Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-Observer Privacy-Preserving Hidden Markov Models

Detection of malicious traffic and network health problems would be much easier if Internet Service Providers (ISPs) shared their data. Unfortunately, they are reluctant to share because doing so would either violate privacy legislation or expose business secrets. Secure distributed computation allows calculations to be made using private data and provides an ideal mechanism for ISPs to share their data. This paper presents such a method, allowing multiple parties to jointly infer a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for network traffic, which can then be used to detect anomalies. We extend prior work on HMMs in network security to include observations from multiple ISPs and develop secure protocols to infer the model parameters without revealing the private data. We implemented a prototype of the protocols and have tested our implementation on simulated data of realistic network attack models. The experiments show that our protocols have small computation and communication overheads. The protocols therefore are suitable for adoption by ISPs.
Performance of chirp spread spectrum in wireless communication systems

This paper analyzes the structure and modem scheme of chirp-BOK system. In additive white Gaussian noise channel, an approach of studying the performance of chirp-BOK is presented and the BER-SNR result is evidently improved compared with traditional BOK. Furthermore, the BER of multi-user chirp-BOK system is discussed.
Risk of Alzheimer's disease in relatives of Parkinson's disease patients with and without dementia.

To the Editor: Marder et al.1 observed that siblings of demented patients with PD (PDD) were three times as likely as siblings of normal subjects to develop AD. When only siblings >65 years of age were considered, there was a fivefold increase in risk of AD among siblings of demented PD patients compared with siblings of normal subjects. The authors did not observe a risk of AD among parents of patients with PDD or parents of nondemented PD patients (PDND) compared with parents of normal subjects. The authors conclude that the results of their study “support the possibility of a familial aggregation of AD and PDD. ” We agree that the data presented do not allow more than this cautious conclusion, but we think that the major reason for such caution involves methodologic issues that the authors do not address in their study. First, they use an algorithm for the diagnostic classification of definite, probable, possible, and uncertain AD. They state that an analysis of their data using these “liberal” diagnostic criteria did not differ from another that used the strict diagnostic criteria of definite, probable, and possible AD (all of them requiring a physician to make a diagnosis of AD). It is known that inter-rater agreement for AD diagnoses, even in neurologists and psychiatrists, is between “fair” and “substantial. ”2,3 Therefore, despite the screening procedure applied, it would have been more appropriate to compare only definite and probable AD cases. Such comparison is difficult as only 8 of 583 PDND relatives, 4 of 547 PDD relatives, and 45 of 2865 control relatives carry the strict diagnoses of definite or probable AD. Taking the control relatives as reference, the odds ratios of definite and probable AD among relatives are 0.87 (95% CI 0.41–1.86) for PDND and 0.46 (95% …
Force-Generating Capacities and Fatigability of the Quadriceps Femoris in Relation to Different Exercise Modes

Ullrich, B and Bruggemann, G-P. Force-generating capacities and fatigability of the quadriceps femoris in relation to different exercise modes. J Strength Cond Res 22(5): 1544-1555, 2008-In this study, we examined whether different exercise modes provoke functional differences in maximal and explosive force-generating capacities and fatigability of the quadriceps femoris (QF). Additionally, the interaction of different functional capacities was studied in competitive athletes. Ten competitive tennis players and 10 endurance athletes participated in the study. Pre-exercise force-generating capacities were determined during maximal voluntary isometric knee extensions (MVC). Fatigability of the QF was studied using sustained isometric contractions with target loads of 20% and 40% of pre-exercise MVC. Postexercise MVCs were conducted 20 seconds, 1 minute, and 3 minutes post task failure. Muscle activation of the QF during the fatiguing exercises and postexercise MVCs was estimated using surface electromyography. Higher explosive force-generating capacities, but no differences in absolute moments, were detected in tennis players compared with endurance athletes. Fatigability of the QF during both fatiguing tasks was approximately the same in both athletic populations. This was indicated by minor group differences in endurance time, postexercise MVC production, and electromyography (EMG)-estimated muscle activation during fatigue. Variability in endurance time was not significantly associated with pre-exercise force-generating capacities in these competitive athletes. In both athletic populations, recovery of MVC was significantly slower after the fatiguing contraction with 20% of MVC compared with that with 40% of MVC. These results may enhance understanding of plasticity of the neuromuscular system and yield interesting information for the optimization of athletic training programs. Explosive strength training might enhance endurance athletes' explosiveness without decreasing muscle fatigue resistance. The exercise profile of competitive tennis is suggested to act as a sufficient trigger to reach high neuromuscular fatigue resistance but may be inadequate to cause significant gains in absolute muscle strength.
Real-time road traffic classification using on-board bus video camera

