Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DIDAFIT: Detecting Intrusions in Databases Through Fingerprinting Transactions

The most valuable information assets of an organization are often stored in databases and it is pertinent for such organizations to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of their databases. With the proliferation of ecommerce sites that are backed by database systems, databases that are available online 24 7 are ubiquitous. Data in these databases ranges from credit card numbers to personal medical records. Failing to protect these databases from intrusions will result in loss of customers’ confidence and might even result in lawsuits. Database intrusion refers to the unauthorized access and misuse of database systems. Database intrusion detection systems identify suspicious, abnormal or downright malicious accesses to the database system. However, there is little existing work on detecting intrusions in databases. We present a technique that can efficiently identify anomalous accesses to the database. Our technique charaterizes legitimate accesses through fingerprinting their constituent SQL statements. These fingerprints are then used to detect illegitimate accesses. We illustrate how this technique can be used in a typical client-server database system setup. Experimental results show that the technique is efficient and scales up well. Our contributions include introducing a novel process for fingerprinting SQL statements and developing an efficient technique to detect anomalous database accesses.
Infant temperament, sleep organization, and nighttime parental interventions.

Objective measures of sleep-wake organization derived from time-lapse video recordings were compared with parental perceptions of infant temperament in 23 infants 6 months of age. Although both mothers' and fathers' ratings of infant temperament were correlated with variables reflecting sleep continuity, results for fathers were much more striking. Infants who required care giving during the night were rated as significantly more difficult and arrhythmic by fathers than by mothers. All infants awakened during the night. Some of them soothed themselves and returned to sleep; however, others signaled and required care giving interventions from their parents before returning to sleep. No differences in variables reflecting the biology of sleep distinguished "signaling" infants and "self-soothing" infants, although feedings at bedtime (breast or bottle) were more common in the signaling group.
Malloc() Performance in a Multithreaded Linux Environment

Network servers make special demands that other types of applications may not make on memory allocators. We describe a simple malloc() microbenchmark suite that tests the ability of malloc() to divide its work efficiently among multiple threads and processors. The purpose of this suite is to determine the suitability of an operating system's heap allocator for use with network servers running in an SMP environment.
Gene expression profiling to predict recurrence of advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: discovery and external validation

Objectives To establish a prognostic signature for locally advanced tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) patients treated with surgery. Results In the discovery study, unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis identified two clusters which differentiated the Kaplan-Meier curves of RFS [median RFS, 111 days vs. not reached; log-rank test, P = 0.023]. The 30 genes identified were combined into a dichotomous PI. In the validation cohort, classification according to the PI was associated with RFS [median RFS, 754 days vs. not reached; log-rank test, P = 0.026 in GSE31056] and DSS [median DSS, 540 days vs. not reached; log-rank test, P = 0.046 in GSE42743 and 443 days vs. not reached; P < 0.001 in GSE41613]. Among genes, positive immunohistochemical staining of cytokeratin 4 was associated with favorable prognostic values for RFS (hazard ratio (HR), 0.591, P = 0.045) and DSS (HR, 0.333, P = 0.004). Materials and methods We conducted gene expression profiling of 26 clinicopathologically homogeneous advanced TSCC tissue samples using cDNA microarray as a discovery study. Candidate genes were screened using clustering analysis and univariate Cox regression analysis for relapse-free survival (RFS). These were combined into a prognostic index (PI), which was validated using three public microarray datasets of tongue and oral cancer (123 patients). Some genes identified in discovery were immunohistochemically examined for protein expression in another 127 TSCC patients. Conclusion We identified robust molecular markers that showed significant associations with prognosis in TSCC patients. Gene expression profiling data were successfully converted to protein expression profiling data.
Indoor radar SLAM A radar application for vision and GPS denied environments

Indoor navigation especially in unknown areas is a real challenge. Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology provides a solution. However SLAM as currently based on optical sensors, is unsuitable in vision denied areas, which are for example encountered by first responders. Radar can be used to overcome this drawback, however no fully suitable solutions are reported yet. This paper presents radar SLAM technology for indoor use and shows its operational applicability. Modern electronically scanning antenna technology is used to obtain a portable radar front-end that in combination with FMCW processing provides a high resolution 2D radar image. The radar image is fed to a mapping and localization algorithm. An iterative closest point algorithm is used to determine the radar location and movement, whereas a particle filter optimizes measurement performance. The SLAM radar is evaluated under test conditions to reveal its mapping capabilities and under operational conditions in the EU-DITSEF project, to reveal its added value for human operators. The radar provides a reliable map and location functionality.
A novel swarm robot simulation platform for warehousing logistics

