Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secure Program Partitioning in Dynamic Networks

A shortcoming of many systems dealing with sensitive data is that they do not control the propagation of information in an appropriate way. This includes both the denial of access for unauthorized principals, and the control of the data's integrity. Previous work has shown that security-typed programs can successfully address this shortcoming. Security-typed programs can safely be distributed and executed in a network, as shown by Zdanewic et al. The distributed programs obey, by construction, all annotations with respect to access rights. The approach does not, however, support dynamic changes to the network or the trust model. In this thesis, the original framework for distribution of security-typed programs has been extended to also consider dynamic systems. The main contribution is the development of a trust model with support for dynamic systems. Moving to a dynamic setting introduces new problems, e.g., the choice between several feasible distributions of a program. To address this, a metric is developed which can be used to find the most trustworthy distribution based on a user's preferences. The proposed concepts have been proven to work through the implementation of a prototype.
Coamplification of prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) and MYC in locally advanced prostate cancer

Gain of sequences on chromosome arm 8q is a common feature of prostate cancer that may correlate with metastatic and androgen‐independent progression. The target gene(s) for this gain is not known, although MYC is amplified in a subset of advanced tumors and is one potential candidate. Prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) is a prostate‐specific cell surface protein that maps to chromosome region 8q24.2 and is overexpressed in prostate cancer. Our aim in this study was to test the hypothesis that PSCA overexpression may result from overrepresentation of chromosome arm 8q. Twenty locally advanced prostate cancers were analyzed by dual‐probe fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for alterations of MYC and PSCA. Extra copies of MYC were found in 12/20 (60%) tumors, including 5 (25%) with simple gain (no increase in MYC copy number relative to the chromosome 8 centromere) and 7 (35%) with an additional increase (AI or overrepresentation) in MYC copy number relative to the centromere. In the five cases with simple gain of MYC, there was a concomitant gain of PSCA. PSCA was overrepresented in 5/7 (71%) cases with AI of MYC. Immunohistochemical staining of the 20 tumors with monoclonal antibodies specific for PSCA showed a high degree of correlation between PSCA gene overrepresentation and protein overexpression. Four of 5 tumors with AI of PSCA overexpressed PSCA protein, compared with only 2/15 tumors with a normal PSCA copy number or simple gain of PSCA (P = 0.014). These results demonstrate that PSCA is co‐overrepresented with MYC in a majority of cases, but may not be a necessary part of the 8q amplicon. PSCA protein overexpression can result from AI of PSCA and might be useful as a cell surface marker on prostate cancer cells with 8q overrepresentation. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 27:95–103, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Framework for evaluating Capture the Flag (CTF) security competitions

A large number of ethical hacking competitions are organized worldwide as Capture The Flag (CTF) events. But there does not exist a framework to evaluate and rank CTFs that will guide participants as to which CTF's to participate. In a CTF event, the participants are required to either solve a set of challenges to gain points or they are required to defend their system by eliminating the vulnerabilities while attacking other's system vulnerabilities. We are proposing a framework that would evaluate and rank CTFs according to factors like similarity of the tasks to the common critical vulnerabilities, solvability of tasks, periodicity, training given prior to CTF, geographical reach, problem solving skills etc. In the next step these factors are systematically assigned weights using Analytic Hierarchy Process. As part of frame work creation and validation, ten CTFs have been analysed. Our analysis indicates that: All CTFs fall in to one of the three categories (jeopardy, attack-defence and mixed); CTFs often adopt popular software vulnerabilities and threats as tasks to be solved; Only few CTFs give formal training prior to the event; Complexity of the tasks to be solved varies from CTF to CTF. Five CTFs were ranked using the newly developed framework.
Emotional Learning and Glutamate: Translational Perspectives