On-board video analysis has attracted a lot of interest over the two last decades, mainly for safety improvement (through e.g. obstacles detection or drivers assistance). In this context, our study aims at providing a video-based real-time understanding of the urban road traffic. Considering a video camera fixed on the front of a public bus, we propose a cost-effective approach to estimate the speed of the vehicles on the adjacent lanes when the bus operates on its reserved lane. We propose to work on 1-D segments drawn in the image space, aligned with the road lanes. The relative speed of the vehicles is computed by detecting and tracking features along each of these segments, while the absolute speed of vehicles is estimated from the relative one thanks to odometer and/or GPS data. Using pre-defined speed thresholds, the traffic can be classified in real-time into different categories such as "fluid", "congestion". As demonstrated in the evaluation stage, the proposed solution offers both good performances and low computing complexity, and is also compatible with cheap video cameras, which allows its adoption by city traffic management authorities.
HAMILTONIAN LATTICE QCD WITH WILSON FERMIONS AT STRONG COUPLING

Hamiltonian lattice QCD with Wilson fermions is investigated systematically by strong-coupling expansion up to the second order. The effective Hamiltonian is diagonalized by Bogoliubov transformation. The vacuum energy, chiral condensate, pseudoscalar and vector meson masses are calculated. The comparison with the unitary transformation method by Luo and Chen is also made. The method discussed in this paper has potential application to QCD at finite density.
Broad bandwidth, efficient, metamaterial-inspired, electrically small antennas augmented with internal non-Foster elements

Broad bandwidth metamaterial-inspired electric and magnetic antennas have been designed and characterized numerically. By augmenting their narrow bandwidth counterparts with internal non-Foster elements, active metamaterial unit cells are introduced as near-field resonant parasitic (NFRP) elements. Nearly complete matching of the entire system to a 50 Ω source without any matching network and high radiation efficiencies over their FBW10dB bandwidths that are more than 75 times their original values have been achieved.
Cross-layer protocols for energy-efficient wireless sensor networking

The Army's next generation distributed sensor networks provide stand-off situational awareness for future troops. A major factor for the performance and lifecycle of these sensor networks is their ability to conserve battery power. As advances in RF components reach the physical limits of energy efficiency, new network protocols operating at the link layer and above hold the greatest opportunities for additional improvements in energy efficiency. Recently, a number of power-saving solutions have been proposed that separately consider power-consumption of media access control (MAC) scheduling and routing algorithms, but have not considered the potential benefit of cross-layer optimization across these algorithms. In this paper, we present an approach that integrates pseudo-dynamic scheduling at the link-layer with diversity routing at the network-layer. The link-layer protocol also provides detailed control of the physical-layer's radio state. Our work focuses on reducing the energy loss due to idle listening, control signaling, congestion hot-spots, and packet collisions. We present analytical and simulation results that demonstrate the increased energy efficiency of this class of cross-layer protocols examine the throughput and latency impacts and define how parameters should be set to optimize the end-to-end performance. We anticipate that the technology presented here will have broad application to army sensor networks as well as public commercial wireless systems and plant automation
Effect of perinatal risk factors on neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) level in umbilical and peripheral blood in neonates

Introduction Acute kidney injury biomarkers are opening a new era in diagnosing kidney failure. The requirement for a specific and sensitive marker of kidney function is highly desirable in neonates because the diagnostic possibilities in this age group are not sufficient. Recent research show that neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) can have a great potential but there is a wide range of medical conditions, that may influence their expression. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of perinatal risk factors on NGAL level in neonates. Material and methods NGAL was measured in umbilical cord blood and peripheral blood in full term neonates with perinatal risk factors during the first days of life. Results We found significantly higher umbilical cord blood NGAL levels in neonates with perinatal risk factors (117.69 ng/ml) compared to the control group (64.37 ng/ml). No significant difference in peripheral blood NGAL level was shown between the two groups. Umbilical cord blood NGAL level correlated positively with peripheral blood NGAL level (r = 0.36, p < 0.01). Umbilical cord blood NGAL level was significantly higher in neonates with fetal distress and infection compared to neonates with other perinatal risk factors. Peripheral blood NGAL level was significantly higher in neonates with infection compared to neonates with other perinatal risk factors. Significantly higher umbilical cord blood NGAL levels were seen in neonates born by operative delivery compared to born by natural delivery.
Verbal and non-verbal requests in Spanish speaking children with Down syndrome

