Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing Techniques for Detection of Hardware Trojans in Integrated Circuits of Trusted Systems

The world globalization has led the semiconductor industry to outsource design and fabrication phases, making integrated circuits (ICs) potentially more vulnerable to malicious modifications at design or fabrication time: the hardware Trojans (HTs). New efficient testing techniques are thus required to disclose potential slight and stealth HTs, and to ensure trusted devices. This thesis studies possible threats and proposes two new post-silicon testing techniques able to detect HTs implanted after the generation of the IC netlist. The first proposed technique exploits bulk built-in current sensors (BBICS) -- which are originally designed to identify transient faults in ICs -- by using them as testing mechanisms that provide statistically-comparable digital signatures of the devices under test. With only 16 IC samples, the testing technique can detect dopant-level Trojans of zero-area overhead. The second proposition is a non-intrusive technique for detection of gate-level HTs in asynchronous circuits. With this technique, neither additional hardware nor alterations on the original test set-up are required to detect Trojans smaller than 1% of the original circuit. The studies and techniques devised in this thesis contribute to reduce the IC vulnerability to HT, reusing testing mechanisms and keeping security features of original devices.
Electricity Theft Detection in Power Grids with Deep Learning and Random Forests

As one of the major factors of the nontechnical losses (NTLs) in distribution networks, the electricity theft causes significant harm to power grids, which influences power supply quality and reduces operating profits. In order to help utility companies solve the problems of inefficient electricity inspection and irregular power consumption, a novel hybrid convolutional neural network-random forest (CNN-RF) model for automatic electricity theft detection is presented in this paper. In this model, a convolutional neural network (CNN) firstly is designed to learn the features between different hours of the day and different days from massive and varying smart meter data by the operations of convolution and downsampling. In addition, a dropout layer is added to retard the risk of overfitting, and the backpropagation algorithm is applied to update network parameters in the training phase. And then, the random forest (RF) is trained based on the obtained features to detect whether the consumer steals electricity. To build the RF in the hybrid model, the grid search algorithm is adopted to determine optimal parameters. Finally, experiments are conducted based on real energy consumption data, and the results show that the proposed detection model outperforms other methods in terms of accuracy and efficiency.
Co-Channel Coexistence Analysis between 5G IoT System and Fixed-Satellite Service at 40 GHz

It is a promising way to successfully operate the fifth generation (5G) system with Internet of Things (IoT) in potential mmWave spectrum bands. This paper investigates the intelligent co-channel coexistence between the 5G IoT system and the fixed-satellite service (FSS) system at 40 GHz. The key issue, as identified, is the accurate estimation of interference based on mmWave propagation characteristics. Our simulation results reveal that interference from the 5G IoT system into the FSS ground stations can be kept below the protection threshold by considering different deployment parameters, such as antenna patterns, height of Earth station (ES), and separation distance.
Learners' Technological Acceptance of VR Content Development: A Sequential 3-Part Use Case Study of Diverse Post-Secondary Students

Web-based virtual reality (VR) development tools are in ubiquitous use by software developers, and now, university (undergraduate) students, to move beyond using, to creating new and energizing VR content. Web-based VR (WebVR), among other libraries and frameworks, have risen as a low-cost platform for users to create rich and intuitive VR content and applications. However, the success of WebVR as an instructional tool relies on post-secondary students technological acceptance (TA), the intersectionality of a user’s perceived utility (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU, or convenience) with said technological tool. Yet, there is a dearth of exploratory studies of students’ experiences with the AR/VR development technologies to infer their TA. To ascertain the viability of WebVR tools for software engineering undergraduates in the classroom, this paper presents a 3-case contextual investigation of 38 undergraduate students tasked with creating VR content. In each use case, students were provided increasing freedom in their VR content development parameters. Results indicated that students demonstrated elements of technological acceptance in their selection of webVR and other platforms, and not only successfully creating rich and robust VR content (PU), but also executing these projects in a short period (PEOU). Other positive externalities observed were students exhibitions of soft skills (e.g. creativity, critical thinking) and different modes of demonstrating coding knowledge, which suggest further study. Discussed are the lessons learned from the WebVR and VR/AR interventions and recommendations for WebVR instruction. This work may be helpful for both learners and teachers using VR/AR in selecting, designing, and developing coursework materials, tools, and libraries.
A Multi-strategy Improved Ant Colony Algorithm for Solving Traveling Salesman Problem

