Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rest in Protection - A Kernel-level Approach to Mitigate RIP Tampering

We present RIProtection (Rest In Protection), a novel Linux kernel-based approach that mitigates the tampering of return instruction pointers. RIProtection uses single stepping on branches for instruction-level monitoring to guarantee the integrity of the ret-based control-flow of user-mode programs. Our modular design of RIProtection allows an easy adoption of several security approaches relying on instruction-level monitoring. For this paper, we implemented two exclusive approaches to protect RIPs: XOR-based encryption as well as a shadow stack. Both approaches provide reliable protection of RIPs, while the shadow stack additionally prevents return-oriented programming and withstands information leakages of the user-mode stack. While the performance of RIProtection is a severe drawback, its compatibility with regard to hardware and software requirements is outstanding because it supports virtually all 64-bit programs without recompilation or binary
The Effect of Education on Health: Cross-Country Evidence

This paper sheds light on the causal relationship between education and health outcomes. It combines three surveys (SHARE, HRS and ELSA) that include nationally representative samples of people aged 50 and over from thirteen OECD countries. It uses variation in the timing of educational reforms across these countries as an instrument for education. Using IV-Probit models, it finds causal evidence that more years of education lead to a lower probability of reporting poor health and lower prevalence for diabetes and hypertension. These effects are larger than those from the Probit, that do not control for the endogeneity of education. The relationship between education and cancer is positive in both Probit and IV-Probit models. The causal impacts of education on other chronic conditions as well as functional status are not established using IV-Probit models.
Abdominal CT: comparison of adaptive statistical iterative and filtered back projection reconstruction techniques.

PURPOSE To compare image quality and lesion conspicuity on abdominal computed tomographic (CT) images acquired with different x-ray tube current-time products (50-200 mAs) and reconstructed with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) and filtered back projection (FBP) techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-two patients (mean age, 60.1 years ± 7.3 [standard deviation]; age range, 52.8-67.4 years; mean weight, 78.9 kg ± 18.3; 12 men, 10 women) gave informed consent for this prospective institutional review board-approved and HIPAA-compliant study, which involved the acquisition of four additional image series at multidetector CT. Images were acquired at different tube current-time products (200, 150, 100, and 50 mAs) and encompassed an abdominal lesion over a 10-cm scan length. Images were reconstructed separately with FBP and with three levels of ASIR-FBP blending. Two radiologists reviewed FBP and ASIR images for image quality in a blinded and randomized manner. Volume CT dose index (CTDI(vol)), dose-length product, patient weight, objective noise, and CT numbers were recorded. Data were analyzed by using analysis of variance and the Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS CTDI(vol) values were 16.8, 12.6, 8.4, and 4.2 mGy for 200, 150, 100, and 50 mAs, respectively (P < .001). Subjective noise was graded as below average at 150 mAs and average at 100 and 50 mAs for ASIR images, as compared with FBP images, on which noise was graded as average at 150 mAs, above average at 100 mAs, and unacceptable at 50 mAs. A substantial blotchy image appearance was noted in four of 22 image series acquired at 4.2 mGy with 70% ASIR. Lesion conspicuity was significantly better at 4.2 mGy on ASIR than on FBP images (observed P < .044), and overall diagnostic confidence changed from unacceptable on FBP to acceptable on ASIR images. CONCLUSION ASIR lowers noise and improves diagnostic confidence in and conspicuity of subtle abdominal lesions at 8.4 mGy when images are reconstructed with 30% ASIR blending and at 4.2 mGy in patients weighing 90 kg or less when images are reconstructed with 50% or 70% ASIR blending.
Semiparametric Regression for Clustered Data Using Generalized Estimating Equations