Children with Down syndrome have been described to have language, social-communicative and intentional skills that lag behind age-matched peers, with frequent gesture use that is not accompanied by vocalisations or words. Early intentional communication, particularly requests, has been shown to be an important step in future language development. This is a preliminary study that explores the use of verbal and non-verbal requests in 4 Spanish-speaking children with Down syndrome from very low income families. Children were observed in an elicited request task and language level was evaluated using a parental report. Results showed that all participants were very delayed in their language production. Children used mostly combinations of non-verbal requests. Data support previous studies in that Spanish-speaking children also use non-verbal requests for a prolonged period of time as a strategy to compensate for their linguistic deficits. Findings differ from previous studies in that most combinations of gestures were complementary and not equivalent. Their language development was much more depressed than most data published to date. This lag could be explained because children were from very low income environments and they may lack stimulation because of family situations. It is suggested that data from a larger sample be collected and compared to typically developing children in order to make a stronger proposal about the use of non-verbal forms as a bridge to verbal productions.
Power System Stabilizers with Fuzzy Logic Switching

A self-tuning regulator (STR) with multi-identification models and a minimum variance controller that utilizes fuzzy logic switching is presented. The STR employs recursive least squares algorithms with different order identification models to best model the plant at any given time interval, and an error minimization algorithm will select the one model that has the least identification error in comparison to the plant output. This controller design is applied to a synchronous machine in order to control the speed. The performance of the control system using the proposed scheme shows an overall improvement in comparison to those of existing stabilizers as well as classical STRs
Video Bookmarking for Learner Support in Blended Learning: Selection of Appropriate Keywords for Efficient Review of Lecture Video

We investigated a video book marking function, which is expected to be useful for students to efficiently review videotaped lectures. Video book marking allows students to record classroom lectures and mark the start time of specific points in the lecture video. They can later jump directly to bookmarked segments when reviewing the lecture video. It is important that keywords be useful indicators of bookmarked video segment content. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey to evaluate five keywords for bookmark labeling. We evaluated the suitability of the keywords based on subjective evaluation and system usage logs. We conclude that the five keywords examined are suitable for efficient video book marking by students during lectures.
Glucose control and mortality in critically ill patients.

CONTEXT Hyperglycemia is common in critically ill patients, even in those without diabetes mellitus. Aggressive glycemic control may reduce mortality in this population. However, the relationship between mortality, the control of hyperglycemia, and the administration of exogenous insulin is unclear. OBJECTIVE To determine whether blood glucose level or quantity of insulin administered is associated with reduced mortality in critically ill patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Single-center, prospective, observational study of 531 patients (median age, 64 years) newly admitted over the first 6 months of 2002 to an adult intensive care unit (ICU) in a UK national referral center for cardiorespiratory surgery and medicine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary end point was intensive care unit (ICU) mortality. Secondary end points were hospital mortality, ICU and hospital length of stay, and predicted threshold glucose level associated with risk of death. RESULTS Of 531 patients admitted to the ICU, 523 underwent analysis of their glycemic control. Twenty-four-hour control of blood glucose levels was variable. Rates of ICU and hospital mortality were 5.2% and 5.7%, respectively; median lengths of stay were 1.8 (interquartile range, 0.9-3.7) days and 6 (interquartile range, 4.5-8.3) days, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that increased administration of insulin was positively and significantly associated with ICU mortality (odds ratio, 1.02 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.04] at a prevailing glucose level of 111-144 mg/dL [6.1-8.0 mmol/L] for a 1-IU/d increase), suggesting that mortality benefits are attributable to glycemic control rather than increased administration of insulin. Also, the regression models suggest that a mortality benefit accrues below a predicted threshold glucose level of 144 to 200 mg/dL (8.0-11.1 mmol/L), with a speculative upper limit of 145 mg/dL (8.0 mmol/L) for the target blood glucose level. CONCLUSIONS Increased insulin administration is positively associated with death in the ICU regardless of the prevailing blood glucose level. Thus, control of glucose levels rather than of absolute levels of exogenous insulin appear to account for the mortality benefit associated with intensive insulin therapy demonstrated by others.
Willingness to Pay for Kerbside Recycling in the Brisbane Region

Waste policy in Australia has a strong focus on kerbside recycling. This has a range of costs and benefits to the community, including non-market benefits. However, in Australia, there has been little investigation of household willingness to pay for kerbside recycling. This paper used mixed logit choice modelling to estimate the willingness to pay of households in Brisbane, Australia for kerbside waste collection services including kerbside recycling. It was found that households in Brisbane have a positive and significant willingness to pay of $131.49 per annum for fortnightly kerbside recycling and would be willing to pay an additional $18.30 to increase the frequency of this service to weekly. The utility of respondents was, however, found to decline by $34.18 per year if general waste collection increased from weekly to twice a week. Based on the assumptions used in this study it would appear that the willingness to pay for kerbside recycling exceeds the net financial costs of this service, suggesting that the scheme is economically efficient. However, the reported economic values for recycling may overstate the community’s true willingness to pay if household responses to the choice questions were confounded by their underlying perceptions about the environmental and resource sustainability benefits of recycling.
RETRACTED – Formation and properties of Zr-based bulk quasicrystalline alloys with high strength and good ductility

