Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crosstalk analysis of a DWDM system with FBG-based optical multi/De-multiplexer

Semi-Analytical approach is presented to find the crosstalk in a Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transmission system with Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) based wavelength multiplexer (MUX)/ De-multiplexer (DE-MUX). The analytical expression of crosstalk due to FBG based MUX/DE-MUX is developed considering the FBG Transfer function. The amount of crosstalk is evaluated by simulation and Bit Error Rate (BER) of a Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM) system with cross talk is evaluated numerically. The penalty due to crosstalk at a BER of 10-9 is determined for different FBG and channel parameters. It is found that crosstalk is significant and can be reduced by increasing channel separation and also can be minimized by choosing optimum system parameters.
Prognostic Value of Troponin I Levels for Predicting Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes in Postmenopausal Women Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

BACKGROUND: Adverse cardiac events that follow cardiac surgery are an important source of perioperative morbidity and mortality for women. Troponin I provides a sensitive measure of cardiac injury, but the levels after cardiac surgery may vary between sexes. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of troponin I levels for predicting cardiovascular complications in postmenopausal women undergoing cardiac surgery. METHODS: The cohort of this study were women enrolled in a previously reported clinical trial evaluating the neuroprotective potential of 17&bgr;-estradiol in elderly women. In that study, 175 postmenopausal women not receiving estrogen replacement therapy and scheduled to undergo coronary artery bypass graft (with or without valve surgery) were prospectively randomized to receive 17&bgr;-estradiol or placebo in a double-blind manner beginning the day before surgery and continuing for 5 days postoperatively. Serial 12-lead electrocardiograms were performed and serum troponin I concentrations were measured before surgery, after surgery on arrival in the intensive care unit, and for the first four postoperative days. The primary end-point of the present study was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) defined as a Q-wave myocardial infarction, low cardiac output state or death within 30 days of surgery. The diagnosis of Q-wave myocardial infarction was made independently by two physicians blinded to treatment and patient outcomes with the final diagnosis requiring consensus. Low cardiac output state was defined as cardiac index <2.0 L · min−1 · m−2 for >8 h regardless of treatment. RESULTS: Troponin I levels on postoperative day 1 were predictive of MACE (area under the receiver operator curve = 0.862). A cutoff point for troponin I of >7.6 ng/mL (95% confidence interval, 6.4–10.8) provided the optimal sensitivity and specificity for identifying patients at risk for MACE. The negative predictive value of a troponin I level for identifying a patient with a composite cardiovascular outcome was high (96%) and the positive predictive value moderate (40%). Postoperative troponin I levels were not different between women receiving perioperative 17&bgr;-estradiol treatment compared with placebo and the frequency of MACE was not influenced by 17&bgr;-estradiol treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In postmenopausal women, elevated troponin I levels on postoperative day 1 are predictive of MACE. Monitoring of perioperative troponin I levels might provide a means for stratifying patients at risk for adverse cardiovascular events.
(Un)wisdom of Crowds: Accurately Spotting Malicious IP Clusters Using Not-So-Accurate IP Blacklists

Most complex tasks on the Internet—both malicious and benign—are collectively carried out by clusters of IP addresses. We demonstrate that it is often possible to discover such clusters by processing data sets and logs collected at various vantage points in the network. Obviously, not all clusters discovered in this way are malicious. Nevertheless, we show that malicious clusters can accurately be distinguished from benign ones by simply using an IP blacklist and without requiring any complex analysis to verify malicious behavior. In this paper, we first propose a novel clustering framework which can be applied on data sets of network interactions to identify IP clusters carrying out a specific task collectively. Then, given such a list of identified clusters of IP addresses, we present a simple procedure to spot the malicious ones using an IP blacklist. We show that by choosing the parameter of the proposed clustering process optimally using a blacklist, hence making it blacklist-aware, we significantly improve our overall ability to detect malicious clusters. Furthermore, we mathematically show that even a blacklist with poor accuracy can be used to detect malicious clusters with high precision and recall. Finally, we demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed scheme using real-world login events captured at the login servers of a large webmail provider with hundreds of millions of active users.
Polyether ether ketone in protocol bars: Mechanical behavior of three designs

