Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FullReview: Practical Accountability in Presence of Selfish Nodes

Accountability is becoming increasingly required in today's distributed systems. Indeed, accountability allows not only to detect faults but also to build provable evidence about the misbehaving participants of a distributed system. There exists a number of solutions to enforce accountability in distributed systems, among which PeerReview is the only solution that is not specific to a given application and that does not rely on any special hardware. However, this protocol is not resilient to selfish nodes, i.e., nodes that aim at maximising their benefit without contributing their fair share to the system. Our objective in this paper is to provide a software solution to enforce accountability on any underlying application in presence of selfish nodes. To tackle this problem, we propose the FullReview protocol. FullReview relies on game theory by embedding incentives that force nodes to stick to the protocol. We theoretically prove that our protocol is a Nash equilibrium, i.e., that nodes do not have any interest in deviating from it. Furthermore, we practically evaluate FullReview by deploying it for enforcing accountability in two applications: (1) SplitStream, an efficient multicast protocol, and (2) Onion routing, the most widely used anonymous communication protocol. Performance evaluation shows that FullReview effectively detects faults in presence of selfish nodes while incurring a small overhead compared to PeerReview and scaling as PeerReview.
Multiplex detection of 60 hepatitis B virus variants by maldi-tof mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND Variations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome may develop spontaneously or under selective pressure from antiviral therapy. Such variations may confer drug resistance or affect virus replication capacity, resulting in failure of antiviral therapy. METHODS A duplex PCR was used to amplify the region of the reverse transcriptase gene, the precore promoter, and the basal core promoter of the HBV genome. Four multiplex primer-extension reactions were used to interrogate 60 frequently observed HBV variants during antiviral therapy. Automated MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) was used for mutation detection. Capillary sequencing was used to confirm the MS results. RESULTS The limit of quantification was 1000 HBV copies/mL for multiplex detection of HBV variants. Fifty-three variants (88.3%) were analyzed successfully in at least 90% of the sera from 88 treatment-naive patients and 80 patients with virologic breakthrough. MS was able to detect twice as many minor variants as direct sequencing while achieving close to full automation. MS and direct sequencing showed only 0.1% discordance in variant calls. CONCLUSIONS This platform based on multiplex primer extension and MALDI-TOF MS was able to detect 60 HBV variants in 4 multiplex reactions with accuracy and low detection limits.
The Long-term Effects of Repeated Amphetamine Treatment in Wv0 on Amphetamine, Kci and Electrical Stlmulatlon Evoked Striatal Dopamine Release in Vitro

Exposure to amphetamine (AMPH) in vivo produces an enduring enhancement ('sensitization') in AMPH-stunulated smatal DA release in virro. Experiments were conducted to determine whether suiatal DA release evoked by neuronal depolarizauon is altered by AMPH pretreatment m a sunilar manner. It was found that AMPH pretreatment produced a long-lasting (at least one week) enhancement in sniatal DA release evoked by AMPH, KC1 or electrical field stimulation. In contrast, the basal rate of DA efflux was not altered by pretteannent coruhtion. A mechanism by which a single change in the uuracellular distribution of DA could enhance both AMPH-and depolarization-induced DA release is proposed In humans chronic amphetatmne (AMPH) abuse frequently results in the development of a drug-mduced psychosis (AMPH psychosis) that is clinically similar to paranoid schrzophrema (l-4). In nonhuman animals repeated treatment with AMPH produces a progressrve enhancement in the motor stimulant effects of AMPH (behavioral sensitization), and this phenomenon IS consulered an animal analogue of AMPH psychosis ($6). There has been considerable mterest, therefore, rn the neurobiological basis of behavioral sensitizatton. Research on this question has focused on mesotelencephalic dopamine (DA) systems, in part because AMPH is thought to produce many of its effects on behavior by enhancing dopaminergic acavity, especially DA release (7-9). Many neural correlates of behavioral sensitizanon have been reported 11~ the hterature (5), and of particular relevance here are reports that behavioral sensitization is accompamed by an enhancement in AMPH-stimulated sniatal DA release in virro (10-12) This change in AMPH-snmulated DA release can account for a number of features of the behavioral phenomenon. For example, both behavioral sensitizahon and an increase in AMPH-stimulated suiatal DA release in vrro: (a) can be produced by a single injection of AMPH (12, cf. 13); (b) persist for a very long time following the cessation of drug treatment (10.11); and (c) are similarly influenced by how long animals are withdrawn from AMPH pretreatment (10). It has been suggested, therefore, that an enduring change III the releasability of DA may be responsible for some of the enduring changes in behavior produced by past expenence wnh AMPH (5,ll). To narrow down the mechanism(s) by which pnor AMPH treatment enhances striatal DA release it is important to determine if the effect is specific to AMPH-stimulated DA release, or whether the DA 3 To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed
A novel approach for imputation of missing values for mining medical datasets