We consider estimation in a semiparametric generalized linear model for clustered data using estimating equations. Our results apply to the case where the number of observations per cluster is finite, whereas the number of clusters is large. The mean of the outcome variable μ is of the form g(μ) = XTβ + θ(T), where g(·) is a link function, X and T are covariates, β is an unknown parameter vector, and θ(t) is an unknown smooth function. Kernel estimating equations proposed previously in the literature are used to estimate the infinite-dimensional nonparametric function θ(t), and a profile-based estimating equation is used to estimate the finite-dimensional parameter vector β. We show that for clustered data, this conventional profile-kernel method often fails to yield a √n-consistent estimator of β along with appropriate inference unless working independence is assumed or θ(t) is artificially undersmoothed, in which case asymptotic inference is possible. To gain insight into these results, we derive the semiparametric efficient score of β, which is found to have a complicated form, and show that, unlike for independent data, the profile-kernel method does not yield a score function asymptotically equivalent to the semiparametric efficient score of β, even when the true correlation is assumed and θ(t) is undersmoothed. We illustrate the methods with an application to infectious disease data and evaluate their finite-sample performance through a simulation study.
Privacy Vulnerabilities of Dataset Anonymization Techniques

Vast amounts of information of all types are collected daily about people by governments, corporations and individuals. The information is collected when users register to or use on-line applications, receive health related services, use their mobile phones, utilize search engines, or perform common daily activities. As a result, there is an enormous quantity of privately-owned records that describe individuals' finances, interests, activities, and demographics. These records often include sensitive data and may violate the privacy of the users if published. The common approach to safeguarding user information, or data in general, is to limit access to the storage (usually a database) by using and authentication and authorization protocol. This way, only users with legitimate permissions can access the user data. In many cases though, the publication of user data for statistical analysis and research can be extremely beneficial for both academic and commercial uses, such as statistical research and recommendation systems. To maintain user privacy when such a publication occurs many databases employ anonymization techniques, either on the query results or the data itself. In this paper we examine variants of 2 such techniques, "data perturbation" and "query-set-size control" and discuss their vulnerabilities. Data perturbation deals with changing the values of records in the dataset while maintaining a level of accuracy over the resulting queries. We focus on a relatively new data perturbation method called NeNDS to show a possible partial knowledge attack on its privacy. The query-set-size control allows publication of a query result dependent on having a minimum set size, k, of records satisfying the query parameters. We show some query types relying on this method may still be used to extract hidden information, and prove others maintain privacy even when using multiple queries.
Identification of OprF as a Complement Component C3 Binding Acceptor Molecule on the Surface of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a versatile opportunistic pathogen that can cause devastating persistent infections. Complement is a highly conserved pathway of the innate immune system, and its role in the first line of defense against pathogens is widely appreciated. One of the earliest events in the complement cascade is the conversion of C3 to C3a and C3b, the latter typically binds to one or more acceptor molecules on the pathogen surface. We previously demonstrated that complement C3b binding acceptors exist on the P. aeruginosa surface. In the current study, we utilized either C3 polyclonal or C3b monoclonal antibodies in a far-Western technique followed by mass spectroscopy to identify the C3b acceptor molecule(s) on the P. aeruginosa surface. Our data provide evidence that OprF (an outer membrane porin, highly conserved in the Pseudomonadaceae) binds C3b. An oprF-deficient P. aeruginosa strain exhibits reduced C3 deposition compared to the wild type. We observed reduced internalization of oprF-deficient bacteria by neutrophils after opsonization compared with wild-type P. aeruginosa. Heterologous expression of OprF significantly enhanced C3b binding and increased serum-mediated bactericidal effects in complement-susceptible Escherichia coli. Furthermore, the predicted secondary structure of the C-terminal, surface-exposed region of OprF has high structural identity to the OmpA domain of several other Gram-negative bacteria, one of which is known to bind C3b. Therefore, these findings provide new insights into the biology of complement interactions with P. aeruginosa and other Gram-negative bacteria.
The Rainbow Network : An Off-Chain Decentralized Synthetics Exchange