Abstract Anxiety disorders are a common focus of clinical concern and certain forms of anxiety may be conceptualized as disorders of emotional learning. Behavior therapies effective in the treatment of anxiety are modeled on extinction training as a means of reducing pathological anxiety. The present understanding of human anxiety has been informed by preclinical research using rodent models to study the acquisition and extinction of fear. Glutamate appears to have a central role in both of these processes. The authors review this literature and discuss novel applications of D-cycloserine, a partial N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist, for the treatment of anxiety.
Tramadol as a Local Anaesthetic in Tendon Repair Surgery of the Hand

This double-blind pilot study compared the local anaesthetic effects of tramadol plus adrenaline with lidocaine plus adrenaline during surgery to repair hand tendons. Twenty patients were randomly allocated to receive either 5% tramadol plus adrenaline (n = 10) or 2% lidocaine plus adrenaline (n = 10). Injection site pain and local skin reactions were recorded. At 1-min intervals after injection of the anaesthetic agent, the degree of sensory blockade was assessed by the patient reporting the extent to which they felt a pinprick, light touch and a cold sensation. Pain felt during surgical incision was also recorded. There was no difference in the quality of sensory blockade or the incidence of side effects between the two groups. Only patients treated with tramadol did not require additional post-operative analgesia. A combination of tramadol plus adrenaline provided a local anaesthetic effect similar to that of lidocaine plus adrenaline.
Irregular repeat-accumulate coded physical-layer network coding design for two-way relay channels

We propose a new irregular repeat-accumulate (IRA) coded physical-layer network coding (PNC) scheme for Gaussian two-way relay channels (TWRCs). In the scheme, a same random-coset IRA code over GF(q) is employed at the two users, which directly maps the q-ary message sequences into coded q-PAM symbol sequences. The relay computes the network coded message sequence directly from the superimposed signal using an iterative belief propagation algorithm. By exploring the symmetry and permutation-invariance properties of the decoder's soft information distribution, a two-dimension extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) chart is developed to analyze and optimize the nonbinary IRA coded PNC scheme. Numerical results demonstrate that our developed scheme achieves near-capacity performance in Gaussian TWRCs.
Nyctohemeral rhythms of gonadal, thyroid and pineal function in the hyperprolactinemic male rat.

In young adult male rats bearing a donor anterior pituitary gland grafted for 3 weeks under a kidney capsule, serum prolactin (PRL) concentrations were elevated and exhibited a rhythm with the highest values in the light phase. Serum PRL in control animals did not exhibit a significant rhythm. Eutopic pituitary PRL content, manifesting a biphasic (12-hr) rhythm with crests during the day and night in controls, exhibited a similar pattern in grafted rats though an overall reduction in pituitary PRL content was seen in the grafted animals. Neither the normal biphasic serum testosterone rhythm nor the normal 24-hr rhythm (nocturnal surge) of pineal N-acetyltransferase activity and melatonin content were altered in the hyperprolactinemic rats. Serum thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) and their free indices (FT4I, FT3I) and serum thyrotropin (TSH) were highest during the day in controls and grafted rats and a 12-hr rhythmic component was detected in data for these variables. In the grafted animals, the 12-hr component was reflected in an additional peak at night detectable by testing of means. The overall serum T4, FT4I, and TSH levels were lower in grafted rats though overall T3 and FT3I levels did not differ between grafted and controls. T3 uptake (T3U) values were similar between controls and grafted rats, in both cases exhibiting a fall during the night. Changes in serum thyronines could not be explained by changes in serum binding as assessed by the T3U, and thus may represent changes in thyroidal secretion of T4. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effect of sugar mill effluent on changes of growth and amino acid and protein contents of maize (Zea mays L.) plants

The effect of sugar mill effluent on plant growth and biochemical constituents of Maize ( Zea mays L.) was studied in a pot culture experiment. The experiment was conducted at Botanical Garden, Department of Botany, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu. In the pot culture experiment, maize plants were grown up to 30th days, in the soil irrigated with different concentrations of sugar mill effluent (viz, 0, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% v/v). The inner surfaces of pots were lined with a polythene sheet. Each pot containing 3kg of air dried soil. Six seeds were sown in each pot. All pots were irrigated (500 ml) with respective concentration of test solutions daily. Plants were thinned to a maximum of three per pots, after a week of germination. The higher sugar mill effluent concentrations (above 40%) were found to affect plant growth and decreased amino acids and protein contents, but diluted effluent (up to 40% ) favoured the plant growth and biochemical contents.
Pooled analyses of two international, multicenter clinical studies of romidepsin in 167 patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

