Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Privacy-Preserving Location Tracking of Lost or Stolen Devices: Cryptographic Techniques and Replacing Trusted Third Parties with DHTs

We tackle the problem of building privacy-preserving device-tracking systems--or private methods to assist in the recovery of lost or stolen Internet-connected mobile devices. The main goals of such systems are seemingly contradictory: to hide the device's legitimately-visited locations from third-party services and other parties (location privacy) while simultaneously using those same services to help recover the device's location(s) after it goes missing (device-tracking). We propose a system, named Adeona, that nevertheless meets both goals. It provides strong guarantees of location privacy while preserving the ability to efficiently track missing devices. We build a version of Adeona that uses OpenDHT as the third party service, resulting in an immediately deployable system that does not rely on any single trusted third party. We describe numerous extensions for the basic design that increase Adeona's suitability for particular deployment environments.
Prevalence of IgG autoantibody against F‐actin in patients suspected of having autoimmune or acute viral hepatitis

Our objectives in this study were to compare results obtained by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for F‐actin antibody (FAA) immunoglobulin G (IgG) to those determined by an indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) assay for smooth muscle antibody (SMA) IgG, and to determine the prevalence of FAA in patient sera having serologic evidence of acute viral hepatitis. Sera from 415 patients suspected of having autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), 208 patients suspected of having acute viral hepatitis A, B, or C, and 100 healthy blood donors (HBD) were included in the study. Only one of 100 HBD showed low levels (20–30 Units) of F‐actin IgG. In patients suspected of having AIH, the prevalence of FAA increased as SMA titers increased and all sera with SMA titers of ≥1:160 were FAA‐positive. In contrast, there were many sera with negative (<1:20) or low (1:20–1:40) SMA titers that contained moderate to high levels (>30 Units) of FAA; many exceeding 80 Units. Moreover, 51.4% of these sera were also positive for anti‐nuclear antibody (ANA), which is also utilized in diagnosing type 1 AIH. FAA was detected in 25% of viral hepatitis antibody–positive sera, with the majority (59.3%) containing low levels, and all were ANA‐negative. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 21:249–253, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
SHE-PWM switching strategies for active neutral point clamped multilevel converters

The main drawback of the diode neutral-point-clamped (NPC) converter is the unequal loss distribution among the semiconductor devices which confines the maximum output power and the switching frequency. To address this drawback, switching state redundancy is required to evenly distribute the losses and can be achieved differently as the level of the converter changes. For instance, the three-level active NPC (3L-ANPC) converter has switching state redundancy and is derived from the 3L-NPC converter by adding an anti-parallel switch to the clamping diodes; in the 4L-ANPC converter, the combination of a 2L converter and a 3L-ANPC converter is used; in a 5L-ANPC converter, the combination of the 3L-ANPC and 3L-flying capacitor (FC) converter is advantageous. The paper discusses selective-harmonic-elimination (SHE) pulse-width-modulation (PWM) strategies for the above mentioned converters and explains how loss distribution can be achieved.
Immunohistochemical Studies of Caveolin-3 in Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis

Background/Aim: Caveolin, which is a major constructive component of the caveolar membranes, plays a key role in transcytosis of molecules into cells and regulation of several signal transductions. Caveolin has three isoforms, and recent studies suggest that in some malignant tumors an alteration of caveolin-1 expression correlates with oncogenetic changes. Caveolins have been reported to be negative regulators of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) which can provoke an antitumor response via infiltrating immune cells. The aim of this study was to examine the expressions of caveolin-1 and caveolin-3 (which is a caveolin-1 homologue localized predominantly in muscle tissue) in testicular cancer. Methods: We evaluated the expressions of caveolin-1, caveolin-3, and iNOS in 16 seminoma and 10 non-seminoma testicular cancer specimens as well as normal testicular tissue, using a streptavidin-biotin bridge technique on cryostat sections. The expression of caveolin-3 was confirmed by slot-blot analysis. Tumor-infiltrating immune cells were also studied immunohistochemically, and the correlation between the number of immune cells and caveolin-3 concentrations was calculated. Results: Immunohistochemistry revealed that caveolin-3, but not caveolin-1, was frequently expressed in seminomas (12 positive out of 16 specimens) without positive staining in their normal counterparts or in nonseminomatous germ cell tumors, except for muscle components in the teratoma. iNOS was not expressed in any tissues examined. Samples with high levels of caveolin-3 tended to have higher degrees of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, although this finding was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This is the first report demonstrating the involvement of caveolin-3 in germ cell tumors.
The value of personal professional monitoring performance data and open disclosure policies in anaesthetic practice: a case report

