Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Difficulty Rating of Sudoku Puzzles: An Overview and Evaluation

How can we predict the difficulty of a Sudoku puzzle? We give an overview of difficulty rating metrics and evaluate them on extensive dataset on human problem solving (more then 1700 Sudoku puzzles, hundreds of solvers). The best results are obtained using a computational model of human solving activity. Using the model we show that there are two sources of the problem difficulty: complexity of individual steps (logic operations) and structure of dependency among steps. We also describe metrics based on analysis of solutions under relaxed constraints -- a novel approach inspired by phase transition phenomenon in the graph coloring problem. In our discussion we focus not just on the performance of individual metrics on the Sudoku puzzle, but also on their generalizability and applicability to other problems.
NADPH oxidase: an update.

T HE NADPH OXIDASES are a group of plasma membrane–associated enzymes found in a variety of cells of mesodermal origin. The most thoroughly studied of these is the leukocyte NADPH oxidase, which is found in professional phagocytes and B lymphocytes. It catalyzes the production of superoxide (O2
Cognitive impairment and cortical reorganization in children with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is associated with mild cognitive deficits, especially language impairment. This study aimed to clarify whether children with BECTS with left‐ or right‐hemispheric, or bilateral focus have specific neuropsychological language deficits when compared to healthy controls, whether these deficits correlate functionally with language network organization (typical vs. atypical), and whether cofactors such as duration, handedness, and medication have a relevant impact on language reorganization processes.
Sexual Health and Men Who Have Sex with Men in Vietnam: An Integrated Approach to Preventive Health Care

Background. While HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Vietnam has received increasing attention, most studies focus on HIV knowledge and established risk factors such as injection drug use. This paper proposes to address HIV risk among MSM from an integrated approach to preventive care that takes into account syndemic conditions such as substance use, mental health, and stigma, the latter of which prevents MSM from accessing health services. Method. Current studies related to MSM in Vietnam from 2000 onwards, gathered from peer-reviewed as well as non-peer-reviewed sources, were examined. Results. HIV and STI prevalence among MSM varied significantly by location, and yet HIV prevalence has increased significantly over the past few years. Most studies have focused on sexual risk behaviors, paying little attention to the broad spectrum of sexual health, including noninjecting drug use, heavy alcohol consumption, high rates of mental health distress and anxiety, and stigma. Conclusion. Future research and interventions targeting MSM in Vietnam should address their vulnerability to HIV from an integrated approach that pays attention to both sexual health and syndemic conditions.
Effect of Intraoperative Corneal Stromal Pocket Irrigation in Small Incision Lenticule Extraction

This study aimed at evaluating the effect of intraoperative corneal pocket irrigation in small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and compares it to that in femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK). Sixteen rabbit eyes underwent a SMILE procedure, with 8 eyes having corneal pocket irrigation, while the other 8 eyes were without irrigation. Another 16 eyes underwent a FS-LASIK procedure for comparison, with 8 eyes having flap irrigation, while the other 8 eyes were without irrigation. The results showed that the changes in the total corneal thickness, anterior and posterior lamellar thickness, measured by the anterior segment optical coherence tomography, were comparable between the SMILE with and without irrigation groups, suggesting that the irrigation did not lead to significant changes in the corneal thickness. However, at postoperative 8 hours, in vivo confocal microscopy showed that the interface reflectivity in the SMILE with irrigation group was significantly higher than that in other three groups. The presence of interface fluid was further confirmed by the identification of fluid pockets with undulated collagen shown on histological section in the post-SMILE with irrigation eyes. Our findings might contribute to the occurrence of post-SMILE delayed immediate visual quality recovery and further clinical study is required.
Materials and Devices for Organic Electronics

1 Instituto de Investigacion en Comunicacion Optica, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potośi, Alvaro Obregon 64, 78000 San Luis Potośi, SLP, Mexico 2Department of Physics, The Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA 3School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland 4Division de Materiales Avanzados, IPICYT, Camino a la Presa San Jose 2055, Col. Lomas 4a. seccion, 78216 San Luis Potośi, SLP, Mexico
Tazhi: A novel technique for hunting trampoline gadgets of jump oriented programming (A class of code reuse attacks)

