Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical Layer Secret-Key Generation Scheme for Transportation Security Sensor Network

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are widely used in different disciplines, including transportation systems, agriculture field environment monitoring, healthcare systems, and industrial monitoring. The security challenge of the wireless communication link between sensor nodes is critical in WSNs. In this paper, we propose a new physical layer secret-key generation scheme for transportation security sensor network. The scheme is based on the cooperation of all the sensor nodes, thus avoiding the key distribution process, which increases the security of the system. Different passive and active attack models are analyzed in this paper. We also prove that when the cooperative node number is large enough, even when the eavesdropper is equipped with multiple antennas, the secret-key is still secure. Numerical results are performed to show the efficiency of the proposed scheme.
Comparison of antibody titers using conventional tube technique versus column agglutination technique in ABO blood group incompatible renal transplant

Introduction: Measurement of alloantibody titer to a red cell antigen (ABO titers) is an integral part of management of ABO incompatible kidney transplants (ABOiKT). Material and Methods: There are different methods of titer estimation. Alloantibody detection by tube titration and Gel agglutination columns are accepted methodologies. It is essential to find the difference in titers between the two methods so as to set the 'cut-off' titer accordingly, depending upon the method used. Results: We did a prospective observational study to compare and correlate the ABO titers using these two different techniques – conventional tube technique (CTT) and the newer column agglutination technique (CAT). A total of 67 samples were processed in parallel for anti-A/B antibodies by both tube dilution and column agglutination methods. The mean titer by conventional tube method was 38.5 + 96.6 and by the column agglutination test was 96.4 + 225. The samples correlated well with Spearman rho correlation coefficient of 0.94 (P = 0.01). Conclusion: The column agglutination method for anti A/B titer estimation in an ABO incompatible kidney transplant is more sensitive, with the column agglutination results being approximately two and half fold higher (one more dilution) than that of tube method.
Hilbertian Metrics and Positive Definite Kernels on Probability Measures

We investigate the problem of defining Hilbertian metrics resp. positive definite kernels on probability measures, continuing the work in [5]. This type of kernels has shown very good results in text classification and has a wide range of possible applications. In this paper we extend the two-parameter family of Hilbertian metrics of Topsoe such that it now includes all commonly used Hilbertian metrics on probability measures. This allows us to do model selection among these metrics in an elegant and unified way. Second we investigate further our approach to incorporate similarity information of the probability space into the kernel. The analysis provides a better understanding of these kernels and gives in some cases a more efficient way to compute them. Finally we compare all proposed kernels in two text and two image classification problems.
Prevalence of advanced renal failure in Northern Ireland.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the prevalence of advanced chronic renal failure in Northern Ireland as part of an assessment by the Renal Association of the level of service provision for treatment of such patients. DESIGN--Prospective notification of patients reaching a defined level of advanced chronic renal failure (serum creatinine concentration greater than or equal to 500 mumol/l or blood urea concentration greater than or equal to 25 mmol/l) within one year and follow up for at least three, and, at most, four years after notification. SETTING--Northern Ireland. PATIENTS--122 Patients with a serum creatinine or blood urea concentration higher than the defined level newly detected from 1 March 1985 to 28 February 1986. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Survival after notification. RESULTS--77 Patients of all ages/million population/year had advanced chronic renal failure compared with 67/million/year between the ages of 5 and 80 found in an earlier study of the same population. 62% Of the patients were older than 50 years. Seventeen (14%) of the patients either required dialysis or died within one month of notification, 51 (42%) survived for at least three months, and 23 (19%) for one year or longer. Three patients, all of whom were attending a renal clinic, survived for periods of 43, 45, and 46 months respectively without renal replacement treatment. CONCLUSIONS--The increased number of new patients disclosed in this survey compared with the earlier survey is mainly owing to an increased number of older patients. Such patients often have disabilities other than renal failure, are less likely to be capable of self treatment, may develop complications more often and require more frequent hospital admissions, and may not be suitable for transplantation and consequently have considerable resource implications for the NHS.
Comparison of norfloxacin and nalidixic acid for treatment of dysentery caused by Shigella dysenteriae type 1 in adults

A severe epidemic of dysentery began late in 1979 in northeast Zaire and spread to Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. The epidemic strain is a multiply resistant Shigella dysenteriae type 1, which acquired resistance against trimethoprim and more recently against nalidixic acid in the course of the epidemic. A comparative open trial in Rwandan adults with Shiga dysentery involved 18 patients treated with norfloxacin at 400 mg twice daily and 12 patients treated with nalidixic acid at 1 g three times daily for 5 days. All isolates showed in vitro susceptibility to both drugs. Though norfloxacin eliminated Shigella organisms from stools more rapidly than nalidixic acid, its clinical superiority did not reach the level of significance. Norfloxacin is a promising drug and is more effective than nalidixic acid in the treatment of multiresistant shigellosis.
Imperfect secrecy in wiretap channel II

