Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Comparative Study of Queue, Delay, and Loss Characteristics of AQM Schemes in QoS-enabled Networks

One of the major component in a QoS-enabled network is active queue management (AQM). Over the last decade numerous AQM schemes have been proposed in the literature. However, much recent work has focused on improving AQM performance through alternate approaches. This study focuses on an unbiased comparative evaluation of the various proposals. The evaluation methodology adopted is the following: we first define the relationship between the terminologies used in this paper, briefly introduce the queue, delay, and loss characteristics-- a subset of network characteristics that can be used to describe the behavior of network entities, and give their mathematical description. Next, we present a method that would be a successful case study based on the NS simulation technique and simulation-based comparisons of AQM schemes chosen, which will help understand how they differ from in terms of per-node queueing information and per-flow end-to-end behavior. Simulation results showed that PI schemes, a feedback-based mechanism, can assist delay sensitive applications to adapt dynamically to underlying network and to stabilize the end-to-end QoS within an acceptable requirement. To understand this attribute and behavior is important for the proper design of queue disciplines, for the provisioning of queues and link capacity, and for choosing parameters in simulation.
Towards property-based consistency verification

We propose a novel approach to the verification of consistency models implemented in distributed storage systems. We base our work on a declarative semantic model defining consistency conditions as predicates expressing ordering and visibility of operations. This model allows for a testing methodology focused on correctness properties rather than operational semantics. Finally, we present and discuss the design and preliminary implementation of a practical property-based consistency verification framework.
The Pattern Recognition Receptor (RAGE) Is a Counterreceptor for Leukocyte Integrins

The pattern recognition receptor, RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation endproducts), propagates cellular dysfunction in several inflammatory disorders and diabetes. Here we show that RAGE functions as an endothelial adhesion receptor promoting leukocyte recruitment. In an animal model of thioglycollate-induced acute peritonitis, leukocyte recruitment was significantly impaired in RAGE-deficient mice as opposed to wild-type mice. In diabetic wild-type mice we observed enhanced leukocyte recruitment to the inflamed peritoneum as compared with nondiabetic wild-type mice; this phenomenon was attributed to RAGE as it was abrogated in the presence of soluble RAGE and was absent in diabetic RAGE-deficient mice. In vitro, RAGE-dependent leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells was mediated by a direct interaction of RAGE with the β2-integrin Mac-1 and, to a lower extent, with p150,95 but not with LFA-1 or with β1-integrins. The RAGE–Mac-1 interaction was augmented by the proinflammatory RAGE-ligand, S100-protein. These results were corroborated by analysis of cells transfected with different heterodimeric β2-integrins, by using RAGE-transfected cells, and by using purified proteins. The RAGE–Mac-1 interaction defines a novel pathway of leukocyte recruitment relevant in inflammatory disorders associated with increased RAGE expression, such as in diabetes, and could provide the basis for the development of novel therapeutic applications.
Reconstruction of 3D Face from a Single 2D Image for Face Recognition

In this paper, a synthetic exemplar based framework for face recognition with variant pose and illumination is proposed. Our purpose is to construct a face recognition system only according to one single frontal face image of each person for recognition. The framework consists of three main parts. First, a deformation based 3D face modeling technique is introduced to create an individual 3D face model from a single frontal face image of a person with a generic 3D face model. Then, the virtual faces for recognition at various lightings and views are synthesized. Finally, an Eigenfaces based classifier is constructed where the virtual faces synthesized are used as training exemplars. The experimental results show that the proposed 3D face modeling technique is efficient and the synthetic face exemplars can significantly improve the accuracy of face recognition with variant pose and illumination.
Absorption, excretion, and metabolism of the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan in healthy male subjects.