The crystallization mode of the Zr–Al–Ni–Cu amorphous alloys changed from a single stage to become two stages by the addition of Ag or Pd, and the first-stage exothermic reaction was found to result from the precipitation of nanoscale icosahedral particles with a size of 20 to 50 nm. The precipitation took place by high nucleation and low growth rates in a polymorphous mode for the Ag-containing alloys, and a diffusioncontrolled mode for the Pd-containing alloys. The nanoscale mixed structure alloys exhibited improved strength and ductility as compared with the corresponding amorphous single-phase alloys. The findings of the dispersion strengthening as well as the dispersion ductilization gave a future opportunity to fabricate a new bulk nonequilibrium phase alloy by use of the new phenomenon.
Application of Composite Dictionary Multi-Atom Matching in Gear Fault Diagnosis

The sparse decomposition based on matching pursuit is an adaptive sparse expression method for signals. This paper proposes an idea concerning a composite dictionary multi-atom matching decomposition and reconstruction algorithm, and the introduction of threshold de-noising in the reconstruction algorithm. Based on the structural characteristics of gear fault signals, a composite dictionary combining the impulse time-frequency dictionary and the Fourier dictionary was constituted, and a genetic algorithm was applied to search for the best matching atom. The analysis results of gear fault simulation signals indicated the effectiveness of the hard threshold, and the impulse or harmonic characteristic components could be separately extracted. Meanwhile, the robustness of the composite dictionary multi-atom matching algorithm at different noise levels was investigated. Aiming at the effects of data lengths on the calculation efficiency of the algorithm, an improved segmented decomposition and reconstruction algorithm was proposed, and the calculation efficiency of the decomposition algorithm was significantly enhanced. In addition it is shown that the multi-atom matching algorithm was superior to the single-atom matching algorithm in both calculation efficiency and algorithm robustness. Finally, the above algorithm was applied to gear fault engineering signals, and achieved good results.
Effect of Pioglitazone on In-Stent Restenosis after Coronary Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background In-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a common life-threatening complication and some studies have shown that pioglitazone can reduce the incidence of ISR in patients with drug-eluting stents (DES) implantation. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effect of pioglitazone in preventing ISR after DES implantation. Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of pioglitazone for ISR after DES implantation were identified by systematic searches of multiple online databases and manual searches of related reference lists of identified trials through May 2014. The primary endpoint was the rate of ISR. Secondary endpoints included minimum lumen diameter, percentage stenosis of stented vessels, late loss, in-stent neointimal volume, target vessel revascularization (TVR), target lesion revascularization, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis and death. Results Five studies, comprising 255 pioglitazone-treated patients and 245 controls, were identified in the current meta-analysis. Pioglitazone did not significantly reduce the rate of ISR (P = 0.20) with low heterogeneity (I2 = 13.3%, P = 0.32). For the secondary outcomes, pioglitazone did not substantially affect the pooled estimates of these endpoints except late loss (P = 0.01) and TVR (P = 0.04). Conclusions The limited evidence indicates that pioglitazone does not demonstrate markedly beneficial effect in patients subjected to coronary DES implantation. However, the results should be interpreted with care given the small sample size. Further large-scale RCTs are needed.
Interaction of Bordetella bronchiseptica and Its Lipopolysaccharide with In Vitro Culture of Respiratory Nasal Epithelium

The nasal septa of fetal rabbits at 26 days of gestation were harvested by cesarean section of the does while under anesthesia and then exposed to Bordetella bronchiseptica or its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for periods of 2 and 4 hours. A total of 240 explants were used. The tissues were examined using the Hematoxylin & Eosin technique. Then, semithin sections (0.5 μm) were stained with toluidine blue and examined with indirect immunoperoxidase (IPI) and lectin histochemistry. The most frequent and statistically significant findings were as follows: (1) cell death and increased goblet cell activity when exposed to bacteria and (2) cell death, cytoplasmic vacuolation and infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes when exposed to LPS. The lesions induced by the bacterium were more severe than with LPS alone, except for the cytoplasmic vacuolation in epithelial cells. IPI stained the ciliated border of the epithelium with the bacterium more intensely, while LPS lectin histochemistry preferentially labeled the cytoplasm of goblet cell. These data indicate that B. bronchiseptica and its LPS may have an affinity for specific glycoproteins that would act as adhesion receptors in both locations.