A case is reported in which routine detailed trainee performance monitoring data collected as part of a personal professional monitoring programme were used to help justify to a patient and relatives the unforeseeable nature of a rare complication of a procedure. The data also supported the decision to allow the trainee to undertake the procedure. The personal professional monitoring programme conforms to the highest standards of clinical governance for trainees, consultants, departments, hospitals, and professional colleges. Data from the programme are fed back to the trainees and used to guide training requirements and to provide objective evidence of trainee assessments, practical ability, and competence.
Towards Specification Based Testing for Semantic Web Services

Web services have become popular in the modern infrastructure of the World Wide Web. They aim to provide automatic discovery, selection, and invocation of required applications (services) across the internet. However, the quality assurance aspects of web services remain a challenge. Recently, the semantic web has been introduced as an emerging technology which emphasizes presenting the meaning of the web content to achieve a machine processable automation. In this paper, we explore the synergy of applying specification based software testing techniques to semantic web services. Our approach investigates the possibility of deriving concrete test cases from the goal specification of a semantic web service in order to determine the correctness of a service implementation. Furthermore, we also propose coverage criteria to evaluate the generated test cases at both the goal and the service description levels. We demonstrate the generation and evaluation of the test cases from a goal specification with the help of a simplified discount example.
Design of Low Power CMOS LNA with Current-Reused and Notch Filter Topology for DS-UWB Application

This paper presents the design of a low power LNA with second stage that uses a notch filter for DS-UWB application. The LNA employs a current reuse structure to reduce the power consumption and an active second order notch filter to produce band rejection in the 5 - 6 GHz frequency band. The input reflection coefficient S11 and output reflection S22 are both less than –10 dB. The maximum power gain S21 is 15 dB while the maximum rejection ratio is over –10 dB at 4.8 GHz. The minimum noise figure is 5 dB. The input referred third-order intercept point (IIP3) is –7 dBm at 6 GHz. The power consumption is 6.4 mW from a 1-V power supply.
Knowledge Representation Strategy Determination in Quantitative Terms

Knowledge strategy is a critical component of knowledge management KM success. Surprisingly, a simple and quantifiable model of KM representation strategy does not seem to exist. This paper applies economics principles to derive a model for thinking of the decision problem in quantitative terms. The decision is about choosing the right codification-personalization split where all knowledge related resources are efficiently allocated to simultaneously support the business process or production. It shows that failing at making a diversified resource choice may conclude a suboptimal strategy split. It seems to justify the propositions of an oft-cited paper and some published evidence. That is, a 50-50 split or a merely pure strategy can also be the optimal strategy. The model can be extended to include subjective decision factor, and be mastered easily. In future research, it may be developed into a game theoretical framework to capture the strategic and/or cooperative KM behaviors.
Atomistic simulations of low-field mobility in Si nanowires: Influence of confinement and orientation

A simulation framework that couples atomistic electronic structures to Boltzmann transport formalism is developed and applied to calculate the transport characteristics of thin silicon nanowires (NWs) up to 12 nm in diameter. The sp${}^{3}$d${}^{5}$s${}^{*}$-spin-orbit-coupled atomistic tight-binding model is used for the electronic structure calculation. Linearized Boltzmann transport theory is applied, including carrier scattering by phonons, surface roughness (SRS), and impurities. We present a comprehensive investigation of the low-field mobility in silicon NWs considering i) $n$- and $p$-type NWs, ii) [100], [110], and [111] transport orientations, and iii) diameters from $D$ = 12 nm (electronically almost bulk-like) down to $D$ = 3 nm (ultra-scaled). The simulation results display strong variations in the characteristics of the different NW types. For $n$-type NWs, phonon scattering and SRS become stronger as the diameter is reduced and drastically degrade the mobility by up to an order of magnitude depending on the orientation. For the [111] and [110] $p$-type NWs, on the other hand, large mobility enhancements (on the order of \ensuremath{\sim}4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}) can be achieved as the diameter scales down to $D$ = 3 nm. This enhancement originates from the increase in the subband curvatures as the diameter is scaled. It overcompensates for the mobility reduction caused by SRS in narrow NWs and offers an advantage with diameter scaling. Our results may provide understanding of recent experimental measurements, as well as guidance in the design of NW channel devices with improved transport properties.
Universitaire en Economische Pieken (Mountains and Valleys in University and Economics Research in the Netherlands)

