Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integration of chaotic map and confusion technique for color medical image encryption

In order to achieve secure access to color medical image, a symmetric color medical image encryption is proposed in this paper. The proposed algorithm is base on combination of scrambling and confusion processes. 2D lower triangular map used for scrambling the addresses of image pixels, and the proposed propeller algorithm is used to confuse the gray values of image pixels. A number of security analyses conducted to evaluate the proposed algorithm including key space analysis, statistical analysis and lossless analysis. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm robust against brute-force attack and statistical attack. Finally the proposed algorithm is lossless algorithm.
Bureau of the Census Statistical Research Division Report Series Making Difficult Model Comparisons By

This series contains research reports, written by or in cooperation with staff members of the Statistical Research Division, whose content may be of interest to the general statistical research community. The views reflected in these reports are not necessarily those of the Census Bureau nor do they necessarily represent Census Bureau statistical policy or practice. SUMMARY The process of statistical model selection often involves comparison of quite distinct competing models, none of which is correct in any strict sense In such situtations, the classical, nested-model comparison procedures are inapplicable. This paper describes an easily calculated and broadly applicable graphical diagnostic for model comparison and also s'ome robust generalizations to the time series situation of a test statistic of Vuong (1989) for non-nested model comparisons of incorrect models. After presenting some supporting theory, we illustrate the application of these new procedures by comparing ARIMA models with " structural " component models for forty seasonal economic time series, continuing a study by Bell and Pugh 1989) who used AIC for this purpose. When the comparison procedures are decisive, a RIMA models are usually favored.
Understanding the Costs of Sovereign Default: American State Debts in the 1840's

The defaults of U.S. states in the 1840s provide a powerful test of competing models of sovereign debt. The Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevented foreign creditors from obtaining payment in the federal courts. Moreover, because the defaulting states were part of a large and economically integrated nation, creditors could not enforce payment by imposing military or trade sanctions. In spite of the lack of sanctions, however, most states eventually repaid in full. It appears that the states repaid in order to maintain access to capital markets, much as in reputational models of sovereign debt. Copyright 1996 by American Economic Association.
Hardware/Software Helper Thread Prefetching on Heterogeneous Many Cores

Heterogeneous Many Cores (HMC) architectures that mix many simple/small cores with a few complex/large cores are emerging as a design alternative that can provide both fast sequential performance for single threaded workloads and power-efficient execution for through-put oriented parallel workloads. The availability of many small cores in a HMC presents an opportunity to utilize them as low-power helper cores to accelerate memory-intensive sequential programs mapped to a large core. However, the latency overhead of accessing small cores in a loosely coupled system limits their utility as helper cores. Also, it is not clear if small cores can execute helper threads sufficiently in advance to benefit applications running on a larger, much powerful, core. In this paper, we present a hardware/software framework called coretethering to support efficient helper threading on heterogeneous manycores. Core-tethering provides a co-processor like interface to the small cores that (a) enables a large core to directly initiate and control helper execution on the helper core and (b) allows efficient transfer of execution context between the cores, thereby reducing the performance overhead of accessing small cores for helper execution. Our evaluation on a set of memory intensive programs chosen from the standard benchmark suites show that, helper threads using moderately sized small cores can significantly accelerate a larger core compared to using a hardware prefacer alone. We find that a small core provides a good trade-off against using an equivalent large core to run helper threads in a HMC. Additionally, helper prefetching on small cores when used along with hardware prefetching, can provide an alternate design point to growing instruction window size for achieving higher sequential performance on memory intensive applications.
Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of the Novel Antituberculous Vaccine RUTI: Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase II Clinical Trial in Patients with Latent Tuberculosis Infection