8546 Background: Romidepsin is a novel pan-HDAC inhibitor with demonstrated single-agent activity in 2 open-label clinical studies of 167 patients (pts) with CTCL [mycosis fungoides or Sézary Syndrome (SS)]. Data for these 2 studies were pooled for more accurate estimates of endpoints and investigation of subpopulations. METHODS GPI-04-0001 (pivotal study) enrolled 96 pts with confirmed CTCL who had recieved ≥1 prior systemic therapy. NCI 1312 (supportive study) enrolled 71 pts with CTCL. Pts recieved romidepsin, 14mg/m2 as a 4-hr infusion on days 1, 8, and 15 every 28 days until disease progression (≥25% increase). The primary efficacy endpoint for both studies was overall response rate (ORR) using a composite endpoint that included skin assessment, lymph node and visceral involvement and abnormal circulating T-cells/Sézary cells. RESULTS 167 pts received romidepsin (as-treated); 135 pts (81%) were in the efficacy evaluable population. Mean age was 57±12 yrs, 67% men, 87% white. 103 pts (76%) had stage ≥IIB disease. Median number of prior systemic therapies was 2 (range 1-8). ORR in the table. Responses were noted in: 42% of pts with stage ≥IIB; 11 (58%) of 19 pts with SS (erythroderma + Sézary cells, >1000/ml or >20% ); and 20 (38%) of 52 pts who received prior bexarotene and 8 (40%) of 20 pts who had received denileukin diftitox. Most common drug-related adverse events (AE), all grades, included: nausea (67%), fatigue (49%), anorexia (37%), ECG T-wave changes (29%), anemia (26%), dysgeusia (23%), neutropenia (22%), leucopenia (20%). Related serious AEs in 2% of pts: supraventicular arrhythmia, ventricular arrhythmia, infection, neutropenia, WBC decreased, hyperuricemia, hypotension; all other serious AEs in ≤1 pt. 3 deaths reported as possibly related. CONCLUSIONS Romidepsin is a valuable new therapy for pts with CTCL based on the ORR, CR, durability of response, improvement in all disease compartments and responses at all stages and in all subpopulations analyzed. [Table: see text] [Table: see text].
Pseudo-footless CMOS domino logic circuits for high-performance VLSI designs

Dynamic CMOS logic circuits, featuring a high-speed operation, are found pervasive in high-performance VLSI designs. This paper presents a new domino circuit that efficiently combines a pseudo-footless dynamic circuit technique with a robust self-timed delayed-evaluation clocking scheme to improve further the operation speed while without sacrificing the power consumption, even in the presence of process-voltage-temperature (PVT) variations. A 32-bit carry-look-ahead adder implemented with the new pseudo-footless domino circuit not only achieves 2 and 1.43 times speed improvement over the circuit implemented with the static CMOS and the conventional domino circuit, respectively, but also is the most power efficient dynamic design.
Interest Rate Pass-Through to Macroeconomic Variables: The Nigerian Experience