Dutch Abstract: Nederlands onderzoek scoort hoog in de top-10% van meest geciteerde publicaties (Leydesdorff, Wagner en Bornmann, 2014). De Leidse Rankings van het Centrum voor Wetenschap en Technologiestudies (CWTS) stellen ons in staat dit per universiteit te beoordelen. Er bestaan statistisch significante verschillen tussen de Nederlandse universiteiten, maar niet tussen de economische instituten. De ranking op basis van de top-10% is negatief gecorreleerd aan die van de Institutentop van ESB. English Abstract: Scientific publications with a Dutch address are represented above expectation in the top-10% most cited publications worldwide (Leydesdorff, Wagner, & Bornmann, 2014). The Leiden Rankings enable us to test statistically (a) whether a score is significantly above expectations and (b) whether differences among nations, universities, faculties, etc., are statistically significant. Using universities, a division between the universities in the western part of the Netherlands (“Randstad”) and the more peripheral universities (e.g., Groningen) is indicated. When focusing on the economic faculties and institutes, however, this division is not found: smaller units seem to outperform the large faculties. Our ranking based on the top-10% most cited publications correlates negatively with the yearly one of ESB based on “article influence scores. ” Rankings thus are highly sensitive for parameter choices.
Home enteral nutrition's effects on nutritional status and quality of life after esophagectomy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We aimed to characterize the effect of home enteral nutrition (HEN) on the nutritional status and the quality of life (QOL) of esophageal cancer patients who underwent Ivor Lewis esophagectomy for cancer. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN Sixty patients with esophageal cancer were assigned to receive either HEN (n=30) or standard care only (n=30) from 1 week to 24 weeks following surgery. Nutritional status was evaluated using The Mini Nutritional Assessment at 1 week preoperatively and at 12 and 24 weeks postoperatively. QOL-related parameters were analyzed in all patients using the QOL-core 30 questionnaire and the supplemental QOL-esophageal module 18 questionnaire for patients with esophageal cancer from 1-24 weeks after surgery. RESULTS At 12 weeks after surgery, the incidence of malnutrition or latent malnutrition in the HEN group was lower than that in the control group despite the absence of a significant difference between the two groups before surgery. Compared to the control group, the HEN group achieved higher Global QOL scores, and most of their functional index scores were better. Most of the symptomatic index scores were more reduced at 4 weeks and 12 weeks postoperatively in the HEN group. However, at 24 weeks after surgery, the incidence of malnutrition or latent malnutrition and most of the QOL indexes did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS HEN can reduce the incidence of malnutrition or latent malnutrition and help restore the QOL in the patients with esophageal cancer in the early period (24 weeks) after surgery.
miRNAs and HIV: unforeseen determinants of host‐pathogen interaction

Our understanding of the complexity of gene regulation has significantly improved in the last decade as the role of small non‐coding RNAs, called microRNAs (miRNAs), has been appreciated. These 19–22 nucleotide RNA molecules are critical regulators of mRNA translation and turnover. The miRNAs bind via a protein complex to the 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR) of mRNA, ultimately leading to mRNA translational inhibition, degradation, or repression. Although many mechanisms by which human immunodeficiency virus‐1 (HIV‐1) infection eventually induces catastrophic immune destruction have been elucidated, the important role that miRNAs play in HIV‐1 pathogenesis is only now emerging. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that changes to endogenous miRNA levels following infection is important: in maintaining HIV‐1 latency in resting CD4+ T cells, potentially affect immune function via changes to cytokines such as interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) and IL‐10 and may predict disease progression. We review the roles that both viral and host miRNAs play in different cell types and disease conditions that are important in HIV‐1 infection and discuss how miRNAs affect key immunomodulatory molecules contributing to immune dysfunction. Further, we discuss whether miRNAs may be used as novel biomarkers in serum and the potential to modulate miRNA levels as a unique approach to combating this pathogen.
Estimating outflow facility through pressure dependent pathways of the human eye

We develop and test a new theory for pressure dependent outflow from the eye. The theory comprises three main parameters: (i) a constant hydraulic conductivity, (ii) an exponential decay constant and (iii) a no-flow intraocular pressure, from which the total pressure dependent outflow, average outflow facilities and local outflow facilities for the whole eye may be evaluated. We use a new notation to specify precisely the meaning of model parameters and so model outputs. Drawing on a range of published data, we apply the theory to animal eyes, enucleated eyes and in vivo human eyes, and demonstrate how to evaluate model parameters. It is shown that the theory can fit high quality experimental data remarkably well. The new theory predicts that outflow facilities and total pressure dependent outflow for the whole eye are more than twice as large as estimates based on the Goldman equation and fluorometric analysis of anterior aqueous outflow. It appears likely that this discrepancy can be largely explained by pseudofacility and aqueous flow through the retinal pigmented epithelium, while any residual discrepancy may be due to pathological processes in aged eyes. The model predicts that if the hydraulic conductivity is too small, or the exponential decay constant is too large, then intraocular eye pressure may become unstable when subjected to normal circadian changes in aqueous production. The model also predicts relationships between variables that may be helpful when planning future experiments, and the model generates many novel testable hypotheses. With additional research, the analysis described here may find application in the differential diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of glaucoma.
Investigating the impact of sequential selection in the (1,4)-CMA-ES on the noiseless BBOB-2010 testbed