Objectives To evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of three different doses (5, 25 and 50 µg) of the novel antituberculous vaccine RUTI compared to placebo in subjects with latent tuberculosis infection. Methods and Findings Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase II Clinical Trial (95 patients randomized). Three different RUTI doses and placebo were tested, randomized both in HIV-positive (n = 47) and HIV-negative subjects (n = 48), after completion of one month isoniazid (INH) pre-vaccination. Each subject received two vaccine administrations, 28 Days apart. Five patients withdrew and 90 patients completed the study. Assessment of safety showed no deaths during study. Two subjects had serious adverse events one had a retinal detachment while taking INH and was not randomized and the other had a severe local injection site abscess on each arm and was hospitalized; causality was assessed as very likely and by the end of the study the outcome had resolved. All the patients except 5 (21%) patients of the placebo group (3 HIV+ and 2 HIV−) reported at least one adverse event (AE) during the study. The most frequently occurring AEs among RUTI recipients were (% in HIV+/−): injection site reactions [erythema (91/92), induration (94/92), local nodules (46/25), local pain (66/75), sterile abscess (6/6), swelling (74/83), ulcer (20/11), headache (17/22) and nasopharyngitis (20/5)]. These events were mostly mild and well tolerated. Overall, a polyantigenic response was observed, which differed by HIV− status. The best polyantigenic response was obtained when administrating 25 µg RUTI, especially in HIV-positive subjects which was not increased after the second inoculation. Conclusion This Phase II clinical trial demonstrates reasonable tolerability of RUTI. The immunogenicity profile of RUTI vaccine in LTBI subjects, even being variable among groups, allows us considering one single injection of one of the highest doses in future trials, preceded by an extended safety clinical phase. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01136161
Please Scroll down for Article Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica Age-period-cohort Analysis of Cervical Cancer Mortality in Taiwan, 1974-1992

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
A Multicenter Evaluation of Blood Culture Practices, Contamination Rates, and the Distribution of Causative Bacteria

Background: The prognostic value of blood culture testing in the diagnosis of bacteremia is limited by contamination. Objectives: In this multicenter study, the aim was to evaluate the contamination rates of blood cultures as well as the parameters that affect the culture results. Materials and Methods: Sample collection practices and culture data obtained from 16 university/research hospitals were retrospectively evaluated. A total of 214,340 blood samples from 43,254 patients admitted to the centers in 2013 were included in this study. The blood culture results were evaluated based on the three phases of laboratory testing: the pre-analytic, the analytic, and the post-analytic phase. Results: Blood samples were obtained from the patients through either the peripheral venous route (64%) or an intravascular catheter (36%). Povidone-iodine (60%) or alcohol (40%) was applied to disinfect the skin. Of the 16 centers, 62.5% have no dedicated phlebotomy team, 68.7% employed a blood culture system, 86.7% conducted additional studies with pediatric bottles, and 43.7% with anaerobic bottles. One center maintained a blood culture quality control study. The average growth rate in the bottles of blood cultures during the defined period (1259 - 26,400/year) was 32.3%. Of the growing microorganisms, 67% were causative agents, while 33% were contaminants. The contamination rates of the centers ranged from 1% to 17%. The average growth time for the causative bacteria was 21.4 hours, while it was 36.3 hours for the contaminant bacteria. The most commonly isolated pathogens were Escherichia coli (22.45%) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (20.11%). Further, the most frequently identified contaminant bacteria were CoNS (44.04%). Conclusions: The high contamination rates were remarkable in this study. We suggest that the hospitals’ staff should be better trained in blood sample collection and processing. Sterile glove usage, alcohol usage for disinfection, the presence of a phlebotomy team, and quality control studies may all contribute to decreasing the contamination rates. Health policy makers should therefore provide the necessary financial support to obtain the required materials and equipment.
The Influence of Solid Microneedles on the Transdermal Delivery of Selected Antiepileptic Drugs

The aim of this project was to examine the effect of microneedle rollers on the percutaneous penetration of tiagabine hydrochloride and carbamazepine across porcine skin in vitro. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis was carried out using an Agilent 1200 Series HPLC system coupled to an Agilent G1969A TOF-MS system. Transdermal flux values of the drugs were determined from the steady-state portion of the cumulative amount versus time curves. Following twelve hours of microneedle roller application, there was a 6.74-fold increase in the percutaneous penetration of tiagabine hydrochloride (86.42 ± 25.66 µg/cm2/h) compared to passive delivery (12.83 ± 6.30 µg/cm2/h). For carbamazepine in 20% ethanol, passive transdermal flux of 7.85 ± 0.60 µg/cm2/h was observed compared to 10.85 ± 0.11 µg/cm2/h after microneedle treatment. Carbamazepine reconstituted in 30% ethanol resulted in only a 1.19-fold increase in drug permeation across porcine skin (36.73 ± 1.83 µg/cm2/h versus 30.74 ± 1.32 µg/cm2/h). Differences in flux values of untreated and microneedle-treated porcine skin using solid microneedles for the transdermal delivery of tiagabine were statistically significant. Although there were 1.38- and 1.19-fold increases in transdermal flux values of carbamazepine when applied as 20% and 30% ethanol solutions across microneedle-treated porcine skin, respectively, the increases were not statistically significant.
Export catalysts in low-income countries : preliminary findings from a review of export success stories in eleven countries

