Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Issuing CL-Signatures on Speed: Signing with a Constant Number of Exponentiations

In SCN 2002, Jan Camenisch and Anna Lysyanskaya have proposed the Strong RSA version of their Camenisch-Lysyanskaya (CL) signature scheme [8], a fundamental cryptographic building block to compute a digital signature on hidden committed messages and allow zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge on them. Ever since, the CL signature scheme has been adopted for different applications, such as anonymous credential systems, Direct Anonymous Attestation, and different prototypes for smart cards. Unfortunately, CL signatures place a significant workload on the issuer, as the signature generation requires a number of modular exponentiations linear in the number of message blocks signed, which, in turn, constitutes a significant obstacle for the broad adoption of the scheme. In this work, we propose a variant of the Strong RSA CL-signature scheme, which computes the signature with a constant number of modular exponentiations, that is, independent of the number of message blocks involved. In fact, we show that issuer can compute a commitment on an arbitrary number of message blocks with one modular exponentiation and complete the signature generation with five modular exponentiations. All the issuer needs to do is store n group elements readily available from the standard key generation with its private key and use this knowledge in the signature generation. The output of the optimized CL-issuing is fully wire-format compatible to the standard CL-issuing. We provide a comprehensive performance analysis of the optimized issuing approach, which shows that signatures with strong security parameters and even with tens of thousands of message blocks can be computed in the order of one hundred milliseconds. © 2015 Newcastle University Printed and published by Newcastle University, Computing Science, Claremont Tower, Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, England. Bibliographical details Issuing CL-Signatures on Speed: Signing with a Constant Number of Exponentiations Thomas Gros School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, UK
Convex distance functions in 3-space are different

The bisector systems of convex distance functions in 3-space are investigated and it is shown that there is a substantial difference to the Euclidean metric which cannot be observed in 2-space. This disproves the general belief that Voronoi diagrams in convex distance functions are, in any dimension, analogous to Euclidean Voronoi diagrams. The fact is that more spheres than one can pass through four points in general position. In the L4-metric, there exist quadrupels of points that lie on the surface of three L4-spheres. Moreover, for each n ≥ 0 one can construct a smooth and symmetric convex distance function d and four points that are contained in the surface of exactly 2n+1+ d-spheres, and this number does not decrease if the four points are disturbed independently within 3-dimensional neighborhoods. This result implies that there is no general upper bound to the complexity of the Voronoi diagram of four sites based on a convex distance function in 3-space.
Expanding the phenotype and genotype of female GnRH deficiency.

CONTEXT GnRH deficiency is a rare genetic disorder of absent or partial pubertal development. The clinical and genetic characteristics of GnRH-deficient women have not been well-described. OBJECTIVE To determine the phenotypic and genotypic spectrum of a large series of GnRH-deficient women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND SUBJECTS Retrospective study of 248 females with GnRH deficiency evaluated at an academic medical center between 1980 and 2010. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Clinical presentation, baseline endogenous GnRH secretory activity, and DNA sequence variants in 11 genes associated with GnRH deficiency. RESULTS Eighty-eight percent had undergone pubarche, 51% had spontaneous thelarche, and 10% had 1-2 menses. Women with spontaneous thelarche were more likely to demonstrate normal pubarche (P = 0.04). In 27% of women, neuroendocrine studies demonstrated evidence of some endogenous GnRH secretory activity. Thirty-six percent (a large excess relative to controls) harbored a rare sequence variant in a gene associated with GnRH deficiency (87% heterozygous and 13% biallelic), with variants in FGFR1 (15%), GNRHR (6.6%), and PROKR2 (6.6%) being most prevalent. One woman had a biallelic variant in the X-linked gene, KAL1, and nine women had heterozygous variants. CONCLUSIONS The clinical presentation of female GnRH deficiency varies from primary amenorrhea and absence of any secondary sexual characteristics to spontaneous breast development and occasional menses. In this cohort, rare sequence variants were present in all of the known genes associated with GnRH deficiency, including the novel identification of GnRH-deficient women with KAL1 variants. The pathogenic mechanism through which KAL1 variants disrupt female reproductive development requires further investigation.
The workaholism phenomenon: a cross‐national perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the workaholism phenomenon.Design/methodology/approach – Workaholism was defined as the individual's steady and considerable allocation of time to work, which is not derived from external necessities. Subsequently, it was measured as time invested in paid work, controlling for the financial needs for such an investment. Workaholism is examined from a cross‐national perspective through representative samples of the labor force in Belgium, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, and the USAFindings – The Japanese worked more hours per week than all other nationalities. The following findings have remained stable across nations: respondents with a high level of work centrality worked more hours per week than did those with a low level of work centrality. Men worked more hours per week than women. Married women worked fewer hours per week than unmarried women, while married men worked more hours per week than unmarried men. Private‐sector employees worked more hours p.
[Increasing prevalence of fosfomycin resistance in extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli urinary isolates (2005-2009-2011)].

