Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical contact between mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial precursors induces distinct signatures with relevance to the very early phase of regeneration

Multipotent adult stem cells/precursor cells, especially of the mesenchymal and endothelial lineage, may have great potential for bone tissue engineering. Although their potential is highly recognized, not much is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms that initiate the regeneration process, connect osteogenesis, and angiogenesis and, finally, orchestrate renewal of bone tissue. Our study addressed these questions by generating two in vitro cell culture models to examine the changes in the global gene expression patterns of endothelial precursor cells and mesenchymal stem cells after 24 hours of either humoral (conditioned medium) or direct cell‐cell interaction (co‐culture). Endothelial precursor cells were isolated from human buffy coat and mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow of the femoral head. The comparison of the treated and control cells by microarray analyses revealed in total more than 1500 regulated genes, which were analyzed for their affiliation to angiogenesis and osteogenesis. Expression array analyses at the RNA and protein level revealed data with respect to regulated genes, pathways and targets that may represent a valid basis for further dissection of the systems biology of regeneration processes. It may also be helpful for the reconstitution of the natural composition of a regenerative microenvironment when targeting tissue regeneration both in vitro and in situ.
Robust Clutter Rejection in Passive Radar via Generalized Subband Cancellation

Passive radar is known to suffer from high clutter. In this paper, a generalized subband cancellation (GSC) algorithm is proposed to achieve robust clutter rejection. Four major factors are taken into account, namely carrier frequency offset, sampling frequency offset, fractional delay, and hardware frequency response. The GSC algorithm utilizes subband signal processing and tailored clutter subspace construction to solve the problems caused by these factors. Quantitative evaluations demonstrate that the GSC algorithm approaches the optimal clutter cancellation performance. Its effectiveness is also validated using field experimental data.
Empirical Analysis of Foundational Distinctions in the Web of Data

A main difference between pre-Web artificial intelligence and the current one is that the Web and its Semantic extension (i.e. Web of Data) contain open global-scale knowledge and make it available to potentially intelligent machines that may want to benefit from it. Nevertheless, most of the Web of Data lacks ontological distinctions and has a sparse distribution of axiomatisations. For example, foundational distinctions such as whether an entity is inherently a class or an individual, or whether it is a physical object or not, are hardly expressed in the data, although they have been largely studied and formalised by foundational ontologies (e.g. DOLCE, SUMO). There is a gap between these ontologies, that often formalise or are inspired by preexisting philosophical theories and are developed with a top-down approach, and the Web of Data that is mostly derived from existing databases or from crowd-based effort (e.g. DBpedia, Wikidata, Freebase). We investigate whether the Web provides an empirical foundation for characterising entities of the Web of Data according to foundational distinctions. We want to answer questions such as "is the DBpedia entity for dog a class or an instance? " We report on a set of experiments based on machine learning and crowdsourcing that show promising results.
How does knowledge management affect service innovation in academic libraries?: A survey study

Effective management of all knowledge produced within an organization is frequently identified as a key criteria for innovation of new products and services within the organization. Academic libraries are beginning to realize the importance of knowledge management (KM) in this regard. However, there aren't any quantitative studies studying KM and service innovation in the context of libraries. Islam, Agarwal and Ikeda came up with a framework for knowledge management for service innovation in academic libraries (KMSIL). Through a survey of 107 librarians from 39 countries, this study seeks to investigate the effect of KM (and each phase of the KM cycle) on service innovation. Preliminary findings support the KMSIL framework. They should help academic libraries in the process of service innovation by utilizing phases of the KM cycle.
Detection and phylogenetic characterization of atypical porcine pestivirus strains in Hungary

Atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) is a recently identified RNA virus within the Flaviviridae family, causing congenital tremor (CT) in the piglets of infected sows. We have investigated 25 cases of CT from 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2016-2018, originating from six different farms. RT-PCR has been performed on these samples and all of the affected piglets were positive to APPV. Our phylogenetic analysis showed that Hungarian strains show a high degree of variability and are clustered into five distinct lineages. Four strains originating from one farm have shown exceptional similarity (99.9%) to an Austrian sequence, whereas another one from a different herd was grouped close to a Chinese strain (96.4% similarity). Our results suggest multiple events of introduction of the virus from various sources into Hungary. This is the first report of the presence and clinical relevance of APPV in the Hungarian pig population.
Assessing Internet-wide Cyber Situational Awareness of Critical Sectors

