Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A modular sampling framework for flexible traffic analysis

The paradigm of having everyone and everything connected in an ubiquitous way poses huge challenges to today's networks due to the massive traffic volumes involved. To turn treatable all network tasks requiring traffic analysis, sampling the traffic has become mandatory triggering substantial research in the area. Aiming at fostering the deployment and tuning of new sampling techniques, this paper presents a flexible sampling framework developed following a multilayer design in order to easily set up the characteristics of a sampling technique according to the measurement task to be assisted. The framework implementation relies on a comprehensive sampling taxonomy which identifies the granularity, selection scheme and selection trigger as the inner characteristics distinguishing current sampling proposals. As proof of concept of the versatility of this framework in testing the suitability of distinct sampling schemes, this work provides a comparative performance evaluation of classical and recent sampling techniques regarding the estimation accuracy, the volume of data involved in the sampling process and the computational weight in terms of CPU and memory usage.
A New Algorithm for Positive Influence Dominating Set in Social Networks

Positive Influence Dominating Set (PIDS) has applications in Online Social Networks (OSN) such as Viral Marketing and College Drinking Problem. To many reasons finding Minimum PIDS (MPIDS) is very desirable. Beside, one of the most important features that distinguish the graph of OSN from other networks is Power-Law degree distribution. Unfortunately computing MPIDS in Power-Law graph is a NP-Complete problem. Recently, one greedy algorithm has been proposed in the literature for the PIDS problem with time complexity of O(n^3). In this paper, we propose a new greedy algorithm for PIDS which has outstanding time complexity of O(n^2). Theoretical analysis and simulation results are also presented to verify our approach's efficiency. The simulation results reveal that compared to other algorithm, our algorithm efficiently reduces the PIDS size.
Modulation of α7-integrin-mediated adhesion and expression by platelet-derived growth factor in vascular smooth muscle cells

We showed previously that the expression of α7-integrin in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) is enhanced in a rat model of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) on α7-integrin expression and VSMC adhesion and migration. Expression of the α7-integrin gene was determined by real-time RT-PCR, whereas protein levels were determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. PDGF increased α7 cell surface protein expression (12 and 24 h: 3.3 ± 0.8- and 3.6 ± 0.4-fold, P < 0.05 vs. control) and mRNA levels (24 h: 3.1-fold, P < 0.05 vs. control) in a time-dependent manner. Actinomycin D and cycloheximide attenuated PDGF-induced increases in α7-integrin, indicating the involvement of de novo mRNA and protein synthesis. Treatment with the MAPK inhibitors PD-98059, SP-600125, and SB-203580 attenuated PDGF-induced increases in mRNA. In contrast, PD-98059 and SP-600125, but not SB-203580, attenuated PDGF-induced increases in cell sur.
Design of image codec based on Bandelet transform using a NIOS II processor

This paper presents the design and implementation of a compression system for grayscale images based on the Bandelet transform. The basis functions of the Bandelet transform are constructed as a set of vectors that indicate the directions in which the image has regular variations of gray. The compression system was designed as a SoPC and was composed of a NIOS II processor with a Cyclone II EP2C70, a touch-panel, and a SD-Card, using 13% of the logic elements and 27% of the memory bits of the FPGA. The Wavelet filters were accelerated in hardware with NIOS II C2H Compiler, obtaining an execution time reduction of 8.8%. Experimental results show that Bandelet compression has an improvement of up to 2 dB over a Wavelet compression when the image has geometric components with high contrast.
Moment Similarity of Random Variables to Solve Cold-start Problems in Collaborative Filtering

The cold-start problem is a primary factor causing performance loss in collaborative filtering. In this paper, we examine a fatal flaw of existing similarity measures in the cold-start condition. We propose a novel method, MSRV, using the moment of a random variable to solve the weaknesses of existing similarity measures that contain vector cosine similarity and correlation analysis-based methods. The proposed method is based on a prudent concept; if the expectation of the difference between two random variables is low, they will be similar to each other. We improve memory-based collaborative filtering performance using the moment that is a major statistical parameter. An experiment using various datasets confirms that the proposed method demonstrates significantly improved prediction performance compared to existing measures in full rating experiments.
Untraceable Off-line Cash in Wallet with Observers

