Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secure Routing in Sensor Networks

In this paper, we present the secure routing in sensor networks. Routing protocols in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are susceptible to a number of attacks depending on the nature of the protocol, its application, and the environment in which the protocol is intended to be used. Routing protocols that do not take the malicious attacks into account can not be easily tamper proofed. These protocols should be designed securely so that they are capable of asserting countermeasures whenever they need to. In this paper we evaluate the most important security attributes in wireless sensor networks. Then, based on these attributes and the application type of the routing protocols, we compare the vulnerability of different groups of protocols.
The Macrolide Roxithromycin Impairs NADPH Oxidase Activation and Alters Translocation of Its Cytosolic Components to the Neutrophil Membrane In Vitro

ABSTRACT We have studied the interference of roxithromycin with NADPH oxidase, the key enzymatic system for oxidant production by human neutrophils. Roxithromycin alters the reconstitution of an active enzyme and impairs the translocation to the outer membrane of the cytosolic components p47-phox and p67-phox. Interestingly, in resting cells roxithromycin directly triggers the translocation of these factors without stimulating the oxidative burst.
On the Welfare Gains of Growth and Welfare Costs of Inequality

This note extends Lucas' (1987) analysis to assess welfare gains of economic growth and welfare costs of consumption inequality, both within and across countries. We find that the welfare costs of inequality are significantly larger than the gains of economic growth. While the gains of economic growth are equivalent to a permanent increase of 26\% in per-capita consumption, the costs of within-country and cross-country inequality are equivalent to a permanent reduction in per-capita consumption of 45% and 90% respectively. A benevolent planner would accept a negative growth rate of 1% (instead of the baseline positive rate of 2.1%) in exchange for the elimination of all within-country inequality. The gains of economic growth are equivalent to those of reducing within-country inequality by approximately 1/3.
Systematic Characterizations of Text Similarity in Full Text Biomedical Publications

Background Computational methods have been used to find duplicate biomedical publications in MEDLINE. Full text articles are becoming increasingly available, yet the similarities among them have not been systematically studied. Here, we quantitatively investigated the full text similarity of biomedical publications in PubMed Central. Methodology/Principal Findings 72,011 full text articles from PubMed Central (PMC) were parsed to generate three different datasets: full texts, sections, and paragraphs. Text similarity comparisons were performed on these datasets using the text similarity algorithm eTBLAST. We measured the frequency of similar text pairs and compared it among different datasets. We found that high abstract similarity can be used to predict high full text similarity with a specificity of 20.1% (95% CI [17.3%, 23.1%]) and sensitivity of 99.999%. Abstract similarity and full text similarity have a moderate correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient: −0.423) when the similarity ratio is above 0.4. Among pairs of articles in PMC, method sections are found to be the most repetitive (frequency of similar pairs, methods: 0.029, introduction: 0.0076, results: 0.0043). In contrast, among a set of manually verified duplicate articles, results are the most repetitive sections (frequency of similar pairs, results: 0.94, methods: 0.89, introduction: 0.82). Repetition of introduction and methods sections is more likely to be committed by the same authors (odds of a highly similar pair having at least one shared author, introduction: 2.31, methods: 1.83, results: 1.03). There is also significantly more similarity in pairs of review articles than in pairs containing one review and one nonreview paper (frequency of similar pairs: 0.0167 and 0.0023, respectively). Conclusion/Significance While quantifying abstract similarity is an effective approach for finding duplicate citations, a comprehensive full text analysis is necessary to uncover all potential duplicate citations in the scientific literature and is helpful when establishing ethical guidelines for scientific publications.
Column wise DCT plane sectorization in CBIR

Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) is the application of computer vision techniques used to retrieve digital images from a large database. In this paper we have used the concept of sectorization of the plane formed form DCT transformed image. We have proposed an approach which involves augmentation of zero and highest row components of column-wise DCT transformed image for generating the feature vector. Precision-Recall crossover point, LIRS (Length of initial string of relevant images retrieved), LSRR (Length of string to recover all relevant images)and LSRI (Longest string of relevant images retrieved) are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. We have introduced a new performance evaluation parameter apart from the above mentioned parameters viz. and LSRI (Longest string of relevant images retrieved). Two similarity measures used to calculate performance evaluation parameters are: 1. Sum of Absolute Distance & 2. Euclidean Distance. The column-wise DCT transformed image is sectorized on the basis of even-odd column components of transformed image with and without augmentation of zero and highest row components. The proposed algorithm is applied to a database of thousand images spread over 10 varying classes. Performance is evaluated and compared for 4, 8, 12 and 16 DCT sectors. Keywords—CBIR, DCT, Precision-Recall, LIRS, LSRR, Absolute Difference, Euclidean Distance, Longest String of Relevant Retrieved Images.
Treatment of diabetic gastroparesis by high-frequency gastric electrical stimulation.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the long-term efficacy of high-frequency gastric electrical stimulation (GES) for treating diabetic gastroparesis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This is a retrospective review of 48 adult diabetic patients with refractory gastroparesis who had a GES system implanted surgically and had follow-up evaluations at 6 and 12 months. The outcome measures were total symptom score (TSS), derived from six upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptom subscores; health-related quality of life (HQOL), including physical composite score (PCS) and mental composite score (MCS) assessed by SF-36 questionnaire, radionuclide gastric emptying test, nutritional status, HbA1c, and adverse events. RESULTS In comparison with baseline, TSS, all six upper GI symptom subscores, PCS, and MCS were significantly improved at 6 months, with the improvement sustained at 12 months. Of 13 patients receiving nutritional support at baseline by tube feeding, only 5 required supplemental enteral feeding at 12 months, and none of the 9 on total parenteral nutrition continued this support. The mean number of hospitalization days during the year after GES was significantly reduced by 52 days compared with the prior year. HbA1c levels were significantly reduced at 12 months. Gastric emptying was only minimally and not significantly faster. Because of infections at the pulse generator pocket site, four patients had their GES systems removed 3-17 months postsurgery. CONCLUSIONS In diabetic patients with refractory gastroparesis, high-frequency GES by a permanently implanted system significantly improved upper GI symptoms, HQOL, nutritional status, glucose control, and hospitalizations with an acceptably low complication rate.
AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM AND EFFICIENCY

Several studies have evaluated the performance of biotechnology crops and found that the technology is successful in increasing yield and reducing the pesticides. In contrast, most studies fail to consider the dynamic aspect of the pest population, even though the pests are getting more resistant to both pesticide-producing crops and the pesticides. The pest density kept growing and different types of new pests kept emerging regardless of the amount of pesticides sprayed. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of biotechnology crops in India, taking into account the pest density. I use the stochastic production function to capture the impacts of the inputs on the mean of the output and the effect of pest density on the variability of the output. Insecticides squared and human-labor squared are used as proxies for the pest density in order to get more accurate econometric estimation. Furthermore, comparative analysis is conducted between biotech and non-biotech crops using the elasticities of the insecticides and human labor with respect to the yield. The results show that the presence of new pests upon the adoption of the biotech seeds has nullified the productivity of the damage control inputs such as biotech seeds and the insecticides.
Digital Control in the Voltage Regulators for Computers

Abstract – This paper review the latest advances in digital control techniques, which are suitable for multi-phase synchronous buck converters for computer applications. Some digital control algorithms, which can improve dynamic and static performance, are reviewed for the single-phase or multi-phase synchronous buck converters. Finally, performance of CHiL’s new digital control is presented that eliminates the bulk capacitors and improves the light load efficiency.
Analytical validation of the tag-it high-throughput microsphere-based universal array genotyping platform: application to the multiplex detection of a panel of thrombophilia-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

BACKGROUND We have developed a novel, microsphere-based universal array platform referred to as the Tag-It platform. This platform is suitable for high-throughput clinical genotyping applications and was used for multiplex analysis of a panel of thrombophilia-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). METHODS Genomic DNA from 132 patients was amplified by multiplex PCR using 6 primer sets, followed by multiplex allele-specific primer extension using 12 universally tagged genotyping primers. The products were then sorted on the Tag-It array and detected by use of the Luminex xMAP system. Genotypes were also determined by sequencing. RESULTS Empirical validation of the universal array showed that the highest nonspecific signal was 3.7% of the specific signal. Patient genotypes showed 100% concordance with direct DNA sequencing data for 736 SNP determinations. CONCLUSIONS The Tag-It microsphere-based universal array platform is a highly accurate, multiplexed, high-throughput SNP-detection platform.
Synthetic Core Promoters for Pichia pastoris