The effectiveness of monetary policy depends on the adjustment response of Central Banks short-term interest rate on the real interest rates charged by commercial banks and ultimately on macroeconomic indicators of investment and consumption in the economy. Thus, the extent of interest rate pass-through largely depends on how effective the process of financial intermediation works and to what extent individual bank characteristics influence or hinder a perfect adjustment of product rates based on market conditions. The study examines the speed and completeness of pass-through from policy rates to retail bank rates and the effectiveness of monetary policy stance in influencing macroeconomic policy targets using a co-integration analysis based on Johansen and Juselius maximum likelihood and Engle-Granger two step procedures for the period 1970–2011. The VAR based Error Correction Model (ECM) and the Mean Adjustment Lag (MAL) was used to determine the short run estimates and asymmetric behaviour respectively. The study found an evidence of downward stickiness both in the short-run and long-run policy pass-through to the retail bank rates. In order to ensure robustness of the result, the Impulse Response Function (IRF) and Variance Decomposition (VD) analysis were conducted and similar slow and sluggish pass-through was obtained. The study as well, found pass-through from policy rate to macroeconomic variables to exhibit extremely rigid immediate responses.
Housing influence on multi-band directional MEMS microphones inspired by Ormia ochracea

A new bio-inspired multi-band directional MEMS microphone based on the hearing properties of the fly Ormia ochracea is presented, together with the behavioral influence of 3D-printed housings. The multi-user foundry fabricated microphone operates on four frequency bands, all below 10 kHz and acts as a pressure gradient directional microphone with figure of eight polar pattern, or as an omni-directional microphone depending on the housing. The influence of an open or closed backside housing on the frequency response and directionality is shown, leading to the loss of directionality with no acoustic access to the backside of the fly-ear inspired microphone membrane.
Interactions between coronavirus nucleocapsid protein and viral RNAs: implications for viral transcription

The interaction of the mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) nucleocapsid protein (N) and viral RNA was examined. Monoclonal antibody specific for N protein coimmunoprecipitated MHV genomic RNA as well as all six MHV subgenomic mRNAs found in MHV-infected cells. In contrast, monoclonal antibodies to the MHV E2 or E1 envelope glycoproteins, an anti-I-A monoclonal antibody, and serum samples from lupus patients did not immunoprecipitate the MHV mRNAs. Moreover, the anti-N monoclonal antibody did not coimmunoprecipitate vesicular stomatitis virus RNA or host cell RNA under conditions which immunoprecipitated all MHV RNAs. These data suggest a specific interaction between the N protein and the virus-specific mRNAs. Both the membrane-bound and cytosolic small MHV leader-specific RNAs of greater than 65 nucleotides long were immunoprecipitated only by anti-N monoclonal antibody. These data suggest that an N binding site is present within the leader RNA sequences at a site at least 65 nucleotides from the 5' end of genomic RNA and all six subgenomic mRNAs. The larger leader-containing RNAs originating from mRNA 1 and mRNA 6, as well as the MHV negative-stranded RNA, were also immunoprecipitated by the anti-N monoclonal antibody. These data indicate that the MHV N protein is associated with MHV-specific RNAs and RNA intermediates and may play an important functional role during MHV transcription and replication.
Protocol-Based Testing of Firewalls

A firewall is the most important tool of network security defense. Its proper functioning is critical to the network it protects. Therefore a firewall should be tested rigorously with respect to its implemented network protocols and security policy specification. We propose a combined approach for test case generation to uncover errors both in firewall software and in its configuration. In the proposed approach, abstract test cases are generated by mutating event sequence graph model of chosen network protocol and filled with values from policy specification by using equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis. A case study is presented to validate the presented approach.
"One-stop-shop" ultrasound diagnosis of functional, structural and physicomechanical properties of the brachial artery.