INTRODUCTION Escherichia coli is the most important uropathogen. The appearance of extended- spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E.coli in urinary tract infections (UTI) constitutes an important therapeutic challenge that requires the study of its evolution throughout time in order to establish a suitable empirical treatment. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli urinary isolates in 2005, 2009 and 2011. We also determined the antimicrobial coresistance to several agents, including fosfomycin. METHODS We analyzed 5053, 6324 and 6644 E. coli isolates obtained from urine cultures in 2005, 2009 and 2011 respectively. Duplicate isolates were excluded. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the Wider microdilution system (Soria Melguizo S.A.) and the phenotypic pattern of resistance that indicated a BLEE-producing E.coli was selected (CLSI 2009). RESULTS 3.9% of strains (198) were ESBL producers in 2005, 7.3% (463) in 2009 and 8.7% (584) in 2011. Resistance to carbapenems was detected in 2009, they inhibited more than the 95% of strains in 2011. Among the non-beta-lactams, colistin was the most active antibiotic followed by nitrofurantoin. Ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim were not effective with 80% and 60% resistant isolates, respectively. An increasing resistance trend, from 0% to 9.3% in 2009 and 14.4% in 2011 was observed for fosfomycin. CONCLUSIONS From 2005 our institution had an increasing prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli rising to 8.7% in 2011. Carbapenems are still the most active agents. The increase of resistance was significant for fosfomycin.
Type X Collagen Multimer Assembly in Vitro Is Prevented by a Gly618 to Val Mutation in the α1(X) NC1 Domain Resulting in Schmid Metaphyseal Chondrodysplasia (*)

Type X collagen is a homotrimer of α1(X) chains encoded by the COL10A1 gene. It is a highly specialized extracellular matrix component, and its synthesis is restricted to hypertrophic chondrocytes in the calcifying cartilage of the growth plate and in zones of secondary ossification. Our studies on a family with Schmid metaphyseal chondrodysplasia demonstrated that the affected individuals were heterozygous for a single base substitution in the COL10A1 gene, which changed the codon GGC for glycine 618 to GTC for valine in the highly conserved region of the carboxyl-terminal NC1 domain and altered the amino acid sequence in the putative oligosaccharide attachment site. Since hypertrophic cartilage tissue or cell cultures were not available to assess the effect of the mutation, an in vitro cDNA expression system was used to study normal and mutant type X collagen biosynthesis and assembly. Full-length cDNA constructs of the normal type X collagen sequence and also cDNA containing the specific Gly to Val NC1 mutation found in the patient were produced and expressed by in vitro transcription and translation. While the control construct produced type X collagen, which formed trimeric collagen monomers and assembled into larger multimeric assemblies, the mutant collagen was unable to form these larger aggregates. These experiments demonstrated that the mutation disturbed type X collagen NC1 domain interaction and assembly, a finding consistent with the abnormal disorganized cartilage growth plate seen in the patient. These studies provide the first evidence of the effect of a type X collagen mutation on protein structure and function and directly demonstrate the critical role of interactions between NC1 domains in the formation of type X collagen multimeric structures in vitro.
Conflict resolution problems for air traffic management systems solved with mixed integer programming

This paper considers the problem of solving conflicts arising among several aircraft that are assumed to move in a shared airspace. Aircraft can not get closer to each other than a given safety distance in order to avoid possible conflicts between different airplanes. For such system of multiple aircraft, we consider the path planning problem among given waypoints avoiding all possible conflicts. In particular we are interested in optimal paths, i.e., we want to minimize the total flight time. We propose two different formulations of the multiaircraft conflict avoidance problem as a mixed-integer linear program: in the first case only velocity changes are admissible maneuvers, in the second one only heading angle changes are allowed. Due to the linear formulation of the two problems, solutions may be obtained quickly with standard optimization software, allowing our approach to be implemented in real time.
Expression of chicken lamin B2 in Escherichia coli: characterization of its structure, assembly, and molecular interactions

