Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Varèse System , Hybrid Auditory Interfaces , and Satellite-Ground Control : Using Auditory Icons and Sonification in a Complex , Supervisory Control System

The basic auditory interface techniques of auditory icons, earcons, and sonification can deftly address the needs of most domains. However, there are domains that cannot be adequately addressed by any single one of these techniques. By combining the characteristics of these basic techniques, hybrid auditory interface techniques can be created to cover those domains that auditory icons, earcons, or sonification cannot. This paper describes a methodology for creating hybrid auditory interface techniques. This methodology is demonstrated through the development of a sonification-auditory icons hybrid for use in a complex, supervisory control environment. The Varèse system1, which incorporates the sonification-auditory icons hybrid technique, is then developed to aid monitoring, fault detection, and fault isolation in a satellite-ground control environment.
Microstrip power divider with capacitive stubs loading for miniaturisation and harmonic suppression

A novel compact microstrip power divider with capacitive stubs loading is presented. The whole size of the new divider has been reduced to 47% of the conventional Wilkinson power divider. According to simulation results, the operation frequency bandwidth of proposed divider is 20% of the centre frequency of 1.0GHz without performance degradation. Furthermore, the new structure has high harmonic suppression performance over the band of second and third harmonic signals.
Nasal administration of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD65) peptides induces Th2 responses and prevents murine insulin-dependent diabetes

We previously demonstrated that a spontaneous Th1 response against glutamate decarboxylase (GAD65) arises in NOD mice at four weeks in age and subsequently T cell autoimmunity spreads both intramolecularly and intermolecularly. Induction of passive tolerance to GAD65, through inactivation of reactive T cells before the onset of autoimmunity, prevented determinant spreading and the development of insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Here, we examined whether an alternative strategy, designed to induce active tolerance via the engagement of Th2 immune responses to GAD65, before the spontaneous onset of autoimmunity, could inhibit the cascade of Th1 responses that lead to IDDM. We observed that a single intranasal administration of GAD65 peptides to 2-3-wk-old NOD mice induced high levels of IgG1 antibodies to GAD65. GAD65 peptide treated mice displayed greatly reduced IFN gamma responses and increased IL-5 responses to GAD65, confirming the diversion of the spontaneous GAD65 Th1 response toward a Th2 phenotype. Consistent with the induction of an active tolerance mechanism, splenic CD4+ (but not CD8+) T cells from GAD65 peptide- treated mice, inhibited the adoptive transfer of IDDM to NOD-scid/scid mice. This active mechanism not only inhibited the development of proliferative T cell responses to GAD65, it also limited the expansion of autoreactive T cell responses to other beta cell antigens (i.e., determinant spreading). Finally, GAD65 peptide treatment reduced insulitis and long-term IDDM incidence. Collectively, these data suggest that the nasal administration of GAD65 peptides induces a Th2 cell response that inhibits the spontaneous development of autoreactive Th1 responses and the progression of beta cell autoimmunity in NOD mice.
Discovery of Ontologies for Learning Resources using Word-based Clustering

Educational intermediaries are information systems that support the exchange of learning resources among dispersed users. The selection of the appropriate learning resources that cover specific educational needs requires a concise interaction between the user and system. This paper describes a data mining process for the discovery of ontologies from learning resources repositories. Ontologies express the associations between the metadata of learning resources and provide a controlled vocabulary of concepts. This paper illustrates how ontologies and the derived vocabularies can be used for the development of taxonomies of learning resources. Hereby they contribute to the sense disambiguation in seeking interesting and appropriate knowledge.
A survey on game theoretic approach in wireless networks

