Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The top‐down regulation from the prefrontal cortex to insula via hypnotic aversion suggestions reduces smoking craving

Hypnosis has been shown to have treatment effects on nicotine addiction. However, the neural basis of these effects is poorly understood. This preliminary study investigated the neural mechanisms of hypnosis‐based treatment on cigarette smoking, specifically, whether the hypnosis involves a top‐down or bottom‐up mechanism. Two groups of 45 smokers underwent a smoking aversion suggestion and viewed smoking‐related pictures and neutral pictures. One group underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning twice (control and hypnotic states), whereas the other group underwent two electroencephalograph sessions. Our study found that self‐reported smoking craving decreased in both groups following hypnosis. Smoking cue‐elicited activations in the right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) and left insula (lI) and the functional connectivity between the rDLPFC and lI were increased in the hypnotic state compared with the control state. The delta band source waveforms indicated the activation from 390 to 862 ms at the rDLPFC and from 490 to 900 ms at the lI was significantly different between the smoking and neutral conditions in the hypnotic state, suggesting the activation in the rDLPFC preceded that in the lI. These results suggest that the decreased smoking craving via hypnotic aversion suggestions may arise from the top‐down regulation of the rDLPFC to the lI. Our findings provide novel neurobiological evidence for understanding the therapeutic effects of hypnosis on nicotine addiction, and the prefrontal–insula circuit may serve as an imaging biomarker to monitor the treatment efficacy noninvasively.
Eukaryotic Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels: On Their Origins, Asymmetries, Losses, Diversification and Adaptations

The appearance of voltage-gated, sodium-selective channels with rapid gating kinetics was a limiting factor in the evolution of nervous systems. Two rounds of domain duplications generated a common 24 transmembrane segment (4 × 6 TM) template that is shared amongst voltage-gated sodium (Nav1 and Nav2) and calcium channels (Cav1, Cav2, and Cav3) and leak channel (NALCN) plus homologs from yeast, different single-cell protists (heterokont and unikont) and algae (green and brown). A shared architecture in 4 × 6 TM channels include an asymmetrical arrangement of extended extracellular L5/L6 turrets containing a 4-0-2-2 pattern of cysteines, glycosylated residues, a universally short III-IV cytoplasmic linker and often a recognizable, C-terminal PDZ binding motif. Six intron splice junctions are conserved in the first domain, including a rare U12-type of the minor spliceosome provides support for a shared heritage for sodium and calcium channels, and a separate lineage for NALCN. The asymmetrically arranged pores of 4x6 TM channels allows for a changeable ion selectivity by means of a single lysine residue change in the high field strength site of the ion selectivity filter in Domains II or III. Multicellularity and the appearance of systems was an impetus for Nav1 channels to adapt to sodium ion selectivity and fast ion gating. A non-selective, and slowly gating Nav2 channel homolog in single cell eukaryotes, predate the diversification of Nav1 channels from a basal homolog in a common ancestor to extant cnidarians to the nine vertebrate Nav1.x channel genes plus Nax. A close kinship between Nav2 and Nav1 homologs is evident in the sharing of most (twenty) intron splice junctions. Different metazoan groups have lost their Nav1 channel genes altogether, while vertebrates rapidly expanded their gene numbers. The expansion in vertebrate Nav1 channel genes fills unique functional niches and generates overlapping properties contributing to redundancies. Specific nervous system adaptations include cytoplasmic linkers with phosphorylation sites and tethered elements to protein assemblies in First Initial Segments and nodes of Ranvier. Analogous accessory beta subunit appeared alongside Nav1 channels within different animal sub-phyla. Nav1 channels contribute to pace-making as persistent or resurgent currents, the former which is widespread across animals, while the latter is a likely vertebrate adaptation.
The lost world of Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, a relictual bacterial niche in a desert oasis

Barriers to immigration can lead to localized adaptive radiations and increased endemism. We propose that extreme oligotrophy can be a strong barrier to immigration over geological timescales, and facilitate the evolution of diverse and coevolved microbial communities. We show here that the endangered oasis of Cuatro Ciénegas Basin can be a model for a lost world, where the ancient niche of extreme oligotrophy favoured survival of ancestral microorganisms that persisted due to environmental stability and low extinction rates, generating a diverse and unique bacteria diversity. Diversification/extinction rates in Bacillus showed several CCB endemic clades that diverged from the rest of Bacillus spp. in different times of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, in contrast to more recent Bacillus, Clostridium and Bacteroidetes lineages. CCB conservation is vital to the understanding of early evolutionary and ecological processes.
Spontaneous regression of a chiari malformation type 1 in a 58-year-old female