This paper presents the Rainbow Network, a design for an off-chain non-custodial exchange and payment network supporting any liquid asset. The Rainbow Network allows a user to trade, lend, borrow, send, and receive any liquid asset, entirely off-chain, while having only one on-chain payment channel collateralized by a single asset. The network is composed of Rainbow channels, a variant of payment channels where settlement balances are computed based on the current prices of other assets. This paper presents three constructions of Rainbow channels, one of which can be implemented on top of any bidirectional payment channel, such as the Bitcoin payment channels used in the Lightning Network.
Extraction of Salient Object Regions by Virtual Super Pixel and Global Feature

A new salient object extraction method is constructed by a virtual super pixel (VSP) and global features to solve the following crucial problems of the conventional methods: (a) although a threshold to obtain the salient region close to ground truth (GT) is set for each image, the rule for setting the threshold is not explicit, and (b) although “contrast” is used as an element of the saliency calculation, the contrast does not compare features in adjacent regions in spite of the weak effect of a non-adjacent region. In this paper, the salient object region is obtained through the following process: (1) extraction of the background regions, (2) calculation of the saliency of the segmented region, and (3) unification of low-saliency regions into high-saliency ones. The method is applied to the extraction of object regions including important information such as characters and instruction icons in the living environment.
Subjects , Power , and Knowledge : Description and Prescription in Feminist Philosophies of Science

Feminists, faced with traditions in philosophy and in science that are deeply hostile to women, have had practically to invent new and more appropriate ways of knowing the world. These new ways have been less invention out of whole cloth than the revival or reevaluation of alternative or suppressed traditions. They range from the celebration of insight into nature through identification with it to specific strategies of survey research in the social sciences. Natural scientists and laypersons anxious to see the sciences change have celebrated Barbara McClintock’s loving identification with various aspects of the plants she studied, whether whole organism or its chromosomal structure revealed under the microscope. Social scientists from Dorothy Smith to Karen Sacks have stressed designing research for rather than merely about women, a goal that requires attending to the specificities of women’s lives and consulting research subjects themselves about the process of gathering information about them. Such new ways of approaching natural and social phenomena can be seen as methods of discovery, ways of getting information about the natural and social worlds not available via more traditional experimental or investigative methods. Feminists have rightly pointed out the blinders imposed by the philosophical distinction between discovery and justification; a theory of scientific inquiry that focuses solely on the logic of justification neglects the selection processes occurring in the context of discovery that limit what we get to know about. Methods of discovery, or heuristics, are in effect selection processes that present for our consideration certain sorts of hypotheses and not other sorts. Feminists have
Protecting Assets within a Civilian Harbour through the Use of a Team of USVs : Interception of Possible Menaces

The protection of civilian harbours has received an increasing interest after September 11th. One of the areas currently under major investigation is the use of a team of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), which could be exploited for patrolling purposes and to investigate suspect situations, increasing the effectiveness of the harbor protection system while lowering the number of humans directly exposed to threats. To achieve such aims, the USVs must be properly coordinated by an intelligent Swarm Management Unit (SMU), whose realization is the goal of an on-going research project carried out by the authors’ organizations. This paper presents the latest results of the SMU project, i.e. a menace interception system, that off-line optimizes the positioning of the USV team and on-line selects the most suitable USV for intercepting any possible menace.
Test de provocation par voie orale aux aliments chez l ’ enfant . Quand , pour qui et comment ? Réalisation 1 , 2 Oral food challenge in children : who , when , and how ? Procedures

The realization of the TPO begin with a precise analysis from criteria ensuring the safety from the child. The paper specify the prerequisites (place of realization, venous access, environment, food preparation), the methodology of the OFC (open, simple or double blind manner) and the management of a reaction occurring during the OFC. © 2006 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés. Mots clés : Environnement ; Risque ; Enfant ; Tests de provocation par voie orale ; Allergie alimentaire ; Méthodologie ; Réaction ; Anaphylaxie ; Adrénaline
Erectile Dysfunction And Traditional Oriental Herbal