Aim: This study evaluated the compressive strength (CS) of protocol bars on polyether ether ketone (PEEK) implants compared to metallic bars (NiCr). Materials and Methods: Thirty PEEK bars and thirty metallic bars (control) were produced using three different cross-sectional designs (n = 10): rectangular cross-section solid bar (R), T-type (T), and inverted T-type (T inv). All bars were 30 mm long. The bars were screwed to Cone Morse implants of 3.75 mm × 11.0 mm and submitted to compression strength test in a universal testing machine (0.5 mm/min), with the load applied to the bar cantilever. After the test, we measured the counter torque on the screws. Results: Compression strength (N) and counter torque (N/cm) data were analyzed with two criteria: ANOVA and Tukey (α = 0.05). PEEK bars showed mean compression strength significantly lower than NiCr bars, for all designs (P < 0.001), with R bars showing the best results and T inv, the worst results. PEEK bars showed smaller counter torque values than NiCr bars for R or T designs (P = 0.002). Conclusion: For PEEK bars, T inv design resulted in the smaller compression strength. PEEK solid bars, with rectangular cross-section, showed larger resistance to compression in comparison to the other designs. However, PEEK bars showed lower compression strength than that verified for metallic bars.
Automatic generation of 3D house models with solar photovoltaic generation for smart city

City models by 3D CG (Computer Graphics) are important in promoting public participation for smart city, which will use solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. But, creating city models are labor intensive. In order to automate laborious steps, we proposed new technology by integration of a GIS (Geographic Information System) and CG. The proposed integrated system automatically generates 3D building models, based on building polygons or building footprints on digital maps, which show most building polygons' edges meet at right angles (orthogonal polygon). A complicated orthogonal polygon can be partitioned into a set of rectangles. The proposed integrated system partitions orthogonal building polygons into a set of rectangles and places rectangular roofs and box-shaped building bodies on these rectangles. In this paper, we propose to automatically generate 3D building models topped with double shed roofs attached by PV arrays. The sizes and positions, slopes of roof boards and under roof constructions are made clear by designing the top view and side view of a double shed roof house. For the application example of the developed system, we simulate the solar photovoltaic generation change of a city block by performing land readjustment and changing shape of buildings, that is, ordinary roof house or double shed roof house suitable for greater PV generation. Our simulation reveals that double shed roof houses have greatly improved the solar photovoltaic generation.
Ionizing Radiation for Quarantine Control of Opogona sacchari (Lepidoptera: Tineidae)

Abstract A discriminating irradiation dose of 150 gray (Gy) was used to determine the most tolerant immature stages of Opogona sacchari (Bojer) (Lepidoptera: Tineidae). Based on adult emergence, early and late pupae were determined to be the most tolerant stages, and they were significantly more tolerant than eggs, neonate larvae, and larvae that were 1, 2, or 3 wk old. Irradiation treatment of eggs, neonates, 1-wk-old larvae, 2-wk-old larvae, 3-wk-old larvae, early pupae, and late pupae at 150 Gy resulted in a 96, 96, 95, 73, 61, 8, and 9% reduction in adult emergence, respectively. Pupae were treated with irradiation doses between 60 and 400 Gy. Emergence to the adult stage was significantly reduced by irradiation, averaging 90% in experimental controls and 29% in the 400-Gy treatment. Egg production was also reduced by irradiation, although the average age of pupae at the time of irradiation had a larger effect on fecundity. In total, 2,527 pupae treated with 120 Gy eclosed and produced 47,221 eggs and three F1 larvae. In the 150-Gy treatment, 2,927 adults in total emerged from the 4,626 insects treated as pupae. These adults laid 62,878 eggs, none of which hatched. We conclude that a minimum dose of 150 Gy should be sufficient for sterilization of immature O. sacchari infesting export commodities.
Blinding Techniques in Randomized Controlled Trials of Laser Therapy: An Overview and Possible Solution

Low-level laser therapy has evidence accumulating about its effectiveness in a variety of medical conditions. We reviewed 51 double blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of laser treatment. Analysis revealed 58% of trials showed benefit of laser over placebo. However, less than 5% of the trials had addressed beam disguise or allocation concealment in the laser machines used. Many of the trials used blinding methods that rely on staff cooperation and are therefore open to interference or bias. This indicates significant deficiencies in laser trial methodology. We report the development and preliminary testing of a novel laser machine that can blind both patient and operator to treatment allocation without staff participation. The new laser machine combines sealed preset and non-bypassable randomization codes, decoy lights and sound, and a conical perspex tip to overcome laser diode glow detection.
The shunt: an FPGA-based accelerator for network intrusion prevention

