Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Wound-Healing Properties of Medicinal Plants: The Case of Phyllanthus muellerianus

Phyllanthus muellerianus (Family Euphorbiaceae) is a shrub, which is widely distributed in West Africa and employed traditionally as a wound-healing agent especially in Ghana. The aim of the study was to determine the in vivo wound-healing activity of aqueous aerial part extract of P. muellerianus (PLE) and its major isolate, geraniin. Excision and incision wound models were used to determine the wound-healing activity. Wounds were treated with PLE (0.25, 0.5, and 1% w/w) and geraniin (0.1, 0.2, and 0.4% w/w) aqueous creams. PLE and geraniin significantly (p < 0.001) increased wound contraction rate and hydroxyproline production compared to untreated wounds. Histological studies of wound tissues showed high levels of fibroblasts and increased collagen content and cross-linking in PLE and geraniin-treated wound tissues. Immuno-histochemical investigations revealed high levels of TGF-β1 in PLE and geraniin-treated wound tissues compared to the untreated wound tissues. Tensile strength of incised wounds was significantly (p < 0.05) high in PLE and geraniin-treated wounds. PLE (0.1–100 μg/mL) significantly (p < 0.001) reduce LDH release from HaCaT-keratinocytes compared to the untreated cells. PLE and geraniin possess wound healing and cytoprotective effect.
Optimal Power Allocation for Secrecy Rate Maximization in Broadcast Wiretap Channels

We investigate physical layer security in wireless communication networks, where a transmitter Alice sends a confidential message to an intended user Bob, while coexisting with a normal transmitter DT, a normal receiver DR, and a passive eavesdropper Eve. Compared with the conventional cooperative jamming (CJ) scheme, DT has dual responsibilities. One is to broadcast public information to its service subscriber DR, and the other is to confound the unauthorized eavesdropper Eve to ensure desired secure communication. Considering the secrecy outage restriction of Bob and the quality of service demand of DR, we propose an optimal resource management strategy. Users with different security requirements take hierarchical secure measures. For example, banking transaction needs to adopt high strength security measures, and personal voice communication resorts to low-level security protection strategies. Numerical simulations show that the proposed secure design outperforms the CJ scheme in terms of effective service rate and effective energy efficiency with a little secrecy rate loss, which is suitable for the low-level security real-time communication.
Deception Task Design in Developer Password Studies: Exploring a Student Sample

Studying developer behavior is a hot topic for usable security researchers. While the usable security community has ample experience and best-practice knowledge concerning the design of end-user studies, such knowledge is still lacking for developer studies. We know from end-user studies that task design and framing can have signiﬁcant effects on the outcome of the study. To offer initial insights into these effects for developer research, we extended our previous password storage study [42]. We did so to examine the effects of deception studies with regard to developers. Our results show that there is a huge effect - only 2 out of the 20 non-primed participants even attempted a secure solution, as compared to the 14 out of 20 for the primed participants. In this paper, we will discuss the duration of the task and contrast qualitative vs. quantitative research methods for future developer studies. In addition to these methodological contributions, we also provide further insights into why developers store passwords insecurely.
The Dangers of Key Reuse: Practical Attacks on IPsec IKE

IPsec enables cryptographic protection of IP packets. It is commonly used to build VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). For key establishment, the IKE (Internet Key Exchange) protocol is used. IKE exists in two versions, each with different modes, different phases, several authentication methods, and conﬁguration options. In this paper, we show that reusing a key pair across different versions and modes of IKE can lead to cross-protocol authentication bypasses, enabling the imperson-ation of a victim host or network by attackers. We exploit a Bleichenbacher oracle in an IKEv1 mode, where RSA encrypted nonces are used for authentication. Using this exploit, we break these RSA encryption based modes, and in addition break RSA signature based authentication in both IKEv1 and IKEv2. Additionally, we describe an ofﬂine dictionary attack against the PSK (Pre-Shared Key) based IKE modes, thus covering all available authentication mechanisms of IKE. We found Bleichenbacher oracles in the IKEv1 implementations of Cisco (CVE-2018-0131), Huawei (CVE-2017-17305), Clavister (CVE-2018-8753), and ZyXEL (CVE-2018-9129). All vendors published ﬁxes or removed the particular authentication method from their devices’ ﬁrmwares in response to our reports.
Fast PageRank Computation Based on Network Decomposition and DAG Structure