Despite the increasingly protectionist environment in some developed economies, there is no dispute that expanded world trade will be one of the most critical factors in renewed and sustained growth in both developed and developing countries. Further, despite the pessimism many developing countries feel because of protectionist threats and market limitations abroad, most agree that outward-looking development strategies are needed to carry out efficient industrial development and restructuring, both vital to reducing debt burdens and lessening the poverty and stagnation in the Third World. This paper discusses export success stories that were chosen from countries with different characteristics but with the common feature of not being associated with overall success in the export of manufactured products. The countries are Bangladesh, Jamaica, Zambia, Guatemala, Honduras, Cote d'Ivoire, India, Indonesia, Colombia, Hungary and Brazil. The experience of Bangladesh's garment industry is provided in detail, as is Indonesia's plywood success. The other stories of export performance are summarized and a brief history of how each company became an exporter is given, highlighting factors that seemed pivotal to the company's successful penetration of export markets -- with particular attention to catalytic forces. The potential implications of the preliminary findings for future research are summarized.
Dual hop OSTBC transmission over fading channel: Simulation results

This paper presents the performance improvement of dual hop system formed by regenerative relay. The data encoded by orthogonal space time block codes (OSTBC), are sent through n transmit antennas simultaneously. The signal received at each receive antenna is sum of n transmitted signals added by the noise in their channel. Maximum likelihood decoding is used to decode the data. Dual hop is formed by placing a regenerative relay in between transmitter and receiver. The data from the first hop is decoded and forward to the second hop by properly encoding. The existing performance studies of the dual hop transmission and OSTBC transmissions individually. The OSTBC transmission through a regenerative relay is not well investigated so far. We evaluate the encoding and decoding of various codes and provided the simulation results for different orders of OSTBC with different modulations like QPSK, 16-QAM, 32-QAM and 64-QAM over a regenerative relay. Results provide the remarkable performance at the cost of about no extra processing.
How can we promote understanding and fluency in learning from multiple representations ? Intelligent Tutoring System support for connection making

Multiple graphical representations (MGRs) can improve students’ learning. But students’ benefit from them depends on their ability to make connections between graphical representations (GRs). Based on several studies with an intelligent tutoring system (ITS), I have developed a theoretical model for learning with MGRs. To benefit from MGRs, students need to engage in both sense-making processes to understand connections between GRs and they need to become fluent in making these connections. I propose to investigate how these crucial learning processes interact: Does understanding facilitate fluency-building processes or does fluency enhance sense-making processes? And, consequently, which process should ITSs support first? According to the fluency-first hypothesis, providing students with fluency-building support before sense-making support frees cognitive resources that students need to benefit from sensemaking support. By contrast, the understanding-first hypothesis predicts that sense-making support equips students with the necessary knowledge about structural correspondences between GRs, allowing them to attend to relevant aspects of the GRs while solving fluency-building problems. Both hypotheses make predictions about students’ efficiency in directing their attention to relevant features of learning materials, about their ability to make conceptual connections, and about their performance during the learning phase. I propose to analyze these mediation effects on students’ learning using eye-tracking, cued retrospective reports, and tutor log data. I will conduct the experiment in the context of an ITS that I have developed and iteratively improved as part of my PhD research. The proposed experiment will contribute to the multiple representations literature as it investigates how different types of instructional support interact, while investigating mediation effects by integrating eye-tracking data, cued retrospective report data, and tutor log data. It will extend the cognitive science literature by investigating how different kinds learning processes interact: sense-making processes and fluency-building processes. It will lead to instructional principles for combining support for understanding of and fluency in connection making, thereby contributing to the ITS literature. Finally, the findings of the proposed research have the potential to help develop cognitive models that can be used to trace students’ understanding of connections and their fluency in making connections for the purpose of adaptive tutoring.
The Lambda Lambda-Bar calculus: a dual calculus for unconstrained strategies

We present a calculus which combines a simple, CCS-like representation of finite behaviors, with two dual binders λ and λ¯. Infinite behaviors are obtained through a syntactical fixed-point operator, which is used to give a translation of λ-terms. The duality of the calculus makes the roles of a function and its environment symmetrical. As usual, the environment is allowed to call a function at any given point, each time with a different argument. Dually, the function is allowed to answer any given call, each time with a different behavior. This grants terms in our language the power of functional references. The inspiration for this language comes from game semantics. Indeed, its normal forms give a simple concrete syntax for finite strategies, which are inherently non-innocent. This very direct correspondence allows us to describe, in syntactical terms, a number of features from game semantics. The fixed-point expansion of translated λ-terms corresponds to the generation of infinite plays from the finite views of an innocent strategy. The syntactical duality between terms and co-terms corresponds to the duality between Player and Opponent. This duality also gives rise to a Böhm-out lemma. The paper is divided into two parts. The first one is purely syntactical, and requires no background in game semantics. The second describes the fully abstract game model.
RTT presentation of finite -algebras

