Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multimodal Biometric Fusion: Performance under Spoof Attacks

Abstract Biometrics is essentially a pattern recognition system that recognizes an individual using their unique anatomical or behavioral patterns such as face, fingerprint, iris, signature etc. Recent researches have shown that many biometric traits are vulnerable to spoof attacks. Moreover, recent works showed that, contrary to a common belief, multimodal biometric systems in parallel fusion mode can be intruded even if only one trait is spoofed. However, most of the results were obtained using simulated spoof attacks, under the assumption that the spoofed and genuine samples are indistinguishable, which may not be true for all biometric traits. In addition, so far vulnerability of multimodal biometric systems in serial fusion mode against spoof attacks has not been investigated. These issues raise a demand to investigate the robustness of multimodal systems under realistic spoof attacks. In this paper, we empirically investigate the performance of serial and parallel biometric fusion modes under realistic spoof attacks. Preliminary empirical results on real biometric systems made up of face, fingerprint and iris confirm that multimodal biometric systems in both fusion modes are not intrinsically robust against spoof attacks as believed so far. In particular, multimodal biometric systems in serial fusion mode can be even less robust than systems in parallel mode. We also experimentally found that incorporating the biometric sample quality in biometric fusion increases the robustness of the multimodal systems against spoof attacks. In the end, we study the trade-off between performance and robustness of the biometric systems under spoof attacks.
Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life

Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Annette Lareau. Berkeley: University of California Press. 2003. 331 pp. Paperback ISBN 0-520-21826-4, $21.95. In this insightful ethnographic study, Annette Lareau explores how class shapes childhood. She presents in-depth portrayals of six families (half of those she studied) to show how the cultural logic of childrearing differs between middleclass, and working-class and poor families. Centrally, she argues that middle-class families have a logic of concerted cultivation in which parents undertake strategies to cultivate their children's talents and abilities. These strategies range from involving children in multiple organized after-school activities (e.g., soccer, swimming, school plays, piano lessons, dance classes, baseball) to engaging them in extensive verbal interactions (e.g., negotiations about parental directives). As a result of these activities, Lareau argues, middle-class children develop a strong sense of entitlement. They do not have to worry about their everyday needs and are used to adults, including their parents and other important institutional actors, paying close attention to them and taking them seriously. They learn how to ask questions, learn to expect to be engaged with, and learn how to engage with others. They develop skills with prioritizing activities and budgeting time, and generally function in institutionally sanctioned ways. In contrast, working-class and poor families work from an assumption of natural growth, assuming their primary job to be to take care of their children (e.g., feed, shelter, and clothe) so they can grow and develop safely. Children in working-class and poor families grow up with a sense of constraint-a sense of things they do not have access to, of things they cannot ask for because money is short, of questions they cannot ask because of clear boundaries between them and adults. Although Lareau outlines the institutional costs and benefits of these different modes of childrearing, what she calls the "transmission of differential advantage" (5), she also importantly recognizes that there are costs of and benefits for both logics of childrearing. For example, she makes a convincing case for the downsides of the logic of concerted cultivation. That is, middleclass families who have their children enrolled in a number of organized activities are constantly on the run from one event to another. The lives of both children and adults in these families are highly structured by their overburdened schedules. Children are exhausted, and family life often has to take a back seat. In working-class families, there is much more relaxed family time. Children have more opportunities to play in unstructured ways with siblings, cousins, and neighborhood friends. …
Impact of the Lectin Chaperone Calnexin on the Stress Response, Virulence and Proteolytic Secretome of the Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus

Calnexin is a membrane-bound lectin chaperone in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that is part of a quality control system that promotes the accurate folding of glycoproteins entering the secretory pathway. We have previously shown that ER homeostasis is important for virulence of the human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus, but the contribution of calnexin has not been explored. Here, we determined the extent to which A. fumigatus relies on calnexin for growth under conditions of environmental stress and for virulence. The calnexin gene, clxA, was deleted from A. fumigatus and complemented by reconstitution with the wild type gene. Loss of clxA altered the proteolytic secretome of the fungus, but had no impact on growth rates in either minimal or complex media at 37°C. However, the ΔclxA mutant was growth impaired at temperatures above 42°C and was hypersensitive to acute ER stress caused by the reducing agent dithiothreitol. In contrast to wild type A. fumigatus, ΔclxA hyphae were unable to grow when transferred to starvation medium. In addition, depleting the medium of cations by chelation prevented ΔclxA from sustaining polarized hyphal growth, resulting in blunted hyphae with irregular morphology. Despite these abnormal stress responses, the ΔclxA mutant remained virulent in two immunologically distinct models of invasive aspergillosis. These findings demonstrate that calnexin functions are needed for growth under conditions of thermal, ER and nutrient stress, but are dispensable for surviving the stresses encountered in the host environment.
Development and Characterization of Self-Microemulsifying Drug Delivery System of Tacrolimus for Intravenous Administration