Studies have established a complex age-related variation of the position of the cerebellar tonsils relative to the foramen magnum (FM). Chiari malformation type 1 (CM1) is generally defined by a protrusion >5 mm from the FM and may be an asymptomatic incidental finding. Symptoms include headache, nausea and neurological disturbances, including trigeminal neuralgia. Moreover, tonsils are often peg shaped and associated with syringohydromyelia. Symptomatic CM1 may be managed with decompression of the posterior cranial fossa, but spontaneous regression in adults has been reported occasionally. Theories include restoration of normal cerebrospinal fluid dynamics around the FM after rupture of subarachnoid adhesions or the syrinx itself during transient episodes of raised intracranial pressure. Supratentorial neurosurgery has also been implicated. We present a 58-year-old female diagnosed with CM1 and no associated syringohydromyelia following MRI investigation of trigeminal neuralgia. Managed medically, she re-presented 6 years later with new neurological symptoms. A subsequent MR study of the posterior cranial fossa showed resolution of the CM1, with only residual tonsillar ectopia. At no point was intracranial intervention performed, nor were there any events that might favour CM1 regression. This case demonstrates spontaneous resolution of CM1 without surgical intervention.
Unraveling the Novel Protective Effect of Patchouli Alcohol Against Helicobacter pylori-Induced Gastritis: Insights Into the Molecular Mechanism in vitro and in vivo

Patchouli alcohol (PA), a natural tricyclic sesquiterpene extracted from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. (Labiatae), has been found to exhibit anti-Helicobacter pylori and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of PA against H. pylori-induced gastritis in vitro and in vivo, and determined the underlying mechanism. In the in vivo experiment, a C57BL/6 mouse model of gastritis was established using H. pylori SS1, and treatments with standard triple therapy or 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg PA were performed for 2 weeks. Results indicated that PA effectively attenuated oxidative stress by decreasing contents of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malonyldialdehyde (MDA), and increasing levels of non-protein sulfhydryl (NP-SH), catalase and glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disulphide (GSSG). Additionally, treatment with PA significantly attenuated the secretions of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), keratinocyte chemoattractant and interleukin 6 (IL-6). PA (20 mg/kg) significantly protected the gastric mucosa from H. pylori-induced damage. In the in vitro experiment, GES-1 cells were cocultured with H. pylori NCTC11637 at MOI = 100:1 and treated with different doses of PA (5, 10, and 20 μg/ml). Results indicated that PA not only significantly increased the cell viability and decreased cellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, but also markedly elevated the mitochondrial membrane potential and remarkably attenuated GES-1 cellular apoptosis, thereby protecting gastric epithelial cells against injuries caused by H. pylori. PA also inhibited the secretions of pro-inflammatory factors, such as monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6. Furthermore, after PA treatment, the combination of NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) and cysteine-aspartic proteases 1 (CASPASE-1), the expression levels of NLRP3 inflammasome-related proteins, such as thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), pro-CASPASE-1, cle-CASPASE-1, and NLRP3 and genes (NLRP3 and CASPASE1) were significantly decreased as compared to the model group. In conclusion, treatment with PA for 2 weeks exhibited highly efficient protective effect against H. pylori-induced gastritis and related damages. The underlying mechanism might involve antioxidant activity, inhibition of pro-inflammatory factor and regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome function. PA exerted anti-H. pylori and anti-gastritis effects and thus had the potential to be a promising candidate for treatment of H. pylori-related diseases.
You Are Where You App: An Assessment on Location Privacy of Social Applications

The development of positioning technologies has digitalized people's mobility traces for the first time in history. GPS sensors resided in people's mobile devices allow smart apps to access location data. This large amount of mobility data can help to build appealing applications. Meanwhile, location privacy has become a major concern. In this paper, we design a general system to assess whether an app is vulnerable to location inference attacks. We utilize a series of automatic testing mechanisms including UI match and API analysis to extract the location information an app provides. According to different characteristics of these apps, we classify them into two categories corresponding to two kinds of attacks, namely attack with distance limitation (AWDL) and attack without distance limitation (AWODL). After evaluating 800 apps, of which 109 passed automated testing, we found that 24.7% of the passing apps are vulnerable to AWDL and 11.0% to AWODL. Moreover, some apps even allow us to modify the parameters in http requests which largely increases the scope of the attacks. Our system demonstrates the severity of location privacy leakage to mobile devices and can serve as an auditing tool for future smart apps
Tensorial Lucas-Kanade: An Optical Flow Estimator Based on Tensorial Color Representation and Tensorial Algebra