We construct a wide class of finite -algebras as truncations of Yangians. These truncations correspond to algebra homomorphisms and allow us to construct the -algebras as exchange algebras, the R-matrix being the Yangian one. As an application, we classify all irreducible finite-dimensional representations of these -algebras and determine their centre.
Mayaro Virus Infection in Amazonia: A Multimodel Inference Approach to Risk Factor Assessment

Background Arboviral diseases are major global public health threats. Yet, our understanding of infection risk factors is, with a few exceptions, considerably limited. A crucial shortcoming is the widespread use of analytical methods generally not suited for observational data – particularly null hypothesis-testing (NHT) and step-wise regression (SWR). Using Mayaro virus (MAYV) as a case study, here we compare information theory-based multimodel inference (MMI) with conventional analyses for arboviral infection risk factor assessment. Methodology/Principal Findings A cross-sectional survey of anti-MAYV antibodies revealed 44% prevalence (n = 270 subjects) in a central Amazon rural settlement. NHT suggested that residents of village-like household clusters and those using closed toilet/latrines were at higher risk, while living in non-village-like areas, using bednets, and owning fowl, pigs or dogs were protective. The “minimum adequate” SWR model retained only residence area and bednet use. Using MMI, we identified relevant covariates, quantified their relative importance, and estimated effect-sizes (β±SE) on which to base inference. Residence area (β Village = 2.93±0.41; β Upland = −0.56±0.33, β Riverbanks = −2.37±0.55) and bednet use (β = −0.95±0.28) were the most important factors, followed by crop-plot ownership (β = 0.39±0.22) and regular use of a closed toilet/latrine (β = 0.19±0.13); domestic animals had insignificant protective effects and were relatively unimportant. The SWR model ranked fifth among the 128 models in the final MMI set. Conclusions/Significance Our analyses illustrate how MMI can enhance inference on infection risk factors when compared with NHT or SWR. MMI indicates that forest crop-plot workers are likely exposed to typical MAYV cycles maintained by diurnal, forest dwelling vectors; however, MAYV might also be circulating in nocturnal, domestic-peridomestic cycles in village-like areas. This suggests either a vector shift (synanthropic mosquitoes vectoring MAYV) or a habitat/habits shift (classical MAYV vectors adapting to densely populated landscapes and nocturnal biting); any such ecological/adaptive novelty could increase the likelihood of MAYV emergence in Amazonia.
New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia

Background Australia's dinosaurian fossil record is exceptionally poor compared to that of other similar-sized continents. Most taxa are known from fragmentary isolated remains with uncertain taxonomic and phylogenetic placement. A better understanding of the Australian dinosaurian record is crucial to understanding the global palaeobiogeography of dinosaurian groups, including groups previously considered to have had Gondwanan origins, such as the titanosaurs and carcharodontosaurids. Methodology/Principal Findings We describe three new dinosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous (latest Albian) Winton Formation of eastern Australia, including; Wintonotitan wattsi gen. et sp. nov., a basal titanosauriform; Diamantinasaurus matildae gen. et sp. nov., a derived lithostrotian titanosaur; and Australovenator wintonensis gen. et sp. nov., an allosauroid. We compare an isolated astragalus from the Early Cretaceous of southern Australia; formerly identified as Allosaurus sp. , and conclude that it most-likely represents Australovenator sp. Conclusion/Significance The occurrence of Australovenator from the Aptian to latest Albian confirms the presence in Australia of allosauroids basal to the Carcharodontosauridae. These new taxa, along with the fragmentary remains of other taxa, indicate a diverse Early Cretaceous sauropod and theropod fauna in Australia, including plesiomorphic forms (e.g. Wintonotitan and Australovenator) and more derived forms (e.g. Diamantinasaurus).
DOMINANCE THEOREMS AND ERGODIC PROPERTIES OF POLLING SYSTEMS 1

We consider a class of polling systems with stationary ergodic input flow such that the control in a system obeys a certain regeneration property. For this class, necessary and sucient conditions for the queue-length process to be bounded in probability are found. Under these conditions, we prove that a stationary regime exists and the queue-length process for a system that starts from the zero initial state converges to this regime. In the proof, we use some monotonicity properties of the models considered and some dominance theorems based on these properties.