Imputation of missing attribute values in medical datasets for extracting hidden knowledge from medical datasets is an interesting research topic of interest which is very challenging. One cannot eliminate missing values in medical records. The reason may be because some tests may not been conducted as they are cost effective, values missed when conducting clinical trials, values may not have been recorded to name some of the reasons. Data mining researchers have been proposing various approaches to find and impute missing values. In this paper, we propose a novel imputation approach for fixing missing values. The approach is based on clustering concept and aims at dimensionality reduction of the records. This serves the need to use the same records of lower dimension to be used for clustering and classification of medical records to arrive at accurate decision prediction. The case study discussed shows that the missing values can be fixed and imputed efficiently by achieving dimensionality reduction. The proposed approach for imputation also achieved dimensionality reduction to perform efficient prediction of missing values.
Rethinking publics and participation in a digital era: A case study of HOLAA! and African queer women’s digital interactions

abstract Feminist thinking and organising is being altered through digital spaces, as these spaces increasingly allow for greater participation of women and marginalised identities in the public sphere. The digital environment makes it possible for voices that may not have been present in the public sphere prior to the existence of social networking sites to be heard and viewed publicly (Goby, 2003). It also allows for individuals to be exposed to viewpoints that are not their own and to be held accountable for the values they espouse, as well as to have these challenged publicly. This ultimately allows for a richer and more complex public sphere, and for opportunities to construct counter-publics and counter-discourses (McLean, 2013, 2014; Nip, 2004). McLean and Mugo (2015) hold that the richness and complexity of this public sphere can be considered to be more reflective of lived realities and nuanced relationships of power than earlier conceptions of the public sphere. This article will speak specifically to the experiences of the queer African woman, and here ‘participation’ is inclusive of the sharing of lived experiences, decision making, organising and advocacy, public dialogue, and policy changes. Writing as a previous editor and curator of the Pan-African queer online space HOLAA! , and taking this space as a point of departure, the possibilities presented by digital spaces for feminist thinking and organising are explored. The possibility for adding to global narratives is considered, and how digital communities impact on and alter feminist participation, resulting in the formation of rich feminist publics and counter-publics is discussed.
Fusion of dependent information in posegraphs

In this paper, we consider the problem of fusing measurements which contain correlated noises within posegraph-based formulations of filtering and estimation problems. We develop a formulation of the Weighted Geometric Density (WGD) fusion algorithm, a generalisation of Covariance Intersection (CI), for posegraphs. We show that this form can generate covariance consistent estimates. We propose two methods for computing the weighting parameters by maximising the information or maximising the likelihood.
Pism and Ice Dynamics

My research project for this summer consisted of testing the new ice model, Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM), developed at the University of Alaska by Ed Bueler and Jed Brown. Here I discuss some fundamental concepts of ice dynamics and glacier mechanics. Moreover, I analyze the governing equations that describe glaciers through space and time and introduce the numerical model, PISM. PISM is used to solve these equations and thus model large-scale glacier flow over long periods of time and glacier response to changes in initial and boundary conditions. We run PISM through a series of benchmark simplified geometry experiments as well as some real data and a discussion of the model output follows. These results, as predicted, follow the basic concepts of ice dynamics.
Some Improved Bounds for Secure Frameproof Codes and Related Separating Hash Families

We present some improved bounds on necessary conditions for separating hash families of type {w, w} and type {w, w - 1}. In particular, these bounds apply to secure frame- proof codes, which are equivalent to separating hash families of type {w, w}. We also consider existence results for separating hash families of type {w, w2} that can be obtained from the probabilistic method. The asymptotic behavior of these bounds is analyzed.
Strong Purifying Selection in Transmission of Mammalian Mitochondrial DNA

There is an intense debate concerning whether selection or demographics has been most important in shaping the sequence variation observed in modern human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Purifying selection is thought to be important in shaping mtDNA sequence evolution, but the strength of this selection has been debated, mainly due to the threshold effect of pathogenic mtDNA mutations and an observed excess of new mtDNA mutations in human population data. We experimentally addressed this issue by studying the maternal transmission of random mtDNA mutations in mtDNA mutator mice expressing a proofreading-deficient mitochondrial DNA polymerase. We report a rapid and strong elimination of nonsynonymous changes in protein-coding genes; the hallmark of purifying selection. There are striking similarities between the mutational patterns in our experimental mouse system and human mtDNA polymorphisms. These data show strong purifying selection against mutations within mtDNA protein-coding genes. To our knowledge, our study presents the first direct experimental observations of the fate of random mtDNA mutations in the mammalian germ line and demonstrates the importance of purifying selection in shaping mitochondrial sequence diversity.
Trace Minerals and Livestock: Not Too Much Not Too Little

