Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applications of the Montgomery exponent

We define here the Montgomery exponent of order s, modulo the odd integer N, by MEXP = MEXP(A,X,N,s) = A/sup X/2/sup -s(X-1)/ (mod N), and illustrate some properties and usage of this operator. We show how A/sup X/ (mod N) can be obtained from MEXP(A, X, N, s) by one Montgomery multiplication. This suggests a new modular exponentiation algorithm that uses one Montgomery multiplication less than the number required with the standard method. This improves the performance, although the improvement is significant only when the exponent X is short (e.g., modular squaring or RSA verification). However, and even more important, this achieves code size reduction, which is appreciated when the exponentiation algorithm is written in a low-level language and stored in (expensive) ROM. We also illustrate the potential advantage in performance and code size when known cryptographic applications are modified in a way that MEXP replaces the standard modular exponentiation.
Assessing and addressing erectile function concerns in patients postprostatectomy.

Lydia T. Madsen, RN, MSN, OCN , is a senior research nurse in the Department of Urology and Elizabeth Ganey-Code, MSN, RN, OCN, is the associate director of clinical nursing in the Division of Nursing, both at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. (The solutions offered to the clinical problems posed in this column are the opinions of the authors and do not represent the opinions or recommendations of the Oncology Nursing Society, the Oncology Nursing Forum, or the editorial staff.)
The Role of Estrogen in the Treatment of Men with Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a debilitating and pervasive mental illness with devastating effects on many aspects of psychological, cognitive and social wellbeing. Epidemiological and life-cycle data point to significant differences in the incidence and course of schizophrenia between men and women, suggesting that estrogen plays a “protective” role . Adjunctive estrogen therapy has been shown to be effective in enhancing the treatment of schizophrenia in women. In men, consideration of estrogen therapy has been impacted by concerns of feminisation, however, clinical trials using estrogen to treat prostate cancer, bone density loss and even aggression in men with dementia or traumatic brain injury, show estrogen to be a safe and effective therapy. Findings do, however, suggest that further exploration of a therapeutic role for adjunctive estradiol treatment in men with schizophrenia is warranted. The development of the new estrogen compounds - Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) which do not cause feminisation - opens up the possibility of using a different type of estrogen for a longer period of time at higher doses. Estrogen could therefore prove to be an important component in the treatment of psychotic symptoms in men with schizophrenia. This review explains the scientific rationale behind the estrogen hypothesis and how it can be clinically utilised to address concerns unique to the care of men with schizophrenia.
How to measure experiences of healthcare quality in Denmark among patients with heart disease? The development and psychometric evaluation of a patient-reported instrument

Objective Measuring the quality of care as experienced by patients is increasingly recognised as a way of improving healthcare services. However, disease-specific measures that take the patient journey into account are needed. This paper presents the development of such a measure for patients with heart disease and details the psychometric evaluation. Design The questionnaire was developed based on a literature review, qualitative interviews and a pilot-test. The psychometric evaluation of the measure was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and differential item functioning analysis with data from a population-based survey. Setting Denmark in 2013–2014. Study participants Nineteen heart patients, four relatives and eight health professionals participated in qualitative interviews in the development phase, and 15 patients participated in the pilot-test. The questionnaire was subsequently sent to a random sample of 5000 heart patients who were diagnosed in 2013. Results The comprehensive development phase and pilot-testing contributed to high content validity of the questionnaire. Eligible questionnaire responses were received from 2496 patients. EFA indicated a nine-factor model: communication at the hospital, communication with the general practitioner, information on disease and treatment, information on psychosocial aspects, rehabilitation/support, organisation, medication, involvement of relatives and consideration of comorbidity. CFA confirmed the proposed factor structure (eg, goodness-of-fit index=0.88, adjusted goodness-of-fit index=0.86, root mean square error of approximation=0.05), and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient revealed good internal consistency of the factors (range: 0.69–0.93). Conclusions The results suggest that this disease-specific patient-reported experience measure is of good quality when measuring the quality of care among heart patients. The inclusion of patients in the development phase contributed to high content validity, and subsequent psychometric evaluation found high construct validity and internal consistency. This measure may be especially relevant when seeking information about which aspects of care require improvement and the impact on health outcomes.
Gallbladder cancer: expert consensus statement.