In this short paper, we take a first step towards empirically assessing Internet-wide malicious activities generated from and targeted towards Internet-scale business sectors (i.e., financial, health, education, etc.) and critical infrastructure (i.e., utilities, manufacturing, government, etc.). Facilitated by an innovative and a collaborative large-scale effort, we have conducted discussions with numerous Internet entities to obtain rare and private information related to allocated IP blocks pertaining to the aforementioned sectors and critical infrastructure. To this end, we employ such information to attribute Internet-scale maliciousness to such sectors and realms, in an attempt to provide an in-depth analysis of the global cyber situational posture. We draw upon close to 16.8 TB of darknet data to infer probing activities (typically generated by malicious/infected hosts) and DDoS backscatter, from which we distill IP addresses of victims. By executing week-long measurements, we observed an alarming number of more than 11,000 probing machines and 300 DDoS attack victims hosted by critical sectors. We also generate rare insights related to the maliciousness of various business sectors, including financial, which typically do not report their hosted and targeted illicit activities for reputation-preservation purposes. While we treat the obtained results with strict confidence due to obvious sensitivity reasons, we postulate that such generated cyber threat intelligence could be shared with sector/critical infrastructure operators, backbone networks and Internet service providers to contribute to the overall threat remediation objective.
A Broadband Doherty Amplifier With Back-Off Efficiency Enhancement

In this letter, a technique by distributing more power to the main amplifier of the Doherty amplifier is proposed to improve the overall efficiency of the back-off region for the first time. A mathematical model is established to qualitatively verify the efficiency enhancement of the back-off region. The quasi-lumped transmission line is used for circuit implementation, and analytical formula for the design is deduced, which reduces the time and difficulty of Doherty output matching design. The circuit measurement results prove that 44.3% fractional bandwidth is achieved, while drain efficiency within the frequency range at 6 dB back-off is greater than 59% with peak power output 46.5 dBm.
Optimal Tracking Guidance for Aeroassisted Spacecraft Reconnaissance Mission Based on Receding Horizon Control

This paper focuses on the application of model predictive control (MPC) for the spacecraft trajectory tracking problems. The motivation of the use of MPC, also known as receding horizon control, relies on its ability in dealing with control, state, and path constraints that naturally arise in practical trajectory planning problems. Two different MPC schemes are constructed to solve the reconnaissance trajectory tracking problem. Since the MPC solves the online optimal control problems at each sampling instant, the computational cost associated with it can be high. In order to decrease the computational demand due to the optimization process, a newly proposed two-nested gradient method is used and embedded in the two MPC schemes. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the two MPC tracking algorithms combined with the improved optimization technique.
A SDN/NFV based C-RAN architecture for 5G Mobile Networks

A novel architecture design for Radio Access Networks (RANs) to address critical elements in resource management and to achieve the 5G mobile network requirements is needed. Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) / Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies are recognized as key enabling solutions for the future mobile networks. C-RAN is a new mobile network architecture, characterized by a redistribution of functionalities. More specifically, the baseband processing resources are centralized in remote locations, known as Base Band Unit (BBU) Pool, whereas the radio functionalities, known as Remote Radio Head (RRH), remain in edge locations. SDN focuses on decoupling control and data plane, while NFV performs the functionalities abstraction from the underlying hardware. In this paper, a hierarchical layered software-defined architecture for future 5G networks is proposed. We deploy a Next Generation Fronthaul Interface (NGFI) based architecture, in order to overcome issues related to massive MIMO deployment. Furthermore, in order to implement dynamically different functional splitting options, a virtualized Remote Aggregation Unit (RAU) is proposed. As further contribution, our solution aims to provide new features that facilitate SDN/NFV integration in wireless/mobile environments.
Benefit of Risk Score-Guided Prophylaxis in Pregnant Women at Risk of Thrombotic Events: A Controlled Before-and-After Implementation Study

Abstract Background Management of pregnant women at risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and placental vascular complications (PVCs) remains complex. Guidelines do not definitively specify optimal strategies. Objective Our objective was to evaluate the impact of employing risk score-driven prophylaxis strategies on VTE and PVC rates in at-risk pregnant women. Materials and Methods This study, conducted in 21 French maternity units, compared VTE and PVC rates before and after implementation of a risk scoring system to determine prophylactic strategies. Results A total of 2,085 pregnant women at risk of VTE or PVC were enrolled. Vascular events occurred in 190 (19.2%) patients before and 140 (13.0%) after implementation of risk score-driven prophylaxis (relative risk [RR] = 0.68 [0.55; 0.83]). The incidence of deep vein thrombosis during pregnancy was reduced (RR = 0.30 [0.14; 0.67]). PVC comprised mainly pre-eclampsia, occurring in 79 patients before and 42 patients after risk score implementation (RR = 0.52 [0.36; 0.75]). Post-partum haemorrhage occurred in 32 patients (3.2%) before and 48 patients (4.5%) after risk score implementation (RR = 1.38 [0.89; 2.13], p = 0.15). Conclusion Use of a simple risk scoring system, developed by experts in VTE and PVC research to guide prophylaxis, reduced the risk of thrombotic events during pregnancy without any significant increase in bleeding risk.
A Generic Top-N Recommendation Framework for Trading-Off Accuracy, Novelty, and Coverage