Erectile Dysfunction (ED), also known as impotence, is the inability to have or maintain an erection sufficient for normal sexual activity. More than 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70 years experience ED to some degree. In recent years there has been an increased awareness of the problem of ED. This increased public interest in ED is evident by the fact that the number of physician visits for ED nearly tripled between 1985 and 1999 (National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey). This is probably related to the introduction of the drug Viagra (sildenafil citrate) in March of 1998. Practitioners of Oriental Medicine have, for a long time, offered traditional solutions for this very private male complaint. However, with the introduction of new drugs for an old problem, we as herbalists are asked to look at our practice with greater wisdom and insight as part of the ever growing marriage of East-meetsWest medicine. I believe that while Oriental Medicine practitioners enjoy a wide and flexible view of our patients’ entire health, Western medical science can open our eyes even wider if we look in the correct manner. Here I will attempt to do this very thing. This article will 1) review the Western physiological process of erection and its dysfunction, 2) examine ED in the context of overall health and disease, 3) review what information exists in the professional literature about Chinese herbal medicinals and their role in erectile physiology, and 4) tie this information together by analyzing some formulas and products for ED.
Genomic Localization of a T Serotype Locus to a Recombinatorial Zone Encoding Extracellular Matrix-Binding Proteins in Streptococcus pyogenes

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pyogenes is an important bacterial pathogen afflicting humans. A striking feature is its extraordinary biological diversity, evident in the wide range of diseases it can cause and the antigenic heterogeneity present on its surface. The T antigens form the basis of a major serological typing scheme that is often used as an alternative or supplement to M typing. Unlike M typing, the genetic basis for T typing is poorly understood. In this report, the tee6 gene is localized to a position ≈3.3 kb downstream from prtF1 (or sfbI), which encodes the Fn-binding protein, protein F, a key virulence factor. Comparison of this portion of the genome with those of four additional strains reveals the presence of genes encoding a collagen-binding protein (Cpa) and a second Fn-binding protein (PrtF2 or PfbpI). This chromosomal region—here designated the FCT region—is ≈11 to 16 kb in length and is flanked at both ends by long stretches of highly conserved sequence. For each of the five strains, the FCT region contains a unique combination of semiconserved loci, indicative of extensive intergenomic recombination. The data provide evidence that the highly recombinatorial FCT region of the S. pyogenes genome is under strong selection for change in response to the host environment.
HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF DOUBLE SLOTTED BARRIERS UNDER REGULAR WAVE ATTACK

In the present study, wave interaction with double, fixed, vertical, semi-immersed, slotted barriers is investigated numerically. Numerical results concerning obtained with the use of the COBRAS (Cornell breaking Wave and Structures) wave model for regular waves reveal the effects of barriers porosity, relative depth d/L (d: water depth, L: wave length) and relative distance between the two barriers S/L (S: the distance between the two barriers, L: wave length) on the hydrodynamic characteristics (wave transmission, reflection, dissipation, velocity field, turbulence kinetic energy field). Numerical results concerning wave transmission, reflection, dissipation against the porosity of the barriers, d/L and S/L are well compared with experimental results by Isaacson et al. [14], revealing the credibility of the wave model. Detailed computed velocities and turbulence kinetic energy in the vicinity of the structure indicate the effects of the special breakwater on the flow pattern and the turbulence structure. Key-Words: Double Slotted Barriers, Permeable Barriers, Special Βreakwater
Time-Frequency Signal Processing for Automated Infant Cry Classification