Code reuse attacks enable attackers to manipulate the memory and execute their own code on a target system without the need to inject any operating code in the memory space. Jump Oriented Programming is known as a class of this type which has two different kinds of implementation. The main idea is to chain different sequences of instructions terminated to an indirect jump by using controller gadgets called dispatchers or trampolines. This paper focuses on the second type of implementations which uses trampoline gadgets. Finding useful trampolines in different libraries is an issue that considered here. This paper shows useful intended and unintended trampolines available in some famous versions of libraries in Windows and Linux platforms. Additionally, our searching algorithm and a comparison between results of trampolines are presented.
Exercise and risk of stroke in male physicians.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE From a physiological perspective, physical activity might be expected to decrease the risk of developing stroke. However, epidemiological studies of physical activity and stroke risk have yielded divergent findings. We therefore sought to examine the association between exercise and stroke risk. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study of 21 823 men, followed up for an average of 11.1 years. Participants were from the Physicians' Health Study, a randomized trial of low-dose aspirin and beta carotene. Men, aged 40 to 84 years at baseline, were free of self-reported myocardial infarction, stroke, transient ischemic attack, and cancer. At baseline, they reported on the frequency of exercise vigorous enough to work up a sweat. Stroke occurrence was reported by participants and confirmed after medical record review (n=533). We used Cox proportional hazards regression to analyze the data. RESULTS With adjustment for age, treatment assignment, smoking, alcohol intake, history of angina, and parental history of myocardial infarction, the relative risks of total stroke associated with vigorous exercise <1 time, 1 time, 2 to 4 times, and >/=5 times per week at baseline were 1.00 (referent), 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61 to 1. 03), 0.80 (95% CI, 0.65 to 0.99), and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.61 to 1.03), respectively; P for trend=0.04. In subgroup analyses, the inverse association appeared stronger with hemorrhagic than ischemic stroke. When we additionally adjusted for body mass index, history of hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus, corresponding relative risks for total stroke were 1.00 (referent), 0.81 (95% CI, 0.61 to 1.07), 0.88 (95% CI, 0.70 to 1.10), and 0.86 (95% CI, 0.65 to 1.13), respectively; P for trend=0.25. CONCLUSIONS Exercise vigorous enough to work up a sweat is associated with decreased stroke risk in men. In the present study, the inverse association with physical activity appeared to be mediated through beneficial effects on body weight, blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and glucose tolerance. Apart from its favorable influences on these variables, physical activity had no significant residual association with stroke incidence.
Why language acquisition is a snap

Abstract Nativists inspired by Chomsky are apt to provide arguments with the following general form: languages exhibit interesting generalizations that are not suggested by casual (or even intensive) examination of what people actually say; correspondingly, adults (i.e., just about anyone above the age of four) know much more about language than they could plausibly have learned on the basis of their experience; so absent an alternative account of the relevant generalizations and speakers' (tacit) knowledge of them, one should conclude that there are substantive “universal” principles of human grammar and, as a result of human biology, children can only acquire languages that conform to these principles. According to Pullum and Scholz, linguists need not suppose that children are innately endowed with “specific contingent facts about natural languages. ” But Pullum and Scholz don't consider the kinds of facts that really impress nativists. Nor do they offer any plausible acquisition scenarios that would culminate in the acquisition of languages that exhibit the kinds of rich and interrelated generalizations that are exhibited by natural languages. As we stress, good poverty-of-stimulus arguments are based on specific principles – confirmed by drawing on (negative and crosslinguistic) data unavailable to children – that help explain a range of independently established linguistic phenomena. If subsequent psycholinguistic experiments show that very young children already know such principles, that strengthens the case for nativism; and if further investigation shows that children sometimes “try out” constructions that are unattested in the local language, but only if such constructions are attested in other human languages, then the case for nativism is made stronger still. We illustrate these points by considering an apparently disparate – but upon closer inspection, interestingly related – cluster of phenomena involving: negative polarity items, the interpretation of ‘or’, binding theory, and displays of Romance and Germanic constructions in Child-English.
The impacts of silver nanoparticles on planktonic and biofilm bacteria