A multi-strategy improved ant colony algorithm is proposed. In order to solve the problem of solving the TSP problem in the ant colony algorithm, it has the problems of low solution accuracy, easy fall into local optimum, and low solution efficiency. The nearest neighbor method is used to influence the distribution of the initial pheromone to reduce the pheromone concentration on the short path in the initial stage of the algorithm. Based on the mutation adjustment of the transfer rule, a mean cross-evolution strategy is combined with the mean of the path to enhance the global solution space of the algorithm. Ability and ability to avoid falling into a local optimum. Then, the iterative and elitist strategies are combined to improve the pheromone update mechanism to further improve the solution algorithm’s solution performance and solution efficiency. Finally, the eight instances selected from the TSPLIB database are solved and compared with other algorithms. The experimental results shows that the improved algorithm is efficient when solving the traveling salesman problem and has high computing performance.
A robust localization approach using multi-sensor fusion

In recent years, with development of computer vision and robotics, a wide variety of localization approaches have been proposed. However, it is still challenging to design a localization algorithm that performs well in both indoor and outdoor environment. In this paper, an algorithm that fuses camera, IMU, GPS, as well as digital compass is proposed to solve this problem. Our algorithm includes two phases: (1) the monocular RGB camera and IMU are fused together as a VIO that estimates the approximate orientation and position; (2) the absolute position and orientation measured by GPS and digital compass are merged with the position and orientation estimated in first phase to get a refined result in the world coordinate. A bag-of-word based algorithm is utilized to realize loop detection and relocalization. We also built a prototype and did two experiments to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the localization algorithm in both indoors and outdoors environment.
Clinical utility of WAIS-IV ‘excessive decline from premorbid functioning’ scores to detect invalid test performance following traumatic brain injury

Abstract Objective: Excessive Decline from Premorbid Functioning (EDPF), an atypical discrepancy between demographically predicted and obtained Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-4th Edition (WAIS-IV) scores, has been recently proposed as a potential embedded performance validity test (PVT). This study examined the clinical utility of EDPF scores to detect invalid test performance following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Participants were 194 U.S. military service members who completed neuropsychological testing on average 2.4 years (SD = 4.0) following uncomplicated mild, complicated mild, moderate, severe, or penetrating TBI (Age: M = 34.0, SD = 9.9). Using TBI severity and PVT performance (i.e., PVT Pass/Fail), participants were classified into three groups: Uncomplicated Mild TBI-PVT Fail (MTBI-Fail; n = 21), Uncomplicated Mild TBI-PVT Pass (MTBI-Pass; n = 94), and Complicated Mild to Severe/Penetrating TBI-PVT Pass (CM/STBI-Pass; n = 79). Seven EDPF measures were calculated by subtracting WAIS-IV obtained index scores from the demographically predicted scores from the Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF). Cutoff scores to detect invalid test performance were examined for each EDPF measure separately. Results: The MTBI-Fail group had higher scores than the MTBI-Pass and CM/STBI-Pass groups on five of the seven EDPF measures (p<.05). Overall, the EDPF measure using the Processing Speed Index (EDPF-PSI) was the most useful score to detect invalid test performance. However, sensitivity was only low to moderate depending on the cutoff score used. Conclusions: These findings provide support for the use of EDPF as an embedded PVT to be considered along with other performance validity data when administering the WAIS-IV.
The potential of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for chronic lung disease