Tacrolimus (FK 506), a poorly soluble immunosuppressant is currently formulated in nonaqueous vehicle containing hydrogenated castor oil derivative for intravenous administration. Hydrogenated castor oil derivatives are associated with acute anaphylactic reactions. This proposes to overcome the problems of poor aqueous solubility of the drug and the toxicity associated with currently used excipients by the development of a new parenterally acceptable formulation using self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS). Solubility of FK 506 in various oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants was determined to identify SMEDDS components. Phase diagrams were constructed at different ratios of surfactants: cosurfactant (Km) to determine microemulsion existence area. Influence of oily phase content, Km, aqueous phase composition, dilution, and incorporation of drug on mean globule size of microemulsions was studied. SMEDDSs were developed using ethyl oleate as oily phase and Solutol HS 15 as surfactant. Glycofurol was used successfully as a cosurfactant. Developed SMEDDS could solubilize 0.8% (wt/wt) FK 506 and on addition to aqueous phase could form spontaneous microemulsion with mean globule size < 30 nm. The resulting microemulsion was iso-osmotic, did not show any phase separation or drug precipitation even after 24 h, and exhibited negligible hemolytic potential to red blood cells.
Shikonin Directly Targets Mitochondria and Causes Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Cancer Cells

Chemotherapy is a mainstay of cancer treatment. Due to increased drug resistance and the severe side effects of currently used therapeutics, new candidate compounds are required for improvement of therapy success. Shikonin, a natural naphthoquinone, was used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of different inflammatory diseases and recent studies revealed the anticancer activities of shikonin. We found that shikonin has strong cytotoxic effects on 15 cancer cell lines, including multidrug-resistant cell lines. Transcriptome-wide mRNA expression studies showed that shikonin induced genetic pathways regulating cell cycle, mitochondrial function, levels of reactive oxygen species, and cytoskeletal formation. Taking advantage of the inherent fluorescence of shikonin, we analyzed its uptake and distribution in live cells with high spatial and temporal resolution using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Shikonin was specifically accumulated in the mitochondria, and this accumulation was associated with a shikonin-dependent deregulation of cellular Ca2+ and ROS levels. This deregulation led to a breakdown of the mitochondrial membrane potential, dysfunction of microtubules, cell-cycle arrest, and ultimately induction of apoptosis. Seeing as both the metabolism and the structure of mitochondria show marked differences between cancer cells and normal cells, shikonin is a promising candidate for the next generation of chemotherapy.
GABAergic neuron distribution in the pedunculopontine nucleus defines functional subterritories

γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurons are widely distributed in brainstem structures involved in the regulation of the sleep‐wake cycle, locomotion, and attention. These brainstem structures include the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), which is traditionally characterized by its population of cholinergic neurons that have local and wide‐ranging connections. The functional heterogeneity of the PPN is partially explained by the topographic distribution of cholinergic neurons, but such heterogeneity might also arise from the organization of other neuronal populations within the PPN. To understand whether a topographical organization is also maintained by GABAergic neurons, we labeled these neurons by in situ hybridization for glutamic acid decarboxylase mRNA combined with immunohistochemistry for choline acetyltransferase to reveal cholinergic neurons. We analyzed their distribution within the PPN by using a method to quantify regional differences based on stereological cell counts. We show that GABAergic neurons of the rat PPN have a rostrocaudal gradient that is opposite to that of cholinergic neurons. Indeed, GABAergic neurons are predominantly concentrated in the rostral PPN; in addition, they form, along with cholinergic neurons, a small, high‐density cluster in the most caudal portion of the nucleus. Thus, we provide evidence of heterogeneity in the distribution of different neuronal populations in the PPN and show that GABAergic and cholinergic neurons define neurochemically distinct areas. Our data suggest that the PPN is neurochemically segregated, and such differences define functional territories. J. Comp. Neurol. 515:397–408, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
People in books: using a FlashCam to become part of an interactive book for connected reading

We introduce People in Books with FlashCam technology, a system that supports children and long-distance family members to act as characters in children's storybooks while they read stories together over a distance. By segmenting the video chat streams of the child and remote family member from their background surroundings, we create the illusion that the child and adult reader are immersed among the storybook illustrations. The illusion of inhabiting a shared story environment helps remote family members feel a sense of togetherness and encourages active reading behaviors for children ages three to five. People In Books is designed to fit into families' traditional reading practices, such as reading ebooks on couches or in bed via netbook or tablet computers. To accommodate this goal we implemented FlashCam, a computationally cost effective and physically small background subtraction system for mobile devices that allows users to move locations and change lighting conditions while they engage in background-subtracted video communications. A lab evaluation compared People in Books with a conventional remote reading application. Results show that People in Books motivates parents and children to be more performative readers and encourages open-ended play beyond the story, while creating a strong sense of togetherness.
Augmenting pattern-based architectural recovery with flow analysis: Mosaic-a case study

