Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Related-Key Boomerang Distinguishing Attack of Reduced-Round Threefish-256

On Nov 2007, NIST announced the SHA-3 competition to select a new hash standard as a replacement of SHA-2. On Dec 2010, five submissions have been selected as the final round candidates, including Skein, which have components based on ARX. In this paper, a new related-key boomerang distinguishing attack is proposed on 31-round Threefish-256 with a time complexity of about 2234. Our improved attack is based on the efficient algorithms for calculating differentials of modular addition.
Genetic Algorithm with Characteristic Amplification through Multiple Geographically Isolated Populations and Varied Fitness Landscapes

This paper proposes a new approach, wherein multiple populations are evolved on different landscapes. The prob- lem statement is broken down, to describe discrete charac- teristics. Each landscape, described by its fitness landscape is used to optimize or amplify a certain characteristic or set of characteristics. Individuals from each of these pop- ulations are kept geographically isolated from each other. Each population is evolved individually. After a predeter- mined number of evolutions, the system of populations is analysed against a normalized fitness function. Depending on this score and a predefined merging scheme, the popula- tions are merged, one at a time, while continuing evolution. Merging continues until only one final population remains. This population is then evolved, following which the result- ing population will contain the optimal solution. The fi- nal resulting population will contain individuals which have been optimized against all characteristics as desired by the problem statement. Each individual population is optimized for a local maxima. Thus when populations are merged, the effect is to produce a new population which is closer to the global maxima.
Leptospiral Outer Membrane Proteins OmpL1 and LipL41 Exhibit Synergistic Immunoprotection

ABSTRACT New vaccine strategies are needed for prevention of leptospirosis, a widespread human and veterinary disease caused by invasive spirochetes belonging to the genus Leptospira. We have examined the immunoprotective capacity of the leptospiral porin OmpL1 and the leptospiral outer membrane lipoprotein LipL41 in the Golden Syrian hamster model of leptospirosis. Specialized expression plasmids were developed to facilitate expression of leptospiral proteins inEscherichia coli as the membrane-associated proteins OmpL1-M and LipL41-M. Although OmpL1-M expression is highly toxic inE. coli, this was accomplished by using plasmid pMMB66-OmpL1, which has undetectable background expression without induction. LipL41-M expression and processing were enhanced by altering its lipoprotein signal peptidase cleavage site to mimic that of the murein lipoprotein. Active immunization of hamsters with E. coli membrane fractions containing a combination of OmpL1-M and LipL41-M was found to provide significant protection against homologous challenge with Leptospira kirschneri serovar grippotyphosa. At 28 days after intraperitoneal inoculation, survival in animals vaccinated with both proteins was 71% (95% confidence interval [CI], 53 to 89%), compared with only 25% (95% CI, 8 to 42%) in the control group (P < 0.001). On the basis of serological, histological, and microbiological assays, no evidence of infection was found in the vaccinated survivors. The protective effects of immunization with OmpL1-M and LipL41-M were synergistic, since significant levels of protection were not observed in animals immunized with either OmpL1-M or LipL41-M alone. In contrast to immunization with the membrane-associated forms of leptospiral proteins, hamsters immunized with His6-OmpL1 and His6-LipL41 fusion proteins, either alone or in combination, were not protected. These data indicate that the manner in which OmpL1 and LipL41 associates with membranes is an important determinant of immunoprotection.
Coupling of Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptors and cGMP in Nocturnal Regulation of the Suprachiasmatic Circadian Clock