The new approaches of the animal production systems make managing the mineral nutrition a challenge. Versus the excessive, trace mineral supply in intensively managed livestock, well above the physiological requirements, is the no trace mineral supplementation of organic systems, which become highly dependent on trace minerals in the soil. Nowadays, in addition to the animal health perspective, trace mineral nutrition must be environment friendly and allow getting mineral-enriched animal products. We are in a new scenario, where a balance between animal trace mineral needs and limits is needed. This papers focuses on different aspects that will help us to enter a critical dialogue in relation to animal-human-environment.
Is smoking a risk factor for decreased semen quality? A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggest a deleterious effect of cigarette smoking on semen quality, but their results have not been consistent. We studied the association between current smoking and semen characteristics and hormonal levels in a large group of healthy men. METHODS From 1987 to 2004, seven separate occupational or environmental semen quality studies were co-ordinated by our department. A total of 2562 men participated, each providing semen and blood sample and answering a questionnaire about lifestyle and factors related to health. Appropriate semen and smoking data were available for 2542 men. RESULTS Adjusting for study, age and other covariates, we observed an inverse dose-response relation between smoking and semen volume, total sperm count and percentage motile sperm. Heavy smokers had a 19% lower sperm concentration than non-smokers. We found a positive dose-response relationship between smoking and testosterone, LH and the LH/free testosterone ratios. CONCLUSION Current smoking in adult life moderately impairs the semen quality. It is well known that semen quality is associated to fecundity. Therefore, it would be sensible to advise men to abstain from smoking to avoid decreased fecundity.
Differential Activation Patterns of fMRI in Sleep-Deprived Brain: Restoring Effects of Acupuncture

Previous studies suggested a remediation role of acupuncture in insomnia, and acupuncture also has been used in insomnia empirically and clinically. In this study, we employed fMRI to test the role of acupuncture in sleep deprivation (SD). Sixteen healthy volunteers (8 males) were recruited and scheduled for three fMRI scanning procedures, one following the individual's normal sleep and received acupuncture SP6 (NOR group) and the other two after 24 h of total SD with acupuncture on SP6 (SD group) or sham (Sham group). The sessions were counterbalanced approximately two weeks apart. Acupuncture stimuli elicited significantly different activation patterns of three groups. In NOR group, the right superior temporal lobe, left inferior parietal lobule, and left postcentral gyrus were activated; in SD group, the anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral insula, left basal ganglia, and thalamus were significantly activated while, in Sham group, the bilateral thalamus and left cerebellum were activated. Different activation patterns suggest a unique role of acupuncture on SP6 in remediation of SD. SP6 elicits greater and anatomically different activations than those of sham stimuli; that is, the salience network, a unique interoceptive autonomic circuit, may indicate the mechanism underlying acupuncture in restoring sleep deprivation.
Traversable ground detection based on geometric-featured voxel map

The process of finding traversable ground is important to autonomous vehicles. To achieve this, 3D maps that contain the information about vehicle's surroundings are generally used. One of the simple methods to represent 3D maps is to use 3D point clouds collected by range sensors. But, it requires lots of memory and computation time to deal with point clouds. To solve these problems, we propose a novel traversable ground detection method using a 3D mapping algorithm. The proposed mapping algorithm includes plentiful geometric information based on voxels, which is called Geometric-Featured Voxel (GFV) maps. In our experiments, point clouds collected in urban environments are tested to evaluate performance of the proposed algorithm.
Psychological Review Bayesian Statistical Inference for Psychological Research ' Principle of Stable Estimation

Bayesian statistics, a currently controversial viewpoint concerning statistical inference, is based on a definition of probability as a particular measure of the opinions of ideally consistent people. Statistical inference is modification of these opinions in the light of evidence, and Bayes' theorem specifies how such modifications should be made. The tools of Bayesian statistics include the theory of specific distributions and the principle of stable estimation, which specifies when actual prior opinions may be satisfactorily approximated by a uniform distribution. A common feature of many classical significance tests is that a sharp null hypothesis is compared with a diffuse alternative hypothesis. Often evidence which, for a Bayesian statistician, strikingly supports the null hypothesis leads to rejection of that hypothesis by standard classical procedures. The likelihood principle emphasized in Bayesian statistics implies, among other things, that the rules governing when data collection stops are irrelevant to data interpretation. It is entirely appropriate to collect data until a point has been proven or disproven, or until the data collector runs out of time, money, or patience. The main purpose of this paper is to introduce psychologists to the Bayesian outlook in statistics, a new fabric with some very old threads. Although this purpose demands much repetition of ideas published else-ford for their comments on earlier versions. where, even Bayesian specialists will find some remarks and derivations hitherto unpublished and perhaps quite new. The empirical scientist more interested in the ideas and implications of Bayesian statistics than in the mathematical details can safely skip almost all the equations; detours and parallel verbal explanations are provided. The textbook that would make all the Bayesian procedures mentioned in this paper readily available to experimenting psychologists does not yet exist, and perhaps it cannot exist soon; Bayesian statistics as a coherent body of thought is still too new and incomplete. Bayes' theorem is a simple and fundamental fact about probability that seems to have been clear to Thomas Bayes when he wrote his famous article published in 1763 (recently reprinted), though he did not state it there explicitly. Bayesian statistics is so named for the rather inadequate reason that it has many more occasions to apply Bayes' theorem than classical statistics has. Thus, from a very broad point of view, Bayesian statistics dates back at least to 1763. From a stricter point of view, Bayesian statistics might properly be said to have begun in 1959 with …
A Generic Platform to Automate Legal Knowledge Work Process Using Machine Learning