The absorption, excretion, and metabolism of the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan was investigated in healthy male subjects by administration of 14C-labeled compound. Four subjects received a single oral dose of 500 mg of bosentan (3.7 MBq), and four other subjects received a single i.v. dose of 250 mg of bosentan (3.7 MBq). Radioactivity and concentrations of bosentan and its metabolites were measured in plasma, urine, and feces samples. More than 97% of drug-related material was recovered on average within 3.5 days after oral dosing and within 5 days after i.v. dosing. More than 90% of radioactivity was found in feces after both oral and i.v. dosing. Most of the radioactivity in urine and feces represented bosentan and three metabolites. Ro 48-5033, the major metabolite in plasma, urine, and feces, is the result of hydroxylation at the t-butyl group of bosentan. The two other metabolites Ro 47-8634 and Ro 64-1056 represent minor metabolite species. Ro 47-8634 is the product of O-demethylation of the phenolic methyl ester, and Ro 64-1056 is generated by both demethylation and hydroxylation. The radioactivity in plasma could almost entirely be attributed to bosentan and the two metabolites Ro 48-5033 and Ro 47-8634, whereby both metabolites exhibited much lower plasma levels than bosentan. Hepatic metabolism followed by biliary excretion of the metabolites apparently represents the major pathway of elimination for bosentan in humans.
A Markov model for blind image separation by a mean-field EM algorithm

This paper deals with blind separation of images from noisy linear mixtures with unknown coefficients, formulated as a Bayesian estimation problem. This is a flexible framework, where any kind of prior knowledge about the source images and the mixing matrix can be accounted for. In particular, we describe local correlation within the individual images through the use of Markov random field (MRF) image models. These are naturally suited to express the joint pdf of the sources in a factorized form, so that the statistical independence requirements of most independent component analysis approaches to blind source separation are retained. Our model also includes edge variables to preserve intensity discontinuities. MRF models have been proved to be very efficient in many visual reconstruction problems, such as blind image restoration, and allow separation and edge detection to be performed simultaneously. We propose an expectation-maximization algorithm with the mean field approximation to derive a procedure for estimating the mixing matrix, the sources, and their edge maps. We tested this procedure on both synthetic and real images, in the fully blind case (i.e., no prior information on mixing is exploited) and found that a source model accounting for local autocorrelation is able to increase robustness against noise, even space variant. Furthermore, when the model closely fits the source characteristics, independence is no longer a strict requirement, and cross-correlated sources can be separated, as well.
Hardcore Smokers in Norway 1996–2009

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the relative proportion of hardcore smokers (HCS) in Norway for the years 1996–2009. Methods: Data were derived from Statistics Norway’s annually cross-sectional representative samples of the adult population. The total sample size of smokers each year was between 250 and 500. The outcome measure was HCS, defined by their intention not to quit smoking and absence of attempts to quit during the last 12 months. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate the association between time (survey year) and the number of HCS. Results: We identified three groups of smokers: occasional smokers, daily non-HCS, and HCS. The relative proportion of HCS declined in the period 1996–2009, from 30% to 23%. A model adjusted for gender, age, educational level, and the use of snus (smokeless tobacco) showed the same downward trend. Conclusions: Within this sample of Norwegian smokers, the relative share of HCS is not increasing. This knowledge is important for tobacco prevention policy. The result does not support a hardening hypothesis regarding changes in the size of the group of HCS. Further analysis is needed to investigate individual resistance to smoking cessation.
Factors Influencing the Detection of Early CT Signs of Cerebral Ischemia: An Internet-Based, International Multiobserver Study