This paper investigates the impact of sequential selection, a concept recently introduced for Evolution Strategies (ESs). Sequential selection performs the evaluations of the different candidate solutions sequentially and concludes the iteration immediately if one offspring is better than the parent. In this paper, the (1,4s)-CMA-ES, where sequential selection is implemented, is compared on the BBOB-2010 noiseless testbed to the (1,4)-CMA-ES. For each strategy, an independent restart mechanism is implemented. A total budget of 104 D function evaluations per trial has been used, where D is the dimension of the search space. The experiments show for the (1,4s)-CMA-ES a statistically significant worsening compared to the (1,4)-CMA-ES only on the attractive sector function but a significant improvement by about 20% on 5 out of the 24 BBOB-2010 functions (sphere, separable and rotated ellipsoid, discus, and sum of different powers).
Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems and herbal medicines: a review

Herbal medicines have been widely used around the world since ancient times. The advancement of phytochemical and phytopharmacological sciences has enabled elucidation of the composition and biological activities of several medicinal plant products. The effectiveness of many species of medicinal plants depends on the supply of active compounds. Most of the biologically active constituents of extracts, such as flavonoids, tannins, and terpenoids, are highly soluble in water, but have low absorption, because they are unable to cross the lipid membranes of the cells, have excessively high molecular size, or are poorly absorbed, resulting in loss of bioavailability and efficacy. Some extracts are not used clinically because of these obstacles. It has been widely proposed to combine herbal medicine with nanotechnology, because nanostructured systems might be able to potentiate the action of plant extracts, reducing the required dose and side effects, and improving activity. Nanosystems can deliver the active constituent at a sufficient concentration during the entire treatment period, directing it to the desired site of action. Conventional treatments do not meet these requirements. The purpose of this study is to review nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems and herbal medicines.
Between Hashed DH and Computational DH: Compact Encryption from Weaker Assumption

In this paper, we introduce the intermediate hashed Diffie-Hellman (IHDH) assumption which is weaker than the hashed DH (HDH) assumption (and thus the decisional DH assumption), and is stronger than the computational DH assumption. We then present two public key encryption schemes with short ciphertexts which are both chosen-ciphertext secure under this assumption. The short-message scheme has smaller size of ciphertexts than Kurosawa-Desmedt (KD) scheme, and the long-message scheme is a KD-size scheme (with arbitrary plaintext length) which is based on a weaker assumption than the HDH assumption.
Acoustic features of anger utterances during natural dialog

This report focuses on an automatic estimation of speakers’ anger emotion degree. Two kinds of pseudo-dialogs were held to collect spontaneous anger utterances during the natural Japanese dialog. In order to quantify the anger degree of utterances, a six-scale subjective evaluation was conducted to grade every utterance according to an anger emotion degree by twelve evaluators. With this data set, acoustic features of each utterance were examined to clarify what is the clue to estimate degree of anger utterances. To examine the possibility of automatic emotion estimation, we conducted experiment to estimate the degree of anger emotion automatically by multiple regression analysis using the acoustic parameters.
Mechanism of ergonovine-induced contraction in the mesenteric artery from deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertensive rat.

Contractile responsiveness of the rat mesenteric artery to the ergot alkaloid ergonovine is enhanced in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) hypertension. This study determines if this abnormality is mediated through serotonergic or alpha adrenergic receptors and investigates the cellular mechanism of the contraction. Mesenteric arteries were dissected from DOCA hypertensive and normotensive rats for use in isolated tissue experiments. Contractions to 5-hydroxytryptamine, phenylephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and histamine were of a similar maximum in the hypertensive and sham artery with phenylephrine, dopamine and serotonin more potent in hypertension. Ergonovine contracted hypertensive arteries (maximum = 245 +/- 27 mg) but only minimally in sham arteries (maximum = 83 +/- 19 mg). Endothelium removal did not enhance contraction to ergonovine. The alpha-1 antagonist prazosin (10(-6) M) and the serotonergic antagonist 1-naphthylpiperazine (10(-6) M) shifted the ergonovine concentration response of the hypertensive artery rightward. The alpha-2 receptor antagonist idazoxan (10(-6) M) and dopamine antagonist haloperidol did not affect contraction to ergonovine. Contraction to ergonovine was not altered by indomethacin or 2-nitro-4-carboxyphenyl-N,N-diphenylcarbamate and was minimally affected by genistein, indicating that ergonovine does not activate pathways which involve cyclooxygenase, phospholipase C or tyrosine kinases, respectively. The protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine (10(-5) M), nifedipine (10(-6) M) and calcium-free medium blocked ergonovine-induced contraction. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)