Acetylcholine has long been implicated in nocturnal phase adjustment of circadian rhythms, yet the subject remains controversial. Although the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), site of the circadian clock, contains no intrinsic cholinergic somata, it receives choline acetyltransferase-immunopositive projections from basal forebrain and mesopontine tegmental nuclei that contribute to sleep and wakefulness. We have demonstrated that the SCN of inbred rats in a hypothalamic brain slice is sensitive to cholinergic phase adjustment via muscarinic receptors (mAChRs) only at night. We used this paradigm to probe the muscarinic signal transduction mechanism and the site(s) gating nocturnal responsiveness. The cholinergic agonist carbachol altered the circadian rhythm of SCN neuronal activity in a pattern closely resembling that for analogs of cGMP; nocturnal gating of clock sensitivity to each is preserved in vitro. Specific inhibitors of guanylyl cyclase (GC) and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG), key elements in the cGMP signal transduction cascade, blocked phase shifts induced by carbachol. Further, carbachol administration to the SCN at night increased cGMP production and PKG activity. The carbachol-induced increase in cGMP was blocked both by atropine, an mAChR antagonist, and by LY83583, a GC inhibitor. We conclude that (1) mAChR regulation of the SCN is mediated via GC→cGMP→PKG, (2) nocturnal gating of this pathway is controlled by the circadian clock, and (3) a gating site is positioned downstream from cGMP. This study is among the first to identify a functional context for mAChR–cGMP coupling in the CNS.
Helicobacter pylori Glutamine Synthetase Lacks Features Associated with Transcriptional and Posttranslational Regulation

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori urease, produced in abundance, is indispensable for the survival of H. pylori in animal hosts. Urea is hydrolyzed by the enzyme, resulting in the liberation of excess ammonia, some of which neutralizes gastric acid. The remaining ammonia is assimilated into protein by glutamine synthetase (EC6.3.1.2 ), which catalyzes the reaction: NH3 + glutamate + ATP→glutamine + ADP + Pi. We hypothesized that glutamine synthetase plays an unusually critical role in nitrogen assimilation by H. pylori. We developed a phenotypic screen to isolate genes that contribute to the synthesis of a catalytically active urease. Escherichia coli SE5000 transformed with plasmid pHP808 containing the entire H. pylori urease gene cluster was cotransformed with a pBluescript plasmid library of the H. pylori ATCC 43504 genome. A weakly urease-positive 9.4-kb clone, pUEF728, was subjected to nucleotide sequencing. Among other genes, the gene for glutamine synthetase was identified. The complete 1,443-bp glnA gene predicts a polypeptide of 481 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 54,317; this was supported by maxicell analysis of clonedglnA expressed in E. coli. The top 10 homologs were all bacterial glutamine synthetases, including Salmonella typhimurium glnA. The ATP-binding motif GDNGSG (residues 272 to 277) of H. pylori GlnA exactly matched and aligned with the sequence in 8 of the 10 homologs. The adenylation site found in the top 10 homologs (consensus sequence, NLYDLP) is replaced in H. pylori by NLFKLT (residues 405 to 410). Since the Tyr (Y) residue is the target of adenylation and since the H. pyloriglutamine synthetase lacks that residue in four strains examined, we conclude that no adenylation occurs within this motif. Cloned H. pylori glnA complemented a glnA mutation in E. coli, and GlnA enzyme activity could be measured spectrophotometrically. In an attempt to produce a GlnA-deficient mutant of H. pylori, a kanamycin resistance cassette was cloned into the Tth111I site of H. pylori glnA. By using the standard technique of allelic exchange mutagenesis, no verifiable glutamine synthetase double-crossover mutant of strain UMAB41 could be isolated, suggesting that the mutation is lethal. We conclude that glutamine synthetase is critical for nitrogen assimilation in H. pylori and is active under all physiologic conditions.
Target direction-of-arrival estimation using nested frequency diverse array

This paper proposes a receiving nested frequency diverse array (FDA) design scheme. The essence of the proposed technique is to construct a new array structure by systematically nesting two or more uniform linear FDA. Using second-order statistics of the received data, it is capable of providing a significant increasing degrees-of-freedom. The frequency increment across the array results in a scan angle that varies with range and provides resistance to range-dependent interference. The improvement offered by the proposed method as compared to traditional FDA are demonstrated by extensive simulation through analyzing the corresponding beam pattern and direction-of-arrival estimation performance.
Two types of Chlamydomonas flagellar mutants missing different components of inner-arm dynein