Chicken lamin B2, a nuclear member of the intermediate-type filament (IF) protein family, was expressed as a full-length protein in Escherichia coli. After purification, its structure and assembly properties were explored by EM, using both glycerol spraying/low-angle rotary metal shadowing and negative staining for preparation, as well as by analytical ultracentrifugation. At its first level of structural organization, lamin B2 formed "myosin-like" 3.1S dimers consisting of a 52-nm-long tail flanked at one end by two globular heads. These myosin- like molecules are interpreted to represent two lamin polypeptides interacting via their 45-kD central rod domains to form a segmented, parallel and unstaggered 52-nm-long two-stranded alpha-helical coiled- coil, and their COOH-terminal end domains folding into globular heads. At the second level of organization, lamin B2 dimers associated longitudinally to form polar head-to-tail polymers. This longitudinal mode of association of laminin dimers is in striking contrast to the lateral mode of association observed previously for cytoplasmic IF dimers. At the third level of organization, these polar head-to-tail polymers further associated laterally, in an approximately half- staggered fashion, to form filamentous and eventually paracrystal-like structures revealing a pronounced 24.5-nm axial repeat. Finally, following up on recent studies implicating the mitotic cdc2 kinase in the control of lamin polymerization (Peter, M., J. Nakagawa, M. Doree, J. C. Labbe, and E. A. Nigg. 1990. Cell. 61:591-602), we have examined the effect of phosphorylation by purified cdc2 kinase on the assembly properties and molecular interactions of the bacterially expressed lamin B2. Phosphorylation of chicken lamin B2 by cdc2 kinase interferes with the head-to-tail polymerization of the lamin dimers. This finding supports the notion that cdc2 kinase plays a major, direct role in triggering mitotic disassembly of the nuclear lamina.
Contour-Enhanced Funnel Plots for Meta-Analysis

Funnel plots are commonly used to investigate publication and related biases in meta-analysis. Although asymmetry in the appearance of a funnel plot is often interpreted as being caused by publication bias, in reality the asymmetry could be due to other factors that cause systematic differences in the results of large and small studies, for example, confounding factors such as differential study quality. Funnel plots can be enhanced by adding contours of statistical significance to aid in interpreting the funnel plot. If studies appear to be missing in areas of low statistical significance, then it is possible that the asymmetry is due to publication bias. If studies appear to be missing in areas of high statistical significance, then publication bias is a less likely cause of the funnel asymmetry. It is proposed that this enhancement to funnel plots should be used routinely for meta-analyses where it is possible that results could be suppressed on the basis of their statistical significance.
Experimental investigation of undersampling for adjacent channel interference cancellation scheme

In this paper an adjacent channel interference (ACI) cancellation scheme for multi-channel reception with undersampling and investigated. Low-IF receiver architecture is used in the multi-channel reception scheme. However, in this system, the signal in the adjacent channel causes interference to the desired signal. ACI cancellation scheme with analog filter bank has been proposed to mitigate the influence from the adjacent channel. Undersampling technique is applied in this system in order to lower the required sampling frequency and power consumption. The effects of the adjacent channel to the undersampling technique in this scheme is investigated through the experiment
Revealing Method for the Intrusion Detection System

The goal of an Intrusion Detection is inadequate to detect errors and unusual activity on a network or on the hosts belonging to a local network by monitoring network activity. Algorithms for building detection models are broadly classified into two categories, Misuse Detection and Anomaly Detection. The proposed approach should be taken into account, as the security system violations caused by both incompliance with the security policy and attacks on the system resulting in the need to describe models. However, it is based on unified mathematical formalism which is provided for subsequent merger of the models. The above formalism in this paper presents a state machine describing the behavior of a system subject. The set of intrusion description models is used by the evaluation module and determines the likelihood of undesired actions the system is capable of detecting. The number of attacks which are not described by models determining the completeness of detection by the IDS linked to the ability of detecting security violations.
Seizures associated with interferon‐α treatment of cutaneous malignancies

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Pluripotent Protective Effects of Carnosine, a Naturally Occurring Dipeptidea