Game theory is a multi-agent decision theory, modelling rational, utility-maximizing agents whose actions affect one another's utilities. Its techniques have been widely applied to various engineering design problems in which the action of one component has impact on that of any other component. A brief survey on game theory for beginners is presented in this paper. The applications of game theory in wireless networking is collected and described them in a layered perspective, emphasizing on which fields game theory could be effectively applied. To this end, an extensive game model is simulated and their key features are exposed.
Effects of low habitual cocoa intake on blood pressure and bioactive nitric oxide: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Regular intake of cocoa-containing foods is linked to lower cardiovascular mortality in observational studies. Short-term interventions of at most 2 weeks indicate that high doses of cocoa can improve endothelial function and reduce blood pressure (BP) due to the action of the cocoa polyphenols, but the clinical effect of low habitual cocoa intake on BP and the underlying BP-lowering mechanisms are unclear. OBJECTIVE To determine effects of low doses of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate on BP. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Randomized, controlled, investigator-blinded, parallel-group trial involving 44 adults aged 56 through 73 years (24 women, 20 men) with untreated upper-range prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension without concomitant risk factors. The trial was conducted at a primary care clinic in Germany between January 2005 and December 2006. INTERVENTION Participants were randomly assigned to receive for 18 weeks either 6.3 g (30 kcal) per day of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or matching polyphenol-free white chocolate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcome measure was the change in BP after 18 weeks. Secondary outcome measures were changes in plasma markers of vasodilative nitric oxide (S-nitrosoglutathione) and oxidative stress (8-isoprostane), and bioavailability of cocoa polyphenols. RESULTS From baseline to 18 weeks, dark chocolate intake reduced mean (SD) systolic BP by -2.9 (1.6) mm Hg (P < .001) and diastolic BP by -1.9 (1.0) mm Hg (P < .001) without changes in body weight, plasma levels of lipids, glucose, and 8-isoprostane. Hypertension prevalence declined from 86% to 68%. The BP decrease was accompanied by a sustained increase of S-nitrosoglutathione by 0.23 (0.12) nmol/L (P < .001), and a dark chocolate dose resulted in the appearance of cocoa phenols in plasma. White chocolate intake caused no changes in BP or plasma biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS Data in this relatively small sample of otherwise healthy individuals with above-optimal BP indicate that inclusion of small amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate as part of a usual diet efficiently reduced BP and improved formation of vasodilative nitric oxide. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00421499.
Distributed stable matching algorithm for physical layer security with multiple source-destination pairs and jammer nodes

In wireless communications, the physical layer security is an emerging security research area that explores the possibilities of achieving high secrecy data transmission between source-destination nodes, while malicious eavesdroppers will obtain zero information from the source nodes. In this paper we consider enhancing the security level of a network comprising of multiple source-destination pairs, multiple friendly jammers and a malicious eavesdropper. We propose a distributed algorithm to facilitate secure data transmission from each source to its corresponding destination, through the help of friendly jammers. The key idea behind the proposed algorithm is that the friendly jammers help the source nodes to increase their secrecy rates and in exchange, the source nodes provide monetary compensation to the friendly jammers. We prove that after a limited number of iterations, the proposed algorithm converges to an optimal stable matching. Numerical analysis also reveals that the distributed algorithm can achieve a performance comparable to an optimal centralized solution, but with a significantly less overhead and complexity.
Cyber-Insurance in Internet Security: A Dig into the Information Asymmetry Problem

Internet users such as individuals and organizations are subject to different types of epidemic risks such as worms, viruses, spams, and botnets. To reduce the probability of risk, an Internet user generally invests in traditional security mechanisms like anti-virus and anti-spam software, sometimes also known as \emph{self-defense} mechanisms. However, according to security experts, such software (and their subsequent advancements) will not completely eliminate risk. Recent research efforts have considered the problem of residual risk elimination by proposing the idea of \emph{cyber-insurance}. In this regard, an important research problem is resolving information asymmetry issues associated with cyber-insurance contracts. In this paper we propose \emph{three} mechanisms to resolve information asymmetry in cyber-insurance. Our mechanisms are based on the \emph{Principal-Agent} (PA) model in microeconomic theory. We show that (1) optimal cyber-insurance contracts induced by our mechanisms only provide partial coverage to the insureds. This ensures greater self-defense efforts on the part of the latter to protect their computing systems, which in turn increases overall network security, (2) the level of deductible per network user contract increases in a concave manner with the topological degree of the user, and (3) a market for cyber-insurance can be made to exist in the presence of monopolistic insurers under effective mechanism design. Our methodology is applicable to any distributed network scenario in which a framework for cyber-insurance can be implemented.
Senescence Marker Protein-30 (SMP30) Deficiency Impairs Myocardium-Induced Dilation of Coronary Arterioles Associated with Reactive Oxygen Species