An American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA)-sponsored consensus meeting of expert panellists was convened on 15 January 2014 to review current evidence on the management of gallbladder carcinoma in order to establish practice guidelines. In summary, within high incidence areas, the assessment of routine gallbladder specimens should include the microscopic evaluation of a minimum of three sections and the cystic duct margin; specimens with dysplasia or proven cancer should be extensively sampled. Provided the patient is medically fit for surgery, data support the resection of all gallbladder polyps of >1.0 cm in diameter and those with imaging evidence of vascular stalks. The minimum staging evaluation of patients with suspected or proven gallbladder cancer includes contrasted cross-sectional imaging and diagnostic laparoscopy. Adequate lymphadenectomy includes assessment of any suspicious regional nodes, evaluation of the aortocaval nodal basin, and a goal recovery of at least six nodes. Patients with confirmed metastases to N2 nodal stations do not benefit from radical resection and should receive systemic and/or palliative treatments. Primary resection of patients with early T-stage (T1b-2) disease should include en bloc resection of adjacent liver parenchyma. Patients with T1b, T2 or T3 disease that is incidentally identified in a cholecystectomy specimen should undergo re-resection unless this is contraindicated by advanced disease or poor performance status. Re-resection should include complete portal lymphadenectomy and bile duct resection only when needed to achieve a negative margin (R0) resection. Patients with preoperatively staged T3 or T4 N1 disease should be considered for clinical trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Following R0 resection of T2-4 disease in N1 gallbladder cancer, patients should be considered for adjuvant systemic chemotherapy and/or chemoradiotherapy.
USENIX Annual Technical ConferenceUSENIX Association 99 A Logic File System

On the one hand, hierarchical organizations are rigid in the sense that there is only one path to each document. On the other hand, keyword-based search is flexible because many sets of keywords may lead to the same document, but it lacks a navigation mechanism. We present the new paradigm of a logic file system, which integrates navigation and classification, and the possibility of expressive queries. This paradigm associates logical descriptions to files, and logical deduction serves as a basis for navigation and querying; paths are formulas. A key notion is the extension of a logical formula: i.e., the set of all files whose description satisfies the formula. The root directory is determined by formula , and sub-directories of a directory are determined by formulas whose extension strictly intersects the directory extension. This gives a logical ground for considering navigation as computing relevant hints to help refining a query. A prototype implementation demonstrates encouraging performances.
AN ACCURACY ASSESSMENT MEASURE FOR OBJECT BASED IMAGE SEGMENTATION

Traditional approaches to accuracy assessment are inadequate for object oriented image processing. We tested some measures to assess the accuracy of object based image segmentation in a supervised context. The measures quantify the extent to which objects in the segmentation match training objects in terms of over-segmentation, under-segmentation, and distance to a perfect match. Using high resolution digital aerial photographs over an urban setup, we obtained segmentation results for a variety of parameter combinations using two software packages: eCognition and ASTRO. We compute the accuracy measures using three types of objects: vehicles, trees and buildings. The measures were used to compare the software, identify ideal parameter combinations, and identify objects that each software is better at extracting from the images. The measures are shown to be an intuitive, useful technique for consistency checking different segmentation results and assessing segmentation accuracies among a large set of disparate segmentation results.
cgmOLAP: Efficient Parallel Generation and Querying of Terabyte Size ROLAP Data Cubes