Understanding the overall organization of a software system, i.e. its software architecture, is often required during software maintenance: tools can help maintainers in managing the evolution of legacy systems, by showing them architectural information. The analysis of a medium-sized application using a pattern based architectural recovery environment is presented. The results obtained give useful information about the system architecture but also show some limitations of a purely pattern based approach. To overcome such limitations, architectural analysis algorithms have been augmented with information about control and data flow and the case study application has been re-analyzed. Complementing pattern matching with flow information has also allowed detection of architectural constructs when they are spread over different procedures in source code and to extract useful additional information through the use of constant propagation and slicing.
Influence of Age and Pathology on Achilles Tendon Properties During a Single-leg Jump

Abstract Prevalence of Achilles tendinopathy increases with age leading to a weaker tendon with predisposition to rupture. Conclusive evidence of the influence of age and pathology on Achilles tendon (AT) properties remains limited, as previous studies are based on standardized isometric conditions. The study investigates the influence of age and pathology on AT properties during single-leg vertical jump (SLVJ). 10 children (C), 10 asymptomatic adults (A), and 10 tendinopathic patients (T) were included. AT elongation [mm] from rest to maximal displacement during a SLVJ on a force-plate was sonographically assessed. AT compliance [mm/N]) and strain [%] was calculated by dividing elongation by peak ground reaction force [N] and length, respectively. One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post-hoc correction (α=0.05) were used to compare C with A and A with T. AT elongation (p=0.004), compliance (p=0.001), and strain were found to be statistically significant higher in C (27±3 mm, 0.026±0.006 [mm/N], 13±2%) compared to A (21±4 mm, 0.017±0.005 [mm/N], 10±2%). No statistically significant differences (p≥0.05) was found between A and T (25±5 mm, 0.019±0.004 [mm/N], 12±3%). During SLVJ, tendon responded differently in regards to age and pathology with children having the most compliant AT. Higher compliance found in healthy tendons might be considered as a protective factor against load-related injuries.
Personality Factors of Empathy.

An instrument called the Selected Phrase Empathic Ability Key (SPEAK) was developed to measure empathy. The simply scored projective measure was then validated against physiological measures of reactive empathy. The SPEAK followed the classical instruments and used emotionally neutral line drawings (clip art) as projective stimuli for assessing empathy. The measure presented 113 of these drawings using a balanced analysis of variance design to 48 subjects. The reviewed 29-item instrument was administered to 1,323 mathematics staff and students, aged 15 to 63 years, from 24 tertiary institutions in England. Varimax factor analysis of the empathy scores showed two types of empathy. However, correlations with all 16 personality factors of Cattell's 16 Personality Factor (16PF) instrument were very low, with only two correlations reaching significance. This suggests that both types of empathy processes are probably additions to the 16PF. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 15 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Bayesian approaches in speech recognition

This paper focuses on applications of Bayesian approaches to speech recognition. Bayesian approaches have been widely studied in statistics and machine learning fields, and one of the advantages of the Bayesian approaches is to improve generalization ability compared to maximum likelihood approaches. The effectiveness for speech recognition is shown experimentally in speaker adaptation tasks by using Maximum A Posterior (MAP) and model complexity control by using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). This paper introduces the variational Bayesian approaches, in addition to the MAP, BIC and other Bayesian techniques, for speech recognition. VBEC (Variational Bayesian Estimation and Clustering for speech recognition) is a fully Bayesian speech recognition framework, and achieves robust acoustic modeling and speech classification. This paper explains the formulation and experimental effectiveness of these Bayesian approaches for speech recognition.
Time-varying wiener filtering based on short-time fourier transform