Nanoscale silver particles represent a new generation of cost-effective antibacterial technologies. Due to the increased manufacturing and use of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in consumer goods their release and accumulation into the environment is highly likely but their fate, behaviour and toxicity to organisms is still very much unknown. The present study has investigated the effect that different environmental conditions have on the behaviour and fate of Ag NPs in waters by determining aggregation state, stability and solubility. This work has also determined their interaction and uptake to laboratory grown planktonic and biofilm bacteria, as well as to natural marine biofilms using analytical, electron microscopy and molecular tools. The outcomes of this work describe the effects that environmental factors such as pH, ionic strength and presence of humic substances (HS) have on the stability, behaviour and ultimately fate of Ag NPs in water, with direct implications on bioavailability of NPs to organisms. Higher pH values as well as the presence of organic of matter in the media increased stability and with this the residence time of the particles in suspension. On the other hand, pH values of 6 and also absence of organic matter increased the precipitation of NPs in suspension. Planktonic Pseudomonas fluorescens was highly susceptible to Ag NPs when grown and exposed at pH 9 only. However, toxicity was also mitigated when natural organic matter (HS) was present. Due to the low solubility of the Ag NPs in the media a NP-mediated toxic mechanism is suggested as the mode of toxicity of Ag NPs to planktonic P. fluorescens cells. Environmental parameters were also crucial for the uptake and interaction of Ag NPs to 3-d old Pseudomonas putida biofilms. Ag NPs were uptaken by the cells under all conditions, and decreased biofilm biovolume per surface area when HS were not present. With HS, Ag NPs did not significantly affect biomass; however uptake of Ag NPs doubled under this condition. Ag NPs in suspension had an effect on a natural marine biofilm community. A dosedependent decrease on biomass was recorded, but more importantly Ag NPs stopped biofilm succession and development and/or settling of new taxa on the resident biofilm community. Critical characterisation of Ag NP behaviour under different conditions is crucial for determining which organisms are more likely to interact with Ag NPs in different environmental compartments, and assess the possibility of longer term exposures. This work provides relevant information on the fate and toxicological effects of a short term exposure of Ag NPs to bacterial cells in an aqueous environment, with possible implications on their bioaccumulation and food web transfer.
Leptin ameliorates insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in Agpat2−/− lipodystrophic mice independent of hepatocyte leptin receptors[S]

Leptin is essential for energy homeostasis and regulation of food intake. Patients with congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL) due to mutations in 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate-O-acyltransferase 2 (AGPAT2) and the CGL murine model (Agpat2−/− mice) both have severe insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, hepatic steatosis, and low plasma leptin levels. In this study, we show that continuous leptin treatment of Agpat2−/− mice for 28 days reduced plasma insulin and glucose levels and normalized hepatic steatosis and hypertriglyceridemia. Leptin also partially, but significantly, reversed the low plasma thyroxine and high corticosterone levels found in Agpat2−/− mice. Levels of carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) were reduced, whereas lipogenic gene expression were increased in the livers of Agpat2−/− mice, suggesting that deregulated ChREBP contributed to the development of fatty livers in these mice and that this transcription factor is a target of leptin's beneficial metabolic action. Leptin administration did not change hepatic fatty acid oxidation enzymes mRNA levels in Agpat2−/− mice. The selective deletion of leptin receptors only in hepatocytes did not prevent the positive metabolic actions of leptin in Agpat2−/− mice, supporting the notion that the majority of metabolic actions of leptin are dependent on its action in nonhepatocyte cells and/or the central nervous system.
Robot-assisted vs. sensory integration training in treating gait and balance dysfunctions in patients with multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial

Background: Extensive research on both healthy subjects and patients with central nervous damage has elucidated a crucial role of postural adjustment reactions and central sensory integration processes in generating and “shaping” locomotor function, respectively. Whether robotic-assisted gait devices might improve these functions in Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is not fully investigated in literature. Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of end-effector robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) and sensory integration balance training (SIBT) in improving walking and balance performance in patients with MS. Methods: Twenty-two patients with MS (EDSS: 1.5–6.5) were randomly assigned to two groups. The RAGT group (n = 12) underwent end-effector system training. The SIBT group (n = 10) underwent specific balance exercises. Each patient received twelve 50-min treatment sessions (2 days/week). A blinded rater evaluated patients before and after treatment as well as 1 month post treatment. Primary outcomes were walking speed and Berg Balance Scale. Secondary outcomes were the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale, Sensory Organization Balance Test, Stabilometric Assessment, Fatigue Severity Scale, cadence, step length, single and double support time, Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54. Results: Between groups comparisons showed no significant differences on primary and secondary outcome measures over time. Within group comparisons showed significant improvements in both groups on the Berg Balance Scale (P = 0.001). Changes approaching significance were found on gait speed (P = 0.07) only in the RAGT group. Significant changes in balance task-related domains during standing and walking conditions were found in the SIBT group. Conclusion: Balance disorders in patients with MS may be ameliorated by RAGT and by SIBT.
Stochastic model for data center energy saving augmented by optical wireless links

Data Centers (DC) consume an enormous amount of energy, now accounting for about 1.5% of US electrical usage. However, part of this energy (server operation and cooling) can be saved by turning off idle servers. This can be achieved by rerouting workloads from partially loaded servers, and thus allowing additional idle servers to shut down. Workload rerouting could be done by optical wireless communication (OWC) links, which can be deployed on top the existing cable/fiber network. In comparison to classic wired infrastructure, OWC deployment and maintenance is faster and simpler, and it offers dynamic configuration of the network. In this paper we derive a stochastic model of data center energy reduction using optical wireless links as a function of the data center load. Our results indicate that for typical data center energy reduction of more than 5% could be achieved for given set of parameters.
Effects of white-tailed deer and invasive plants on the herb layer of suburban forests