Incorporating the property of untraceability of payments into off-line electronic cash systems has turned out to be no easy matter. Two key concepts have been proposed in order to attain the same level of security against double-spending as can be trivially attained in systems with full traceability of payments. The first of these, one-show blind signatures, ensures traceability of double-spenders after the fact. The realizations of this concept that have been proposed unfortunately require either a great sacrifice in efficiency or seem to have questionable security, if not both. The second concept, wallets with observers, guarantees prior restraint of double-spending, while still offering traceability of double-spenders after the fact in case tamper-resistance is compromised. No realization of this concept has yet been proposed in literature, which is a serious problem. It seems that the known cash systems cannot be extended to this important setting without significantly worsening the problems related to efficiency and security. We introduce a new primitive that we call restrictive blind signatures. In conjunction with the so-called representation problem in groups of prime order this gives rise to highly efficient off-line cash systems that can be extended at virtually no extra cost to wallets with observers under the most stringent of privacy requirements. The workload for the observer is so small that it can be performed by a tamper-resistant smart card capable of performing the Schnorr identification scheme. We also introduce new extensions in functionality (unconditional protection against framing, anonymous accounts, multi-spendable coins) and improve some known constructions (computional protection against framing, electronic checks). The security of our cash system and all its extensions can be derived directly from the security of the well-known Schnorr identification and signature schemes, and the security of our new primitive.
Programa de adestramento en competencia e cognición social en doentes con dano cerebral: e-motional training

INTRODUCION: Os doentes con dano cerebral adquirido presentan diversos trastornos neurocognitivos e emocionais, incluidos cambios na cognicion e na competencia social (CS), un constructo que comprende a percepcion de emocions (PE) e a percepcion social (PS), a teoria da mente (ToM) e o estilo atributivo (EA). O obxectivo deste estudo e poner a proba a eficacia dun novo programa en lina de adestramento en CS, e-Motional TrainingTM. MATERIAL E METODOS: Estudo piloto prepost intervencion en 12 doentes con dano cerebral da Area Sanitaria de Ourense. Intervencion: e-Motional TrainingTM inclue modulos de adestramento en percepcion emocional e microexpresions, asi como unha curtametraxe de debuxos animados para o adestramento en ToM e EA, alen de feedback metacognitivo e titoriais formativos. Variables: percepcion emocional (Ekman 60 Faces Test), ToM (vi- netas de Happe, Test das Insinuacions e o Test Faux Pas), estilo atributivo (AIHQ) e intelixencia emocional (MSCEIT) . Analise estatistico: analise descritiva e comparacion de variables cualitativas e cuantitativas. O risco α foi de 0,05. As analises realizaronse empregando SPSS 15.0 e Epidat 4.1. RESULTADOS: Os doentes con dano cerebral adquirido mostran dificultades en percepcion social, ToM e un nesgo a interpretar negativamente as intencions dos demais. O programa e-Motional TrainingTM obten resultados estatisticamente significativos (p < 0,05) nestes dominios da CS. DISCUSION: e-Motional TrainingTM permite o autoadestramento en CS e o seguimento en lina do terapeuta, pretendendo completar a rehabilitacion neuropsicoloxica dos doentes con dano cerebral.
Post Genome-Wide Association Studies of Novel Genes Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Show Gene-Gene Interaction and High Predictive Value