Two types of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagellar mutants (idaA and idaB) lacking partial components of the inner-arm dynein were isolated by screening mutations that produce paralyzed phenotypes when present in a mutant missing outer-arm dynein. Of the currently identified three inner-arm subspecies I1, I2, and I3, each containing two heterologous heavy chains (Piperno, G., Z. Ramanis, E. F. Smith, and W. S. Sale. 1990. J. Cell Biol. 110:379-389), idaA and idaB lacked I1 and I2, respectively. The 13 idA isolates comprised three genetically different groups (ida1, ida2, ida3) and the two idaB isolates comprised a single group (ida4). In averaged cross-section electron micrographs, inner dynein arms in wild-type axonemes appeared to have two projections pointing to discrete directions. In ida1-3 and ida4 axonemes, on the other hand, either one of them was missing or greatly diminished. Both projections were weak in the double mutant ida1-3 x ida4. These observations suggest that the inner dynein arms in Chlamydomonas axonemes are aligned not in a single straight row, but in a staggered row or two discrete rows. Both ida1-3 and ida4 swam at reduced speed. Thus, the inner-arm subspecies missing in these mutants are not necessary for flagellar motility. However, the double mutants ida1-3 x ida4 were nonmotile, suggesting that axonemes with significant defects in inner arms cannot function. The inner-arm dynein should be important for the generation of axonemal beating.
Uncertainties quantification criteria for multi-sensors fusion: Application to vehicles localisation

This article concerns road safety and driving assistance. To solve this problem, we propose a data fusion architecture based on the Dempster-Shafer theory. This multi-level approach allows the management of complementary and redundant data which come from two perception systems: an omnidirectional vision sensor and a laser telemeter. The originality of this architecture is its ability to manage and propagate uncertainties from low level data until an high level information of danger given to the driver. The first part concerns the data sensor The second part deals with the quantification of the uncertainties of the detected vehicles, followed by a determination of situations of danger and the evaluation of their level of dangerousness with the aim of supplying the driver with an indicator of global danger around the vehicle.
Application of Fuzzy ANP in Assessing Knowledge Management Performance

Knowledge management is a critical process in organizations. There may be dependence and feedback among factors of knowledge management performance assessment. In this study, analytic network process (ANP) was adopted to model a multi-criteria knowledge management performance assessment system with dependence and feedback. Due to complexity in assessing knowledge management performance, it is difficult for decision-makers to provide exact numerical values for the factors. Therefore, a fuzzy ANP method was taken to calculate the weights of each factor of the model, which can solve problems in an uncertain condition effectively.
One in a Billion: MSSM-like D-Brane Statistics

Continuing our recent work hep-th/0411173, we study the statistics of four-dimensional, supersymmetric intersecting D-brane models in a toroidal orientifold background. We have performed a vast computer survey of solutions to the stringy consistency conditions and present their statistical implications with special emphasis on the frequency of Standard Model features. Among the topics we discuss are the implications of the K-theory constraints, statistical correlations among physical quantities and an investigation of the various statistical suppression factors arising once certain Standard Model features are required. We estimate the frequency of an MSSM like gauge group with three generations to be one in a billion.
IMGT/GeneInfo: enhancing V(D)J recombination database accessibility

IMGT/GeneInfo is a user-friendly online information system that provides information on data resulting from the complex mechanisms of immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell receptor (TR) V(D)J recombinations. For the first time, it is possible to visualize all the rearrangement parameters on a single page. IMGT/GeneInfo is part of the international ImMunoGeneTics information system (IMGT), a high-quality integrated knowledge resource specializing in IG, TR, major histocompatibility complex (MHC), and related proteins of the immune system of human and other vertebrate species. The IMGT/GeneInfo system was developed by the TIMC and ICH laboratories (with the collaboration of LIGM), and is the first example of an external system being incorporated into IMGT. In this paper, we report the first part of this work. IMGT/GeneInfo_TR deals with the human and mouse TRA/TRD and TRB loci of the TR. Data handling and visualization are complementary to the current data and tools in IMGT, and will subsequently allow the modelling of V(D)J gene use, and thus, to predict non-standard recombination profiles which may eventually be found in conditions such as leukaemias or lymphomas. Access to IMGT/GeneInfo is free and can be found at http://imgt.cines. fr/GeneInfo.
Treatment apparatus employing air-bag actuation for Sleep Apnea Syndrome

