally projecting PVN neurones. The PVN neurones were retrogradely labelled by a fluorescent tracer injected into the thoracic spinal cord of rats. Whole‐cell voltage‐clamp recordings were performed on labelled PVN neurones in the hypothalamic slice. Bath application of the NO donor, S‐nitroso‐N‐acetyl‐penicillamine (SNAP), reproducibly increased the frequency of miniature GABAergic inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) without changing the amplitude and the decay time constant. Neither replacement of Ca2+ with Co2+ nor application of Cd2+ to block the Ca2+ channel altered the effect of SNAP on mIPSCs. Also, the effect of SNAP on mIPSCs was not significantly affected by thapsigargin, a Ca2+‐ATPase inhibitor that depletes intracellular Ca2+ stores. Application of a membrane‐permeant cGMP analogue, pCPT–cGMP, mimicked the effect of SNAP on mIPSCs in the presence of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, IBMX. Furthermore, both the soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, ODQ, and the specific protein kinase G inhibitor, Rp pCPT cGMP, abolished the effect of SNAP on mIPSCs. Thus, these data provide substantial new information that NO potentiates GABAergic synaptic inputs to spinally projecting PVN neurones through a cGMP–protein kinase G pathway.
CTIVE CALCIUM TRANSPORT IN THE SKIN OF THE FRO KINETICS AND SEASONAL RHYTHMS

extens mecha Early these While of cal find s transp Baldw to sus the question of calcium transport in amphibian skin remains open (Stiffler, 1993). Calcium metabolism in amphibians displays a strong seasonal rhythm, with atrophy of the parathyroid glands in winter (Dougherty, 1973) and decreases in plasma [Ca2+] in late spring (Robertson, 1977, 1978). Of the previous studies of frog skin calcium transport, only one (Baldwin and Bentley, 1981a) reports at what season measurements were made and then for only some of the data. These early studies were often conducted with Ringer’s solution bathing the apical (water-facing) surface and it is well known that such solutions obscure active chloride transport in this epithelium (Kirschner, 1983). Finally, the usual approach to measuring Ca2+ fluxes, in isolated skin, has been to put radioactive Ca2+ on the apical side of the isolated skin preparation and to measure its appearance in the basal solution. Since frog skin has large quantities of calcium connec and B or eve epithe s locate in stora so that port. xperime e Ca2+ (2) to d dependence of Ca2+ fluxes on external Ca2+ concentration; (3) to re-examine the high cutaneous calcium levels in skin, examining both its dorsal–ventral distribution and how much of the transported Ca2+ remains in the skin after uptake; and (4) to determine whether reported seasonal rhythms in plasma and urinary [Ca2+] are reflected by seasonal rhythms in Ca2+ exchange.
Comparing anesthetic efficacy of articaine versus lidocaine as a supplemental buccal infiltration of the mandibular first molar after an inferior alveolar nerve block.

BACKGROUND The authors conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind, crossover study comparing the degree of pulpal anesthesia achieved by means of mandibular first molar buccal infiltrations of two anesthetic solutions: 4 percent articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and 2 percent lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine after an inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block with the use of 4 percent articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. METHODS Seventy-three blinded adult subjects randomly received buccal infiltrations at the first molar site with a cartridge of 4 percent articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine at one appointment and a cartridge of 2 percent lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine at another appointment after receiving a standard IAN block with the use of 4 percent articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine in a crossover design. After the injections, the authors used an electric pulp tester to test the first molar for anesthesia in three-minute cycles for 60 minutes. They considered anesthesia to be successful when two consecutive 80 readings were obtained within 10 minutes of the IAN block and infiltration injection, and the 80 reading was sustained continuously through the 60th minute. RESULTS The authors found that with the use of the 4 percent articaine formulation, successful pulpal anesthesia occurred 88 percent of the time for the first molar. With the 2 percent lidocaine formulation, successful pulpal anesthesia occurred 71 percent of the time. The results show a significant difference (P < .05) between the articaine and lidocaine formulations. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS For a mandibular buccal infiltration of the first molar after a standard IAN block, 4 percent articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine resulted in a higher success rate (88 percent) than did 2 percent lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine (71 percent success rate).
Miniaturized Ultra-Wideband Antenna Using Microstrip Negative Index Metamaterial

Abstract A three left-handed metamaterial unit cell antenna is presented in this article for ultra-wideband applications. Each left-handed metamaterial unit cell is a combination of a modified octagonal split-ring resonator, an octagonal spiral resonator, a capacitance-loaded strip, and a wire in order to achieve a design that simultaneously exhibits both negative electrical permittivity and negative magnetic permeability, which promises an extraordinary index of negative refraction to enhance the radiated power of the antenna, consequently improving the antenna system. The antenna design was etched on an FR4 epoxy substrate (Farnell Electronic Components Limited, Selangor D.E., Malaysia) with an evident compact size of 25 × 25 × 1.6 mm 3 . Return loss measurements demonstrated that this antenna achieves 94% bandwidth for a voltage standing wave ratio less than 2 over the frequency band of 5.2–13.9 GHz, with a maximum gain and directivity of 3.85 dBi and 5.45 dB, respectively, at 10.5 GHz. These measurement results show good agreement with those of the simulations as well as good omni-directional characteristics within its operating frequency band. The proposed metamaterial antenna is compact and highly directive and has a tunable operational frequency especially for ultra-wideband applications.
Wilkinson Power Divider Using Microstrip EBG Cells for the Suppression of Harmonics