The paper considers filtering noisy pulse signals using Wiener filtering technique applied in the Short Time Fourier Transform domain. It is assumed that there exists some a priori estimation of the signal spectrum within some time interval for each moment, such estimation may be available when the signal consists of some transients repeated in quasi-periodical manner, or when there exists some concurrent much less noisy process that can be used to estimate the momentary spectrum of the filtered signal. Efficiency of the proposed technique is demonstrated on filtering noisy magnetocardiographic signals based on concurrent electrocardiograms. Its superiority over stationary Wiener filtering is shown.
Recent advances in genomic profiling of adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas (ASCP) is a mixed tumor type which contains squamous cell carcinoma and also ductal adenocarcinoma components. Due to the rarity of this malignancy, only very limited genomic profiling has been performed. A recent paper by Fang et al. published in The Journal of Pathology contributed to our knowledge of genomic alterations by performing whole‐genome and ‐exome sequencing of 17 ASCP tumors. They found major genomic similarities to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; however, the p53 pathway was altered in a greater proportion of cases, while a high frequency of 3p loss was a distinct copy number alteration pattern observed in ASCP. Laser capture microdissection revealed that adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma components of ASCP harbor similar genomic variations, indicating that the origin of tumor components is the same or similar. Although the study published by Fang et al. increases our knowledge of this rare mixed tumor type, further investigation, including RNA sequencing, will be needed to fully characterize this malignancy and to aid the development of novel treatment approaches. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Meningococcal serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine: a new conjugate vaccine against invasive meningococcal disease

Invasive meningococcal disease is a serious infection that occurs worldwide. It is caused by Neisseria meningitidis, of which six serogroups (A, B, C, W-135, X, and Y) are responsible for most infections. The case fatality rate of meningococcal disease remains high and can lead to significant sequelae. Vaccination remains the best strategy to prevent meningococcal disease. Polysaccharide vaccines were initially introduced in the late 1960s but their limitations (poor immunogenicity in infants and toddlers and hyporesponsiveness after repeated doses) have led to the development and use of meningococcal conjugate vaccines, which overcome these limitations. Two quadrivalent conjugated meningococcal vaccines – MenACWY-DT (Menactra®) and MenACWY-CRM197 (Menveo®) – using diphtheria toxoid or a mutant protein, respectively, as carrier proteins have already been licensed in the US. Recently, a quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine conjugated to tetanus toxoid (MenACWY-TT; Nimenrix®) was approved for use in Europe in 2012. The immunogenicity of MenACWY-TT, its reactogenicity and safety profile, as well as its coadministration with other vaccines are discussed in this review. Clinical trials showed that MenACWY-TT was immunogenic in children above the age of 12 months, adolescents, and adults, and has an acceptable reactogenicity and safety profile. Its coadministration with several other vaccines that are commonly used in children, adolescents, and adults did not affect the immunogenicity of MenACWY-TT or the coadministered vaccine, nor did it affect its reactogenicity and safety. Other studies are now ongoing in order to determine the immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and safety of MenACWY-TT in infants from the age of 6 weeks.
Comparison of the Inhibitory Effects of Delphinidin and Its Glycosides on Cell Transformation

Abstract Although anthocyanins are major forms distributed in many plant foods and promising as chemopreventive source, many molecular data are obtained from anthocyanidins, showing their low bioavailability. This study aims to clarify the inhibitory effects of delphinidin glycosides on cell transformation comparing them to those of delphinidin. Screening data revealed that delphinidin 3-sambubioside could directly bind to MAPK/ERK kinase 1. Affinity assay data confirmed that delphinidin 3-sambubioside had higher binding affinity to MAPK/ERK kinase 1 than ERK1/2 and B-Raf. Colony assay data further demonstrated that delphinidin 3-sambubioside inhibited 12-O- tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced phosphorylation of MAPK/ERK kinase 1 and sequentially suppressed cell transformation. All of these effects caused by delphinidin 3-sambubioside were weaker than those by its aglycon, delphinidin. Our data suggested that the weaker anti- transformation activity of delphinidin glycosides compared to that of their aglycon is due to lower binding affinity to the target molecule MAPK/ERK kinase 1.
A high-speed data transfer protocol for geostationary orbit satellites

In communication systems using geostationary orbit satellites, throughput of transmission control protocol (TCP) is limited due to the impact of latency on network and packet loss caused by signal attenuation in severe weather conditions like heavy rain. It is high time to develop network techniques and applications in broadband communications over the gigabit satellite and the high throughput satellite (HTS). In this paper, we introduce a high-speed data transfer protocol, named high-performance and flexible protocol (HpFP), to achieve high throughput over a geostationary satellite link even in severe weather conditions. The HpFP is firstly evaluated on a laboratory experiment simulating a geostationary orbit satellite link. It is clarified that the HpFP shows high throughputs even when the packet loss ratio (PLR) is 0.01%. We next carry out a field experiment using the Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (WINDS). The performance of the HpFP over single, dual, and multiple connections are evaluated. The result shows that the aggregate throughput of dual connections of HpFP almost reaches to the maximum bandwidth, and the time to the maximum bandwidth is within 3 sec which is over 20 times faster than that by the TCP. For multiple connections, the HpFP shares the bandwidth equally among all 50 connections.