Standard collaborative filtering approaches for top-N recommendation are biased toward popular items. As a result, they recommend items that users are likely aware of and under-represent long-tail items. This is inadequate, both for consumers who prefer novel items and because concentrating on popular items poorly covers the item space, whereas high item space coverage increases providers' revenue. We present an approach that relies on historical rating data to learn user long-tail novelty preferences. We integrate these preferences into a generic re-ranking framework that customizes balance between accuracy and coverage. We empirically validate that our proposed framework increases the novelty of recommendations. Furthermore, by promoting long-tail items to the right group of users, we significantly increase the system's coverage while scalably maintaining accuracy. Our framework also enables personalization of existing non-personalized algorithms, making them competitive with existing personalized algorithms in key performance metrics, including accuracy and coverage.
A Global Modular Equalizer Based on Forward Conversion for Series-Connected Battery Strings

The battery equalizer using a multi winding transformer has the advantages of easy isolation and fast balancing, but is very difficult to be applied to a large battery string with large numbers of cells connected in series due to the serious mismatching of multiple windings, the high voltage stress on switches, the additional demagnetizing circuits, bulky size, and high implementation complexity. Therefore, a global modular balancing architecture is proposed based on forward conversion, which integrates cell balancing, module balancing, and demagnetizing functions into one circuit, greatly reducing the volume, cost, energy loss, and implementation complexity. A prototype of the proposed equalizer for eight battery cells was built to validate the balancing performances, and a comparison between the proposed equalizer and existing solutions was presented. Experimental and comparative results show that the proposed topology exhibits a good balancing performance with strong robustness, and the measured peak efficiency is about 95.6%. In summary, the inherent advantages of the proposed global modular architecture are the fast balancing speed, high balancing efficiency, small size, low cost, ease of control, and the simultaneous any-cells-to-any-cells equalization among any cells.
Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Recordings of Visuospatial Working Memory Processes. Part II: A Replication Study in Children on Sensitivity and Mental-Ability-Induced Differences in Functional Activation

In a previous study in young adults, we showed that hemodynamic changes as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were sensitive for identifying visuospatial working memory (WM)-related functional brain activation in the prefrontal cortex. This functional activation, however, could not be verified for participants with far-above-average mental ability, suggesting different cognitive processes adopted by this group. The present study was designed to confirm these findings in 11- to 13-year-old children by applying the same study design, experimental task, fNIRS setup, and statistical approach. We successfully replicated the earlier findings on sensitivity of fNIRS with regard to visuospatial WM-specific task demands in our children sample. Likewise, mental-ability-induced differences in functional activation were even more pronounced in the children compared with in the young adults. By testing a children sample, we were able to not only replicate our previous findings based on adult participants but also generalize the validity of these findings to children. This latter aspect seems to be of particular significance considering the relatively large number of fNIRS studies on WM performance in children.
Mission-Centric Automated Cyber Red Teaming

Cyberspace is ubiquitous and is becoming increasingly critical to many societal, commercial, military, and national functions as it emerges as an operational space in its own right. Within this context, decision makers must achieve mission continuity when operating in cyberspace. One aspect of any comprehensive security program is the use of penetration testing; the use of scanning, enumeration and offensive techniques not unlike those used by a potential adversary. Effective penetration testing provides security insight into the network as a system in its entirety. Often though, this systemic view is lost in reporting outcomes, instead becoming a list of vulnerable or exploitable systems that are individually evaluated for remediation priority. This paper introduces Trogdor; a mission-centric automated cyber red-teaming system. Trogdor undertakes model based Automated Cyber Red Teaming (ACRT) and critical node analysis to visually present the impact of vulnerable resources to cyber dependent missions. Specifically, this work discusses the purpose of Trogdor, outlines its architecture, design choices and the technologies it employs. This paper describes an application of Trogdor to an enterprise network scenario; specifically, how Trogdor provides an understanding of potential mission impacts arising from cyber vulnerabilities and mission or business-centric decision support in selecting possible strategies to mitigate those impacts.
Distributed Wireless Power Transfer System for Internet of Things Devices