The sophistication and complexity of analysis performed by today's network intrusion prevention systems (IPSs) benefits greatly from implementation using general-purpose CPUs. Yet the performance of such CPUs increasingly lags behind that necessary to process today's high-rate traffic streams. A key observation, however, is that much of the traffic comprising a high-volume stream can, after some initial analysis, be qualified as "likely uninteresting. " To this end, we have developed an in-line, FPGA-based IPS ac-celerator, the Shunt, using the NetFPGA2 platform. The Shunt functions as the forwarding device used by the IPS; it alone processes the bulk of the traffic, offloading the memory bus and leaving the CPU free to inspect the subset of the traffic deemed germane for security analysis. To do so, the Shunt maintains several large state tables indexed by packet header fields, including IP/TCP flags, source and destination IP addresses, and connection tuples. The tables yield decision values the element makes on a packet-by-packet basis: forward the packet, drop it, or divert it through the IPS. By manipulating table entries, the IPS can specify the traffic it wishes to examine, directly block malicious traffic, and "cut through" traffic streams once it has had an opportunity to "vet" them, all on a fine-grained basis. We base our design on a novel series of caches, with a "fail safe" miss policy, coupled to a host PC to handle both cache management and higher level IPS analysis. The design requires only 2 MB of SRAM for its extensive caches, and can sup-port four Gbps Ethernets on a single Virtex 2 Pro 30.
Simvastatin Induces Regression of Cardiac Hypertrophy and Fibrosis and Improves Cardiac Function in a Transgenic Rabbit Model of Human Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Background—Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic disease characterized by cardiac hypertrophy, myocyte disarray, interstitial fibrosis, and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. We have proposed that hypertrophy and fibrosis, the major determinants of mortality and morbidity, are potentially reversible. We tested this hypothesis in &bgr;-myosin heavy chain–Q403 transgenic rabbits. Methods and Results—We randomized 24 &bgr;-myosin heavy chain–Q403 rabbits to treatment with either a placebo or simvastatin (5 mg · kg−1 · d−1) for 12 weeks and included 12 nontransgenic controls. We performed 2D and Doppler echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging before and after treatment. Demographic data were similar among the groups. Baseline mean LV mass and interventricular septal thickness in nontransgenic, placebo, and simvastatin groups were 3.9±0.7, 6.2±2.0, and 7.5±2.1 g (P <0.001) and 2.2±0.2, 3.1±0.5, and 3.3±0.5 mm (P =0.002), respectively. Simvastatin reduced LV mass by 37%, interventricular septal thickness by 21%, and posterior wall thickness by 13%. Doppler indices of LV filling pressure were improved. Collagen volume fraction was reduced by 44% (P <0.001). Disarray was unchanged. Levels of activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 were increased in the placebo group and were less than normal in the simvastatin group. Levels of activated and total p38, Jun N-terminal kinase, p70S6 kinase, Ras, Rac, and RhoA and the membrane association of Ras, RhoA, and Rac1 were unchanged. Conclusions—Simvastatin induced the regression of hypertrophy and fibrosis, improved cardiac function, and reduced ERK1/2 activity in the &bgr;-myosin heavy chain–Q403 rabbits. These findings highlight the need for clinical trials to determine the effects of simvastatin on cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and dysfunction in humans with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
The Candida genome database incorporates multiple Candida species: multispecies search and analysis tools with curated gene and protein information for Candida albicans and Candida glabrata

The Candida Genome Database (CGD, http://www.candidagenome.org/) is an internet-based resource that provides centralized access to genomic sequence data and manually curated functional information about genes and proteins of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans and other Candida species. As the scope of Candida research, and the number of sequenced strains and related species, has grown in recent years, the need for expanded genomic resources has also grown. To answer this need, CGD has expanded beyond storing data solely for C. albicans, now integrating data from multiple species. Herein we describe the incorporation of this multispecies information, which includes curated gene information and the reference sequence for C. glabrata, as well as orthology relationships that interconnect Locus Summary pages, allowing easy navigation between genes of C. albicans and C. glabrata. These orthology relationships are also used to predict GO annotations of their products. We have also added protein information pages that display domains, structural information and physicochemical properties; bibliographic pages highlighting important topic areas in Candida biology; and a laboratory strain lineage page that describes the lineage of commonly used laboratory strains. All of these data are freely available at http://www.candidagenome. org/. We welcome feedback from the research community at candida-curator@lists.stanford. edu.
Satellite Image Time Series Analysis Under Time Warping

Satellite Image Time Series are becoming increasingly available and will continue to do so in the coming years thanks to the launch of space missions which aim at providing a coverage of the Earth every few days with high spatial resolution. In the case of optical imagery, it will be possible to produce land use and cover change maps with detailed nomenclatures. However, due to meteorological phenomena, such as clouds, these time series will become irregular in terms of temporal sampling, and one will need to compare time series with different lengths. In this paper, we present an approach to image time series analysis which is able to deal with irregularly sampled series and which also allows the comparison of pairs of time series where each element of the pair has a different number of samples. We present the dynamic time warping from a theoretical point of view and illustrate its capabilities with two applications to real-time series.
Functional Constipation in Children: A Systematic Review on Prognosis and Predictive Factors