Swarm robot systems are widely applied in the warehouse logistics, which effectively improve logistics efficiency. Task allocation is the core problem for swarm robot systems. Therefore, evaluation of the task allocation strategy has very important practical significance. However, current simulation platforms, such as GAZEBO, require a lot of setup work before testifying the task allocation strategy for various applications. Regarding warehousing logistics, a few special factors need to be considered: man-robot coexistence in working environment, the energy consumption of robots and collision avoidance among robots. Therefore, we propose a novel swarm robot simulation platform, called MultiBots, based on multi-agent pathfinding (MAPF) method and collision avoidance strategy, which can correctly evaluate the effectiveness of task allocation strategy. Moreover, we design the charging process to supplement the energy consumption of robots. The experimental results show that the proposed MultiBots satisfies the requirements of task allocation strategy evaluation in warehouse logistics scenarios. The MultiBots can be applied in testifying the efficiency of task allocation strategy for logistics systems.
A Bootstrap Technique for Nearest Neighbor Classifier Design

A bootstrap technique for nearest neighbor classifier design is proposed. Our primary interest in designing a classifier is in small training sample size situations. Conventional bootstrapping techniques sample the training samples with replacement. On the other hand, our technique generates bootstrap samples by locally combining original training samples. The nearest neighbor classifier is designed on the bootstrap samples and is tested on the test samples independent of training samples. The performance of the proposed classifier is demonstrated on three artificial data sets and one real data set. Experimental results show that the nearest neighbor classifier designed on the bootstrap samples outperforms the conventional k-NN classifiers as well as the edited 1-NN classifiers, particularly in high dimensions.
Interaction of PABPC1 with the translation initiation complex is critical to the NMD resistance of AUG-proximal nonsense mutations

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a surveillance pathway that recognizes and rapidly degrades mRNAs containing premature termination codons (PTC). The strength of the NMD response appears to reflect multiple determinants on a target mRNA. We have previously reported that mRNAs containing PTCs in close proximity to the translation initiation codon (AUG-proximal PTCs) can substantially evade NMD. Here, we explore the mechanistic basis for this NMD resistance. We demonstrate that translation termination at an AUG-proximal PTC lacks the ribosome stalling that is evident in an NMD-sensitive PTC. This difference is associated with demonstrated interactions of the cytoplasmic poly(A)-binding protein 1, PABPC1, with the cap-binding complex subunit, eIF4G and the 40S recruitment factor eIF3 as well as the ribosome release factor, eRF3. These interactions, in combination, underlie critical 3′–5′ linkage of translation initiation with efficient termination at the AUG-proximal PTC and contribute to an NMD-resistant PTC definition at an early phase of translation elongation.
Long-Term Effects of Secondary Prevention on Cognitive Function in Stroke Patients

Background— Limited long-term follow-up data exist on the impact of appropriate secondary prevention therapies on cognitive function in patients after first-ever stroke. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of secondary prevention of vascular events on cognitive function after stroke. Methods and Results— Data were collected between 1995 and 2011 (n=4413) from the community-based South London Stroke Register covering an inner-city multiethnic source population of 271 817 inhabitants. Modified Poisson regression models were constructed to adjust for cognitive function status at 3 months, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, case mix, stroke subtype, vascular risk factors, disability, and stroke recurrence. In patients with ischemic strokes without a history of atrial fibrillation (AF), there was a reduced risk of cognitive impairment associated with the use of different prevention treatments: (1) antihypertensives (relative risk, 0.7 [95% confidence interval, 0.57–0.82] for diuretics; relative risk, 0.8 [95% confidence interval, 0.64–0.98] for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; and relative risk, 0.7 [95% confidence interval, 0.55–0.81] for their combination), (2) a combination of aspirin and dipyridamole (relative risk, 0.8 [95% confidence interval, 0.68–1.01]), and (3) statin (relative risk, 0.9 [95% confidence interval, 0.76–1.06]) when clinically indicated. Protective effects against cognitive impairment were also observed in patients on the combination of antihypertensives, antithrombotic agents, and lipid-lowering drugs (relative risk, 0.55 [95% confidence interval, 0.40–0.77]). No significant associations were noted between poststroke cognitive impairment and antihypertensives among hemorrhagic stroke patients. Conclusions— Appropriate vascular risk management was associated with a long-term reduced risk of cognitive impairment. Focus on optimal preventive drug therapy of vascular risk factors and management should be supported.
Multilingual analysis of twitter news in support of mass emergency events