Background and Purpose— Early CT signs of cerebral ischemia are subtle. Little is known of which factors influence the detection of infarct signs. We compared neuroradiologists’ scan readings with those of other specialists involved in the care of stroke patients. Methods— We used the Internet to show 63 CT scans, all acquired <6 hours after stroke and representing different patient ages, times to scanning, stroke severity, and early CT signs of ischemia to physicians involved in stroke care. They completed a structured scan interpretation proforma over the Internet. We compared the detection of early ischemic signs stratified by severity and the effect of prior stroke between different specialties. Results— Among 207 observers, neuroradiologists saw significantly more of “any early ischemic changes” than did stroke physicians, general radiologists, geriatricians, or neurologists (all P<0.0001), predominantly due to neuroradiologists’ greater detection of “mild” hypoattenuation or swelling. Detection of “severe” hypoattenuation or swelling, and hyperattenuated arteries did not differ between specialties. Old infarcts impaired recognition of early ischemic signs. Nonneuroradiologists did not “overcall” signs. Years of scan-reading experience did not account for these differences, but neuroradiologists took, on average, 30 seconds longer to read each scan than did most other specialists (P<0.0001). Conclusions— Nonneuroradiologists should realize that they are unlikely to overcall signs, that old infarcts may distract them from seeing early ischemic signs, and read stroke CT scans more slowly, as these factors may help them perform more like neuroradiologists.
Cloudy, increasingly FAIR; revisiting the FAIR Data guiding principles for the European Open Science Cloud

The FAIR Data Principles propose that all scholarly output should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. As a set of guiding principles, expressing only the kinds of behaviours that researchers should expect from contemporary data resources, how the FAIR principles should manifest in reality was largely open to interpretation. As support for the Principles has spread, so has the breadth of these interpretations. In observing this creeping spread of interpretation, several of the original authors felt it was now appropriate to revisit the Principles, to clarify both what FAIRness is, and is not.
VTint: Protecting Virtual Function Tables' Integrity

In the recent past, a number of approaches have been proposed to protect certain types of control data in a program, such as return addresses saved on the stack, rendering most traditional control flow hijacking attacks ineffective. Attack- ers, however, can bypass these defenses by launching advanced attacks that corrupt other data, e.g., pointers indirectly used to access code. One of the most popular targets is virtual table pointers (vfptr), which point to virtual function tables (vtable) consisting of virtual function pointers. Attackers can exploit vul- nerabilities, such as use-after-free and heap overflow, to overwrite the vtable or vfptr, causing further virtual function calls to be hijacked (vtable hijacking). In this paper we propose a lightweight defense solution VTint to protect binary executables against vtable hijacking attacks. It uses binary rewriting to instrument security checks before virtual function dispatches to validate vtables' integrity. Experiments show that it only introduces a low performance overhead (less than 2%), and it can effectively protect real-world vtable hijacking attacks.
Risk factors for perinatal transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the natural history of HCV infection acquired in infancy.

BACKGROUND The goal of the present study was to assess risk factors for perinatal hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission and the natural history of infection among HCV-infected infants. METHODS In a cohort study, 244 infants born to HCV-positive mothers were followed from birth until age > or =12 months. Maternal serum was collected at enrollment and delivery; infant serum was collected at birth and at 8 well-child visits. Testing included detection of antibody to HCV, detection of HCV RNA (qualitative and quantitative), and genotyping. HCV-infected infants were followed annually until age 5 years. RESULTS Overall, 9 of 190 (4.7% [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.3%-9.1%]) infants born to mothers who were HCV RNA positive at delivery became infected, compared with 0 of 54 infants born to HCV RNA-negative mothers (P=.10). Among HCV RNA-positive mothers, the rate of transmission was 3.8% (95% CI, 1.7%-8.1%) from the 182 who were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative, compared with 25.0% (95% CI, 4.5%-64.4%) from the 8 who were HIV positive (P<.05). Three infected infants resolved their infection (i.e., became HCV RNA negative). In multivariate analysis restricted to HCV RNA-positive mothers, membrane rupture > or =6 h (odds ratio [OR], 9.3 [95% CI, 1.5-179.7]) and internal fetal monitoring (OR, 6.7 [95% CI, 1.1-35.9]) were associated with transmission of HCV to infants. CONCLUSION If duration of membrane rupture and internal fetal monitoring are confirmed to be associated with transmission, interventions may be possible to decrease the risk of transmission.
Meter-Scale Morphology of the North Polar Region of Mars