Background Recently, several Genome Wide Association (GWA) studies in populations of European descent have identified and validated novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), highly associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Our aims were to validate these markers in other European and non-European populations, then to assess their combined effect in a large French study comparing T2D and normal glucose tolerant (NGT) individuals. Methodology/Principal Findings In the same French population analyzed in our previous GWA study (3,295 T2D and 3,595 NGT), strong associations with T2D were found for CDKAL1 (ORrs7756992 = 1.30[1.19–1.42], P = 2.3×10−9), CDKN2A/2B (ORrs10811661 = 0.74[0.66–0.82], P = 3.5×10−8) and more modestly for IGFBP2 (ORrs1470579 = 1.17[1.07–1.27], P = 0.0003) SNPs. These results were replicated in both Israeli Ashkenazi (577 T2D and 552 NGT) and Austrian (504 T2D and 753 NGT) populations (except for CDKAL1) but not in the Moroccan population (521 T2D and 423 NGT). In the overall group of French subjects (4,232 T2D and 4,595 NGT), IGFBP2 and CXCR4 synergistically interacted with (LOC38776, SLC30A8, HHEX) and (NGN3, CDKN2A/2B), respectively, encoding for proteins presumably regulating pancreatic endocrine cell development and function. The T2D risk increased strongly when risk alleles, including the previously discovered T2D-associated TCF7L2 rs7903146 SNP, were combined (8.68-fold for the 14% of French individuals carrying 18 to 30 risk alleles with an allelic OR of 1.24). With an area under the ROC curve of 0.86, only 15 novel loci were necessary to discriminate French individuals susceptible to develop T2D. Conclusions/Significance In addition to TCF7L2, SLC30A8 and HHEX, initially identified by the French GWA scan, CDKAL1, IGFBP2 and CDKN2A/2B strongly associate with T2D in French individuals, and mostly in populations of Central European descent but not in Moroccan subjects. Genes expressed in the pancreas interact together and their combined effect dramatically increases the risk for T2D, opening avenues for the development of genetic prediction tests.
An Overview of Search Engine Evaluation Strategies

Basically evaluation of search engine is the process of making judgment about the value, importance and quality of search engine, after considering search engines carefully. The evaluation of search engines has not been keeping up with the advancement of their development. Web search engines work differently based on different mode of interface, features, coverage of the web, ranking methods, delivery of advertising and many more such factors. It is not easy to evaluate them on a single basis. There are many strategies for evaluating search engines such as automatic evaluation, human relevance judgment based evaluation. The purpose of this paper is to review the search engine evaluation strategies in order to propose an enhanced method for evaluating search engines.
Modelo de sistema tutor inteligente de apoyo en la realización de proyectos de investigación en posgrados en ingeniería

Departamento de Informática. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura. 9 de Julio 1449. CP: 3400. Corrientes. Argentina. Facultad de Humanidades. Las Heras 727. Resistencia. Chaco Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura. Av. C. Pellegrini 250. Rosario Universidad Nacional de Rosario. jaquelina_escalante@hotmail.com; smarch@fceia.unr. edu.ar; simarinio@yahoo.com; mvgodoy@exa.unne. edu.ar
Uptake of Rotavirus Vaccine and Factors That Contributed to Its Adoption and Acceptability by Parents/Guardians in Selected Communities of Ndola, Copperbelt Province, Zambia