In a point-to-point communication system which consists of a sender s, a receiver t and a set of noiseless channels, the senders wants to transmit a private message to the receiver t through the channels which may be eavesdropped by a wiretapper. The wiretapper can access any one but not more than one set of channels, which is referred to as a wiretap set. It is assumed that from each wiretap set, the wiretapper can obtain some partial information about the private message which is measured by the wiretapper's equivocation. The security strategy is to encode the message with some random key. Under these settings, we define an achievable rate tuple in terms of the message, the key and the wiretapper's equivocation, and prove a tight rate region of the rate tuples.
Phase noise analysis of 28GHz phase-locked oscillator for next generation 5G system

This paper introduces four types of 28GHz phase-locked oscillators architecture for future next generation fifth generation wireless system. The simple phase noise formulations of four different phase-locked oscillators were also modeled to accurately estimate each phase noise for performance comparison. The simulated phase noises based on the derived system model provides fast performance calculation and loop bandwidth optimization for future high-speed PLO designs.
Intercellular calcium waves in cultured enteric glia from neonatal guinea pig

Enteric glia are important participants in information processing in the enteric nervous system. However, intercellular signaling mechanisms in enteric glia remain largely unknown. We postulated that intercellular calcium waves exist in enteric glia. Primary cultures of enteric glia were isolated from neonatal guinea pig taenia coli. Intracellular calcium in individual cells was quantified with fura‐2 AM microfluorimetry. Single‐cell stimulation was performed with a micromanipulator‐driven glass pipette. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM and analyzed by Student's t‐test. Mechanical stimulation of a single enteric glial cell resulted in an increase in intracellular calcium, followed by concentric propagation to 36% ± 3% of neighboring cells. Intercellular calcium waves were blocked by depletion of intracellular calcium stores with thapsigargin (1 μM). Pretreatment of enteric glia with the phospholipase C inhibitor U73122 (1 μM) significantly decreased the percentage of cells responding to mechanical stimulation (6% ± 4%), but had no effect on waves induced by microinjection of the inositol trisphosphate (67% ± 13% vs. 60% ± 4% for control). Antagonism of inositol trisphosphate receptor attenuated intercellular calcium waves induced by both mechanical stimulation and microinjection of inositol trisphosphate. Uncoupling of gap junctions with octanol or heptanol significantly inhibited intercellular calcium wave propagation. Pretreatment of enteric glia with apyrase partially attenuated intercellular calcium waves. Our data demonstrate that enteric glial cells are capable of transmitting increases in intracellular calcium to surrounding cells, and that intercellular calcium waves involve a sequence of intracellular and extracellular steps in which phospholipase C, inositol trisphosphate, and ATP play roles. GLIA 42:252–262, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Arterial calcium on mammograms is not associated with inflammatory markers for heart disease risk

Calcifications along the wall of the breast arteries are commonly seen on mammograms, but it is still unclear whether they can identify women at risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). In breast cancer screening populations the prevalence of breast arterial calcium (BAC) is 9%, whereas it is present in 23% of women at increased risk for CHD.1 Although several studies have shown that classic cardiovascular risk factors for atherosclerosis are associated with mammographic arterial calcifications, thus far the correlation with clinical coronary artery disease is controversial.2,3 As other factors such as the total number of pregnancies are important in the prevalence of BAC, its multiple causes remain poorly understood.1 Chronic low grade inflammation is an important aspect of atherosclerosis. Data on inflammatory markers such as fibrinogen and high sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) in calcification of atherosclerotic arteries are conflicting and not studied in arterial calcifications on mammograms.4 To further explore the pathophysiological process of BAC we investigated mammograms and inflammatory markers in women from a breast cancer screening program. …
Flip-chip packaged CMOS chemical microsystem for detection of volatile organic compounds

We present a packaged single-chip microsystem for the detection of organic vapors. The sensor is fabricated using a 0.8 micrometers CMOS IC process provided by AMS Austria Mikro Systeme. Volatile organic compounds are detected by measuring the capacitance change of three polymer coated interdigitated capacitors due to analyte absorption. To protect the read-out circuitry from the organic vapors, the device is packaged using flip-chip technology. This technology allows for openings in the ceramic substrate for the sensing capacitors while hermetically sealing the remaining chip area. Measurements for different volatile organic compounds and chemically sensitive polymer layers are presented. The packaged microsensor array is a first step towards the realization of a small, low cost electronic nose on a single chip.
THE EFFECT OF IRON ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF SUPEROXIDE AND HYDROXYL RADICALS AS SEEN BY SPIN TRAPPING AND ON THE SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ASSAY