Mars' north pole is covered by a dome of layered ice deposits. Detailed (∼30 centimeters per pixel) images of this region were obtained with the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Planum Boreum basal unit scarps reveal cross-bedding and show evidence for recent mass wasting, flow, and debris accumulation. The north polar layers themselves are as thin as 10 centimeters but appear to be covered by a dusty veneer in places, which may obscure thinner layers. Repetition of particular layer types implies that quasi-periodic climate changes influenced the stratigraphic sequence in the polar layered deposits, informing models for recent climate variations on Mars.
Hemodynamics and Salt-and-Water Balance Link Sodium Storage and Vascular Dysfunction in Salt-Sensitive Subjects

We investigated 24-hour hemodynamic changes produced by salt loading and depletion in 8 salt-sensitive (SS) and 13 salt-resistant (SR) normotensive volunteers. After salt loading, mean arterial pressure was higher in SS (96.5±2.8) than in SR (84.2±2.7 mm Hg), P<0.01, owing to higher total peripheral resistance in SS (1791±148) than in SR (1549±66 dyn*cm-5*s), P=0.05, whereas cardiac output was not different between groups (SS 4.5±0.3 versus SR 4.4±0.2 L/min, not significant). Following salt depletion, cardiac output was equally reduced in both groups. Total peripheral resistance increased 24±6% (P<0.001) in SR, whose mean arterial pressure remained unchanged. In contrast, total peripheral resistance did not change in SS (1±6%, not significant). Thus, their mean arterial pressure was reduced, abolishing the mean arterial pressure difference between groups. SS had higher E/e′ ratios than SR in both phases of the protocol. In these 21 subjects and in 32 hypertensive patients, Na+ balance was similar in SR and SS during salt loading or depletion. However, SR did not gain weight during salt retention (−158±250 g), whereas SS did (819±204), commensurate to iso-osmolar water retention. During salt depletion, SR lost the expected amount of weight for iso-osmolar Na+ excretion, whereas SS lost a greater amount that failed to fully correct the fluid retention from the previous day. We conclude that SS are unable to modulate total peripheral resistance in response to salt depletion, mirroring their inability to vasodilate in response to salt loading. We suggest that differences in water balance between SS and SR indicate differences in salt-and-water storage in the interstitial compartment that may relate to vascular dysfunction in SS.
Raloxifene decreases serum IGF-I in male patients with active acromegaly.

OBJECTIVE Most patients with acromegaly require additional treatments after trans-sphenoidal surgery. Although traditional methods of treatment aim at suppressing GH hypersecretion from the pituitary tumor, recent studies on the use of the GH receptor antagonist have shown that targeting the action of GH on peripheral tissues may be more effective. Estrogens and the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen have been used previously to suppress circulating IGF-I levels in patients with acromegaly. Positive effects of raloxifene in women with active acromegaly have been reported recently. This study was designed to examine the potential role of raloxifene in the treatment of acromegaly in male patients. DESIGN We studied eight men with active acromegaly despite the fact that they were receiving traditional treatments. All subjects were treated with raloxifene (60 mg twice a day) for a median of 5 weeks. METHODS The effects of raloxifene on GH secretion were assessed by obtaining 24-h GH profiles and studying the response of GH to various stimuli before and after treatment with raloxifene. Serum IGF-I was measured before and after raloxifene treatment. RESULTS Raloxifene did not affect basal GH secretion or response of GH to TRH, GHRH or glucose, but it decreased circulating IGF-I by 16+/-4% (P=0.001), and normalized plasma IGF-I in two patients. No changes in clinical parameters were observed. Prolactin levels, the prolactin response to TRH and free testosterone levels remained unchanged. Raloxifene was well tolerated. CONCLUSION Raloxifene might be useful in the treatment of male patients with active acromegaly, but longer term studies are clearly needed.
Effect of an enteric-coated fish-oil preparation on relapses in Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND Patients with Crohn's disease may have periods of remission, interrupted by relapses. Because fish oil has antiinflammatory actions, it could reduce the frequency of relapses, but it is often poorly tolerated because of its unpleasant taste and gastrointestinal side effects. METHODS We performed a one-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate the effects of a new fish-oil preparation in the maintenance of remission in 78 patients with Crohn's disease who had a high risk of relapse. The patients received either nine fish-oil capsules containing a total of 2.7 g of n-3 fatty acids or nine placebo capsules daily. A special coating protected the capsules against gastric acidity for at least 30 minutes. RESULTS Among the 39 patients in the fish-oil group, 11 (28 percent) had relapses, 4 dropped out because of diarrhea, and 1 withdrew for other reasons. In contrast, among the 39 patients in the placebo group, 27 (69 percent) had relapses, 1 dropped out because of diarrhea, and 1 withdrew for other reasons (difference in relapse rate, 41 percentage points; 95 percent confidence interval, 21 to 61; P < 0.001). After one year, 23 patients (59 percent) in the fish-oil group remained in remission, as compared with 10 (26 percent) in the placebo group (P = 0.003). Logistic-regression analysis indicated that only fish oil and not sex, age, previous surgery, duration of disease, or smoking status affected the likelihood of relapse (odds ratio for the placebo group as compared with the fish-oil group, 4.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 10.7). CONCLUSIONS In patients with Crohn's disease in remission, a novel enteric-coated fish-oil preparation is effective in reducing the rate of relapse.
Fault behavior observation of a microprocessor system through a VHDL simulation-based fault injection experiment