The wireless power transfer via an electro-magnetic (EM) wave enables far-field power transfer for supplying power to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. However, the power attenuation of the EM wave leads to low end-to-end power transfer efficiency. In this paper, we provide an analytic and experimental study on the distributed wireless power transfer system as a means to overcome the low power transfer efficiency. In the distributed wireless power transfer system, a number of multiantenna power beacons, which are distributed over space, send out wireless power to charge IoT devices. Since each power beacon has a separate local oscillator and controller, it is very challenging to achieve frequency and phase synchronization among power beacons, which is the prerequisite for optimal distributed beamforming. In this paper, we study the performance of the distributed wireless power transfer system with or without the frequency and phase synchronization. Based on the experiment and simulation results, we show that the distributed wireless charging is advantageous in terms of the coverage probability as long as the optimal distributed beamforming is available in the distributed wireless power transfer system.
A Ka-Band Beamformer for Wireless Power Transfer to Body Area Networks

A 4-channel Ka-band beamforming RFIC (BFIC) for millimeter wave (mmW) wireless power transfer to body area networks (BAN) is implemented in a 65nm CMOS process. The BFIC incorporates a traveling wave distribution network (TWDN) to reduce silicon area and lower cost. Measurements show ~18 dB of gain per channel, P1dB of 4.5 dBm, 320 mW (80 mW/channel) consumption, in 2.25 mm2 of silicon area.
Follow the Leader: Student Strikes, School Absenteeism and Persistent Consequences on Educational Outcomes

The 2011 Chilean student strikes, led by university students but promptly joined by hundreds of thousands of secondary school students, triggered a significant drop in public secondary school attendance (a decline of about 15 percentage points in all four grades). Attendance returned to normal levels in 2012. Using the type of school that students attended in 2011 as an instrument for school absenteeism, I show that school absenteeism has negative effects on secondary school students’ results in a post-secondary high-stakes math exam and university enrollment rates. Instrumental variables estimations suggest that a 10 percentage point decrease in attendance during secondary school is related to a 9.5 percent of a standard deviation decline in the math exam score, and a 3.2 percentage point reduction in the associated probability of university enrollment. I do not find any significant effect on the high-stakes language exam at the 5 percent level. A key finding is the persistent negative effect of school absenteeism on students' academic performance: this negative effect is present even for those students who sat the high-stakes exams three years after the strikes had ended, that is, after three years of regular schooling following the negative shock to their attendance. These results are not driven by inputs to the education production function that might have been affected by the student strikes, such as disruptiveness at the time of the high-stakes exams, school environment, teachers, class instruction, or class size.
Associations Between Aerobic Fitness and Cognitive Control in Adolescents

Previous research has found positive associations between cognitive control and aerobic fitness in preadolescents and adults; however, fewer studies have investigated these associations in adolescents. Adolescence is of particular interest due to continued maturation of the prefrontal cortex; an area that subserves cognitive control. This study investigated the associations of aerobic fitness and cognitive control in adolescents. An assessment of aerobic fitness (Andersen intermittent running test) and two tests of cognitive control were collected to investigate these associations. Participants completed a test of inhibitory control (flanker task) and a test of cognitive flexibility (switch task). Along with traditional measures of reaction time (RT) and accuracy, diffusion modeling was utilized to combine these measures to calculate latent variables (i.e., drift rate, boundary separation, and nondecision time). Associations between cognitive measures and fitness were assessed with linear regressions while controlling for potential confounding factors. Higher fitness was associated with shorter reaction time and higher accuracy in the flanker task, indicating better inhibitory control performance. In addition, greater aerobic fitness was associated with greater quality of information uptake in the flanker task, as indicated by drift rate. In the switch task, higher aerobic fitness was associated with greater accuracy and longer switch RT indicating a speed-accuracy tradeoff. Results from the switch task diffusion modeling supported this conclusion as indicated by greater fitness associated with greater boundary separation, or response conservativeness. Further, greater drift rate in the switch task was associated with greater fitness. These findings corroborate growing evidence indicating the importance of aerobic fitness for inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. This study extends the literature by demonstrating these effects in a large sample of adolescents with a computational model of the mechanisms that underlie cognition.
Towards Dynamic Execution Environment for System Security Protection Against Hardware Flaws

Attacks exploiting security flaws in software are very common. They are typically addressed during the ongoing software development process or by providing software patches. Attacks making use of hardware related flaws via malicious software recently gained popularity. Prominent examples are errata-based, aging-related or, for example, the infamous Rowhammer-attack. In this paper, we present an approach to detect software-based attacks which exploit hardware flaws. Since the flaws are typically triggered by characteristic instruction sequences, our approach is implemented as a dynamic execution environment for program monitoring at runtime. Several case studies underline the effectiveness and the low overhead of our approach.