A new treatment apparatus for sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) has been proposed. Objective sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common case of the SAS. Airway of OSA patient is frequently obstructed during sleep because of tongue swallowing. This apparatus is composed of a pneumatically actuated flexible vest and a controller including an air pressure control unit. The flexible vest has sensors to detect airway obstructions and two airbags to conduct head tilt -chin lift maneuvers that are needed for airway establishment. It was demonstrated that the proposed treatment apparatus successfully detects the airway obstruction and automatically establish the airway by conducting the chin lift-head tilt maneuvers.
Multiclass Feature Selection Via Kernel Parameter Optimization

This paper considers feature selection in a multiclass classification scenario where the goal is to determine a subset of available features which is most discriminative and informative for all the classes simultaneously. Based on the data distributions of classes in the feature space, this paper first presents a model selection criterion named multiclass kernel polarization (MKP) to evaluate the goodness of a kernel in multiclass classification scenario, and then optimizes the scale factors assigned to each feature in a kernel by maximizing this criterion to identify the more relevant features. The proposed method is demonstrated with two UCI machine learning benchmark examples.
Polarization Intermittency and Its Influence on MHD Turbulence

The Goldreich-Sridhar model of incompressible turbulence provides us with an elegant approach to describing strong MHD turbulence. It relies on the fact that interacting Alfvénic waves are independent and have random polarization. However, in case of strong interaction, a spontaneous local axial asymmetry can arise. We used direct numerical simulations to show that polarization alignment occurs and that it grows larger at smaller scales. Assuming critical balance, this effect could lead to a shallower spectrum and stronger anisotropy. Even small changes in these two properties will have important astrophysical consequences, e.g., for the cosmic-ray physics.
Carbon-ion radiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer with bladder invasion

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicities of carbon-ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for locally advanced cervical cancer with bladder invasion by a subset analysis of pooled data from eight prospective clinical trials at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. Between June 1995 and January 2014, 29 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer with bladder invasion were identified. The median age was 56 years old (range 31–79 years old). The median tumor size at diagnosis on magnetic resonance imaging was 6.7 cm (range 3.5–11.0 cm). Histologically, 20 patients had squamous cell carcinoma and 9 had adenocarcinoma. C-ion RT was performed as a dose-escalation study in the initial trials. All patients received prophylactic whole-pelvic or extended-field irradiation and local boost. The total dose to the cervical tumor was 52.8–74.4 Gy (relative biological effectiveness) in 20 or 24 fractions. Weekly cisplatin (40 mg/m2/week, five cycles) was concurrently given to four patients. The median follow-up of all patients was 28.6 months (range 8.8–238.6 months). Grade 2 or higher late complications in the bladder were observed in eight patients, with seven developing vesicovaginal fistula. Six patients had Grade 2 or higher complications in the rectosigmoid colon. The 3-year overall survival rate was 47%, the 3-year local control rate was 66%, and the 3-year disease-free survival rate was 28%. In this study, C-ion RT showed favorable local control with reasonable toxicities, but the results were still unsatisfactory. We have the expectation of improvement of therapeutic effects by using C-ion RT with concurrent chemotherapy.
The Role of Acyl-Glucose in Anthocyanin Modifications