Management of legal contracts in various business domains such as Real Estate are examples of typical business process outsourcing activity. One of such process is Lease Abstraction, where largely manual inspection and validation of large commercial lease documents made for real estate deals is done by offshore experts and relevant information from the documents is extracted into a structured form. This structured information is further used for aggregate analytics and decision making by large real estate firms. We propose a system based on machine learning techniques to semi automate this process, essentially leading to 50% human effort savings. Our approach weaves together state-of-the-art machine learning techniques like supervised classifier models, sequence modeling techniques and various semi-supervised approaches. We articulate the effectiveness of our solution using the results from the experiments. Our platform is being used in production environment by Accenture Operations and the initial results and user feedback are encouraging.
Image Processing Method Based on Subpixel Analysis for Accurate Measurement of Dimensions

The purpose of this article is to introduce you a new subpixel image processing method. This method is designed for use in the measuring device for the accurate measurement of dimensions in the building industry. The construction of the optical part of the measuring device and the new method of the image processing are closely connected. This is the reason to introduce measuring device construction too, especially the optical part of the measuring device. The construction of the optical part of the measuring device is discussed in an initial part of the article then the link between the construction of the measurement device and the image processing subpixel analysis method is presented. Realization of an algorithm for the subpixel image processing method is presented too. Some additional information about this measurement system is present in conclusion.
The Multimedia Educational Resources Database System Based on the Hierarchy Index

The understanding of the semantics of the query requirement of the user will affect the efficiency of the retrieval of the multimedia information. There is the same problem in the resources annotation of the multimedia educational resources database. The paper studies the representation of the characters of the multimedia educational resources and the relationships between the hierarchy characters of them. A hierarchy index is built based on the relationships. The high level semantics of the resources were mapping to the low level media features. This will improve the recall. The semantics annotated was extended by this mapping and the recall was improved. The subject ontology standardizes both the annotation and the query requirement. The precision will be improved also.
Chlorophyll a Covalently Bonded to Organo-Modified Translucent Silica Xerogels: Optimizing Fluorescence and Maximum Loading

Chlorophyll is a pyrrolic pigment with important optical properties, which is the reason it has been studied for many years. Recently, interest has been rising with respect to this molecule because of its outstanding physicochemical properties, particularly applicable to the design and development of luminescent materials, hybrid sensor systems, and photodynamic therapy devices for the treatment of cancer cells and bacteria. More recently, our research group has been finding evidence for the possibility of preserving these important properties of substrates containing chlorophyll covalently incorporated within solid pore matrices, such as SiO2, TiO2 or ZrO2 synthesized through the sol-gel process. In this work, we study the optical properties of silica xerogels organo-modified on their surface with allyl and phenyl groups and containing different concentrations of chlorophyll bonded to the pore walls, in order to optimize the fluorescence that these macrocyclic species displays in solution. The intention of this investigation was to determine the maximum chlorophyll a concentration at which this molecule can be trapped inside the pores of a given xerogel and to ascertain if this pigment remains trapped as a monomer, a dimer, or aggregate. Allyl and phenyl groups were deposited on the surface of xerogels in view of their important effects on the stability of the molecule, as well as over the fluorescence emission of chlorophyll; however, these organic groups allow the trapping of either chlorophyll a monomers or dimers. The determination of the above parameters allows finding the most adequate systems for subsequent in vitro or in vivo studies. The characterization of the obtained xerogels was performed through spectroscopic absorption, emission and excitation spectra. These hybrid systems can be employed as mimics of natural systems; the entrapment of chlorophyll inside pore matrices indicates that it is possible to exploit some of the most physicochemical properties of trapped chlorophyll for diverse technological applications. The data herein collected suggest the possibility of applying the developed methodology to other active, captive molecules in order to synthesize new hybrid materials with optimized properties, suitable to be applied in diverse technological fields.