Abstract— Using the spin trap 5,5‐dimethyl‐1‐pyrroline‐1‐oxide we have demonstrated the presence of OH in the xanthine‐xanthine oxidase system when iron and/or iron‐EDTA (ethylenediamine‐tetraacetic acid) is present. With increasing iron (or iron‐EDTA) concentration the intensity of the O2‐ spin adduct decreased while that of OH increased. However, use of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DETAPAC) as a metal chelator in the reaction mixture suppressed the OH spin adduct signal while maintaining the intensity of the signal from the O2‐ spin adduct.
A stream-computing extension to OpenMP

This paper introduces an extension to OpenMP3.0 enabling stream programming with minimal, incremental additions that seamlessly integrate into the current specification. The stream programming model decomposes programs into tasks and explicits the flow of data among them, thus exposing data, task and pipeline parallelism. It helps the programmers to express concurrency and data locality properties, avoiding non-portable low-level code and early optimizations. We survey the diverse motivations and constraints converging towards the design of our simple yet powerful language extension, and we present experimental results of a prototype implementation in a public branch of GCC 4.5.
FSH Regulates IGF-2 Expression in Human Granulosa Cells in an AKT-Dependent Manner.

CONTEXT IGF-2 is highly expressed in the granulosa cells of human dominant ovarian follicles; however, little is known about the regulation of the IGF-2 gene or the interaction of IGF-2 and FSH during follicle development. OBJECTIVE To examine the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the IGF-2 gene by FSH and the interplay between FSH and IGF-2 during granulosa cell differentiation. Design, Setting, Patients, and Interventions: Cumulus granulosa cells were separated from cumulus-oocyte complexes isolated from the follicular aspirates of in vitro fertilization patients and cultured for in vitro studies. MAIN OUTCOME Protein and mRNA levels of IGF-2 and CYP19A1 (aromatase) were quantified using Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR. IGF-2 promoter-specific activation was determined by the amplification of alternative exons by PCR. Cell proliferation was assessed after treatment with FSH and/or IGF-2. RESULTS FSH significantly enhanced IGF-2 expression after 8 hours of treatment and at low doses (1 ng/mL). Reciprocally, IGF-2 synergized with FSH to increase cell proliferation and the expression of CYP19A1. When IGF-2 activity was blocked, FSH was no longer able to stimulate CYP19A1 expression. Determination of IGF-2 promoter usage in human cumulus cells showed that the IGF-2 gene is driven by promoters P3 and P4. However, FSH exclusively increased P3 promoter-derived transcripts. Moreover, the FSH-induced stimulation of P3-driven IGF-2 transcripts was blocked by cotreatment with inhibitors of AKT or IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R). The inhibitory effect of the IGF-1R inhibitor on FSH-induced IGF-2 mRNA accumulation was reversed by overexpression of a constitutively active AKT construct. CONCLUSIONS FSH is a potent enhancer of IGF-2 expression in human granulosa cells. In return, IGF-2 activation of the IGF-1R and AKT is required for FSH to stimulate CYP19A1 expression and proliferation of granulosa cells. These findings suggest a positive loop interaction between FSH and IGF-2 that is critical for human granulosa cell proliferation and differentiation.
Development of a Simplified Fracture Toughness Tool for Polymers

This thesis presents research toward the development of a simple inexpensive fracture toughness tool for polymeric materials. Experiments were conducted to test the specimen configuration and the fracture toughness tool against an established ASTM standard for polymer fracture toughness, D5045, and a commonly used four-point bend method. The materials used in this study were polycarbonate and high density polyethylene. Reductions in both the production time and the variability resulting from the preparation of the specimens were addressed through the use of specially designed fixtures. The effects from the razor cut depths used in the chevron notch were compared to the fracture toughness values obtained in order to determine the effect upon the validity of the fracture toughness.
Divergent Effects of Inotropic Stimulation on the Ischemic and Severely Depressed Reperfused Myocardium

Mechanical function remains depressed for hours and days after even brief periods of ischemia. To determine whether the depressed function of the reperfused myocardium could be improved by inotropic stimulation, we studied segmental function during ischemia and after reperfusion using mercury‐in‐Silastic length gauges in 15 dogs. During coronary artery occlusion, segmental function could not be improved by inotropic stimulation with dopamine. Release of occlusion after 30 minutes of ischemia resulted in only slight improvement in segmental function (systolic shortening at 20% of control). After reperfusion, segmental function could be markedly enhanced by inotropic stimulation. The response to inotropic stimulation was similar after reperfusion after 3 hours of ischemia if the myocardium remained viable (nine dogs). When the myocardium was necrotic (five dogs), there was no improvement after reperfusion, either spontaneously or in response to inotropic stimulation. If applicable to humans, these results suggest that intractable pump failure caused by extensive but reversible ischemia could be effectively
A Forward Model at Purkinje Cell Synapses Facilitates Cerebellar Anticipatory Control