Color data and optical flow estimation are important attributes to be processed in color image sequence. To deal with this, it is important to define methods for color information measure and strategies to solve the well-known Aperture Problem. This work proposes a new optical flow estimation approach for color image sequences called Tensorial Lucas-Kanade Technique. The technique proposed is based on tensorial color representation, tensorial morphological gradient and Lucas-Kanade optical flow estimation technique. Experimental results, comparing to ground truth optical flow by two different criteria, demonstrate the accuracy of its application in several sequences of synthetic color images. Four different tensorial dissimilarity measures were used to evaluate the technique. Comparing to the Lucas-Kanade’s, tensorial technique had smaller average error in 94% of cases, with different dissimilarity measures and in 47% of cases, using the Frobenius norm.
Shannon Meets von Neumann: A Minimax Theorem for Channel Coding in the Presence of a Jammer

We study the setting of channel coding over a family of channels whose state is controlled by an adversarial jammer by viewing it as a zero-sum game between a finite blocklength encoder-decoder team, and the jammer. The encoder-decoder team choose stochastic encoding and decoding strategies to minimize the average probability of error in transmission, while the jammer chooses a distribution on the state-space to maximize this probability. The min-max value of the game is equivalent to channel coding for a compound channel - we call this the Shannon solution of the problem. The max-min value corresponds to finding a mixed channel with the largest value of the minimum achievable probability of error. When the min-max and max-min values are equal, the problem is said to admit a saddle-point or von Neumann solution. While a Shannon solution always exists, the communicating team’s problem is nonconvex for finite blocklengths, whereby a von Neumann solution may not exist. Despite this, we show that the min-max and max-min values become equal asymptotically in the large blocklength limit, for all but finitely many rates. We explicitly characterize this limiting value as a function of the rate and obtain tight finite blocklength bounds on the min-max and max-min value. As a corollary we get an explicit expression for the $\epsilon $ -capacity of a compound channel under stochastic codes - the first such result, to the best of our knowledge. Our results demonstrate a deeper relation between the compound channel and mixed channel than was previously known. They also show that the conventional information-theoretic viewpoint, articulated via the Shannon solution, coincides asymptotically with the game-theoretic one articulated via the von Neumann solution. Key to our results is the derivation of new finite blocklength upper bounds on the min-max value of the game via a novel achievability scheme, and lower bounds on the max-min value obtained via the linear programming relaxation based approach we introduced in [2].
Pseudocapacitive Li-ion storage boosts high-capacity and long-life performance in multi-layer CoFe2O4/rGO/C composite

Due to the intrinsic low electrical conductivity and large volume expansion of the CoFe2O4 based active materials, designing more novel structures is still one of the most important challenges for its lithium ion battery application. In this work, the CoFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide/carbon (CFO/rGO/C) composite with integrated multi-layer structure has been synthesized through a facial two-step hydrothermal method. Benefiting from the introduction of the graphene network and amorphous carbon coating layer, as well as the accompanying synergistic effect, this composite can exhibit fast and reversible lithium intercalation/deintercalation reactions. With the aid of a surface-induced capacitive process, the CFO/rGO/C composite delivers a superior specific capacity (945 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1) and excellent long-term cyclic stability (421 mA h g−1 at 4 A g−1 with closely 100% Coulombic efficiency after 2000 cycles). Significantly, at a high current density of 1 A g−1, the reversible capacity exhibits a rapid increasing after 100 cycles and finally shows an ultra-high-capacity of 1430 mA h g−1 over 500 cycles. This method could be generalized to the preparation of other similar transition metal oxide-based materials for the development of high-performance energy storage systems.
Efficient preparation of rare Sagittatoside A from epimedin A, by recyclable aqueous organic two-phase enzymatic hydrolysis

Abstract The rare secondary flavonol glycoside Sagittatoside A has much better in vivo bioactivities than epimedin A in Epimedii Folium. However, its current preparation methods are of low efficiency, with byproducts generated. The aim of this study was to establish a novel catalysis system for effective and convenient preparation of Sagittatoside A from epimedin A based on recyclable and integrated aqueous organic two-phase enzymatic hydrolysis. The system was consisted of propyl acetate and HAc-NaAc buffer (pH4.5) containing β-dextranase/epimedin A, and the hydrolysis was performed at 60 °C for 1 h. Consequently, epimedin A was completely hydrolyzed to sagittatoside A, and 95.02% of the product was transferred into the organic phase. Moreover, 90% of its initial activity was retained after seven cycles of hydrolysis. Additionally, the procedure was simpler than conventional enzymatic hydrolysis. Collectively, the newly proposed strategy is an efficient and promising approach for the preparation of sagittatoside A in industrial application.
Personal Identification by Convolutional Neural Network with ECG Signal