ABSTRACT Introduction: Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to improve lung function and survival in chronic inflammatory lung diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and silicosis. Areas covered: This review covers rationale for the use of MSC therapy, along with preclinical studies and clinical trials with MSC therapy in chronic lung diseases. Expert opinion: MSC therapy holds promise for the treatment of chronic lung diseases, mainly when administered at early stages. In clinical trials, MSC administration was safe, but associated with limited effects on clinical outcomes. Further studies are required to elucidate unresolved issues, including optimal MSC source and dose, route of administration, and frequency (single vs. multiple-dose regimens). A better understanding of the mechanisms of MSC action, local microenvironment of each disease, and development of strategies to potentiate the beneficial effects of MSCs may improve outcomes.
Empowering Diabetes Self-Management Through Technology and Nurse Health Coaching

Purpose This research explores the impact of mobile health (mHealth) technology and nurse health coaching on views of diabetes self-management (DSM) for persons living with diabetes. Methods Three focus groups (N = 24) were conducted with individuals living with type 2 diabetes who participated in a nurse health coaching and mHealth technology intervention study. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to identify overarching themes in each group. Results Major themes identified following intervention participation included enhanced perspectives about living with diabetes, increased awareness of how health behaviors influence DSM, improved support, and increased ownership of DSM. Conclusions The themes identified suggest that the mHealth technology and health coaching intervention together may have had an empowering effect on participants’ DSM. These results suggest that providing nurse health coaching with mHealth technology may help individuals ameliorate some of the challenges of living with and managing diabetes.
Building Feature Pool Effectively for Real-Time Pedestrian Detection

When using AdaBoost algorithm to train a classifier for visual object detection, it is important to build a proper feature pool. Usually, there are a large number of features available for this work. Current top performance detectors either utilize all features or select part of them due to the limited computer memory. In this paper, we discuss how to build feature pool effectively for real-time object detection. In particular, we focus on the problem of pedestrian detection using integral channels features. We demonstrate that a small feature pool is sufficient to build a high quality classifier. The main advantage of this work is that the training time can be reduced drastically. According to the experimental results, for a test image with 640×480 pixels, the proposed detector runs at over 30 fps with competitive quality which makes it suitable for real-time applications.
A Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acromegaly Comorbidities: An Update.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the Acromegaly Consensus Group was to revise and update the consensus on diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly comorbidities last published in 2013. PARTICIPANTS The Consensus Group, convened by 11 Steering Committee members, consisted of 45 experts in the medical and surgical management of acromegaly. The authors received no corporate funding or remuneration. EVIDENCE This evidence-based Consensus was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to describe both the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence following critical discussion of the current literature on the diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly comorbidities. CONSENSUS PROCESS Acromegaly Consensus Group participants conducted comprehensive literature searches for English-language papers on selected topics, reviewed brief presentations on each topic, and discussed current practice and recommendations in breakout groups. Consensus recommendations were developed based on all presentations and discussions. Members of the Scientific Committee graded the quality of the supporting evidence and the consensus recommendations using the GRADE system. CONCLUSIONS Evidence-based approach consensus recommendations address important clinical issues regarding multidisciplinary management of acromegaly-related cardiovascular, endocrine, metabolic, and oncologic comorbidities, sleep apnea, and bone and joint disorders and their sequelae, as well as their effects on quality of life and mortality.
Unsuccessful surgical treatment of thoracic aortic thrombosis in a patient with essential thrombocythemia

Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a rare condition with an incidence of several persons per million in Japan, while the incidence of thrombosis ranges from 11% to 25%. We present a woman in her 70 seconds with ET who developed small intestinal necrosis and thrombosis in the proximal descending aorta. The patient underwent partial small bowel resection and replacement of the descending aorta, followed by multiple reoperations for thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications. She eventually died of empyema and sepsis caused by Klebsiella oxytoca. In patients with ET and large vessel thrombosis, we have to carefully judge the indications for surgery.
Acute and chronic toxicity assessment of haloacetic acids using Daphnia magna