Evaluating and possibly improving the fault tolerance and error detecting mechanisms is becoming a key issue when designing safety-critical electronic systems. The proposed approach is based on simulation-based fault injection and allows the analysis of the system behavior when faults occur. The paper describes how a microprocessor board employed in an automated light-metro control system has been modeled in VHDL and a Fault Injection Environment has been set up using a commercial simulator. Preliminary results about the effectiveness of the hardware fault-detection mechanisms are also reported. Such results will address the activity of experimental evaluation in subsequent phases of the validation process.
Proposal generation for object detection using cascaded ranking SVMs

Object recognition has made great strides recently. However, the best methods, such as those based on kernel-SVMs are highly computationally intensive. The problem of how to accelerate the evaluation process without decreasing accuracy is thus of current interest. In this paper, we deal with this problem by using the idea of ranking. We propose a cascaded architecture which using the ranking SVM generates an ordered set of proposals for windows containing object instances. The top ranking windows may then be fed to a more complex detector. Our experiments demonstrate that our approach is robust, achieving higher overlap-recall values using fewer output proposals than the state-of-the-art. Our use of simple gradient features and linear convolution indicates that our method is also faster than the state-of-the-art.
Structure and spin dynamics in Cr Doped ZnO

viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.0 Introduction . 1 1.2 Semiconductor Basics . 2 1.3 Background of the study . 3 1.4 Research Problem . 6 1.5 Research Objectives . 7 1.6 Summary of this thesis . 7 1.7 References . 8 CHAPTER TWO: Literature Survey . 10 2.1 Importance of ZnO . 10
Local descriptions for human action recognition from 3D reconstruction data

In this paper, a view-invariant approach to human action recognition using 3D reconstruction data is proposed. Initially, a set of calibrated Kinect sensors are employed for producing a 3D reconstruction of the performing subjects. Subsequently, a 3D flow field is estimated for every captured frame. For performing action recognition, the `Bag-of-Words' methodology is followed, where Spatio-Temporal Interest Points (STIPs) are detected in the 4D space (xyz-coordinates plus time). A novel local-level 3D flow descriptor is introduced, which among others incorporates spatial and surface information in the flow representation and efficiently handles the problem of defining 3D orientation at every STIP location. Additionally, typical 3D shape descriptors of the literature are used for producing a more complete representation. Experimental results as well as comparative evaluation using datasets from the Huawei/3DLife 3D human reconstruction and action recognition Grand Challenge demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.