We present the cgmOLAP server, the first fully functional parallel OLAP system able to build data cubes at a rate of more than 1 Terabyte per hour. cgmOLAP incorporates a variety of novel approaches for the parallel computation of full cubes, partial cubes, and iceberg cubes as well as new parallel cube indexing schemes. The cgmOLAP system consists of an application interface, a parallel query engine, a parallel cube materialization engine, meta data and cost model repositories, and shared server components that provide uniform management of I/O, memory, communications, and disk resources.
Comparative Genomic Analyses of the Bacterial Phosphotransferase System

SUMMARY We report analyses of 202 fully sequenced genomes for homologues of known protein constituents of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS). These included 174 bacterial, 19 archaeal, and 9 eukaryotic genomes. Homologues of PTS proteins were not identified in archaea or eukaryotes, showing that the horizontal transfer of genes encoding PTS proteins has not occurred between the three domains of life. Of the 174 bacterial genomes (136 bacterial species) analyzed, 30 diverse species have no PTS homologues, and 29 species have cytoplasmic PTS phosphoryl transfer protein homologues but lack recognizable PTS permeases. These soluble homologues presumably function in regulation. The remaining 77 species possess all PTS proteins required for the transport and phosphorylation of at least one sugar via the PTS. Up to 3.2% of the genes in a bacterium encode PTS proteins. These homologues were analyzed for family association, range of protein types, domain organization, and organismal distribution. Different strains of a single bacterial species often possess strikingly different complements of PTS proteins. Types of PTS protein domain fusions were analyzed, showing that certain types of domain fusions are common, while others are rare or prohibited. Select PTS proteins were analyzed from different phylogenetic standpoints, showing that PTS protein phylogeny often differs from organismal phylogeny. The results document the frequent gain and loss of PTS protein-encoding genes and suggest that the lateral transfer of these genes within the bacterial domain has played an important role in bacterial evolution. Our studies provide insight into the development of complex multicomponent enzyme systems and lead to predictions regarding the types of protein-protein interactions that promote efficient PTS-mediated phosphoryl transfer.
Polymer membrane-based thermo-pneumatic actuation for distributed air-jet planar micromanipulator

In this paper, we present latest results of a thermo-pneumatic microactuator based on polymer membrane and silicon technology. This device has application in distributed air-jet planar micromanipulation to levitate and convey small objects by changing air-flow direction on the surface. Our technology, combining deformable polymer membrane and movable silicon nozzle fabrication, offers many advantages compared to classic silicon technology, e.g. pneumatic microactuator array device. Those advantages are as follows: low-cost, reliable, simple batch fabrication process, multi-directional (4 directions) air-jet flow, low driving voltage (≤ 5 V), durability under high air-pressure, higher transparency for implementing photodetection capabilities, and enabling technology to use flexible and smart materials in MEMS.
Status and potential for CMOS terminal PAs

In this overview, the status and potential for CMOS terminal RF power amplifiers (PAs) are discussed. The paper focuses on two application areas for RF PAs, namely wireless LAN/PAN applications, with output power levels up to 24 dBm, and cellular applications with power levels beyond 30 dBm.
Whole Blood Fatty Acid Composition Differs in Term Versus Mildly Preterm Infants: Small Versus Matched Appropriate for Gestational Age

To investigate the associations between whole blood fatty acid (FA) profile and restricted intrauterine growth, any small for gestational age (SGA) infant born in our maternity ward through 1 y was matched with two appropriate for gestational age (AGA), of the same GA ± 0.5 wk, infants, further subdivided into term and preterm. Whole blood was collected at d 4 on a strip and FA % composition assessed by means of gas chromatography. The whole sample consisted of 28 SGA versus 56 AGA born at term and 20 SGA versus 40 AGA born preterm at around 35 wks. Parent FA of the n-6 and n-3 FA families were higher in preterm groups, whereas docosahexaenoic acid was higher in term AGA (median % values, 3.9 versus 3.7 in term SGA, 2.8 in preterm AGA, and 2.5 in preterm SGA, p < 0.001). Term AGA had markedly higher values for the docosahexaenoic acid/alpha-linolenic acid ratio (median value: 91, versus 18 in term SGA, 12 in preterm AGA, and 10 in preterm SGA, p < 0.001). Term SGA had significantly lower levels of total monounsaturated FA and higher levels of eicosapentaenoic acid. Therefore, the 4-d whole blood FA pattern is associated with both GA and birth weight.
A New Insight into the Physiological Role of Bile Salt Hydrolase among Intestinal Bacteria from the Genus Bifidobacterium