PageRank has been widely used for the problem of evaluating the importance of data in many applications, such as Web science, information systems, and social network analysis. As vast amounts of data generate, the development of efficient PageRank computation is a vibrant area of contemporary research. In this paper, we propose a fast PageRank computation method based on network decomposition and the structure of directed acyclic graph (DAG). A network decomposition technique is first introduced to decompose the original network into three parts, including a general sub-network and two sub-DAGs. Based on the acyclic characteristic, we demonstrate that these two sub-DAGs can be theoretically lumped into two single nodes by a similarity transformation. Then, the PageRank problem on the original network is transformed into a PageRank problem on a much smaller network, and the full PageRank vector can be easily recovered from the result of new problem. As the time taken by the estimation of PageRank is directly proportional to the network size, the proposed method achieves an improved time complexity and is more efficient as the size of two sub-DAGs increases. Experimental results on real data sets show that our method provides a significant speedup compared with existing alternatives.
Space-Shift-Keying-Based Wireless-Powered Communications

In this letter, we analyze the performance of space shift keying (SSK) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) modulation technique in a wireless-powered communication network (WPCN). The considered network consists of an access point and one user with multiple antennas and operates under Rayleigh conditions. A closed-form expression for the pairwise-error-probability is obtained and then employed to calculate the union bound of the average bit error rate for the system under consideration. Numerical results are provided and supported by simulations to validate the exactness of the theoretical analysis. The results demonstrate that energy harvesting can improve the system performance. Interestingly, unlike the conventional SSK-MIMO system, in SSK-based WPC, as the number of transmit-antennas increases the system performance is improved.
Comparing different methods of measurement in psychiatry and clinical psychology. : The diagnostic power of the new neurophysiology techniques.

The present challenge is to assess the best tools to measure psychological and psychopathological processes underlying clinical external observations. An interesting approach about is to make reference to a multilevel systemic modeling, where clinical rating scale, self completed questionnaires, neuropsychology and event related electroencephalography may be matched. 13 subjects with an history of child abuse and 14 controls with no history of psychopathology were studied. Clinical data and self descriptions of maltreated people showed a higher psychological discomfort, a lower social functioning and a lower quality of life of such subjects. Neuropsychological data highlights a lower response control and a valence attribution bias of these subjects but not a dysfunction in selective attention. Neurophysiological data evidenced different $\text{P}_{\mathbf {3\, }}$activation patterns in brain cortex between the two groups: a higher frontal versus lower temporal activation in selective attention task and a higher left hemisphere activation versus a lower right hemisphere activation in affective attribution tasks. All the measurement methods appeared highly discriminating by their own, but neuropsychology. However the best methods resulted in adopting an integrative approach where neurophysiological data were integrated with neuropsychology and external clinical observations. Using this new approach the initial two groups were better discriminated in three groups where a new group of masked maltreated subjects was identified. This better discrimination is possible using a two dimension discriminating function in which the inner distortion in $\text{P}_{\mathbf {3}}$ activation pattern is compensated by another $\text{P}_{\mathbf {3}}$ activation pattern, sensitive to social relationship top down behavioral modulating effect. Using this method, self completed questionnaires resulted useless to add more information, while neurophysiology plus neuropsychology resulted in a sufficient reliable first line screening method.
Measuring scholarly impact in heterogeneous networks

This study proposes a new informetric indicator P-Rank for measuring the status of articles, authors, and journals in heterogeneous scholarly networks. P-Rank differentiates die weight of each citation based on its citing journals, citing authors, and time of publication. Articles from 16 library and information science (LIS) journals are selected as the dataset. We compare the top 10 lists for authors, journals, and articles based on different parameters of P-Rank.
Effects of Reforestation on the Structure and Diversity of Bacterial Communities in Subtropical Low Mountain Forest Soils