Social media are increasingly becoming a source for event-based early warning systems in the sense that they can help to detect natural disasters and support crisis management during or after disasters. In this work-in-progress paper we study the problems of analyzing multilingual twitter feeds for emergency events. The present work focuses on English as “lingua franca” and on under-resourced Mediterranean languages in endangered zones, particularly Turkey, Greece, and Romania Generally, as local civil protection authorities and the population are likely to respond in their native language. We investigated ten earthquake events and defined four language-specific classifiers that can be used to detect earthquakes by filtering out irrelevant messages that do not relate to the event. The final goal is to extend this work to more Mediterranean languages and to classify and extract relevant information from tweets, translating the main keywords into English. Preliminary results indicate that such a filter has the potential to confirm forecast parameters of tsunami affecting coastal areas where no tide gauges exist and could be integrated into seismographic sensor networks.
Computing with Nucleic Acids

Exactly one decade has passed since Adleman’s seminal demonstration that biochemical operations can be performed on DNA in order to solve certain combinatorial problems [1]. So, the time seems ripe to critically analyze where the field stands, what has been accomplished, what needs to be accomplished, and perhaps most importantly, what are the realistic expectations in this field. A rational assessment is also pertinent because the whole field of DNA computing has come to be considered by many as being ‘‘more hype than substance’’ [2], and the practitioners in the field are partly to blame for this. Namely, initial opening in the field was so impressive and inspirational that it garnered understandable yet, in retrospect, completely unjustified exuberance about the potential applications of ‘‘DNA computers’’. As a result, it became standard in the field to put forward incredible predictions in the abstracts and conclusions of papers. This led to a situation where many very important advances in the field of DNA computing are viewed with suspicion by computer scientists and are misunderstood by biochemists. Misinterpretations in the popular press did not help either (not to mention the Schön affair in the somewhat related field of molecular electronics). In this respect, it is sobering to read the latest Science paper from Adleman [3], in which he scales the ‘‘Mount Everest’’ of DNA parallel computation (solving a 20-variable instance of 3-SAT), yet he puts the field in a realistic perspective. At the very beginning, we have to define what DNA computation is. Many examples in the literature do not compute anything tangible (in layman’s terms, at least), and in many cases, actual computation is not performed by DNA, but by a human operator. So we decided to discuss those approaches in which authors claim to be able to perform computation by using some type of DNA hybridization procedure. We will specifically exclude methods in which DNA is only incidentally used and in which, for example, Boolean behavior is actually displayed by proteins [4] or by cells. In particular, for reasons of space, we decided to focus only on those approaches that have appeared in mainstream peer-reviewed literature more than once (i.e., that established themselves), and we could not, for the most part, cover the abundant literature that appeared in various DNA Computation conferences. This review is split into four main sections according to the major thrusts in what could loosely be defined as ‘‘the field of DNA computation’’: (a) Adleman’s experiment
In silico Prediction of Sex-Based Differences in Human Susceptibility to Cardiac Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias

Sex-based differences in human susceptibility to cardiac ventricular tachyarrhythmias likely result from the emergent effects of multiple intersecting processes that fundamentally differ in male and female hearts. Included are measured differences in the genes encoding key cardiac ion channels and effects of sex steroid hormones to acutely modify electrical activity. At the genome-scale, human females have recently been shown to have lower expression of genes encoding key cardiac repolarizing potassium currents and connexin43, the primary ventricular gap-junction subunit. Human males and females also have distinct sex steroid hormones. Here, we developed mathematical models for male and female ventricular human heart cells by incorporating experimentally determined genomic differences and effects of sex steroid hormones into the O’Hara–Rudy model. These “male” and “female” model cells and tissues then were used to predict how various sex-based differences underlie arrhythmia risk. Genomic-based differences in ion channel expression were alone sufficient to determine longer female cardiac action potential durations (APD) in both epicardial and endocardial cells compared to males. Subsequent addition of sex steroid hormones exacerbated these differences, as testosterone further shortened APDs, while estrogen and progesterone application resulted in disparate effects on APDs. Our results indicate that incorporation of experimentally determined genomic differences from human hearts in conjunction with sex steroid hormones are consistent with clinically observed differences in QT interval, T-wave shape and morphology, and critically, in the higher vulnerability of adult human females to Torsades de Pointes type arrhythmias. The model suggests that female susceptibility to alternans stems from longer female action potentials, while reentrant arrhythmia derives largely from sex-based differences in conduction play an important role in arrhythmia vulnerability.
Fast FCoE: An Efficient and Scale-Up Multi-core Framework for FCoE-Based SAN Storage Systems