Synthetic promoters are commonly used tools for circuit design or high level protein production. Promoter engineering efforts in yeasts, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris have mostly been focused on altering upstream regulatory sequences such as transcription factor binding sites. In higher eukaryotes synthetic core promoters, directly needed for transcription initiation by RNA Polymerase II, have been successfully designed. Here we report the first synthetic yeast core promoter for P. pastoris, based on natural yeast core promoters. Furthermore we used this synthetic core promoter sequence to engineer the core promoter of the natural AOX1 promoter, thereby creating a set of core promoters providing a range of different expression levels. As opposed to engineering strategies of the significantly longer entire promoter, such short core promoters can directly be added on a PCR primer facilitating library generation and are sufficient to obtain variable expression yields.
The sign of asymmetry and the Taylor Effect in stochastic volatility models

According to the Taylor-Effect the autocorrelations of absolute financial returns are higher than the ones of squared returns. In this work, we analyze this empirical property for three different asymmetric stochastic volatility models, with short and/or long memory. Specially, we investigate how the Taylor-Effect relates to the most important model characteristics: its asymmetry and its capacity to generate volatility persistence and kurtosis. Finally, we realize Monte Carlo experiments to infer about possible biases of the sample Taylor-Effect and fit the models to the return series of the Dow Jones.
Comparison of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Between Mild and Severe Non-cardiac Chest Pain

Background: Physical and psychological factors affect one another in patients presenting with non-cardiac chest pain. Studying the psychological components of these patients may improve their treatment process. Objectives: To compare depression, anxiety, and stress severity between mild and severe chest pain in patients with non-cardiac chest pain. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. The statistical population comprised patients with non-cardiac chest pain admitted to the Heart Emergency Center in Kermanshah, Iran. Using a matching method, 94 participants with mild and severe non-cardiac chest pain were selected and studied in two groups of 47. The instruments used in this study include the Comorbidity Index, the brief pain index (BPI), and the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS). The multivariate analysis of variance, chi-squared test, and t-test were used for data analysis. Results: After adjusting for the effects of age and comorbid conditions, results showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of depression, anxiety, and stress; the severity of these variables was exacerbated in patients with severe chest pain (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Depression, anxiety, and stress are common psychological components in patients with non-cardiac chest pain especially those with severe chest pain and it is essential that health professionals pay attention to these factors. Therefore, paying attention to psychological factors could help experts to choose solutions that will decrease pain and side effects of the diseases. It may also facilitate treatment procedures among patients in severe pain. Further investigation to determine the association between these variables and non-cardiac chest pain should be considered.
Genetics and genomic medicine in Slovakia

The Slovak Republic (SR) is a small sovereign state in Central Europe which gained independence on the 1 January 1993 by separation from the Czech/Slovak Federal Republic. From 2002, the SR was divided into eight semi-autonomous Regions (“krajov”); each named after its principal city; with their self-governing bodies referred to as Upper-Tier Territorial Units (VUC). These regions are subdivided„ into a total of 79 districts (“okresov”). The Slovak Republic joined the European Union on 1st January 2004 and was included in the Eurozone on 1 January 2009. SR land area covers 49,036 square kilometers with a 2011 population of 5,397,036 (http://www.portal.statistics.sk) in three main ethnic groups: 80.7% Slovaks, 8.5% Hungarians, and 2% Romany. The Roma percentage is actually greater than this; estimated between 7.5% and 8.8%, as many Roma declared their census ethnicity Slovak or Hungarian dependent on their habitat, and a further 380,000 appear not to have furnished 2011 census particulars. Romany presence on Slovak soil was first recorded in 1322 AD, and significant migration waves were later reported in the 16–17th centuries from Western Europe, and again in the second half of 19th century from Vlachia and Moldavia after slavery's abolition. Romany people currently inhabit ∼300 SR settlements. While Slovak and Hungarian families prevailingly have two children, and rarely three or more, Roma families have a significantly higher number; often ten or more.
A Place-Based, Values-Centered Approach to Managing Recreation on Canadian Crown Lands

Many studies of forest values worldwide have focused on “held” values (Brown 1984). We argue that “assigned” values are more suitable for the site-based focus associated with recreation planning. Consideration of public use and recreation values raises many of the issues surrounding place attachment and place identification. We argue that “meaning-based” interpretive approaches to social values elicitation are better suited to collaborative planning than are expert-driven, rational decision-making models. Social science data are rarely specifically located and are difficult to integrate into geographic information system (GIS)-based planning models. In a case study of a Canadian Crown Forest in northwestern Ontario, Canada, we integrate a variety of approaches, including focus groups, valued-place mapping, and surveys, to elicit and spatially represent social values. We introduce the concept of “spatial valuation zones” as a mean of incorporating user-defined social values into forest planning and examine the implications of this approach for managing multiple-use forests more generally.
Synergistic cytotoxicity of irinotecan and cisplatin in dual-drug targeted polymeric nanoparticles.