Higher plants can produce a wide variety of anthocyanin molecules through modification of the six common anthocyanin aglycons that they present. Thus, hydrophilic anthocyanin molecules can be formed and stabilized by glycosylation and acylation. Two types of glycosyltransferase (GT) and acyltransferase (AT) have been identified, namely cytoplasmic GT and AT and vacuolar GT and AT. Cytoplasmic GT and AT utilize UDP-sugar and acyl-CoA as donor molecules, respectively, whereas both vacuolar GT and AT use acyl-glucoses as donor molecules. In carnation plants, vacuolar GT uses aromatic acyl-glucoses as the glucose donor in vivo; independently, vacuolar AT uses malylglucose, an aliphatic acyl-glucose, as the acyl-donor. In delphinium and Arabidopsis, p-hydroxybenzoylglucose and sinapoylglucose are used in vivo as bi-functional donor molecules by vacuolar GT and AT, respectively. The evolution of these enzymes has allowed delphinium and Arabidopsis to utilize unique donor molecules for production of highly modified anthocyanins.
Improving Search-based Parallel Job Scheduler

To balance performance goals and allow administrators to declaratively specify high-level objective, we have proposed a goal-oriented scheduling framework by designing an objective model and a scheduling policy based on combinatorial search techniques to achieve the objective. In this work, we further evaluate our new policy on various real workloads including (1) ten monthly workloads that ran on a Linux cluster from NCSA; (2) ten monthly workloads that ran on the 100node IBM SP2 at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology; and (3) twelve monthly workloads that ran on the 144-node IBM SP from the SDSC Blue Horizon. We also improve the execution efficiency of the search algorithm by (1) adding simple pruning; and (2) adjusting the heuristic during the search.
Bracketing Input for Accurate Parsing

Syntax parsers can benefit from speakers' intuition about constituent structures indicated in the input string in the form of parentheses. Focusing on languages like Korean, whose orthographic convention requires more than one word to be written without spaces, we describe an algorithm for passing the bracketing information across the tagger to the probabilistic CFG parser, together with one for heightening (or penalizing, as the case may be) probabilities of putative constituents as they are suggested by the parser. It is shown that two or three constituents marked in the input suffice to guide the parser to the correct parse as the most likely one, even with sentences that are considered long.
An ultra-low power passive UHF RFID tag with a CTS oscillator

This paper presents an ultra-low power passive UHF Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag chip complying with ISO/IEC 18000-6B protocol. The chip is fabricated in tsmc 0. 18μm CMOS process. An ultra low power bandgap voltage reference (BGR) is presented which is used to provide supply voltage for other modules. Meanwhile, A new clock generation module (CTS [1] relaxation oscillator) is designed for the chip with high precision, and it will be compared with the conventional ring oscillator. Supply voltage of the oscillator is 1.0V and its power consumption is 1.2 μW. The average output voltage of BGR is 1.0V and its power consumption is 0. 7μW. Total chip area is 0.64mm2 and it consumes 17. 2μW.
Hypertext for the electronic library?: CORE sample results

The Chemistry Online Retrieval Experiment, or CORE project, is studying the possibility of creating a useful, usable electronic library for chemistry researchers. In a preliminary study, chemists were observed performing five different tasks representative of typical uses of the scientific journal literature. The tasks simulated browsing journals, answering specific questions given a citation to an article, answering specific questions given no citation, writing essays to summarize and integrate information, and finding “analogous transformations” for chemical reactions. Chemists carried out these tasks using one of three systems: (a) t.lheprinted journals supplemented with a widely used printed index system, (b) a hypertext system (the SuperBook@ document browser), or (c) a new electronic system (Pixlook) that incorporates traditional document retrieval methods plus full text indexing and delivers bitmap images of journal pages. Both electronic systems had a large advantage over the printed system for search and essay tasks. SuperBook users were faster and more accurate than Pixlook users at finding information relevant to browsing and search topics. Certain SuperBook hypertext features, however, did not work as well as Pixlook for displaying target articles. The patterns of data and log files of subjects suggest how SuperBook, Pixlook and related systems might be improved.