ABSTRACT: Carnosine is a naturally occurring dipeptide (β‐alanyl‐l‐histidine) found in brain, innervated tissues, and the lens at concentrations up to 20 mM in humans. In 1994 it was shown that carnosine could delay senescence of cultured human fibroblasts. Evidence will be presented to suggest that carnosine, in addition to antioxidant and oxygen free‐radical scavenging activities, also reacts with deleterious aldehydes to protect susceptible macromolecules. Our studies show that, in vitro, carnosine inhibits nonenzymic glycosylation and cross‐linking of proteins induced by reactive aldehydes (aldose and ketose sugars, certain triose glycolytic intermediates and malondialdehyde (MDA), a lipid peroxidation product). Additionally we show that carnosine inhibits formation of MDA‐induced protein‐associated advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) and formation of DNA‐protein cross‐links induced by acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. At the cellular level 20 mM carnosine protected cultured human fibroblasts and lymphocytes, CHO cells, and cultured rat brain endothelial cells against the toxic effects of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and MDA, and AGEs formed by a lysine/deoxyribose mixture. Interestingly, carnosine protected cultured rat brain endothelial cells against amyloid peptide toxicity. We propose that carnosine (which is remarkably nontoxic) or related structures should be explored for possible intervention in pathologies that involve deleterious aldehydes, for example, secondary diabetic complications, inflammatory phenomena, alcoholic liver disease, and possibly Alzheimer's disease.
In small chunks or all at once? User preferences of network delays in web browsing sessions

The time-critical tasks on the Internet are increasing. The delays in these tasks can have severe implications on the Quality of Experience (QoE) of a service. Therefore, networks require smart user-centric resource management mechanisms to reduce the impact of these delays on QoE. For this, a better understanding of the user preferences with regards to service performance is a prerequisite. In this paper, we present user responses to the three different distributions of delays, occurring during shopping sessions on the Web. By keeping the overall waiting time of the sessions same, we show how the users respond differently to the different set of delays. We analyzed the user responses and found that, the users prefer small frequently occurring delays as compared to the long rarely occurring delays within a task-based session.
LOCALIZATION OF ACETYLCHOLINESTERASE IN THE TELEOST RETINA

Acetylcholinesterase is the sole cholinesterase enzyme identifiable histochemically in the teleost retina. Acetylcholinesterase is present in both amacrine and ganglion cells in the retinas of all three species of fish studied. No sign of acetylcholinesterase activity was found in ganglion cell axons either in the nerve fiber layer of the retina or in the optic nerve. Evidence is presented for the presence of acetylcholinesterase activity in additional cell types within the nuclear layer. The distribution of acetylcholinesterase-containing cells in teleost retina is compared to that in other species.
“Protecting” street children? Urban revitalization and regulation in Lima, Peru

In this article, I develop a critical analysis of the relationship between urban “revitalization” campaigns and the regulation of street children in Lima, Peru. Scholars writing mostly in the Global North have drawn attention to increasingly punitive policies regarding public space. While in many regards Lima’s urban policy is reflective of such larger trends, I consider whether the regulation of street children is as punitive as might be assumed. I am particularly concerned with the role that children’s rights play as another logic structuring urban regulation. I first show how a language of children’s rights has been manipulated to justify the removal of street children from public space, as is most evident through Peru’s Law to Protect Minors from Situations of Begging. However, there is also something more ambiguous occurring. In the second part of this article, I examine the uneven implementation of policy: street children themselves resist and rework policies “on the ground,” and children’s rights frameworks may offer possibilities for rupture of formal regulation. I suggest that these overlapping and competing dynamics sustain an uneven and contingent geography of urban regulation.
Cramer-Rao Bound for Bearing Estimation with Bias Correction

The Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRB) has been extensively used in parameter estimation performance analysis. It can be achieved by a maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) for sufficiently high SNR; however below certain SNR the MLE mean-square error departs significantly from the CRB, displaying a threshold behavior. This departure is partially attributed to the fact that an MLE with nonlinear parameter dependence is biased at low SNR while a local performance bound such as the CRB is limited to unbiased estimates. Indeed the information theory inequality, from which the CRB can be derived, does include some bias-related terms, which are ignored in the commonly-referred form of the CRB (i.e., inverse of the Fisher information) due to evaluation difficulty. Using a first- order approximation of the MLE bias, this paper presents a complete CRB including both the bias contribution and the Fisher information, and applies it to array-based bearing estimation analysis. Evaluation examples demonstrate that the revised CRB displays some threshold behavior; however it is still far apart from the MLE simulations. The results suggest that 1) a more accurate bias estimation must be exploited to make the approach practically meaningful; and 2) it may make more sense to combine the bias contribution with a large error bound such as the Barankin bound so that both mainlobe and sidelobe ambiguities are taken into account.