Rotavirus infection is recognized as a major cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis infection affecting the stomach and intestinal tract in infants and young children worldwide leading to diarrhoea and vomiting. Most of the children would have had rotavirus infection by the time they are five years old. The disease is highly contagious and unpredictable as it can lead to dehydration due to severe loss of body fluid and consequently to death. World Health Organization recommended the use of two vaccines, RotaTeqR and RotarixTM to be used in countries with high diarrhoea related mortality in under-five children. In Zambia rotavirus vaccine (RotarixTM) was rolled out to other parts of the country in its immunization program on 27th November 2013 after a successful pilot study in Lusaka in 2012 to reduce on diarrhoea caused by rotavirus infection among under-five children which had caused 9% of deaths. The objectives for this study were to establish uptake of rotavirus vaccine among under-fives and factors that shaped its adoption and acceptability at community level in Ndola, Zambia. Study design was cross sectional analytic community based which was conducted from 1st March 2017 to 28th September 2017 to compare factors that contributed to its uptake. Sample size consisted of 380 respondents who were parents/guardians to under-five children aged 3 - 36 months residing in two homogenous selected communities. Purposive sampling was used to select study sites and respondents. This paper used triangulation method of data collection which included checklist, structured interview schedule and discussion guide tools. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for quantitative data analysis and Atlas.ti for qualitative data obtained from Focus Group Discussions (FGD) using hermeneutics theoretical frames to identify linkages and associations of variables. Results have shown that majority (85.3%) of under-fives received two recommended rotavirus vaccine (high uptake). Under-fives aged between 13 - 18 months were 11.32 times more likely to receive high uptake of rotavirus vaccine than other age groups. Availability of rotavirus vaccine at health facilities (p = 0.035) contributed to its adoption and acceptability. In conclusion, availability of rotavirus vaccine at health facilities had an impact on its uptake and adoption.
Instance ranking using partially ordered sets of expert estimations

We solve an instance ranking problem using ordinal scaled expert estimations. The experts define a preference binary relation on the set of features. The instance ranking problem is considered as the monotone multiclass classification problem. To solve the problem we use a set of Pareto optimal fronts. The proposed method is illustrated with the problem of categorization of the IUCN Red List threatened species.
Crystal structure of a thwarted mismatch glycosylase DNA repair complex

The bacterial mismatch‐specific uracil‐DNA glycosylase (MUG) and eukaryotic thymine‐DNA glycosylase (TDG) enzymes form a homologous family of DNA glycosylases that initiate base‐excision repair of G:U/T mismatches. Despite low sequence homology, the MUG/TDG enzymes are structurally related to the uracil‐DNA glycosylase enzymes, but have a very different mechanism for substrate recognition. We have now determined the crystal structure of the Escherichia coli MUG enzyme complexed with an oligonucleotide containing a non‐hydrolysable deoxyuridine analogue mismatched with guanine, providing the first structure of an intact substrate‐nucleotide productively bound to a hydrolytic DNA glycosylase. The structure of this complex explains the preference for G:U over G:T mispairs, and reveals an essentially non‐specific pyrimidine‐binding pocket that allows MUG/TDG enzymes to excise the alkylated base, 3,N4‐ethenocytosine. Together with structures for the free enzyme and for an abasic‐DNA product complex, the MUG–substrate analogue complex reveals the conformational changes accompanying the catalytic cycle of substrate binding, base excision and product release.
A new MAC protocol design for long-term applications in wireless sensor networks

This paper presents the design, implementation and performance evaluation of a new MAC protocol, called A- MAC, for wireless sensor networks. A-MAC combines the strengths of TDMA and CSMA to achieve the goal of low power transmissions for long-term surveillance and monitoring applications, where sensor nodes are typically vigilant for a long time and inactive most of the time until some event is detected. A-MAC employs an advertisement mechanism to eliminate collisions and reduce the overhearing and idle listening, which are the major energy wastes in wireless sensor networks. The distinctive feature of A-MAC is that a node needs to be active only when necessary as it is the transmitter or the receiver. During other times it can safely turn off its radio. Furthermore, to meet different application requirements, A-MAC supports two operation modes by which nodes can adaptively switch their operation modes according to the instant requirements and conditions of the network. A-MAC is implemented in TinyOS. By comparing A-MAC with existing MAC protocols, we show that A-MAC presents significant improvements in terms of power consumption and throughput.
Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Risk of Bipolar Disorder: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Background Studies have suggested that chronic inflammation plays an essential role in the pathophysiology of both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and bipolar disorder. The most common clinical features associated with RA are anxiety and depression. The risk of bipolar disorder among patients with RA has not been characterized adequately. Objective To determine the association between RA and the subsequent development of bipolar disorder and examine the risk factors for bipolar disorder among patients with RA. Methods We identified patients who were diagnosed with RA in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort was created by matching patients without RA with those with RA according to age, sex, and comorbidities. The occurrence of bipolar disorder was evaluated in both cohorts. Results The RA cohort consisted of 2,570 patients, and the comparison cohort consisted of 2,570 matched control patients without RA. The incidence of bipolar disorder (incidence rate ratio = 2.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12–4.24, P = .013) was higher among patients with RA than among control patients. Multivariate, matched regression models revealed that asthma (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.76, 95% CI 1.27–5.96, P = .010), liver cirrhosis (HR = 3.81, 95% CI = 1.04–14.02, P = .044), and alcohol use disorders (HR = 5.29, 95% CI = 1.71–16.37, P = .004) were independent risk factors for the development of bipolar disorder among patients with RA. Conclusion RA might increase the incidence of bipolar disorder development. Based on our data, we suggest that, following RA diagnosis, greater attention be focused on women with asthma, liver cirrhosis, and alcohol use disorder. Prospective clinical studies of the relationship between RA and bipolar disorder are warranted.
The social robot ‘Flobi’: Key concepts of industrial design