AIM Two unexplored aspects for irinotecan and cisplatin (I&C) combination chemotherapy are: actively targeting both drugs to a specific diseased cell type, and delivering both drugs on the same vehicle to ensure their synchronized entry into the cell at a well-defined ratio. In this work, the authors report the use of targeted polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) to coencapsulate and deliver I&C to cancer cells expressing the prostate-specific membrane antigen. MATERIALS & METHODS Targeted NPs were prepared in a single step by mixing four different precursors inside microfluidic devices. RESULTS I&C were encapsulated in 55-nm NPs and showed an eightfold increase in internalization by prostate-specific membrane antigen-expressing LNCaP cells compared with nontargeted NPs. NPs coencapsulating both drugs exhibited strong synergism in LNCaP cells with a combination index of 0.2. CONCLUSION The strategy of coencapsulating both I&C in a single NP targeted to a specific cell type could potentially be used to treat different types of cancer.
Toward a Better Approach to Goodness: Comments on Van der Helm and Leeuwenberg (1996)

Some resularities are more salient to the visual system than others. P. A. van der Helm and E. L. J. Leeuwenberg (1996) have proposed a new approach that quantifies the goodness of a pattern's regularity as the number of holographic identities constituting the regulartiy, relative to the total amount of information needed to describe the pattern. This holographic approach to goodness was compared with previous approaches and was presented in relation to metatheoretic al issues. Tnese 3 aspects are discussed further here. First, the theory is shown to contain implausible assumptions and unfortunate gaps with respect to the required processing. Second, Van der Helm and Lseuwenberg's critique on preceding theories is refuted. Third, some metatheorerical issues need to be qualified or at least clarified. Together, these concerns suggest that a better approach to goodness might result from a synthesis of the most useful aspects of diverse theories of goodness. In 1996, Van der Helm and Leeuwenberg presented a new theory of goodness that helped researchers understand the perceptual salience of regularities such as repetition and mirror symmetry in terms of properties of their mathematical representation. They argued that preceding theories of goodness failed either because they were process theories with contradictory ad hoc assumptions or because they were representation theories taking a transformational approach to goodness. In contrast, their theory is representation based and nontransformational. First, I summarize Van der Helm and Leeuwenberg's (1996) theory and discuss some problematic assumptions and unfortunate gaps. Then, I demonstrate that their critique of preceding theories such as the transformational approach and the bootstrap model is not completely justified. Finally, I raise some concerns about the metatheoretical framework within which their theory has been presented. The major message is that a synthesis of the most fruitful aspects of the new representation theory with those of preceding process theories might lead toward a better approach to goodness.
A four-scale bidirectional reflectance model based on canopy architecture

Open boreal forests present a challenge in understanding remote sensing signals acquired with various solar and view geometries. Much research is needed to improve our ability to model the bidirectional reflectance distribution (BRD) for retrieving the surface information using measurements at a few angles. The geometric-optical bidirectional reflectance model presented in this paper considers four scales of canopy architecture: tree groups, tree crowns, branches and shoots. It differs from the Li-Strahler's model in the following respects: 1) the assumption of random spatial distribution of trees is replated by the Neyman distribution which is able to model the patchiness or clumpiness of a forest stand; 2) the multiple mutual shadowing effect between tree crowns is considered using a negative binomial and the Neyman distribution theory; 3) the effect of the sunlit background is modeled using a canopy gap size distribution function that affects the magnitude and width of the hotspot; 4) the branch architecture affecting the directional reflectance is simulated using a simple angular radiation penetration function; and 5) the tree crown surface is treated as a complex surface with microscale structures which themselves generate mutual shadows and a hotspot. All these scales of canopy architecture are shown to have effects on the directional distribution of the reflected radiance from conifer forests. The model results compare well with a data set from a boreal spruce forest.