ABSTRACT Haloacetic acids (HAAs) are undesirable disinfection by-products (DBPs), released into aquatic ecosystems from various anthropogenic and natural sources. The aim of this study was to examine the ecological risk of exposure to three HAAs commonly detected in water, such as monobromoacetic acid (MBA), monochloroacetic acid (MCA), and trichloroacetic acid (TCA), in in vivo acute and chronic toxicity tests using Daphnia magna as a model. Acute tests showed that MBA was the most toxic of these compounds followed by MCA and TCA as evidenced by immobilization. Aquatic organisms in natural conditions might be exposed simultaneously to numerous compounds; thus, binary mixtures of selected HAAs and a ternary mixture of these were tested. Concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) models were used for a predictive assessment of mixture toxicity. Data demonstrated that CA appeared to be the most reliable indicator for HAAs binary and ternary mixtures suggestive of an additive behavior. Median effective concentration (EC50) values from the mixed exposure tests were significantly lower than results obtained from single tests for all three HAAs where an increase of toxicity greater than 50%. Multigenerational chronic tests were also performed exposing daphnids to the ternary mixture of HAAs. A markedly decreased sexual maturity and number of offspring and broods per daphnid especially in the second generation were noted.
A Developmental Examination of Narrative Writing in EL and EL1 School Children Who Are Typical Readers, Poor Decoders, or Poor Comprehenders

This longitudinal study examined story-writing development of students from Grade 4 to Grade 6, comparing the developmental trajectories of English as a first language (EL1s; n = 43) and English learners (ELs; n = 108) in general, and in groups of EL1s and ELs with typically developing and poor reader profiles. In relation to their EL1 or EL reference group, students were classified in Grade 4 as typical readers (n = 72), poor decoders (n = 53), or poor comprehenders (n = 26), with EL1s and ELs proportionally represented in each group. The effects of language, grade level, and reading group on story-writing measures were examined. Both EL1s and ELs developed story-writing skills in a similar manner, showing significant growth between Grades 4 and 6. Typically developing ELs attained age-appropriate story-writing levels. Poor decoders and poor comprehenders showed similar profiles of strengths and weaknesses, regardless of whether English was their first or second language. Both poor reader groups had significant difficulties in story-writing, struggling with the mechanics of writing, sentence structure, and story organization. Findings are discussed in terms of the interconnected relationship between reading and writing profiles, and the importance of a comprehensive understanding of sources of learning difficulties in ELs and EL1s.
Biomolecular condensates in neurodegeneration and cancer

The intracellular environment is partitioned into functionally distinct compartments containing specific sets of molecules and reactions. Biomolecular condensates, also referred to as membrane‐less organelles, are diverse and abundant cellular compartments that lack membranous enclosures. Molecules assemble into condensates by phase separation; multivalent weak interactions drive molecules to separate from their surroundings and concentrate in discrete locations. Biomolecular condensates exist in all eukaryotes and in some prokaryotes, and participate in various essential house‐keeping, stress‐response and cell type‐specific processes. An increasing number of recent studies link abnormal condensate formation, composition and material properties to a number of disease states. In this review, we discuss current knowledge and models describing the regulation of condensates and how they become dysregulated in neurodegeneration and cancer. Further research on the regulation of biomolecular phase separation will help us to better understand their role in cell physiology and disease.
Cytomegalovirus Seropositivity Is Associated With Increased Microbial Translocation in People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Uninfected Controls