How does our motor system solve the problem of anticipatory control in spite of a wide spectrum of response dynamics from different musculo-skeletal systems, transport delays as well as response latencies throughout the central nervous system? To a great extent, our highly-skilled motor responses are a result of a reactive feedback system, originating in the brain-stem and spinal cord, combined with a feed-forward anticipatory system, that is adaptively fine-tuned by sensory experience and originates in the cerebellum. Based on that interaction we design the counterfactual predictive control (CFPC) architecture, an anticipatory adaptive motor control scheme, in which a feed-forward module, based on the cerebellum, steers an error feedback controller with counterfactual error signals. Those are signals that trigger reactions as actual errors would, but that do not code for any current of forthcoming errors. In order to determine the optimal learning strategy, we derive a novel learning rule for the feed-forward module that involves an eligibility trace and operates at the synaptic level. In particular, our eligibility trace provides a mechanism beyond co-incidence detection in that it convolves a history of prior synaptic inputs with error signals. In the context of cerebellar physiology, this solution implies that Purkinje cell synapses should generate eligibility traces using a forward model of the system being controlled. From an engineering perspective, CFPC provides a general-purpose anticipatory control architecture equipped with a learning rule that exploits the full dynamics of the closed-loop system.
Crash-resilient time-free eventual leadership

Leader-based protocols rest on a primitive able to provide the processes with the same unique leader. Such protocols are very common in distributed computing to solve synchronization or coordination problems. Unfortunately, providing such a primitive is far from being trivial in asynchronous distributed systems prone to process crashes. (It is even impossible in fault-prone purely asynchronous systems.) To circumvent this difficulty, several protocols have been proposed that build a leader facility on top of an asynchronous distributed system enriched with synchrony assumptions. This paper consider another approach to build a leader facility, namely, it considers a behavioral property on the flow of messages that are exchanged. This property has the noteworthy feature not to involve timing assumptions. Two protocols based on this time-free property that implement a leader primitive are described. The first one uses potentially unbounded counters, while the second one (which is a little more involved) requires only finite memory. These protocols rely on simple design principles that make them attractive, easy to understand and provably correct.
Pain-mediated affect regulation is reduced after dialectical behavior therapy in borderline personality disorder: a longitudinal fMRI study

Abstract Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by affective instability, but self-injurious behavior appears to have an emotion-regulating effect. We investigated whether pain-mediated affect regulation can be altered at the neural level by residential Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), providing adaptive emotion regulation techniques. Likewise, we investigated whether pain thresholds or the appraisal of pain change after psychotherapy. We investigated 28 patients with BPD undergoing DBT (self-referral), 15 patients with treatment as usual and 23 healthy control subjects at two time points 12 weeks apart. We conducted an fMRI experiment eliciting negative emotions with picture stimuli and induced heat pain to investigate the role of pain in emotion regulation. Additionally, we assessed heat and cold pain thresholds. At first measurement, patients with BPD showed amygdala deactivation in response to painful stimulation, as well as altered connectivity between left amygdala and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. These effects were reduced after DBT, as compared with patients with treatment as usual. Pain thresholds did not differ between the patient groups. We replicated the role of pain as a means of affect regulation in BPD, indicated by increased amygdala coupling. For the first time, we could demonstrate that pain-mediated affect regulation can be changed by DBT.
Design principles for bifunctional targeted oligonucleotide enhancers of splicing

Controlling the patterns of splicing of specific genes is an important goal in the development of new therapies. We have shown that the splicing of a refractory exon, SMN2 exon 7, could be increased in fibroblasts derived from patients with spinal muscular atrophy by using bifunctional targeted oligonucleotide enhancers of splicing (TOES) oligonucleotides that anneal to the exon and contain a ‘tail’ of enhancer sequences that recruit activating proteins. We show here that there are striking agreements between the effects of oligonucleotides on splicing in vitro and on both splicing and SMN2 protein expression in patient-derived fibroblasts, indicating that the effects on splicing are the major determinant of success. Increased exon inclusion depends on the number, sequence and chemistry of the motifs that bind the activator protein SRSF1, but it is not improved by increasing the strength of annealing to the target site. The optimal oligonucleotide increases protein levels in transfected fibroblasts by a mean value of 2.6-fold (maximum 4.6-fold), and after two rounds of transfection the effect lasted for a month. Oligonucleotides targeted to the upstream exon (exon 6 in SMN) are also effective. We conclude that TOES oligonucleotides are highly effective reagents for restoring the splicing of refractory exons and can act across long introns.