Senescence marker protein-30 (SMP30) decreases with aging. Mice with SMP30 deficiency, a model of aging, have a short lifespan with increased oxidant stress. To elucidate SMP30’s effect on coronary circulation derived from myocytes, we measured the changes in the diameter of isolated coronary arterioles in wild-type (WT) mice exposed to supernatant collected from isolated paced cardiac myocytes from SMP30 KO or WT mice. Pacing increased hydrogen peroxide in myocytes, and hydrogen peroxide was greater in SMP30 KO myocytes compared to WT myocytes. Antimycin enhanced and FCCP (oxidative phosphorylation uncoupler in mitochondria) decreased superoxide production in both groups. Addition of supernatant from stimulated myocytes, either SMP30 KO or WT, caused vasodilation. The degree of the vasodilation response to supernatant was smaller in SMP30 KO mice compared to WT mice. Administration of catalase to arterioles eliminated vasodilation in myocyte supernatant of WT mice and converted vasodilation to vasoconstriction in myocyte supernatant of SMP30 KO mice. This vasoconstriction was eliminated by olmesartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. Thus, SMP30 deficiency combined with oxidant stress increases angiotensin and hydrogen peroxide release from cardiac myocytes. SMP30 plays an important role in the regulation of coronary vascular tone by myocardium.
High performance computing software package for multitemporal Remote-Sensing computations

— With the huge satellite data actually stored, remote sensing multitemporal study is nowadays one of the most challenging fields of computer science. The multicore hardware support and Multithreading can play an important role in speeding up algorithm computations. In the present paper, a software package (called Multitemporal Software Package for Satellite Remote sensing data (MSP SRS )) has been developed for the multitemporal treatment of satellite remote sensing images in a standard format. Due to portability intend, the interface was developed using the QT application framework and the core was developed integrating C++ classes. MSP. SRS can run under different operating systems (i.e., Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Embedded Linux, Windows CE, etc.). Final benchmark results, using multiple remote sensing biophysical indices, show a gain up to 6X on a quad core i7 personal computer.
Nephrogenic Adenoma Of The Bladder: A Case Report

Nephrogenic metaplasia is a benign tumor characterized by urothelial tubulo papillary structures. It is also called nephrogenic adenoma. It is a benin lesion and highly prone to recurrency. We report a case of a bladder nephrogenic metaplasia of a 65 years old patient with hematuria and POLLAKIURIA. Clinical examination was normal. Ultrasonography showed a circumferential thickening bladder, while cystoscopy showed a tumor at the dome and the right side. A transurethral resection of the bladder was performed. Histological study concluded at the existence of nephrogenic metaplasia of the bladder mucosa. The evolution was favorable and postoperative controls, including cystoscopy and intravenous urography (IVU ) at 1, 3 and 6 months were normal. ——————————  ——————————
Analysis of the biases in the estimation of deleterious mutation parameters from natural populations at mutation-selection balance.