BACKGROUND The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis comprises endothelial dysfunction, thickening as well as impaired compliance of the arterial vessel wall. Early assessment of these alterations of the vessel wall at the same site of the vascular tree has yet been hampered by the lack of highly sensitive diagnostic approaches suitable for clinical routine. We therefore aimed to develop and validate a single non-invasive examination of the brachial artery for simultaneous and highly accurate measurement of functional, structural and physicomechanical parameters of the brachial artery. PATIENTS AND METHODS 20 healthy individuals were investigated using high resolution ultrasound. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD), fractional diameter changes (FDC) and intima-media-thickness (IMT) were measured in the same segment of the brachial artery. Coefficients of variation, day-to-day-variability, between- and within-observer-variability were investigated in 5 individuals. All measurements were performed manually and by an automated PC-based analyzing system. RESULTS Mean values for all measured parameters were 7.65 +/- 0.8% for FMD, 0.02 +/- 0.002 for FDC, 0.351 +/- 0.007 mm for IMT and followed an even distribution throughout the study population. Automated analysis of coefficient of variation, day-to-day-, between- and within-observer variabilities were: 0. 78%, 1.3%, 0.8%, 0.8% (FMD); 4.7%, 2.8%, 4.2%, 2.7% (FDC); 1.8%, 1.1%, 1.9%, 1.1% (IMT). Coefficient of variation, day-to-day-, between- and within-observer variabilities for the manual readings were significantly higher. CONCLUSIONS Functional, structural and physicomechanical parameters of the brachial artery can be quantified consecutively, time-saving and highly reproducibly as an "one-stop-shop" in a single session using high resolution ultrasound with digitized post-processing. This highlights the future possibility of early, sensitive and non-invasive diagnostic testing of vascular function in patients prone to vascular disease.
Knowledge about Breast Cancer and Negative Influences Affecting Breast Cancer Screening Among Women in Jordan

Background: In Jordan, there are high rates of breast cancer (BC). It is increasing at a rate of 4% per year. BC is the most common of all cancers in Jordan and is the leading cause of cancer deaths among Jordanian women. Objective: The purpose of this qualitative pilot study was to explore beliefs about participating in breast cancer screening (BCS) among women in Jordan and to identify cultural factors that become negative influences to BCS participation. Method: A qualitative approach using focus group interviews was conducted among two groups of Jordanian women who provided personal information regarding BCS participation and their perceived negative influences towards screening. Results: Knowledge about BC was inadequate. They reported fear of having BC, death, and social stigma. The decision to participate in BCS was influenced by cultural negative influences and by clinicians’ advice. Findings indicated insufficient knowledge and cultural misconceptions about BC and screening.
STAT6 deficiency in a mouse model of allergen‐induced airways inflammation abolishes eosinophilia but induces infiltration of CD8+ T cells

The TH2‐type cytokines have been reported to contribute to the asthmatic response. STAT6 has an essential role in IL‐4 signalling and in production of TH2 cytokines from T cells and is involved in IgE and IgG1 responses after nematode infections, indicating that STAT6 has an important role in allergic diseases.
Extracellular Actin Impairs Glomerular Capillary Repair in Experimental Mesangioproliferative Glomerulonephritis

Exogenous administration of actin prevents tumour growth in mice by specifically antagonizing angiogenin, a potent inducer of neovascularization. To investigate whether the angiogenin/actin system is also of importance in renal disease, we examined the effect of actin during glomerular capillary repair in anti-Thy-1.1 mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis. Male Wistar rats were injected intravenously with actin, a control protein, i.e. albumin, or vehicle alone at 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48 h after disease induction. On day 8, actin-treated rats showed significantly more microaneurysms and persistent mesangiolysis as compared to both control groups. This was associated with increased proteinuria in actin-treated rats. Moreover, actin-treated rats showed increased counts of glomerular macrophages (+40%) and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (+100%) on day 3 as well as a decrease in glomerular endothelial area on days 3 and 8. However, no difference in early glomerular endothelial as well as non-endothelial cell proliferation was noted in actin-treated rats as compared to controls. Actin treatment had no apparent influence on mesangial cell activation (i.e. de novo expression of α-smooth muscle actin) or glomerular accumulation of fibronectin or type IV collagen. Additional in vitro studies demonstrated that extracellular actin inhibits the angiogenin but not VEGF165-induced proliferation of (glomerular) endothelial cells. Moreover, actin inhibited other, yet unidentified, serum-derived angiogenic factors. In conclusion, exogenous actin impairs glomerular capillary repair in experimental mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis possibly due to interference with angiogenic factors such as angiogenin. Our combined in vivo and in vitro observations suggest that the release of intracellular actin during mesangiolysis is an endogenous pathway by which glomerular capillary damage is augmented.