Background and Aim: Knowledge regarding prognosis and factors influencing the clinical course of functional constipation in children is important to enable general practitioners and paediatricians to give accurate patient information, to compare treatment strategies, and identify children with high risk for unfavourable outcome. The objective of the study was to investigate and summarize the quantity and quality of evidence on prognosis of childhood constipation with and without treatment and its predictive factors. Methods: An extensive literature search in MEDLINE and Embase was performed to identify prospective follow-up studies evaluating the prognosis or prognostic determinants of functional constipation. Methodological quality was assessed using a standardised list. Results on prognosis of constipation were statistically pooled, and the influence of prognostic factors was summarised in a best evidence synthesis. Results: The search strategy resulted in a total of 2882 abstracts. Only 14 publications met our inclusion criteria, of which 21% scored high methodological quality. Included studies showed large heterogeneity in study populations and outcome measures. Without regard to these differences, 49.3% ± 11.8% of all of the children followed for 6 to 12 months were found to recover and taken off laxatives. The percentage of children who were free from complaints, regardless of laxative use, after 6 to 12 months was 60.6% ± 19.2%. There is substantial evidence that defecation frequency and a positive family history are not associated with recovery from constipation. Conclusions: The few studies published on prognosis of childhood functional constipation and predictive factors showed large heterogeneity and poor methodological quality. Overall, 60.6% of children are found to be free from symptoms after 6 to 12 months. Recovery rate showed no relation with defecation frequency or positive family history. Based on the present literature, we are unable to identify a group of children with high risk for poor prognosis.
Leakage Detection and Risk Assessment on Privacy for Android Applications: LRPdroid

How to identify and manage information leakage of user privacy is a very crucial and sensitive topic for handheld mobile device manufacturers, telecommunication companies, and mobile device users. As the success of a financial fraud usually requires possessing a victim's private information, new types of personal identity theft and private information acquirement attack are developed and deployed along with various Apps in order to steal personal private information from mobile device users. With more than 50% of smartphone market share, Android-based mobile phone vendors and Internet service providers have to face the new challenge on user privacy management. In this paper, we present a user privacy analysis framework for an Android platform called LRPdroid. The goals of LRPdroid are to achieve information leakage detection, user privacy disclosure evaluation, and privacy risk assessment for Apps installed on Android-based mobile devices. With a formally defined user privacy model, LRPdroid can effectively support mobile users to manage their own privacy risks on targeted Apps. In addition, new privacy analysis viewpoints such as user perception and leakage awareness are introduced in LRPdroid. Two general App usage scenarios are evaluated with our system prototype to show the feasibility and practicability of the LRPdroid framework on user privacy management.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Augments Perceptual Sensitivity and 24-Hour Retention in a Complex Threat Detection Task

We have previously shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) improved performance of a complex visual perceptual learning task (Clark et al. 2012). However, it is not known whether tDCS can enhance perceptual sensitivity independently of non-specific, arousal-linked changes in response bias, nor whether any such sensitivity benefit can be retained over time. We examined the influence of stimulation of the right inferior frontal cortex using tDCS on perceptual learning and retention in 37 healthy participants, using signal detection theory to distinguish effects on perceptual sensitivity (d′) from response bias (ß). Anodal stimulation with 2 mA increased d′, compared to a 0.1 mA sham stimulation control, with no effect on ß. On completion of training, participants in the active stimulation group had more than double the perceptual sensitivity of the control group. Furthermore, the performance enhancement was maintained for 24 hours. The results show that tDCS augments both skill acquisition and retention in a complex detection task and that the benefits are rooted in an improvement in sensitivity (d′), rather than changes in response bias (ß). Stimulation-driven acceleration of learning and its retention over 24 hours may result from increased activation of prefrontal cortical regions that provide top-down attentional control signals to object recognition areas.
Smoking and placenta previa: a meta-analysis

Abstract Objective: Previous studies found a positive association between placenta previa and smoking during pregnancy. However, the results of these studies are inconsistent. The aim was to perform meta-analysis of the association between smoking during pregnancy and placenta previa. Methods: Major electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until June 2015. The heterogeneity across studies was explored by Q-test and I2 statistic. The possibility of publication bias was assessed using Begg’s and Egger’s tests. The results were reported using odds ratio (OR) estimate with its 95% confidence intervals using a random-effects model. Results: The literature search yielded 991 publications until October 2015 with 9,094,443 participants. Based on the random effect model, compared to nonsmoker women, the estimated OR and RR of placenta previa was 1.42 (95% CI: 1.30, 1.54) and 1.27 (95% CI: 1.18, 1.35), respectively. Conclusions: There is sufficient documents based on the observational studies that smoking during pregnancy is significantly associated with an increased risk of placenta previa. Therefore, smoking during pregnancy can be considered as a predictor of placenta previa.