Due to the high complexity in software hierarchy and the shared queue & lock mechanism for synchronized access, existing I/O stack for remote target access in FCoE-based SAN storage becomes a performance bottleneck, thus leading to a high I/O overhead and limited I/O scalability in multi-core servers. For scalable performance, existing works focus on improving the efficiency of lock algorithm or reducing the number of synchronization points to decrease the synchronization overhead. However, the synchronization problem still exists and leads to a limited I/O scalability. In this paper, we propose Fast FCoE, a protocol stack framework for remote storage access in FCoE based SAN storage. Fast FCoE uses private per-CPU structures and disables the kernel preemption to process I/Os. This method avoids the synchronization overhead. For further I/O efficiency, Fast FCoE directly maps the requests from the block-layer to the FCoE frames. A salient feature of Fast FCoE is using the standard interfaces, thus supporting all upper softwares (such as existing file systems and applications) and offering flexible use in existing infrastructure (e.g., Adaptors, switches, storage devices). Our results demonstrate that Fast FCoE achieves efficient and scalable I/O throughput, obtaining 1107.3K/831.3K IOPS (5.43/4.88 times as much as Open-FCoE stack) for read/write requests.
Size-controlled synthesis of ZnO quantum dots in microreactors

In this paper, we report on a continuous-flow microreactor process to prepare ZnO quantum dots (QDs) with widely tunable particle size and photoluminescence emission wavelengths. X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, UV–vis, photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy measurements were used to characterize the synthesized ZnO QDs. By varying operating conditions (temperature, flow rate) or the capping ligand, ZnO QDs with diameters ranging from 3.6 to 5.2 nm and fluorescence maxima from 500 to 560 nm were prepared. Results obtained show that low reaction temperatures (20 or 35 °C), high flow rates and the use of propionic acid as a stabilizing agent are favorable for the production of ZnO QDs with high photoluminescence quantum yields (up to 30%).
Molecular epidemiology of pneumococcal isolates from children in China

Objectives: To investigate the molecular epidemiology of pneumococcal isolates in Chongqing, China. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 51 invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) strains were from children with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and 32 carriage strains from healthy children from January 2010 to December 2013 at the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. Multilocus sequence typing was used to identify the sequence types (STs). Capsular serotypes were determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Drug susceptibility and resistance was determined by minimum inhibitory concentrations. Results: In this study, 11 serotypes were identified among the 83 S. pneumoniae clinical isolates tested. Prevalent serotypes were 19A (20.4%), 6A/B (20.4%), 19F (15.7%), 14 (14.5%), and 23F (10.8%). Serotype 19F was the most frequent carriage strain, and serotype 19A was the most frequent invasive strain. The ST983 was the most prevalent ST for carriage strains, and ST320 was the most prevalent ST for invasive strains. For gene analysis, psaA (99.5%) and piaA (98.6%) were present and much conserved in all pneumococci tested. The cps2A and pcsB genes were more frequent in invasive isolates than carriage strains. Antimicrobial resistance rates of invasive pneumococcal isolates to erythromycin, penicillin, meropenem, cefotaxime, and clindamycin were higher than the carriage isolates from children. Conclusion: Our epidemiological evidence shows that 19A, 6A/B, 19F, 14, and 23F remain the most prevalent serotypes, which can be targeted by PCV13. Genotypes and drug resistance varied between carriage and invasive strains. The PsaA and PiaA may be good protein vaccine candidates.
Drop and insert multiplexing with simultaneous clock recovery using an electroabsorption modulator

A three-node optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM) network is demonstrated that utilizes electroabsorption (EA) modulators as the core elements. Each node is self contained and performs its own clock recovery and synchronization. "Drop and insert" functionality is demonstrated for the first time with an EA modulator by completely removing a 10-Gb/s channel from a 40-Gb/s OTDM data stream. A different 10-Gb/s channel was subsequently inserted into the vacant time slot. Clock recovery is achieved by using an EA modulator in a novel bidirectional configuration. Bit-error-rate (BER) measurements are presented for each of the 10-Gb/s OTDM channels.
Coping strategies adopted by the institutionalised and non-institutionalised elderly in Kathmandu, Nepal: A comparative correlational study

Introduction: With an increasing population ageing and by the changing context of the world, elderly has been pushed into various psychosocial problems but lack sufficient policies and programmes to deal with the problems. The study aimed to compare the coping strategies adopted by the institutionalised and home living elderly of Kathmandu, Nepal, determine its relationship with their selected socio- demographic variables, and determine the correlation between coping strategies and psychosocial problems. Materials and Methods: The correlational comparative study was carried out in 2013 among 132 old aged people of 60 years and/above living in old age homes and home settings in Kathmandu by using pre-tested structured interview schedule. Data were analysed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 19. Results: The coping strategies were found to be effective among non-instituionalised elderly and there was significant difference between coping strategies of the elderly living in institutional and non-institutional settings. The psychosocial problems were dependent on educational status, monthly income and inter personal relations in institutionalised elderly and with present job status, monthly income and type of family in non-institutionalised elderly. Conclusions: The elderly living in their own homes were able to cope with the psychosocial problems in an effective way. The study suggests the need of encouragement towards joint family norms in this changing context of the world. Besides, older adults should be trained for active ageing and old people should be involved in the family activities and useful works rather than keeping them away.