Indirect estimates of the genomic rate of deleterious mutations (lambda), their average homozygous effect (s) and their degree of dominance (h) can be obtained from genetic parameters of natural populations, assuming that the frequencies of the loci controlling a given fitness trait are at mutation-selection equilibrium. In 1996, H. -W. Deng and M. Lynch developed a general methodology for obtaining these estimates from inbreeding/outbreeding experiments. The prediction of the sign and magnitude of the biases incurred by these estimators is essential for a correct interpretation of the empirical results. However, the assessment of these biases has been tested so far under a rather limited model of the distribution of dominance effects. In this paper, the application of this method to outbred populations is evaluated, focusing on the level of variation in h values (sigma(h)(2) and the magnitude of the negative correlation (rs,h) between s and h. It is shown that the method produces upwardly biased estimates of lambda and downwardly biased estimates of the average s in the reference situation where rs,h=0, particularly for large values of sigma(h)(2), and biases of different sign depending on the magnitude of the correlation. A modification of the method, substituting the estimates of the average h for alternative ones, allows estimates to be obtained with little or no bias for the case of rs,h=0, but is otherwise biased. Information on rs,h and sigma(h)(2), gathered from mutation-accumulation experiments, suggests that sigma(h)(2) may be rather large and rs,h is usually negative but not higher than about -0.2, although the data are scarce and noisy, and should be used with caution.
Molecular Photoacoustic Imaging of Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma

Purpose: To evaluate the potential of targeted photoacoustic imaging as a noninvasive method for detection of follicular thyroid carcinoma. Experimental Design: We determined the presence and activity of two members of matrix metalloproteinase family (MMP), MMP-2 and MMP-9, suggested as biomarkers for malignant thyroid lesions, in FTC133 thyroid tumors subcutaneously implanted in nude mice. The imaging agent used to visualize tumors was MMP-activatable photoacoustic probe, Alexa750-CXeeeeXPLGLAGrrrrrXK-BHQ3. Cleavage of the MMP-activatable agent was imaged after intratumoral and intravenous injections in living mice optically, observing the increase in Alexa750 fluorescence, and photoacoustically, using a dual-wavelength imaging method. Results: Active forms of both MMP-2 and MMP-9 enzymes were found in FTC133 tumor homogenates, with MMP-9 detected in greater amounts. The molecular imaging agent was determined to be activated by both enzymes in vitro, with MMP-9 being more efficient in this regard. Both optical and photoacoustic imaging showed significantly higher signal in tumors of mice injected with the active agent than in tumors injected with the control, nonactivatable, agent. Conclusions: With the combination of high spatial resolution and signal specificity, targeted photoacoustic imaging holds great promise as a noninvasive method for early diagnosis of follicular thyroid carcinomas. Clin Cancer Res; 19(6); 1494–502. ©2013 AACR.
Gambling Problems in UK Armed Forces Veterans: Preliminary Findings

Executive summary • International evidence shows elevated rates of problem gambling in former members of the Armed Forces (i.e., veterans). • To date, no research has investigated gambling problems in United Kingdom Armed Forces veterans. • We analysed an existing large dataset, the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. • Post-national service Armed Forces veterans were compared with matched controls on gambling problems, mental health, substance abuse, and financial management. • Armed Forces veterans were more than eight times more likely than nonveterans to exhibit problem gambling. • Male veterans were more likely than male non-veterans to have ever experienced a traumatic event. • The difference in problem gambling between veterans and non-veterans was not explained by prior differences in mental health, substance abuse, or financial management problems. • In conclusion, UK Armed Forces veterans are more likely than non-veterans to experience gambling problems and these problems are not explained by prior mental health, addiction or debt and money worries. • Given the preliminary nature of the findings, further research on the nature and extent of gambling problems in current and former members of the UK Armed Forces is needed.
Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jet Induces Apoptosis Involving Mitochondria via Generation of Free Radicals