This paper proposes a novel approach for personal biometric identification with Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals that are measured during bathing, aiming at exploring a feasible way to avoid or reduce the drowning accidents during daily bathing. After we perform denoising and QRS segmentation on the raw ECG signal, the preliminary experimental results showed that the best and robust identification rate is 97.20% for 10 individuals only with 5 epochs. When the proposed method was tested on a public ECG Database, the identification rate is as high as 98.70%. This work provides with strong evidence that ECG signals can be useful for personal identification.
Risk factors for mortality and mortality rates in interstitial lung disease patients in the intensive care unit

Data on interstitial lung disease (ILD) outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU) is of limited value due to population heterogeneity. The aim of this study was to examine risk factors for mortality and ILD mortality rates in the ICU. We performed a systematic review using five databases. 50 studies were identified and 34 were included: 17 studies on various aetiologies of ILD (mixed-ILD) and 17 on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In mixed-ILD, elevated APACHE score, hypoxaemia and mechanical ventilation are risk factors for mortality. No increased mortality was found with steroid use. Evidence is inconclusive on advanced age. In IPF, evidence is inconclusive for all factors except mechanical ventilation and hypoxaemia. The overall in-hospital mortality was available in 15 studies on mixed-ILD (62% in 2001–2009 and 48% in 2010–2017) and 15 studies on IPF (79% in 1993–2004 and 65% in 2005–2017). Follow-up mortality rate at 1 year ranged between 53% and 100%. Irrespective of ILD aetiology, mechanical ventilation is associated with increased mortality. For mixed-ILD, hypoxaemia and APACHE scores are also associated with increased mortality. IPF has the highest mortality rate among ILDs, but since 1993 the rate appears to be declining. Despite improving in-hospital survival, overall mortality remains high. Elevated APACHE score, hypoxaemia and mechanical ventilation are risk factors for mortality in ILD. No increased mortality was found with steroid use. Evidence on advanced age is inconclusive. Survival may be improving over time, but still remains high. http://ow.ly/6F1d30mijdy
"Kawulu": A Voice based Social Network using Smart Mobile Devices for the Visually Impaired Community in Sri Lanka

A visual impairment is a functional limitation of the visual system, and the impairment restricts the individual from conducting many societal activities. The challenge of social isolation of the visually impaired community is not often addressed through research studies. The study aims to address the social isolation of the visually impaired community by implementing a voice-based smartphone application. The design for the initial solution was derived from a comprehensive literature review and analysis of data gathered from a survey using the local population of the study. The initial solution was tested in two phases to increase the usability of the application and to validate the solution. An action based approach was used with two iterations to identify an optimum design for the solution. The research follows a qualitative methodology, with several insights and suggestions from the study participants and subject matter experts on the successful implementation of the solution. The solution is refined to accommodate the suggestion of improvement from the study subjects, and the findings of the research are directly applicable to the visually impaired population in Sri Lanka
Data sharing in a collaborative product design environment based on cryptographic mechanisms

With the continuing development of ICT and rapid spread of high-speed networks, several computer-aided design tools have been improved to support distributed collaborative design. As the information which is generated through these kinds of tools begins to be shared instantly, productivity of collaboration is increasing continuously. To ensure this information is conveniently and safely accessible, many mechanisms have been proposed to manage systematically product information using access control and encryption. However, the previous methods have drawbacks in aspect of scalability, flexibility and security, so new approach is proposed in this paper. In the proposed system, permission-based access control with lazy revocation is used in which each set of product data is encrypted and stored in data storage. We examined the effectiveness of the proposed method and the advantage of proposed method.
FROG: A Packet Hop Count based DDoS Countermeasure in NDN

Named Data Networking (NDN) is a promising inter-networking paradigm that focus on content rather than hosts and their physical locations. In NDN Consumers issue Interests for Contents. Producers generate a content in response to each received interest and such content is routed back to the requesting consumer. When compared to IP, NDN brings advantages such as better throughput and lower latency, because routers are able to cache popular contents and satisfy interests for such contents locally. However, before being considered a viable approach, NDN should offer security services that are ideally better, but at least equivalent to current mechanisms in IP.In this regard, mechanisms to prevent DDoS are of paramount importance. In this work we propose FROG: a simple yet effective Interest Flooding Attack (IFA) detection and mitigation method. FROG runs on routers that are directly connected to NDN consumers and monitors packet hop counts. It then calculates mean and variance using stored hop counts to distinguish attackers from legitimate users. We use the NDN simulator ndnSIM to evaluate FROG's effectiveness. Our results show that FROG improves resilience against DDoS attacks. In particular, during an attack, legitimate users can still receive 75% of requested contents. Without FROG this number decreases to 50%.