This study analyzes the occurrence of bile salt hydrolase in fourteen strains belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium. Deconjugation activity was detected using a plate test, two-step enzymatic reaction and activity staining on a native polyacrylamide gel. Subsequently, bile salt hydrolases from B. pseudocatenulatum and B. longum subsp. suis were purified using a two-step chromatographic procedure. Biochemical characterization of the bile salt hydrolases showed that the purified enzymes hydrolyzed all of the six major human bile salts under the pH and temperature conditions commonly found in the human gastrointestinal tract. Next, the dynamic rheometry was applied to monitor the gelation process of deoxycholic acid under different conditions. The results showed that bile acids displayed aqueous media gelating properties. Finally, gel-forming abilities of bifidobacteria exhibiting bile salt hydrolase activity were analyzed. Our investigations have demonstrated that the release of deconjugated bile acids led to the gelation phenomenon of the enzymatic reaction solution containing purified BSH. The presented results suggest that bile salt hydrolase activity commonly found among intestinal microbiota increases hydrogel-forming abilities of certain bile salts. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that bile salt hydrolase activity among Bifidobacterium is directly connected with the gelation process of bile salts. In our opinion, if such a phenomenon occurs in physiological conditions of human gut, it may improve bacterial ability to colonize the gastrointestinal tract and their survival in this specific ecological niche.
Preventing Defects: The Impact of Requirements Traceability Completeness on Software Quality

Requirements traceability has long been recognized as an important quality of a well-engineered system. Among stakeholders, traceability is often unpopular due to the unclear benefits. In fact, little evidence exists regarding the expected traceability benefits. There is a need for empirical work that studies the effect of traceability. In this paper, we focus on the four main requirements implementation supporting activities that utilize traceability. For each activity, we propose generalized traceability completeness measures. In a defined process, we selected 24 medium to large-scale open-source projects. For each software project, we quantified the degree to which a studied development activity was enabled by existing traceability with the proposed measures. We analyzed that data in a multi-level Poisson regression analysis. We found that the degree of traceability completeness for three of the studied activities significantly affects software quality, which we quantified as defect rate. Our results provide for the first time empirical evidence that more complete traceability decreases the expected defect rate in the developed software. The strong impact of traceability completeness on the defect rate suggests that traceability is of great practical value for any kind of software development project, even if traceability is not mandated by a standard or regulation.
Poly dimethylsiloxane/carbon nanofiber nanocomposites: fabrication and characterization of electrical and thermal properties

ABSTRACT This article presents the fabrication and characterization of poly dimethylsiloxane/carbon nanofiber (CNF)-based nanocomposites. Although silica and carbon nanoparticles have been traditionally used to reinforce mechanical properties in PDMS matrix nanocomposites, this article focuses on understanding their impacts on electrical and thermal properties. By adjusting both the silica and CNF concentrations, 12 different nanocomposite formulations were studied, and the thermal and electrical properties of these materials were experimentally characterized. The developed nanocomposites were prepared using a solvent-assisted method providing uniform dispersion of the CNFs in the polymer matrix. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to determine the dispersion of the CNFs at different length scales. The thermal properties, such as thermal stability and thermal diffusivity, of the developed nanocomposites were studied using thermogravimetirc and laser flash techniques. Furthermore, the electrical volume conductivity of each type of nanocomposite was tested using the four-probe method to eliminate the effects of contact electrical resistance during measurement. Experimental results showed that both CNFs and silica were able to impact on the overall properties of the synthesized PDMS/CNF nanocomposites. The developed nanocomposites have the potential to be applied to the development of new load sensors in the future.
Decoding Stimulus Variance from a Distributional Neural Code of Interspike Intervals