This letter presents a planar power divider with an effective technique for nth harmonics suppression. The proposed technique served by a microstrip electromagnetic bandgap cell is used to suppress the nth harmonics and reduce the length of a quarter-wave line over 30% as compared to the conventional divider. The planar structure enables an easy circuit design in printed circuit boards. From the measured results, a 32.5 dB suppression for the third harmonic and a 12 dB suppression for the fifth harmonic is obtained while maintaining the characteristics of a conventional Wilkinson power divider. It is able to achieve less than 3.4 0.1 dB of the two equivalent insertion losses, less than 23dB of the return loss, and better than 25dB of isolation at 2.4GHz.
Information Content of Individual Genetic Sequences

Related genetic sequences having a common function can be described by Shannon’s information measure and depicted graphically by a sequence logo. Though useful for many purposes, sequence logos only show the average sequence conservation, and inferring the conservation for individual sequences is difficult. This limitation is overcome by the individual information (Ri) technique described here. The method begins by generating a weight matrix from the frequencies of each nucleotide or amino acid at each position of the aligned sequences. This matrix is then applied to the sequences themselves to determine the sequence conservation of each individual sequence. The matrix is unique because the average of these assignments is the total sequence conservation, and there is only one way to construct such a matrix. For binding sites on polynucleotides, the weight matrix has a natural cut-off that distinguishes functional sequences from other sequences. Ri values are on an absolute scale measured in bits of information so the conservation of different biological functions can be compared with one another. The matrix can be used to rank-order the sequences, to search for new sequences, to compare sequences to other quantitative data such as binding energy or distance between binding sites, to distinguish mutations from polymorphisms, to design sequences of a given strength, and to detect errors in databases. The Ri method has been used to identify previously undescribed but experimentally verified DNA binding sites. The individual information distribution was determined for E. coli ribosome binding sites, bacterial Fis binding sites, and human donor and acceptor splice junctions, among others. The distributions demonstrate clearly that the consensus sequence is highly unusual, and hence is a poor method to describe naturally occurring binding sites.
The Role of Mathematical Modeling and Genetic Engineering for the Microalgae Based Technology

The Role of Mathematical Modeling and Genetic Engineering for the Microalgae Based Technology Alessandro Concas*, Cristina Costelli, Veronica Malavasi, Massimiliano Orsini, Roberto Cusano, Andrea Angius, Massimo Pisu, Giacomo Cao a Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia (CRS4), Loc. Piscina Manna, Building 1, 09010 Pula (CA), Italy b Interdepartmental Center of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Via San Giorgio 12, 09124 Cagliari, Italy c Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research (IRGB), CNR, Monserrato (CA), 09042 Italy d Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Piazza d’Armi, 09123 Cagliari, Italy aconcas@crs4.it
Crescent shaped patterns for self-alignment of micro-parts: Part II — Self-alignment demonstration and conductivity evaluation

A “crescent-shaped” binding alignment mark, more applicable to the self-alignment than reported “tear-drop/elliptical hole” pattern, was designed and comparatively studied with other possible alignment marks by introducing the overlap ratio analysis (DTIP 2011). Recently, in order to apply this novel design to micro-parts with positive and negative poles on the binding sites, a modified “crescent-shaped” pattern with an insulated space area, defined as “crescent-shaped/interval” for self-alignment of micro-parts with two poles was further proposed and discussed. In this report however, the self-alignment process has been in-situ observed and studied using a “square” binding alignment pattern with relatively higher energy barrier but four fully aligned orientations at four off-set angles. Sequential images reveal a slow translational motion in the early stage followed by a faster rotational alignment. The conductivity evaluation before and after the self-alignment of micro-parts has been also preliminarily considered.
Quad-band antenna for GSM/WSN/WLAN/LTE-A application in IoT devices

We designed, fabricated, and experimented a quad-band Double-PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Using the Double-PIFA structure allowed us to fabricate the antenna easily and optimize the operating bands for desired frequencies. Combining DGS (Defected Ground Structure) and two shorting pin of PIFA structure, the antenna is compact in size with radiating patch of 184 mm2 basing on RO4350B substrate with height of 1.52 mm. Operating at 900MHz, 1.8GHz, 2.6GHz and 5GHzwith large bandwidth of 6.67%, 11.11%, 5.77% and 16%, respectively. As the proposed antenna can operate for ZigBee, Z-Wave, RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification), WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), and LTE-A (Long Term Evolution — Advanced), it is suitable for both IoT devices and wide-band wireless communication systems.