Reforestation with different tree species could alter soil properties and in turn affect the bacterial community. However, the effects of long-term reforestation on bacterial community structure and diversity of subtropical forest soils are poorly understood. In the current study, we applied error-corrected barcoded pyrosequencing to characterize the differences in the soil bacterial community in a low mountain, subtropical forest subjected to reforestation. The communities were sampled in the summer and winter from a native broadleaved forest (BROAD-Nat) and two adjacent coniferous plantations, a Calocedrus formosana forest of 80 years (CONIF-80) and a Cunninghamia konishii forest of 40 years (CONIF-40). The soil bacterial communities among three forest types were dominated by Acidobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria. The distribution of abundant genera among communities was different. Based on the Shannon diversity index, the bacterial alpha diversity of CONIF-40 community was significantly higher than that in the CONIF-80 and BROAD-Nat soils. In both of the coniferous plantations, the soil bacterial diversity in summer was also higher than that in winter. Distribution of some abundant phylogenetic groups, K-shuff and redundancy analysis of beta diversity among communities showed that the bacterial structure of three soil communities differed between two seasons. These results suggest that seasonal differences influence the diversity and structure of bacterial soil communities and that the communities remain different even after a long period of reforestation.
Effects of zinc deficiency on impaired spermatogenesis and male infertility: the role of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis

Abstract Zinc (Zn) is necessary for the normal function of the male reproductive system and spermatozoa. Although influences of zinc deficiency on impaired spermatogenesis and male infertility have been widely considered, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of these abnormalities are not well understood. General abnormalities, including hypogonadism, Leydig cells damage, deficiency of sex hormone production and impaired spermatogenesis, as well as inflammation, antioxidant depletion, sperm death and male infertility can be observed during zinc deficiency. However, it is not obvious which pathways are relevant to the pathogenesis of zinc deficiency. Oxidative stress (OS) induced by reactive oxygen species is likely as the main mechanism of zinc deficiency which is associated with sperm DNA fragmentation, decrease in sperm membrane integrity, apoptosis, depletion of antioxidants, and consequently poor sperm quality and male infertility. Therefore, identification of these pathways will give valuable information regarding the mechanisms of zinc deficiency on the male reproductive system and the potential way for developing a better clinical approach. In this review, we aim to discuss the proposed cellular and molecular mechanisms of zinc deficiency on the male reproductive system, the importance of OS and mechanisms by which zinc deficiency induces OS and depletion of other antioxidants.
Fluidigm2PURC: Automated processing and haplotype inference for double‐barcoded PCR amplicons

Premise of the study Targeted enrichment strategies for phylogenomic inference are a time- and cost-efficient way to collect DNA sequence data for large numbers of individuals at multiple, independent loci. Automated and reproducible processing of these data is a crucial step for researchers conducting phylogenetic studies. Methods and Results We present Fluidigm2PURC, an open source Python utility for processing paired-end Illumina data from double-barcoded PCR amplicons. In combination with the program PURC (Pipeline for Untangling Reticulate Complexes), our scripts process raw FASTQ files for analysis with PURC and use its output to infer haplotypes for diploids, polyploids, and samples with unknown ploidy. We demonstrate the use of the pipeline with an example data set from the genus Thalictrum L. (Ranunculaceae). Conclusions Fluidigm2PURC is freely available for Unix-like operating systems on GitHub [https://github.com/pblischak/fluidigm2purc] and for all operating systems through Docker [https://hub.docker. com/r/pblischak/fluidigm2purc].
GW0742 activates peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor δ to reduce free radicals and alleviate cardiac hypertrophy induced by hyperglycemia in cultured H9c2 cells

Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor δ (PPARδ), the predominant PPAR subtype in the heart, is known to regulate cardiac function. PPARδ activation may inhibit cardiac hypertrophy in H9c2 cells while the potential mechanism has not been elucidated. Then, H9c2 cells incubated with high glucose to induce hypertrophy were used to investigate using GW0742 to activate PPARδ. The fluorescence assays were applied to determine the changes in cell size, cellular calcium levels, and free radicals. Western blot analyses for hypertrophic signals and assays of messenger RNA (mRNA) levels for hypertrophic biomarkers were performed. In H9c2 cells, GW0742 inhibited cardiac hypertrophy. In addition, increases in cellular calcium and hypertrophic signals, including calcineurin and nuclear factor of activated T‐cells, were reduced by GW0742. This reduction was parallel to the decrease in the mRNA levels of biomarkers, such as brain/B‐type natriuretic peptides and β‐myosin heavy chain. These effects of GW0742 were dose‐dependently inhibited by GSK0660 indicating an activation of PPARδ by GW0742 to alleviate cardiac hypertrophy. Moreover, free radicals produced by hyperglycemia were also markedly inhibited by GW0742 and were later reversed by GSK0660. GW0742 promoted the expression of thioredoxin, an antioxidant enzyme. Direct inhibition of reactive oxygen species by GW0742 was also identified in the oxidant potassium bromate stimulated H9c2 cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that PPARδ agonists can inhibit free radicals, resulting in lower cellular calcium for reduction of hypertrophic signaling to alleviate cardiac hypertrophy in H9c2 cells. Therefore, PPARδ activation can be used to develop agent(s) for treating cardiac hypertrophy.
Biologic and mechanical aspects of tendon fibrosis after injury and repair

ABSTRACT Tendon injuries of the hand that require surgical repair often heal with excess scarring and adhesions to adjacent tissues. This can compromise the natural gliding mechanics of the flexor tendons in particular, which operate within a fibro-osseous tunnel system similar to a set of pulleys. Even combining the finest suture repair techniques with optimal hand therapy protocols cannot ensure predictable restoration of hand function in these cases. To date, the majority of research regarding tendon injuries has revolved around the mechanical aspects of the surgical repair (i.e. suture techniques) and postoperative rehabilitation. The central principles of treatment gleaned from this literature include using a combination of core and epitendinous sutures during repair and initiating motion early on in hand therapy to improve tensile strength and limit adhesion formation. However, it is likely that the best clinical solution will utilize optimal biological modulation of the healing response in addition to these core strategies and, recently, the research in this area has expanded considerably. While there are no proven additive biological agents that can be used in clinical practice currently, in this review, we analyze the recent literature surrounding cytokine modulation, gene and cell-based therapies, and tissue engineering, which may ultimately lead to improved clinical outcomes following tendon injury in the future.
LNA Design with CMOS SOI Process-l.4dB NF K/Ka band LNA

In this paper we first discuss about how to select the device type to get best LNA NF for applications ranging from sub-6GHz to 5G mm-Wave Ka-band. A prototype Ka-band fully integrated LNA is designed and fabricated in 45nm CMOS SOI process with a chip area of $\mathbf{530}\pmb{\mu} \mathbf{m}\times \mathbf{570}\pmb{\mu}\mathbf{m}$. The LNA achieves a 3-dB bandwidth greater than 10 GHz while the NF remains below 2dB. From 24 to 28 GHz, the LNA achieves a gain of 14–12.8dB, IIP3 of 4–5 dBm, and NF around 1.4 dB (1.3-1.6 dB over several tests), from a 1.5 V supply with 10mA of current. In low power mode, the NF is around 1.5dB with a gain of 12.6dB and 7mW power consumption. To the authors knowledge, this is the best NF achieved at 28 GHz by any CMOS process and close to latest GaAs data with FOM larger than 250.
Lidocaine/Phenylephrine Nasal Spray versus Nebulization Prior to Nasoendoscopy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective To objectively compare the nasal decongestion potency of lidocaine/phenylephrine when delivered with a nasal nebulizer and a nasal spray before a rigid nasoendoscopic examination. Study Design Open-label randomized controlled trial. Setting Multicenter study. Methods This prospective clinical trial involved 106 participants with untreated chronic rhinitis. Fifty-three participants had 400 μL of lidocaine/phenylephrine administered into the right nostril with a nasal nebulizer, while the remaining 53 participants had 400 μL administered with a nasal spray. The control was the left nostril. Nasal resistance at 150-Pa fixed pressure was evaluated with an active anterior rhinomanometry at 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes postintervention. Pain score was assessed subjectively by applying pressure to the inferior turbinate 30 minutes after intervention. Results There was an overall reduction in nasal resistance of the right nostril when lidocaine/phenylephrine was administered with the nasal nebulizer in comparison with the nasal spray. However, a statistically significant difference in nasal resistance was seen only at 5 minutes (P = .047), 15 minutes (P = .016), and 30 minutes (P = .036). The examining endoscopist further supported the degree of nasal decongestion via subjective assessment of the nasal cavity (P = .001). Pain scores obtained after the intervention showed a significant decrease in pain threshold when the nasal nebulizer was used instead of the nasal spray (P = .040). Conclusions This study suggests that the delivery of lidocaine/phenylephrine to the nasal cavity by the nasal nebulizer provides better decongestive and analgesic potency as compared with the delivery by nasal sprays.
An Economic Analysis of Privacy Protection and Statistical Accuracy as Social Choices