The spiking output of an individual neuron can represent information about the stimulus via mean rate, absolute spike time, and the time intervals between spikes. Here we discuss a distinct form of information representation, the local distribution of spike intervals, and show that the time-varying distribution of interspike intervals (ISIs) can represent parameters of the statistical context of stimuli. For many sensory neural systems the mapping between the stimulus input and spiking output is not fixed but, rather, depends on the statistical properties of the stimulus, potentially leading to ambiguity. We have shown previously that for the adaptive neural code of the fly H1, a motion-sensitive neuron in the fly visual system, information about the overall variance of the signal is obtainable from the ISI distribution. We now demonstrate the decoding of information about variance and show that a distributional code of ISIs can resolve ambiguities introduced by slow spike frequency adaptation. We examine the precision of this distributional code for the representation of stimulus variance in the H1 neuron as well as in the Hodgkin–Huxley model neuron. We find that the accuracy of the decoding depends on the shapes of the ISI distributions and the speed with which they adapt to new stimulus variances.
Ieee Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, 201x an Alternating Direction Method Approach to Cloud Traffic Management

—In this paper, we introduce a unified framework for studying various cloud traffic management problems, ranging from geographical load balancing to backbone traffic engineering. We first abstract these real-world problems as a multi-facility resource allocation problem, and then present two distributed optimization algorithms by exploiting the special structure of the problem. Our algorithms are inspired by Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM), enjoying a number of unique features. Compared to dual decomposition, they converge with non-strictly convex objective functions; compared to other ADMM-type algorithms, they not only achieve faster convergence under weaker assumptions, but also have lower computational complexity and lower message-passing overhead. The simulation results not only confirm these desirable features of our algorithms, but also highlight several additional advantages, such as scalability and fault-tolerance.
Ixodes ricinus Tick Lipocalins: Identification, Cloning, Phylogenetic Analysis and Biochemical Characterization

Background During their blood meal, ticks secrete a wide variety of proteins that interfere with their host's defense mechanisms. Among these proteins, lipocalins play a major role in the modulation of the inflammatory response. Methodology/Principal Findings Screening a cDNA library in association with RT-PCR and RACE methodologies allowed us to identify 14 new lipocalin genes in the salivary glands of the Ixodes ricinus hard tick. A computational in-depth structural analysis confirmed that LIRs belong to the lipocalin family. These proteins were called LIR for “Lipocalin from I. ricinus” and numbered from 1 to 14 (LIR1 to LIR14). According to their percentage identity/similarity, LIR proteins may be assigned to 6 distinct phylogenetic groups. The mature proteins have calculated pM and pI varying from 21.8 kDa to 37.2 kDa and from 4.45 to 9.57 respectively. In a western blot analysis, all recombinant LIRs appeared as a series of thin bands at 50–70 kDa, suggesting extensive glycosylation, which was experimentally confirmed by treatment with N-glycosidase F. In addition, the in vivo expression analysis of LIRs in I. ricinus, examined by RT-PCR, showed homogeneous expression profiles for certain phylogenetic groups and relatively heterogeneous profiles for other groups. Finally, we demonstrated that LIR6 codes for a protein that specifically binds leukotriene B4. Conclusions/Significance This work confirms that, regarding their biochemical properties, expression profile, and sequence signature, lipocalins in Ixodes hard tick genus, and more specifically in the Ixodes ricinus species, are segregated into distinct phylogenetic groups suggesting potential distinct function. This was particularly demonstrated by the ability of LIR6 to scavenge leukotriene B4. The other LIRs did not bind any of the ligands tested, such as 5-hydroxytryptamine, ADP, norepinephrine, platelet activating factor, prostaglandins D2 and E2, and finally leukotrienes B4 and C4.