This paper introduces the industrial design of the social robot ‘Flobi’. In total, three key concepts influenced the industrial design: First, the robot head of Flobi appears as a cartoon-like character and has a ‘hole-free’ design without any visible conjunctions. Second, Flobi has dynamic features to display not only primary emotions, but also shame, a typical secondary emotion. Third, the structural design implements exchangeable modular parts. Through modular design, the underlying hardware is quickly accessible and the visual features of the robot (e.g., hairstyle, facial features) can be altered easily. A first study demonstrated the successful implementation of Flobi's dynamic features, whereas a second study demonstrates that the exchangeable hair modules influence gender-schematic perceptions of the robot.
GSR: A Global Stripe-Based Redistribution Approach to Accelerate RAID-5 Scaling

Under the severe energy crisis and the fast development of cloud computing, nowadays sustainability in large data centers receives much more attention than ever. Due to its high performance and reliability, RAID, particularly RAID-5, is widely used in these data centers. However, a challenge on the sustainability of RAID-5 is its scalability, or how to efficiently expand/reduce the disks. The main reason causing this problem is the special layout of RAID-5 with parity blocks. To address this problem, in this paper, we propose a novel redistribution approach to accelerate RAID-5 scaling, called Global Stripe-based Redistribution (GSR). The basic idea is to maintain the layout of most stripes while sacrificing a small portion of stripes according to a global view of all stripes. GSR has four main advantages: (1) It supports bi-directional RAID-5 scaling (both scale-up and scale-down), (2) GSR minimizes the overhead of scaling process, including the data migration cost, parity modification and computation cost, and the operations of metadata, (3) Different from previous approaches, GSR provides high flexibility and high availability for the write requests, (4) A disk array can achieve higher capacity, performance and storage efficiency by extending more disks via GSR. In our mathematical analysis, GSR maintains uniform distribution, saves up to 81.5% I/O operations and reduces the data migration time by up to 68.0%, which speeds up the scaling process by a factor of up to 3.13.
Co-STAR: A Co-training Style Algorithm for Hyponymy Relation Acquisition from Structured and Unstructured Text

This paper proposes a co-training style algorithm called Co-STAR that acquires hyponymy relations simultaneously from structured and unstructured text. In Co-STAR, two independent processes for hyponymy relation acquisition -- one handling structured text and the other handling unstructured text -- collaborate by repeatedly exchanging the knowledge they acquired about hyponymy relations. Unlike conventional co-training, the two processes in Co-STAR are applied to different source texts and training data. We show the effectiveness of this algorithm through experiments on large-scale hyponymy-relation acquisition from Japanese Wikipedia and Web texts. We also show that Co-STAR is robust against noisy training data.