Suburban forests face the dual challenge of abundant white-tailed deer and multiple non-native plant invasions. This paper presents early findings from a field experiment on herb layer responses to the combination of deer exclosure and addition of the invasive grass Microstegium vimineum. Deer and invasive plants may indeed interact as multiple stressors on the native community; woody native plants were vulnerable only to the combination of deer access and invasion, and structural equation modeling indicated a negative effect of M. vimineum on native plants (woody + herbaceous) only in the forests where deer also had a strong negative effect.
What Mechanisms Underlie Diastolic Dysfunction in Heart Failure?

Abnormalities of diastolic function are common to virtually all forms of cardiac failure. However, their underlying mechanisms, precise role in the generation and phenotypic expression of heart failure, and value as specific therapeutic targets remain poorly understood. A growing proportion of heart failure patients, particularly among the elderly, have apparently preserved systolic function, and this is fueling interest for better understanding and treating diastolic abnormalities. Much of the attention in clinical and experimental studies has focused on relaxation and filling abnormalities of the heart, whereas chamber stiffness has been less well studied, particularly in humans. Nonetheless, new insights from basic and clinical research are helping define the regulators of diastolic dysfunction and illuminate novel targets for treatment. This review puts these developments into perspective with the major aim of highlighting current knowledge gaps and controversies.
Differential Geometric Regularization for Supervised Learning of Classifiers

We study the problem of supervised learning for both binary and multiclass classification from a unified geometric perspective. In particular, we propose a geometric regularization technique to find the submanifold corresponding to an estimator of the class probability P(y|x). The regularization term measures the volume of this sub-manifold, based on the intuition that overfitting produces rapid local oscillations and hence large volume of the estimator. This technique can be applied to regularize any classification function that satisfies two requirements: firstly, an estimator of the class probability can be obtained; secondly, first and second derivatives of the class probability estimator can be calculated. In experiments, we apply our regularization technique to standard loss functions for classification, our RBF-based implementation compares favorably to widely used regularization methods for both binary and multiclass classification.
Finding Frequent Itemsets Using Weighted Support in Windowed Streaming Model

In recent years, data stream mining has been a focused topic in data mining research. We consider the frequent itemsets mining over streams with regard to the last N data elements as the sliding window model. In this paper, we focus on problem of frequent itemsets for data stream mining, called the weighted support frequent itemsets mine. The proposed model allows the user to specify the weight for each item. Based on the weighted support, we propose a new algorithm, to efficiently discover all the frequent itmesets from streams. Empirical results show that our algorithm outperforms another algorithm under the windowed streaming model. Keywords-Windowed Streaming Model; Frequent Itemsets; Weighted Support;
Dialog on: online learning and social dialogue in the european trade union sector

This concise paper will describe the work in progress of the European-funded Dialog On project which brings together two different facets of Internet use by exploring its potential for computer-mediated distance learning and the support of transnational networking among European Trade Unions and Industry Federations. The impact of initial training opportunities along with the challenges posed by organisational, cultural and linguistic differences will be examined.
New Strategies in Pancreatic Cancer: Emerging Epidemiologic and Therapeutic Concepts

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly lethal disease with complex etiology involving both environmental and genetic factors. Although cigarette smoking is known to explain 25% of cases, data from recent studies suggest that obesity and long-term type II diabetes are two major modifiable risk factors for PC. Furthermore, obesity and diabetes seem to affect the clinical outcome of patients with PC. Understanding the mechanistic effects of obesity and diabetes on the pancreas may identify new strategies for prevention or therapy. Experimental and epidemiologic evidence suggests that the antidiabetic drug metformin has protective antitumor activity in PC. In addition to insulin resistance and inflammation as mechanisms of carcinogenesis, obesity and diabetes are linked to impairments in endothelial function and coagulation status, which increase the risks of thrombosis and angiogenesis and, in turn, the risk of PC development and progression. The associations of the ABO blood group gene and NR5A2 gene variants with PC discovered by recent genome-wide association studies may link insulin resistance, inflammation, and thrombosis to pancreatic carcinogenesis. These exciting findings open new avenues for understanding the etiology of PC and provide opportunities for developing novel strategies for prevention and treatment of this disease. Clin Cancer Res; 16(17); 4313–8. ©2010 AACR.