This work proposes a novel investigation of timefrequency (t-f) based signal processing approach using Quadratic time-frequency distributions (QTFDs) namely Spectrogram (SPEC), Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), Smoothed-Wigner Ville distribution (SWVD), Choi-William distribution (CWD) and Modified B-distribution (MBD) for classification of infant cry signals. T-f approaches have proved as an efficient approach for applications involving the non stationary signals. In feature extraction, a cluster of t-f based attributes were extracted from the suggested t-f approaches by extending time-domain and frequency-domain features to the joint (t-f) domain. Conventional features such as Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) and Linear prediction coefficients (LPCs) were also extracted and their effectiveness was compared with the suggested methodology. The efficacy of the extracted feature vectors was validated using probabilistic neural network (PNN) and general regression neural network (GRNN). The proposed methodology was implemented to classify different sets of infant cry signals cry including binary and multiclass problems. Findings of this study significantly demonstrate the use of t-f method as an efficient practical clinical decision tool for infant
A variational formulation for GTM through time: Theoretical foundations

Generative Topographic Mapping (GTM) is a latent variable model that, in its standard version, was conceived to provide clustering and visualization of multivariate, real-valued, i.i. d. data. It was also extended to deal with non-i.i. d. data such as multivariate time series in a variant called GTM Through Time (GTMTT), defined as a constrained Hidden Markov Model (HMM). In this technical report, we provide the theoretical foundations of the reformulation of GTM-TT within the Variational Bayesian framework. This approach, in its application, should naturally handle the presence of noise in the time series, helping to avert the problem of data overfitting.
TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL COMBINATORICS IN GAMES FOR DESIGN

512_513 ABSTRACT This paper will outline the techniques and language that games use to give design agency to a player. By identifying the discrete combinatorial ontology of games, as opposed to a continuous post-rationalistic approach from general design tools, we hope to develop a framework for the design of ‘games for design’, or sandboxes that allow players to develop an output that is unexpected to the game developer and contingent to a player. This research has been the foundation for the development of Block’hood, a city-building video game that explores ideas of ecology and generative urbanism. TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL COMBINATORICS IN GAMES FOR DESIGN
Acid and neutral sphingomyelinases of rat brain. Activity in developing brain and regional distribution in adult brain

SPHINGOMYELINASE catalyses the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to ceramide and phosphorylcholine (BARNHOLZ et 01. 1966; HELLER & SHAPIRO, 1966; KANFER et a/., 1966; SCHNEIDER & KENNEDY, 1967). Two sphingomyelinases have been described in brain. One exhibits an acid pH optimum (pH 5.0), is relatively stable to manipulation and storage, and has several isoenzyme forms (BARNHOLZ et al., 1966; CALLAHAN et al., 1974; RAO & SPENCE, 1976; YAMAGUCHI & SUZUKI. 1977). It is widely distributed in mammalian tissues (KANFER et a/., 1966: RACHMILEW~Z et a/. 1967; ROELFZEMA er al. 1973) and appears to be a constituent mainly of lysosomes (WEINREB et a/., 1968; FOWLER, 1969). Recently, a second sphingomyelinase (sph’ase 7.4) of brain that has a neutral pH optimum (pH 7.4) and requires Mgz+ for optimal activity has been described (RAO & SPENCE, 1976; GATT. 1976). Differences in several properties (RAO & SPENCE, 1976) indicate that the acid (sph’ase 5.0) and neutral (sph’ase 7.4) activities represent separate enzymes. Unlike sph’ase 5.0, sph’ase 7.4 is concentrated in the brain, and little activity is observed in spleen (SCHNEIDER & KENNEDY, 1967; RAO & SPENCE. 1976) liver or leukocytes (RAO & SPENCE, 1976). This concentration in brain suggests that the role of the enzyme(s) is related to specific functions of that organ. Information relevant to the physiological role of tissue elements can be obtained from studies relating developmental changes in concentration or activity to those in structure and/or function. This is particularly so in brain where there are relatively massive changes in structure and function during development, and the timing of these events in several species is well known (DAVISON & DOBBING, 1968). To learn more about the role of sph’ase 7.4 in brain, we studied the changes in sph’ase 7.4 activity with development and compared these to the changes in sph’ase 5.0 activity. Additional studies of the regional distribution of the two activities in brain have also been carried out.