The plasma jet has been proposed as a novel therapeutic method for anticancer treatment. However, its biological effects and mechanism of action remain elusive. Here, we investigated its cell death effects and underlying molecular mechanisms, using air and N2 plasma jets from a micro nozzle array. Treatment with air or N2 plasma jets caused apoptotic death in human cervical cancer HeLa cells, simultaneously with depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, the plasma jets were able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which function as surrogate apoptotic signals by targeting the mitochondrial membrane potential. Antioxidants or caspase inhibitors ameliorated the apoptotic cell death induced by the air and N2 plasma jets, suggesting that the plasma jet may generate ROS as a proapoptotic cue, thus initiating mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Taken together, our data suggest the potential employment of plasma jets as a novel therapy for cancer.
Esters of Bendamustine Are by Far More Potent Cytotoxic Agents than the Parent Compound against Human Sarcoma and Carcinoma Cells

The alkylating agent bendamustine is approved for the treatment of hematopoietic malignancies such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma. As preliminary data on recently disclosed bendamustine esters suggested increased cytotoxicity, we investigated representative derivatives in more detail. Especially basic esters, which are positively charged under physiological conditions, were in the crystal violet and the MTT assay up to approximately 100 times more effective than bendamustine, paralleled by a higher fraction of early apoptotic cancer cells and increased expression of p53. Analytical studies performed with bendamustine and representative esters revealed pronounced cellular accumulation of the derivatives compared to the parent compound. In particular, the pyrrolidinoethyl ester showed a high enrichment in tumor cells and inhibition of OCT1- and OCT3-mediated transport processes, suggesting organic cation transporters to be involved. However, this hypothesis was not supported by the differential expression of OCT1 (SLC22A1) and OCT3 (SLC22A3), comparing a panel of human cancer cells. Bendamustine esters proved to be considerably more potent cytotoxic agents than the parent compound against a broad panel of human cancer cell types, including hematologic and solid malignancies (e.g. malignant melanoma, colorectal carcinoma and lung cancer), which are resistant to bendamustine. Interestingly, spontaneously immortalized human keratinocytes, as a model of “normal” cells, were by far less sensitive than tumor cells against the most potent bendamustine esters.
Gene expression inference with deep learning

Motivation Large-scale gene expression profiling has been widely used to characterize cellular states in response to various disease conditions, genetic perturbations, etc. Although the cost of whole-genome expression profiles has been dropping steadily, generating a compendium of expression profiling over thousands of samples is still very expensive. Recognizing that gene expressions are often highly correlated, researchers from the NIH LINCS program have developed a cost-effective strategy of profiling only ῀1,000 carefully selected landmark genes and relying on computational methods to infer the expression of remaining target genes. However, the computational approach adopted by the LINCS program is currently based on linear regression, limiting its accuracy since it does not capture complex nonlinear relationship between expression of genes. Results We present a deep learning method (abbreviated as D-GEX) to infer the expression of target genes from the expression of landmark genes. We used the microarray-based GEO dataset, consisting of 111K expression profiles, to train our model and compare its performance to those from other methods. In terms of mean absolute error averaged across all genes, deep learning significantly outperforms linear regression with 15.33% relative improvement. A gene-wise comparative analysis shows that deep learning achieves lower error than linear regression in 99.97% of the target genes. We also tested the performance of our learned model on an independent RNA-Seq-based GTEx dataset, which consists of 2,921 expression profiles. Deep learning still outperforms linear regression with 6.57% relative improvement, and achieves lower error in 81.31% of the target genes. Availability D-GEX is available at https://github.com/uci-cbcl/D-GEX. Contact xhx@ics.uci. edu
Compression tolerant image authentication

It is straightforward to apply general schemes for authenticating digital data to the problem of authenticating digital images. However, such a scheme would not authenticate images that have undergone lossy compression, even though they may not have been manipulated otherwise. We propose a scheme for authenticating the visual content of digital images. This scheme is robust to compression noise, but will detect deliberate manipulation of the image-data. The proposed scheme is based on the extraction of feature-points from the image. These feature-points are defined so as to be relatively unaffected by lossy compression. The set of feature-points from a given image is encrypted using public key encryption, to generate the digital signature of the image. Authenticity is verified by comparing the feature-points of the image in question, with those recovered from the previously computed digital signature.