Statistical agencies face a dual mandate to publish accurate statistics while protecting respondent privacy. Increasing privacy protection requires decreased accuracy. Recognizing this as a resource allocation problem, we propose an economic solution: operate where the marginal cost of increasing privacy equals the marginal benefit. Our model of production, from computer science, assumes data are published using an efficient differentially private algorithm. Optimal choice weighs the demand for accurate statistics against the demand for privacy. Examples from US statistical programs show how our framework can guide decision-making. Further progress requires a better understanding of willingness-to-pay for privacy and statistical accuracy. (JEL C38, C81, D83)
Effects on Cognitive Functioning of Acute, Subacute and Repeated Exposures to High Altitude

Objective: Neurocognitive functions are affected by high altitude, however the altitude effects of acclimatization and repeated exposures are unclear. We investigated the effects of acute, subacute and repeated exposure to 5,050 m on cognition among altitude-naïve participants compared to control subjects tested at low altitude. Methods: Twenty-one altitude-naïve individuals (25.3 ± 3.8 years, 13 females) were exposed to 5,050 m for 1 week (Cycle 1) and re-exposed after a week of rest at sea-level (Cycle 2). Baseline (BL, 520 m), acute (Day 1, HA1) and acclimatization (Day 6, HA6, 5,050 m) measurements were taken in both cycles. Seventeen control subjects (24.9 ± 2.6 years, 12 females) were tested over a similar period in Calgary, Canada (1,103 m). The Reaction Time (RTI), Attention Switching Task (AST), Rapid Visual Processing (RVP) and One Touch Stockings of Cambridge (OTS) tasks were administered and outcomes were expressed in milliseconds/frequencies. Lake Louise Score (LLS) and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) were recorded. Results: In both cycles, no significant changes were found with acute exposure on the AST total score, mean latency and SD. Significant changes were found upon acclimatization solely in the altitude group, with improved AST Mean Latency [HA1 (588 ± 92) vs. HA6 (526 ± 91), p < 0.001] and Latency SD [HA1 (189 ± 86) vs. HA6 (135 ± 65), p < 0.001] compared to acute exposure, in Cycle 1. No significant differences were present in the control group. When entering Acute SpO2 (HA1-BL), Acclimatization SpO2 (HA6-BL) and LLS score as covariates for both cycles, the effects of acclimatization on AST outcomes disappeared indicating that the changes were partially explained by SpO2 and LLS. The changes in AST Mean Latency [ΔBL (−61.2 ± 70.2) vs. ΔHA6 (−28.0 ± 58), p = 0.005] and the changes in Latency SD [ΔBL (−28.4 ± 41.2) vs. ΔHA6 (−0.2235 ± 34.8), p = 0.007] across the two cycles were smaller with acclimatization. However, the percent changes did not differ between cycles. These results indicate independent effects of altitude across repeated exposures. Conclusions: Selective and sustained attention are impaired at altitude and improves with acclimatization.The observed changes are associated, in part, with AMS score and SpO2. The gains in cognition with acclimatization during a first exposure are not carried over to repeated exposures.