Abstract Background Cytomegalovirus (CMV) seropositivity and anti-CMV immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels are associated with adverse health outcomes in elderly populations. Among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), CMV seropositivity has been associated with persistent CD8 T-cell elevation and increased risk of developing non-AIDS comorbidities despite long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). Herein, we investigated whether CMV seropositivity and elevation of anti-CMV IgG levels were associated with increased epithelial gut damage, microbial translocation, and systemic inflammation. Methods A total of 150 PLWH (79 ART-naive and 71 ART-treated) were compared to 26 without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (uninfected controls). Plasma markers of HIV disease progression, epithelial gut damage, microbial translocation, nonspecific B-cell activation, anti-CMV and anti–Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) IgG levels, and proinflammatory cytokines were measured. Results CMV seropositivity and elevated anti-CMV IgG levels were associated with markers of epithelial gut damage, microbial translocation, and inflammation in PLWH and participants without HIV infection. In contrast, total nonspecific IgG, immunoglobulin M, immunoglobulin A, and anti-EBV IgG levels were not associated with these markers. CMV seropositivity was associated with markers of epithelial gut damage, microbial translocation, and inflammation independent of sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics of the study population. Conclusions CMV-seropositive people with and without HIV had increased epithelial gut damage, microbial translocation, and inflammation. Furthermore, anti-CMV IgG levels were independently associated with increased epithelial gut damage and microbial translocation. CMV coinfection may partially explain persistent gut damage, microbial translocation, and inflammation in ART-treated PLWH.
Platinum‐based regimens versus cetuximab in definitive chemoradiation for human papillomavirus‐unrelated head and neck cancer

For patients ineligible for cisplatin with definitive radiotherapy (CP‐CRT) for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA‐HNSCC), concurrent cetuximab (C225‐RT) is a popular substitute. Carboplatin‐based chemoradiation (CB‐CRT) is another option; however, relative efficacies of CP‐CRT, CB‐CRT and C225‐RT are unclear, particularly in the human papillomavirus (HPV)‐unrelated population. We identified 316 patients with stage III‐IVB cancers of the oropharynx (24.7%), larynx (58.2%) and hypopharynx (17.1%) undergoing definitive C225‐RT (N = 61), CB‐CRT (N = 74) or CP‐CRT (N = 181). Kaplan‐Meier and cumulative incidence functions were generated to estimate overall survival (OS), locoregional failure (LRF) and distant metastasis (DM). Cox proportional hazards were used to determine the association of survival endpoints with clinical characteristics. Respectively, 3‐year cumulative incidences for CP‐CRT, CB‐CRT and C225‐RT were: LRF (0.19, 0.18 and 0.48, p ≤ 0.001), DM (0.17, 0.12 and 0.25, p = 0.32). Kaplan‐Meier estimates for 3 year OS were: CP‐CRT: 71%; CB‐CRT: 59% and C225‐RT: 54%; p = 0.0094. CP‐CRT (hazard ratio [HR] 0.336; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.203–0.557, p < 0.01) and CB‐CRT (HR 0.279; 95% CI 0.141–0.551, p < 0.01) were associated with reduced hazard for LRF on multivariable analysis. CP‐CRT (HR 0.548; 95% CI 0.355–0.845, p < 0.01) and CB‐CRT (HR 0.549; 95% CI 0.334–0.904, p = 0.02) were associated with a reduced hazard for death on multivariable analysis. Propensity matching confirmed reduced hazards with a combined CP/CB‐CRT group compared to C225‐RT for LRF: HR 0.384 (p = 0.018) and OS: HR 0.557 (p = 0.045) and CB‐CRT group compared to C225‐RT for LRF: HR 0.427 (p = 0.023). In conclusion, CB‐CRT is an effective alternative to CP‐CRT in HPV‐unrelated LA‐HNSCC with superior locoregional control and OS compared to C225‐RT.
Older age, symptoms, or anemia: Which factors increase colorectal cancer risk with a positive fecal immunochemical test?

Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are used to screen asymptomatic individuals aged 50–74 years for colorectal cancer (CRC) within the Australian screening program. Gastrointestinal symptoms or iron deficiency anemia (IDA) may also drive primary care physicians to request a FIT. This study aimed to examine factors that may increase neoplasia risk associated with a positive FIT, specifically age, gastrointestinal symptoms, or IDA.